Alfred the Great (849-99)
Alfred was sole king of Wessex from 871, following the death of his brother Æthelred.
A successful leader, he defeated the Danes at Edington in 878 and, as king,
was deeply committed to the education and learning of his people. Largely accepted
as the classic ruler of the Anglo-Saxon period.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
A late Saxon collection of annals that, with varying reliability,
chart the events of Saxon kingdoms in southern England.
annealing
A careful process of alternately heating and working steel to prevent
the metal from over-hardening.
barbed arrowhead
A type used against soft targets. Some with wide barbs would cause
severe wounds when spun into a target, and then be very difficult to remove.
bastard sword
Another name for the late medieval long
sword.
Bedford, earl of, John (1389-1435)
'Protector and defender' of the English kingdom during the infancy
of Henry VI. He led England to victory
against France at the battle of Verneuil in 1424, an action that largely resulted
in the demise of Scots influence and support for the French cause.
bodkin
A bolt-shaped arrowhead ideal for puncturing metal plate armour.
Bronze Age
An archaeological prehistoric period that in the UK is split into
three divisions: early (2000-1500 BC), middle (1500-1000 BC) and late (1000-600
BC).
Bruce, Robert (1274-1329)
Crowned king of the Scots at Scone in March 1306 (a month after he had murdered
his chief rival in a church in Dumfries), Robert Bruce eventually secured
Scotland's independence from England. He won his famous victory against
the English army ineptly led by Edward II at
Bannockburn in 1314.
Buchan, earl of (1381-1424)
John Stewart became the earl of Buchan in 1406. He successfully led Scottish
and French troops in the later stages of the Hundred Years War until he
was defeated by John, earl of Bedford (see above), and killed
at Verneuil in 1424.
chain maille
More correctly simply 'maille', this mesh-like armour
is made of interlocking iron rings, each joined with a rivet.
Crécy
Site of a village on the river Somme in northern France where,
in 1346, a major battle of the Hundred Years War was fought between Edward
III (see below) and Philip VI of
France. Edward's longbow archers won the day.
crossbow
Personal weapon often used by professional and mercenary soldiers.
It required less training and skill to use than the longbow.
Edward II (1284-1327)
Fourth son of Edward I, he became king in 1307. His reign was marred by continual
feuding with his barons because of his relationship with Piers Gaveston, a Gascon
noble to whom he gave the earldom of Cornwall, and with another favourite,
Hugh Despenser. He suffered a humiliating defeat at the battle of Bannockburn
in 1314, and was eventually overthrown by his French wife Isabella and her
lover Roger Mortimer. He was murdered at Berkeley Castle.
Edward III (1312-77)
Becoming king of England in 1327 at the age of just 15, he was still only 17
when he organised the coup that sent Roger Mortimer to the scaffold and his
mother Isabella to a convent (see Edward II above). He
also did much to rebuild the royal house and return England to its former
status. However, believing he was also the rightful king of France, he became
preoccupied with the wars there. With his sons John of Gaunt and Edward the
Black Prince, he fought and won classic battles at Crécy and Calais.
Edward IV (1442-83)
Yorkist king of England who was declared monarch at the age of 18 following
the battle of St Albans in 1461 when the Lancaster king Henry VI was defeated and fled. Edward's turbulent
reign was marred by periods of weakness and the continual and bloody feuding
of the Wars of the Roses. After losing
the throne to Henry VI in 1470, he reclaimed it by force in 1471 (and had
Henry murdered in the Tower). The second phase of his rule as monarch was
relatively peaceful. He died in 1483, when it was said that his body was
worn out by his own debauchery.
Guthrum (died 890)
Also known as Godrum, Guthrum was the Danish military leader who battled repeatedly
against Alfred the Great and was
defeated by him at Edington in 878. He became a king of East Anglia.
hand-and-a-half sword
Another name for the late medieval long
sword. 'Hand-and-a-half' relates to the length of the grip.
hardening steel
The process is achieved either by adding carbon during manufacture
(high carbon steel is hard and brittle) or by repeatedly hammering the
metal, which compacts the structure of the material. See also tempering.
harness
The correct name for a complete set, or suit, of plate armour.
Henry III (1207-72)
Henry was just nine years old when his father, King John, died. A succession
of regencies ruled until he was 29, when he took personal control of government.
The favouritism he showed towards his friends and family caused his barons
to enforce a series of reforms and resulted in the Barons' Wars. Henry was
defeated and captured at Lewes by Simon de Montfort in
1264 but returned to power a year later.
Henry VI (1421-71)
Henry became king of England when he was still a baby, inheriting the throne
from his father, Henry V. The following month, he became king of France,
following the death of his grandfather Charles VI of France. In 1437 he was
deigned old enough to rule by himself, and spent much time in building Eton
College and King's College, Cambridge. The English suffered humiliating defeats
in France under his leadership, culminating in the loss of Normandy and Aquitaine.
He suffered a complete mental breakdown in 1453, only recovering his sanity
two years later. Head of the Lancaster faction, he eventually confronted
the Yorkists at Ludlow in 1459. Following the battle of St Albans in 1461,
he fled the country. He was restored to the throne in 1470, but following
the battle of Barnet in 1471, he was taken prisoner by Edward IV and executed in the Tower of London. His
only son was killed at the battle of Tewkesbury, and his wife, Margaret of
Anjou (who had been far more of a leader than he had), was banished to France.
holmgang
A Viking honour duel carried out in a bounded area no more than 3.65 metres
(12 feet) square, often on a small island (holm). Each fighter
would have an unarmed shield-bearer, who provided the duellist replacement
shields as they were destroyed in the combat. Each fighter struck a single
blow in turn, with the challenged party delivering the first. Once a man's
three shields were gone, he had to defend by parrying with his sword; apparently,
running and dodging were not allowed. This give-and-take continued until
one of the duellists was wounded
Hundred Years War
A series of conflicts between England and France from 1337 to
1453. Principally about the possession of south-west France, trade rivalries
with Flanders and English concerns about French influence in Scotland.
The principal battles were Sluys, Crécy, Poitiers, Agincourt, Verneuil.
Formigny, Castillon and Calais.
Kingmaker, The
See Neville, Richard.
Lancaster, House of
The monarchs Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI and their families. The term 'Lancastrian' is used to describe their supporters
in the Wars of the Roses. The Lancastrians'
symbol was a red rose.
longbow
A powerful medieval bow usually made of yew wood. It measured
as long as the archer who used it was tall.
long sword
A late medieval pattern of sword, also known as the hand-and-a-half
or bastard sword. It was made of tempered steel and measured up to 1.2
metres (4 feet) long.
maille
See chain maille.
medieval period/Middle Ages
An historical period that, in the UK, is split into three divisions:
the early Middle Ages (1066-1215), Middle Ages (1216-1347) and late Middle
Ages (1348-1484).
Montfort, Simon de (1208-65)
The 6th earl of Leicester, de Montfort led the opposition to Henry III during
the Barons' War (1264-8), his aggressive generalship winning the battle
of Lewes in 1264. He summoned both knights and burgesses to a parliament
in January 1265, which later led to him being viewed as the founder of the
House of Commons. He was defeated by Edward I at the battle of Evesham.
Neville, Richard (1428-71)
The powerful late medieval earl of Warwick, who became the richest
of the English earls on his marriage to the Warwick heiress. Also known
as the 'Kingmaker', he supported both the Yorkists and the
Lancastrians at different times during the Wars of the Roses to gain further
influence and power. He was killed at the battle of Barnet in 1471.
Norman conquest/invasion
On 28 September 1066, Duke William of Normandy landed at Pevensey
on the Sussex coast. King Harold moved his forces south to meet the threat,
both sides finally meeting at Hastings on 16 October 1066. Harold fell
in the ensuing battle, and Duke William was crowned king of England on
Christmas Day 1066.
pavaise
A large head-to-toe shield used by crossbowmen to protect themselves
while they loaded their weapons.
Philip VI (1293-1350)
The son of Charles of Valois, he became king of France in 1328, elected by
the barons on the death of his cousin Charles IV. His claim to the French
throne was challenged by Edward III who
defeated him at the battle of Crécy in 1346.
plate armour
Steel plates, often jointed and interlocking, that protect the
wearer from blows.
pommel
A counterweight at the base of a sword handle used to balance
the weapon.
quintain
A device comprising a shield and counterbalance on a pivoting
pole used in lance (or tilting) training.
Robert Bruce
See Bruce, Robert.
Royal Military College of Science Testing Ground
This unit, based at Shrivenham near Swindon, is a part of the
Cranfield University Defence Academy, a cutting-edge research establishment
with all the necessary facilities to test arms and equipment.
Saxons
Common term used to refer to the British population following
the decay of the Roman empire in Britain (dating typically from AD 440
to 1066). The reality is more complicated as the population during this
time contained native Romanised-Britons and ancient Celtic groups, together
with settled foreign peoples from Scandinavia and also from the Germanic
tribes of the Saxons, Angles and Jutes.
shiltron
A movable tactical formation in which multiple long spears are
held out around the perimeter of a body of troops to repulse a cavalry
charge.
steel
Iron with added carbon (and sometimes other elements) to make it
hard.
Talhoffer, Hans
A 15th-century sword-fighting instructor from Germany who wrote
several detailed manuals on the art of fighting called Das Fechtbuch
aus dem Jahre (Fencing Book of the Year) published from 1443
to 1467. A modern
edition has been published.
tempered steel
A process of heating and then suddenly cooling metal in either
water or oil, which causes the metal to become harder. The benefit of tempering
is that it can be applied only to certain areas of a piece (for example,
the cutting surface of a blade) and can also be gradually built up to the
required hardness.
Wars of the Roses
A series of civil wars that were waged between 1455 and 1487 between
the houses of York (see below) and Lancaster,
all aimed at the possession of the English throne. It has been estimated
that only 12 weeks of actual fighting took place in all of the 'wars'.
Warwick, earl of
See Neville, Richard.
York, House of
The monarchs Edward IV,
Edward V, Richard III and their families, all descended from Edward IV's
father Richard of York. The Yorkists – whose symbol was a white
rose – was the term used for their followers.
