The Carolingian Restoration: A Crusader Kings II AAR

[Rickefariel]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I - HERBERT IV OF VERMANDOIS
CHAPTER II - EUDES 'THE CUNNING'
CHAPTER III - SIGISMOND 'THE MONK'
CHAPTER IV - EUDES 'THE KINGMAKER'
CHAPTER V - NORMANDY AND LEGACY
CHAPTER VI - GUILHEM 'THE NORMAN'
CHAPTER VII - LAWS AND SUCCESSION
CHAPTER VIII - WAR AND HEARTBREAK
CHAPTER IX - ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG
CHAPTER X - THE FRONTIERS
OVERVIEW

​

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First of all I just wanna say I´ve never written an AAR before, I´ve been reading a few in this forum from 2015 and 2017, maybe people don´t even read it anymore, but I felt inspired to post it anyway. I´m playing CKII with the HIP mod. This AAR goes over Comte Herbert IV of Vermandois and his descendants, and how the Carolingian dinasty rose to its former glory. So right ahead, the Prelude and First Chapter:

PRELUDE

Carolingian lands after the passing of Louis the Pious

The Carolingians were perhaps the most consequential of European dynasties, rising to power from the anarchy of the Merovingian Kingdoms, the first conquerors of Roman Gaul. The Carolingians eventually became Roman Emperors in their own right, restoring order to Western and Central Europe. Although their rise ended not longer after Charles the Great passed away. His realm was not actually split by his sons as some believe, his son Louis the Pious was afterall the only heir to the empire, but he could not keep it together. His family members were too ambitious, one example being the rebellion of his nephew, Bernard of Italy, a rebellion that costed his nephew´s life and caused Louis to perform penance to the pope for his sins against the family.

His older sons constantly rebelled to guarantee more land in the succession and after several civil wars the realm ended up being split in three. Eventually the Carolingians lost power over Italy, Germany and France, the last king to rule being Louis the Do-Nothing of France. They had seen the rise of Otto of Germany, a man that restored the Holy Roman Empire of Charles the Great, this time a bit different, with the new realm more centered in Germany. In France the Capetians were the new rulers, consolidating power with each generation, they seemed to be destined to rule France for a very long time.

The Carolingians still had some lands around Vermandois, small remnants of their former glory, the last Carolingian ruler standing was Herbert IV of Vermandois, a vassal of the Capetians. The deeds of Herbert and his successor would echo in eternity.
​

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CHAPTER I - COMTE HERBERT IV OF VERMANDOIS

​

Comte Herbert was far from the most powerful vassal of France, only ruling over the tiny lands of Vermandois. He inherited this county from his father Eudes, who also ruled over the counties of Porcien and Rethel, although his father lost those lands after the King of France had it revoked and transferred to Comte Manassés. Some royal documents claim that Eudes was a scheming noble and even a lunatic, and that therefore the revokation was very just, the Carolingian chroniclers however would disagree with this claim, saying that the King of France at the time was fearful the Carolingians were a threat to him and therefore decided to diminish their power. The Carolingians are not known to be the most thruthful.

Herbert was raised in the teachings of the church, but despite his raising he was a cynical man, and not a particularly pious one, known to be lustful and very proud, especially of his ancestors history. He understood that it was important for the Carolingians as a dinasty to take back the lands his father had lost. For that it would be necessary to make alliances, his main weapon was the prestige of his dinasty, and the complicated web of marriages that forged alliances, so characteristic of Medieval France, could only work in his favor. He was married to the daughter of Comte Raul of Amiens, whose lands neighboured his, guaranteeing him an alliance with a Comte of equal stature. Comte Herbert also promised his daughter´s hand in marriage to Phillipe de Blois, son of Comte Thibaud de Champagne, wich made a solid second alliance. His brother, also named Eudes (like their father), married Constance, the daughter of Duc Robert of Bourgogne. Thus he had three allies that could help him in his planned war of reconquest.

At this point in french history the vassals of the king were almost independent, they made alliances with one another and warred against eachother for their claims. The king was mostly mute in these affairs, specially in a regency, wich was the case for the current king, the boy Philippe. The power of the king however was not to be ignored, because when France had a powerful and respected king, he could brake the power of many nobles.

Comte Raul, Herbert´s father-in-law, was married to Princess Ana of Kiev, the mother of King Phillip of France. This was the link Comte Herbert had to get close to the crown. He tried to gain the friendship of Ana, so that perhaps he could gain favor with the young King after he came of age. A cynical woman, she found common ground with Herbert, allowing his young brother, Pierre, to betroth Princess Emma.
Women in medieval France could not hold land most of the times, neither could they decide much of the country´s affairs, but in situations like these they had much more to say. The Queen Regent understood that a marriage between the two dinasties would guarantee peace between them, with no chance of Herbert and probably his allies to rally against the King. Having alliances with other french lords and a the protection of the King was the exact objective of Comte Herbert. His family was now growing in influence because of those marriages. His next move was to gather his allies and invade Porcien.

After a clear victory in the battlefield, Comte Herbert sieged the holdings of Manassés, recovering the lands of his father.
​

He ruled with ease over the old lands, making him richer from the expanded taxation. Comte Herbert´s wife had another son, Raoul, this spelled minor trouble to his succesion, since his lands would now have to be divided upon his death, undoing some of the progress he had made for his family.
As King Philippe came of age he was crowned in Paris by a Prince-Bishop, and no longer after, he showed signs of intending to expand the Crown´s authority and the Royal demesne. The several lords of France were organized into different factions, Herbert would join his allie Duc Robert 'the Old' of Burgougne in a faction were the members demanded continuing peace and wealth, a stabler realm overall, so they weren´t necessarily opposed to the King´s plans of expanding authority, some would consider this a faction of loyalists.

In 1069 his brother Eudes would pass away after eating too much, his marriage with Constance of Burgougne had generated a boy, young Robert, wich allowed the maintenace of the alliance. In the same year the bid of William of Normandie for England failed, with Harald of Norway becoming King of England. In the following Herbert´s wife had a daughter, Mafalda. His brother Pierre had a son with the Princess of France, Sigismond.

King Philippe had slowly expanded the Crown´s authority, and with that his demesne and taxes, after going to war in Spain his vassals threatened to revolt, to avoid bloodshed he cave in to their demands, lowering taxes and the Crown´s authority overall. In situations like this it became clear he had to compensate those loyal to him, when a king was away he could always face rebellion, turning to the royalist vassals, he decided to compensate them, thus he finally recognised Herbert´s rule over Porcien and Rethel, giving him the title of Comte of Rethel, one that Herbert would use proudly, to reflect the political comeback of his family. With two male sons this meant Raoul would inherit Rethel, but as a vassal under the oldest son Eudes. [1]

Pierre, brother of Herbert, simply decided to abandon his marriage and become a priest, it seems he had a religious call, he left behind his son Sigismond and his wife, the princess of France. Although this made things more complicated, Herbert felt his relation to the King was good enough that he shouldn´t worry, after all his nephew was also the King´s nephew. In 1074 Eudes, the oldest son of Herbert, went on to marry Duc William of Normandy´s daughter, Constance, forging another alliance. This marriage woul prove to be really important in the future. Herbert was right about having no concerns with the crown, for he was made Steward of the realm.

During his stewardship he made a trade agreement with the emirate of Toledo, normalizing relations to the muslim emirates, he was considered overall a good advisor, even giving advice to foreign stewards. His lands in Vermandois were improved, and soon started to prosper. After great search his own chancellor found the Image of Edessa, atracting several pilgrims to his lands, despite being a cynical man and having almost no reverence to these figures, he knew the value an attraction like this would have, bringing pilgrims from all over the place to see it.

A just ruler, he was beloved by his subjects​

In 1082 his son-in-law Comte Philippe of Meaux was killed by an uknowkn assassin, making the newborn Thibauth, his grandson, the new Comte of Meaux. Herbert feared for a newborn baby in such a position. In 1084 his second son Raoul was betrothed to Princess Douce, reaffirming again his friendship to the Crown. Comte Herbert would not last long, he passed away after severe chest pains, that culminated in a heart attack. His legacy was one of a true patriarch, who cared for the future of his dinasty and certainly left his family in a better position than before. The web of marriages he created would be of great help to his son Eudes.

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[1] In game Rethel is actually a duchy, so it is as if Herbert became Duke of Rethel, but I prefer to keep him as Count, with his youngest son in the future becoming Viscount, even if the title didn´t exist at medieval France

 

[Nikolai]

Welcome to AAR writing! Do not be afraid, AARland is still very much alive and prospering. I will follow this with interest.

 

[Chac1]

Congratulations on taking the leap into AAR writing @Rickefariel . Glad you saw fit to self-migrate this AAR out of the main CK2 forum, which is mainly there for game questions and playthrough advice.

Always good to see an AAR tracking the attempts of the Carolingian dynasty to make a comeback. I can think of at least one semi-classic that was on that path in the CK3 sub-forum until it became dormant. So glad to have this new alt-history here.

A few suggestions for you, if you don't mind too much....

You may want to create a signature for your account, so when you post elsewhere in the forum your signature can lead folks to your AAR. (And yes, this implies that commenting elsewhere sometimes does lead folks to your AAR.)

You may wish to advertise your AAR in the Inkwell.

If you'd like to research writing topics there's the SolAARium and the fAARq, which are excellent resources.

Also, feel free to interact with other writers in the main part of the AARland forum.

Good luck to you and your AAR. I will certainly follow along although I am notorious for falling behind on AARs. Looking forward to your next chapter.

 

[Rickefariel]

Congratulations on taking the leap into AAR writing

Thank you very much, I will follow your advices! I´m new around here so I still have a lot to learn

 

[Cora Giantkiller]

Oh, fun! Can't wait to see where this goes.

 

[stnylan]

Welcome aboard

 

[dmurgell]

Good start!

With two male sons this meant Raoul would inherit Rethel, but as a vassal under the oldest son Eudes.

Did Herbert manage to get a Duchy? Will Count Raoul be a vassal of his brother Count Eudes?

Waiting for next chapter

 

[Rickefariel]

CHAPTER II - EUDES 'THE CUNNING'

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In his 20s Eudes inherited his father´s land, becoming Count of Vermandois and Rethel, with his younger brother Raoul becoming Vicomte of Rethel. To the french medieval chronicles this would be just another inheritance, even an irrelevant one, but after his father´s ascension, the Comte of Vermandois had become an illustrious one, attracting the friendship (and enmity) of other lords. Herbert had been loyal to Roi Philipp of France, Eudes was no different, he didn´t wish to act against the Crown´s interests, as long as those aligned with his own. He was a very deceitful man, acting in the shadows to manipulate the outcome of his endeavours, something that would make him known in posterity as 'the Cunning'.

He aimed to be made the spymaster of Roi Philipp, a position that would give him access to the court´s secrets and a great source of power for a man with his abilities, currently the position was filled by the Duc of Gascogne, Eudes plotted to diminish his reputation, but without any allies in the royal court his job was difficult. After he started to accept his (longer then expected) staying in Vermandois, he decided to do what his father did best, marriage his family into other dinasties and guarantee alliances, this was important at that moment, especially with Eudes feeling cheated by the king, his isolation had to be turned around, he had to show to the nobility that his father wasn´t just one 'competent' Carolingian in a series of irrelevant and weak Comtes, he was the restorer of the family prestige and respect. They might have not been kings for generations, but they were no longer reserved to the irrelevance of a castle in Vermandois.

Adèle of Amien's funeral
​

After sending his sister Mafalda to get married with the Duke of Burgundy (the german Burgundy, not to be confused with french Burgougne), news came of his mother Adèle, she had just died sickly in bed. He loved his mother, although he was not a particularly devote man, he still prayed for her, for God he begged "let her into heaven, let her love be known like we have known, let her kindness reach the ones who are in need of it". In the requiem mass he stood side by side with his brother Raoul, their sisters could not have come, for they were both too far away in their husbands courts, the two brothers only had each other now, both were just made orphans after all. Eudes could only set aside his thoughts of grandeur, right now he felt like none of it mattered, even a lord like him couldn´t save his mother from her imminent fate.

Adèle was his father´s spymaster, she controlled the court of Vermandois, a modest court compared to the royal court of course, but with its own challenges. She was the one responsible for her children´s education, she taught Eudes and Raoul how they should behave, how they should deal with other nobles, how they should act as lords, what the world was like and their place in it. Adèle ruled in Vermandois after Herbert became steward in Paris, this was the often ignored reality of the time, when rulers left, their wifes ruled in their name, skilled women like Adèle could only add positively to men like Herbert. Her death also implied something, after her father Comte Raoul of Amien had died, she became a claimant to the county. This didn´t mean much, since her brother Simon was the clear male heir and he became the Comte. Eudes however had other thoughts.

Whatever claim Adèle had, Eudes would inherit. Simon was still Comte of Amien though, so he was in the way of Eudes control of Amiens. He kept in contact with a few nobles in Simon´s court, he became familiar with their grievances, soon he learned quite a few of them disliked him, specially the ones who lost their positions after the old Comte had passed away. Rumours started circulating that Raoul was in communion with demons, some claiming to have seen him possessed by them. Eudes had learned with his mother that a few sacks of gold and well writen letters could change anyone´s fate. In 1091 passersby saw Simon in his balcony, it seemed like any other day, he was looking from the top at his garden, he seemed relaxed and even waved at some of his guards below, suddenly, he fell. His young boy of five, Raoul, was made Comte of Amiens.

When Eudes learned of this he sent a messenger to inform that he was to be made regent of Amiens, and tutor of young Raoul, his messengers came back disappointed, they said the mother of Raoul had become regent, and that no one else would educate her child but herself, the messengers also claimed she had offended Eudes, going as far as to say he was a murderer. The decision soon became clear, Eudes called his levies to gather outside his castle, they would march to Amiens.

The combined forces of Normandie and Vermandois siege Amiens
​

Eudes was married to the sister of the norman Duc, he soon called him in the war, the alliance was respected and Duc Richard sent part of his army to the service of Eudes. With a superior force, they quickly crushed the regent´s army in the fields outside Amiens. A long siege would ensue but ultimately they took over the castle where the young Comte and the regent lived. Eudes had launched this war with the excuse he was the rightful regent of Amiens, but after comitting men and resources he felt no obligation to fullfil his promises, he took the castle for himself, becoming Comte of Amiens, the old regent and her son had to leave, probably seeking shelter in the court of another lord, both disappeared from history.

In one stroke Eudes had expanded his power, but this bothered a few people, once again the Carolingians were expanding in old Crown lands, the king did not like this, and he also didnt like that Eudes cousin, Sigismond, had gained leverage in court after tales of Eudes cunning were spreading. Sigismond was the brother-in-law of Roi Philipp, he had been married to his sister for a few years but had no sons with her until now. Some mean tongues claimed he had no interest in women at all, instead prefering men, more reasonable people said he simply was very devout, a chaste man that only got married because his uncle Herbert intended to secure the friendship of the king. Suddenly, news came to Eudes that Sigismond had become a monk, cloistering in a convent, abandoning his marriage with the french princess.

This came as a shock, and Eudes could only think that the king himself had forced Sigismond to take vows, to further isolate Eudes from the royal court and exclude the Carolingians of royal politics. Maybe the king saw this as necessary, to punish Eudes for expanding further into royal lands. This deterioration of relations between Eudes and Philipp wasn´t good, but soon he found himself embroiled in other troubles. His nephew Thibaud, the Comte of Meaux, had called for his aid, his liege Étienne of Champagne was poised to revoke his lands. Thibaud was a child, but still a counter weight to the Duc of Champagne. Eudes was his ally and uncle, and he could not accept such an open attack against his family, he called his levies, poised to lead them into battle for the defense of Thibaud.

 

[dmurgell]

He was a very deceitful man, acting in the shadows to manipulate the outcome of his endeavours, something that would make him known in posterity as 'the Cunning'.

Reminds me of some other infamous character...

 

[Rickefariel]

Reminds me of some other infamous character...

Well, Eudes does a lot of plotting, but most of the time it doesn´t take him far, his whole life he tried to defame the King´s spymaster to take his place but failed miserably, although some enemies would claim he actually killed his uncle, not proven so far, but if true a very cunning plan...

 

[Lord Durham]

Rumours started circulating that Raoul was in communion with demons, some claiming to have seen him possessed by them. Eudes had learned with his mother that a few sacks of gold and well writen letters could change anyone´s fate. In 1091 passersby saw Simon in his balcony, it seemed like any other day, he was looking from the top at his garden, he seemed relaxed and even waved at some of his guards below, suddenly, he fell.

Ah yes, ye olde 'accidental fall from the balcony' ploy, a favourite pastime among certain countries.

Congrats on your first AAR.

 

[Rickefariel]

Ah yes, ye olde 'accidental fall from the balcony' ploy, a favourite pastime among certain countries.

Yes, strange coincidences, slippery balconies everywhere.

Congrats on your first AAR.

Thank you

 

[Cora Giantkiller]

...the messengers also claimed she had offended Eudes, going as far as to say he was a murderer. The decision soon became clear, Eudes called his levies to gather outside his castle, they would march to Amiens...​

It's a horrible breach of decorum to accuse your brother-in-law of crimes that he almost certainly committed.

 

[stnylan]

The nail that sticks out is always at risk of being hammered down

 

[Chac1]

Congrats again on your Writer of the Week Award. Well done. All caught up now and good to see this one continuing. It seems Eudes has some challenges ahead.

This came as a shock, and Eudes could only think that the king himself had forced Sigismond to take vows, to further isolate Eudes from the royal court and exclude the Carolingians of royal politics. Maybe the king saw this as necessary, to punish Eudes for expanding further into royal lands. This deterioration of relations between Eudes and Philipp wasn´t good, but soon he found himself embroiled in other troubles.

This is why he is failing miserably in his goal to become spymaster. This is no way to gain favors. He needs to prove his true cunning nature and turn this around. If he can find a way to leverage into the king's council that will truly show his scheming skills.

Good luck as this story continues.

 

[TWR97]

I have never seen a Karling centric AAR that wasn't set after their glory days were done (well not in the latest anyway, there's probably a few from ten years back), subbing and following!

 

[Rickefariel]

I have never seen a Karling centric AAR that wasn't set after their glory days were done (well not in the latest anyway, there's probably a few from ten years back), subbing and following!

I did play more than once as Charlemagne, my latest starting as him and marrying his son to the Byzantine Princess, uniting both Romes by the third generation. I feel like there´s more to develop in a rag to riches story though

 

[The Number 9]

I've several time thought about playing Herbert and try to restart a Karling dynasty but never gave it a chance.
Nice to see this AAR and a really nice start.

 

[Rickefariel]

CHAPTER III - SIGISMOND 'THE MONK'

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I know what you must be thinking, Sigismond? Wasn´t the story about Eudes? Well, it happens that at the end Sigismond would mark his name in history more than Eudes, only recently historians have given the importance to Eudes that he truly deserves. Sigismond would forever be known as the Restorer of Carolingian power, although that is a mere technicality, he barely held onto power, being one of the early 'weak' kings of the Carolingian Restoration. But let´s not get ahead of ourselves, to get to Sigismond we have to talk about the real patriarch of the Carolingian family, Eudes 'the Cunning'.

In 1097, he was not in a good spot, his nephew Thibaud had called for his aid in defense against his liege. Eudes had answered and initially he had a victory facing the forces of Étienne, but soon he would be defeated, not once but twice. The forces of Eudes were in inferior number, but this wasn´t the only problem, the reality was that Eudes, for all his cunning, was worth nothing in a battlefield, he simply had no knowledge of military tactics and strategy. He also never bothered to look for knights and skilled fighters.

The first defeat at Chevreuse

A second defeat at Rommily, sealing the end of the war​

The defeat shouldn´t be a big deal, Étienne would revoke Thibaud´s lands, exile him, probably to Eudes court, and that was it. However, Étienne had a different thinking, he saw a future where the young Thibaud would become an adult and come back to retake his lands, possibly even the whole duchy, especially by the side of Eudes and his allies. This he could not accept, in a ruthless act he imprisioned the boy after sieging his castle, once Eudes defeated armies were marching back to Vermandois, with Eudes waiting for a ransom proposal for his nephew, Étienne had him executed for treason, after all the boy had raised soldiers and invited 'foreign' armies into Étienne´s lands. This was a big shock to Eudes, he could not believe in such a ruthless act, especially against a child.

In a meeting of nobles a few months later, Étienne would die drinking to death. Eudes was present, and so a few of his allies, they all claimed Étienne had caused his own death, denying accusations of assassination. No one except Étienne´s family really cared, he was seen as a child killer, a capital sinner, even by the harsh and cruel medieval standards. His son came to rule the duchies of Champagne and Blois, he certainly didn´t like Eudes, but decided not to continue the cicle of violence and create a permanent feud between the two families.

After the defeats at the battlefield and the loss of his nephew, Eudes felt humiliated, he had gained lands in Amiens, but soon his rising power was put in check by the King, who isolated him even further from the royal court, exiling his cousin Sigismond to a monastery, denying an alliance between the King and the Carolingian family. Eudes had one certainty though, like his father he would not lie down and watch his family fall into irrelevance. To secure another alliance and to send a proper reponse to all Carolingian enemies, he would send his daughter Elvis to marry the Duke of Luxembourg, he also set his other daughter Adéle to marry the son of Duchesse Clemència of Aquitaine. At the same time papal delegates would arrive in his court, and many other courts of France, to request his aid in a crusade for the Holy Land. Eudes declined, as mentioned before he was no soldier or general, but he made sure to send gold to Rome, as an aid to the holy fight.

Instead of cowering, Eudes decided to double down on his power struggle with the King. He once again decided to expand into old Crown lands, the closest target was Beauvais, a county ruled by Prince-Bishop Raymond. This county was given to the church by Roi Philipp´s father, the current ruler, despite being a bishop, was a very wicked man, tales of his sins and blasphemies were told all over northern France, Eudes sensed that this would work to his benefit, no one would come to the aid of a wicked Bishop. Eudes sent his chancellor to Beauvais to try to find some excuse to invade, old documents that could legitimise land claims or anything of the sort. Soon Eudes cunning was once again proven insufficient, for Raymond 'the Wicked' of Beauvais had no qualms to simply end the problem, after hearing of Eudes chancellor arriving in his lands he simply had him murdered.

Prince-Bishop Raymond, later Cardinal Raymond
​

This act of cruelty enraged Eudes, he immediately called his armies to gather in Vermadois, calling his allies help in what he considered a just war. His incursion on Beauvais would later be called 'the Bishop´s war'. Eudes had no proper claim to Beauvois and he knew that, he could not simply take over the Bishop´s lands, for they were church lands. But he could not stand an act of cruelty and disrespect like killing his chancellor, he had to get revenge on the Bishop. Before marching to Beauvais he received news that Raymond had been made a Cardinal, Roi Phillip had been campaigning for a french Cardinal in the Holy See, he could be of help when the next Pope had to be elected. Eudes realized that this war was of no advantage to him, once again making him and the King more distant, he still pressed to invade Beauvais, as he was blinded by revenge. After an encounter outside the Bishop´s castle, his forces were defeated, his castle was then sieged, Eudes men had care to not destroy anything holy, but they captured the Bishop and took him with them.

In Vermandois a trial was held, the Bishop not only was forced to admit the assassination of Eudes chancellor, but also to many other wicked deeds, such as simony, drunkenness, and even orgies held inside his church. For all those sins he was quickly executed. Eudes did not take Beauvais for himself, he knew he had no legitimacy to hold it, especially after executing a Bishop, he framed the war as a just war, a war to restore the church´s good name and piety to the land. The King was once again enraged, his Cardinal had been captured and executed just like that, without his authorization or even his mediation. The King´s job was to decide justice matters in his realm, especially with something that involved the church. He did not act immediately to punish Eudes because he was out in Spain, taking Navarra and Barcelona from the Saracens. When he was coming back to Paris he fell ill, probably from camp fever he got while in campaign. Only his corpse arrived at the royal court.

His son Henri became the new King, his sudden ascension was not good news to the Capetians, Henri had no male brother and no sons until that point, this made his cousin Raymond, Duc of Bourgougne, the heir to the throne. Henri wasn´t that worried, as a young man he was sure he would still have many sons to continue his legacy, his priorities were with the enemies of the crown. He agreed with his father that he had to punish Eudes, but a vassal with powerful allies, Normandie and Aquitaine (the two strongest vassals) would not be easy to take down so quickly, first he had to consolidate his power, especially with his father´s conquests in Spain. There was another problem, these wars were costly, they managed to make advances against the Saracens, but fortresses had to be build, walls, patrols, etc. The King also had to hire mercenaries, and most of them were paid with Genoan loans.

Most Serene Republic of Genoa, the center of a rising maritime empire
​

Genoa was a republic responsible for most of the naval commerce between Spain, France, Italy and Northern Africa, they had recently gained independence from the HRE along with other italian dukes after fighting against the emperor. The end of imperial taxation had made Genoa richer, and they were lending money to several kings, like Philipp. The advisors of Roi Henri had advised him on a plan, before his coronation (an event he had no money to pay), he should simply invade Genoa, default on his loans and if succesful vassalize the city, gaining extra taxes. A bold plan, maybe even irresponsible, a young man who just became king was simply fabricating a foreign war when the Crown was in such a delicate moment. Perhaps Henri thought that if succesful he would prove the Crown was even stronger than before, he would take Genoa and it´s gold, coming back more powerful and richer than his father, to subjugate all the Crown´s enemies, such as Eudes and his allies. He would be coronated by the Pope in Paris, agreeing with the Holy Father that Eudes acts against the church should not be forgiven, in a master stroke he would put down Enemy Number One of the Capetians, solidifying his power.

All his ambitious plans would have to wait for the invasion of Genoa of course. A brave man like his father, Henri lead his armies to southern France, marching to unsuspecting Genoa with an ultimatum, become my vassal or face me in the battlefield. After the Doge of Genoa denied vassalization, Henri marched with his men to the city. The battle outside the city was relatively easy, especially compared to the battles he and his father had fought against the Saracens in Spain. After he personally led his men to charge against the Genoan defenders, a sudden burn was felt in his chest, as the blood trickled down his armor, Henri realized he would meet his father again, sooner than he expected. Henri died in that battlefield, and with him all his ambitions.

The Capetians were extinct as a dinasty (except for the women, who were all married to other dinasties and could not inherit land), Raymond of Bourgougne, cousin of Henri, suddenly became the new King of France. Raymond had no proper authority to be King! Even Eudes cousin, Sigismond, the Monk, had more claim to the crown than Raymond. Yes, because Sigismond was the son of Pierre (Eudes uncle) and Emma (Henri´s aunt). He was a direct successor of the Capetians, more than Raymond, who was after all a distant relative. Eudes could not believe the recent events, and how much they were working in his favour, but he was certain of one thing, every opportunity given must be taken.

 

[stnylan]

Well that was quite a turn of events. If Eudes cannot make something of this, then he is no true heir of Charlemagne