Edward I, popularly known as "Longshanks" because of his 6 foot 2 inch (1.88 m) frame and the "Hammer of the Scots" (his tombstone, in Latin, read, Hic est Edwardus Primus Scottorum Malleus, "Here is Edward I, Hammer of the Scots"), achieve...

In the two centuries of their known existence the Knights Templar served under twenty-three Grand Masters. It is Jacques DeMolay the twenty-third and last Grand Master however, whom is best know. In 1305, Philip the Fair, King of France,...

Roger of Lauria was a Sicilian admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talented naval tactician of the medieval period. He is...

Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the son of a shoemaker in Cahors. He studied medicine in Montpellier and law in Paris. The two-year gap (sede vacante) between the death of Pope Clement V in...

The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III. The title comes fr...

Conrad, called the Younger or the Boy, but usually known by the diminutive Conradin, was the Duke of Swabia (1254–1268, as Conrad IV), King of Jerusalem (1254–1268, as Conrad III), and King of Sicily (1254–1258, de jure until 1268, as Conra...

Count Floris V of Holland (1254-1296), the "Keerlen God" (Peasant God), is one of the most important figures of the first, native dynasty of Holland (833-1299). His life has been documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his c...

Marco Polo was a Christian merchant from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò a...

The Siege of Baghdad, which lasted from January 29 until February 10, 1258, entailed the investment, capture, and sacking of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, by Ilkhanate Mongol forces and allied troops. The Mongols were under...

Osman I was the leader of the Ottoman Turks and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire. The state, while only a small principality (beylik) during Osman's lifetime, was named after him and would prevail as...

The Shroud of Turin (or Turin Shroud) is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptis...

The Battle of Ain Jalut (or Ayn Jalut) took place on 3 September 1260 between the Egyptian Mamluks and the Mongols in Palestine, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod. This battle is considered by many historians to be of great macr...

Eckhart von Hochheim, commonly known as Meister Eckhart, was a German theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Gotha, in the Landgraviate of Thuringia in the Holy Roman Empire. Eckhart came into prominence during the Avignon Papacy,...

Clement settled in Avignon France in 1309. Until this time all Popes had resided in Rome. Avignon would be the home of the Popes until 1378, with but one brief exception. This period at Avignon is often referred to as the "Avignon Captivity...

Alfonso III, called the Liberal (el Liberal) or the Free, was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona (as Alfons II) from 1285. He conquered the Kingdom of Majorca between his succession and 1287. He was a son of Peter III of Aragon an...