DanmAARk Fremfor Alt!

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DENMARK ABOVE ALL!​

Part I: The Good King Svend

Denmark in 1067 is a prosperous kingdom of seven provinces. Svend Estridson Knytling is a fine old king, with over fifteen children to his name, including three grown sons, Harald, Knut and Benedikt. Harald is Duke of Slesvig, and Knut is Count of Fyn. The young Benedikt remains in Svend's court in Skane, the most prosperous part of his demense, as his Marshal.

Olaf, young King of Norway, seeks defence against Sweden, and so forged an alliance with King Svend II of Denmark, the alliance being bound with the marriage of one of Svend's many daughter's to the Chancellor of Norway. Other daughters too were married off to nearby counts, although an offer for the hand of 17-yar old Ingrid by the 87-year old elector of Gotland was rebuffed.

In this year, too, the King married his long-time lover, his Chancellor, Rannevig Thordadottir, mother of at least one of his daughters – his affair with her having begun long before the death of his first wife, the mother of his heirs.

In 1068, a son, Valdemar, was born to Svend's daughter and the brother of the Count of Sjaelland, putting him second in line to the Countcy.

In 1069, Svend's fourth son, Olaf, came charging into the throneroom of his rather, claiming insult: His wife Christina, a pretty young woman whom he had himself chosen as a bride, had been advising his father on matters of finance! Surely this should be his domain, as his son, and not that of a WOMAN!

King Svend, however, rebuffed his son: he was not concerned with the gender of his Steward, so long as Denmark's bottom line remained above rivals Norway and Sweden. Olaf stormed out fuming, his father having putting his faith in his wife above him.

Christina was with child at the time, and not long after gave birth to a girl, but resumed her financial duties with much haste. Heir to the throne, Harald, too, had a daughter through his wife. Truly Svend had a dozen sons, but half of them were bastards, and currently his only grandson by blood was Valdemar, son of an illegitimate daughter, and he worried for his kingdom's future.

Olaf's outaward hatred for his wife did not preclude him from impregnating her, but indeed it could very well have been an assassination attempt, considering the risk of maternal death in the era. She survived, however, and named the son Valdemar, making BOTH Svend's grandson's possess the same name.

Days after the birth of his son, Olaf came lamenting to his father his lack of status in the kingdom, criticising his father's consort and his own step-mother, Rannevig, of being a poor chancellor. The opposite, of course, was true, and she was renowned in all of Scandanavia for her tact and statesmanship. His father having once more snubbed him, Olaf became stressed and felt unwanted. Soon, he sunk into depression and drink.

While their elder brother Olaf sulked off in the darkest corridor's of Svend II's keep, Eric and Svend, the king's fifth and sixth eldest sons, were maturing into competant and capable adults, more fit to be future rulers than any of their elder brothers, who were a mixture of layabouts and letharios. Eric was appointed chancellor over the princess consort, only aggravating Olaf further. When Svend Svendson, too, took over stewardship and bookkeeping, another position Olaf had desired, he disappeared for a week and had to be brought back to the castle from under a bridge where he had been living with vagrants in a burlap sack.

Soon, Eric took after Olaf in his demanding nature, and demanded to be created Count of Jylland in place of the noble there, whose loyalty was suspect. His request was granted, but in so administering the territory the Chancellery would return to Rannevig, his step-mother.

Eventually Olaf, after a supervised pilgrimage to Rome, came to his senses and banished dark thoughts from his mind – his depression had ceased.

In 1074, a man came in to Denmark in a blizzard with a sealed by the Pope asking that he be enstated as bishop of all Denmark. The king doubted the authenticity of the letter, but was nevertheless taken with the man's bravery in travelling through the worst storm Denmark had seen in ages. Soon, however, the bishop seemed a rather un-holy figure – he was eager to glance at the ladies about the court, and had a rather "liberal" interpretation of many holy scriptures – he even appeared to know the very basic rituals of mass. Nevertheless, he did incite his followers with ferver when he told them of the barbarians of the southern Baltic shore, with their savage pagan ways. Prince Benedikt, Marshal of Denmark, seemed quite taken with the bishop, as he had yet been able to prove himself in combat, Denmark having seen many years of peace.

Olaf once more expressed his desire to become chancellor, but the king would have none of it still. Olaf merely shrugged this time, the answer being so expected.

With his age advancing to past 55, King Svend sought to ensure that the best of his sons become king upon his death. This would not be Harald, the heir apparant, but Eric, whose realm was north to his elder brother's. In order that his sons not quarrel over the succession while he lived, he placed the name of his successor in a chest, to be guarded in his own quarters.

More of Svend II's many sons came of age, and one of them, Knud Magnus, thought there would be no better way to prove his manhood than by siring a child with his chambermaid. While the king had certainly done the same thing multiple times in his youth, he saw no reason that his sons should not be better men than he, and he ordered Knud Magnus to pray for a day, without rest, to repent for his sin.

IMG]http://a.imageshack.us/img828/1963/83824688.jpg[/IMG]

Knud Magnus promised, to both his father and god, never again to touch a woman other than his wife. In return for his piety and devotion, he was promoted to Marshal of the army.

For the king's 56th birthday, a new castle at Skane was complete for him. The Kingdom of Denmark would now be ruled from Løve Hule, the Lion's Den.

Prince Benedikt did not attend the king's first entry into Løve Hule and the celebration surrounding it, as he was angry over both the appointment of his younger brother, Knud Magnus, to his post as Marshal, and at his wife Alzbeta's continued prescence at the court as Spymaster, despite her having fallen out of his personal favour.

In the spring of 1077, Marshal Knud and Bishop Hemming convinced King Svend to go to war against the southern barbarians of Mecklemburg to liberate Lubeck, a Christian territory seized by the pagans. With his son Knud, the king set forth from Scania with over 7000 men. They met the pagans by the plains of Ommel and the Danish archers decimated the slavic army of 3,500.

A cavalry charge by the Scanian noblity swept away all opposition that remained, and fewer than 400 of the enemy left the battlefield under their own power. The chiefs quickly pleaded for surrender, and Lubeck was the newfound territory of Denmark.

King Svend made certain no looting of Lubeck took place, as these were Christian peoples. This was not conquest, but a crusade of liberation! Incidentally, the Pope made a call for crusade on Jerusalem, but Denmark, being so far removed from the holy land, would be unable to answer.

Another year passed peacefully in Denmark, until Prince Olaf's wife, whom he had largely reconciled with, died in childbirth along with the child. She had bore her husband five sons and a daughter, and endured his depression and oft-times disdain for her.

Olaf quickly got over his loss, however, and married a precocious 16-year old girl from Hungary.

Svend Svendson, too, lost his wife in childbirth when she was only twenty. He too remarried, to a German courtier of no note.

Something of note, however, was the passing of the Count of the island of Bornholm. His brother was far less loyal than he, and so he was ordered to receive "instruction" from the King on how to govern. The Count made plans to resist, but when the King arrived with 5000 men, he realised that to send his 200-strong peasant militia to die would be pointless, and accepted exile in Sweden.

Just north of Skane, in Sweden, the Count of Finnveden rose in revolt against the king of Sweden. Within three days, King Svend had arrived in the rebel county and convinced the count to take refuge in Denmark whilst he coerced the Swedes into accepting Finnveden as a Danish province. This was not so very difficult a sell to the blind king of Sweden, who would have been able to muster an army only half the size of Denmark had he challenged the revolt.

Finnveden was annexed into Denmark.

King Svend endeared himself to the peasantry for abolishing serfdom in Scania and all his personal domains, though this upset some of the nobility, particularly in Finnveden, who had been used to having near complete control over their subjects.

Many agricultural and architectural improvements were discovered in Scania, enriching the peasantry more than any other group, who, owning their own land, could barter and trade their crops on the free market.

Bishop Hemming, long having been discredited as a fraud and hypocrite, was replaced by yet another of King Svend's many sons, Niels, but when Knud Magnus was created Count of Bornholm Niels took over the position of Marshal, his religious ferver bounding over into martial prowess. This left the most devout of all Svend's sons, Bjorn, to the post of Bishop.

Knud Magnus launched a raid on the baltic island of Rugen, claiming it for the Danish Crown.

In 1086, disaster struck the court as Prince Niels, former archbishop of Denmark and then-Marshal of the Crown was found beaten to death in his bed, his face and head a bloody, mangled mess. Hemming Gedda, who had come to Denmark as a mendicant priest welcomed with open arms, was caught by the castle guard trying to dispose of the murder weapon, a mace.

King Svend ordered Gedda boiled in oil for such a crime against royal blood.

As Marshal, Niels was replaced with a superb Swedish commander, but as a son his loss would forever be a blemish on the soul of old King Svend. Walpurga, Svend's spymistress and Niels' 18-year old widow, was married to Thorgils, Svend's last unwed son (save for Svend Svendson, archbishop). Thorgils, having a clubbed foot and general ugliness about him, was thought unmarriagable, but as someone with interests in Denmark already, it was agreed Walpurga might as well add matrimoney to her duties.

Despite murder most foul in the state of Denmark, the economic prosperity of the kingdom continued to increase, a result of the freedom granted to serfs and the merchant class.

In 1088, the duke of Orkney annexed the Shetland Islands, and the Count fled to Denmark, bringing his wife, the daughter of King Svend, and much of his court, with him.The former count availed himself of his services as a soldier, the old Marshal having died weeks earlier of old age. However, his son Ale, having just reached majority, showed a supernatural apptitude for combat and strategy, and was selected over his father, the former Count.

In this year also, Harald, Svend's first son, split his Duchy of Slesvig-Holstein, giving the southern country to his son, Henrik.

In 1089, Olaf had finally had enough – he decided to leave the court at Løve Hule for good, settling with his landed brother Knud Magnus on Bornholm

In 1090, at the age of 70, King Svend II became ill from an infected anal fistula. A month later, he died of sepsis. His wife, Rannevig, died three months after him.

King Svend II 1047-1090

-Expanded Danish territory
-Built extensive infrastructure and roads
-Put most of Denmark under the direct rule of his sons

After his death, Svend was beatified by the Catholic church and his remains interned at Løve Hule.

 

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Part II: Unfortunate Son

Eric Svendson Knytling, to reign as Eric I, was 34 when he ascended the throne with the titles King of Denmark, Duke of Skane, Count of Jylland, Finnveden, Rugen and Lubeck. He already had two heirs to his throne ready, and if they proved hopeless he had more than a half-dozen brothers, all with children of their own. But after a period of such prosperity under his father, how would he forge his own legacy? Through warfare, of course.

A quick expedition against the pagans of the coast netted Sambia, of which brother Bjorn was made count.

Denmark, 1091

Brother Svend Svendson was also made a count, of tiny island Rugen.

Lubeck, being developed, became thoroughly Danish thanks to infrastructure and trade.

Ale of Shetland, King Erik's nephew through his sister, set out from Halland to conquer Wolgast, upon which the King had a claim through former occupation of the territory by his father. Marshal Ale encountered little resistance from the Countess who had laid unlawful claim therein. The King kept it as his personal possession.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Kingdom of Leon and Castille has managed to take over nearly all of Iberia, most of France, as well as most of Italy and Germany. They are without compare in power and prestige, and clearly not an empire Denmark wanted as an enemy.

Ale crushed a rebellion against the Swedes in Rostock, keeping the territory for the king in payment for dealing with the heretics.

Just as peace fell on the kingdom, trechery! The Swedes attacked without warning, but before they could muster an invasion force, King Eric I launched a valiant pre-emptive attack on the Swedish capitol. He was rebuffed, with heavy losses, but the peasantry of Denmark rallied to his side, with over five thousand of them mustering in Scania to combat the invader! In a second assault north, the King was greviously wounded by a Swedish pike, as were many of the nobles of the realm. He was carried off the battlefield as the valiant Danes retreated. The Swedes, however, were spent as well: 90% of the men on both sides were either dead or too wounded to fight.

The Swedish king was blind to the mass death around him – literally. He could not see how the green fields of Sweden ran red with blood, gushing from holes in man and beast alike. But upon hearing the number of dead, he realised his folly, and offered up the token promise of recognising Danish rule over Rostock and Wolgast.

King Eric had not anticipated so close a conflict, in which Denmark was in fact defeated in every battle it fought! There was trechery from all allies: his Dukes and Counts, his very brothers, had refused to send their men across the waters to defend Scania, the breadbasket and heartland of all Denmark! In addition to this, the Norwegians, who had an army of ten thousand men on the Swedish border, refused to go to war! Eric was stabbed in the back by every ally he had, and it was this wound that festered so much more than the one in his side.

As if Denmark could not be a nation of more woe, Eric's spymaster and neice, Sigrid, died in childbirth after learning of her lordship's wounding.

With no men or money to spare, Duke Harald, governing in his younger brother's stead, gave in to the demands of the pagan rebels of Rostock.

The whole kingdom mourns for their dead and for their king. Marshal Ale, brother of the late Sigrid and nephew of the beloved Eric, sinks into depression at the loss experienced by both himself and Denmark.

The king held bravely on for nearly two years, putting his affairs in order and ensuring his eldest son's place on the throne. But kings are but men, not gods.

King Eric I 1090-1097

While his first years were marked by small, successful conquests, when faced with a foe on equal footing he was unable to marshal his nation to victory. At best, Eric I will go down in history as a tragic hero, betrayed by those he thought he could trust when he needed them the most, but genuinely loved by his people, who rallied around him in droves when the enemy threatened.

 

[Saithis]

Skjalm had best remain in a good light or I'll be staging a cross-AAR invasion.

Looks good, love to see the Danes dominate once again.

 

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Skjalm had best remain in a good light or I'll be staging a cross-AAR invasion.

Looks good, love to see the Danes dominate once again.

Hey wait wait wait.. Why aren't you updating Piety of the North Star, Saithis? You haven't updated your AAR in three months. Get back to work!

In any case, this AAR isn't bad, I suppose. Continue.

 

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Skjalm had best remain in a good light or I'll be staging a cross-AAR invasion.

Oh, I assure you, Skjalm was always a loyal and devoted duke. His son - or was it his grandson? - brought shame and dishonour to his house, I am afraid.

Part III: The Iron-Fisted Autocrat

Harik Knytling, Harik I, came to the throne at the age of thirteen, old enough to begin the tasks of governance but still requiring the guidance of his mother, the princess dowager, and his uncle Harald, Duke of Slesvig.

Harik was trained in the art of war, but was also competant in the field of administration. He was a shy and reserved child, quick to apologise and easily second-guessed by his advisors.

Or so they thought.

Harald and his sons, Henrik and Abel had been interloping in English conflicts since the years when Eric I lay on his deathbed, and their expeditions had left their ducal and county coffers dry, with not a cent in tribute to the king. It was given that they had not invested anything into devloping their land – the fields lay fallow. So it was that, on one rest between sojourns to Albion, the Duke of Slesvig found himself faced with Ale of Shetland, his nephew, and the threat of four thousand Jyllanders. On the pretext of disloyalty and a treason plot, King Harik had ordered the duke and his sons banished from their lands. Any little resistance there was amounted to little more than fist-brawls and the quick ejection of Harald and his heirs. They set off across the sea for Sweden as Slesvig-Holstein was added to Harik's personal domain.

This, however, engendered fear from his four uncles that retained titles. He kept them in line with threats – if he wanted them gone, they would have been. Harik consolidated power in his person, and sought out for himself a bride befitting a king. The girl he chose was dowdy, but with dowry, a Swedish girl living in France, one of the few places not dominated by the Kingdom of Leon and Castille. With the dowry Harik set about improving his new territories, building castles and expanding industry. He also granted amnesty to Harald and his sons, allowing them to return to his court. This eased tensions with his uncles.

Uncle Benedikt, who had assisted in Harald's ouster, defected to Sjaelland, but Harik did not miss him. He was a sub-par soldier and one of the many old men who would seek to deny him his birthright.

For years, Denmark prospered quietly. To many it seemed as though there had been a return to the peaceful days of Svend II.

Harik isn't so chaste as his predecessors, and when one is building a nation, one must have some fun! When Harik was presented with a child born out of wedlock, he chose to raise it as his own anyway – and people respected him for that.

After eight years of peaceful rule, establishing his absolute control, Harik found the perfect oppurtunity for expansion. His wife's uncle, Brynjolf, was attempting to usurp the county of Smaland, one of the battlefields during the war in which the Swedes killed his father. Harik had been contemplating having his marriage anulled on the basis that his wife had not produced him a male heir, but having at least SOME sort of claim to Smaland would be helpful.

Harik had a great love of swordplay, but he had no intention of ending his life the way his father had, languishing on a bed from some foolish wound. No, he would send Henrik Knytling, former Count of Holstein, placated with the marshalcy and a manor in Halland.

Though victory came quickly and cheaply, news of victory did not greet him well. He had wanted an anullment from his wife in order to marry Gunnhild of Shetland, daughter of the famous Ale. But she, like her father, was prone to boughts of such sadness and grief, and in a fit of jealousy over Harik's delay of their union she leapt into the maelstrom and vanished beath a funnel of water.

Nevertheless, Harik found another bride, after having his bishop declare his previous marriage null and void. Jutta, the 16-year old daughter of Henrik Knytling.

In honour of his marriage, Harik abolished all personal levies and taxes on his uncles and Hardeknut Hvide, Count of Sjaelland and the only count in Denmark not Harik's Uncle.

Even without scrutage, Harik still remains the wealthiest king in Scandanavia.

 

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Part IV: Gains and Losses

The nobles of Slesvig demanded hunting rights on church lands from Harik, which, although he had no personal issue with, knew would invoke the ire of the church, which was already keeping a close eye on Harik, so he sided with the clergy.

News that wife Jutta was with child was greeted with enthusiasm by Harik, but when Cecilie was born, that joy turned to grief.

Most common folk, having a child so burdensome, would drown the child, and the pagans of the coast would likely sacrifice it to their gods, but being a king, Harik could afford to have nannies care for the child, for its lifetime if need be.

The Swedes are still considered a brash and warlike people, and with language being so similar, one of the ways to define being "Danish" was merely that of being prosperous, which the people of Finnveden certainly were.

In 1109, inexplicably, without expectation of note of explanation, Prince Malthe Knytling, Harik's second younger brother after Abel, leapt off the high tower of Løve Hule. Harik was devastated, having been close to Malthe, as he remained with brothers Abel, Knud and Gorm.

His mother remained around to comfort them all, having raised them all personally and being every inch a mother to them. She even managed to balance child-rearing with being an excellant spymaster.

Even royal suicide, however, could not interfere with royal duties. In Lubeck, Harik went against Svend II's historic favouring of the peasantry and restricted sales of goods within city walls to those with proper merchant's permits.

Another royal death followed soon, with Prince Harald Svendson, eldest of Svend II's sons and former Duke of Slesvig-Holstein, passing away at his manor in Skane. He had longed for vengeance against what he viewed as usurpation by his nephew, or at least to inherent Fyn from childless brother Knud, but alas, at 67 years he passed in his sleep.

Sambia, a far-flung holding ruled by Bjorn the Bastard, son of Svend II, has been site of recent rebellions by the pagan population, spurred on by their fellow heathens beyond the realm. Ragnvald of Shetland, son of famous Ale, was sent to assist the beseiged uncle of the king, barricaded in his castle.

Ragnvald got a good taste of battle there, becoming ever more a master of combat. And also a master of dysentary. Such is the life of a soldier.

In 1110, Knud Svendson, Duke of Sjaelland and Count of Fyn, died at the same age as his brother Harald, 67. Knud's only begotten son having died in infantcy, the duchy went to Harald's eldest son Henrik, father of Harik's wife Jutta. Henrik, uncle and cousin, moved to the island to assume rule.

But Hardeknut Hvide, Count of Sjaelland and vassal to the Duke of Sjaelland, headed in Fyn, denounced Henrik and laid claim to all of Denmark's "middle islands".

Abattle ensued, but eventually the king's forces secured all of Sjaelland from the traitor - Hardeknut had indeed been difficult to crack. Sjaelland was to be administered under the crown of Denmark, and the king had good reason: unlike Slesvig-Holstein which he had taken from Harald as a child, which were undeveloped backwaters, Sjaelland was as developed as Skane and the central trading hub of the entire Kattegat strait.

Uncle Olaf died while the king campaigned, having never achieved any office in the realm. His son Valdemar, however, was Harik's long-time chancellor, and Knud, Olaf's grandson, the Steward.

Peace settled once more upon the realm as textiles and charcoal began to be produced in Denmark. With ever-increasing coffers, Harik set about building monastic libraries throughout his lands.

In 1111, his inbred daughter Cecilie died. Her nannies seemed more upset than her father, who felt she would be better of in Heaven.

His aunt Ingrid, married into the Sjaelland House of Hvide, also perished in that year of old age.

The Prince of Polotsk came asking Harik for an alliance but the king declined, not wanting to become involved with continental affairs beyond converting the heathen Balts.

Robert, the Count of Visby and King of the Electorate of Sweden, sent a letter of insult to fair king Harik in 1112, not the first in a of a slew of hate-mail. Harik sent heralds back to the isle of Visby making it known that if Sweden desired war, he would be a gentleman and grant them the first move.

However, next year, it would be Harik who made the first move to seize Swedish lands. The Duke of Smaland, Ragnvald of Kalmar, declared himself to be in opposition to Robert de Flandre, the elected king of Sweden. With this derision between the Swedes, Harik armies struck. His marshal engaged the Duke of Smaland in Kalmar while uncle Thorgils sailed to Oland.

While war was being waged, the pox fell on Smaland.

Thorgils proved himself a competant warrior in battle, despite his clubbed foot, and Marshal Valdemar Hvide, cousin of the king, came up with innovative tactics while conducting a seige against one of the Kalmar duke's castles.

Sadly, after a long illness, cousin Ale of Shetland passed away in Skane at 42, never having returned to the Shetlands of his birthright.

All of Smaland was soon put under Harik's personal control, though by now his demesne was becoming hard to manage due to its size. Nevertheless, Harik remained a popular and effective leader.

The annexation of all Smaland had badly damaged Harik's reputation and prestige, but news that conversions to the true faith were becomming successful on the south coast brought him positive recognition from the church.

In 1114, Harik's beautiful young wife, Jutta, whom he adored, died of infection after the birth of her last daughter, Rikassa. Though gripped with grief by the loss of the love of his life, he knew it was his royal duty to look for a new wife, preferably a rich one. He found a noblewoman of Norman extraction in the court of England, a celibate woman who desired nothing more than to cloister herself in a nunnery and escape the pressures of English court life. Harik promised her exactly this, should she marry him and bring her dowry. He would even build an abbey in her honour. However, this sham marriage for money drew silent criticism from around the court, especially when the king began to invite young women from around Skane into his bedchambers on a regular basis.

To add to his grief, Harik's mother, who had helped him administer his large demesne for so long, died at 59.

Despite living a lavish lifestyle of his own, Harik genuinely made life better for all those in his kingdom, except for those errant wolves who would prey upon his people.

 

[Saithis]

Alas...poor Hardeknut. I knew him, Horatio.

Just you wait...the Hvide will have their revenge!

Hey wait wait wait.. Why aren't you updating Piety of the North Star, Saithis? You haven't updated your AAR in three months. Get back to work!

In any case, this AAR isn't bad, I suppose. Continue.

Hey hey hey...I was...uh...look over there, it's a three-headed monkey!

 

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Hey hey hey...I was...uh...look over there, it's a three-headed monkey!

Ha! You cannot fool me! I've never played the Monkey Island games, so I cannot be distracted by a quote from it!

*brandishes a fireplace poker*

Get back to work!

Anyways, more on-topic, while I'm tired of all the Knytlings, I like this AAR. It's not bad. It's amazing how quickly your provinces convert to your culture, how do you do that?

 

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Gee, I dunno. From what I've read, build roads, extensive road networks, civilian harbours, have them in your demesne (though my vassals converted some, like Rugen and Hamburg [later in the game than what I've posted]. I think maybe having +3 stability helps? Otherwise I have no idea what that affects. But it is pretty sweet, I figure by time I convert to EU3 most of Scandanavia and Northern Germany will be Danish.

 

[Saithis]

Interesting, I should try my hand at setting up a country like that and see if the same thing happens.

 

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Part V: The War that Wasn't

King Harik's ancestors in the tenth century had been kings of England – Canute the Great being one, and having famously ordered the tide to turn in order to prove his absolute power – but with his poor reputation abroad, Harik felt that it would go a long way to proving his goodwill to the other rulers of Europe by relinquishing some of his claims to England.

The winter of 1116 was very cold, and Bishop Abel Knytling, brother of Harik, fell ill while traveling. However, with faith in God he will no doubt recover!

Meanwhile, Harik's eldest daughter sunk into a deep depression upon the news that, in one year when she turned 16 she would be wed to the Duke Meissen, a man eight years her senior, so that when she had a son, a Dane would sit on a ducal throne in Poland.

The king dismissed her out of hand, for he was planning on a gift to himself for the twentieth anniversary of his coronation coming in a little over a year: a grand palace, to be built in Lubeck, on of Denmark's most prosperous regions.

Another of Svend II's sons died off in October, 1116. Svend Svendson, Count of Rugen, passed away at the age of 60, leaving the tiny island to his son Knud. In order to ensure his cousin would be as loyal as his uncle, Harik sent him a congratulatory gift of 150 kroner.

In the spring of 1117, an unthinkable sight was seen in the Baltic: a fleet of ships, not at all like those of the Scandanavian peoples. It was an invasion fleet from the south;

They fought the Swedes and established in Scandanavia their Sheikdom. Perhaps Harik would help them, some day, but not until both sides had bled themselves dry.

On August 19, the day after her birthday, the woeful Thyra was wed to Duke Ernst von Wettin of Meissen, who paid a substantial amount for her hand. Just over nine months later, she gave birth to a girl, who would have no claim on the ducal title, and died.

Another sixteen year old found a mate that same month. Agnes, son of Bjorn of Sambia, Harik's uncle, so enamoured the king during a visit that the king made her his concubine.

Ragnvald of Shetland, again the marshal, asked for the right to duel Knud Knytling, the king's cousin and steward, over a woman. The king forbade the two bachelors from combat, much to Knud's relief, for he was a man of numbers and words, and the young marshal would in all liklihood have removed his head from his shoulders.

Days later, word arrived from Fyn that uncle and cousin Henrik, Duke of Sjaelland had died of gall stones and been succeeded by his son Oluf. A standard gift was rendered to him in celebration.

In the winter of 1119, the al-Marabitid Empire, Moroccan raiders, had seized Mecklemberg from the King of Norway. Harik decreed that the people of Lubeck would not be forced to tread upon heathen ground to get to Rostok. Ragnvald the Shetlander set upon the pirates, who fled the field of battle upon the Danish charge and holed up inside their fort as their ships were burned.

Prince Inge, Harik's eldest legitimate son (Henrik, the bastard, was three months older) became stressed, and later depressed at the thought that the burden of kingship would someday be upon his head.

In June of 1120, Mecklenburg was liberated for Christianity and the Danish Kingdom, and created himself Duke of Mecklenburg.

With the addition of yet another province to his realms, Harik certainly had enough money to give alms to the poor when they came calling.

And plenty left over to begin construction on another palace at Elsinore on Sjaelland.

With his celibate nun of a wife away in a convent, Harik continued to indulge his appetites, gaining another son along the way. To add to confusion, this child was named Inge by its mother, also the name of the Crown Prince!

Speaking of the crown prince, Inge still suffered depression. Even marriage to a beautiful and brilliant girl from north Italy could not bring him out of his funk.

Look at the stats on that girl! Yowza!

Prince Abel, healthier now, made pilgrimage to Rome to tell of great King Harik, who did liberate Mecklenburg from the Musselman invaders, who slew the dragon of Angor, who nearly wet himself at the Battle of Baden Hill, and who has brought wealth to all the people of Denmark.

After several years of charade, Harik gets an anullment from the Pope, technically within the bounds of ecclesiastical law, as he never consumated his marriage with Muriella. He then took as his bride Adelaide de Bourgogne of Toledo as his fourth wife.

To the north (and south, as Sweden owns Brandenburg and two other territories on the south coast) Sweden is falling apart. Their king is inbred, deaf and mentally deficient, and completely unable to hold the kingdom together due to the internal backstabbing and rivalries between the members of his court. The really odd thing is, Sweden elects their king. If he was the best among a whole field of candidates, God help them.

Sweden's south coast possessions all simultaneously declared their independence. One, however, Brandenburg, was richer than the others, and Harik had long held claim on its bountiful land. His uncle Thorgils, now 64, was sent in to conquer it, and conquer he did. For his services he was offered the significantly less appealing island of Oland, upon which he assumed the title of Count.

The Court of Werle, seeing what had happened to Brandenburg, decided to throw in his lot with Denmark voluntarily, and so retained his noble title.

King Dietmar of Germany, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea to declare war on Bornholm, specifically at a time when Denmark had just gained access to his kingdom via Brandenburg, and while his army was off fighting in the west of the country. A strategic genius he clearly is not. An army of only 1,700 Danes marched south from Brandenburg, meeting no armies. They did not loot and pillage as they went, as such behaviour is unbecoming of civilised men, especially when they are as well paid as those in the employ of Harik are. First Plauen, then Ansbach, then on to Wurrtemberg.

Meanwhile, the disintegration of Sweden only hastened, as the Count of Vastergotland pledged allegiance to Harik I.

Harik wanted nothing to do with Germany, and asked for peace repeatedly, asking for nothing but a handshake, but the German would have none of it. The Pope even intervened, demanding both sides resolve things peacefully, but still King Dietmar refused.

Not until after Furstenberg was taken did the king eventually concede a white peace. By this time, many had questioned Harik why he did not take to the battlefield himself on the German campaign. His retort was that "there was no battlefield, the Germans didn't field an army! If I wanted to go for a walk, I would circle the gardens of Løve Hule, not hike to Furstenberg!" Nevertheless, his uncle Knud Magnus of Bornholm, who had conveniently spent the entire "war" visiting his brother Bjorn in Sambia, called his nephew a coward, and the epithet stuck.

Of course, he would no longer have to walk the garden at Løve Hule, as he now had a far grander palace: Sten Bjerg was completed at Sjaelland, and although Skane would remain an important administrative centre, Elsinore would be home to the royal court.

Talk amongst the nobility was becoming negative over the fact that the king still centralised power in himself, as though he did not trust any of his sons with administrative duties. In order to quell these rumours, he created Asger, his second legitimate son, as Duke of Skane. He passed over Inge due to his complete lack of aptitude or desire for administrative duties.

Unexpectedly, on June 14, 1125, the Duke of Saxony expressed his desire to pledge fealty to the Danish crown.

His pledge was accepted with great enthusiasm by the king.

Denmark after the Saxon Pledge of 1125:

 

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Part VI: Conquest, Death, Intrigue and Marriage

With the newfound revenue of all of Saxony behind him, Harik had to rectify a terrible wrong:

Muslim domination of Norway.

Prince Asger's peasant army from Skane marched north as King Harik set sail from Sjaelland.

They came, they saw, they conquered. What they didn't do was fight – the Muslim pirates were raiders by nature, and did not seek to rule Norway, merely steal its riches. By the time Harik and Asger arrived, they were long gone. The king of Norway, having clearly shown himself unable to defend his subjects, no longer had right to rule the territories, and so Prince Knud, King Harik's youngest brother, was created Count of Trondelag and Oppland, while two other provinces were added to Harik's own holdings.

For a man who had at once controlled almost all of Denmark on his own, Harik had now decentralised it more than it had ever been: he now counted as his vassals three dukes and six counts, most of whom were princes of Denmark in their own right.

A Swedish army descended on Vastergotland and Harik was forced to finally confront the Swedes. However, they were no longer the dread foe that fought the Danish army to annihilation 31 years ago: they could call upon no more than 2000 loyal troops, routed by the Halland regiment alone.

The Court of Ostergotland, the last of King Totil's vassals still loyal to him (apart from his wife, Count of Varmland) switched allegiances to Harik as the Halland regiment went forth. The Dukes of Dal and Uppland, already in revolt against Totil, bowed before Harik as he rode north to negotiate peace. The Danish king was magnanimous in victory, not making outright claim on the Swedish crown, as that could very well anger other kingdoms or the papacy. He had achieved Danish dominance in Scandanavia and handed the Swedes an insulting defeat as they were in their death throes – his father had at long last been avenged.

Years past in peace as Harik attended to his nobles, trying to keep them all in order. But generally there was nothing but good news all around.

Until, of course, Vastergotland came under the rule of the Duke of Iceland, himself a vassal of Norway. Denmark could assuredly sweep all of Norway in a war, but with an already "tarnished" reputation it would be imprudent.

In 1130, Harik's eldest son, Inge, died aged 27 of measles.

"OK' is right. Inge had been "stressed" "depressed" and "ill" his entire life, and it was only by divine providence that Harik was presented with Asger, who would in time make a capable king.

A few weeks later, Thorgils Svendson Knytling, A.K.A. Thorgils the Lame, who had proved himself to be a fine Danish warrior through service to three kings, died in his castle at Oland, aged seventy.. He had had a son when he was young who had died in infantcy, and he had lost his wife later. It was only at the urging of his nephew Harik that he had remarried and had another son, Sigtryg, aged 9, who was now Count of Oland. A gift of 200 kroner was bestowed upon him.

Another succession took place in Denmark, although it was a much less happy one. The Duke of Saxony, Adolf, who had pledged Saxon allegiance to Denmark, died, leaving his grandson Meinhard in charge of Denmark's most powerful dukedom. Meinhard hated the concept of being ruled over by another man, especially one he viewed as a "Viking invader". He was not a man who could be reasoned with – he had made his intention of secession clear.

The Duke of Saxony had no wife, no children and no siblings, and so legal succession was to his vassal, the Count of Celle, loyal Danish subject. The King sent a secret comminique to the Count, Dietrich Billing, that if, for any reason, the Duke of Saxony should suddenly perish, his claim to the title would be fully recognised. Along with the sealed letter was delivered 500 kroner and a jeweled dagger, which, on the third day of his Christmas feast, was found in the back of young Meinhard.

As a Christmas gift to his 27-year old bastard son Henrik, Harik created him Duke of Holstein, one of the poorest parts of Denmark. Henrik had in fact been named after Harik's cousin Henrik, the former Count of Holstein who he disposessed early in his reign.

Count Knud Magnus Svendson Knytling of Bornholm died aged 71, leaving the county to his son Yaropolk, himself already 52 and with only one son and heir remaining of six born to him, three of whom had died ten years prior in an outbreak of consumption.

Inn 1131, merchants from Lubeck successfully lobbied the king to fund the expansion of the port at Lubeck to great a grand naval shipyard that would grant Danish dominance over the Baltic, both financially and militarily.

Danish culture continued to spread in Scandanavia, even to places previously within the personal demesne of the king of Norway.

But while Denmark prospered, Harik's marriage did not, and in 1132 his Iberian wife Adelaide took her own life by hemlock, the cold and dreary climes of Sjaelland having disagreed with her natural inclination for sunny shores.

And so Harik married his fifth wife, being twice widowed and twice anulled. His new wife, Constance, was 31, and past prime child-bearing age. But what mattered to Harik was not the children she might give him, but the children she already had: Constance de Macon had already once married a king, Mauger de Normandie of England, and her son Godfrey was reigning monarch in London.

However, Constance married on the condition that her 13-year old son maintain his full independence of rule from Harik, and the Dane consented. England would not be an outright ally, but having the King of England's mother on his arm certainly couldn't hurt his prospects.

What did hurt Harik's general prospects, or at the very least his popularity in Finnveden, was an incident that occurred as he passed through a large town on his way to hunt in Smaland. His horse, tired from the heat of the summer son, stopped to drink from a trough, but the king demanded it push on. He hit it with a crop, but still it would not move. Finally, he dismounted and had his servant fetch him his hunting bow. He readied an arrow and aimed at the horse and commanded, with regal authority, that the beast not take once more sip. The horse lifted its head, looked at Harik, turned back to the trough, and once more plunged its muzzle into the cool, refreshing water. At once, in full view of the villagers, Harik let fly his missile into the neck of his mount, which clamoured about, bucking in a circle before toppling over itself in a quivering mess of hooves.

By 1133, Rostock, on the south Baltic shore, had finally given up its heathen ways and joined the ranks of Christendom.

Who wouldn't want to be Danish? We pickle our herring way better than those darn Swedes! Not to mention the fact that the Kingdom of Sweden is practically non-existant.

Sad news, as Bishop Prince Abel Knytling, aged 46, dies of old age. If his younger brother perishes by the hand of god at that age, what of the king himself, now 50?

 

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Part VII: The Second Dano-German War

On Christmas, 1334, Steward Knud Knytling, a money-grubbing miser (who had admittedly made Denmark the wealthiest fief in northern Europe) suggested to Harik (his cousin of some sort, as almost everyone in the court is) that he call together representitives of all the nobility, the merchant class, and even the peasantry in order to better collect taxes from them. "Why?" asked Harik. "The royal treasury exceeds 3000 kroner! If anyone should be paying anyone, it is I who should pay these three estates!"

The next year, another tale of "The Cruelty of King Harik" became known in Kalmar Lan, where a young man, forced into the priesthood by his father, had taken up a romance with the daughter of a local baronet. Many in Kalmar had sympathy for the man, whose love was true, and desired marriage for the girl. But Harik the Cruel ordered him banished to Sambia for his sin against god.

God did not reward him for his supposed piety, however, striking down his spymaster Beatrice (Intrigue 20) by cholera, aged 30.

Bjorn Svendson Knytling, Count of far-flung Sambia and the last of his father's brothers, also died the same month, aged 68. His thirteen-year old son, Sverker, came to power, ruling over a tangled forrest full of heathens out for Christian blood.

More death ensued, Marshal Valdemar dying at just under seventy. Now son-in-law Ragnvald of Shetland (married to Princess Rikassa) was re-enstated as Marshal.

In 1137, Inge, bastard son of the king, left the court in a huff, angry at being given no title or position. He vowed never to return, unless he was at the head of an invasion army. Harik gave a hearty laugh and tossed fifty kroner his way "to get you started on your conquest".

Greedy Steward Knud died that fall, and though he had often been a scheming, comtemptuous bastard, he had been a genuinely gifted administrator. His malodourous shoes would be hard to fill.

Step-son Godfrey, having come of majority and finally able to sack his advisors, made a personal voyage to Denmark to visit his mother and ask Harik for an Anglo-Danish alliance. The Dane could not rightly refuse his son, could he?

The alliance proved a prudent decision, as the Count of Werle unilaterally decided to attack Germany over a personal rivalry with the Holy Roman Emperor. This forced Harik to take action, mobilising all regements in Saxony and Brunswick, as well as his own army in Brandenburg. Marshal Ragnvald left for the war just as his wife Princess Rikassa fell ill with pneumonia.

Ansbach was beseiged and fell in a week, while in the west the German capital of Julich was surrounded. Battle was made at Sticht, and the Saxons claimed victory.

At Ansbach, though, a battle between the Germans and the Brandenburg regiment, supported by the Count of Werle's troops, resulted in a crushing defeat, with nearly 1500 of Brandenburg's 5000 men killed. Hearing of this, the King rode from Lubeck to Rostock, taking personal command of 850 men there and marching them south.

A new type of bow was developed in order to better kill the Germans from afar.

Harik's small contingent was engaged at Brandenburg and defeated after a small battle, forcing them to fall back north.

A skirmish in Sticht was another victory. The Germans had entirely abandoned the west of their kingdom, focusing on the east and their objective of Brandenburg.

Thankfully, Harik's cousin Sivard came to Brandenburg with 6,800 men, including over 1,200 knights and cavalrymen. Seeing this force, the Germans fell back without contest.

In Thuringia, another skirmish.

The Germans, having so poor an economy, were unwilling to commit their troops to battle, because they are all they had. Denmark, on the other hand, had calculated it could field an army of 20,000 men for nearly four years before emptying the royal piggybank.

As battle came down at Plauen, Harik received word of the death of his inbred son Christian. Though full of delusions of grandeur, he was a gentle soul, and Harik was saddened by his loss. The message was delivered to him by Inge, the bastard who had sworn to conquer Denmark from his father. He came asking forgiveness for his transgression, and Harik granted this, as well as the promise to recognise him as heir to the throne, after Prince Asger. They embraced, and Harik sent his son to Kalmar Lan to govern there as Count.

The clash at Plauen did not last long, the Germans retreating before much of their force could be destroyed.

A cavalry clash in Thuringia, meanwhile, lost Denmark six lancers and resulted in the deaths of 112 German infantrymen.

In Julich, King Rupprecht of Germany's capitol, the abbey was sacked by marauding Saxons, eager to plunder the imperial riches. South of there, in Luxembourg, Sivard's father Valdemar, who had for many years served as chancellor, was greviously wounded in an ambush by a small German force, an arrow lodging itself in his lung.

Rupprecht steadfastly refused all peace overtures, despite every battle being a defeat – though, truth be told, all Danish victories were small, as the Germans refused to actually engage in full-scale battles, despite having won the only one of the war when the Danes were first pushed back from Ansbach.

As punishment for his support for Rupprecht, Harik ordered the Bishop of Weimar's land confiscated. Harik's brother Prince Knud obeyed, toppled the Bishop's garrison as told, and installed a man hand-picked by the Pope as a Danish-allied Bishop.

Sensing the way the war was going, Rupprecht's army started defecting and surrendering in order for promises of good treatment by King Harik.

Finally, a decisive battle, and a decisive victory, for Denmark!

And it was followed up by another!

In the west, the Bishop of Liege died in combat with the army of the Duke of Saxony.

At long last, with practically all of his personal demesne occupied, Rupprecht agreed to terms of peace, including recognising Brandenburg as perpetually and irrevocably outside of the German sphere of influence.

In practical terms, little had been changed by the war, apart from some five or six thousand dead from fighting, and three thousand Germans dead from hunger and pillaging. The only territorial change was Weimar, a poor, smallpox-ridden scrap of land that Harik now had the luxury of calling his own.

The hero of the war, Inge of Vastmanland, who had won the two major battles of the war (but also lost the initial battle of Ansbach) became ill with stomach worms, no doubt from having to drink the dirty ditch water which was all there was in many parts of Germany while on campaign. Of course, he was already seventy, the so-called "Kingly age" to die, as had Svend II and many of his sons.

He was still faring better than Prince Valdemar Olafsson Knytling, who became ill from his war wound and died at 69.

 

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Part VIII: The End of Sweden and the Fall of Norway

England declared it had intentions of carrying a crusade to Jerusalem, and asked Denmark to accompany them. Harik agreed...if it was only to be moral support. Nevertheless, the English gave the royal guard at Elsinore several dozen of their advanced crossbows in thanks.

Ragnvald of Shetland, husband of Princess Rikassa, died of a seizure in 1141 aged 51, leaving behind a pregnant wife and his only son, Grim, not yet a year old.

To add to her grief, Rikassa's baby was stillborn. She did find some comfort in the young William de Normandie, her step-brother and Prince of England, and until his brother had a son, heir to the throne.

Later in the year, an offer came from the reputedly insane Duke of Oldenburg for vassalisation. His only terms were that he be paid six brown rabbits, each complete with their own pair of wooden clogs.

Crazy or not, having an ally in Oldenburg would entrench Danish hegemony in northern Germany.

Ingjerd, son of Steward Knud, displayed many of the same money-grubbing, underhanded, miserly traits of her father: she would make an excellent steward.

She was soon married to the Princess Consort's much younger brother, Hugues de Macon, uncle of King Godfrey of England. Harik was quickly securing as many close familial ties with England as possible.

Oh, and the hero of the German war, Inge of Vastmanland, died. He was venerated as a great Danish hero, despite being Swedish.

In 1142, the Pope passed away. The new holy father selected by the Curia hailed from Rugen, the strict and devout Bishop Arne von Rugen, giving King Harik considerable sway in ecclesiastical matters.

With the papacy on his side, and Laszlo Arpad, the Hungarian King of Sweden having been excommunicated with no involvement of Harik, the Dane figured he would further indebt the church to him by dealing out holy retribution to the heretic. He sailed north across Lake Malaren with 1,600 men, and ordered Sivard to take 4,600 from Viken should he need assistance. Harik was old now, 59, but he led his forces to battle all the same, vastly outnumbering the Hun's 400, all he could muster in defence of once-mighty Sweden. The battle was short, and the Swedes fled after the first fifty men died in the Danish cavalry charge.

Denmark being so rich, Harik decided to create a standing army from a company of Welsh bowman.

Pope Benedictus VII, Bishop of Rugen, died shorty after achieving the papacy, but it was of little consequence to Harik, busy on campaign. Gastrikland was besieged, vassals turned on Laszlo, and the Bishop of Skane crowned Harik King of Sweden February 1, 1144.

That November, pirate raiders from Tripoli resumed their attacks on the north of Norway, only now the land was under Danish rule, and they would have to contend with Harik's army that at its peak could call to arms 100,000 men.

After the burning of six villages in Trondelag, Prince Gorm asked the indulgence of the king: send forth ye the Welsh Bowmen to enflame the homeland of the pirates! And so the Welsh set forth, soon to be followed by a Swiss regiment of some reknown.

Gorm himself accompanied the Swiss, but died in the reeking confines of the ships while on the high seas, leaving his ten-year old son Svend the Count of Trondelag.

To celbrate the ascension of Svend, a feast in his honour was held in Elsinore, paid for by the king. It would be the first of many for Svend.

Soon another child was made a count – Sigtryg of Oland fell from his horse, developed a fever and died aged only 25, leaving his 7-year old son Harald a count.

In July, at long last, the Welsh landed in Tripoli, only to find that the pirates had established quite the kingdom there – and quite the army.

The Welsh were quickly overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the enemy, 130 men dying on each side before the mercenaries were surrounded, captured and sold into slavery.

In the Baltic, the pirates continued their assault, seeking to plunder the riches of Christianity.

Marshal Sivard hastened to the Baltic, and in a combined land and sea battle defeated the heathens, capturing the pirate admiral and hanging him from the mast of his ship.

The Swiss regiment, however, had no such success in the pirate kindom – they met the same fate as the Welsh.

Shelving crusade against the pirates of Tripoli for now, in 1147 King Hakon of Norway, seeing Danish power ever growing, realised that if he were to stave off eventual takeover he would have to strike now, and declared war. It would no doubt be an uphill battle for him, as Denmark had more territory, more people, more soldiers, and more money. Still, he hoped to put King Harik in his place and maintain Norwegian sovereignty evermore.

William de Normandie, Harik's son-in-law and Steward, caused an uproar when he publicly attended an old pagan shrine and "prayed to Odin for victory". Harik dismissed his actions as a harmless appeal to old local customs, but the church was not amused.

Sivard once again led the charge at Vastergotland, the Danes outnumbering the Norwegians by several thousand.

The enemy disengaged after defeat, fleeing northward as Vastergotland was beseiged and Queen Constance's son Hueges led the Danes at Vestfold.

Crown Prince Asger rode forth like lighting to catch the enemy at Varmland and hack and rend over 300 of their number

Hakon's vassals were quick to turn on him – the Duke of Iceland abandoned his mainland holdings, seeing them lost.

Hakon himself was delusional, thinking he could end the war without indemnity.

Hakon rallied all his forces outside his capital, all he could muster, and stood at the field of battle against Sir Knud Knudson Knytling, and won.

But then, like the Lamb of God, a savior arrived, walking on water...well, walking on a ship ON the water.

King Harik's troops landed by sea and engaged foul Norway, and it was a clash of kings indeed.

Queen Constance's son proved himself an able Englishman to the north.

The Battle of Gronfjord, Vestfold was a decisive defeat for the Norwegians.

With the loss of over 2,300 men at Gronfjord, mostly to the intense missile barrage of the superior Danish composite bows and medium crossbows, Hakon finally conceded defeat, giving up Vestfold itself, and offering to hand over his entire treasury...

...not that that amounted to much.

Norway had attempted to assert dominance over Denmark...and accomplished exactly the opposite. Why Hakon the Fool chose to engage his largely pacific neighbour in a war that could only have resulted in defeat is a supreme mystery.

Denmark, 1148, after less than a year of war:

Harik's kingdom was larger than he had ever dreamed it could become, mostly on account of the Duchies of Saxony and Brunswick having been pledged to him all those years ago. But even without his German possessions, Harik was still king of one big hunk of Scandanavia.

 

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Sorry that it's been so long...I got discouraged because nobody seemed to be reading this. I kept up on the AAR, though, I've played it on-and-off until 1340 now and do plan to post all of it. I sincerely plan to make a HttT mod of my completed Crusader Kings game, and hopefully someday we will see the Danish flag flown from America to India!

Peace did not return to Denmark for long: the Duke of Uppland, thinking that Denmark was bankrupt from war with Norway, declared his independence. Harik, however, still had over 1500 kroner in reserve funds for the army, and he put them to use.

6900 Danes marched on Uppland on 17 July, 1148. They faced the Upplander army of 4500 – but when the engaged them at Sondermanland, they found nearly double that number!

The battle was a pyrrhic victory – the Upplanders were driven from the field, but the Danish army's casualties numbers nearly half their entire force. Due to an indept decision by commander Tador Hontpazmany to refuse to strategically withdraw, the entire Smaland regiment was surrounded and annihilated, accounting for fully 75% of the Danish casualties

The Duke of Uppland, high on his success and thinking that the Danes would not be able to push further, turned to Gastrikland, invading it with his entire force, leaving 1000 Norwegian mercenaries to defend Uppland proper. King Harik sailed Lake Malaren once more to fight the mercenrary company. After a barrage of arrows and a charge of lancers, the mercenaries broke, and by Christmas the Duke of Uppland had departed Scandanavia for his holdings in France, forced to adandon all titles save for Count of Bolougne.

The new Duke of Uppland would be Inge Eriksson Knytling, grandson of Marshal Sivard and son of Eric the Bishop of Denmark. He was only sixteen, and was quickly handed a Dalmatian bride as along with his title.

In the autumn of 1149, Queen Constance died aged 48. Harik, 65, had always assumed he would die first, and was deeply effected by her death – Constance was one of the few women he had ever loved.

Death continued, Harik lamenting his outliving everyone – his beloved wife, and now his eldest son, Henrik, Duke of Holstein, himself dying at only a year younger than his wife. His only son of majority and legitimacy, Rolf, deceased the Duke by seven days, succumbing to the same pox. Though the lands legally returned to King Harik, but he instead granted them to his bastard grandson, named after him. Henrik's son Harik took the ducal title at the age of three.

Christmas Eve, 1151. After a goblet of fine wine and most of a leg of lamb, King Harik I sat back in his chair and closed his eyes on Denmark, one last time. He was 68.

King Harik I 1097-1151

Harik I ruled for an unprecedented 55 years, outlived 5 wives, and had 5 sons and 4 daughters. His reign saw a rapid expansion of Danish territory through both offensive and defensive wars against such powers as Norway, Sweden and Germany, and increasing Danish influence abroad, particularly in the Church. Though initially an iron-fisted ruler, he was forced to eventually give much of his land back to the nobility and come to rely on them for military and administrative duties. Harik will likely have a mixed legacy, for in his lifetime his own attitudes and policies shifted back and forth over the five-and-a-half decades he ruled.

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!

Asger was not such a multi-tasker as his father, and his first act as king was to grant and expand noble titles, notably to Marshal Sivard's grandsons and to his own son, Crown Prince Knut, whom in addition to Count of Bornholm he made Duke of Slesvig-Jylland. He even made his sister, Princess Rikassa, Countess of Smaland, with the aim that the title would someday pass to her young son Grim of the House of Shetland, who had served the Knytlings so well since the days of Ale.

Indeed, Asger was much more of a team-player than his father. While Harik had been known as a centralising tyrant, Asger was affable and spoke easily with his nobles and always consulted them before any bid decisions. Of course, being a man of words rather than numbers, he had to be kind to them as he relied on them to collect taxes for the royal treasury, which had been growing increasingly small since the long-ago wars with Germany and the Swedish remnant.

Asger ruled peacefully and uneventfully for more than three years before embarking on an invasion of the independant island of Gotland.

The army of tiny Gotland was no match for the large, professional Danish Sjaelland regiment, and there were few losses for the Danes – but the King was among those few. As battle was to begin, he was struck in the thigh by a crossbow bolt from the Gotlanders.

A succession crisis followed. His son Knud was heir presumptive, but brother Inge also laid claim to the throne. Neither were particularly good administrators, and Knud had no children and no prospects for any. For some time it looked as though, with the king ailing, the Dukes of Dal, Uppland, Ostergotland or even Saxon-Braunschwieg might contest the succession. The king called all his vassals to Svend II's old castle at Løve Hule, and made his decision as the winter snows fell outside, and the dying sovereign surprised everyone with his selection. Prince Svend Gormsson Knytling, the lustful, lazy Count of Trondelag, 21-year old cousin of King Asger.

To seal his choice, Asger declared Svend would be Duke of Skane. This title, by tradition, though not law, was bestowed upon the future king.

Svend's appointment came none too soon: on January 11 the the king fell ill, and eighteen days later he died of his wound, and his own hubris.

King Asger I, 1151-1156

In constrast to his father's 55-year reign, his son was king of Denmark for scarcely over four years, his only act being to get himself slaughtered for Gotland.

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!

EDIT: Darn, does anyone know why imageshack seems to be deleting my old photos? And why it's only some of them? Are there any better image hosters?