In pictures: medieval battles
From the Norman Conquest to the Crusades; the Hundred Years’ War to the Wars of the Roses, the Middle Ages were plagued by bloody battles and violent sieges...
The medieval period witnessed a great advancement in military tactics, with the powerful longbow and the trebuchet becoming prominent weapons on the battlefield.
Here, we round up some of the best depictions of medieval battles…
A detail from the Bayeux tapestry, showing knights in battle. The 11th-century French tapestry depicts the battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror’s Norman invasion of England in 1066.
(DeAgostini/Getty Images)
Mounted knights are unhorsed and killed during hand-to-hand fighting in this 15th-century depiction of a battle during the First Crusade, c1096–99.
(Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)
A 13th-century stained glass window from Soissons Cathedral, Picardy. This detail shows the invasion of Rheims by the Vandals.
(DeAgostini/Getty Images)
A 14th-century image of the siege of Antioch, 1097-98. The Muslim-held city (located in modern-day Turkey) came under attack during the First Crusade.
(The Print Collector/Alamy Stock Photo)
Image from around 1275 showing a knight of the crusades kneeling in homage. His elaborate helmet is being held above his head.
(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
A portrayal of a battle between crusaders and Saracens in the 12th century. From the Historia, a manuscript from around the 1460s, by the prelate and chronicler William of Tyre.
(Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
A knight of the Knights Templar charges into battle. From a late 12th-century fresco in the Chapel of the Templars, Cressac sur Charente, France.
(DeAgostini/Getty Images)
Drawing depicting crusaders attacking a Moorish castle, date unknown.
(Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)
A war elephant crushing an enemy soldier during the Second Crusade. From a 15th-century fresco in St Cassian Cathedral, Brixen, Italy.
(DeAgostini/Getty Images)
The English defeat the French at the battle of Sluys in 1340. The sea-battle was one of the opening conflicts of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).
(The Art Archive/Alamy Stock Photo)
The conquest of Jerusalem, depicted in a miniature. From a 12th to 13th-century French bible from the Abbey of Mont Saint Eloi.
(DeAgostini/Getty Images)
The battle of Crécy (1346), which was a significant victory for the English during the Hundred Years’ War. This image was found in the 14th-century Chronicles of Jean Froissart.
(Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)
Depiction of a naval battle, from around 1340. Found in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
(Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
The battle of Agincourt in 1415. Depicted in a miniature from a 15th-century English manuscript.
(Heritage Image Partnership Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo)
The battle of Nancy in 1477, as depicted in the memoires of Philippe de Commynes (1445–1511).
(DEA/G Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images)
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