What was the role of the Blacksmith in medieval society?
It must be asked ‘what was there in the life of a blacksmith aside form hammering out swords for lords?’ What sort of world did he inhabit and what were the rules he had to play by?
It’s in the Water: Byzantine Borderlands and the Village War
The sources for this essay are a series of military manuals written by Byzantine army commanders first in the late sixth century and then again in the tenth century.
Fiore dei Liberi: Master of the Sword
Have you ever wondered how medieval people really fought with swords?
Attitudes Towards Chivalry in Barbour’s Bruce and Hary’s Wallace
In particular, it will consider the way each author explores themes of prudence, friendship and loyalty as expressed through oath-making for what these themes tell us about Barbour and Hary’s engagement with chivalry.
The Vigilante Empire: The Pinnacle of Saffarid Power and the Dynasty’s Fall from Grace
As Yaqub ibn Layth gained power and followers, his ambitions grew, ultimately leading to a confrontation with the Abbasid Caliphate.
‘Arrayed as if for War’: Tactical innovation and technological change in Late Medieval and Early Modern rebellions (1381-1554)
Rebellion in Late-Medieval and Early Modern England has generally been regarded as posing little military threat to the realm, with conflicts between loyalists and insurgents commonly dismissed as one-sided routs of hopelessly outclassed, poorly armed peasants.
The Coppersmith Vigilante: The Rise of the Saffarids
During the ninth century a simple craftsmen would take up arms, hoping to put an end to the warfare and violence plaguing his corner of the world. In the first part of the story of Saffarid Dynasty, Adam Ali tells the story of coppersmith who would form an empire and challenge the rulers of Baghdad.
A Murder, a Siege, and Too Many Successors: How Flanders descended into Civil War in 1127
Read the Introduction to Medieval Warfare magazine’s Issue VII:5 – The murder of Charles the Good.
The Medieval Art of Riding: King Duarte’s Advice on Horsemanship
Not only practical for those who wish to hone their equestrian skills, they also give us a glimpse into Duarte’s mind and the medieval art of riding at large.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval Church as a Military Power
By the late 11th century the Roman Catholic Church began to evolve into a distinctive – and powerful – controller of military power.
The service patterns and social-economic status of English archers, 1367-1417
This thesis is a study of the men who served as archers in the armies of the English kings between 1367 and 1417. However, the focus is not the archers in their military capacity, but the motivations behind their service and their position in late medieval English society.
For the want of Emma: What if the Vikings had won the Battle of Stamford Bridge?
If you could alter history, change one subtle event, what would you pick? For a Viking fan, the answer might be as simple as it is iconic.
Searching for Brunanburh: The Yorkshire Context of the ‘Great War’ of 937
The location of Brunanburh, however, is still an unsolved mystery. For the last 300 years or more, antiquarians and historians have puzzled over the question. Over thirty sites have been suggested, but none has passed rigorous scrutiny, let alone gained general acceptance.
Medieval Geopolitics: War in the Medieval Mind
How was war understood in late medieval culture?
Shieldmaidens in the Gesta Danorum (I-IX): The collective literary imaginary and history
In this thesis, I will investigate whether shieldmaidens’ symbolic meaning in the collective imaginary had originates in a timeless heritage or whether they are the re-elaboration of specific figures.
Shock and Awe: The use of terror as a psychological weapon during the Bruce-Balliol Civil War, 1332-38
Ravaging land, burning crops, stealing livestock and killing peasants: this is how war was fought in the middle ages. These tactics constituted a form of warfare that minimised the dangers of meeting an enemy in battle, while maximising the destruction that could be inflicted upon the opposition.
The Failure of Magna Carta
The Introduction to the Medieval Warfare magazine issue on ‘A War for England – the First Barons’ War’
The return to hill forts in the Dark Ages: what can this tell us about post-Roman Britain?
After being abandoned for nearly 400 years, some of the ancient Iron Age hill forts were re-occupied and re-fortified in the later fifth and early sixth centuries. Interestingly, some ‘new’ hill forts were also erected at this time.
Scoundrels, Dogs and Heathens: Christian Mercenaries in the Almohad Caliphate, 1121-1269
This article examines the complex phenomena of the Farfan, a Christian knight serving a Muslim ruler during the religious wars of 13th century Iberia.
The Fourth Crusade and the Problem of Food Provision in The Accounts of Robert De Clari and Geoffroy De Villehardouin
The analysis discusses their account of food provision and how Crusaders managed to provide for themselves during their journey from Venice to Constantinople in the period between June 1202 and May 1204.
Why did the Vikings attack?
For women, slaves, or in self-defence – what made the Vikings explode out of Denmark and Norway around the year 800?
Blood Cries Afar: The Forgotten Invasion of England, 1216
The large French expeditionary force that landed in England in May 1216 allied with baronial rebels against King John to divide the country for eighteen months. For a year the French occupied and ruled the richest one-third of England, including the capital, London.
Fighting in women’s clothes: The pictorial evidence of Walpurgis in Ms. I.33
Ms. I.33 is not only the oldest of the known fencing treatises in European context, it is also the only one showing a woman fighting equally with contemporary men.
Who were the Templars?
The idea of the Knights Templar looked good on paper. Have knights from across Europe join a monastic order that would defend the Holy Land from non-Christians. They would be devout warriors fighting on behalf of God, an example for all of Christendom. What could go wrong?
