This blog will cover a wargamer's perspective of the wars of the 13th and early 14th century - roughly the lifetime of Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy. He fought in the service of his home city, Florence and mentions many of the main players of the events of the wars in Italy and beyond.

I was first drawn to this period by the appearance of the armies but I also became interested in the history. This is the time of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, of the Sicilian Vespers, of Popes and Emperors. It saw the end of the Crusader States in the Holy Land and the establishment of the Mongol empire.

I play wargames using 15mm figures and usually the De Bellis... sets of rules - most frequently DBMM and occasionally DBA. I try to play games with historical opponents - or at least ones which are reasonably close to being historical.