Adrian R. Bell, Anne Curry, and Jason Sadler / The Conversation

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An illustration depicting a fierce naval battle, identified as the Battle of Sluys. Two large, wooden medieval ships are shown locked together, full of soldiers fighting hand-to-hand. The decks are crowded with men in armour, many wearing bascinet-style helmets and some carrying shields, engaged in close combat with swords, axes, and spears. On the right ship, several English archers are prominently shown drawing their longbows, firing towards the opposing vessel. Men in brightly coloured tunics (blue, red, green, yellow) are falling or being pushed overboard into the water between the ships. In the background, beyond the battle, is a walled port city with large buildings and towers. The flags visible include the English royal standard (three gold fleurs-de-lis on a blue background, and three gold lions on a red background, quarterly) and a red banner with a gold lion.

We built a database of 290,000 English medieval soldiers–here’s what it reveals

By Adrian R. Bell, Anne Curry, and Jason Sadler / The Conversation