Setting: The Sword and the Cross

[Greg 1]

The Sword and the Cross: Post 7

England

The Knights of St. George are guardians of England.

St. Edmund
Symbol: Black Wolf
The Knights of St. Edmund, also known as the Black Wolves, were guardians of England until 1348. For centuries, they defended the kingdom not only from bandits and foreign armies, but also from disease, using their sacred powers of healing. When their powers failed against the Black Death, it was taken as a sign that their mandate had been withdrawn by God, and the guardianship was given to the Knights of St. George. The Knights of St. Edmund have been striving to regain their lost position ever since. Edmund’s role as protector from wolves has led some of the knights to develop wolf-life abilities, or even become lycanthropic. Many knights of Edmund are expert woodsmen.
The Knights of St. Edmund are loyal to England and the Vatican. They have a good relationship with English King Henry VI, born of their mutual rivalry with the Knights of St. George. They are also on good terms with the Knights of St. Hubert, whose affinity for nature they respect. Edmund was tortured and killed by Vikings, and St. Edmund’s knights bear grudges against Scandinavians, especially the Knights of St. Canute, guardians of Denmark, and the Knights of St. Olaf, guardians of Norway. The Knights of St. Edmund detest the use of torture.

St. Bede the Venerable
Symbol: Pen and ink horn.
St. Bede was England’s first great historian and natural philosopher. His order maintains a monastery at Jarrow, in North-Eastern England, where they devote themselves to English history and natural philosophy, particularly as they relate to the elements, the seasons, and astronomy, building on Bede’s work in “De Natura Rerum” (“On the Nature of Things”). As scribes, they produce copies of Bede’s works.

France

St. Joan
Symbol: Tarasque.
The Knights of St. Joan are guardians of France. They are a very new order, having been established in 1433, a mere 20 years ago. For almost a thousand years, France had been under the guardianship of the Knights of St. Martin, but confidence in the knights of Martin had evaporated in the face of catastrophic defeats against the allied English and Burgundians. The knights have adopted the dragon-like Tarasque as their symbol, and are known for developing holy powers reflecting its strength, indomitability, and ferocity.
King Charles VII of France is a firm supporter of the order. Not only have they secured his kingdom against the English, but they are not as obsessively concerned with the wellbeing of the poor as the Knights of St. Martin, who were always difficult to work with. The Knights of St. Joan remember how the Burgundians captured the saint and sold her to the English, who tried and executed her, leaving resentments towards the knights of St. Andrew and St. George. The Knights of St. Joan are highly loyal to the Vatican. The role of English church officials in Joan’s trial has made them aware of, and suspicious of, church corruption, but they do not blame Rome.

St. Catherine of Alexandria
Symbol: Wheel.
The Sisters of St. Catherine occupy an abbey near Rouen, in Normandy. Like Catherine, they are scholars, with a particular interest in philosophy and theology. Catherine is patron of librarians and the sisters have an extensive collection of texts, including old pagan Greek and Egyptian works.

St. Fiacre
Symbol: Spade and basket of vegetables.
The monks of St. Fiacre occupy a monetary near the town of Meaux. Fiacre is patron of gardeners and herbalists and the monks study the nature of plants and herbs, mundane and magical. Some of them have used herbs for mystical or visionary purposes. Fiacre came to France from Ireland, and his monks are favorable to the Irish.

Greece

With the disappearance of their Byzantine rulers in 1453, Greece has collapsed into a collection of feuding city states, apart from the strategic islands and coastal areas controlled by Venice.

St. John of Damascus
Symbol: Severed hand.
The Order of St. John of Damascus maintain a monastery on the Greek Island of Patmos. The monks continue St. John’s work on theology, music and music theory. It is said that their choir sounds like a choir of angels. According to legend, they once defeated an invading flock of sirens in a battle of music.

Holy Roman Empire

The Knights of St. Maurice are guardians of the Holy Roman Empire.

St. Elizabeth
Symbol: Basket of bread.
The Sisters of St. Elizabeth maintain an abbey and hospital in Marburg, where they devote themselves to caring for the poor and sick. They are famous for their healing skills. St. Elizabeth was a member of the Hungarian royal family, and her nuns are strongly supportive of both Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Ladislaus, King of Hungary. St. Elizabeth was inspired by the Franciscans and relations between the two orders are particularly good. Elizabeth’s husband was a crusader, and so her nuns tend to be supportive of knightly orders with a particular history in the crusades, such as the Hospitallers, Templars and Teutonic Knights.

St. Mary Magdelaine
Symbol: Jar.
The sisters of St. Mary Magdelaine possess an abbey near the town of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in the County of Provence. St. Mary Magdelaine is patron if apothecaries and perfumers, leading her nuns into research into chemistry, herbalism and alchemy. The fact that the saint was once possessed by demons has led her nuns to study demonology and exorcism.

Hungary

St. Stephen of Hungary
Symbol: Sárkány.
The Knights of St. Stephen are guardians of the Kingdom of Hungary. The knights have adopted as their symbol the Hungarian dragon, the multi-headed Sárkány. Just as the Sárkány is associated with thunder and rain, so the knights are known to develop thunder-related holy powers. Some have been accused of fraternizing with dragons.
St. Stephen was devoted to the Blessed Virgin, putting his knights on good terms with the Teutonic Knights and Carmelite monks. On the other hand, the Knights of St. Stephen are rivals of the Knights of St. Maurice, guardians of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Knights of St. Stanislaus, guardians of Poland-Lithuania. St. Stephen founded three Benedictine monasteries, and his knights have always been particular patrons of the Benedictines.

Italy

Italy is a patchwork of independent city-states. The most powerful of these is Venice. Many of the rich northern cities have the Knights of St. Michael as their guardians, including Venice, Florence, Genoa, and Milan. The Knights of St. Peter are guardians of Rome and the papacy.

St. Cosmas and St. Damian
Symbol: Medical instruments.
Cosmas and Damian were third century doctors. They were Arabian twin brothers who provided medical aid and surgery without charge. Today, the brothers of St. Cosmas and St. Damian maintain a friary in Alberobello in southern Italy, from which they provide medical treatment for the poor. They engage in experimentation in healing magic and have a particular interest in transplantation of limbs and other organs. Their formidable medical skills draw heavily on the Islamic tradition, leading to some contact with pre-Islamic pagan beings.

St. Lucy
Symbol: Eyes on a dish.
St. Lucy is patron of the blind, and the Sisters of St. Lucy maintain an abbey in Syracuse in which they care for the blind and those suffering from ailments of the eye. Their esoteric studies include not just ocular healing, but manipulation of darkness.

St. Luke
Symbol: Winged ox.
The friars of St. Luke maintain a friary and hospital in Padua in northern Italy, where they devote themselves to healing the sick. His friars often study healing magic. Luke is a patron of artists, including decorative metalworkers, and his friars often excel in the arts. They have been known to produce enchanted artworks.

Ireland

Ireland is a patchwork of independent kingdoms.

Saint Patrick
Symbol: Shamrock
The Knights of St. Patrick are guardians or Ireland, and almost all are Irish. Patrick is patron of engineers, inspiring the knights to cause the construction of massive and inspiring churches and cathedrals in Irish towns.
Patrick’s most famous miracle is driving all snakes from Ireland, inspiring his knights to develop holy powers related to banishing. Patrick’s next most famous miracle is raising 33 people from the dead. His knights insist that they do not engage in resurrection, but they have developed powers related to communication with the deceased. The Knights of St. Patrick have long protected Irish Christians against the Fae and other magical dangers. Occasionally, contact is corrupting, and a knight will switch their allegiance to pagan forces.
The Knights of St. Patrick are loyal to the Vatican, even though they would like more autonomy to worship in their own way. As guardians of Ireland, they are rivals of the Order of St. George, guardians of England. The Viking raids of past centuries have made them traditional rivals of the Knights of Canute and Olaf.

St. Brigid
Symbol: Cross made of rushes.
St. Brigid is patron saint of healers, poets, blacksmiths, and livestock and dairy workers. Her nuns study both healing and poetry and are perhaps most famous for their mastery of fire. They maintain the abbey of Cill Darra in Leinster, North-Eastern Ireland, and their skill with flame has sometimes played an important role in Leinster’s defense. Knights of St. Canute and St. Olaf remain suspicious of them, their hostility a relic of the Viking age.