This newsletter contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to explore them, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. A small way to help keep the Archives going.
Greetings {{first name | Producer}},
Welcome to the Weekly Herald for the week of 07 June 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 in the Middle Ages, exhausted crusaders finally arrive before the towering walls of Jerusalem, beginning the siege that would become one of the most consequential and bloody chapters of the First Crusade.
On the windswept coast of Lindisfarne, Viking raiders launch the attack that would announce a terrifying new age for Europe, while the mighty Frederick Barbarossa meets an unexpected end on crusade, altering the course of Christendom’s struggle for the Holy Land.
In Siena, the unveiling of Maestà offers a glimpse of artistic brilliance that would help shape the coming Renaissance. And in England, gathering crowds at Blackheath signal the rising fury of the Peasants’ Revolt, a moment when ordinary people dared to challenge the foundations of medieval power.
Siege of Jerusalem (Public Domain)
07 Jun 1099 - The Siege of Jerusalem
By June 1099, the men of the First Crusade had marched farther than most medieval Europeans could imagine. They had crossed mountains, deserts, and hostile kingdoms, endured starvation and disease, and fought their way across Anatolia and the Levant.
Nearly three years after Pope Urban II’s call to arms at Clermont, the surviving crusaders finally stood before the walls of Jerusalem, the city that had driven their long and brutal pilgrimage eastward.
What they found was no easy prize. Jerusalem’s defenses were formidable, its walls strong and heavily guarded by the Fatimid garrison. Worse still, the crusaders were exhausted and dangerously short of supplies. The blazing June heat, scarce water, and dwindling food stores quickly turned anticipation into desperation.
They lacked the siege engines needed to breach the city and faced the grim possibility that, after surviving years of hardship, they might fail within sight of their ultimate goal.
Yet the crusader leaders understood there could be no retreat. In a remarkable feat of determination, they scavenged timber from the surrounding countryside and dismantled ships brought to nearby ports for usable materials. Working feverishly under relentless conditions, they constructed siege towers and battering devices while religious processions wound through their camps, blending military urgency with spiritual fervor.
The siege that began on June 7 would culminate just weeks later in one of medieval history’s most infamous and bloody episodes. But at its opening, the outcome remained uncertain. As the crusaders gazed up at Jerusalem’s walls, they faced the final and most perilous challenge of their long journey: capturing the city that had defined their crusade.
📚 Explore the Crusades:
– The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge
THIS WEEK IN THE MIDDLE AGES
08 Jun 793 - The Raid on Lindisfarne
The sack of the monastery at Lindisfarne sent shockwaves through Christian Europe. To contemporaries, the attack seemed almost apocalyptic, announcing the terrifying arrival of Viking raiders on England’s shores and marking the traditional beginning of the Viking Age..
12 Jun 1381 - The Peasants’ Revolt Reaches Blackheath
Thousands of rebels gathered outside London, transforming scattered unrest into a full-scale national uprising. Their arrival at Blackheath marked the moment England’s ruling elite realized the revolt had become a direct threat to royal authority.
10 Jun 1190 - Barbarossa Drowns During the Third Crusade
One of Europe’s most powerful rulers met an unexpectedly end when he drowned while crossing the Saleph River in Anatolia. His death shattered the momentum of the German crusading force and altered the course of the Third Crusade.
09 Jun 1310 - Maestà is Unveiled
When Duccio’s magnificent altarpiece was installed in Siena Cathedral, it was carried through the city in an elaborate public procession. The masterpiece became one of the defining works of early Italian painting, bridging medieval devotional art and the coming Renaissance.
Maestà by Duccio (Public Domain)
THE ILLUMINATION
Bayeux Tapestry, Scene 38 (Public Domain)
38 - HIC WILLELM[US] DUX IN MAGNO NAVIGIO MARE TRANSIVIT ET VENIT AD PEVENESAE
(38 - Here Duke William in a great ship crossed the sea and came to Pevensey)
THE HERALD'S LEXICON
Word of the Week: SOLAR
An upper living room (often private quarters) in a castle or manor house.
Continue the journey beyond the archives.
Claim your free audiobook from Audible and immerse yourself in epic battles, royal intrigue, and the stories that shaped history.
Click the banner below to get started — free to try, cancel anytime.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
The Medieval Papacy series continues to cover the popes of the Middle Ages. If you missed any articles you can find them on the Medieval Papacy Page.
On the battlefront, the Medieval Warfare series is covering all the famous (and forgotten) battles of the Middle Ages. View the archives and learn more about the battles.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
On 12 Jun 1381, the Peasant’s Revolt reached London. Discover the history behind the revolt and outcome.
The Royal Question of the Week
What simple but devastating weapon allowed a heavily outnumbered English force to wipe out the flower of the French nobility at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415?
- Answer
“When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then a gentleman?”
Passing the Weekly Herald along to a fellow history enthusiast is one of the simplest ways to support Medieval Archives.
