“The Turk never built anything; his mission in life has been to destroy.” — Robert E. Howard, 1930
“Up to now I have served as a good soldier. I shall not do less on this occasion, even though I am weak and full of fever. It is better that I should fight in the service of God and the king and die for them, than keep under cover.” -- Miguel de Cervantes, right before the Battle of Lepanto

The Battle of Lepanto--October 7, 1571--was a seismic event, a fairly clear breaking point between the Late Middle Ages and the Modern Age. More on that below.

Miguel de Cervantes--the author of Don Quixote--had just embarked on a military career, serving with the Spanish navy, when the Holy League was assembled. The island of Cyprus had just been captured and brutalized by the forces of Sultan Selim II, the Ottoman Emperor and the Shadow of Allah Upon the Earth. The Holy League was formed to stop--if not reverse--any further Ottoman expansion toward the West.

Cyprus had never been under Mohammedan control, passing from the rule of the Byzantines to an usurper and then to Richard Lionheart--one of Robert E. Howard's favorite monarchs--and then to the Venetians. The Ottomans moved in and slaughtered all of the Venetians--skinning alive Bragadino, the defender of Famagusta--and they did a passable job of ethnically cleansing the native Cypriots.

Enough about the 'big picture'. Cervantes, part of the Spanish contingent, was wracked by fever as the fleets of the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire confronted each other in the Gulf of Patras. Wrenching himself out of bed, Miguel helped defend his ship--an account backed up by his superiors. His left arm and hand were maimed, but he counted the victory at Lepanto worth the sacrifice.

In 1575, Cervantes was captured by the Barbary Pirates of Algiers. He spent about five years as a menial slave to the Mohammedans of Algiers before being ransomed. The ransom nearly broke his family. Cervantes himself died in near poverty.

Fast-forward from 1575 to 1915. G.K. Chesterton, a titan of the Heroic Age of British Literature, first published "Lepanto" in 1911. That was then collected in Poems in 1915. An epic poem, it influenced many authors and poets at the time. One of those authors/poets was Robert E. Howard.

Here is what Two-Gun Bob had to say:

"You're right. There is great poetry being written now. G.K. Chesterton, for instance. Especially that 'Lepanto.' " -- REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, August 6, 1926

Howard was a true fan of GKC. Some don't like to admit it. It is the simple truth. However, any real discussion of that belongs in another blog post.

For a short period, REH and C.L. Moore corresponded. Howard's letters to her don't survive. Catherine's letters did survive.

"I could quote Kipling for hours. Or Chesterton. That was a grand scrap about 'King Alfred's battle-sword, broken in his left hand.' What's it from? I could run a temperature over G. K.'s 'Lepanto,' too. Any and all of it." -- C.L. Moore to Robert E. Howard, 29 Jan 1935

Moore then quotes stanzas from GKC's "Lepanto":

"The Pope has flung his arms abroad in agony and loss,
And called the kings of Christendom for swords about the Cross!"
Or,
"Don John laughing with the brave beard curled,
Spurning of his stirrups like the thrones of all the world.... Don John of Austria is riding to the war!!!"
Or,
"He moves a mighty turban on the timeless hour's knees,
A turban that is woven from the sunsets and the seas,
He shakes the peacock gardens as he rises from his ease
And he strides among the treetops and is taller than the trees."

(That last doesn't seem especially exciting to read, but when you sing it or say it, you get the effect. It starts out so quietly and gains speed and crashes into a tremendous climax—for me, anyhow.)

Obviously, Howard and Moore loved this poem. Catherine is quoting specific passages. Let's parse what REH said about Chesterton and 'Lepanto'.

"There is great poetry being written now. G.K. Chesterton, for instance. Especially that 'Lepanto.' "

Thus and therefore, Howard considered GKC to be "great". When it comes specifically to "Lepanto", then we are looking at top-drawer "great" or something truly beyond that. Either way, REH's admiration for this poem has never been given its due.

Gottfried von Kalmbach and Sonya of Rogatino probably never lived to see Selim II--the Padishah Emperor--utterly humiliated at Lepanto.

Guess who the mother of Selim II was? This is from the Encyclopedia Britannica website:

"Roxelana (born c. 1505, Rohatyn, Poland [now in Ukraine]—died April 1558, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]) was a Slavic woman who was forced into concubinage and later became the wife of the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Through her influence on the sultan and her mastery of palace intrigue, Roxelana wielded considerable power."

"Rohatyn" is the same as "Rogatino". We know from REH that Roxelana was (Red) Sonya's sister. Thus and therefore...Don Juan humiliated Sonya's nephew/half-blood prince at Lepanto.

Gottfried and Sonya--if both were still alive--probably clinked their glasses when the news of Lepanto reached them. What they started in Rhodes and Vienna had blossomed into the glorious victory of Lepanto.