did he say longshanks was a pagan? - Braveheart (1995) Discussion

[–] Hotrodder 8 years ago

Yes he does and no, Edward I wasn't a pagan

Trust me. I know what I'm doing.

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Aha Oddbod
The Furniture Porter
Are you working from a motorboat in this weather? Plenty of work for you hen.

Aye he did but it was said in the same way I would call you a moron.
Even though Iam aware you are not greek, your behaviour fits the bill or the meaning of the word. He was using a word that almost covered Eddy s behaviour I personally think the word pagan does not do justice to Eddy .
You of course will say and do say, dear Edward was only doing what most were doing then ,consolidating his 'empire'safe guarding his country.
Did not your pal Hitler do the same thing. Lebenstraun
and you are always on about the Nazi influences of this film

Y`er all wet pet

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[–] Hotrodder 8 years ago

Hello, Rossy, wondered where you'd got yourself to. Just presumed you were too busy polishing your rocket while watching Braveheart, or is it old Mel himself that floats yer boat?
As to your semi-illiterate reply- if I was that poor at punctuation, typing etc then I wouldn't embarrass myself posting on message boards, but then you embarrass yourself merely by the content you do post, as usually it's the outpourings of a drooling imbecile.
Why do you do it to yourself? You a masochist or something? I mean you do get all our sympathy as would any wounded dumb animal but this does smack of desperation on your part.

Trust me. I know what I'm doing.

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[–] MidniteRambler 8 years ago

Oh my god, is that anchoretic reprobate still alive? I'd've thought he'd drunk himself to death on Glenmorangie many a long moon ago. And he's progressed to semi-illiteracy to boot? - when he's not in his cups, presumably, or writing as one of his numerous sock-puppets.

And to answer the OP's question, no: like much in this film the claim that Edward I was a pagan was the complete opposite of the truth: he was very much a Christian.

To whom it may concern: Rosslynglen speaks no Gaelic and cannot play the bagpipes.

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[–] mikeyg24 8 years ago

Awe I'm almost nostalgic reading that degenerate romancer of sheep's posts again!

Hey! You're not old enough to drink! Now go and die for your country!!!

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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jaben12345 8 years ago

Edward I was not a Pagan , the real Edward I expelled Jews from England so is very much a man after Mel Gibson's own heart.

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[–] CovertThunder 8 years ago

Yes, the narrator referred to King Longshanks as a "cruel pagan." However, a pagan wasn't a specific religion or group, but rather referred to anyone who wasn't a Christian. Considering how religiously tolerant people were back then, calling someone (especially a political or religious figure) a pagan would be considered a huge insult. Since the Scots are shown as being Catholic, it's no wonder one of the insults they'd levy at Lingshanks would be calling him a pagan.

Ironically, in real life King Edward I, or Edward the Longshanks was actually a very efficient ruler who managed several accomplishments in English politics such as establishing Parliament while representing the ideal Christian nobleman. He was highly praised in both his time period and by some historians, although his two major faults were his treatment of the Scots and his treatment of the Jews.

Can't be too careful with all those weirdos running around.

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[–] wielderofspoons 8 years ago

However, a pagan wasn't a specific religion or group, but rather referred to anyone who wasn't a Christian.

In general use it refers to polytheistic religions that predated and were replaced by monotheism.

Considering how religiously tolerant people were back then

Do you mean intolerant? The concept of tolerance was almost non-existent before the 20th century. Behaviour that is illegal today was standard practice through most of history.

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[–] ccharlie183 8 years ago

It says it because it's a poetic exaggeration of a demonized villain, this is the middle ages and calling a person a pagan that thinks themselves a christian is the most insulting thing to them, the narration is past tense and it's by his comrades who would not likely pass on a kind tale of what their enemy/king was actually like.

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[–] samhmd-7489 7 years ago

Back then, being called a "Pagan" was really more an insult than anything else.

It was their way of saying "Longshanks was a cruel son of a bitch".

Of course, the real Longshanks was a very deeply religious man who loved his family and was very good to them. And the real Edward II was a muscular warrior.

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[–] syntinen 7 years ago

Actually no: the medieval form of the word, ‘paynim’, just meant ‘pre-Christian’ or ‘non-Christian’ in a perfectly objective sense. It was a word you could use of the most respected persons of the Islamic or ancient world, as Caxton did describing the Nine Worthies:

it is notoriously known, through the universal world, that there be nine worthy and the best that ever were, that is, to wit, three Paynims, three Jews, and three Christian men. As for
the Paynims, they were before the Incarnation of Christ, which were named, the first. Hector of Troy, of whom the history is common, both in ballad and in prose; the second, Alexander the Great; and the third, Julius Caesar, Emperor of Rome, of which the histories be well known and had.

I don’t know of any example of ‘pagan/paynim’ being used as an insult in 13th-14th century Britain. It could possibly have been used to imply foreignness, or even extreme backwoods ignorance, but would have been quite meaningless applied to a British king.

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[–] samhmd-7489 7 years ago

Hmmm, I wonder why they included that line then. It really would be meaningless except as an insult.

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[–] syntinen 7 years ago

It's entirely meaningless, because labelling a British king as either an ignorant hillbilly or an exotic foreigner could obviously make no sense at all.

As to why they included it: it's obvious from the script and screenplay that nobody involved knew much or cared at all about the real Middle Ages They just grabbed for a vaguely 'historical-sounding' word.

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