Greetings {{first name | Producer}},
Welcome to the Weekly Herald for the week of 01 March 2026.
Each week, we return to the chronicles of the Middle Ages, marking anniversaries, revisiting battles, and tracing the enduring consequences of medieval history.
This week, we witness one of the bloodiest battles in medieval history, fought on Palm Sunday, as well as a rebellion in Sicily and a call to launch a Crusade.
The Battle of Towton by John Quartley (Public Domain)
The Battle of Towton: A Dynasty Decided in a Vicious Palm Sunday Snowstorm
Since 1455m England was embroiled in the Wars of the Roses, with supporters of the House of York and the House of Lancaster contesting who had the right to rule.
On Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461, the two rivals to England’s crown clashed near Towton in North Yorkshire, an all‑day battle, waged in raging winter weather that contemporaries remembered for its relentless brutality.
Yorkist momentum brought Edward IV to the forefront, while Lancastrian forces still fought for Henry VI and both sides knew that a decisive battlefield result could settle what councils and parliaments could not.
Sources describe a long engagement (around ten hours) under punishing conditions, with wind and snow complicating visibility and tactics.
The arrival of fresh troops led by the Duke of Norfolk was a breaking point that helped turn exhaustion into flight, followed by merciless killing. Towton was won with endurance, reinforcements, and the collapse of morale rather than a single heroic moment.
The Battle of Towton is described as “the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil.”
Approximately 50,000-60,000 thousand soldiers fought in the Battle of Towton. Casualty numbers estimate 4,000 dead for the House of York and 8,000 for the House of Lancaster, including Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland.
Towton delivered a decisive Yorkist victory and secured the English throne (at least for a little while) for Edward IV against Lancastrian opposition.
THIS WEEK IN THE MIDDLE AGES
30 March 1282 - The Sicilian Vespers ignite
A rebellion erupted in Sicily against the Angevin rule of Charles I of Anjou, beginning around vespers time near Palermo and rapidly spreading across the island.
31 March 1146 - Vézelay and the call for the Second Crusade
At Vézelay, Bernard of Clairvaux preached in support of the Second Crusade, with Louis VII of France among those drawn into the venture.
4 April 1081 - Alexios I Komnenos crowned, ushering in a new Byzantine era
Alexios I Komnenos was crowned Byzantine emperor (beginning the Komnenian dynasty) in 1081, a reign later associated with stabilizing reforms and a partial restoration of imperial strength amid intense external pressure.
THE ILLUMINATION
Bayeux Tapestry, Scene 26 (Public Domain)
HIC PORTATUR CORPUS EADWARDI REGIS AD ECCLESIAM S[AN]C[T]I PETRI AP[OSTO]LI
(Here the body of King Edward is carried to the Church of Saint Peter the Apostle)
THE HERALD'S LEXICON
Word of the Week: DISTRAINT
Seizing or holding someone’s goods until a debt or obligation is paid.
FROM THE FORGE
This week the Medieval Papacy looks at one of the greatest popes in history, Leo I.
On the battlefront, we head back to 12th century Scandinavia for a viking naval battle in the Sognefjord.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
Settle the Record
Question of the Week:
Which French monarch suffered from a bizarre psychological affliction where he believed his body was made of glass and had iron rods sewn into his clothes to prevent himself from shattering?
- Answer
“Nothing is so strong as gentleness.”
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