Based on contemporary lives and descriptions and extensively illustrated, this book written by a leading medieval historian provides a vivid picture of what it was like to be a knight in the later Middle Ages: what armour and weapons to buy; what to do at sieges; how to make a fortune from war and how to win at tournaments and impress the love of your life. Manages that difficult feat, presenting a considerable amount of learning in a light-hearted, eminently readable way The humour and serious scholarship are finely balanced.  Ancestors.