History of BulgariaHistory of Bulgaria
Cut-out detail; background removed. Pointed steel helmet with a face opening and small holes across its surface.
Helmet

Nikopol · Second Tsardom

Why did the crusade stop at Nicopolis?

Why do the allies lose at Nicopolis?

9 scenes · 3 min · Sources · 20

StartListen

Sigismund gathers allies against Ottoman expansion. Following the Danube, the army reaches Vidin and Nicopolis. A period helmet and a captive’s account guide us through the events.

Painted portrait of a bearded Sigismund wearing a fur hat.
Drawing
Engraved portrait of Bayezid I wearing a turban.

Part 1 · Second Tsardom

Sigismund gathers allies

In 1396 Hungary’s king Sigismund gathers an army against the Ottomans, the sultan’s subjects. Sultan is their ruler’s title. French knights arrive. A knight is a warrior from the nobility: people with special rights. He usually trains to fight on horseback. Jean de Nevers leads fighters from Burgundy, a territory in Western Europe. Not all are knights. This is a crusade: a war for a Christian cause, supported by the pope. The participants have different goals.

Listen to scene · 1

Synthetic voice · 0:30
Sources · 5
  1. Siren Çelik The Crusade of Nicopolis and Its Aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman Sources Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta · 2023 · 60 · 219–246
  2. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109
  3. Michael Norris; Department of Education, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Feudalism and Knights in Medieval Europe Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000– · 2001
  4. Anonymous painter (formerly attributed to Pisanello); photograph: Vassil File:Kunsthistorisches Museum Emperor Sigismund 23062013 1.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record · 1433
  5. Aliprando Caprioli; digitisation: Biblioteca comunale di Trento File:Bayezid I, sultano.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
Snow-covered Danube bank with a boat near Nikopol.
Baba Vida fortress with stone towers and a bridge to the entrance.
Miniature of Tsar Ivan Alexander and his sons, wearing crowns and long robes.
Stone gate and walls with a person outside the entrance.
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders123
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 2 · Second Tsardom

From Vidin to besieged Nicopolis

Vidin comes before Nicopolis on the army’s advance. Bulgarian ruler Ivan Sratsimir rules there. Before the crusade he accepts the Ottoman ruler’s authority over him. Now he supports Sigismund. After Vidin the army reaches Nicopolis and besieges it. A siege means surrounding a fortress and trying to force it to surrender. They operate by land and water. Days pass, but the town does not fall. Sultan Bayezid I brings his army to help it.

  • Buda · Approximate location
  • Vidin · Approximate location
  • Nikopol · Approximate location

Listen to scene · 2

Synthetic voice · 0:28
Sources · 9
  1. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109
  2. Христо Димитров Българо-унгарски отношения през Средновековието София: Академично издателство „Проф. Марин Дринов“ · 1998 · 243–247 (consulted passages)
  3. Wikimedia contributors Buda Wikimedia geographic records
  4. Wikimedia contributors Vidin Wikimedia geographic records
  5. Wikimedia contributors Nikopol Wikimedia geographic records
  6. Preslav (English Wikipedia uploader credited in Commons description); Commons transfer: Dionysos1~commonswiki File:Nikopol-danube.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record · 2006
  7. Klearchos Kapoutsis File:Baba Vida Klearchos 4.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record · 2009
  8. Unidentified medieval illuminator; text of chronicle: Constantine Manasses; book reproduction: Ivan Duichev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (Sofia: Bulgarski hudojnik, 1962) File:69-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
  9. Preslav File:Nikopolfortressgate.JPG Wikimedia Commons file record · 2007
Pointed steel helmet with a face opening and small holes across its surface.

Part 3 · Second Tsardom

A steel helmet with a pointed top

Look at the steel helmet. This type is called a bascinet. The museum dates it to about 1375–1400, the crusade’s time. It is Italian. Its pointed top and face opening are clear. Small holes dot its surface. It was not found at Nicopolis. It was found in 1840 at Chalcis fortress on Euboea, an island in modern Greece. Other armour was found there too: the warriors’ protective clothing. We do not know who wore it.

1 · Pointed top
The steel helmet has a high pointed top. The museum dates it to about 1375–1400.
2 · Face opening
In the helmet’s displayed condition, the opening leaves the face exposed.
3 · Small holes
There are small holes in the steel. The cause of each hole has not been established here.

Listen to scene · 3

Synthetic voice · 0:29
Sources · 2
  1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bascinet, Italian, ca. 1375–1400; accession 29.158.45 The Met Collection
  2. Unknown Italian armourer; photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Bascinet MET DP-12880-041x.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
Pointed steel helmet with a face opening and small holes across its surface.
Miniature showing armed horsemen, guns and fortified buildings.

Part 4 · Second Tsardom

Jean insists on attacking first

In September 1396 the armies meet near Nicopolis. According to Schiltberger, Jean de Nevers insists his fighters attack first. The king wants the Hungarians, who have fought the Ottomans before, to begin. In this account the first attackers break through the forward troops, but are then surrounded. Sigismund fights on with the remaining forces. Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević fights beside Bayezid. He is a vassal: he accepts a stronger ruler’s authority and owes him service. Bayezid’s army wins.

Listen to scene · 4

Synthetic voice · 0:31
Sources · 4
  1. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109
  2. Siren Çelik The Crusade of Nicopolis and Its Aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman Sources Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta · 2023 · 60 · 219–246
  3. Христо Димитров Българо-унгарски отношения през Средновековието София: Академично издателство „Проф. Марин Дринов“ · 1998 · 243–247 (consulted passages)
  4. Unidentified Ottoman artist; scan: Szilas, from Géza Fehér, Török miniatúrák (Budapest: Corvina, 1978) File:Battle of Nicopolis.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record

Part 5 · Second Tsardom

Activity: alliances

Who fights on Bayezid’s side?

  1. Sigismund, king of Hungary
  2. Stefan Lazarević
  3. Jean de Nevers
Why is that?

Lazarević is Bayezid’s vassal and fights with his army. A Christian fights on the sultan’s side. From this we can conclude that religion alone does not explain the alliances.

Correct · Stefan Lazarević

  1. Siren Çelik The Crusade of Nicopolis and Its Aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman Sources Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta · 2023 · 60 · 219–246
  2. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109

Listen to scene · 5

Synthetic voice · 0:02
Sources · 2
  1. Siren Çelik The Crusade of Nicopolis and Its Aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman Sources Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta · 2023 · 60 · 219–246
  2. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109
Manuscript leaf with a large red opening letter and lines of dark text.

Part 6 · Second Tsardom

The captive who tells his story

Johann Schiltberger is captured. After returning in 1427, he recounts his experiences. The leaf shown opens a later manuscript copy. A manuscript copy is a text copied by hand. It is not a notebook written on the battlefield. A participant’s account matters, but not every detail is accurate. We do not know the exact number of fighters.

1 · Opening letter
The large red letter marks the start of the account in this copy. A manuscript is a book copied by hand.
2 · The narrator’s name
Johann Schiltberger’s name appears in the first line.

Listen to scene · 6

Synthetic voice · 0:22
Sources · 3
  1. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109
  2. Attila Bárány King Sigismund of Luxemburg and the preparations for the Hungarian crusading host of Nicopolis (1389–1396) PDF Daniel Baloup and Manuel Sánchez Martínez (eds.), Partir en croisade à la fin du Moyen Âge. Financement et logistique. Croisades Tardives. Toulouse: Presses universitaires du Midi, Méridiennes · 2015 · 4 · 153–178
  3. Anonymous scribe; text: Johann Schiltberger; digitisation: Heidelberg University Library; crop as credited on Commons File:Cod. Pal. germ. 216 Schiltberger Heidelberger Handschrift 1r cropped.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record

Part 7 · Second Tsardom

Activity: which came first?

Put these events in the order described in the story.

  1. The army reaches Vidin
  2. The crusaders besiege Nicopolis
  3. Bayezid’s army wins near Nicopolis
  4. Schiltberger’s return
Why is that?

Vidin comes before Nicopolis on the army’s advance. The siege is already underway when Bayezid arrives. Schiltberger is captured in the battle and returns years later.

Correct order

  1. The army reaches Vidin
  2. The crusaders besiege Nicopolis
  3. Bayezid’s army wins near Nicopolis
  4. Schiltberger’s return
  1. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109

Listen to scene · 7

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 1
  1. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109
Snow-covered Danube bank with a boat near Nikopol.

Part 8 · Second Tsardom

Sigismund escapes aboard a ship

Sigismund escapes aboard a ship. For many others, retreat ends in death or capture. Some prisoners are killed. Others become slaves: they lose their freedom and can be sold. Money is demanded to release some nobles. This payment is called a ransom. Ivan Sratsimir is also captured. The year is uncertain.

Listen to scene · 8

Synthetic voice · 0:19
Sources · 4
  1. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109
  2. Hilmi Kaçar; Jan Dumolyn The Battle of Nicopolis (1396), Burgundian Catastrophe and Ottoman Fait Divers Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire · 2013 · 91 · 905–934
  3. Христо Димитров Българо-унгарски отношения през Средновековието София: Академично издателство „Проф. Марин Дринов“ · 1998 · 243–247 (consulted passages)
  4. Деница Петрова, Институт за исторически изследвания при БАН Българите през XIV–XV век – между византийската общност и Османската империя PDF Дриновський збірник / Дриновски сборник · 2023 · 16 · 26–37

Part 9 · Second Tsardom

Activity: people and roles

Match each person to their role in the story.

  1. Sigismund · King of Hungary, leads the crusade
  2. Ivan Sratsimir · Bulgarian ruler in Vidin
  3. Bayezid I · Ottoman sultan, comes to relieve Nicopolis
  4. Johann Schiltberger · Captured participant who later recounts events
Why is that?

These are four different roles: crusade leader, ruler in Vidin, sultan, and participant who tells his story.

  1. Siren Çelik The Crusade of Nicopolis and Its Aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman Sources Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta · 2023 · 60 · 219–246
  2. Христо Димитров Българо-унгарски отношения през Средновековието София: Академично издателство „Проф. Марин Дринов“ · 1998 · 243–247 (consulted passages)
  3. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109

Listen to scene · 9

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 3
  1. Siren Çelik The Crusade of Nicopolis and Its Aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman Sources Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta · 2023 · 60 · 219–246
  2. Христо Димитров Българо-унгарски отношения през Средновековието София: Академично издателство „Проф. Марин Дринов“ · 1998 · 243–247 (consulted passages)
  3. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109

A new find for your collection

In our view, the argument before the attack shows how hard joint action is for the allies. The defeat strengthens Ottoman power, but does not reduce the fate of all Bulgarian lands to a single date.

KaliakraThe cliff and the fleetsSee how people lived and worked in another period.Boyana Church · BoyanaThe faces of BoyanaGeorgi Ivanov · BaikonurInto orbit, without docking

People in this story

Ivan AlexanderIvan SratsimirBayezid IChristSigismundJean de NeversJohann SchiltbergerStefan LazarevićManuel IIIvan Sratsimir · RulersIvan Shishman · Rulers

Sources

  1. Attila Bárány King Sigismund of Luxemburg and the preparations for the Hungarian crusading host of Nicopolis (1389–1396) PDF Daniel Baloup and Manuel Sánchez Martínez (eds.), Partir en croisade à la fin du Moyen Âge. Financement et logistique. Croisades Tardives. Toulouse: Presses universitaires du Midi, Méridiennes · 2015 · 4 · 153–178
  2. Siren Çelik The Crusade of Nicopolis and Its Aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman Sources Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta · 2023 · 60 · 219–246
  3. Wikimedia contributors Buda Wikimedia geographic records
  4. Wikimedia contributors Nikopol Wikimedia geographic records
  5. Wikimedia contributors Vidin Wikimedia geographic records
  6. Христо Димитров Българо-унгарски отношения през Средновековието София: Академично издателство „Проф. Марин Дринов“ · 1998 · 243–247 (consulted passages)
  7. Unidentified Ottoman artist; scan: Szilas, from Géza Fehér, Török miniatúrák (Budapest: Corvina, 1978) File:Battle of Nicopolis.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
  8. Aliprando Caprioli; digitisation: Biblioteca comunale di Trento File:Bayezid I, sultano.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
  9. Preslav (English Wikipedia uploader credited in Commons description); Commons transfer: Dionysos1~commonswiki File:Nikopol-danube.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record · 2006
  10. Unknown Italian armourer; photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Bascinet MET DP-12880-041x.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
  11. Preslav File:Nikopolfortressgate.JPG Wikimedia Commons file record · 2007
  12. Anonymous scribe; text: Johann Schiltberger; digitisation: Heidelberg University Library; crop as credited on Commons File:Cod. Pal. germ. 216 Schiltberger Heidelberger Handschrift 1r cropped.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
  13. Anonymous painter (formerly attributed to Pisanello); photograph: Vassil File:Kunsthistorisches Museum Emperor Sigismund 23062013 1.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record · 1433
  14. Unidentified medieval illuminator; text of chronicle: Constantine Manasses; book reproduction: Ivan Duichev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (Sofia: Bulgarski hudojnik, 1962) File:69-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record
  15. Klearchos Kapoutsis File:Baba Vida Klearchos 4.jpg Wikimedia Commons file record · 2009
  16. Hilmi Kaçar; Jan Dumolyn The Battle of Nicopolis (1396), Burgundian Catastrophe and Ottoman Fait Divers Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire · 2013 · 91 · 905–934
  17. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bascinet, Italian, ca. 1375–1400; accession 29.158.45 The Met Collection
  18. Michael Norris; Department of Education, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Feudalism and Knights in Medieval Europe Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000– · 2001
  19. Деница Петрова, Институт за исторически изследвания при БАН Българите през XIV–XV век – между византийската общност и Османската империя PDF Дриновський збірник / Дриновски сборник · 2023 · 16 · 26–37
  20. Johann Schiltberger; translated and edited by J. Buchan Telfer; notes by Philipp Bruun The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396–1427 Hakluyt Society, first series; London · 1879 · 58 · 1–6, 107–109

Images

Unknown Italian craftsman · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Unknown Italian armourer; photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wikimedia Commons. CC0. An original period helmet found at Chalcis on Euboea in 1840; not a Nicopolis find. Cut-out detail; background removed.

Drawing

Unknown artist · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Anonymous painter (formerly attributed to Pisanello); photograph: Vassil. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Photograph of a fifteenth-century portrait; it does not show the king on the day of battle. The former attribution to Pisanello is uncertain. Processed image. Fifteenth-century painted portrait, photographed by Vassil.

Aliprando Caprioli · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Aliprando Caprioli; digitisation: Biblioteca comunale di Trento. Wikimedia Commons. CC0. A later artistic likeness, about 1596–1600, not a portrait from life in 1396. Processed image.

Photo: Preslav · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Preslav (English Wikipedia uploader credited in Commons description); Commons transfer: Dionysos1~commonswiki. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. A modern photograph of the river, not a view of the battlefield in 1396. The boat is modern. Processed image.

Photo: Klearchos Kapoutsis. · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Klearchos Kapoutsis. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. A modern photograph of the fortress. It does not establish which visible masonry dates from Sratsimir’s time, is later, or has been restored. Processed image.

Unknown medieval artist · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Unidentified medieval illuminator; text of chronicle: Constantine Manasses; book reproduction: Ivan Duichev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (Sofia: Bulgarski hudojnik, 1962). Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Medieval miniature of Ivan Alexander and his sons, including Ivan Sratsimir, according to the Commons description. Reproduction from a 1962 book; not an image of the battle. Processed image.

Photo: Preslav. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Preslav. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. A modern photograph of a gate and masonry, with a person outside. It does not prove this gate existed in 1396. The masonry’s date and restorations have not been established here. Processed image.

Unknown Italian craftsman · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Unknown Italian armourer; photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wikimedia Commons. CC0. An original period helmet found at Chalcis on Euboea in 1840; not a Nicopolis find. Processed image.

Unknown Ottoman artist · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Unidentified Ottoman artist; scan: Szilas, from Géza Fehér, Török miniatúrák (Budapest: Corvina, 1978). Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Later Ottoman miniature presented on Commons as the Battle of Nicopolis. Commons lists Topkapı, Hazine 1523, folio 108b. Its identification and date still need a catalogue check. The guns and buildings do not establish the battle’s appearance in 1396. Processed image.

Unknown scribe · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Anonymous scribe; text: Johann Schiltberger; digitisation: Heidelberg University Library; crop as credited on Commons. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Cod. Pal. germ. 216, folio 1r, Heidelberg University Library. A later manuscript copy, not a battlefield notebook. Cropped version from Commons. Processed image.

Geographic context, without historical borders

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso · Public domain · Natural Earth

Open source

Full attribution

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso