Crusade
Page 41
See Muslim.
SURCOAT
A long cloth coat, like the long dress of female clothing, worn over a knight’s armour. It would often be embroidered with the knight’s colours or his heraldic symbols.
TAIFA
A series of city states of the eleventh century, including Zaragoza, Cordoba, Seville and Valencia.
THEGN
A local village chieftain of Anglo-Saxon England. Not a great landowner or a titled aristocrat but the head of a village. Thus, thegns formed the backbone to the organization of Anglo-Saxon life. While serving with the army, usually as part of their service to the earl of their province, they formed a large part of the king’s elite fighting force, the housecarls.
THEME
The Byzantine Empire was organized into military districts or themes, which reflected its different nationalities. Themes were responsible for generating their own regiments for the Emperor’s army. In turn, retired soldiers were granted lands in the military theme from which they served. By the end of the eleventh century, there were 38 themes in the Byzantine Empire, each composed of between 4,000 and 6,000 men, giving a standing army of approximately 200,000 men.
TILT FIELD
A roped-off field used for tilting (jousting). It was also called ‘the lists’ or ‘list field’. Later in the Middle Ages, enclosed spaces were built (tiltyards) and the tilting become a sport as well as a form of military training.
TITHE
Tax owed to a superior in the hierarchy of the feudal system of the eleventh century and later. For example, from a tenant to his lord or the Church, or from landowners to the king.
TRIREME
An Ancient Greek galley with three rows of oars, each above the other. A vessel of war on which the oarsmen’s strength could produce a ramming speed of significant impact.
TROUBADOUR
A lyric poet composer in a tradition that began in south-west France (Aquitaine, Provence) in the Occitan language in the eleventh century. William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, was the first well-known exponent. Some of his songs have survived. The songs extolled the virtues of Courtly Love, a mix of erotic and heroic sentiments between a knight and his love, a woman who wasn’t necessarily his wife. Troubadours came from all walks of life, some of whom were professionals who made a living as strolling minstrels.
VARANGIAN GUARD
The elite bodyguard of the emperors of Byzantium for several hundred years. They were extremely well-paid mercenaries who also shared in the booty of the Emperor’s victories, thus the Guard could attract the finest warriors. Most were drawn from Scandinavia and were often referred to as the ‘Axemen of the North’. Their loyalty was legendary, as was their ferocity. It is thought many of Harold of England’s surviving housecarls joined the Guard after Senlac Ridge in 1066.
VERBA NOVISSIMA
Latin: ‘Last words’. In a tradition going back in English law at least 450 years before the eleventh century, to Augustine of Canterbury (St Augustine), the ‘last words’ spoken by a person prior to their death constituted their ‘last will and testament’. They annulled any previous will made by that person.
VILLEIN
The term used in the feudal era to denote a peasant (tenant farmer) who was legally tied to the land he worked on. A villein could not leave the land without the landowner’s consent.
VIZIER
The senior adviser/minister/counsellor/earl marshal to a caliph. Usually a civilian in a clerical hierarchy. The word is found in Arabic, but also in Persian and Hindi and may be Indo-European in origin.
WOAD
A blue dye made from the powdered and fermented leaves of the plant Isatis tinctoria, also known as Dyer’s Woad. The Celtic tribes of Britain, from before the Roman invasion and beyond, used woad to decorate themselves, both in times of peace and war.
WYVERN OF WESSEX
A wyvern is a legendary winged creature with a dragon’s head and a barbed tail. The wyvern is often found in heraldry. A golden wyvern was the symbol of the ancient Kingdom of Wessex and the early kings of England up to Harold Godwinson. It was thought to have been one of his two banners at Senlac Ridge, the other being his personal standard, the Fighting Man.
Acknowledgements
To my wonderful wife, Lucy, our gorgeous sons Charlie and Jack, my eldest son Adam, his wife, Michelle, and my grandchildren, Sam and Jessica, of whom I am very proud and to all the inspirational friends and outstanding professionals who have made Crusade happen.
I could not have done it without you.
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Not too much to ask, is it? It was in 1935 when Allen Lane, Managing Director of Bodley Head Publishers, stood on a platform at Exeter railway station looking for something good to read on his journey back to London. His choice was limited to popular magazines and poor-quality paperbacks – the same choice faced every day by the vast majority of readers, few of whom could afford hardbacks. Lane’s disappointment and subsequent anger at the range of books generally available led him to found a company – and change the world.
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