If its true that the midieval sense of fair play, ethic and morality was of higher standard than contemporary - sodomy not being considered - then where in the world did he come up with the heinous deeds he writes about? This particular satire must stand as a benchmark then for blackest of satire.
The real shudder I got in the passage I cited was how they finished those peasants off, well, at least what they were doing to 'em when Simplissicimus left the scene (in that he states he doesn't know what actually happened to them). What he accounted is pretty garish in any case. What is noteworthy is how both sides gave as good as they recieved (and vice versa).
The overhwelming impression that I obtained reading the work is the overwhelming insanity and depravity of the whole period. The satire being exquisite in that a doddering nitwit's persepctive is relating the events (as if he being too stupid to comprehend the sanity of the lunacy going on around him). What makes the story even more poignant is the understanding it was published a mere 20 years after cessation of hostilities. One has to question who the intended audience was. Who could at the time read his work? I doubt it was the people who bore the brunt of the events. He most undoubtedly for the time was Ann Coulter writ in Collosus statue sized letters.
Later on in the story, you'll read about the abysmal plight of the hoi polloi, and yet the aristocrats engaged in utter debauchery and wanton waste of such a precious commodity, i.e., food. My utter revulsion at how they just wasted the food knows no bounds. And it should be clear and quite obvious (as is positively the usual case), the elite ate quite well - at the expense and upon the backs of the hoi polloi - makes that behaviour even more egregious knowing the full depth and horror of the plight of the peasants.
The story certainly can be tedious at times (partially due to its medieval English translation), and struck me possessing elements of Munchhausen's stories (did things really happen that way or to such degree?). All I know in that regard is that the depravity of Man truly knows no bounds. How does the Good Book say? "Let him who readeth have wisdom." How relieved we can be now in our thoughts, "Whew, I'm glad that's over. At least we're civilized now."
At least in the medieval period, they knew what the rules were.
And, btw, a particular pet peeve of mine - "the hoi polloi" is redundant, like "Rio Grande River". "Hoi" is a transliteration of the Greek definite article ʿoi (the diacritical mark ought to be over the omicron, but the font won't do it)