House Godwinson

[Rebaltion]

Hello all. This is my first attempt at an AAR, so hopefully it will turn out successful, though I figure my chances are fifty-fifty of that happening.

Anyway, I'll be playing Veldmaarschalk's awesome mod, The Alternative Scenario Setup. To be a bit more specific, I'll be playing the Before the Conquest scenario as England. The game difficulty will be set to Very Hard, though the AI aggressiveness will change through out the game, depending on if I want some peace and quiet or not. I'd like to see this game converted over to EU3, but I know myself well enough not to hold my breath. But I can dream, right?

While House Godwinson will be mostly driven by game play, I'll be watching and guiding history so that nothing crazy happens, though Muslims in Croatia always seems to happen in my games, even if I take steps to stop it. :wacko:

Anyway, I'll be posting updates in history book format, with some character POVs thrown in as I see fit. The two major history books I'll be using are A History of England and The New Vikings: England and the Viking Revival.

Alright now on to the AAR! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy playing/writing it!
-------

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR HOUSE GODWINSON
PART ONE: THE NEW VIKINGS
The Reign of King Harold II Godwinson
The Reign of King Gyrth I Godwinson: I-II-III
The Reign of King Harold III Godwinson: I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII

PART TWO: HAIL BRITANNIA
The Reign of Emperor Harold I Godwinson: I-II-III
The Reign of Emperor Sigeric I Godwinson: I-II-III-IV
​

 

[Rebaltion]

The following is taken from A History of England:

Harold Godwinson was arguably the second most powerful man in England by 1058, ruling both as the Earl of Wessex, East Anglia, and Hereford, encompassing nearly one third of England.

Upon the passing of his father in 1053, Harold became one of the most outspoken opponents against the “Norman-ization” of England brought on by Edward the Confessor, the current king of England, who had been recently restored to his throne after spending years in exile in Normandy. Greatly influenced by his time there, Edward had even toyed with giving the English throne to the Duke of Normandy, William “the Bastard” de Normandie.

Harold would go on to establish a name for himself fighting against Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, the king of Wales. Harold was able to force Edward into breaking his truce with Gruffydd, and launched a surprise attack against the king’s court in Rhuddlan. The attack caught Gruffydd by surprise he was nearly captured, but was able to successfully escape, though at great cost to his men and ships. In the spring of 1063, Harold and his brother, Tostig, coordinated an attack on Wales. Harold took to the south, while Tostig marched through the north. It was Harold’s intent to march north and meet up with Tostig, but before his ships could even land in south Wales, Gruffydd’s own men killed him, before sending his head to Harold. Following his highly successful campaign against the heathen Welsh, Harold married Gruffydd’s wife Ealdgyth, and Wales was once again divided into small duchies.

But tragedy nearly struck in 1064, when Harold’s ship nearly wrecked on Ponthieu, narrowly avoiding destruction [1] There is much speculation about what would’ve happened had Harold been shipwrecked and not arrived on time to stop Edward from promising William de Normandie the English throne. As it was, he arrived just in time to force the Archbishop of Canterbury to turn back [2].

Harold was then asked by the William to join him on campaign in Brittany against Duke Conan II. Wary of the Norman and owing him nothing, Harold politely refused. This turned out to be a wise choice, as Norman chroniclers would later reveal that William intended to force an oath out of Harold that would assure his backing for the throne of England.

At the end of 1065, Edward passed into a coma without clarifying his preference for successor. On January 5th, 1066, Edward died, but not before regaining consciousness and proclaiming that Harold was his preferred successor. The Witan would convene the next day and throw their support behind Harold, despite a large pro-Norman faction demanding that Duke William be chosen. Later that day, Harold would be crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey, the first in a long line to do so.

Upon hearing that the crown had been given to Harold, Duke William started to plan an invasion of England, mustering nearly 700 ships and a huge host. Word got to Harold of William’s plans, and the Church was brought into the dispute. The Church ruled in Harold’s favor, as William had no proof that Edward had preferred William over Harold for his successor nor had Harold promised to back William in his bid for the English throne [3]. An outraged William was forced to back down, though his claim on the English throne or his hate for Harold never did die.

Harold’s reign, though short, would mainly focus on building up England’s infrastructure and giving his many bastard sons small fiefs to rule over. Though this was unpopular with the nobility, Harold was able to make peace with them, saying that he would not recommend his sons as his preferred successor to the Witan. Instead, he stated his preferred successor would be his brother, Gyrth. To further appease them, Harold cut taxes on the nobility and gained the backing of the local clergy, by allowing them to collect extra tithes from the peasants.

But before his plans could start to bare fruit, Harold suddenly died on July 15th, 1066. The Archbishop of Canterbury, with support from the local clergy, was able to get Harold beautified upon his death for his work with the Church and for his efforts to resolve the English Succession Crisis peacefully. Though he only ruled for one hundred ninety-one days, Harold’s reign had a profound effect on English society. The Norman-ization that had taken place under Edward the Confessor was rolled back and England was returned to the North’s sphere of influence.

-------------------------------
[1] This is where history changes a little bit. Historically, Harold was stranded on Ponthieu, and later rescued by William, which would prompt him to agree to help William in Brittany.

[2] I've made this up, though Norman chronicles do say that the Archbishop of Canterbury was going to tell William that Edward has chosen him as he preferred successor. For a reason why I decided to add this, see [3].

[3] I believe that even if William had lost Hasting, he still would've taken the English throne, due to French and Papal backing. I've completely avoided the whole war by not having Harold strand himself on Ponthieu, and making up the encounter between him and the Archbishop. As well as giving William no proof that Edward had chosen him as his successor, Harold no longer owes William a favor, allowing him to get out of helping ol' Willy in Brittany, where William would trick Harold (according to Norman chronicles) into swearing an oath to back his bid for the English throne. Without Edward's choice in William or Harold's oath, the Pope has no reason to bless William's banner and give him backing on his attack against England.

 

[LlywelynII]

Welcome!

& this'll be interesting...

 

[Lord Valentine]

Oh Saxon-English AARs are soo interesting. And so much more if their presented as interestingly as yours.
I'll be following this closely.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Rebaltion]

@ Llywelyn: Thanks! I'm trying to keep things interesting, though those years where all I did was sit and build tile-factories, while extremely important to England's economy, aren't terribly exciting. Hopefully I won't run out of good stuff and have to resort to "In Year XXXX, King Giggles IV build five shiny new [insert province improvement here] and there was much rejoicing and feasting."

@ Lord Valentine: Thanks for the support. I'm enjoying the format myself, because it gives me the freedom to cut out the boring bits (see above) and stick to the fun stuff like Papal backed, Anglo-Saxon viking style raids on Southern Iberia.

Update coming shortly.

 

[Rebaltion]

The following is taken from The New Vikings: England and the Viking Revival:

King Gyrth the Pious, the man who brought back the vikings.

The Nordic countries in the 1000s were facing a crisis. The sea-lanes that linked their colonies in Iceland, Greenland, and Vineland were slowly deteriorating, as the warm spell around 1000 AD finally stopped. The North Sea was filled with icebergs and the Varangians in Russia started to look more like Slavs than Scandinavians. The only bright light at the end of the tunnel was England, with its booming population and open southern ports. Better yet, the newly crowned Gyrth has stamping out all pro-Norman sentiment, bringing England back into the North’s influence.

The Witan backed Harold II’s choice in his brother Gyrth, and Gyrth was crowned Gyrth I of the House of Godwinson at Westminster Abbey two days after his brother’s death. Gyrth continued his brother’s efforts to bring stability and prosperity to the Anglo-Saxons; building great courts of justice throughout his lands to further centralize his kingdom.

But Gyrth was a man of the sword at heart, and soon became restless. After a short visit to Rome, Gyrth gained the Pope’s blessing to raid the Berber emirates in southern Iberia, on the condition that the raids would be limited only to Muslim nations. Gyrth agreed to this condition, and returned to London to muster a great host, nearing some twenty-five thousand men.

English and Scandinavian histories call the following raids Gyrth’s Crusades in an attempt to legitimatize their ruthless attacks on the greatly out numbered Muslims. The battles were bloody, and no Muslim was left alive: they either were burned at the stake, or drowned. Of the twenty-five thousand troops that went on these raids, nearly half of them settled in their newly conquered lands, forever changing the face of Iberia.

The initial invasion of Southern Iberia.

For his part, Gyrth did attempt to set-up several small, Catholic friendly crusader states, the most notable of which are the Grand Duchy of Beja and the Kingdom of Andalucia; both ruled by ruthless Anglo-Saxon strongmen who would drive out not only the Berbers, but also the native Portuguese and Castilians to make room for Anglo-Saxon colonists.

Iberia after Gyrth’s Crusades. Gray is Beja and dark red is Andalucia.

Of course, for his humanitarian work in Iberia, Gyrth soon picked up the moniker “the Pious,” despite the well known fact Gyrth had not only married his niece, but had also taken part in the usual raping and pillaging that accompanied his namesake Crusades. Even when evidence of his not-so-Christian activities during his first years as a ruler came to light, the Catholic Church still saw it fit to make Gyrth a saint for his work in freeing Iberia from the heathen.

 

[Klavo Hunter]

Wow, that was fast! So much for the Muslims of Iberia.

 

[Lord Valentine]

A truly incredible feat considering what a powerhouse the Muslims of Iberia usually are!
BTW who did you grant the Kingdom of Al-Andalus to?

~Lord Valentine~

 

[LlywelynII]

The battles were bloody, and no Muslim was left alive: they either were burned at the stake, or drowned. Of the twenty-five thousand troops that went on these raids, nearly half of them settled in their newly conquered lands, forever changing the face of Iberia.

So you modded the cultures over?

 

[Klavo Hunter]

So you modded the cultures over?

Not necessarily. It's possible he merely means that there's a Saxon nobility running the place as Dukes and Counts and all the assorted other minor nobility below them, and their Saxon courts and knights and hangers-on, and their families.

 

[Rebaltion]

@ KlavoHunter: It wasn't as tough as it usually is. TASS has southern Iberia a bit more splintered with a lot less giant Muslim powers, though I did have to stop about half way through to let my reputation recover. I believe the largest Muslim nations I encountered were three provinces with about two thousand troops. Actually, the hardest part was keeping my vassals in Iberia loyal to me, which is where much of the money I made looting the place went.

@ Lord Valentine: I granted it to Harold's brother, Wulfnoth. Because of it, he's third in line for the English throne if Gyrth's two sons should die.

@ Llywelyn: KlavoHunter is correct, sorry if I didn't make it clear enough. Though there are several provinces in Beja that are Anglo-Saxon right now, meaning that in the near future southern Iberia could be filled with Anglo-Saxons.

 

[Prussian_King]

Looking goof. I can see myself following this one.

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

Ah I am always interested in AAR's that use my mod , looks really good.

 

[LlywelynII]

@ Llywelyn: KlavoHunter is correct, sorry if I didn't make it clear enough. Though there are several provinces in Beja that are Anglo-Saxon right now, meaning that in the near future southern Iberia could be filled with Anglo-Saxons.

Oh, I know without modding it would take awhile: it's just the 'historian' voice seemed so emphatic on the point it couldn't just be KH's idea and I was curious if conversion was ongoing or if you fixed it all at once. You shouldn't've been able to get any Anglo-Saxon culture without some modding, since there's no direct trade routes and you don't hold Sain. or Compostella.

 

[Rebaltion]

Oh, I know without modding it would take awhile: it's just the 'historian' voice seemed so emphatic on the point it couldn't just be KH's idea and I was curious if conversion was ongoing or if you fixed it all at once. You shouldn't've been able to get any Anglo-Saxon culture without some modding, since there's no direct trade routes and you don't hold Sain. or Compostella.

Well, I did hold Beja for a little bit, I released them and Andalucia at the same time, though Beja did take a bit of modding. If it helps explain anything, I did hijack several DVIP events, not sure which ones at this exact moment.

In all seriousness, I have no idea how to mod CK, excluding the little thing I did with Beja, and that took hours to figure out, so up until you pointed out that the provinces couldn't have changed without modding, I was just assuming it was some magic or luck that it even happened. If you can come up with a reason why, I'll gladly accept it. Otherwise, I'm content to leave it a mystery for another day.

@ Prussian_King: Thanks and I hope I don't disappoint.

@ Valdmaarschalk: Thanks for the support.

 

[Rebaltion]

The following is taken from A History of England:

After his success at liberating southern Iberia from the heathens, Gyrth returned to his home in London having won prestige and riches. For eight years, Gyrth would allow his troops to refresh themselves, while he continued Harold II’s policy of growth without influence from southern Europe. During this time, England’s ports became the richest in Europe, as Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish merchants flooded them, eager to take advantage of England’s relatively iceberg free waters and easy access to southern Europe and Anglo-Saxon dominated southern Iberia.

England: The bridge between northern and southern Europe. Here we see trade between England and the rest of Europe. Red arrows indicate trade going into England, while blue arrows indicate trade leaving England.

But all was not well, for in France, trouble brewed in the form of Robert, duke of Normandy. Robert, who had never forgotten his father’s claims on England. Duke Robert successfully convinced the weak-willed French king to close her ports to English trade, as well as threaten the child-duke of Brittany to shut her ports to English trade too.

Gyrth, to say the least, was not a happy man upon hearing the news. Since Gyrth had taken the English throne, France and England had enjoyed an alliance based on mutual trade and a common interest to protect that trade, even if it came to force of arms. Gyrth quickly dispatched a scathing letter to King Philippe, hoping to scare the king into opening up France’s ports once again by threatening to break the alliance between France and England. Urged on by Robert, Philippe sent an equally insulting letter back, calling Gyrth no better than a barbarian. Realizing that a war between England and France could go either way, Gyrth reluctantly backed down.

Having lost face among his peers, Gyrth was forced to think of a new route that would restore his prestige as well as provide England with a southern European port. At last he hit upon Brittany.

Brittany at this point was nothing more than a duchy, ruled by the child-duke Clement de Rennes, a sickly young boy, easily swayed by his courtiers. Gyrth gathered his best generals in London and began to plan his invasion of Brittany.

On June 14th, 1080, Gyrth finally put his plans into action, declaring war on the small duchy. Troops were readied and fitted with the finest weapons and armor that Gyrth could buy. His lavish spending on for his invasion threw England into massive debt, as the gold looted from Iberia quickly disappeared.

King Philippe, once again under the guidance of Duke Robert, declared war on Brittany, claiming that France was only protecting the duchy from the English barbarians. France’s war with Brittany would prove to be less spectacular, with an army under a distant cousin of Conan defeating a French force that outnumbered them nearly three to one and the successful siege of Maines. In the end, Philippe was forced into return to the status quo ante bellum, loosing massive amounts of prestige and sparking several small scale revolts.

England’s war with Brittany, on the other hand, couldn’t have gone better. English forces initially landed in Vannes, fighting a quick battle against a small garrison of Bretons. As more reinforcements arrived from England, the beachhead was eventually expanded into Nantes, where Breton forces were forced to retreat to Penthievre and Rennes. As Nantes and Vannes were laid to siege, more troops were sent to Penthievre to cut off supplies from northern Brittany to southern Brittany. After a quick fight, the Bretons were once again routed, forced into a small pocket in Rennes. Slowly, without any reinforcements or supplies, the Bretons started to starve. Finally, Gyrth offered peace: Clement could keep his titles, as long as he agreed to become Gyrth’s vassal. Seeing this as a light peace, Clement gratefully accepted.

Here we see the initial English landing at Vannes. Red X’s represent English victories against the Bretons, while purple X’s show Breton victories against the French.

With Brittany securely in his grasp, trade between northern Europe and southern Europe started up once again, though French law forbade any sort of trading with the English or the Scandinavians, causing a bit of a problem. The answer came in the form of secret tunnels. Now called smuggler’s tunnels, a complex system of secret, underground tunnels were built between 1080 and 1125 that allowed English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Iberian goods to cross into France and be sold for a lucrative price in French and Italian markets. Though these tunnels would fall out of use by 1125 with the sacking of Paris and the destruction of the House of Capet and the rise of the French Republic, in 1080 they were the arteries that pumped northern trade through out Europe, and today provide us with a look at what life was like back then.

 

[Lord Valentine]

Good and strategically sound conquest!
But A TUNNEL ACROSS THE CHANNEL IN THE 11TH CENTURY? Which Saxon Superman built that thing?:rofl:
And a French republic in the 12th century. God this AAR is like history on steroids.:rofl:

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Rebaltion]

Good and strategically sound conquest!
But A TUNNEL ACROSS THE CHANNEL IN THE 11TH CENTURY? Which Saxon Superman built that thing?:rofl:
And a French republic in the 12th century. God this AAR is like history on steroids.:rofl:

~Lord Valentine~

But you know you love it. Admit it. You want a French republic in the 12th century.

 

[Cecasander]

Will it include guillotines and tennis courts?

 

[Lord Valentine]

But you know you love it. Admit it. You want a French republic in the 12th century.

Of course I love it! And I mean with the Saxons going on a conquering spree instead of being slaves in their own country as in RL, is suppose turning the world even further on it's head will only make it even more interesting.

So If you haven't guessed yet: UPDATE!:rofl:

~Lord Valentine~