Medieval Battles | Wars

Epic Medieval Battles & Wars | Date Order

• Battle of Tours *732
• Battle of the Standard 1138 *Battle of Northallerton
  
• Battle of Hastings *1066
• Battle of Bouvines *1214
• The Battle of Legnica *Battle of Liegnitz *1241
• Battle of Falkirk 1298
• Battle of Courtrai*1302 ‘Golden Spurs’
• Battle of Bannockburn 1314
• Battle of Halidon Hill *1333
• Hundred Years War 1337 – 1453 *116 Years
• Battle of Crécy  1346
• Battle of Poitiers 1356
• Battle of Nicopolis 1396
• Battle of Shrewsbury 1403
• Battle of Agincourt 1415
• Battle of Castillon 1453
• Wars of the Roses 1455 – 1487 *37 years
• Battle of Bosworth Field 1485 *End of Medieval Period

100 years wars 1337 – 1453 |116 years of Warfare

The Hundred years was the longest war in all history and actually raged for 116 years!

France was the largest kingdom in Western Europe and the ‘House of Plantagenet’ from the Angevin region of France ruled England, another Dynasty the French ‘House of Valois’ controlled France.

The House of Plantagenet wanted to rule France as well and declared war on the House of Valois.

Hundred Years War Important Battles

• Battle of Agincourt *1415
• Battle of Crécy *1346
• Battle of Poitiers *1356

Battle of Agincourt *1415

The 30,000-strong armies of King Henry traveled from England to the French port town of Harfleur with a formidable force of 5000 Knights ‘men at arms and archers, they were pitted against a French army that had approximately 30,000 to 100,000 troops.

The Battle of Agincourt was a short battle lasting hours, although an important victory for the English, it was just a battle within the 100 years war that was taking place between England and France which lasted for 116 years!

King Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 with an outnumbered army thanks to his longbowmen battle tactics

Battle of Crécy 1346

The Battle of Crécy in 1346 was one of the most important battles during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England.

Longbowmen and Crossbowmen helped to defeat the French at the battle of Crecy

This battle started a new era of warfare where main attention was paid to the infantry particularly longbowmen archers instead of armored knights.

Longbowmen infantry formations in the Battle of Crecy

The battle resulted in the victory of England over France and the Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years’ War concluded with a famous and memorable victory for England.

Battle of Poitiers 1356

The Battle of Poitiers was once again a battle within a much larger conflict ‘The Hundred Years War.

The Battle started in Sept 1356 close to the City of Poitiers in western France.

The Battle of Poitiers was a major English victory in the Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years’ War. It was fought on 19 September 1356 in Nouaillé, near the city of Poitiers in Aquitaine, western France.

The Battle ended with the victorious English, Welsh, Breton, and Gascon soldiers led by ‘Edward the Black Prince’ overcoming a larger French army that was led by King John II of France.

Battle of Hastings 14 October 1066

The ‘Battle of Hastings’ was a major turning point in the medieval history of England and was the start of the Norman conquest – William The Duke of Normandy William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo Saxon King Harold Godwinson The last crowned Anglo Saxon King in a battle northwest of the present-day town of Battle in East Sussex.

William the Duke of Normandy landed at Pevensey in Sussex, bringing with him a massive army of around 8000 men, a fleet of ships, and other supplies.

King William (William the Conqueror) and his army needed food and water when they arrived and they set off quickly to gather refreshments and supplies heading rapidly towards Hastings in Sussex.

The Battle of Hastings commenced early in the morning on October the 14th in 1066, King William had marched his troops some distance from the north of Hastings to engage the English army of King Harold, King Harold’s army was deployed on Senlac Hill which is also known interestingly as the town of Battle.

The Battle of Hastings Begins

The battle of Hastings was a brutal and hard-fought affair and history tells us that it was a very close-run thing.

William was the first to attack with his cavalry and infantry, William’s thought his troops would have the upper hand by attacking first but Harold’s army decided to take up a defensive position, which was common for English armies who usually never attacked first.

This image shows the formation of Norman invaders in the Battle of Hastings

King Harold’s troops all fought on foot behind a shielded wall, this proved to be very effective against the Normans and they found it very difficult to break this English defensive stronghold.

Eventually, However, William did breach the defensive wall that the English army had set up and attacked in waves with his cavalry.

Norman Knight Holding a Kite Shield

The Battle of Hastings was a hard-fought battle that lasted a long time and there were several reversals of fortune, both sides had the opportunity to win the battle.

Eventually, the French managed to kill King Harold after which the English army began to fall apart and became dysfunctional, this gave the French army of King William the opportunity they had been looking for, a chance to defeat the English.

The image shows the weaponry, shields, and horses used by medieval Norman knights

The death of King Harold in the Battle of Hastings was the ultimate turning point of the battle and his army fell into disarray William’s cavalry attacked viciously in waves killing many English soldiers.  The English army started to flee.

William the Conqueror’s defeat of the English army in the Battle of Hastings was one of his greatest victories and England and it led to England being under the control of the French and an oppressive foreign aristocracy.

Battle of Castillon 1453

The Battle of Castillon was fought between the English and French forces in 1453.

Bataille de Castillon

The battle was fought as part of the protracted Hundred Years’ War between the two nations and the decisive victory of the French in Castillon marked the end of the war, making it one of the most important battles in medieval history.

The French victory also sealed English fate on the continent, effectively ending any significant English footholds on the European mainland.

Wars of the Roses 1455 – 1487

The Wars of the Roses was a series of battles fought between the House of Lancaster (Red Rose) – and the House of York (White Rose).

The war started after the hundred years war and was caused by financial and social problems the hundred years war had caused and the weakened rule of ‘Henry VI’ as well as the claim to the throne of his rival ‘Richard of York’.

This image shows the emblems from the wars of the Roses

The ‘Wars of the Roses’ was an internal conflict between two competing branches of the House of Plantagenet.

The Wars of the Roses started around the year 1455 and lasted until 1487 however there was fighting before and after these dates. The war was a destructive one for both bloodlines as the male lines of both families involved were killed.

Battle of Bannockburn 1314

The Battle of Bannockburn took place in 1314 – this was another battle between England and Scotland with the Scottish fighting for their independence.

King Robert the Bruce who is a legend in Scottish folklore led the Scottish army to a rare victory against the English. The English army who were under the command of King Edward II was driven out of Scotland.

The Battle of Bosworth 1485

The Battle of Bosworth is also commonly known as the Battle of Bosworth Field. It was an important battle of the middle ages and part of the much larger ‘Wars of the Roses’.

Medieval King Richard in the mix of things in the battle of Bosworth

This was to be the final battle of the ‘Wars of the Roses’ which was an English Civil war and the last ever battle between the warring factions of the Houses of York and Lancaster (Tudor Dynasty) during this War.

Battle of Bosworth Field Facts:

• Battle took place on 22 August 1485
• Location of Battle – Near Ambion Hill, south of Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, England
• Result – A Tudor Victory and Start of the Tudor Dynasty
• End of the House of York

Battle of Bouvines 1214

The Battle of Bouvines was a famous Battle of the Middle Ages *King Phillip Augustus would lead 7000 French Troops into battle in Flanders against the much larger army of Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV.

The Battle of Bouvines was an important battle within a larger war called the ‘Anglo-French War’ 1213-1214 – it was the final battle between these fierce enemies.

Battle of Courtrai – Battle of the Golden Spurs 1302

The Battle of Courtrai is a famous medieval battle that is also known as ‘The Battle of the Golden Spurs‘.

This Battle was part of a larger conflict called the Franco-Flemish War of the years 1297 – 1305.

The Battle is named after the town it took place in Kortrijk (Old Name) or Courtrai (Modern Name).

Against the odds the Flemish army was triumphant!

The Battle of Falkirk 1298

The battle of Falkirk was fought in the year 1298 AD between King Edward I of England and William Wallace of Scotland, the famous Scottish warrior depicted in many Hollywood movies.

This was just one war of many wars between the English and Scots who were fighting for their independence from the English.

The Battle of Falkirk was won by the English and was a great victory for Edward I who had a much larger army than the Scots.

Battle of Halidon Hill 1333

The second war of Scottish independence was fought in 1333 AD in the Battle of, however in this battle, the Scottish were defeated by the English who were led by King Edward III who had his revenge for the previous defeat.

Battle of Liegnitz, Legnica or Wahlstatt *1241

Henry the Pious of Silesia was able to put together a coalition of forces from several European countries in 1241 to fight the battle of Liegnitz against the invading forces of the Mongol Empire led by Baidar, Orda Khan, and Kadan.

Although Henry’s army was much larger in number and was estimated to be around double the size of the Mongol armies, Henry’s army was still defeated and this was a massive blow for the European army.

Battle of Nicopolis 1396

The Battle of Nicopolis is also commonly known as the ‘Crusade of Nicopolis’ and was the last major siege during the centuries-long crusades. The Battle was fought on 25 September 1396 between an allied crusader army who were backed by the Venetian navy.

The Crusader armies were defeated by a large Ottoman force.

Battle of the Standard 1138

The ‘Battle of the Standard’ also called ‘Battle of Northallerton’ took place in 1138, this was a battle between the English and Scottish armies who were led by King David I and was part of the two battles that took place during the Civil War of Matilda and Stephen.

The ‘Battle of the Standard’ also known as the ‘Battle of Northallerton’, was a brutal and bloody affair, The Scottish Army led by King David mounted an early surprise attack in foggy conditions, however, the English had prepared for the attack and this actually took the Scottish by surprise.

The Scottish started to flee just a few hours into the Battle despite their larger army as the English armies’ powerful weaponry decimated the Scottish soldiers leaving many dead on the battlefield.

However, the conquering English were unable to take up the total execution of the shattered enemy forces. If they had been able to follow through and kill the armies as they fled, it could have destroyed the Scottish army.

Battle of Shrewsbury 1403

The Battle of Shrewsbury took place in 1403 close to the center of Shrewsbury at the battlefield church. King Henry V went into battle against a mutineer army led by Henry Hotspur Percy, this was a battle of rebellion in which Henry Percy was defeated and killed and it all took place near the center of Shrewsbury in England.

Henry Percy was named “Hotspur” by the Scots after he successfully launched rapid and fierce raids into Scottish border regions.

Battle of Tours 732

The Battle of Tours is also commonly known as the ‘Battle of Poitiers’, and the Battle of the Highway of the Martyrs – in Arabic.

This was another important battle that was fought close to the City of Poitiers in Southern France although the exact location cannot be determined by historical evidence.

The Battle of Tours also known as the battle of Poitiers was one of the most important battles of medieval times

The Battle of Tours was one of the most famous battles in the medieval period as it represented an important victory for Burgundian and Frankish Troops against the powerful Umayyad Caliphate force led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi.

The Franks led by Charles Mantel secured an important victory which was even more impressive as it was achieved without any cavalry, this led to an era of dominance for the Carolingian empire and Frankish power which lasted for the following century!

The Battle of Tours was also known as the Battle of Poitiers

Epic Medieval Wars Resources:

Learn about the Wars of the Roses at Wikipedia

Learn about the 100 years War at Wikipedia