Daily Medieval

It was called the Bellum Castrum de Rupe ("the Fair Castle at the Rock"), and has a fascinating history, starting with the illega...

Walter de Coutances , who became Archbishop of Rouen, gained his position by being closely tied to the kings of England, first Henry II then...

We saw yesterday how Walter de Coutances did not want to give the site of Andeli to Richard I for a fortress, even though Richard was his l...

Once Richard I was out of captivity and home in England, he forgave his brother John for John's actions while Richard was away on the T...

On his way back from the Third Crusade, King Richard I of England was captured by Leopold V of Austria, who blamed Richard for the murder of...

After the Treaty of Jaffa and the official dissolution of the Third Crusade, Richard I of England headed home. He had left his brother John ...

After the Battle of Jaffa , with Richard I and the members of the Third Crusade once again in control of the city, a truce was made between ...

The Battle of Arsuf was a great disappointment for Saladin's Ayubbid forces, and to even the score with the Third Crusade under Richar...

Once the Hospitallers broke ranks and attacked Saladin's Ayubbid forces at the Battle of Arsuf , the nearest contingent—Frankish troops—...

Saladin had been following the forces of the Third Crusade, led by Richard I of England, down the coast of the Mediterranean toward Jaffa. R...

When Richard I of England arrived to lead the Siege of Acre that had been begun by Guy of Lusignan , things started looking up for the Crus...

When the Third Crusade started , it became a problem for Saladin. This was not only because it meant more Western European Christians trying...

After the disastrous Battle of Hattin , when Guy of Lusignan overestimated his ability to counter Saladin's encroachment on territory c...

When Henry the Young King attacked his brother Richard in 1183, he had the support of a lord of Hautefort. Hautefort was surrounded by pro...

When Henry II of England crowned his son, Young King Henry , as a co-ruler, he could not have predicted that the son would attempt to overt...

It was expected that kings and other nobles would try to gain alliances (and therefore security) by marrying their sons and daughters to imp...

The Joust was a specific kind of tournament , and was one of the few types of military contests that had to be on horseback and involved on...

In a message for the World Day of Creation (27 June, 2024), Pope Francis said of Joachim de Fiore that he  "was able to propose the ide...

So...Sandwich. Most people just think about the food item that shares its name, but it has had more history than that, and not just as a Cin...

Alexander Neckham was a theologian and writer from St. Albans whose birthday gave him a surprising status. He was born on 8 September 1157, ...