The sons of Henry II are well known; Richard the Lionheart, Bad King John, and Henry the Young King!

But much less known was William Longespée, the bastard son of Henry who spent his entire life fighting for his family!

[Thread]🧵 William was born around 1176 to King Henry II and Ida de Tosny. In 1188 he was recognised by Henry II and granted lands in Lincolnshire. A later letter from William to Hubert de Burgh suggest that William was fostered in the de Burgh household.

It has been suggested that William earned the nickname Longespée, or Longsword, due to his height and possibly the large sword he fought with.

Today in AD 642,

Oswald of Northumbria met his doom at the hands of the mighty Pagan King Penda at the Battle of Maserfield.

The battle saw his defeat, death, and dismemberment!

[Thread]🧵 The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the early 7th century fought near-constant warfare for dominance and expansion.

The rise of Penda of Mercia worried Oswald of Northumbria, whose predecessor Edwin was killed in battle by Penda and his Welsh allies of Gwynedd.

Today in AD 1265,

Simon de Montfort was hunted down and butchered by a medieval death squad at the Battle of Evesham.

This is how he met such a grizzly end 🧵 Misrule by the inept & inconsistent Henry III led to widespread discontent and eventually rebellion by many of the major barons in England.

This culminated in the Battle of Lewes.

There are many films set during the Middle Ages but not all of them are worth watching.

These are the medieval movies that are most worth watching!

[Thread]🧵


• Kingdom of Heaven •

(Director’s Cut only)

A very enjoyable film about the fall of Jerusalem. It’s aesthetically pleasing. Its flaws are inaccuracy, too broad a scope, & modern bias.

Highly recommend though!

Today in 216 BC,

The forces of the Roman Republic were annihilated by Hannibal and the Carthaginians at the 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐞!

One of the most infamous and crushing defeats of all time, here is what happened.

[Thread]🧵 With a desire to reverse the balance of power after the First Punic War, Hannibal sacked an allied Roman city in Iberia and then crossed the alps to invade Italy.

The 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐭 was a defeat which plunged the Roman Empire into a civil war that brought the Empire down to depths of despair never known before!

A tale of disaster and betrayal…

[Thread]🧵 At the beginning of the 11th Century, the Roman Empire was at the height of its medieval power thanks to the indomitable spirit and military capability of Basil II Boulgaroktónos who extended the empire’s borders on all fronts.

In the 3rd century BC, Rome and its great rival Carthage stared each other down across the Mediterranean.

‘...𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧!’

This is a thread on the Punic Wars!

[Thread]🧵 After Rome emerged victorious from the Samnite Wars and the invasion of Pyrrhus, the Roman Republic turned its attention to Sicily, then party controlled by Carthage.

In the mid-3rd century, Carthage was the most powerful state in the western Mediterranean, with colonies as far away as Iberia.

In Late Antiquity the Roman Empire sought mercenaries far and wide.

Centuries before English exiles joined the famed Varangian Guard, there were surprising links between the Anglo-Saxons and the Roman Empire.

[Thread]🧵 In the 6th century, the emperor Justinian had attempted to avoid war with the Persians in order to focus on his western campaigns of reconquest.

However, after his death, his nephew Justin ended the armistice with the Persians by cancelling the agreed payments.

At this point, the empire was not well situated to fight another war with the Persians as plague had severely affected its manpower and Italy and the Balkans had faced new Barbarian invasions.

The empire was in need of mercenaries.

The greatest and rarest military honour in Ancient Rome, even rarer than a triumph, was the Spolia Opima, the arms and armour of an enemy leader taken after victorious single combat!

Only three men ever achieved it!

[Thread]🧵 • Romulus • 752 BC •

The first example of a Roman winning the Spolia Opima was during Rome’s semi-mythical past.

After the infamous kidnap of the Sabine women, the men of the Sabines were naturally furious and resolved to war.

Livy wrote that the Sabines cities most affected hastily marched on the Romans:

‘Whilst they were scattered far and wide, pillaging and destroying, Romulus came upon them with an army, and after a brief encounter taught them that anger is futile without strength. He put them to a hasty flight, and following them up, killed their king and despoiled his body; then after slaying their leader took their city at the first assault.’

When Saladin captured Jerusalem
Richard the Lionheart immediately took the cross and vowed to journey the Holy Land!

This is the story of his epic battles in…

• 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐄 •

[Thread]🧵 In 1187 the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem had been severely defeated at Hattin and when the news came, Richard took the cross and vowed to travel to the Holy Land. Then news came that Saladin, Sultan of Egypt & Syria, had captured Jerusalem.

In 1189 Richard became king upon the death of his father. As King of England, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou, Richard resolved to deliver the Holy Land from the grasp of Saladin.

Richard did all he could to raise funds and appointed regents to govern his lands while he was away.

The dynasty of the mighty emperor Heraclius is known for fighting against the onslaught of Islamic jihad in the chaotic 7th century.

But they were also a dynasty plagued with personal tragedy and early, often violent, deaths.

[Thread]🧵 • Heraclius •

Heraclius became emperor in 610 after the unpopular reign of the emperor Phocas.

His reign was occupied with fighting the Persian war which began upon Phocas’ own usurpation in 602. Heraclius eventually defeated the Persians on the 620s only to then face down Muslim invasion in the 630s.

The wars of his reign are well known, but less known are the details of his family.

In 349 BC,

A young Roman officer named Marcus Valerius emerged victorious in single combat against a Gallic champion…with the help of a raven!

[Thread]🧵 𝐓he Romans led by Camillus were campaigning against the Gauls in 349 BC.

Camp was set up when the traditional tale of Marcus Valerius is taken up by Livy:

‘Whilst the Romans were passing their time quietly at the outposts, a gigantic Gaul in splendid armour advanced towards them, and delivered a challenge through an interpreter to meet any Roman in single combat.’

In 315 BC,

The Samnites of old dealt the Roman Republic a devastating defeat in the Battle of Lautulae just five years after humiliating them at the Caudine Forks…

During the Great Samnite War!

[Thread]🧵 In the 4th century the Romans began to spread their influence into southern Italy, much to the displeasure of the Samnites.

In 321 BC a Roman army had been outmanoeuvred by the Samnites and forced to make terms at the bloodless ‘battle’ of Caudine Forks where the trapped Romans were surrendered and had to pass under a ceremonial yoke, stripped of their arms.

The new consuls elected to deal with this crisis were Lucius Papirius Cursor and Quintus Publilius Philo.

In 321 BC,

The Romans were utterly humiliated by the Samnites who lured them into a trap and defeated them in a bloodless ‘battle’ at the Caudine Forks.

[Thread]🧵 War between the Romans and Samnites broke out after the Romans began spreading their influence southward and came up against the Samnites.

In 321 when the ‘foremost soldier and commander’ of the Samnites, Gaius Pontius, decided to set a trap on the Roman army advancing toward him.

Today in AD 1099,

Godfrey of Bouillon was elected Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem following the capture of Jerusalem.

This was the culmination of one of the most epic quests ever undertaken in history…

The First Crusade!

[Thread]🧵 ~ Background ~

• AD 1009 - the Fatimids destroy the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem

• 1045 - first large scale Seljuk Turk raids against the east Romans in Anatolia begin

• 1071 - Turks capture Jerusalem from the Fatimids

• 1071 Emperor Romanos IV is defeated and captured by the Turks at the battle of Manzikert. Civil war ensues. Turks flood into Anatolia.

In AD 1024,

A Rus fleet set out in a ill-fated expedition to Constantinople intent on enlisting in the Varangian Guard but their own obstinacy led to a disastrous showdown…

At the Battle of Lemnos!

[Thread]🧵 In the 48th Year of the Reign of Basil II, AD 1024:

A Rus fleet set out for Constantinople led by a man named only Chrysocheir by Skylitzes, a relative of the deceased Grand Prince of Kiev.

One of the greatest warrior kings the world has ever seen; undefeated in battle and a terror to his enemies from Aquitaine to Acre,

This is the epic life of the crusading legend…

𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓

[Thread]🧵 Born in 1157 in Oxford, Richard was the son of the powerful king Henry II and his equally formidable queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Tall and handsome was Richard, and in 1170 his father divided his territories giving Richard Aquitaine and making his older brother Henry co-king. Prince Henry was known as ‘the young king’ from then on.

In 1172, aged just 14, Richard was Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou.

The emperor Justinian burned with a desire to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory.

In the 6th century he sent his generals westward to reconquer what was lost to the barbarians.

𝐓𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐞’𝐬.

[Thread]🧵 Justinian became emperor after his uncle Justin died in 527. He was already known for his tireless work behind the scenes and this would not change as emperor.

Such was his concern that matters were being dealt with correctly that was even known for intervening in relatively trivial legal cases.

But his chief concern was for the restoring the Roman Empire to its position before the 5th century calamity robbed it of its western provinces.

In 509 BC,

In a time when history and legend converged, the Romans overthrew their last ever king.

The birth of the Republic led to several wars and some of the most legendary deeds of the Romans!

[Thread]🧵 • 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐚 •

The earliest history of Rome is shrouded by myth and legend, but the traditional account is that the son of Tarquinius Superbus, the king of Rome, raped a noblewoman named Lucretia.

After reporting this to her husband Collatinus, Lucretia stabbed herself to death to dispel any suspicion that she was lying.

Then her husband together with his close friends, Brutus and Poplicola, swore an oath of revenge against Tarquinius and his family.

In AD 1340:

The English fleet led by Edward III obliterated the French fleet at the Battle of Sluys!

Over 190 ships were destroyed or captured in the first battle of the Hundred Years War.

[Thread🧵] Since the Norman conquest tensions had been rising between the kings of England and France due to the dual role of the English kings: equal as a fellow monarch & inferior as the Duke of his French possessions.

Over time those possessions had been reduced to just Gascony.

Today in AD 1099,

The bruised and battered remnants of the First Crusade poured over the walls of Jerusalem and captured the city!

This is a timeline of their momentous journey!

[Thread]🧵 ~ Background ~

• AD 1009 - the Fatimids destroy the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem

• 1030 - Norman Lord Ranulf becomes Count of Aversa in Italy, the beginning of the Norman settlement and conquest of Southern Italy

• 1033 - the 1000 year anniversary of the Passion of Christ increases pilgrimage to Jerusalem hereafter facilitated by improved relations between the Fatimids and east Romans

•East Roman Emperors begin sending armed escorts, including famed Varangian Harald Hardrada, to some pilgrims to Jerusalem.

• 1045 - first large scale Seljuk Turk raids against the east Romans in Anatolia begin