[Viktor Chudinov]

I've seen quite a lot of times mentioned on various forums that up to mid-16th century Flavius Vegetius' "De re Militari" was the most common military manual,and think that even the Wikipedia article says it was very popular among commanders.
Ive been wondering whether this is true -what evidence there is, and also would the things written in there would be literally followed by medieval commanders and generals.
Or was it viewed more as an inspiration, along with some useful advices,while medieval tactics and strategies are a lot different than what the book says.
Also are there any other manuscripts on the topic of commanding armies and waging wars between say 10th and 15th century (except the byzantine ones from around 10th C.). I'd be happy if anyone could offer some more literature on the topic

Thank you all for the answers.
Also sorry if this duplicates a thread, but my search skills are not that good.

[A. Elema]

Vegetius was copied quite a lot and translated into several vernacular languages in the Middle Ages. Medieval people didn't accept all of it uncritically, however. The parts about swimming were almost certainly not followed. Nicholas Orme discusses the text in his book, From Childhood to Chivalry, p. 185 ff.

The Rule of the Templars also has quite a lot of good information about battle tactics. See this article on the subject.

[Sean Manning]

Also see Bernard Bachrach, “The Practical Use of Vegetius' De Re Militari During the Early Middle Ages,” The Historian Vol. 47 Issue 2 (February 1985). If your library doesn't have it (and getting a copy in Bulgaria may not be easy), a Google search may turn up a free version.

[Maurizio D'Angelo]

Flavius Vegetius was not a commander.
The value of his books in the collection of ancient texts and spread news of the past, with a diligent research.
Many recommendations for the prince, as well as some tips for the economical character, general informations.
Under the military and tactical aspect provide little practical information.
Probably sometimes writes things that do not know. The army knew that he had been overtaken by time.
"The archers had to train with wooden arches ... the opposite is true, the archers had to train with heavy arches.
The Roman army is trained with heavy shields, heavy javelins, heavy swords
I'm surprised its spread, "Strategikon" and "Tactica" give good practical tools for soldiers and commanders, but have not had the same luck.

[Jared Smith]

I have a modern English translation version of the French version of De Rei Militari that Cristine de Pisan translated in 14th AD era. There is a lot of tactical and logistical advise in it. Everything from training to how to pack and travel, and why was addressed in it. The basic concepts and reasons (morale, logisitics, risks) would not really be that obsolete in terms of present day war fare. One can see why it would be referenced by officers during the period.

[Sean Manning]

[Maurizio D'Angelo]

[Maurizio D'Angelo]

[Craig Peters]

Georges Duby relates a story of a 12th century French noble (circa 1160) who, upon learning from De Re Militari, applied some of Vegetius' tactics to a siege he was engaged in and promptly caused the defending castle to capitulate. Duby acknowledges that the story was probably apocryphal; more importantly for your purposes is that we have a mid 12th century written reference that suggests Vegetius was known to military men, even if they could not necessarily read his works themselves.

[Douglas S]

Thanks, that clears up a lot for me.
Thus, we may conclude that "Poem of the Pell" was directly inspired by Vegetius, and probably did not arise out of a folk tradition.

[Lafayette C Curtis]

[Viktor Chudinov]

Thak you all very much. That's quite a lot interesting information.