Imago dei - a Multiplayer AAR

[lecnac]

The van Vlaanderen chronicles - part II

Of Henri II, a good christian lord who became King of France and the Portucale



The death of Hughues II in 1091 marked the end of the Capetian Kings in France. The Capetian heir dying in the dungeons at Meaux, Guilhém of the House of Poitou proclaimed himself King until the crown was ursurped by the Bourgogne dynasty in 1102. Thus Hugues the Fat lay the groundwork of the absolute dominance of the House de Bourgogne in France for many years to come.

In the winter of the year 1166 the fates of the Dynasty would change for the worse. King Guilhelm "the unready" de Bourgogne took an arrow wound during a minor enagement with retreating forces of the rebellios Margot I, Duchess of Champagne. He died of his cankerous wound after a week of agony on the 30th of December. His son, now King Gaucelin of France would only survive the rebellios Duchess Margot by a few months when he died on the battlefield on the 6th February 1168 at the age of 17. He was to be the fith and last King of the House of Bourgogne as he did not manage to produce an heir. The late Duchess Margot would posthumously be called "Bruta to France" since heir upraising caused the death of two Kings and the loss of the Duchy of Champagne to the Kingdom.

Since the establishment of Salic law, the Kingship of France passed down obeying male primogeniture. However since the the chaotic ending of House Capet, royal power was curbed by the great houses and the monarch being elected by the chief lords of France. The Electorate, ordered by precedence was consting of

The will of the King
The Duke of Burgundy, Bourbon and Auverne
The Duke of Berry and Anjou
The Duke Ursurpant of Champagne and Samogitania
The Duke of Poitou and Galicia
The Duke of Toulouse
The Duke of Flanders
The Duke of Gascogne
The Duke of Valois
The Duchess of Orleans

The Electorate was hard to control for the de Bourgogne Dynasty after the untimely death of the King. Their faction maintained only the votes of the late King, the Dukes of Champagne, Poitoi and Orleans. It was challenged by a alliance of various houses to break the power of the de Bourgogne. Led by the House of Flanderen it would secure the majority of the great nobles of France.



So when the electorate of France ceased debating on the 25th of March, 1168 the Duke of Flanders is said to have given a solemn nod of acceptance. Thus Henri II was crowned King of France and of the Portucale, Defensor Catharsis on the 1st of April 1168 on the Île de la Cité. The ceremony took place on the foundations of Notre Dame de Paris, witnessed by crowds on the island itself and boats alike. On the Shores of the Seine the victorious household guard of Flanders stood vigil, just having returned form Ypperen where Count Herbet had been convinced to renew his "forgotten" oath of fealty to the Duke of Flanders.

Thrice the realm saw itself being invaded by the Moors of Mauretania which kept the Kingdom off balance. The Reconquista of Spain thus resulted in a frequently challenged stalemate, with gains and losses to the crown. The Crown of Aragon and France were forced into cooperating against the heathens lest they be driven out of Iberia.

The following years saw the fleurs de lys splattered with red tears of the Franks when Henri II began a long campaign of reunification and restoration of the divided realm. Many a lord had fallen to the rank cathar plaque, only to sully the royal chopping blocks with vile fluids later. The realm thus saw a critical concentration of power amongst remaining christian lords which were able to seize holdings indiscriminatly during the civil war. To balance these Lords and their influence the King redistributed fiefs amongst landless or loyal nobility.

Thus the Duchy of Cordoba was created and granted to Roger de Luxembourg, a drinking compagnion to the King and distinguished relentless impaler of heretics. In 1180 the cathar heresy won one its greatest supporters, the Duke of Vasconie. The consequentual revokation of his titles and honours caused his subsequent short uprising. The colours of Vasconie have since been added to the royal coat of arms. The Duchy of Mallorca was ursurped from the Taifa ruler and granted to the brother of the King, Ulrich of van Vlaanderen. The Duchy of Poitou was revoked from the de Bourgogne in order to break their power and granted to the hapless count of Artois, now Duke Raoul II. The Duchy of Champagne was lost to the influence of the Holy Roman Empire due to the suspicious death and seemingly arranged inheritance to the Duke of faraway Samogitania. A duke of one County so that the King of Castille could press his feudal contract. The County of Charolais was granted to the Steward of France, Jean I d'Ivrea, Duke of Burgundy, Bourbon and Auverne rewarding loyalty. The Duchy of Seville was granted to Onfroy de Blois, to restore his house to past glory and territory.

During his reign the King grew apart with his german wife Adela von Steinfurt, by now barren mother of four daughters and the crown prince Gaucelin. The divorce was swiftly granted by his holyness, the Pope in Rome on grounds of consanguinity. This allowed Henri II to marry Charlotte d'Anjou cementing an alliance with her powerful dynasty in central France. Where other nobles of the day had to resort to skullduggery, the diplomatic acumen of the King paved his goals a sturdy path.

The Kingdom and surrounding realms in 1183:



During his time, Henri II played a major role in the on and off peace negotiations of the Holy Roman Empire. Upon their conclusion his most christian ambition, the holy league could finally muster its troops and start off the third and finally successful Crusade for Jaffa. The Duchy of Jaffa was awarded to the Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici - the Knights Templar. As the first Saracen prince is making his move on the fledgling crusader state, the King of France is urging his christian brothers to muster troops in its most urgend defense.



The army of the Knights spend, the enemy is sieging Jaffa. When will good christian Lords send relief to the starving city?

 

[ZechsMerquise73]

Wow. The HRE is on a roll. Thanks a lot for posting the AAR; makes such good use of an MP game

 

[CoCayn]

It is really fun to write the history in your perspective I hope you enjoyed our AAR and will continue follow it. I have big plans with Germany and the HRE

 

[DarkieBabZ]

d`Hauteville Chapter 3

After the death of Queen Aubrey the Great of Africa and Sicily in 1162, her son Rollo took over as king of the two kingdoms. Aubrey might have secured the kingdoms for her son, but Rollo now had to see Tunis getting its indepence for now, he was crowned king when still being at war with the Kybilians. Rollo's first action was to ensure all his vassals, that he was the rightful king of both kingdoms and that god himself would punish anyone who would argue about that. Rollo also announced that soon Tunis woud be part of the two kingdoms again and the traitor killed.

After years with fighting to secure a christian powerhouse in Africa, central Europe was in chaos. King Rollo could see the cather emperor was having problems, with alot of his vassals and some of them had refused to give away their titles because they didnt convert to the foul catherism. But this was no matter for Rollo, his focus was in the south and unless the chaos should spread further down in Italy, it would not be a concern of Rollo for now.
Not many years would pass, before Rollo could claim the last part of Kybilia, it had been a easy fight for the new king and he had done well in the eyes of his people, few troops had been lost in the war and many enemies had been slain. Rollo now wanted to deal with the traitor of Tunis.

Meanwhile in central Europe it had all heated up and several Dukes and even Kings had declared war on the foul emperor, to either gain indepence or despose the cather tyran. Rollo didnt have much interest in this and it looked like the foul emperor might lose. Rollo would welcome peace in Europe as many had voiced an idea about a Holy League to go on the ongoing crusade, in order to secure lands for the orders and stop the ongoing spread of catherism, altrough catherism was not a problem in the two kingdoms, it had come close and terrifying examples had already shown itself in Ireland, where half the country and the ruler was struck with the foul catherism, this was also something Rollo's mother, Queen Aubrey had been involved in, since she had several princesses of Ireland become educated in the truth faith in the two kingdoms. But for now Rollo had to concentrate on the task at hand, reclaiming Tunis for the two kingdoms.

Finally after a few weeks in the year of 1168, Rollo declared war on the traitor in Tunis, Rollo had several loyal men with claims on the area and it would be wise to pick someone, that would serve without questions and thus Rollo choose a suitable one married into his own family. Tunis had become a little powerhouse and it would take more than a little fight to reclaim it, Rollo dispatched 16000 men to retake Tunis, this was not something Tunis could equal out, but they could muster a fine army of several thousands men. However, a new event would put Rollo in a tough position, the cather emporer had died, many believed it was murder and the King Vsebor of Bohemia and Poland had been elected, it all seemed well as the main goal of most rebel vassals inside the empire, had come only because of the now dead cather emperor. The new Emperor might have been christian, but he showed his tyran face very fast, demanding that all vassals stopped their fighting and do as they would be told, he also said that before they could white peace with him, they all had to sign a document givng, the Emperor rights to determend all actions inside their reams the next 10 years, he also said that he was all powerfull and woud crush them if they would refuse, since the terms was not negotiable. Rollo could care less about this problem in central Europe, since it didnt really concern him, all he wanted was to convert the Muslims in Africa to the truth faith, it seemed like most European lords have forgotten their place and that they served God, not themselves. France however seemed eager to form the Holy League and crusade together with his felllow brothers, but this was not going to happen, aslong as the tyran Emperor was still infighting.

A few weeks passed by. Rollo was dinning at his castle in Palermo, when a tired messenger from Duke Bernabo 2 of Lombardia entered, he claimed to have a very urgent letter for King Rollo. Rollo already knew what this was about before reading the letter, since Rollo was married into the Lomard rulers family d´Este.

The letter.

To the glorious King Rollo of the two kingdoms Sicily and Africa, I am en desperate need of your help in the ongoing war agains the emperor and hope that you will join us in this battle to depose him and his tyranny, not only is he more cruel than the last emperor, but he also thinks himself god of the world, this madman has to be stopped, last week he performed a theatrical show with him as a godlike figure, that rained fire down upon his emenies.
So brother, what do you say? will you join our rightfull struggle agains this mad emperor?.

Rollo was in a dilemma, he was at war with a very strong Tunis and all in all could care less about Europe, but his wife urged him to support her Brother in his fight. Rollo went out to his grape field to think, what would be wise? what would be honourable? what would be the right solution for the two kingdoms?. After a few hours Rollo had decided, he would have to honour the alliance, he had with the d´Este family. Rollo sent a messenger back to Bernabo, telling him that he would support him, but only once his men was free from the struggle in Tunis, he could however offer a small army of 4000 men, but it would do little in the fight agains the mad emperor, it would be better to wait for the 16000 men in Tunis.

Months went by and the struggle in Tunis was going in favour of King Rollo, but the struggle inside the empire was tipping back and forth, with the freedom fighters having the upperhand for now, King Rollo once again sent a letter to Duke Bernabo asking him if he wanted a small army to help or if he rather wait for the main army, Bernabo was very stright forward, Bring your main army and stay away untill then. Rollo had his small army in the mainland stand down and keep his focus on the Tunisian war. months and months went by and the siturations stayed the same in both wars.

King Rollo had almost crushed Tunis and was ready to send his troops to aid Lomardia and the other freedom fighters, but a letter had come for King Rollo, the letter spoke of a grand battle near the imperial city, the freedom fighters had fought the Emperor and his allies and lost with a very little margin, however this had weakened the mad Emperor alot and the King of France had threatened to enter the war unless a peace was struck soon, The French King was very alike Rollo himself, focused at getting a crusade going with a Holy League rather than infighting for personal power. A deal was struck soon after this event, a deal that will be remember as, the Burgundian freedom peace. The Lombardian Duke and brother of King Rollo's wife had become a part of the empire again, but without losing any titles or land and so was the Duke of Bavaria, but the King of Burgundy had finaly gotten his freedom, a freedom well earned. Its said that the mad Emperor made a grand theatrical play about this event, but with the Emperor riding a golden horse killing the King of Burgundy, but the rabblings of this mad man didnt show the real outcome of this war, which was a signifinant power loss in the form of losing the Kingdom of Burgundy.

Only a few months after the Burgundian freedom peace. Rollo could see Tunis crumble and mostly become a part of the two kingdoms again, but rebels still persisted in Tunis and other areas of Africa, but the real question would be, how many christian rulers would join the Holy League. France and Burgundy was without a doubt some of the most eager alongside the two kingdoms, but also the emperor had shown interest in the crusade, however he didnt like the idea about giving away captured provinces to Holy Orders, nor would he join unless he could siege the provinces, while others defended him. But not many months after this the mad Emperor was killed by an assasin, however the new Emperor Heinrich was just as mad as his father.

Years went by and King Rollo could see his son Thor growing more and more, Thor might have been a grand mix of d`Hauteville and d`Este blood, but he still had one flaw, he had been born with a hunchback, but King Rollo, could already see a future king in him even if he was still very young. King Rollo decided to attack more of the muslims in Africa, untill the Holy League would be formed and crusades actually declared, because nobody wanted to crusade alone, not after the first two crusades had been lost. But after the most holy year of 1176, rulers was declaring war one by one, King Rollo was still busy fighting the African muslims to the west, but he was still an honourable christian and went along with the crusade to form the Holy League.

The third crusade for Jaffa, was a bloody one, many armies was crushed by the caliphate and King Rollo himself lost 8000 men early one, but King Rollo sent 12000 men more, the mad Emperor had joined in but still demanded that he should be the only one besieging the castles, King Rollo had devided his men, so they could take over two provinces, but his fellow christians needed help as the caliphate had sent a massive army to crush them, King Rollo sent his troops to help, the battle was only won with a few hundred men and while most christans worked together helping eachother, the mad emperor just keept besieging withtout supporting, this went on for many years with the emperor seeing battle at all, but King Rollo had lost atleast 18000 men on the crusade and with the casualties of other Holy League menbers the number would most likely be 100.000 men dead.
In the most holy year of 1181, the crusade was won, the mad emperor however had stated that he wanted to keep the provinces for himself, but when the rest of the holy league threatened him with war, he gave provinces won to the Knights Templar as negotiated before the crusade. King Rollo of the two kingdoms Sicily and Africa, was honoured to have faught with his christian brothers and praised most of the members of the holy league for their great team work in the name of God. But the mad Emperor just like his father unlike the rest, once again made a theatrical event about him being the solo crusader that won the battle alone, altrough King Rollo, didnt really care about central European politics he could see trouble in this Emperor.

King Rollo married his son Thor with a Ylving, now the time had come for more holy wars in Africa, unlike most other rulers that would rather infight for the land already in gods hand.

 

[Fredrik Af Svea]

As Allways, very fun to read. Rp is the best way to play this game.
Thx for an intresting reading. And keep up the good work. =)

 

[TheKenwyne]

A History of the Kingdom of Burgundy, Part the Second​

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With the Kaiser's vassals united against him, he stood no chance as the might of his own Empire took it apart from within. From afar field as Holland and Poland, Burgundy and Italy they came, sweeping the few loyalists that remained aside. Richard, along with the Dukes of Bavaria and the Lorraine, led the armies that physically besieged the Emperor's personal holdings. As victory looked assured, the Kings of Castille and Poland traitorously made peace with the heathen Emperor, and seconds later murdered the man, placing the King of Poland on the Imperial throne. After this heinous skulldugerrey, the call went out for the Lords of the Empire to acknowledge their new ruler. Some, such as the Dukes of Thuringia, Carinthia and Lorraine, acquiesced, bowing the knee to the murderous Pole, but Richard, along with his steadfast allies in Lombardy and Bavaria, decided to continue the fight to secure independence from the terrible construct that had encouraged the spread of heresy across Europe.

Initially the conflict that would later be called the Four Years War (1166-1170) began well for the Southern League, as they dubbed themselves. The Imperial army besieged Richard's holdings in Swabia, but a combined Bavarian-Lombardian-Burgundian army defeated the loyalists convincingly and created a route to the new Imperial Capital in Prague. Despite delays forthcoming when both the Dukes of Bavaria and Lombardy died in suspicious circumstances, the allies joyfully pressed on, and presented their demands to the new Emperor: that their states be allowed to go free of the oppressive rule of the Empire, and that they be allowed to act freely having done so. But the tyrannical new regime refused to negotiate under these terms, and insisted on fighting on. Another army was repulsed on the march to Prague, where the Allies split up to besiege the Emperor's holdings. However, this divide-and-conquer strategy would lead to their downfall, as the Imperial army was able to pick off the Bavarians and the Burgundians before the Lombardians could intercede. After this defeat, the League was forced to reach a compromise; which they did. Lombardy and Bavaria were returned to the empire, though the Duke of Bavaria now also owned Richard's German holdings, and the glorious Kingdom of Middle Francia and Burgundy was finally granted independence from the oppressive rule of the East Franks.

The next few years were of consolidation for Richard; he put down the Duchess of Provence, who had foolishly converted to Catharism, and stripped her of her titles. During this time Richard's son Guichard died suspiciously young (I'm not paranoid), and was replaced as heir to the throne by his Grandson, who was also called Richard. Five years after the end of the Four Years War, the Lords of Europe set off upon Crusade once more. Richard set about this task with particular gusto, and after six hard years in 1181 the Crusade was declared successful, and the Christian holdings in the Holy Land were granted to the Holy Order of the Knights Templar. Richard, now 68, returned home, intending to rule his realm in peace for the remainder of his days...

 

[DarkieBabZ]

d´Hauteville chapter 4

The year is 1185, Rollo King of Africa and Sicily, has become an inspiring leader for all christian's due to his fights agains the muslims and thus he is now known by the title the Holy. The war againts the mad emperor's and the crusade are not to distant of a memory for King Rollo. But the time for struggles between the christians, is at a pause and King Rollo the Holy, could now focus on making proper alliances and claiming more lands from the infidels.
King Rollo, noticed that his ally and friend in lombardia, Duke Alberto V had been excommunicated without much reason behind it, with the newly gained title king Rollo the Holy, had mucn influence with the Pope and thus he made a plea to relief his friend Duke Alberto V from this injust excommunication. The Pope agreed with King Rollo and removed the excommunication from Duke Alberto V.
King Rollo the Holy, wrote a letter to his friend in Lombardia

"To the most faithful Duke Alberto of Lombardia, I have asked the Pope to stop the excommunication that is upon you and he has accepted his, I hope and pray that this will aid you in the future, Your friend in the south, Rollo the Holy, King of Africa and Sicily."

A few weeks later, King Rollo, recieved a letter containing great praise from Alberto, Duke of Lombardia, additional he had asked King Rollo the Holy to a grand banquet, where King Rollo the Holy would be the man of honour, in respect of all the great things he had done for Alberto and the christian world in general, King Rollo the Holy accepted the invition.

Years and Years went by, with peacefull times in the realm of the two kingdoms, but in the most holy year of 1190, King Rollo, declared war on the infidels in Mauritania, King Rollo, had already taken alot of land from this over many many years, a series of wars that was first stated by his mother Queen Aubrey the Great, also know as the Queen of dwarfs, due to her parents both being dwarfs. King Rollo the Holy, was however not alone in the fight agains the infidels of Mauritania, Guifre King of Aragon had gone to war with the infidels aswell, to claim their provinces in the Iberian Peninsula, a rightful struggle in the yes of King Rollo. Upon the war the Pope granted his support in terms of 200 gold pieces to King Rollo's rightfull struggle agains the foul infides, gold that was put to good use. It would not take many months before King Rollo army had crushed a few big armies of the infidels and this lead to a great victory where King Rollo could see himself gain more of the infidels land.

In the year of 1192 an event inside the Holy Roman Empire, sent mixed feelings both inside and outside its realm, Emperor Heinrich the Careless, also known as the mad emperor, just like his father was persumed assainated, Emperor Heinrich's son was Greek and took over the HRE, not much is remembered about him.
King Rollo Holy as he was, started another war with the infidels in Mauritania, which had become a fairly small kingdom due to the conquest done by King Rollo the Holy and Guifre King of Aragon. The war was bloody, but only for the forces of Mauritania, one by one their armies was destroyed by the mighty African army and after a few attemps from large Mauritanian armies, they seemed to stop fighting, maybe they didnt wanna die for their false faith?.
King Rollo, made his grandchild Tybalt Duke of Marrakech and betroed him to a Princess of France, could this be a future king of Mauritania?.

King Rollo firstborn son and heir Thor had been asking for a county of his own and in the year of 1193 he was granded the county of Napoli, Thor was married to a Princess of Rus, but his first two children was from his former and now dead wife, Karin a Princess of Denmark. All in all King Rollo the Holy, seemed to have build a secure and powerfull position for himself and future d`Hauteville's.

The war agains the infidels in Mauritania was still going on, but it seemed like victory was merely a matter of time, since the Mauritanian army had been scattered and killed and futher attacks had not happened. Before long, King Rollo could see his victory, he now controlled a majority part of Mauritania, altrough Guifre King of Aragon had grapped a few provinces aswell. Now peace would reign again, west and central Africa was in christian hands and most holy victory for any christian and a day not soon forgotten.

In 1198 the Holy Roman Emperor died from sickness, before even reaching the age of 16, now the imperial throne went to Prendota, King of Germany. While this event was good in the eyes of King Rollo, due to his fights agains the mad emperor to help Lombardia, it was also abit worrisome, Prendota the new Emperor had a large kingdom and could pose a threat to some of King Rollo's allies, but on the otherhand the new Emperor seemed temperate, kind and just. Surely he could only be better than the reign of the mad emperor's.

Years of peaceful times went by, but the world had passed into a new century, the year was now 1200. King Rollo the Holy of Africa and Sicily, better known as the Two Kingdoms, was looking outside his castle window and thinking, thinking about what this new century would bring, what did God have in store for us now? further conquest in the east? a test of faith between brothers? or would the hordes of death rise to devourer the souls of all mortal? well only time will tell. Its been told that Rollo screamed these words

"cruci dum spiro fido"

 

[Fredrik Af Svea]

DarkieBabZ - As I said befor. Nice aar. But I see in this "time period game" wasnt as "lively" as the game befor. So not as a good reading. But still... Very nice RP and keep up the good work!

 

[Saithis]

Good stuff guys, keep it up!

 

[lecnac]

The van Vlaanderen chronicles - part III



In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ 1200, the Ides of March just passed, I King Gaucelin II of France and the Portucale had to bury my father, Henri II the good King. There has not been another amongst his peers known to be as true to his word and honour. His largesse did not only earn him respect but would also prove to be his undoing at the hands of machiavellian princes.



rbitrating the peace of Paris between the imperial faction, represented by

• the mad Kaiser Heinrich V
• Prendota I, King of Castille

and his rebellious vassals, represented by

• the venerable Duke of Bavaria, Manfred I "Manni" of Bavaria
• the respected Richard I, King in Burgundy
• the fierce Duke Alberto IV of Lombardia

Henri II would secure a compromise leading to the release of Burgundy from the bonds of imperial vassalage and the remainder of the rebellious Lords to renew their oaths to the Kaiser.



Mediating peace within the Empire Henri II however forged a rugged sword pointed at the throat of France, the Kings own Demense, the fair Duchy of Flanders.

Before spring could blossom in the year of our lord 1190, the mad Kaiser broke both oath and friendship to King Henri II. Having waited for an opportune moment German, Italian and Burgundian princes jointly bore down on french crownlands and rebellious Toulouse. France was engaged in two wars already

• defending against the rekindled cathar uprising led by Raimon I, the godless Duke of Toulouse while also
• aiding her ally Aragon to expell the mighty Sultan of Mauretania from Iberia.

The coalition of Hainaut included the mad Kaiser Heinrich V, since then known as "the Careless", Duke Hendrik II of the Lowlands, the duke of Lombardia, the King of Germany-Castille and the ingrate King in Burgundy. Losses from the campaigns both in Iberia and Occitania meant that the worn armies of France could muster no more than thirty thousand good christian souls to fight the combined strength of the coalition. Which the Empire being able to raise up to fifty-nine thousand in number. Thus with heavy heart and great cost to his personal prestige, the war against Mauretania had been concluded prematurely by the King in the Peace of Sevilla. Keeping true to his promise of truce to the Sultan, Henri II would raise neither voice nor sword against a moor in his lifetime.


When war with the Empire commenced I, in my capacity of Maréchal de France, was leading the royal army of the Portucale against the Moors at Coimbra.



I was soon recalled by the King, embarking my troops I sailed for Flanders where the vile curse of tuberculosis was reaping a rich harvest amongst the living. I was to link up with my fathers levy in Flanders where the first imperial blow struk. The Lombardian Snake was satisfied to snap at french reinforcements launching raids from a gargantuan fleet in the channel. The Duke of the Lowlands pressed for Hainaut - target of unwanted German affections and casus belli. The Imperial vanguard offered battle in central France where its initial advance could be halted, the Duke of Burgundy routing the Imperial levy after reinforcements from Flanders tipped the scales in French favour. Superior Imperial numbers however ended the French counterattack on the banks of the Seine at Champagne.
In the south the King in Burgundy had declared a seperate war of conquest, aiming for the bigger price he claimed the entire Duchy of Toulouse. His forces made up their lack of number by french occupation elsewhere, being able to take a number of key holdings. Thus the levy of Gascogne - my own ducal domain - was bound in a race with the Burgundian invader to secure cathar strongholds in Occitania. Lest the robber King would deprave the french crown of one of its dearest jewels.


(LEGEND - yellow framed province: Hainaut, casus belli; pink: Lombardian coastal raids; red dots: outbreaks of Tuberculosis; black: imperial advances; burgund: Burgundian army; light blue: shortlived cathar campaign.)

In this most desperate hour, France stood alone. Outnumbered and depleted by many a war, Henri II, King of France and the Portucale had to accept the offer by the mad Emperor Heinrich V to negotiate. The Peace of Brabant was signed, resulting in the passing of the county of Hainaut from the Kingdom of France to the Duchy of the Lowlands, vassal to the Holy Roman Empire. Thus abandoned by his allies and the cathar uprising crushed, the King in Burgundy had to forfeit his designs on the Duchy of Toulouse and accept the status quo ante bellum.

While imperial territorial gains proved meagre, the war tarnished relations between the Empire and France for ten long years until my recent coronation. The Empire succeded in prolonging the moorish occupation of Iberia by forever removing french arms from the requonquista. The Kings of Aragon and Africa were forced to fulfill this most christian ambition on their own.

I have yet to give audience to the imperial envoys offering hommage. Respectfull of my fathers policies and the conduct of the current Kaiser I will have word with them.

 

[CoCayn]

The House von Billung, Arc one: The journey of Prandota I Chapter 2 (1151- )



The great civil war was over and Prandota became the King of Germany. This could have been a happy ending, but fate has bigger plan for him than he would have ever imagined...

The feast after the coronation was one of the biggest the realm has ever seen. The emperor himself and many of his most loyal friends and vassals arrived with many gifts and celebrated Prandota’s coronation. Even the Italian princes, who were enemies once, came to pay him homage. Everybody came to share wine and stories, everybody… everybody except the southern German dukes. With this ill gesture, Prandota knew that he would have to deal with them soon or later.

Few days after his coronation, Prandota started to focus on the unification of his de jure kingdom in order to secure his legacy for the next generation. He sent countless massagers to the German dukes and princes and asked for their vassalage. Many accepted, but few massagers never return. Especially in the south, the German dukes did not accept Prandota as their rightful liege and refuse to offer their vassalage.

With the peace, a period of prosperity and expansion began. A wise man once said, “In peace prepare for war”, and that was what Prandota did. The King started to invest a big part of the collected taxes into military maintenance and upgrades. Prandota knew that the peace would not last forever and it is always better to be prepared for every situation. During the years, his first son and heir, Diether developed into an ambitious naïve appraiser. He was born with a stutter but has been gregarious since his youth which compensated for his bad stutter. For some unknown reason, Diether became deceitful recently, this could seen as a good characteristic for a King, but Prandota preferred honestly over lies.



His second son Cayn was the complete opposite of his father. Cayn was an ambitious and envious elusive shadow. He is an excellent fight, brave in battle and his wroth was feared by friends and enemies alike. However, the prince was born with a laziness not many people can exceed and therefore rarely seen on the battlefield or outside his own bedroom. Prandota feared that his ambitious second son would plot to kill this brother and therefore gave him a small duchy title to nourish his ambitions.



The peace did not last long, the Order of the Templar who obtained their land in the holy land from the emperor was under constant attack of the Muslims and risked of losing their newly gain home. The holy order stands little chance against the overwhelming power of the Shia caliphate, hence the French King, Henri II hired the main army of the order to fight against the heretic lords and the Sultan of Mauretania. The pope saw the desperate situation in the holy land and called out the fourth crusade against the caliphate. The faithful Christian lords followed the call of the pope and assembled their armies under the Kaiser and began anew their journey towards the holy land. Every good Christian lord committed their troops, except for the French King who promised to send men after he finished the war with the Sultan of Mauretania. Prandota joined the crusadesr under the Imperial banner and set his second journey towards the holy land. Before leaving Germany, Prandota ordered his marshal to deal with the Southern German lords. He hoped that Germany would become a more united place when he comes back. That of course is not set in stones, hence many good Christians have already fallen against the Muslims.

The fourth crusade was a short one. The Shia caliphate weakened by a succession war could not set up a proper defence against the crusaders. The war only lasted for a year and the French King did not have the chance to join the war.

When Prandota arrived home, there was little time for celebration. His loyal marshal did what Prandota asked for and was waging war against the southern dukes. But, what is more worrisome is that a confict occurred between the Duke of Lombardia , King of Burgundy and the King of France. Lombardia and Burgundy accuse the French King of overusing the Order of the Templar and demanded the release them from their duties in France. The French King however denied this accusation and claimed that he needed the order to defend against the Sultan. In the heat of the arugument, Lombardia managed to persuade the emperor to launch an attack against France while using Hainaut as an excuse for intervention. Prandota does not know what exactly happen in that war, since he was leading his troops in the south against the southern dukes. When he ended the war and replaced the southern dukes with loyal subjects, the war in France was already over. The Holy Roman Empire regained Hainaut and France dismissed the holy order from their duty. The Emperor however died under unknown circumstances, some say it was from a natural cause, but others suspected an assassination. Prandota was not sure what to believe, but he was deeply saddened by the event of losing his beloved cousin.

The new emperor was but a boy of 14, still too young to have heirs. Neverthless, Prandota was willing to support his new liege since that boy is his cousin’s child and heir. That was the least he could do for his cousin and decided to support the new emperor with all his power. A year passed and it looked like the succession went without futher problem. What however worried Prandota was the diseases that was spreading within the HRE. His first sons and heir got infected with pneumonic, and troublesome rumour from the imperial palace indicated that the emperor was infected as well. Prandota prayed to god to spare their lives, but his prayers where ignored. Within weeks, both his son and the boy emperor died from the pneumonic leaving the imperial throne empty.



With a second emperor gone in such a story periode, the empire felt in turmoil over succession of the throne. Under these circumstances, only one man came in question to replace the dead emperor. It si the same man how prevented the collapse of the empire, the current King of Germany, Prandota himself. Prandota knew that there were no others who could have taken this high but dangerous position. To prevent another civil war, he accepted the Imperial crown and started planning for the future…



To be continued…