Asymmetric warfare and military conduct in the Middle Ages

The concept of asymmetric warfare is a useful analytical tool for examining military conduct, especially acts of excessive military brutality, during the Middle Ages. A broader sense of asymmetric warfare is required: one that includes not just politico-military asymmetries, but also social, legal, religious and ethnic dimensions. A typology of military asymmetries is proposed and it is demonstrated how these differences might radically affect the conduct of medieval warfare.