On the winter morning of Tuesday, November 7, 1189, the rebel forces of Miles of Gloucester approached the town of Worcester. Miles of Gloucester was part of the rebel army who opposed King Stephen, and his army came to Worcester to lay waste to it and burn it to the… Read More »Battles in Medieval History: The Siege of Worcester, 1139
During the medieval period, the Catholic Church condemned any sect of Christianity as heresy that differed from the tradional Catholic teachings. One of these sects, called the Albigensians (or Cathars), came out of southern France, and Pope Innocent III saw this group as a threat to the unity of Chirstendom… Read More »The Albigensian Crusade
Aethelbad’s War Date: 733 – 750 Aethelbad’s War involved the kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex, and Northumbria. The Mercian king, Aethelbad (r. 716 – 757), and his cousin Offa — who was to be Athelbad’s successor — invaded Wessex and Northumbria with the vision of unifying England under Mercian rule. At… Read More »Famous Wars in Medieval History: Aethelbad’s War
I’m hoping to keep up a regular segment of famous battles in medieval history. These posts are intended to be short summaries of the battles and the circumstances surrounding the event, nothing too lengthy. The first battle is the Battle of Fontenay, fought on June 25, 841, in eastern France.… Read More »Famous Battles in Medieval History: The Battle of Fontenay
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place on September 25th, 1066, between Harold Godwinson (Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England) and his brother Tostig, who had allied himself with Harald Sigurdsson (“Hardrada”), the King of Norway. This battle proceeded the famous Battle of Hastings between Duke William of… Read More »Today in Medieval History: The Battle of Stamford Bridge
Constructed in little more than 12 months by Richard I of England (“The Lionheart”), Chateau Gaillard was an imposing castle upon the French landscape, built to deter King Philip Augustus of France from invading Richard’s Norman territories. The stronghold was placed along the Seine River on a cliff extending above… Read More »The Siege of Chateau Gaillard