>>24504339
I have been enjoying pic related, but I haven't finished it.
Basically, the author tries to answer the question of "why was war during the medieval period endemic?"
And his thesis has two reasons.
1) Show of authority. Kingship is tied to martiality, so the king should be able to prove he is able to command an army. A king who does not lead an army is either a puppet or weak.
2) Economic factor, feeding the retinue was expensive, this why kings often traveled and forced their vassals to feed their troops. Another way to feed them was to go to war and feed them by raiding