Medieval World Culture & Conflict Magazine

Medieval Warfare picks up where its sister magazine, Ancient Warfare, leaves off. Starting around 500 AD, Medieval Warfare examines the world during the Middle Ages up through the early years of the Renaissance (the magazine generally leaves off in the 16th century). While popular topics such as the Crusades and the Vikings are given regular coverage, Medieval Warfare also tackles more complex and obscure topics, ranging from the Umayyad Caliphate versus the Byzantine Empire to horse trading in 14th-century England.

Medieval World Magazine

Editorial

Looking into a medieval pendant with neutrons

MARGINALIA

Seventh-century gold necklace discovered in England

ON THE COVER

THE KING AT THE WALLS • King Henry III of England won one great battle during his reign, seizing a crucial town in a struggle against his barons. On 5 April 1264, Henry’s forces descended upon Northampton, a prosperous town in the English Mid- lands. Held by rebel barons amid a political struggle that was sliding into a civil war, Northampton – protected by stone walls and bolstered by a castle – should have been the scene of a siege. Yet the town was stormed that very day, with the castle capitulating the following morning.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HERALDRY • Heraldry is synonymous with medieval culture and society. It is a powerful element of the period's culture and dominates our vision of the Middle Ages. Even today heraldry is everywhere, not just surviving in medieval churches and castles, but is on the letterheads of many institutions and businesses.

THE COLOUR OF CHIVALRY • Whether legendary or historical, black figures appear throughout the Middle Ages, revealing aspects of diversity, royal cosmopolitanism, and evolving artistic trends. Saint Maurice and the multiple representations of him as an Afri- can man in the garb of a European medieval knight are among the most captivating Christian images.

Etymology: Ethiopian vs. Moor vs. Saracen

Corrupt Cardinal

'CHILDREN OF NORMALS' IN MEDIEVAL SICILY • Between 1000 and 1030, waves of trained knights started migrat- ing from Normandy and its surrounding French provinces. They may have gone south for reasons as disparate as to fight against Muslim raiders on the coasts of Campania, to take part in Byz- antine internecine disputes in Apulia, or thanks to an agreement between the duke of Normandy and the pope. But they certainly went south, and stayed there, because the unstable Southern Ital- ian situation gave them work as mercenaries, as well as the scope to establish themselves independently should that work run out.

SICILIAN BATTLEGROUND • After the ruinous Battle of the Yarmuk in AD 636, Sicily, became more and more important for Byzantine frontier defence and, consequently, was increasingly af- fected by Muslim raids launched from African bases. During the reign of Constans II (630-668), the emperor himself left Constantinople at the head of a huge army bound for Italy, where imperial power was being questioned by the Lombards, but Constans II was murdered. This event minimized the chances of a counter- offensive capable of defeating the Arab raids that were becoming more frequent.

ROGER II OF SICILY • Although less well-known than William the Conqueror of England, another Norman who rose to become a king in a new land, Roger II of Sicily (1095–1154), was equally formidable. He transformed the developing state in Southern Italy and Sicily that his father and uncle had forged over three decades into a sophisticated kingdom that came to dominate the region.

Roger's progeny

The Mosaic of Christ and Roger

MEDIEVAL COINS OF SICILY • The Norman conquest of England (1066) is among the best-known dates in Western history, but few know about the Norman conquest of Sicily. In 1059 a band of Normans arrived in...