This book presents, for the first time in English, an overview of the decisive Battle of Aljubarrota (1385), the most important military moment in Portuguese history. The authors embody the conflict in the context of Iberian relations during the fourteenth century, and integrate the battle in the macro European conflict of the Hundred Years War and the repercussions for Iberia, particularly Castile and Portugal. They go on to reflect on the political and diplomatic implications of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance, regarded as a turning point in the establishment of national identity and myth. Finally and uniquely, the book concludes with a presentation of how the battlefield site is preserved today and how to convey the medieval site to new generations.

In summer of 1361, the Danish king conquered the island of Gotland, the centre of Baltic communication and trade. The invaders clashed with local forces outside the walls of Visby. The battle is well known from the excavated mass graves with human skeletons and large quantities of armour, which reveal the savage reality of the medieval battlefield. How was victory possible? Did Danish hyper-professional armies with mercenaries slaughter ill-equipped Gotlandic peasants, while German merchants were passive spectators from the walls of the main city, as historians have claimed? This book challenges traditional interpretations by investigating the human remains and equipment from their societal position, and puts the conquest of Gotland into a broader historical context of the medieval battle for dominium over the Baltic. It also discusses contemporary interpretations of the battle in museums, literature, media, and legends.