An AARnnotated History of the Ua Briain Dynasty

[TheChronoMaster]

Dear God that's a terrible title.

It's my first AAR, so I'm just doing what I feel like, and whatever feels right to write.

Also, expect me to miss important events here and there.

That said, I have a couple restrictions I'm putting on myself:

1) No saving and resign/reloading. Pretty standard, especially for CK.
2) I'm making some attempts to roleplay, but my primary goal is not to lose prematurely, and not to lose Ireland once I control it.


And a couple disclaimers:
1) I am not very knowledgeable about Irish history, and only somewhat knowledgeable about Irish myth. I'll try to research as much as I can, but mistakes will be made.
2) Speaking of history, I'm not that knowledgeable about feudal history and politics! Just consider this an alternate, movie version of history, and the details outside of the dynasty's primary players don't really matter.
3) I may have done some very minor modding, or be doing it as I go along. It's purely for fun.

Hm. Oh well, let's just get this shindig going, in the next post.




----INDEX----
Chapter 1: The Lord of Munster
Chapter 2: War without War

 

[TheChronoMaster]

CHAPTER 1: The Lord of Munster

Following the death of High King Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig in 1014, Ireland lacked a central ruler, and fractured into numerous petty kingdoms. The Ua Briain dynasty, the sons of High King Brian, and rulers of Munster, sought to change that shortly after witnessing the success of William 'The Conquerer', who claimed the English throne as his right.

Murchad Ua Briain, however, lacked such a clear claim. Any number of the great Irish families contested they were the rightful High King, and the claim itself had lost all meaning. Murchad, however, knew that his family was destined to sit upon the throne of the Emerald Isle. To that end, he first sought to solidify his rule over what is now the Duchy of Munster, and security could only be assured with alliances by marriage.


The first step was to find a suitable bride for his son, Brian. Ingegerd, the daughter of Magnus II of Norway, was an ideal choice. Norway had proven how quickly they could move a large force to the isles during William's conquest, and Murchad respected Magnus II as a man. Personal correspondence between the two reveals that Magnus did not feel such an alliance was in his benefit, yet agreed due to their bond of friendship, and his own confidence in his ability to hold his realm.

Murchad also sought a bride for himself, having lost his prior wife to illness. His chancellor discovered something interesting from a travelling Dane - The Emperor of the Romans, Kaiser Heinrich IV, had produced an unmarried bastard daughter, and could not abide her staying in his court. Murchad, seeing an opprotunity to ingratiate himself to the Kaiser, quickly requested her hand in marriage, and the arrangements were quickly made. Despite his relative poverty, Murchad refused to accept a Royal Aid Duty from Heinrich, further strengthening his ties with a mainland power.

These steps alone would not be enough, however. Though Murchad was Lord of Munster in name, his position was not secure. There remained a key obstacle to solidifying his base of power, the County of Desmond to the south.

On January 2nd of 1067, Murchad declared war, with his declaration stressing that the County of Desmond was his by law and right.

However, his impatience in this matter would have consequences for years to come...

 

[KPJ]

Excellent choice, my first CK2 game has been as the Ua Briains, and it's a good one! I see you forgot to account for the extra manpower you'd need for sieging

Sub'd.

 

[TheChronoMaster]

@KPJ: Thanks for the interest, and sorry about the long turnaround -- I've had this for a while, but internet outages have made it difficult to post. I'm also scaling back my screenshots here, mainly because...well, I forgot to take them. Oops.

Since all my saves to this point are on the release version, I am wary about moving to 1.03b, so I have made a backup -- hopefully nothing goes horribly wrong, and I can continue uninterrupted.

CHAPTER 2: War without War

The Battle of Clonye turned out to be a disaster -- Though Murchad had a numerical advantage, his troops were ill trained and ill equipped for the invasion, leading to a sound defeat. The following battle of Limerick, wherein Murchad's army was chased from Desmond, through Thomond, to the major city where the battle takes its name, was a disaster for both sides -- neither army was in any condition to continue fighting, and it would take months to replenish the depleted levies.

In the following years, while the war never formally ceased, neither side was able to muster enough of a force to continue fighting. Murchad sought the aid of his allies to no avail -- the Kaiser claimed that such a matter was beneath his notice, while Magnus of Norway was too busy fighting the numerous pagans of Scandinavia. Murchad sought assistance from mercenaries, however, his reserves of coin were pitiful compared to those of larger mainland dukes. The saving grace was that Desmond was equally pitiful, both in money and alliances, and the war's scope never broadened.

It was later in the year 1069 before Murchad at last had enough troops to feel confident enough to resume his war. Raising an army of 360 men, Murchad marched on Desmond with great care, proving his patience with calculated maneuvers in the second Battle of Clonye. After a year spent besieging the capital, at last, Desmond fell into his hands, and the count Mureidach swore fealty to the rightful Duke of Munster.

After this success, Murchad found his realm to be the largest on Ireland, but not yet large enough for the many squabbling rulers to accept him as the High King. His trusted chancellor, Gilla-Brigte, traveled to the County of Ossory to research and revive traditional Ua Briain claims on that land. Murchad redoubled his studies on the previous High Kings of Ireland, earning him a reputation as a scholarly man. Over the years, stories of how he asserted his rule over Desmond spread, and he became known as Murchad 'the Bold' -- ironic, considering that he detested speaking with people in person, and almost never attended court.

It was the year 1086 when Murchad passed on, leaving his son Brian to rule.



----


Yes it's horrible. Yes it's bland, and yes it's rushed. But honestly, I don't remember much of this period, and I lack the screenshots I need...I am going to start taking notes.