This was one of my favorite things I ever did. In November 2015 in Western Civ, we had to select a time period and create an original character from that time period, writing a "case study" of our character. My writing style has drastically improved since 2015, but this was fun nonetheless. This is making me nostalgic for community college...
Simon stepped out of his straw hut into the dusty air of Jerusalem. The camp stretched as far as his weary eyes could see, with thousands of fellow soldiers milling about, preparing their armour and readying their horses. As Simon harnessed his own horse, he looked back at the events that brought him to the Holy Land.
At nearly 5'10", Simon was tall, and was hardy and strong even before his life as a crusader. Simon was born to Christian parents and grew up on a peasant farm in Devon, England, with his six surviving siblings. None of the children received any education and instead were taught how to run a farm. As a child, Simon was always restlessly looking for adventure. With his red-haired friend, Blacwin, he spent many days racing up and down the shores of Devon with a stick as his sword, pretending that he was a crusader in the tales passed down through his family. When Simon was eighteen, he still had no interest in settling down, but his parents had other ideas. A marriage was arranged between Simon and a fifteen-year-old girl named Alice. Simon was married and began farming his own small portion of the manor.
Soon afterwards, a man came through the village on horseback with the news that Saladin, sultan of Egypt, had captured Jerusalem, the city that the Christians conquered in the Second Crusade. The king of England, Richard the Lionhearted, was joining the effort to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. Swept up in the emotion of the crowd and the pulsing thrill of adventure and chivalry, Simon, alongside his friend Blacwin, volunteered to "take up the cross" for the Third Crusade. In June 1190, Simon bid his wife, who was expecting their first child, goodbye and departed from Devon.
Once a crusader, Simon's life changed in every way. Before each battle, he dressed in chainmail, a padded cap, an iron helmet, and boots with spurs. He carried a heavy sword meant for crushing bones, a mace, a daggar, and a shield. Battling at the city of Acre, Simon and Blacwin rode together on horseback, hacking at the enemy as arrows whistled above their scalps. Hunger, thirst, and exhaustion accompianed Simon everywhere he went. There was not much time for thinking except at night, when he lay awake in the starlight that filtered through his hut, remembering the past life he had never appreciated.
Midway through 1192, Blacwin was killed by a Muslim sword. Simon, as he readied his horse for the next battle, thought about his friend, vowing to avenge him at the upcoming confrontation in Jaffa. At Jaffa, the fiercely outnumbered Muslims were successfully driven back, but it was to be the last thing Simon ever did as a Crusader. Saladin and Richard signed a three-year peace treaty, leaving Jerusalem under Muslim control. Battle-weary and unsatisfied, Simon took the long and dangerous voyage home to Devon, where he learned that his wife had died in childbirth. Their child, a boy named Patrick with red hair like Blacwin, was living with Alice's parents. Simon took his son into his home and began again to farm. Thousands of men were slain for a crusade that failed. Here on the manor, Simon again had a chance to bring about life instead of death. This is where he would remain for the rest of his days.
