Re: The Normans of Italy

[Cybelos [ERE]]

Maxentius Traianus
Naples

Maxentius got off of his horse, black cassock following soon after, a silver pectoral cross adorning his chest, given to him by his bishop, this being the priests only sign of wealth.

The soldiers accompanying the priest, however, in stark contrast, were meant to show off the wealth of the empire, both wore klibanion lamellar armor, double mail helms, and padded surcoats embroidered with an emblem of the double headed eagle of the empire with colors of rich reds, deep purples, and golds as bright as the Vergina sun.

The messenger who introduced the delegation to the younger Drengot would hand off the reins of the horses to a nearby servant.

Maxentius greeted Gilbert with a slight bow, and walked into the keep proper, the inside of the castle seemed austere, even for the priest, the banners of the previous lord nowhere to be seen.

The messenger approached the elder Drengot and spoke: "On behalf of the August Emperor of the Romans in Constantinople, I introduce  the Reverend Father, Maxentius Traianus, son of Marcus."

Maxentius and the guards approached, and the priest bowed, and waited for a response, not knowing how a man he only knew as a mercenary barbarian would react.

[Azaq]

Maxentius Traianus
Naples

Maxentius got off of his horse, black cassock following soon after, a silver pectoral cross adorning his chest, given to him by his bishop, this being the priests only sign of wealth.

The soldiers accompanying the priest, however, in stark contrast, were meant to show off the wealth of the empire, both wore klibanion lamellar armor, double mail helms, and padded surcoats embroidered with an emblem of the double headed eagle of the empire with colors of rich reds, deep purples, and golds as bright as the Vergina sun.

The messenger who introduced the delegation to the younger Drengot would hand off the reins of the horses to a nearby servant.

Maxentius greeted Gilbert with a slight bow, and walked into the keep proper, the inside of the castle seemed austere, even for the priest, the banners of the previous lord nowhere to be seen.

The messenger approached the elder Drengot and spoke: "On behalf of the August Emperor of the Romans in Constantinople, I introduce  the Reverend Father, Maxentius Traianus, son of Marcus."

Maxentius and the guards approached, and the priest bowed, and waited for a response, not knowing how a man he only knew as a mercenary barbarian would react.

Osmond Drengot

The Norman lord rose from his seated position, gestured toward Maxentius and nodded. "Greetings to you, sir, and welcome to the Duchy of Naples. I am Osmond Drengot, the mortal lord of these lands. You have nothing and no one to fear here, Son of Christ. As long as you are within my realm you are under my protection as my welcomed guest." Osmond sat back down. "I trust your trip was uneventful in the welcomed sense of the word?"

[Cybelos [ERE]]

Osmond Drengot

The Norman lord rose from his seated position, gestured toward Maxentius and nodded. "Greetings to you, sir, and welcome to the Duchy of Naples. I am Osmond Drengot, the mortal lord of these lands. You have nothing and no one to fear here, Son of Christ. As long as you are within my realm you are under my protection as my welcomed guest." Osmond sat back down. "I trust your trip was uneventful in the welcomed sense of the word?"

Maxentius Traianus

"Yes, my lord" the priest visibly relaxed, loosening his posture. "the waters of the Mediterranean were very kind to us, a good omen perhaps."

Maxentius glanced on his ornatly dressed guards for a moment before beginning again, clearing his throat softly.
"The reason of my visit, my lord, is to assure the patriarchs, and his majesty, the Emperor that those following the one true faith are being treated kindly and are not subject to conversion against their will."

"Perhaps I could speak with some priests(*) from throughout your lands? Or if you've any other ideas, my lord?"

*:

[Azaq]

Osmond Drengot

The Norman lord rose from his seated position, gestured toward Maxentius and nodded. "Greetings to you, sir, and welcome to the Duchy of Naples. I am Osmond Drengot, the mortal lord of these lands. You have nothing and no one to fear here, Son of Christ. As long as you are within my realm you are under my protection as my welcomed guest." Osmond sat back down. "I trust your trip was uneventful in the welcomed sense of the word?"

Maxentius Traianus

"Yes, my lord" the priest visibly relaxed, loosening his posture. "the waters of the Mediterranean were very kind to us, a good omen perhaps."

Maxentius glanced on his ornatly dressed guards for a moment before beginning again, clearing his throat softly.
"The reason of my visit, my lord, is to assure the patriarchs, and his majesty, the Emperor that those following the one true faith are being treated kindly and are not subject to conversion against their will."

"Perhaps I could speak with some priests(*) from throughout your lands? Or if you've any other ideas, my lord?"

*:

Osmond Drengot

Osmond raised a brow, perplexed at the priest's words. "The reason for your visit-?" he muttered under his breath before clearing his throat and speaking up, "Forgive me, Reverend, but I was under the impression your arrival was due to the requests that I had sent to the churches in Rome and Constantinople, of our - me and my people's - desire to embrace the Cross, and to ascertain which sect would better benefit both ourselves and from our conversion." Osmond sat slightly slouched over, and licked his lips. "Ah, regardless, I assure you that your fellow Men of the Cross, of either sect, are indeed well protected, as they are now my subjects and under my benevolent rule and protection."

Osmond thought for a moment, "You are free to speak to anyone you wish, you will find no 'pagans' nor 'paganism' here, for as I have said: It is we who wish to be converted, not to be the ones converting others."

---

Bishop Donato Benza

The bishop tisked as the carriage passed through the streets of Napoli.

“Greeks. Schismatics. Heretics.”

“At ease, my love,” Francesca responded. “I am sure this Osmond Drengot will choose the true faith and not what the Greeks bring.”

“If he has any sense he shall,” Donato agreed. “Still, I may need to rely upon yours and your handmaidens’ skills.”

“Oh? And which skills would those be?”

“The breath of them?”

“And you would have me and my handmaidens play the Maddalena? How sinful.”

“All sins may be forgiven if they are in service to Christ and his church.”

“And our sins?”

“So that I might better tend his flock. All in service to the church.”

“How noble of us.” The carriage came to gate and the driver called for entry.

Gilbert Drengot

The guardsmen quickly let the carriage inside, as the younger Drengot approached and waited for it's occupants to depart from it. When they did, he greeted them with a bow and a genuine smile.

"Greetings." he began, "I am Gilbert Drengot, son of Osmond Drengot, the lord of the newly proclaimed Duchy of Naples. You must be emissaries from the Pope in Rome, yes?"

[House of Judah]

Bishop Donato Benza

“Indeed, my good man. I am Bishop Donato Benza, and this delightful woman is my late cousin’s widow, Francesca della Toscana. We were heartened to hear that your father was so eager to embrace God and His Church. His Holiness has seen fit to send me to lend my skills as a shepherd, such as they are, to aid your father and his realm on the path to the Cross.” The Bishop and his cousin’s widow crossed themselves. “But, such matters are for longer courses and I fear we have more temporal concerns to deal with as well. My cousin and her handmaidens are weary from the road. Might they impose upon your father’s hospitality and be given rooms in which to rest themselves?”

Francesca, to her credit, gave the bishop a tired smile. She then straightened herself again to appear a proper Roman woman, unencumbered by her travels. As she did so, her breasts swelled within her bodice, presenting their pleasant flesh for the gaze of the Normans. A practiced move, innocent in appearance and yet lecherous in intent. Without even breaking gaze from Donato, she watched the Norman man to see his reaction. If he was tempted by her flesh.

---

Rav Abramo

The rabbi carefully made his way to the castle. He would offer his advice to their new ruler as he decided upon a new faith. He would guide Osmond Drengot in his decision, whether he ultimately be guided by spirituality of politics.

[Cybelos [ERE]]

Maxentius Traianus

"Truly? You Normans yourselves are looking to bask in the light of God's glory?"

The priest visibly relaxed at this news.

"Well, this is joyous news. But, I was not sent here to proselytize you, my lord, but to preach the word of God, in a common, plain tongue without the eloquence that a diplomat might have, lest the glory that is God should be diluted with my grandeur. Should you wish to join us, I can baptize you, making you a servant of God."

"I have brought with me, a Bible, the holy texts, our earthly guidebook.
His Majesty, the Emperor's personal guard, the Varangians," The priest said gesturing to his two solemn guards.
"hail from much the same areas as yourselves, I believe."
With the help of the devout amongst them, many scholars from Constantinople have been able to write notes written in the Danish tongue that will hopefully help you achieve a more deep understand the teachings of God."

"I had brought some of these notes with me, in case your men wished to question my teachings, but, with this new developments, they are yours."

Maxentius handed a copy of the Bible, written in Greek, and what Danish notes he had to a servant to give to the Norman lord.

"It is my belief that the Bible requires some solitude to study and contemplate, I am willing however to speak with you on any questions that may arise during your studies.

"I will see myself to the local monastery where we have set up our lodging, and speak to my brothers there, unless there was anything else, Your Majesty?"

[Azaq]

Maxentius Traianus

"Truly? You Normans yourselves are looking to bask in the light of God's glory?"

The priest visibly relaxed at this news.

"Well, this is joyous news. But, I was not sent here to proselytize you, my lord, but to preach the word of God, in a common, plain tongue without the eloquence that a diplomat might have, lest the glory that is God should be diluted with my grandeur. Should you wish to join us, I can baptize you, making you a servant of God."

"I have brought with me, a Bible, the holy texts, our earthly guidebook.
His Majesty, the Emperor's personal guard, the Varangians," The priest said gesturing to his two solemn guards.
"hail from much the same areas as yourselves, I believe."
With the help of the devout amongst them, many scholars from Constantinople have been able to write notes written in the Danish tongue that will hopefully help you achieve a more deep understand the teachings of God."

"I had brought some of these notes with me, in case your men wished to question my teachings, but, with this new developments, they are yours."

Maxentius handed a copy of the Bible, written in Greek, and what Danish notes he had to a servant to give to the Norman lord.

"It is my belief that the Bible requires some solitude to study and contemplate, I am willing however to speak with you on any questions that may arise during your studies.

"I will see myself to the local monastery where we have set up our lodging, and speak to my brothers there, unless there was anything else, Your Majesty?"

Osmond Drengot

"No, no, you are free to go. I am expecting an emissary from the Pope in Rome soon, and from what I understand of your schism, your churches did not separate on friendly terms. I would prefer to avoid a possible escalation, and so, it would probably be best if you were to be addressed one at a time. You are excused, go and speak with your fellow Christians. They should have nothing ill to say of us beyond our... 'heathenry'... and usurping of power. Perhaps our foreign nature, as well."

He bid the priest good day with a simple gesture, as he took the Bible from the servant and opened it to take a simple look over of it's contents. As he did, he wondered what he happened to the letter he had sent to Constantinople, assuming it had been lost to bandits or pirates, while also thinking about the Varangians, whom he had heard of before, like all Norsemen, as the greatest of warriors in service to the great Emperors of Constantinople.

Bishop Donato Benza

“Indeed, my good man. I am Bishop Donato Benza, and this delightful woman is my late cousin’s widow, Francesca della Toscana. We were heartened to hear that your father was so eager to embrace God and His Church. His Holiness has seen fit to send me to lend my skills as a shepherd, such as they are, to aid your father and his realm on the path to the Cross.” The Bishop and his cousin’s widow crossed themselves. “But, such matters are for longer courses and I fear we have more temporal concerns to deal with as well. My cousin and her handmaidens are weary from the road. Might they impose upon your father’s hospitality and be given rooms in which to rest themselves?”

Francesca, to her credit, gave the bishop a tired smile. She then straightened herself again to appear a proper Roman woman, unencumbered by her travels. As she did so, her breasts swelled within her bodice, presenting their pleasant flesh for the gaze of the Normans. A practiced move, innocent in appearance and yet lecherous in intent. Without even breaking gaze from Donato, she watched the Norman man to see his reaction. If he was tempted by her flesh.

---

Rav Abramo

The rabbi carefully made his way to the castle. He would offer his advice to their new ruler as he decided upon a new faith. He would guide Osmond Drengot in his decision, whether he ultimately be guided by spirituality of politics.

Gilbert Drengot

The young Norman was quite perplexed, as he had not expected such a... enticing... woman to be accompanying a priest, nor did he expect her to have handmaidens. Though he knew little of the church, what he had heard of the clergymen had suggested they were of a more celibate nature, which seemed to be contradicted by what he was seeing.

However, he was a young man, and so he thought little of it as his eyes wandered across Francesca's body, eyes widened, he cleared his throat, indeed tempted by her flesh, unaware this was her intention. He felt no shame in it, he was young yet mature... and unmarried. Though in the back of his mind, he felt as if he should not give into his temptation this one time, for there were greater things at stake. Fortunately for him, he noticed a rabbi enter the courtyard out of the corner of his eye. Clearing his throat and sighing with relief, he called out to him.

"Ah, rabbi." He said to the Jew, relieved. He turned back to Bishop Donato, this time with confidence. "Of course, of course. Please, speak with my father Osmond and he shall arrange the quarters for you, miss Toscana, and her... handmaidens. If, uh, if you'll excuse me I have... other matters to attend to."

He quickly made his way away from the two and toward Abramo. "Good day you, rabbi. I trust you have come to seek an audience with my father? I will be glad to escort you." He sighed with relief again, and looked in the sky. "Perhaps this God of yours is indeed real and merciful." He muttered, shaking his head.

[House of Judah]

Bishop Donato Benza

"My thanks, milord." Bishop Donato Benza turned to Francesca. "Come, cousin. Let us meet the lord of this realm and get you a chamber to rest in." Francesca curtsied.

"Thank you, milord." The Bishop took Francesca's hand and led her further into the castle. As they walked away, Donato and Francesca began talking.

"It seems the Jews have made quite the neat little nest for themselves here in Napoli," Donato said.

"Indeed. I know you find it distasteful, but it may be prudent to court them."

"And what ever made you think I find the Jews distasteful?"

"Aren't you the one who was complaining about the Jew-blooded Pope?"

"What of it? A Jew may be ill suited to be Saint Peter's heir, but my physician Porfirio is a Jew. So are several of the managers of our family's holdings. As was a certain girl by the name of Rebecca."

"You brought a Jewess to our bed? How delicious she was. And you didn't even tell me, you cad."

"The Jews are quite the helpful and inventive people, if properly motivated. And it seems their leader in Napoli is here with us now."

"You shall need to make an ally of him, my love."

"Oh rest assured, it shall be one of my greatest priorities, my love." They entered the hall and the smile on Donato's face became slightly strained. "Ah, that Greek bastard is still here. Splendid."

---

Rav Abramo

"God is as real as you allow him to be," Rav Abramo reassured Gilbert. "Mercy is for those who stand against him and fall. He tests those he loves. Smile Gilbert. If your life is hard then surely he loves you more than most. If not, then you had a nice life and assuredly will be content on your death bed." Rav Abramo followed the bishop and the woman who traveled with him to Osmond's main hall. As he stepped into the hall, he saw the Greek bringing his audience with King Osmond to a close. Abramo frowned. He was later than he had hoped. The Greek was already done. The Rabbi had planned to listen to each of the priests so that he could fairly dissect their words and offer accurate counsel to his liege. He would have to rely on the observations of others to inform his advice. Less than preferable, but it would have to do for now. He stood to the side and waited for the various priests to end their audiences with Osmond.

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