SIR MORIEN : KNIGHT OF THE ROUND TABLE
The tale of Sir Morien, written into Celtic Arthurian canon in the 1200s and contemporaneous with the tales of Sir Galahad, begins thus:
Herein doth the adventure tell of a knight who was named Morien. And of a Moorish princess was he begotten at that time when Agloval sought far and wide for Lancelot, who was lost, as ye have read here afore.
I ween that he who made the tale of Lancelot and set it in rhyme forgat, and was heedless of, the fair adventure of Morien. I marvel much that they who were skilled in verse and the making of rhymes did not bring the story to its rightful ending.
The saga of Morien is about the son of Algolave and a moorish princess. He decides to visit England alone in the hopes of finding his father, via the quirky but unproductive method of beating up every knight he comes across until they told him where his father was/were actually his father all along. As a teenager, he held his own against the disguised Sir Lancelot in hand-to-hand combat for so long that Sir Gawain begged them to stop fighting, as he couldn’t bear to see such good knights kill each other for stupid reasons. Sir Morien is described as such,
He was all black, even as I tell ye: his head, his body, and his hands were all black, saving only his teeth. His shield and his armour were even those of a Moor, and black as a raven…
Had they not heard him call upon God no man had dared face him, deeming that he was the devil or one of his fellows out of hell, for that his steed was so great, and he was taller even than Sir Lancelot, and black withal, as I said afore…
When the Moor heard these words he laughed with heart and mouth (his teeth were white as chalk, otherwise was he altogether black)… You can read the entire translation of Sir Morien’s adventures with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table here. Source
Herein doth the adventure tell of a knight who was named Morien. And of a Moorish princess was he begotten at that time when Agloval sought far and wide for Lancelot, who was lost, as ye have read here afore.
I ween that he who made the tale of Lancelot and set it in rhyme forgat, and was heedless of, the fair adventure of Morien. I marvel much that they who were skilled in verse and the making of rhymes did not bring the story to its rightful ending.
The saga of Morien is about the son of Algolave and a moorish princess. He decides to visit England alone in the hopes of finding his father, via the quirky but unproductive method of beating up every knight he comes across until they told him where his father was/were actually his father all along. As a teenager, he held his own against the disguised Sir Lancelot in hand-to-hand combat for so long that Sir Gawain begged them to stop fighting, as he couldn’t bear to see such good knights kill each other for stupid reasons. Sir Morien is described as such,
He was all black, even as I tell ye: his head, his body, and his hands were all black, saving only his teeth. His shield and his armour were even those of a Moor, and black as a raven…
Had they not heard him call upon God no man had dared face him, deeming that he was the devil or one of his fellows out of hell, for that his steed was so great, and he was taller even than Sir Lancelot, and black withal, as I said afore…
When the Moor heard these words he laughed with heart and mouth (his teeth were white as chalk, otherwise was he altogether black)… You can read the entire translation of Sir Morien’s adventures with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table here. Source
PATRON SAINT MAURICE
The ancient Romans thoroughly documented the lives of indigenous Africans to whom they referred to as Moors. By the 4th century AD, the Roman army heavily recruited Moors for their exceptional skill in battle. One such soldier was St.Maurice who commanded the Theban legion of egyptians under the roman empire.When ordered to kill christians in Switzerland he refused ,resulting in the decimation of him and his whole brigade.The native swiss would make him a martyr and still worship him to this day.You will find paintings and sculpture of this brave black man all through out Europe his nobility and humanity a testament to christian faith.
Memnon the greek philosopher
Memnon was a pupil and protégé of the well-known Athenian entrepreneur and philosopher Herodes Atticus. This bust of his head was found more than a century ago in one of several villas owned by Herodes, and it adds a face to the name of the person recorded by Philostratus in his Lives of the Sophists, an account of the famous philosophers of the second century.
The exact circumstances of Memnon’s entry into greek society are unknown, but there is no doubt about the esteem in which he was held. He was given the sobriquet “Memnon” in reference to the great Ethiopian ally of the Trojans in Homer’s epic the Iliad. Philostratus and other sources record the extreme grief manifested by Herodes upon the early death of Memnon.
The exact circumstances of Memnon’s entry into greek society are unknown, but there is no doubt about the esteem in which he was held. He was given the sobriquet “Memnon” in reference to the great Ethiopian ally of the Trojans in Homer’s epic the Iliad. Philostratus and other sources record the extreme grief manifested by Herodes upon the early death of Memnon.
MAJOR GENERAL,ABRAM PETROVICH
At the age of seven Gannibal was kidnapped from his home in Africa and taken to the court of the Ottoman Sultan at Constinople. The German biography of Gannibal, compiled from his own words, explains that "the children of the noble families were taken to the ruler of all the Muslims, the Turkish sultan, as hostages", to be killed or sold into slavery if their fathers misbehaved.In 1704, after one year in Constantinople, Gannibal was ransomed and brought to Russia where Emperor Peter the Great took a liking to young Abram’s intelligence and potential for military service and brought the child into his home. Abram had a close relationship with Peter, and starting at a young age Abram would travel alongside Peter during his military campaigns. During these military journeys, Abram served as his godfather’s valet. Abram valued his relationship with his godfather, as well as Peter’s daughter (Elizabeth), and was loyal to them as if they were family.n 1717, Gannibal was taken to Paris to continue an education in the arts, sciences and warfare. By then he was fluent in several languages and excelled in mathematics and geometry. In 1718 Gannibal joined the French Army with hopes of pleasing his godfather by expanding his military engineering education and during wartime would rise to the rank of captain. He would eventually rise to the rank of major-general and became superintendent of Reval (now Tallin, Estonia), a position he held from 1742 to 1752. In 1742, the Empress Elizabeth gave him the Mikhailovskoye estate in Pskov province with hundreds of serfs. He retired to this estate in 1762. He is also the great grandfather of the famed writer Alexander Pushkin who would later wright a semi biographical acount of his life entitled The Moor of Peter the Great. source
Alexander Pushkin , the russian shakespear
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. Born into Russian nobility in Moscow his great grandfather is major general Abram petrovich.Critics consider many of his works masterpieces, such as the poem The Bron and the drama The Stone Guest, a tale of the fall of Don Juan. His poetic short drama "Mozart and salieri" (from the same work as "The Stone Guest", "Little Tragedies") was the inspiration for Peter Shaffer's Amaedus as well as providing the libretto (almost verbatim) to Rimsky Koraskov's opera Mozart and Salieri. Pushkin himself preferred his verse novel Eugene Onegin, which he wrote over the course of his life and which, starting a tradition of great Russian novels, follows a few central characters but varies widely in tone and focus.
"Onegin" is a work of such complexity that, while only about a hundred pages long, translator Vladimir Novokov needed two full volumes of material to fully render its meaning in English. Because of this difficulty in translation, Pushkin's verse remains largely unknown to English readers. Even so, Pushkin has profoundly influenced western writers like Henry James.Pushkin is usually credited with developing Russian literature. Not only is he seen as having originated the highly nuanced level of language which characterizes Russian literature after him, but he is also credited with substantially augmenting the Russian lexicon.Notoriously touchy about his honour, Pushkin fought as many as twenty-nine duels, and was fatally wounded in such an encounter at the age of 38. source
"Onegin" is a work of such complexity that, while only about a hundred pages long, translator Vladimir Novokov needed two full volumes of material to fully render its meaning in English. Because of this difficulty in translation, Pushkin's verse remains largely unknown to English readers. Even so, Pushkin has profoundly influenced western writers like Henry James.Pushkin is usually credited with developing Russian literature. Not only is he seen as having originated the highly nuanced level of language which characterizes Russian literature after him, but he is also credited with substantially augmenting the Russian lexicon.Notoriously touchy about his honour, Pushkin fought as many as twenty-nine duels, and was fatally wounded in such an encounter at the age of 38. source
GENERAL IN CHEIF,THOMAS ALEXANDRE DUMAS
Born to a haitian woman and a french nobleman Thomas Alexandre Dumas played a pivotal role in the French revolutionary war. He entered the military as a private at age 24, Dumas rose by age 31 to command 53,000 troops as the General-in-Chief of the French Army of the Alps. Dumas' had a strategic victory in opening the high Alp passes that enabled the French to initiate the Second italian campaign against the Austrian Empire. During the battles , Austrian troops nicknamed Dumas as the Schwarzer Teufel ("Black Devil," Diable Noir in French). Napolean nicknamed him "the Horatio Cocles of the Tyrol" an ancient hero who had saved Rome. He also single-handedly defeated a squadron of enemy troops at a bridge over the Eisack River in Clausen Italy. After a failed campaign under Napolean to conquer Egypt he would be captured by the Kingdom of naples and would be imprisoned for years. He would eventually find his way back to France ,get married and have a son ,his son Alexander Dumas would become one of the most celebrated playwrites and authors of all time.
THE GREAT WRITER ,ALEXANDRE DUMAS
Named after his father, Alexandre Dumas was one of the most prolific writers in french history. His works have been translated into nearly 100 languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors.He was a master of the serialized genre his most famous works being The three musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century for nearly 200 films.He started his career as a successful playwright but would be prolific in many styles of writing eventually founding his own theater the Théâtre Historique in Paris.Though formally married, in the fashion of many frenchman he had several lovers his ilegitimate son also named Alexandre Dumas would become a succsessful author in his own right. Dumas lived in the midst of colonialism and faced racism in his day his response to a man who insulted his african ancestry has become famous "My father was a mulatto, my grandfather was a Negro, and my great-grandfather a monkey. You see, Sir, my family starts where yours ends"
ALESANDRO DE MEDICI "DUKE OF FLORENCE"
Alessandro De Medici nick named (El Mooro) by the people of Italy wielded great power as the first duke of Florence. He was the patron of some of the leading artists of the era and is one of the two Medici princes whose remains are buried in the famous tomb by Michaelangelo.
Alessandro was born in 1510 to a black serving woman in the Medici household who, after her subsequent marriage to a muleteer, is simply referred to in existing documents as Simonetta da Collavechio. Historians today are convinced that Alessandro was fathered by the seventeen year old Cardinal Giulio de Medici who later became Pope Clement VII. Cardinal Giulio was the nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Republicanism had grown in Florence under the regent and when Emperor Charles V sacked Rome in 1527, the Florentines took advantage of the situation to install a more democratic form of government so Alessandro fled. When peace was finally made two years later between the Papal and the Imperial factions, Charles V agreed to militarily restore Florence to the Medici. After a siege of eleven months Alessandro was finally brought back as the Emperor's designated head of state. In 1532, the new Florentine constitution declared Alessandro hereditary Duke and perpetual gonfalonier of the republic. Though his common sense and his feeling for justice won his subjects' affection, those in sympathy with the exiled opposition hated Alessandro and accused him of using his power to sexually exploit the citizenry. However, only two illegitimate children with the possibility of a third, have been attributed to him and even these he fathered with one woman, Taddea Malespina, a distant cousin of his. With the death of his father, the Pope, in 1534, the exiles attempted to oust the Duke Alessandro from Florence. But the Emperor decided to uphold Alessandro and in an obvious show of support, gave Alessandro his own illegitimate daughter, Margaret of Austria, as wife.
Despite the security this kind of support should have given him, Alessandro was finally assassinated a few months after his wedding by Lorenzaccio de Medici, a distant cousin who had ingratiated himself in order to win his confidence. According to the declaration he later published, Lorenzaccio claimed that he had executed Alessandro for the sake of the republic and that he had been able to disarm him of his personal bodyguards by setting up a sexual liaison for him as a trap. When the anti-Medici faction failed to use this occasion to overthrow the ducal government, Lorenzaccio fled in dismay. He was himself eventually murdered some twelve years later. Source
Alessandro was born in 1510 to a black serving woman in the Medici household who, after her subsequent marriage to a muleteer, is simply referred to in existing documents as Simonetta da Collavechio. Historians today are convinced that Alessandro was fathered by the seventeen year old Cardinal Giulio de Medici who later became Pope Clement VII. Cardinal Giulio was the nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Republicanism had grown in Florence under the regent and when Emperor Charles V sacked Rome in 1527, the Florentines took advantage of the situation to install a more democratic form of government so Alessandro fled. When peace was finally made two years later between the Papal and the Imperial factions, Charles V agreed to militarily restore Florence to the Medici. After a siege of eleven months Alessandro was finally brought back as the Emperor's designated head of state. In 1532, the new Florentine constitution declared Alessandro hereditary Duke and perpetual gonfalonier of the republic. Though his common sense and his feeling for justice won his subjects' affection, those in sympathy with the exiled opposition hated Alessandro and accused him of using his power to sexually exploit the citizenry. However, only two illegitimate children with the possibility of a third, have been attributed to him and even these he fathered with one woman, Taddea Malespina, a distant cousin of his. With the death of his father, the Pope, in 1534, the exiles attempted to oust the Duke Alessandro from Florence. But the Emperor decided to uphold Alessandro and in an obvious show of support, gave Alessandro his own illegitimate daughter, Margaret of Austria, as wife.
Despite the security this kind of support should have given him, Alessandro was finally assassinated a few months after his wedding by Lorenzaccio de Medici, a distant cousin who had ingratiated himself in order to win his confidence. According to the declaration he later published, Lorenzaccio claimed that he had executed Alessandro for the sake of the republic and that he had been able to disarm him of his personal bodyguards by setting up a sexual liaison for him as a trap. When the anti-Medici faction failed to use this occasion to overthrow the ducal government, Lorenzaccio fled in dismay. He was himself eventually murdered some twelve years later. Source