History Literature / TheHighCrusade

Using the captured spaceship and the grudging assistance of a surviving alien interpreter (taught Latin by a local cleric), they launch a counter-invasion of the evil intergalactic empire, whom they view as the more prolific, Heaven-soiling brethren of the infidels overrunning the Holy Land. Because the invaders to our world have been dominant for so long over such a wide area, nobody up in the stars has any damn idea what politics are any more. Sir Roger, a man who's managed to survive medieval European politics quite well for some time, knows ''exactly'' what politics are, and manages to convince every single alien he meets, through bravado, underhandedness, trickery, and good old-fashioned lying, to assail their opponents. The only downside to their situation is that unfortunately the humans -- not being astrogators, among other reasons -- have no idea where Earth is any more.

* AlienInvasion
* AlternateHistoryWank: Played straight and in time taken to [[UpToEleven Biblical proportions]].

* EpicFail: The Wersgor invasion of Earth: their technologically advanced spaceship armed with laser weapons taking on a medieval village ''completely by surprise'' manages to not just get overrun, but captured and commandeered by said medieval villagers.

* HumanityIsSuperior
* HumansAreWarriors
* KnightInShiningArmor: Played with.

* RealityEnsues: Ironically inflicted on the invading Wersgor. As it turns out, expecting to win just by virtue of having advanced weapons is a fool's errand when you're incapable of ''defending oneself.''

!!The High Crusade'' provides examples of:

* BattleCouple: Sir Roger and Lady Catherine.
** Also RulingCouple

* CurbstompBattle: Aliens vs a Medieval army, it's a complete slaughter...for the aliens. Especially with the humans having superior numbers, and having no EMP-susceptible equipment and the aliens have '''no concept''' of hand-to-hand combat.

* {{Disneyfication}}: A film version, produced by Creator/RolandEmmerich, was made in 1994. It takes the humorous-but-played-straight premise of the book and tries very hard to turn it into Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail ... InSpace! Sadly, this does not work particularly well.
* EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion: Despite he Wersgor having millennia of technological progress on the humans ''and'' the element of surprise, they get defeated by the natives with downright embarrassing ease--the humans even manage to steal their ship and conquer them right back!

* ExactWords: Sir Roger is very good at bluffing while not actually, [[JediTruth precisely]] lying.
-->"Our lords have extensive foreign possessions, such as Ulster, Leinster, Normandy -- but I'll not weary you with a catalogue of planets." I alone noticed he had not actually said those counties and duchies ''were'' planets.

* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire Inverted -- the theoretical freedom of the Wersgor 'democracy' is unfavorably contrasted with the securities of the feudal system.
** Also played with, in that the Wersgor republic is also unfavorably contrasted with the ''Jair'' Republic (one of the lesser starfaring powers Sir Roger convinces to join his crusade against the Wersgor), with the Jair republic being described as a true republic, "not a sham one such as the Wersgor had", and the descriptions of the Wersgor explicitly describing their state as all-powerful and the citizens as reflexively subservient to it and to their superiors.
*** The Wersgor are criticized for being too dependent on their VastBureaucracy and habitually subservient, [[AuthorAppeal similar criticisms]] to those levied against modern Western states by many conservatives.

* NoIndoorVoice (Part of how Sir Roger outsmarts the first set of aliens he encounters. [[spoiler: Their species does not have as sensitive hearing as the humans and therefore both does not realize that the humans are whispering to each other, but also don't realize that their own whispered planning is clearly audible]].)
* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: The Wersgor. The humans on the other hand are very pious. While there is some tongue in cheek humor about Medieval practices and obsessions, their faith is definitely not portrayed as a ''bad'' thing, and the most humane character in the book by far is the narrator - who is a pious monk.

* RealityEnsues: Ironically inflicted on the invading Wersgor. As it turns out, expecting to win just by virtue of having advanced weapons is a fool's errand when you're incapable of ''defending onesself.''

* RockBeatsLaser: Not to mention rock helps laser. A trebuchet firing nuclear shells? Undetectable by space age sensors? Yes please.
** Wait... why isn't the trebuchet and anyone working it nuked themselves? Also a trebuchet would be in visible range and nuclear shells launched by a trebuchet but not something more... advanced?
*** At least once the people using the trebuchet ''are'' caught in the blast and killed. It worked on the base because the aliens were looking for an incoming missile with Radar, and didn't see the lobbed trebuchet shot coming out of a patch of forest until it was already within exploding radius. They were ready for an incoming missile, and ready for humans trying to smuggle a bomb in on foot. They were completely unprepared for humans to carry the bomb on foot, then lob it the last thousand yards.

* {{Badass}}: Oh so many! Sir Roger, his chief man-art-arms Red John Hameward, Lady Catherine, heck even Brother Parvus and the captive Wersgor officer get their moments.

* FramingDevice: ''twice''. The story is framed as a chronicle written by a monk, framed in turn as a translation by a group encountering the descendants of the subjects of the story.
* GalacticConqueror: Sir Roger
* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire Inverted - the theoretical freedom of the Wersgor 'democracy' is unfavorably contrasted with the securities of the feudal system.
** Also played with, in that the Wersgor republic is also unfavorably contrasted with the ''Jair'' Republic (one of the lesser starfaring powers Sir Roger convinces to join his crusade against the Wersgor), with the Jair republic described as a true republic, "not a sham one such as the Wersgor had", and the descriptions of the Wersgor explicitly describing their state as all-powerful and the citizens as reflexively subservient to it and to their superiors.
*** The Wersgor are criticized for being too dependent on their VastBureaucracy and habitually subservient; [[AuthorAppeal similar criticisms]] to those levied against modern Western states by many conservatives.

* MedievalMorons: Subverted - and how!

* RisingEmpire: Good honest Englishmen.
** VestigialEmpire: Wersgor.

England 1345, and Sir Roger de Tourneville has volunteered to help King Edward III in his war against the French. The English army, fully prepped on the eve of leaving, crushes a small alien invasion force, by dint of cunning, superior numbers, and having no EMP-susceptible equipment or depletable bullets/explosives/laser charges - [[RockBeatsLaser but plenty of reusable arrows, swords, sheer brute strength and a sense of righteous Christian indignation.]]

* BattleCouple: Sir Roger and Lady Catherine

* EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion: See EpicFail

A humorous ScienceFiction novel by Creator/PoulAnderson. First published in 1960.

Using the captured spaceship and the grudging assistance of a surviving alien interpreter (taught Latin by a local cleric), they launch a counter-invasion of the evil intergalactic empire, whom they view as the more prolific, Heaven-soiling brethren of the infidels overrunning the Holy Land. Because the invaders to our world have been dominant for so long over such a wide area, nobody up in the stars has any damn idea what politics are any more. Sir Roger, a man who's managed to survive medieval European politics quite well for some time, knows ''exactly'' what politics are, and manages to convince every single alien he meets, through bravado, underhandedness, trickery, and good old-fashioned lying, to assail their opponents. The only downside to their situation is that unfortunately the humans - not being astrogators, among other reasons - have no idea where Earth is any more.

[[spoiler:Centuries later, when "future" Earth finally reaches the stars, they are met by the emissary of the trans-galactic feudal Christian empire, run by Human descendants of the would-have-been Crusaders. The Earth explorer is questioned as to whether the Holy Land has been liberated from the pagans. As a loyal citizen of the Israeli Empire the Earth explorer can only reply with a "Well, sort of".]]

!!This work provides examples of:

* FramingDevice

* RockBeatsLaser Not to mention rock helps laser. A trebuchet firing nuclear shells? Undetectable by space age sensors? Yes please.

* TortureTechnician : One-eyed Hubert. Who is quite pleased when Sir Roger threatens to apply the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique on the captive Wersgor. One-eyed Hubert also laments that Sir Roger isn't as quick with the irons as his grandfather, old Rip-Talon, and is quite dismayed to learn that he won't be getting to torture the Wersgor officer after all... [[PetTheDog right before he goes back to helping his little granddaughter gather daisies.]]

** Also played with, in that the Wersgor republic is also unfavorably contrasted with the ''Jain'' Republic (one of the lesser starfaring powers Sir Roger convinces to join his crusade against the Wersgor), with the Jain republic described as a true republic, "not a sham one such as the Wersgor had", and the descriptions of the Wersgor explicitly describing their state as all-powerful and the citizens as reflexively subservient to it and to their superiors.

* {{Disneyfication}}: A film version, produced by RolandEmmerich, was made in 1994. It takes the humorous-but-played-straight premise of the book and tries very hard to turn it into Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail ... InSpace! Sadly, this does not work particularly well.

** Wait....why isn't the trebuchet and anyone working it nuked themselves? Also a trebuchet would be in visible range and nuclear shells launched by a trebuchet but not something more...advanced?

* FeudalFuture

Using the captured spaceship and the grudging assistance of a surviving alien interpreter (taught Latin by a local cleric), they launch a counter-invasion of the evil intergalactic empire, whom they view as the more prolific, Heaven-soiling brethren of the heretics overrunning the Holy Land. Because the invaders to our world have been dominant for so long over such a wide area, nobody up in the stars has any damn idea what politics are any more. Sir Roger, a man who's managed to survive medieval European politics quite well for some time, knows ''exactly'' what politics are, and manages to convince every single alien he meets, through bravado, underhandedness, trickery, and good old-fashioned lying, to assail their opponents. The only downside to their situation is, unfortunately, the humans - not being astrogators, among other reasons - have no idea where Earth is any more.

* ExactWords (Sir Roger is very good at bluffing while not actually, [[JediTruth precisely]] lying.)

* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire (Inverted - the theoretical freedom of the Wersgor 'democracy' is unfavourably contrasted with the securities of the feudal system)
** Also played with, in that the Wersgor republic is also unfavourably contrasted with the ''Jain'' Republic (one of the lesser starfaring powers Sir Roger convinces to join his crusade against the Wersgor), with the Jain republic described as a true republic, "not a sham one such as the Wersgor had", and the descriptions of the Wersgor explicitly describing their state as all-powerful and the citizens as reflexively subservient to it and to their superiors.
*** The Wersgor are criticized for being to dependent on their VastBureaucracy and habitually subservient; [[AuthorAppeal similar criticisms]] to those levied at modern Western states by many conservatives.

* KnightInShiningArmor (played with)
* MedievalMorons (Subverted - and how!)

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions (the Wersgor. The humans on the other hand are very pious. While there is some tongue in cheek humour about Medieval practices and obsessions, their faith is definitely not portrayed as a ''bad'' thing, and the most humane character in the book by far is the narrator - who is a pious monk.)
* RammingAlwaysWorks (The English crash land their first captured warship, the Crusade, ''on'' an energy shielded Wersgor battle fortress, crushing it. Then pissed off cavalry trample down the survivors.)

** VestigialEmpire: Wersgor
* RockBeatsLaser (Not to mention rock helps laser. A trebuchet firing nuclear shells? Undetectable by space age sensors? Yes please.)

* TortureTechnician : One-eyed Hubert. Who is quite pleased when Sir Roger threatens to apply the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique to the captive Wersgor. One-eyed Hubert also laments that Sir Roger isn't as quick with the irons as his grandfather, old Rip-Talon, and is quite dismayed to learn that he won't be getting to torture the Wersgor officer after all... [[PetTheDog right before he goes back to helping his little granddaughter gather daisies.]]
* VichyEarth: Wersgor plan for Earth is this. It backfires spectacularly.

* Badass: Oh so many! Sir Roger, his chief man-art-arms Red John Hameward, Lady Catherine, heck even Brother Parvus and the captive Wersgor officer get their moments.

*** At least once the people using the trebuchet ''are'' caught in the blast and killed. It worked on the base because the aliens were looking for an incoming missile with Radar, and didn't see the lobbed trebuchet shot coming out of a patch of forest until it was already within exploding radius.

*** The nuke was very small yield and it was used on the base in such a way that the explosion was mostly contained.

* RefugeInAudacity

* GalacticConqueror

** VestigalEmpire: Wersgor