5 famous knights who nearly ruined the beautiful romantic legends of the Middle Ages

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

For centuries, it was customary to admire the legendary knights of the Middle Ages. The very word "knight" has become in some way a synonym for "standard". Their names were known even by those who did not read novels and ballads with their participation: the frantic Roland, King Richard the Lionheart, Ulrich von Lichtenstein, Emperor Barbarossa, Gottfried of Bouillon. But in our time, faced with them, hardly anyone wanted to sing them.

Roland turned out to be a simple robber

The song about Furious Roland lifted the spirit of the knights before the battles, he, who died untimely, was mourned in anguish by the schoolgirls centuries later. According to legend, Roland's detachment fell during the attack of a gigantic army of Saracens. Roland could summon, blowing a magic horn, to his aid the entire army of King Charles - but out of pride he refused to do this until the very last minute. As a result, the help was late, all the Franks of Roland's detachment were killed on the battlefield.

Roland also owned the magic sword Durendal, which could even cut through a stone. Before his death, Roland tried to destroy him so that he would not fall into the hands of the enemy - but for some reason the enemy was not very interested in magic weapons.

The Song of Roland was written about the real Breton margrave, Hruodland (the names of the Franks in those days were not distinguished by their lightness). Together with his king, Hruodland really fought with the Saracens in Spain for many years … in the service of other Saracens, that is, he was a mercenary among the Muslims. In Spain, Charles and probably his Roland ravaged one of the Basque cities, by the way, Christians.

The Basques, in revenge, set up an ambush over the gorge, in which Charles's army would inevitably stretch into a long thin line, and calmly killed the robbers from the northern lands - Muslim mercenaries who did not hesitate to attack fellow Christians. Moreover, the Basques did it, by the standards of their time, ingeniously - they met the rearguard led by Roland on the ascent up the mountain and threw heavy knights and transport carts on their comrades down the path. After, wandering among the corpses, the Basques calmly picked up the loot by the Franks in Spain and returned home with the loot.

Apparently, in their homeland, it seemed a shame to the Franks to talk about all these adventures, and a version about the battle of proud Christians with numerous Muslims spread in Europe. Moreover, it is not entirely clear why it was Roland who became the main hero of this battle - the Basques killed many noble knights. Perhaps Roland was something especially dear to Karl.

Richard the Lionheart

An impeccable guardian of England's honor, a hero of the Crusades, a valiant knight - Richard the Lionheart is praised both independently and as a just king in the stories of Robin Hood. The mother of the king was Alienora of Aquitaine herself, one of the most legendary figures of the Middle Ages, which added splendor to Richard himself.

In fact, the king, nicknamed the Lionheart, was not the most pleasant person, and he hated England and the English at all, almost frankly considering his subjects an unpleasant cattle. He always considered himself more of an Occitan, that is, according to modern ideas, a French, and he went on the Crusade, among other things, just to leave England away.

Richard the Lionheart ravaged the country (which later his brother John Landless, who was also reproached for not being able to correct everything that Richard had heaped up, unsuccessfully tried to cope with this), deceived hired soldiers, observed the interests of only his French knights, showed complete indifference to his wife who accompanied him on a difficult trip and fought only because he loved to fight.

What is especially surprising to historians is how the king contrived, approaching Jerusalem at the moment when it was possible to drive out the Arabs from there with small forces, so many disasters fell on them at that moment and Saladdin weakened so much … In general, how did Richard just manage to approach Jerusalem, regret that he is occupied by Muslims, and begin to scour the neighborhood in search of heroic battles (because of this love of his heroism, many knights died in vain, who covered their king to the end).

Ulrich von Lichtenstein

Ulrich is remembered when you need an example of an ideal knight, not regal and quite real, moreover. In the thirteenth century, he was received with respect at knightly tournaments, his name thundered: still, the poor nobleman achieved such skill that there was no equal to him in tournaments, and thanks to his glory, he found friends of the circle for whom they are especially respected.

In fact, the whole trick was precisely the combination of the fact that Ulrich was from a poor family, and … the fact that the winners of the tournaments were generously rewarded. No one heard that Ulrich somehow distinguished himself in battle, but if a reward was promised for the battle, then he was the first of the first and became rich very quickly. In fact, he was not at all interested in displaying knightly courage. Prizes, prizes and more prizes - that was his interest; but, due to the fact that the tournaments were perceived very emotionally, and he himself later, in communication with the fans, demonstrated excellent manners and the ability to sing, this somehow escaped the attention of those who glorified him as a great knight.

In short, Ulrich was more of a medieval sports star than a real knight, and outside of the struggle for expensive prizes, he won only one kind of victories - love. The ladies liked him very much and took advantage of it.

Frederick Barbarossa

Another great knight king really surprises with his many victories on the battlefield. He was also generous, devout, and charmingly conversational. In addition, in his youth he was not bad-looking, and in old age he was strong, alive and physically strong. He created the most powerful and professional army of his time and

All this does not negate the fact that Frederick was quick-tempered and, during his outbursts of anger, was senselessly cruel, in achieving goals he was distinguished by unprincipledness and was obsessed with absolute power (is it surprising that he was brought in as a model of a monarch in the Third Reich?) Frederick participated in one The crusade with Richard the Lionheart, and they constantly brawled and dogged about everything in the world - and most importantly, because everyone believed that he should go down in history as the best king-knight.

Frederick died during the Crusade. According to legend, he suggested that the knights not look for a ford, and cross the mountain river on horseback, and when she doubted, he caught them in cowardice and sent his horse into the water. And he drowned, of course. According to another version, he fell into the river by accident. And according to a completely conspiracy theory, it was his knights who later announced that everything happened by accident - he was just very tired of everyone.

Gottfried of Bouillon

The leader of the first crusade, who managed to conquer Jerusalem and become its first Christian ruler. Despite not the highest, albeit noble, origin, Gottfried was very charismatic, attractive, knew how to fight and lead people, did not complain about hardships in the campaign, demonstrating true knightly stamina, and died in battle.

However, the same Gottfried attacked Christian Constantinople on his way to the Muslim lands. Having repulsed the first attack of Gottfried, the Byzantine emperor sent a message to the overlord of Gottfried with a request to somehow tame him. The suzerain honestly tried, but did not succeed - Gottfried just brushed it off and again attacked Constantinople. His attack was repulsed again, and only the knight's second defeat calmed him a little.

In the end, Gottfried made peace with the Emperor Alexei and moved on, and so that all forests there would not interfere with his valiant troops, he sent forward detachments that significantly cut them down - which for Byzantium was an ecological disaster. The Byzantines breathed a sigh of relief when Gottfried stayed in Jerusalem and did not go back past Constantinople.

Barbarossa was not the only one who died unkingsly: 6 ridiculous cases that led to the death of rulers of different countries and times.