Twenty-three short essays introduce the reader to the multifaceted martial culture of the late medieval and pre-modern European town. The stories in this richly illustrated anthology describe the ownership, handling, symbolism, use, and materiality of medieval weapons in their social, political, and cultural context. Originally contributions to the research blog Martial Culture in Medieval Towns, the selected and re-worked essays were edited to accompany the exhibition Alarm! Culture, ownership, and use of weapons in the late medieval town (Museum Altes Zeughaus / Old Arsenal Museum. Solothurn, 2022).

Daniel Jaquet is senior researcher at the University of Bern for the SNSF project Martial Culture in Medieval Towns. He holds a PhD in medieval history (University of Geneva, 2013) and specializes in cultural history of martial practices at the end of the Middle Ages. IasonEleftherios Tzouriadis is the online blog editor for the 'Martial Culture in Medieval Towns' project. His research examines arms and armour typologies, function and the perception of these objects as cultural artefacts in various martial contexts. Regula Schmid is professor of medieval history at the Department of Medieval History at the University of Bern. She is the lead researcher of the SNSF project Martial Culture in Medieval Towns, and has published extensively on urban political, martial, and memorial culture. Her current research focuses on urban militias and the impact of war on society, politics, and everyday life in late medieval Switzerland.