The Crusades Begin
Posted by MRL on Dec 31st 2006
There were seven Crusades in all, dating from 1095 to 1291, with the First Crusade being the most successful from a military point of view. The First Crusade was an attempt to re-capture Jerusalem. Christians had paid pilgrimage to the Holy Land since the time of Constantine. After Jerusalem had been captured by the Saljuk Turks in 1076, any Christian who wanted to pay a pilgrimage to the city faced a very hard time with the Moslem soldiers makin...
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The Battle of Bannockburn
Posted by MRL on Dec 31st 2006
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...
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The Battle of Grandson
Posted by MRL on Dec 31st 2006
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...
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