To Restore a Dynasty - a 1066 Brunonen AAR

[Nicolaes]

To Restore a Dynasty – a Brunonen AAR

Welcome to my first CK2 AAR!

After I couldn't get any inspiration for my Greece AAR for Victoria 2 for nearly half a year (still got the draft of the setup lying around here) I decided to start writing one for CK2 since writing about characters and dynasties is easier for me than writing a story about an entire country.

After a bit of in-game soul-searching I stumbled upon the saxon Brunonen dynasty. After a bit of reading up on them I found out that they are a pretty interesting one for an AAR. Scions of the near legendary Ludolfinger/Ottonian dynasty of 10th century Germany, they were, like the Salians, Billungs and Karlings, one of the many older dynasties that died out in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, succeeded by much younger families.

As a subfamily of the Ottonian dynasty, the Brunonen inherit a legacy of a dynasty that tried to maintain Germany and the Holy Roman Empire as a strong monarchy instead of the bickering collection of principalities it collapsed into during and after Salian reign.
Therefore, my goal of this AAR is to:
Restore Germany as a unified kingdom, with or without the HRE


I will be playing this AAR in Ironman Mode to make it more a more challenging game and to allow a more varied outcome. This might mean I won't post the first chapter of the actual game for a while since I'll be preoccupied with keeping the dynasty alive for the first twenty-odd years, as the Brunonen start as counts in a precarious position.

I'm a student, which means I can't spend a lot of regular time writing AAR chapters. I do hope that, unlike with my Greece AAR, I'll be able to atleast get two chapters out every month. I'm also notorious at making grammar and spelling mistakes I only notice just after I post a chapter, which means I'll be editing almost every post multiple times.

I hope you'll enjoy this story!


~Nicolaes
​

 

[Nicolaes]

Chapters
1: Saint Bruno and his descendants​

 

[Jokerang]

Never heard of the Brunonens before, but if what you're saying is true it looks like we've got a twist on the old "restore the Karlings/make the Habsburgs as powerful as they were in OTL" situation on our hands. I'll keep an eye out for when you update. Will you be doing a narrative or a novel type of storytelling?

 

[Nicolaes]

Chapter 1: Saint Bruno and his descendants

Duke Breno the Martyr of Saxony

Liudolf and his sons

The first known ancestor of the Brunonen family is Duke Liudolf of Saxony. Originally a count from Eastphalia, he was one of the commanders who became prominent in the waning years of the Carolingian Empire after Charlemagne's death. By the time he passed away his sons would inherit the duchy of Saxony unopposed. His male descendants would come to be known as the Liudolfings, the first German emperors. Through his two daughters he also became the ancestor of the Salians and Hohenstaufens - two dynasties of emperors that would in time succeed his own.

His oldest son was Duke Bruno, who like him was a successfull commander. His descendants would be known as the Brunonen.

His youngest son was Duke Otto. His descendants would be known as the Ottonen and go on to become kings of Germany and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.

Bruno's life and death

Little has survived about the life of Duke Bruno. His wife and children are unknown, although we know his dynasty would live on and survive that of his younger brother. Duke Bruno would be the commander-in-chief of the Saxons on the fateful day of the 2th of february 880 AD, when the men of Saxony were routed and many, including Duke Bruno and many of the leading noblemen, would drown during the disastrous battle of Lüneburg Heath, near Ebstorf, against a gigantic and unexpected invasion of the Great Heathen Army after king Alfred the Great had pushed them out of England.
Duke Bruno would be recognised as a martyr with his feastday on the day of the battle. The duchy would pass on to his younger brother instead of his own descendants for unknown reasons, and his nephew would lay the foundations of Germany.

Bruno's Town and family

Around the manor from which Duke Bruno ruled, a town emerged named Bruno's Town. Under his descendants, a wealthy county would form around it. The town and county would eventually be known as Brunswick, a state which would still exist a millennium after Bruno's sacrifice.
His oldest known descendant would be Brun I of Brunswick. By 1066 he and his son would leave the family both their ancestral county and the lands of Frisia, a wild land inhabited by independently-minded farmers.
Our story will begin with Brun I's grandson, Ekbert.​

 

[stnylan]

Not the grandest of dynastic founders, but every great dynasty has to start somewhere.

 

[Bullfilter]

I’ve jumped over for a look - good luck and I hope you are able to get the AAR off the ground and find time between studies to post - doesn’t matter if it’s periodical, we understand.