A right to bear arms?

"The history of firearm use and possession is a topic of considerable contemporary debate. Yet, what do we actually know about firearms in the Anglo-American tradition? How is the history of firearms taught and remembered? In recent years historians and legal scholars have examined different threads of the densely interwoven relationships between firearms and American culture and society. This history stretches back to 14th-century England and includes locations as diverse as Puritan Massachusetts and 19th-century Dodge City"--Provided by publisher.