Do you know the story of Jeanne de Clisson, the Lioness of Britanny? When her husband Olivier de Clisson IV, a wealthy Breton nobleman, was executed by French king for treason in 1343, she sold all his estates, raised an army, and started attacking French forces in Brittany!
Her husband Olivier de Clisson IV had fought on the French side during the War of the Breton Succession which started in 1341. However during 1342 Siege of Vannes, the French king suspected Olivier of treason. He lured him to Paris on pretense of tournament and had him executed!
Jeanne the Clisson swore vengeance and raised an army after selling her estates. With the support of the English king she even built her own fleet which was painted black with red sails and attacked French ships in the English channel. Her flagship was named My Revenge!
Jeanne de Clisson went on a brutal campaign against French with her mercenaries. Her warships with experience sailors captured many French ships and she killed almost entire enemy crew, leaving only few survivors to report back to the French of her brutal attacks!
Jeanne did not spare the noblemen either, but the opposite. Instead of demanding ransom for them, she had all the captured nobles who were loyal to the French king beheaded! Her campaign lasted for 13 years until she "retired", married again and settled in Hennebont in Brittany.
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16th century Romans developed an interesting tradition of "talking statues", attaching anonymous political commentary on statues.
The Pasquino was the first of such statues.🧵
The Pasquino is an old statue in Rome dating back to Antiquity.
It was one of many random statues in Rome until early 16th century when Cardinal Oliveiro Carafa decorated the statue with Latin epigrams on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Mark.
The Cardinal's actions unintentionally inspired ordinary Roman people to start writing satirical poems and attaching them to the Pasquino.
It is speculated that these were first only consisting of lowbrow humor, but they soon began including controversial political criticism!
From 1475 on, the Venetians recruited the stradioti light cavalry from the Balkans as borderland troops in Friuli to defend against Ottoman raids.
These were known for cutting off the heads of dead or captured enemies and wanted to be paid extra for every head they brought back!
In one instance during the Ottoman raid on the town of Spilimbergo in 1499, the stradioti were able to respond quickly enough and in cooperation with local Friulian militias killed around 100 Ottomans whose heads they brought to a Venetian commander, demanding to be paid!
The territory of Friuli was acquired by Venice relatively late in 1420 following the collapse of the state of the Patriarchate of Aquileia.
Friuli would become a troubled borderland of Venice and faced many powerful enemies to the east.
I keep thinking about this town of Mahdia in Tunisia.
It used to be an important port but brutal wars through history reduced it to a quiet fishing town.
It's a place of significance for Western history as the first successful crusade-like expedition was launched here in 1087.
The Mahdia campaign of 1087 was a huge success for Pope Victor III who was able to rally the rival Italian maritime republics of Pisa, Genoa and Amalfi behind the Christian banner to attack the hated Muslim port of Mahdia from where pirate raids were staged by the Zirids.
11th century saw the rise of the maritime Republic of Pisa which was punching far above its weight in terms of power.
The Pisans continuously clashed with the Muslims for control of the Mediterranean and were eventually able to bring the war to them, sacking Tunis in 1130.