How Well Do You Know Your Medieval Battles?

Fought in 1119: "I have been told that in the battle of the two kings, in which about nine hundred knights were engaged, only three were killed. They were all clad in mail and spared each other on both sides, out of fear of God and fellowship in arms; they were more concerned to capture than to kill the fugitives. As Christian soldiers they did not thirst for the blood of their brothers, but rejoiced in a just victory given by God, for the good of holy Church and the peace of the faithful."

Fought in 1302: "And so, by the disposition of God who orders all things, the art of war, the flower of knighthood, with horses and chargers of the finest, fell before weavers, fullers and the common folk and foot soldiers of Flanders, albeit strong, manly, well armed, courageous and under expert leaders. The beauty and strength of that great French army was turned into a dung-pit, and the glory of the French made dung and worms."

Fought in 1314: "O day of vengeance and disaster, day of utter loss and shame, evil and accursed day, not to be reckoned in our calendar; that blemished the reputation of the English, despoiled them and enriched the Scots, in which our costly belongings were ravished to the value of £200 000! So many fine noblemen and valiant youth, so many horses, so much military equipment, costly garments and gold plate - all lost in one unfortunate day, one fleeting hour."

Fought in 1485: "Nevertheless Henry held out against the attack longer than his troops, who now almost despaired of victory, had thought likely. Then, behold, William Stanley came in support with 3,000 men. Indeed it was at this point that, with the rest of his men taking to their heels, Richard was slain fighting in the thickest of the press. Meanwhile the earl of Oxford, after a brief struggle, likewise quickly put to flight the remainder of the troops who fought in the front line, a great number of whom were killed in the rout."

Fought in 1346: "There were about fifteen thousand Genoese crossbowmen; but they were quite fatigued, having marched on foot that day six leagues, completely armed, and with their wet crossbows. They told the constable that they were not in a fit condition to do any great things that day in battle. The Count of Alençon, hearing this, was reported to say, 'This is what one gets by employing such scoundrels, who fail when there is any need for them'."

Fought in 1396: "When the king heard this, he wanted to arrange the order of battle. The Duke of Wallachia asked that he might be the first to attack, to which the king would willingly have consented. When the Duke of Burgundy heard this, he refused to cede this honour to any other person, for the just reason that he had come a great distance with six thousand men, and had expended much money in the expedition, and he begged the king that he should be the first to attack. The king asked him to allow the Ungern to begin, as they had already fought with the Turks, and knew better than others how they were armed. This he would not allow to the Ungern, and assembled his men, attacked the enemy, ... and was taken prisoner. "

Fought in 1014: "Now on the one side of that battle were the shouting, hateful, powerful, wrestling, valiant, active, fierce-moving, dangerous, nimble, violent, furious, unscrupulous, untamable enemy, inexorable, unsteady, cruel, barbarous, frightful, sharp, ready, huge, prepared, cunning, warlike, poisonous, murderous, hostile Danars; bold, hard-hearted Danmarkians, surly, piratical foreigners, blue-green, pagan; with out reverence, without veneration, without honour, without mercy, for God or for man."

Fought in 732: "After each side had tormented the other with raids for almost seven days, they finally prepared their battle lines and fought fiercely. The northern peoples remained as immobile as a wall, holding together like a glacier in the cold regions. In the blink of an eye, they annihilated the Arabs with the sword. The people of Austrasia, greater in number of soldiers and formidably armed, killed the king, Abd ar-Rahman, when they found him, striking him on the chest. But suddenly, within sight of the countless tents of the Arabs, the Franks despicably sheathed their swords postponing the fight until the next day since night had fallen during the battle."

Fought in 1187: "When the battle had come to an end the sultan sat down in a tent. The king of the Franks was brought in, and the sultan asked him to sit down at his side. The king was very hot and thirsty, and the sultan gave him snow-covered water to drink, and the king of the Franks gave some of it to the prince Reynald, lord of Kerak. But the sultan said to him; 'This damned man did not drink water with my permission, if it had been so he would be safe'."