Dark Age Maiden

The real historical times of Dark Age Maiden

For those who would like to know a little about the times of Carina, Uberto, and Giancarlo.

The Roman Empire had been conquered over two centuries before the time of this novel, but some of its influence survived. Many of the towns built by the Romans remained viable cities whose walls protected the populace from the general lawlessness of the time. The spoken language of the day varied much throughout Europe, but in Italy and Southern France, Vulgar Latin (common Latin) was the dialect of the people.

 It was the language passed down by the descendants of Roman soldiers who were given land in Italy and France when they retired with their families from military service. The spoken Latin was very different from scholarly Latin, and because it was unwritten, we know little about it. In subsequent centuries it developed into Italian, French and Spanish—the Romance Languages.

        The early 700's saw the expansion of Muslim power. The religion of Islam was founded by the prophet Mohammad in the seventh century. Soon after his death in 632, his successors called for a  jihad to be waged against all those who were not followers of Islam. By use of the sword, much of the Christian Byzantine Empire was subdued, as well as the Persian Empire.

The conquest of Islam continued in the seventh century into India, Egypt, and across North Africa, reaching Spain in 710. By 718 the Muslims had conquered Spain and in 719 they crossed the Pyrenees into Southern France. Up to this point, they had not met with a force strong enough to stop them.

         On the eastern side of Europe, in 717, the Muslims were laying siege to the great walled city of Constantinople, the "New Rome." Barely a thousand miles separated all of Christian Europe from the two pronged Muslim attack. Fortunately, Constantinople had an answer to the blockade of Muslim ships that prevented food from entering the city.

It was "Greek fire," a still secret mixture that burned furiously on coming into contact with water. In 718, using Greek fire, they were able to break the blockade by setting Muslim ships ablaze. On the landed side of Constantinople, the huge army of Islam was defeated with the help of the Bulgarians, effectively ended the siege.

        In the West as in the East, the coming of the Muslims brought terror and fear. It is in this period that the story is set. Although the tale of Carina, her father, Giancarlo and Uberto is fiction, the setting and conditions of the time are real. People such as they are not unlikely. Certainly there were brave young women then just as there are today.

The story is faithful to what we know about the Dark Ages in Southern France. For example, one of the main tasks of women, poor and even those well off, was spinning and weaving. With the fall of Rome long since past, no major cloth making industry existed. Similarly, with the cessation of grain shipments from Egypt, it was imperative that food be grown locally. Feudalism, with its knights, vassals, landed estates and castles developed gradually over time but was greatly augmented in the 700's.

          The significance of the battle of Tours continues to be debated by historians even to this day. Most, from Edward Gibbon on, see it as a world-altering event, one of the major historical battles of history. As John Henry Haaren stated, in his book, Famous Men of the Middle Ages, "The battle of Tours, or Poitiers, as it should be called, is regarded as one of the decisive battles of the world."

It decided that Christians, and not Muslims, should be the ruling power in Europe." Had the Saracens not been defeated, as Edward Gibbon famously stated, "Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate. . .the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet." Had the Muslims won, not only Europe, but North and South America might today be Muslim countries.

        The defeat of the Saracens at Tours did not completely end the Muslim threat. They held on to the French city of Narbonne for twenty-seven more years and their ships controlled most of the  Mediterranean. Charles (Karl) Martel did not have sufficient forces to drive the enemy completely from French territory. He had other battles to fight with enemies to the north and east.

Thus the Muslims remained a threat, particularly in the south of France where they could attack by ship or land. Carina and Uberto will face the Saracens again in the sequel to Dark Age Maiden, just as some historical records indicate. Finally, many years later, Charles Martel's grandson, Charlemagne, was able to drive the Saracens from French soil, but it was not for hundreds of years that the Muslims were pushed out of Spain.

 The end   (Hope you have enjoyed.) 

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