It is usually thought that Sancho II Garcés Abarca, who died in 994, was the first King to title himself “King of Navarre”. Not much was known about the fate of this kingdom, until now. Although Athanasius Kircher, a German archaeologist from the 17th century, excavated documents of the first century after Sancho II’s death, it wasn’t until the discoveries of Augustus Pitt Rivers in late 19th century that we have any information of Navarre after the 11th century. While studying the architecture of an abandoned monastery in Najera, Rivers stumbled about a chest of royal journals from the Navarran monarchs. Although the journals were lost once again, they were recently discovered by dancescenario6 in the American Midwest. Here are their modern publications, beginning with King Sancho IV of Navarre:
September 15, 1066:
Today’s events have quite busy! After settling various disputes between my numerous siblings and accepting guardianship over my two bastard children, I have sent Kaiser Henry IV a marriage request. Everyone in my court has been talking about how lovely his sister, Adela is, and seeing as I am currently a bachelor, I thought it was worth a shot. I have also sent proposals to multiple kings in Europe on behalf of my three unwed sisters. They will (thankfully) move to their husbands’ courts, and more importantly, provide alliances. Meanwhile, tensions between my cousins rise as they vie for each others’ kingdoms.
Respectfully,
King Sancho IV of Navarre
October, 1066:
Adela and I have gotten married!! It was a glorious reception that surely increased my kingdoms prestige in the eyes of the world. My cousin, Sancho, asked me if I would consent to higher crown authority laws in Castile. I said yes, because I am unaware of the potential harms it could cause. Hopefully none. Most concerning, my nephew is becoming wroth and gluttonous, which worries me that he will be a threatening claimant when my children take my throne after my death; however, I have no time to dwell on this as I am starting my personal Reconquista in the lands of Zaragoza.
Sancho
December, 1066
Christmas this year has indeed been a joyous occasion! My wife informed me of her pregnancy, granting a stable heir to the throne once she gives birth. At the end of the month, the battle of Írun decisively wins me the wars in Zaragoza, although I have yet to siege their provinces.
July 25, 1067-
My daughter Osane is born! I have named her “cure” because I hope she will bring glory to the House Jimena and to the Kingdom of Navarre.
August, 1067-
I have granted the title of Seneschal to my brother, Prince Ramiro Count of Najera. He seems restless, and hungry. I must pacify him, lest a revolt breaks out.
October-
Damn my brother! Ramiro has declared war on me! He seeks to claim my throne! Worse, all of my allies refuse to help me in this war, citing that hey like Ramiro more than me. It seems I stand alone. What political ramification will this have? Ruin my holy wars? Will I even lose the kingdom? Because of all these wars, my bastard son has become brave.
March, 1068-
At the glorious battle of Calahorra, I defeated my brother; additionally, I managed to conquer my Muslim enemies. Today truly has been a victorious day!
May- This month I signed the treaty of Najera, finalizing the end of Prince Ramiro’s war for Navarra. Although I am usually chartable, my paranoia dominated those peace negotiations: Ramiro has been imprisoned.
June- Because two holy wars are not enough, I have decided to continue my reconquista! I was also tempted by a lovely maiden, however my humility got the best of me, and I turn her down.
July- Alas, Ramiro has died in prison. This was never intended of me, and while I am sad at the loss of my brother, I am not unhappy at the loss of an enemy.
September- It is like my father used to tell me, “Why fight yourself when you can let the Danes fight for you?”
June 1069- The crown of Leon has passed to the Kingdom of Castile after Alfonso’s death. This does not bode well for the other Christian Kings of Spain. In addition, I have passed new inheritance laws, granting women the right to inherit on the same grounds that men due. Was this a wise move? Probably not, but it is a tradition of the Basque nobility and therefore made sense to uphold this unique law.
Jan 24, 1071- Adela has given birth to our second daughter, Ixtaro, which means “hope”. This is rather good news, because the previous pretenders were my sisters who I had married patrilineally to other Kings in Europe.
Here is a map from the time period that had been discovered:
Thank you so much for reading this! If you have any suggestions or advice, I would gladly welcome it!
September 15, 1066:
Today’s events have quite busy! After settling various disputes between my numerous siblings and accepting guardianship over my two bastard children, I have sent Kaiser Henry IV a marriage request. Everyone in my court has been talking about how lovely his sister, Adela is, and seeing as I am currently a bachelor, I thought it was worth a shot. I have also sent proposals to multiple kings in Europe on behalf of my three unwed sisters. They will (thankfully) move to their husbands’ courts, and more importantly, provide alliances. Meanwhile, tensions between my cousins rise as they vie for each others’ kingdoms.
Respectfully,
King Sancho IV of Navarre
October, 1066:
Adela and I have gotten married!! It was a glorious reception that surely increased my kingdoms prestige in the eyes of the world. My cousin, Sancho, asked me if I would consent to higher crown authority laws in Castile. I said yes, because I am unaware of the potential harms it could cause. Hopefully none. Most concerning, my nephew is becoming wroth and gluttonous, which worries me that he will be a threatening claimant when my children take my throne after my death; however, I have no time to dwell on this as I am starting my personal Reconquista in the lands of Zaragoza.
Sancho
December, 1066
Christmas this year has indeed been a joyous occasion! My wife informed me of her pregnancy, granting a stable heir to the throne once she gives birth. At the end of the month, the battle of Írun decisively wins me the wars in Zaragoza, although I have yet to siege their provinces.
July 25, 1067-
My daughter Osane is born! I have named her “cure” because I hope she will bring glory to the House Jimena and to the Kingdom of Navarre.
August, 1067-
I have granted the title of Seneschal to my brother, Prince Ramiro Count of Najera. He seems restless, and hungry. I must pacify him, lest a revolt breaks out.
October-
Damn my brother! Ramiro has declared war on me! He seeks to claim my throne! Worse, all of my allies refuse to help me in this war, citing that hey like Ramiro more than me. It seems I stand alone. What political ramification will this have? Ruin my holy wars? Will I even lose the kingdom? Because of all these wars, my bastard son has become brave.
March, 1068-
At the glorious battle of Calahorra, I defeated my brother; additionally, I managed to conquer my Muslim enemies. Today truly has been a victorious day!
May- This month I signed the treaty of Najera, finalizing the end of Prince Ramiro’s war for Navarra. Although I am usually chartable, my paranoia dominated those peace negotiations: Ramiro has been imprisoned.
June- Because two holy wars are not enough, I have decided to continue my reconquista! I was also tempted by a lovely maiden, however my humility got the best of me, and I turn her down.
July- Alas, Ramiro has died in prison. This was never intended of me, and while I am sad at the loss of my brother, I am not unhappy at the loss of an enemy.
September- It is like my father used to tell me, “Why fight yourself when you can let the Danes fight for you?”
June 1069- The crown of Leon has passed to the Kingdom of Castile after Alfonso’s death. This does not bode well for the other Christian Kings of Spain. In addition, I have passed new inheritance laws, granting women the right to inherit on the same grounds that men due. Was this a wise move? Probably not, but it is a tradition of the Basque nobility and therefore made sense to uphold this unique law.
Jan 24, 1071- Adela has given birth to our second daughter, Ixtaro, which means “hope”. This is rather good news, because the previous pretenders were my sisters who I had married patrilineally to other Kings in Europe.
Here is a map from the time period that had been discovered:
Thank you so much for reading this! If you have any suggestions or advice, I would gladly welcome it!
can't be having your future queen pass the kingdom onto some undeserving grandkid that is part of the Capet dynasty or some such.
