The Kingdom Of The Franks (Regnum Francorum)

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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.

 

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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.

 

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Chapter 2: Troubles are brewing (1084-1093)

Before dealing with the unruly vassals, Philip pondered for a bit. Why should he imprison the wife of his brother? Wouldn’t that anger him? Wouldn’t his nephew, in any case, inherit the County of Vermandois? Wouldn’t it be better that he becomes an adult before he inherits the county?
As a generous liege, he decided to forgive the woman. While he was thinking about the Duke of Burgundy’s fate, a letter arrived to his castle. It informed him that the Duke of Burgundy lost a tyranny war and his daughter became the new Duchess of Burgundy.
Having finished dealing with these two problematic vassals, Philip would soon find that more troubles are brewing.

Robert The Frisian, the man who he had fought against 15 years prior, had created a faction to install himself on the Frankish throne. Philip decided to pacify the other member of the faction and make him the marshal of the kingdom. While this was able to weaken the Salian Count, it wasn’t enough to get rid of him completely.

Philip would then depart to the Holy Roman Empire where he would participate in a Grand Tournament, he would participate both in the recital and the board game but lose both these competitions. He would encounter many people on the road back: A hermit who would tell him about some prophecy, a beautiful woman who wanted his love and a knight who wanted to fight him.

When he returned to Paris, a letter would be waiting for him. The letter bearing the seal of the King of England would tell him grave news: His daughter Constance died in the court of the Norman king. To deal with this event, Philip would mourn her for 3 days then enter into hermitage for a bit and pray to The Lord to make him stronger in order to deal with traumatic events. After finishing his hermitage, Philip would change the religious minority policy; Philip would make other faiths unwelcomed in his realm. He would also increase his crown authority to boost his revenue.

Few months after that, the Pope would invite, to Clermont, in the Frankish realm, many scholars and representatives of religious and secular power of Christendom. Since the Muslim heretics were near the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and posed a grave threat to the Christians of all of Europe, the Pope called for a Crusade for Jerusalem.
Philip being a respected ruler by the Church, he would send a letter to the Pope, advising him to redirect the Crusade to Hispania that was near the Christian rulers of Western Europe. The Pope would accept and preparations would begin for the Crusade. This is how the Council of Clermont would end.

While preparing for the Crusade, an event would take Philip by surprise. The Count of Flanders would declare war for the Frankish throne. Philip, sensing that the war would be hard without allies, would arrange a betrothal of his second son with the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, securing an alliance with the most powerful ruler of Europe.
Before being able to call the Holy Roman Emperor into the war, the Salian count would call to the war his ally, the Landgrave of Saxony. The Holy Roman Emperor would send a letter to the Frankish king, explaining to him that since one of his vassals is at war with Philip, the emperor could not join this war. Furious, Philip would burn the letter and begin searching for another alliance.
Philip would marry another one of his children to the Norman King of England, securing an alliance with his unruly vassal, in order to pacify another one; those were the politics that shaped the Kingdom of The Franks.

While waiting for the arrival of the Norman king, the Crusade against the heretics in Hispania would begin. Not being able to participate yet in the Crusade due to his war, Philip would concentrate on his northern front. Philip would use the speed of his troops to organize a defeat in detail of the Flemish troops. He would have scouts tell him that the Flemish troops were divided in too and the first of them entered the territory of the Holy Roman Empire while the other one had a hard time trying to keep the pace with the first army. Philip would exploit the failures of the enemy troops to coordinate and start an attack on the second army. The first army would soon realize that the other troops are behind being ambushed by Philip and return helping the slower army. This wouldn’t be enough for the Flemish forces to win against the King of the Franks’ troops, who was overjoyed to have his first military victory at the Battle of Cambray.

Philip would begin sieging the Flemish holdings of the Salian Count. He would lay siege to Bethune before being joined by the Norman king who would lay siege to Saint-Pol. The Frankish forces would advance to Ypres where they would siege the castle before arriving to the capital of the County of Flanders, Brugge. There they would receive a letter coming from the capital of the Salian Count. The Salian Count died and his realm was partitioned, ending the War of Succession of the Frankish throne.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

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.

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.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 4: Dealing with rebellions (1101-1106)
After the recent events, Philip would sponsor a feast in his castle to please his courtiers. Many aristocrats joined the feast and Philip used this event to boost his popularity among them.

Few months after, The Liberty War of the Kingdom of the Franks would happen. This war opposed Philip to the Princely Count of Champagne and the Count of Flanders with the Frankish king. Flanders, home to the Salian Franks would, yet again, be a troublesome region to the reign of Philip.
Philip would call his ally, the Holy Roman Emperor, to join this war. The call wouldn’t fall on deaf ears and the emperor would soon join his Frankish ally. Many battles would be won by Philip and his ally and he would be able to end this war.
Once he put both his vassals to join, he confiscated the Princely County of Champagne and made the treacherous aristocrat renounce his claim. Philip would destroy the princely county and would grant its lands to his courtiers, knights and family with one of his sons being granted the former capital of the princely county. The former count would only be released after renouncing his claims.

As for the Count of Flanders, he let him return to his holdings in exchange for the modification of the contract tying the vassal to his liege. From now on, Philip would be able to revoke the Count’s titles. Something that he would do just after the unruly Count would return to the capital of his county.
After receiving a letter from his liege, asking him to hand over his title, the Salian lord would start the First War against the Tyranny of King Philip. The Salian count would call other feudal lords against the Frankish king, but they would be swiftly defeated and put into jail.
Philip would let them all return to their respective holdings, in exchange for increased tax rate or the ability of their Frankish liege to strip them of their titles if they revolt again, all of them except the Count of Flanders. The Salian count would be stripped of his county and would only be able to leave jail in exchange for renouncing all his claims.
The County of Flanders would be destroyed and its lands would be granted to various courtiers and knights.
Philip would notice that the Count of Flanders had a vassal in the lands, west of the Kingdom of England. He would do nothing about that for now and would soon deal with other matters.

Philip would be called into war by the Holy Roman Emperor, against one of his vassals, the Margrave of Krain who would be helped by both the King of Hungary and the King of Croatia. Philip would only send his standing army to help the emperor, judging that it wouldn’t be wise to send his serfs to the other side of Europe. His forces would defeat the Croatians in the First Battle of Zagorje, they would then siege the Margraviate of Krain before trying to push into Croatia again where they would be defeated in the Second Battle of Zagorje.
After this defeat, the Frankish army would flee from warzone and would try to join the Kingdom of the Franks.
Two months later, the war would end after the capture of the Margrave of Krain by the Holy Roman Emperor.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 5: Expanding the realm (1106-1116)

After the war in the Holy Roman Empire ended, Philip realized that he could expand his realm.
Seeing that the Kingdom of England was no longer be ruled by a Norman, but by an Anglo-Norse member of the House of Normandy, Philip decided to use the clauses of the Treaty of Verdun, to remind his vassals that he had the jurisdiction of the whole of West Francia. As the King of the Franks, Philip was entitled to rule over all the Franks of Western Francia.
An Anglo-Norse being liege of the Norman Duchess of Normandy was something that he could not accept. The fact that some Angle lord inherited part of the Duchy of Burgundy and the County of Nevers due to marriages between the Frankish and the Angle nobility, only made his resolution stronger.
Thus, Philip decided to marry his son and heir to the sister of the Duchess of Normandy, making her his ally. He would then declare war on the King of England who would call to his help the Pagan King of Lithuania. Philip didn’t need more reason to see this war as a war against heathens, he would send a letter to the Holy Roman Emperor, who would therefore learn of the religious aspect of this war and summon his troops to help the King of the Franks in his war.

Philip, received the promise of neutrality from the Duchess of Normandy. He decided then to not attack her holdings or lay claim on them and instead focus on the County of Anjou.

Philip would siege the Angevin holdings and position himself at the frontier of the Duchy of Normandy, threatening to attack any troop that would land in the neutral Duchy.

Philip would soon receive a letter from two Welsh Lords. Thanks to his strong legitimacy and the power of his army, some Welsh Lords asked the King of the Franks to be his vassals in order to not be threatened by the expanding Kingdom of England to their east. The Welsh Lords would become the vassals of the King of the Franks in exchange for protection and an advantageous contract, making them required to pay only some tiny amount of gold.

Philip would win two battles against the troops who landed in Normandy, and would threaten the King of England to sail to Wales and begin attacking him from another front. The King of England would understand that he could not win this war and the two kings decided to broker a peace agreement. In Maine, the two kings would sign a peace treaty, "The Treaty of Maine", ensuring that the two kingdoms would remain at peace for years and the cession of both Maine and Sable to the Count of Anjou.
The Angevin count, being a courteous lord, would feel obligated to return the favour to his liege. The count would ask the Frankish king about the way that he could repay his favour. Philip would use this opportunity to modify the contract tying the count to him: Now, Philip would be able to free revoke the titles of the count if he ever rebels against him.

Once he had dealt with this matter, Philip would into the matters of the Welsh Lords. Philip would declare that in addition to being the King of The Franks, he was now also the King of The Welsh, giving himself the proper Casus belli to subjugate the remaining free Welsh Lords.

Months later, new would arrive to the king’s court. The Count of Berry had an affair with a courtier, this gave a reason for king Philip to imprison the count. The count would only be able to leave jail after the contract tying him to his liege was changed: Now the Frankish king could freely revoke his vassal’s titles if he does a crime.
The count wouldn’t wait a lot of time before committing another crime; he refused to end his affair with the courtier, giving Philip a reason to revoke his titles. Philip would demand the count to hand over his titles to the king in exchange for mercy, the count would refuse and a war would begin. Philip would use only his standing army to defeat the count; he would siege Deols, capture the count and revoke his titles. Philip would destroy the County of Berry and hand out its lands to loyal courtiers and knights.

Philip had expanded his realm and the domain of his jurisdiction. Having taken and destroyed the County of Flanders, the Princely County of Champagne and the County of Berry, Philip now was able to directly confront the lords possessing the various counties and viscounties without there being a strong Count as an intermediary between the king and the various minor lords.
Additionaly, Philip had also been able to vassalize the Count of Toulouse and the Countess of Barcelona, thanks to his legitimacy and his prestige.

Having succeeded in many campaigns, won many battles and expanded his authority, it was time for Philip to leave the material realm and enter the Kingdom of God. His family, courtiers and knights would come and mourn him; Philip was dear to many people’s hearts. His contemporaries described him at his funeral, as a zealous man who fought for the glory of God against heathens and prayed that he would be rewarded for his good deeds.
His son, Louis VI would inherit his father’s realm.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 6: New king, new rebellions (1116-1120)

In the first few months after inheriting the throne, Louis VI would encounter his first challenge: The Liberty War, declared by another member of the Robertine dynasty, the Duchess of Burgundy, who ironically was also disfigured.
Two Robertians, two disfigured lords, this was the first gift his vassals would give him, an unpleasant gift for sure…and not the last one…

Louis VI would call as an ally his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Normandy, who would come to his aid soon after. The king and his ally would siege the counties of Clermont, Berry, Orléans, Sancerre; they would fight in the Battle of Chateaudin and end this war in less than two years.

Louis VI would, just few months after, fight in The Second War of Frankish Succession against the Countess of Vermandois, the Count of Amiens and the Capetian Count of Troyes. Louis VI would lay siege to Troyes while his ally would lay siege to Provins. They would fight in the Battle of Romilly where they would outnumber their enemies approximately 4 to 1, which would result in a decisive victory. They would then start a pursuit against the retreating enemy and slaughter them in the battle of Bar-Sur-Aube.

While leading his troops, Louis would receive some bad news from the Duchess of Aquitaine.

The queen consort was unfaithful and had an affair with the Viscount of Bearn. The viscount would be put into jail by the Duchess of Aquitaine and the queen consort would be into jail by Louis VI.

The king would lay siege to the County of Meaux a few months later and end the war. He would either strip the rebels of their titles or make them renounce their claims to the Frankish throne.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 7: Tournaments and some more (1120-1126)
After dealing with the rebellions, Louis would attend a Grand Wedding organized by the Landgrave of Saxony. On his way to Saxony, the king would find a weird looking tent and would decide to inspect it. An old man would leave the tent to see the royal procession; he would then approach the Frankish king.
The old man claimed that he was able to see the future and asked for gold in exchange of telling Louis’ future. Louis, being a zealous man who didn’t believe in such tales and knew that only God and the saints were able to perform such miracles, suspected the old man of being a witch and decided to burn him.
Louis would continue his journey and pass by a town called Ostfallen, where a shrine was built. The locals would patronizing a local spiritual figure named Saint Agnes of Ostfallen, this “Saint” wasn’t recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, and so Louis ordered his men to cast down this heterodoxy.

Louis would arrive a few days after to the place where the Grand Wedding would be organized. There, all the guests were well dressed, the flowers were everywhere. Louis would talk with the Landgrave, who was an old but wise man. No one knew why he decided to organize a Grand Wedding for himself at this age but most people didn’t dare to object to the decision of one of the most important men in the Holy Roman Empire.

While being in the castle of the Landrgave, Louis would receive some news. The Pope decided that he would accept a divorce between the Frankish king and his unfaithful wife, Louis was liberated from this marriage with the sister of the Duchess of Normandy, ending this alliance, and the poisonous relationship with his now, ex-wife.
To thank God for this news, Louis would visit the local church at night and pray to The Lord in Heaven, which would relieve the king from stress and make him carefree.
The day after, all the guests would receive shocking news: The Landgrave of Saxony, the man who organized the Grand Wedding and was the groom participating in the event, had died!
The guests would mourn him for a day and return to their homes the next day, the wedding being invalidated and not consumed.
When he returned home, Louis received bad news: The Countess of Artois, his stepmother, was able to declare herself Countess of Flanders. Having these two prestigious titles entitled her to more land than what she currently had. Louis VI would make her the liege of the Count of Aalst to pacify her for now. It seemed that the County of Flanders would remain a thorn to the Kingdom of the Franks for now.
In order to further boost his diplomacy reputation and range in Western Europe, Louis VI would marry the daughter of the Duke of Lower Silesia.
Louis VI would then have to deal with the House of Anjou. The Count of Anjou had recently inherited the Duchy of Brittany, declared himself as Grand Duke of Brittany and refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the King of the Franks, which would leave to the king only one solution: War! But this war wouldn’t happen for now… since more urgent matters had all of the king’s interest.

The Viscount of Bearn, the man that his ex-wife cheated with him on the king, sent assassins to kill the Frankish king. Louis, as a proper Frankish aristocrat, invited the Viscount to a duel, the Viscount refused and Louis gave the order to his men to arrest the treacherous man, the Viscount refused again and war ensued: The First War against the Tyranny of Louis VI was declared!
Louis would send his standing army to deal with the viscount. His men would win at the Battle of Bearn, siege the Viscounty and capture the traitor. Louis would execute him, in public display, in Paris to show the head of the traitor to his subjects.

Louis VI would then participate in a Grand Tournament organized by the Holy Roman Emperor. He would participate in both the Archery Contest and the Wrestling Contest, show his prowess in both and become the victor of both contests. Louis would take the prizes and return to his realm proud!

After showing his prizes in his capital, Louis VI would develop his army; he would recruit more Men-At-Arms, especially archers to prepare for the War against the Grand Duke of Brittany. He would wait for the recruitment of his soldiers, then lay siege the holdings present in the County of Anjou. At the same, one of the vassals of the Grand Duke of Brittany would revolt against him in order to gain the Duchy of Brittany, this would make the Grand Duke unsure about which front should he concentrate on, thus it was way easier for Louis to win the war.
Louis would capture the Grand Duke after seizing the castle of Anjou, he would sign the peace deal, with him and take all the lands held by the Grand Duke in Anjou, and give two holdings out of the five being part of the County of Anjou to his sons. Even Philip, the son with disputed heritage would receive his holding.

Louis VI would then vassalize the Count of Nevers, who had previously broken of the Kingdom of England, then participate in another Grand Tournament held in the Holy Roman Empire. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn’t win any contest this time.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 8: Rebellions, tragedies and heresies (1126-1137)
After returning from the Holy Roman Empire, Louis VI would start a Majesty Tour of his lands before sending his daughter as a hostage to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor.
While on his tour, Louis would think of the alliances he could forge with other nobles. Louis would marry his son and heir to the daughter of the Duke of Dauphinois.
The tour would be fruitful, Louis VI was able to show his might to his vassals but his tour would also have a negative effect on him; due to all the feasts he participated in, Louis became obese; this pushed him to start and lose weight, which would result in a lot of stress gain due to his gluttonous character.

To further show his might and as the most powerful noble in his realm, Louis VI would start imprisoning the nobles who dared to disobey him. This was the perfect opportunity for him to beat his powerful vassals and break their territories into many counties that would be easier to control. After defeating his vassals, Louis would gain more legitimacy and prestige; this would make another Welsh noble want to join his realm as a vassal. It wouldn’t be long though before his vassals rose up in The Third War of Frankish Succession.

Louis VI needed allies for this war and looked at the map of Europe to try and find an ally that could help him win this war. While searching for an ally, Louis would find both a noble to come to his help and a perfect opportunity to further advance Capetian influence in Europe.

The Queen of Hungary, a 19 years old powerful ruler was unwed and wanted to find the perfect groom. Louis’ second son, Richard, made for an excellent groom who could bring the Hungarian Queen help in future endeavours and a prestigious family to marry with.

Not everything was going good for Louis though, his third son, Philip, as well as the wife of his first son, both died due to a plague. The king would mourn them both before marrying his first son to the Lombard Duchess of Savona.

Philip would call both the Duke of Dauphinois and the Duchess of Savona to arms in order to defeat his revolting vassals. The revolt would be quelled again, the vassals stripped of their titles or swearing another oath of allegiance to the Frankish king with a news vassal contract which make them give him more levy or more gold.

With all the wars, the plagues as well as the deaths happening in the Frankish realm, many peasants and nobles alike thought that The Lord had forsaken his children; the people strayed away from the True Faith and started to embrace a new heresy that appeared in the east of the Frankish Realm: The Cathar heresy.
Both the Archbishop of Reims, the most notable religious Lord of the Frankish kingdom, as well as his half-brother, the Count of Artois and Flanders, would embrace this heresy. While the archbishop would embrace the True Faith again, Louis’ half-brother refused.

The Pope would call for a Crusade, in The Council of Milan, in which many Christian nobles would attend. The Crusade was directed to the City of Antioch. Louis VI would promise the Pope that he would fight for The Lord but not in the the Levant but in his own realm, against the Cathar Heresy. The Frankish king would pledge some gold for the Crusade and return to Paris. There he would begin the preparations to fight against his half-brother.
Philip would send a letter to his brother asking him to come to Paris in order to receive judgement for his sins; the Count would refuse and the Second War against the Tyranny of King Louis VI would begin…though it would end few months later with the Capetian Count in jail. The Capetian Count would be able to walk free again from jail on two terms and this would make the realm peaceful again.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 9: Rise of House Capet (1137-1146)
Just as Louis was happy with his new alliance and was hoping that it would bring him prestige and renown, Louis was called to help the Hungarian Queen in a war for the Duchy of Nitra. He would join this war since he swore an oath to help the Hungarian Queen defend her Realm, and since the Duchy of Nitra was considered De Jure part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Hungarian Queen considered this a righteous war for her rightful claim.
Louis VI would join her but would receive some terrible news.

The German Emperor executed Louis’ daughter, which would cause a lot of stress for Louis. Louis would receive her corpse few weeks after. He would alongside the rest of the Capetian family and the close members of the court mourn her before promising to avenge her.
Louis VI would raise his private retinue and go with them to lay waste to the territories of the Holy Roman Empire; they would siege every holding of the Holy Roman Empire that was considered De Jure part of the Kingdom of Burgundy. This would make the German Emperor unsure of which territory he should prioritize and defend: Does he attack the Frankish army in the west of his lands and let the Hungarian Queen occupy the Duchy of Nitra? Or does he send his army to fight the Hungarian Queen and let the Frankish king lay waste to his western lands?
The German Emperor would be undecided and this would help both Louis VI and the Hungarian Queen win the war against the German Emperor in less than 2 years.

After the end of this war, Louis VI would yet again demand one of his vassals that committed a crime to come to Paris in order to receive his sentence. The vassal being the Count of Alençon, one of the most powerful vassals of the Frankish kingdom, would refuse and war would ensue.
Louis would use his private retinue again and siege the vassal’s holding before putting him a jail, taking his lands and distributing it among the members of the king’s court.

After disposing of his vassal, Louis would set his eyes on a bigger price: The Duchy of Brittany.

Louis would declare war on the Danish Duchess of Brittany, he would lay siege to Nantes, Rennes, Vannes, Porhoet and Cornouaille before defeating the Bretons in the Battle of Anjou. This would make the Bretons surrender at the same as a major plague had stricken Empuries in the holdings of his Catalan vassal.
Many peasants were saying that the plague was sent by God to punish the Christians for their sins. The Frankish king, a zealous ruler, would listen to his people and agree with them, he would expulse the Cathar minority from the realm, to show his devotion to his people and The Lord.

The expulsion of a religious minority wouldn’t be enough to appease God. The Holy Roman Emperor would declare war on the Frankish king to reclaim the Princely County of Provence that some Frankish noble had inherited before. Louis VI would call on his allies, the King of Norway, and his grandson the Capetian King of Hungary.
The War would last three years with a lot of battles happening, resulting in many deaths. Louis VI would be known during this war for showing no mercy to his enemies, who would in turn give him a new nickname.

The Germans would have the upper-hand in the beginning of this war, sieging many Frankish holdings, but victories of the Franks at Cevennes, Arles would let the Franks take back the Princely County of Provence, and give them the possibility to negotiate with the German Emperor, ending this war in a white peace to spare the lives of the soldiers.

Louis would then return to Paris, where he would be viewed by the population as a victorious ruler. Louis wasn’t all happy, a tumour had developed in his hand and after examination by the physician, Louis would learn that he got cancer. The Frankish king would spend one more year alive, witnessing the Rise of House Capet who occupied the thrones of the Kingdom of The Franks, the Kingdom of the Welshs as well as the Kingdom of Hungary.

Louis VI The Butcher, would then depart from the material world and join The Lord in Heaven.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 10: More Wars (1146-1156)

House Capet controlled three kingdoms but not for long…as it seems that the Hungarian nobles already started revolting against their Frankish Capetian king.
Robert III would also be challenged by some of his vassals who would start the War of Welsh Independence against the new ruler. The war wouldn’t last a year though with Robert using his retinue to cross the Chanel, land in the Southwest of the Kingdom of England and marching towards his Welsh territories. Robert would siege the enemies’ holdings, ensuring his first victory against his vassals whom he would strip of their titles before giving these newly acquired titles to his second son, Prince Julien.
While fate smiled on Robert, it wasn’t the same thing for his Capetian cousin who had ruled Hungary. The Capetian had lost against the rebels and no longer was King of Hungary; he was relegated to becoming a Grand Duke inside the Hungarian kingdom.

After the end of the war, Robert III would diplomatically vassalize a Norman count that had broken of the Holy Roman Empire, making both the German Emperor and the Anglo-Norse king of England remember who the rightful liege of Normandy was. It wouldn’t take a lot before the newly elected German Emperor declares war on him for the Princely County of Provence.

The Frankish king would defeat the German foe at the Battles of Grasse, Uzès and Aix; before receiving the news that his second son, Prince Julien, was ousted in a revolt against his reign by his Welsh vassals and the Grand Duchy went to his older brother, Louis who was the heir to the throne of the Frankish kingdom. Robert would then wait at the frontier until the German Emperor sends his army to Provence again where Robert III would defeat him at the Second Battle of Aix, ending the war as a Frankish victory.

Back at home, in Paris, Robert would receive who would bring him some bad news, his son, heir and Grand Duke of Gwennyd, Prince Louis, had succumbed to the plague and his territories went to his son Léon.
Robert III, furious, would want to hear no more of Wales and would give the kingdom to his grandson Léon, hoping that he learns how to rule a little kingdom before coming of age and being able to succeed Robert as King of the Franks… but more sinister news would arrive to Robert’s court…

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 11: Always more wars (1156-1189)

Robert III, while being called upon by his ally, a Capetian grand duke in Hungary, to fight for the grand duke’s claim of the Kingdom of Hungary, would try and imprison one of his vassals that had committed a crime; the crime only gave the king an excuse to imprison the Countess, another Capetian noble, but this excuse would be enough to make the Countess declare the War Against the Tyranny of King Robert III.

A tragedy would strike House Capet, not the war, but the death of the king’s grandson, Leon King of the Welsh; Robert would be overwhelmed by stress but would still ask his spymaster to know more about this tragedy, it seemed that the Leon had died, killed by someone… someone that was known to be close to the Frankish king and this someone was none other than Princess Camelia, daughter of the Frankish king and aunt to the king she assassinated.
Kingslaying! Such a crime demanded harsh punishment! Robert III would ask his spymaster and some men to imprison his daughter in order to deal with her, alas, she had escaped!

Robert’s other son, Prince Julien, became the King of the Welsh, for a second time in his life, and would become Robert’s heir.

In Hungary, the king’s ally was still waiting for Robert’s help. Robert decided to send financial help and sent a letter telling his ally that Robert was unfortunately occupied right now and couldn’t send his army all the war to Hungary. It wouldn’t matter though, since the Capetian would win his war and declare independence from the Kingdom of Hungary.

The War Against the Tyranny of Robert III would also end soon after with the Countess’ main title destroyed and her domain being split among various courtiers.

Robert III would join another war, this time called in by his ally and vassal the Count of Auvergne in a defensive war against the Countess of Toulouse. This war would also oppose him to the King of The Welsh, his own son, who was allied to the Countess.

This war would end in a white peace, which would give the king an opportunity to participate in a Grand Tournament, where he would be average and not able to win any prize. Then he would start a feast in order to have a relief from all the stress he had accumulated recently.
While he was able to be relieved from stress, the king also became obese because of it.

Just as he enjoyed a bit of rest, the Frankish king would receive a declaration of war from the Holy Roman Emperor. Knowing that he couldn’t take him alone, Robert would marry his daughter to the Norman King of Sicily and would call him to help him in this war. Both their armies would merge and would march to defeat the German army at the Battles of Nice, Cluny, Marseille, Castellane, ending another war against another the Holy Roman Emperor, this time though with a victory!

His Capetian ally that had just won his won of independence before decided to call him for The War of Hungarian Succession. Robert would send his private retinue to siege the Hungarian holdings, which would be enough for the Capetian to become King of Hungary.

While he was in his castle in Paris, Robert III would fall ill, this time, because of the smallpox that touched his realm. The disease had arrived to a critical stage and only the desperate measures would help him survive; Robert gave the order to his physician to proceed with the chirurgical operation.
His physician would remove the tainted tissue that was at the root of the disease, this tissue being in the king’s face made Robert III disfigured for the rest of his life.
Robert III would then enter a rage, blaming criminals and low-life bandits for the disease that had stricken him, he would go on a rampage and annihilate crime in Paris, letting all the Parisian Community witness the Forest of corpses near the Capital. It wouldn’t take a lot of time before Robert III would receive his nickname “The Impaler”.

The brutality that Robert became known for, didn’t dissuade his vassals from declaring the First Liberty War Against King Robert III.
This War or revolt was one the most dangerous internal wars that the Kingdom of The Franks knew in all of its history. The rebels were able to arrive in Paris and were 4 months away from taking the Capital. The King of The Franks, alongside his ally, would defeat the rebels at the Battles of Ile-de-France, Orléans, Chartres; the king would also siege the holdings of the leader of the rebellion which would help him end the war in his favour. Robert was known to impale the prisoners he took during this campaign.

Robert’s brutality wouldn’t end here. Seeing that the Holy Roman Emperor had become weak, Robert would declare war for the De Jure Duchy of Burgundy. At the same time, the Pope would organize the Council of Palermo, where he would invite a lot of Christian knights to fight in the 3rd Crusade, a Crusade against the Muslims of Hispania. Robert would send an emissary, promising the pope that he would fight in the Crusade.
Still, Robert would march towards the German army and defeat it at the Battles of Monaco, Genoa, Parma, Chiavari and Nice. This would be enough to make the German Emperor sign a peace treaty where he concedes the Duchy of Burgundy’s holdings to Robert III.

Winning a war against an external foe wasn’t enough to please his vassals; they would revolt yet again and declare the Second Liberty War Against King Robert III. This war wouldn’t last long though but the rebels were able to siege Paris for a long time, the capital wouldn’t have stood longer than 3 months if Robert didn’t finish the siege of the main holding of the faction leader, capturing by the way the leader of the rebellion.

Robert would spend the rest of his years in his capital before The Lord would elevate his soul, in 1187 AD and bring it to his kingdom in Heaven. He wouldn’t remain alone for long; he would soon be joined by his own, the Welsh King of the Welsh Julien who would die due to a botched treatment. Julien would be the last Capetian to rule both the Kingdom of the Franks and the Kingdom of the Welsh at the same time.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 12: New Reign, New wars (1189-1218)

The first thing that Robert IV would do after being crowned the new King of the Franks would be to declare war on his brother, Guillaume, the King of the Welsh, to take from him the holdings that he had inside the Kingdom of the Franks. The war would end after 3 years and Robert would be able to take the holdings being part of the De Jure Duchy of Valois. Robert would give concessions to his brother; he would give independence to his vassals that were on the other side of the Chanel in exchange for both of them promising to not interfere in each other’s realms.

Robert IV, who was brought up in Wales in a Welsh environment, had become a proper prince of Welsh culture.
Now being the King of the Franks, he decided to return to the culture of his ancestors in order to become more liked by his vassals. He would change his customs and adopt the Frankish culture. And his vassals would welcome him in their proper Frankish manner… by doing a rebellion! And not one rebellion but 2 two rebellions at the same time!
Just as he had declared war on the Holy Roman Emperor for the De Jure County of Forez, his vassals revolted and Robert had to fight them in the 4th War of Frankish Succession and the 2nd War of independence.

Robert would call to his aid the Gall-Goidel Queen of the Isles. The allies would concentrate on dealing as many casualties to the rebels in the north who wanted another person in the throne, enough casualties that would make them sign a white peace.
At the same time, Robert would defeat the many German armies and siege the County of Forez long enough to make the German Emperor agree to concede the territory in exchange of a truce.
Robert would then go and fight his southern vassals. With their numerical superiority, the allies would vanquish the southern foes and would end the last war after almost 10 years of constant warfare.

Robert would fall severely ill to an unknown disease. Robert thought that his days were numbered and that he was at Death’s doorstep, but he would miraculously survive thanks to the treatment of his physician, the same physician that botched the treatment of his father. Robert was satisfied with the physician’s treatment and was content with his choice of not firing her or imprisoning her even if she didn’t help his father survive.

Years of peace would come to an end in 1203, when the faction that had signed a white peace with Robert some years prior, would declare war on him again and fight him in the 5th War of Frankish Succession.

Robert would call on his allies who would help him defeat their foe at the Battles of Vierzon, Brie Française, and Clermont. They would also siege many enemy holdings, who would surrender after 2 years of war.

Peace would return again and it wasn’t the only that was back.

The Karlings were back at the head of the Holy Roman Empire; it seemed that this dynasty would still rule the strongest European realm for years to come…

Another dynasty would rise in another part of the world, it was the dynasty of a man, called Temujin, some Mongol, whom his people call Genghis Khan.

Robert had other things to worry about since one of his vassals refused to comply with his orders and revolt again, this claiming that it was a War against the Tyranny of King Robert IV. The war wouldn’t last for long and Robert would banish the man from his realm.

To calm his vassals, Robert would organize a Grand Tournament, where he would win the melee contest, the joust contest and lose in the duel contest.

After pleasing his vassals and gaining prestige, Robert IV would seek to modify his realm laws. Since the realm had lost the Primogeniture law for succession since his father had inherited the Kingdom of the Welsh before the Kingdom of the Franks. Robert wanted to change his succession laws and decided, in order to ensure that the kingdom remains in his dynasty, that only males would have the right to rule the realm.

After all these years, Robert IV would receive a new nickname: The Brilliant.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 13: A New Age (1218-1239)

Just as he had pledged his support to the 3rd Crusade, Robert IV “The Brilliant” received a declaration of war from his vassals, starting the 6th War of Frankish Succession. Robert and his allies would defeat their enemies at the Battles of Brie Française, Montlhery, Chartres, Bourbon, Bar-sur-Aube and Chateaudin. The allies would then carpet siege some enemies’ holdings ending the war.

Robert would then go to Eu where the Anglo-Norse King of England held a Grand Tournament. Aside from the Anglo-Norse king being naked, the Grand Tournament went pretty well with the Frankish king winning the horse race, the recital contest and the duel contest but lose the wrestling contest.
After that, Robert would go to Chertsey in England where was held another Grand Tournament, he would win the board game contest, the recital contest, the archery contest and lose the wrestling contest. Then, he would return to Paris.

Robert IV “The Brilliant”, being a lord exalted among men, having high learning, high authority in his realm and controlling the counties and duchies of Valois, Orléans, Toulouse and Provence, would invest in patronage of the Arts and culture of his realm. He would transform the Frankish kingdom and establish new laws, establish the Absolute Crown Authority in the realm.
Robert IV “The Brilliant” would be the last King of The Franks, becoming the King of France. His realm would no longer be called the Kingdom of The Franks, but the Kingdom of France!
France would enter a new age of prosperity that many other realms would envy.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 14: Sacred Lineage (1239-1262)

Robert would lose his son and heir, Prince Julien, and would begin personally educating his new heir, his grandson, Prince Pierre. He would betroth his heir to the daughter, and only child, of the King of Italy who was vassal to the Holy Roman Empire, promising by the way to held a Grand Wedding.

Robert would then try and imprison, rightfully, the Duke of Aquitaine, who would start the 2nd War Against the Tyranny of Robert IV. The war wouldn’t last long with Robert capturing the duke after sieging Bordeaux.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of England was, after more than a century, ruled again by a Norman Queen.

Robert IV “The Brilliant” would change the succession laws of his realm, establishing the High Partition Law in the Kingdom of France.

An unfortunate accident would happen next, making the king incapable.

Robert’s grandson and heir would come of age and become known too as a mastermind Philosopher. Unfortunately, due to Robert becoming incapable, the Grand Wedding wouldn’t happen, so Pierre would betroth the King of Italy’s daughter without the magnificent wedding that Robert IV “The Brilliant” had promised.

Even if Robert was incapable, the Pope still had a very good opinion of him, and since Robert IV controlled one pilgrimage site in Ile-de-France and was considered by the Church to be a Religious Icon; Robert and the Pope would consecrate Robert and his bloodline, making the king a Paragon and making his dynasty a holy one.
Robert would become with his descendants Kings By Divine Right.

The Pope would then call the Council of Mantua and declare a Crusade. The first choice was the kingdom of Jerusalem, but thanks to Robert’s relation with the Pope, the Crusade would be redirected to Hispania.

Robert would lose two daughters before the 4th Crusade would start, making him full of sorrow.

After joining the most southern tip of eastern Hispania, Robert’s army would be called back to Paris because of Robert’s orders. His orders weren’t given due to some eccentricity or some caprice but because the Queen of England, being now of English culture, had declared war for the County of Mortain.

Robert’s commanders would defeat the English foe at the Battles of Mayenne, Alençon, Domfront and would then carpet siege the Duchy of Normandy, thus ending the war.

Robert would then order a bunch of relics showing his prestige, a crown, a regalia and a new armour, in order to show his prestige.

Robert IV “The Brilliant”, the Paragon, the first King of France would depart to the Kingdom of Heaven in 1262 at the age of 98. His grandson would inherit the throne.

 

[CaesarOfCK]

Chapter 15: New King, Same Rule (1262-1293)

The first thing that the new king would do after being crowned would be the organization of a Grand Tournament. This would be done to show his wealth and prestige.
Unfortunately for him, it wouldn’t be enough to please his vassals who would start the First Liberty War Against King Pierre.

Pierre would win the board game contest and wait until the end of the Grand Tournament before he would start moving against his enemies.

Pierre and his allies would defeat their enemies at the Battles of Montlhery, Montfort, Provins. After that they would siege the enemies’ holdings in order to end the war.
The Battle of Montlhery would be a massive one with 79 knights being on the enemy side. This would be a turning point in French history. Seeing that, even though having many weak vassals would bring a lot of gold since he was directly their liege, these vassals could have a lot more knights and Men-at-Arms than few powerful vassals, King Pierre would take a decision: the king would recreate many titles in order to have weak vassals under the rule of one powerful regional vassal in order to not have to deal with many problematic minor lords. He would create a lot of duchies and counties and give them to his family in order to get of the problems that the minor lords could create while having a direct Capetian rule over them.

Pierre would then participate in a local game, in Paris, called Football. His team would win the match and celebrate after that.

In the meantime, the Mongols would be growing quite big.

He would then organize another Grand Tournament in Paris, where he would win the melee contest, the joust contest, the horse race but lose the wrestling contest.
He would then go and participate in another Grand Tournament in the Holy Roman Empire and win the melee contest, the archery contest and the wrestling contest but lose the duel contest.

Pierre would receive the same nickname of his grandfather after these Grand Tournaments; he too would be called “The Brilliant”.

Pierre would then declare the French De Jure War for the Duchy of Normandy, defeat the English foe at the Battles of Boulogne, Bayeux, Evreux, Norman Vexin; he would then carpet siege the duchy making the English give it up in exchange of a truce.

Pierre would have his sons Count of Berry, Count of Brittany and Duke of Normandy. He would also make other Capetians Count of Champagne, Duke of Burgundy, Count of Blois, Count of Anjou, Count of Anjou and Duke of Nevers.

Pierre would declare war on the Holy Roman Emperor to get some territory and to show Europe that he was at the head of its strongest realm.

Pierre would defeat the German foe at the Battles of Vaucouleurs, Besançon, Salins, Bosco, Savona and Asti; Pierre would also siege many holdings of the Holy Roman Empire.

And that’s how the state of the world would be in 1293: