The Cilician Gates

In spring 1137 Emperor John II Komnenos led the Roman army into Cilicia, as part of his effort to reconquer former Roman provinces in Anatolia. 

The army entered via the Cilician Gates, a narrow pass 'above the clouds' in the Taurus Mountains. John's men were immediately assaulted by a hail of missiles, thrown down from above by Armenians waiting in ambush. Undismayed, the emperor led his troops onward through the pass, hacking through the Armenians to storm an unnamed fortress held by 'barbarians'.

The Cilician Gates today

John's deeds were praised by the poet, Italikos, who compared this battle to the famous Battle of Thermopylae, where the Persians were opposed by just 300 Spartans (and several thousand Greek auxiliaries, lest we forget). Italikos also compared John to the classical Greek hero, Theseus, and his defeat of the bandits Skironas and Sinis Pitukamptes on the road between Troezen and Athens. 

The emperor's most recent biographer, Maximilian C.G. Lau, has traced John's route through the mountains and identified the fortress as Gulek Kalesi (castle), the ruins of which still occupy a dizzying height, sixteen hundred metres above sea level. This version is supported by the Anonymous Syriac Chronicle, which describes John arriving in Cilicia through the Gates, and then sending a message to the Latin rulers of the Holy Land, asking them to pay their respects to him. 

Leonidas at Thermopyale by Jacques-Louis David (1814)

John's capture of this fortress secured both the pass and entrance to Cilicia from the north. He was then able to enter the province and advance on the city of Tarsus. Along the way his troops attacked lesser towns and strongholds and fought off Armenian skirmishers. Italikos records a fight at the River Lamos (modern Limonlu) where John's cavalry forced passage across the water. Another detachment was sent off to plunder 'watchful Askora', a rich territory north-west of the Cilician Gates.

Antony & Cleopatra by Edwin Austin Abbey (1909)

Finally, the main body of the imperial army arrived before the gates of Tarsus, famous as the birthplace of St Paul and the place where Mark Antony and Cleopatra first met. Here, John was met by Raymond of Antioch and Joscelin of Edessa, who had responded to his summons to come and pay homage to him. Overjoyed by their arrival, according to the Syriac Chronicle, John now prepared to storm the city. 

A fine head of white hair

On this day in 1408 the battle of Bramham Moor was fought in Yorkshire. This was the last battle of the Percy rebellion against Henry IV, or Henry of Bolingbroke, who had seized the throne from Richard II in 1399.

The Percies posed a serious threat to Henry's fragile regime. In 1403 he had narrowly won the battle of Shrewsbury and killed Henry 'Hotspur', the most famous of the Percy clan. However, pitched battles were rarely decisive, and Shrewsbury did not put an end to the disturbances in England. 

Hotspurs's father, the old Earl of Northumberland, fled to Scotland. In early February 1408 the king was informed that Northumberland and his loyal ally, Thomas Bardolf, had returned to raise a new army from the traditional Percy power base in the north. 

Despite his ill-health, Henry raced north to crush this latest revolt. His loyal sheriff of Yorkshire, Sir Thomas Rokeby, got there ahead of him. After mustering the local levies, Rokeby blocked the path of the rebel army at Grimbald Bridge near Knaresborough. This forced the earl to make a detour via Tadcaster, where his army was quickly surrounded by Lancastrian loyalists. 

Northumberland chose to make a stand on Bramham Moor, south of Wetherby. Battle was joined at about 2pm on 19th February. It probably began with an exchange of arrows, as the longbowmen on both sides sought to thin out the enemy ranks. 

Rokeby's main body then charged. After a brief but savage encounter, the rebels were utterly defeated. Northumberland himself was killed on the field, and Bardolf so badly wounded he died soon afterwards. Their heads were brought to Henry at Stony Stratford; he ordered that of Northumerbland, 'with its fine head of white hair', impaled on a lance and sent south to be displayed on London Bridge. His body was hanged, drawn and quartered and displayed in various towns, as was the custom for those deemed traitors.

The brief battle must have been hellish, fought during one of the harshest winters in living memory. Despite the appalling weather, and his own infirmity, Henry insisted on going north to supervise the mopping-up operations. He spent twelve days at Wheel Hall, south of York, sentencing or pardoning rebels, and then three weeks at Pontefract. By the end of May he was back in London. 

The stress of the revolt and its aftermath was too much for him. Towards the end of June 1408, after moving from London to Mortlake, Henry collapsed. His health would never recover. 

Stones and thunderbolts

The island fortress of Kizkalesi, Mersin Province, Turkey

In spring 1137, after months of preparation, Emperor John II Komnenos set out through the mountain passes of Pampylia. His objective was the coastal fortress of Seleukia, which was besieged by the army of Leon I, ruler of Armenia. After that he intended to conquer the former Roman province of Cilicia in southern Anatolia.

The situation was urgent. Leon had already captured the plains cities of Mopsuestia, Tarsus and Ardana, as well as Sarventikar, an important fortress that guarded the Amanian Gate: this was the main northern pass through the Amanus mountains (the Nur mountains in modern-day Turkey). 

Leon's control of these unstable lands, wracked by so many decades of war, was fragile. They were swarming with bandits, pirates, bands of nomadic Turks, as well as Isaurians still loyal to the distant Emperor in Constantinople. 

To make things worse, Leon himself had been captured by Raymond, the Frankish prince of Antioch, and thrown into prison. His three sons then fell out with each other. The eldest, Constantine, was blinded by his brothers, before they too were captured by the Franks. 

All of which made John II's task that much easier. Marching swiftly through the mountains, he attacked the twin fortresses of Korykos and Kizkalesi (pictured) which had been seized by the Armenians. They were soon bombarded into surrender: the poet, Italikos, described how Korykos was overwhelmed by the stones and 'thunderbolts' of the Emperor's siege weapons. The capture of this fort and its harbour was an essential first step for John's reconquest of Cilicia.

John then moved on towards Seleukia. The Armenians lifted the siege and withdrew, enabling the imperial army to march on towards Cilicia. His men entered the Cilician Gates through a narrow pass 'above the clouds', where they were ambushed by Armenians waiting on the rocky heights above. These men threw missiles down onto the heads of John's soldiers, but after hard fighting the Romans broke through and stormed an unnamed mountain stronghold. 

This stronghold has been identified with Gulek Kalesi (castle), a dramatically situated fortress inside the Taurus Mountains. Set high above the peaks, the castle has been described as:

"...like the nest of some prehistoric bird almost 1600 metres above sea level."

The capture of the fortress secured both the pass and the entrance to Cilicia from the north. John was now poised to drive further into Cilicia, capturing or destroying smaller castles and settlements en route to the plains cities. 

A toothless dog

An image of Edmund of Lancaster and St George

#OTD in 1273 Edmund of Lancaster appealed to the council in London for military aid against Robert de Ferrers, Earl of Derby.

Derby had attacked Chartley in Staffordshire, one of his old manors, and stormed the castle at night. Edmund quickly raised an army to besiege the castle, but needed help to retake it.

This was one of the many private wars raging up and down England, after the death of Henry III the previous November. A few years earlier, Derby had been disinherited by the late king and his sons, and all his vast estates re-granted to Edmund (Henry's second son).

Perhaps unwisely, Derby was then released from custody. He was now a bandit chief, roving about the country with his remaining followers, doing as much damage as possible.

The new king, Edward I, had gone to crush a revolt in Gascony instead of returning to England for his coronation. In his absence, the great lords turned on each other. While the pard is away and all that.

Two days after Edmund's plea, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, sent a letter to the council. Clare bemoaned the state of England, and warned there could be no peace until the nobles stopped fighting each other.

The red dog, as Clare was called, knew all about that. In May he reached a private agreement with Derby, in which they agreed to support each other against their enemies. This secret deal was witnessed by the Earl of Surrey, John Fitz John and James Audley, a powerful Marcher baron.

Derby had assembled quite the list of allies. Clare and Surrey were two of the wealthiest earls in England, while Fitz John and Audley were powerful and aggressive barons: Fitz John had once earned notoriety by murdering Rabbi Abraham, a rich Jew, on the steps of a synagogue in London.

Meanwhile Edmund recruited the Earl of Lincoln and Reynold Grey, justice of Chester and High Sheriff of Nottingham. Thus, two factions of nobles geared up to attack each other. Another civil war loomed, the third in just over a decade.

Edmund made the first move. Without waiting for a response from Westminster, he and his allies stormed Chartley and butchered the garrison. Derby narrowly escaped the slaughter, while his friends stood by and did nothing. Suddenly the red dog looked rather toothless.

The shoemaker of Rudau

#OTD in 1370 (or the following day) yet another battle was fought between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and some Western military order types. On this occasion the battle was fought at Rudau, north of Königsberg, and the military types were the Teutonic Knights.

Not much is known of the battle, except the Knights won and probably exaggerated the scale of the victory. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, though the Lithuanians had to retreat to a hastily built barricade inside a forest. Despite the loss, they were still capable of military action in the following years.

The battle inspired a local legend that an apprentice shoemaker, Hans von Sagan, picked up the Teutonic banner after the standard-bearer had been killed. He then rallied the Knights and led them to victory. When asked what he would like for a reward, Hans requested that the burghers of Kneiphof receive annual beer from Königsberg Castle. This beer, traditionally granted on Ascension Day, became popularly known through Königsberg as 'Schmeckbier'.

According to Wiki, Hans probably didn't exist, but was based on the real-life Duke Balthasar of Żagań. He was a Polish nobleman who served in the Teutonic Knights and was eventually starved to death by his brother. Which is nice.

Bruce and 'le droite'

On 16 February 1302 Edward I issued a pardon to Robert de Bruce. Coincidentally or not, this was the expiry date for the arrival of French agents in Scotland. Via his own treaty, Philip the Fair was supposed to send his officers to take custody of lands in Scotland conquered by Edward the previous autumn.

In the event, not a single Frenchman set foot on Scottish soil. Edward, who had carried on stocking his garrisons in Scotland, was left free to secure his gains. These consisted of lands and castles in SW Scotland.

As for Bruce, he had freely entered into a pact with Longshanks, just like his father and grandfather before him. The terms of this agreement centred upon Edward's promise to help Bruce pursue his 'right', if and when John Balliol returned to Scotland.

The precise meaning of the 'right' (le droit) is uncertain. It was obviously a cause of anxiety to Bruce, and he and Edward discussed the matter with remarkable frankness. If anything occured to threaten Bruce's right - whatever it was - the king swore to uphold the Bruce cause.

The 'right' probably did not refer to Bruce's claim to the throne. Edward had long since abandoned his experiment with puppet kings in Scotland, and was unlikely to reverse his policy for Bruce's sake alone. Instead the right almost certainly referred to his claim to the earldom of Carrick, and expectant right to his father's estates in Scotland and England.

Attached is a pic of some guy dressed as Bruce. I'm running out of relevant Brucey pics, so might have to dress up myself soon. Look out for that.

Scotland's Medieval Queens

Scotland’s Inspiring Medieval Queens

By Sharon Bennett Connolly

The inspiration for Scotland’s Medieval Queens came primarily from a conversation with my son after his GCSE English Lit class a few years ago. He was studying The Tragedy of Macbeth and was quite perturbed with the way Shakespeare had portrayed Lady Macbeth. In no uncertain terms, I was told, ‘Mum, you need to set the record straight!’

So, I got to thinking….

I didn’t need much persuading. I have loved Scottish History ever since reading Nigel Tranter’s The Bruce Trilogy many years ago. And, of course, there was The Outlaw King, in which the roles of the women in Robert the Bruce’s life had their roles downplayed or ignored. 

All this, and my son and Lady Macbeth gave me the kernel of an idea.

There is not enough information about Gruoch to write an entire book about her, but what if I start with her and develop the idea to include all of Scotland’s medieval queens? If you have read my blog, or Heroines of the Medieval World, you will know of my interest in Scottish history and, in particular, St Margaret, the women of the Bruce family and Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots as the wife of James I. I already had the beginnings of the book.

Scottish history is fascinating! It is violent, politically charged and passionate. Being inconveniently situated on England’s northern border was never easy for Scotland, but it has made for some great stories over the centuries. Scotland’s story is often that of brother against brother, ambition and family rivalries causing feuds that threatened the stability of the crown itself. Such fissures, of course, grew and ruptured with the aid of English interference and encouragement. The King of England was always happy to play one side off against the other if it weakened Scotland’s position. 

And Scotland’s medieval queens, be they Scottish, English, Danish or French, formed a big part of that story.

More often than not, these disputes north and south of the border were resolved in peace treaties, sealed by wedding bells. A number of English princesses and noblewomen found themselves married to Scotland’s kings as a consequence. 

The longest period of peace between the two countries was in the thirteenth century, when Henry III’s daughter, Margaret, married Alexander III, King of Scots. It is probably unsurprising, given the history between the two countries, that the long peace was shattered by the death of  Margaret and Alexander’s granddaughter, little Margaret, the Maid of Norway, which gave Edward I of England the opportunity to direct Scotland’s affairs. Margaret’s death left the Scots throne vacant, with thirteen Competitors vying for the crown, staking their claims as Edward acted as adjudicator.

Suffice it to say, Scotland’s turbulent history is often linked with that of England.

Scotland’s Medieval Queens aims to put the women at the forefront of Scotland’s story, to highlight their role and influence on Scottish history and on Scotland’s kings, culture and landscape. These women, however, did not act wholly independently, so while this book brings their actions into the limelight, it will be always within the context of the wider story of Scotland, from the eleventh to the fifteenth century.

Authors often say their book was ‘a labour of love’ but I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of writing Scotland’s Medieval Queens. They were strong, intelligent women who faced their challenges head on. They didn’t always make the right decisions – but who does? But they fought – for their families and their country. Each and every one of Scotland’s Queens was an inspiration and I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to tell their stories.

Author bio:

Sharon Bennett Connolly is the best-selling author of several non-fiction history books. Her latest, Scotland’s Medieval Queens, will be released in January 2025. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at Conisbrough Castle. She also writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinterestingbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Slice of Medieval, alongside historical novelist Derek Birks. Sharon regularly gives talks on women's history, for historical groups, festivals and in schools; her book Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is a recommended text for teaching the Norman Conquest in the National Curriculum. She is a feature writer for All About History and Living Medieval magazines and her TV work includes Australian Television's 'Who Do You Think You Are?'

Buy link: mybook.to/ScottishQueens

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