medieval England

On 22 May 1455, Richard Duke of York defeated and captured King Henry VI at the First Battle of St Albans, opening thirty years of dynastic warfare. Nobody who fought those wars expected them to produce Henry Tudor, a centralised state, and the English Renaissance.

On 24 March 1199, Richard the Lionheart was struck by a crossbow bolt at Châlus-Chabrol, a minor siege that may have started over buried Roman gold. He forgave the archer. His men didn't. He died eleven days later.