The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare

Jim Bradbury

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781134598465
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

This comprehensive volume provides easily-accessible factual material on all major areas of warfare in the medieval west. The whole geographical area of medieval Europe, including eastern Europe, is covered, including essential elements from outside Europe such as Byzantine warfare, nomadic horde invasions and the Crusades.

Progressing chronologically, the work is presented in themed, illustrated sections, with a narrative outline offering a brief introduction to the area. Within each chronological section, Jim Bradbury presents clear and informative pieces on battles, sieges, and generals.

The author examines practical topics including:

• castle architecture, with examinations of specific castles
• ship building techniques
• improvements in armour
• specific weapons
• developments in areas such as arms and armour, fortifications, tactics and supply.

Readable and engaging, this detailed provides students with an excellent collection of archaeological information and clear discussions of controversial issues.

PART I

Generals and leaders, A–Z

Generals and leaders, A–Z

ABD-AL-RĀHMAN III, AL-NĀSIR (THE VICTORIOUS), CALIPH OF CÓRDOBA (889–961)

Umayyad Emir of Córdoba from 912, Caliph from 929. This was the start of an independent Iberian Muslim state – al-Andalus. From a reduced territory around Córdoba he expanded his power over much of Iberia, uniting the Muslims and taking tribute from Christian powers. His rule is seen as the golden age of the caliphate. His successes included the taking of Seville, Beja and Toledo. He defeated León at Pamplona in 920. He suffered defeat by Ramiro II of León at Simancas and Alhandega in 939, and at Talavera in 951, but lost little territory. His interests moved to North Africa where he captured Ceuta in 931 and Tangier in 951. He developed a Mediterranean navy. He was succeeded by his son al-Hakim II.

ABŪ YŪSUF YA’QŪB, AL-MANSŪR, ALMOHAD CALIPH (d.1199)

Caliph from 1184. He assumed al-Mansūr (the victorious) as a title. His reign in North Africa began with a six-year civil war, which allowed the Christian Reconquista in Iberia to advance. Abū Yūsuf took an army to Iberia in 1190. In 1191 he recovered Silves from Portugal. In 1195 he defeated Alfonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos. He besieged Madrid in 1197 but failed to take it. On his return to Marakesh in 1198 he fell ill and died in January 1199. He was succeeded by his son al-Nāsir.

ADHÉMAR (OF MONTEIL) OF LE PUY (d.1098)

Adhémar of Monteil, bishop of Le Puy, was the religious leader of the First Crusade. His ancestors were the Counts of Valentinois. In 1086 he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He was the first to take the crusading vow at Clermont-Ferrand in 1095 and was appointed by Urban II to lead the crusaders. Le Puy was the assembly point for the Crusade. Although the People’s Crusade ignored this and went ahead, most knightly leaders brought their men to Le Puy. Adhémar travelled with Raymond of Toulouse and helped give unity to the Crusade. Before reaching Constantinople Adhémar was wounded and captured by Pechenegs, though released when found to be a bishop. He died on 1 August of disease (probably typhoid) at Antioch, a loss to the Crusade’s unity.

AEGIDIUS (d.464)

Roman general for Emperor Majorian, a member of the Syagrii family, Gallo-Roman aristocrats near Lyons. At Soissons he established a Roman enclave, which Gregory of Tours called a kingdom. He defeated Odoacer at Angers, and the Visigoths at Orléans, 463. He favoured an alliance with the Vandals, possibly the reason for his death by poisoning. He was succeeded by his son Syagrius. Through Aegidius the region became the land of the Franks rather than the Goths.

AELLE, KING OF SUSSEX

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle he led the south coast invasion in 477 with his sons, Cymen, Wlencing and Cissa. They landed at Cymenes ora (Cymen’s landing place), probably Selsey Bill. In 485 Aelle defeated the British at Mearcredesburna on an unidentified river frontier. They were driven into the forest of the Weald. Aelle captured the stronghold of Anderida (Pevensey) in 491 and slaughtered all within. He established the kingdom of the South Saxons (Sussex) and was named first Bretwalda (wide ruler), showing his prominent position in the early invasion period. He may have ruled an area greater than Sussex. Several Sussex names derive from his sons, including Chichester from Cissa – renaming the old Roman town – and Lancing from Wlencing.

AETHELRED II, UNRAED (THE UNREADY) (c.966–1016)

King of England from 978, son of Edgar. He became king at the age of about 12 when his half-brother, Edward (the Martyr), was murdered at Corfe possibly with the connivance of Aethelred’s mother. Aethelred’s second marriage in 1002 was to Emma, daughter of Richard I duke of Normandy, a continental alliance with far-reaching consequences. The nickname ‘Unraed’ (‘badly advised’ rather than ‘unready’) was applied after his death and was a pun on his name Aethelred, which meant ‘well advised’. His failures came largely from Scandinavian threats, including invasions by Ólaf Tryggvason, Thorkell the Tall and Sweyn Forkbeard. Ólaf won the Battle of Maldon in 991. Aethelred has been widely criticised for paying danegeld on five occasions, but these tributes bought time. He did combat the Scandinavians at sea. Internal opposition from Eadric Streona weakened England against outside attack. Aethelred was accused of attempting to kill all the Danes in England in the St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002, though his aims were probably more restricted. Nevertheless the act provoked Scandinavian retaliation. Sweyn Forkbeard invaded England in 1013 and forced Aethelred into exile in Normandy. He returned on Sweyn’s death but soon died, leaving his son Edmund to dispute the kingdom with Cnut.

AETHELSTAN (ATHELSTAN) (894–939)

King of England from 924 (crowned 925), on the death of his father Edward the Elder. He continued to rule all the English. His father’s base was Wessex but Aethelstan was brought up in Mercia. The kingdom of England was practically completed by his northern conquests. He ruled Northumbria, Wessex and Mercia and took over the Viking kingdom of York. In 934 he invaded Scotland. At Brunanburh in 937 he overcame his northern enemies – the Scots, Irish and men of Strathclyde. Under him the Wye became the Anglo-Welsh frontier. Aethelstan established power over British Cornwall. He had continental interests and his fleet intervened in Francia. He issued four law codes. He had neither wife nor children and died on 27 October.

AËTIUS (c.390–454)

A general during the collapse of the western Roman Empire, sometimes called ‘the last of the Romans’. He was the main power in Gaul after his victory over his rival Boniface. He halted Visigothic expansion towards the Rhône in 436. He used barbarian troops in his armies, including the Huns, defeating the Burgundians who had established themselves on the Rhine. They moved instead to Burgundy, between Lyons and Geneva. In alliance with Burgundians, Visgoths and Franks, he defeated Attila the Hun in 451 at the Catalaunian Plains, keeping the Huns out of Gaul. In 454 he was assassinated through Valentinian III. His followers in turn killed the emperor in 455.

AFONSO ENRIQUES, KING OF PORTUGAL (1110–85)

Ruler of the county of Portugal and its first king – son and successor of Henry of Burgundy count of Portugal, who died in 1112. He overcame the hostile force of his mother Teresa. He won victories over the Muslims, notably at Ourique in 1139. In 1140 he declared himself King of Portugal, recognised by Castile in 1143. By 1147 he extended his authority south to the Tagus. He took Lisbon in 1147 with aid from the Second Crusade. He was captured by the Muslims at Badajoz 1169 but was later released. He captured Santarem in 1171. In 1184 Yūsuf invaded Portugal but his death in that year ended the attempt. Afonso died on 6 December and was succeeded by his son Sancho I.

AISTULF, KING OF THE LOMBARDS (d.756)

King from 749, he contributed to making the Lombard Laws, including that men should possess arms appropriate to their wealth. In 751 he seized the Exarchate of Ravenna from the Byzantines. Aistulf posed a threat to the papacy, invading the duchy of Rome in 752. He was forced to accept peace but broke the agreed terms. In 754 Pope Stephen II travelled to Francia seeking aid against him. Pepin the Short, by the Donation of Pepin, promised to restore what the Lombards had taken. In return the pope made Pepin and his sons patricians and recognised the dynastic change in Francia from Merovingians to Carolingians. Carloman, brother of Pepin the Short, represented the Lombards in negotiations but was imprisoned for his trouble. Aistulf refused to yield to Pepin’s demands and the latter invaded Lombardy to fulfil his promise to the pope. The Lombards were defeated in the Valley of Susa in 755 and the Franks besieged Pavia where Aistulf took refuge. He agreed terms while Pavia was still holding out but broke his promises within the year. Pepin with Tassilo of Bavaria invaded again in 756. Pavia was besieged and Aistulf surrendered, dying shortly afterwards when thrown from his horse against a tree while hunting. He left no heir. Pepin the Short initiated the process that would lead to Frankish rule of Lombardy.

ALARIC I, KING OF THE VISIGOTHS (c.370–410)

King from 395 who sacked Rome. He established authority over the Visigoths in the Balkans, acting as commander for the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I, fighting in the victory at Frigidius in 394. He defeated the usurper Eugenius but rebelled against Theodosius and moved west with his people, invading Italy in 401. He was defeated by the Roman commander Stilicho at Pollentia in 402, making peace in 407. Alaric was disappointed not to receive greater recognition within the Roman Empire. When Stilicho was executed by the Western Emperor Honorius in 408, Alaric rebelled again. His people caused devastation in Italy and attacked Rome, which he besieged three times, taking it in 410 – seen as a vital moment in the collapse of the Western Empire. It was the first time that outsiders had taken the city since the Gauls in 390 BC. Alaric planned to invade Sicily and Africa but storms destroyed his fleet. He died at Cosenza and was buried in the bed of the River Busentus.

AL-ASHRAF, SULTAN OF EGYPT (d.1293)

Al-Malik al-Ashraf Khalil was the son of Qalawun, whom he succeeded in 1290 as Mamluke Sultan. Qalawun on his deathbed made him promise to continue attacking the Christians. Al-Ashraf overcame a palace plot and led the final assault on the crusading state, besieging Acre in 1291. He brought a large army and a hundred siege engines, camping opposite the Tower of the Legate. Acre fell in less than a month and was razed to the ground. The few remaining Christian strongholds soon surrendered or were taken. Al-Ashraf made advances in Armenia in 1292. He was murdered on 13 December by his own emirs, fearing his ambitions. He was succeeded by his son al-Nasir who brought trophies from Acre to decorate his father’s tomb in Cairo.

ALBERT (ALBRECHT) II, HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR (1397–1439)

King of the Romans from 1438, establishing Habsburg rule of the Holy Roman Empire until its collapse in 1806 (with a gap 1742–65). The last Luxembourg emperor died in 1438. Albert had shown himself an able military commander. He was made Margrave of Moravia by Emperor Sigismund, whose daughter he married. He shared rule of Austria with his brother Leopold. Leopold was killed at Sempach against the Swiss. Albert duke of Austria was elected emperor at Frankfurt. He succeeded Sigismund as king in Hungary and Bohemia. His reign was disturbed by the break-up of imperial power and the separate claims of Poland, Hungary and Bohemia. Albert died on 27 October having become ill campaigning against the Turks in Hungary. Albert’s posthumous son, Ladislas, succeeded to Bohemia.

ALBOIN, KING OF THE LOMBARDS (d. c.572)

He led the Lombards from Pannonia (Hungary) to invade and settle Italy from 568. He besieged Pavia while other Lombards attacked the Franks. It was three years before Pavia surrendered. Alboin defeated the Ostrogoths and married Rosamond, daughter of the King of the Gepids. He established the kingdom of Lombardy in northern Italy, with his capital at Verona. His wife, previously made to drink from the skull of her murdered father, poisoned him in revenge and then married her fellow conspirator.

ALBRET, CHARLES D’ (d.1415)

Leader of the French army at Agincourt, Constable of France. In 1368 his father, the Lord of Albret in Gascony, appealed against the authority of the Black Prince to the King of France. Charles’ mother was Margaret of Bourbon, related to the Valois kings. He fought for Charles VI at Roosebeke in 1382 and in 1390 went on crusade to Tunis. He inherited the Albret lordship in 1401. He married Marie de Sully. Charles opposed the English in the south, extending French control to the Dordogne by 1405. He was appointed Constable in 1403. He advanced from Poitou and captured all the fortresses south of Saintonge. After 1407 he switched to the Orléanist party and lost his position as Master of Crossbowmen and Constable. He turned to Henry IV of England for aid. In 1412 he was besieged in Bourges. In 1413 he regained the Constableship and was made castellan of Melun. He was with the royal army that besieged Compiègne in 1414. When Henry V invaded Normandy Charles pursued Henry V. When the French attacked at Agincourt Charles commanded the French van with Marshal Boucicaut. He was killed in the battle and buried in the Friary Church at Hesdin. His son Charles succeeded to the lordship.

ALEXANDER II, KING OF SCOTS (1198–1249)

King from 1214 on the death of his father, William the Lion. Alexander invaded England against John in alliance with English rebels and Louis of France. Alexander won territory in the north but was beaten in 1216 near London. In 1222 he took Argyll from its Viking rulers. He made peace with England, marrying Henry III’s sister Joan. In 1237, by the Treaty of York, he abandoned claims to Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland, defining the Anglo-Scottish frontier. He sought to win the Western Isles but died on the island of Kerrera in Oban Bay on 8 July and was succeeded by his son Alexander III.

ALEXANDER III, KING OF SCOTS (1241–86)

King from 1249 on the death of his father Alexander II though he only assumed power in 1260. His mother was Margaret de Coucy, Alexander II’s second wife. There were divisions during the minority between the Comyns and the Durwards. Alexander continued efforts to win the Western Isles and the Isle of Man from Norway. He won the Battle of Largs in 1263 and Norway submitted in 1266 by the Treaty of Perth. Alexander married first Margaret daughter of Henry III and then Yolande de Dreux. The reign was later seen as a golden age. Three of his children died in the 1280s and Alexander died on 19 March when thrown from his horse, leaving no male successor.

ALEXIUS I COMNENUS, BYZANTINE EMPEROR (1048–1118)

Emperor from 1081, restoring much imperial territory. He was emperor during the First Crusade and the hero of his daughter Anna Comnena’s Alexiad. His wife was Irene. He commanded armies before becoming emperor and was an able diplomat. He succeeded through a coup against Nikephorus III. He faced attacks on Byzantine territory by the Italian Normans under Robert Guiscard, including an attempt on Durazzo that was held off. He defeated the Pechengs at Levunium. He employed Turkish mercenaries and allied with Venice, to whom he granted privileges. Alexius recovered territory in Europe. He rebuilt the navy, regaining Crete and Cyprus. He manoeuvred the Franks on the First Crusade through his territory and into Asia Minor. As a result of the Crusade’s success he recovered much of Anatolia from the Turks. He received some recognition from the new crusading states. His son John II succeeded.

ALEXIUS IV ANGELUS, BYZANTINE EMPEROR (d.1204)

Emperor during the Fourth Crusade. He sought aid from the west for his father, the deposed and blinded Isaac II. He attended a conference that led to the Fourth Crusade. When the crusaders attacked Constantinople in 1203, Alexius III fled. Isaac II was released from prison, and his son Alexius IV became co-emperor. He broke his promises to the crusaders and failed to destroy the Venetian fleet. Murzuphlus, son-in-law of Alexius III, led a rebellion in Constantinople. Alexius IV was garrotted and Murzuphlus became Alexius V. The crusaders captured Constantinople and set up the Latin Empire.

ALEXIUS V DUKAS (MURZUPHLUS/BLACK-BROWED), BYZANTINE EMPEROR (d.1205)

Took power during the attack on Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade. Alexius III fled from the attackers. The nickname Murzuphlus referred to his bushy black eyebrows. He rebelled against Alexius IV and Isaac II. Alexius IV was put to death. Murzuphlus took the throne as Alexius V in 1204. He led the defence against a renewed Frankish attack but, when the Franks broke in, he fled to Thrace. He married Eudocia, daughter of Alexius III. He quarrelled with his father-in-law who had him blinded. He was captured by the Franks, taken to Constantinople, and thrown to his death from the column of Theodosius.

ALFONSO I, EL BATTALADOR (THE BATTLER), KING OF ARAGÓN (1073–1134)

King of Aragón and Navarre from 1104, succeeding his brother Pedro I. He married Urraca of Castile in 1109 but the marriage failed. Alfonso may have been impotent. He defeated Urraca’s troops at Sepúlveda in 1111. His efforts advanced the Reconquista and made Aragón a major Iberian power. He conquered the Ebro Valley and captured Zaragoza in 1118. From 1125 he raided south against Valencia, Granada and Málaga. He established Extremadura on the frontier, organised in new military zones. In 1133 he captured Mequinenza but was defeated by the Muslims at Fraga in 1134. He died on 7 September, when his lands were divided.

ALFONSO III, THE GREAT, KING OF ASTURIAS (d.910)

King from 866 of the small northern Iberian kingdom of Oviedo. He advanced the Christian frontier, defeating the Muslims of Toledo in 874. He took over Zamora and Toro on the Duero. His power extended westwards to Coimbra. His name is attached to a chronicle of early medieval Spain. He was succeeded in turn by his sons García and Ordoño II.

ALFONSO VI, KING OF CASTILE AND LEÓN (1030–1109)

King from 1065, initially in León, son and successor of Ferdinand I. He called himself King of León and later Emperor of all Spain. He defeated his brother Sancho II and took over Castile in 1070. Sancho died in 1072...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Part I Generals and leaders, A–Z
• Part II Military events
• Part III Military topics
• Part IV Further information
• Maps
• Bibliography of Atlases
• Pedigrees of Major Dynasties
• A Chronology of Military Events, 400–1500
• List of Illustrations
• Permissions and Credits
• Index