Lucas becomes delirious. His slave and his superior officer:
"...were dim, unreal visions, seen through a waterfall that roared." (p. 129)
This reminds us, or at least me, of the fading consciousness of the terminally damaged Merseian cyborg, Dwyr:
"Darkness and great rushing waters....Dwyr the Hook fled alone over the night city."
-Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, January 2010), pp. 1-192 AT CHAPTER TWELVE, p. 124.
The slave, Djana, sacrifices a white cock and Lucas promises to light many candles.
The Company plans to seize the nearby seashore cities of Rhedestos (?) and Panidos which are midway between Gallipoli and Constantinople, an action delayed by the "'...victory at Apros.'" (p. 131) The text remains fully immersed in history.
"'Rhedestos is the city where our envoys to Andronicus were murdered.'" (ibid.)
After the failure of the co-emperor Michael IX to stem the Turkish advance in Asia Minor in 1302 and the disastrous Battle of Bapheus, the Byzantine government hired the Catalan Company of Almogavars (adventurers from Catalonia) led by Roger de Flor to clear Byzantine Asia Minor of the enemy.[5] In spite of some successes, the Catalans were unable to secure lasting gains. Being more ruthless and savage than the enemy they intended to subdue, they quarreled with Michael IX and eventually turned on their Byzantine employers after the murder of Roger de Flor in 1305. Together with a party of willing Turks they devastated Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly on their road to Latin occupied southern Greece. There they conquered the Duchy of Athens and Thebes.
-copied from the Wikipedia article on Andronicus (link above).
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I recalled Anderson writing in ROGUE SWORD that the Grand Company declared war on the Eastern Empire because of the bad faith and perfidy of Andronicus II, culminating in the murder of their leader. While this makes understandable their rage at the Byzantines, it does not justify their cruelty toward helpless ordinary Byzantines.
The Catalans so badly devastated the European parts of the remnants of the Empire that it was too weak to prevent the Ottoman Turks from invading Europe--with baleful consequences!
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Earlier and far more able Emperors would have known how to handle the Grand Company! It would have been fine of Andronicus to bargain hard with the Catalans, most of them would probably have respected him for that. But, then he should have scrupulously honored all the terms of any agreement made. And do everything possible to bind the Catalans to the Eastern Empire.
The account I read said the Grand Company was at first stunningly victorious against the Turks, advancing as far Cilician Armenia. I have wondered what might have happened if Andronicus had offered to give grants of land to any Catalans willing to settle in reconquered territory, esp. if the grants stipulated title was held on condition of military service (in return for either not paying taxes or only low taxes). That was the system used by the Eastern Empire when it was powerful. And it worked for centuries.
Something like this would have been far better than treachery and perfidy!
Ad astra! Sean
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