Boundless ambition - A Pfalz AAR

[Hohenstaufen]

Preliminaries​

This AAR is very much work-in-progress; it's being written as the game as the game is played, and events may not necessarily unfold as I anticipated beforehand. Any surprises experienced by the main characters in the story will, therefore, likely have their counterpart in the real-life me.

I have elected to play as the Counts of the Rhineland Palatinate, simplified as Pfalz in Crusader Kings, and to play the 1066 scenario. Historically, this was one of the most significant noble titles within the Holy Roman Empire. In game terms, however, they start out as a tiny county, with the German King himself holding provinces literally next door. Turning them into a prominent (and indeed dominant) European dynasty should prove an interesting challenge. Note, however, that I shall play this particular game with this AAR in mind; this might lead to me making seemingly odd decisions, simply because they might make a good tale.

One final point - I'm in fact a trained historian, and while I'm quite aware that Crusader Kings is not historically accurate, at least beyond a scenario's initial setup, I'll probably be stuffing in historical titbits. It's an obsession I cannot seem to control for very long, so sorry 'bout that. Any comments on the AAR are, of course, welcomed.

Now without further ado, let's proceed to...

 

[Hohenstaufen]

Boundless Ambition
A Pfalz AAR
​

Heidelberg Castle, late December 1066​

“Is he gone?”
Hermann, Count Palatine of the Rhine, looked at his wife with mild amusement. “Yes, dear. My esteemed cousin appears to have left the Castle – as you would have known, had you been present at the banquet.”
“He’s not your cousin.”
“We share the same great-great-grandfather, and that makes him a cousin of sorts. Besides, he’ll be the next Count Palatine should I die childless”.
His wife snorted. “A premature death he’s keenly trying to speed up, I suspect”, she muttered.
The Count chuckled. “I agree that Lord St. Gallen is a perfectly unlikable fellow, and that he’d probably be happy to see me dead… but he’s also a naïve, inbred Hohenstaufen, and thus no match for me. Now, let’s go back to the Rittersaal. Council is assembled, and we have work to do.”

The Holy Roman Empire was an anomaly even in its early days. While the monarchs of Europe vied for power and dominance over huge tracts of land, the German lords who formed the Empire were constantly involved in petty disputes and power squabbles with their peers, fighting ridiculously small wars with neighbouring princelings, and just generally not emerging into a Great Modern Power. The fact that its titular rulers tended to be little more than incompetent fools didn’t help either. The Empire was a hotchpotch of states and nobles, and as such, quite naturally, a breeding ground for ambition and intrigue, but so far none had succeeded in leaving a permanent mark on the vast German territories. One particularly tiny dynasty, that of the Lords of the Rhineland Palatinate, was now trying to change that matter.

Theirs was an old title, originating from the court of Charlemagne himself, and it gave them greater prestige than their less-than-modest holdings would otherwise have merited. Just as William the Conqueror was making himself comfortable in his new English domains, the Count Palatinate of the Rhine was plotting to have his dynasty occupy the throne of the German Kings – and Hermann II was not a man who gave up his ambitions easily.

Letter from Friedrich Graf St.Gallen to Hermann II Pfalzgraf bei Rhein, August 1068 (excerpt)​

Cousin,

I cannot state how shocked and grieved I am, having received the news of thy beloved Heilwiva's death. The loss of such a noble and worthy live, in childbirth no less, is a Tragedy to the whole of our Realm. I am, of course, ever at thy service, should thee require any assistance in these doubtlessly difficult days. (...) As heir presumptive of thy demesne, I shall endeavour to do anything in my power to support thee in thy duties...

 

[Hohenstaufen]

Heidelberg Castle, March 9, 1070​

As the guests filed out of the chapel, Hermann couldn't resist grinning wolfishly at his cousin. Protocol dictated that the former "heir presumptive", as St.Gallen had so much liked to style himself, would be invited for the baptism of the new heir, and the man had not been able to find a reason to stay away. During the ceremony, Friedrich had had the decency to try and look more or less serene. Now, he strode past with a face that would sour milk, without so much as a glance at his smiling host.

Despite his grief over Heilwiva's death, the Count Palatine had not lost much time finding a new wife. He had, in fact, astonished virtually everyone by marrying less than three months later, to a minor noble named Sibilia de Sabron, formerly of the Spanish county of Lleida. This had been a break with tradition; the new countess was small and delicate, whereas most women in the Palatinate (and indeed in the whole of Germany) had a tendency to plumpness. Several of the ladies in his court had been shocked, and rumour had it that his Lady Chancellor, whose shape was best described as being "perfectly round", had actually fainted on seeing her new mistress from a distance. Sibilia was also slightly more temperamental than the court had expected; on her second day in Heidelberg, she'd actually hit a lady-in-waiting who'd entered her quarters without explicit permission. By and large, though, she was civilized, educated, and congenial. Most significantly, of course, she was now the mother of an heir to Hermann's title - Humbert von Bonngau, nemesis to his Hohenstaufen relative, and infant instrument to his father's ambitions.

She had also provided Hermann with some food for thought. To increase the power of the dynasty, he ought to gain more titles; German princes, however, all seemed to produce offspring at an alarming rate, making it unlikely to simply inherit a nice prestigious title from any of them. The Islamic territories in the south, however, were a different matter altogether. Every Christian lord knew that Muslim rulers existed to be killed, and their lands taken in the name of the Lord. Perhaps, she argued, the near future of the Palatinate lay not within the Holy Roman Empire, but in a Holy War near the Mediterranean...

 

[coz1]

An excellent start. Already we can see the gears of desire in motion. Keep it up. I always enjoy a Pfalz AAR and in CK, this should prove to be most enjoyable.

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

Good luck with your AAR about the 'Ezzonen'.

The start is very interesting