Order of the Argent Bear

These books also seemed worthy of special notice. They are well researched and well written and focus on important aspects of Chivalry and chivalric history.

Armor; Charlotte and David Yue (1994)

J355.8241 Yue at: CE/L/MD/SD

A perfect example of how useful a 'juvenile' book can be for us all. Well written and detailed without being wordy. No photographs; but the shaded pencil drawings are right out of the golden age of technical and naturalist hand drawings - hard to find details on armor construction are found throughout the book. In less than a 100 pages it can teach a newbie more about armor than an average SCA fighter knows and even experienced armorers may want to see the drawings.

Knights, The Complete Story of the Age of Chivalry, From Historical Fact to Tales of Romance and Poetry; Andrea Hopkins (1990)

940.1088355 Hopkins at: L

A fine and broadly focused book. A number of pictures and historical stories not often seen are easily found here (the details of Ulrich von Lichtenstein's tournament travels disguised as Venus are well worth the reading). Very well illustrated. Amoung the best of the general works on knights and an excellent place to start.

The Knights of the Crown - Monarchal Orders of Knighthood; D'A.J.D Boulton (1987)

929.71094 Boulton at: L

An exhaustive examination of non-religious knightly orders which were controlled by a Prince or King. And at 539 pages I do mean exhaustive. The introduction will be valuable for everybody but the chapters on individual Orders are probably too detailed for most readers unless the Order is of particular interest. Included are the Orders of the Band, the Star, the Garter and many others.

War and Chivalry - Warfare and Aristocratic Culture in England, France and Burgundy at the End of the Middle Ages; Malcolm Vale (1981)

355.00942 Vale at: L

A great book focusing on the great age and region of the Pas d'Armes. This book has the most detailed information I have found on King Rene's Order of the Crescent - a topic of especial interest to tournament recreationists. Other chapters cover chivalric displays, funerary customs, tournaments, and the nature of warfare in the era. If you're interested in 15^th century tournaments and chivalry - in any region - this is an excellent source because Burgundy and France really dominated the chivalric culture of the time.

William Marshal, The Flower of Chivalry; Georges Duby (1985)

942.034 Duby at: L

William the Marshal, for those who haven't yet read this book, is arguably the first and the greatest of the great tournament knights. From relatively modest roots, he traveled the tournament circuit in the late 12^th century and earned wealth, love, power and respect. This is widely considered the book on the life of William the Marshal, written by a very well respected author. The style is often lively and the tone 'first-person-ish', as if things were just now happening. That style, by the way, is often found in troubadour works of William's era.

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Comments or questions should be mailed to truffa@alaska.net , please include the words 'Argent Bear' in the subject line.