The year: 1485. The place: Florence, Italy. Lorenzo the magnificent orders his three most trusted scribes, Lance Knowlton, Alex Wood and Trey Beschta (a.k.a. Gerardo, Tomas, y Pedro), to compile an account of the Medieval world. These scribes, being intelligent and clever (and Christian), decide to write their account in the form of a parable because that is what Jesus would have done. Their parable is as follows:

All in the Life of a Peasant with Big Dreams

As Lancelot walked down the path between the fields of corn bordering his house in the year 1429, he began to ponder why his family was so poor. What is to become of my life? He thought to himself. With so many questions unanswered how can I know even to the very least that what I already know is true or actually fact? AHH! I’m so confused… He looked into the distance and saw that a lamp was glowing dim in the kitchen window. My uncle Trey must still be up. I wonder if Alexander is still awake? he thought to himself. He walked up to the front door of the house and opened it quietly. The aroma of his home greeted him. He was overjoyed just to be home. As he turned his head to the table to meet with his uncle he was interrupted, “Brother, you’re home early!” Alexander ran to hug Lancelot. “Yep I’m home! I didn’t have much luck hunting in the Akin Mountains, but Horst bought us all this meat so we could make it through the wint..,” Trey cut him off, “Blast you Lancelot! What do you expect people to think now that you accepted free food! You make us look like we need help! We are fine! “Lancelot regrouped, “I didn’t accept it for free Uncle. Horst is letting me work it off. I remembered what you said.” The room went silent. Alexander began to walk back to his room. Lancelot still staring at the lamp, Trey broke the silence. “There is much we still need to talk about. We are short on food and the Merchants should be coming in a week. I want you to learn something.” Lancelot sat down across from his uncle examining the wooden table full of open books. “History can be a powerful tool if the one who holds the knowledge can apply changes to many past mistakes. Now I know I have never taken the time in the past to teach you how to read or what brought us to France, but I believe that now that you are 14, you must know.” “It all started back in the year 485. Our Frankish ancestors had just moved into and occupied what is today our beloved France. Well, in 485, our people were ruled by Clovis. Clovis converted everyone to the classic Roman Christianity that had all but disappeared after the fall of Western Rome. Due to this conversion, the Frankish rulers were always on good terms with the Roman Church and the Pope. Clovis was a great leader, but he eventually passed away and the throne was passed to his son, and then to his son and so on until it was eventually inherited by Charles Martel; “The Hammer” in 714. In 732, the Arabs began to advance toward France, and Charles Martel led a war against them. The deciding battle was the Battle of Tours, where the Franks defeated the Arabs, and we eventually won the war. Like Clovis, Martel supported the Church and urged missionaries to convert the people in newly-conquered lands. Martel ruled until 741 when he died. The throne was passed on to Childeric III. The Pope, however, did not see Childeric as the true ruler of the kingdom, and in 754 he anointed Pepin the Short, son of Charles Martel, as King of the Franks. Pepin continued Martel’s policies of support of the Church, because the Church was where his power came from. Pepin then passed away and the throne was then given to his son Charles the Great, better known as Charlemagne. Charlemagne wasn’t “The Great” for no reason. For one, he was a massive man, seven feet tall! They say he could leap onto a Horse, fully armored! Charlemagne unified the Franks and conquered much land and expanded our Country’s borders, while spreading Christianity along the way. He was an excellent military leader and strategist, and claimed victory in almost every battle he waged. Charles the Great ruled our lands for many years. This brings us to the year 814, but alas, it is getting late. We should both turn in for the night. I will continue my story another time.” As Lancelot walked toward his room, Trey blew out the lamp, and all was dark and quiet.

*Two Weeks Later*

Lancelot woke to the sound of conversation in the kitchen. He slipped out of bed and crept to the door to try and find out who was talking. One of the voices was Trey of course, and the other he recognized as that of Horst, the butcher. He slipped on some clothes and walked into the kitchen. He could see Trey and Horst standing at the table looking at a diagram of some kind. Trey looked up as he entered the room. “Good morning Lancelot.” “Good morning Uncle.” Horst looked up and smiled. “How’s that meat tasting? I’ve got some work I’d like you to come into town and do later Lancelot, if that’s ok with your uncle.” Trey replied “Of course that’s ok! I’d rather have him off working with you than out running around in the Akin Mountains.” “Great! Well just head in whenever you like Lancelot.” Horst rolled up the parchment on the table before Lancelot had a chance to get a good look at it and left the house. Lancelot grabbed a roll out of the basket in the middle of the table. “Is Alexander still asleep?” “Yep. If anything, that boy knows how to sleep.” Lancelot laughed. “Uncle, could you continue your story from the other night after I get back from Horst’s place?” “Why certainly! I have some stuff to do today, but I’ll probably be done by the time you get back.” Lancelot bit into his roll and left the room to prepare to go work with Horst. As he walked toward his room, he passed Alexander, who was shuffling towards the kitchen. He had obviously just got up. Lancelot smiled at him. “Good morning Alexander.” Alexander grumbled a reply and shuffled on his way. Lancelot snickered to himself and walked into his room.

*Later: That Night*

His feet tired and his arms sore, Lancelot walked along the pathway home. Who knew hauling meat could get so tiring? Ah well… at least Joan was there. That made things more bearable. She can always light up a room with her laughter. He smiled to himself. He looked up to see his house in the distance, the lamp in the kitchen was lit again as it always was. He walked in the door to find his uncle sitting at the table waiting for him. “Where’s Alexander?” “He’s already off to bed. You were gone for quite a long time Lancelot.” “Aye, I know. Horst was under-exaggerating when he said he had “some” work. More like ten hours of work… oh well, I suppose I had to get it done sometime.” “Would you still like to stay up and talk tonight?” Lancelot was genuinely tired, but he was always full of questions and wanted to learn more about the history of his country, and this was the only way, due to the fact that he couldn’t read. “Of course I would Uncle.” Trey began. “Alright then. Where did I leave off? Ah, right, Charlemagne. After the year 814 it was pretty much same old, same old for the Franks and the Britons until 1066. The year 1066 though, was quite a significant year. Now, the Duke of the Normans at this time was Duke William. Like Charlemagne, William was no average man. Not necessarily in build, but in ambition. William had a claim to the British throne, but when the king died, another king was appointed. You can bet that William was not at all overjoyed to hear this news. He got an army together and began to plan his attack on England. He got an armada of ships together to cross the English channel, but the winds were not in his favor and he had to wait for several weeks before he could cross. When the winds were finally in his favor, he set sail for England. Just before this, the Britons had defeated a Viking army to the North and were heading down to meet William and his men. They made the mistake of not resting and replenishing their supplies, and were eventually defeated by William. The king of England was dead, and Duke William of Normandy became King William of England. A Frenchman was now in control of England and approximately one third of France. Then the crusades began in 1095, but that is a story for another time. In 1154, William, now known as William the Conqueror, died, and Henry II rose to his place. Henry then married Eleanor of Aquitaine, who controlled a good portion of France as well. One man was now in control of about half of France and England in its entirety. This was the setup for one of the biggest wars of our time, which we’ll get to in a moment. King Henry ruled until he died in 1189, and the throne was passed to the next heir. Everything was pretty much the same for a while. The Magna Carta was signed in 1215, which just refined our Feudal system. The Feudal system, as you know, was crap. The king controlled only a portion of his land. The rest was controlled by his vassals, known as Dukes, who were appointed by the king. But the Dukes also only controlled a portion of their area. The rest was controlled by the vassals of the Dukes, who then had their own vassals, who had their own vassals, who had their own vassals. Lords, knights, greater lords, etc. Peasants like us were called serfs, and when we did something wrong, they would hang us and say “Serfs up, dude!” Anyway, you get the picture. Serfs were powerless, petty peasants, passed off as property. In 1295, English Parliament was instated, and the French Estates General was appointed. This system worked quite well, as we still have it today. This system continued and everything was normal. Then in 1337 everything fell apart. The war I mentioned earlier was at hand, the war that we are going through now. Everyone began to get a sense of Nationality and patriotism and the Britons started to wonder why they had a French king. The war has lasted up to this time. Ten years into the war, both countries were struck by the Black Death, the plague. Hundreds, thousands of people died. The plague ravaged the people and left families shattered. Then in 1351 it just stopped. Nobody knows why. It just miraculously stopped spreading and nobody was affected anymore, except rare cases. Returning back to the war, one of its major battles was the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. But other than that, there is not much more that you need to know, being that we’re almost back to present time. The war is still going on and you haven’t gone off to fight simply because we live in this fairly isolated village. We can only hope that the war does not continue for too much longer. And with that, I’ll let you rest up. It sounds like you had a hard day today.” Lancelot smiled gratefully at his uncle, muttered his thanks, and drug himself towards his room, where his warm bed lay waiting for him. He crawled into bed, Trey blew out the lamp in the kitchen, and Lancelot fell asleep.

*Two Weeks Later*

The Merchants were supposed to be here three weeks ago, something must have happened. Lancelot thought to himself. He walked further down the trail to check if they had come. The trail looked muddy and well-traveled, with deep grooves and ruts of mud because it had just rained earlier that morning. They must have arrived not but an hour ago. Lancelot hastily scurried back home to tell his uncle the good news. As he was running, he passed Akins, brushing his tunic. Akins reached out and grabbed him by the collar. “Whoa there son, where you off to in such a hurry?” Said Akins, with a smirk and a chuckle. Lancelot, startled by his sudden change in direction, voice shaky, replied, “I’m off to tell my uncle that the merchants are here? I haven’t been up to no good, I promise!” Lancelot started to *insert action that shows fear here*, frightened that Akins might have somehow found out that he didn’t pay for that last arrow he bought. Akins looked at him quizzically. Lancelot thought to himself, Maybe Akins knows why the merchants are late this year. He is the wisest person in the village. Why didn’t I think of asking him earlier? “Why are the merchants so late this year? They’ve never been late before.” Said Lancelot, with much anticipation for the answer. “Well, by the looks of events overheard by the merchant at the Steel Bar, much havoc has befallen them and their families. Just looking at them it is apparent that they ran into trouble on the road, their cloaks tattered, shoes raged, children muddied and bruised, carts broken. If I were you, I would listen in and pay close attention to some of the gossip floating around. All I’ve been told was that the Vikings…” “The Vikings?!” Lancelot cut him off. “That’s no good.” “No, indeed it is not.” Said Akins. “At any rate, you should get home and tell your uncle Trey. I’m sure he will want to know what has transpired. Oh! And take this, too. Akins slipped a piece of parchment into Lancelot’s hand, and by the time Lancelot looked back up, Akins was gone. He can never leave with just a simple goodbye Lancelot smiled to himself. Oh well, I must get going. Lancelot took off down the path once again. He passed several puddles on his way, almost falling multiple times, and somehow managed to keep everything dry but his boots. As Lancelot approached his house, Trey stepped through the front door. “Hay Lancelot, any news?” Shouted Trey from a distance. “Actually yes!” Lancelot shouted back as he ran to meet him. “The merchants are here, but they are said to be late because the Vikings have been on the move.” Trey’s face grew dim. “This news you bring may change the way things are around these parts of the Akin Mountains.” Trey sighed, distressed, “When we head to gather our yearly rations from the merchants, be open to the gossip, but don’t be foolish in believing blasphemy.” “I know Uncle…” Lancelot stared at the lamp in the kitchen window.

*Later, in Town*

Lancelot helped Trey park their cart in the Handicap spot, cuz they had a handicap license plate, ha ha ha, sucks to be everyone else. (Where they got a handicap license plate hundreds of years before license plates were even needed? Nobody knows… How bizarre…) Trey jumped off the cart and called Lancelot and Alexander to him. “I’m giving each of you ten schillings. It’s your money, spend it on whatever you want to. I’m going to go buy our rations and some personal items. Don’t get into too much trouble, and I’ll meet you back here later.” Alexander ran off to meet with his friends, and Lancelot moseyed on over to see what the merchants had to say. He passed by a merchant who was selling shiny blue rocks. He claimed that they were dragon eggs. Lancelot doubted it, but bought one anyway, because they were really shiny. He continued down the main road where a row of merchants had set up shops. Lancelot continued browsing for some time, until he overheard one of the merchants having a conversation with Akins. He decided to listen in. “…ngs have been pillaging towns as they move their way across the land. Most of us were lucky enough to see them coming and have time to leave, but Charlie, you remember Charles, the guy who sold bows, Charlie wasn’t as lucky as some of us. The Vikings burned his house down with him and his family inside of it after they took everything of value out of it. It’s getting worse, and there’s nothing to stop them.” “This is dreadful news. With our ongoing war against the British and now the Vikings ravaging our lands, we are truly in a time of peril… Well, thanks for the information Henry, I’ll talk more with you later.” Lancelot turned away quickly and started walking the other way before Akins could see him. This whole thing is worse than I thought… I should go to the Steel Bar to see if I can gather more information. He turned and started walking towards the Steel Bar, the only bar in town.

There was a buzz of excitement going through the bar as Lancelot entered. People holding conversations in the corners, drunk Merchants dancing in the middle of the room, the works! Lancelot went and sat down at the counter and asked for some water, since drinking under age 21 was illegal. He looked around the room to see if there was anyone he could try and talk to. As he scanned the room, he heard a commotion coming from one of the tables. One of the drunk merchants had apparently decided to stand on the table and tell a story about his “encounter” with the Vikings. Lancelot decided to listen in and see if he could catch anything that made sense. “I’ll tell you all about the Vikings. The Vikings are a warlike, violent people who pillage and plunder every town they come across! They move around constantly because they never have enough resources to support everyone and they travel in huge ships! Ships big enough to carry 300 Horses, 10,000 men and plenty of supplies! They’re not only here in France, but in England and all the way over in the lands across the ocean and almost everywhere! They war constantly, but have never unified under one leader. It’s a good thing they haven’t though because we would all be in deep trouble if they did. Well, in more trouble than we’re in now I mean. They treat their women roughly and believe in polygamy and concubines. They wear huge helmets, with horns like the devil, big enough to skewer a cow and they spend their time drinking and telling stories of war and battles! These people are a force to be reckoned with and if we don’t stop them soon, they will destroy everything we believe in and stand for, along with destroying us!” Lancelot looked towards the door and saw Joan leaving the bar. What was she doing here? He ran out the door to try and catch her, and saw her walking down the street. He ran and caught up to her. “Joan!” Joan turned around and smiled as she saw him. “Oh! Hello Lancelot! How are you doing this evening?” Lancelot smiled back, “I’m doing fine. How about you?” ”Oh, I’m doing alright. How’s your uncle?” “Uncle Trey? He’s doing well. We’re just glad the merchants finally made it here.” “Well that’s good” Joan turned to walk away. “Joan! I just saw you leaving the Steel Bar. Why were you there?” Joan turned to face Lancelot, “Yes, I was in there, but don’t forget, you were there too Lancelot. I was there for the same reason you were, to try and gather information on what is going on in the outside world.” Lancelot looked to the ground, “I didn’t mean to sound like I was accusing you, I was just curious.” Joan sighed “I’m sorry I snapped at you Lance. I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately.” “What do you mean?” “If I told you, you’d think I was crazy…” “I would not! I’d believe you if you said you were going to walk on the moon.” Joan laughed, “Well, I’m afraid it’s nothing that extreme. Well… my father thinks so… I feel that God is calling me to lead a war against the British. He tells me I’m the one who is destined to free the French from their oppression.” Silence filled the air. Lancelot, thoroughly shocked at Joan’s statement began to speak. “Joan… why you? Why not someone else? Why not someone older? You still have so much time ahead of you!” “Don’t you think I wonder that as well Lance? I don’t know why God chose me, I don’t know! But he did and I’m going to go to the Pope and talk to him about it, convince him I’m right, and do what I’m being called to do!” “Well Joan, if you really feel this strongly about it, then I do to. I’ll help you in any way I can.” Joan smiled, “Thank you Lance. And I will call upon you if I need help.” Joan hugged Lancelot and walked away. Lancelot just stood in the street for a while, stunned at what he had just heard. He really liked Joan, even though she was 17 and he was only 14. Just the thought of her leaving made him thoroughly sad. “Lancelot! Hey! We’re leaving!” Lancelot turned around and saw Trey waving at him. “I’m coming Uncle!” He walked toward their cart with a lot on his mind.

*The Next Day*

Lancelot would have woken up, but he hadn’t slept at all that night. He got dressed and then laid back down in bed to think a bit. While he laid there, he felt in his pocket the parchment that Akins had given him the other week. I wonder what this is… Lancelot pulled the parchment out of his pocket and unfolded it. Drawn on it were fifteen or twenty pictures. What? What is this? What are all these pictures? Oh! Hey! Akins knows I can’t read, he probably drew these out so I would understand! After much deciphering, Lancelot had finally figured out what the paper said on it. “Come talk with me if you want to know more about our history.” Signed, “Akins.” Hmm… I wonder what he wants to talk with me about…

*Later That Day*

As Lance wandered into town to talk to Horst about working some more to pay off his debt, he remembered the note in his pocket. Well, I can talk to Horst about working later… I think I’ll go talk to Akins for a while. Lancelot walked across town until he came to Akins’ house. He knocked on the door. “I’m busy!” Came a reply from the other side. “But it’s Lancelot!” “Oh… well then, by all means, come in!” The door clicked unlocked and Lancelot walked into the small house. “I see you figured out my note.” Akins said as Lancelot walked into the room. “Um… yes, I did. What did you want to talk to me about?” Akins smiled “History of course! Did you know that I was involved in the crusades?” Lancelot stared back at Akins, dumbfounded. “No, I didn’t know that. What were the crusades? My uncle mentioned them before, but he didn’t tell me much about them.” “Of course he didn’t. His father, your grandfather, died in the crusades.” Lancelot looked shocked “What?! My grandfather died in the crusades? Uncle Trey always told me he died…” “In a cart crash, I know.” Akins interrupted. “Your uncle has trouble facing the past. The crusades were armed expeditions to free the holy land from Islamic rule. They weren’t very successful, but they did promote trading, growth of towns, and a stable political order in the West. Many people do not see them as good expeditions because many brave men died in the crusades. They created tension and hostility with the Jews and Muslims. They saw the Muslim people as polytheistic infidels who deserved to be exterminated. Many people made pilgrimages to Palestine during this time period and not many returned. The Turks later over took the middle east, which made pilgrimages difficult. Although they were costly, the Christians see them as religious devotion, and that those who died did not die in vain. There were seven of them, actually. Seven crusades into the Holy Land. I won’t go into specifics, because they all turned out pretty much the same. I was involved in crusades four through seven. I was extremely lucky that I didn’t die in one of them. Your grandfather went with me on all four of those crusades as well.” Lancelot interrupted “You knew my grandf…” “Don’t interrupt me boy! As I was saying, your grandfather fought by my side for years. He was not as lucky as me though. He went on the seventh and last crusade with us. He died in the third battle, shot in the heart with an arrow. I tell you this not to make you sad, but so that you know your history and know how your grandfather died. Well, I have no more time to expand on what I have told you, if you have any questions, you can ask me later, but there are things I have to do.” Lancelot stood up, “Thank you Akins, for telling me this. I do have some questions, but I will ask later as you requested.” “Good. Now then, it is time for you to leave.” Akins walked Lancelot to the door and locked it behind him. Lancelot walked slowly to Horst’s house. The rest of the day went by in a blur because Lancelot wasn’t paying much attention to anything. He slept well that night because he hadn’t slept at all the night before.

Thus ends the parable of Lancelot. He went on to lead the normal life of a peasant as was mandated by his society. Joan went on to do what she felt God had told her to do, except that she died. She was burned at the stake. She was and will always be remembered as a great martyr for her country. Akins was accused of treason for encouraging people to think critically and chose to drink a cup of Hemlock rather than leave the country of France that he so loved. Trey died of old age. Alexander later became known as Rip Van Winkle, but that’s another story. Lancelot joined King Arthur at his round table, because he couldn’t find a king who had a triangular one. The end.

yeah, sounds pretty good huh xD

wow that was good, was it a school project or just something you did with your spare time?

It was a school project that was only suppose to be three pages, and didn't have to be quite this over the top, it ended up being 14 pages double spaced xD But I would have gone into more detail but i was just trying to get it done.

haha lol well it really is good, will you continue to write stories and post them?

I could if i get time. lately ive been busy just trying to keep my life together lol.

that was great!


actually i dont know if it as or not

but i am assuming it is good based on the fort 20 lines

? huh? xD i'm confused

I think it was good also

are you friends with that louis guy or did you just become an administrator because of all your posts?

i didnt read the whole thing, but i am assuming its good so good job!

Ajihad
, lol funny you ask because that has its own story lol. maybe some time ill take the time to explain the whole thing, or better yet, maybe you should ask Louis himself xD