The new and improved Medieval Warfare

For those of you who have been taking a close look at the cover of MW III-6, recently made available for pre-order in our webshop, it might be possible that you’ve noted some differences compared to previous issues of Medieval Warfare. If you did, very observant; if not, then welcome to Medieval Warfare magazine; visit our shop here. (Or shame on you, if you aren’t new to MW!) 

As you can see, we have made several changes. For those of you who have already received or seen the new Ancient Warfare, this doesn’t come as a surprise. The traditional Medieval Warfare logo is replaced by another, the cover text has been moved to the left, and the contents are now visible on the bottom of the cover. This is all done so that the cover illustration would be much better visible, and not be partly obscured by the contents-text, though the theme title is still there, of course. The cover illustration, as all others before it, has been made by Giorgio Albertini. Giorgio has delivered some amazing artwork in the past, and we are truly grateful for everything he has done for Medieval Warfare. However, we felt that it was time for a change, not just in lay out, but in cover style as well. Thus, we have found another illustrator willing to provide the captivating artwork necessary for the cover. This man is Giuseppe Rava, how has had ample experience in the field of historical illustrating, and whose paintings have adorned several Ospreys and many other works of history already. Luckily for us, he has agreed to work for Medieval Warfare magazine, and, starting with MW IV.1, he will characterize the cover of each issue. His first work, for the very first Special of Medieval Warfare, has already been finished, and I can say that it looks truly amazing. For the many fans of Giorgio: don’t worry. We are pleased to tell you that Giorgio has agreed to continue working for Medieval Warfare; now his work will be used to accompany the articles within. 

Now, I hear you thinking: “Special? What’s he talking about”, and you would be right (if that was indeed what you were thinking). That, however, is for another blog, at another time. I can say, though, that you’ll be hearing much more very soon. 

For now, let’s return to MW III-6, as the cover is not the only thing which received a make-over. In about a week, the issue will arrive at our office, which means that and you’ll soon be able to check out the new lay out for yourself. In the meantime, here are some examples. As you can see, we’ve went from three to two columns, with the remaining columns being somewhat wider than before. The left over space on the sides is being used to place most of the pictures and the captions. In addition, we’ve used a different font, removed the background-colour, and made some minor colour changes overall.

The main reason for making these changes, aside from giving the magazine a new look, is to improve the readability of our articles. In the past years, we sometimes received some comments about the fact that the font was too small, and the overall lay out too crowded and chaotic, to read with ease. So, we’ve been working to correct these problems. Some of you might have been very content with the previous lay out, I’m sure, but we hope that you appreciate our new style nonetheless.

We hope you like the new lay out of Medieval Warfare. MW III-6 was sort of a trial, to see how it looked like, and how many words and pictures we could actually fit in. With a new illustrator for MW IV.1, our magazine will have received a complete make-over. For the skeptics among you: the articles are all written by the same experienced authors you are familiar with, the illustration are made by the same artists we’ve used before, and, as always, we will include new writers and illustrators in each and every issue and continue to try to improve our work. Thus, the best we can offer, but in a different format. 

At the moment, we’re also working on some new features for 2014, including a Special, and possibly a new standard feature on (re)producing equipment and blacksmithing. But more on that later.