The following posts are part of Battle Castle’s interactive fiction game set against the history of the fall of the great city of Constantinople. Do you want to be part of the story and experience the world of siegecraft, castle engineering and medieval warfare in a deeper way? Become an initiate at the Akademia Gnosi and learn from the Masters of Constantinople. Then choose to fight for the city and all it represents or preserve the knowledge protected within. Join us at www.mastersofconstantinople.com.
Richard the Lionheart died in the midst of his ongoing war against the French King for control of Normandy.
The seeds that grew into the legend of Prester John, the omnipotent ruler of a lost Christian kingdom in a far-off exotic land, can be found in a letter.
Undermining, or sapping, is the ancient siege technique used against the walls of a fortification. In the Middle Ages, the strategy was adopted and developed in response to the advent of stone castles in Western Europe.
Dragons have figured largely in eastern and western mythologies alike. Though there is significant variation across cultures, the dragon was usually depicted as a large and powerful serpent with magical qualities.
Animal stories were immensely popular in the Middle Ages, and richly illustrated collections of these stories were known as bestiaries, which featured mythological creatures side by side with real ones.
In the Middle Ages storytellers could be seen in the market places and were honored members of in royal courts. Troubadours, jongleurs and minstrels had large repertoires or stories memorized for all different sorts of moods, themes, and occasions.
Blacksmithing is an ancient art- so ancient in fact that a number of world mythologies featured smithing gods such as Hephaestus, the Greek god of craftsmen, metallurgy and fire (and his Roman counterpart, Vulcan) who forged weapons for the gods inside a volcano.
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon innovated and utilized by the Byzantine Empire. Its composition was a closely guarded imperial secret, and is now lost to history.
The longbow is one of the world’s most recognizable bows. It is an icon of England’s awesome military capabilities in the later Middle Ages.
The nature of siege warfare meant military and residential spaces were often one and the same, giving women numerous opportunities to participate as combatants in the defense of their homes.
