Crusade (54 page)
Authors: Stewart Binns
VARANGIAN GUARD
The elite bodyguard of the emperors of Byzantium for several hundred years. They were extremely well-paid mercenaries who
also shared in the booty of the Emperor’s victories, thus the Guard could attract the finest warriors. Most were drawn from Scandinavia and were often referred to as the ‘Axemen of the North’. Their loyalty was legendary, as was their ferocity. It is thought many of Harold of England’s surviving housecarls joined the Guard after Senlac Ridge in 1066.
VERBA NOVISSIMA
Latin: ‘Last words’. In a tradition going back in English law at least 450 years before the eleventh century, to Augustine of Canterbury (St Augustine), the ‘last words’ spoken by a person prior to their death constituted their ‘last will and testament’. They annulled any previous will made by that person.
VILLEIN
The term used in the feudal era to denote a peasant (tenant farmer) who was legally tied to the land he worked on. A villein could not leave the land without the landowner’s consent.
VIZIER
The senior adviser/minister/counsellor/earl marshal to a caliph. Usually a civilian in a clerical hierarchy. The word is found in Arabic, but also in Persian and Hindi and may be Indo-European in origin.
WOAD
A blue dye made from the powdered and fermented leaves of the plant
Isatis tinctoria
, also known as Dyer’s Woad. The Celtic tribes of Britain, from before the Roman invasion and beyond, used woad to decorate themselves, both in times of peace and war.
WYVERN OF WESSEX
A wyvern is a legendary winged creature with a dragon’s head and a barbed tail. The wyvern is often found in heraldry. A golden wyvern was the symbol of the ancient Kingdom of Wessex and the early kings of England up to Harold Godwinson. It was thought to have been one of his two banners at Senlac Ridge, the other being his personal standard, the Fighting Man.
Acknowledgements
To my wonderful wife, Lucy, our gorgeous sons Charlie and Jack, my eldest son Adam, his wife, Michelle, and my grandchildren, Sam and Jessica, of whom I am very proud and to all the inspirational friends and outstanding professionals who have made
Crusade
happen.
I could not have done it without you.
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First published 2012
Copyright © Stewart Binns, 2012
Cover illustration: Nik Keevil
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Typeset by Palimpsest Book Production Limited, Falkirk, Stirlingshire
ISBN: 978-0-241-95758-5