Warriors of the Dark Ages

Rating:
Summary: They're called the Dark Ages for a reason...
Review: ...because we don't know much about them. The authors are ambitious, trying to characterize various amorphous peoples and histories. The chapters and text headings seem to suggest that the reader will find some insight into the cultures and practices of various barbarian groups. However, much of the text consists of listings of grave goods, and the pictures are the corroded armor and shields you've seen in other books before. Scanty information is no fault of the authors, but they did offer chapter titles such as "warfare and society" without having much to fill those chapters except for speculation and in some cases accounts of contemporaries. Which brings me to my recommendations, which is to read "Chronicles of the Barbarians" if you are curious about the dark ages. These are verbatum translated accounts by contemporaries writers, mostly romans. Also you might try "the anglo-saxon chronicle" or Beowulf.

Rating:
Summary: They're called the Dark Ages for a reason...
Review: ...because we don't know much about them. The authors are ambitious, trying to characterize various amorphous peoples and histories. The chapters and text headings seem to suggest that the reader will find some insight into the cultures and practices of various barbarian groups. However, much of the text consists of listings of grave goods, and the pictures are the corroded armor and shields you've seen in other books before. Scanty information is no fault of the authors, but they did offer chapter titles such as "warfare and society" without having much to fill those chapters except for speculation and in some cases accounts of contemporaries. Which brings me to my recommendations, which is to read "Chronicles of the Barbarians" if you are curious about the dark ages. These are verbatum translated accounts by contemporaries writers, mostly romans. Also you might try "the anglo-saxon chronicle" or Beowulf.

Rating:
Summary: Were the early Huns, Goths, & Saxons really violent animals?
Review: Were the early Huns, Goths, and Saxons really violent animals, or were they real human beings struggling for freedom? Jennifer Laing's Warriors Of The Dark Ages places a new light on early warriors often depicted as mindless brutes by modern history texts, considering politics, culture, and disputes of the times. Essential for understanding the motivations of these early famous warriors.