Interesting. Dublin is within sight, but how much prestige would you need to expend?
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@ Enewald: I think the next war will be a long time from now, if I can help it.
@ Rivus: I would need ~90 more prestige to claim Count of Dublin. It might take a while...
Update within 24 hours.
@ Rivus: I would need ~90 more prestige to claim Count of Dublin. It might take a while...
Update within 24 hours.
1 September 1083,
My daughter, Caitilin, has been acting up quite a bit lately. She's a preteen girl, so a little bit of tension between her and her mother (me) is to be expected, but she's been far more hostile than is normal. She's a vengeful little sprite, and to be honest, I'm not comfortable with her around. She's not conducive to a positive atmosphere here in court. I had a little chat with her about that, and she said she wouldn't mind going as a fosterling to another court. I wanted to send her off the island, and Scotland seemed a natural destination. The Duchy of Albany accepted the offer quite graciously.
28 February 1084,
My other son, Maolcholuim, has been developing some disconcerting tendencies. He's been seen torturing little bugs and mice, and his tutor describes him as a cruel and ruthless child. No mother wants to hear something like that said about her son! It sort of makes me question what the monks are teaching him...
25 May 1084,
Maolcholuim has upset his tutors, the monks here in Mayo. They think that, given his cruel personality, he is not really fit to become a clergyman. I agreed with the Bishop in this regard, and sent him to the military. Hopefully they can reform him and make a decent human being out of that cutthroat.
2 April 1085,
My son turned 16 today. It's time to give up the regency to him. I do, however, want to help him find a suitable bride before giving him the keys to the Duchy, though. Knowing him, he'd want to find a spicy Spaniard or Italian or something of the sort. He needs to look at it from a practical standpoint, though - what pairing would be best for Connacht?
There are two prime candidates: Iosbail of Argyll, the daughter of the Count of Argyll, or Gytha of Dun Chailleann, the daughter of the King of Scotland.
It didn't take much convincing to get Muircheartach to propose marriage to Gytha.
5 April 1085,
The King of Scotland accepted the request for his daughter's hand in marriage! This is a clear victory for Connacht - the Duke of a small Irish duchy has married the daughter of one of Europe's most powerful men! Our court will become more prestigious in the eyes of the other royal families, I do believe.
23 April 1085,
Well, my son finished his education. His tutors, myself included, feel that he has learned about all he can from us and that he'll make a fine Duke. I wish him will in his endeavors and have the utmost confidence in him.
I suppose this will be my last diary entry. Muircheartach has agreed to carry on the tradition started by his grandfather, and I trust that he will pass the diary along to his heir, too.
I leave with a portrait of the now adult Duke of Connacht:
My daughter, Caitilin, has been acting up quite a bit lately. She's a preteen girl, so a little bit of tension between her and her mother (me) is to be expected, but she's been far more hostile than is normal. She's a vengeful little sprite, and to be honest, I'm not comfortable with her around. She's not conducive to a positive atmosphere here in court. I had a little chat with her about that, and she said she wouldn't mind going as a fosterling to another court. I wanted to send her off the island, and Scotland seemed a natural destination. The Duchy of Albany accepted the offer quite graciously.
28 February 1084,
My other son, Maolcholuim, has been developing some disconcerting tendencies. He's been seen torturing little bugs and mice, and his tutor describes him as a cruel and ruthless child. No mother wants to hear something like that said about her son! It sort of makes me question what the monks are teaching him...
25 May 1084,
Maolcholuim has upset his tutors, the monks here in Mayo. They think that, given his cruel personality, he is not really fit to become a clergyman. I agreed with the Bishop in this regard, and sent him to the military. Hopefully they can reform him and make a decent human being out of that cutthroat.
2 April 1085,
My son turned 16 today. It's time to give up the regency to him. I do, however, want to help him find a suitable bride before giving him the keys to the Duchy, though. Knowing him, he'd want to find a spicy Spaniard or Italian or something of the sort. He needs to look at it from a practical standpoint, though - what pairing would be best for Connacht?
There are two prime candidates: Iosbail of Argyll, the daughter of the Count of Argyll, or Gytha of Dun Chailleann, the daughter of the King of Scotland.
It didn't take much convincing to get Muircheartach to propose marriage to Gytha.
5 April 1085,
The King of Scotland accepted the request for his daughter's hand in marriage! This is a clear victory for Connacht - the Duke of a small Irish duchy has married the daughter of one of Europe's most powerful men! Our court will become more prestigious in the eyes of the other royal families, I do believe.
23 April 1085,
Well, my son finished his education. His tutors, myself included, feel that he has learned about all he can from us and that he'll make a fine Duke. I wish him will in his endeavors and have the utmost confidence in him.
I suppose this will be my last diary entry. Muircheartach has agreed to carry on the tradition started by his grandfather, and I trust that he will pass the diary along to his heir, too.
I leave with a portrait of the now adult Duke of Connacht:
I'm presuming having the King of Scotland in the family is a good thing, though family meetings could be a bit awkward if the sister lords it over her brother the lowly Duke!
Connacht is not small... it's the largest Duchy in Eire! (Ok, so maybe Munster is almost as big)
Let's have a look at the new bride - surely she is a talented addition to your court.
Let's have a look at the new bride - surely she is a talented addition to your court.
@ Enewald: Getting into the family sure won't hurt those chances
@ El Pip: We'll hope she plays well with others
@ Murmurandus: A bit of conniving in Connacht never hurts every once and a while
@ Rivus: Talent? There's more talent in a cow's cud than in her. Her real addition to the court is her last name. But ask and you shall receive.
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1 May 1085,
Dear Diary,
This is my first entry in this book, and I feel woefully ill-prepared. When I look back at the feats described by my grandfather I find it remarkable that I will have the chance to record my affairs within the same bindings as the great man who came to lead Connacht out of obscurity.
Alas, I ramble. My name is Muircheartach O'Conchuir. I am 16 years old and fresh out of an education in the court of my mother, who was serving as regent these past seven years. I was recently wed to Gytha, who is one year my senior, the daughter of the King of Scotland. She's not the brightest, not the prettiest, but it could be worse, and her hips are nice and broad - perfect for bearing children when the time comes.
Here's a portrait of us, the newest leaders of the O'Conchuir line:
12 September 1085,
This feels strange to write, but I think I love my wife. This morning I was feeling hungry while taking care of daily administrative duties and who should appear but my Gytha carrying a plate of mutton and potatoes! Wonderful! Better yet, her maid was behind her with a pint of fine mead. Love indeed, I say!
13 September 1085,
It's been an interesting week. Soon after my proclamation of love to my wife, a representative of the Count of Tir Connail burst out laughing. He claimed that I only loved her because she brought me food and because she's willing to share a bed with me, and that I look like a goat, or something of that sort, I wasn't really paying attention at that point.
It was my wife who took offense, much more so than did I. On her behalf I gave him a sharp bit of criticism and fired right back. Suffice it to say that hostilities escalated really fast and before I really knew what was going on I was demanding the abdication of the Count of Tir Connail.
5 October 1085,
My wife is two weeks late, which must mean for sure that a child is on the way! I wonder what gender it will be, I've always wanted to eldest to be male. I wouldn't argue with a baby girl, though, and that's what Gytha wants most of all.
4 July 1086,
My wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl today. We named her Seonaid, a good strong Irish name. She's a delightful little sprite, full of energy and vigor. I'll have to contact the Bishop about baptism as soon as possible! My mother is terribly pleased to be a grandmother, by the way, she made a special trip to my side of the hill-fort to tell me that.
16 September 1086,
My wife thinks she's pregnant again. That's great news! I just hope her health holds, two pregnancies with just two months in between can be pretty taxing on a woman...
11 October 1086,
My sister came back from her education in Scotland. She's 16 now, but every bit as evil as she was when she was sent away. Shame. I honestly don't feel comfortable with her around little Seonaid. Upon reading back in the diary, I found that my mom felt more or less the same level of discomfort with her, so I do feel a little better about marrying her away to the most far-flung corner of Europe. And by far-flung corner of Europe, I mean the Principality of Alania, so it hardly even counts as Europe.
23 May 1087,
My wife gave birth to another beautiful baby girl. This one I named Sigrid at the request of Gytha. She does take after her mother much more than me, from the looks of it, and it's pretty obvious she has more Anglo-Saxon traits
than good Irish ones. That's alright, she's still my daughter.
Come to think of it, I can hear her crying about something down the hall, I ought to get a nanny to go check on it...
@ El Pip: We'll hope she plays well with others
@ Murmurandus: A bit of conniving in Connacht never hurts every once and a while
@ Rivus: Talent? There's more talent in a cow's cud than in her. Her real addition to the court is her last name. But ask and you shall receive.
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1 May 1085,
Dear Diary,
This is my first entry in this book, and I feel woefully ill-prepared. When I look back at the feats described by my grandfather I find it remarkable that I will have the chance to record my affairs within the same bindings as the great man who came to lead Connacht out of obscurity.
Alas, I ramble. My name is Muircheartach O'Conchuir. I am 16 years old and fresh out of an education in the court of my mother, who was serving as regent these past seven years. I was recently wed to Gytha, who is one year my senior, the daughter of the King of Scotland. She's not the brightest, not the prettiest, but it could be worse, and her hips are nice and broad - perfect for bearing children when the time comes.
Here's a portrait of us, the newest leaders of the O'Conchuir line:
12 September 1085,
This feels strange to write, but I think I love my wife. This morning I was feeling hungry while taking care of daily administrative duties and who should appear but my Gytha carrying a plate of mutton and potatoes! Wonderful! Better yet, her maid was behind her with a pint of fine mead. Love indeed, I say!
13 September 1085,
It's been an interesting week. Soon after my proclamation of love to my wife, a representative of the Count of Tir Connail burst out laughing. He claimed that I only loved her because she brought me food and because she's willing to share a bed with me, and that I look like a goat, or something of that sort, I wasn't really paying attention at that point.
It was my wife who took offense, much more so than did I. On her behalf I gave him a sharp bit of criticism and fired right back. Suffice it to say that hostilities escalated really fast and before I really knew what was going on I was demanding the abdication of the Count of Tir Connail.
5 October 1085,
My wife is two weeks late, which must mean for sure that a child is on the way! I wonder what gender it will be, I've always wanted to eldest to be male. I wouldn't argue with a baby girl, though, and that's what Gytha wants most of all.
4 July 1086,
My wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl today. We named her Seonaid, a good strong Irish name. She's a delightful little sprite, full of energy and vigor. I'll have to contact the Bishop about baptism as soon as possible! My mother is terribly pleased to be a grandmother, by the way, she made a special trip to my side of the hill-fort to tell me that.
16 September 1086,
My wife thinks she's pregnant again. That's great news! I just hope her health holds, two pregnancies with just two months in between can be pretty taxing on a woman...
11 October 1086,
My sister came back from her education in Scotland. She's 16 now, but every bit as evil as she was when she was sent away. Shame. I honestly don't feel comfortable with her around little Seonaid. Upon reading back in the diary, I found that my mom felt more or less the same level of discomfort with her, so I do feel a little better about marrying her away to the most far-flung corner of Europe. And by far-flung corner of Europe, I mean the Principality of Alania, so it hardly even counts as Europe.
23 May 1087,
My wife gave birth to another beautiful baby girl. This one I named Sigrid at the request of Gytha. She does take after her mother much more than me, from the looks of it, and it's pretty obvious she has more Anglo-Saxon traits
than good Irish ones. That's alright, she's still my daughter.
Come to think of it, I can hear her crying about something down the hall, I ought to get a nanny to go check on it...
Well at least she's productive. Plenty of time to try for a son.
Did you get the claim in the end? Count Tir Connail must pay for his insolence!
Plenty of time to try for a son.Did you get the claim in the end? Count Tir Connail must pay for his insolence!
I didn't get the claim, but I'm not really concerned about that right now. My reputation is slightly tarnished right now, I want to let it go down and save up money for a few years. Then I think I'll turn on the Duchy of Leinster, since it's just a one province Duchy, and take the Count of Dublin title, which would let me claim Duchy of Meath.
Sending your sister to Albania? Very harsh, even is she is evil. Still at least we can be sure the Count won't shirk the tough decisions.
@ El Pip: She was, well, awful. I can't remember perfectly, but I believe she had 'cruel', 'zealous', and 'vengeful' as traits. Not a pleasant person, and her loyalty was dropping something like -2.0% a month.
@ Rivus: Meath indeed, I hope. I'm allied with them, so at least I know they won't see it coming...
@ Enewald: She'd be perfect for a Crusader order army, I think - all the torture and massacre she could possibly desire!
Update will be up within 24 hours.
@ Rivus: Meath indeed, I hope. I'm allied with them, so at least I know they won't see it coming...
@ Enewald: She'd be perfect for a Crusader order army, I think - all the torture and massacre she could possibly desire!
Update will be up within 24 hours.
1 July 1087,
I authorized the construction of a Training Center in Galway. It'll mean more recruits in the military, better training times. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the first of such structures to be built in Ireland, giving Connacht a clear advantage over any enemies that threaten this fine Duchy.
29 October 1087,
Word came from the governor of Galway that the economy is in quite a boom. Evidently the peasants prefer working on building the training center to farming their barley and minding the sheep. Can't say I blame them, honestly. Hopefully this isn't a temporary boost.
2 December 1087,
I finally accepted the advice of my steward, who wanted to partition the Duchy of Connacht. He was right - I couldn't govern it as efficiently as I would have liked, so I gave Sligo to a vassal. When thinking of who would be best fit, I came to think of my mother, who was capable and loyal as a regent, despite the temptation to proclaim herself Duchess. I wished to reward her loyalty and patience in grooming me to be Duke, so I named her Countess of Sligo. I have the utmost confidence in her loyalty and governance ability.
15 January 1088,
My wife is pregnant again! Great news, it is. Hopefully it'll be a son this time, but another beautiful daughter wouldn't be so bad! In other news, my brother is nearly of age, I ought prepare for the marriage hunt he'll go on.
8 June 1088,
It was time to decide what to do with my lovely little Seonaid. My wife wanted her around the hillfort, but I don't have the patience or ability to raise a daughter properly. A son, aye, but not a daughter. We sent her to the monastery, a place for her to learn to be pious and faithful in her life.
14 June 1088,
The same question was asked of Sigrid today. We sent her to the same monastery - it's better not to break the two of them up yet, they still play together so well...
1 August 1088,
My brother Maolchuim left for the court of Sligo. I don't mind too much, my mother will do well to have his military talent. He'll be called into action soon enough, though.
I have decided to lay claim to the Count of Dublin title. They are our allies, which causes a bit of a moral dilemma, but that can't be helped. I wish to present the title to my newest child on his/her birthday! Ambitious, and I'll undoubtedly be a few months late with the gift, but it sure beats buying him/her a small sweater or something of that sort.
20 August 1088,
The Count of Mide refused to call up his troops, but I can deal with that later. War has been declared! I march off tomorrow, with the troops. May God's grace be upon the Duchy of Connacht!
1 September 1088,
The army arrived in Mide today, ready to launch our assault on Dublin. The Count of Mide, perhaps feeling guilty or intimidated by the army camping outside his hill-fort, agreed to call up his own. It was promptly added to the Army of Connacht. I think we'll leave sometime within the next day or two.
11 September 1088,
Today we engaged the forces of the Duchy of Leinster. We did very well and inflicted thrice the casualties we received onto them. They were driven from the field and seen fleeing north, up into Ulster somewhere. The siege will begin promptly at sunrise tomorrow morning.
(The siege on 26 September, then again on 3 November):
15 October 1088,
My daughter was born today! Dierdre, we named her, a fine Irish name. She has my eyes, and just like Sigrid is Gytha's, she is mine. You need only glance at her to see the similarity. Alas, the gift of the County of Dublin wasn't quite wrapped yet.
15 November 1088
The army of Leinster swept down from Ulster to try to break the siege. They failed miserably, inflicting only 25 casualties before being driven back after suffering from 75 casualties of their own.
6 January 1089,
Again the Army of Leinster attacked! I really admire their grit, although it's now starting to border on sheer stupidity. We killed 51 of them while they killed only 21. They are no longer a military threat.
2 March 1089,
We succeeded in bringing down Dublin's hill-fort. The war has ended, and Connacht has triumphed. The troops were stood down, and the time for recovery begins.
21 April 1089,
I have learned that, once the treasury reaches 100, I can proclaim myself the Duke of Meath in addition to the Duke of Connacht. I will not lie - I can't wait for that. It will definitely legitimize my rule in the eyes of those who see me as nothing more than a little upstart and it will get me out of the shadow of my grandfather, who, although a great man, still dominates discussion and his legacy is omnipresent.
I must go consult my maps, I have much work to do.
I authorized the construction of a Training Center in Galway. It'll mean more recruits in the military, better training times. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the first of such structures to be built in Ireland, giving Connacht a clear advantage over any enemies that threaten this fine Duchy.
29 October 1087,
Word came from the governor of Galway that the economy is in quite a boom. Evidently the peasants prefer working on building the training center to farming their barley and minding the sheep. Can't say I blame them, honestly. Hopefully this isn't a temporary boost.
2 December 1087,
I finally accepted the advice of my steward, who wanted to partition the Duchy of Connacht. He was right - I couldn't govern it as efficiently as I would have liked, so I gave Sligo to a vassal. When thinking of who would be best fit, I came to think of my mother, who was capable and loyal as a regent, despite the temptation to proclaim herself Duchess. I wished to reward her loyalty and patience in grooming me to be Duke, so I named her Countess of Sligo. I have the utmost confidence in her loyalty and governance ability.
15 January 1088,
My wife is pregnant again! Great news, it is. Hopefully it'll be a son this time, but another beautiful daughter wouldn't be so bad! In other news, my brother is nearly of age, I ought prepare for the marriage hunt he'll go on.
8 June 1088,
It was time to decide what to do with my lovely little Seonaid. My wife wanted her around the hillfort, but I don't have the patience or ability to raise a daughter properly. A son, aye, but not a daughter. We sent her to the monastery, a place for her to learn to be pious and faithful in her life.
14 June 1088,
The same question was asked of Sigrid today. We sent her to the same monastery - it's better not to break the two of them up yet, they still play together so well...
1 August 1088,
My brother Maolchuim left for the court of Sligo. I don't mind too much, my mother will do well to have his military talent. He'll be called into action soon enough, though.
I have decided to lay claim to the Count of Dublin title. They are our allies, which causes a bit of a moral dilemma, but that can't be helped. I wish to present the title to my newest child on his/her birthday! Ambitious, and I'll undoubtedly be a few months late with the gift, but it sure beats buying him/her a small sweater or something of that sort.
20 August 1088,
The Count of Mide refused to call up his troops, but I can deal with that later. War has been declared! I march off tomorrow, with the troops. May God's grace be upon the Duchy of Connacht!
1 September 1088,
The army arrived in Mide today, ready to launch our assault on Dublin. The Count of Mide, perhaps feeling guilty or intimidated by the army camping outside his hill-fort, agreed to call up his own. It was promptly added to the Army of Connacht. I think we'll leave sometime within the next day or two.
11 September 1088,
Today we engaged the forces of the Duchy of Leinster. We did very well and inflicted thrice the casualties we received onto them. They were driven from the field and seen fleeing north, up into Ulster somewhere. The siege will begin promptly at sunrise tomorrow morning.
(The siege on 26 September, then again on 3 November):
15 October 1088,
My daughter was born today! Dierdre, we named her, a fine Irish name. She has my eyes, and just like Sigrid is Gytha's, she is mine. You need only glance at her to see the similarity. Alas, the gift of the County of Dublin wasn't quite wrapped yet.
15 November 1088
The army of Leinster swept down from Ulster to try to break the siege. They failed miserably, inflicting only 25 casualties before being driven back after suffering from 75 casualties of their own.
6 January 1089,
Again the Army of Leinster attacked! I really admire their grit, although it's now starting to border on sheer stupidity. We killed 51 of them while they killed only 21. They are no longer a military threat.
2 March 1089,
We succeeded in bringing down Dublin's hill-fort. The war has ended, and Connacht has triumphed. The troops were stood down, and the time for recovery begins.
21 April 1089,
I have learned that, once the treasury reaches 100, I can proclaim myself the Duke of Meath in addition to the Duke of Connacht. I will not lie - I can't wait for that. It will definitely legitimize my rule in the eyes of those who see me as nothing more than a little upstart and it will get me out of the shadow of my grandfather, who, although a great man, still dominates discussion and his legacy is omnipresent.
I must go consult my maps, I have much work to do.
I gather having a son is considered quite important in CK (don't have it myself) so I wonder how long the Duke will continue to be calm about his long string of daughters. Still I imagine a second dukedom will do a lot to temporarily offset any concerns he may have!
Well he has a brother - so if that branch of the line is married, there's still more "insurance".