I'm trying to make the Advanced Battle System all nice and fancy with quotes from various Arthurian sources.
I'm having a little difficulty on one.
Can anyone recommend a quote from a medieval source that discusses or illustrates what the army, or its members, do AFTER a battle?

Probably not quite what you want - but a quick search turned up the following two quotes...

From Matthew Paris
Fortune favoured them in this war; for their cause appeared, even to their enemies, to be just

From Froissart
It was so great pity to see the men, women and children that kneeled down on their knees before the Prince for mercy; but he was so enflamed with ire that he took no heed to them, so that none was heard but all put to death ...more than three thousand men women and children were slain and beheaded that day.

That last one was a little dark, don't you think?

I don't know if it's a little to late in the Medieval period for you, but the interchange between Henry V and Montjoy following the battle may work. It begins with Henry saying, "How now! what means this, herald? know'st thou not that I have fined these bones of mine for ransom? Comest thou again for ransom?" and ends with Montjoy saying, "The day is yours."

(Or, to make it a little easier to read, use the same scene from the Brannagh movie.)

Probably not quite what you want
These two guys are GREAT sources to read. They record events that are nearly contemporary with the writers/compilers of our Medieval Arthurian Literature. The reign of Edward III (when they held RPG Roundtables) is a model for post-Conquest Periods. (i.e. the Hundred Years War).

But, I am hoping to use something Arthurian.

TO EXPAND what I want: I'm looking for stuff about first aid, returning to camp, ransoms, body counts, etc.

I can't really come up with any, but my memory is not perfect. I've used movies as sources in the GPC, so maybe some dialogue from a movie I am forgetting (I'll have to get my tapes converted to DVDs I guess.) Some great work of Arthurian fiction?

Heck, at this stage, I am thinking of altering some passages from Shakespeare....

--Greg

How about this bit from Geoffrey?

As soon as victory was assured, Arthur ordered the bodies of his leaders to be separated from the carcasses of the enemy.Once they were gathered together , he had those bodies prepared for burial with royal pomp and then they were carried to the abbeys of their own native districts and interred there with great honour.(there follows some names, but I don't think you want to anticipate the deaths of Bedivere and Kay, or that the locations are likely to be appropriate)At Arthur's command, the rest of the leaders and princes were born to abbeys in the vicinity. He took pity on his enemies and told the local inhabitants to bury them. He ordered the body of Lucius to be carried to the Senate, with a message that no other tribute could be expected from Britain.

why not use a bit of the Y Goddodin about Arthur?

He fed black ravens on the rampart of a fortress
Though he was no Arthur
Among the powerful ones in battle
In the front rank, Gwawrddur was a palisad

There's a passage in Malory, after the final battle with Mordred:

"And so as he [Sir Lucan] yede, he saw and hearkened by the moonlight, how that pillers and robbers were comen into the field, to pill and to rob many a full noble knight of brooches, and beads, of many a good ring, and of many a rich jewel; and who that were not dead all out, there they slew them for their harness and their riches."

Another, slightly earlier passage, after the battle of Barham Down:

"And then the king let search all the towns for his knights that were slain, and interred them; and salved them with soft salves that so sore were wounded."

From http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/allitfrm.htm"]the (http://"[url) Alliterative Morte Arthure[/url], Arthur's desperate search for Gawain's body:


Lines 3932-3948
The king comly overcast knightes and other,
Erles of Afrike and Estriche bernes,
Of Argyle and Orkney the Irish kinges,
The noblest of Norway, numbers full huge,
Dukes and Danemarkes and dubbed knightes;
And the Guthede king in the gay armes
Lies gronand on the ground and gird through even.
The rich king ransackes with rewth at his herte
And up rippes the renkes of all the Round Table,
Sees them all in a soppe in suite by them one
With the Sarazenes unsound encircled about,
And Sir Gawain the good in his gay armes,
Umbegripped the gers and on grouf fallen,
His banners braiden down, beten of gules,
His brand and his brode sheld all bloody berunnen.
Was never our seemlich king so sorrowful in herte,
Ne that sank him so sad but that sight one.



Courteously the King turned over knights and others,
Earls from Africa and Austrian men,
Argyll and Orkney men, Irish kings,
The noblest from Norway in enormous numbers,
Dukes and Denmarkers and newly dubbed knights,
And in his garish gear the King of Gotland,
Who lay groaning on the ground, gashed right through,
Our great sovereign searched in sadness of heart,
Looking for the lords of the Round Table,
And saw them huddled in a heap all together,
With the slaughtered Saracens surrounding them,
And Sir Gawain the Good in his glittering armour
Fallen on his face, fingers clutching the grass,
His banner of brilliant scarlet beaten down,
His blade and broad shield bloodied all over.
Such sorrow our splendid king never knew,
Nor was his spirit ever sunk as by that single sight.

How about this one? It comes from the Welsh Triads (Traid 20 W, translated by Rachel Bromwich):

Three Red Ravagers of the Island of Britain
Rhun son of Beli,
and Lle(u) Skilful Hand,
and Morgan(t) the Wealthy.
But there was one who was a Red Ravager greater than all three. Arthur
was his name. For a year neither grass nor plants used to spring up
where one of the three would walk, but where Arthur went, not for
seven years.

Bob Schroeder

There is this one... " hey man!! Get your foot out a my face!"

Or " Hey aedon, can you help me get this Hunnish arrow out of my Arse?"

;D ;D ;D

The Battle of Otterburn in 1388 is chronicled in two ballards,

The Battle of Otterbourne http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/scottish/itfellab.htm

30. The Percy and Montgomery met,
That either of other were fain;
They swapped swords, and they twa swat,
And aye the blood ran down between.

31. "Yield thee, now yield thee, Percy," he said,
"Or else I vow I'll lay thee low!"
"To whom must I yield," quoth Earl Percy,
"Now that I see it must be so ?"

32. "Thou shalt not yield to lord nor loun,
Nor yet shalt thou yield to me;
But yield thee to the braken-bush,
That grows upon yon lilye lee!"

33. "I will not yield to a braken-bush,
Nor yet will I yield to a brier;
But I would yield to Earl Douglas,
Or Sir Hugh the Montgomery, if he were here."

34. As soon as he knew it was Montgomery,
He stuck his sword's point in the gronde;
The Montgomery was a courteous knight,
And quickly took him by the honde.

The Battle of Chevy Chase http://www.contemplator.com/child/chevych.html

Next day did many widows come
Their husbands to bewail;
They washed their wounds in brinish tears,
But all would not prevail.

Their bodies bathed in purple gore
They bore with tbem away;
They kissed their dead a thousand times
When they were clad in clay.

You probably already thought of this, but perhaps a shorter version of these passages from Malory?

And when it was known that the emperor was slain, anon all the Romans with all their host put them to flight, and King Arthur with all his knights followed the chase, and slew down right all them that they might attain. And thus was the victory given to King Arthur, and the triumph; and there were slain on the part of Lucius more than an hundred thousand. And after King Arthur did do ransack the dead bodies, and did do bury them that were slain of his retinue, every man according to the estate and degree that he was of. And them that were hurt he let the surgeons do search their hurts and wounds, and commanded to spare no salves nor medicines till they were whole.

Then the king rode straight to the place where the Emperor Lucius lay dead, and with him he found slain the Soudan of Syria, the King of Egypt and of Ethiopia, which were two noble kings, with seventeen other kings of divers regions, and also sixty senators of Rome, all noble men, whom the king did do balm and gum with many good gums aromatic, and after did do cere them in sixty fold of cered cloth of sendal, and laid them in chests of lead, because they should not chafe nor savour, and upon all these bodies their shields with their arms and banners were set, to the end they should be known of what country they were. And after he found three senators which were alive, to whom he said, For to save your lives I will that ye take these dead bodies, and carry them with you unto great Rome, and present them to the Potestate on my behalf, shewing him my letters, and tell them that I in my person shall hastily be at Rome. And I suppose the Romans shall beware how they shall demand any tribute of me. And I command you to say when ye shall come to Rome, to the Potestate and all the Council and Senate, that I send to them these dead bodies for the tribute that they have demanded. And if they be not content with these, I shall pay more at my coming, for other tribute owe I none, nor none other will I pay. And methinketh this sufficeth for Britain, Ireland and all Almaine with Germany. And furthermore, I charge you to say to them, that I command them upon pain of their heads never to demand tribute nor tax of me nor of my lands. Then with this charge and commandment, the three senators aforesaid departed with all the said dead bodies, laying the body of Lucius in a car covered with the arms of the Empire all alone; and after alway two bodies of kings in a chariot, and then the bodies of the senators after them, and so went toward Rome, and showed their legation and message to the Potestate and Senate, recounting the battle done in France, and how the field was lost and much people and innumerable slain. Wherefore they advised them in no wise to move no more war against that noble conqueror Arthur, for his might and prowess is most to be doubted, seen the noble kings and great multitude of knights of the Round Table, to whom none earthly prince may compare.

How about this bit from Geoffrey?

As soon as victory was assured, Arthur ordered the bodies of his leaders to be separated from the carcasses of the enemy.Once they were gathered together , he had those bodies prepared for burial with royal pomp and then they were carried to the abbeys of their own native districts and interred there with great honour.(there follows some names, but I don't think you want to anticipate the deaths of Bedivere and Kay, or that the locations are likely to be appropriate)At Arthur's command, the rest of the leaders and princes were born to abbeys in the vicinity. He took pity on his enemies and told the local inhabitants to bury them. He ordered the body of Lucius to be carried to the Senate, with a message that no other tribute could be expected from Britain.


Translations vary a bit all the time so I can not find this quote. Can you help me, SirGareth or anyone?

--g

It looks like it's Book 10, Chapter 13.

It looks like it's Book 10, Chapter 13.


And also page 34 of Pendragon Book of Battle, :D
Thank you.

Who first quoted that to me here?
--g

It looks like it's Book 10, Chapter 13.


And also page 34 of Pendragon Book of Battle, :D
Thank you.

Who first quoted that to me here?
--g


That quote just happens to be in your very own KAP5, page 211. ;D