Teodos Molatiri
His Grace The Earl of Canve | |
|---|---|
 The Earl of Canve, Teodos Molatiri | |
| Earl of Canve | |
| In office 1593–1629 | |
| Preceded by | Lerem |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 May 1561 Canve, Cadenza |
| Died | 4 August 1629 (aged 68) Canve, Cadenza |
| Occupation | Nobleman and general |
Teodos Molatiri, 21st Earl of Canve (13 April 1561—4 August 1629) was a Cadenzan nobleman and commander. The son of Lerem Molatiri, he became earl of Canve in 1593, prior to which he had gained a reputation as a popular ratafrë or adventurer. He commanded an army in the Scottopian Isles during the War of the Magpie and the Dragon and was responsible for the capture of Portus Regalis which began the war.
Molatiri was, and indeed remains, regarded as the foremost Cadenzan commander of his day. A shrewd and insightful leader, he was noted for his ability to construct and conduct intricate battle plans at a time when battle was still characterised by large numbers of soldiers being thrown against enemy lines, often resulting in push of pike. Kimepra, by contrast, made frequent use of feints and traps, had a fondness for cavalry flank and rear assaults, and was known to hide howitzers in his infantry formations and use these with great effectiveness against his opponents. His battlefield philosophy, that "a foeman who cannot stand cannot fight, and a foe-land who cannot fight cannot stand," was borne out in a ruthlessness that made him feared and hated by his opponents, although his treatment of the wounded of both sides won him praise.
As an admiral, Molatiri was less exceptional but still thoroughly competent, and he maintained the preeminence of Canve as a naval earldom in campaigns against his rivals and the republic's enemies. In the wake of the War of the Magpie and the Dragon, which exposed systemic failures in the Cadenzan military, Molatiri initially opposed the centralisation of naval authority in the office of the duke, then occupied by his rival, earl Khaledro Pamma of Do'rediq, whom Molatiri regarded as inept, particularly after Pamma's abortive raid on Princetown. Following the election of Marno of Emigar as duke, Molatiri became an energetic supporter and mover of military reform until his death in 1629.