Medieval Fight Club - Weapons, armour, & costume

On this day the 10th of March, 1629, the Parliament was dissolved. Again. For the 4th time in four years. By the same guy.

No wonder the Royalists were so hated, they couldn't make up their damn minds!

This same guy, as you might've guessed, was King Charles I of England. But, it was his dad James I who started the kingly tradition of summoning Parliaments for money. Charles I continued this tradition once he succeeded, by immediately thrusting the country into an expensive war with Spain.

Can't imagine Parliament were too happy when he made them dish out to help...

It really all went downhill for England when the Scots came down. Charles I had forced his new prayer book upon them, and they weren't too happy with that.

This happened some 11 years after the last dissolution, and after Charles was forced to call them together to get funding. This was the summoning that broke the Parliament's back, so to speak.

After some Parliamentary arrests, and a few years of rising tensions, the Scots allied with the combined forces of the Parliament.

And we all know how that went for the Royals...

You know what the funny thing is? The Parliament that Charles I raised for his war with the Scots -- it was dissolved by him.

Three weeks later.

Charles, my man. That's not how you make friends.

On this day, 24th February 1525, there was, as you might have guessed, a battle at Pavia. It was the decisive victory that spelled the end of the Italian War of 1521, fought between King Francis I of France and the Hapsburg Empire of Charles V and his various supporters.

There was some great national representation by the two sides: there was French Cavalry, Swiss mercenaries, Italian men at arms, Spanish arquebusiers, and even German Landsknechte all battling it out in Visconti Park, just outside the city walls. Everyone really pulled together and pitched in, hey?

The battle itself took place in the early morning, but was over in around only 4 hours. King Francis I, in the middle of the siege of Pavia, was set upon by a Hapsburg relief force. They had set up in the famous "pike and shot" formation of the time, and began their advance.

Seizing the initiative, Francis I led a cavalry charge in an attempt to capture the enemy commander, but was predictably ravaged and rebuffed by the infantry formations. Habsburg infantry then descended upon the cavalry from all angles, systematically despatching the lancers as quickly as possible. The French footmen rushed to defend the knights, but this only allowed the defending party of Pavia to sally out behind them and seal Francis' fate.

The French army was sundered and defeated in detail. Many French nobles were either killed or captured, including King Francis I He was imprisoned for a time, until the 1526 Treaty of Madrid was signed, giving Francis his freedom in exchange for abandoning some land claims and relinquishing the fief of Burgundy to the Habsburgs.

On this day, 5th February 1576, King Henry IV of Navarre renounced or abjured his Catholic ties to become a bona fide Huguenots Protestant; forever and always, no takesy-backsies, done and dusted, for sure.

Raised a Protestant by his mother, but baptised a Catholic, one could say he was playing both sides from the start. Both sides of the French Wars of Religion, that he was a part of from a very young age and engaged in for most of his adult life.

His abjuration of Catholicism was a direct result of a Protestant massacre, at his wedding no less. St. Bartholomew's Day massacre took place a few days after the knot was tied, and several thousand protestants who had come for the wedding were killed.

No wonder he turned his back to the Catholics.


But, as you might have guessed, that only lasted a while. A few years later, Henry was named the heir presumptive of France due to lineage. Being a stout Protestant, and leader of the Huguenots, this caused issues with majority Catholic France.

And so begins the War of Three Henrys, but that's a topic for another time. Long story short, Henry essentially won the war, but was halted by the Catholic League and was unable to take Paris.

So what would anyone do faced with this conundrum? Why, simply convert of course! In July 1593 he became a bona fide Roman Catholic; forever and always, no takesy-backsies, done and dusted, for sure.

Understandably this peeved his allies, the Huguenots and Queen Elizabeth I, but it did mean that his claim to the French crown was a bit more legitimate than before. It also ended his excommunication by the Pope, won him favour with the French populace and the Catholic League, and secured his place on the throne.

All it took was a few words muttered under his breath at the Cathedral of Chartres. (And a few battles and killings and such but never mind that)

In the end historians assert, to no one's surprise, that Henry was a stout Calvinist (Protestant), and only changed his formal religion to suit political needs. It's how he was raised, so who can blame him?

It is funny to see how nothing has really changed, has it? Catholics will probably be fighting religious wars until the end of time...

On this day, the 30th Jan 1661, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was executed for regicide... despite having been dead for two years.

Now this isn't to say that he wasn't technically guilty of it, it's just a bit odd to hang, draw and quarter the poorly preserved remains of a 59 year old and his two buddies.

This was at the behest of Charles II, returned from exile and maybe a bit angry about Daddy being deposed and all that. Immediately after gaining power, and with characteristic extravagant flair, he ordered the posthumous execution of Oliver Cromwell, John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton, the conspirators responsible for the death of Charles I.

It was a bit of a ritual really; Cromwell and co. were hung on the anniversary of the execution of Charles I , their remains were spiked at Westminster Hall, (where Charles I was tried) where they were left for 25 years.

You could see that Charles II really didn't like this guy. Maybe for a good reason.

On this day- VIVE LE REVOLUTION! Ahem. Sorry.

On this day, the 21st of January 1793, an important head was removed from its body. King Louis XVI, the last "King" of France (there were others after him, but really they weren't the same) was executed by guillotine to the joy of the masses in France. In a trial 4 days prior, The National Convention, the revolutionary parliament, almost unanimously declared him guilty of high treason and sentenced him to death.

This execution is often regarded as the turning point of European history. In many ways his execution by his subjects marked the decline of absolute monarchy in Europe, and the birth of democracy.

On a more gruesome note, the details of his execution! Now in those days executions were something of a spectacle, and crowds would clamour to get front row seats. Whether it was a berserk and fervent hunger for blood, or merely a good opportunity to see a celebrity up close, people loved it when royals were offed.

In Louis' case, after the chop went through, some citizens rushed to dip their handkerchiefs in the pooling blood, to keep as a souvenir. I like to imagine those folk were just sentimental royalists. Très sentimental royalists.

Louis' death was a spurring moment for the revolutionaries; more praxis for their theory. It bolstered and emboldened their actions, leading to greater alterations to the political and social structure of France over the coming years. 9 months later, Marie Antionette, Louis' wife and former queen, would be guillotined at the very same spot.

What fun!

On this day, the 10th of January 49BC, a die was cast by none other than Julius Caesar. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Physically, he and his Legio XIII crossed the Rubicon, the river border between Italy and Cisalpine Gaul in a march to straight to Rome.

Understandably, the Roman Senate were just slightly perturbed by this. They had specific laws against this exact action, the imperium law, making it illegal for any Roman army raised outside of Italy entrance within. It had to be disbanded by the general before entrance would be granted.

Julius, being his usual ambitious self, directly transgressed this law, and intentionally began the Roman Civil War. His actions were the result of years long political strife against his rival Pompey, in which neither could agree on non-violent diplomacy.

Despite Caesar possessing only the one legion, and technically being outnumbered about 10 to 1, Italy was not prepared for such sudden incursion. Pompey and the Senate were forced to flee Rome.

Eventually, after 4 or so years, Caesar was victorious and thus proclaimed dictator of Rome. The Roman Civil war was one of the last military actions before the Republic became the Empire.

Now as to whether or not Caesar actually said "alea iacta est" when he crossed over is up for debate. Whether it was in Latin, or Greek, or even said at all, one thing's for sure;

It would have been pretty cool to say.

On this day, the 5th of January 1477, the last battle of the Burgundian Wars was fought outside Nancy, France. It pitched the Duke René II of Lorraine (famous for their quiches) against Charles the Bold and his Burgundian State (famous for their burgundy wine).

Now they weren't fighting over whose foodstuffs were better (although they were French so maybe), but rather Burgundy and its counties were resisting the expansion of the Swiss Confederacy and their allies.

Three battles were fought over three years, but finally it ended in 1477 with our titular combat.

Charles was attempting to retake Nancy from René, and was encamped outside the walls in siege. René arrived in the morning of the 5th, his large army bolstered by a Swiss army retinue.

Despite a strong defensive position, and plenty of field guns, Charles was overcome by numbers and harsh wintry conditions. He was surrounded, and his army broke and took to flight.

It's said that a small band of Swiss troops managed to engage Charles and his staff, with a quick strike from a Swiss halberd to Charles' head finishing him off.

Even with the commander dead, the battle remained ongoing, until eventually his army fully broke into retreat. It took 3 days for his body to be identified.

Burgundy became a part of France shortly after. A couple cathedrals were built, and René called it a job well done.

On this day, the 9th (maybe, the history isn't that clear) of September 1000, the largest battle of the Viking Age took place. A vast fight between the Norwegian King Olaf and an alliance of the Kings of Sweden and Denmark, and the Norwegian enemies of Olaf.

The battle was organised as a result of the unification of Norway by Olaf, and the subsequent efforts of Christian conversion. Denmark wished to seize control of Norway, and Olaf's efforts had halted that.

There are many accounts of the battle, but the most detailed come from sources written hundreds of years later, the King's Sagas. Fairly unreliable, but they give novel insight into the preceding events of the battle, a problematic marriage for Olaf.

Unsurprisingly marriage is often a source of contention when it comes to royalty.

A gruesome affair, King Olaf was ambushed whilst returning home from a campaign. 11 Norwegian warships faced against more than a conglomerated 70, resulting in a predictable catastrophic loss for King Olaf.

Reportedly, however, both sides faced heavy losses. The battle climatically ended with Olaf taking his own life, thrusting himself from his ship and into the sea. Better for him to kill himself than see defeat at the hands of his enemies.

Norway was subsequently split between the Danes and Swedes, undoing much of Olaf's unification. However his legacy still remains in the form of the spread Christianity to the north.

According to legend, Harold Godwinson was killed by an arrow in his eye. The legend of Harold being hit in the eye comes from the Bayeux Tapestry, which shows Harold's death.

It is not certain how Harold died. The Bayeux Tapestry shows a soldier with an arrow near his eye but the soldier does not appear to be wounded as he is standing up. If he had been killed it would have shown him falling to the ground. This is the reason why some people now think that Harold is the man on the right with the battle axe. He has been struck down by a blow from the Norman knight on horseback. It seems more likely that Harold was killed by a blow from a sword.

Above the picture are the latin words HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST, which means HERE KING HAROLD HAS BEEN KILLED.