After Becoming The Tyrant

At this time, the coffin of the Duke of Buckingham rests in St. Wythe's Cathedral.

The funeral will be held in four days.Before that, representatives from various states and counties had already rushed to the Rose Palace from all over the place.The Duke of Buckingham was almost the last symbol of the empire in the last era, and his funeral meant far more than anyone else at the time.

During the days waiting for the funeral attendants to arrive, General John stood by his father's coffin.

This is probably the time when General John spends the most time with the Duke of Buckingham.When he was young, the Duke of Buckingham led troops on many expeditions, and when he grew up, he took over the task of stationing the battlefield from his father.Accompanying the Duke of Buckingham with General John were his old friends[1].

First Officer Charles also rushed to Mezl Castle on the day of the king's return. He entered the palace to meet the king and handed a sword to the king.

"This is the sword he used back then."

Charles looked at the long sword inlaid with rubies on the hilt with some reminiscence.

"At that time he left it on the boat, and now it's returned to the original owner."

When the young Duke of Buckingham left the Walwe Pirates, he asked if they needed some material support.At that time, the pirates on the ship drove him off the ship, clamoring that they would always have a chance to rob the nobles.As a result, after the Duke of Buckingham left, they found the sword he had left behind in the room where he lived.

This sword should be a gift from the duke's father, Charles the Lion, when he became a knight.

When the Duke of Buckingham bequeathed the sword that meant so much to him to the Walwee pirates, the Walwee pirates recognized him as one of the brothers.

"Let it be with him," Charles said, smiling.

When a knight with status is buried, future generations will use his sword as a funeral.That is a symbol of his faithful fulfillment as a knight, fighting bravely, guarding the territory and protecting the weak.But everything that belonged to the Duke of Buckingham was turned into terracotta, and neither the armor nor the sword remained. [2]

Charles knew this, and he came this time to bring the Duke's sword.

According to the normal practice of the Holy See, the person who presided over the funeral of the Duke of Buckingham should be the Archbishop of St. Wes Cathedral, who is the head of the bishops of the entire Legrand area.

But the Archbishop of St. Wythe, who was supposed to be one of the most important figures at the funeral, was instead forgotten by the king.

Perhaps, it should not be called forgetting.

Rather, the king did not intend to involve Archbishop St. Wythe in this funeral.

"Father Anil has arrived."

The steward reports to the king.

………………

Father Anil was waiting outside the Rose Palace to be received by the king.

He reached out and gently held the cross on his chest, and whispered passages from the holy book in his heart.

At the invitation of the king, he came to Mezl Castle, the capital of Legrand, under the protection of several rose knights—or "guards" as they are called.

"Dean."

The young Father Lemi looked at his mentor worriedly, and from time to time glanced at the swords on the waists of several rose knights in front of them, hesitating to speak.

Logically, as an ordinary abbot in a remote place, it should be an honor to be summoned by the king.but……

Father Lemy couldn't help but think of the saying that has been spreading more and more these days——

It is said that the rebellion in the Northland was provoked by the Holy Court, and the death of the Duke of Buckingham was directly related to the Holy Court, which made the young king furious like never before.The always ruthless and tyrannical monarch is determined to set off a bloody revenge for his uncle, and this revenge will be directed at all the clergy in Legrand.

Those who talked privately regarded it as an after-dinner conversation, but Father Lemi had to be particularly alarmed.

He is different from ordinary priests. Before leaving the Holy Court with Father Anil, he also came into contact with some powers in the Holy Court and knew some things that ordinary people did not know.

Father Lemi felt that the death of the Duke of Buckingham might really have something to do with the Holy Court.

If the Duke of Buckingham really died at the hands of the Holy Court, then the king, who has always done amazing things, is likely to launch a bloody revenge on the Holy Court forces in Legrand.

At this time, Dean Anil received the king's invitation, and it was difficult for Father Lemi to control himself not wanting more.

After persuading him to no avail, Father Lemi worried that his mentor would come to the murderous palace alone, so he followed Father Anil here again.Along the way, he clearly felt the indifference and hostility from the Rose Knights—this made him even more uneasy.

In the eyes of Father Lemi, the magnificent and majestic Rose Palace is a huge execution ground.

"It's all right, kid."

Father Anil opened his eyes, and he gently comforted his student.

Father Anil raised his head and looked at the huge cross on the top of St. Wythe's Cathedral in the distance, as if he could see through it another country on the west bank of the Abyss Strait, as well as the holy court full of crosses.

The news of Blaise Holy Court came day by day, the war in the Northland subsided day by day, and the pain in Dean Anil's heart grew day by day.

Sure enough, the Holy Court intervened in the rebellion in the Northland. In the name of the Holy Lord, countless lives were drawn into the vortex of war.

And war only brings hatred.

Rumors of the king's imminent bloody vengeance against all the clergy disturb Abbot Anil.

Among the clergy, there may be some people who are indeed the dark chess pieces of the Holy Court, but there are also more people who have nothing to do with these rebellious wars.They are just some pious young people, but now they have to bear this hatred because of what the Holy Court and the Pope have done.

But now, the torrent of hatred has swept in.

The pain caused by the war is difficult to be erased, even if the victory is won in the end, the trauma is still extremely heavy.The free town of Legrand, which directly borders Newcana and Balbo, suffered a brutal massacre during the rebellion. In fact, many people in the rebel army simply obeyed the orders of the lord.

The relatives of both sides, the elder brother, died in this war, and many families were broken in just two months.

After happiness has become an illusion, people need a target to divert hatred.

The reason why the rumor spread so quickly is inseparable from this kind of pain and hatred.

Dean Anil had a premonition of this scene when the war just started.And these days, he began to feel the change of people's attitude towards the monastery: people did not accept their help to rebuild their homes, the poor refused their alms, and the number of people who went to pray began to decrease...

The young priests in the monastery slowly hung their heads before the repulsion, not knowing what they had done wrong.

What are they doing wrong?

Aren't they compassionate?

"But……"

Father Lemy's heart was sour, and he wanted to say something else.

"Holy Lord above."

Dean Anil nodded lightly on his chest several times, shook his head lightly to stop his words.

It's not that he doesn't know the danger of coming to the Rose Palace this time, but he can't avoid it because of the danger. Those young pious people shouldn't die innocently. He wants to state something to the king, and wants to ask the king for something.If this is really a fight to the death, please start with him first.

This is their sin, and he has no regrets.

The steward of the house came out of the palace.

He asked Father Anil to go in alone.

………………

The palace, the king's study.

The king was going through all the records of the funeral rites.

A large part of the importance of the Holy Court's status in the secular world comes from the intermediary status of their clergy.In the concept of the holy court, believers are far away from the kingdom of God, and bishops and priests hold the key to the "gate of the kingdom of God".Funerals are an obvious manifestation of this status, and the core point of view is the "purgatory theory".

But not everyone recognizes this intermediary role of the clergy.

It is precisely because some theologians have held different opinions for a long time, the Holy See specially made a formal regulation at the Holy Spirit Bay Sanctuary in 1411: Purgatory is the death of a person until before the "Doomsday Judgment". A place of exile and suffering, where the soul will be purified by the fires of purgatory until salvation is complete. [3]

The king also heard rumors that he would bloodbath all the monasteries and churches, and to some extent, he also secretly promoted the spread of rumors.

However, the king did not intend to really do that.

One reason:

As early as 1000 years, people's daily life has been integrated with faith.It can be said that belief has become an indispensable aspect of life. If you want to eliminate it directly, it will only have an impact on the existing system, and it may even cause the existing system to collapse.

The king did not deny that this belief had already become part of today's Legrand.

His goal is not the faith itself, but the holy court as a belief institution.

After returning to Legrand, the king got some information about Blacy's kingdom:

On top of the coronation of Prince Charles, he fulfilled the "Gift of Cremer V" by handing over to the pope the secular dominion of the whole of the Lowlands and the western part of the kingdom.

But the Holy Court's actions were not all smooth sailing.If they are only limited to this, they will not encounter much resistance, but if they want to truly gain control over the secular political economy, they will inevitably have some conflicts with the old local interests.

The Holy Court's energy is betting on Blacy, and this is Legrand's opportunity.

He wants to build, Legrand's own church.

The housekeeper knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The king closed the file in his hand, which was a record of the 1411 Whitsunday Council.

In this record, a priest protested the Pope's interpretation of the "Confessions". He denied the "purgatory theory" and the key concept of "the gate of the kingdom of God".

The priest, called:

anil.

The author has something to say: I am a little busy at home today, and there is no second update tonight.

[1] In the Middle Ages, "friends" were almost as important as loved ones at funerals. "...friendship is a feeling that emerges suddenly and violently in pain".In addition, the vigil at the funeral is an internal matter within the scope of family obligations. Several popes in history even refused to arrange it in religious planning.The king's reservation of the night vigil here is also a form of the struggle between church and family influence in the Middle Ages.

In fact, throughout the Middle Ages, funerals were always the result of a struggle for influence between church and family.If you are interested in the death culture of the Middle Ages, you can read Danielle Alexander-Bidon's "Medieval Life About Death 13th-16th Century"

[2] When nobles with status in the Middle Ages were buried, they would dress as knights and keep their swords by their side.

[3] The concept of purgatory is closely related to "original sin". Before the religious reformation, the concept of eternal life was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so the theory of purgatory was widely spread.There are several ways to redeem souls such as intercession, mass, and charitable donations, and indulgences are also related to this. In the subsequent reform period, people put forward a new concept of death.

Some reference papers are as follows:

[1] Ren Leping. On the Funeral Reform in Britain in the 19th Century [D]. Nanjing University, 2014.

[2] Song Juan. Religious Reformation and British Death Concept and Its Embodiment [D]. Qufu Normal University, 2016. (The third quote comes from here)

[3] Shi Qinghai. The Evolution of Christian Death Culture: From the 1st to the 17th Century [D]. East China Normal University, 2004.