"As the knight of the quill never ventured into the fight, and only snuffed the battle afar, he knew nothing accurately of battles, but managed to pick up a few real or supposed incidents from the wounded and from stragglers"

This quote is referring to a knight of the quill, or an author, who never actually ventured into battle, but rather observed it from a distance. As a result, the author had no precise understanding of battles, but was able to piece together stories from the injured and laggers who had actually been in the battle. This quote is a tip that the stories we hear about battles are frequently insufficient and inaccurate, as they are typically told by those who were not in fact present in the battle. It also functions as a tip that the stories we hear from those who were in the battle might not be completely precise either, as they may be affected by their own experiences and feelings. The quote is a reminder that we must be cautious when analyzing stories about battles, and that we ought to constantly make every effort to get the full story prior to making any conclusions.