Who was Charlemagne?

Introduction Charlemagne (or Charles the Great; from the latin Carolus Magnus (02 April 748 to 28 January 814), numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, the King of the Lombards from 774, and the Emperor of the Romans from 800. During the Early Middle Ages, he united the majority of western… Read More

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What was the Combat of the Thirty (1351)?

Introduction The Combat of the Thirty (26 March 1351) (French: Combat des Trente, Breton: Emgann an Tregont) was an episode in the Breton War of Succession fought to determine who would rule the Duchy of Brittany. It was an arranged fight between selected combatants from both sides of the conflict, fought at a site midway… Read More

What is War?

Introduction War is an intense armed conflict [see note below] between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterised by extreme violence, aggression, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces. Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars… Read More

What was the Challenge of Barletta (1503)?

Introduction The Challenge of Barletta (Italian: Disfida di Barletta) was a duel fought in the countryside of Trani, near Barletta, southern Italy, on 13 February 1503, during the Third Italian War, on the plains between Corato and Andria. Background The tournament was provoked by a French knight Charles de la Motte who, after drinking too… Read More

Who was King Conradin (1252-1268)?

Introduction Conrad (25 March 1252 to 29 October 1268), called the Younger or the Boy, but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (German: Konradin, Italian: Corradino), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke of Swabia (1254-1268) and nominal King of Jerusalem (1254-1268) and Sicily (1254-1258). After his attempt to… Read More

What is a War of Aggression?

Introduction A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defence, usually for territorial gain and subjugation. Wars without international legality (i.e. not out of self-defence nor sanctioned by the United Nations (UN) Security Council) can be considered wars of aggression; however, this alone usually does… Read More

What was the Reconquista?

Introduction The Reconquista (Spanish and Portuguese for “reconquest”) was a period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula of about 780 years between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711, the expansion of the Christian kingdoms throughout Hispania, and the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada in 1492. The beginning of the Reconquista is… Read More