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Mondays Mercenaries

Todays group is one of the first major mercenary companies to gain significant notoriety in Europe, the Catalan Grand Company, founded in 1302. They are still well known in Greece and in Spain, but if you live in the USA, Australia or the UK chances are you have never heard of them. They were one of the more colorful mercenary bands in history and would make fine background material for almost any fantasy RpG campaign




The Catalan Company achieved fame and success far beyond that of most Mercenaries wildest dreams. Consisting primarily of Almogavars, Catalan soldiers from the Pyrennes Mountains between Spain and France, they were lightly armed but hardened in the battles of the Reconquista. They achieved a reputation sufficient to sell their swords, and were led by a remarkable figure, the redoubtable Mercenary Captain Roger De Flor



Roger was quite a character. Starting his career as a sailor on a Templar galley, he soon rose to command the vessel and lead it into combat against the formidable navy of the Ottoman Turks. Accused of thievery and apostasy for shaking down some Lords who were escaping the siege of Cyprus, he fled to Sicily where he was promptly granted an Admiralty by the King and rejoined the war against the Turks. After the war Roger was given command of a company of Almogavars, and went with them to the East to offer their services to the Byzantine Emperor in his increasingly desperate struggle against the Ottomans. Roger apparently hit it off pretty well with his Greek patron, and was promptly married to a Byzantine princess, made a duke and put in charge of the Byzantine Army and the Fleet.



Roger and the Catalan Company proved no slouches at their jobs, and defeated the Ottoman army, pushing them back to the borders of Armenia and Persia, and lifting a major siege. But the agreed upon fee was never paid by the crafty Byzantines, leading to a nasty dispute and ultimately Rogers assassination at their hands. But that wasn't the end of the Catalan Company who were infuriated by Rogers murder. They challenged the Emperor to a duel, but his only response was to kill their emissaries and order the massacre of all Catalans in the Byzantine Empire. So in retaliation the Catalan Company went on a rampage against the Byzantines called the "Catalan Revenge" that proved wildly successful, leading to their capture of Athens and Thebes and ultimately conquest of all of Greece, which they then held as their own independent province until 1390, for almost a century!



Many of the amazing adventures of the Catalan grand company were recorded in a Chronicle by Ramon Muntaner The Chronicle survives today, in fact thanks to the rather incredible power of the internet you can read a translation of it right here:

http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/muntaner_goodenough.pdf

Hows that for history in your hands?

G.

Some Links:

Catalan Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roger de Flor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Almogavars - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some people dressed up as Almogavars in modern Cataloinia where they remain popular figures :