Writing about conflict, you aren’t just writing about swords and shields and chaos; you are writing about the horror of war. The Battle for England is not simply a battle of steel; it is a conflict of fear, loyalty, and survival. To do so accurately, you have to find a balance between historical realism, human emotion, and narrative coherence.
Here is how to portray those brutal and deeply memorable scenes.
- Anchor Your Story in Actual History
Authenticity starts with research. It is a good idea to study actual medieval battles in detail, pitched battles such as the Battle of Hastings or the Battle of Agincourt, not just to understand how the historical conflict worked but also how war worked as a whole: tactics, terrain, weapons, armor, etc.
Medieval combat was not polite, or choreographed, or romantic in any way; it was sweaty, chaotic, and terrifying. Armor was heavy, swords dulled on contact, and bowmen relied on endurance as much as they did skill. Adding these touches builds depth and verisimilitude into your writing.
- Demonstrate the Human Element of War
The key to writing fairly compelling battle scenes is not demonstrating every swing of the sword; it is demonstrating what that swinging of the sword actually means to those characters experiencing it.
What is the character thinking as the noise levels grow out of control? Are they fighting for honor, revenge, or just to make it home? Readers connect with humanism more than they do with a plotted sword route and what gladiatorial feeling the character experiences in those moments: that raw emotion, character blindness, exhaustion, or sheer fear. Think more Hangover than Gladiator: horrible out-of-control situations resulting in ridiculous acts of humor. As in anything very serious, it can have the opposite effect and all be played for an awkward laugh. Consider all the extreme outcomes of dealing with such impossible situations. Put your readers in the thick of it!
- Capture the Chaos
Medieval battles were loud, crowded, and confusing. To make readers feel that chaos, use sensory details:
- The clang of steel on steel
- The thick smell of mud and sweat
- The sting of smoke in the air
- The rumble of horses underfoot
Alternate short, fast-paced sentences during action with longer ones in quieter moments. This rhythm mirrors the ebb and flow of real combat—bursts of movement followed by tense stillness.
- Keep Violence Purposeful
Violence that isn’t meaningful simply becomes less impactful. Every act of violence should either drive the story forward or reveal something about a character.
Imagine a young soldier; he is transitioning from rookie to killer and realizes for the first time the horror of taking a life. Or imagine a well-seasoned knight riding through the carnage that looks and feels like war and discovering he has the capacity for mercy throughout the chaos. Moments like these create the inherent emotion in the reader’s mind that cares about what happens next, where bloodshed stops, and storytelling begins.
- A Happy Medium of Detail
The temptation is to describe every single move in detail, and it is easy to lose the plot in the minutiae. Technical details quickly become boring if they forget the reader’s imagination, and that will quickly ruin the pace of the prose.
Suggest the sound of clanging armor or the blur of movement, and then eliminate characters’ evidence of every sword swing in place of letting the reader fill in the rest of the image—the real height of the scene comes from there being nothing to see—your reader’s mind makes it real and alive.
- Allow the Setting to Become One of the Characters
The land is often one large spoke that helps define the battle. In the Battle for England, rolling hills, muddy fields, or dull dawns add tension and tone to the weight of the story. Let the terrain hold the battle hostage and work into it—the ground is slippery, fog hides the enemy’s advance, or a narrow bridge separates the flood of soldiers from the enemy above.
When the terrain fights back, your scene becomes engrossing and cinematic.
- Show the Aftermath
When the battle comes to an end, that’s where the story truly starts. The aftermath can show what war has done—silence replaces sound, and grief replaces chaos.
Describe the battlefield with wrecked armies or with broken swords. Let your characters experience the burden of what they survived—or what they lost. This emotional break allows your readers to pause, take a breath, and reflect.
- Diction for Affecting the Tone
Consider the type of battle you are depicting as part of the tone. Does it feel tragic, heroic, or brutally realistic?
A heroic tone might speak of courage and sacrifice, while a tragic tone might dwell on loss and futility. Or, a realistic tone might describe the confusion and terror on the field. The tone ultimately will dictate your language, pacing, and feel of your writing.
Conclusion
Writing medieval violence is more than just painting the bloody picture—it also will tell truths about human conflict. The Battle for England is not just about swords and soldiers; it is also about historical characters caught up in the turning of history.
Research, emotional context, and atmospheric context will combine for battles to be felt, not just read, and that is what makes for the medieval story to be told over and over again.