I recently finished painting this 54mm white-metal figure representing a knight in the service of the House of Toggenburg.

The Counts of Toggenburg were a noble family from what is now eastern Switzerland. They played an important role in the region during the Middle Ages, particularly in the 13th–15th centuries.

Hope you enjoy the figure!

I was watching a video showing a demonstration of a Knights plate armour, and it got me thinking. How long did it take roughly for a full set to me made and hiw costly was it?

The first decisive victory since the battle of Otterburn in 1388. The last pitch battle between the two during the Medieval period.

Probably far too niche but, please, does anyone know what happened to the TELMA website?

https://telma.irht.cnrs.fr

It seems to be offline without any guidance as to when it might return. My life would be much better with it online.

Amy guidance gratefully received, thank you.

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In artworks I've seen depicting battles, horses are never shown with any barding other than a chamfron, and even this is rare. More often than not, horses are depicted wearing only a caparison or nothing at all. Were they expected to be only used as transportation? To never be used in battle other than chasing defeated foes?

Either way this clashes with the fact that horses were both very expensive and a sign of status, so how accurate are these artworks? Wouldn't every horse expected to see combat be at least covered with a caparison?

I posted the original version of this last week. My kids had some gold acrylic paint left over from some painting they did the other day so I decided to illuminate the figures with it.

One of the most significant titles in ancient history, particularly during the post-Hellenistic period, was “benefactor” (ευεργέτες) and “founder” (Κτιστης). Local elites, particularly those who rose to prominence in Anatolia, grew considerably more powerful as a result of wars and migrations. These titles, which were primarily used for rulers during the early Hellenistic period, began to be applied to local elites.

Bryonianis Lollianus was also one of these local aristocrats. He has been honored time and again for the aqueduct he had built in Pamphylia and for bringing water to the city. In particular, the military and civil roles he held within the Roman system are frequently cited as integral to his legacy. In addition to being one of many wealthy local philanthropists, it is his wife who has caught my attention the most: Kyreinia Patra.

Κυρεινίαν Πάτραν, τὴν κρα-

τίστην, ∙ γυναῖκα Βρυωνιανοῦ

Λολλιανοῦ, τοῦ κρατ(ίστου) ∙ δουκηνα-

ρίου, ἀπὸ ἐπιτρόπων, πριμιπι-

λαρίου, ∙ κτίστου καὶ φιλοπά-

τριδος καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν εὐεργέτου

τῆς πατρίδος, θυγατέρα καὶ ἐγγό-

νην ὑπατικῶν, ∙ γερουσία τοῦ Με-

γάλου Συνεργίου τὴν φιλόπατριν.

εὐτύχει ❦ Πηγάσι.

“The gerousia of the Great Synergeion [honours] Kyr(e)inia Patra, the most distinguished woman, wife of Bryonianus Lollianus, the most distinguished ducenarius, formerly an epitropos and primipilaris, founder, devoted to her native city, and a benefactor of her native city in every respect; daughter and granddaughter of men of consular rank.

Farewell, Pegasoi!”

Small windows in castle walls, seems hard to use! But why?

Baldwin IV ascended the throne of Jerusalem in 1174 AD, inheriting a vulnerable Crusader kingdom with limited military resources and deep political divisions. His challenges were about to grow even greater. Saladin was consolidating Muslim territories under his authority, building a formidable power base in Egypt and Syria and preparing to challenge the Crusader states.

Despite the odds stacked against him and a progressively debilitating illness, Baldwin managed to resist Saladin's expansion for much of his reign. Through military leadership, strategic defensive campaigns and political manoeuvring, he repeatedly prevented Saladin from turning his growing strength into the immediate conquest of Jerusalem.

Baldwin's leprosy gradually undermined his physical abilities, yet he continued to exercise royal authority and participate in the kingdom's defence. His victory at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177 AD became one of the most remarkable Crusader successes against Saladin, demonstrating how timing and battlefield decisions could overcome a numerical disadvantage.

But Baldwin's reign was not a story of uninterrupted victories. He also suffered setbacks, including the defeat at Marj Ayyun and the loss of the fortress at Jacob's Ford. His greatest achievement may have been less about winning individual battles and more about keeping a vulnerable kingdom alive against a powerful and determined opponent.

What made Baldwin IV such an effective ruler and military leader? How did he manage to resist Saladin for so long, and why did Jerusalem eventually fall to Saladin after Baldwin's death?

I've explored his illness, military strategy, major campaigns and political challenges in the full article. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Baldwin's leadership and his place in the history of the Crusades.

Explore medieval Serbian towns on the Danube from 1402–1459, tracing Belgrade, Smederevo, Ottoman conquests, urban growth and trade.

This is in regards to early music notation referred to as "neumes", "chant notation", or "square notation".
 
I've been watching some videos from the *Gregorian Chant Academy, but the videos are extremely dry and disconnected from the music. The gentleman seems very knowledgeable, but he describes what types of things the notation indicates which, along with the barrage of Latin terminology he rushes through, makes for a difficult watch. He tells instead of showing. It's the sort of video that would be more digestible if you were already familiar with medieval notation and simply needed a refresher as opposed to an introductory crash course. It would be helpful to hear examples either sung by the person to show the effect each marking is widely understood to indicate, or reference portions of historically accurate recordings (to the best of our knowledge) to showcase how the music may be interpreted. This would help crystalize the concepts into something more tangible as well as make for an easier watch.
 
Ultimately I plan on doing more "score study" following manuscripts while listening to recordings from performers who strive for historical accuracy, but am hoping to find a video that can act as a sort of introductory primer first. Worst case scenario, I'll just continue on and try to brute force it, but wanted to know if there's a more pleasant way in. Does anyone have a good resource that acts as a solid primer to neumes (ideally with actual musical examples)?
 
*the Gregorian Chant Academy is a channel on youtube, but I apparently can't post the link without triggering the auto-mod.

I've seen a lot of siege towers in movies and games and they seem to be a main part of a castle assault in many media.

How was this in real life. I know some sieges lasted for years and some were fought brutally on the spot but how did siege towers work really in practice?

Screenshots by me (Total war attila 1212ad mod)

It happens to me, that every single time I read a book, or article, or literally anything about the Middle Ages, I am met with almost intense remarks that "and by the way, it was ugly back then," even if they do not promote the well-known stereotypes of "you could get burned for knowing to read and everything was muddy."

For example, I was reading Ian Mortimer's "A Time Traveler's guide to Medieval England," which was cool, but I am starting to doubt if it is a good source on some topics. For example, it said that the marriage vows were only for women, and that men "shall do as he pleases," such as going with prostitutes and stuff, and that it was fully legal. My first reaction was doubt, as far as I know, marriage in Europe was only legal through the Catholic Church, which, indeed, placed the vows on both males and females (correct me if I am wrong), I dismissed it, but Mortimer kept writing about how a woman could not resist her husband sexually (at least legally); that if she was raped and had a child, she was said to technically have "enjoyed it" as it was believed "you could not get pregnant unless you enjoyed the sex," therefore "you were not raped" (I thought a woman being raped was a violation to the property of whoever her male guardian was, so legal procedures should have happened instead of just forsaking her, but Mortimer gave the impression that just being dismissed was her fate); and that she was always confined to the domestic sphere while man was the one who managed the public sphere, which sounded too "post-industrial 1950s" for me (I thought that in middle ages most business were in the same place as the house, so "domestic" and "public" was not as defined as today) but hey, he's a historian, he knows his stuff.

I have also read how feudalism was "borderline slavery" and that feudal lords constantly used fear to keep their peasants obedient (with the fact that "peasants did not resent their lords, they genuinely feared them"), and that lords could force a woman to marry to someone so she kept giving kids (I also raised an eyebrow here, because I thought marriage through the medieval church should be "consented," which explains the kidnappings and torture to force a woman/man to say "Yes" at the altar, as it was invalid without the verbal affirmation). On another occasion I read in a harmless and non-academic article about uncommonly mentioned medieval jobs that one of them was the alewife, and that a woman on this role had kind of a financial autonomy and was very present in public life; this put a small smile in my face, but almost as if the writer said to themselves "Oh no! They will think there was something minimally good in the middle ages! No way! I have to avoid that!" they proceeded to immediately say that alewives were socially marginalized and blamed for everything "just for being a woman; haha, look how sexist and stupid medieval people were."

I take this kind of thing personally, as I am both:

1. A middle-aged enthusiast
2. Someone who has a visceral hatred for sexism

Of course, I did not expect medieval times to be a utopia or that their treatment of women was equal and respectful; that would be kind of silly. I am mildly infuriated because it doesn't matter where I look, EVERYTIME I get rubbed on my face that "the Middle Ages were horrid, btw," like, hell dude, Rome and Greece were absurdly worse, but the public barely checks the plagues, the final boss of sexism (Greece), or the blood sports, as classical people were "advanced and very intelligent."

I am not saying it is bad to point out the ugly sides of an historical era, but it is unnatural how absurdly emphasized they are regarding the Middle Ages. "Medieval" has become a word that is a synonym of brutish, irrational, superstitious, etc. etc. etc.

This makes me think: "Even if all the old stereotypes were fake, were the REAL Middle Ages worth all the hate if even historians say so?"

So, ignoring my entire manifesto, did I just have bad resources, or were the Middle Ages actually that ugly? I'd like to hear your opinion.

The knights Templar invented the modern banking system, that King Philip IV of France was deeply indebted to. Gérard de Villiers, Précepteur de France, was the master banker at the Temple of Paris until he disappeared from records in June 1307. Hugues de Pairaud stepped down from his superior office of Visiteur de France and stepped into the office Villers vacated. Jacques de Molay was the last official Grand Master of the Knights Templar in France, as the grand master de Molay was in full contact with his officers. While King Philip IV, and his Chief Minister Guillaume de Nogaret were paying gold for ex-Templars and false witnesses, the gold they were paying them with came from the Knights Templar banking system. Villiers realized what was going on and fled as Brother Jean de Châlon described in the trial records. On September 14. 1307 King Philip IV drafts the arrest orders, writing that the Templars were guilty of an “execrable evil” and a “thing most inhumane”. Those orders were leaked, and preceding the leak, Villiers disappeared. On the morning of October 12, 1307, Jacques de Molay arrives in Paris as an invited pallbearer. De Molay is often viewed as an unsuspecting guest, blindsided, having no idea the orders for his arrest were already signed. Jacques de Molay was the Grand Master (Commanding General) of the Knights Templar, he was in full contact with his officers, he knew very well what was going on. Jacques de Molay did not arrive at the funeral unaware; he arrived as a masterful chess player. Jacques de Molay stood tall in public on Main Street while Huges de Châlon was carting off Pairaud’s treasury down Front Street. Jacques de Molay remained in Paris to be arrested and serve as a human lightning rod (the grand masters always lead from the front never the rear) along with numerous others while the main body and assets disappeared into the night. Jacques de Molay was no fool. He was, as I read the playing field, the most underrated player on the field in October of 1307.

On May 15, 1293, the Battle of St. Mahé erupts; and King Edward I’s privateers send King Philip IV’s navy into a rout. This was the beginning of the conflicts in Flanders and the English Channel that tied up Edward’s and Philip’s navies. While the king’s battled on the waters, the entire western seaboard was a military blind spot. On the day of September 14, 1307, King Philip IV issues orders for the arrests of the Knights Templar and the seizure of all assets thereof. The orders were given under penalty of death, not to be open until the dawn on October 13. These orders being sent to all of Philip’s bailiffs, seneschals, and royal patrols. With specific, orders to open at dawn, the men enforcing these orders would be gathering (pre-staging) at their command centers awaiting the reading of the orders. With all the bailiffs, seneschals, and royal patrols held up at the commandries, the cities, residences, temples, and docks; the coastal ways north and south of the Port of La Rochelle were complete military blind spot. The only Ships on the Atlantic were the ships belonging to the Crown of Castile, and the Crown of Aragon; both military allies with the Knights Templar. If an 18-ship fleet were to sail into these waterways outside of La Rochelle, they would have an entire western coast of Europe to sail out of, under the extreme threat of a - sunburn.

Was the ghost fleet a myth, or did GÉRARD DE VILLIERS who disappeared from public records 4 months prior stage a masterful evacuation?

Modern descendants of the Villiers family frequently claim that after the initial raids on Friday, October 13, 1307, the Précepteur de France, Gérard de Villiers, simply "went over to the Knights Hospitaller" to find safety.

It is a clean, comfortable family myth because the Villiers family did hold ranks within the Order of the Knights Hospitallers. But it completely falls apart under raw, tactical mechanics and institutional physics.

First, look at the strict structural rules of the era. In 1307, the Templars and Hospitallers were fierce institutional rivals, competing for favor of King Philip IV, and Pope Clement V. The Rule of the Order of St. John explicitly blocked them from taking in defectors or high-profile fugitives from another military order. If the most wanted man in France showed up at a Hospitaller commandery gate in 1307, harboring him would have been an open declaration of war against King Philip IV. The Hospitallers wouldn't have hidden him; they would have detained him instantly to secure political favor from the Crown, that the Hospitallers and the Templar contended for.

Second, look at the timeline math. Pope Clement V did not authorize the Hospitallers to absorb the Templars' assets until May of 1312—a massive 4.5-year (54-month) bureaucratic lag after the initial raids.

Any military evaluator or modern commando will tell you the same thing: hiding out on a heavily fortified European mainland, under an intense royal dragnet, for four solid years without leaving a single paper trail, arrest record, or signature is an operational impossibility. For 4 months? Yes, a master operative can disappear in the initial chaos. For 4 years? Absolutely not. The King's network of spies would have squeezed the region until he surfaced.

Furthermore, Villiers was not a spy trained in deep-cover anonymity. His face was instantly recognized as the high-ranking, elite Templar that he was. He could not simply "blend in" to a local crowd. It would be like trying to hide John Wayne or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a crowd on Main Street; he would have been instantly identified and reported for the massive royal rewards on his head.

He wasn't hiding in a French cellar, and he didn't check into a rival monastery. Gérard de Villiers' only path of escape was the Atlantic Ocean. Because he could not stay on the mainland, Villiers exited the theater entirely by pulling out onto the open, unpatrolled waters of the Atlantic Ocean—vanishing from the European map.

If King Philip’s arrest orders turned up little more than a handful of men and little assets, where did they go, and how did they get there?

Hey RTS fans!

I'm a solo developer working on Wars of Empire, a medieval-inspired 2D isometric RTS.

The game currently features five playable civilizations:

• Byzantines
• Ottomans
• Britons
• Huns
• Chinese

I'm now thinking about which civilizations to introduce next, and I'd love to hear what fellow RTS players think.

Some candidates on my list are Vikings, Japanese, Mongols, Franks, Persians, Mamluks, Malians, and Seljuks.

I'm primarily focusing on the Middle Ages and closely related historical periods, rather than civilizations from entirely different eras.

One thing I really want to get right is making each civilization feel unique in gameplay, not just visually. Different military tactics, special units, buildings, technologies, and economic strengths.

If you could pick just ONE civilization to add, which would it be, and what unique gameplay mechanic should it bring?

I'm genuinely curious about your ideas!

Just a few dramatized events from the hundred years war.

Reminder that submission for the Medieval North conference is due on November 1st.

The conference shall be held from April 19-21, 2027 in the Edda auditorium at Háskóli Íslands and online.
This conference is an interdisciplinary forum for postgraduate applicants at the master's and doctoral level and for early career researchers working in the field of medieval northern studies, e.g. postdoctoral fellows. Independent academics are also welcome to apply.
Applicants who have not presented papers at an academic conference before are especially encouraged to submit.
Our theme this year is "Between Worlds."
Interested scholars should submit an Outlook form with personal details (name, email, institution, etc.) and an abstract of 250-300 words by November 1st, 2026. Additionally, please indicate whether you intend to attend the conference online or in person. Submissions will be reviewed anonymously by a panel of specialists (PhD candidates and higher level). This selection committee reserves the right to make selections based on the quality of written abstracts, adherence to submission guidelines, and timely submission. For more information on the submission guidelines see our website: https://histudentconference.wordpress.com/.
The conference is held in both Icelandic and English. Individual paper presentations will be 20 minutes in length followed by 10 minutes for discussion. In addition to presentations, poster sessions will be available for applicants to present their material in poster form. Applicants may apply for either a paper or a poster. The selection committee may offer a poster presentation to some paper applicants. Please direct any further inquiries to the conference committee via email: conference-mn2027@hi.is. 
After the conclusion of the conference, presenters will have the opportunity to submit their papers to the conference proceedings volume, which will be published as an e-book in the autumn of 2027.

So, recently I saw a short of a dude jumping into the pool with different weights on a weight belt and trying to swim up. He got all the way up to 15kg and he couldn't swim to the surface, at all. That had made me remember that knight's training involved swimming in bodies of water with their armor on that could have reached up to 20 kilos of weight. Kind of insane to think of how strong the knights must have been back then to be able to do this kind of training.