It is a hard thing, to reach this point on this long road, and know that I am not the hero. I am the villain. I have killed a thousand men, taken a thousand women, enslaved ten thousand.′ He raised his hands. ‘What does that make me?

But on the day after a defeat, the men who matter are the leaders. Anyone can lead men after a victory. Only the best can lead after a defeat.

I knocked on Nerio's door.'Your saffron,' I said.'Go away,' he said.'Open the door,' I said.'No,' he said.'I spent all my money and I need yours,' I said.

Four on two sounds like long odds; add darkness, a need for quick resolution, and our adversaries’ firmness of purpose, and I can only claim youth and chivalric love to explain my determination. In retrospect, I wonder if I was off my head.

There’s good things about wearing armour. One is that if your horse bounces you through deep brush, all that happens is that you get pine-needles in your visor.

Seguin made his decision. He raised his lance, held it over his head –no mean feat –and called out. ‘To hell!’ he shouted. In terms of pre-battle speeches, it was the best I’ve ever heard.

A dead war horse is the single most expensive corpse you’ll ever see.

She is beautifully well-born, related to everyone, and she speaks Greek.’ He picked his teeth and I changed sides and curried my horse’s off side. ‘And she’s beautiful,’ I commented. ‘And that,’ said Nerio. ‘Intelligent too –much more so than most Italian girls. She can ride, and hawk. She’s like … a person.

Want to know what men think of you? Take a wound.

Boys torment each other when there’s nothing else to do and no Frenchmen to fight.