This is my first ever Paradox AAR - be kind but honest!
If you are not swedish, you may read 'jarl' as count, 'lagman' as chancellor, and 'slott' as castle. (Although I know it's not entirely correct, especially 'lagman' but at least it's closer to reality than 'lordkansler' (swedish for chancellor))
If anyone likes it, I'll post more.
Star of the North
Bringing Christ and Culture to Scandinavia
Chapter 1: Setting the stage
January 3, 1067
Axevalla Slott, Västergötland
Halsten, King of Sweden, sitting in front of a huge log-fire, was in an unussually foul mood. Yesterday the dukes and jarls had left on their sleighs, but the king had not yet forgotten what had been said during the festivities. While Halsten was a man of vision, and wanted to bring modern customs and christianity to the people, it seemed his jarls and dukes were not so farsighted. "What would a serf do with salvation?" seemed to be the general opinion. An opinon, Halsten thought, that was perhaps not uncommon - but he sensed that something else was going on. Someone among the Dukes and Jarls was working against him, and this was but the latest sign. It seemed none of his plans gained support from the lords.
Suddenly the King seemed to make up his mind and raised his voice. "Get me Håkon. Now."
As a serveant scurried of to find his spy master, he reflected over the fact that if his lords were a rebellious and backward bunch, his brothers was the perfect support he needed. And Håkon might be the most resourceful, if not the most devout of the bunch.
The king startled, his thoughts interrupted, when a soft voice suddenly spoke "You wanted me, brother?"
Halsten frowned at his bastard brother. Not the most devout, and surely not the most modest or tactful, either. Well, he thought - as long as it's not in public. "Yes. Someone is coordinating the lords against me. You are going to find out who, and you are dam-"
"Already done." Håkon interrupted him.
Halsten almost choked in disbelif. "You aready did WHAT?"
"Found out who is scheming against us, sire" Håkon sat down and looked smug. "I digged around a little during the festivities."
Halsten looked irritated. "Well?"
"It seems that young Duke Sven of Östergötland has a spy master by the name of Arne" Håkon leaned back in the chair. "And Arne is married to Gro - daughter of-"
Now it was Halsten's time to interrupt his brother with a quick gesture. "The danes?"
The king, suddenly calm, seemed lost in thought. "So, how sure are you, really?" he said, pondering. "Maybe this can be turned into our advatage"
---
October 17, 1067
Linköpings Slott, Östergötland
The young boy seemed misplaced in the great hall. He was sitting quietly in a chair, watching an older man pace over the floor. "But Arne, what can we do?" the boy said "Halsten is the king..." His voice trailed off.
Arne, the spy master, suddely stopped. "We stick to the customs!" He waved the document in his hand "The jarls won't accept this behaviour! Who does he think he is? Does he think the Ynglings will help him just because he married that BITCH?"
The boy seemed hesitant "So what are we going to do? Just ignore the request?"
"No." The older man thought for a second. "We will respond that you are unavailable to comply due to your duty to your jarls and people - and we shan't forget to congratulate him on his marrige." He shrugged. "According to Göta law, he has no rights to do this. The dukes and jarls will see it our way."
---
December, 1067
Letter from Håkon to his liege.
Brother, I write to you in haste. While securing our connections in Dal, I have heard disturbing rumors that the Ynglings has laid claim to Dal, and are mustering a force to act on that claim. I fear that if we do not act quickly, Dal will be lost to us.
Håkon
---
Summer 1068
Somehere in Dal
Erik, Marshal of Sweden and brother to the King, swatted at the flies. "Well, that'd be the last of the resistance in these parts." he thought as he watched the men come out of the haphazard shelter they had defended with their hands empty. The campaign in Dal had gone smoothly during the spring, once the jarls forces were beaten, local leaders had offered stiff resistance. Nevertheless, one village and farm at a time, the regiments from Dalarna and Västergötland had conquered the area. The Jarl of Värmland, Hakon, had refused to raise arms against the jarl of Dal, presumably because of family ties. "Well, I guess Brother will deal with him" Erik thought. He shared his brothers vision of a strong kingdom - but contrary to Halsten, his primary goal was that of bringing the light of Christ to the north. "It's me and Inge" he thought "We need to remind Halsten that there is no other way forward than through God." Inge was the last brother, and lagman of all Sweden. The two brothers shared a deep faith in God, and they constantly had to remind their brother the king that it was the life after this that was important, not worldy achievements. "Well" he thought as he looked around in the small village, noticing the signs of remaining pagan practices "unless it's also for the greater glory of God."
---
In the year of our Lord 1069, the Pope called a crusade against the heathens to liberate the Holy Land. This gave the young king of Sweden no small amount of trouble, as his brothers tried to convince him of the merits of a crusade. To stop the complaints, he decided to launch a campaign against the heathens in the northern part of Scandinavia. During the Summer, which he spent in the north pacifying the lapp tribes, his firstborn son, Styrbjörn, was born. When Halsten returned, the child was baptised during a great feast where in addition to nobles from the land, a large group of Ynglings with Styrbjörn's grandfather the King as the most prominent guest. Eveyone could see that the two monarchs got along well, and during the evenings the two of them retired together to a tower in the keep, and one could see the lights shine 'til early morning as the two rulers talked about what had been, what was, and what would come to pass.
---
Spring, 1069
Axevalla Slott, Västergötland
A cart rumbled slowly into Axevalla Castle, and the king looked with obvious curiosity through the windows in the great hall.
"Chancellor, what is this?" He turned to Ingamodher of Muskö, his trusted accountant. "The guard of that wagon carries my colours, and yet I know we have already received the taxes from all my domains."
Ingamodher, looking up from the documents she had been reading from looked irritated at the interruption. "Are you ever even listening to me?" She glared at him. "I told you three weeks ago that the taxes and tolls from Lappland was due this week."
Halsten turned around again. "Lappland? But that's a lot of escort for a couple of furs." His stewardess looked at him, her expression freezing over even more. "I ALSO told you that there apparently has been a large market for the furs and meat the lapps supply, as well as some knickknacks they make." She consulted a document. "Apparently, the tolls and taxes amount to several mark silver."
The king tugged his beard. "Really? Several mark you say..." He abruptly turned and left the hall, intent on finding his zealous brothers.
"Well" Ingamodher thought "at least he is showing some interest for the affairs."
---
During the year of our Lord 1070, regiments from the central part of Götaland and Svealand [southern Sweden] were raised and sent by boat over Ålandshav. When they arrived at shore near a place called Satakunta by the natives, they immediatly claimed the area as a part of the Swedish Royal demense, and proceeded to wipe out all resistance. This was a short and bloody 'crusade' as the Finns did not seem to know when to end the fight - at several occations, a less than a hundred warriors would attack the bulk of the Swedish forces, fifteen hundred men strong. Although they seldom managed to get past the four hundred swedish archer from Uppsala, they had a devastating impact on the morale of the men, as they were bereft of sleep, and saw the enemy warriors throw themselves against arrows and pikes alike with no regard for their lives. Marshal Erik, heading the Swedish force, often felt that while bringing the light of God to this area might be hard task indeed, there could be no doubt that this was a righteous crusade.
---
March 12, 1072
Axevalla Slott, Västergötland
"Dear!" The king's voice was heard in the royal chambers "Dear! Can you come just a minute..."
Queen Ragnhild smiled as she entered the chambers. "You are left with your heirs for just a minute and you already sound desperate, my king" she said, a coy smile on her lips.
"Well" her husband replied and mentioned at his daugher "Helena is busy trying to eat my documents, and Asabjörn" he held out his youngest son, just three months old "He smells." He stood up from the chair and handed Asabjörn over "Besides, I have a meeting with my brothers that is long overdue"
-Ten minutes later-
"We are what?" Erik stared at his brother, unable to belive his ears.
"We are marching against Sven" The king gave his marshal a hard look. "And we are marching now."
Erik turned to Inge for help "Is that legal?"
Inge, just shrugged "Well, Sven refused to raise the host for our crusade in Satakunta, so we have some claim"
"Besides" he continued "After the successful crusades, the other Dukes will think long and hard before they do anything"
Håkon chukled softly from the depths of his chair. "Yes, after preaching to their people about the righteousness of the King's cause, they will have a hard time turning against him"
---
Late in the autumn 1072, Sven, Duke and Jarl of Östergötland, agreed to leave all his titles to the King, and retire to a life in a monastery in the northern parts of the Holy Roman Empire. Those who saw the signing of the documents later claimed that the young buy did not seem very upset with the prospect of a life as a monk. In a quick move, king Halsten granted Jon, Jarl of Småland and one of Svens followers, the title Duke of Småland and a tidy amount of cold hard cash. This seemed to quiet down the other dukes and jarls that had claimed that the king "Wanted it all for himself". In a grandiose gesture, the King also granted Visby greater rights and freedoms, and elevated the Magistrate of Gotland to Govenor. Although the lords apparently did not like the situation, none of them could challange the king, not here, not now.
---
Chapter 2: Taking God to heart, soon in a forum near you
If you are not swedish, you may read 'jarl' as count, 'lagman' as chancellor, and 'slott' as castle. (Although I know it's not entirely correct, especially 'lagman' but at least it's closer to reality than 'lordkansler' (swedish for chancellor))
If anyone likes it, I'll post more.
Star of the North
Bringing Christ and Culture to Scandinavia
Chapter 1: Setting the stage
January 3, 1067
Axevalla Slott, Västergötland
Halsten, King of Sweden, sitting in front of a huge log-fire, was in an unussually foul mood. Yesterday the dukes and jarls had left on their sleighs, but the king had not yet forgotten what had been said during the festivities. While Halsten was a man of vision, and wanted to bring modern customs and christianity to the people, it seemed his jarls and dukes were not so farsighted. "What would a serf do with salvation?" seemed to be the general opinion. An opinon, Halsten thought, that was perhaps not uncommon - but he sensed that something else was going on. Someone among the Dukes and Jarls was working against him, and this was but the latest sign. It seemed none of his plans gained support from the lords.
Suddenly the King seemed to make up his mind and raised his voice. "Get me Håkon. Now."
As a serveant scurried of to find his spy master, he reflected over the fact that if his lords were a rebellious and backward bunch, his brothers was the perfect support he needed. And Håkon might be the most resourceful, if not the most devout of the bunch.
The king startled, his thoughts interrupted, when a soft voice suddenly spoke "You wanted me, brother?"
Halsten frowned at his bastard brother. Not the most devout, and surely not the most modest or tactful, either. Well, he thought - as long as it's not in public. "Yes. Someone is coordinating the lords against me. You are going to find out who, and you are dam-"
"Already done." Håkon interrupted him.
Halsten almost choked in disbelif. "You aready did WHAT?"
"Found out who is scheming against us, sire" Håkon sat down and looked smug. "I digged around a little during the festivities."
Halsten looked irritated. "Well?"
"It seems that young Duke Sven of Östergötland has a spy master by the name of Arne" Håkon leaned back in the chair. "And Arne is married to Gro - daughter of-"
Now it was Halsten's time to interrupt his brother with a quick gesture. "The danes?"
The king, suddenly calm, seemed lost in thought. "So, how sure are you, really?" he said, pondering. "Maybe this can be turned into our advatage"
---
October 17, 1067
Linköpings Slott, Östergötland
The young boy seemed misplaced in the great hall. He was sitting quietly in a chair, watching an older man pace over the floor. "But Arne, what can we do?" the boy said "Halsten is the king..." His voice trailed off.
Arne, the spy master, suddely stopped. "We stick to the customs!" He waved the document in his hand "The jarls won't accept this behaviour! Who does he think he is? Does he think the Ynglings will help him just because he married that BITCH?"
The boy seemed hesitant "So what are we going to do? Just ignore the request?"
"No." The older man thought for a second. "We will respond that you are unavailable to comply due to your duty to your jarls and people - and we shan't forget to congratulate him on his marrige." He shrugged. "According to Göta law, he has no rights to do this. The dukes and jarls will see it our way."
---
December, 1067
Letter from Håkon to his liege.
Brother, I write to you in haste. While securing our connections in Dal, I have heard disturbing rumors that the Ynglings has laid claim to Dal, and are mustering a force to act on that claim. I fear that if we do not act quickly, Dal will be lost to us.
Håkon
---
Summer 1068
Somehere in Dal
Erik, Marshal of Sweden and brother to the King, swatted at the flies. "Well, that'd be the last of the resistance in these parts." he thought as he watched the men come out of the haphazard shelter they had defended with their hands empty. The campaign in Dal had gone smoothly during the spring, once the jarls forces were beaten, local leaders had offered stiff resistance. Nevertheless, one village and farm at a time, the regiments from Dalarna and Västergötland had conquered the area. The Jarl of Värmland, Hakon, had refused to raise arms against the jarl of Dal, presumably because of family ties. "Well, I guess Brother will deal with him" Erik thought. He shared his brothers vision of a strong kingdom - but contrary to Halsten, his primary goal was that of bringing the light of Christ to the north. "It's me and Inge" he thought "We need to remind Halsten that there is no other way forward than through God." Inge was the last brother, and lagman of all Sweden. The two brothers shared a deep faith in God, and they constantly had to remind their brother the king that it was the life after this that was important, not worldy achievements. "Well" he thought as he looked around in the small village, noticing the signs of remaining pagan practices "unless it's also for the greater glory of God."
---
In the year of our Lord 1069, the Pope called a crusade against the heathens to liberate the Holy Land. This gave the young king of Sweden no small amount of trouble, as his brothers tried to convince him of the merits of a crusade. To stop the complaints, he decided to launch a campaign against the heathens in the northern part of Scandinavia. During the Summer, which he spent in the north pacifying the lapp tribes, his firstborn son, Styrbjörn, was born. When Halsten returned, the child was baptised during a great feast where in addition to nobles from the land, a large group of Ynglings with Styrbjörn's grandfather the King as the most prominent guest. Eveyone could see that the two monarchs got along well, and during the evenings the two of them retired together to a tower in the keep, and one could see the lights shine 'til early morning as the two rulers talked about what had been, what was, and what would come to pass.
---
Spring, 1069
Axevalla Slott, Västergötland
A cart rumbled slowly into Axevalla Castle, and the king looked with obvious curiosity through the windows in the great hall.
"Chancellor, what is this?" He turned to Ingamodher of Muskö, his trusted accountant. "The guard of that wagon carries my colours, and yet I know we have already received the taxes from all my domains."
Ingamodher, looking up from the documents she had been reading from looked irritated at the interruption. "Are you ever even listening to me?" She glared at him. "I told you three weeks ago that the taxes and tolls from Lappland was due this week."
Halsten turned around again. "Lappland? But that's a lot of escort for a couple of furs." His stewardess looked at him, her expression freezing over even more. "I ALSO told you that there apparently has been a large market for the furs and meat the lapps supply, as well as some knickknacks they make." She consulted a document. "Apparently, the tolls and taxes amount to several mark silver."
The king tugged his beard. "Really? Several mark you say..." He abruptly turned and left the hall, intent on finding his zealous brothers.
"Well" Ingamodher thought "at least he is showing some interest for the affairs."
---
During the year of our Lord 1070, regiments from the central part of Götaland and Svealand [southern Sweden] were raised and sent by boat over Ålandshav. When they arrived at shore near a place called Satakunta by the natives, they immediatly claimed the area as a part of the Swedish Royal demense, and proceeded to wipe out all resistance. This was a short and bloody 'crusade' as the Finns did not seem to know when to end the fight - at several occations, a less than a hundred warriors would attack the bulk of the Swedish forces, fifteen hundred men strong. Although they seldom managed to get past the four hundred swedish archer from Uppsala, they had a devastating impact on the morale of the men, as they were bereft of sleep, and saw the enemy warriors throw themselves against arrows and pikes alike with no regard for their lives. Marshal Erik, heading the Swedish force, often felt that while bringing the light of God to this area might be hard task indeed, there could be no doubt that this was a righteous crusade.
---
March 12, 1072
Axevalla Slott, Västergötland
"Dear!" The king's voice was heard in the royal chambers "Dear! Can you come just a minute..."
Queen Ragnhild smiled as she entered the chambers. "You are left with your heirs for just a minute and you already sound desperate, my king" she said, a coy smile on her lips.
"Well" her husband replied and mentioned at his daugher "Helena is busy trying to eat my documents, and Asabjörn" he held out his youngest son, just three months old "He smells." He stood up from the chair and handed Asabjörn over "Besides, I have a meeting with my brothers that is long overdue"
-Ten minutes later-
"We are what?" Erik stared at his brother, unable to belive his ears.
"We are marching against Sven" The king gave his marshal a hard look. "And we are marching now."
Erik turned to Inge for help "Is that legal?"
Inge, just shrugged "Well, Sven refused to raise the host for our crusade in Satakunta, so we have some claim"
"Besides" he continued "After the successful crusades, the other Dukes will think long and hard before they do anything"
Håkon chukled softly from the depths of his chair. "Yes, after preaching to their people about the righteousness of the King's cause, they will have a hard time turning against him"
---
Late in the autumn 1072, Sven, Duke and Jarl of Östergötland, agreed to leave all his titles to the King, and retire to a life in a monastery in the northern parts of the Holy Roman Empire. Those who saw the signing of the documents later claimed that the young buy did not seem very upset with the prospect of a life as a monk. In a quick move, king Halsten granted Jon, Jarl of Småland and one of Svens followers, the title Duke of Småland and a tidy amount of cold hard cash. This seemed to quiet down the other dukes and jarls that had claimed that the king "Wanted it all for himself". In a grandiose gesture, the King also granted Visby greater rights and freedoms, and elevated the Magistrate of Gotland to Govenor. Although the lords apparently did not like the situation, none of them could challange the king, not here, not now.
---
Chapter 2: Taking God to heart, soon in a forum near you
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