Attila always did have a sour expression
One problem with historical biographies is that they rarely give the motivations of the person being biographied. For example, how many people know that Adolf Hitler's real reason for trying to take over the world, as well as all those book and art burnings, was to make art historians the world over list him as the greatest artist of his time, and later, as his demensia increased toward the end of the war, the greatest artist ever. Art history books were the main target of Hitler's burning wrath, but few people remember that, due to the media sensationalizing the burning of bibles and the like. His supposed interest in the occult, as well, was just him searching out pieces of art from ages long gone by, but again the media sensationalized that which would make Hitler look worse in the eyes of the superstitious public. Stealing priceless artifacts was one thing. Every major player in World War II was doing that. But make him out to be some sort of warlock, and there would still be people calling for him to be burned at the stake.
Attila the Hun is another good example of history having the facts distorted due to not understanding his motivation. Most people think that Attila was trying to prove some point or other by stomping across Europe on his way to Rome. This is very much not the case. When Attila was growing up, his tribe typically raided near a particular lemon grove, and so Attila grew quite the fondness for the sour taste of lemons. But before too long, they had to move. Once Attila was big enough to go off on his own, it had been too long, and he couldn't find this grove again. Once Attila was ruler of the Huns, he sent them into battle against anyone likely to have a good lemon grove, but their fruit never tasted quite the same as that original grove's. Then one day in 452, Attila heard a rumor that Pope Leo I's lemons were the best in the world, and history was written.
That year and the next, Attila cut a swath through Europe on his way to this goal. On his way there, he grew fed up with “inferior” fruits like apples and figs, and even got so angry as to raze Aquileia to the ground. However, Pope Leo I had heard of the invasion, and the reason. He arranged to meet with Attila on the Po River, the northern border of the Western Roman Empire at that point. With him, the Pope brought a basket of his private lemons. Few people now know what Attila and the Pope talked about when they met. Leo told Attila that if he conquered through Italy, he would only suffer, because there were no lemons of decent quality north of the Vatican, and offered one of the ones he had brought with him. Attila tasted it, and still he was not satisfied; still he did not deem it as good as the lemons of his youth. He took the Pope at his word that it would be a wasted trip, and immediately turned his armies back to their home up north. The great king of the Huns rode away from the encounter with a single tear glistening on his cheek.
When he returned to his palace, he threw a celebration to the fact that he had cultivated over the years the best lemon grove in Europe. That night, he died in his sleep of a nosebleed, aggravated by early symptoms of scurvy, due to the lack of lemons he'd planned to eat on the way to Rome. It was an ironic end for one who had won a decisive battle by teaching his troops to yell in Latin, while charging onto the field of battle, swords raised, frothing at the mouth, “Don't hurt me, I'm a bleeder.” In this battle, Attila had won by causing the Roman troops to hesitate just long enough to be overwhelmed.
Attila was not the only warrior who conquered everything in his path in the name of a fruit. But that's a story for another time.
Attila the Hun is another good example of history having the facts distorted due to not understanding his motivation. Most people think that Attila was trying to prove some point or other by stomping across Europe on his way to Rome. This is very much not the case. When Attila was growing up, his tribe typically raided near a particular lemon grove, and so Attila grew quite the fondness for the sour taste of lemons. But before too long, they had to move. Once Attila was big enough to go off on his own, it had been too long, and he couldn't find this grove again. Once Attila was ruler of the Huns, he sent them into battle against anyone likely to have a good lemon grove, but their fruit never tasted quite the same as that original grove's. Then one day in 452, Attila heard a rumor that Pope Leo I's lemons were the best in the world, and history was written.
That year and the next, Attila cut a swath through Europe on his way to this goal. On his way there, he grew fed up with “inferior” fruits like apples and figs, and even got so angry as to raze Aquileia to the ground. However, Pope Leo I had heard of the invasion, and the reason. He arranged to meet with Attila on the Po River, the northern border of the Western Roman Empire at that point. With him, the Pope brought a basket of his private lemons. Few people now know what Attila and the Pope talked about when they met. Leo told Attila that if he conquered through Italy, he would only suffer, because there were no lemons of decent quality north of the Vatican, and offered one of the ones he had brought with him. Attila tasted it, and still he was not satisfied; still he did not deem it as good as the lemons of his youth. He took the Pope at his word that it would be a wasted trip, and immediately turned his armies back to their home up north. The great king of the Huns rode away from the encounter with a single tear glistening on his cheek.
When he returned to his palace, he threw a celebration to the fact that he had cultivated over the years the best lemon grove in Europe. That night, he died in his sleep of a nosebleed, aggravated by early symptoms of scurvy, due to the lack of lemons he'd planned to eat on the way to Rome. It was an ironic end for one who had won a decisive battle by teaching his troops to yell in Latin, while charging onto the field of battle, swords raised, frothing at the mouth, “Don't hurt me, I'm a bleeder.” In this battle, Attila had won by causing the Roman troops to hesitate just long enough to be overwhelmed.
Attila was not the only warrior who conquered everything in his path in the name of a fruit. But that's a story for another time.