The Thirty Years' War - James Aitken Wylie

conjurations, witchcrafts, in all their various forms
abounded in the imperial army as much as did guns
and swords and pikes. The soldiers fell all the same
in the deadly breach, in the shock of battle, and in
the day of pale famine, The morals of the camp
were without shame, speaking generally. Almost
every virtue perished but that of soldierly honor
and fidelity to one's flag, so long as one served
under it; for the mercenary often changed his
master, and with him the cause for which he
fought. The mood of mind prevalent in the camp is
well hit off by Schiller's Norseman's song — "A
sharp sword is my field, plunder is my plough, the
earth is my bed, the sky is my covering, my cloak
is my house, and wine is my eternal life." Duels
were of daily occurrence, and when at last they
were forbidden, the soldiers sought secret places
beyond the lines, where they settled their quarrels.
Gustavus Adolphus punished dueling with death,
even in the case of his highest officers, but no law
could suppress the practice.
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