The Siege of Rhodes by Nanami Shiono

Author:Nanami Shiono [Shiono, Nanami]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kodansha USA
Published: 2020-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

“All the barons would loudly chant this oath in front of the sovereign. Feudal lords certainly didn’t have it easy! To the sovereigns, who strove to establish strong centralized control, it must have seemed like anarchy.

“Little by little, the movement to stifle the barons’ power gained momentum, but the barons caught on and further entrenched themselves. The conflict finally boiled over with the famous ‘Rebellion of the Barons’ in 1460, the war between King Ferrante of Naples and the barons in his territory. Ferrante won. One branch of the Orsini family took part in that struggle and suffered a major setback. We no longer live in a world where we can chant hilarious oaths. The wave of centralization is inescapable no matter where you are.

“Only in Rome are things somewhat different. While the rulers of other nations can bequeath their positions to their heirs, the pope cannot. In Rome, the ruler changes while the barons stay.

“Yet, even if the grand Orsini and Colonna families are able to maintain our power in and around Rome thanks to fortuitous circumstances, what would be the point? The Colonnas are practically the subjects of Charles, which is only natural since a mercenary cannot serve a sovereign without becoming his subject. My family won’t be able to resist this wave of centralization, either. We will become the subjects of some ruler who gives us titles in return for making us protect a tiny territory that only belongs to us in name. The barons, or free men, will disappear and the Orsini name will survive only by being assigned a place in the court nobility.

“Likewise, knights are being replaced by infantrymen. The appearance of the cannon has altered the nature of combat. Barons once gained the respect of the people and the right to command territory by protecting the populace from outside enemies. Having ceded that role to the sovereign, barons can no longer act like masters. You and I are both knights of the Order of St. John, which only accepts those of noble blood, and we are moreover both nobility who are losing seigniorial rights. Ours is a particular misfortune—being the last of a disappearing class.

“Isn’t it ironic that we are to fight the Turks, whose army rose to greatness through the use of cannons and human waves? A class that is dying out is always forced to perish battling the class that is replacing it.”

Antonio felt he had been forced to face reality. The del Carretto family, while not as powerful as the Orsinis, had for four hundred years been the lords of the territory they had won for themselves in Savoia, near Genoa. Yet, for the last hundred years, they had no longer been able to remain indifferent to the battles raging among the great powers that surrounded them. At times they drew close to the Sforza rulers of the Dukedom of Milan, and at other times they formed alliances with the Republic of Genoa. Then, thirty years ago, they were forced either to clarify their loyalties or face extinction.

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