Battle of Grunwald: Defeat of the Teutonic Knights
In July 1410, the formidable Teutonic Knights faced a massive Polish-Lithuanian alliance. After an insulting taunt involving two unsheathed swords, the Battle of Grunwald erupted into a bloody, day-long melee. A conversation with Matt Lewis exploring this epic medieval clash in this episode of Gone Medieval.
4 September, 2026
Crusades are Not Just the Middle East
For most people, the Crusades begin and end with Jerusalem, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. But that narrow view hides a far bigger story. This episode of History Rage explores how crusades transformed northern and eastern Europe in ways that still shape the modern world.
1 June, 2026
The Forgotten Wars that Redefined Europe
While the crusades raged across the Holy Land in the southern Levant, the kingdoms of central and northern Europe were engaged in their own battle to extend Christendom. Speaking to James Osborne in this episode of History Extra, I explore how and when the Baltic Crusades began, and examine their links to the broader crusading culture of the Middle Ages.
2 March, 2026
Teutonic Knights
I join Eleanor Janega on this episode of Gone Medieval to discuss the riveting history of the Teutonic Knights, to find out how a small military-religious order evolved during the Third Crusade into a formidable power controlling vast territories in the Baltic. We explore the nuanced differences between the Teutonic Knights and other crusading groups, their complex relationships with pagans, their dramatic militarisation and how modern Eastern Europe grapples with this complex heritage.
21 January, 2025
Baltic Crusades
In this episode of In Our Time, discussing the Baltic Crusades with Melvyn Bragg, Nora Berend and Martin Palmer. This episode also made it into the book In Our Time: Celebrating Twenty Years of Essential Conversation.
24 November, 2016
