Some good news and bad news. Another plague hitting the kingdom isn't good.
Did Catherine and Edith die, or was Esther able to save them?
Did Catherine and Edith die, or was Esther able to save them?
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They lived. Like I said, the plagues are especially aggressive in this playthrough.
No 'Kingdom of Heaven' for Saladin this time. I quite enjoyed the way you described the campaigns and battles. Had a nice, authentic feel to them. Good work.
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Thanks. It wasn't much but I do try my best to be descriptive with some of the battles, but there are a lot in this campaign.
Oh if only you knew...With the Egyptians bested, surely it is time for a Crusade for Egypt?
You should rename the AAR to "God's hands made wonders, God's hands made two thousands children"
By the way, really nice AAR I almost lost. I'm glad I'm retrieving it
By the way, really nice AAR I almost lost. I'm glad I'm retrieving it
William II (1153 - 1213)
Chapter VI: The Fool's Crusade
King Richard overseeing his army as it marches into Iberia.
Chapter VI: The Fool's Crusade
King Richard overseeing his army as it marches into Iberia.
When he ascended to the English throne in 1187 AD, King Richard inherited not only England, but half of France after the passing of his mother Eleanor in 1189. However, Richard’s French inheritance holdings were in close proximity with the ever-expanding empire of the Moors, who have conquered most of Iberia. Moorish raids into English territory became common, reaching as far as Bordeaux.
The English invasion of Iberia, c. 1204 AD.
The siege of Djerba, c. 1205 AD.
But by November, a massive army of Moors had set sail for Jafara in an attempt to lift the siege rather than engage the English marching on Iberia. The reasoning for such madness remains unknown, but to the best of my knowledge, it was likely that the Moors saw the Normans as the greater threat. The Normans soon found themselves assailed by ten thousand Moorish warriors coming from the sea. The Norman commander, Mayor Grigoriu of Trapani, broke off the siege and prepared to face the Moors as they landed in what would be known by chroniclers as the Battle of the Shores.
Despite their superior numbers, the Moors could not hope to break the Norman lines, who slowly drove them back into the waters. Hundreds of Moors were cut down by Norman swords, while hundreds more drowned as they attempted to flee back to their ships. After half a day of fighting, the Normans emerged victroious. But among the dead was one of William’s vassals, Count William of Castrogiovanni, who was found with a Moorish spear in his belly.
By January of 1206, the garrison of Jafara surrendered the city, allowing the Norman army to advance onto the city of Tripoli. They quickly had the city surrounded and bombarded by trebuchets. Despite dogged resistance from the local garrison, Tripoli would meet the same fate as Jafara the following spring. But the defenders and the desert heat had left the Norman army exhausted. They had already lost more than three thousand men, two thousand of which were lost in the Battle on the Shores. Leaving behind a small force to garrison their conquests, the Normans sailed back for Sicily to raise more men for another invasion.
Even as the Normans were laying siege to the port city, in March of 1206, Pope Honorius III declared for a Crusade to Egypt. The Pope saw reconquest of the region the final step in ensuring Christendom’s supremacy in the East, and push the Mohammedens out once and for all. King William, no doubt hoping to gain more riches and expand the Hauteville dynasty from this venture, pledged his support for the Pope’s holy cause, as did dozens of lords and knights across Europe. Even kings of France and Hungary had lent their military support.
While the crusaders began raising their banners, we shall briefly divert our attention to more festive events back in Palermo. Prince Roger’s betrothed, the Enlgish Princess Constance, had finally come of age on February 1207. A grand ceremony was held in Palermo, where the two would be wed on the fall of that year.
The wedding of Prince Roger and Princess Constance, c. 1207 AD.
The Norman army, which had arrived just in time for the ceremony, wasted no time indulging in the festivities as servants rushed to provide them fresh food and fine drink. With their spirits restored and eager recruits, swayed by the promise of glory and atonement for their worldy sins, joining their ranks, the Norman army swelled up to seven thousand men.
But alas, the army would never set foot on Egypt. As the army prepared to depart, King Richard, who was in Palermo to celebrate his daughter’s wedding, received dire news from a messenger. Two of his vassals, Duke Gilbert of Leinster and Duchess Joan of Normandy, had risen up in revolt against the English crown. To fund his wars against the Moors, Richard had introduced a new taxation policy demanding a fifteen percent fee on all revenue and movable property. This enraged the nobility, for the agreement made between them and the crown was that in exchange for their fealty and levies, the nobles would be exempt from regular taxation.
Torn between supporting the holy cause and his brother-in-law, William reluctantly ordered for his army to set sail for England. Though many would condemn the king’s decision as an act of cowardice and unfaithfulness to the Christian cause, later events would soon vindicate his decision.
Although the crusaders fought in the name of Christendom, not even the noblest of causes could overcome decades, if not centuries, of rivalries and distrust. That had been apparent in the first two crusades, and it would be apparent here. The same could not be said for the Egyptians who, despite their rivalries, recognised that the survival of their faith rests on nothing short of a total victory.
In August of 1208, the crusader army had landed its forces on the coast of Derna, a port city in Libya. The crusaders’ plan was to capture the city in order to secure a toehold in Africa that would be large enough to house a sizeable host, and from which a steady stream of supplies could be shipped in from Europe. They would then march eastwards onto Alexandria, whose fall would guarantee a strategic and spirtual victory for the soldiers of Christ.
The plan would not come to pass. The crusaders were spotted by enemy outriders as they were disembarking their forces and quickly warned the main Saracen army of their presence. No sooner had the crusaders encamped themselves when they received reports of over forty thousand Saracens marching towards them.
It is not our purpose here to recount the details of what happened at Derna on August 26. Suffice to say, it had been a crushing defeat for the crusaders that day. The shores of Derna were littered with the bodies of thousands of brave knights. With their backs to the ocean and no way of escape, the survivors saw no other option than to surrender to the Mohammedan army.
The Third Crusade (or the Fools’ Crusade to many) had ended as quickly as it began, going down in history as a black stain on not only the pontificate, but also on Christendom itself.
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The Third Crusade happened this late in this timeline? (1208)
I wonder when a Byzantine claimant will approach a crusade...
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That was a disastrous Crusade. But at least it was short, not a drawn-out slog. The Pope can always try again.
William has so far been a good king, supporting his allies and not throwing his army away. The future looks bright as long as the English alliance holds.
William has so far been a good king, supporting his allies and not throwing his army away. The future looks bright as long as the English alliance holds.
William II (1153 - 1213)
Chapter VII: The English Wars
We now turn our attention away from the sordid affair that was the Third Crusade and to the rebellions overrunning King Richard’s kingdom. Apart from Sicily, England was allied to the neighbouring Kingdom of Wales, for Richard’s daughter Agnes had been wed to King Godwyn’s younger brother Siwauna. This marriage pact ensured that England would be safe from any potential invasion, leaving Richard free to resume his campaign against the Moors, leaving a force of six thousand men to protect his French domains should the rebels turn southward instead.Chapter VII: The English Wars
It was a decision that would cost him dearly. Rather than ravage the French countryside as Richard had expected, the rebels concocted a bold plan to invade England itself. A fleet of longships carrying over ten thousand men – including two thousand mercenaries – would set sail for the port city of Dover. The port city was not only a major stronghold but, as Duchess Joan Harcourt herself was reported to have said, “Dover is the key to London itself. Should it fall, London will be left exposed like a newborn babe”.
Under the cover of the morning fog, the enemy armada had caught the English fleet anchored at Dover unawares. It remains unclear as to how many ships each side had. Based on eyewitness accounts, it is estimated that the Normans outnumbered the English two to one. But one must not rule out the possibility that the civilians who made these testimonies mistook the smaller and less combat-effecient transport ships the Normans used to ferry their troops for the larger war galleys.
The destruction of the English fleet at Dover, 1208 AD.
Regardless, the English fleet found itself at the bottom of the Dover Strait, while the Franco-Norman army landed on the city’s outskirts with little resistance. Joan herself led the invading host, donning a man’s mail and flew her banner into battle. Though she was of the fairer sex, Joan d’Harcourt was still a Norman in both blood and spirit, her family descending from knights ennobled by Henry II out of gratitude for their loyal service. And though Duke Gilbert de Clare was the leader of the rebellion, he was a languorous and fickle man who preferred to command his armies from the comforts of his castle than on the front lines.
Despite Joan’s best efforts, the garrison of Dover continued to hold out against her forces, their stone walls standing firm against her trebuchets. Realising she was short on time before Richard would catch wind of her plans, Joan left behind a token force of three thousand men to continue the siege while she proceeded with the next part of her stratagem. With the destruction of the English fleet at Dover, the mouth of the River Thames now laid bare before the rebels. Joan and her remaining seven thousand embarked on their ships and sailed down the River Thames in the direction of London itself.
Even as the Franco-Normans sailed down the Thames, their counterparts from Sicily (which shall hereon be referred to as Sicilians to avoid confusion) were in the midst of conducting their own seaborne invasion. Robert de Rohan, commander and close friend of King William, had chosen the County of Eu as the location to land his forces.
The Sicilian landing on Eu.
Eu was the perfect choice for various reasons. The first was that it had a thriving fishing village called Le Tréport along the coast. Sheltered from Normandy’s storms by chalk cliffs over a hundred metres tall, the harbour had served as a landing site for the northmen raiders for centuries. The second reason was that Duchess Joan’s seat at Rouen was located only a few days’ march away. Once Eu falls, de Rohan would be free to march his host onto the capital.
When the Sicilian army landed at Le Tréport on the 12th of October 1208, the town surrendered without resistance. But the castle of Eu and its garrison refused to open their gates to de Rohan. As he continued to besiege the city, the Sicilian commander dispatched outriders to scout the countryside for the Franco-Norman army. If the rebels wished to break the siege, he was happy to oblige them with a decisive battle. But much to de Rohan’s confusion, the scouts reported no host marching towards them. It would only be in January the following year that the Sicilian commander discovered the reason behind the Norman army’s suspicious absence.
On Christmas Day of 1208, London had fallen to the rebels. Among those captured was King William’s son, Prince Nicolas, who had been sent to ward in London as his brother had been.
The fall of the Tower of London, 1208 AD.
Reasons for how London, for all its heavy fortifications, managed to fall so quickly tend to vary from source to source. Some chroniclers claim that the Londoners had thrown open the gates for the rebels, having little love for King Richard and the taxation laws that had bled them dry. Others argued that it was the work of an officer in the local garrison, who was either bribed by the rebel leaders to turn cloak or had long since served as their spy from the beginning. The officer then murdered his comrades before taking control over the rank and file garrison, convincing them to lay down their arms. Once the gates were opened, the Normans made their way to Westminster, seizing the royal treasury and the throne room. It was on the throne that Duchess Joan declared herself the rightful protector of England, though she stopped short of claiming the crown outright, for she dared not be seen as a usurper.
London’s surrender was a heavy blow to Richard’s cause. Even in his inner circle, many have taken to calling Richard “the King who lost England”. But that would be a misnomer, since most of England continued to hold out against the rebel forces. Richard, finally seeing the rebels for the threat they were, managed to broker a truce with the Moors. He and his army prepared to sail back north to retake London.
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The rebels are in trouble now, Richard is returning with his army so they'll be outnumbered... (if they won't be then their victory is inevitable)
The irony of Normans fighting Normans to preserve royal alliances. Enjoying the story so far. Joan having a Norman prince might be able to bring William to the negotiating table. If only we had EU4 style diplomacy.
Richard is mad and more than a little shame-faced at being outmaneuvered like that. Will he take the blame himself, or will he blame his Sicilian allies?
William II (1153 - 1213)
Chapter VIII: The Trials and Tribulations of William II
Although the capture of the Prince Nicolas was indeed a blow to the royal family, it was not a particularly devastating one. The crown prince Roger had already sired a son, a boy by the name of Richard – in honor of his grandfather – which pushed Nicolas further down the line of succession.Chapter VIII: The Trials and Tribulations of William II
King William had little time to grieve for his son, for another plague had taken hold of his kingdom the following spring. Known as the Goat Pox, this particular contagion has been thought to have come from Gaeta, a port city along the southern borders of the Papal States. The name comes from its symptoms, which strongly resembled those afflictions found on goats, namely lesions and scabs on the skin that are followed by fever. But even as the plague spread its blight like wildfire, King William saw no reason to be too concerned. His kingdom had weathered the Aetolian Pox and the Beelzebub’s Fever. Surely this Goat Pox would abate given enough time.
Then, on 17th of April, the king started having lesions on his skin.
Already pushed to the brink by his prior battle with the Beelzebub’s Fever and news of his second son’s capture, King William had not been in the best of health when he came down with the Goat Pox. He was confined to his personal chambers, tended to by his physicians and servants day and night. Not even the rest of the royal family was safe. Queen Joan, Princess Edith, and the young Prince Richard were all afflicted with the disease. Edith and Richard’s condition ultimately abated, but Queen Joan remained in a state of delirium. With both the king and queen rendered infirm and their survival uncertain, it fell upon Prince Roger to manage the kingdom’s affairs and the ongoing war in England.
We now turn our attention back to the war where De Rohan, hearing news of London’s surrender, broke off the siege of Eu in great haste to instead join King Richard’s army in England. King Godwyn had meanwhile saw fit to finally muster up his own host and march east.
But Fortune seemed to have frowned upon Richard and his allies once again. In August, the Duchess Maria de Perigord of Aquitaine and the Duke Guilhelm d’Auvergne rose up in rebellion against their king. Both had ambitions for greater independence from Richard's increasing centralization of power. The fall of London was seen as a golden opportunity, one that could be exploited to further weaken Richard’s rule and carve out their own petty kingdoms.
From her new base of operations at London, Duchess Joan sent out her forces to capture the surrounding castles in hopes of fortifying her position before the English returned. But a small rebel army led by one of her allies, Countess Maud of Saumur, had wandered too far from the main host. On the 12th of October 1209, her army stumbled upon de Rohan’s forces roughly ten miles from the port city of Southampton. Overcoming their surprise at each other’s unexpected presence, both armies quickly took to battle, but the numerically superior and battle-hardened Sicilians proved too much for the Countess of Saumur to handle.
The Sicilian army’s victory at Southampton and Helston would have been a cause for celebration back in Palermo. But a dark mood had been cast over the capital. King William had miraculously recovered from the worst effects of the Goat’s Pox, but the queen had not been as fortunate. On October 26, 1209, Queen Joan had died at fourty-four years old.
The kingdom mourned the passing of their queen, but none could match the king in his own grief. At his wife’s funeral, William was said to have aged by several years. His hair had gone gray in several areas, his skin pale and his body gaunt. Once his wife’s body was interred in the Palermo Cathedral, William once again reclused himself in his chambers. Only his children and closest servants were allowed to see him.
Oh no, this could be bad for the kingdom if the servants are untrustworthy.
