| Abstract | Paper -a:
This paper will explore the nature of the castle and its role in medieval society by analyzing the perception of the castle presented in the Gesta Stephani and the Historia Novella. The castle as a tool of subjugation and control is familiar, but instead of focusing on this aspect, this paper will examine argue that contemporaries perceived the castle as a multi-faceted focal point of medieval society. By analyzing and comparing the perceptions found in two sources, this paper will additionally argue that certain perceptions of the castle are not limited to a single author but a social constant.
Paper -b:
Despite the fact that he spent a goodly portion of his life campaigning, there have been few assessments of Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa's (1122-1190) abilities as a strategist, general, and tactician (the current studies being two excellent, though limited, ones by Holgar Berwinkel and the late Johannes Laudage). This paper seeks to provide an innovative re-evaluation of Barbarossa's command ability, assessing selected campaigns in their relation to his military thought, their reflection of classical 'doctrine' (e.g. Vegetius), and their demonstration of his decision-making process at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war.
Paper -c:
In the popular imagination the Normans are seen as possessing superior military skill which enabled them to be supreme conquerors. How much is this part of a historiographical tradition in which the French are proud of their ancestors' achievements and historians writing in the Anglo-Saxon tradition need an explanation for why England was conquered? For, what might be called the 'Norman Age' was very brief (c.1050-1150) and part of a Latin Christian movement of expansion ranging from Iberia to Syria and Italy to the Baltic. Is the Norman archetype a help or hindrance in considering the impact made by Western European military expeditions in the era of the Crusades and how does this affect the attitudes of Europeans today?
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