The Knight Who Built a City on His Own Battlefield
In 1565 Jean de Valette, ageing Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, held Malta against the Ottomans for four months, then built a city on the battlefield.
Early modern: 1500–1800
From 1500 to 1800: reformation, empire, revolution and the age of sail.
Dwarf, Duellist, Soldier, Slave: The Life of Jeffrey Hudson
Jeffrey Hudson was 18 inches tall when he burst out of a pie in front of Charles I's queen. He later killed a man in a duel and spent years enslaved by pirates.
The Man Who Was Roasted on a Throne then Eaten Alive
In 1514 a Hungarian crusade against the Ottomans collapsed into a peasant revolt. Its leader, György Dózsa, was captured, roasted alive on a red-hot iron throne and eaten by his own starved men.