Name: Maelgrim Crowther

Title: Knyght at Armes

Rank: Captein

Full Rank & Title: Ser Maelgrim Crowther o Pouis, Knyght-Captein atte Armes

Earlier Alias: Rillion the Dark

Birth Date: February 15, 1395

Land of Origin: Wales, cantref of Powys

Land of Residence: the Far-Flung Lands of Sun and Snow

Occupation: Sellsword

Loyalty: Black Falcon Mercenary Company

Favored Weapon: "Bitterthorn" (Oakeshott type XIIIa longsword)

Favored Style of Swordsmanship: Harleian Two-Handed (15th century English)

Armor Preference: Full harness of mail, brigandine and plate (after William, Lord Zouche of Harryngworthe, d. 1462)

Motto: Ad liber et laminae, "By book and blade"

Service: Captain of the Black Falcon Mercenary Company (Mercenary Wars I-XII)
      Frostwar I-V: in service to self
      Frostwar VI: Captain of the MMCG against the Hordes of Sanctus Azathoth

Accomplishments: Founder of the Mercenaries Medieval Combat Guild
      Founder of the Black Falcon Mercenary Company
      Founder of the Black Falcon School of Arms
      Completed the Quest of Six Bridges
      Completed the Quest for the Book of Souls

Tourney Record--Mercenary Wars
Mercenary Wars I: 1st--Sword & Shield
Mercenary Wars II: 1st--Arming Sword
Mercenary Wars III: 1st--Dual Swords
      1st--Longsword
Mercenary Wars V: 1st--Dual Swords
      1st--Longsword
Mercenary Wars VI: 1st--Archery
Mercenary Wars VII: 1st--Champions' Tourney
Mercenary Wars VIII: 2nd--Champions' Tourney
      2nd--Archery
Mercenary Wars IX: 2nd--Champions' Tourney
      2nd--Spear-Throwing
      3rd--Archery
Mercenary Wars X: 3rd--Archery
Mercenary Wars XI: 3rd--Champions' Tourney
Mercenary Wars XII: 1st--Champions' Tourney

Tourney Record--Other
Kingmaker's Tourney: Sword, Sword & Shield, Any Weapon (no distinction)
Butts of Saint Sebastian Archery Tourney--1st Place

History: Maelgrim Crowther was born to a relatively prosperous Welsh family at the end of the 14th century. His father was an engineer of good repute, designing machines of both war and peace, and his mother was wise in the ways of animals of field, wood and sky. As an infant, he was intractable; his often violent tantrums earned him a name which combined the words for "savage" and "wolf."

Young Maelgrim spent his childhood split between roaming the deep forests of his homeland and under the tutelage of the holy brethren at a nearby monastery. The tantrums of his infancy had congealed into a quiet, moody temperament, more suited to a scholar than to a warrior. Indeed, his peers despaired of Maelgrim's performance in any sports, even as the monks praised him for his skill in letters, music and tongues.

As a youth, Maelgrim took up the sword--more as a plaything than a weapon--while he devoted his true passions to the study of the Welsh fiddle--the crwth. Life was a merry adventure for the young man, pursuing his whims from town to town across the Welsh/English border and discreetly pilfering choice books from any source he found.

His travels took him to France, and there his outlook on life changed. Though no stranger to the troubles of war-torn countries--his childhood had seen the revolt of Owain Glyndwr against English rule--he was appalled by the plight of the folk on both sides of the war between England and France.

Powerless to make a difference through music, Maelgrim sought to put matters right in the only other ways he knew how: by book and blade. Though he kept the name Crowther--meaning "fiddler"--he drew together a band of warriors and called them the Black Falcon Mercenary Company, and resolved to live by his wits and his sword.

Over a decade has passed since first Maelgrim caused the Black Falcons to stand together. He has traveled to many lands and studied with masters of the sword both German and Italian. Under the black-and-silver cockatrice standard, Maelgrim has grown in skill of arms, donning the silver spurs of knighthood.

The Black Falcons have done little--if anything--to stem the tide of violence or to turn the course of this war which has lasted for over a century. However, Maelgrim takes comfort in performing small acts of good where he can, and in punishing those he perceives as wicked elsewise.

Though no figure of legend, Ser Maelgrim Crowther and his blade Bitterthorn are known to no few villages and towns throughout Europe. One day, Maelgrim hopes to achieve the fame and prosperity of the great English knight of a generation gone by, Sir John Hawkwood. In the meantime, he is quietly content with the love of his wife, Archer Lady Cynara deWakelegh and his daughter Gwendolyn. He has also begun to learn from traveling Doctors, so that he may help to heal those wounded he deems worthy of his aid.

His blazon is a silver cockatrice within a silver ring, upon a field of black. The cockatrice is "a terror to all who behold it"--Maelgrim was never the most comely of young men, and age has done little to improve his visage. However, it is also composed of the cock--noble and ever ready for battle, and the serpent--which is wise. Thus Maelgrim's chosen blazon represents both his self-deprecation and his aspirations. The ring in which the cockatrice sits represents loyalty or fidelity--adopted after he was married. The silver color of the field stands for sincerity, while the black represents constancy. In this way, Maelgrim's coat of arms is in part heraldic mirror of his lady wife's motto: "truth, honor, loyalty."