The Cout of Aiam

The Lost Cavaliers of Mercy Coast of Arms (“LCMCA”) contains elements from the Ishtar Gate (excavated IC in the early 20th century) a reconstruction of which using original bricks is currently displayed at the • – Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. The Ishtar Gate (Arabic: was the eighth gate to t e inner city of Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. Dedicated to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, the gate was constructed using glazed brick with alternating rows of bas-relief musbussu (dragons) and aurochs. The roof and doors of the gate we e of , . , f cedar, according to the dedication plaque. Through the gate ran the Processional Way, which was lined with “.40002CaMIttitif-‘ walls covered in lions on glazed bricks (about 120 of them). Ishtar Gate depicts only gods and godesses which include Ishtar Adad and Marduk. Statues of the deities were paraded through the gate and down the Processional Way each year during the New Year’s celebration.

Originally the gate, being part of the Walls of Babylon, was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the world until it was replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria; in the 3rd century BC. The blue irises on the gate are basis of the modern Fleur-de-Lis (shown below) which is the symbolization of an iris popularized by European royalty starting in the 13th century and particularly used in France and favored by Louis the 14th. While the fleur-de-lis has appeared on countless European coats of arms and flags over the centuries, it is particularly associated with the French monarchy in a historical context, and continues to appear in the arms of the King of Spain and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and members of the House of Bourbon. It remains an enduring symbol of France that appears on French postage stamps, although it has never been adopted officially by any o(the French republics. According to French historian Georges Duby, the three petals represent the medieval social classes: those who worked, those who fought, and those who prayed. The Lions on the LCMCA (also inspired by the Ishtar Gate) are meant to symbolize the intent of the -1844., Cavaliers of Mercy to protect “the people” (regardless of class) from the corruption of brought by governments and other organizations who have bastardized the iris beyond recognition to its current form as a Fleur-de-Lis and used to assert their authority.

Also of note in the LCMCA are the horses who are shown to have broken their chains. The word “cavalier” derives from the same Latin root as the French word chevalier (as well as the Spanish word caballero), the Vulgar Latin word caballarius, meaning “horseman”. Shakespeare used the word cavaleros to describe an overbearing swashbuckler or swaggering gallant in Henry IV, Part 2, in which Shallow says “Ill drink to Master Bardolph, and to all the cavaleros about London,” but the term really did not come into widespread usage until the English Civil War (1642-1651) and was not adopted by the Lost Cavaliers of Mercy (“LCM”) until roughly the 18th century when it became more particularly associated with the court fashions of the period, which included long flowing hair in ringlets, brightly coloured with elaborate trimmings and lace collars and cuffs, and plumed hats that the LCM favored (and still do). The LCM were originally known as the “Fideles Milites Misericordia” (roughly translated as “Faithful Knights of Mercy”), is a secret society founded July 26, 1202 to undermine the proposed attack at the beginning of the Fourth Crusade, on the Adriatic port city of Zara in Dalmatia (now Zadar, Croatia), which was under the protection of King Emeric of Hungary. Fideles Milites Misericordia still adorns the LCMCA. From the beginning the LCM were horsemen whose steeds were so well trained and bonded to their riders that when the LCM were shackled following the Zara debacle, so were their horses just to be safe. The LCMCA shows the horses breaking their chains and gaining their freedom. While the LCM were purportedly saved by Joseph of Arimathea, sadly and certainly their horses perished. The final artifact to be found on the LCMCA is the early 13th century knight’s helmet which is crowned merely to symbolize the superiority of this elite secret society in combating those who wish to oppress and dominate other men. While so called “Knights” can be traced back as far as Ancient Rome (then called “Ordo Equestds” translated as “order of mounted nobles”), the ideals of knight chivalry were derived from semi-historical texts such as Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae (“History o(the Kings of Britain.), written in the 1130s. Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Mode d’Arthur (“The Death of Arthur”), written in 1485, while largely regarded as fiction was important in defining the ideal of chivalry which is essential to the modem concept of the knight as an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of faith, loyalty, courage, and honour. Furthermore, Geoffroi de Charny’s “Book of Chivalry” expounded upon the importance of Christian faith in every area of a Knights life. The LCM are most definitely and deliberately, not Christian, having been excommunicated by Pope Innocent III simply for being at the attack on Zara, despite purported full knowledge by the church that the LCM had tried to stop the attack.

Lost Cavaliers Origin Story

The Lost Cavaliers of Mercy, originally known as the “Fideles Milites Misericordia” (roughly translated as “Faithful Knights of Mercy”), is a secret society founded July 26, 1202 to undermine the proposed attack at the beginning of the Fourth Crusade, on the Adriatic port city of Zara in Dalmatia (now Zadar, Croatia), which was under the protection of King Emeric of Hungary.

The Siege of Zara (November 10-24, 1202) was the first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders. The Fourth Crusade sacked the town of Zara, a rival of Venice, despite letters from Pope Innocent Ill forbidding such an action and threatening excommunication.

Shortly after his election as pope in 1198, Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) published several papal encyclicals calling for the invasion and recapture o(the Holy Land from the Muslims. His plan to accomplish this differed from the earlier ultimately unsuccessful Second and Third crusades in several ways. Instead of the secular nobles who led the earlier crusades, this one would be, in theory, completely under papal control. Innocent’s plan also called for the invading armies to travel to Egypt (because they controlled Jerusalem at this time) by sea and seize the Nile Delta, which would then be used as a base from which to invade Palestine. His call was at first poorly received among the ruling families of Europe, but by 1200, an army of approximately 35,000 was formed.

Innocent III negotiated an agreement with the Republic of Venice, Europe’s dominant sea power at the time, involving the construction of a fleet of warships and transports. The deal stipulated that about 35,000 crusaders would need transport and the Venetians would be paid 94,000 marks of silver, to be paid in installments. A council held at Soissons in June 1201 chose Boniface of Montferrat to lead the expedition. The agreement between the Venetians and the crusaders had set the date for the arrival of the host in Venice before the end of April 1202, in order to provide (or a departure in time for a summer crossing at the end of June. The crusade leaders had counted on raising the money still owed to the Venetians through the collection of passage money from the individual crusaders. However, the first crusader groups did not leave France until April and May, others straggled along throughout the summer and some of the French nobles chose to sail instead from Marseilles and other ports. Therefore, after the Venetians had suspended their regular commercial operations for a year to build and crew the ships, only about 12,000 crusaders showed up at Venice to man and pay for them. Boniface and the nobles added what money they could spare, and pledged their gold and silver plate to the Venetian moneylenders. Still the crusaders found themselves only able to pay 51,000 marks to the Venetians. In response, the Venetians indicated that they would accept the invasion of Zara (now Zadar, Croatia), a Catholic city on the coast of the Adriatic, as well as nearby Trieste, in lieu of payment for the time being; the crusaders were then to pay the rest owed to the Venetians out of their initial gains in the crusade. Zara had rebelled against the Venetian Republic in 1183, and placed itself under the dual protection of the Papacy and King Emeric of Hungary (who had recently agreed to join the Crusade). Though a large group of Crusaders found the scheme repulsive and refused to participate, the majority agreed (despite the written protests of Innocent III), citing it as necessary to attain the larger goal of taking Jerusalem.

Among the leaders of the rebels was Simon de Montfort the elder, Lord of Montfort-l’Amaury (in France), and the 5th earl of Leicester (in England). Simon is described as a man of extreme religious orthodoxy, deeply committed to the Dominican order and the suppression of heresy. Simon argued that it was immoral, illegal and against the wishes of Pope Innocent to attack another Christian town in the name of Holy Pilgrimage (the guise of the crusades). Simon was unable to win the argument with the majority and returned to France bringing with him loyal troops (mostly French), but leaving behind his English guard from Leicester (the “Faithful Knights of Mercy” or Lost Cavaliers), in order to make good his escape. The Cavaliers held off troops seeking to block the escape of Simon Montfort, and while Montfort successfully lett, the Cavaliers were ultimately captured and imprisoned on the Venetian transports for fear that they would otherwise reveal or try and block the pending action on Zara.

The attack on Zara took the form of an amphibious landing followed by a brief siege. The crusaders used the 50 amphibious transports, 100 horse carriers and 60 warships designed and built for them by the Venetians. Their transports were approximately 30 m long, 9 m wide and 12 m high, with a crew of 100. Each one could carry up to 600 infantry. The horse carriers featured specially designed slings to carry their cargo of horses, and featured a fold-out ramp below the waterline that could be opened to allow mounted knights to charge directly onto shore. The Venetian warships were powered by 100 oarsmen each and featured a metal-tipped ram just above the waterline as their primary weapon.[10] Also, during the siege, 150 siege engines were used to bombard the city’s walls. Chains and booms were laid across the mouth of Zara’s harbor as a defense, but the crusaders burst through them in their Venetian ships and landed their troops and equipment without harassment. Zara fell on 23 November 1202, and the incident foreshadowed the Siege of Constantinople later in the campaign.

In 1203, Innocent excommunicated the entire crusading army, along with the Venetians, for taking part in the attack. “Behold,” the pope wrote, “your gold has turned into base metal and your silver has almost completely rusted since, departing from the purity of your plan and turning aside from the path onto the impassable road, you have, so to speak, withdrawn your hand from the plough 1_1 for when […] you should have hastened to the land flowing with milk and honey, you turned away, going astray in the direction of the desert.” He would later grant an absolution to the entire army.

While is it unknown if the Cavaliers were Catholic or even Christian (though knighthood generally required it, and they were knights), for being present (in chains in the bottom of a boat) at the Siege of Zara they were officially excommunicated. This change in status meant that their captures had no qualms about executing them and following the Siege, set about to do just that.

Informed of their fate and asked if they had any last requests, the Cavaliers requested a preacher named Joseph to administer their last rites. Their execution was witnessed and recorded by the Venetians in Zara, but there were several accounts claiming they were seen leaving the city after the supposed execution.

It is believed that “the Joseph” who administered the last rites was in fact Joseph of Admathea, who according to all four canonical Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus’ crucifixion. A number of stories that developed during the Middle Ages connect him with both Glastonbury, where he is supposed to have founded the earliest Christian oratory, and also with the Grail legend. The Holy Grail is a goblet from the Last Supper that Joseph used to catch Christ’s blood while interring him. Those who are worthy are said to be blessed (or cursed) with everlasting life and healed if they drink from the cup.

It is suspected that Joseph (who may also be “the Wandering Jew”) had the Cavaliers drink from the cup immediately after their “execution” and saved their lives, however while the Cavaliers’ acts were pure, they themselves were not completely pure so rather than gaining everlasting life, they were healed and age at a greatly reduced rate estimated to be a physical aging of one year for every thirty years that pass. Should this account be correct the Cavaliers would appear today in their 50’s, but actually be more than 830 years old.

Quinland Scott

Quinland Scott (aka The Scot, aka Scott), leader of the LCM, appointed to the rank of seneschal by Simon de Montfort, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland August 15th, 1176 making him 26 years old at time of the attack on Zara. Note: a seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. Ina medieval noble household a seneschal was in charge of domestic arrangements and the administration of servants. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the senechal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli. It is equivalent to the Slavonic title stolnik or the English steward.

The surname Quinn is an Anglicized form of the Irish O Coinn. The latter surname means “descendant of Conn”. Quinland as the first name is the result of Quinland Scoff’s Irish mother. Having both Scottish and Irish blood, Quinland Scott was an outcast from the start, with neither side all that comfortable with him in their midst. The quest for fame and torture (or at least the quest for some kind of non-farming work) led Quinland south into England to the town of Leicester, where Quinland was recruited by agents of by Simon de Monffort to join the crusade. From Leicester was on to France to join his brothers in arms which led him to the fateful day in Zara when he and his fellow cavaliers refused to attack the innocent and became outcasts sentenced to death. After drinking from the grail he and the now immortal Cavaliers became musicians, a natural occupation for vagabonds loved by many and accepted by none. Through the present day Quinland and his Cavaliers wonder the earth, gig to gig, singing their songs, doing good and bringing joy wherever they can.