For money, poison, and treason at Rome-- Thomas Wyatt – Mine Own John Poynz
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In the Renaissance, the Papal Court wa known for its immoral and corrupt ethos; rather a disturbing flaw in a Church that claims to be God’s voice on Earth. Witness such unsavoury characters as Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI) and his son Cesare Cardinal Borgia.
A staunch Protestant, Wyatt uses this to emphasize his religious differences with Catholicism (then persecuted as treasonous in England); freedom is perhaps the greatest ideal of the Reformation, and it is his freedom that Wyatt seems to treasure most.
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In other words, he has to conceal his thoughts and feelings if he wants to play the courtly games for power.
He becomes duplicitous as a spy; compare the phrase “cloak-and-dagger”
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Kareem definitely has a point here, which (unfortunately) most people who hear about the situation won’t consider. Few of us, however perfect our morals, would want private conversations with our significant others to become topics for discussion in the public forum. Eavesdropping on such has always been considered rather low
and in the 19th century might actually get an offender ostracized; and giving it to the mass media for distribution only exacerbates the misdeed.
Part of the reason Kareem’s able to see this is that he’s a celebrity himself, who’s been on the receiving end of intense media scrutiny and knows how such invasions of privacy feel.
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One form of rent a knight might owe his lord (as his feudal tenant) was castle-guard (the term is self-explanatory).
This clause ensures that greedier landlords couldn’t demand monetary payment unless the knight preferred it; thus, an impoverished knight would always be able to stave off debt by choosing castle-guard instead.
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Very typical theme in Kafka’s works; it’s absolutely impossible to find anything out for certain. This could, in one interpretation, reflect a pessimistic view of the universe as confusing, random, meaningless. It is almost certainly shaped by Kafka’s own experiences with modern bureaucracy (he was an insurance agent); they’re vast, confusing, mechanisms that obscure and slow down any search for truth.
This bureaucracy would then serve as a model and metaphor of his universe; hence, the need for advocates, people well-versed in the arbitrary rules of this system.
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While iron is by no means unbreakable, a shattered sword is still not-bad evidence of supernatural strength. After being forged, a good sword (and given Ser Waymar’s wealth, this is presumably a good one) would be tested again and again for flaws, perhaps smashed against an anvil by a burly smith; were it prone to shatter, it would do so then.
Sigurd breaks an inferior sword on an anvil
So if a sword like this has been splintered in battle, there’s clearly some abnormal circumstances at work.
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Ser Waymar hasn’t seemed like the nicest fellow so far; he’s weak, inexperienced, headstrong and arrogant. Here, he seems almost heroic; surrounded by horrifying enemies, far from all aid, he chooses to go out with a bang, not a whimper. Also, keep in mind that he’s only eighteen.
Sword in hand, the name of his king on his lips, he does not fail the memory of his ancestors.
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The fight would be between a callow, spoiled rich kid and a grizzled, uber-tough veteran (his sword is, metonymically, much like himself).
You can buy fancy weapons and horses, but you can’t buy combat experience.
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Both of these unfamiliar terms are actually used for horses in our world as well.
A garron is a type of Highland pony, so called in Scotland and Ireland.
It’s a hardy and capable creature, but without any pretension to grandeur.
A destrier was a very different animal; the name was applied to the heaviest and most valued class of war-horses, usually of a stock similar to modern Friesians.
They were huge, noble, muscular beasts, more Arnold than Brad Pitt; they had to be, to carry an armoured knight. Stallions (ungelded males) were the universal choice for battle; according to Terry Jones, this had unpredictable consequences when Crusaders met Arab armies mounted exclusively on mares!
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