Overview

The Byzantine Empire rules in Southern Italy, but the indigenous populations are restless. The Lombards are no exception - unwilling subjects to an overwhelming military empire - yet they have been too divided to threaten the hegemony of Constantinople. One of their number, Arduin of Fassano, is appointed by the young Byzantine general, Michael Doukeianos, to hold the key to Apulia, the vital castle of Melfi, unaware that Arduin intends to join his Lombard brethren and rise up in revolt, hiring to aid him the most-feared of all the soldiers in Christendom: the Norman mercenaries of Campania. Led by William de Hauteville, known as Bras de Fer, the eldest of five mercenary brothers, the Normans cross into Apulia intent on more than aiding revolt: they are seeking land and titles for themselves. Will the might of the Byzantine Empire crush Arduin's Lombard revolt? Will his ambitious plan succeed with the help of those great warriors, the de Hauteville brothers? Or will the treachery that stalks the land favour the Normans?

Full Product Details

9780749007553

Table of Contents

Reviews

The book is fast-paced and land and titles pass through hands rapidly as various characters die or lose battles. The book also contains a lot of medieval politics and treachery, which livened things up and made it more than a book full of battles. I enjoyed reading about the medieval preparations for war and the way that battles were fought. --The Bookbag

Author Information

Jack Ludlow is the pseudonym of David Donachie, who was born in Edinburgh in 1944. David Donachie has had a variety of jobs, including selling everything from business machines to soap. He has always had an abiding interest in the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available