Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc – a Hvide family chronicle

[Christensen]

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc – a Hvide family chronicle

This AAR will follow the Hvide family in the Kingdom of Denmark. The style will be rather narrative with focus on the story. I'll try to mix in as many historical events and facts as possible, though it has to be said, that the middle ages are not really my speciality. Some times I'll have to adjust actual historical events in order to make them fit what happens in game ofcourse. I hope you will forgive my rather poor English, it will hopefully improve as I progress. If you have any comments, questions or requests please feel free to ask them.

Hvide Family Coat of Arms

Roskilde 1067:

Roskilde, Haroldscastle
February 1067

Skjalm Tokeson Hvide was fuming with anger. Not as much because of the negative reply from the King, but rather because of the way in which he had declined the offer of marriage between the King's daughter, Gro, and Skjalm's brother, and heir, Auden. The king had laughed at the idea of his daughter marrying into the Hvide family. Stating that he, as a Christian King, could not give his daughter to a family who had only converted to Christianity a generation earlier.

Skjalm's father, Toke Trolle, had been a “gode”, a priest of the old religion, and one of the last of the King's men to convert to the new faith. And then only because it was necessary in order to marry into the rich Sasser family, which had converted, when King Gorm the Old did so in 960. The marriage had secured the Hvide family a huge dowry, which had made them the most important family on the island of Sjaelland. This had elevated the family, and Skjalm's father, Toke, had been appointed as the new Earl of the island. Skjalm had hoped that a marriage between his brother and the King's daughter would confirm the Hvide family's position.

The fact that the family had been so late to embrace the new faith and had only recently risen to power was the reason for the King's refusal. Skjalm was angry with himself for not having anticipated the decline. He should have known that the King did not consider the Hvide family important enough for his daughter. A princess was an important piece in diplomacy. Marriages sealed political alliances, and the King had no need to form an alliance with the Hvide family. He was their liege and could demand their loyalty and support. He did not need to further confirm that by marriage. Instead the King's daughter had married some Spanish noble, and made the Hvide family into a laughing stock. Skjalm was far from happy, but there was nothing he could do about it for now.

His brother, Auden, on the other hand was very happy. He had never liked the princess, and had not exactly looked forward to marrying her. Instead he had been interested in Gunhild Bragde, the daughter of a wealthy merchant family from Halland. She was not a bad choice for a wife, but not as good as a princess. In the current situation though, she was the best option. The only option. Auden would be happy and Skjalm could use the dowry from the Bragde family.

But most importantly. Gunhild derived from an old family of Skaane earls. Even though it was now more than a hundred years since a member of her family had last been earl, her family still had a justified claim on the title of Earl of Skaane. A claim that would now go to the Hvide family, as Gunhild was an only-child.

It was all perfect. The king had just appointed his son, Benedikt, as new earl of Skaane. If Skjalm could outmanoeuvre Benedikt and appoint himself as the lawful earl of Skaane, he would not only get what rightfully belonged to his family, but also get his revenge on King Svend. For the moment though, Skjalm had to bid his time.

Odense
2 July 1067

Odense, the seat of King Svend's court, was buzzing with people. The shore of the fjord was lined with hundreds of ships of which three belonged to Skjalm. The entire Danish nobility was gathered in Odense these days. Tomorrow on Saint Thomas Day the King's official heir would be appointed. Denmark was an elective kingdom. The King's heir would be chosen amongst the noblemen. Usually it was custom for the King's oldest son to be elected, but on occasions other candidates had won. This time it was different though. King Svend's position was far stronger than any previous king. His sons were all Earls, except for one. In fact Skjalm was the only Earl in the entire Kingdom, who was not a relative of King Svend. And far more important, according to the rumour, his sons were all unambitious, none of them had openly announced their candidacy. But Skjalm assumed that they were actually scared. It was not unusual for Danish kings to die before God had planned it. In fact it was no more than 26 years ago since King Hardeknud had collapsed with spasms moments after drinking a toast at a wedding, dying shortly thereafter. No one could prove that he had been poisoned, but it was a public secret, that the King's cup had held more than just wine, and that the King's half brother Edward, who had been appointed heir the year before, was the guilty.

In Skjalm's mind they were all whimps. All except for Harald Duke of Slesvig, the King's oldest son. He was the only one who had inherited Svend's strength. Harald would surely be voted heir. There could be no doubt. The King wanted him as his heir, and his sons feared him too much to disobey him. Since they as Earls could almost certainly control the votes of the nobles in their regions, the King had full control of the vote. Only the nobles in Skjalm's region could dare vote as they pleased, and they were greatly outnumbered.

Unlike most of the Nobles Skjalm did not have a house in Odense. So he had chosen to stay at a cousin of his. The cousin, being nothing but a poor wool merchant, had been greatly honoured by this prominent guest. Although he did not approve of Skjalm's “use” of a certain maid of his. The young wench had been called to Skjalm's bed every evening. Something which he could only do since his wife Signe, had been left in Roskilde, she was pregnant and was not fit to travel.

Skjalm had just finished another “session” with the maid, when a messenger arrived from the King, ordering him to see the King immediately. As he made his way through the streets of the city, Skjalm was trying to figure out what the King wanted. Had he changed his mind about who he wanted as heir? Would Skjalm have to change his vote tomorrow?

The King greeted Skjalm when he arrived at the royal castle. All of the King's sons were present as well. Food and wine were ready at a table and the King, made a gesture for them to sit.
“As you all know, I've chosen Harald as my candidate for my heir. And I expect you to honour that choice.”
Everyone at the table nodded as to show they agreed.
“I also have another wish”
They all pricked up ears.
“Far too often has a King's death been followed by civil war and turmoil. The heir whom the nobility had chosen might not be as strong as he was at the time, and others see their chance. This can all be changed though.”
Skjalm could see where this was going, and he did not like it.
“The succession law needs to be changed. We cannot let ourself be torn apart in the future. The King of Germany would take it as an opportunity to conquer the country, while we fight amongst each other. It is therefore necessary that we ensure the succession line by making the King's oldest son the natural heir by birth right.”
Harald fought hard to resist a smile. “So no votes, father?”
King Svend looked at his son.
“Only one. Tomorrow you must ensure, that all of the nobles in your regions vote for this change of law. We need an unanimous vote.”
The King looked directly at Skjalm as he said these words. And Skjalm felt as if he was shrinking in his seat. There was nothing he could do. The King's sons would all support the King. It would be suicidal to stand up to him alone.
“Of course my liege” Skjalm said, trying hard to hide his true feelings. This was an outrage. The nobility had always had the right to chose the next King. This would derive them of that privilege. But there was nothing to do. Svend was simply in too strong a position to be stopped. Tomorrow the succession law would be changed, and from then on the King's first born would be the heir. There was nothing the nobles could do about it.
The King looked at them all.
“So I can count of the nobles to vote as you do?”
They all nodded.

That evening Skjalm was dining with Trygve Staare a vassal of Harald Duke. They had been talking about the struggle between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Hamburg, of whom the latter was the formal liege of the Danish bishops, but the last Bishop of Roskilde had been sworn in by the Archbishop of Canterbury rather than his Hamburg colleague. Which had infuriated the German Bishop so much, that he had kidnapped the Bishop of Roskilde and forced him to recognise the German branch of the Church as his superior.
“We ought to learn from the Archbishop” said Trygve.
Skjalm was not sure what he meant.
Trygve could see that Skjalm was confused and continued:
“We ought to take action, the King cannot be allowed to strip us of our birth given right!”
Even though he had not been present at the meeting, he had somehow heard of what the King was planning.
“I'm not sure what we can do” Skjalm said.
“We must kill him and Harald, the rest of the King's sons will be too scared to resist us, if we move fast and install a new King.”
“And who would that King be?”
“You!”
Skjalm was surprised. He had no royal blood in his family. His grandfather had been but low level viking chieftan. And now this vassal was offering to betray his liege and his King in order to make Skjalm king. The thought made him shiver. King...
“I'm interested, who is with us?” he asked.
“Myself and all of the nobles of the counties Slesvig and Holstein. They have had Harald as their master for years, and it has not been a pleasant experience.”
Skjalm knew that the nobles in Slesvig and Holstein were powerful, they had often fought with their German neighbours to the south and were trained warriors, but they were simply not enough to take on the King and his sons. If the King or Harald somehow survived an attempt on their life, the conspirators would certainly die if they did not manage to flee abroad. As much as he wanted to stop the King's plan, as well as revenge, he did not dare attack him outright. Especially if Skjalm was to be the flag around which the nobility would rally. He would be the first to hang, should anything go wrong. This was too risky. Much could be won, but far more could be lost. Suddenly Skjalm recognised the opportunity he had just been given. These nobles apparently trusted his hate of the King so much, that they had not calculated with the risk of him betraying them to the King. They were sure he would follow them. They would be wrong. If he turned them all in to the King, he would most surely be rewarded. It would not be as good getting a kingdom, but it would be far safer for him. Not wanting to give away his plans he answered the nobleman:
“Your plan sounds possible. We cannot let the King dictate his wish upon us – you have my support.”

As soon as Trygve Staare and Skjalm had said goodbye to each other, Skjalm hurried to the King's castle. It was late, but when the King heard what his Earl had to report, he quickly forgave him for waking him up.

The next morning Harald Duke was unanimously voted heir and the succession law was changed at a great ceremony at Saint Albani Church. The nobles of Holstein and Slesvig were not present. In fact none of them were alive. As the King left the church with the nobles following in procession he had his arm around Skjalm, smiling and laughing.
“You know my dear Earl, I think you handled this very well. You deserve a reward. Do you like the title of Duke?”

 

[Christensen]

Roskilde, Haraldscastle
November 1067

Auden Tokeson Hvide was a happy man. Happy because it had been a very good year to him and his brother Skjalm. First Auden had been married to the woman he wanted, she was now pregnant with their first child, and then his brother had turned in the traitors who plotted against the king, a deed which he had been rewarded with the title of Duke for. Oh yes, it was going very well. Auden's brother still had no son of his own. His first born had been a girl – a bad sign, so Auden would one day inherit the island of Sjaelland as well as the smaller islands of Lolland, Falster and Amager who also belonged to his brother. Further more Auden had been appointed as his brother's Bishop. He was now the official head of the clergy in all of his brother's lands. A very good year indeed.

What would he do when he became Duke?
Before he got to answer that question a monk, brother Abel, entered the room, behind him followed a girl, clearly pregnant and with a scared look on her face, as if she had committed a crime, and was now expecting punishment.
“Yes, brother Abel?”
“Your grace, this girl has been sent from your cousin in Odense. She is expecting a child. The child of your brother Skjalm, according to your cousin, her master.”
The monk blushed. Clearly not comfortable to talk about anything remotely related to the sexual act. As all the other monks under Auden, he lived his life in celibacy. Auden was the only member of the clergy in the county that was married. And then only because he had been married before he had become bishop. Auden of course knew that many priests around the countryside had wifes, if not in name and in the eye of the Lord, then as a de factum state. They just called house maids or something else instead. In anything but name, these women were the wives of the priests they served. Auden didn't mind.

But what to do with the girl? He could recognize her from this summer. She had been the maid with whom his brother had “enjoyed” himself, during their stay at their cousin's house. No doubt Skjalm was the father, the poor girl was so young, that she'd probably never laid with another man. As soon as her situation was clear to all, her master had sent her away to the man responsible. Now it would be up to Skjalm to decide what to do with the poor thing. But Skjalm was not home, he had been out inspecting the coastal defence for the last month. The Vends from Rügen and the Baltic coast had harassed and plundered lonely fishing villages for years, and it was necessary to expand the defences against them. It would be at least a week before Skjalm would be home. But Auden knew what to do.
“Don't be afraid young girl. I'll take you into my household. I'll feed you and your child once it is born. And you'll be my wife's maid.”
He would not tell his brother about the bastard child he was about to have. No, that would be Auden's little secret. A weapon he could use when necessary.
Oh yes, it was all going very well for Auden.

 

[Christensen]

City of Arkona, island of Rügen
July 22 1069

It had been a tough one and a half year for Skjalm. In early 1068 he had sent his brother, Auden, to the city of Lübeck in order to force it's owner, count Budivoj Nakonid into submission. The count had refused and called the Hvide borther's bluff. They had neither the power, nor the right, to attack him. Yet.
But Auden's trip had not been a complete waste. In Lübeck he had met with the bishop of Hamburg, who had told him, that his liege, the Magnus Duke of Saxony was planning a summer campaign against the heathen Vends in Pomerania and on the island of Rügen. This had been interesting news to the Hvides whose towns and villages had often been plundered by the heathens. Upon Auden's return to Roskilde, they had quickly agreed, that this was too good an opportunity to turn down, they had to join forces with Magnus Duke and destroy the threat. Further more it was a good way to show the King that the Hvide family could surely be counted as good Christians despite their father's ties to the old religion.

Planning for the campaign had started immediately. They needed more ships, and therefore more wood, so they had expanded their forestry even though it had been expensive. Knowing that the campaign could cost him his life, Skjalm had done all he could to produce an heir, and finally one day Signe had been able to say with certainty that she was pregnant. But that was the end of their luck.

First Skjalms trusted old Marshall Asbjørn Ulfsson Sprakalegg had been severely wounded by a boar while hunting, and then Magnus Duke had been delayed. It was not until July that the Hvide brothers could begin their campaign against the Vendish tripes of Mecklenburg and Rügen. First they laid siege to the city of Rostock. The city's castle was only a motte-and-bailey, but the Hvide brothers only had fifteen hundred men under arms, that was all they could afford at this time, and even with such a small force they would still be poor if they couldn't plunder the enemy. Fifteen hundred men was not enough to capture the Roctock castle, so they had to lay siege. Meanwhile Magnus Duke's forces swarmed the Vendish lands, capturing city after city. Soon only Rostock and the small island of Rügen fought on.

The Hvide brothers was slowly starving out the Vends in Rostock. They had been uncertain what to do. None of them were soldiers as such, and the trusted old Marshall Asbjørn had been left at home due to his wounds. Instead a young noble by the name of Erik Skarsholm had taken over command, but it was now too late to attack, it was winter and their men were starving and freezing to death, while the besieged Vends apparently enjoyed the situation inside their safe and warm castle. Then Magnus Duke had arrived with fresh forces. And within a week he had taken over command, stormed the castle and taken it. Half a year of siege had been in vain. Now Magnus Duke was master of Rostock and the Hvide brothers had nothing they could do but move on.

They had laid siege to the city of Arkona on the island of Rügen, the last stronghold of their enemy. From April 1069 to July that year they laid siege. Then the Bishop of Hamburg arrived with his forces. Since this was a crusade against the heathens and Auden, not Skjalm, was the official commander of the brothers' army the German Bishop outranked them, so he took over command and a month later when the Vends surrendered the city was his, not the Hvide brothers'. The campaign was over. It had cost them huge amounts of money and many men. All for nothing. Skjalm was devastated. And soon he would receive more bad news. Signe had given birth to another girl.