Tag Archives: Siege Engines

The Tower of London and the garderobae armorum

The Tower of London and the garderobae armorum Randall Storey Royal Armouries Yearbook: 3 (1998) The history of such a treasured monument as the Tower of London is a famed account full of epic events and infamous deeds. Its place … Continue reading

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Oliver of Paderborn and his siege engine at Damietta

Oliver of Paderborn and his siege engine at Damietta Dominic Francis Nottingham Medieval Studies: v.37 (1993) In the hot weeks of August 1218, the soldiers of the German and Frisian contingents involved in the Fifth Crusade laboured hard to build an … Continue reading

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Medieval warfare from The King’s Mirror, a thirteenth century Norwegian text

This Norwegian work, written in the mid-13th century, is in the style of a son asking his father various questions, ranging from the reasons for the shorter days in Scandinavian lands to the power and authority of kings.  Halfway through chapter 36, … Continue reading

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Black Camels and Blazing Bolts: The Bolt-Projecting Trebuchet in the Mamluk Army

Black Camels and Blazing Bolts: The Bolt-Projecting Trebuchet in the Mamluk Army By Paul E. Chevedden Mamluk Studies Review, Vol. 8:1 (2004) The Mamluks pioneered the use of gunpowder ordnance, but their principal piece of heavy artillery was “the crushing, … Continue reading

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Medieval siege warfare: A reconnaissance

Medieval siege warfare: A reconnaissance Bernard S. Bachrach The Journal of Military History, vol. 58 no. 1 (January, 1994) Abstract Historians writing during the later nineteenth and the twentieth centuries unambiguously recognized the importance, indeed the central role, played by siege … Continue reading

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French Chronicle of London: Naval Battle of Sluys (1340), Siege of Tournai (1341)

The French Chronicle of London, detailing events from 1259 to 1343, provides one of the best accounts of the naval battle of Sluys, and the siege of Tournai by Edward III in 1340. 12 Edward III. [A.D. 1337, 8]. Henry … Continue reading

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The First Crusade (1095-99), A short narrative from contemporary sources.

If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me… Continue reading

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Matthew of Edessa, Chronicle, Warfare in the Crusader States (1104-1127)

The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa is considered by scholars to be a primary source of major importance for the history of the Near East during the period of the early Crusades.  This work relates events that occurred between the … Continue reading

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Walter of Exeter, Siege of Carlaverock

This poem, written in French, is thought to be authored by Walter of Exeter, a Franciscan friar.  The story details the siege of the Scottish castle of Carlaverock in July 1300 by Edward I.  The first portion of the poem … Continue reading

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John Cantacuzenus, “History”, The War of Galata (1348)

One of the most important figures in the history of fourteenth century Byzantium was John Cantacuzenus, a military commander under Andronicus III, who then rebelled against the regency government of Anna of Savoy, and himself emperor from 1347 to 1354.  … Continue reading

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Chronicle of James the Conqueror, Siege of Burriana (1233)

James I, King of Aragon (1208-76), king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1213-76), was nicknamed the Conquerer because of his many wars and conquests, which included the capture of the Balearic Islands (1229-35) and Valencia (1238) form the Moors, … Continue reading

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