Inside the pages of Issue IX-1

As we started the ninth year of Medieval Warfare, we were looking for ways to improve the magazine. We try to get as much feedback as we can from our readers, and consistently we keep hearing from you that you would like to see articles that go more in-depth and more diversity.

I think we did a good job of achieving that with issue IX-1. The theme of this issue was the Battle of Agincourt, and Michael Livingston's cover article presenting a new theory on exactly where the battle was fought. It's a very thorough article - running over 6000 words - that sums up the months of research Michael has been doing. Kelly DeVries also added a complimentary article on how French battle tactics are more understandable if the battle took place in this new location.

We hope to offer more kinds of articles in this vein - longer pieces that can thoroughly present aspects of medieval warfare such as battles, tactics and strategy. Our next issue's cover article will be on the Assassins, and it's only one article - by Carole Hillenbrand, one of the leading scholars of the crusades in the world.  Future issues will be following this pattern, where you will see between one to three articles on a particular theme.

Meanwhile, the rest of the issue is an attempt to give our readers a wide variety of topics. William E. Welsh's piece on the Crusade of 1101 is something we sought out to do because it's a campaign that has received very little attention among historians. Terri Barnes' article on female warriors offers new insights in how medieval and modern people perceive the role of women in warfare, while "Castles Builders and Castle Breakers" by Peter Purton puts the focus on the role of engineers, another group usually neglected in history books.

You will see a lot more of this in future issues of Medieval Warfare, as we try to tell stories about people, places and topics that don't typically get much coverage, but nevertheless gives us fresh insights into military history.

If you haven't got your copy of Medieval Warfare IX-1 yet, you can do so by clicking here.