Woodcut of a Josephine monk receiving his first tonsure.Records from the Monastery at York (3nd-7th Century)The monastic order at York (later the Order of St. Joseph) kept meticulous records of finances, primitive legal contracts and history throughout the late third to early-seventh century. These records provide some of our key insights into developments during the period.
"The work of six generations has come to pass. Its completion pushed to schedule by the outbreak of a sickness stemming from the water in the river. As even animals know not to eat and defecate in the same place, so too should we pay heed to the simplest of G-d's self-evident commands. The aqueduct is complete, bringing fresh water from the Pennines to the north and already the sickness has begun to wane. The 'lord', as the high chief of York wishes to be known, was most pleased and held a feast in celebration.
It is a beauty to behold, a demonstration of G-d's mathematical perfection. Fully five hundred arches of golden Yorkshire stone span from the city to the hills, its lines and curves adhering to the strictest of specifications. Upon this gilt bridge a river of health and clarity flows, bringing new life to an old city." - Brother Johns, 281AD, on the completion of the York aqueduct.
The Edinburgh Miner, 4th Century Woodcut"Brother Maynard's neat, ordered accounts of the Edinburgh mines belie their true conditions. He recounted to me in person of the dark, oppressively cramped corridors that wove beneath the Scottish Wastes, some so small that only children can struggle through with their picks. Irish and Saxon slaves make up much of the workforce of course, along with the criminals found guilty by Confucian law. Without such forced labour, I doubt the mines could achieve such an output as they do.
But is this right in the eyes of G-d? More and more this question is asked of me, by my brothers, by those commons who visit our sacred cloister in pilgrimage or for trade. Even the man who buys our wool for the weavers has begun to question this, and I know that he keeps slaves of his own. I do not think this is a new trend, though many believe that they are the first to raise objection to it. Perhaps we are the first to speak so openly about it, to not be cowed by fear of the slavers and the king.
The Confucian law makes the difference, I believe - now that a man may not be enslaved at a lord's whim without at least some charge we feel freer to speak our minds. Some believe that our generation is simply more compassionate than our forebears. I would say I have more faith in the nature of Men, and of G-d's creation. I believe that compassion is at the heart of all men, but many choose to deny it. Thus, there will always have been those who opposed enslavement, and there always will." - Brother Johns, 304AD, on the Edinburgh iron mines.
Catapult, 16th Century textbook illustration."More and more the engineers of the king astound me. Renovation of the palace and the monastery of York to include the new arch and vault designs make them the talk of England - at least, amongst the architects. The development of such advanced construction techniques in the last ten years has led the king to charter a Royal Society of Engineers to design and construct new buildings and devices.
On the subject of devices, during my last trip to Brickfield to examine the grounds of the monastery there I was invited to witness a demonstration of a new device, the 'catapult'. Always interested in such new creations I attended and was astounded by what I saw. By means of weights and ratchets, this amazing machine launches a rock larger than a pig to strike a target. My initial concern was of course accuracy, but the engineers were able to display their ability to calibrate the machine to strike within ten feet of any given point on the first strike, almost perfectly on the point by the second. In this manner they were able to hit three distinct targets in no less than five strikes; a straw man, a straw horse and a drystone wall. The first two targets were utterly obliterated, and a sizeable portion of the third was struck down on the first hit - the remainder broke on the second.
As fine and laudible an invention as the catapult is, one question arises; whom will it be used against now that Britain is at peace?" - Brother Matthew, 322AD, on advances in Construction.
Tafflander Horse Archer, 8th Century Woodcut"I conducted my first extended horse ride today, after three weeks of training by the groom. The brothers, the Abbot and myself rode across the full length of our lands to examine the sheep herds. This proved less effective than it might have done, as the horses struggled on the steep inclines. On the flat and the road, however, they moved quickly and were capable of carrying great weight.
It is with some irony that we have learned this sport from Aztec scholars, as the Aztecs do not possess horses of their own, nor grounds suitable for their breeding. For centuries, English horses have been exported to their lands, during which a tradition of horseback riding developed amongst their peoples. In our kingdom, only chariots and wagons have been used to take advantage of a horse's mobility.
It is my understanding that the Aztec scholars have been exceedingly unwilling to trade knowledge of this skill, and I can understand why. The military application of such a skill is peerless - with spears, or even bows and arrows, a band of mounted rangers might strike at their enemies and then draw back out of the range of the foe's own arrows. It is perhaps an indication more of the fear of the Aztecs that they proved unwilling to provide knowledge of horseback riding to us than of its utility to them - in our hands, it could prove a deadly weapon against them if the centuries of peace should ever end." - Brother Charles, 393AD, on the growing tradition of Horseback Riding.
"Some will certainly decry him as an upstart, a heathen and even a blasphemer, but I will always remember the man they now call Mahavira (the 'Great Hero') as a scholar and a friend.
Mahavira was born in Brickfield to the modest name of Michael Clay. He grew up the son of a mason and was part of an almost unknown faith; Christianity. The Christians obeyed and held faith in G-d like good Jews (And unlike the Confucians, who all but believe G-d is unnecessary if morality alone is followed! One might as well say you have no need of a blacksmith once you have the horse shoe.) with the exception that they believed their prophet Jesus Christ had spoken with G-d and brought about a new Covenant altering the old tenets of the faith. Not to be encouraged, but otherwise harmless.
Like a good Jew, Mahavira was brought up to question the scrolls and to interpret them, and it was in our twenties that we first met, during a visit to Brickfield regarding some horses. He challenged me quite openly to a discussion of several aspects of the faith and, being a young and perhaps brash young monk I accepted in full confidence of my ability. I am proud to say that I was beaten most thoroughly and completely in this discussion, and less proud to admit that I harboured resentment over the matter for some time. We met again some years later and I daresay we had both mellowed. I took it upon myself to ask him to debate the same debate we had begun before and in this second round was somewhat able to hold my point against his relentless form of debate. Rather than becoming a challenge however I felt a kinship, as if his intent was not to beat me but to discover the truth of G-d's works.
Mahavira's talent for debate and deep study of G-d lasted throughout his long life, and I often felt that he could have become a great rabbi if he had been willing to return to Judaism. He achieved fame (and infamy) over the fifty years he preached, argued and studied the nature of G-d, having devoted his entire life to the practice of what they now call 'Theology'. He was buried last month, the funeral attended by much of the town and quite possibly all of its Christian population. Said population has grown significantly in Brickfield since Mahavira first began to talk, but I have confidence that this is a fad and nothing more. Soon enough, they will return to the true ways." - Abbot Charles, 444AD, on the death of Mahavira, founder of the discipline of Theology.
A Smith at his Forge, 6th Century woodcut."Perfection of the lost wax casting method and other metalworking techniques by the Royal Engineers in London promise a new age of production. Whilst many products will still require the skilled hands of a smith to create, some simpler items can now be cast in a mould many times over in the time it would take to forge one individually. There is talk now of a large scale industrial complex in London, conjoining several independent forges into a single smithy and smelter." - Brother Andrew, 481AD, on developments in Metal Casting.
"The 'Parthenon' is a wonder to behold. Though the name strictly refers to one room, I speak for the whole of the structure rising five hundred feet high and covering an area of 230 by 100 square feet. High columns rise, holding up the roof and within only the finest carvings adorn the walls and ceiling. Truly this is an edifice fit for the eyes of G-d!
On a perhaps more pragmatic note, the political effect of this is not beyond note. The temple now rises higher and more prominent than any other building, especially the royal palace. The Synod is making a very real statement about the significance of its power, and many wonder how long the monarchy will tolerate a challenge of this nature.
Political statement or devotion to G-d, what can be assured is that the Parthenon will continue to have a lasting influence over London and the rest of Britain. Its very presence inspires others, encouraging them to reach higher and further in their achievements." - Brother Michael, 516AD, on the completion of the Parthenon at London.
A cordwainer's stall at the Brickfield Market, 6th Century woodcut."I have visited the Market at Brickfield with the Order's herds and I cannot help but profess my approval. In place of the old, cramped market with its twisting streets and lack of light, the lord of Brickfield has seen fit to maintain a gleaming sandstone plaza upon which the stalls and purchasers of the market alike may stand more easily. In the centre, a fountain of water from Bran's Bluff jets into the air and around it is a two-tiered building that can contain more stalls for the available space.
These changes alone along with other alterations such as improved roads to allow the transport of goods and chattel have vastly increased the amount of commerce that can pass through Brickfield. I do not doubt that Brickfield itself shall reap rich rewards in tax." - Brother David, 540AD, on the Brickfield Market.
"The king is dead, and he has no heir. With the tragedies that struck the royal line these past five years, the death of the king so soon after his last son is no comfort at all. With no clear line of succession, arguments that began at the palace between the lords already threaten to blow into full-scale war. Each of the city lords has their own claim and none is significantly better than the other. The Synod, too, is split between putting forth a candidate of its own or sponsoring one of the greater lords. I fear that we are past the point of votes and bribes - I fear that only the sword and the bow will decide our country's fate now." - Brother Matthew, 612AD, two years before the sacking of the monastery.
English Feudalism in the 7th Century
Serfs working land outside London, 14th Century artwork.In two years of bloody, violent conflict the future of England and its sister countries was forged and the practice of feudalism came into its own. The lords of the realm required the large armies that slave troops could provide, whilst the numerous slaves of the realm demanded freedom in exchange for their aid in combat. The costs of forcing slaves into combat (especially in morale and manpower terms) would prove disastrous for those who followed this path. Other lords adopted a form of middle way - they granted freedom to their subjects from slavery only to bind them into a feudal contract if they wished to survive. Serfs were technically free men, but in return for land to work and live off they had to serve their lord in perpetuity. This ultimately proved a winning formula for the land lords, as whilst Confucian law required a master to provide for a slave's food and health it had no such requirements for one's servants.
The second attractor of the feudal contract was the concept of Vassalage. While serfs were pressed into everyday labour and the shock force of war, minor lords and their immediate men-at-arms (who would soon achieve the title of 'knight') were responsible for the conduct and supply of war, as well as being better trained. After the Feudal Revolution, when the new heirarchy had become more firmly established, knights and minor lords would train themselves to act as a dedicated soldier class for war. Vassalage was the practice that each knight or lord held fealty to the lord above him, and in return for that lord's protection and land (and the right to hold and tax serfs and freemen on that land), the vassal would provide miilitary aid when required. This describes a somewhat ideal arrangement - in the two-year war of the revolution, most of the original lords were forcibly vassalised by their more powerful neighbours. Nevertheless this did culminate with power belonging in the hands of a few powerful Earls and Dukes who commanded the loyalty of thousands beneath them.
The third factor of the Feudal Revolution, though not a requirement for feudalism, was the restructuring of the Jewish Synod from a merely well-ordered and organised religion into a true theocracy. Many Synod holdings declared fealty to the Synod as others did to the feudal earls, and the Synod itself began to attract a powerful armed force to bolster its already significant land holdings and spiritual influence over the masses. The Synod ultimately put its strength behind an ordinary soldier who had attracted his own froce of mercenaries and opted to serve the Synod. This soldier's name was Oliver Cromwell.
With the Synod's backing, Cromwell was able to obtain the begrudging fealty of the earls by the end of the war. He infamously rejected the title of king, calling himself the 'Lord Protector' and promising to dedicate his reign to a return to 'true Jewish values'. The next thirty years were host to some of the most violent cullings, persecutions and blatant abuses of power in the history of England. With the divine right of God at his side, Cromwell feared and brooked no opposition and crushed the still relatively minor Christian and Confucian communities into the ground. Cromwell successfully kept up his regime of terror until the day he finally died of liver failure and was to be replaced by his son. His son never made it to the coronation, and the earls united behind the Duke of York as their future king.
The Synod, seeking to preserve its new-found power, agreed to crown the new king with the authority of God. The king took it one step further by declaring himself the head priest of the Synod as well as king of the country, both solidifying the power of the Synod in everyday life and placing it firmly under his control. It is in such a climate that we can now view the gradual militarisation of England over the next two centuries.
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Topic: Let's Play... SM's Civ 4: The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Aztlan! (Read 12178 times)