​Since 1999​, I have been spending most of my time studying chivalry as it was  understood in the 14th century.  I have focused on what such medieval writers as Jean Froissart and Geoffroi de Charny tell us about "deeds of arms," especially formal deeds of arms such as jousts, tournaments, judicial duels, and other challenges.  Formal deeds of arms were generally fought between men of high rank (knights, squires and other "gentlemen") and had rules which limited the violence.  Studying formal deeds is one way we can figure out the relationship between chivalric combat and other kinds of violence.  For a general overview see Deeds of Arms; the e-book Formal Combats in the Fourteenth Century contains three articles focused on more specific issues.

I have a particular interest in Geoffroi de Charny's neglected Questions, a collection of legal puzzles which he presented to the Order of the  Star, the French royal chivalric order founded in 1352.  Charny, one of the most respected knights of his time, put together a list of questions about what the "laws of arms"said about the proper conduct of "arms," the distinctive chivalric activities of jousting, tournaments and war.  Studying the Questions has been a lot of fun, especially because Charny provided no answers!  See Jousts and Tournaments and Charny's Men-at-Arms ​for more on this.

About the time I was finishing my book Deeds of Arms, I got the idea that some readers would really enjoy having access to the original accounts of famous deeds of arms translated into modern English. I approached Freelance Academy Press and they were enthusiastic. As a result I became the general editor of the series called Deeds of Arms. Each book in the series focuses on an individual deed of arms (the Combat of the Thirty) or a particular type of deed (Royal Jousts). Each book has commentary from its own editor/author putting the deeds into context. I should also mention they are very pretty books.

I have listed below just the book in the series that I have edited and translated. With luck. There will be more to come


Books on Deeds of Arms in the 14th century

​Jousts and Tournaments:  Charny and the rules for chivalric sport in fourteenth-century France. Union City, California:   The Chivalry Bookshelf. 2003.  Out of Print.

Deeds of Arms:  Formal combats in the late fourteenth century. Highland Village, Texas:  The Chivalry Bookshelf. 2005.
Order from Freelance Academy Press

Formal Combats in the Fourteenth Century. Troy, Alabama: Witan Publishing. E-book. 2013.
Order from Amazon (Kindle)or B&N (Nook)

Charny’s Men at Arms:  Questions concerning the Joust, Tournaments and War. Wheaton, Illinois:  Freelance Academy Press. 2014.
Order from Freelance Academy Press
 
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The Deeds of Arms Series of translated sources

Royal Jousts at the End of the Fourteenth Century. Deeds of Arms Series, vol. 1. Wheaton, Illinois:  Freelance Academy Press. 2012.
Order from Freelance Academy Press

The Combat of the Thirty. Deeds of Arms Series, vol. 2. Wheaton, Illinois:  Freelance Academy Press. 2013
Order from Freelance Academy Press

Will a Frenchman Fight? Deeds of Arms Series, vol. 4. Wheaton, Illinois:  Freelance Academy Press. 2015
Order from Freelance Academy Press