Charles Martel - The Hammer

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Fantastic read!!!

Thank you!  WOW!!

As a history nut, even I learned something!  That was great!  I mean really great!

I have (3) comments:

1. - I've long been fascinated by the life and times leading up to the Crusades.  It was such a strange time really.  I have also long been fascinated just by life in general during these times.  Even basic day to day existence and survival was amazing, and then to read something like this story!  People in the west today see war as some distant thing; young soldiers train and then go to some far away land to fight.  Some come home and some don't, but the average person back home does not understand the battle; truly understand it.  This fight, during the 700's, came to their doorstep, and much like today the common person took little notice.  But Martel wasn't the 'common person' and he recognized it for what it was...and then acted...decisively.  His plan was not exotic, but steadfast.  There was no 'trick play'.  No, instead there were organized tactics and above all discipline.  The discipline alone is remarkable in that it is one thing to have a cohesive force in battle, but it is a whole other thing to lay in wait for an enemy to attack.  And, while some may see this as a simple defensive posture, in reality it is so much more.  It is a tactic which not only capitalizes on an enemy's weaknesses, it actually creates those weaknesses.  That is altogether different.

People often hear about the Crusades, but more often than not these stories are presented from an ideological perspective and seldom a historical one.  It's like people realize these events took place, but they don't understand why, other than from a religious perspective.  It's hard for most to put the Crusades into a historical context, and for this reason it is even harder to comprehend the motivations which led up to them.  This is especially true when one considers the lack of effective media back during these times.  It wasn't like some warrior stepped up and published an article in the New York Times which said..."Okay folks, Crusade part #1 (of 8) is going to start on Thursday.  Support our troops!  Buy War Bonds!"  But these epic battles were every bit as big as any World War since then, possibly even bigger.  People marvel at the resolve it took in the great conflicts like WW1 and WW2.  When added together, those World Wars took (8) years.  The Crusades went on for nearly...300 years, three hundred years!  Just take a moment to imagine this for a moment.  A single family would cycle through nearly six (6) entire generations from start to end.  That is mettle beyond anything modern civilization can comprehend today.  Just think about what was going on in your own family history (6) generations ago.  Do you even know who they were???  These people did.  Now, granted, many of the individual Crusades were short (i.e. 2-4 years), but some of them, like the 4th Crusade lasted for nearly 200 years.  That is just mind blowing.

--------------------------------------------------------------

2. - Dammit!  Is there not one single area of modern human existence which does NOT involve Taylor Swift?????  Keee-rist almighty!  I got all the way to the end before reading about Taylor Swift and I almost launched my laptop out the window into the front yard!  Dammit!  Just DAMMIT!!  (grumble, grumble, fucking Taylor Swift!)

--------------------------------------------------------------

3. - I find a bit of irony, or maybe even some sort of propaganda based drama, in Dmitry Medvedev's commentary at the end.  It is as if he is trying to prognosticate about the future of the west, following in Russia's footsteps.  Perhaps he could be right, but I have my doubts.  The mindset of the people is different, and this is a big factor in the final outcome.  The ideological structure in the east tolerates total power and the only way to change it is by destroying it.  This is unlike the west where the balance of power can change with a single check mark on a piece of paper (at least in theory anyway).  I'm not sure when Medvedev made that statement, but I would assume it was some time ago now.  However, it is words like these which should make people truly appreciate the last election cycle in America.

Thanks FCD!

100% on your first comment!

Sorry about the Swifty irony. I was bemused when I discovered that. Like WTF?

Yes, Medvedev is well known for his twisted irony and drama. He's a hoot on twitter, @MedvedevRussiaE.

That's just a snippet of what he published Feb 27, 2023, titled: Points of no return (Russian site)