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By Melissa Fleur Afshar
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A woman's offbeat history question, which she voiced on social media, has left some viewers online in hysterics while sparking a conversation among others.
"How did everyone know where to go for the battle in the Middle Ages," India Pine, known online as @indipine, said in a TikTok post from April 28. "I am deadly serious when I ask this." She added: "How did they know the right day, time and place [to meet for battle]?"
The content creator, who has more than 80,000 followers on the platform, went on to ask if medieval generals would simply send "a little guy" to the armies they were fighting, to let their enemies know when and where battle lines would be drawn.
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"It is a question I've had for a long time, particularly when watching Game of Thrones when there'd be a huge battle scene and all I could think was, 'How did they know how to get to that exact location for that specific time?' It's haunted me for years," Pine told Newsweek.
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"When I was feeling brave enough to ask the question, I filmed a quick video, which I then kept in my drafts for ages," she added.
Viewers were able to see an image of a medieval message sender or traveling merchant onscreen, while Indy, as she is also known on TikTok, made mention of the "little guy."
"Was it all through Intel or hearsay or gossip," she said. Viewers could hear the faint hum of a medieval European melody in the background as Indy continued to weigh up what might have happened. "Did they have a DeuxMoi scroll? Or was it never preplanned and we just had an army ready to go at all times."
"When I posted the video, I thought I would get five comments at most, and that was enough for me as I just like interacting with people, but then I checked my phone 30 minutes later, and it was already on 90,000 views, with lots of comments coming in," Pine said. "Some were very informative and detailed or explained military strategy and tactics whilst others would just say 'Microsoft Teams invite' or 'birds'.
"I enjoyed both very much, but due to the information overload, I simultaneously feel like I learned a lot, while also feeling like I now somehow know less," she added.
Of the 671,000-plus people that watched the video, more than 1,600 viewers have engaged with Indy's question—one that she said "keeps her up all night." While some viewers have poked fun at the creator's historical inquiry by offering humorous insights ("It was just a Google calendar invite"), others have pieced together more plausible scenarios.
"[Messengers] and heralds were largely protected from harm," one user, @kaistorvick278, commented. "A diplomatic immunity of the day. And during open war, the advancement of the armies would be based on terrain and tactics...I think one misconception you might have is that the battles were often scheduled."
Another, @wallace8857, added: "Horns and messengers so like [people] on horses, and birds with messages, too big fires would be lit in beacons in England on big hills. I know of a few local to me."
"I am not a historian, but I think the armies were just going somewhere and they sent scouts in front of them, and if there is an enemy army then the army would either fight with them or try to evade it," a third user, @kresstaj, shared.
Updated on 06/28/2024 at 12:20 p.m. ET with comment from India Pine.
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