After the Arab invasions of the 7^th century AD set the stage for great conflicts, the tumultuous 8^th century featured Saracen armies marching across the Iberian Peninsula and into France, clashing with Christian kingdoms along the way.

Theme: The first clash - The Saracen invasion of Spain and France in the 8th century.

• Historical introduction – Iván Giménez, ‘Introduction to the theme’.
• The Source – Murray Dahm, ‘On early Arab chronicles’.
• Albert Raul, ‘The Berbers in Spain’.
• Kai Grundmann, ‘The fall of the Visigoths and the rise of Asturia’.
• David Balfour, ‘The Battle of Tours/Poitiers’.

Features:

• The Weapon – Ross Cowan, ‘The Two-Handed Scottish Highland Sword’.
• The Castle – Gareth Williams, ‘Castles in Western Europe in the 8th-11th century’.
• Special – Jon Sneddon, ‘Medieval German tournaments and tournament societies’.
• The Battle – Charles Jones, ‘The Battle of Fulford, 1066’.
• Weapon Handling – John Clements, ‘Swords against armour – Part II: Plate armour’.