News update 5 June 2014

This is our new MW news update for this week. Of special interest for me this week is a new blog focusing on Dr Tobias Capwell, who writes about “Arms and armour of the First Scottish War of Independence” in the upcoming issue Medieval Warfare IV-3. A look behind the scenes of his job as curator of the Wallace collection can be found in this blog post about photographing the collection’s armour in 2012 and making the 14.000 pictures available as a book/USB combination.

 Also of interest: 

 - The ‘anniversary’ of the fall of the city of Antioch during the First Crusade on 2 June 1098. After months of besieging the city (the siege started in October 1097), during which time they managed to defeat two relief armies, they managed to gain entry into the city by collaborating with a local guardsman. After the city fell, they proceeded to slaughter thousands of inhabitants, both Muslims and Christians alike. The victors were soon besieged themselves by a third relief army, which only ended after the Battle of Antioch on 28 June.

- The Battle of Turaida (or Treiden), fought on 1 June 1298, in which the Livonian Order was pitted against the inhabitants of Riga and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Battle was lost by the Livonian Order, a branche of the Teutonic knights. Initially, they were comprised of the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, who were decisively defeated at the Battle of Saule in 1236, and then incorporated into the Teutonic Order. The initial core of Livonian Swordbrothers mostly perished at the Battle of Lake Peipus. More information about the Swordbrothers, and about the conflict between the Livonian Order and Alexander Nevsky, can be found in Medieval Warfare IV.1.

- Last but not least, take a look at this amazing image from a joust at Hedingham Castle.