Historical Heroes

[Perpetual Man]

Having had my memory pricked by a recent trip to Winchester, I thought it might be an idea to have a thread about those people from history that have been our heroes, inspirational or otherwise.

Not only may it be educational but those writers among us might find some things of interest to draw upon.

So, who are your historical heroes?

 

[Perpetual Man]

Quite a lot of my earliest heroes come from the British Ladybird series of books that were part and parcel of growing up. They were simple hardback books with an epic colour picture to each page of text, and although they covered many subject matters from stories to cars, they also had a Historical section that covered characters from history in a simple but educational way.

It's hardly surprising then that some of my earliest heroes came from within those pages.

The first of these is slightly different. Although I had the book, I remember that my dad was quite fond of this king as well, and he used to tell us some of the tales without the book, and that was:

King Alfred The Great
849 - 899

​

Alfred was a Saxon king, who ruled at a time when England was a mass of smaller kingdoms, but was perceived to be one of the first kings of a bigger area.

He was a devout Christian and that was something that drove him throughout his life. He allegedly travelled to Rome and met with the Pope, and he enforced peace by converting some of the Danish raiders to Christianity.

Although he ruled in a time when Kings were expected to be warriors as well as rulers, history seems to show that he was a weak man (not in a mental sense), plagued by illness, possibly Chron's disease.

He was educated and tried to bring education to those around him. His reign was not without it's problems and there was a time where he spent his life hiding in the marshes around Wessex and it is there one of the most popular legends concerning him came to pass. That while in hiding he took shelter with a woman who asked him to keep an eye on some cakes she was cooking while she was out. He was in such deep thought that the cakes burned. Upon her return she beat him with her broom for his 'crime'. She never knew who he was.

The final resting place of Alfred is no longer known. He is one of those historical figures whose bones have been interred and disinterred a number of times and as such have been virtually lost.

Alfred the Great in more detail

Considered to be one of the finest examples of Anglo Saxon art/jewellery ever discovered
the above carries the description 'Alfred caused me to be made' It has been dated to his
time and is believed to be something that was part of a gift he presented to a series of
churches in England.​

 

[thaddeus6th]

I think 'heroes' might be over-egging my admiration a bit, but there are a few.

Aurelian would probably be the most stand out chap, partly because he gets almost zero recognition. When he became emperor, only his short-lived predecessor Claudius Gothicus had done a decent job in recent history. The Roman Empire had shattered into three (the Gallic Empire had broken off Gaul, Iberia and Britain, and the Palmyrene Empire, the ruins of which have recently been destroyed by demented delinquents, had broken off Asia Minor). Moreover, it was being repeatedly invaded by barbarian hordes every other Tuesday, and the Roman army had also developed a charming habit of mutiny and regicide.

Aurelian reigned for five years before being assassinated in peculiar, unclear circumstances, but during that time he smashed between half and one dozen barbarian invaders and reconquered both break-away empires. His premature death (possibly because he didn't tolerate nonsense and this worried the wealthy but militarily incompetent chaps in Rome) meant he didn't quite end the Crisis of the Third Century (which would have had dramatic implications for Christianity and Islam, as well as bringing forward the Dark Ages by 200 years) but he did an excellent job improving the situation.

Yet practically no-one even knows his name.

As an aside, Orleans is named after him.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Quite fascinating Thad, I`ve been reading up on Aurelian since you posted and he really was an interesting fellow, it`s almost tragic the details about his assassination - well if Wikipedia is to believed.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Tim, glad to hear it [he's a top chap and really doesn't get the recognition he deserves].

A few years ago I reviewed a biography of Aurelian: http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/review-restorer-of-world-emperor.html

[Point of order: Thaddeus White's my pen name, so there's no relation between me and John F White, the bio's author].

The assassination doesn't really seem to make sense. He was undoubtedly killed, but his senior staff would have been with him for perhaps a decade and more, and enjoyed perpetual military success. He was harsh, but fair, so they wouldn't worry on that account.

 

[Caledfwlch]

One sort of hero of mine is a chap called Julian Cayo Evans. He founded the Free Wales Army, an organisation dedicated to forging a Welsh Republic in the 1960's.

One of the big reasons he is a hero to me, is that he never took the "easy route". the 60's of course was the World's era of Rebellion, Uprisings, Student Protest, you had various degrees of Terrorism in the Celtic Nations, the (official) IRA, the Scottish Republican Army, the Breton Liberation Front, organisations like ETA in the Basque Homelands at least had some degree of "Right" to their War, being against the Brutal Fascist Regime of Spain.

The FWA resisted the easy route though, they did carry out bombings, but only ever on empty buildings such as the Tax Office in Cardiff, or Electrical Pylons/Pipelines that were part of the extremely contentious building projects where welsh villages were being drowned to provide resevoirs for English cities, with those cities, such as Liverpool City Council effectively behaving like a Colonial Power - That City from another Nation was legally actually able to override the wishes of both the local County Council, and the Welsh Office in Cardiff, for example. Also things such as planning Laws were literally changed overnight to combat attempts at stopping the floodings.

The FWA used to risk getting caught, and nearly were once or twice, and I think even risked blowing themselves up once in their efforts to ensure that nobody was hurt by their actions. When it comes down to it, they were just a slightly more extreme "direct action" protest group. it is why for example people like Julian Cayo Evans and his 2IC Denis Cosslet are still worshipped in Wales. A famous East German who would travel around giving cash and training opportunities to organisations on behalf of Moscow approached Cayo Evans, and offered a blank cheque, and urban warfare training from experts in East Germany, and was told to bugger off, the FWA was not going to beholden itself to a foreign master, and weirdly, given that they were as such "against" the British State as it existed, I don't think they could have given themselves over to such a major enemy of Britain, but then, their enemy was the State, not the People, and in fact, the FWA did have several English Volunteers, and many of its Volunteers, such as Cayo Evans were ex British Army, and had fought for Britain. They were dreamers more than anything, and it makes me proud that the only real Welsh Resistence to English rule in modern times were basically decent people who did not want to murder.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Another historical hero of mine although this is slightly different. I think he was very much a hero when I was younger, but it is easier to look at him differently now.

Richard I, The Lionheart, Coeur de Lion.

8th September 1157 – 6th April 1199

​

In many ways King Richard is the ideal inspirational figure. He was not just a monarch, but a warrior monarch who has countless tales about him, far enough back in time to be legendary and to be honest he cuts a striking figure which is only enhanced by his nickname. He is also one of the very few Kings who is better known by his epithet rather than his number.

He was apparently tall for his time, with red (ish) hair and a great warrior/military leader. His height has been called into question though, his brother John was quite short, so it might be considered odd that two brothers could be different... or not.

Richard started leading armies for his father, Henry II when he was just 16 and was shown to be able a solid commander. He was descended directly from William the Conqueror and as such had claims to land in Normandy, which was probably just as well, as being the third born son of the ruling Monarch meant there was little chance of him becoming King.

It seems as though Henry was either very kind towards his sons, or was trying to set something bigger in motion, prepared to split his holdings in three, with him becoming some kind of overlord. His sons did not accept this and rebelled, something that would become a near constant for the future. Ultimately the Henry kept them in order, and through illness and compromise Richard moved through the line of succession becoming King.

He left the country behind to become a pivotal figure in the Third Crusade, which is where much of his appeal comes from. He was involved most famously in a tactical dance with the Muslim leader Saladin, and although Richard never took Jerusalem, his victories were enough to establish the men as equals. There is a story, probably untrue, about a meeting between the two men, both fascinated with one another. Richard was able to show the power of his broadsword by cutting through a solid bar of metal, while Saladin through a silk scarf in the air and cut it in two as it drifted down over his scimitar.

While returning from the crusades he was shipwrecked and taken prisoner, held hostage with a large demand for ransom from England. Apparently this was illegal ` any Crusader was meant to be immune to being taken in such a manner and a number of nobles were excommunicated by the pope.

There is also a story of how Richard`s favourite Minstral travelled across Europe singing songs until he discovered where his Lord was held captive. Ultimately though the ransom was paid and Richard returned home.

With all this taken into account it is easy to see why Richard is such a strong historical figure, even the story of his death is somewhat larger than life, but there is another side to the story. As a leader Richard was a master of what we would call publicity. It is written that he was loved by his people and they saw him as a great leader. He fought for the glory of God and won victory after victory.

But during the length of his reign he only was in England for the better part of six months. He sold land and titles for money, raising taxes and tithes in order to fund his crusade, and while a prisoner his nobles over taxed the populace and churches in order to pay his ransom.

It is often his brother, John who is vilified, but he fought against the taxes and tried to bribe the hostage-takers to keep Richard prisoner. (Although is might seem a bad thing all the children of Henry worked against one another, and John might actually have been thinking of the country.)

Richard, though was consistent he might not have been the best king, but he was intelligent, charismatic and brave. A hero.

His death sums it up. While riding around the walls of one of his castles in Normandy, he was fatally shot by a crossbow (there is a chance he might have survived but the doctors bungled the procedure.)

The young lad who shot him was dragged before the dying King and when asked why he had done it, told him that he, Richard had responsible for the death of his father and brother. Richard pardoned him, saying it was a good enough reason and had him set free with a purse of money in hand, being told to live his life without fear. (It is more than likely that the nobles found the lad and had him killed after the King died.)

With no offspring, the crown of England passed to his younger brother, John and that was a different kettle of fish all together.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Caledfwlch - something I did not know much (if anything) about at all, really interesting thank you!

 

[Caledfwlch]

Caledfwlch - something I did not know much (if anything) about at all, really interesting thank you!

There is a book, and it was recently reprinted iirc, so should be easy to get called "To Dream of Freedom" it tells the Story of the Byddin Rhyddid Cymru (Free Wales Army) and the Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru, the Movement for the Defence of Wales.

If you watch footage of Charles investiture as "Prince of Wales" a title still disputed by most of us Welsh people in Caernarfon in 1969 he has something like a 9 gun salute, except there are 10 bangs, as an MAC device went off.

The Charles stuff is why one of the photo's has a uniformed Volunteer standing in front of Grafitti saying "Not a Jerry Prince"

The thing is, the Official IRA, in the late 70's, before the Provo's came into existence gave the FWA most of their weapons, when the Provo's basically took over the OIRA they demanded to know where the guns were "oh, somewhere in Wales" was the answer! The deal was arranged by salesmen from the US arms company Colt, who arranged for the OIRA to hand their guns to the FWA, and the OIRA would then buy brand new M16's and so on from Colt, but at the time the Provo's took over, Colt's weapons hadn't arrived.

The British Police have never found it! which means that hidden somewhere in Wales, for the last 46 years or so is a large cache of Weapons, many of which, if kept properly are likely worth fortunes to collectors as we will be talking about ww2 rifles and so on!

 

[Perpetual Man]

The British Police have never found it! which means that hidden somewhere in Wales, for the last 46 years or so is a large cache of Weapons, many of which, if kept properly are likely worth fortunes to collectors as we will be talking about ww2 rifles and so on!

Now that really appeals, as you say it's crazy in a fascinating way. Just the thought of all those guns out there...

 

[Caledfwlch]

Now that really appeals, as you say it's crazy in a fascinating way. Just the thought of all those guns out there...

In the late 60's on one of the aniversarys of the Easter Rising in Dublin, there was a huge parade, and a load of FWA men were invited to march, but I have never been able to find photo's of it, which is a shame.

There is a political organisation, the Celtic League who campaign for rights and so on in the Celtic Nations, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany, but I think when they started in the late 60's/early 70's the plan was to act as a conduit between the various Celtic "freedom fighting" organisations, allowing an exchange of weapons, skills, tactics, knowledge and so on, though the most they ever did really was award the "Celtic Cross" to some Breton's for blowing up a Gendarmerie Station.

I suspect that the brutality and indiscriminatory nature of its campaign by the Provisional IRA has since PIRA formed, kept the rest of the Celtic Nations from any serious "armed uprising" since nobody wants to be tarred with that brush.

And I think the peaceful/political route has gotten us a lot further than any sort of Violent route! Scotland now has a Parliament once more, and Wales has its Senate. Both are very Socialist, and in Britain are often leading the way in terms of legislation, banning the use of shock collars for dogs and cats for example, introducing a charge for plastic bags, and the Welsh Senate have just enacted legislation giving Housing Tenants and the Homeless far more rights.

 

[BAYLOR]

Audie Murphy served in the US army in Europe in World War Two . He was the most decorated solider of the war. I would say that he is good candidate for historical hero.

 

[BAYLOR]

Three more heroes to mention

Oscar Schindler

Raul Wallenberg

Chiune Sugihara

These three men between them saved thousands of lives from the Nazis.

 

[BAYLOR]

William Stevens A Man called Intrepid

 

[Perpetual Man]

I've let the thread go idle a bit, which isn't a problem, only I meant to put one more entry in before I was finished. (Or until the next historical figure piqued my interest!)

As with a lot of my early historical heroes the basis for that interest came from the Ladybird books, and why not? They were simply written, told the stories well and perhaps more importantly every other page was a full colour picture depicting scenes from the history. How could a a young impressionable mind not be sucked in.

This is the case with my third hero, Richard Neville 16th Earl of Warwick.

Back when I first became aware of Neville I was rather infatuated with Warwick Castle (I still am to be honest), and as it would have been his seat of power I was almost certainly gong to show an interest.

It is possible that Neville was one, if not the most powerful noble in the middle ages, and certainly during the War of the Roses, and that includes the monarchs.

As with any historical person there is a lot that is nebulous, and rhetorical opinion seems to vacillate over time. To some Neville was a rash and emotional man, at other time he has been seen as an able commander and a great statesman. Whatever the truth, the first hand accounts from the time show that he was very popular with the people.

He was wealthy, and had power, generally coming from a number of different titles he held, including Captain of Calais that made him one of the foremost military powers of the time.

Most notably though was the role he played in the War of the Roses. When civil war looked likely, the opposing sides being the in power monarch Henry VI, a Lancastrian (House symbol a Red Rose) and the Yorkists (White Rose), Neville sided with the Yorkists. The whole issue for him began over a border dispute with the Duke of Somerset - one of Neville's titles was Earl of Salisbury which put him close enough to the Duke to have disagreements.

Although the early days of the unrest saw the ruling monarch successfully assert his power, it did lead to full rebellion which culminated in Neville removing Henry from the throne, and placing Edward of York on the throne as Edward IV. The new king had a genuine claim to the throne, as did many of the nobles at the time (including Neville) and it was only a matter of perspective and a sword thrust as to who was the rightful king.

Neville, however refused to have Henry killed, content to remain one of Edward's closest and most valuable advisers.

Until they disagreed, although there were other issues, over a woman. Edward fell for Elizabeth Woodville, who Neville saw as too influential and his disquiet led to open rebellion again.

Once more Neville won and put Henry back on the throne, probably believing that the weaker willed man would be easier to control.

It did not really matter, Edward rebelled again, and ultimately won, the most decisive battle being at Barnet where Neville was killed.

Although there was a level of stability after that, the foothold of the Plantagenet kings was coming to an end, the War of the Roses would continue until Richard III (Edwards brother) would die at the battle of Bosworth Field and the Tudor's rose to power.

It seems that Neville was not after power - he had enough as it was, but perhaps given his popularity and wealth he might have claimed the throne for himself, he had a legitimate claim after all. But the fact he did not seems to indicate that he was after what was best for the country rather than himself and in the end it cost him everything.

He may not have been king but two things remained - his daughter married Richard III so ultimately, if only for a short time, his line was on the throne, and he became known as the Kingmaker. And there might have been many Kings, but only one Kingmaker.

 

[The Ace]

I have a couple;

Ernst Leitz.

Founder and owner of the company that virtually invented 35mm photography, he had a real problem with sales staff during the Nazi era. No sooner would he appoint a Sales director in some far-flung corner of the world, arrange transport for him and his family, and give them some sample equipment, than the man would abscond with the proceeds and have to be replaced - hundreds of Jewish families were sent to safety by the, "Leica Freedom Train," but the story was only told after the death of Elsie Kuhn-Leitz, the last member of the original family in the 1990s. Zeiss protected the families of their Jewish staff, and nobody could forget Sir Nicolas Winton.

King Robert I (r 1306-29).

Probably needs no introduction if you're Scottish. Seized the vacant crown after the murder of Sir William Wallace (traditionally, he's believed to have given Wallace that knighthood), and rebuilt a country that had virtually ceased to exist - his most lasting legacy is possibly that his 19th great-granddaughter currently occupies the British throne.

 

[thaddeus6th]

You missed off the murder of a rival he'd arranged to meet in a church. Can hardly castigate Longshanks for topping Wallace and miss that off Robert's doings. Not that I think Edward I killing William Wallace was right (from the little I've read, Wallace was practically the only chap who hadn't actually acknowledged Edward's rule, yet also practically the only chap who got killed after surrendering).

As an aside, I read a trio of books from this time (focusing on England but, as you'll appreciate, English and Scottish history overlapped a lot in this period). Was interested to learn that Robert's younger brother extended the Scottish realm to include much of Ireland, if only briefly.

It's a shame Edward I was such a massive dick towards Scotland when the succession question arose. It's also a shame the Maid of Norway died before she could really reign:
Margaret, Maid of Norway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History might have been quite different otherwise.

 

[svalbard]

You missed off the murder of a rival he'd arranged to meet in a church. Can hardly castigate Longshanks for topping Wallace and miss that off Robert's doings. Not that I think Edward I killing William Wallace was right (from the little I've read, Wallace was practically the only chap who hadn't actually acknowledged Edward's rule, yet also practically the only chap who got killed after surrendering).

As an aside, I read a trio of books from this time (focusing on England but, as you'll appreciate, English and Scottish history overlapped a lot in this period). Was interested to learn that Robert's younger brother extended the Scottish realm to include much of Ireland, if only briefly.

It's a shame Edward I was such a massive dick towards Scotland when the succession question arose. It's also a shame the Maid of Norway died before she could really reign:
Margaret, Maid of Norway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History might have been quite different otherwise.

Edward Bruce was not the most popular of rulers in Ireland. He was a fairly murderous fellow and his army caused widespread hardship across Ireland, Game of Thrones style.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Ironically my first introduction to Robert the Bruce was through the Ladybird books again.

And my dad going on and on about that damned spider....

 

[The Ace]

John Comyn at Dumfries.

Edward Bruce, briefly King of all Ireland, was one of four younger brothers of Robert I. Thomas and Alexander were captured by the men of Galloway and handed over to the English for drawing and quartering, Nigel was killed defending Queen Elizabeth and Princess Marjory (later mother of Robert II, founder of the Stewart dynasty), and Edward's ambitions came to an abrupt, after not all of Ireland supported him.

I regard Wallace's death as murder because you cannot be a traitor to a foreign monarch. If Alexander III's children hadn't predeceased him, the House of Dunkeld may still be on the Scottish throne today - not bad for a dynasty effectively started by an illegitimate double regicide who got his throne at the head of an English army - but we may still be in a Union. Ambitions of kings on both sides of the border to hold both crowns is nothing new.

The spider belongs in the same world as Alfred the Great's cakes.