15 August
The Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne’s army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain, after his invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. Continue reading “778 – The Battle of Roncevaux Pass”
22 July
The Old Swiss Confederacy decisively defeat the army of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor on this day in 1499 and establish a de facto independence of Switzerland from the Holy Roman Empire. Continue reading “1499 – Battle of Dornach”
4 July
During the Crusades, Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin on this day in 1187. Continue reading “1187 – The Battle of Hattin”
30 June
The Battle of Arbedo was fought on this day in 1422 between the Duchy of Milan and the Swiss Confederation. Continue reading “1422 – Battle of Arbedo”
28 June
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was the King of England from 4 March 1461 (crowned on this day in 1461) until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. Continue reading “1461 – Edward IV is crowned King of England”
15 June
On this day in 1215, King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta Libertatum (commonly known as Magna Carta).
24 May
The Fifth Crusade (1213–1221) was an attempt by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt.
Continue reading “1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt”
15 April
The Battle of Formigny occurred on this day in 1450 near the end of the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between the crowns of England and France.
7 April
The Corpus Iuris Civilis (“Body of Civil Law”) is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor. It is also sometimes referred to as the Code of Justinian, although this name belongs more properly to the part titled Codex Justinianus. Continue reading “529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis is issued”
6 April
Mehmed II or Mohammed II (30 March 1432 – 3 May 1481), best known as Mehmed the Conqueror, was an Ottoman sultan who ruled first for a short time from August 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to May 1481. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and brought an end to the Eastern Roman Empire. Mehmed continued his conquests in Anatolia with its reunification and in Southeast Europe as far west as Bosnia. Mehmed is considered a hero in modern-day Turkey and parts of the wider Muslim world. Among other things, Istanbul’s Fatih district, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Fatih Mosque are named after him.
Continue reading “1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople”
6 April
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death on this day in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy (as Richard IV), Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was known as Richard Cœur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. He was also known in Occitan as Oc e No (Yes and No), because of his reputation for terseness. Continue reading “1199 – King Richard I of England dies”
29 March
The Battle of Towton was fought during the English Wars of the Roses on this day in 1461, near the village of Towton in Yorkshire. It brought about a change of monarchs in England, with the victor, the Yorkist Edward, Duke of York—who became King Edward IV (1461–1483) having displaced the Lancastrian King Henry VI (1422–1461) as king, and thus drove the head of the Lancastrians and his key supporters out of the country. Continue reading “1461 – Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton”
26 March
The Combat of the Thirty occurred on this day in 1351 and was an episode in the Breton War of Succession, a war fought to determine who would rule the Duchy of Brittany. It was an arranged fight between picked combatants from both sides of the conflict. Continue reading “1351 – Combat of the Thirty”
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A medieval ship has been raised after half a millenium of resting on a riverbed in The Netherlands. Continue reading “Medieval trading ship raised to surface ‘almost intact’ after 500 years on riverbed in Netherlands “
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