historical background
Read more about the real PEOPLE and places that appear in The Devil's Lance
IS THE CASTLE OF POENARI REAL? - Yes and what's more it is the only fortress that has a documented link with the real Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. Perched on a pinnacle of rock high above the River Arges, the castle guards a strategic pass through the mountains of Southern Romania but its history is even more blood curdling than that of the fictionalcastle inhabited by Bram Stoker's mythical vampire... Read More
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HOLY LANCE USED IN THE CRUCIFIXION? - For centuries kings and emperors coveted this powerful relic of Christ's Passion as it was supposed to guarantee victory in battle. Over the years, it was said to have been possessed by everyone from Attila the Hun to Adolf Hitler but has the spear of a humble Roman centurion really survived until the modern era? And if it has where is it now? Read More
WHO WAS THE CHRISTIAN SLAVE GIRL WHO ROSE TO BE THE MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN SULTAN SULEIMAN'S EMPIRE? - When the young Aleksandra Ruslana Lisowska (known to western historians as Roxelana) was kidnapped from her home inthe Ukraine, the terrified girl must have feared for her fate. Her captors were fierce Crimean Tartars, who regularly raided the border states of Eastern Europe for slaves, and she was taken to the Black Sea city of Kaffa, before being sent to Constantinople... Read More
WHAT WAS THE ORDER OF THE DRAGON? - In 1408 Sigismund King of Hungary (and future Holy Roman Emperor) founded a new order of chivalry. Inspired by the tale of St George, Sigismund intended that his Order of the Dragon would smite a new Chimera, namely the rapidly expanding empire of the Ottoman Turks. To this end Sigismund recruited both Henry V King of England and, later, the future Count Dracula to his cause... Read More
DID THE FRENCH KING REALLY MAKE A SECRET TREATY WITH THE OTTOMAN SULTAN? - Yes, after the disaster of Francis' capture at the Battle of Pavia [February 1525], the French were in desperate needs of allies so the king's mother Louise of Savoy, who was regent of France during her son's imprisonment in Spain, sent envoys to the only man powerful enough to challenge the Hapsburgs - Suleiman the Magnificent, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Read more...
WHAT WAS THE GERMAN PEASANTS WAR? Though it lasted less than 2 years, The German Peasants’ War has had a lasting influence on history. The Twelve Articles, a document listing the rebels’ grievances and demands, has been described as a model for the American Bill of Rights and the inspiration for the French Revolution whilst Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx’s secretary and one of the founding fathers of Communism, tried to use the war to prove that ‘class struggle’ was part of an inevitable historical process that would lead to world socialism. So what was this bloody conflict that claimed the lives of 100,000 German peasants? Read More...
WHO REALLYTRIED TO FLY FROM THE WALLS OF A CASTLE? - Sometime around 1500 a penniless Italian adventure arrived at the court of the Scottish King James IV. The man called himself, rather grandly, Giovanni Damiano de Falcucci but he’s better known as John Damian the Birdman of Stirling Castle. This highly plausible gentleman declared himself to be an alchemist who could transform base metal into gold and his claim certainly caught the attention of the king. Like most late medieval monarchs, James IV had a keen interest in the new arts and sciences of the Renaissance but, even more importantly, he needed lots of money to fight both the English and his own rebellious noblemen. Read more...
WHO WAS ST MAURICE? - During the Middle Ages Maurice became one of the most popular saints in Northern Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where he was venerated as the patron saint of soldiers, armies and even the Holy Roman Emperors. St Maurice's sword, spurs and lance were used part of the imperial coronation regalia for almost 1,000 years and numerous churches, abbeys and even an order of chivalry were named in his honour. He is thus Western Christendom's first black African saint. Read more...
WERE RENAISSANCE MERCENARIES REALLY AS BAD AS THE LEGENDS INSIST? - To escape his creditors, the Swiss artist Urs Graf frequently signed on as a mercenary and his woodcuts depict the life of violent excess that was so characteristic of many soldiers-of-fortune in meticulous detail. Graf was a contemporary of the great Renaissance artists, such as Leonardo de Vinci Michelangelo and Albrecht Durer, but if his work is little known today it’s perhaps because his art depicts harlots, tavern scenes and the darker side of Renaissance life. Read more...
THIS PAGE IS CONTINUALLY BEING UPDATED - PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON
IN THE MEANTIME YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY BEHIND THE SERIES ON THE DEVILSTONE CHRONICLES WEBSITE AND THE DEVIL'S BAND WEBSITE