Medieval
The Pirate War, 1402–1404 Part IV
In England lessons were being learned from the debacle at Plymouth. During October, as reports came in from Calais of Saint-Pol’s activities, coast-guards were mobilised in the maritime counties, regional commanders assigned to them and beacons prepared on cliff-tops for the first time in more than two decades. Two new admirals were appointed, the King’s half-brother Sir Thomas Beaufort for…
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The Pirate War, 1402–1404 Part IV
In England lessons were being learned from the debacle at Plymouth. During October, as reports came in from Calais of Saint-Pol’s activities, coast-guards were mobilised in the maritime counties, regional commanders assigned to them and beacons prepared on cliff-tops for the first time in more than two decades. Two new…
Merlin’s Prophecy I
 The Eagle of the broken covenant …  Shall rejoice in her third nesting. —Geoffrey of Monmouth, “The Prophecies of Merlin” They found the tomb deep in the earth between two stone monuments erected so long before that no one could remember what they signified or what the words…
Merlin’s Prophecy II
Although historians now question whether Eleanor’s famed court of love ever existed, the ideals behind courtly love were unquestionably held in high esteem at the court of Poitiers. Key to the concept was a new role envisioned for women, in which the suitor became his beloved’s vassal in love, learning…
The Mongol Invasion of Hungary 1241 and its Consequences I
“In this year, after existing for 350 years, the kingdom of Hungary was annihilated by the Tatars.” This terse statement by the Bavarian monk Hermann of Niederaltaich appears in the annals of his monastery for the year 1241. At almost the same time, the Emperor Frederick II wrote to the…
The Mongol Invasion of Hungary 1241 and its Consequences II
Fear of a second Mongol invasion was bizarrely echoed even in King BĂ©la’s dynastic policy. He wrote in a letter to the Pope: “In the interests of Christianity, we let our royal dignity suffer humiliation by betrothing two of our daughters to Ruthenian princes and the third to a Pole,…
The Battle of Tannenberg 1410 Part III
What the grand master did not understand was the need to remain calm and rational. When scouts reported to him that the invaders had gone as far as Gilgenberg and had burned the city, inflicting indescribable outrages on the citizens, Jungingen’s temper flared. No more positional warfare – he would…