War in the Western Middle Ages
THE Middle Ages, historical period that lasted about ten centuries, from the 5th to the 15th century d. C., was characterized, from a political point of view, by the deterioration of the Western Roman Empireand rise of christian kingdoms. These Christian kingdoms were born from the combative force of Christianized barbarian peoples, especially of Germanic origin, such as the francs.The formation of Christian kingdoms implied the incorporation of elements romansand Germanicin their organizations.
You armies of these realms merged tactics, techniques and armaments of combat inherited from these two cultures (for more details on weapons, see this text: Medieval weapons). At the same time, in addition to the Western European scene, other great civilizations also rose in this period that corresponds to the Middle Ages, and all of them with great military structure and capacity to subdue and conquer other peoples. Three are worth mentioning.
Islam: Born in the Arabian Peninsula, he managed to expand towards North Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe.
Mongolian Empire: Born in the Far East, north of China, managed to build the empire to the greatest extent territory of all history, covering almost all of Asia (including Russia), Indochina and the east European.
Byzantine Empire: remnant of Antiquity, it endured until the year 1453, when its center, Constantinople, was invaded and subdued by Muslims.
Wars fought between Christian kingdoms
Both in the domains of Western Europe and beyond, important battles took place during the thousand years of the Middle Ages. These battles took place between the western Christian kingdoms themselves, which came into conflict due to factors such as succession of thrones and territorial disputes (let us cite as an example of this the Hundred Years Warand the War of the Roses).
Other types of military campaigns
There were also direct conflicts between Western Christians and the Byzantine Empire, as happened at the time of Crusades, and between Christians and Muslims, also at the time of the Crusades and, above all, in the Wars of Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. From the east, the great Mongol emperor of the 13th century, Genghis Khan, stood out for putting together a war machinewhich for decades provoked enormous tension in Asia Minor, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, causing bloody clashes, mainly with Muslims.
Islamic expansion took place in the Middle Ages, causing numerous armed conflicts
Conflicts with Muslim Peoples
From all that ambience of medieval wars, many curiosities stand out. One of them concerns the origin of military continence, which goes back to the gesture of the Christian knights of lifting the metal visor of their helmet in order to face, eye to eye, their opponent before a duel. Another curiosity regarding the atmosphere of the wars of the Middle Ages refers to the posture of the arab fightersafter they were Islamized, that is, after they were converted to Islam by Muhammad.
The Arabs, before Islam, had never been able to expand and conquer large territories. This only came about with his conversion. Knowing the reasons for this is of paramount importance to understanding the Middle Ages. Finally, another interesting theme referring to the medieval wars is the story, at once real and legendary, of El Cid, a noble fighter born in the kingdom of Castella (Spain), who fought as a mercenary both alongside Christians and Moors (Muslims born in southern Spain). El Cid is a complex figure that helps us understand the complexity of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
