Armies and Ecosystems in Premodern Europe

Sander Govaerts is postdoctoral researcher at the Department of History and Art History, Utrecht University.

• IntroductionPart One: LandscapesChapter 1: FrontiersChapter 2: FortificationsPart Two: Biotic CommunitiesChapter 3: DisturbancesChapter 4: PolicingPart Three: PathogensChapter 5: Army HealthConclusionAppendixBibliography

Several aspects of the book make it stand out. Its tight geographical focus allows meaningful analysis over an ambitious timeframe. It engages important debates in the history of warfare without losing ecosystems along the way. And it uses a wide range of sources, incorporating medieval materials as thoroughly as early modern ones. Each chapter provides thoughtful definitions of potentially amorphous terms, like region, ecology, soldier and biotic communities.