The Scottish Play - A House a Muirebe AAR

[Olerhead]

The Scottish Play​

A House a Muirebe AAR

Author's Note: This is my first AAR, as Crusader Kings II has really inspired me to write something. I tend to get a little verbose, I hope I can be forgiven for that and I hope you enjoy.

Table of Contents

Duke Máel-Snechtai I a Muirebe of Moray and the Isles​

1066 - 1069: The Mormaer of Moray

1069 - 1072: War in the North

1072 - 1104: House a Muirebe Ascendant

Duke Máel-Snechtai II a Muirebe of Moray and the Isles

1104 - 1107: The Tragedy of Máel-Snechtai II


Duchess Mariota I a Muirebe of Moray and the Isles

1105 - 1124: The Royal Line a Muirebe​

---

“We had been Kings, my House. We had taken it not through war, but authority. Just as the Dunkelds had taken it before us. We will be Kings again.”​

- From the Book of Moray, 1066.​

Hereafter find the chronicles of the House a Muirebe, the house of the Mormaer of Moray, and their fortunes in Alba, the Kingdom of Scotland.

1066 A.D.​

Duke Máel-Snechtai mac Lulach’s father, King Lulach, had reigned only for a handful of months. During this reign he had grown paranoid, wary of spies around every corner, yet even his vigilance could not save him from the assassin’s knife. King Lulach the Unfortunate they would call him, for his death saw the end of House a Muirebe as the royal house of Scotland and his son became Duke of Moray in the reign of King Malcolm III.

Máel-Snechtai’s land stretched from the hills of Moray in Scotland’s North, to the County of Ross on the border of Norway’s holdings in Caithness and Gudrod Crovan’s Duchy of the Isles. Máel-Snechtai was unhappy with the encroaching presence of the Norsemen, but their war against King Harold of England and the Duke of Normandy kept them distracted for the time being.

Unwed in the year of 1066, Máel-Snechtai’s made his first priority marrying a noblewoman who would bear strong children to carry on the claim. He searched for a woman upon whom he could rely. His Chancellor, the Bishop Roderick of Rosemarkie, came to him with word of the eligible woman throughout Europe. He spoke of Adelheid, the sister of the Holy Roman Emperor and Lanka of Hungary, said to be insatiable between the sheets. There was even talk of King Harald of Norway’s eldest daughter, but Máel-Snechtai refused to wed a woman of the same ilk as the trespassers upon Alba.

It was then that the Duke of Moray’s thoughts turned to a woman he had met briefly while spending an evening in Crieff on the road home from Scone. A beautiful young thing, one of the Earl of Strathearn’s courtiers, her intellect towered over that of every man in the room. She welcomed the Duke and his men with demure warmth, and she watched the proceedings with keen eyes. Though she was the daughter of noble house, she had not married and had not risen above the station of tutor to Strathearn’s brat. Her name was Mariota.

* * *​

“You cannot, your grace,” Roderick had opined in the Keep of Forres while Máel-Snechtai held council, “She is little more than a commoner. The other lords will think you mock your own station. Word will spread swiftly of the great Duke and his thin-blooded wife.”

Máel-Snechtai rose slowly to his feet, his eyes locked upon the Bishop of Rosemarkie and all present thought, for a moment, that he may strangle the man right there and then.

“There will be a time for politics,” the Duke answered firmly, “And it will be soon, I assure you. But I shall not marry a German used to a life of frivolity, nor some Hungarian harlot. Mariota is a Scot, as we are, and my reign will swiftly turn away the smirks of my fellow lords. I will be held in the highest esteem before I depart for the Kingdom of Heaven, I assure you all of this.”

“You are wise beyond measure, your grace,” said the Bishop of Elgin, a benign smile upon his face, “I shall look forward to performing the ceremony myself.”

* * *​

The coming weeks passed slowly, as the Duke awaited the Earl of Strathearn’s answer. A missive came from King Malcolm in Scone, asking for the approval of the Scottish Lords to raise the authority of the Crown. It would, Máel-Snechtai was convinced, be his one day so he gladly sent back work with the messenger of his ascent to the new law.

It was only a few days later that Strathearn sent his messenger, gladly agreeing to Máel-Snechtai’s marriage to Mariota. Soon after, a lavish wedding was held in Elgin that the Duke paid for out of his own pocket. Already he had made headway into showing the world that he was to be exalted among men.

1068 A.D.​

The years passed swiftly, and though the Duchess Mariota had not yet born him a child he thought highly of her. Though it had been a hard year for him where his vassals had enjoyed successes where he had not, he chose instead to acknowledge that some men would be better than him in some matters. He found himself opening up, becoming kinder though his ambitions had not been tempered by his newfound goodwill.

This goodwill would be rewarded by God, for only a month later the Duchess Mariota fell pregnant with the couple’s first child.

* * *​

The Mayor of Inverness came to speak with the Duke on a chilly October evening, his mien was one of a man unsettled by a weight on his mind. The Duke frowned at the shrinking man, a greedy coward by the name of James who must have spent some time mustering up the courage to even approach him with a request.

“The laws of the city,” the Mayor, James, insisted, “must be placed above those of the Church, your grace.”

The Duke looked up from his hushed discussion with the Bishop of Rosemarkie, frowning, “What makes you say this, James? Do you think the laws of Man more important than those of God?”

“No,” James stammered, his brow already beaded with sweat, “But God has the Church, and we –“

“You have me,” Máel-Snechtai answered abruptly, “And though I am not God, you will respect my law. And my law is that the Church and the cities shall be held in equal regard.”

“But –“ James began, the colour now drained from his face.

“I will hear no more of it, James. Return to your city before I choose to donate that handsome estate of yours to the Bishop of Elgin.”

The Duke had never seen a man move so fast.

* * *​

On the 16th of December, in the Year of Our Lord 1068, the Duchess Mariota gave birth to a baby boy. At last, the Duke had the son that he had wanted. He would be named Máel-Snechtai, after his father, for the Duke had grand designs of the name being passed down from father to son when once again the House a Muirebe ruled the Kingdom of Alba.

 

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I'll be following what happens in Scotland with great interest.

 

[Saithis]

Nice start, subscribed.

 

[Olerhead]

Thank you!

I've been sitting at work all day trying to think of a way I can get Máel-Snechtai on the throne.

He may be a Prince, but the King has two sons and though I don't recall for sure I believe he's got brothers with children as well.

Plotting away from the game is a true sign of addiction to CKII, I think.

 

[Olerhead]

1069 A.D.​

In late January, King Malcolm III (whom the Bishop of Rosemarkie had been expounding the virtues of his Duke to for over a year) pressed Máel-Snechtai’s claim on the County of Caithness. Called up to do battle in the service of the King against the Duke of Orkney and his men, the Duke left his home to lead his levies.
With the great war-leaders of Moray off in the Duke’s service, it fell upon a hitherto faceless man of Máel-Snechtai’s court by the name of Godfrey de Cromarty. Although the Duke could not lead his own troops, he did not fully trust the skills of Malcolm as a general and so he raised the remainder of his levy to fight in his name rather than for Scotland. Godfrey set about marching forth with his force of 200 men.

They marched to Caithness, finding no resistance as it seemed all of Earl Caithness’ men had sought shelter behind their walls. Malcolm approached with his army of 900, but for now the 500 men sheltering within the walls of Thurso meant no siege could be held. Godfrey would simply have to wait for Malcolm and his forces to arrive before they could capture the capital.

When the King finally arrived, Godfrey’s eagerness to meet the enemy in battle earned him command of the siege. It began in July, and lasted through the rest of the year. Though it lasted several months, the siege of Thurso saw only three attackers die and the complete slaughter of the city’s defenders.

1070 A.D.​

With Caithness fully in Scottish control, Malcolm pressed on to Orkney in his bloodlust. The Siege of the Island took another year still, with Godfrey leading the Duke’s men to aid the King in his battle. The War had tipped greatly in the favour of the Scots, but not all was well.

* * *​

The Duke sat in his tent, the voices of his sub-commanders rang out around him – they all spoke at once, their voices a meaningless din that caused his head to ache. His aide called for silence, inviting one of the captains to speak.

“The siege goes on too long,” the bearded, diminutive captain insisted, “We lose men. We will win, of course, but the men fear the victory will come at the cost of the whole army.”

“Preposterous,” another man shouted, waving a hand, “Our victory is assured and those who have died will die secure in the knowledge that they did so for the glory of Alba.”

The Duke’s head ached, his eyes burned in his head and he rubbed his temples. His hands trembled slightly, a fact that disconcerted him. The voices once again erupted into a sheer noise of argument, and the weight of the world grew heavier.

1071 A.D.​

The War came to an end in the January of 1071 when the Duke of Orkney surrendered to King Malcolm’s superior military strength. The County of Caithness was once again returned to the Duchy of Moray as its vassal, the Earl of Caithness managing to keep a grip on his title and swearing fealty to Moray instead of Orkney.

At once, Máel-Snechtai despised the man. A Norwegian holding the rightful place of a Scottish lord was a despicable notion. Not to mention the Eark, Erlend, was a lisping wretch who fell to sin after deadly sin and limped about suffering from a savage wound he’d received in the war.

The Duke could not stand the man, but his reputation was important and to revoke his title would cause an uproar he had no interest in dealing with. He decided he would find a way to reclaim the County so that it might be turned over to one of his kinsmen, but it would have to be done with subtlety.

The Duke’s spymaster, Edward de Nairn, was immediately dispatched to Caithness. Máel-Snechtai was determined to discover anything that could be used against Earl. It didn’t take long for him to discover evidence of the man’s corruption, and though the Earl attempted to silence him he was able to escape and spread word of Erlend’s misdeeds.

While brooding over the hated Earl of Caithness, the Duke’s annoyance was turned to the County of Buchan. It’s Earl, Cainnech, should have by all rights been his vassal but was instead the vassal of the King. Deciding to address the matter head on, the Duke travelled to Scone to seek an audience with the King.

* * *​

“My King,” Máel-Snechtai began, rising from his knee before King Malcolm, “Your demesne is large, and with the affairs of an entire Kingdom weighing upon your brow I feel it is my duty to aid you in this matter.”

“Yes?” the King asked, his brow arched.

“Buchan,” Máel-Snechtai said, “I believe it should be my vassal. You can see that I govern my lands justly, and I assure you I will govern Buchan well.”

The King was silent for a long moment, weighing up the decision before grinning broadly.

“You are a shrewd one, Moray, but I accept. Go, consider it yours.”

* * *​

The Duke remained in Scone for a feast that the King planned to throw, relishing the lavish food and wine laid out. Though his refusal to drink in excess offended the King, and a few days after the Duke fell ill. Had his wine been poisoned? It seemed unlikely, for he was held in high regard by many. Nevertheless he returned to Moray, spending the following weeks writhing in pain and soaked in sweat in his bedchamber.

It was also in late 1071 that the Duchess once again fell pregnant after a night of celebration following the expansion of the Duchy.

1072 A.D.​

On the 8th of June, 1072, the Duchess gave birth to a second son. Feeling magnanimous, the Duke allowed the Duchess to name the child as he had named the first – and so William a Muirebe came into the world.

Now recovered from his illness, the Duke came to learn that his sister, Gruoch, was plotting to kill his young son Máel-Snechtai. Infuriated, he withdrew his spymaster from Caithness and instead sent him to orchestrate his sister’s death. He would not risk the fall of his dynasty by allowing that deceitful slattern to live a moment longer.
Word came soon after he dispatched his spymaster to make the attempt that the hired thugs had failed, but that they had not given his name. Without the funds to try again, Máel-Snechtai would have to suffer her to live a little longer.

But the nightmare of losing his son wore on him, and soon the Duke could not wait any longer. He sent a letter to his sister, telling her that he knew of her scheming and demanding she stop. Although he didn’t admit to being responsible for the assassins, he nevertheless succeeded in turning her from scheming against his family. All the same, his spymaster would remain in Lothian to keep a close eye on the woman.

 

[Olerhead]

Author's Note: Lot's of developments, I'm going to put them up without screenshots now. All praises to the wall of text.

1074 A.D.​

Still suffering from the stress of his rule, Máel-Snechtai had tried everything from falconry to hunting. An indiscretion that proved too difficult to resist resulted in the birth of Richard, a bastard, to Magarety de Cawdor in July of that year. Although he was not willing to give him rights to any of his titles, he could not bring himself to turn the child away. He acknowledged the child as his own, swallowing his pride.

1078 A.D.​

The uneventful years stretched on, Malcolm led the armies of Scotland against the new Norman King of England, William the Conqueror, to press his claims on the County of Durham. He did not need the services of Máel-Snechtai this time, instead allowing the Duke to plot the advancement of his house. It was then that he arranged for his eldest son, now 9, to marry the King’s eldest daughter (a lass of 8) when they were both of age. He was one step closer to the Crown.

Later in the year, the War against the English grew more desperate and once again Malcolm called for Máel-Snechtai to lead a levy of troops into battle against the Bastard and his Norman whelps. The war ran on for two years until victory finally came to King Malcolm, the County of Durham now part of the Kingdom of Scotland.

1084 A.D.​

The Duke’s peace was short-lived; however, as when the Queen of Norway was excommunicated King Malcolm once again opted to go to war. He raised the Duke’s armies, called upon him to lead them, and prepared to lay siege to the heathen Norsemen. Máel-Snechtai, not wishing to lose a chance to make claims of his own, charged the Earl of Buchan with leading the remaining levies against Norwegian holdings in Scotland. The armies marched to Caithness, crossing the sea to Norway.

As the war raged, Malcolm offered Máel-Snechtai a role on his royal council as his Steward. Though Máel-Snechtai had never fancied himself a great economist, he nevertheless accepted the post to gain more authority within the Kingdom. Unfortunately, while Máel-Snechtai was away leading the armies of the King and the Earl of Buchan was leading the remaining soldiers, the Duke of the Isles chose to press his claim on Máel-Snechtai’s lands. At a loss, the Duke hired a mercenary army – the Saxon Band, led by Baldred of York.

1088 A.D.​

The Norwegian war was going well, with much of Norway held by the King’s armies or by the Duke of Moray. Nevertheless, the Queen’s excommunication ended and so did the war almost immediately after. An inconclusive war – the most demoralizing result, for it meant the lives of so many men had been lost in vain. But with the King’s return to Scotland with his mighty armies, the Duke of the Isles withdrew and the soldiers could once again be sent home.

With the war now over and his sons Máel-Snechtai and William of age, the Duke chose to grant them landed titles. Although the hated Earl of Caithness had since died and his son, a more likable man, had taken his place he was still a Norwegian and the Duke could not accept this. He revoked his title, sending him back to Norway. He names his heir, Máel-Snechtai, Earl of Ross and William the Earl of Caithness.

1090 A.D.​

It didn’t take long for the knives to come out, however, and the Spymaster soon discovered a plot that William had hatched to kill his elder brother and thus become heir to Moray. Though within his rights to imprison his son, Máel-Snechtai could not bring himself to do so and instead implored him to end his plotting. William agreed, but the Duke knew that things would come to a head before long.

1091 A.D.​

The Duke celebrated the new year by declaring war on the Duke of the Isles, paying him back for his backstabbing efforts during the Norwegian War and pressing his claim on the County of Innse Gall. The war was short but brutal, hundreds of men dying before the Duke of the Isles finally called an end to the fighting and turned the land over to Máel-Snechtai. The Duchy of Moray expanded.

1093 A.D.​

At the age of 43, Mariota unexpectedly passed from the world. Though the Duke had never been as close to her as he would have wished, he dutifully mourned her loss. He chose not to remarry for the time being, instead opting to focus on increasing his holdings so that his son might one day inherit the Kingdom of Alba.

1094 A.D.​

After years of dutiful service as the Steward, Máel-Snechtai was made Marshal of Scotland by a grateful (and aging) King Malcolm. Determined to grab more power before departing the world, he pressed a claim on the County of Atholl. His military power already impressive, the War was soon over and the Earl of Buchan was made the Earl of Atholl as well. The Duchy of Moray was now the counties of Caithness, Ross, Innse Gall, Moray, Buchan and Atholl.

1096 A.D.​

Pope Sisinnius II called for a Crusade to reclaim the mountains of Alto Aragon from the heathens and the Duke, seeking to prove his worth as a Christian soldier, agreed. He called forth all the men of his realm, assembled a fleet and set sail for Spain.

The Crusade was not the glorious, Christian victory that the Duke had hoped for. King Malcolm called a Crusade of his own shortly after and with his greater forces quickly fought the heathens into submission. Calling an end to the Crusade with the Scottish acquisition of Alto Aragon, the Duke returned home to Scotland.

1101 A.D.​

Still longing for war after his failures in the First Crusade, Máel-Snechtai pressed his claim on the County of Argyll. The War was swift, and though King Malcolm declared a war of his own to make the coastal fiefdom part of the Earl of Strathearn’s domain, Máel-Snechtai was victorious and claimed the land for himself. He was now able to usurp the title of Lord of the Isles, with only the Norwegian wretch on the Isle of Man standing between him and complete control of his new domain.
Now, Máel-Snechtai was the Duke of Moray and the Isles – the most powerful man in Scotland after the King, and soon (if he had his way) even he would not stand in his way. The Duke could not enjoy his victory for much longer, however, for age had begun to catch up with him and he was already feeling its ravages.

1104 A.D.​

Having chosen to bring the Isle of Mann under his rule, Máel-Snechtai once again led his forces into battle. It was in October, while leading the siege there, that Máel-Snechtai finally succumbed to his old age and collapsed. Word reached his son in Ross that he was now the Duke, and the death of his father was honoured by the acquisition of the Isle.

 

[Olerhead]

1105 A.D.​

The transition was not to be an easy one, however. The death of Máel-Snechtai I and the fact that Máel-Snechtai II had no sons meant there would be a succession crisis should he die early. Though the law allowed him to nominate his successor, the Earls had chosen to put their backing behind the aging Earl of Bachun and Atholl. Máel-Snechtai II would need a son if he were to hope to keep the power his father had worked so hard to amass.

It was also in this year that Earl Harald, the Norwegian Earl of Mann, demanded that he be given the Duchy of Moray as it was rightfully his. A laughable notion to Máel-Snechtai II, he denied the request. The civil war that erupted soon after was surprising, for it was Máel-Snechtai’s own brother who sided with the Norwegian scoundrel. Nevertheless, the Duke of Moray’s power was substantial enough that he believed he could crush these rebel lords with little problem.

1107 A.D.​

Tragedy struck in the year 1107 A.D., when Máel-Snechtai II was slain on the Isle of Mann putting down the rebellious Earl Harald. His nomination of his daughter, Mariota, for the title was luckily respected and the fifteen year old girl became the Duchess of Moray and the Isles. These would be tough times for the House a Muirebe, but they had to prevail.

 

[unmerged(444330)]

Interesting turn of events after Máel-Snechtai I death with William siding with the norwegians and then Máel-Snechtai II dying as well!

Eager to see what will happen with Mariota at the helm.

 

[Olerhead]

1108 A.D.​

Duchess Mariota’s first order of business was to arrange a marriage. Not willing to give up her noble house, she sent for the shrewd Steward of Durham – a handsome young man of 20. Unfortunately, the marriage was agreed to before Mariota knew of the man’s affliction ... he was a dwarf. The marriage would, of course, be a matrilineal one. From day one Mariota hoped for a son, for she could not bear to see her father’s legacy lost to one of the greedy Earls or her rebellious uncle William.

1113 A.D.​

In 1113, Mariota finally got her wish and gave birth to a son whom she named after her father and grandfather. An unfortunately ugly child, she nevertheless determined that she would raise him well and that he would wear the crown that her father and grandfather had strived for.

1117 A.D.​

The King, Malcolm III, was two years dead now and his son, Roderick I, had ruled only for scant few months before he met his end. Roderick I had left a legacy however, a war with Norway and a failing defence against an English King of the Godwin line – the Normans had proved unable to hold their claim for very long after all.
The benefit of this state of chaos was that Mariota now had it within her power to bring the Kingdom of Scotland to the House a Muirebe. Her cousins, the sons of her Uncle William who had now calmed and become more loyal to Mariota, were all claimants to the Throne. She would call in mercenaries to fight off the English incursion and then, while the King still reeled, she would depose him and put her cousin Malcolm a Muirebe on the throne.

1121 A.D.​

The War against England had finally ended, though they had proved too powerful even for Mariota’s band of hired mercenaries. The borders of Scotland were pushed back, the Duchy of Northumberland once again returning to the English crown. It was not an ideal result, but Mariota knew that once her house were on the Throne she would rid the world of the English menace once and for all.
With the aid of her mother, Mariota swiftly saw off her husband and set about plotting to marry her cousin Malcolm. Unfortunately, he was already married. Fortunately, Mariota had a very adept spymaster and Malcolm’s wife went to God sooner than scheduled. With all the pieces in place, her holdings equalling half of the Kingdom, Mariota declared a war to place her new husband on the throne.

1124 A.D.​

The War waged for years, but King Roderick never stood a chance. His forces were already sadly depleted from the war for Northumberland and Mariota was rich enough to hire mercenaries to see the job done. Nevertheless, it took four years for King Roderick to surrender. When it finally happened, Malcolm was crowned as King Malcolm IV of Scotland and the crown had returned to House a Muirebe.

 

[Olerhead]

Author's Note: Probably going to call the AAR a day. Not sure if it's still interesting (if it ever was), and I don't think it's going to progress anywhere all that interesting.

I might do another one for a different House as I'm looking forward to possibly taking a Count to the Holy Land and potentially establishing the Kingdom of Jerusalem. We'll see how it goes.