Military Education in Early Medieval Europe: Learning from Books - Medievalists.net

"Early medieval commanders didn't just learn war by doing-they read it, too, drawing on Roman military manuals, surveying handbooks, and historical case studies. From Charlemagne's court school to copying Epitoma rei militaris and Strategemata, this article by David Bachrach shows how books helped train leaders for large-scale campaigns, sieges, and the complex logistics of medieval warfare. It is well understood and broadly accepted that clerics in early medieval Europe learned from books and, indeed,"

"By contrast, there is a general conceit, even among some specialists in military history, that early medieval military commanders did not learn from the written word. This view ultimately derives from the assertion by the famed German military historian Hans Delbrück (died 1929) that the medieval period was bereft of military science. This diktat, backed by Delbrück's enormous prestige and authority, was combined with the general conception of the early medieval period as a "dark age"."

Early medieval military leaders used written sources as part of their training, consulting Roman military manuals, surveying handbooks, and historical case studies. Educational institutions such as Charlemagne's court school facilitated copying and study of works like Epitoma rei militaris and Strategemata to prepare commanders for campaigns, sieges, and logistical challenges. Clerical learning relied centrally on books in monasteries and cathedral schools, and builders of major churches and palaces drew on mathematical and construction handbooks. Many technical works were copied from Roman exemplars and adapted with annotations and new material. A historiographical stereotype credits a lack of medieval military science to Delbrück and the idea of a dark age.

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