Chapter 3: The Crusade (1093-1101)
Chapter 3: The Crusade (1093-1101)
After the end of the War of the succession of the Frankish throne, Philip would depart to Hispania where he would join the crusaders’ forces. Just after arriving in Hispania, the Muslim army would ambush him and slaughter his forces. Philip would then leave the crusade for now and return to Paris.
Just before he entered Paris, Philip had an unpleasant surprise: a pox that the peasants named “King Philip’s pox” appeared in Donzy and took over Ile-de-France and some nearby counties. Philip would rush to his castle hoping to save his family and enter with them into seclusion. He would be late though and would only be able to witness the first victims that the plague made.
.png "Capture d’écran (121).png")
His wife, Bertha, would be the first person in the castle to be taken by the Grim Reaper, her soul departing to the Kingdom of God. Philip would mourn his wife for a week but tragedy upon tragedy would fall on his family. His son and heir, Louis, would be stricken by the pox too. Philip feared that his son wouldn’t be able to make it neither and urged the physician to take desperate measures. The physician was able to get rid of the pox from the body of the heir to the Kingdom of the Franks, but at a high cost: Louis would be disfigured for the rest of his life.
To thank God for helping his son live for another day, Philip would continue studying religious texts. He would also read stories and folklore of his subjects a few times. Sometime, he would get interrupted by one of his vassals asking to review the contract tying the lord to his liege but Philip would refuse their demands most of the time.
At a certain point, for a reason or another, Philip would catch too the pox. It was a dark joke made by Destiny to him; Philip would catch “King Philip’s pox”! This time though, Philip would ask his physician to be cautious and to do only the necessary for him to get better. The king would remain in his bed for months, with all the courtiers praying for him to get better and regains his healthy form.
.png "Capture d’écran (127).png")
Once the king was healthier, he would start ruling his realm again. One of the first moves he would do, was to marry the Countess of Artois, his past enemy’s daughter, to make sure that she doesn’t get the same ideas as her father, and to improve the relations between himself and the Salian people whose territory he had devastated some years earlier.
After being sure that the realm was stable, he would leave to Hispania with his troops, while the realm would remain in the hands of his new wife for now.
.png "Capture d’écran (130).png")
Philip would lead his troops and siege the castles of Tarragona and Castello, which would both fall to him. He would then try and join the Pope’s army in Montanejos but he would be too late to save his Crusader allies: The Muslim army would be able to deal a defeat in detail to the Christian forces.
This would be the heavenly signal to Philip, that the Crusade is already lost and that a great part of Hispania would remain in the hands of the Muslims for now. Philip understood this as a signal from God himself, to return to his realm where he would rule and keep his vassals in check.
Once he returned to Paris, Philip would learn that the Kingdom of England was ruled by a child now, a female one no more!
Later, Philip would receive a letter from the King of Norway, asking him to join him for a holy war in Scandinavia. Philip would promise to join but he would never send his troops to help his ally, considering that the territory that the Norwegian king wanted to fight for was very far away and that he would need a lot of ships to travel with his troops to join the Norwegian troops.
Not long after that, Philip would lose his most precious companion: his dog Amiable whom he cherished and considered as his most loyal subject.
This tragedy would be seconded by disastrous news, but that Philip knew would come: The Crusade for Hispania had ended in a failure and The Cross was broken. Philip would send a letter to the Pope thanking him for creating the concept of Crusades and assuring him that the King of the Franks would always fight for The Cross.
Philip would soon after receive claims for the County of Toulouse and the Duchy of Brittany, both his tributaries and both being ruled by children. Philip hoped that he could coerce his tributaries in remaining loyal by showing them that he could always get rid of them and take these territories for himself if they try and break their oath.
After the end of the War of the succession of the Frankish throne, Philip would depart to Hispania where he would join the crusaders’ forces. Just after arriving in Hispania, the Muslim army would ambush him and slaughter his forces. Philip would then leave the crusade for now and return to Paris.
Just before he entered Paris, Philip had an unpleasant surprise: a pox that the peasants named “King Philip’s pox” appeared in Donzy and took over Ile-de-France and some nearby counties. Philip would rush to his castle hoping to save his family and enter with them into seclusion. He would be late though and would only be able to witness the first victims that the plague made.
His wife, Bertha, would be the first person in the castle to be taken by the Grim Reaper, her soul departing to the Kingdom of God. Philip would mourn his wife for a week but tragedy upon tragedy would fall on his family. His son and heir, Louis, would be stricken by the pox too. Philip feared that his son wouldn’t be able to make it neither and urged the physician to take desperate measures. The physician was able to get rid of the pox from the body of the heir to the Kingdom of the Franks, but at a high cost: Louis would be disfigured for the rest of his life.
To thank God for helping his son live for another day, Philip would continue studying religious texts. He would also read stories and folklore of his subjects a few times. Sometime, he would get interrupted by one of his vassals asking to review the contract tying the lord to his liege but Philip would refuse their demands most of the time.
At a certain point, for a reason or another, Philip would catch too the pox. It was a dark joke made by Destiny to him; Philip would catch “King Philip’s pox”! This time though, Philip would ask his physician to be cautious and to do only the necessary for him to get better. The king would remain in his bed for months, with all the courtiers praying for him to get better and regains his healthy form.
Once the king was healthier, he would start ruling his realm again. One of the first moves he would do, was to marry the Countess of Artois, his past enemy’s daughter, to make sure that she doesn’t get the same ideas as her father, and to improve the relations between himself and the Salian people whose territory he had devastated some years earlier.
After being sure that the realm was stable, he would leave to Hispania with his troops, while the realm would remain in the hands of his new wife for now.
Philip would lead his troops and siege the castles of Tarragona and Castello, which would both fall to him. He would then try and join the Pope’s army in Montanejos but he would be too late to save his Crusader allies: The Muslim army would be able to deal a defeat in detail to the Christian forces.
This would be the heavenly signal to Philip, that the Crusade is already lost and that a great part of Hispania would remain in the hands of the Muslims for now. Philip understood this as a signal from God himself, to return to his realm where he would rule and keep his vassals in check.
Once he returned to Paris, Philip would learn that the Kingdom of England was ruled by a child now, a female one no more!
Later, Philip would receive a letter from the King of Norway, asking him to join him for a holy war in Scandinavia. Philip would promise to join but he would never send his troops to help his ally, considering that the territory that the Norwegian king wanted to fight for was very far away and that he would need a lot of ships to travel with his troops to join the Norwegian troops.
Not long after that, Philip would lose his most precious companion: his dog Amiable whom he cherished and considered as his most loyal subject.
This tragedy would be seconded by disastrous news, but that Philip knew would come: The Crusade for Hispania had ended in a failure and The Cross was broken. Philip would send a letter to the Pope thanking him for creating the concept of Crusades and assuring him that the King of the Franks would always fight for The Cross.
Philip would soon after receive claims for the County of Toulouse and the Duchy of Brittany, both his tributaries and both being ruled by children. Philip hoped that he could coerce his tributaries in remaining loyal by showing them that he could always get rid of them and take these territories for himself if they try and break their oath.
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