Most Famous Medieval Battles: Hastings to Agincourt

At a glance
	Battle	Date	Forces	Casualties
1	Tours	732	~45,000	unknown
2	Hastings	1066	~18,000	~6,000
3	Hattin	1187	~50,000	~20,000
4	Crécy	1346	~44,000	~12,300
5	Grunwald	1410	~60,000	~19,000
6	Agincourt	1415	~32,000	~10,600

At a glance

Battle

Date

Forces

Casualties

Tours

732

~45,000

unknown

Hastings

1066

~18,000

~6,000

Hattin

1187

~50,000

~20,000

Crécy

1346

~44,000

~12,300

Grunwald

1410

~60,000

~19,000

Agincourt

1415

~32,000

~10,600

Quick answer

What was the biggest medieval battle?

The Battle of Grunwald in 1410, also called Tannenberg, was among the largest battles of medieval Europe, with tens of thousands of soldiers on each side. Of the six great medieval battles in this guide it had the largest armies, about 60,000 men in all. The Teutonic Order was shattered there in an afternoon.

The Middle Ages were shaped by the mounted knight, the castle and the longbow. From the fields of Poland to the mud of northern France, these battles remade kingdoms and ended dynasties.

Tours, 732. Charles Martel halts the Umayyad advance.

Hastings, 1066. The day England changed hands.

Embroidered scene of Norman horsemen cutting down English warriors — The death of King Harold at Hastings on the Bayeux Tapestry, embroidered in the 1070s: HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST, here King Harold is slain. Public domain

Hattin, 1187. Saladin's masterpiece opens the road to Jerusalem.

Crécy, 1346. The longbow breaks the French chivalry.

Grunwald, 1410. The Teutonic Order shattered in an afternoon.

Medieval miniature of armoured knights clashing under Teutonic and Polish banners — The battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in the Spiezer Chronik of Diebold Schilling, illustrated in 1484 and 1485: the Teutonic Knights under their black cross meet the Polish and Lithuanian host. Public domain

Agincourt, 1415. Henry V's archers humble the flower of French chivalry.

See these battles set beside every other era in Battles That Changed the World.

What made the Middle Ages a distinct age of war

Medieval war was dominated by the mounted knight, the castle and the decisive clash of shield walls and cavalry charges. From Hastings to Grunwald, a single afternoon could make or unmake a kingdom, and new weapons like the longbow slowly began to tip the balance away from the armoured horseman. Ground mattered as much as weapons: in 1242 Alexander Nevsky chose to meet the Livonian knights on the frozen Lake Peipus, where their heavy horse would struggle. In 1485 Richard III became the last king of England to die in battle, cut down at Bosworth Field.

Medieval miniature of longbowmen and crossbowmen shooting at each other before knights — English longbowmen and Genoese crossbowmen at Crécy in 1346, in a 15th century manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles illuminated by Loyset Liédet. Public domain

Every battle above has its own full account. See where they sit in the longer story of war in the greatest battles of all time.

Frequently asked questions

What defined warfare in the Middle Ages?

As this guide describes it, the Middle Ages were shaped by the mounted knight, the castle and the longbow. Fought from the fields of Poland to the mud of northern France, these battles remade kingdoms and ended dynasties. They include some of the largest battles medieval Europe ever saw, from Grunwald in 1410 to Agincourt.

Which weapon changed medieval warfare according to the guide?

The guide highlights the longbow, which at Crécy in 1346 broke the French chivalry and at Agincourt in 1415 carried Henry V's archers to victory in the mud. It let foot archers defeat mounted knights, a defining shift of the Middle Ages.

Which medieval battles does the guide consider the most decisive?

The guide points to Tours in 732, where Charles Martel halted the Umayyad advance, Hastings in 1066, the day England changed hands, and Grunwald in 1410, where the Teutonic Order was shattered in an afternoon. Each reshaped the map of medieval Europe.

What was the biggest turning point of the medieval era in the guide?

The guide frames Hastings in 1066 as the day England changed hands, a single battle that decided who would rule the kingdom. It shows how one medieval afternoon could end a dynasty.

Which battles does the medieval guide cover?

This guide to the greatest battles of the Middle Ages covers Tours, Hastings, Hattin, Crécy, Grunwald and Agincourt, six clashes spanning 732 to 1415.

What was the largest medieval battle in Europe?

The Battle of Grunwald, also called Tannenberg, in 1410 was among the largest battles of medieval Europe, with tens of thousands of soldiers on each side. This guide covers Grunwald alongside the other decisive battles of the Middle Ages.

When were the Middle Ages?

Roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD to the late 15th century. The battles here run from Tours in 732 to Agincourt in 1415.

What ended the age of the armoured knight?

A slow combination of the longbow, the pike and finally gunpowder, which by the 16th century made massed infantry and firearms more decisive than heavy cavalry.

The Greatest Battles of the Middle Ages

What was the biggest medieval battle?

What made the Middle Ages a distinct age of war

Frequently asked questions

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