If you want peace, prepare for war.

I came here researching the medieval theory of war, especially siege engines and other technology of warfare. Apparently, this survived as a foundational text studied by all the important players during the medieval period.

This book was written in the late 300s or early 400s AD, after the split of the Roman Empire. Vegetius seems to be himself acting as a student of history, compiling evidence he can find from ancient authors to construct a picture of the logistics, tactics, and organization of the Roman military during its glory days. According to its ostentatiously fawning prefaces, Vegetius writes to the emperor, campaigning for reform of the weak, lazy military of the present day back into the indomitable war machine of the early empire.

The seemingly elementary nature of some of the things he explains is interesting, as it shows how much had changed or been forgotten between 260 BC and 300 AD. It also makes me doubt how much of what Vegetius writes is accurate, or at least whether it provides a complete and true picture of the way the ancient Romans actually did things. He's working backward from the same sources we have today, after all.

There were some interesting descriptions of war machines and of the encampment fortifications the ancient Romans built. Overall, this was a quick read in a similar vein as The Art of War or The Prince.

Now, if anyone knows where I can find a translation of Guido da Vigevanos' Texarus Regis Francie, that would be awesome because unfortunately I don't speak medieval Latin.