It should not require any DLC. I tested the same start and also encountered the same crash, repeatedly, but I do not know what causes it. Strange issues like this are what prompted the rewrite of the entire mod.
Soo, I didn't have much going on and stuff, so I did some testing. Not sure if it'll be of any help, but this is a list of games started and their crash date. Not listed there is the second 1066 boomark (William the Conqueror), but I did try it a few times and had the same problem with consistent crash dates. Millenium, Rise of the Hansa (1241), and LTA (Late Middle Ages, 1337, the very last bookmark) all work fine, but the First Crusade (1103) crashes before it even finishes loading. There's a whole slew of bookmarks post 1066, so those are the only ones I looked at.
HMA, 1066, Sep 15th, Sep 26th
HMA, 1066, Sep 16th, Sep 26th
HMA, 1066, Sep 17th, Sep 26th
HMA, 1066, Sep 24th, Sep 26th
HMA, 1066, Sep 25th, Sep 28th
HMA, 1066, Sep 26th, Sep 28th
HMA, 1066, Oct 15th, Nov 26th
HMA, 1066, Nov 15th, Nov 26th
HMA, 1066, Dec 15th, Jan 3rd
HMA, 1067, Jan 15th, Feb 6th
HMA, 1067, Feb 15th, Mar 3rd
HMA, 1067, Mar 15th, Apr 26th
HMA, 1067, Apr 15th, Apr 26th
HMA, 1067, May 15th, Jun 26th
HMA, 1067, Jun 15th, Jun 26th
HMA, 1067, Jul 15th, Aug 3rd
HMA, 1067, Aug 15th, Sep 26th
HMA, 1067, Sep 15th, Sep 26th
HMA, 1067, Apr 1st, Apr 26th
HMA, 1067, May 1st, May 3rd
Alexiad, 1081, Apr 1st, Apr 22nd
Alexiad, 1081, May 1st, May 6th
Alexiad, 1081, Apr 15th, Apr 22nd
Alexiad, 1081, May 15th, May 22nd