ABSTRACT
The study of medieval military technology is crucial to our understanding of the Middle Ages, particularly the period after the eleventh century. Until a few decades ago, most authorities on Western military history believed that, by the time of the Crusades, Byzantine military technology was no match for that of the ‘Franks’; it was thought that this technological superiority was one of the main reasons behind victory in the East. However, the idea that the mechanical skills of Byzantium (and Islam) lagged far behind those of Western Europe has been shown by recent research to be inaccurate. Both Byzantium and the West possessed elements of military technology that might be considered cutting-edge, as well as elements that need to be re-evaluated. This chapter re-examines a few key aspects of this debate in order to demonstrate the need for the comparison between Western European and Byzantine military technology to be far more nuanced than it currently is.
