Armies of Castile and Aragon 1370–1516 (Men-at-Arms)

John Pohl makes a very good argument for reading his book in the very first paragraph. He notes, " Traditionally, Late Medeival European History focuses on the Hundred Years War, followed by England's War of the Roses and the Swiss Wars against Burgundy and the Empire. Attention shifts to Spain only after 1492, with the fall of Granada and the first explorations and conquests in the Americas. This may leave the reader with a sense of astonishment that seemingly from nowhere the 'Catholic Monarchs' Fernando and Isabel were able to lay the foundation for the world's first global empire." That introductory paragraph nails it. Why were the Spanish able to create an immense global empire in such short order?With Osprey, you never know what you are going to get. The quality of their book's authors range from bumbling enthusiasts to pedantic professors and every once in a while you will find an author who can really write. Fortunately, "Armies of Castille and Aragon" is one of Osprey's better endeavors. Professor John Pohl cannot only write clear prose but also has the gift of simplifying complex history. In a short forty seven pages, Pohl beautifully answers the question he posits in the introductory paragraph. This short book was a joy to read and I highly recommend it.

Like many Ospreys, for someone who already has a great deal of information, it may be too little. For me, who has little information on the period covered, it fills the gap.

Referring to the Ebook. This is one of the better Osprey books and the author does a good job.

Excellent for see arch, high quality and just what I was looking for.

This is a good “Men-at-Arms” title, even if it is not the appropriate format for the author’s lofty ambitions. John M.D. Pohl is quite correct in stating that, when studying Late Medieval History, attention shifts to Spain only with the fall of Granada (1492) and the first conquests of the Americas, or in connection with the Hundred Years War during the 1360s. However, such a title simply cannot suffice to explain how “the Catholic Monarchs” (Fernando and Isabella) were able to lay “the foundation for the first world empire”, nor does it have the space to describe the dynastic struggles that took place from 1370 onwards and for a century and a half.It nevertheless tries to do so and some sections, however limited and perhaps even superficial, had, at least for me, the merit of making me want to learn more on the period or events that they were describing. This was particularly the case for the multi-year conquest of Granada, which proved to be a rather tougher nut to crack than what the general reader may assume and which was largely conquered while taking advantage of “Muslim disunity”, as the author puts it so nicely (read “civil war”).Another particularly interesting bit was the growing involvement of Aragon in Southern Italy, its conquest of the Kingdom of Naples, and the role of Gonzalo de Cordoba, sometimes presented as the founder of Spanish Tercio regiments, in Italy. Each of these topics would have deserved a (our several) book of several hundred pages to do it justice.A third little known aspect which this booklet touches on is the development of Spanish sea-power and of that of Castile in particular, during the Late Middle Ages. Unfortunately, it does mention its Aragonese equivalent in the Mediterranean, and how this allowed the Kings of Aragon to maintain their rule over Sicily during the fourteenth century in Sicily and allowed them to expand to Southern Italy during the next century.Also interesting is the very brief summary of the reigns of “the Catholic Monarchs” and their very complementary roles, with Fernando the soldier and Isabella the organiser. There are perhaps several missing elements here. One is how they governed their two kingdoms. Another is their religious policies. To be fair, however, both these aspects go beyond the scope of a Men-at-Arms title but this might show you how much I, at least, was left wanting for more once I had finished.Also to be fair, there are relatively short but good descriptions of weaponry, tactics and campaigns during the late 14th, the 15th and the first decade of the 16th century. These are rather well supported by the plates, which I found good, even if they may not be the “best” that I have ever come across. There is also a useful chronology and a family tree if only because, since the names and events are somewhat compressed into a limited format, you might tend to get confused with kings bearing the same name when reading about a period and royal families that you may not know much about beforehand.Finally, there is a short bibliography. Here, for those wanting to learn more about Spain and who may be willing to read books in English that are not targeted at the so-called “general reader” (i.e. they are more scholarly and much more detailed), I can recommend the two following titles in the History of Spain collection (although there are certainly other good ones!) which cover the same period as this title, but include all aspects:- Spain’s centuries of crisis: 1300-1474, by Teofilo F. Ruiz and- The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs (1474-1520), by John Edwards

Gorgeous illustrations!

This whole series of books is usually disappointingly short in number of pages. This one did really tell me much that I could not have learned in a 2 minute Wiki search. There was little information about the armies, command, tactics or equipment. Most of the book was about the timeline. I thought the visuals were more disappointing then some of the rest of the series. Decent quick, light read about the history of Castile and Aragon in the 15th century.

Love it thank you

Magnífica celebración del número 500 de Men at Arms, y con la suerte de ser sobre nuestros RRCC: Isabel y Fernando. Todo un lujo!,,,,,

C'est toujours la qualité Osprey, avec les dessins très précis de G.Embleton. Mais ce survol rapide d'un siècle et demi d'histoire de l'Aragon et de la Castille est un peu trop général; On aurait aimé plus de détails : sur la conquête de la Navarre, par exemple... C'est un peu frustrant...

This is a good “Men-at-Arms” title, even if it is not the appropriate format for the author’s lofty ambitions. John M.D. Pohl is quite correct in stating that, when studying Late Medieval History, attention shifts to Spain only with the fall of Granada (1492) and the first conquests of the Americas, or in connection with the Hundred Years War during the 1360s. However, such a title simply cannot suffice to explain how “the Catholic Monarchs” (Fernando and Isabella) were able to lay “the foundation for the first world empire”, nor does it have the space to describe the dynastic struggles that took place from 1370 onwards and for a century and a half.It nevertheless tries to do so and some sections, however limited and perhaps even superficial, had, at least for me, the merit of making me want to learn more on the period or events that they were describing. This was particularly the case for the multi-year conquest of Granada, which proved to be a rather tougher nut to crack than what the general reader may assume and which was largely conquered while taking advantage of “Muslim disunity”, as the author puts it so nicely (read “civil war”).Another particularly interesting bit was the growing involvement of Aragon in Southern Italy, its conquest of the Kingdom of Naples, and the role of Gonzalo de Cordoba, sometimes presented as the founder of Spanish Tercio regiments, in Italy. Each of these topics would have deserved a (our several) book of several hundred pages to do it justice.A third little known aspect which this booklet touches on is the development of Spanish sea-power and of that of Castile in particular, during the Late Middle Ages. Unfortunately, it does mention its Aragonese equivalent in the Mediterranean, and how this allowed the Kings of Aragon to maintain their rule over Sicily during the fourteenth century in Sicily and allowed them to expand to Southern Italy during the next century.Also interesting is the very brief summary of the reigns of “the Catholic Monarchs” and their very complementary roles, with Fernando the soldier and Isabella the organiser. There are perhaps several missing elements here. One is how they governed their two kingdoms. Another is their religious policies. To be fair, however, both these aspects go beyond the scope of a Men-at-Arms title but this might show you how much I, at least, was left wanting for more once I had finished.Also to be fair, there are relatively short but good descriptions of weaponry, tactics and campaigns during the late 14th, the 15th and the first decade of the 16th century. These are rather well supported by the plates, which I found good, even if they may not be the “best” that I have ever come across. There is also a useful chronology and a family tree if only because, since the names and events are somewhat compressed into a limited format, you might tend to get confused with kings bearing the same name when reading about a period and royal families that you may not know much about beforehand.Finally, there is a short bibliography. Here, for those wanting to learn more about Spain and who may be willing to read books in English that are not targeted at the so-called “general reader” (i.e. they are more scholarly and much more detailed), I can recommend the two following titles in the History of Spain collection (although there are certainly other good ones!) which cover the same period as this title, but include all aspects:- Spain’s centuries of crisis: 1300-1474, by Teofilo F. Ruiz and- The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs (1474-1520), by John Edwards

A good read many thanks