Eastern Europe late 14th, early 15th century.

[alhoon]

I was reading in wiki about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vytautas_the_Great ] Vytautas the Great [/url].

I was astonished by how often people changed sides there to promote their goals.
For Lithuanians, the Mongol horde and the Teutonic order were all-present wild cards that you could use from time to time to get what you want and then attack them only to reconsiliate with them later.

It reminds me of Spain in the same era with Moors and Christian feudal lords working and fighting with each other.

I bet that if you were caught in battle then, you could expect to return to your estate safely with a ransom since the capturing enemy could well be your ally in 5 years.

[Gromovnik]

well, in the middle ages that was pretty much a main reason for capturing nobles. captured peasants weren't so lucky...