10 Medieval Knightly Orders – And What Made Each One Unique
Combining knightly warfare and a monastic lifestyle, the knightly crusading orders were one of the strongest institutions of medieval Europe. Through them, men sought a…
The beginning of the end for the Teutonic Knights, Grunwald 1410
For more than two hundred years the might of the Order of Teutonic Knights had been steadily growing. It was forged in 1190, in the…
It Took A Huge Effort To Keep Armies Supplied During The Hundred Years War
Far from home and at constant threat of attack, the armies of the Hundred Years War between England and France were reliant on supply lines…
Who Led The Knights And How: Military Leadership In The Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years War was one of the most protracted wars of the Middle Ages. For over a century, the French and English monarchies battled…
The Night Attack – Vlad the Impaler ambushes the Ottoman Sultan
Mehmet II, known as Mehmet the Conqueror, was one of the greatest military commanders of his day. The Ottoman Empire under his rule was vast,…
Massive Towers, Unbreakable Walls, Terrifying Siege Engines – This Was The Hundred Years War
As the sun rises over the battlefield, a column of knights gallops towards the assembled infantry. Banners flutter and arrows hurtle through the air as…
Land Forces of the Hundred Years War – A War That Seemed To Have No End
Fought from 1337 to 1453, the Hundred Years War was one of the most significant conflicts of the late Middle Ages. As the Plantagenet kings of…
The Brutal Reality of Naval Warfare in the Hundred Years War
War at sea in the Middle Ages could be a terrible business. Rather than a firefight between ships, it consisted of fierce boarding actions with…
War Wagons: One of the Strangest Military Formations Ever Seen in Europe
One of the strangest military formations ever seen in Europe, Hussite war wagons struck fear into their opponents during the early 15th century. Fighting under…
6 Military Campaigns of Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Hohenstaufen, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, became Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire in 1152, succeeding his uncle Conrad III. With a…
Three Medieval Crusades in North Africa
The word “crusade” normally evokes images of war in the Middle East, with European crusaders fighting Muslim Arabs. But crusades took place all over Europe…
Krak des Chevaliers – The Impenetrable Castle, Captured With A Single Sheet of Paper
A hulking edifice of sun-bleached stone, Krak des Chevaliers loomed against a clear blue sky. How many men had died to hold those walls, and…