Minutemen vs Brotherhood

[Ethreon]

my head sits finely on my shoulders thank you..but,in the interest of my own sanity and my general enjoyment of life ..i´ll just stop getting involved in discussions with people on this site..it´s just not worth it reading all that crap from people whose hardest moments where deciding between x-station or playdude...

Whatever BoS stands for is not what their "flier" states. We get it, you like shiny, big armors. That won't make them better faction or people :P

[Moraelin]

Well, in all fairness, I think that describing them as medieval knights is actually not too far off the mark, since those WERE basically a self-entitled military junta. Which really describes the BOS pretty well too.

 

Actually, let me ammend even that. Let's just say that, speaking as a bit of an amateur history geek, actual knights were actually WORSE than the BOS. So comparing the BOS to medieval knights in shiny armour is a bit of an insult even to the BOS. There was a pretty wide gap between chivalric ideals and the actual behaviour of the armed ruling elite. And even the chivalric ideas included parts that are not quite popularized or popular these days. Such as that -- although everyone used mercenaries and peasant levies, and at times they even HAD to bring a couple along to a war -- the ENEMY commoners shouldn't be fight, and it's only right and righteous to hang all such prisoners. Or that if an enemy castle didn't immediately surrender when the wall was first breached, it's only righteous to hang them all. Etc.

 

In effect most of the actual knightly code was just a bunch of rationalizations in which death is what happens to other people, pretty much. The rich were careful not to kill each other if possible, and ransom each other, while those below them (who weren't worth money,) were just to be looted or killed.

 

Also that code about challenging to a duel and holding for ransom, conveniently omitted to mention: "only other knights." Going out in full armour and holding up merchants to joust you or give you their money, well, it was SUCH a common and massive source of knight income in Germany, that when it was finally outlawed in the 16'th century, it resulted in a major revolt of the knights and barons.

 

And actual high and late medieva campaigns, like the 100 years war, included basically terror and destruction campaigns that even the BOS doesn't really do. E.g., the opening moves oif the 100 years war were a series of highy mobile raids to burn down French villages. Apparently to convey the message "the French king can't protect you, we should rule you instead." Understandably, the French didn't quite see it that way, after, you know, having their house set on fire. But I reiterate, it wasn't even about looting them for their crop like the BOS, it was just senseless burning down peasant houses and crops. Hell, in FO4, forget the BOS, but even raiders are not THAT bad.

 

And then there were knightly manuals on such topics as how to beat your wife. No, seriously. One (in)famously recommended to just break her nose, so other guys don't find her pretty.

 

And if you think that's bad, well, consider this: even those codes and ideals didn't even exist untill the high middle ages. Until then, the armed ruling elites were just a bunch of thugs who made their own rules.

 

Etc.

 

Long story short, the BOS is exactly what happens when the knights in shiny armour are in charge and making the rules. And actually not even as bad as actual medieval knights in shiny armour.