Samuel Beňa received his BA (2010) and MA (2012) in British and American Studies from the University of Prešov, Slovakia, followed by a second MA (2014) in Medieval Studies from Central European University. His main interests lie at the intersection of military, political, socio-cultural, and economic history. His CEU MA thesis, The Small War in the Late Middle Ages: A Comparison of the English and Bohemian Experiences, focused on small-scale skirmishes and ravaging operations and their role within the military strategy of late medieval East-Central Europe.
As an independent author, Samuel has written several articles for Czech and Slovak military history journals, exploring the interplay between military organization, methods of warfare, and technology, and their influence on the socio-political, cultural, and economic conditions of late medieval East-Central Europe.
Currently, Samuel is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Historical Studies. His research focuses on the reign of George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia (r.1458–1471), with his future PhD thesis aiming to explore the intersection of late medieval warfare—examining organization, fiscality, and strategy—and the processes of state formation, and political stability.