This weekend, I found myself in Barnes and Noble looking for a good book on Roman and Greek mythology for my daughter, who is taking that particular subject in high school. One of her first projects was to give a presentation on one of the Greek gods, which required pictures portraying her assigned Olympian. So I wandered into the children's section looking for a book that wouldn't mind being subjected to a pair of scissors,went to the shelf marked'History',and found a gold mine. Ever wonder what historical artists do when they are not illustrating books for Osprey's Men-At-Arms series? Many of them illustrate children's books on historical subjects. Having an abiding interest in knights,castles, heraldry, and the Medieval period in general, I saw two books which caught my attention. The first was entitled "Knights" by Philip Steele, with Christopher Gravett as consultant. Many wargamers and historians know of Gravett, who works in the Royal Armories at the Tower of London and has authored several books on arms and armor. But its not the content of the book that is remarkable, it is the illustrations. When you open the book, the first illustration you see is a wonderful two-page painting by Angus McBride (yep...that Angus McBride) of Norman knights disembarking from their ships, presumably on English soil, beginning the invasion of 1066. In all, McBride contributes six illustrations to the book, all done in his clean, inimitable style. These illustrations run the gamut of Medieval life, and include peasants, knights, footmen, heralds, nobility, and armor. Even though McBride's color plates make the book a definite keeper, that's not all that makes this book so attractive. There is a beautiful double page set of heraldic devices, which illustrates in color not only the various colors (tinctures) and metals used in heraldry, but the fur devices as wel 1. The basic rules of heraldry are explained, and forty-one shields are shown in full color. Very useful indeed. The book is packed with very well done and historically accurate illustrations, as good as any found in more 'mature' books on the subject. Perhaps the most dramatic illustration in the book is a head-on rendering of a mounted knight at the full charge. His destrier's nostrils are flaring and its caparison is billowing out to either side. The knight is reaching out with his lance, just before impact, giving you the distinct impression that this is what many a poor footman saw just before being skewered or trample d. Designers take note! This illustration would make a superb wargaming figure! The second book is entitled "The World of the Medieval Knight" by Christopher Gravett himself, with illustrations by Brett Breckon. Though not a McBride, Breckon's illustrations are very clean and historically accurate. This book is more closely akin in style to the Warrior series by Osprey. This book is exactly what it purports to be, with various small chapters explaining the life of the medieval knight from training to fighting to hunting. Fully illustrated in color, exploded views of armor are provided, showing its construction, with separate sections for each particular area of the body: Cuirasses, arm and leg coverings, gauntlets, and helmets. Also included are sections on horse armor and weapons. Unfortunately, this book does not have a section on heraldry. There are several outstanding illustrations in this book which should put it in any Medieval gamer's library. There is a two-page color illustration of a Burgundian lance which includes the man-at-arms, a sergeant, three mounted archers, and the accompanying pikeman,crossbowman, and hand-gunner. An illustration of pikemen forming a block and a Crusading-era battle line are also noteworthy and will prove useful to figure painters. Both books contain excellent illustrations of horses. By seeing how various artists render horses, and the colors they use to shade and highlight, even veteran figure painters can pick up an idea or two. Each one also makes clear distinctions between the types of horses that were used for various tasks, such as the sumpter (a packhorse), the hackney, rouncey, or nag (a less well-bred horse used by squires and servants), the palfrey (a well-bred riding horse with an easy gate) and destrier (the warhorse). These two books are highly recommended, especially for figure painters. Knights is published by Kingfisher Books and costs $15.95. The World of the Medieval Knight is published by Peter Bedrick Books and costs $19.95. Both are available in the children's history section of Barnes and Noble as well as most other bookstores. Back to Dispatch Oct. 99 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com