Homelands
Chapter Twenty Six: Darkest Before Dusk
Part 6
Prelude:
Schooling in the Middle Ages was almost unheard of outside of the ruling class of nobles. Nobles were taught basic things, usually concerning history and language so that they might converse with other nobles from other lands. Popular languages at the time in Prussia included German and French as this acted as interlingua for displaced nobles from around Western Europe. By the end of the XIII Century Prussian was acting as an interlingua third behind Arabic and French. Around the same time formal Universities were starting to come into existence. Their main topics were theology, philosophy, language and law and were often conducted in churches and cathedrals. The first physical university in Prussia was the University of Kiev, built in 1266. It specialized in theology and philosophy. The first law school was constructed in 1288 in Memelgrád. A minor school on mathematics, engineering and astrology was built in Riega in 1332. These three schools would be the entirety of Prussian learning until the late XVI Century. King Karnak was not a major sponsor of education in his lands. Very few leaders were supportive of their laymen being educated in the Medieval world. They correctly feared that an educated society would eventually see the flaws in the despotic monarchy and eventually demand its deconstruction.
The University of Kiev from period illustrations.
October 6th, 1266
Kiten watched from afar as his father opened the University of Kiev. The complex was large, but most of its space was devoted to living space for the monks and priests who would tend to the University's main functions. The Prince shook his head. He didn't understand the purpose of a university here in Prussia. They already had plenty of educated people in the ruling class, and plenty of priests after the schism with the Romans. Instead he saw something dangerous for those who ruled, but he shook those thoughts out of his head. The Prince was already heading back to the palace, he had no purpose at the opening, people knew his face and they knew he would not be one to sit idly by as his father soaked up the attention. His carriage bounced slightly, but it didn't bother him. He just smiled and said hello to passer-bys who smiled and saluted him. He had his own cult following within the Kingdom, something he planned to use to his advantage.
There was talk of other Princes, though Kiten knew he had only one brother, Bulei, who was still not of age. But Kiten had not yet fathered a son, rather a few daughters, which worried the nobles. If Bulei could secure his own line of succession first there was a slight chance that he could gain support and become Prince of Prussia, heir to a nation very much in love with Kiten. He smirked, the thought of a civil war graced his mind briefly. A chance to purge Prussia of a uncountable number of nobles. The cold air made him lose his line of thoughts. He coughed and reached for a piece of cloth to clean his face.
Klaudijs, who was sitting quietly and obediently in the carriage with the Prince spoke up, "Sir, you seem rather deep in thought. What troubles your mind?"
"Nothing, Klaudijs, just thinking about the future and how I want to get there," Kiten said to his guard. Klaudijs was nearing retirement, age was setting upon him and it was only through Kiten's respect and friendship that he maintained the job as herald at all. "Time has a funny way of changing people, doesn't it Klaudijs?"
The herald smiled and nodded, "Yes, sir, it does. But it is often for the better."
"Has time made a better man of me, Klaudijs?" Kiten asked, cutting to the chase.
Klaudijs paused, the directness caught him off guard, "I do believe so, master Kiten. I met you as a young boy, maybe ten or so... no older than my own son... heh."
"What?" Kiten asked, laughing.
"My own son is fully grown, he is only a year older than you, but thirty two... and me... nearly fifty!" Klaudijs shook his head. "It has been a long time, Kiten. You should know that by now." Klaudijs lost his line of thought, trailing off with a gaze out toward the passing trees. "I somehow... I somehow don't think we are all made the same, Kiten... and it isn't just about how big your father was, or your mother..."
"What do you mean, Klaudijs?"
"I mean... look at Serlo Dormandy. I'd say 'God rest his soul' but I couldn't think of a greater hell for that man. By the age of eighteen was leading a host into battle. By twenty was uniting a people under a single banner. By twenty eight he told the Roman Emperor that he could single handedly defeat the entire Roman Empire. I would have believed him."
"So? The man was a hero, what more could you expect?" Kiten asked.
"Kiten; Serlo and his father, Hyg, were both born very sick and very frail. It was a miracle they survived to adulthood at all. They seemed so tough because they had made themselves physically strong. They took chances, fought adversity... they were better people because of it. Life in the Sich is very different than life in the capital, especially for a Prince."
Kiten nodded, his journey to Berlin and Luckenwalde had taught him that. Without much more to say, the Prince was glad that the carriage reached the palace. He followed Klaudijs back inside, away from the cold air and back to where he could find warmth and food. Inside he found Andres and his wife and their few children enjoying their time together. They were so happy together. Deeper in Jakob was flirting with one of the maids in the kitchen. She wasn't the best looking girl, but she had a nice face and a good heart, plus she knew that the secret to Jakob's heart was Chicken Kiev.
Heading up the stairs, Kiten found that which made him happy. Rasa sat in a large sun room on the third floor of the palace. Around her sat three girls, one slightly older than the other two. She was telling them stories about brave Prussian knights saving their damsels in distress. "Was daddy a brave knight too?" his eldest asked.
"Yes, and he had to fight many an evil witch and dragon to save me," Rasa answered. She looked up and saw Kiten watch them from the door way, "Wán he runáf uz se wulf, he kálláf in."
"A wolf huh?" Kiten said, jokingly, "Did your mother tell you of the time I saw a wolf in Ladusia?"
"No no no no!" The girls said in unison. They gathered with their mother to listen to what they thought would be a grand epic.
Kiten chuckled a urged them to calm with his hands. "Yes, he was the largest wolf ever, probably as big as a house!"
"Did you have to fight him?"
"No, the people from the region said he was a protector, he kept the evil pagans out of Prussia so that we could all be safe."
"So the wolf is our friend?"
"Some are, some wolves are our friends."
End Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Six: Darkest Before Dusk
Part 6
Prelude:
Schooling in the Middle Ages was almost unheard of outside of the ruling class of nobles. Nobles were taught basic things, usually concerning history and language so that they might converse with other nobles from other lands. Popular languages at the time in Prussia included German and French as this acted as interlingua for displaced nobles from around Western Europe. By the end of the XIII Century Prussian was acting as an interlingua third behind Arabic and French. Around the same time formal Universities were starting to come into existence. Their main topics were theology, philosophy, language and law and were often conducted in churches and cathedrals. The first physical university in Prussia was the University of Kiev, built in 1266. It specialized in theology and philosophy. The first law school was constructed in 1288 in Memelgrád. A minor school on mathematics, engineering and astrology was built in Riega in 1332. These three schools would be the entirety of Prussian learning until the late XVI Century. King Karnak was not a major sponsor of education in his lands. Very few leaders were supportive of their laymen being educated in the Medieval world. They correctly feared that an educated society would eventually see the flaws in the despotic monarchy and eventually demand its deconstruction.
The University of Kiev from period illustrations.
October 6th, 1266
Kiten watched from afar as his father opened the University of Kiev. The complex was large, but most of its space was devoted to living space for the monks and priests who would tend to the University's main functions. The Prince shook his head. He didn't understand the purpose of a university here in Prussia. They already had plenty of educated people in the ruling class, and plenty of priests after the schism with the Romans. Instead he saw something dangerous for those who ruled, but he shook those thoughts out of his head. The Prince was already heading back to the palace, he had no purpose at the opening, people knew his face and they knew he would not be one to sit idly by as his father soaked up the attention. His carriage bounced slightly, but it didn't bother him. He just smiled and said hello to passer-bys who smiled and saluted him. He had his own cult following within the Kingdom, something he planned to use to his advantage.
There was talk of other Princes, though Kiten knew he had only one brother, Bulei, who was still not of age. But Kiten had not yet fathered a son, rather a few daughters, which worried the nobles. If Bulei could secure his own line of succession first there was a slight chance that he could gain support and become Prince of Prussia, heir to a nation very much in love with Kiten. He smirked, the thought of a civil war graced his mind briefly. A chance to purge Prussia of a uncountable number of nobles. The cold air made him lose his line of thoughts. He coughed and reached for a piece of cloth to clean his face.
Klaudijs, who was sitting quietly and obediently in the carriage with the Prince spoke up, "Sir, you seem rather deep in thought. What troubles your mind?"
"Nothing, Klaudijs, just thinking about the future and how I want to get there," Kiten said to his guard. Klaudijs was nearing retirement, age was setting upon him and it was only through Kiten's respect and friendship that he maintained the job as herald at all. "Time has a funny way of changing people, doesn't it Klaudijs?"
The herald smiled and nodded, "Yes, sir, it does. But it is often for the better."
"Has time made a better man of me, Klaudijs?" Kiten asked, cutting to the chase.
Klaudijs paused, the directness caught him off guard, "I do believe so, master Kiten. I met you as a young boy, maybe ten or so... no older than my own son... heh."
"What?" Kiten asked, laughing.
"My own son is fully grown, he is only a year older than you, but thirty two... and me... nearly fifty!" Klaudijs shook his head. "It has been a long time, Kiten. You should know that by now." Klaudijs lost his line of thought, trailing off with a gaze out toward the passing trees. "I somehow... I somehow don't think we are all made the same, Kiten... and it isn't just about how big your father was, or your mother..."
"What do you mean, Klaudijs?"
"I mean... look at Serlo Dormandy. I'd say 'God rest his soul' but I couldn't think of a greater hell for that man. By the age of eighteen was leading a host into battle. By twenty was uniting a people under a single banner. By twenty eight he told the Roman Emperor that he could single handedly defeat the entire Roman Empire. I would have believed him."
"So? The man was a hero, what more could you expect?" Kiten asked.
"Kiten; Serlo and his father, Hyg, were both born very sick and very frail. It was a miracle they survived to adulthood at all. They seemed so tough because they had made themselves physically strong. They took chances, fought adversity... they were better people because of it. Life in the Sich is very different than life in the capital, especially for a Prince."
Kiten nodded, his journey to Berlin and Luckenwalde had taught him that. Without much more to say, the Prince was glad that the carriage reached the palace. He followed Klaudijs back inside, away from the cold air and back to where he could find warmth and food. Inside he found Andres and his wife and their few children enjoying their time together. They were so happy together. Deeper in Jakob was flirting with one of the maids in the kitchen. She wasn't the best looking girl, but she had a nice face and a good heart, plus she knew that the secret to Jakob's heart was Chicken Kiev.
Heading up the stairs, Kiten found that which made him happy. Rasa sat in a large sun room on the third floor of the palace. Around her sat three girls, one slightly older than the other two. She was telling them stories about brave Prussian knights saving their damsels in distress. "Was daddy a brave knight too?" his eldest asked.
"Yes, and he had to fight many an evil witch and dragon to save me," Rasa answered. She looked up and saw Kiten watch them from the door way, "Wán he runáf uz se wulf, he kálláf in."
"A wolf huh?" Kiten said, jokingly, "Did your mother tell you of the time I saw a wolf in Ladusia?"
"No no no no!" The girls said in unison. They gathered with their mother to listen to what they thought would be a grand epic.
Kiten chuckled a urged them to calm with his hands. "Yes, he was the largest wolf ever, probably as big as a house!"
"Did you have to fight him?"
"No, the people from the region said he was a protector, he kept the evil pagans out of Prussia so that we could all be safe."
"So the wolf is our friend?"
"Some are, some wolves are our friends."
End Chapter Twenty Six
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