THE SONG OF THE VAN BRAUNSCHWEIGS
I
Our tale begins in the year One Thousand Sixty-Nine,
Three years after William the Norman said "England is mine!"
In the Holy Roman realm across the Northern Sea,
The simple folk of Friesland were to find their destiny.
II
Count Ekberg van Braunschweig was a man so very pious
To serve the army of the Lord was his most Holy bias
But, alas, the Lord bestowed him with a humble fief.
Only three hundred men-at-arms to serve him and his wife.
III
To such a man as Ekbert, peaceful Friesland was a trap.
Desperate for action, he examined Europe's map.
Satakunta in the eastern Baltic would suffice.
Here a Pagan chieftain filled his people's hearts with vice.
IV
Ekbert heard the call of battle, never turning back.
All three hundred of his men went through the Skagerrak.
Praise the Lord, the Pagans were outnumbered two to one.
In a short but bloody skirmish, Count Ekbert had won.
V
Now the Frisians laid siege to the Pagan hilltop town.
Ekbert did not have the men to knock the ramparts down.
Luckily the Pagans tired of battle on that day.
All their gold they gave to Ekbert to be on his way.
VI
Back in Friesland, Ekbert found his bitter, mourning wife.
Their only daughter of fourteen had taken her own life.
Some say she had a teenage crush on Marshal Alberich.
When he died of old age, Gertrude's tender heart took sick.
VII
When Ekbert the Younger came of age at sixteen years,
Father sought for him a wife among his noble peers.
He arranged for Ingebjorg, steward of Faereyar.
Old though she was getting now, her steward skills went far.
VIII
Ekbert Senior toasted Junior in a lavish feast,
Making him the lord and master of the County East.
But the younger Ekbert's aging wife passed on next year,
So he found a lustful wench to give him many heirs.
IX
Pagan Pommern was succumbing to the mighty Danes.
In a bid to get some treasure, Ekbert Senior came.
But the Duke of Brandenburg was hungry for more land,
So at the siege of Danzig, Udo Staden took command.
X
Now there came some forty years of poverty and peace.
Younger Ekbert took the throne when Elder had deceased.
His faithful army still had not the numbers for Crusades.
He stayed at home to build the court and chase the lovely maids.
XI
Godfried Duke of Lorraine was a raving fool.
All his Counts began to chafe under his insane rule.
Many chose to swear allegiance to the Emperor.
So it was the choice of Count van Braunschweig, to be sure.
XII
Ekbert's first wife Ermengard took to bed and died.
Before the age of fifty, Ekbert outlived two young brides.
Margarita of Navarre would be at last the one
To give him what he wanted most - a second healthy son.
XIII
Lutbert son of Younger Ekbert was a peaceful man.
Still he dared to go Crusading in northern Lapland.
An almost fatal wounding ended his soldier career.
He returned to raise his family by the Ijsselmeer.
XIV
Lutbert's brother Tassilo was a fighting man;
He served Frisia bravely as the marshal of the land.
The family's numbers doubled with his daughters and his sons,
But they would have to wait decades for their own fiefdoms.
XV
In 1144 Lutbert passed away.
His son Ekbert died before him three months to the day.
So the crown of Friesland passed to Adolph Ekbert's son.
A boy of fifteen years who ruled a court of sixty-one.
XVI
Now that Friesland East and West would be long united,
Adolph looked at Pagan Finland and he was delighted.
Not content to take their money and then melt away,
Adolph would lay siege to them, capture their towns, and stay.
XVII
There were other pressing reasons to enlarge the throne;
All the children in the court would be soon full grown.
Then the young, ambitious Braunschweigs would need their own fiefs.
Otherwise they would have to stay at home and waste their lives.
XVII
When Adolph Braunschweig had twelve hundred soldiers in his force,
He said, "Now's the time!" and he had his ships set course
For the Chiefdom of Tavasts in the Finnish Pagan land.
He won the siege, and held at last a new fief in his hand!
XIX
before demobilizing, Adolph crossed the Baltic Sea
Where a Pagan chieftain ruled the Lapps with much cruelty.
But who should come, the German King, to help besiege the fort
And capture Lapland for himself and add it to his court.
XX
Adolph's plans for northern Sweden thus were spoiled rotten.
Now he struck the idol worshippers in Vasterbotten.
He knew very well the King would come to take this County,
So he went home when the Pagans offered him a bounty.
XXI
In April 1160 Adolph was indeed surprised
To inherit all of Ansbach when Count Gebhard died.
It seems the childless Gebhardt Goseck was Hedwiga's brother;
The title passed to Adolph, for Hedwiga was his mother.
XXII
In 1162 typhoid was at hand;
Nonetheless, the time had come to enlarge the land.
Inger tribe and Suomi were at war with all their host.
Suomi had no soldiers left to guard the Finnish coast.
XXIII
With four and twenty hundreds Adolph sailed for Tavasts;
They arrived in winter with ice hanging from the masts.
There he slaughtered fifteen hundred soldiers of the Chief,
Then he won three sieges, and all Finland was his fief.
XXIV
Adolph now had seven Counties in his Duke's demesne;
Now he could make vassals of his family and friends.
Still the Braunschweigs were too many, with too little land;
This was only the beginning for the growing clan.
XXV
Adolph's second son Baldewin was without a bride-to-be,
So he arranged for lovely, young and clever Blanche Longwy.
Philip King of England was her cousin and her liege.
He was new upon the throne and needed the prestige.
XXVI
Adolph now was truly siezed by the Crusading urge.
Ottavio his puppet was the leader of the Church.
A dozen Pagan Baltic Counties fell before his knights.
Now his hands were full with rebels fighting for their rights.
XXVII
The evil Duke of Flanders declared war on the German King.
Adolph died of old age trying to his army bring.
His son Heinrich captured Flanders' castle on the sand.
To protect his honour, Heinrich asked for money but no land.
XXVIII
Peasants rose up in revolt and Nobles talked of treason.
Heinrich knew his father's grand ambitions were the reason.
He reduced the scutage and the taxes to the bone,
Hoping folks would drop their axes and let him keep his throne.
XXIX
Heinrich suffered grievous wounds while crushing Pagan riots.
After that his rulership was reserved and quiet.
In 1185 young Heinrich fell ill and died.
Brother Baldewin took the throne while all the family cried.
XXX
Baldewin had a dozen Counts, a Braunschweig every one;
Cousins nine, an uncle, and a couple of his sons;
Still the court was full of Braunschweig men who had no land.
Baldewin could not help them while he fought the Pagan bands.
XXXI
At the age of forty-one, poor Baldewin went mad.
His court had the best ministers, so it was not so bad.
His youngest daughter married the German King's youngest son.
At home the Pagan rebels were finally on the run.
XXXII
In his paranoia, Baldewin slew his second boy.
Ditmar Count of Westfriesland, his one-time pride and joy.
The court thought to give the third son the County would be best.
Out of pity for his father, young Heinrich would not leave the nest.
XXXIII
Baldewin's first son Lauri was Finnish to the bone,
So his advisers thought it best to grant the Uppland Ducal throne.
Cousin Gebhard Braunschweig declared his independent stand,
For he was a Heretic Count of Heretic Sodermanland.
XXXIV
Baldewin decided to end the century with Holy War.
He died of old age after landing on the Spanish shore.
Lauri picked up his father's sword to the fight rejoin.
He took Lisbon, Valladolid, Asturias and Vizcaya, and much gold coin.
XXXV
The Muslims of Lemdiyya invaded the Republic of Genoa
So Lauri decided to help make the Muslims go.
As a side benefit to this African Crusade,
The southern half of Ireland fell under Lauri's blade.
XXXVI
The year after that, Lauri felt he was needing
To remove the Yatviags from the southern half of Sweden.
The King of Norway had already the war begun.
Lauri got a half dozen counties, much better than none.
XXXVII
Still hearing the Crusader's call, Lauri picked up his sword again
And help to free Scandinavia of the Lettigallians.
He now had half of Sweden, but this was not enough
To make that land his Kingdom, and for him this was tough.
XXXVIII
Norway was being destroyed by the Sheikhdom of Beirut.
Lauri took back all that country and demanded loot.
All the King had left was Iceland and two Counts in Sweden.
To make Lauri King of Norway, war with Christians would be needing.
XXXIX
After giving the Duchy of Leinster to Haapa, his son,
Lauri decided to obliterate the Sheikhdom of Chalons.
He took fourteen Counties at once and put the Sheikh in jail,
But still he was one County short of becoming King of Wales.
XL
With fifty-six Counts his vassals, Lauri was still a Finnish Duke.
Desperate to become a King, everywhere he did look;
What to do, invade Good King Magnus, who was already down,
And take the one thing he had left, his Norwegian crown?
XLI
In the year 1224, Lauri passed away
En route to take from the Muslims the Duchy of Galloway.
His prestige and piety had grown beyond complaint,
And yet the Church had not seen fit to make him a Saint.
XLII
Haapa son of Lauri became Duke of the great domain.
It was up to him to complete the Galloway campaign.
He did this, and added another Duchy to his list,
And held a dozen demesne Counties in his iron fist.
XLIII
Rumours came from Russia of a new threat from the east.
For Haapa for the moment, these worries were the least.
Zaragoza lost all its men fighting his German master.
Haapa decided to help obliterate the Emirate faster.
XLIV
His battle call was answered by thirty thousand men.
He surrounded all of Zaragoza's provinces, and then
Took all the Emir's provinces in a lightning campaign;
Thus Haapa was King of Wales and Ireland, and half the land in Spain!
XLV
The Spanish lands were such a jumble, Haapa held no crown there.
The other half he needed was held by Seville's Emir.
Haapa decided to wait, for Seville was still too strong;
Seville was also at war with Germany, so he shouldn't wait too long.
XLVI
When Haapa took the Irish crown, much to his surprise,
The Duke of Connacht swore fealty, for he saw that was wise;
King Haapa owned 25 Ducal titles and made plans to restore them.
Meanwhile the Mongols in the east were driving all before them.
XLVII
Haapa then declared war on Beni-halal's King
Because he had two Spanish Counties Haapa was coveting.
Beni-Halal was almost destroyed when Haapa passed away.
His son Lalli took up the fight and still he won the day.
XLVIII
While this war was still on, the Emir of Seville attacked
And stabbed young Lalli Braunschweig's Spanish holdings in the back.
A worse mistake was never made, for Lalli turned around
And called every man in the realm to grind the Moors down.
XLIX
Unprepared for this new war, but time was on his side.
The far-away regiments came together to turn the Moorish tide.
But while Lalli dealt Seville destruction and disorder,
The Mongols were coming closer to the Finnish border.
L
Against Seville-in-Britain, Lalli's Counts came in force
In southern Iberia, Lalli led personally, of course;
For over a century England was lost to Muslim men,
But now thanks to Lalli, it had a Christian King again!
LI
In Seville's heartland, things went not so smooth.
Two Christian divisions were destroyed, fighting nail and tooth;
Lalli himself was gravely wounded by Damascus steel;
But he won the crowns of Portugal, Leon and Castile!
LII
The poor old King of Norway was finally deposed;
A Pagan Chief came at him from across the ice floes.
Defending lonely Iceland was his final act,
But now Lalli was King of Norway in name as well as fact.
LIII
While the Reconquista was happening, the Mongols reached the Finns;
Lalli declined to help them, his force was spread too thin.
Now he felt that Finland was too far east anyway.
Secretly he wished the Finnish Duke would break away.
LIV
Still, King Lalli Braunschweig saw the writing on the wall.
He knew the Mongols would soon turn west to devour all.
His growth desire satisfied, he let his army rest.
All of Europe's strength was needed for the coming test.
LV
His wound was really hurting, so Lalli's main concern
Was keeping the peace long enough to let his children learn.
Crown Prince Malise van Braunschweig was only nine years old;
And Lalli needed to invest his massive pile of gold.
LVI
Although he was too ill to fight, Braganza must be his
So Lalli sent his vassals to Al-Murazibids.
His soldiers quickly won some battles worthy of El Cid,
But now his Byzantine ally attacked the Kingdom of Zirid.
LVII
The Emperor's invitation to the Crusade was heeded,
Because Zirid held the provinces Lalli needed.
He took those and made peace and the Emperor fought on alone,
For now Lalli was King of Scotland and Aragon!
LVIII
Meanwhile the Mongols fought the Pagan tribes and German King,
Who stopped them deep in Poland with every man he could bring.
Europe was saved, or so it seemed, from the Mongol order.
But now a wave of Il-Khans appeared on the Persian border.
LIX
In 1244, when Lalli's son Malise became a man,
To make the young Count into a Duke was the great King's plan.
He sent Malise to Muslim Sicily to fight and earn his throne.
The plan worked, and Malise made the Duchy of Sicily his own.
LX
The Count of Rioja wanted to be free of Poland-France,
So when his King was busy, he seized upon his chance.
To survive his decision, Braunschweig's lordship was vital.
So now Lalli could claim the Duchy of Navarre and grant its title.
LXI
Lalli died at age 39 of pneumonia and his wound.
With his lessons in Sicily, Malise's accession was not too soon.
The twenty-year-old Malise was ready for the task
Of ruling this vast kingdom of Britons, Norse, Finns and Basques.
LXII
At the age of twenty-five, Malise felt that he
Should complete his conquest of southern italy.
So sail his Spanish army to Apulia, he did,
And took the crown of Naples from the King of Zirids.
LXIII
After building castles everywhere, Malise was not so rich,
So he attacked Al-Muratibids and its ally, Marrakech.
When the Arabs bought off the King, of all their gold they were bereft,
And when the Duke of Toledo attacked, they had no armies left.
LXIV
Marrakech was then aided by its allies, the Hammadids.
King Malise then decided to finally be rid
Of that North African Muslim Kingdom by the sea,
And the new King of Africa was none other than he!
LXV
Malise now set aside his sword to govern busily.
Duncan, the younger Royal Prince, was given Sicily.
Elder Prince Constantine was given Danish earth.
He was married thrice, his first two wives died in childbirth.
LXVI
Malise wanted one last Crusade before he got too old,
So he cut a swathe through Mesopotamia looking for gold.
The Byzantines and Turks now had claims on Malise,
So he created frontier vassals to help preserve the peace.
LXVII
In 1296 old Malise went to Heaven,
His son Constantine succeeding him at the age of forty-seven.
The new King's first act was to reduce his personal lands,
And put Mesopotamia in the O'Connor Brothers' hands.
LXVIII
Constantine was zealous, a true Crusader was he,
And the Pope declared that Alexandria must be free.
So while the new King was still young enough and strong,
He prepared himself for war in Egypt, bloody and long.
LXIX
Seven Spanish Dukes joined Constantine's army,
And sailed with him to Tobruk across the sea.
While the Fatimids were busy attacking the Templar Knights,
Constantine came, saw, and conquered everything in sight.
LXX
He captured Alexandria, and by the Pope was blessed;
Then at the age of fifty, the Lord called him to his rest.
His brother Duncan, Duke of Sicily, took the throne,
As poor Constantine had no sons of his own.
LXXI
Since the war in Egypt still raged across the sand,
King Duncan was crowned with the sword still in his hand.
But Duncan too was aging, and ruled for just a year,
When his son David was crowned, with the war's ending near.
LXXII
There were a hundred vassals for the young King to please,
And occasionally rebels had to be brought to their knees.
With three new Kings in five years, there was little loyalty,
So David had to buy his Nobles with his treasury.
LXXIII
In November 1300 King David won the war
And the Fatimid Kingdom of Egypt was no more.
North Africa was Christian, from the Sinai to Tangier.
The Braunschweigs reigned supreme as the Fourteenth Century drew near.
LXXIV
The conversion of the Egyptian populace went well,
But the peasants of the Nile decided to rebel.
David divided the country between two Archbishops and a Duke
And left it up to them to tame the Mamelukes.
LXXV
At the age of fifty-three, King David died at home
While preparing to capture the last Pagan Baltic throne.
His son Theotikos completed this, and then some vassals made.
Meanwhile his brother, who was the Pope, declared a new Crusade.
LXXVI
Jerusalem was in the hands of the mighty Seljuk Turks.
To defeat their two hundred thousand would take a lot of work.
King Theotikos deided to let someone else go first,
And then send his army in when the Turks had done their worst.
LXXVII
Two years went by and nothing happened at all,
Until finally Theo heard the Crusader's call.
he mobilized every available man,
And carefully encircled the Seljuk land.
LXXVIII
Theo declared war on every Seljuk vassal
And simultaneously sieged a dozen castles.
With their armies routed and their leaders deceased,
The Seljuks and their vassals were begging for peace.
LXXIX
The Seljuks were a hundred and fifty thousand coins poor,
And had a hundred thousand fewer men than before.
Theo cried "Grandfather, you I have outdone,
For the Holy City of Jerusalem I have won!"
LXXX
Theo outlived Nikephoros his son,
So the crown went to Isaakios, his grandson.
Islam and Paganism were in decline,
So Crusading targets were getting hard to find.
LXXXI
In addition, everywhere there was plague and disease,
Bringing once-mighty Kingdoms down to their knees.
Even the Braunschweig Empire was half as strong as before,
There were simply no healthy men left for war.
LXXXII
Accordingly, Isaakios was clever and smart.
He refined the use of Papal control to an art.
The German crown was inherited by a boy of weak heart,
And the resulting chaos tore that country apart.
LXXXIII
Isaakios then sat back and watched with delight
As Germany fell to civil war and fight.
A few Counts asked Isaakios to be their new liege,
Thus easily and bloodlessly enlarging his prestige.
LXXXIV
Soon all the German King had left was the County of Liege.
This was the moment Isaakios declared war and laid siege.
He fulfilled one of his family's oldest needs
And at last rightfully claimed the Crown of the Swedes!
LXXXV
By force Isaakios added some Finnish Counties to the nation.
He soon stopped this policy, as it harmed his reputation.
To keep his vassals happy, he invaded Turkestan,
And extracted a hundred thousand gold from the Persian man.
LXXXVI
When Isaakios died, his son Ermanes was a fool
Whom he had excommunicated, because he was unfit to rule.
Isaakios had also spoiled his reputation usurping several crowns.
His grandson Xenos was a fresh start to calm his vassals down.
LXXXVII
The year 1400 began another van Braunschweig century.
They ruled an empire from Morocco to the Baltic Sea.
France, Germany, and Byzantium were little more than empty shells.
It looked as though Persia would one day be conquered as well.
LXXXVIII
Xenos then made his sons into Dukes over the next ten years,
Giving them land taken from small independent Persian Emirs.
Then he took the Danish crown from the remains of Germany,
Whose realm France attacked and claimed, leaving only Italy and Burgundy.
LXXXIX
In 1422 Xenos died quietly at home.
His son Michael inherited the nineteen crowns of the throne.
In Spain, Britain, Scandinavia, Africa and the East
They mourned the most prestigious King that ever deceased.
XC
In 1426 Marienburg was attacked by Germany-France.
Since Marienburg was a Braunschweig vassal, the attackers had no chance.
At once King Michael Braunschweig mobilized half a million men,
And beat Germany-France so bad it would never make war again.
XCI
There were so many battles, the story is too long to tell.
But suffice it to say overall, the war went very well.
The enemy was destroyed from Russia to Bordeaux.
Michael took a hundred thousand gold from the vassals of his foe.
XCII
The Franco-German King surrendered his chateau at Montpelier.
Michael moved his capital from Jerusalem to there.
His Egyptian army conquered one small Emirate in Arabia,
And now Michael could crown himself King of Mesopotamia.
XCIII
Michael generously gave his treasure to his vassals who were poor,
So much that he had less money than he did before the war.
Now his first wife died without leaving him a son,
So he sadly went out looking for another lovely one.
XCIV
Michael offered vassalship to the Duchy of Lower Lorraine,
And the Duke gladly accepted without war or pain.
Then Michael married the Duke's sister, who had a good brain,
And as the Duke's whole family was talented, more marriages came.
XCV
In 1434 Michael was running low on money,
So he invaded the Seljuk land of milk and honey.
The Seljuks were no longer a power to fear,
So they were eager to buy peace for a price very dear.
XCVI
Michael decided to change the law before he was dead
Because his grandson was his nephew, and thus inbred.
Michael had no sons, and if the grandson took the crown,
The Braunschweig Empire would surely come crashing down.
XCVII
In 1445 King Michael Braunschweig died.
Never had a King so much prestige and pride.
As per the new law, the stronger nephew took the throne.
His diplomacy skills ensured he wouldn't be overthrown.
XCVIII
In what had become tradition by now,
Isaakios II attacked Persia, the family cash cow.
The Persians paid lots of money for peace, of course,
Because the Braunschweigs had overwhelming force.
XCIX
In 1452 Isaakios II declared a feast.
Guests came from the west and from the east
To celebrate four hundred years of Braunschweig power,
The coat-of-arms flying proudly over the tower.
C
Ekbert I was a mere Frisian Count.
Little did he know his family would amount
To the hegemony of most of Europe someday,
With a dozen Kingdoms held under their sway.
I
Our tale begins in the year One Thousand Sixty-Nine,
Three years after William the Norman said "England is mine!"
In the Holy Roman realm across the Northern Sea,
The simple folk of Friesland were to find their destiny.
II
Count Ekberg van Braunschweig was a man so very pious
To serve the army of the Lord was his most Holy bias
But, alas, the Lord bestowed him with a humble fief.
Only three hundred men-at-arms to serve him and his wife.
III
To such a man as Ekbert, peaceful Friesland was a trap.
Desperate for action, he examined Europe's map.
Satakunta in the eastern Baltic would suffice.
Here a Pagan chieftain filled his people's hearts with vice.
IV
Ekbert heard the call of battle, never turning back.
All three hundred of his men went through the Skagerrak.
Praise the Lord, the Pagans were outnumbered two to one.
In a short but bloody skirmish, Count Ekbert had won.
V
Now the Frisians laid siege to the Pagan hilltop town.
Ekbert did not have the men to knock the ramparts down.
Luckily the Pagans tired of battle on that day.
All their gold they gave to Ekbert to be on his way.
VI
Back in Friesland, Ekbert found his bitter, mourning wife.
Their only daughter of fourteen had taken her own life.
Some say she had a teenage crush on Marshal Alberich.
When he died of old age, Gertrude's tender heart took sick.
VII
When Ekbert the Younger came of age at sixteen years,
Father sought for him a wife among his noble peers.
He arranged for Ingebjorg, steward of Faereyar.
Old though she was getting now, her steward skills went far.
VIII
Ekbert Senior toasted Junior in a lavish feast,
Making him the lord and master of the County East.
But the younger Ekbert's aging wife passed on next year,
So he found a lustful wench to give him many heirs.
IX
Pagan Pommern was succumbing to the mighty Danes.
In a bid to get some treasure, Ekbert Senior came.
But the Duke of Brandenburg was hungry for more land,
So at the siege of Danzig, Udo Staden took command.
X
Now there came some forty years of poverty and peace.
Younger Ekbert took the throne when Elder had deceased.
His faithful army still had not the numbers for Crusades.
He stayed at home to build the court and chase the lovely maids.
XI
Godfried Duke of Lorraine was a raving fool.
All his Counts began to chafe under his insane rule.
Many chose to swear allegiance to the Emperor.
So it was the choice of Count van Braunschweig, to be sure.
XII
Ekbert's first wife Ermengard took to bed and died.
Before the age of fifty, Ekbert outlived two young brides.
Margarita of Navarre would be at last the one
To give him what he wanted most - a second healthy son.
XIII
Lutbert son of Younger Ekbert was a peaceful man.
Still he dared to go Crusading in northern Lapland.
An almost fatal wounding ended his soldier career.
He returned to raise his family by the Ijsselmeer.
XIV
Lutbert's brother Tassilo was a fighting man;
He served Frisia bravely as the marshal of the land.
The family's numbers doubled with his daughters and his sons,
But they would have to wait decades for their own fiefdoms.
XV
In 1144 Lutbert passed away.
His son Ekbert died before him three months to the day.
So the crown of Friesland passed to Adolph Ekbert's son.
A boy of fifteen years who ruled a court of sixty-one.
XVI
Now that Friesland East and West would be long united,
Adolph looked at Pagan Finland and he was delighted.
Not content to take their money and then melt away,
Adolph would lay siege to them, capture their towns, and stay.
XVII
There were other pressing reasons to enlarge the throne;
All the children in the court would be soon full grown.
Then the young, ambitious Braunschweigs would need their own fiefs.
Otherwise they would have to stay at home and waste their lives.
XVII
When Adolph Braunschweig had twelve hundred soldiers in his force,
He said, "Now's the time!" and he had his ships set course
For the Chiefdom of Tavasts in the Finnish Pagan land.
He won the siege, and held at last a new fief in his hand!
XIX
before demobilizing, Adolph crossed the Baltic Sea
Where a Pagan chieftain ruled the Lapps with much cruelty.
But who should come, the German King, to help besiege the fort
And capture Lapland for himself and add it to his court.
XX
Adolph's plans for northern Sweden thus were spoiled rotten.
Now he struck the idol worshippers in Vasterbotten.
He knew very well the King would come to take this County,
So he went home when the Pagans offered him a bounty.
XXI
In April 1160 Adolph was indeed surprised
To inherit all of Ansbach when Count Gebhard died.
It seems the childless Gebhardt Goseck was Hedwiga's brother;
The title passed to Adolph, for Hedwiga was his mother.
XXII
In 1162 typhoid was at hand;
Nonetheless, the time had come to enlarge the land.
Inger tribe and Suomi were at war with all their host.
Suomi had no soldiers left to guard the Finnish coast.
XXIII
With four and twenty hundreds Adolph sailed for Tavasts;
They arrived in winter with ice hanging from the masts.
There he slaughtered fifteen hundred soldiers of the Chief,
Then he won three sieges, and all Finland was his fief.
XXIV
Adolph now had seven Counties in his Duke's demesne;
Now he could make vassals of his family and friends.
Still the Braunschweigs were too many, with too little land;
This was only the beginning for the growing clan.
XXV
Adolph's second son Baldewin was without a bride-to-be,
So he arranged for lovely, young and clever Blanche Longwy.
Philip King of England was her cousin and her liege.
He was new upon the throne and needed the prestige.
XXVI
Adolph now was truly siezed by the Crusading urge.
Ottavio his puppet was the leader of the Church.
A dozen Pagan Baltic Counties fell before his knights.
Now his hands were full with rebels fighting for their rights.
XXVII
The evil Duke of Flanders declared war on the German King.
Adolph died of old age trying to his army bring.
His son Heinrich captured Flanders' castle on the sand.
To protect his honour, Heinrich asked for money but no land.
XXVIII
Peasants rose up in revolt and Nobles talked of treason.
Heinrich knew his father's grand ambitions were the reason.
He reduced the scutage and the taxes to the bone,
Hoping folks would drop their axes and let him keep his throne.
XXIX
Heinrich suffered grievous wounds while crushing Pagan riots.
After that his rulership was reserved and quiet.
In 1185 young Heinrich fell ill and died.
Brother Baldewin took the throne while all the family cried.
XXX
Baldewin had a dozen Counts, a Braunschweig every one;
Cousins nine, an uncle, and a couple of his sons;
Still the court was full of Braunschweig men who had no land.
Baldewin could not help them while he fought the Pagan bands.
XXXI
At the age of forty-one, poor Baldewin went mad.
His court had the best ministers, so it was not so bad.
His youngest daughter married the German King's youngest son.
At home the Pagan rebels were finally on the run.
XXXII
In his paranoia, Baldewin slew his second boy.
Ditmar Count of Westfriesland, his one-time pride and joy.
The court thought to give the third son the County would be best.
Out of pity for his father, young Heinrich would not leave the nest.
XXXIII
Baldewin's first son Lauri was Finnish to the bone,
So his advisers thought it best to grant the Uppland Ducal throne.
Cousin Gebhard Braunschweig declared his independent stand,
For he was a Heretic Count of Heretic Sodermanland.
XXXIV
Baldewin decided to end the century with Holy War.
He died of old age after landing on the Spanish shore.
Lauri picked up his father's sword to the fight rejoin.
He took Lisbon, Valladolid, Asturias and Vizcaya, and much gold coin.
XXXV
The Muslims of Lemdiyya invaded the Republic of Genoa
So Lauri decided to help make the Muslims go.
As a side benefit to this African Crusade,
The southern half of Ireland fell under Lauri's blade.
XXXVI
The year after that, Lauri felt he was needing
To remove the Yatviags from the southern half of Sweden.
The King of Norway had already the war begun.
Lauri got a half dozen counties, much better than none.
XXXVII
Still hearing the Crusader's call, Lauri picked up his sword again
And help to free Scandinavia of the Lettigallians.
He now had half of Sweden, but this was not enough
To make that land his Kingdom, and for him this was tough.
XXXVIII
Norway was being destroyed by the Sheikhdom of Beirut.
Lauri took back all that country and demanded loot.
All the King had left was Iceland and two Counts in Sweden.
To make Lauri King of Norway, war with Christians would be needing.
XXXIX
After giving the Duchy of Leinster to Haapa, his son,
Lauri decided to obliterate the Sheikhdom of Chalons.
He took fourteen Counties at once and put the Sheikh in jail,
But still he was one County short of becoming King of Wales.
XL
With fifty-six Counts his vassals, Lauri was still a Finnish Duke.
Desperate to become a King, everywhere he did look;
What to do, invade Good King Magnus, who was already down,
And take the one thing he had left, his Norwegian crown?
XLI
In the year 1224, Lauri passed away
En route to take from the Muslims the Duchy of Galloway.
His prestige and piety had grown beyond complaint,
And yet the Church had not seen fit to make him a Saint.
XLII
Haapa son of Lauri became Duke of the great domain.
It was up to him to complete the Galloway campaign.
He did this, and added another Duchy to his list,
And held a dozen demesne Counties in his iron fist.
XLIII
Rumours came from Russia of a new threat from the east.
For Haapa for the moment, these worries were the least.
Zaragoza lost all its men fighting his German master.
Haapa decided to help obliterate the Emirate faster.
XLIV
His battle call was answered by thirty thousand men.
He surrounded all of Zaragoza's provinces, and then
Took all the Emir's provinces in a lightning campaign;
Thus Haapa was King of Wales and Ireland, and half the land in Spain!
XLV
The Spanish lands were such a jumble, Haapa held no crown there.
The other half he needed was held by Seville's Emir.
Haapa decided to wait, for Seville was still too strong;
Seville was also at war with Germany, so he shouldn't wait too long.
XLVI
When Haapa took the Irish crown, much to his surprise,
The Duke of Connacht swore fealty, for he saw that was wise;
King Haapa owned 25 Ducal titles and made plans to restore them.
Meanwhile the Mongols in the east were driving all before them.
XLVII
Haapa then declared war on Beni-halal's King
Because he had two Spanish Counties Haapa was coveting.
Beni-Halal was almost destroyed when Haapa passed away.
His son Lalli took up the fight and still he won the day.
XLVIII
While this war was still on, the Emir of Seville attacked
And stabbed young Lalli Braunschweig's Spanish holdings in the back.
A worse mistake was never made, for Lalli turned around
And called every man in the realm to grind the Moors down.
XLIX
Unprepared for this new war, but time was on his side.
The far-away regiments came together to turn the Moorish tide.
But while Lalli dealt Seville destruction and disorder,
The Mongols were coming closer to the Finnish border.
L
Against Seville-in-Britain, Lalli's Counts came in force
In southern Iberia, Lalli led personally, of course;
For over a century England was lost to Muslim men,
But now thanks to Lalli, it had a Christian King again!
LI
In Seville's heartland, things went not so smooth.
Two Christian divisions were destroyed, fighting nail and tooth;
Lalli himself was gravely wounded by Damascus steel;
But he won the crowns of Portugal, Leon and Castile!
LII
The poor old King of Norway was finally deposed;
A Pagan Chief came at him from across the ice floes.
Defending lonely Iceland was his final act,
But now Lalli was King of Norway in name as well as fact.
LIII
While the Reconquista was happening, the Mongols reached the Finns;
Lalli declined to help them, his force was spread too thin.
Now he felt that Finland was too far east anyway.
Secretly he wished the Finnish Duke would break away.
LIV
Still, King Lalli Braunschweig saw the writing on the wall.
He knew the Mongols would soon turn west to devour all.
His growth desire satisfied, he let his army rest.
All of Europe's strength was needed for the coming test.
LV
His wound was really hurting, so Lalli's main concern
Was keeping the peace long enough to let his children learn.
Crown Prince Malise van Braunschweig was only nine years old;
And Lalli needed to invest his massive pile of gold.
LVI
Although he was too ill to fight, Braganza must be his
So Lalli sent his vassals to Al-Murazibids.
His soldiers quickly won some battles worthy of El Cid,
But now his Byzantine ally attacked the Kingdom of Zirid.
LVII
The Emperor's invitation to the Crusade was heeded,
Because Zirid held the provinces Lalli needed.
He took those and made peace and the Emperor fought on alone,
For now Lalli was King of Scotland and Aragon!
LVIII
Meanwhile the Mongols fought the Pagan tribes and German King,
Who stopped them deep in Poland with every man he could bring.
Europe was saved, or so it seemed, from the Mongol order.
But now a wave of Il-Khans appeared on the Persian border.
LIX
In 1244, when Lalli's son Malise became a man,
To make the young Count into a Duke was the great King's plan.
He sent Malise to Muslim Sicily to fight and earn his throne.
The plan worked, and Malise made the Duchy of Sicily his own.
LX
The Count of Rioja wanted to be free of Poland-France,
So when his King was busy, he seized upon his chance.
To survive his decision, Braunschweig's lordship was vital.
So now Lalli could claim the Duchy of Navarre and grant its title.
LXI
Lalli died at age 39 of pneumonia and his wound.
With his lessons in Sicily, Malise's accession was not too soon.
The twenty-year-old Malise was ready for the task
Of ruling this vast kingdom of Britons, Norse, Finns and Basques.
LXII
At the age of twenty-five, Malise felt that he
Should complete his conquest of southern italy.
So sail his Spanish army to Apulia, he did,
And took the crown of Naples from the King of Zirids.
LXIII
After building castles everywhere, Malise was not so rich,
So he attacked Al-Muratibids and its ally, Marrakech.
When the Arabs bought off the King, of all their gold they were bereft,
And when the Duke of Toledo attacked, they had no armies left.
LXIV
Marrakech was then aided by its allies, the Hammadids.
King Malise then decided to finally be rid
Of that North African Muslim Kingdom by the sea,
And the new King of Africa was none other than he!
LXV
Malise now set aside his sword to govern busily.
Duncan, the younger Royal Prince, was given Sicily.
Elder Prince Constantine was given Danish earth.
He was married thrice, his first two wives died in childbirth.
LXVI
Malise wanted one last Crusade before he got too old,
So he cut a swathe through Mesopotamia looking for gold.
The Byzantines and Turks now had claims on Malise,
So he created frontier vassals to help preserve the peace.
LXVII
In 1296 old Malise went to Heaven,
His son Constantine succeeding him at the age of forty-seven.
The new King's first act was to reduce his personal lands,
And put Mesopotamia in the O'Connor Brothers' hands.
LXVIII
Constantine was zealous, a true Crusader was he,
And the Pope declared that Alexandria must be free.
So while the new King was still young enough and strong,
He prepared himself for war in Egypt, bloody and long.
LXIX
Seven Spanish Dukes joined Constantine's army,
And sailed with him to Tobruk across the sea.
While the Fatimids were busy attacking the Templar Knights,
Constantine came, saw, and conquered everything in sight.
LXX
He captured Alexandria, and by the Pope was blessed;
Then at the age of fifty, the Lord called him to his rest.
His brother Duncan, Duke of Sicily, took the throne,
As poor Constantine had no sons of his own.
LXXI
Since the war in Egypt still raged across the sand,
King Duncan was crowned with the sword still in his hand.
But Duncan too was aging, and ruled for just a year,
When his son David was crowned, with the war's ending near.
LXXII
There were a hundred vassals for the young King to please,
And occasionally rebels had to be brought to their knees.
With three new Kings in five years, there was little loyalty,
So David had to buy his Nobles with his treasury.
LXXIII
In November 1300 King David won the war
And the Fatimid Kingdom of Egypt was no more.
North Africa was Christian, from the Sinai to Tangier.
The Braunschweigs reigned supreme as the Fourteenth Century drew near.
LXXIV
The conversion of the Egyptian populace went well,
But the peasants of the Nile decided to rebel.
David divided the country between two Archbishops and a Duke
And left it up to them to tame the Mamelukes.
LXXV
At the age of fifty-three, King David died at home
While preparing to capture the last Pagan Baltic throne.
His son Theotikos completed this, and then some vassals made.
Meanwhile his brother, who was the Pope, declared a new Crusade.
LXXVI
Jerusalem was in the hands of the mighty Seljuk Turks.
To defeat their two hundred thousand would take a lot of work.
King Theotikos deided to let someone else go first,
And then send his army in when the Turks had done their worst.
LXXVII
Two years went by and nothing happened at all,
Until finally Theo heard the Crusader's call.
he mobilized every available man,
And carefully encircled the Seljuk land.
LXXVIII
Theo declared war on every Seljuk vassal
And simultaneously sieged a dozen castles.
With their armies routed and their leaders deceased,
The Seljuks and their vassals were begging for peace.
LXXIX
The Seljuks were a hundred and fifty thousand coins poor,
And had a hundred thousand fewer men than before.
Theo cried "Grandfather, you I have outdone,
For the Holy City of Jerusalem I have won!"
LXXX
Theo outlived Nikephoros his son,
So the crown went to Isaakios, his grandson.
Islam and Paganism were in decline,
So Crusading targets were getting hard to find.
LXXXI
In addition, everywhere there was plague and disease,
Bringing once-mighty Kingdoms down to their knees.
Even the Braunschweig Empire was half as strong as before,
There were simply no healthy men left for war.
LXXXII
Accordingly, Isaakios was clever and smart.
He refined the use of Papal control to an art.
The German crown was inherited by a boy of weak heart,
And the resulting chaos tore that country apart.
LXXXIII
Isaakios then sat back and watched with delight
As Germany fell to civil war and fight.
A few Counts asked Isaakios to be their new liege,
Thus easily and bloodlessly enlarging his prestige.
LXXXIV
Soon all the German King had left was the County of Liege.
This was the moment Isaakios declared war and laid siege.
He fulfilled one of his family's oldest needs
And at last rightfully claimed the Crown of the Swedes!
LXXXV
By force Isaakios added some Finnish Counties to the nation.
He soon stopped this policy, as it harmed his reputation.
To keep his vassals happy, he invaded Turkestan,
And extracted a hundred thousand gold from the Persian man.
LXXXVI
When Isaakios died, his son Ermanes was a fool
Whom he had excommunicated, because he was unfit to rule.
Isaakios had also spoiled his reputation usurping several crowns.
His grandson Xenos was a fresh start to calm his vassals down.
LXXXVII
The year 1400 began another van Braunschweig century.
They ruled an empire from Morocco to the Baltic Sea.
France, Germany, and Byzantium were little more than empty shells.
It looked as though Persia would one day be conquered as well.
LXXXVIII
Xenos then made his sons into Dukes over the next ten years,
Giving them land taken from small independent Persian Emirs.
Then he took the Danish crown from the remains of Germany,
Whose realm France attacked and claimed, leaving only Italy and Burgundy.
LXXXIX
In 1422 Xenos died quietly at home.
His son Michael inherited the nineteen crowns of the throne.
In Spain, Britain, Scandinavia, Africa and the East
They mourned the most prestigious King that ever deceased.
XC
In 1426 Marienburg was attacked by Germany-France.
Since Marienburg was a Braunschweig vassal, the attackers had no chance.
At once King Michael Braunschweig mobilized half a million men,
And beat Germany-France so bad it would never make war again.
XCI
There were so many battles, the story is too long to tell.
But suffice it to say overall, the war went very well.
The enemy was destroyed from Russia to Bordeaux.
Michael took a hundred thousand gold from the vassals of his foe.
XCII
The Franco-German King surrendered his chateau at Montpelier.
Michael moved his capital from Jerusalem to there.
His Egyptian army conquered one small Emirate in Arabia,
And now Michael could crown himself King of Mesopotamia.
XCIII
Michael generously gave his treasure to his vassals who were poor,
So much that he had less money than he did before the war.
Now his first wife died without leaving him a son,
So he sadly went out looking for another lovely one.
XCIV
Michael offered vassalship to the Duchy of Lower Lorraine,
And the Duke gladly accepted without war or pain.
Then Michael married the Duke's sister, who had a good brain,
And as the Duke's whole family was talented, more marriages came.
XCV
In 1434 Michael was running low on money,
So he invaded the Seljuk land of milk and honey.
The Seljuks were no longer a power to fear,
So they were eager to buy peace for a price very dear.
XCVI
Michael decided to change the law before he was dead
Because his grandson was his nephew, and thus inbred.
Michael had no sons, and if the grandson took the crown,
The Braunschweig Empire would surely come crashing down.
XCVII
In 1445 King Michael Braunschweig died.
Never had a King so much prestige and pride.
As per the new law, the stronger nephew took the throne.
His diplomacy skills ensured he wouldn't be overthrown.
XCVIII
In what had become tradition by now,
Isaakios II attacked Persia, the family cash cow.
The Persians paid lots of money for peace, of course,
Because the Braunschweigs had overwhelming force.
XCIX
In 1452 Isaakios II declared a feast.
Guests came from the west and from the east
To celebrate four hundred years of Braunschweig power,
The coat-of-arms flying proudly over the tower.
C
Ekbert I was a mere Frisian Count.
Little did he know his family would amount
To the hegemony of most of Europe someday,
With a dozen Kingdoms held under their sway.
A completed AAR in one post!
