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Battle of Bannockburn 1314 - Scottish Wars of IndependenceAfter the death of Edward I, his ineffectual son, Edward II, abandoned the war against Scotland. During the following seven years, Robert I the Bruce, united Scotland under his rule and forced the English out of all the castles north of the Tweed River except for Berwick and Stirling.  When these tow remaining English castles came under siege, Edward II marched north with a strong arm...

Battle of Grandson 1476 Swiss Burgundian War Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, engaged in 3 unsuccessful attempts against the Swiss, with the 3rd ending in his death.  The first encounter was the Battle of Grandson in 1476.    There had been great tension between Alsace and Burgundy, beginning in 1469 when Charles acquired Alsatian land through the Treaty of St. Omer. The Alsatians, feeling threatened, entered into an alliance...

A hoplites most important piece of equipment, and what gave the hoplite its name, is the hoplon, the shield (881004). The shield was made of overlapping planks of wood covered in leather, with the face of the shield covered completely in a thin sheet of bronze. This gave it incredible strength while at the same time not making it so heavy that it became unusable. Each shield was round and approximately 36 to 38 in diameter. Worn on the left arm,...