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Who doesn't think of a sword (500262) when talking about these brutal warriors? In fact it was so preferred and highly valued that a sword would be named and treated with reverence. Often it was passed down from father to son and then again until broken or buried with great honor with a chieftain. In the cases where the sword did pass to the afterlife with its owner it was also ritually killed. The reason this was done is not entirely clear, but...

Battle of Lyndanisse (Reval) 1219 – Scandinavian Wars In 1219, Valdemar II of Denmark continued the Danish conquest of the German Baltic Islands begun by his brother, Canute VI. At the Battle of Lyndanisse, near Reval, the Danes were battling the pagan Estonians. Weary and facing defeat, a critical turning point in the battle came when a red and white banner came in to the possession of Valdemar. Legend says the banner fell fr...

The Flemish, economically allied to England, was discontented with French rule. Burdened with heavy taxes during the reign of Charles VI, the people of Flanders took up arms under the leadership of Philip van Artevelde. During the uprising a large number of peasants and townspeople gathered en masse at Roosebeke in East Flanders. Here they were attacked by a strong force of mounted French knights commanded by the Count of Flanders, Louis II de Ma...