Blond He Was and Beautiful

Battles of the Middle Ages is an easy to learn war gaming system that recreates several of the most famous battles of the Medieval period of history, from the end of the Dark Ages to the dawning of Renaissance. These games are designed to be fast and furious, easy to learn, and to play but with enough historical research to make them true to the history.Benevento, 1266The battle of Benevento is one of the most important battles of the long, vicious struggle of strength between the Papacy and the Ghibellin dynasty of the Hohenstaufen family. After the death of Frederic II, King of the Two Sicilies, his bastard son, Manfredi d’Altavilla, raised an army against Pope Clement IV. After a fierce battle, Manfredi was defeated and died in battle. He was made immortal by Dante Alighieri, who put him in Purgatory and said of him “Biondo era, e bello, e di nobile aspetto” (He was blond, and beautiful, and noble in appearance).Tagliacozzo, 1268This battle may be considered the end of the Ghibellines, with the defeat of the last heir of the Hohenstaufen family, Conradin of Svabia. Similar to the earlier battle of Beneventor, it was mostly a clash of knights, resolved by the cunning of Charles of Anjou, who was not reluctant to sacrifice two-thirds of his army to surprise the Ghibellins who thought they had already won the battle before it was even fought (and acted accordingly).