THE SCENE: In the eyes of Suger, the Abbot of St. Denis, violence and torture are perfectly acceptable… as long as they are practiced against people who defy the Church. Provided that the violence and torture does not take place on holy days.
THE TEXT: During two months of hard fighting he took revenge for the grievances suffered by the churches of the past. He ravaged the lands of the tyrant and his accomplices, destroyed them with fire, and laid them open for raids. What a splendid deed! The plunderers themselves were plundered and the torturers tortured with the same or even more pain than they had used to torture others. Indeed, the great fervor of the lord Louis and his host hardly allowed them to rest while on campaign except on Saturday and Sunday.
The Deeds of Louis the Fat, Suger, 12th Century AD
