#codex: general

— #general

— #characters

— #society

— #crafts

— #events

— #locations

+

— #DLC: Legacy of the Forge

— #DLC: Mysteria Ecclesiae

"->" indicates a link to a source for the trivia and additional reading!

GENERAL — 33/262 — Golden Horde

Also known as the Great State or the Ulus of Jochi, it was a large Mongol-Tatar state entity extending across Eastern Europe and Siberia. It was originally formed as part of the Mongol Empire, became a fully independent state in 1260, and later embraced Islam. Until the mid-14th century, it was the largest and militarily strongest state in all of Eastern Europe, occupying much of what is now Ukraine and Russia, with unimaginable profits from the taxes levied on its conquered territories. However, as a result of internal divisions and waning momentum, the khanate's power gradually began to decline, until in 1380, at the First Battle of Kulikovo, the horde was significantly defeated by the Russian princes for the first time. The core of the Mongol-Tatar army was light cavalry with bows and arrows, whose mobility and 'hit-and-run' capability was unmatched by the slow moving heavily armoured armies of the time. The main strategy of advancing hordes was ruthless pillaging and scorched earth tactics, aimed at deterring subjected lands from attempting resistance. We write about the horde in particular because it was the basis of Cuman ethnicity and warfare, and because it strongly shaped the migration and warfare of the time.

TRIVIA

— The name "Golden Horde" comes from the Turkic and Mongolian word orda or ordo, meaning "camp", "court", or "palace", which later evolved into the word "horde" in European languages. The "golden" part is thought to refer either to the gold-colored tent used by Batu Khan, the khanate’s founder, as his royal residence. Historian John Man notes that Genghis Khan’s family was known as the "Golden Clan" (Altan Urug), further reinforcing the association with prestige and nobility. Originally, the state was known as the Ulus of Jochi or the Kipchak (Qipchaq) Khanate, after the steppe region it ruled. The term "Golden Horde" appeared later, first recorded in sixteenth-century Russian sources, and became widely used in later historiography. The popularization of this name came long after the khanate’s foundation. — The reason the in-game Codex mentions Cumans in this entry is because The Golden Horde’s realm was originally known as the Khanate of Qipchaq, named after the Cumans (Kipchaks) who had inhabited these steppes long before the Mongol conquest. — By the late 14th century, Timur’s devastating campaigns against the Golden Horde forced the Mongols to divert forces from their European territories, indirectly ending centuries of raids into Eastern Europe. This conflict provides context for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, as the game’s setting in Bohemia benefits from a relatively stabilized region, where Mongol raids are no longer a present threat, allowing us to experience a narrative without the looming threat of steppe cavalry invasions.

GENERAL — 84/262 — Weapons

Humans have been using weapons made of wood, stone bone, and antlers since the Paleolithic era. Initially, due to the materials used, piercing arrows like spears, knives, and arrows were the most common. Later, with advancements in metalworking techniques, slashing weapons such as daggers, axes, and swords began to be produced. Besides these two traditional types, we also know of striking, throwing, hand-held firearms, artillery, and positional weapons. In the medieval period, spears, halberds, and crossbows were common. In villages, agricultural tools were often used as weapons. From the 14th century, cannons using gunpowder (known in China much earlier) started to be used in Europe, and firearms began to spread gradually. Records of the use of hand-held firearms in Bohemia date back to the reign of Wenceslaus IV, with their use documented in 1398 during the siege of the archbishop's court in Kyje near Prague.

TRIVIA

— A medieval fighter would not always find himself in a situation in which swords, axes or maces were accessible or even advisable, and might have to resort to more creative tools. One such weapon was that of the man catcher or catchpole. Known to be used since the 16th century, with depictions of similar constructions reaching back as far the 1370 edition of the law code Sachsenspiegel, the man catcher was not meant to kill, but only to pull the opponent off his horse and hold him captive. In the form of a staff with a kind of open metal collar at its upper end, sometimes with spikes on the inside, the weapon would be shoved onto an opponent's neck or thigh, where a mechanism would make said collar close around the enemy's body, holding him in place. The man catcher was especially useful when the injuring the opponent was supposed to be prevented, like when he was a nobleman of rank or, even better, one of which ransom could be expected. Creative variants of polearms could also come in handy for those typically not permitted to bear arms, such as peasants. For the war or battle scythe, a wooden staff was equipped with the straightened-out blade of a scythe, with its tip pointing upwards, allowing both for stabs and slices. Employed in numerous European peasant revolts throughout time, such as the Polish Miecław's Rebellion in the 1030s or the Bohemian Hussite Wars of the 15th century, the battle scythe is even said to have been used against Napoleon troops in 1797 by a smith known as Anton “der Senseler” – the scythe man – Reinisch. Professional instructions on how to use war scythes in battle can be found as early as in the 16th century fencing book De Arte Athletica by Paulus Hector Mair, and as late as the 19th century, when the first fencing clubs of Poland specialised in bayonet and scythe fighting, establishing techniques that would later impact the skills of troops in the First World War.

GENERAL — 78/262 — University

One of the oldest universities in Europe was Charles University, founded in 1348 by Charles IV. Students could study Faculty of Arts, Theology, Medicine and later also at the Law Faculty. The Faculty of Arts aimed to expand basic church education and teach grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. By the early 15th century, more than 1000 students were enrolled, accommodated in collegiate housing known as colleges. 80% of the students at the Prague University came from abroad, particularly from Hungary, Austria, Poland and Germany. In medieval times, one could graduate from university with a Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctor's degree. The requirement included an oral examination before a committee. Some fields of study took longer than today — up to more than 10 years. Upon passing the final exams, the student received a diploma. Since its inception, the university has been led by a rector and deans of individual faculties, along with members of the university council and numerous instrucots: professors andlecturers. Among its lecturers and prominent figures was Jan Hus, who also held high positions at the university.

TRIVIA

— The Manuale scholarium, written between 1489 and 1495 at the University of Heidelberg, gives a striking insigght into late medieval student life, from semester costs (around 20 florin, nearly 200 groschen), to lodgings and eating hours, or the so-called lupi, or wolves – older bachelors appointed as snitches, to report on fellow students, like when they had spoken a vernacular tongue instead of Latin on the university ground. Or the nine lectures and six exercises, which had to be attended regularly in order to be admitted to an exam. Alternatively, one could also resort to bribing. The University of Oxford even encouraged its students per decree to invite their examiner to a night out, get them drunk and keep them busy until their exam the next morning. After all, it would be “very ungrateful of the examiner to refuse any candidate a testimonium who has treated him so splendidly over night”. The Manuale scholarium is perhaps most famous, however, for their elaborate description on harassing initiation rites, such as putting the freshmen into devilish costumes, humiliating and insulting them, shaving and ripping off their beard hair or smearing animal dung in their faces. Similar customs were practised all over Europe: The University of Paris urged students not to use verbal or physical violence against freshmen, while Leipzig reminded them not to piss or shit on the newbies. But there were also much more harmless initiation rites in use, such as buying your fellow students a round of drinks or to invite them “to the baths” – the latter of which was labelled highly immoral by a 1419 statute of Heidelberg, except under one condition: if those that could benefit from the paid “bath maidens” were the examination committee and the dean themselves.

GENERAL — 17/262 — Concilliation crosses

Conciliation crosses, or merely stones with a cross engraved into the surface, were erected in places where tragic events or important historical events in the life of the community or the country had occurred; they were closely linked to criminal law — a symbol of admission of guilt and a plea for forgiveness. The conciliation cross embodied repentance by the perpetrator of a crime, built at the culprit 's expense. In addition, conciliation crosses marked the boundaries of estates and municipalities.

TRIVIA

— In medieval times, conciliation crosses were handmade by the murderer as a symbol of reconciliation with the victim’s family, hence the name. The offender was first obliged to pay for the funeral and make a pilgrimage to a designated holy place, then set up the cross at the crime scene to complete the act of atonement. Many crosses bore short prayers or engravings of the murder weapons, most often swords, axes and daggers.

— The Society for the Research of Stone Crosses in the Czech Republic created a register of stone crosses and takes care of their protection. The company registers 2,685 conciliation crosses in the Czech Republic.

GENERAL — 75/262 — Tournaments

The first tournaments took place in France in 10th century during the reign of Henry I. They quickly became a popular entertainment initially at courts, later spreading throughout Europe and captivating people of all social standings. Tournaments were multi-day celebrations accompanied by actual combat and numerous ceremonies with symbolic significance, solemn religious services, feasts, dances, and more. Tournaments were organized by the nobility to celebrate the culmination of important political negotiations or extraordinary events such as coronations, royal weddings and engagements, oaths of allegiance, peace negotiations, and so forth. The aim was to demonstrate skill and mastery in combat, to shine in front of others, and often to receive substantial rewards. Tournaments were either individual, where two knights faced each other on horseback or on foot, or team-based, where two teams competed in the arena. In both cases, the objective was to knock the opponent to the ground without killing or seriously injuring them. Even so, injuries and even deaths were not uncommon. The Church initially strongly opposed tournaments, and it wasn't until the 14th century that it lifted the general ban and allowed their organized and unpunished conduct.

TRIVIA

— The first mention of Zawisza Czarny of Garbów’s participation in a tournament dates from 1412. At that time, a peace treaty was signed between Poland and Hungary. Enjoying the respect of both Sigismund of Luxemburg and Władysław Jagiełło, Zawisza was chosen as one of the witnesses to this momentous event. In June, the two rulers met in Buda, where a great tournament was held on the occasion. For two days, a hundred knights competed from morning till evening. Jan Długosz enumerated that representatives of Greece, Italy, Bohemia, Austria, France, Russia and many other countries took part in the battles. Of course, there were Poles there as well, including Zawisza Czarny and his brother Jan Farurej, Mikołaj Powała of Taczów, Dobiesław of Oleśnica or Jan of Kobylany. Długosz emphasised the valour of the Polish knights, but the victory went to a competitor from Silesia.

In 1415, Zawisza had the opportunity to fight a duel in Perpignan on the Mediterranean Sea. A lavish celebration was then held on the occasion of a meeting between Sigismund of Luxembourg and Ferdinand, ruler of Aragon. During the battle, the Polish knight blew the hitherto undefeated John of Aragon out of the saddle. Unfortunately, no more sources on the tournament struggles of Poland’s most famous knight have survived. His experience and fame, however, indicate that he competed many more times.

GENERAL — 82/262 — Water mills

By the end of the 14th century, most rural towns had an average of up to seven mills. Water-powered mechanisms operated hammers, fulling mills, sawmills, water pumps, bellows (in forges and foundries), or devices for breaking hemp. Each mill consisted of three parts: the motor, the transmission system and the working device. The motor was the water wheel, and the transmission system comprised various components that changed the direction of force, ensuring a smooth transition from the slow rotation of the water wheel to a faster one. The working device varied according to the purpose of the structure. The core of grain mills were the millstones: the stationary lower stone called the bedstone and the rotating upper stone called the runner. Grain was ground between the stones. Proper placement was crucial for a mill: the current had to be neither too weak nor too strong, and in our climate, the strength of the river current varied significantly with the seasons. Therefore, the miller also had to build artificial channels and weirs to regulate the flow.

TRIVIA

— West of the Vltava, close to Charles Bridge in Prague, lies Kampa Island, separated from the rest of Lesser Town by the so-called Čertovka, the Devil's Canal. The oldest records of both Kampa and the canal date back to the 12th century, when Čertovka – known in the Middle Ages as Rožmberská strouha, or Rosenberg Ditch – was dug by the Knights of Malta to power a row of nine watermills along its path, and the various fields, gardens and vineyards that belonged to the Knights and were situated on Kampa Island. Of the nine watermills, only three remain intact, with the best preserved one being the Velkopřevorský Mill, the Grand Priory Mill. Next to its still rotating wheel, the Grand Priory Mill is also equipped with a figurine sitting close by: a little green man with a round belly, a hat made of reed and a pipe in his hand, a so-called Vodník. Legends of this waterman are recorded since the 16th century, and likely told since pre-Christian times throughout the entire Slavic world, as Vodník in Czechia, Povodni Moz in Slovenia or Topielec in Poland, and even the water nymph in Grimm's fairytale "The Nixie of the Mill-Pond" leads back to the same roots. The Vodník would live in marshes, ponds, rivers or lakes and, most typically, inside watermills on whose wheels he would sit after sunset. As a spirit, he could appear both benevolent, in which he might help fishermen with their catch or increase the local harvest, or malevolent, scaring off fish, damaging dams and mills or drowning people. Sometimes, even the overflowing of rivers was attributed to the Vodník, though in this case, he wouldn't do it on purpose – it would rather be a by-product of a huge underwater wedding party the Vodník was throwing.

GENERAL — 74/262 — Tithes

A 'tithe' was a compulsory tax levied since ancient times. It was paid to the parish priest or other religious institution. The term comes from Old English and means an amount of one tenth of the value of the harvest. The inhabitants of monastery estates had the misfortune to be taxed twice by the Church — once in the form of a tithe, the second time as a mandatory levy for their occupation of the Church land.

TRIVIA

— According to canon law, tithes were supposed to be spent on the Church as an institution, on the maintenance of local parishes and on poor relief. Yet most of the profit only went into the pockets of high church officials like archbishops and bishops, while the local clergy and rural churches were often neglected, resulting in the levying of even more taxes. Furthermore, the tithe – which would quite literally mean the tenth of each cultivated product – was collected before harvest, and would thus also include any future costs, like the grains needed for sowing in the following season or for the payment in kind of harvest labourers. It is therefore not surprising that peasants quickly found their ways to lower the tithe to their best interest with the help of some tricks, many of which were recorded in legal countermeasures or complaints of the tithe owners. Most commonly, peasants would simply put a good amount of grains aside as they secretly harvested the fields on their own before the tithe collector came around. Or they would change the cropping patterns, and interplant tithable crops (like wheat, rye or oats) with non-tithable ones (such as broad beans, buckwheat or peas), or they would mix so many different kinds of tithable crops that counting the tenth for each kind and sorting them all on the collector's wagons would have been too tedious of a task. At other times, peasants would become really creative. Not every cropland would be tithed – orchards, meadows, woods and gardens were tax-exempt, and people made sure to use that to their advantage. Such as by sowing tithable grains into their garden, and then expanding the size of said 'garden' continuously over time. Where tithe enforcement was lax enough, this practice could even lead to whole communities of farmers suddenly changing their profession to gardeners.