The Printing Press – A BulgAARian Medieval Media Research

[unmerged(129274)]

After some months of lurking in the forums, reading and consuming AARs, mods and stuff , I've decided that it is time to try making my very own AAR . I saw a lot of very successful stories and some ... well, let's just say not so good, thus making it difficult for moi to create something truly different and still enjoyable (plus my english is a lot worse than any of you ( except those one-time posters, I can beat them!)). Anyways, here is my heroic attempt

I will play as Tsardom (at medieval times meaning "empire", nowadays - "kingdom") of Bulgaria.
The genre will be historical book (only it won't be a book, it will be a magazine ... 3 of them actually).
Difficulty - Normal.
Beginning - 1187.
By the way - in 1187 Bulgaria wasn't looking like the one you can see in CK, 'coz most of the territories wasn't recognized by the Byzantine empire, here is some more info -> Jump through time !

Here we go ...

P.S. - Forgot to mention that we'll have to pretend that the printing press existed in the 13th century =) .

 

[unmerged(129274)]

​

Serdica, a very old building near Main Square:
“Almost a year has passed since the wise brothers Ivan and Peter have declared the independence of Bulgaria by defeating the byzantine occupators in numerous battles across the historical fields of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia.
Now the resurrected tsardom has to regain the territories, prestige and honor, lost two centuries ago, by using the ways of diplomacy, war and cultural influence.”
- Is it OK, Sir?
- For a first issue – it may work. But next time you’ll need to be flawless, because two more magazines will be launched next month. Do you have any information about ‘em?
- Sufficiently to say, that they won’t be rivals of “AGE” for long, sir- the first is about warfare,*like there are any wars in Europe, duuuh*, and the second – about culture and gossip … “Nobility” or something. The patriarch will, without any doubt, label it as “dangerous” and “diabolical”.
- We’ll see …

In the meantime, somewhere in Turnovo:
“Almost a year has passed since the dreamy brothers Ivan and Peter have declared the independence of Bulgaria by giving the smelly byzantine guys big boo-boo’s in, like, a looooot of battles in the rose fields of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia.
Now our beautiful tsardom has to regain the dresses, shiny jewellery and vintage shoes, lost two centuries ago, by using the ways of diplomacy, war and cultural influence, and, believe it or not, we are here to help with the last one! Yepee!”
- Do you like it, Milady?
- Oh, it’s marvelous, dear, simple marvelous!
- You know, Milady, my ears caught a rumor about two more magazines that stole your idea and were about to enter the market along with “Royalty”.
- Dear Lord, how could it be?! That not-at-all-chic printing press thingy was invented only few weeks ago, and I thought that only I have one of them here, in Bulgaria. Anything else?
- Not much. A very reliable source – myself, saw the cover design of one of them – “TIME” or something, and I’m pretty sure it will be about politics. The other one will most probably be about warfare – the only business that will survive another 800 years.

Mesambria ,the same time :
“Almost a year has passed since Ivan the Mighty and Peter the Powerful have smashed the miserable byzantine armies a lot of times on the bloody fields of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia.
Now our militaristic tsardom has to regain the territories, prestige and honor, lost two centuries ago, by using the ways of diplomacy, !!!WАААAR!!! and cultural influence.”
- How do you find the intro of “All your base are belong to us” (AYB), general?
- Bloody awesome! The other two magazines, if the rumors are true, can eat our steel! For honoooooooooooor !!!!!! *berserk mode*
- Uuugh!!


So begins the romance of the three magazines!

 

[coz1]

Interesting concept. Welcome to AAR writing and good luck with this!

 

[unmerged(81979)]

Hey, this looks good! I'll be reading along! Good luck with your first AAR. and welcome to the forums!

 

[phargle]

Best of luck on the AAR journey. More woodcut images, I say.

 

[unmerged(109735)]

Welcome to the fascinating and surprisingly addictive world of AAR-writing! That's one unusual concept you've got there, but one that has promise. I'll keep an eye on this.

 

[unmerged(129274)]

Thanks for the encouragement coz1, demokratickid, phargle and The_Guiscard .

By the way, if you notice grammar or spelling mistakes, please write me a PM. I'm almost sure that there will be a lot of grammar misusing , and that's why informing yours truly about them via replies will probably irritate the other readers (though I'm not into the traditions of the forum) .

First real update coming right now !

 

[unmerged(81979)]

Excellent!

 

[unmerged(129274)]

The imperial family days before the death of tsar Ivan Asen ; "All your bases are belong to us" magazine cover, 1195; "AGE" magazine cover, 1195; "Royalty" magazine cover, 1195 .

Lection one
Sources for the reign of tsar Ivan Asen (1186-1195) of Bulgaria in the Bulgarian media from this period​

On tsar Ivan Asen’s coronation :

AGE - “At last, almost 200 years after the fall of our great tsardom, a hero has arisen from the masses to lead the people of Bulgaria on the path of greatness ! Now we put all of our hopes, love and dreams in his feet, because we know that this man is chosen by God to take the heavy burden of the crown and show the true face of the Bulgarians – strong, proud and powerful, to the European family!”

Royalty – “ Everyone – from the tiny pink babies, through the hot noblewomen to the not-so-hot old people have gathered in the “SS. Forty Martyrs” Church to see the lavish coronation ceremony. The climax came when the crown was shown for the very first time since it was last used in 1018 . Sapphires , rubies and diamonds , sparkling at the rays of our Sun , incrustated on several massive golden crosses , raised over the weeping mass. And that gorgeous work of art was put on the head of an even more marvelous man . Oh , I can be his queen anytime … “

On the alliances :

AYB (14.01.1187) – “Two weeks passed since the new 1187 came , and our tsar took the opportunity to sign an alliance agreement with the Serbs . We personally can’t see how this small kingdom can help us achieve the ultimate goal – uniting the territories from the time of tsar Simeon The Great, but we hope has made the right decision .”

AYB (14.04.1189) – “Only a strong kingdom can be useful to another strong kingdom, and this is why we greet our wise tsar Ivan Asen for signing an alliance with Sicily . Let our two countries be an example for friendship ,overcoming the barriers of religion.”

On wars :

AYB (22.09.1189) – “Rejoice , people of Bulgaria, for our first war have come to an end. Not only that we humiliated and forced Naissus to become our vassal, but also crushed the Serbian troops in the battle of Rashka. I’m sure some of you are not keeping track of the events of the war , so here is a simple list :
*3.05.1189 – The ridiculous county of Naissus declared war on Bulgaria, claiming the title “Tsar of the Bulgarians” . Serbia , their liege , joined the war.
*5.06.1189 – The Bulgarian armies from Vidin, Nikopolis, Serdica and Strymon (total number – around 6600 people) crushed the troops of Naissus (around 1700 people) , and conquered the laughable county on 23.07.1189 .
*29.08.1189 – The bloody battle near Rashka, where the superior armies of Serbia (6200) are annihilated by our brave warriors (5900) . Many great men from both sides moved into the Kingdom of Light in this day, some say they ware around 3000 , others – more than 7000 . It is sure , though , that when bones become precious , the people of Rashka will be the richest on the Balkans.
*22.09.1189 – Peace … BOOOORING ! Naissus is now our vassal , and Serbia must give us all of her remaining money – 52 gold pieces.

Royalty – „Did ya gals noticed how awfully empty the streets are ? That’s because our men are on one of those thingies where they give each other big boo-boo’s . Our reporters told us that the guys would give anything , and we mean it – anything! , for some good time after a big battle , so if you want those byzantine dresses with pearls – polish the sword and to battleeeeee … or to waiting in the den *wink* “

AYB (14.02.1191) – “Another war in just two years ?! At this rate we’ll be gazillionares in no time ! So this time the lucky winner was the principality of Bosnia under Kulin Kulinic, who rashly attacked our vassal – principality of Vidin on 1.11.1990 . Bulgaria , as a good liege , supported Vidin and just in two months destroyed the Bosnian forces , captured Kulinic and installed his infant son on the throne, thus making it easier to negotiate a favorable peace. Though Bosnia was without allies , armies or any other source of hope, the regents refused to give up the independence of the weak principality. Frightened ,the population of Bosnia quickly made a revolt in favour of the Bulgarian peace proposition , and soon after , on 02.02. Bosnia finally accepted to become a vassal of Bulgaria . “

AGE (23.02.1195) – „After series of defeats Vidin is our vassal once again , under higher duty. As you remember ,the dissatisfied with the peace from 02.02.1191 principality wanted to achieve unification with Bosnia by force, believing the our tsardom will help this impious cause. Why Bulgaria did not ? Because we can! “

Royalty – “A letter from a reader : I have a new byzantine dress with pearls all over it ! Thanks for the advice !”

On the tsar and his family :

Royalty (09.02.1187)– “What a waste of a perfectly gorgeous man… As you may know just yesterday he and that brother of his – Kaloyan *drools* married in the “SS. Forty Martyrs” Church . The double wedding was fabulous , and the catering was OOOHH , wonderful! (I even stole some food for “black days” but don’t tell anyone , OK?) . The brides was … well , um , how to say … inadequate . Ivan Asen’s girl is called Prokopia (what?!) Karabitenos , an average noblewoman from somewhere near Athens , and Kaloyan’s – Kyriake Hablorabdes , not so average , but if she fallows our bio-diets she may become . Anyways , I overheard that Kyriake is an intrigue genius , and Prokopia – a great steward. There is no other reasonable explanation for the choice of Ivan and Kaloyan ...”

AGE (11.10.1193) – Part of the interview with chancellor Jelica Cherven :
“-Miss Cherven , first we’ll like to congratulate you for the beautiful baby boy you gave birth two days ago .
-Thank you! He is handsome and strong like his father!
-And this brings us to our first question – are you willing to tell us who the father of your baby is ?
-You know best, as an editor-in-chief of one of Eupore’s best magazines about politics , that even if I want to , I can never reveal his identity.
-Is this because the circulating rumors , that tsar Ivan Asen is the father, might be true?
-Now this is just ridiculous! The fact that my baby have his face, his eyes , his skin , even his lips doesn’t mean anything !!! And stop looking at me like that !
-Oooook , now to our next question ….. “

On the death of tsar Ivan Asen :

Royalty (14.11.1191) – “ In other news – The tsar is suffering from an old wound from the war against Bosnia . We will pray for him … after doing some shopping . And this brings us to the list of the greatest shopping destinations in Europe …”

Royalty (17.09.1194) – “Days after enacting the Feudal Contract and Semisalic Primogeniture laws , tsar Ivan is showing symptoms of pneumonia. We have our best doctors to take care of him , so we don’t need to worry . Instead , we will post an innovative list of the top shopping destinations in Europe!”

AGE (28.07.1195) – “Today,a fter agonizing for months , the crippled tsar is now finally in the Kingdom of Heaven . We greet our new tsar – his brother Peter , formerly prince of Karvuna , and his wife – tsaritsa Vseslava Mikhailovic ! Before the coronation ceremony don’t forget to check our one and only list of the top shopping destinations in Europe! ”

Map of Bulgaria at the end of Ivan Asen's reign over the modern map of Europe.

 

[unmerged(81979)]

My! I love it! This is great! The magazine that says "The king is dead, long live the king" Is that a reference to the lyrics of Viva la Vida by Coldplay? If so, cool!

 

[IamWhoa]

I like this a lot Though, I was just about to start a Bulgarian AAR myself. That can wait, this is more original anyway.

About spelling: Is "lection one" right, or should it be "selection one"?

 

[unmerged(129274)]

@demokratickid - Actually it is a traditional proclamation made following the accession of a new monarch in various countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and others. (I admit - this is from WikiPedia). There are several other references, like for example the name of AGE magazine , and the subtitle - it's inspired by TIME magazine (only that TIME is "weekly" , and AGE is "yearly").

@IamWhoa - This "study" is meant to be learned in schools, that's why I'm trying to shape it like a lection/lesson . Now I'm not sure if "lection" is used in English (maybe that's why the spelling check puts a red line under it...)

P.S. - Thank to all the forumers for reading my AAR, and happy holidays to everyone <(^_^)> !

 

[Devin Perry]

This is a great concept, unfortunately it is a little difficult to follow. I suggest one long article from each of the magazines. e.g. An article from AYB about all the wars and battles, AGE about peace treaties, alliances and events and Royalty about marriages, births and dreamy knights.

 

[unmerged(81979)]

@demokratickid - Actually it is a traditional proclamation made following the accession of a new monarch in various countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and others. (I admit - this is from WikiPedia).

Ah! I see. In my short life, I haven't the honor of witnessing such an event... I probably should have known that, anyway... Hey, wikipedia's fine, I use it for my AAR. If I never did, I couldn't see how writing AARs would be possible...