INTRO
Hello one, hello all! This is my first-ever published AAR on a Paradox Forum, and after some encouragement from some anonymous redditors from my previous work I have decided to post this AAR.
I’m going to play in 1066 as Eadric ‘the Wild’, a minor Thegn living his best life in the woods of Shropshire and Chesire.
Inspired by The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth (heavily recommend) I’m gonna write all Anglo-Saxon dialogue in a hybrid language of Middle English and Modern English, because it's fun.
If, like me, you haven’t spent decades of your life learning old languages (looking at you Tolkienists), you’ll have to read this aloud to make sense of what anybody is saying. (of course I will answer any comments if you have difficulties reading this to know exactly what people are talking about)
I am using the great More Bookmarks+ and Historic Invasions mods (I tried More Provinces Expanded but it messed up the unique buildings) for this campaign and to make the world by the time I’m finished at least semi-recognisable to any Historian.
I don’t really have a goal for this campaign, besides surviving. But I will put in some rules for myself to follow:
If you people have any recommendations or issues I’d love to hear them.
Well, without further ado let's delve into the oft-forgotten and fascinating setting of this AAR.
He is an arrogant and arbitrary man, ambitious to cement his own power in England at whatever cost. Already he has angered his younger brother, Tostig, who has gone to the Norwegian court talking of kingship to Harald Hardrada. And despite the promises of Eadward and his own oath to support Duke William of Normandy as King of England, he was named king on Eadward's deathbed instead.
Most of his subjects in Anglo-Saxon England do not recognise him as their rightful ruler, and already the House of Godwin finds itself at odds with many of their vassal-lords despite their power.
King Harold is wary of everyone around him, and keeping his crown, and his head, may prove much more difficult than he initially thought.
However, despite his flaws he is of Saxon blood, and he speaks the tongue of the watery isle unlike the other men who claim his kingship.
Harald Hard RulerFrom Norway comes the Thunderbolt of the North, Harald Hardrada, the Landwaster, and his great heathen army claiming the Land of the Angles per an old and forgotten pact. Despite his age, or perhaps because of it, he is utterly stubborn in his efforts to press his claim, his greed bolstered by his impressive martial might.
Gifted with the sword from a young age, he has waged war and fought battles since his earliest years, fighting his first battle at 15 against the Danish King Cnut, before serving as a mercenary in-exile for the Kievan Rus' and then as commander of the Byzantine Varangian Guard for 15 years. There he fought in Sicily, Asia Minor, throughout the Mediterranean, and possibly in Bulgaria and the Holy Land before returning to fight in dynastic disputes in Constantinople itself. While serving he amassed vast sums of gold that he sent to the Kievan Rus' to prepare to reclaim the Norwegian throne from Cnut's successors, who turned out to be his illegitimate nephew, Magnus. He fought him anyway with the aid of the Danes in 1042, eventually settling as co-Kings with his nephew in 1046 before he died a year later and Harald became the only king of Norway.
Since then, Harald has had his eye on the kingdoms of Denmark and England, seeking to reforge the North Sea Empire like his old foe, King Cnut. And now, after the Saxon's King Harold's brother, Tostig, has left England and has pledged his allegiance to Harald, inviting him to claim the English throne in revenge for his exile by his brother.
The illegitimate son of Duke Robert of Normandy by his mistress Herleva, William became Duke upon the death of his father in 1035 when William was eight. Initially controlled by the other Norman lords he broke free of their influence in his adulthood and has since consolidated his rule over Normandy and quashed several revolts.
Following the ailing health of his first cousin once removed, Eadward the Confessor's in the 1050s and early 1060s he became a contender for the throne of England. Eadward offered him the throne in 1051 in the wake of the powerful Earl of Wessex, Godwin, being exiled from England with his family, but the following year Godwin returned and Eadward's offer de facto dissolved.
Godwin has since died, and his son Harold sits on the throne instead. William names King Harold oath breaker, and he sails to the isle in search of vengeance and to take what is his by right of conquest.
Eadric has inherited vast swathes of land from his father Ælfric and has expanded them considerably, being now the richest landholder in western Mercia, rivalling even that of his liege-lord Eadwin.
But he holds little interest in the affairs of his fellow Anglo-Saxons, preferring the excitement of the hunt to the dull and senseless march of war.
Despite his disinterest in the affairs of the outside world, the invaders have an interest in him, and all his lands.
What will he do when his comfortable lifestyle is threatened?
Note: as a head's up most of the names and titles I use for characters will be different in-game, usually because of what titles they held historically and the actual Anglo-Saxon name for certain types of rulers (Counts and Dukes) differs from what was decided in-game. E.g. Eadric is an Aldormann in-game, this doesn't make sense because it means the same thing as Eorl, which he is not. He is referred to as a Thegn, or Thane, historically and so that is what I'll call him and his descendants until he either changes culture or moves up a rank.
I’m going to play in 1066 as Eadric ‘the Wild’, a minor Thegn living his best life in the woods of Shropshire and Chesire.
Inspired by The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth (heavily recommend) I’m gonna write all Anglo-Saxon dialogue in a hybrid language of Middle English and Modern English, because it's fun.
If, like me, you haven’t spent decades of your life learning old languages (looking at you Tolkienists), you’ll have to read this aloud to make sense of what anybody is saying. (of course I will answer any comments if you have difficulties reading this to know exactly what people are talking about)
I am using the great More Bookmarks+ and Historic Invasions mods (I tried More Provinces Expanded but it messed up the unique buildings) for this campaign and to make the world by the time I’m finished at least semi-recognisable to any Historian.
I don’t really have a goal for this campaign, besides surviving. But I will put in some rules for myself to follow:
- Can’t pick a kid's education or personality traits.
- Can only murder once every 5 years.
- Can’t overthrow the king unless I marry into the dynasty or through RP-shenanigans.
If you people have any recommendations or issues I’d love to hear them.
Well, without further ado let's delve into the oft-forgotten and fascinating setting of this AAR.
THE SETTING
It is 1066, the hounds of war bay for the blood of Saxons as French and Northman invaders make landfall on her fair shores.
THE CONTENDERS
Harold Godwineson
Harold Godwinson came to the throne of England seven months ago following the death of his childless predecessor, Eadward II the Confessor. He is an arrogant and arbitrary man, ambitious to cement his own power in England at whatever cost. Already he has angered his younger brother, Tostig, who has gone to the Norwegian court talking of kingship to Harald Hardrada. And despite the promises of Eadward and his own oath to support Duke William of Normandy as King of England, he was named king on Eadward's deathbed instead.
Most of his subjects in Anglo-Saxon England do not recognise him as their rightful ruler, and already the House of Godwin finds itself at odds with many of their vassal-lords despite their power.
King Harold is wary of everyone around him, and keeping his crown, and his head, may prove much more difficult than he initially thought.
However, despite his flaws he is of Saxon blood, and he speaks the tongue of the watery isle unlike the other men who claim his kingship.
Harald Hard Ruler
Gifted with the sword from a young age, he has waged war and fought battles since his earliest years, fighting his first battle at 15 against the Danish King Cnut, before serving as a mercenary in-exile for the Kievan Rus' and then as commander of the Byzantine Varangian Guard for 15 years. There he fought in Sicily, Asia Minor, throughout the Mediterranean, and possibly in Bulgaria and the Holy Land before returning to fight in dynastic disputes in Constantinople itself. While serving he amassed vast sums of gold that he sent to the Kievan Rus' to prepare to reclaim the Norwegian throne from Cnut's successors, who turned out to be his illegitimate nephew, Magnus. He fought him anyway with the aid of the Danes in 1042, eventually settling as co-Kings with his nephew in 1046 before he died a year later and Harald became the only king of Norway.
Since then, Harald has had his eye on the kingdoms of Denmark and England, seeking to reforge the North Sea Empire like his old foe, King Cnut. And now, after the Saxon's King Harold's brother, Tostig, has left England and has pledged his allegiance to Harald, inviting him to claim the English throne in revenge for his exile by his brother.
William the Bastard
Lurking closer comes the marching boots of the bastard-turned-warrior Guillaume le Bâtard at the head of a French, Breton and Occ invasion force, also claiming the crown the King of England promised to him. The illegitimate son of Duke Robert of Normandy by his mistress Herleva, William became Duke upon the death of his father in 1035 when William was eight. Initially controlled by the other Norman lords he broke free of their influence in his adulthood and has since consolidated his rule over Normandy and quashed several revolts.
Following the ailing health of his first cousin once removed, Eadward the Confessor's in the 1050s and early 1060s he became a contender for the throne of England. Eadward offered him the throne in 1051 in the wake of the powerful Earl of Wessex, Godwin, being exiled from England with his family, but the following year Godwin returned and Eadward's offer de facto dissolved.
Godwin has since died, and his son Harold sits on the throne instead. William names King Harold oath breaker, and he sails to the isle in search of vengeance and to take what is his by right of conquest.
Eadric the Wild
But while these great men war over the isle, a smaller, even minor player in the matter of Britain, a Saxon Thegn named Eadric Ælfricson, lives his best life hunting and feasting off the riches of his impressive holdings in the border counties of Shropshire and Cheshire. So much so that he is nicknamed after the wilds he is so fond of hunting in by his fellow hunters.Eadric has inherited vast swathes of land from his father Ælfric and has expanded them considerably, being now the richest landholder in western Mercia, rivalling even that of his liege-lord Eadwin.
But he holds little interest in the affairs of his fellow Anglo-Saxons, preferring the excitement of the hunt to the dull and senseless march of war.
Despite his disinterest in the affairs of the outside world, the invaders have an interest in him, and all his lands.
What will he do when his comfortable lifestyle is threatened?
Note: as a head's up most of the names and titles I use for characters will be different in-game, usually because of what titles they held historically and the actual Anglo-Saxon name for certain types of rulers (Counts and Dukes) differs from what was decided in-game. E.g. Eadric is an Aldormann in-game, this doesn't make sense because it means the same thing as Eorl, which he is not. He is referred to as a Thegn, or Thane, historically and so that is what I'll call him and his descendants until he either changes culture or moves up a rank.
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