Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Knighttime robbery

Post Reply
annis
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4585
Joined: August 2008

Knighttime robbery

Post by annis » Tue July 31st, 2012, 5:03 am

The age of the routier and écorcheur returns as a company of freebooters in knightly costume rob the organisers of a French medieval fair at sword point and escape with the takings.

Telegraph article here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... tival.html

User avatar
LoveHistory
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3751
Joined: September 2008
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Contact:

Post by LoveHistory » Thu August 2nd, 2012, 3:19 am

Interesting. I don't remember robbing being part of the knight's code of chivalry.

annis
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4585
Joined: August 2008

Post by annis » Thu August 2nd, 2012, 3:56 am

A shot at some decent plunder was always high on the list of incentives for knights heading off to war :) The knight's code of chivalry was a rather romantic convention that often had little to do with reality - for example it didn't apply to anyone who wasn't of noble birth, so you could massacre peasants or footsoldiers without too much compunction.
Last edited by annis on Thu August 2nd, 2012, 6:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5859
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "The Whitstable Pearl Mystery" by Julie Wassmer
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Thu August 2nd, 2012, 8:53 am

Talking of knights, there's a new series (about how the image of the male has evolved) starting on BBC Radio 4 next week - Monday morning 9.00 for those who can listen to it live - and knights are featured in the first programme, with William Marshal featuring. Next week's RT also has an article on the series which mentions the Marshal quite a bit.
Currently reading "The Whitstable Pearl Mystery" by Julie Wassmer

Post Reply

Return to “Chat”