Chapter 5: Remember Thou Art Mortal (April 1054 – December 1057)
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April 1054 – February 1055: War and Blot
The Rurikid army in Lothian, the job done for Knut’s conquest of Galluria, headed down towards Gibraltar in mid-April for a planned raid on the Umayyads. By early May the army in Sardinia had also boarded their ships and was headed the same way.
And then an opportunity arose to eliminate some border gore when the High Chief of Pruthenia unwisely ‘wandered from the herd’. The Fylkir soon pounced, mustering his large personal levy in Russia.
As the various armies travelled, news came from Constantinople. The Basilissa died young in May 1054, leaving the throne to her young son Eustratios II.
Five months later Chancellor Jarl Bersi reported he had managed to influence the young Basileus.
The same messenger also brought a report that Crown Prince Toste had been severely injured while serving with the Varangian Guard, losing an eye. He had at some point been branded an apostate and had taken on a chaste lifestyle – making an expansion of his young family less likely.
He had recovered from the injury by the time of the next report in October and now sported a dashing scar.
In Sambia, High Chief Lutuveras had added a 2,000-man tribal host to his army by the end of May, and another 2,000 by the end of July. But a far larger Rurikid host was on its way.
When the first raiders arrived off Gibraltar in early June, they discovered an Umayyad army of almost 17,500 men attacking about a thousand Finnish raiders in Tangier. With the Tulunids able to muster an even larger army, the raiders turned around and headed for Venice. The other army on the way from Lothian would do the same when they passed Gibraltar a month later.
Around that time, it seemed the Brabantian Troubles may continue with the next generation, as young Ormr Skáld came of age as Chief of Hainaut. And immediately founded a faction against his Yngling liege, who he still considered to be a usurper of the now very large sub-realm of Brabant.
The first and most important battle of the short Sambian War was fought and won by 26 August 1054. The second tribal host had failed to reinforce the first as they pushed into Russian territory. Eormenric, commanding the Imperial levies, smashed them in Scalovia.
The second battle was won in Sambia itself on 21 September, with only light Russian losses. Two quick assaults to avoid attrition by seizing local supplies followed, with the war being won with no fuss by 29 September.
This returned the Russian threat level back to the maximum (after it had dropped just below 90%) and the war had spoiled Hroðulfr’s ambition to foster realm peace. Though he didn't care much about that.
The newly renamed Samland was awarded to High Chief Anundr Rurikid of Kola, one of the top Rurikid commanders and a fairly powerful marcher lord. Renowned to be both possessed and stark raving mad. Best to have him on side!
A few days later, the old Seer Godi Ale died and Hroðulfr took the chance to elevate his wife Empress Ylva to the position – mainly for her loyalty. He would have preferred to employ her as Steward, but such was not yet allowed despite the recent legal reforms.
Meanwhile, the first raid in Venice had begun in Istria on 23 August. In would last until February 1055 and provide 258 gold in loot. The second raiding army landed in nearby Segna in late September, netting 223 gold by the time they finished in March the following year.
Of some interest was the looting of a holy Christian artefact – the Image of Edessa – from Brinje castle in Segna in October. It would have been very useful had its value not been restricted to Christian rulers.
As these events unfolded, Jarl Knut was preparing his next strike against Aquitaine, declaring a war to conquer Saintonge on 1 October 1054, while an epidemic of consumption raged to it north, having started in Brittany earlier in the year.
The promising Prince Helgi came of age in late November 1054. His father arranged a suitable betrothal with one of the daughters of the Hvitserk King of England. Helgi, having been schooled in martial matters, was considered a brilliant strategist – though having picked up a reputation for greed and gluttony along the way. He would prove to be a rather fractious teenager.
By December, Hroðulfr was able to call another blot and the usual celebrations were held without any problems: Warchief Surt’s antics were considered more entertainment than indiscretion, by the Fylkir anyway, who buried his hands in his face – to conceal his grin! The realm and the army would be happy for the next year and that’s what really counted.
Over in France, Jarl Öysteinn’s holy war to take Upper Lorraine from Queen Tiburge of Aquitaine was going poorly
[-51% progress] by February 1055. Therefore, when they finished sacking Istria on 11 February, Botulfr’s army (around 7,700 strong) started boarding their ships and would sail to northern France, to support Öysteinn – and avoid the consumption outbreak which had spread to Normandy by then.
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March – December 1055: Focus on France
The other raiding army of around 8,800 men under Momchil finished in Segna on 23 March 1055 and took ship for Lothian territory in southern France, where they were to assist the latest Lothian war on Aquitaine, which was still in its early stages.
But soon after, word came that the Imperial Marshal and formidable marcher lord, King Þorolfr of Sviþjod, had been incapacitated – the cause of which was unknown. The militarily brilliant Anundr Rurikid was elevated to the role, assuring his fierce loyalty. Prince Helgi was promoted to fill his vacated commander’s slot.
But in Rouen, the advance of consumption had led to depopulation and the depression of its local economy, including in its Imperial Barony.
King Þorolfr died a month into his incapacity. That was no surprise: but there were unproven rumours that his end had been hastened – by poison. In any case, his son Botulfr succeeded him and would be a good candidate for Chancellor in the future, should a vacancy arise. For now, Hroðulfr moved to ensure he would stay well-disposed by send him a small gift (which was highly appreciated) and arranging a betrothal between Botulfr’s heir and one of his own daughters.
The main treasure fleet docked in southern France on 15 May. Momchil soon had his men heading around to assist the current Lothian siege of Lusignan.
The same day, Jarl Birger reported success in expelling the infidel Knights Templar from the Barony of Ross in Desmond, Ireland.
That summer, Prince Helgi’s hell-raising resulted in an unseemly brawl with the dangerous Marshal Anundr, giving the spare heir a rival he really
didn’t need!
In any case, the second raiding fleet finally docked in Breda on 4 July and Botulfr’s army was soon skirting the epidemic – which had spread to Reims – to assist Jarl Öysteinn reclaim his holdings in Bourgogne.
By then Momcil was approaching Lusignan, from where the Lothians had moved on. He would instead head south to Limousin, arriving there on 14 July to begin a raiding siege. On and off raids there up to April 1056 would yield a handy 242 gold, as well as indirectly assisting the Lothian war effort.
The Chancellor Jarl Bersi of Bolghar the Brave lost a 3rd Holy War against Cumania for a couple more counties in Sibir on 4 August. He was 60 years old by then and his wars had brought him into debt (-204 gold), which may have contributed to his defeat.
A series of three assaults where Botulfr assisted Öysteinn between 10-23 September saw Bourgogne completely liberated form Aquitaine
[warscore -10%]. Botulfr followed the Champagne army east to Aquitanian AARgau

.
Eormenric had taken over from Momcil in Limousin, breaking the siege on 3 October to advance south to intercept Aquitanian forces threatening to interfere with the Lothian siege then being prosecuted in Saintonge.
From 11 October to 19 February, five holdings were sieged down or assaulted in AARgau in support of Öysteinn. In Aquitaine, Eormenric easily defeated a small Aquitanian army (around 1,200 men) at Montauban in Toulouse and then headed west to drive off a larger Toulousian army in Gévaudan in a more serious battle from 25 November to 22 December.
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January – October 1056: Aquitaine and Death
Öysteinn’s war now proceeded swiftly in his favour. Botulfr’s raider helped him win a decisive victory on 10 March, the combined force of 10,000 men completely destroying a 1,500 man Bourbon army at the Battle of Grandson in Neuchatel. Sieges and assaults in Neuchatel and Bern from late March would see the war won by 20 July.
In Aquitaine, Eormenric was back to besiege Limousin on 15 February, then on to support the Lothians in Saintonge by 31 May, with two more holdings taken there by 10 June
[warscore +39%].
During this time, an anticipated Aquitanian landing in Lothian resulted in 4,200 men besieging Jarl Knut’s capital in an effort to reverse their fortunes. Ships were soon raised and sent to the Bay of Biscay, where Eormenric’s army was helping the Lothians in Saintonge.
Back home at court, Hroðulfr’s mother the former Empress Ingrid died aged 71 on 6 June. When Prince Helgi (now aged 17) retuned from his field duties for the funeral, he was sporting a scar he had picked up during his adventures.
By 23 June, Eormenric’s army was embarking from Saintonge, from where they would sail north to the Irish Sea, taking the quicker ‘back way’ to Skotland. They arrived in Teviotdale on 2 August and spent some time reorganising before setting off across country to confront the Aquitanians in Lothian. At the Battle of Stirling, Eormenric drove the enemy off and broke the siege by 8 October.
Jarl Hroðulfr of Brabant died a natural death on 6 October 1056 but was succeeded by his older – and incapable with end-stage cancer – brother Guðröðr, prolonging instability in this vital realm to Rurikid interests in the west. King Botulfr of Sviþjod take the vacant advisor position on the Imperial Council.
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January – March 1057: Call the Doctor!
The year 1057 was an eventful one personally for the Fylkir. It began with a nasty and persistent throbbing headache and a pain in one of his legs. Court Physician Ofeig was called: the news was bad. He believed Hroðulfr was suffering from cancer and began treating him accordingly.
The diagnosis was confirmed in early March, though the indications were that it was a relatively mild case – for now.
Despite this, Ofeig was concerned the cancer could spread. He offered the Fylkir a range of options. Hroðulfr was nothing if not brave, so opted for an ‘experimental’ treatment! He had some last-minute qualms, but by then it was too late. Ofeig had the hacksaw out by then …
It seems from the records of that time that – by luck or good management – Ofeig managed to isolate and remove the cancer successfully. But the Fylkir lost his leg and would need to recover from the severe injury; of which there was no guarantee.
The physician further burnished his reputation by curing Hroðulfr’s daughter Vigdis of a nasty case of dysentery – often fatal in those times – from 6-12 March, at the same time he was treating the Emperor. Who gratefully rewarded him with a bag of gold for his sterling service to the Imperial family.
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January – October 1057: Knut and Aquitaine
In Aquitaine, Botulfr’s raiders arrived from the east to assist the Lothian siege in Lusignan at the end of 1056. A series of sieges and assaults in Lusignan, Limousin and Perigord from January to September 1057 saw Jarl Knut closing in on his objectives. Though in early July, there was a nasty surprise when news came of a large Catholic uprising in Kleve. A large levy army began gathering to stamp it out, but it would take some time to concentrate them in Köln.
As Knut contemplated his approaching victory, the fragility of life in those times came to the fore again. On 25 September Knut’s wife, the Fylkir’s sister Ulfhildr, was not as lucky as her brother and succumbed to cancer.
Knut himself seemed to have picked up a nasty case of consumption, but despite this Hroðulfr sought to shore up the key relationship by marrying his daughter Gurli to the Jarl, in a ceremony held in mid-October …
… just after Knut had emerged victorious, once again due largely to Imperial assistance.
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April – December 1056: The Italian War
Jarl Hroðulfr II of Rostov had declared a rather ambitious prepared invasion of Italy against Duchess Anna of Lombardy back on 1 January 1056. The Emperor would not involve himself at that time, but would be tempted to do so later as the Aquitanian wars wound down.
Rostov’s actual invasion of Italy didn’t kick off until April 1057 when an army of 1,200 men began besieging Brescia. With Lothian rescued, on 12 April Eormenric set sail from Skotland all the way to northern Italy, where he would arrive in Lucca on 27 July and start marching north to join the Rostovan army in Brescia.
After Eormenric’s arrival in Brescia on 3 September, the Rostovans used his troops to assist with assaults and sieges to take four holdings by 21 October. Eormenric stayed there to guard the occupied holdings while the Rostov army ventured south.
In December, the Holmgarðr levy was called out to help deal with a couple of small Lombard armies that had arrived in the east to try to cause mischief.
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May – December 1057: The Reaper Keeps Reaping
As this was happening, Brabant was once again in the news. First, Guðröðr died from his cancer on 5 May, succeeded by his son the new Jarl Sigurðr Yngling – who also inherited a war against Poland. On May 26, his army there was slightly outnumbered (4,875 to 5,113) by a Polish-led army in a battle in western Poland. Two days later, 12,000 Imperial levies were raised in Russia to assist the new Jarl.
Meanwhile, Prince Toste had healed from the loss of his eye and had developed several admirable traits during his service with the Varangian Guard, where he was reappointed as Sakellarios to the new Guard Commander on 22 June.
The next to be summoned to Valhalla was the gallant old Chancellor, Jarl Bersi ‘the Brave’. His place on the Council was given to none other than Jarl Knut, now a thoroughly loyal man on the rise and high in the Fylkir’s favour.
On 7 September the advance guard of the levies approaching Poland to help the Jarl Sigurðr of Brabant encountered (by accident) a similarly sized band of raiders in Kujawy. Just two days later, Brabant’s Holy War for Greater Poland ended when Sigurðr gave up, leaving the Rurikid levies to fight out a useless battle. Reinforcements arriving on 26 September helped decide the issue, with the skirmish won by 6 October for the loss of around 400 men and the rest of the levies stood down.
The Emperor was still recovering from his surgery which he turned 50 a few days after Knut’s victory against Aquitaine and the day the battle in Kujawy ended. He marked the occasion by cutting off his greying hair and beard but there was no doubt he was beginning to show his age. Making the development of his two eldest sons all the more important.
Four days after that, the Catholic rebels in Kleve were dealt a crushing blow as almost twice the number of far better armed and trained Russian troops descended on them. It was all over by the 26th and the leader was subjected to the Fylkir’s by now standard ‘mercy’. Which is to say, none at all.
At least as the year was ending, after what seemed like forever, Hroðulfr’s wound from his lifesaving but traumatic amputation had fully healed. He was out of immediate danger. Though in those times, it ever lurked near.