The Critic's Quill: Issue 8

**Juvenal** · July 29, 2009, 10:50 AM

Letter from the (Assistant) Editor
It is with some astonishment that I have to reveal that Fergus (who now styles himself Junius) has had the temerity to go on holiday (Boo!) So I am standing in to ensure that you don't miss your regular dose of the mighty Quill. Luckily, thanks to numerous Post-It notes Fergus has left about the place, contributions have come flooding in and I can therefore offer you a bumper issue, bulging with the razor-sharp observations from our tastefully blue-badged staff.

Apart from the usual reviews, we have an opinion piece from the pen of Nazgûl Killer setting out his exacting standards for what makes a good AAR.

Finally, we also have a review from a new contributer, Ratbag, eager to make a place for himself in the high-powered world of vanity publishing.

Your humble servant, [user]Juvenal[/user]

Table of Contents

Opinion Piece
[user]Nazgûl Killer[/user] presents: The AAR Criteria

By request and by volunteering, I have decided to write my "AAR Criteria". Yet, before I do so, I would like to declare that I am no official nor am I an expert, yet, I am, from what others have told me, a good reviewer of AARs and I am a constant reader of AARs, I have read well over a hundred AARs and I know what (my) criteria are.

Most AARs today have a very strong illness, either too little text and too many pictures or too little pictures and too much text, both of these illnesses have unwanted results; The readers who much prefer 'action' in their AAR, more fighting and less talking, would skip the AARs without pictures and the others, who prefer plot over 'action', would much rather read the ones with more text. This forces most AAR readers and writers to find a very delicate balance between the two and with that offer little diversity at times.

For me, the basic guidelines of an AAR should be proper grammar, a proper plot and some action, meaning that I would much rather to read an interesting plot than blankly stare at pictures of the game, instead of simply right clicking on its icon and playing it myself.

The pros of an AAR with a plot is that it allows your imagination to flow and yourself to 'lie' a bit, as my good friend once said in response to one of my oldest AARs. What I mean by this is that you can, instead of sticking directly to gaming events, simply start inventing conversations between your characters, allow your imagination to take over battles as you inflate the deeds of your soldiers in combat just a tad bit, instead of simply sticking to the facts and... Basically, reporting after your action.

The definition of the AAR is actually an "After Action Report", meaning you simply tell the story of what you have done, meaning that the AARs with more pictures and less text usually live up to this standard, yet, those with less pictures and more text would much better be counted as stories and tales instead of AARs, and there is nothing wrong with either of those.

However, instead of picking one of these, most players would much rather find the delicate balance between the two, and oftenly (Sadly), fail, causing in lack of interest from both sides of the readers, both those who much rather a plot and those who much rather action, thus creating dead AARs by the dozens.

I urge all AAR readers out there to not judge an AAR just by briefly looking at it, read it, look at the pictures, at least read two updates before deciding your opinion, as I myself were surprised by an or two before which had very little text and an immense amount of pictures, however, was one of the funniest AARs I have ever read, or, no pictures and all text, which turned out to be one of the best stories I have ever read. This is why I urge you, do not judge a book by its cover.

I also urge all AAR writers, do not fear your style! Write what you feel is right and what you want to write, listening to popular demand and going against what you want to do/write will oftenly cause in you losing interest in your AAR and abandoning it, or a complete lack of interest by others as you do not seem to really be investing in said AAR.

In addition, I will add that humorous AARs are probably the best and most successful AARs, however, there is also a delicate balance there between funny and downright apalling, most humorous AARs fail to find this balance and tend to fail, however, this doesn't mean you should give up! The more subtle the humor, the funnier the AAR will be, the more blunt and obvious the humor, the less successful the AAR will be, keep that in mind when writing your own.

I will say this, as my conclusion and final words: Writers - Do not give up and do not change your style, if the public demands you do, the public doesn't deserve to read your style. Readers - Be a bit more patient, read the AAR, don't just look at it and decide randomly if it's good or not, this will discourage all the writers and eventually you will see the downfall of the AAR community alltogether if you do that.

Those were my two cents of wisdom... Heed or disregard this, this is your choice indeed, however, I speak from experience, experience you just might find useful.

AAR Review

A Stainless Steel AAR by [user]TemplarLord[/user]

Introduction
By this sign you will conquer. In Hoc Signes Vinces. A grand statement that evokes much in the imagination of anyone interested in Late Roman History. It was the message sent by God to Constantine before the battle of the Milvian Bridge. And conquer he did. Templarlord's ambition may not be as great as Constantine's of old, but for his first AAR, he has set himself quite a task.

Story
In Hoc Signes Vinces is set at the end of the 14th Century, but as with any Medieval 2 AAR, it deviates quite substantially from history. A well written introduction paints the picture of a different Northern Europe than our own. Sometime in the mid-14th century, the Almohavids conquered France, at least up to Paris. The Templars came and beat them back, thus establishing themselves as a power in France. The English, not concerned with holding the island that gave themselves their name, focused their conquests around their capital of Caen. The Scots took the land south of Berwick, eventually ruling the whole island. The Crusaders then invade English territory, wiping them out. It is different from most AARs, in that it picks off from sometime in the middle of a campaign, rather from the predicable stating positions. This straight away gives itself an interesting quality, if only you want to see how the wars and factions develop in this scenario, which may well be quite different from any situation you found yourself in game. The story and writing, more on that below, are well told, by the characters that inhabit the world. We only know as much as they do, and this sense of intrigue and 'What will happen next?' just adds further to the interest the story has.

Writing Style
TemplarLord has a talent for creating characters. He manages to craft an interesting and faceted cast, though of only two at the present, in his first scene, and I can be confident in saying that only more will follow. Many writers just give a straight up description of their characters, e.g. 'Steve was a tall man, with darting eyes, speaking of suspicion, but Paul could sense that there was something more behind them'. These are good ways of introducing a character, but TemplarLord builds his characters in more natural and organic ways. Instead of doing the above, quirks and information about a character is given throughout the dialogue, the way he speaks or moves. I can safely say that it is very well written.

The battle scenes are written at a distant. There is no first person, or even third person, perspective. He gives a general sense of the battle, noting the chaos and confusion, without going into too many specifics. Generally, it is well done, but should not be seen as the main draw for this AAR. They are entertaining, but they do not steal the show, a hard task given the level of his campaign writing.

The rest of the prose is light enough not to bog down the reader in over elaborate sentences or confusing phrases, but packs enough to allow the audience to engage and have a strong sense of the story.

Pictures
There are relatively few pictures at the moment in this AAR. A mix of early introductionary chapters and obvious restraint on the side of the author have led to this. However, the pictures he does include, either from in-game screenshots, or those of his own creation (at least not from the game itself), are well edited, highlighting the needed information, without including too much. The other pictures, notably a map of the starting positions of the factions involved, are beautifully done, lending a certain something to the story. Without having to explain the positions of the factions, they are given in a clear, crisp and pretty way.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

The battle pictures are more frequent than the campaign ones, but are equally as well chosen and edited. They act to supplement the battle writing, only highlighting or helping to fire the imagination. In this regard, I think the disorder and chaos evoked by Templarlord's writing is echoed in the pictures, and they tie in well together.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Critique
I enjoyed the opening chapter of this story. The plot is told via the dialogue of the characters, something which feels natural and greatly adds to the story. It is a testament to Templarlord's ability that he can do this is a convincing manner. Though, as always, there are a few typos and little mistakes, these are not distracting, and can be easily cleaned up or eliminated. I would like to see something different, though, from the world weary anti-heroes that have been introduced. I must stress once again that this AAR is only in it's opening stages, so I hope TemplarLord will differentiate his characters to a larger degree in later installments.

The battles, while not being the main draw, are well enough written to not detract from the overall quality of the story. While there may be some instances of absent mindedness, one I found was particularly jarring, which may break the fourth wall, this is the only real complaint I have with the overall piece.

Conclusion
TemplarLord has only started writing AARs, but it can be seen that he has taken the time to think about his story. I like that there is a story to it, and it seems to be a fairly accomplished one. There are some minor niggles, as I mentioned in my Critique, but these are small, and will most likely disappear with time and the growing experience of the writer. The AAR is plot heavy, with good, detailed characterisation. While this may not be for everyone, given the amount of text and lack of pictures, it is an AAR I found enjoyable. I will be reading this as it continues, and urge you to do the same.

Review by [user]Junius[/user]

AAR Review
Ave Caesar, Imperator 58 BC
An FRRE AAR by Octavius Vatco Azura

Introduction
Ave Caesar, Imperator (ACI) is the second AAR of a popular yet relatively unknown AARtist, Octavius Vatco Azura. The latter part of the description is a shame, as those who have not read his AARs don’t know what they’re missing. After his first AAR about Carrhae, which was received well, he decided to create this AAR, which was not very long but nonetheless was well worth visiting.

Plot
This AAR follows the campaigns of Julius Caesar, from Gaul all the way to the conclusion of the Belle Civilum against Pompeius. Obviously, historical accuracy was always going to be important here, and I’m delighted to say that I can find no cracks in the watertight depictions of Caesar’s life by Azura: this is expected of course, but it rarely happens in reality, so well done Azura!

Mod
Before reading ACI, I had no idea that FRRE even existed, but Octavius here is clearly fond of it and it shows in his instinctive approach to the special features of the mod. Certainly he takes ample opportunity to show us the new legions, characters and battles, both on the campaign and battle map. In fact, the latter has even more facets to it…

Pictures
There are many sections of the AAR without any pictures, which merely describe some of the more mundane practices/events of Caesar’s life, but I personally believe that it is a very apt way to arrange things. There are however many pictures, which I am pleased to say are annotated sensibly - just a little sentence, a little remark to enhance the picture, like these two, showing the bravado of Rome and the determination of the Gauls, etc.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

He may be no Photoshop genius (comme moi) but they are still well taken with no amateurish mistakes like green highlighters. It really is quite effective, and shows the feel of realism and history (not to mention a bit of good old gory blood shedding action!) that he wants to portray.

Writing Style
Unfortunately, as Octavius is trying to describe pure fact and not to dress it up in any way, there is no room to expand for dramatic writing. This could be a place to expand upon if he makes another AAR of a similar theme - let us get to know Caesar as a character maybe, or tell us the story from the view of his aides perhaps. My opinion is that Octavius has decided to push the description out the window in order to make sure that he does not lose sight of his target and his attempts to be historical, which is a respectable enough idea.

He is able to inject a smidgen of drama into his battles however, with some emotion coming across. Maybe this will become a dominant feature of his next AAR, or he might ignore it completely - only he knows!

Conclusion
This is not Octavius’ first AAR, as I said earlier, and I am sure that once more he will learn a lot from the mistakes made in ACI. He should develop a more finalised writing style, even although his current is not bad… simply in need of clarification. At least, I hope he will!

I hope also that Octavius plans to use his screenshots to great effect in his next AAR as he has done in ACI, perhaps with a few improvements like being edited a little more professionally, etc.

Whether he chooses to try something new and write a fictional saga or stays with his histories, one thing is certain - Octavius is one of the underestimated, but certainly the rising AARtists among us.

Review by [user]SonOfAlexander[/user]

AAR Review
The Struggle for Europe
An M2TW AAR by master412160

Background
This is master412160's second AAR, it uses vanilla Medieval II. It all starts in the year of our lord 1080. France is divided, with enemies to the east, west, north and south, dangerous times lie ahead. It is up to the King and his sons to reunite this once great kingdom and lift it up to even greater glory. With an aggressive stance and a willing army they prepare for Total War!

Story
The story takes you through all the ordeals of running a country that is torn apart by rebellion and war that are the daily life of a King. At first things seem to go smoothly, as planned. The rebels don't stand a chance against the professional armies of France and the kingdom is quickly reunited under one banner. But as time progresses and wars break out on two fronts it's a struggle to juggle armies from enemy to enemy.

They are in a bloody war with The Holy Roman Empire and Milan. The coming years shall determine whether France shall become an empire... or crumble under the weight of the costly war.

The story is mainly written in a serious style but a occasional joke jumps in. This one in particular cracked me up. It's a conversation between Louis, the King of France and his wife.

Bertade wake up you need to check Michiel and Henry if they are alright.
Philip why can't you do it ?
I am the king of France, I command you to do it!
Only if you ask nicely.
Ok then, can you please check on our children?

This AAR tends to follow multiple characters, whether it be on diplomacy or expanding the kingdom, so you get a lot of different points of view. The king, his sons, generals, princesses, diplomats to even the common soldier all pas the review and get his or her part in the story.

Critique
Though it is clear that English isn’t master412160’s native language as he sometimes makes spelling mistakes. Also sometimes the switching around between characters tend to get a little confusing. As final critique, there are some sentences that really... well... I'll illustrate it with an example.

we have lost 19% they 47%, this time we are winning.

These kind of sentences really don’t belong in an AAR (as far as I'm concerned). People would never talk like this in medieval times, nor in modern times as a matter of fact.

And now for the positive side, because of course there are good sides to this AAR as well. The updates… well… they are HUGE! A large text together with a load of pictures to walk you through the story makes every update well worth reading.

Although the pictures are often, but not always, taken from high altitude they complete the story in a good way. As for the pictures from the campaign map, they really help you visualize and become one with the story.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Conclusion
There is still a lot of room for further improvement in this AAR, especially toward spelling and the correct use of words things have to improve if master412160 wants his AAR to succeed.

BUT to everybody out there, give it a chance. If you can get past the mistakes this story can really take a hold of you.

Review by [user]Ratbag[/user]

AAR Review

A Deus Lo Vult AAR by [user]Coeur de Lion[/user]

Welcome to my review for the 8th Issue of the CQ. While I was musing over which AAR to review, I noticed this AAR. Having recently started a hotseat with the Byzantines I was interested in a new AAR about them. Having read it I can say that The Bond of Blood will wet your appetite and have you resurrecting the Roman Empire in no-time!

First impressions.
Bond of Blood focuses on the story of Aleksios, the Emperor of the Byzantines and Andronikos, son of Aleksios and heir to the empire. They are leading an army to the outskirts of the realm to subjugate the tiny castles and towns left in the wake of the war between the Byzantines and the Seljuks. Tensions grow between father and son as the father is disappointed again and again by his son, and the son´s resentment for his father grows when he is corrected over and over.

With the scene set, a tale of strife, war and change unfolds.

The story
As said, the story focuses on the events surrounding father and son. Coeur is a good writer who can tell a grand tale full of prose and flowery phrases. The conversations are well written and read easily; this makes for a pleasant journey through his story. The personalities of father and son are described well, though Andronikos tends to get the most attention. Though it might be logical because he is younger and thus will be longer in the game, with the focus on the relationship of father and son I would have liked to see more of the father. But perhaps that we will see more in the future.

Style of word and view
I love the conversation in this story, often we see princes and kings who talk quite similar to the peasants and common soldiers, which raises the question whether equal schooling was already implemented. But not here, in Bond of Blood we get beautiful phrases such as these:

“You know my mind on this matter Andronikos, you may be their friend, and share in their brotherhood, but they will forget you. They will not respect you. Whatever your popularity you have to distance yourself from them so that, when the time comes to send them to their deaths, you have the ability and clarity to see it through.”

“Father, I bow to your greater wisdom, yet would those men have followed me into the slums of Iraklion, rooting out the mobs that held Crete in a grip of fear, if they did not wish to? We may not have faced the trials you put your men through but we have fought hard nonetheless.”

Very well written and a treat to read. The descriptions of the enemy castles and the surroundings are also well done and make one see the dusty roads, the weary soldiers, the far away mountains and ancient fortresses in one’s mind.

Aleksios followed the runner across the camp, it was a hive of activity. He nodded briefly at some of the troops, they were dirty but in high spirits. As he passed the tents of the Varangian guards they rose to attention. They were the pride of Constantinople; English and Frankish mercenaries proficient with two-handed axes and heavily armoured. Many of them were second generation migrants and thus spoke good Greek. Recognising some of the officers, Aleksios paused but was checked by the runner; his urgency was disconcerting. Shouting reached his ears; a hoarse, angry shouting, and the runner was moving toward it. Aleksios’ heart sank, it seemed his son must not have been that difficult to find.

When I read this I can see the ranks of the Varangians, though they were Russians and Scandinavians rather than English and Franks. A very minor mistake, but obvious in a story of high quality.

The pictures are also quite nice. They are cropped, and do not distract the reader with the UI, thus drawing him more into the story. More pictures of the landscape and the castles themselves would have been nice. The pictures reinforce the story when it focuses on the battles, but since the strength of the story lies not only in that, the pictures should also strengthen the descriptions of castles and surroundings.

A few of the pictures:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Conclusion
The Bond of Blood is a new and well-written AAR that has already set a high standard for itself. From what I’ve read Coeur is certainly capable of writing an epic tale and I hope to see more of it soon. There are some minor things to change in the future but these are easily done and have a solid base to rest on. The Bond of Blood is an AAR that everyone should certainly keep their eyes on.

Review by [user]Selifator[/user]

AAR Review
Battle of Montaperti
A Medieval Total War: Italia - Machiavello: Spicciolati d'Italia AAR By Giovi

Battle of Montaperti is a very unique AAR written by the very talented 2D artist Giovi, presenting his masterpiece to the community of TWC.

Writing Style
Giovi's writing style is, without a doubt, unique, and not in a bad way. This AAR is written as a historic documentation with an additive from the Total War world, and does a good job at it, providing a very well written background information and a very nice description of the era, the time and the situation in Italy of the time.

Story - Plot
The AAR tells of a battle in Italy between the two cities of Florence and Siena, a gigantic conflict at the hills of Montaperti, near Siena. Giovi gives a great background check of that era and its development - Renaissance - but does not forget the action, with the first chapter concluding the history and the second chapter concluding the battle itself, the third chapter acts as a little closure as it tells of how people remember this battle up to today, also describing some of the outcomes of the battle.

The entire AAR is written magnificently in pictures that have text incorporated in them, giving you a feel of an old history book being read, it is truly well done.

Modification
The modification used in this AAR is called Medieval Total War: Italia, with a sub-modification called Machiavello: Spicciolati d'Italia (Thank you Giovi, for correcting me!) which presents us with a very large modification about the wars in Italy and the general situation of it, a modification I did not know about until this day, and I am sure to try now.

The Pictures
This entire AAR is pictures, and for once, this is a good thing! The text of this AAR (and there's plenty of it) is incorporated in the images, showcasing Giovi's very strong skills with the 2D art and showcasing his new masterpiece, a gifted writer and an artist indeed.

With Giovi's blessing of the review of this AAR, I have taken the liberty of showing you all a little taste, of how this AAR is written...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Conclusion
With solid writing, very good background, a similarly good 2D art and some good screenshots from the game itself, this AAR pieces itself together into something you do not want to miss.

Sadly, however, this AAR only has 3 chapters and, by what I understood from Giovi, no more. He likes to call this a mini AAR and I like to call this a masterpiece, and I cannot wait to see more from him.

A good incorporations of both images and text, Giovi has definitely found the very delicate balance all AAR writers out there seek out, and I have nothing but praise for this AAR.

Review by [user]Nazgûl Killer[/user]

AAR Review
The Blood of Martyrs
An IB2 (beta) AAR by [user]midnite[/user]

Background
This is an AAR set within the Invasio Barbarorum II mod (which is still in beta at present). What makes it unique is that it is actually written by a leading member of the mod team. So expect in-depth knowledge of the period and of the campaign, but be prepared for some lengthy waits between episodes while midnite gets on with his main job of progressing development of the mod.

Story
A Roman Army is marching against the Vandal King Geiseric, who occupies a large swathe of Roman North Africa. The story switches between the viewpoints of Lucius, a common legionary, and Constantinus Augustus, the general in command.

It gets off to a cracking start with a passage about the dangers of snake bites when marching across the scrublands. This serves nicely to establish a feeling that the story is describing something real, not just an academic exercise in moving units across a map.

With this picture of the Roman column toiling across the North African interior firmly in our minds, the viewpoint shifts to that of the overall commander, Constantinus Augustus.

It is revealed that the Army is engaged on a mission, not of conquest, nor of defence against invading hordes, but merely to retrieve a single man! Of course that man is important, indeed he is possibly the only name from this period that most people would recognise, none other than St. Augustine of Hippo!

Writing Style
Alternating between Lucius and Constantinus works well. We get all the information about the campaign situation and the Roman plans from the General. Then from Lucius we see these high-level considerations translated into actual consequences on the ground. I am looking forward to how this works for a battle narrative (I think the nest chapter will be a battle).

Critique
Criticism of style is a highly subjective topic, but I feel compelled to have a go because the writing is solid but slightly lacking in polish. For example the Roman commanders are always referred to by their full name and title, which can get slightly wearing after several repetitions. Speech is generally followed by the word 'spoke', which sometimes sounds out of place. What is needed is a bit of tender loving care to make good workmanlike prose into something epic, or wistful, of emotionally charged (depending on the situation).

Example:

As the commanders filed into General Constantinus Augustus’ tent, they found him standing before a small statue of Mars set upon a wooden crate next to his bed, his back to the entrance of the tent. Drops of perspiration trickled down their faces. Even under the covering of the tent the heat was oppressive. With his eyes on General Constantinus Augustus, General Aurelius spoke “Are you praying General? I am surprised you still keep a statue of Mars?

This is a fine passage, all it needs is for the second “General Constantinus Augustus” to be replaced with a reference, such as “the Commander”. Also “Augustus's tent” would sound less awkward as “the tent of Augustus”.

Another example:

Exhausted he shuffled over to where his friend Matius was seated, threw down his shield and spear and sat down next to him. Matius was a new recruit also, joining at the same time that Lucius had taken his military oath, the Sacramentum. Both men were new recruits, serving in one of the milite units that had been stationed at a garrison in the northern part of the empire. “Where do you thinking we are marching to, Lucius?” spoke Matius. “I wish I knew Matius”, spoke Lucius. Even the optio knows nothing, at least he says nothing.”

Another good passage which could be improved with a bit of tweaking. “Matius was a new recruit also” is slightly awkward, “new recruit” doesn't need to be repeated, “Sacramentum” would be nicer before “military oath”, and the speakers don't have to address each other by name all the time.

Alternative version of the example:

Exhausted he shuffled over to where his friend Matius was seated, threw down his shield and spear, and sat next to him. They were both new recruits, having taken the Sacramentum (the military oath) together. Their milite unit had been stationed in a garrison in the northern part of the Empire before being drafted into this campaign.

“Where do you thinking we are marching to?” Matius asked.

“I wish I knew”, Lucius replied. “Even the optio knows nothing, or rather he says nothing.”

Pictures
Because this is the IB2 beta, screen shots are going to be drooled over by the fans. In this, midnite certainly doesn't disappoint, the pictures are very nice. He also includes some googled images to illustrate the story. I would challenge anyone not to be impressed with images such as these.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Conclusion
The story is good, the characters are believable and the plot is interesting. The author demonstrate a solid grasp of Late Empire history and knows his Roman military terminology backwards, although he sometimes chooses not to use it (perhaps he doesn't want to confuse the casual reader). Even the dialogue is quite acceptable.

Despite the (minor) shortcomings of the prose, this is a fine AAR and, if it ever concludes, will form a worthy part of the AAR canon. Expect a new chapter after the next IB2 patch.

Review by [user]Juvenal[/user]

From the Editor's Desk
It has been an interesting (and interminable) experience putting together this issue. I am very grateful for the diligence and hard work of SonofAlexander, Selifator, Nazgûl Killer, and Ratbag. If you like their work please send your rep in their direction.

My apologies to contributors who didn't quite make the deadline, but there is plenty of room in the next issue of the Quill!

**Nazgûl Killer** · July 29, 2009, 11:04 AM

Woohoo! Great job, Juvenal.

**Ratbag** · July 29, 2009, 11:10 AM

Great!

**webMaster412160** · July 29, 2009, 11:24 AM

Nice read all well done. It is the fist time I read a edition. It is because my AAR had a review by Ratbag. Well written and the true. Great job!

**Selifator** · July 29, 2009, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by master412160

Nice read all well done. It is the fist time I read a edition. It is because my AAR had a review by Ratbag. Well written and the true. Great job!

Do read all the others as well, there's always something interesting in it and they're a lot of fun to read!

And I'm totally unbiased of course.

**Giovi** · July 29, 2009, 06:00 PM

awesome as always

**SonOfAlexander** · August 02, 2009, 01:35 PM

Great going putting it together Juvenal!

**Empress Meg** · August 07, 2009, 07:55 PM

I'm not much into AARs so I just love being able to read up on them all in these short but sweet versions. The review entitled Battle of Montaperti is great! Well done to all and i look forward to yet another issue.

Well done Juvenal on the mini-promotion!

Devoirs The Empress

**Coeur de Lion** · August 09, 2009, 06:57 PM

Dear Selifator

I would like to thank you sincerely for your kind words concerning my AAR, you do me great honour with such high praise.
A small note, I have been doing my research into empire itself and my sources seem to conflict with yours on the origins of the Varangian guard. However, as you said, it is a minor point.

Thankyou once again and congrats to all on another exceptional edition of CQ

CdL

EDIT:
I looked up the source where I got that piece of information about the Varangians...it's Osprey's 'Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461'
Here's what it says:
"During the course of the 12th century they [englishmen] were absorbed into the Varangian Guard...by c.1180 it was described as being 'of British race'...probably entirely English by 1272"

**Selifator** · August 16, 2009, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by Coeur de Lion

Dear Selifator

I would like to thank you sincerely for your kind words concerning my AAR, you do me great honour with such high praise.
A small note, I have been doing my research into empire itself and my sources seem to conflict with yours on the origins of the Varangian guard. However, as you said, it is a minor point.

Thankyou once again and congrats to all on another exceptional edition of CQ

CdL

EDIT:
I looked up the source where I got that piece of information about the Varangians...it's Osprey's 'Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461'
Here's what it says:
"During the course of the 12th century they [englishmen] were absorbed into the Varangian Guard...by c.1180 it was described as being 'of British race'...probably entirely English by 1272"

Interesting, I think I'll do some research on it then, this has made me quite curious. Anyway, your AAR is very good so just keep it going!