Raiders and Traders: The Vikings Conquer England
The end of the first millennium AD saw a turning point for England. After decades of security, the independent kingdom once again came under attack…
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…
Battle of Mohács – The Ottoman Victory That Divided Hungary
The Battle of Mohács was part of the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars. It was a key victory for the Ottomans. The defeat of the Hungarians and their…
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…
The Crusade of Las Navas de Tolosa – The Spark of Hope For The Spanish Reconquista
The Crusade of Las Navas de Tolosa was a major turning point in the history if the Iberian Peninsula. The Crusaders won a decisive victory…
Making Magna Carta: King John’s Civil War
The very foundation of the English constitution is based in conflict. Magna Carta, the basis of much English law, was written in a failed attempt…
The Battle For Spices and Control Over The Most Important Naval Trade Route
In 1509, a major conflict during the Portuguese naval expansion in the Indian Ocean would pit the Portuguese Empire against a powerful alliance. Portugal’s hunger…
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…
Charles the Bold, Burgundy’s Flawed Reforming Warlord
Charles the Bold was a man who could have changed the face of Europe. Inheriting the Valois duchy of Burgundy in 1467, he was one…
Circling the 15th Century Wagons: The Hussite Wars
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…
The Crusade of Varna
In the beginning of the 15th century, the Crusader army went deep into the realms conquered by the Ottomans and fought them in several bloody…
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…