Vivacious
and energetic, this younger sister of the Chaplain's wife has not let her experiences
dull her enthusiasm for life. Outgoing, quick witted, and flirtatious, she hopes
to find a husband soon, but not too soon.
A
novitiate who was carried off as plunder when mercenaries sacked her convent,
she has learned Landsknecht life the hard way: she has buried two husbands and
three children during her sixteen years with the armies. She is open and friendly,
but life holds no illusions for her. She is rather insecure in her role as Hauptmann's
wife because of her humble beginnings. She is married to Manferd and has two children,
Jürgen (from her first husband, Christian), and Manferda.
Practical
and hard-working, but with a slightly malicious sense of humor, she left her settled
life to follow her husband Johan into the army. She had two children, both of
which are dead.
A
child of sunshine and smiles, this nine-year old has an intelligence and quick
wit that belie her years. She is serious, curious, and playful, but with the ability
to learn swiftly and analyze situations well. She is the source for both amusement
and amazement to many of the Fähnlein's older members.
Bright,
curious and very thorough, she and her sister were taken as plunder by the unit
Chaplain when he ransacked the church during an assault on their town. She entranced
him enough that he married her and supports her sister.
Vivacious
and energetic, this younger sister of the Chaplain's wife has not let her experiences
dull her enthusiasm for life. Outgoing, quick witted, and flirtatious, she hopes
to find a husband soon, but not too soon.
Katerina is part of the Partenheimer family, having gotten picked up in the midst of a battle. Though young, she is quickly growing into a responsible and useful addition to the Fähnlein.
She is the sister of Johan Roon, and the widow of Rutger Vorbeck, who was Maximillian's brother. Her only surviving child is Michael, and due to that fact, she tends to be very protective of him.
Maria was visiting her aunt near Malano, Italy. Since the unit went onto Roma, she was able to visit her mama and papa in Cercemaggiore, Italy which is a village in the mountains around Roma.
Plundered by Hans during his campaigns in Italy, Maria has adapted well to life in the army. Friendly and charming, she has grown to love her German husband and their daughter Elizabetha.
When I was near 20, my father decided it would be good idea to marry me off, and determined to make an alliance with an elderly widower who owned another tavern down the road from us. I was horrified, and kept coming up with excuses so as to put off the wedding to the horrible old man who only wanted someone young and strong to care for him and his awful children. Eventually, I realized I could no longer forstall my doom, and so, I left my father's house and ran off with a handsome young Landsknecht I had met while working in the tavern. I've been with him ever since.
I can't read or write, but am very good with money; I love to gamble, and speak both German and French...
"I was born on the day of the feast of Quiteria the Martyr (May 22) in 1509. I was the middle child out of seven children. In 1523 I married Behrnard Sonnheim, the baker's son.
At first we did well, but soon our crops were failing. In 1527 the Rhine River flooded our home, destroying our food and supplies. It was a difficult summer. Then the army came. They were mustering soldiers to go fight in Italy. People were saying that there was gold for the taking there and that there would be little fighting. So Behrnard joined and I went with him, taking our son, Josef, who was then three years old, and our daughter Lisle, who was almost four months old.
We marched south to the Alps. The weather was turning colder. Many people became very ill. I tended to many of them, including my Behrnard. Unfortunately, he died halfway through the Alps. It was the most difficult time of my life. I was alone with two small children. By the time we left the Alps more than half of the unit had died. When the march finally ended in Rome it was spring.
The captain of the unit had died, as well as several of the officers. Most of the soldiers joined Das TeufelsAlpdrücken Fähnlein. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I went with them. There I met Heinrich Dreiswert, the weibel. He was kind and very funny. We got married almost two months later. He is a good man. He cares for my children and myself. I pray that we will live a happy and prosperous life together."
Hauptmann Blöde's right hand. He is good-natured and easy going, but takes his responsibilities to the Fähnlein very seriously. Thrice widowered, his daughter Heidel is his only family.
His elder brother, Klaus, joined the army after their village was destroyed, and brought young Dieter with him. Abandoned by him later, he gets by as best he can, running messages and helping in the camp. Although he had no official protector, no one in the Fähnlein had the heart to throw him out. He is energetic and curious, and has proven himself an asset to the Fähnlein.
Being the youngest of eight children, his parents were at a loss as to how to support so many mouths. At the tender age of five, he was sent to live in a Monastery beyond the town he called 'home'. Raised by the well-meaning, if dour, monks he grew to love the Gospel, and his heart turning towards this calling to the praises of the Brothers that were his family.
Quiet and literate, he took his vows and looked towards a life as a Parish Priest, only to meet the corruption within the Church head on. Shocked, he wrestled with his heart over the matter, until he encountered the Commentaries of Martin Luther through a visiting Priest Acolyte. What many found to be heresy, Father Kristoph was forced to see as truth, the realization saddening him.
As things began to come apart, he made his decision. A replacement Priest was summoned for the Parish: Father Kristoph had 'felt a calling' to Serve the Lord on the battlefield, taking as his flock a Mercenary Fähnlein, Das TeufelsAlpdrucken. That most of the group are also followers of the 'heretical' reforms of Luther seems to have escaped the Vatican, perhaps because the Bishop (Bishop Anders) he reports to is a sympathizer as well...
Serious and efficient, he is fiercely loyal to his captain and the Fähnlein. He enjoys fine wine, good conversation, and the company of his wife Maria, and their young daughter, Elizabetha.
"I was born on Michaelmas Day (Sep 9) in 1490 in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I was the second son of wool merchants. I had some learning at the cathedral school and later at the monastery of St. Gregory. I was also part of the town militia and went to the Marks Brothers fecht schule, or school of war.
I mustered for the first time in 1513 with Der Cannonfodder Fahnlein. I have fought in Bohemia and Hungary. In 1516 I mustered as a doppel. In 1520 Manferd Blöde, Andreus Grausteinen and I went to the Imperial Diet at Worms. There, in 1521, Manferd was given his papers as Hauptman and started mustering for Das TeufelsAlpdrucken Fahnlein. I was given the rank of weibel at that time. We marched across the Alps to Italy and I have since fought in the Milan Campaign.
I first married in 1514 to Elizabetha and have one living child from that union, Gerta. Elizabetha died of camp fever during childbirth in 1525. In 1528 I married Wilhelmina, my current wife, and have two foster children from her first marriage, Josef, 5 and Lisle, 2. I have been a soldier for 28 years and have done well. Merciful God willing, I will retire in a few years, and spend my remaining years in leisure."
He ran away from home to join the army, bringing his sister with him. He is very skilled with the drum, often anticipating Hauptmann Blode's wishes on the battlefield. Nicknamed "der Hundjunge" for rather obscure reasons, he is the good-natured victim of much friendly "abuse".
He originally enlisted while too drunk to remember it, and has risen through the ranks due to skill, bravery, and being in the right place at the right time. He is an excellent tactician, specializing in the unexpected. He is good-natured and informal, but deadly when crossed. He has had command of this Fähnlein for the past eight years. He is hoping to amass enough wealth to settle down as a comfortable landowner back in Bavaria, someday. He is married to Anjabeth, and has a stepson, Jürgen, and a daughter, Manferda.
He, his brother Rutger, and Rutger's wife's brother Johan all joined the army years ago. He might have retired after the wars, but he has stayed to look after his only family, Lisel and Michael.
Son of Lisel and Rutger, he has been in the army since birth. He is helpful and kind, and looks forward to the day when he can join the pikeline with his uncles.
Tanner of Thun
One of two brothers who joined the army together, he is cool and quiet, with a sardonic and grim sense of humor. He does his job well, working with detached professionalism, and deadly efficiency.