To say that European history is ripe with conflict is an understatement. Whether engaging in heated battles against foreign foes along the Mediterranean Sea, or against each other through thick northern forests, the states of Europe were defined by seemingly continuous conflict. As indicated by the 3rd to 6th-century Gothic wars between the Germanic Goths and the Roman Empire, Medieval Europe was born in a state of war. During the millennia-long Medieval Era (5th to 15th century CE), European conflict would shape the development of the continent and its peoples, setting the stage for the coming era of European maritime dominance.
European Conflicts Map
The map below provides a representation of European political boundaries near the end of the Medieval Era. During the 14th century, the states of Western Europe were often in conflict with each other, shaping the identity of their growing nations at the cost of thousands of lives. On the Iberian Peninsula, the Reconquista was reaching its last centuries of war, as the last remaining Moorish Kingdom of Granada held on to the southern tip of the Peninsula. Eastern Europe was fighting against the expansion of the Mongolian Golden Horde through modern-day Russia, and the last vestige of the Byzantine Empire based in Constantinople was engaging in continued conflict with the forces of Islam.
Fig. 1- Map depicting the political boundaries of territories within and around Europe in 1328.
While it is not necessary to memorize the map above, it is important to recognize the geographical reasons for the success of certain kingdoms and rising nations against others. For example, Eastern Europe was under the constant pressure of foreign invasions. Western Europe, such as England and France, was geographically detached from immediate threats of Mongol or Turkic invasions. Develop upon that concept and try to make some of your own astute observations!
European Conflicts Timeline
The following timeline provides a brief progression of events relevant to the concept of European Conflict. The timeline is not inclusive (it would be nearly impossible to list every European Conflict in a single article):
554 CE: The nearly 300 years of Gothic Wars end in Europe, a large contributing factor to the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the creation of the Byzantine Empire.
Early 700's-1492 CE: The Reconquista takes place between the Catholic Kingdoms and Islamic Moors of the Iberian Peninsula.
793: The first recorded Viking raid takes place in England at Lindisfarne, beginning three centuries of Viking conflict in Western Europe.
1066: William the Conqueror's victory at the battle of Hastings marks the Normans as victorious in their conquest of England.
1095 to 1291: Europeans from many nations organize at least eight Crusades against the Islamic Turks in the East.
1230-1240 CE: The Golden Horde under Batu Khan presses further into Russia and Eastern Europe, beginning over a century of dominance in the region.
1337 to 1453: The Hundred Years War rages between the kingdoms of England and France and their allies.
1453: The Byzantine capital of Constantinople falls to the besieging Ottoman Empire, marking the end of the Medieval Era in world history.
Major European Conflicts
From the tip of Scotland to modern-day Turkey, Europe engaged in hundreds, if not thousands, of conflicts during the Medieval Era. Some conflicts lasted less than a year; others, such as the Reconquista, an effort by the Iberian Catholic Kingdom to push off the Islamic Moors, lasted nearly eight centuries. The struggle against the spread of Islam continued in North Africa, and especially in Anatolia (roughly modern-day Turkey), where the Eastern and Western Christian Churches orchestrated multiple Crusades against the Islamic Turks in an effort to reclaim Jerusalem and the Holy Land. During the 13th and 14th centuries.
Fig. 2- Art depicting the united Catholic Kingdoms marching upon Granada during the Reconquista.
But Europe was not always unified against its external enemies. Old rivalries against states were forged, such as in William the Conqueror's Norman conquest against the Anglo-Saxons in the 11th century. The not-so Hundred Years' War (it lasted 116 years from 1337 to 1453) rekindled that rivalry between the Normans and Anglo-Saxons, this time as France and England, respectively.
Viking Invasions
From a European perspective, one can easily yet mistakenly view the Vikings as raiders from another land, descending upon the peaceful settlements of the Anglo-Saxons. Hailing from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden from the 8th to the 11th centuries, the Vikings were distinctly European. The invasions of the Northman, often embellished by scholars as horn-helmeted savages (no, the Vikings didn't wear horns!), do well to represent the long struggle between European peoples within the continent of Europe.
Fig. 3- Art depicting a Viking fleet landing in Dublin, Ireland.
Though they sailed on long ships and raided Christian monasteries with fervor, the Vikings were also farmers, craftsmen, kings, queens, and priests. For many years, the Vikings acted as rulers over almost all of England. The famous Viking Rollo became the first ruler of Normandy in northern France. The Vikings of Scandinavia successfully engrained themselves in English and French civilizations and culture through conflict.
Mongol Invasions
Although Genghis Khan died in 1227, his legacy carried on through his descendants, who inherited his fractured empire. Eager to expand the Golden Horde Khanate, Batu Khan pressed his warriors deep into Russia and Eastern Europe. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Teutonic Knights and Templars from Europe fought desperately against the strength of the Mongol Horde. The Russian Princes acted as vassal states beneath the Golden Horde, and were glad to employ Mongol protection against Poland and Lithuania.
The Eastern Europeans were generally successful in rejecting the Mongol invasion of the Golden Horde. The humid climate, infrastructure of castles, and defensive tactics slowed the Golden Horde's roll. Even still, Russia was left under strong Mongolian influence for many years, an integral and deeply rooted period in Russian history.
- European kingdoms and burgeoning nations fought against foreign (mostly Islamic) foes, such as the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, the Turks in Anatolia, and the Golden Horde in modern-day Russia.
- The Europeans also fought among themselves, such as the Viking and Norman invasions, as well as the Hundred Years' War, in addition to many smaller conflicts.
The Crusades
As mentioned before, the Crusades were Holy Wars orchestrated by the two divisions of the recently split East and West Christian Church. In 1095, Pope Urban II called upon Europe for aid in battling the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia, and the continent answered with alacrity. The First Crusade was a clear victory for the Christian Crusaders, but subsequent efforts (including 7 more major Crusades and a handful of smaller ones) were less successful. Later, in 1453, the Ottoman Turks who replaced the Seljuk Turks captured Constantinople, asserting Islamic dominance in the Middle East. But that is not the end of the story!
Fig.4- Art depicting the Siege of Antioch during the First Crusade.
The Crusades, as well as the invasions of the Golden Horde, facilitated the transfusion of eastern ideas, technologies, and goods into the west. War in the Middle East reconnected the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, not only renewing European interest in Asia, but also advancing Western Europe's economies and militaries. For example, historians believe that gunpowder technology traveled into Europe through the Middle East by way of the Islamic Turks and later through the revitalized Silk Road of the Mongol Empire.
Byzantine Wars:
From 1299 to 1453, the Byzantine Empire faced the Ottomans on their own terms. By then, the Byzantine Empire was already fractured, split into three subdivisions following the sacking of Constantinople by soldiers of the Fourth Crusade in 1203. That may sound surprising, but tensions between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Western Roman Catholic Church were at an all-time high due to various political and economic issues. During the Byzantine Wars, the eastern remnant of the Roman Empire faced strife from the west, east, and within, culminating in the final besieging of their capital Constantinople in 1453. The successful Ottoman Empire renamed the city Istanbul, a city which still stands today.
The Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a massive conflict between the increasingly nationalistic kingdoms of England and France in Western Europe. Drawing tensions from William the Conqueror's invasion of England in the 11th century, the war began over a dispute over the succession of the French throne. Edward III of England, a true descendant of French royalty, made a claim for rule in France. Philip, the Count of Valois, inherited the French throne instead. When King Edward III refused to pay homage to Philip's rule, war erupted between the two kingdoms.
Fig. 5- Joan of Arc hoisting a French banner during the 1428-1429 Siege of Orleans.
Five generations of conflict passed during the Hundred Years' War, with heroes and legends rising among the history books, such as Joan of Arc, a female soldier and heroic symbol of the French military. France emerged victorious as the conflict came to a halt in the mid-15th century, but the war only further divided French and English relations for the centuries to come. The Early Modern Period (1450-1750) following the Medieval Era would only see a continuation of conflicts between Europe, as the stage for their battles transitioned from the forests of Europe to the oceans of the world.
European Conflicts - Key takeaways
- During the Medieval Period (5th to 15th century), Europe was embroiled in hundreds if not thousands of wars, ranging from petty squabbles to nearly 800-year-long conquests.
- European kingdoms and burgeoning nations fought against foreign (mostly Islamic) foes, such as the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, the Turks in Anatolia, and the Golden Horde in modern-day Russia.
- The Europeans also fought among themselves, such as the Viking and Norman invasions, as well as the Hundred Years' War, in addition to many smaller conflicts.
- The Crusades in Southeastern Europe and the Hundred Years' War in Western Europe shaped Europe's military, economy, and political state, preparing for the coming era of maritime dominance.
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