A coffee table book published in 1980 that proved to be an excellent introduction to Knighthood and Chivalry. There are many illustrations; the majority in black and white, but they do provide some amusement for an idle flicking through of its pages. There is an index but no notes.

The first section Knights and Warfare gives a brief history of the emergence of the knight on the battlefield and then its importance as a fighting machine in the 11th - 14th centuries, finally the knight becomes more a symbolic figure restricted to tournaments that became evermore formulaic. The following section on Chivalry and Literature; the longest of the sections is very fine indeed. It gives plenty of information about the literature associated with knighthood, with pointers for further reading. The Troubadours, continental literature, Arthurian Romances and the Grail legends are all covered. The Chivalry and Religion section gives an overview of the crusades and the military orders that followed. This includes a well written account of the Knights Templers and Hospitallers. The final section shows the demise of chivalry and the rise of the Gentlemen Courtiers. There are plenty of quotes from literary sources and the battleground scenes are exciting to read. This does provide a little of something for everybody interested in Knights and chivalry. ( )