Trivia ( maybe some spoilers ).
this text wants to be a trivia about the film alatriste and his world . i will try to explain on english some meanings so if any english or other people than dont know the age where is set the film .
i will give many thanks if anyone with better english skill correct me post .
1-Alatriste is a soldado viejo. old soldier . this term is used on the film many times. this status was given to the spanish soldiers of the tercios than could prove they have seen atleast 6 battles or 20 years of service .
2- alattriste is cabo de escuadra . caporal of squad he is on the command of 10 mens .
3- alatriste is a arcabucero . he is a aquebusier soldiers . they where the most veterans soldiers and the best payed.
4- the captain bragado is a old comrade of alatriste he is on command of the flag or company of alatriste .
5- the unit of alatriste are the spanish tercios . the tercios where the militar machine than allowed spain to domain europe .
the tercios viejos or old tercios where the core of the spanish armys . they where always the spear head of the spanish austrias they where not big on numbers but all the sources of his times credit them as the best over other elements of the spanish armys .
the tercio was a mixture of fire power and pikes . unlike the popular believe they where not just massive squares .
the tercios could broke easily on companys and do many types of wars from siege to skirmish .....
6- the nigth strike of the beggining of the film is called a encamisada . they where first used agaisnt the frenchs on the italians wars . used often to take prisoners to destroy cannons as is show on the film or for strategic tactics .
the encamisada could be formed by 20 to 300 soldiers . onb one case 300 spanish on the 80 years wars killed 6000 germans mercenarys and near killed justin nassau .
7- alatriste like malatesta are 2 swords for hire on the madrid of the xvII each one figths with a different style .
malatesta follows the italian style than gives more focus to use the sword as the killer weapon and the dagger as a defensive tool.
alatriste uses his dagger more agresive than the italian system also he use more tricks such insult attack the fingers of the hand of the sword or slashing the head so the blood blinds the eyesa of his enemys .
8-iñigo is the page of alatriste he is basque . howver he uses it very rarely because the castellano was the main tongue on the so called provincias vascongadas . there where like 17 basques dialects on his age .
9- iñigo would become superior on rank to alatriste he will become alferez of the tercios .
on the film you can see him holding the spanish flag.
on the books iñigo becomes the famous spanish soldier than on answer to the duke of enghien about the number of spanish soldiers he will answer: count the deads .
10- the figth on the dungueon under breda was know as figth on the caponeras . no quarter was given there . was by far the most brutal place where the mens fougth on the 80 years wars .
11- the surrender of breda of velazquez show us a hill where nassau gives the city key to the spanish general spinola . on the real it was given on building inside of the city . the painting was a tribute to the pikes than won the city .
12- on rocroi the maestre del campo or field marshal shaw alatriste and tel,ls him about he give him a adventage for his figth on the battle of nordlinguen .
this field marshal was the duke of alburquerque than was already dead before the last stand of the tercios .
on the books it was spinola .
13 the battle of nordlinguen is where iñigo becomes officer and superior on rank to alatriste . this battle was famous because was the first clash of the sweden army of G. adolphus and the old tercios .
the sweden army winner of lutzen and metz was obliterated .
14 - the battle of rocroi was not the end of the old tercios but it was a brutal blow to his legends and worse because the deads where so much than the spirit of corps of the unit was broken .
with rocroi ends a road than the spanish armys begins on cerignola and end there .