THE RISE OF THE MODERN HISTORICAL PROFESSION

t is really very striking how little was written in English, until quite recently, on the history of medieval warfare. Before the late nineteenth century there was a good deal of writing about war, but little was about medieval history. The Classical education dominated the scholarly world, and leading soldiers such as Maurice of Nassau (d.1625) drew on ancient works for ideas on the organization, discipline, and tactics of armies. From the late fifteenth century, the European elite looked to the classical world for models of behaviour and often regarded the ‘Middle Age’ as simply a period of darkness and ignorance. It was not entirely forgotten, for the memory of 1066 and that of the archers of Agincourt was burned into the English consciousness. All over Europe there were antiquarians exploring this era, and scholars, especially churchmen, looked to its