Courage

 There was much courage spread about on the hills of that wintertime.  Men and boys fought together as they practiced their skills with one-to-one fighting for their lords and made the flag of courage, they shared their skills with each other.  They knew their swords as if their lives depended on their use and in reality, so they did.  Many men died as the poor’s army fought hand to hand and they knew no just cause except their own. 

 The soldiers had been taken from their jobs working in the countryside doing their trades and were pressed into serve for their king or for the side that was taken for their use and had to hand these poor souls for their blood spilt in a cause that was not of their making.  Groups of fighting men had no choice but to fight to prove an argument that their Lords and masters had argued, so that the right was fought over and neither knew the extent of the just cause of the quarrel, but here today many lives were lost in this brutal conflict.  Some proved to be courageous and had a mind to defend themselves against the odds, but some simply fought because they had no choice.

 Some had seen too many summers, and some had seen too few, but all had to face an enemy not of their choosing and whether they lived or died was of no account in the tally of dead afterwards, as the bodies were laid out on the ground.  Some were professionals, who joined the band of fighters to take up some spoils from others to be taken afterward if they survived.  Life was cheap in those days of war and battle had its cost as courage was an item displayed openly as one man fought another to save their own lives.  There would be mass burials whether the day was won or lost.

 It made no difference whether one lived or died, but all the same men displayed what courage they had by fighting for their side and many bore the scars of injury for evermore until they died.  To know they were fighting for a cause that most men in their rightful minds would not wish to be remembered, is a poor price to lay one’s life on the line.   In settlement of an argument that bore little to know of the result for working men, who were gathered up to fight against their will and would regret this day, whether it went for them or not.  They could be changed in their devotion to the flag.  If they went home, there was a hero’s welcome or was it all a waste of time and blood.

Thursday, 8^th April 2021