Medieval | War History

The Causes Of The English Civil Wars – Some Of The Most Destructive Conflicts In British History

By Guest Blogger Jemahl Evans The English Civil Wars (there were three, involving all the nations of the British Isles) were some of the most destructive…

How To Build An Army In The Harsh World Of Medieval England

Recruiting an army could be a difficult business in the Middle Ages. Most people’s lives consisted of farming small patches of land. When people didn’t…

Who Led The Knights And How: Military Leadership In The Hundred Years War

Andrew Knighton

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…

Land Forces of the Hundred Years War – A War That Seemed To Have No End

Andrew Knighton

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 Longbow: Its Rise and Dominance – It Totally Changed Medieval Warfare

Andrew Knighton

The growing effectiveness of metal armor created a challenge for medieval soldiers. While the elite of knights and men-at-arms were now well protected, the majority…

How Artillery Evolved During The Brutal And Merciless 100 Years War

Andrew Knighton

The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) saw the first appearances of gunpowder artillery in English and French warfare. These fearsome weapons, which had been largely unused…

Arab Women Shame Their Fleeing Men Back Towards the Fight At The Battle of Yarmouk

Most people are familiar with the general history of the Arab expansion after the death of Mohammad. The Arabs didn’t sit idly in Saudi Arabia,…

When A Bloody Medieval War Was Fought Because Of A Bucket Full of Treasure

Shahan Russell

In 1325, two armies clashed near what is today the Italian town of Castello di Serravalle in the region of Emilia-Romagna. It was a huge…

10 Medieval Knightly Orders – And What Made Each One Unique

Andrew Knighton

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…

How Muslims Responded To The Crusades

Andrew Knighton

For Muslims living in the Holy Land, the arrival of Christian crusaders from the late 11th century onwards was hugely disruptive. It brought misery to…

7 Types of Medieval Armor – From Quilted Cloth to Full Steel Plate

Andrew Knighton

More than any other artifact of war, armor dominates visual images of medieval Europe. From the chainmail carefully stitched onto each warrior in the Bayeux…

Siege of Vienna: Led by a Mercenary, This Desperate Army Turned the Tide on the Ottoman Empire

For four hundred years, the Crusades had seen European powers take war deep into lands far from home, under the banner of Christianity. The clash…