months pass fast
....early shift, but seriously to add for lovers while in the mood while i do see end of this block soon, generally have something to offer even to professionals, while i'm not total amateur - so for example remembered that detail i shared with you as also "own idea" and which French historian appreciated and valued as direct reasons are unknown, except that it was winter and maybe some Venetian "blockade" so Raymond didn't took sea route like Richard of England later for example etc. but took the land route through Dalmatia and Albania later with very tough terrain, "constant fog" and various unfriendly population
something humoristically on that later... So he liked that detail and as i see and shared with him, of direct reason maybe being just to meet Bodin, veteran of clashes with Byzantines but mainly (interesting for detail lovers) maybe to gain direct plans and some entourage for Antioch fort, where Bodin spent few years evicted, until
Venetians took him out. Underlein Vinegians, as again that trio...
but interesting is detail in few lines priest-chronicler with Raymond of Toulouse gave to their meeting, without even knowing name
of "our" king (as said not Rascian then) but he wrote that they
confirmed "brotherly ties", so what to "confirm" if there was not previous contact etc but of course there was, like with Venetians... generally put and underline some details for lovers, in discourse of all i talked and was some "trio" in the making, just later stronger Rascia jumped in etc. worth thinking about.... moment i wanted to joke about is that you don't take various sources and words too seriously, while it certainly wasn't "cream of continent" in that moment, Dalmatia certainly wasn't as described, it is all part of prejudices and exaggerations... imagine if our knights had luxury to travel in thousands through France there would be clashes instantly with locals and our chronclers would write badly about uncivilized French
...while of course it lacked some infrastructure and something extra. Like detail from Raymond however, "they don't want to fight us, but don't want to let us without fight" iirc, not looking at any source ...to digress a bit western Europe also wasn't as some imagine, decline of Italian cities also is some testimony of it all etc. So don't take every account as 100% realistic.
finally to come to main joke and to punch Bulgarians a bit... other mostly used route was via "via militaris" (they say that Romans never used that term btw and it was imperial cream)) i.e. some route from Belgrade to Serdica (today Sofia) was described even worse and often called "Bulgarian desert" due to devastations and lack of infrastructure etc.
As known only later Rascia spread to that regions, so not our fault nor control yet )....what is important is that few centuries later after our rule French-Burgundian (OK it is clearly French sounding last name to me) de la Broquierre travelled it and "Rascia/Servia was OK, developed country and our ruler richest of all Europe"
sapienti sat.... joking little with Bulgars, but lovely details and mainly wanted to present some visible "trio" contures in previous events, French, Venetians, us. and maybe that hard/unusual route was taken just becuase of knowledge of Antioch and it's design etc, maybe.... so don;t take everything seriously, wasn't every part of France like it was in later centuries nor other things, so i like to say that cute detail about Venetians "chasing few pigs on main piaza around Nemanja time"
or that as far as 1280s iiirc even famous Loredan family of Vinegia was involved in piracy
...who knows what Dandolos were doing, pickpocketing maybe before we gave them some sense"
...of course i'm now joking in other way, but not far from truth and joke about our and Bulgarian rule is funny hopefully ) (while it is not joke just sources))...but i say to people various structures and cities in western parts (Italian cities excluded as they went into decline, but Venice is not old city in that sense) are often product of later times etc.
all for true lovers as i already talked much, but i see it finished, as always concentrate on that idea that "trio" was in the making ;... fell to my mind instantly, dislike how some our historians, even if describing events nice, often say "west" while that concept was very shaky and almost non-existent then, also some description like "when Rascia took control" nobody dared to pass "via militaris" in masse etc... wasn't fear, was also respect as usually even in the west big armies did not pass through other territories, more organized countries etc. so nice is example when Maximilian wanted to pass strenghtened and respectable Venice it led to immediate war etc. etc. just to understand and learn history properly, really hope i added something valuable or unknown.... really that much for now while subjects are numerous, who has interest and love always open for some fresh or funny ideas, revisiting of moments or opinion, what you say my serenissima...
... so much for pub theme, not my special interest, but i did offer much more substantial and asked for help, so i'm not sure if guy paying his guard with gold is better than some other taking kids from others for imperial guard, talking cultural differences........
