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The Knight And The Gnostic

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Barbaria1 said:
Thanks in this episode goes to SkatingJesus for contributing the pics of Barbara dressed in full armor.

Episode 6

I slept fitfully. Visions of a righteous man among the thieves and brigands of the crusading army kept intruding on my sub consciousness, tormenting my mind. Was this a vision from God? Is there someone out there who holds my destiny in his hands? Someone who might intercede when the going gets tough?

As I lay on my back, staring at the vaulted ceiling overhead, and mulling this over, my man servant burst into my chamber. "Get up," he shouted, "Something is happening! We are under attack all around the city, and far worse, some of the citizens and soldiers, mostly Catholics, I think, have gathered at the main gate. The misguided fools are about to open the gates and go out to meet the enemy!"

Oh, my worst nightmare! I jump from my bed, reach down and whip my night shirt off over my head, ignoring at first the wide-eyed stare of my man servant as he takes in my nakedness. Then, realizing what I have just done, I yell at him, "Stop gawking, and bring me my tunic and chain mail!" Startled, he diverts his gaze and leaps to obey. Then, changing my mind, "Forget the chain mail, I will need full armor today!"

View attachment 393450 He assists me in donning my dark tunic, shiny breast plate, besagues, tassets, and vambraces. While he fetches my sword, I turn to my chamber window. The red light of dawn shines forth, foreshadowing the bloodbath to come. I clench and unclench my fists, trying to calm and find my inner peace, my soul, the essence of my strength as a high perfecta. He clears his throat. He has my sword in hand. We are ready.

View attachment 393451 Together we rush down the tower stairway to the ground floor, and burst out onto the street. There I stop, staring in disbelief and alarm. Citizens armed with everything from butcher knives to wooden clubs are streaming toward the main gate, which stands wide open. They are a rabble, goaded on by some of the most disreputable hotheads in the town. I raise my arms, trying to gain their attention, imploring them to stop and listen to reason. But to no avail.

In the distance I hear the thunder of horses carrying mounted knights, the rattle of drums and the jarring blare of battle horns. The crusaders are on the move! I rush for the parapets above the main gate. The battle is already joined. A phalanx of mounted crusaders and routiers has swooped down on the milling disorganized mob outside the open gate!

The impact of the mounted charge is shattering. The slaughter has begun! I fall to my knees and bury my head in my hands.
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A gawking manservant? Tsk Tsk. You should choose better staff, Barb. :rolleyes:

What's that sound of thundering hooves? :confused:

Ooops. I see your choice of staff just got even more limited. :doh:
 
Episode 7

Swiftly I took up my arms and found my horse, and hastened to the main gate of the city. It was like a vision of Hell. A rabble of soldiers, peasants and townsmen had issued forth waving all manner of crude weapons. They met the rabble of our own common soldiery, visions of loot and pillage alight in their piggy eyes. My own liege men, I was pleased to see, had held back in ordered discipline awaiting my command. We hurried to the city gates.

I have been a fighting man my whole life, and never have I seen such slaughter.

The foolish defenders had made a grave mistake, their sortie through the gate was a disaster, and the momentum of our own hot headed men carried them through the heretics and into the city. The fighting was hard and bloody, but the outcome was always going to be one sided. I cut men down left and right, at some point I realised that I was no longer on my horse, and I had to wipe the grip of my sword on my surcoat, so bloody it had become. The streets were packed with desperate bodies and terrible scenes of carnage. Some of the people fought, some tried to flee, chaos surrounded us as they raged and screamed and cried mercy.

In the space of 2 or 3 hours the city was taken, but that was not the end. Everywhere that I turned I found indiscriminate slaughter, cruel rape, all manner of unspeakable horrors that left me sick at heart. Our men spared no one, irrespective of rank, sex or age, and afterwards I found that they had put to the sword the greater part of those taking refuge there, almost 20,000 people.

beziers_.jpg

In the midst of this slaughter I glimpsed a vision, a dark haired woman of rare beauty and dignity, striving to rally the people from a parapet on the wall. Gathering my men around me I drove towards her, keenly aware that others of the Abbot's party had also spied the woman. I felt strongly that she was significant among the heretics, that she was possibly even the famous Barbara de Moore. My sword arm found new strength as I struck down those before me, Cathar and crusader alike. I will not let her fall into the hands of the inquisition!
 
Repertor said:
We often don't realise how bloody those medieval battles were.
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Anthropologists studying pre-modern people and archaeologists studying early humans have found that their conflicts were probably more violent than modern warfare. An astounding percentage of skulls and other bones have signs of violence.

It's hard to accept if you watch the daily news, but Steven Pinker makes a strong case that we live in a more peaceful era than most that have gone before.
 
windar said:
Anthropologists studying pre-modern people and archaeologists studying early humans have found that their conflicts were probably more violent than modern warfare. An astounding percentage of skulls and other bones have signs of violence.

It's hard to accept if you watch the daily news, but Steven Pinker makes a strong case that we live in a more peaceful era than most that have gone before.
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You're perfectly right, Windar. The first human tribes functioned like the Chimpanzees do now. And it took a very long time for us to understand the advantages of cooperation, and how to make them compatible with competition. We're not done with that, obviously...
 
windar said:
Anthropologists studying pre-modern people and archaeologists studying early humans have found that their conflicts were probably more violent than modern warfare. An astounding percentage of skulls and other bones have signs of violence.

It's hard to accept if you watch the daily news, but Steven Pinker makes a strong case that we live in a more peaceful era than most that have gone before.
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Not just anthropology but studying our close relations chimpanzees further demonstrates that we have evolved away from the reactive violence of our common ancestor while they have retained it.
 
RacingRodent said:
Not just anthropology but studying our close relations chimpanzees further demonstrates that we have evolved away from the reactive violence of our common ancestor while they have retained it.
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Of course there are the bonobos, or pygmy chimpanzees, who are non violent and settle their conflicts by having sex. I'm not making that up by the way, and that could be worth a try for humans.
 
Repertor said:
We often don't realise how bloody those medieval battles were.
Click to expand...
It depended on whom was fighting. Battles between Knights restricted killing and rather focused on taking the opponent prisoner, for the ransom. But they showed no pity against ordinary foot soldiers or rebels. In that case, everything was allowed. The reverse effect was, that foot soldiers neither spared Knights (to the anger of their commanders, who missed huge amounts of ransom then). The disaproval of Knights towards foot soldiers was so immense that they even slaughtered their own troops if they stood in the way of their cavalry charge (the French during the Battle of Crécy, 1346). During the naval battle of Sluis (1340), Genuese galleys in the service of France were about to disperse the English fleet (using primitive artillery the English had no reply against). But the French Knights, annoyed that mercenaries would be credited with victory, ordered them to withdraw and started boarding parties and hand to hand fighting on the ships. So, they gave away victory, since the English bowmen on the ships killed the knights before they even could board.
 
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