More medieval mayhem

The news is horrible again, with shootings in VA and San Francisco. And the tragedy in London is heartbreaking. So far 12 confirmed dead, but they say dozens are missing. The image of desperate mothers throwing their children out of windows is beyond horrific. There seems to have been at least one miracle; according to an eye-witness, a woman threw her baby from the 9th floor and a man managed to catch it. I hope that is true. Below is the post I wrote earlier in the day when I was thinking only of fictional suffering and sorrows.
I am happy to report that the second siege of Kerak is finally over. I then went on to ravage Samaria and ended the chapter by killing off a major character. Luckily, I am not squeamish about bloodshed, at least on the printed page.
Last week I mentioned in a post that Saladin’s brother, al-Adil, and his family had a pet giraffe. That was the sort of fascinating tidbit that I love to work into my novels, which is one reason why I so enjoyed writing Lionheart. I had my best contemporary sources by far for that book, including two chronicles written by men who’d accompanied Richard on crusade and two written by men who personally knew Saladin. Oh, the rich details they scattered through their histories! I learned about the French king’s white falcon that he lost over Acre; he offered a large reward for its return and was enraged when it was captured and given to Saladin. There was Richard’s more infamous encounter with a hawk in Sicily, a scene so much fun to write that I had to struggle not to laugh aloud. Then there was the celebrated Fauvel, the chestnut stallion that Richard came to cherish. Or Richard wading ashore at Jaffa, a sword in one hand, a crossbow in the other, a description that came from a man who was an actual eye-witness to the events at Jaffa. Richard’s near=death encounter with the mystery malady, Arnaldia, and another close call with malaria. Saladin’s bouts with colic. Remarkable details about how a medieval army was organized and an account of Richard’s attack on a huge Saracen ship, where his sailors dived into the sea and tied up the enemy ship’s rudders, causing it to wallow helplessly. Chroniclers rarely make life that easy for historical novelists.
I mention all this because I found another intriguing side-story, and like the giraffe, I couldn’t resist weaving it into the narrative of my current book. Al-Sania was a member of al-Adil’s inner circle, running his chancellory after al-Adil took command in Aleppo. He’d been born and raised a Christian, but he converted to Islam after falling in love with a Muslim girl. What a back-story he must have had! He was controversial in Aleppo because he hired so many Syrian Christians to help run the chancellory, causing the local residents (called Aleppans) to make sardonic jokes about it. It is so rare to be given glimpses of the lives of people lower down on the social pyramid and I am delighted to be able to share it with my readers.