#suchdol

The more I think about it, the more I’m fascinated with the Hansry romance on Henry’s side. Because even though it’s obvious that Hans has been pining for a LONG time, Henry mostly saw Hans as a great, maybe his best friend. Sure, he had friends in Skalitz that he’s known his whole life. But it was… how do I put it. Give and take friendships. I scratch your back, you do mine. I help you redecorate the German’s house, you help me beat up that alcoholic asshole. I bring you three full sets of cuman leaders’ armors and you give me… a small share of what you earned for a ring you stole. Yeah. Great pals. Such a true, uninterested friendship. Then when you compare it to hanging out with Hans, you can understand why Henry definitely has more fun with his lordship. They actually chat, joke, tease, share rides, hunts, wine. It’s more… natural. Relaxing in a way, even though trouble is never far.

And now I think that for a long time, maybe, Henry didn’t see Hans romantically, at least not obviously. He tells him he’s his closest friend, that he won’t allow anything to happen to him, that he cares about him very much, that Hans’ safety matters way more than his own. So he did have strong feelings for Hans - of course - but he really didn’t have time to think how deeply they went before. (To be fair, in both games, Hans mostly waits or is trapped somewhere 90% of the time, so he has plenty of time to ponder, while Henry runs around from errand to errand to save everyone, so I doubt our blacksmith boy has much time to think. About anything. Ever.)

It makes it truly tragic when you imagine that Henry understood these feelings completely the ONE moment he did nothing, when the room was quiet and the world stilled : in Suchdol. Listening to Hans’ tale. When he placed a hand on his own to reassure him. Imagine, that’s when it finally completely clicked. Right before he has to leave to his death. So he gets up because he has to go, and it’s too late anyway - he took too long to understand these feelings properly and now he’s likely going to die without knowing if they could blossom.

Suchdol, c. 1403

LOCATIONS — 257/262 — Suchdol

The Gothic fortress probably originated in the 13th century, commissioned by one of the Kuttenberg patricians. It had a square layout with the corners facing the cardinal points and was surrounded by walls, a moat and a rampart. From the northeast, the entrance to the fortress was secured by a bridge and a double gate protected by the main tower. Inside the fortress, a single-story palace ran adjacent to the wall, with a smaller tower and a single-story outbuilding. Today, a castle stands on this site, which retains only parts of the perimeter masonry, part of the gate portal and the stone seats on the ground floor of the former tower, as a reminder of the fortress.

TRIVIA

— The coat of arms of Suchdol (deriving from "suchý důl", a dry mine), which the town was granted in 1562 together with its town rights, must have changed some time before the 18th century. While it first depicted a fir tree cut down by a sharpened axe, it later missed the axe entirely, only keeping the broken tree, now with an outstretched branch out of which the top of a new, greening fir tree grows. The little that is known of Suchdol's history is also much shaped by violent conflicts and revivals. The first time the fortress itself appears in records, was in the context of its siege, during Sigismund's campaign against Kutná Hora. Little of this event is known other than that mintmaster Petr of Píšek owned the fortress at that time, and that Markvart of Úlice died here. The siege must have been rather short. The Leipzig Chronicle speaks of the Prague army riding out from their camp near Kolín on the eve of Christmas, and Markvart being shot by an arrow fired from the castle of Suchdol on the Day of St. John the Evangelist, three days later. What happened afterwards is unknown, but since Suchdol remained undamaged and the Píšeks in control, it is likely that they surrendered together with Kutná Hora in January 1403.

From 1545 onwards, Suchdol was owned by the family Popel of Vesec, of whom records say that “when it comes to exuberance, unbridledness and wilfulness, few families could match them”. The first owner, Václav, notorious for drinking and threatening his son in law with death, was killed in a tavern brawl in Kolín in 1547. His younger brother had already been decapitated two years prior for murder. Václav's son Jan was similarly known for drinking, getting himself involved in brawls, stealing carriages full of crops from the surrounding lands or for ambushing his rivals and shooting at them. The latter earned him a prison sentence at the Prague Castle, and with the debts gained through lawsuits and compensations he was forced to sell Suchdol in 1571. After the new owner Jiří Voděradský of Hrušov was executed in 1580 for illegal financial transactions, the fortress and town of Suchdol were heavily damaged in the Thirty Years' War. The fortress fell into full disrepair within the 19th century when it was first used as a sugar factory, then as a granary and warehouse. Since 1925, the castle of Suchdol is owned by the municipality itself, and could be renovated and equipped with a school, apartments, a library and rooms for the municipal office.

Why is your Henry heavily armored to sneak out of Suchdol? The mission is pass through, steal a horse, deliver a message.