Battles, Warfare & Weaponry

By Princess Charlotte (Medieval Warfare Specialist) There's something I need to clear up. The Hundred Years' War did not last one hundred years. It lasted an impressive 116 years and ran between 1337 to 1453. And whilst I hugely appreciate that 'The One Hundred and Sixteen Years' War' doesn't have the same ring to it, accuracy matters. Now that is out of the system...why did it start? Like many medieval arguments, it started with land, power and a disagreement over who was en

History has a habit of making the Middle Ages look surprisingly tidy. The Romans disappear. Castles start to appear (everywhere). Knights arrive. Everyone starts speaking in suspiciously Shakespearean English. Lots of fighting. That's not what happened.

Who were the Goths, Vandals, Franks and Anglo-Saxons? A child-friendly guide to four peoples who shaped medieval Europe, from Charlemagne to Alfred the Great, by the author of The Good Knight.

By the summer of 1485, England had spent decades trapped in a bitter struggle between rival branches of the royal family. Kings had been deposed. Princes had strangely disappeared. Noble families had changed sides repeatedly. Nobody seemed entirely sure who would be in charge from one year to the next. Then came Bosworth, which saw the death of a king and beginning of a new dynasty that would forever change England.

Every country has a battle that becomes legend. For England, that battle is Agincourt. Even people who know very little medieval history have heard of it. And for once, the real story is every bit as dramatic as the myth. On 25 October 1415, King Henry V found himself trapped and outnumbered 5-to-1 against a far superior French army. Experts believe that there were just 6,000 English soldiers, up against a terrifying sight of up to 30,000 Frenchmen.

By Princess Charlotte (Medieval Warfare Expert) If medieval warfare had a moment when everyone realised the old rules no longer applied, it happened on a hillside in northern France on the 26th August, 1346. When we mention the Battle of Crécy we really should be talking about a French victory that looked pretty inevitable when the two armies met. The English army, led by King Edward III had other ideas. King Edward III's English army was tired, outnumbered and deep inside en

On the morning of 14 October 1066, King Harold Godwinson stood on a ridge in Sussex facing an invading army led by William, Duke of Normandy. By sunset, Harold was dead. England would never be the same again.

A quick overview explaining the Crusades - what they were, why they happened and what did they achieve?