Just caught up with this, I like the approach, reads very much like an encylopedia. Good luck.
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Have played through 1241 so far. The Duchy is expanding tremendously. Should become King of France in approx. 30-40 yrs. Have definitely hit critical mass--with 70,000 men and unlimited money it's going to be tough for anyone to take me on, at least until the Mongols get here. Realm Distress might get ugly if it happened, but elective law is providing some excellent Dukes for now.
Eudes (r. 1221-1227), Count of Penthievre, was elected by the Council to replace Louis. Eudes was already middle-aged when he became ruler; he was the first of the Valois to use the title Archduke, as he held several different duchies at once and owed fealty to no one. He was a competent administrator during a time of troubles outside the Archduchy, as the Valois territories were known. Eudes did little but occupy the counties of Sens and Blois during the year 1224, as they had collapsed into anarchy and banditry during the civil war in the Frankish Kingdom.
RATING: Average
Thomas the Crusader (r. 1227-1259), Duke Louis's eldest son, succeeded Eudes as Archduke. Thomas was younger and more vigorous than Eudes, and his ambition nearly got the better of him. Thomas had a great deal of influence over Pope Paul, and persuaded him to excommunicate the boy Frankish King Philippe just days after he took power. He then declared war on Philippe, who was unable to put a serious army in the field. Thomas's troops brushed aside the enemy and conquered Orleans, Reims, and Tourraine. All three provinces were in desperate conditions, especially Orleans, where many peasants and townsmen were starving because of the efects of the long civil war. Thomas then claimed for himself the title of Duke of France.
Paul was not a mere puppet of Thomas, though. In exchange for his sanction of Thomas's new acquisitions, Paul demanded that Thomas lead a crusade against the Saracens in Sicily, who controlled much of the Western Mediterranean and were raiding throughout Italy. In spring 1229, Thomas sailed for Palermo with more than 30,000 men. He utterly destroyed the Saracen forces sent out against him, and within a year had conquered the whole island and forced the Muslims to sue for peace; Thomas allowed them to keep Malta. Thomas then ceded the five provinces of Sicily, along with its dukedom, to Pope Paul. He wasn't yet finished, though; he demanded the province of Bourges as part of his share of the booty, occupied it in 1232, and claimed the title of Duke of Orleans.
During the early part of Thomas's rule, the economic production of the Archduchy grew a great deal due to the introduction and spread of windmills, which provided industry and craftsmen with more energy than they had ever had available before. Thomas also improved the harbors along the coast of the Manche, and the Archduchy developed a shipbuilding industry based at Le Havre and Nantes. Nantes grew tremendously during this period, developed a metalworking industry, and became the Archduchy's third city after Paris and Le Havre.
Europe was living under three threats during the middle part of the 13th century: marauding Saracens from North Africa, Seljuk Turks from Anatolia, and the Golden Horde on the plains of Rus. The Saracens had finished licking their wounds from the loss of Sicily by 1234, and they launched an invasion of the Rhone Valley with an army of at least 20,000. Muslim troops occupied most of Languedoc, and the Pope appealed to Thomas to take action. Thomas needed little persuasion, mobilized his forces, and moved south, sending one army around each side of the Massif Central.
Thomas's right flank drove through Perigord and occupied the province, and then moved on down the valley of the Garonne toward Montpellier. His left flank was halted by the Muslims at Viviers in a bloody but inconclusive battle, but the Muslims were then cut off by the troops moving up from Montpellier and trapped in the Rhone valley, where Thomas cut them to pieces. His reward from Paul for expelling the Muslims from Languedoc was Viviers and Montpellier, as well as Perigord.
He was not a very interesting man; he left behind no writings, as Charles and Mathieu had done, nor did he care for poetry and music. Thomas, rather, hungered for power and approbation; his influence over the Pope must have helped him feel important, which of course he was. Thomas, like many of the other Valois, was also a builder; he began work on Our Lady of the River in Rouen, one of Lenguadoil's most beautiful Valois-style pointed-arch cathedrals, fortified the harbor at Le Havre, and built castles in his new lands of Bourges and Orleans to protect against bandits and invaders.
But Thomas was by no means done with his wars. His coffers were bursting with gold, and he was able to train and pay very large and skilled armies who were completely loyal to him. In 1240, the Frankish king Philippe died under unexplained circumstances, and was replaced by Aymeric, a much more competent ruler. Aymeric proposed an alliance with the Archduchy against Hungary, which had occupied much of Burgundy during the Frankish civil war. Thomas accepted; Hungarian troops defeated Thomas's army near Besançon, but then Thomas's main body met them near Bourges, broke their line, surrounded half their army, and wiped it out. Hungary asked for peace, and the price was high: the counties of Auxerre, Besançon, and Lyon.
Thomas considered himself a Frank, as did all the Valois, and felt it his duty to both unite all Franks under Valois leadership--toward which goal he did a great deal, doubling the size of the Archduchy--and expanding the area of Frankish speech and customs, at which he had largely succeeded by 1245 in Thours, Bourges, and the rest of the south bank of the upper Loire.
Between 1240 and 1249, the Archduchy was at peace for the longest period under Thomas's rule. Thomas's ally Aymeric of the Franks was assassinated in a palace coup in March of the latter year, and Thomas declared war on Aymeric's illegitimate successors. His men rapidly occupied Nevers, Dijon, Santois, and Troyes, all still impoverished from the effects of the Frankish civil war; Aymeric's successors fought among themselves and posed no resistance to Thomas's forces.
The Kingdom of England, however, objected to Thomas's rapid expansion and declared war on him in 1252. An English army landed near Boulougne and cut a swath through Languedoil all the way to Besançon, where they found themselves without supplies and disbanded into smaller groups, which local nobles had no trouble mopping up. Thomas's main force moved into Avranches, laid siege to Cherbourg, and forced it into surrender. Pope Paul then intervened again on Thomas's side, threatening the King of England with excommunication if he did not make peace. England turned over Avranches, along with the ducal title of Normandy, to Thomas.
Thomas had overreached and overextended his strength, and it is quite possible that if he had been attacked by a major power like Hungary or the Seljuks during the 1250s, he might have been defeated. The Archduchy was very unpopular among the ruling houses of the rest of Europe, and Thomas was nearly as unpopular among his own vassals and nobles, to whom he had to pay generous subsidies to assure their loyalty.
He went to war no longer, and died on January 20, 1259 in Paris. Thomas was buried in Notre Dame. Though he was excessively ambitious, he made the Archduchy the strongest power in Europe economically, and one of the strongest militarily.
RATING: Great
RATING: Average
Thomas the Crusader (r. 1227-1259), Duke Louis's eldest son, succeeded Eudes as Archduke. Thomas was younger and more vigorous than Eudes, and his ambition nearly got the better of him. Thomas had a great deal of influence over Pope Paul, and persuaded him to excommunicate the boy Frankish King Philippe just days after he took power. He then declared war on Philippe, who was unable to put a serious army in the field. Thomas's troops brushed aside the enemy and conquered Orleans, Reims, and Tourraine. All three provinces were in desperate conditions, especially Orleans, where many peasants and townsmen were starving because of the efects of the long civil war. Thomas then claimed for himself the title of Duke of France.
Paul was not a mere puppet of Thomas, though. In exchange for his sanction of Thomas's new acquisitions, Paul demanded that Thomas lead a crusade against the Saracens in Sicily, who controlled much of the Western Mediterranean and were raiding throughout Italy. In spring 1229, Thomas sailed for Palermo with more than 30,000 men. He utterly destroyed the Saracen forces sent out against him, and within a year had conquered the whole island and forced the Muslims to sue for peace; Thomas allowed them to keep Malta. Thomas then ceded the five provinces of Sicily, along with its dukedom, to Pope Paul. He wasn't yet finished, though; he demanded the province of Bourges as part of his share of the booty, occupied it in 1232, and claimed the title of Duke of Orleans.
During the early part of Thomas's rule, the economic production of the Archduchy grew a great deal due to the introduction and spread of windmills, which provided industry and craftsmen with more energy than they had ever had available before. Thomas also improved the harbors along the coast of the Manche, and the Archduchy developed a shipbuilding industry based at Le Havre and Nantes. Nantes grew tremendously during this period, developed a metalworking industry, and became the Archduchy's third city after Paris and Le Havre.
Europe was living under three threats during the middle part of the 13th century: marauding Saracens from North Africa, Seljuk Turks from Anatolia, and the Golden Horde on the plains of Rus. The Saracens had finished licking their wounds from the loss of Sicily by 1234, and they launched an invasion of the Rhone Valley with an army of at least 20,000. Muslim troops occupied most of Languedoc, and the Pope appealed to Thomas to take action. Thomas needed little persuasion, mobilized his forces, and moved south, sending one army around each side of the Massif Central.
Thomas's right flank drove through Perigord and occupied the province, and then moved on down the valley of the Garonne toward Montpellier. His left flank was halted by the Muslims at Viviers in a bloody but inconclusive battle, but the Muslims were then cut off by the troops moving up from Montpellier and trapped in the Rhone valley, where Thomas cut them to pieces. His reward from Paul for expelling the Muslims from Languedoc was Viviers and Montpellier, as well as Perigord.
He was not a very interesting man; he left behind no writings, as Charles and Mathieu had done, nor did he care for poetry and music. Thomas, rather, hungered for power and approbation; his influence over the Pope must have helped him feel important, which of course he was. Thomas, like many of the other Valois, was also a builder; he began work on Our Lady of the River in Rouen, one of Lenguadoil's most beautiful Valois-style pointed-arch cathedrals, fortified the harbor at Le Havre, and built castles in his new lands of Bourges and Orleans to protect against bandits and invaders.
But Thomas was by no means done with his wars. His coffers were bursting with gold, and he was able to train and pay very large and skilled armies who were completely loyal to him. In 1240, the Frankish king Philippe died under unexplained circumstances, and was replaced by Aymeric, a much more competent ruler. Aymeric proposed an alliance with the Archduchy against Hungary, which had occupied much of Burgundy during the Frankish civil war. Thomas accepted; Hungarian troops defeated Thomas's army near Besançon, but then Thomas's main body met them near Bourges, broke their line, surrounded half their army, and wiped it out. Hungary asked for peace, and the price was high: the counties of Auxerre, Besançon, and Lyon.
Thomas considered himself a Frank, as did all the Valois, and felt it his duty to both unite all Franks under Valois leadership--toward which goal he did a great deal, doubling the size of the Archduchy--and expanding the area of Frankish speech and customs, at which he had largely succeeded by 1245 in Thours, Bourges, and the rest of the south bank of the upper Loire.
Between 1240 and 1249, the Archduchy was at peace for the longest period under Thomas's rule. Thomas's ally Aymeric of the Franks was assassinated in a palace coup in March of the latter year, and Thomas declared war on Aymeric's illegitimate successors. His men rapidly occupied Nevers, Dijon, Santois, and Troyes, all still impoverished from the effects of the Frankish civil war; Aymeric's successors fought among themselves and posed no resistance to Thomas's forces.
The Kingdom of England, however, objected to Thomas's rapid expansion and declared war on him in 1252. An English army landed near Boulougne and cut a swath through Languedoil all the way to Besançon, where they found themselves without supplies and disbanded into smaller groups, which local nobles had no trouble mopping up. Thomas's main force moved into Avranches, laid siege to Cherbourg, and forced it into surrender. Pope Paul then intervened again on Thomas's side, threatening the King of England with excommunication if he did not make peace. England turned over Avranches, along with the ducal title of Normandy, to Thomas.
Thomas had overreached and overextended his strength, and it is quite possible that if he had been attacked by a major power like Hungary or the Seljuks during the 1250s, he might have been defeated. The Archduchy was very unpopular among the ruling houses of the rest of Europe, and Thomas was nearly as unpopular among his own vassals and nobles, to whom he had to pay generous subsidies to assure their loyalty.
He went to war no longer, and died on January 20, 1259 in Paris. Thomas was buried in Notre Dame. Though he was excessively ambitious, he made the Archduchy the strongest power in Europe economically, and one of the strongest militarily.
RATING: Great
An excellent reign, though his successor will likely not be as strong and muck it up. Ah well, that's half the fun.
Jimbo: Yep, it looks like we're heading for realm distress. Thomas expanded too fast--there was so much of France right there to grab--and gained an awful reputation. I've played through about 1267 so far. I'm not that worried about it, since I hold all the Duchy titles and breakaway provinces in France will eventually reunite with me. As for the overseas provinces, who cares? I have a couple of scattered vassals left in the Holy Land, and somehow I inherited Cyrenaica.
I want to include screenshots, but I am totally computer-illiterate. Instructions, please.
My understanding is that I hit F11 and what is on the screen is thereby captured. But then what do I do? Please be very specific because I'm very bad at this.
I want to include screenshots, but I am totally computer-illiterate. Instructions, please.
My understanding is that I hit F11 and what is on the screen is thereby captured. But then what do I do? Please be very specific because I'm very bad at this.
I'm not an expert myself, check out the threats in the general AAR fiction area, I believe they ought to have something elucidating to say. It's basically a copy-paste edit experience- again- check there, because I am also totally illiterate. (Why I majored in History and Political Science)
Have played through 1286 and have two more archdukes to write up. Realm distress happened but we survived.
A very interesting format.
I'm definitely following this one. You seem well on the way to be King.
I'm definitely following this one. You seem well on the way to be King.
Renaud (r. 1259-1266), count of Vexin, was chosen by the Breton Council to succeed Thomas. Renaud was just as ambitious as his predecessor, and nowhere near as competent. Though he further expanded the Archduchy's boundaries, and presided over a period of general prosperity, he angered his court, his vassals, his nobles, and other European kingdoms to the point that he was widely hated during his own time.
Renaud was neither particularly cruel nor dishonest, but he was already unpopular among much of the Council because of his marriage to a Flemish noblewoman; this alliance was considered a betrayal of Frankishness by some. In fact, Renaud constantly intrigued to secure the succession to the title for his own son, Godfried, who was competent and capable, but was unsuccessful, since Godfried preferred to live in Flanders and speak Dutch. (Dutch was still spoken at this time in southern and western Flanders as far south as Boulogne.) The Council was unwilling to accept an Archduke so obviously non-Frank.
Fortunately for Renaud and the Archduchy, the two largest Christian powers, the Frankish Kingdom and Hungary, were at war over Burgundy and were unable to take advantage of his weakness. The German de Metz family had come to the Frankish throne, and Renaud considered that he had a better claim to it than they had. Nonetheless, he successfully married many of his relatives and courtiers into the top levels of the Frankish nobility.
During 1260, a mysterious influenza epidemic known for some reason as the "F12 flu" struck down many of Renaud's courtiers; it is not known why only those over 35, without the Valois surname, of non-Frankish culture, of poor health, or of low intelligence succumbed.
Fighting between the Frankish Kingdom and Hungary along the Archduchy's frontiers again caused desolation and anarchy in 1263, and Renaud took advantage of this opportunity to restore order to attack the Kingdom and strip it of the provinces of Lusignan, Saintonge, Anjou, and Verdun. He claimed the titles of Duke of Champagne and of Anjou as well.
Now everyone in Europe hated Renaud for his greed and ambition, and he was forced to pay enormous bribes to his vassals in exchange for their loyalty. He had reached middle-age by then and entered a decline; he died in Paris in 1266 and is buried in Notre Dame.
RATING: Average
Frederic (r. 1266-1274), count of Blois, was elected by the Council as the next Archduke by a very small margin. He never had the authority that even Renaud possessed, and several of the counts revolted and refused to pledge loyalty to him. The Archduchy's remaining overseas dependencies, Tyrus, Baalbek, and Medina, all split away; more importantly, so did Nantes, Poitiers, Guines, Verdun, and Troyes. Frederic was unable to convince any of them to rejoin.
He was a just ruler and the Archduchy's prosperity continued. Frederic refused to declare war on his wayward vassals, and through a combination of bribes, cajoling, and threats, kept the rest of them more or less in line. Under Renaud's rule, the Archduchy's vassals had gotten used to getting their own way, and it was not until his last year as Archduke that he was able to regain some control. In fact, Frederic did successfully convince the Count of Maçon, whose lands had been devastated by the Frankish-Hungarian War, to swear fealty to him.
Frederic was a comparatively young man when he died of what was probably a heart attack at Amiens in 1274; he had been expected to rule much longer. He was much criticized by historians during the past two centuries for losing control of several of his counts, but the pendulum is swinging the other way today, and many of Frederic's virtues are stressed by modern historians.
RATING: Average
Renaud was neither particularly cruel nor dishonest, but he was already unpopular among much of the Council because of his marriage to a Flemish noblewoman; this alliance was considered a betrayal of Frankishness by some. In fact, Renaud constantly intrigued to secure the succession to the title for his own son, Godfried, who was competent and capable, but was unsuccessful, since Godfried preferred to live in Flanders and speak Dutch. (Dutch was still spoken at this time in southern and western Flanders as far south as Boulogne.) The Council was unwilling to accept an Archduke so obviously non-Frank.
Fortunately for Renaud and the Archduchy, the two largest Christian powers, the Frankish Kingdom and Hungary, were at war over Burgundy and were unable to take advantage of his weakness. The German de Metz family had come to the Frankish throne, and Renaud considered that he had a better claim to it than they had. Nonetheless, he successfully married many of his relatives and courtiers into the top levels of the Frankish nobility.
During 1260, a mysterious influenza epidemic known for some reason as the "F12 flu" struck down many of Renaud's courtiers; it is not known why only those over 35, without the Valois surname, of non-Frankish culture, of poor health, or of low intelligence succumbed.
Fighting between the Frankish Kingdom and Hungary along the Archduchy's frontiers again caused desolation and anarchy in 1263, and Renaud took advantage of this opportunity to restore order to attack the Kingdom and strip it of the provinces of Lusignan, Saintonge, Anjou, and Verdun. He claimed the titles of Duke of Champagne and of Anjou as well.
Now everyone in Europe hated Renaud for his greed and ambition, and he was forced to pay enormous bribes to his vassals in exchange for their loyalty. He had reached middle-age by then and entered a decline; he died in Paris in 1266 and is buried in Notre Dame.
RATING: Average
Frederic (r. 1266-1274), count of Blois, was elected by the Council as the next Archduke by a very small margin. He never had the authority that even Renaud possessed, and several of the counts revolted and refused to pledge loyalty to him. The Archduchy's remaining overseas dependencies, Tyrus, Baalbek, and Medina, all split away; more importantly, so did Nantes, Poitiers, Guines, Verdun, and Troyes. Frederic was unable to convince any of them to rejoin.
He was a just ruler and the Archduchy's prosperity continued. Frederic refused to declare war on his wayward vassals, and through a combination of bribes, cajoling, and threats, kept the rest of them more or less in line. Under Renaud's rule, the Archduchy's vassals had gotten used to getting their own way, and it was not until his last year as Archduke that he was able to regain some control. In fact, Frederic did successfully convince the Count of Maçon, whose lands had been devastated by the Frankish-Hungarian War, to swear fealty to him.
Frederic was a comparatively young man when he died of what was probably a heart attack at Amiens in 1274; he had been expected to rule much longer. He was much criticized by historians during the past two centuries for losing control of several of his counts, but the pendulum is swinging the other way today, and many of Frederic's virtues are stressed by modern historians.
RATING: Average
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Hopefully your next set of rulers will have better luck with their reputations, it seems lethal to them now.
Review of the succession:
Raoul I begat Raoul II and Thibaut.
Thibaut begat Adam.
Adam begat Charles.
Charles begat Philippe and Bernard.
Bernard begat Etienne.
Elected Archdukes:
Mathieu
Louis
Eudes
Thomas
Renaud
Frederic
Coming Up: Folques. Bertrand, and Jacques!
Got through Realm Distress without that much trouble, but the real big fun comes about 1312. Have played through about 1330. Will get screenshots.
Raoul I begat Raoul II and Thibaut.
Thibaut begat Adam.
Adam begat Charles.
Charles begat Philippe and Bernard.
Bernard begat Etienne.
Elected Archdukes:
Mathieu
Louis
Eudes
Thomas
Renaud
Frederic
Coming Up: Folques. Bertrand, and Jacques!
Got through Realm Distress without that much trouble, but the real big fun comes about 1312. Have played through about 1330. Will get screenshots.
Actually, I didn't F12 them; no cheating in this game until the big war comes along in about 1312. I was surprised at Frederic, because he was young and I thought he'd go ten or twenty more years, and he'd gotten through realm duress and I don't think he was assassinated--if he was they got away with it. He had great stats, too, so his diplomacy rating balanced out his reputation. The guy before him, Renaud, was old. The next guy, Folques, has a longer rule. Jacques is going to live a good long time--he's already been in power for 25 years.