Battles have long featured prominently in historical consciousness, as moments when the balance of power was seen to have tipped, or when aspects of collective identity were shaped. But how have perspectives on warfare changed? How similar are present day ideologies of warfare to those of the medieval period?Looking back over a thousand years of British, Irish and Scandinavian battles, this significant collection of essays examines how different times and cultures have reacted to war, considering the changing roles of religion and technology in the experience and memorialisation of conflict. While fighting and killing have been deplored, glorified and everything in between across the ages, Writing Battles reminds us of the visceral impact left on those who come after.

List of IllustrationsList of MapsPrologue, Brendan Simms (University of Cambridge, UK)1. Introduction, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh (University of Cambridge, UK), Rory Naismith (King's College London, UK) and Elizabeth Ashman Rowe (University of Cambridge, UK)2. Battle Names in the Middle Ages, Robert Bartlett (University of St Andrews, UK)3. Battle-writing and Commemoration: the Transition from Violence to Peace, Jenny Benham (Cardiff University, UK) 4. 'Undying Glory by the Sword's Edge': Writing and Remembering Battle in Anglo-Saxon England, Matthew Strickland (University of Glasgow, UK)5. Fortress London: War and Peace in an Anglo-Saxon City, Rory Naismith (King's College London, UK)6. 'Trembling Sods'?: Rhetoric and Reality in Battle-Narratives from Medieval Ireland and Britain, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh (University of Cambridge, UK)7. 'Sword-Age, Axe-Age': Writing Battles in Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavia, Elizabeth Ashman Rowe (University of Cambridge, UK)8. Which 'Pagans'? The Influence of the Crusades on battle-Narratives in Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia, Natalia Petrovskaia (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)9. The Battle of Bannockburn 1314, Tony Pollard (University of Glasgow, UK)10. A Troubled Memory: Battles of the First World War, Robert Tombs (University of Cambridge, UK)AppendixBibliographyIndex