The Kingdom Of The Franks (Regnum Francorum)

[CaesarOfCK]

Kingdom of the Franks​

Introduction

Hello everyone. Today I will try and do my first AAR.
I tried to do one before but wasn’t able to start it due to studies.
Now I have more time for this so I hope that I am able to keep the pace and the willpower to write an AAR.

This AAR will be about the kingdom of the Franks (Regnum Francorum), starting in 1081 with the rise to power of the Alexios Komnenos and the beginning of his efforts to restore the Eastern Roman Empire to its former glory.
This start date is available thanks to “More Bookmarks+” mod.
I choose this start date because William The Conqueror already took England’s throne, there are no crusader state yet (I am not a big fan of the crusader states encountering no issue when they are already created) and it’s not too strong, not too weak as a first AAR try!

Rules that I set for myself for now:
- No fabrication of claim through the bishop, I will buy ask for claims from the pope and maybe buy claims though since it sounds more logical, RP wise.
- No matrilineal marriage

I don’t know yet where this AAR will lead us but I hope that you’ll enjoy it!
If you have any remarks and advices to give me in order to better illustrate and organize this AAR, feel free.

Enjoy!

Chapters:
Chapter 0: The beginning of the reign of Philip The Amorous (1059-1081)
Chapter 1: The Zealous Proselytizer and The Wary King (1081-1084)
Chapter 2: Troubles are brewing (1084-1093)
Chapter 3: The Crusade (1093-1101)
Chapter 4: Dealing with rebellions (1101-1106)
Chapter 5: Expanding the realm (1106-1116)
Chapter 6: New king, new rebellions (1116-1120)
Chapter 7: Tournaments and some more (1120-1126)
Chapter 8: Rebellions, tragedies and heresies (1137-1146)
Chapter 9: Rise of House Capet (1137-1146)
Chapter 10: More Wars (1146-1156)
Chapter 11: Always more wars (1156-1189)
Chapter 12: New Reign, New Wars (1189-1218)
Chapter 13: A New Age (1218-1239)
Chapter 14: Sacred Lineage (1239-1262)
Chapter 15: New King, Same Rule (1262-1293)

Awards:
- WritAAR Of The Week (for the first time) (12/08/2024-18/08/2024)

EDIT:
- After looking at some AARs and thinking for some time, I decided to add the mod "Buffed Mongol Invasion" since the map is too big and Genghis Khan doesn't conquer a lot of territories in this mod due to him not having much time to do that before he dies.
- I also added another rule for myself and the AI, "No matrilineal marriage" since it isn't really historically accurate to have matrilineal marriage (there were some but it was very rare and it's more related to dynastic claims shenanigans)

-

 

[Nikolai]

Good luck and welcome to AARland! I wish your AAR a success. I am a bit confused as to who you're playing as though, is it the Eastern Roman Empire or France?

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Good luck and welcome to AARland! I wish your AAR a success. I am a bit confused as to who you're playing as though, is it the Eastern Roman Empire or France?

I am playing as the king of the franks I just wanted to present the world and the period first. I used the image just to introduce the start date and also the mod that I really like!

 

[Nikolai]

I am playing as the king of the franks I just wanted to present the world and the period first. I used the image just to introduce the start date and also the mod that I really like!

Got it. Best of luck!

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 0: The beginning of the reign of Philip The Amorous (1059-1081)

Philip was born in 1052 AD, as the son of Henry I King of the Franks, and his wife Anne of Kiev, a Rus princess.
In 1059 Henry I had Philip crowned in the archbishopric of Reims at the age of seven, this tradition that House Capet was known for, ensured the oaths of the vassals and the peaceful transition after the death of each Frankish king, by presenting the main heir of House Capet. Henry also appointed the count of Flanders Baldwin V as regent of the kingdom, a role which Baldwin would share with the Queen Mother after the death of Henry in 1060. This close association allowed the count of Flanders to maintain peaceful relationships between the king and his vassals.

Following the death of Baldwin VI of Flanders, Robert The Frisian seized Flanders. Baldwin's widow requested aid from Philip, who was defeated by Robert at the Battle of Cassel in 1071. In 1077, he summoned a great host to prevent the annexation of the duchy of Brittany by William The Conqueror, who was forced to capitulate and make his peace with Philip.

In 1081, Philip was the King of the Franks, a prestigious title but he didn’t have no more power than his most powerful vassals, who practically were only his vassals in name and didn’t provide that much of troops or gold to their liege.
As a French, catholic, zealous, fickle and generous liege, Philip will try to leave his mark in the history of the kingdom of the Franks and of Western Europe.

 

[thyprophet]

Nice first post, I'm looking forward to reading more of it.

 

[john trask]

hey is good to have a new aar writter here this look promising

 

[Chac1]

Welcome @CaesarOfCK to the forum. Good luck to you as you write your AAR. This definitely has an interesting start. I will be riding along too with the others here, although I may be a bit of a silent reader for awhile.

Also, welcome to @thyprophet . Always good to see new readers and commentators here.

Having @Nikolai as an early reader is always a good sign. If you have any questions, he knows just about everything. And there are many others here who will try to lend a hand too.

You may wish to advertise your AAR in the Inkwell.

And if you want to research about writing or AARs 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.

Looking forward to the next chapters. Good luck.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Nice first post, I'm looking forward to reading more of it.

Welcome thyprophet. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this AAR!

 

[CaesarOfCK]

hey is good to have a new aar writter here this look promising

Thanks! I hope that I will be able to deliver haha!

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Welcome @CaesarOfCK to the forum. Good luck to you as you write your AAR. This definitely has an interesting start. I will be riding along too with the others here, although I may be a bit of a silent reader for awhile.

Also, welcome to @thyprophet . Always good to see new readers and commentators here.

Having @Nikolai as an early reader is always a good sign. If you have any questions, he knows just about everything. And there are many others here who will try to lend a hand too.

You may wish to advertise your AAR in the Inkwell.

And if you want to research about writing or AARs 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.

Looking forward to the next chapters. Good luck.

Welcome among us Chac1!
I will look at SolAARium and the fAARq.

The AARland forum sure has interesting stories that I will not miss!

 

[Nikolai]

@Chac1 is too kind, but ask away. I'll answer my best.

I like your opening style in chapter 0. Both the font and size, as well as the writing style!

A last protip: link your AAR in your signature. You can edit it in the menu found top right, button with your avatar.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Rooting for Philip to make his mark on history. Although if he fails, there's always a son that could do that.

 

[thyprophet]

Welcome thyprophet. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this AAR!

Thank ye, I've been on and off paradox forums checking out new AARs and I've been itching to write my own. It's nice to see other people starting out and now I don't have as much hesitation to go and do it.

 

[Nikolai]

Thank ye, I've been on and off paradox forums checking out new AARs and I've been itching to write my own. It's nice to see other people starting out and now I don't have as much hesitation to go and do it.

Take it from one who have written some 40 odd AARs the last decade; it can be quite fulfilling.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

@Chac1 is too kind, but ask away. I'll answer my best.

I like your opening style in chapter 0. Both the font and size, as well as the writing style!

A last protip: link your AAR in your signature. You can edit it in the menu found top right, button with your avatar.

Thank your for helping me with the signature! I didn't know what to do to have one haha.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Rooting for Philip to make his mark on history. Although if he fails, there's always a son that could do that.

Welcome StrategyGameEnthusiast!

Hopefully Philip be able to make House Capet a prominent house in Western Europe!

 

[CaesarOfCK]

hey is good to have a new aar writter here this look promising

After looking at your AAR, I decided to also add the Buffed Mongol Invasion Mod since the Mongol Invasion (the successor states at least) aren't very strong and collapse quite fast.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

I edited the introduction since I added two things, you can look at EDIT for that.
Since I'm gonna restart with the new playset, Philip will probably have other traits and I will edit them in Chapter 0.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 1: The Zealous Proselytizer and The Wary King (1081-1084)

King Philip “The Amorous” was a zealous man with a scholarly education. Even as a king, he remained interested in theological studies. He was a faithful of the Roman Catholic Church and even as a secular ruler he would still never forget the Church and its teachings. Philip was a zealous proselytizer, who had respect for religious icons and had knowledge of clerical justifications.

Philip had a lot of land, more than what he could hold. He decided to call his brother to his throne. The two Capetian brothers had a good relationship. Philip knew that by making his brother his vassal, Philip could count on him to keep the relationship between the throne and the other vassals a smooth one.

Thus, Philip awarded his brother the County of Artois, hoping that their relationship would even get stronger and that the Capetian's influence become greater in the kingdom of the Franks. Philip would also give land to one of his most loyal knights “Raymond”, a low-born, who would be given the County of Orléans even if some courtly vassals disliked the choice since they found it insulting that a low-born would receive land that should be normally given to aristocrats, but this would the nature of Philip who was a fickle man and wasn’t sure which faction should he listen to.
Philip would have both men swear an oath of loyalty to him before they depart to their respective holdings.

Philip would then depart on a pilgrimage to Cologne, where he would try and cultivate his relationship with God. During his pilgrimage, Philip would encounter many people and face a lot of situations that The Lord wanted him to face in order to confirm his zealotry. Philip’s pilgrimage would only become more and more pious, making his faith grow stronger.

Philip would then return to Paris, his capital, where he would recruit a physician with good skills, and start dealing with royal affairs. Philip would receive a letter from the Duke of Brittany, the man who helped against William The Conqueror in 1077. The Duke would ask the hand of Philip’s sister, this proposal was something Philip didn’t expect but he would agree to it. The King’s sister and the Duke would marry. This marriage would help to make both the Duchy of Brittany and the Kingdom of the Franks destinies intertwined, Brittany becoming more than a simple tributary of the kingdom, by becoming an ally.

Philip would continue addressing royal affairs. Knowing that he was in a precarious position, having his vassal the Duke of Normandy act as an independent ruler in the north, and also having the Holy Roman Emperor be claimant to many duchies inside his realm, Philip would send his daughter to the court of the King of England and his son to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor.

After dealing with the foreign threats, Philip would begin a Grand Tour of his subjects’ domains where he would meet with the different serfs and aristocrats living in his realm. During his Grand Tour, Philip would act as a judge in many cases to reduce crime in his vassals’ lands and boost their control on their fiefs. Philip would deal with disloyal subjects, relax and pray during the quiet days and also supervise what his vassals were doing. Many times, he would notice his vassals having more than what they were saying that they possessed: Doors, windows, gold, general good but, as a generous ruler, he would always forgive them and let them keep what their possessions, which would in turn boost Philip’s popularity.

Philip would be turned away by some of his vassals. The Countess of Vermandois, the wife of his brother would turn him away, some would refuse to pay tribute like the Duke of Burgundy, another member of the Robertine dynasty, and Philip wouldn’t forget these insults. At the end of his Grand Tour, Philip would make a list of the vassals and the lands he toured, he would recapitulate the progress of his relations with his vassals and note the vassals that had insulted him.

After returning to Paris, Philip would begin the creation of a standing army, he would recruit many Men-At-Arms, some of them were heavy infantry, others were pike men and others were siege weapons personnel. Philip needed the creation of this army to become more respected by his vassals and to be seen as more than a figurehead in the Kingdom of the Franks.
Philips dynasty would grow more prestigious due to his acts as King of the Franks, better guests and courtiers would be attracted to his court and many men would have a better opinion of the king and his dynasty.

Philip would be always wary of his most powerful vassals. He had a lot of them, more than what he could give a seat to in his council. He didn’t have the upper-hand when dealing with his vassals and hoped that he could count on his brother to keep the relation between the king and the lords a peaceful one.
He had already made his brother vassal of the Count of Flanders, who was his enemy in 1071, in order to pacify the Salian lord but when he sent a letter to the castle of Artois, he was surprised that it was not his brother that answered him.

Indeed, it was his ancient enemy, the Count of Flanders, who answered! The Salian lord took for himself the County of Artois and kicked Prince Hugues, the king’s brother from his castle. Philip would then invite the prince to his court in Paris where they would speak about the incident related to the County of Artois.
The Count of Flanders had kicked his brother from Artois but since he wasn’t the direct liege of Prince Hugues, Philip wasn't do anything since the laws of the Kingdom Of The Franks stipulated that such matter remains between a liege and his direct vassal and beyond the jurisdiction of the Royal Domain.