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Dave P
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(3/14/04 11:28 pm)
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MTW: The Kings Diary.
Chapter 1.
The Diary of King William II. 1087-1118
1087.
My dear father William the conquerer or the illegitimate one as we
prefared to call him when he was out of earshot, has passed on, he will
be sadly missed, by whom I know not, he was a tyrant to friend a foe
alike, many wanted to bury him moments after he breathed his last, for
fear he may come back from the dead, however, we have shipped his body
back to Normandy for burial in accordance with his last request.
So I find myself King of England at the age of 52, I have much to do and my time may be short, so I must make haste,
No one could deny that my father was not a strong King, but in his
later years I fear he grew tired and delegated too much to persons who
had little talent for the work they were given and now we find
ourselves with very little defence should a threat appear,
To this end I have set in motion a number of measures, they include,
recruitment of men to bolster our pitifuly understrength army in
Wessex, fortifications to be built in all province's, with the
exception of Aquitane where improvements are to be made to the
exsisting fortification at Bordeaux and here in Wessex where Watch
towers are to be built along the south coast.
I have despatched my good friend Godwine Uhtred, accompanied by my two
daughters on a diplomatic mission to France, his task is to secure a
peaceful agreement with the French and offer a marriage if this is what
the French require.
With the exception of Uhtred the other men I have to assist me in my
task leave much to be desired, they are my fathers legacy and for that
I thank him not, they are.
Robert Courtenay Earl of Mercia, a sullen man lacking in wit, capable
of managing Mercia but a man of low breeding and therfor he will have
to be replaced at some point.
Hubert Gascoigne Earl of Northumbria, a man who could not possibly be
as stupid as he looks, but achieves such stupidity with ease, a
complete ass and a peasant to boot, replacement of this fool is my
priority and will take place just as soon as I find a replacement.
Henry Holland Earl of Wessex, it is my misfortune to spend much time in
the company of Holland as we are both in Wessex, he is an intelligent
man and not without charm, but being of low breeding he brings the
stench of the farmyard with him to court and so will have to go.
John Percy Duke of Normandy, yet another peasant and a man who's capacity for mead consumption is legendary,
a quality which endeared him greatly to my father and so a man of some
influence, across the water as he is I will have to choose the time
very carfully, but replaced he will be.
Sir Nigel Becket Count of Anjou, a man of good breeding in title only,
I can but liken him to a faithful yet stupid hound, good for retrieving
game but very little else.
Sir Robert Langton Duke of Aquitane, and my Lord Chamberlain, a title
that I am loath that he should have, yet it is the only method at my
disposal to keep this treacherous dog loyal.
So diary as you can see I am beset with misfortune and surrounded by
fools, farmers and dogs and with Uhtred away you are my only confidant.
**********************************************
1088.
I have had discussions with Holland about the threat posed by the Welsh
and the Scots, he is of the opinion that with the exception of the
occasional raid they are not a threat, I myself am not so confidant,
especially in the case of the Scots.
Holland mentioned, that if we were to make it worth their while, they
may consent to join with us, he also had some rough estimates of the
amounts involved.
I have given this much thought and decided against it, as it would mean
an empty treasury, also I am not sure we can trust these barbarians to
honour the agreement.
We will eventually have to deal with this problem, as the peasant are
using these raids as an excuse not to pay their taxes, at least this is
the story I am told by Courtenay and Gascoigne, if they are to be
believed.
I must admit, that after spending much time in the company of Holland
recently, that I have begun to develop a liking for the man.
He has many witty tales to tell and keeps me amused for hours, I
especially like, the stories he tells me of some of the strange
practices of farmers concerning sheep.
If I can introduce him to the concept of bathing, I have a feeling we may become good friends, despite his loathsome background.
I recently viewed the newly built watchtowers on the south coast, they
are woefully inadequate, if a French farmer in Flanders was to break
wind it would be the end for these pathetic structures.
I soon discovered the reason behind this, a man by the name of John
Gascoigne had been charged with their construction, the said individual
is the brother of the Duke of Northumbria, and as I've stated before in
the diary, intelligence is not a trait this family posses.
I suspect that the budget set aside for the construction of these towers, has not been entirely used for its original purpose.
I am furious that this dolt thinks he can fool me, however, I will
suffer this indignity for now, as my possition is not yet strong enough
to make a move against them.
Improvements are to be made to the towers and Holland is to keep an eye on the proceedings.
**********************************************
1089.
I have recieved word from Uhtred in France, the news is not favourable,
he says King Philippe is an affable man, who is open to discussion,
however, he is not convinced of our good intentions,
Uhtred also says, that Philippe has developed a fondness for the
company of our princess Margaret, I can only assume that Philippe has a
taste for large women, and that his eyes are those of an old man,
nevertheless, this is a piece of good fortune, although Margaret would
not look out of place ploughing a field, to her credit she is quite an
intelligent girl,
I have sent word to Uhtred, that he and Princess Catherine are to
proceed to aragon, but before he departs, he is to secure a place at
the French court for Margaret and instruct her on what is required.
Tax revenues from Aquitane and Anjou are down this year, Langton and
Becket are blaming this on famine, I doubt very much this is the truth,
I have asked Uhtred to take a look at things on route to Aragon.
The watchtowers on the south coast are much improved, Holland has done
a good job keeping John Gascoigne in check, he also tells me he has
strong evidence of Gascoigne's dishonesty with regards to the original
budget,
When the time is ripe, I intend to mount this scoundrels head a top of
one of the towers, so that he may repay his debt by keeping watch over
the channel.
On a lighter note, Holland seems to have taken notice of my tales of
the virtues of bathing, on his last visit he was giving off a strange
scent, when asked what it was, he told me it was essence of sheep's
glands, he also said it had made him very popular with the ladies,
I must assume, these ladies of which he speaks, have some affliction
that affects the nose, however, it is a vast improvement over the
essence of pig sty, which he used to inflict on us at each visit.
**********************************************
1090.
This has been the best year since my reign begun.
As I suspected, King Philippe of France could not resist the ample
charms of Princess Margaret and soon she was found to be with child,
I wrote to him explaining, that to a man as myself, with such deep
religious covictions, this situation was causing me much torment and
that my only salvation would be to request an audience with the Pope,
and ask the holy father to pray to God for the soul of my eldest
daughter.
King Phillipe replied, offering me everything short of his Kingdom, if I would only reconsider.
Holland and I reconsidered deep into the night and with the help of the
fine French wine, which accompanied Philippe's letter, we decided to
settle for an alliance.
Princess Margaret will now have to take to her chamber for a while, until she recovers from her illness.
Prince William has come of age and I have begun to show him the ways of
Kingship, he is quick to learn and I suspect he will make a good King.
he is also very useful with the sword and has a great appitite for
violence, as his fencing instructor would testify, were he still alive,
all this bodes well and I am happy to go to the grave when the good
lord decides.
My second son Alfred is 14 years of age, the Queen tells me that he is
very much like his elder brother, yet does not possess the same temper.
Tax revenue has been very pleasing this year, this makes me happy yet a
little uneasy, I have a feeling the barons are up to something when
things are in order.
**********************************************
1091.
I am pleased to inform the diary, that we now have some measure of
fortification in all province's, the ones that I have observed appear
to be well built and should provide a deterent to would be attackers.
I requested Holland supply me with details of our current strength and the details are as follows.
Northumbria, 120 archers.
Mercia, 120 archers.
Wessex, 40 royal knights, 120 urban militia, 400 peasants.
Normandy, 120 archers, 200 peasants.
Anjou, 40 hobilars.
Aquitane 40 hobilars.
This is still a long way short of what is required, however recruitment is ongoing and the situation should improve
I recieved word from Uhtred, he is in Aquitane at the moment and hopes
to be in Aragon early in the new year, when we hope to gain favour with
King Sancho and establish an alliance,
In his letter he enthuses about massive stone keep, which is being
built in Bordeaux, I am flabbergasted at the audacity of the man
Langton, I did authorise improvements to fortifications at Bordeaux,
yet there was no mention of stone involved, I shudder to think how much
this is costing,
Me thinks the title of Chamberlain has gone to Langtons head, and both
title and head will have to be removed as quickly as possible.
I have decided to take a trip to Aquitane myself next year, in order to resolve this matter.
**********************************************
1092.
There was much intrigue in court early this year, first we had the
arrival of the emissary to the Byzantine Emperor Alexius, I granted him
audience, listened to his offer of alliance and then informed him I was
of yet undecided, I told him that the hospitality of the court was his
and that he was welcome to stay whilst I considered my decision.
Whilst I was considering, the emissary to the Italian Doge Vitale
arrived, the meeting was much the same as with the Byzantines and the
outcome the same.
whilst I am now considering both decisions, the emissary to the Polish King Wladislaw arrives and the same happens again.
I now have three emissaries awaiting my decision, none of which are
accompanied by a princess and I have two unmarried sons, one of which
is heir to the throne, I consider this damn bad manners and somthing of
an insult.
I recall the Byzantine and tell him I would be be pleased to accept, if
only they where allied to my good friends the Italians, but could not
consider alliance if they had plans to ally with the Poles,
The Italian is told alliance with the Poles would be good, but not with the Byzantines,
The Pole is told that alliance with Byzantines would be good , but not with the Italians,
Holland and I spend the next week in fits of laughter watching these poor fools, running around negotiating with each other.
Then a letter arrives from Uhtred, saying that King Sancho of Aragon has accepted our offer of alliance,
I now summon each one individualy and inform them of the new
development, telling them that this changes thing considerably and that
the condition have now been reversed,
Holland and I now spend another two weeks observing this confusion
before departing for Aquitane, I leave a letter for each emissary
offering regret for my sudden and urgent departure, and stating that I
feel the time is not quite right to commit to alliance.
John Gascoigne architect of the south coast watchtowers, is to
accompany Holland and myself to Aquitane, so that he may cast his
expert eye over the keep, which is under construction in Bordeaux,
Prince William will take over the Reins of power whilst I am absent,
this should be good experience for his future role as King.
A tragic accident has happened during the crossing of the channel,
I mentioned to Gascoigne, that the good work he had done on the towers,
had made him a strong candidate for Knighthood and that he might try on
one of my suits of armour, to see how grand he would look on becoming
Sir John,
As Gascoigne was parading for us in full armour, Holland tripped and
knocked him over the side of the ship, he sunk like a stone,
Such a tragic waste of a damn fine suit of armour.
The keep at Bordeaux is very impressive indeed, I have decided to
reprieve Langton for now, as this structure sends out a powerful
message to our neighbors, however we did allow ourselves a little sport
at Langton's expense,
I told Langton, I was so impressed with the keep, that he was to make
arrangements for it to be taken down and shipped back to London, We
kept him running around for 3 days before explaining the ruse.
On my return to England, I made a trip to Northumbria to tell the Earl
of the sad demise of his brother and to offer my condolences, he seems
to have taken it quite well.
My second son Prince Alfred has now come of age.
**********************************************
1093.
I am so impressed by the keep under construction at Bordeaux, that I
have decided we are to have more of this type of building, I have
ordered that work should begin immeadiatly in Northumbria, Mercia and
Normandy,
Next year work will begin in Anjou and the following year in Wessex.
The Queen has provided me with another daughter, I now have five
daughters, it is fortunate that I grow old in years and am therfor
unlikely to be around, by the time these girls are old enough to fill
the court with their infernal chatter.
An interesting character has recently come amongst us, he is Sir
Micheal Mowbray the commander of the garrison at the tower, Holland
suggested we might invite him into our company, as he has many ammusing
tales to tell and possess a quite unusual talent, I pressed Holland on
this but he would not give me any details.
I invited him to dine with Holland and myself and after much
consumption of mead, Mowbray announced he was ready to perform and
needed a mistrel to accompany him, a mistrel was found and Mowbray
whispered somthing in his ear, the minstrel started to play the tune
Greensleaves, then with a thunderous fart, mowbray joined in followed
by many more farts and each one in perfect harmony, we roared with
laughter until our sides ached and tears rolled down our faces and all
through this, Mowbray continued his virtuoso performance with a serene
look on his face, I think Mowbray will be fine asset to the court.
**********************************************
1094.
Now we have alliance's with France and Aragon, we are half way to
securing our borders on the continent. Germany and Spain remain and to
that end I have sent Uhtred, along with the Princess's Margaret and
Catherine to visit King Alfonso of Spain.
I was in two minds whether to send Princess Margaret to Spain or not,
as this could create a difficult situation, were it requested she
marries into the Spanish Royal family.
You will recall she was carrying the child of the French King Philippe,
we came to an agreement with Philippe and the potential scandal was
kept secret, Margaret subsequently lost the child before it was born, a
fact that was also kept a secret from King Philippe, as at the time I
thought it more useful for Philippe to continue to believe the child
was alive.
So as you can see, if I were to allow Margaret to marry and all this
became known, we would become embroiled in a huge scandal and possibly
war would be outcome.
However, Margaret although not blessed with beauty, is charming,
intelligent and quite persuasive, so I have decided to take a chance.
I have sent my second son Prince Alfred to Northumbria, once there he is to be instructed on managing the province.
I have requested that the Duke of Northumbria visit me in Wessex next year and Alfred will look after things while he is away.
The purpose of his visit is to discuss the problem of Scotish raids on our border settlements.
**********************************************
1095.
Uhtred has secured an alliance with Spain, I have asked him to visit
Navare on his way home, in order to see if there is any possibility of
the Basques joining forces with us.
Hubert Gascoigne Duke of Nothumbria arrived in Wessex earlier in the year, to discuss the Scotish problem.
Hubert and his now deceased brother John, have caused me many problems over the past years.
The following is an account of the discussion.
Gascoigne had arrived the evening before, I had a brief meet with him,
welcomed him, saw to it that he was made comfortable and informed him
the meeting would take place at noon tomorrow.
I had spent the morning hunting with my friends Holland and Mowbray, we
arrived for the meeting well before noon and spent some time drinking,
joking and discussing the hunt.
Noon arrived and Gascoigne was shown into the chamber by my man servant
who then left, "Greetings Lord Gascoigne" said I as I walked towards
him offering a hand shake, Before smashing the fist of my other hand
full in his face, he fell to the floor and remained motionless for a
few moments, during this time I looked across at Holland and Mowbray
with a smile, they needed no more encouragement, Holland grabbed two
ornamental maces from off the wall and tossed one to Mowbray, just as
gascoigne was getting to his feet they fell on him, hammering out a
tune on his head like two devils forging a sword, they eventually
decided their work was done and stepped back to admire their skill, "Do
you think he's dead", says Mowbray, "He may need the carpenter to craft
him a new head", says I, "Damn bad manners of him to spill his brains
all over these fine maces" says Holland, the room is engulfed in
laughter, we spend the rest of the day drinking and joking about
Gascoigne's unfortunate accident.
I have given the title of Duke of Northumbria to Mowbray, although he
is to remain here in Wessex and leave the running of the province to
Prince Alfred, I think he finds this arrangement to his liking.
I am now in my 60th year, I feel old and a little tired.
**********************************************
1096.
On Uhtred's return from Navare I invited him to dine with Holland, Mowbray and I, First thing up for discussion was Navare,
Uhtred "I had talks with King Garc of the Basque's and explained our
possition, Garc said he would consider our proposal but could not
commit immeadiately".
Me "Did he say when he might be ready to make a decision".
Uhtred "No, may I speak frankly sire?".
Me "Of course, you are the most experienced man at the table when it
comes to matters of diplomacy and as such your opinion is invaluable".
Uhtred "The situation in Navare is a very precarious one indeed, both
Spain and Aragon have designs on the province. There is a good
possibility that should the Basque's decide to side with either it
would lead to war with the other and in my opinion we are better off
away from the situation".
Me "What do you consider the outcome to be, should the Basque's side with us".
Uhtred "Its hard to say but an alliance between Spain and Aragon against us, cannot be ruled out".
Me "In that case I think our negotiations with the Basque's are at an end".
During the remainder of our meal, I told Uhtred that I needed him to
make a journey to the HRE in order to try and secure our last remaining
border and that whilst about his business, he should keep a look out
for potential brides for Prince's William and Alfred.
With the serious talk finished, Uhtred then entertained us with stories
of his travels, he is a fine mimic and brought all the characters to
life in a very satirical way, best of all was his impersonation of the
King Sancho, who plays the lyre and see's himself as somthing of a
minstrel, of course Mowbray insisted on providing accompaniment in his
own unique way.
Holland laughed so heartily that he almost died choaking on a chicken bone.
**********************************************
1097.
Emperor Conrad of the HRE, has agreed in principle to our proposed
alliance. However, he has requested that the alliance be cemented, by
the marriage of Princess Margaret to their Prince Otto. It is good that
we are to be allies with the HRH, as this secures our final border, yet
at the same time bad, considering the problems that may occur should
Princess Margarets past come to light.
I have now been 10 years on the throne. On reflection I now realize,
that I may have been somewhat naive when I set myself certain tasks at
the begining of my reign.
Many of the men I had planned to replace, have shown me qualities that
at first were not apparent and I have failed to find better
alternatives.
A situation arose earlier in the year, that made me realize just how
difficult it is to find good men. After many years, the Duke of
Normandy finally drunk himself to death and although I tried very hard
to find a good replacement, the best man available was his son, a man
similar to his father in every respect.
**********************************************
1098.
The situation in Navare has finally been resolved, the Basque's have sided with Spain and all eyes are now on Aragon.
Lord Langton Duke of Aquitane, has informed me that building of the
great keep at Bordeaux is at an end, he says that the keep is safely
aboard ship and soon to set sail for Wessex.
HaHa! the man has a sense of humour!, you will recall the prank we played on him during our visit to Aquitane.
Included in Langtons letter are some fine drawings of a curtain wall he
is keen to build and a request for permission, I am so impressed by his
audacity, that I will grant this request.
There follows an account of an amusing conversation I had with the Queen earlier this month.
Queen "Young Princess Catherine is now of age and ready to join Uhtred on the continent".
Me "Princess Catherine is already with Uhtred on the continent".
Queen "It is the younger Catherine of which I speak".
Me "There are two Catherine's ?".
Queen "Indeed".
Me "What kind of fool idea was it to give two subsequent children the same name?".
Queen "Are you saying that the King is a fool?".
Me "It was my idea?".
Queen "Indeed it was".
Me "A King has much to think about, you should have recognized this and
reminded me of the other Catherine, be sure to do this in future".
(A smile spreads across the Queens face)
Me "What amuses thee woman?".
Queen "You are not a young man anymore my husband and I find the suggestion of more children a little amusing".
Me "I am King and as such the most virile man in the Kingdom, now be
gone with thee and make sure this foolish naming of children is done
correctly next time".
Queen "It will be so, however, I feel it is too late in the case of the two Princess's Margery".
Me "Oh!, now be gone with thee I have matters to attend to".
**********************************************
1099.
During this year we have been beset with famine and plague.
The famine although bad has not affected the supply of food to the
royal palace, so celebrations, feasts and the like have been able to go
ahead as planned, however, the treasury has suffered quite badly as the
result of many peasants dying.
The plague is confined mainly to Wales. we have been making raids into
Wales and torching border settlements in order to stop the plague
spreading to England, this seems to have been quite successful.
We hope that next year will be more favourable.
**********************************************
1100.
A new century is upon us and the predicions of the end of the World have proved false, although my own end almost did come.
During a hunting trip I was thrown from my horse, I landed quite badly
and fell asleep for 3 days, I finaly awoke to find myself back in the
palace with a badly smashed leg. The leg has now healed but I have had
to take to walking with the aid of a stick, something which Holland and
Mowbray seem to find a source of endless amusement, on a regular basis
they present me with finely crafted sticks in the shape of all manner
of things, some of which the ladies of the court might find more
amusing than I.
I have recieved a new request from Langton, this time it is for Balista
towers, God only knows what he will invent next, Indeed, God himself
would probabably have problems gaining access to to the inner sanctums
of Bordeaux castle by the time Langton is through building, I have
agreed as the cost is not great.
**********************************************
1101.
There has been great rejoicing this year, good crops have returned and the plague appears to have retreated back into Wales.
Most pleasing of all was the marriage of my son William, to the Italian
Princess Flora, the ceremony took place at Bordeaux castle and Doge
Vitale himself attended, he speaks good French, so our conversation was
witty and amusing.
He seems very pleased to have sealed our alliance, I cant help but
wonder what his actual motives are, does he plan to try and drive a
wedge between England and the HRH or is he just a keen diplomat eager
to build ties, only time will tell.
Princess Flora is a delightful girl, 19 years of age, long dark hair
and full child bearing hips, I think William will be well motivated to
"extend the Royal line".
On a more somber note Philippe of France has passed away, fortunately
Philippe seems to have been a man of his word and has taken the secret
of Princess Margarets past to the grave with him, this has been a
constant source of concern to me, since her marriage to Otto of the HRH.
Lord Langton Duke of Aquitane, deserves a special mention for making
our visit to Aquitane so enjoyable, the castle at Bordeaux is
magnificent and I now intend that improvements elsewhere will be based
upon it, starting immeadiatly with Northumbria, Normandy and Mercia,
where the Keeps are close to Completion.
**********************************************
1102.
Our army in Wessex now numbers over 1500 men, it is well equiped and
the greater part are dedicated fighting men, we still retain around 400
peasants though.
In comparison, the French army in Flanders has slightly more men but at least half their number are peasants.
I feel confident, that if the French decided to cross the channel we would prevail.
Elsewhere, with the exception of Normandy where there is a garrison of
320, our garrisons are small each consisting of less than 50 men,
however, our fortifications are formidable and well provisioned.
With our growing army comes the problem of growing expenses and to this
end, I have decided to create a policy for building in the provinces.
Our fortifications are to be upgraded no more than Keep, curtain wall
and balista towers, I will allow continental provinces to build border
forts also, after this governors are to concentrate their efforts on
raising income.
Continental provinces may proceed with projects that take no more than
two years to complete or have a cost of no more than 800 florins.
English Provinces will be allowed to go beyond this, subject to my approval.
**********************************************
1103.
The burden of Kingship has weighed heavy on me these past two years, I
am not a young man anymore and small tasks which I would have completed
without a thought at one time, take a heavy toll, as a result I spend
much time sleeping between these tasks, this leaves very little time
for the more enjoyable pursuits.
The Byzantines have requested that we form an alliance with them,
however, they are at war with the Turks and although we owe no loyalty
to the Turks, I have no intention of getting involved in this dispute,
the alliance will be turned down.
Work has begun on a Royal court to be built adjacent to the palace, the
palace itself, is no longer big enough to house the growing number of
visiting noblemen and foreign dignitaries, that seem to have become a
permanent aspect of the court.
The first tangible signs of my building policy, have appeared in
Aquitane with the completion of salt mines, the Duke says these mines
will not make us rich, but the cost of setting up was not great and
therfor worthwhile.
**********************************************
1104.
The Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II, has sadly expired.
The death of a ruler is always a time of uncertainty, one is never sure
of the intentions of the incoming ruler, however, the new Emperor,
Conrad III, has pledged to keep good our alliance and this pleases me
greatly, as the mere fact that alliance between HRH and England
exsists, is a deterent to any ambitions the French may have.
The emissary to Khalifah Yusuf of the Almohads, has been present at court throughout much of this year.
He is a very persistant man and has tried on a number of occassions to
convince me, that an alliance would be good for both sides, although
this was out of the question, I have encouraged him, as his company is
most rewarding and I have learned much of life in the desert.
However, the final answer had to be no, as such an alliance would be sure to antagonize the Spanish.
My good friend Holland, has married my daughter Catherine.
This is an account, of the conversation during a meal, that lead to the decision.
Me "Pray tell Holland, why has thou never taken a wife".
Holland "Women are a damned distraction, for a soldier such as myself,
they dull the mind and make one less alert on the field of combat".
Mowbray "Come, come, Holland are though telling us, that a man of
advancing years as thy self, has never sampled the delights of a woman".
Holland "Dont be absurd man, I have sampled many women, far too many
for you to comprehend, and my years are not as advanced as thy own".
Mowbray "Ha Ha, Me thinks it must be many years, since thou has drawn
thy trusty sword from its sheath, or should that be thy rusty sword
perhaps".
Holland "I'll have you know my sword shines as brightly as any man's
and a lesser man than myself would need two hands to weild it".
Me "He He, but less of this sword play, would thy not consider taking a wife Holland".
Holland "If the right woman was to present herself I may consider it".
Me "What of my daughter Catherine, she is 32 years of age now and
rapidly aproaching a time when the spinning wheel will beckon".
Holland "I would be honoured to marry the Princess Catherine, do you think she would consent to marry a man of 56 years".
Me "Of course she would, you are one of the most influencial and
wealthy men in the Kingdom, I dont think she would mind that your sword
is no longer of any use".
(At this point Mowbray an I dissolve in raucous laughter.)
Holland "Damn you both, now you make sport of me".
Me "No I am serious Holland, I am offering you my daughter Catherines hand in marriage, what do'est thou say?".
Holland "why, yes, of course nothing would please me more".
Me "Tis settled then, now let us take a drink or two in celebration".
**********************************************
1105.
We have lost Mowbray, it happened during one of his now legendary
performances, on the final note he fell down stone dead, at first we
thought he was fooling, but it soon became apparent that this was his
final encore.
Our loss is the Lords gain, there will be much merriment in heaven.
The title of Earl of Northumbria, goes to Anthony Scrope, he was
Mowbrays deputy and has a good understanding of matters concerning
Northumbria.
I have turned down offers of alliance by the Hungarians and the Poles this year as I see no benefit from these alliance's.
The first Princess Margery has now come of age.
**********************************************
1106.
The Queen who is much younger than I, has presented me with yet another daughter.
I am begining to see the legendary potency of which I was once so proud
as a curse, these girls seem to appear faster than I can marry them
off, I have named this one Clare, as the Queen assures me we do not as
yet have one.
The war between the Byzantines and the Turks appears to be at an end,
the Turkish Sultan was captured and beheaded in full view of a baying
crowd.
My mind is now firmly made that there will be no alliance between
ourselves and the Byzantines, although the Turks are not of our faith,
I respect their culture and think it wrong, that the Sultan should be
despatched in a manner more fitting of a peasant.
**********************************************
1107.
The Italian Doge Vitale, has requested that my Daugter Catherine be
married to their Prince Orso, I have agreed to this without hesitation.
As you may recall, my son William is married to the Italian Princess Flora, so this match strengthen's ties even further.
It also reduces my tally of daughters yet to married.
The second Princess Margery has now come of age, this increases my tally of daughters yet to be married, oh woe is me.
Lord Langton Duke of Aquitane and the driving force behind the
fortification of the Kingdom, has sadly passed away, true to character,
his last request was that a chaple be built on a hill overlooking
Bordeaux castle and that his remains be buried there, it will be done.
His titles pass to his son, this has become my practice with
continental province's, as the common people feel great loyalty for
these noble families.
Building work has finished on the Royal court, it is a fine building, much grander and more comfotable than the palace.
I however, have decided to remain in the palace, as this gives me some
respite from court life, I also think it is good that the court is not
too familar with the King.
I had a discussion with Holland about ways to increase income.
He suggested the possibility of trade with our neighbors, stating that
it was a big undertaking and that a port and shipbuilding facilities
would be needed, but that in his opinion the rewards were potentialy
very great.
I trust Hollands opinions and work will begin soon.
**********************************************
1108.
Last year was my 20th year as King and I had intended to write a brief
summary of my reign, however the year was a busy one and I could not
find time, at 73 years of age I am the oldest man I know of and I
suspect my time here will not be long.
I was late coming to the throne at the age of 52 and although as a
younger man I had hopes of becoming a great warrior King, the years of
waiting made me realize this was probably not to be.
On becoming King, I quickly became aware of my Kingdoms vulnerability
and decided there was need for a regular, well trained and equiped
army, I did not realize the enormity of this task at the time and the
fact that this army is still not at full strength, bears testimony to
this.
Diplomacy, has also been a major concern to me over the years, my
policy has been to forge close alliance's with our neighbors, whilst
staying neutral to other powers, this policy has made the Kingdom more
secure, but I have a feeling that I may have missed opportunities to
spread our influence.
The improvements that have been made in farming and mining, which I had
hoped would bring prosperity to the Kingdom, have brought in extra
revenue, but much of this extra wealth has been spent on more
improvements and the upkeep of the army.
I feel the greatest achievement of my reign will be the magnificent
castles that now stand in all of our province's and credit for this I
share with the late Lord Langton of Aquitane, although I did not
recognize it at first, Langton was a man of great vision.
To finish this summary of my reign I would like to pay tribute to my
two greatest friends and companions, Lord Holland and the late Lord
Mowbray, I have drawn great strength from these two men and for that I
love them as if they were my brothers.
The year has been a quite one and I only have one item of note to add to the diary.
Earlier in the year, my first son Prince William, killed a minstrel who
displeased him, this took place at court and in full view of large
number of people, he flew into a foul rage and had a number of his
companions not restrained him, I fear the death toll would have been
much greater.
This behaviour is unbefitting of a future King.
I have spoken with William about this and he accepts that it was the
wrong thing to do and that the man should have been killed in private.
I feel the problem with William is, at the age of 34 he feels ready to
fulfill his destiny and is eager to be King, I have therfor resolved to
involve William more in the decision making and running of the Kingdom.
**********************************************
1109.
Account of a meeting between Holland, William and myself to discuss income and foreign relations.
Me "I am pleased to inform you that income is up once more, however,
before we discuss this I would like your opinions on the proposed
alliance with Egypt, I myself am against it".
Holland "I see no advantage to it".
Me "William".
William "There is little point me expressing any opinion as it appears the decision is made".
Me "The decision is not yet made, the whole point of this meeting is to debate matters so that we may reach the right decision".
William "the right decision being the one that you decide on".
Holland "Come, come, William, we would like to hear your opinion".
William "That is a fine thing coming from you, what opinions do you hold that are not my fathers?".
Me "William, I would thank you not to be so disrespectful of our good friend Holland".
William "If its opinions that you require, I will give you opinions,
in my opinion this whole meeting is a farce, England has been isolated
for far too long and you have no intention of changing this, do you
know what is said abroad?, they speak of an old man, castaway on an
island completly cut off from the outside world and devoid of any sense
of reality".
Holland "do not listen to this sire, tis not true".
William "It is true and if you where the good friend of my father that you profess to be you would tell him so".
Me "Is this so Holland?, if it is say so".
Holland "Tis the ramblings of young blood sire, young William has been listening to the wrong voices".
(William jumps up, kicking his chair across the room and smashes his fist on table.)
William "Mark my words well, if something does not change soon, England
will be seen as weak and I am sure there are many who would take
advantage of that".
(With those words ringing in our ears, William storms across the room almost kicks the door of its hinges and is gone.)
Holland "I think all that excess energy would find better use on the field of battle".
Me "I think you may be right, I also think we have had enough discussion for this day".
Holland "Indeed".
William was right about one though, the decision had already been made and the proposal was turned down.
Later that same day another minstrel was found dead, apparently thrown from the castle ramparts, there were no witness's.
**********************************************
1110.
When the Queen was found to be with child again last year, I resigned
myself to yet another daughter, so it came as a pleasant surprise, when
earlier in the year she presented me with a son, he has been named
Stephen.
My second son Alfred has been married to Ingrid of Denmark, this
marriage seals an alliance between England and Denmark, which may prove
useful when our trading ships are ready.
I have given up hope of seeing my emissary and old friend Uhtred again,
I have not had any communication from him for over two years now, I
fear some misfortune may have befallen him.
We have suffered much from Welsh raids this year.
Things finally came to a head when they all but burnt the town of Worcester to the ground.
William burst into my chamber demanding that we march on Wales
immeadiatly, I explained to William that there were no men available
for such a venture, after flying into his customary rage, storming
about cursing and breaking chairs, William finally calmed down and
asked if he could take 20 royal knights into Mercia and from there wage
a campaign of terror against Welsh border settlements.
I have agreed to this, it will be good to give the court a rest from William's increasingly bad temper.
We may even find a minstrel who would be willing to play for the court and it will give the carpenter some much needed rest.
I pity the poor welsh people, the temper of William is bad enough, god only knows what his idea of a campaign of terror is.
**********************************************
1111.
A plot to take Prince William's life has been foiled.
The attempt was made at Nottingham castle, where William was making
plans for his campaign against the Welsh. Five men burst into his
chamber and hacked to pieces the person asleep in his bed, William is
no fool though and had changed beds with one of his men who had an
adjoining room, hearing the commotion William observed the proceedings
through the keyhole before making good his escape.
On his return to Wessex, William furnished me with the names of 3 of
the conspiritors, it took a few months but we finally managed to catch
one of these men, he was soon willing to confess all after a brief
"talk" with Willaim.
The man, Nigel Basset, implicated Lord Courtenay Earl of Mercia and
Lord Scrope Earl of Northumbria, at first we did not believe Basset's
words, however, as Basset divulged more of the story, the evidence
against these two became undeniable.
Both Courtenay and Scrope must have been forwarned, because they made
good their escape before we could apprehend them, however, Scrope made
a mistake in fleeing to Scotland, as the Scots were more than willing
to sell him to us for 1000 florins.
The penalty for treason is, to be hung drawn and quartered, and this
was Scrope and Basset's fate, it was an excellent spectacle, the
peasants created something of a carnival atmoshere, the executioner did
his job well and Scrope and Basset, provided us with a full afternoon
of entertainment, before they expired.
I have allowed William to allocate the titles for Northumbria and
Mercia, as I think it good that they be his men, considering my age.
Norhumbria has gone to Sir Anthony Becket and Mecia to Sir Tancred De Normandie.
**********************************************
1112.
The war of attrition against the Welsh has begun, opperating from
Mercia, William and his men have been making sporadic raids acrosss the
border, when they find a settlement they destroy everything, I have
asked William to try and avoid too much bloodshed, but knowing William
I suspect my words will have fallen on deaf ears.
My third son Prince Edmund has come of age, he looks a lot like
William, who is a giant of a man with a shock of red hair, I just hope
Edmund does not develop his brothers temper.
Alfred My second son is still managing the lands of Northumbria and
doing a very good job, he is not quite as tall as the other two, he
does however have the red hair, he is an even tempered man and I would
say he is the more intelligent of the three.
King Sancho of Aragon has sadly died, he was only 56 years old.
**********************************************
1113.
There have been developments in Wales, there follows an account of events as told by Prince William.
We set up camp the night before just inside the Welsh lands, the night
was uneventful and we awoke at dawn fresh and ready for the task ahead,
there was a stiff breeze but the day looked promising and we hoped for
fine weather later that day.
That day we planned to attack the settlements of St Asaph and Rhuddlan,
before retreating back into England, we saddled up and set off in the
direction of St Asaph.
Towards the middle of the morning the weather took a turn for the worst
and a light drizzle started, which somewhat dampened our spirits, as we
reached the crest of yet another hill, we saw them atop the hill on the
other side of the valley, at a rough estimate we put their strength at
around 300, all on foot.
From our possition, and with the bad visibility it was impossible to
make out what kind of force they were, I was just about to post a man
on the hill while we took cover and discussed our options when they
started to move this way, obviously we had been seen, I decided the
best thing for us would be to hold our position on the hill and keep
watch on their movements.
They came down the hill in three groups one behind the other, the first
group seemed to be moving faster than the others and a gap opened up,
by the time they had crossed the valley we could see that the first
group were bowmen, around 120 strong, they started up the hill and we
surmised, that they would get within range and then begin to launch
their arrows at us.
The first group where about half way up the hill now, the second who we
could now see were carrying spears, were crossing the valley and the
third group who were carrying bows and slightly smaller than the other
two were just behind the spears.
The bowmen came on, we kept expecting them to stop as they were surely
now in range, but still they continued to climb, there was quite a
large gap between the first and second groups now.
I decided this was our best opportunity to inflict as much damage as
possible, my men were spread out in line atop the hill, I gave the
order and we thundered down the hill, we hit them hard, many fell under
our horses and an equal number fell to our lances but the remainder did
not run, a fierce fight ensued, these Welshmen were prepared to die and
we were doing our damdest to help them on their way.
All the time we are fighting these bowmen I can see the spears slowly
but surely making their way towards us and the bowmen behind them had
begun to fire into the melee, killing more of their own men than ours I
suspect, it is now imperative that we finnish this fight before the
spears are upon us, they are now down to around 40 men and the sprears
are closing fast, then they are down to 20 and the spears are almost
upon us, finaly they break and run, I order my men back up the hill.
We reach the top of the hill, more than half our number are dead, we
turn to see the spearmen still coming on, I look over the spears at the
bowmen behind them and spy a man waving his arms and making gestures,
this has got to be their leader.
I point to the man and tell my men he is the one we need to kill, we
set off at a gallop along the crest of the hill and head down past the
flank of the spearmen, they turn and follow us. We hit the bowmen and I
head straight for the leader, with all my strength I bring my sword
down upon him, splitting him from neck to waist, he falls to the ground
quite obviously dead, the bowmen immeadiatly begin to flee the field,
the spearmen are now almost upon us, there is now no option we have to
attack them or die, we are heavily outnumbered and I expect us to be
overun and killed but these spearmen no longer have the will to fight
and on our first impact they too begin to flee.
We chase them up the hill and eventually many through exhaustion, sit down and surrender.
We have won a victory out of nothing this day and I do not realize the
magnitude of this victory until one of the prisoners tells me that the
man I killed was Ifor ap William, the Prince of Wales.
The total count was.
145 men killed.
109 prisoners taken, who were later released.
16 men lost on our side, just 4 of our number survived.
William has indeed achieved a great victory, with their leader dead the
Welsh are beaten, I immeadiatly sent Holland with 200 men to
Caernarvon, the town capitualated without a fight, on Williams request
Sir Odo Borleng has been appointed governor of Wales.
**********************************************
1114.
England and Denmark, have much to celebrate this year, my third son
Edmund has married Sigrid of Denmark and Prince Sweyn of Denmark has
married my daughter Princess Margery the elder, these ties along with
previous ties strengthen our alliance greatly, both countries have
borders with the HRE and I believe, our strong alliance must be a
considerable deterent to any ambitions the Emperor may have.
The King of Spain has died, I am sure the Almohads have plans to move
against the Spaniards, as the emissary to Kalifah Yusuf arrived at
court offering alliance, shortly after news of the old Kings death had
become known, I refused the offer and wrote a letter to the new King of
Spain, Alfonso VII, informing him of my suspicions and pledging our
support.
The port and shipbuilding facilities, that we are building slightly
down river from the tower, are almost finished, in anticipation of this
I have authorised a new port to be built in Normandy at Calais, as this
will facilitate movement of troops between England and the continent,
should there be a need to do so.
I have sent Prince William to join his brother Alfred in Northumbria,
where they will start a campaign of raids similar to the Welsh raids of
the previous two years, the reason for this is not to try and control
the Scots, but rather to try and control William.
When he came back from Wales, he was a changed man, friendly, good
natured and amicable, but after a few months of court life the old
William began to show his face, there were arguments and brawls, and
finally the court minstrel disappeared, I knew then that it was time
for William to take a trip north.
I know not why William has such a hatred for musicians, I have asked
him but he just denies all knowledge of the fate of these poor souls.
**********************************************
1115.
Our alliance with the Danes was further strengthend this year, with the
marriage of Eric of Denmark to Princess Margery the younger, all my
offsprings are now married, with the exception of Prince Stephen who is
6 years old and Princess Clare who is 10 years old.
Shipbuilding has begun in London, it is a long a labourious process and
I think it will be many years before we experience any trade benefit.
William and Alfred visited court for a brief period this year, on their
last night before heading back up north, we had a memorable night of
eating, drinking and discussion, present were myself, Holland, William,
Alfred, and Edmund who is now 19 years old, Edmund has a deep affection
for both William and Alfred, they are both around 20 years older than
him and I think he looks upon William as more of a father than a
brother and Alfred as a kind of uncle, they were the ones that taught
him to fire a bow, use a sword and ride a horse.
I invited Holland in order that proceedings were not to much in favour of the youngbloods.
Holland "How goes things in Scotland William".
William "The Scots are a tougher breed than the Welsh, more often than
not when we come upon a settlement, there are men who will stand and
fight".
Holland " Has thou killed many?".
William "There have been many, Alfred, How many would you say we have killed?".
Alfred "Tis difficult to say, I think I may have killed at least 50 myself".
William "Yes, that sounds like a resonable number, although I would put my own count at nearer 70".
Holland "These amounts are piffle, why I remember killing at least 200
men, whilst putting down a rebbellion during the Conquerers reign".
Me "I killed that many in one assault at hastings and there must have been at least five assaults".
Holland "Thats 1000 men!".
Me "Yes twas a brisk mornings work".
William "How many did the Conquerer kill?".
Me "Must have been more than 2000".
Edmund "I wouldn't have thought it possible to kill so many in one battle".
(we all look at Edmund with straight faces, before the whole room disolves into laughter)
Holland "So young Edmund how many men has thy killed".
Edmund "I have not had the opportunity to kill any as yet".
William "Father, let Edmund ride north with us, it would be good for him to get some blood on his sword".
Me "Ha, thats a fine idea, send all my sons to Scotland under the
command of a mad man, maybe young Stephen will accompany you as well
and my good self, then you can lead us all to a glorious death, Holland
will you take over as King should we all die".
William "Why Alfred is no more mad than you or I".
Me "Haha, you know who I refer to".
William "I am shocked that you consider me mad father. why this kind of revelation could send a man insane".
Me "You may be a little mad my son but I am a proud of you, you are a
damn fine warrior and England will be safe when I am no more, everyone
drink with me, to William the future King of England, may his reign be
long and his madness subside".
**********************************************
1116.
It is late in the year and I cannot delay any longer, the painfull words I now have to write in the diary.
My two eldest sons William and Alfred are dead, killed by the barbaric
Scots, although it would have caused me much anguish, I could have
accepted this if they had been killed in battle, but the manner in
which their bodies were found and the evidence of brutal torture, will
now haunt me for my remaining years of my life.
There is no actual account of what took place, so I can only write the
facts of what we know, their bodies were found impaled on stakes,
either side of the road north of Carlisle, Each dressed only in a
sackcloth kilt, they both looked through empty sockets where once their
eyes had been, their bodies, bruised and battered bore many marks of
burning irons and other injuries which I care not to relate to thee,
for the sake of human decency.
It is a heavy burden to carry, the knowledge of the slow and painful death of two, whom I loved so dearly.
Had I been able to pray that their deaths had been swift, it would have
given me some solace, alas , the Scots have deprived me even of this.
Edmund, who is now heir to the throne, took the news far worse than
anyone, on being told he showed no emotion, all that he said was, "I
need some time to think", he retired to his chamber and was not seen
outside for six days, in this time the only person he would talk to was
his servant and then only to request food and drink.
After the six days he could be seen walking in the grounds and riding
in the fields nearby, but he would still not speak with anyone, several
weeks passed and I began to fear for his sanity, then one morning there
was a knock on my chamber door and in breezed Edmund, he gave me a
sypathetic knowing smile, crossed the room and clasped his arms around
me, stating in a loud confident voice "Father it is done, we have much
to do if I am to be the King that my brother would have become".
Edmund is eager to learn and this takes a great toll on an old man, but
I am determined to give him all the time he requests, as I see a great
purpose in him and suspect he feels, that through him, his brother's
will live to perform great deeds.
Now I must rest, the sorrowful task of writing this has caused me much torment and I am exhausted.
**********************************************
1117.
After my great sadness last year, my faith in god has returned, as he
has seen fit to reward me with another son, he has been named Henry,
It is very pleasing for an old man to see new life, after suffering so recently at the hands of death.
However, it is not all good news I have to report this year, in the
autumn the heavens opened and a great deluge tormented us for several
weeks, worst hit was Northumbria, where many were drowned and much was
washed away.
War has broken out between France and Aragon after the Aragonese
invaded the province of Toulouse, the Aragonese won the ensuing battle
close to the town of Foix and now lay siege to the castle at Toulouse,
as we were allied to both a decision had to made, we chose to stay
loyal to the French.
**********************************************
1118.
(An excerpt from the diary of Sir Henry Holland, Earl of Wessex)
King William had become ill early in the year and had taken to his chamber.
At first we thought little of it, as the King is an old man and has taken to his chamber many times over the past few years.
Soon though, it became evident that this illness was different from the
previous ones, before the King had always recovered after a few days or
at most two weeks, this time we were now over four months into the
Kings illness.
During this time we had established a routine were I would see the King
at noon everyday, I would inform him of matters and read any letters to
him, then he would tell me of any orders that were to be carried out,
after we had concluded business, we would eat some food together and
talk of old times.
This past two weeks I have become very concerned, on a number of
occassions the King has been so weak, that I have had to spoon feed him
broth at our noon meetings and today was one of those occassions.
In the Afternoon I had gone to the port to check on shipbuilding
progress, the King has become very interested in this recently and had
asked me to go and take a look, whilst I was there a messenger caught
up with me, the message was from Edmund, it said I should make haste to
the palace as the Kings health had taken a turn for the worse and that
he was asking for me.
I came into the Kings chamber and discovered the Royal family were all
present and a priest knelt at the foot of the bed praying, the Kings
nightshirt was stained red around the neck where he had been coughing
blood.
The king managed a weak smile, before he winced in pain, then beckoned
me with a slight movement of the hand, he tried to say something but
his voice was too weak, I drew my ear closer to him so that he may
whisper to me.
He told me that his time was very near, that he did not want the Queen
and the children to have to suffer the sight of his passing and they
should now say their farwells before leaving the chamber.
It was a very moving scene, as one by one the children went over to
their father and kissed his forehead, the Queen was unconsolable and
did not want to leave, eventualy the King whispered something to her,
she whispered something back to him kissed him on the forehead and
Edmund supported her as she left the room.
Edmund came back in and gestured to the preist to leave us.
I was kneeling now by the side of the Kings bed, Edmund made his way to
the other side and also knelt, the King offered each of us a hand,
which we both took.
The King then mustered up some strength from deep within and began to
speak, his voice trembled, his speach was punctuated by coughs and
blood ran from the side of his mouth, "My trusted friend Holland, you
have been the best companion a man could have wished for, farewell my
friend, My son Edmund you will be King soon and I know you will be a
fine King, farewell my son".
The Kings was now looking into Edmunds eyes and offering weak but
kindly smiles between coughing, we were like this for quite a while,
occasionaly Edmund would wipe the blood from the side of his fathers
mouth.
Eventualy the Kings grip tightened on my hand, he gave a big sigh and then his grip loosened.
I looked across at Edmund, a solitary tear ran down his face.
**********************************************
Edited by: Obake Date at: 2/9/05 4:05 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 632
(3/14/04 11:29 pm)
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Chapter 2.
The Diary of King Edmund III. 1118-1164
1118.
It seems like yesterday that I was the twenty year old Prince,
third in line to the throne, with nothing more important on my mind than hunting and pretty damsels.
Now just two years on, I am King of England and although my father
prepared me well during the short time he had, I find it impossible to
put down in words the overwhealming feeling of resposibility, that
being King brings with it.
I have men to advise me and discuss matters with, but the ultimate
decision is always mine, I hope that given time I will develop ways to
ease this burden of conscience.
I had developed a strong bond with my father over the last two years,
it is hard to come to terms with the fact that he is gone, on one
occassion I was pondering a problem and arose from my chair, to go and
ask my father his advice and then remembered he was no longer with us.
With my father and two older brothers gone I feel quite alone at times,
I do however have one link to them and that is Holland, I have a
feeling they are close when Holland is present.
My father has left me a well defended Kingdom with a growing capacity to earn coin, this is a testimonial to his time as King.
The men I have around me in England are all my father's and my brother's men, they are all good loyal men.
The continent is somewhat different, most of these titles have been
inherited, my father allowed this as loyalty had become a concern of
his in these province's, although I do not forsee any serious problems
developing from this situation, I feel it is something I will have to
turn my mind to at some point in the future.
At the moment I have two burning ambitions that I wish to fulfil during my time as King.
1. To continue our shipbuilding, encourage trade and better our foreign relations with more distant Kingdoms
2. To visit a terrible revenge on Duncan Douglas, self proclaimed King of Scotland and the murderer of my brother's.
**********************************************
1119.
I have recieved word from my emissary in Rome, he tells me that Pope Urban II, has died.
Although I will probably be damned for saying this, the news is good,
as we have encountered great problems obtaining an audience with Pope
Urban.
Hopefully his successor, Pope Nicholas III, will be more cooperative.
The following is an account of an important meeting I had with Holland.
Me "I am considering The building of ports in Northumbria and Mercia,
in order to take advantage of our growing fleet of merchantmen, I would
like your opinion on this?".
Holland "I think it is the right thing to do and your father would be very pleased of this idea".
Me "Indeed, one thing I am uncertain about is where we should build
first, the treasury will only allow the building of one port at
present, should it be Mercia or Northumbria?".
Holland "Definately Northumbria, The fishermen of Northumbria are
expert at charming the fish from the sea and this could become a great
source of income, along with the wool the province produces".
Me "Very well Northumbria it will be, as you will understand, I am
eager to restart the destruction of the Scots, have we men available
for this task?".
Holland "I understand your eagerness well Edmund, no Englishman can
sleep whilst that spineless dog Douglas still breathes, However, as
your father became aware, the matter is one of practicality.
We have the men but at present they are tied up in Wales, and with
uncertainty on the continent because of the conflict between France and
Aragon, I think it would be less than prudent to strip men from our
army in Wessex for this task".
Me "Very well, I will endure Douglas's existence for a little longer".
Holland "Sire, I have a request, I am growing old now and need to rest
would you consider relieving me of my duties, I feel they are becoming
too much for an old man?".
Me "But Holland you are my most trusted advisor".
Holland "And that I will remain, however, the day to day affairs of
Wessex are far too much for me to cope with and I fear they may not be
getting the attention they require".
Me "Very well, you have given great service to England over the years
and I think it just that England rewards you with this time of rest,
you will keep your title for your remaining years and I myself will
take over your duties in Wessex".
Holland "Thank you sire".
Me "No, let me thank you Holland, I have however one last order to give
thee and it is this, I order thee to raise a cup with me and enjoy thy
remaing years".
(We both smile, raise a cup and laugh heartily)
**********************************************
1120.
Pope Nicholas has turned down our offer of alliance, I am quite annoyed
about this, during my fathers reign we turned down many offers of
alliance from the muslim kingdoms, made no agressive moves against
fellow catholics and our reward is this snub, without any explanation
of why.
Recently the Pope gave out a proclaimation, requesting Catholics to
take up the cross and reclaim the holy lands from the Egyptians,
however, as we in England are not worthy of alliance, I would reason we
are also not worthy of this most holy of tasks.
We now have a fort in Caernarvon and Welsh resistance seems to be
subsiding, this should free up some troops for Scotland very soon.
We are also looking into the possibility of copper mining in Wales, as there are indications of substantial deposits.
My sister Clare has now come of age.
**********************************************
1121.
For me, everything this year has been overshadowed by one event, the death of Sir Henry Holland.
He died suddenly and unexpectedly, one of his servant was the last person to see him alive.
The servant explained that she had brought food to Sir Henry's chamber,
he had seemed in good spirits, commenting on the food and teasing the
girl before she left, shortly after she had returned to tidy away Sir
Henry's leftovers and found him slumped across his desk.
There were no signs of foul play and Sir Henry looked as though he had
fallen asleep, we can only assume that time had finally caught up with
him, I am glad that he did not suffer and that death came quick for him.
As I have said before Sir Henry was a link to my father and brother's,
with him gone the possition of King seems a very lonely one, I do draw
comfort from the picture I have in my mind of them all sitting around a
table jesting and teasing each other, maybe that is what they are all
doing as I write this, no doubt they are looking down on me and and
finding sport with something that I do.
The war between France and Aragon is over, the castle at Toulouse fell
to the Aragonese and not long after King Philippe of France agreed to
King Sancho's request for peace.
The message this sends forth, is that Philippe is weak and unable to protect his Kingdom.
We ourselves, have no plans to move against the French as we have much
easier targets in our sights, However, the HRH may feel enboldened to
do so considering the apparent ease with which the Aragonese took
Toulouse.
King Sancho has now shown himself to be a warmonger and Kingdoms that
share a border with Aragon are now trying to anticipate his next move,
to this end I have sent an emissary to offer a new alliance with Aragon
and to try and gain an insight into his thoughts.
**********************************************
1122.
Damn King Sancho and damn the Duke of Aquitane.
The Aragonese have declared war on us and invaded Aquitane, Bordeaux castle is now under siege.
On route to Aragon my emissary stopped at Bordeaux, the Duke of
Aquitane who it now transpires had his own agenda, learned of my man's
mission and decided it was in his best interests, to do a deal with the
Aragonese.
His idea was to give over the province to the Aragonese in return for assurance's that his own possition would be safe.
Forunately for us Sir Edmund Stuart was amongst the Duke's retinue, Sir
Edmund is a man who commands much respect from his fellow knights and
on hearing of the Dukes plans, decided to take command of the garrison
himself.
When confronted with the situation the Duke attacked Sir Edmund, but
was badly out of his depth as Sir Edmund is a swordsman of some renown,
the Duke was fataly wounded in the fight and died shortly after.
I should mention that the Duke was the son of Lord Langton the man who
built Bordeaux castle and was the inspiration for much of my father's
castle building, it is a very sad turn of events, that the son has
thrown away the inheritance that his father had done so much to
establish.
King Sancho must have been quite disapointed on reaching Bordeaux to find that the gates were firmly closed to him.
Bordeaux castle is very well fortified and provisioned, so we have decided to leave the next move to Sancho.
Of more concern to me than the siege of Bordeaux, is the chain of events that this war has triggered.
On learning of the war the Italians cancelled our alliance, followed shortly after by the HRE.
We still however, have alliance's with Spain, France and Denmark, who have all stayed loyal to us.
The Duke of Aquitane also held the office of Chamberlain, I have now awarded this office to The Earl of Northumberland.
**********************************************
1123.
After the problem I had last year because of The Duke of Aquitane's
disloyalty, early this year I decided on a plan of action to ensure
this would not happen in any of our other continental province's.
I sent two groups of royal knights to the continent, one each for
Normandy and Anjou, the commander of each unit carried a letter
addressed to the lord.
These letters explained that in light of recent events in Aquitane, I
had deemed it necessary that the garrisons in their respective
province's be strengthend and that the knights were to be used for this
purpose.
Later in the year I recalled the Duke's of Normandy and Anjou to London
on the pretence of a meeting to discuss matters in Europe.
When both men where present I called the meeting, informed both men
that their lands had been confiscated, that they were now part of the
army in Wessex and that there was no point in them trying to plead
their case as the decision was made, I now wait to see if they accept
their new circumstance's or have other plans.
At the same time my royal knights on the continent were taking control
of their new Dukedom's, Sir John Despenser is now Count of Anjou and
Sir William Stanley is Duke of Normandy.
The siege of Bordeaux continues, Bordeaux castle, as with all our castles has its own well and livestock.
I have sent a letter to Sancho of Aragon informing him of this,
suggesting that his men be made confortable and prepare for a wait in
excess of ten years.
I myself hope that they leave before this, as we are losing a
considerable amount of income because of it, however, the blow has been
softened slightly by our first profits from oversea's trade.
To add to Sancho's problems there are rumours of unrest in Toulouse, it
is to be hoped that this unrest will turn into full blown rebellion.
**********************************************
1124.
Great news this year, as I had hoped for the unrest in Toulouse did
turn into rebellion and King Sancho facing ovewhealming odds, decided
to withdraw abandoning the province to the rebels.
Although this does not solve our problems in Aquitane, it is
detremental to the Aragonese and as such can only be to our advantage.
The war between ourselves and Aragon is hampering my attempts to
establish further alliance's, my request for alliance with the
Hungarians who are allied to the Aragonese has been turned down, I must
admit I am now developing an intense hatred for Sancho of Aragon, if my
hand is forced and I do have to send men to relieve Bordeaux I will be
sorely tempted to march them all the way to Barcelona.
I was very pleased earlier in the year to be in a possition to begin
raids on Scotland again, I placed The Duke of Normandy in charge with
instructions, that should Duncan Douglas the King of Scotland be
encountered, under no circumstances was he to be harmed, but instead,
brought to London, where I will personally take charge of his torture
and slow painful death.
(A conversation I had with the Duke of Normandy on his return.)
Me "Normandy have you good news for me".
Normandy "I fear not sire, Douglas and a large force of highlanders
ambushed us on route to Lanark, a fierce fight ensued, but we were
massively outnumbered, all my men were killed and I myself barely
escaped with my life".
Me "Normandy, are you aware of the reason I have such hatred for Douglas".
Normandy "Indeed sire".
Me "Tell me, do you think my brother William would have returned alone after losing all of his men?".
Normandy "I know not sire".
Me "YOU KNOW NOT!, ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT MY BROTHER WAS A COWARD, NORMANDY?".
Normandy "Certainly not sire I.....".
Me "SILENCE, I should have thy head off for this, now listen to me
Normandy, I will give thee some more men and the next time I lay eyes
upon thee, You will either be in the company of Duncan Douglas or
impaled on a stake outside Carlisle, NOW GET OUT OFF MY SIGHT AFORE I
VOMIT".
I fear I may have been too hard on Normandy, but the mere mention of
Duncan Douglas these days is enough to set my blood boiling, the hatred
I have for him is becoming unhealthy and I have begun to have fantasies
about torturing him in ever more fiendish ways.
Apart from events in Toulouse, I have one other item of good news to
report this year, the birth of my first son and heir to my Kingdom, I
had thought to call him William after my dear brother, but being the
first born as William himself was, I did not want to tempt fate, so
have named him Edward, as I think it is a good name for a King.
**********************************************
1125.
Aquitane is becoming a land of hero's, first we had Sir Edmund Stuart
saviour of Bordeaux castle and now we have Sir Edward Longchamps
liberator of Aquitane.
Earlier in the year Longchamps, a native of Aquitane with connections
at the French court, had asked King Philippe of France for help in
liberating the province from the Aragonese.
King Philippe had promised Longchamps, that if he could raise a
substantial force of loyalists in Aquitane, he would send a force of
Frenchmen down from Brittany to help liberate the province.
Longchamps had no problem raising the loyalists in the north of the
province and more than true to his word, Philippe sent a massive army
to march south along with the loyalists.
When the Aragonese discovered a large allied army was heading their way, they fled back over the border into Aragon.
This is an excellent turn of events, I am now much indebted to Philippe
and hope to repay his loyalty in some way, however, this did leave me
with something of a dilema, who was I to give, the now vacant title of
Duke of Aquitane to, Stuart or Lonchamps?. both men are equally
deserving.
I eventualy came up with a soloution which pleased both men, Longchamps
was to be made Duke and to compensate Stuart, he will to take command
of the loyalist army and march on Barcelona next year, if successful he
will become Duke of Aragon.
There has been double cause for celebration here in England this year,
My younger brother Stephen has come of age and the Queen has presented
me with a second son, he has been named Richard.
The treasury has also given me reason to smile, along with the return
of income's from Aquitane, our traders are now active in Flanders,
Friesland and Saxony.
The only blight on what has been an excellent year, has been the continued existance of Duncan Douglas.
**********************************************
1126.
As I consider Spain a valuable ally, I thought it prudent, that before
our invasion of Aragon, King Alfonso should be informed of our
intentions and to this end I despatched my emissary.
On his return my emissary informed me, that King Alfonso supported our
action in regards to putting an end to the war between ourselves and
Aragon, but would not agree to our occupation of Aragon.
With this in mind, I decided our best course of action should we be
victorious, would be to offer the province to Spain, thus retaining our
good relationship with Spain and also ending the war with Aragon.
My emissary was sent back to Spain with this offer and a request that
as soon as they were aware that the invasion was underway, they should
send an occupation force.
As you will remember I had promised Aragon to Sir Edmund Stuart should
he succeed, a promise which I could now no longer keep, so it was with
the prospect of becoming King of Scotland in his mind that Stuart
finally crossed the border late in the autumn.
Shortly after crossing the border, Stuart recieved word that the
Spanish occupation force was marching south from Pamplona and would
meet with him at Jaca, from there the combined force would then march
on to Barcelona.
Stuart waited at Jaca, eventually the Spaniards commanded by King
Alfonso himself arrived with an army of around 800, this was quite a
surprise as our own force only numbered 180, the combined force moved
on and eventually encountered the Aragonese close to Huesca.
The Battle of Huesca, as told by Sir Edmund Stuart.
Our scouts reported that the Aragonese army, were deployed atop a hill
to the right of the road ahead of our route, we continued along the
road until they were in sight.
The battlefield took the form of a steep sided valley, through which the road ran up hill towards the enemy possition.
The Spaniards deployed on top of the valley hillside to the left of us,
I informed King Alfonso that I intended to send my feudal foot knights
up the road in the direction of an Aragonese balista that was placed on
a mound close to the road but detached from their main force, in the
hope of drawing them down into the valley, whilst I along with my royal
knights and feudal knights, would head up and along the right side of
the valley, King Alfonso said he would send some of his men up the road
to support my foot knights and the rest of his force would head along
the top of the opposite side of the valley from myself.
As my foot knights drew close to the balista possition, the main enemy
force started to decend the hill, a fatal mistake by King Sancho, who
had now shown himself to be a less than able commander, as he is now
leading his men into a situation where they will be flanked on two
sides, the two sides meet on the valley floor.
Things go bad for us at first, as the Aragonese hit our foot knights
with a charge of around 100 royal knights, our men panic and begin to
run, the Spaniards who were following our men up the valley come to
their aid and stop the Aragonese advance, whilst the Spaniards who were
moving along the top of the valley side, come down and attack the
Aragonese archers, at this point we have reached our possition on the
hillside and I give the order to charge, we charge down the hillside in
the direction of the melee which is now taking place, many go down as
we hit them in the flank, fighting continues for a short while, until
King Sancho is seen to be dragged from his horse and a pack of men
decend on him, hacking him to pieces with their weapons, at this point
what few men the Aragonese have left see the battle is lost and decided
to save their own skins, the rout is short and bloody.
King Alfonso is overjoyed by the victory and heaps great praise on our
brave knights, I think England has made a staunch friend this day.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=31680
Diary continued in the words of King Edmund.
So, war with Aragon is over, Spain now has Aragon except for Barcelona
castle, which for the time being is held by rebels and Sir Edmund is on
his way home.
Other news this year, I now have a daughter, she has been named Edith
and my sister Clair has been married to Sir Edward Longchamps, Duke of
Aquitane.
Yet again Duncan Douglas has conspired to make me end this years entry
on a sour note, the Duke of Normandy once again was foolish enough to
allow himself to be ambushed, however, this time he did the honourable
thing and died fighting along with his men.
The vacant title goes to Sir Stephen Beaufort.
**********************************************
1127.
In contrast to last year, this year has been uneventful, Barcelona
castle has fallen to Spain, and Sir Edmund Stuart and his rebel army
have arrived in Normandy, where they will spend the winter months
before crossing the channel next year, I am looking forward to his
arrival, as I am sure he will have many tales to tell, also as I have
promised him the title King of Scotland, I am keen to learn of his
plans for the campaign, he has already proved himself effective in
battle and it is my hope that with Stuart in charge, I may finally have
my revenge on Duncan Douglas.
**********************************************
1128.
I am now in my 32nd year and have been King for ten of them, I think
now may be a good time to put down in writing an inventory of the
Kingdom.
Fortification of the Kingdom.
All our province's are fortified to the level of keep, Curtain wall and
Balista towers, with the exception of Wessex, which does not have the
curtain wall and balista towers and Wales which has a wooden fort.
Buildings and other improvements.
Wessex contains all our military and shipbuilding infrastructure,
improvements in other province's has been limited to things that would
increase our income such as improved farming, mining, and trade.
Military.
All our province's have garrisons of 20 Royal Knights, with the
exception of Wessex, where we have a large standing army, consisting of.
600 Spearmen.
600 Archers.
240 Urban Militia.
160 Hobilars.
2 balista crews.
I command this army and also have my own force of 20 Royal Knights.
In addition to this Prince Stephen commands an army of 20 Royal Knights
and 600 Peasants, they have been involved in garrisoning Wales and will
no doubt be needed to keep peace in Scotland when the conquest is
complete, at present they are in Wessex.
Also we have Sir Edmund Stuart's loyalist army, Which is now in Wessex
after crossing the channel, this army is much depleted after its
exploits in Aragon their exact numbers are.
20 Royal Knights.
37 Feudal Knights.
66 Feudal Foot Knights.
Ships.
3 fleets of barques one each in English channel, North sea and Skagerrak.
A couple of items of note this year, I have another son, who has been named John and we now have an alliance with the Poles.
I spent an afternoon in the company of Sir Edmund Stuart, as you may
remember this was something I was looking forward to, I assumed he
would be an interesting companion, however, although he is very well
informed on military matters, the man lacks any kind of wit whatsoever,
so I was a little disappointed, I do have confidence in him to do what
is required in Scotland though.
**********************************************
1129.
I am greatly pleased, for we now have a long awaited guest staying with
us here at the tower, Duncan Douglas has been captured and has taken up
residence in the dungeon, I have spent much time entertaining him
recently, but more of this later.
Sir Edmund Stuart and his men crossed over into Scotland and raised
hell, they burnt everything in sight and killed every Scot they
encountered, Sir Edmund knew full well that this would bring Douglas
looking for him, eventualy the inevitable happened and Douglas tried to
ambush Sir Edmund, however, Douglas did not realize that these men were
seasoned campaigners, the scots were slaughtered and Douglas taken
prisoner.
As promised I have made Stuart King of Scotland, I have also sent
Prince Stephen to Scotland with 700 men, in order to convince the
Scots, that it is futile to resist our rule.
The Queen has given me another son, I now have 4 sons and one daughter,
My new born son has been named William after my dear brother, I had
been reluctant to give this name to any of my sons before, as I did not
want to tempt fate, but with Scotland now conquered and Douglas our
prisoner, I thought the time was right to honour my brother, the
christening was performed by my Bishop Thomas Becket in our newly built
church.
Now I will tell you of Douglas, I have decided that he should not die
just yet, I have waited a long time for my revenge and I think it
fitting that Douglas should repay me by taking a long time to die.
He has endured many sessions of torture now, between each session we
give him a suitable period to recover somewhat before starting again.
We started off by tormenting him with hot irons and breaking one limb
each session, later we progressed to removing fingers, toes and other
appendages and during the last session we stretched him on the rack to
see if we could correct his broken limbs, I now think that we should
rest from breaking his body for a while, as I fear he may die, I am
considering ways of breaking his mind whilst his body regains some
strength.
**********************************************
1130.
I feel totaly crestfallen, Duncan Douglas along with his ally death
have inflicted a final defeat on me, I had begun the process of
breaking his mind, on several occasions I had given him a date of
execution, only to postpone his death just before the time, when this
ploy was spent, I then begun to tell him news of Scotland, of how we
had visited much hardship and degradation on the Scotish people, and
that we had turned him into a traitor in their eyes.
Finaly during one of our conversations, he started to divulge the true
horror of the death of my two brother's, it was too much for my ears
and although I tried to silence him he would not stop, I attacked him
beating him violently about the head, but still he continued, finaly I
could stand it no more, I drew my sword and with a mighty blow, split
his head lengthways.
As I sunk back against the dungeon wall, I realized this was what he
had wanted me to do, in our final battle I had failed and presented him
with a victory, that I could never reverse.
Although I mourn the passing off Duncan Douglas, much in the Kingdom is good.
We have another port ready for use in Mecia, this is in addition to our
exsisting ports in Wessex, Northumbria and Normandy, we are also
trading as far afield as Denmark and Pomerania.
Scotland is coming to except our rule and I have been able to reduce the garrison, I hope to reduce it further next year.
**********************************************
1131.
When I first became King I had a vision that my lot would be similar to
my fathers, by that I mean, I would have some troublesome governors,
but also some trusted men with whom I could forge a good relationship
and turn to for advice, sadly this has not been the case, with the
exception of Lord Longchamps the Duke of Aquitane, I suspect all my
governors of misdirecting coin away from the treasury, as their accouts
differ greatly from one year to the next.
This is not a situation that I can solve with ease, the feudal system
has grown strong during my reign, and these nobel families expect that
their line inherit when the Lord passes on.
Although I have the power to confiscate their lands such a move would make civil war a distinct possibility.
The Duke of Aquitane, I feel can be trusted, but being as he is so far
away in Aquitane, he is of no use as an advissor, I had hoped that as
my younger brother Stephen became older, he would become a confidant to
me, but I detect a strong ambition in Stephen and I think it best, he
is kept away from knowledge that he may use to his own advantage.
I have recently started to entertain ideas of extendeding the Kingdom
across the sea into Ireland, I have ordered the building of more ships
and it is to be hoped, that our men will be free of their duties in
Scotland when the time comes.
**********************************************
1132.
King Olaf of Denmark has sadly died, Olaf has been a trusted ally over
many years, our two Kingdoms have strong ties, for my wife Queen Sigrid
is the daughter of Olaf, and her brother the incoming King Sweyn III,
is married to my sister Margery.
Spain has invaded the rebel province of Toulouse, they now lay siege to
the castle there, this has come as something of a shock, as when we
fought along side them some years ago in Aragon, King Alfonso give me
assurance's that they had no ambitions beyond the Pyrenees mountains,
something which I took into consideration when I agreed to them taking
control of Aragon, I now have some doubts about the sincerity of King
Alfonso's words.
My youngest brother Henry has come of age, I find him irritating and
foolish and I am pleased that he spend much of his time with his
brother Stephen.
There has been famine in Mercia, something which I am sure the Earl of
Mercia took full advantage of, as profits from Mercia are well down
this year.
**********************************************
1133.
Earlier this year my emissary negotiated a renewal of our alliance with
the HRE, I was very pleased with this as now our borders were once more
secure, however, my joy was short lived as within a month of the
alliance being made known, Emperor Conrad declared war on France, I
sent word to Conrad, saying that in the light of recent events, I could
no longer allow our alliance to continue.
Conrad replied, asking me to reconsider and offering his daughter Kunigunde as a bride for my brother Stephen.
I fear that Conrad may have taken leave of his senses, if he believes
such an offer would break our long standing alliance with Philippe of
France, the offer was declined.
I have given assurances to King Philippe that he has our full support,
I also informed him that although we will not become involved in the
conflict unless attacked by the HRH, our prayers are for a swift
victory for France.
Spain now has control of Toulouse after the castle surrendered, I hope
that the end of the siege of Toulouse is also the end of King Alfonso's
expansion northwards.
**********************************************
1134.
Sir Walter Talbot is the man in charge of the tower garrison, he is a
man of average ability and average inteligence, I do however respect
him, as he is God fearing and efficient at his job.
Sir Walter had requested an audience with me which I granted, thinking
he wanted to discuss some matter to do with the tower or the garrison,
here are two accounts of conversations I had one with Sir Walter and
One which followed shortly after with Prince Stephen and Prince Henry.
Me "Greetings Sir Walter, what is it you care to discuss."
Walter "Sire I would like to request that you relieve me from my post."
Me "This comes as a surprise, would it be asking too much for you to furnish me with a reason for your request."
Walter "Tis a personal matter Sire, concerning my wife."
Me "Well Sir Walter, I am pleased with your service and I have no one
to replace you with at such short notice, tell me more of the problem,
maybe we can find a solution which would enable you to stay at the
tower."
Walter "With all due respect Sire I would rather not."
Me "Sir Walter, I am your King and when I ask a question of thee I expect an answer."
(Walter looks uncomfortable and begins shuffling his feet)
Walter "My wife is having an affair with another man at the court Sire."
Me "I see, tell me do you know the name of this treacherous dog."
(Walter voice falters)
Walter "Yes Sire."
Me "well?."
(Walters voice becomes pleading)
Walter "I am sorry Sire, it is Prince Henry Sire, Please forgive me Sire."
Me "Walter calm thy self, I am not sore at thee and I believe thy words, I no very well my younger brother is a waster."
Walter "I do not want to bring any shame on the good name of thy family Sire, it would be better if you allowed me to go."
Me "It would be easier Sir Walter, but it would be unjust and Henry
would go on to cause me even greater problems in the future, now you go
and tell your wife that the King forbids that she has anymore dealings
with Prince Henry, who I will deal with very afternoon."
Walter "Thank you Sire, I am forever in thy debt."
(Later that day, Stephen and Henry arrive for the meeting I have summond them to)
Stephen "Greetings my dear brother and King."
Me "Sit down both of you I have something important to speak to thee about."
Henry "Will this take long I have an engagement this afternoon."
Me "BE QUITE FOOL, this will take as long as I say it will take."
(Henry sits down looking sullen)
Stephen "What angers thee brother?"
Me "I have learned that our younger brother has been entertaining a married woman here at the court."
Stephen "Oh that, I thought that it was common knowledge, forgive me for not letting you in on the secret."
Me "YOU KNOW OF THIS AND OPENLY CONDONE IT?"
Stephen "It is unfortunate that Talbot found out, but it will be easy enough to send him elsewhere."
Me "I do intend to send someone away but it is not Sir Walter Talbot."
(Henry sits up attentively)
Henry "what do you mean."
Me "You are going to Scotland my lad, I hear the women there are uncommonly ugly."
Stephen "You stand by a mere soldier and cast your own brother aside."
Me "If my brother were not an ass it would not be so."
Stephen "Edmund, this may not be a good idea, Henry is young and I will
agree, a little foolish, but he will grow wiser given time."
Me "He will learn much faster away from thee."
Stephen "But Edmund, what if our young and foolish brother was to let
slip to the good people of Scotland, details of the fate of Duncan
Douglas, it would cause problems no doubt."
Me "IS THIS A THREAT!"
Stephen "How could I threaten thee, the King of England."
Me "Now both of you listen to me, if I hear of any such slip of the
tongue, there will be a crusade leaving Wessex, do you understand?"
Henry "But....."
Me "QUITE, now be gone from my sight."
(they both leave the room)
Henry is now in Scotland, I intend to send both Stephen and Henry to
Ireland, with our invasion force when it is ready, I care not if they
return.
**********************************************
1135.
Although our ships are in place for the planned invasion of Ireland, we
cannot proceed just yet, I still have men tied up in Scotland who will
be needed in Ireland once it is conquered, I am hoping they will be
free next year when the fort is complete.
The war between France and HRE is going the way of the French,They now
occupy the province of Friesland and have the castle at Groningen under
siege.
**********************************************
1136.
(A discussion I had with my Bishop Thomas Becket)
Me "Tell me in truth Thomas, how do the common folk percieve their King."
Thomas "I think it is, as it has always been, they resent any kind of authority."
Me "Yes I understand that, but is there a marked difference between the
loyalty they gave my father and that which they give to me."
Thomas "Yes there is, I have detected more resentment to thyself than
to the old King, however, I believe it is through no failing on your
part."
Me "How so."
Thomas "Well sire, the Kingdom is infested by foreigners, some preach
heresay, some promote thought amongst the peasantry, others are just
vile thieves and murderers."
Me "Tell me Thomas what would your solution be to this problem?."
Thomas "I would recruit more priest's to spread the word in the
province's, but I also think we need to find a way to discourage these
undesirables from visiting our lands."
Me "Have you an idea."
Thomas "Yes indeed I have, I think some of these poor souls have
strayed so far from the path, that only direct contact with God will
redeem them, for this purpose I would advocate the use of men who are
capable of enabling them to be nearer God."
Me "Would these men be Holy men?."
Thomas "he he, I think not Sire, let me state it in another way, these
chosen men would despatch the lost souls to the Kingdom of God."
Me "Oh! I see, do you know of any such men?."
Thomas "I have one in mind, he is a man by the name of Henry Montfort,
he was a rogue who confessed to me some very evil deeds, I took him
under my wing, now he is a reformed character and is one of my
servants, however, I believe he still has the talents that we require
for the task in hand, and could be convinced that it is Gods work that
he would be undertaking."
Me "Excellent, will you take care of this for me Thomas, also you have my permission to recruit the priests that you require."
Thomas "It will be done Sire."
Henry Montford has agreed to do this work for us, his first task being
to recruit more men of his ilk from the local taverns, not all men are
as pious as Henry, so I have decided that the job will be well paid and
have certain benefits, for men talented enough to perform well.
Edmund Stuart King of Scotland, has informed me that he no longer
requires the large garisson that is present in Scotland. He also
suggests that I should give some consideration to recruiting
Highlanders into our army, as he says they are fearsome warriors.
I wrote back telling him to send the surplus garrison back down to
Wessex and also set about recruiting a group of these Highlanders, so I
may see how they perform.
With the extra men arriving back in Wessex, the invasion of Ireland will be able to go ahead next year.
We now have another ally, Doge Vitale has agreed to our proposal, it
benefits both sides as we both have borders with the troublesome HRE.
**********************************************
1137.
In the spring of this year, I placed Prince Stephen in command of a small but elite invasion force, their destination Ireland.
An account of the invasion of Ireland, by Prince Stephen.
St Davids is a small fishing village in south Wales, it is on a peninsular that juts out into the Irish sea.
The distance across the sea to Ireland is not great, in fact there is
only one other place from which we could have sailed, where our voyage
would have been shortened.
That place is in Scotland, it would have meant that our ships would
have to sail further from their starting destination, and our soldiers
would have had a longer march.
My army is not large only numbering 118, but they are well equiped and
well trained, at least three quarters of them are veterans of battles
in Aragon and Scotland.
Sir Geoffrey Herbert had arrived here some days before Prince Henry and Myself.
He had arranged quarters for the feudal knights and foot knights who
had marched out here with him and had quarters waiting for us when we
arrived, we could sea our ships anchored off shore, all that remained
was to wait for the morning and hope for good weather, and that is what
we did, for over three full weeks we waited for good weather, but it
did arrive and when we awoke that morning the sun shone, the sea was
calm and stiff breeze blew ready to take us on our way.
The captain on our ship said that the crossing had been one of the
calmest he had experienced, but for soldiers more used to riding horse
than waves it was not so enjoyable and for the most part of the voyage
we could be seen emptying our stomach's into the sea, we were mighty
pleased to set foot on dry land again.
We made camp, refilled our stomachs and settled down for the night.
Morning arrived and brought with it rain, we had a three day march ahead of us to Dublin and I hoped the weather would improve,
The weather didn't improve in fact it got worse and on the third day as
we marched up yet another hill, the rain was pouring down, a gale was
blowing in of the sea and my men were in a misrable state, I decided
that when we had decended the other side of this hill, we would find
shelter for the night and march on Dublin in the morning.
We reached the top of the hill and I looked for a suitable area down in
the vale that would provide some shelter, then Prince Henry said "Look
on yonder hillside", there would be no rest for us this day.
The Irish were made of three groups one behind the other and they were
already moving towards our possition, I ordered our foot soldiers to
form up in front, Henry and his knights out to the left and Sir
Geoffrey and his knights out to the right.
The first group of Irishmen were on their way up the hill and I could
now make out what kind of soldiers they were, for they carried very
large swords similar to the ones I had seen in Scotland, these were the
Gallowglasses I had heard of, supposedly fearsome warriors and rumoured
to be canibals.
I ordered our foot who were half their number to attack and gestured to
Henry and Sir Geoffrey to go round and attack the groups to the rear.
First to fight were the Gallowglasses and foot, I had a good view of
this melee from my possition atop the hill, it was obvious from the
start that what I had heard of the Gallowglasses was somewhat
overstated.
Our foot knights tore into them and many fell, but they held firm and a fierce fight developed.
Meanwhile Henry and his men had charged the second group, who I could
now make out were some kind of javelin throwers, I could also make out
that they were being massacred.
Shortly after this Sir Geoffrey charged the third group with the same result.
I now turned my attention to the fight in front of me, our foot were
now in bad shape, the Irish numbers were begining to tell, I lowered my
lance and gave the order, forward, then charge, we thundered down the
hill, hitting them hard killing almost all of them with our charge,
what few survived took flight, as my men chased after them I looked up
to see what was happening elsewhere, Henry was on his way back up
towards our possition, his work done, Sir Geoffrey and his men were
rounding up prisoners.
I rode down to meet Henry, a great smile spread across his face as he said "I wonder what the Irish women look like".
Here ends Prince Stephens account.
I am pleased with Stephens generalship, if his account is to be
believed and I have no reason not to believe it, it appears that
Stephen has a good grasp of military tactics.
Sir Geoffrey is to be made Lord of Ireland it is fitting reward for the service he has given over the years.
As for Henry, I think it a good idea that he stays in Ireland for a while.
**********************************************
1138.
Over the last couple of years, a young knight by the name of Stongbow
Fitzgilbert has come more and more to my attention. he is a great
favourite with many at court, charming, witty and intelligent.
I decided that it was time I learned more of Fitzgilbert, so I invited him to dine with Bishop Thomas and myself.
Me "So Fitzgilbert, tell us of thy self?"
Fitzgilbert "There is much to tell Sire, what does thou wish to know."
Thomas "Haha such modesty."
Me "Well you could start of by telling us where thou hales from, or is the place so vast as to defy description."
Fitzgilbert "Hehe, your majesty has a very witty turn of phrase."
Me "Such praise from one with so much to tell, is truly an honour, but tell us Fitzgilbert, where does thou come from?"
Fitzgilbert "My family own land in Northumbria Sire."
Thomas "Haha, tell us Fitzgilbert what is it like to copulate with a sheep, as you farmers in the north are apt to do so often."
Fitzgilbert "I fear I am inexperienced in such practices, however, if
you were to come and visit my estate, I am sure we could find a
particularly beautiful ewe for thee to get aquainted with."
Thomas "Wha..what...Y..You."
Me "Hahaha.... Oh dear Thomas, young Fitzgilbert is far to bright for thy slow ponderous mind."
Thomas "Indeed, you should take great care of that sharpe tongue Fitzgilbert, least you cut yourself on it."
Fitzgilbert "I am a master swordsman Bishop Thomas and have never been wounded yet."
Thomas "No doubt the sheep of Northumbria would testify to thy skill with the sword."
Fitzgilbert "Touche."
Me "Hehe, See Fitzgilbert, our good friend Thomas here is a little
ponderous of mind, but he has the unfair advantage of having God on his
side."
Thomas "Yes and God is all seeing, so bear this in mind Fitzgilbert, the next time you are in the company of sheep."
Fitzgilbert "Hehe, Touche once more Bishop Thomas, you are a finer swordsman than I had thought."
Me "Fitzgilbert, have you seen the Highlanders that we have brought down from Scotland."
Fitzgilbert "I have seen many Highlanders over the years and killed many during my time in the north."
Me "What is your opinion of them?"
Fitzgilbert "Why, they are barbarians Sire."
Me "Yes I know of this, but do you think we could make use of them in the army."
Fitzgilbert "They are undisciplined and would be hard to control,
however, they would be useful for initial assaults and absorbing
arrows."
Me "That is a very interesting idea, have you more such ideas?"
Fitzgilbert "Yes many Sire."
Me "Very good, we will talk in more detail about your ideas at a later date."
Me "I have news for you both, I recieved a letter today informing me that Gronigen castle has fallen to the French."
Thomas "That is good yet also bad."
Me "How so."
Thomas "Good that our allies are victorious, bad that our closest neighbor grows stronger."
Me "hmm, you are right, we must keep close watch on developments in the war between France and the HRE.
I think our meal awaits us come my friends let us eat."
Thomas "I hope tis not lamb we feast on tonight."
We all laugh at Thomas's wry comment and make our way to the table.
**********************************************
1139.
I am writing this years entry in the diary, from the fort at Caernarvon in Wales.
Earlier in the year there was plague in England, so it was decided that
we should move the court in order to escape this terrible misfortune.
Before leaving, I decided that Sir Strongbow Fitzgilbert should have
the vacant title of Earl of Wessex and take command of our army whilst
I am away.
Since my first meeting with him last year, Fitzgilbert has impressed me
much with his inteligence and military knowledge, we have had many
discussions and I believe he is an honourable man, who I can trust.
My first son Prince Edward has now come of age, up until now our line
has produced tall men with red hair, I myself am well over six feet
tall, Edward however is shorter just under six feet tall, he has
inherited the golden hair that is typical of many scandinavians, from
his mother.
When it is safe to return to Wessex, I plan to ask Fitzgilbert to take
Edward under his wing, as I think Fitzgilbert will be a fine tutor for
the future King.
King Laszlo of Hungary has turned down our offer of alliance, I think
his decision may have been influenced by our backing of the French in
their war with the HRE, as the Hungarians are allied to the HRE.
**********************************************
1140.
We returned to London in the summer of this year and mighty glad I am
too, the thought of spending another winter in the draughty fort at
Caernarvon was not a pleasant one, although I must admit being away
from London has done me some good, as I have had much time for
reflection and I think I have been able to resolve some of the
conflicts I had about things in the past.
Something odd has occured in Ireland, Prince Stephen has informed me
that Herbert Lord of Ireland was found dead after a massive drinking
session, although a man drinking himself to death is not in itself an
odd thing, I have been informed by people who were close to Herbert
that it is uncharacteristic of the man, as he very rarely took a drink.
I suspect that Stephen and Henry may have something to do with this, but I doubt we will discover the whole story.
In order that we do not have more of these occurances, I have asked
Stephen to confer the title on one of his trusted men, he chose his
cousin Henry Plantagenet.
Two of my children have come of age this year, Prince Richard and Princess Edith, my only daughter.
**********************************************
1141.
There has been much diplomatic activity this year.
An offer of alliance was made by the Byzantines, who are currently involved in a war with both Sicily and Egypt.
Although this conflict does not directly affect us, an alliance with
the Byzantines would affect our relations with the Papacy, who are
allied with the sicilians, bearing this in mind I decided it best that
we do not commit at present.
Considering our strong ties with the Danes, I was surprised when my
request that Prince Edward should be married to Princess Regitze, was
refused.
I am furious that King Sweyn has insulted me in this fashion, the rebel
lands of Norway and Sweden would be an easy target for our armies and
until now I have not considered this out of respect for our alliance,
Sweyn's insult has now removed this constraint.
I have decided that the great stone Keep in London is to be improved
and added to, it will take many years, but when finished it will be a
castle to rival the French castles in Ghent and Paris.
**********************************************
1142.
King Alfonso of Spain has sadly passed away.
Alfonso has been a loyal ally over the years and any doubts I had about
his intentions when Spain invaded Toulouse, have long been dispelled by
many years of peace along our mutual borders.
It is to be hoped his heir King Enrique I, will continue our good relationship.
After being insulted by King Sweyn's unreasonable behaviour last year,
I have spent much time in thought trying to find an explanation, but
have found none, after coming to this conclusion I find myself more
annoyed with Sweyn then at any other time, as I now feel it is a
personal insult.
I now feel that I am duty bound to teach Sweyn a lesson in good
manners, I now intend to extend the Kingdom to take in the rebel lands
of Norway then Sweden and possibly Denmark its self if Sweyn continues
to show me such disrespect.
Bishop Thomas has informed me that Henry Montfort and his two
accomplices have begun their work, he feels that once they have
despatched a high profile character, we will then see a drop in the
number of foreign undesirables coming to our shores.
**********************************************
1143.
My two brothers have returned from Ireland, as all the men of the royal
family are now of age, with the exception of William, who comes of age
next year, and as we are all in England at present, I decided it would
be a good thing that we share a meal together, it turned out to be a
mistake.
This is the scene, I am seated at the head of the table.
To my right is my 20 year old son Edward heir to the throne,
fortunately for England Edward is the most intelligent of my sons and
possesses all the qualities to be a good King, unfortunatly for the
evening, Edward is apt to get completly drunk during any kind of
occassion were drink is involved.
My son Prince John is seated next to Edward, he is 16 years of age,
sullen, shows no interest whatsoever in anything that anyone has to say
and makes it patently obvious that he would rather be elsewhere.
Next to John is my 15 year old son Prince William, he is effeminate, talks with a lisp, and prone to throw tantrums.
To my left sits my brother Stephen, 34 years old, clever manipulative,
arrogant and now deeply relgious since his return from Ireland.
Next to Stephen is my 27 year old brother Henry, who seems to be on his
own personal crusade to impregrate every woman in the Kingdom, Henry is
a man completly lacking in morals.
My 19 year old son Prince Richard is seated next to Henry, Richard is
pompous and carries an air of superiority around with him, he insists
on calling William, Princess William.
The evening was a complete and utter farce, William stormed out of the room after numerous insults from Richard.
John contradicted everything said by anybody about anything, eventualy he and Richard came to blows and had to be seperated.
Edward became extremely drunk, threw up all over the table and promtly passed out.
Henry embarrassed everyone by constantly making lewd comments to the
serving wenches and Stephen accused us all of being heretics, before
lambasting us with a fire and brimstone sermon, which no one listened
to.
As for me, well I was just pleased when the evening was over, never again!.
I have decided that our invasion of Norway will go ahead next year,
Prince Stephen will be in command, Henry and Richard will accompany him.
**********************************************
1144.
Early in the year, I had my first meeting with my chief assassin Henry
Montford, as I was starting to become concerned about his lack of
success.
When I ask him of this, Montford produces a list of names that is at least as long as a man's forearm.
I ask Montford why he has not reported all these incidents to Bishop
Thomas, Montford explains that Bishop Thomas is a holy man and as such
he did not want to offend him with this catalogue of death and
destruction.
I tell Montford that I understand and that he may report to me in future.
In order to validate Montfords claims I decide to set him a test.
Rene Marcel is a French emissary, he has been at court a number of
years now and not once has he requested an audience, I have come to the
conclusion is purpose here is to gather information on the Kingdom, I
asked Montford if he could turn his attention to Marcel and explained
that as we do not wish to upset the French, Marcel should simply
dissappear.
I was somewhat surprised when Montford returned later that same day, to
inform me that Marcel had decided to take up residence at the bottom of
the Thames river.
Norway is now part of the Kingdom, there is very little to tell of this conquest, there were no heroics or big battles involved.
Prince Stephen landed in Norway with his army of 60 royal knights and
400 peasants, as the peasants set up camp, Stephen and his knights went
to scout the immeadiate vicinity, whilst at their task they encountered
an army of 240 Vikings.
Stephen decided to attack immeaditely without his peasants, the Vikings
were taken by surprise and the victory was easily won, amongst the
Viking dead was their leader Haakon Tryggvasson.
Stephen immeadiatly gathered his men and marched on Trondheim, Stephen
was at the head of the army with Tryggvasson's head mounted atop his
lance as they entered the town unopposed.
**********************************************
1145.
It has been an uneventful year, my most lasting memory of this year
will be an evening I spent with Strongbow Fitzgilbert Earl of Wessex
and Bishop Thomas.
Me "Strongbow tell me how is Prince Edward's Education going."
Strongbow "Prince Edward is good pupil in every respect, he is quick to
understand fiscal matters and under my expert guidance he now has a
good grasp of military tactics."
Me "What of his drinking, does it cause any problems?"
Strongbow "No sire, I think Edward understands that there is a time and
place for drinking and to this end he is quite disciplined, however,
when it is the time and he is in the place, he does give in completely,
but I dont believe it to be a problem as he is still a young man and
his resistance to drink will develop."
Thomas "Yes it will probably develop into alcoholism."
Me "Come, come, Thomas were you not a young man once?"
Thomas "No, I was born into the church at the age of 30 and alcohol has never touched my lips."
Strongbow "That is because you drink so fast it doesn't have chance to touch them."
Thomas "Damn, my secret is discovered."
(We all Laugh heartily)
Me "What am I to do with John and William?"
Strongbow "I think John would benefit from some time on the battlefield, why not send him to Norway."
Me "Yes I think you are right, what of William?."
(The room falls silent)
Me "Come now gentlemen, I know William is a little strange but I would value your honest opinion."
Thomas "We could try and find him a good husband."
Me "Ah!, I think you have not seen much of William recently, I must
admit though his mannerisms did lead me to believe the same for a long
time, however, I have noticed he has begun to take an interest in the
young women of the court."
Strongbow "That is good news, a good woman may make him into a good man."
Me "Speaking of good men I am in need of one."
Thomas "I did not know that you also had these leanings, Hahaha."
Me "Hehe, that is funny but only because it is so ridiculous, what I meant was I need a man to govern Norway."
Strongbow "I thought Stephen was governing Norway."
Me "Yes he is but I want someone in place for when Stephen moves on to Sweden."
Strongbow "Loefwine Stanley is a good man, he has no military knowhow but is very good with numbers, trustworthy as well."
Me "Excellent, you are a fountain of knowledge Strongbow."
Strongbow "Yes indeed, apart from yourself Sire, I am without doubt the most intelligent man in the Kingdom."
Thomas "I do not believe what I just heard, I cannot understand how a man can have such a high opinion of himself."
Strongbow "There are many things beyond thy comprehension Thomas."
Thomas "Very well as you are so knowledgable about all things, answer
me this, what would possess a man to give his son a ridiculous name
such as Strongbow."
Me "Hehehe, you must admit Strongbow, it is a somewhat unusual name."
Strongbow "My father was a great exponent of the bow."
Thomas "Thy father was a lowly peasant archer?"
Strongbow "No he just enjoyed the use of the bow, he was so good with
the bow, the folks used to call him Strongbow, he could fire an arrow
right across the Thames."
Thomas "Tis not that great a distance."
Strongbow "It is from Northumbria."
(The room dissolves into laughter.)
**********************************************
1146.
Emperor Conrad of the HRE has died, we all now wait to see if the new Emperor, Rudolf II will continue the war with France.
There has been famine in Ireland this year, in order to stop unrest I
had to reduce tax and send 120 highlanders over to underline our
commitment.
We have begun work on a fortification in Norway, it will take some time
to complete, but when finished should free up men for the invasion of
Sweden.
We have finally found a suitable Princess for my eldest son Edward, she
is Elena of Novgorod, it has become increasingly difficult to find good
women for my sons, due to war and political intrigue.
**********************************************
1147.
After the famine in Ireland of last year, things have returned to normal this year.
I have also been able to bring the highlanders back to Wessex, as the
fort is now built in Dublin, this returns our army to full strength.
Further afield the new emperor of the HRE has decided to continue war
with France and we now have a new ally in the shape of Novgorod, I dont
think this alliance will bring any great political advantage to us, but
as my son Edward is now married to Elena of Novgorod, I thought it
right that we offer them alliance.
**********************************************
1148.
I had a meeting with Henry Montford my chief assassin earlier in the
year, he gave me another list names that he and his men had dealt with,
mostly Byzantine would be assassins.
He also related this amusing story to me.
(In the words of Henry Montford)
John Fitzalan, Tom Howard and me, had spent the past week in and around
York, asking folk if they had seen this muslim preacher who had been
trying to convert folk in the area.
We had arranged to meet in the Red lion tavern, on the Sunday but I was
there a day early, because I'd already caught up with the preacher and
followed him into York and to my joy he goes straight to the Red lion.
After a while I manages to get talking to him, Although he tells me His
name, I can only remember that it ends in Din, as its one of them long
foriegn names.
I buy him a few drinks and he's talking about allah and trying to
convert me, so I goes along with it just to keep him talking, after a
while he starts talking about women and he's taken quite a shine to the
serving wench.
I buy's him a few more drinks and then slips the potion in his drink,
thinking I'll watch him drink it and then go before he croaks, but the
serving wench comes past and he grabs hold of her and pulls her onto
his lap, then to my horror the wench picks up his tankard and downs it
in one, I make an excuse and leave quick before the potion takes effect.
The day after I goes to the Red lion to meet Tom and Fitz, I gets there
and there's only Tom there, he tells me that the landlord has told him
a story about some poor girl who dropped down dead in the tavern the
night before, I quickly explain what happened and Tom tells me that
he's found out that Din will be at the castle for some feast or
something tonight.
We hang around at the Tavern all day waiting for Fitz but he doesn't
show up, its getting late now so we make our way to the castle, we give
the guards some money and drop some names and he lets us pass, we have
a look around the grounds bribing guards as we go, one of them tells us
he's seen Din and tells us which door he will be coming out of.
I explain to the guard on the door that Din is a notorious drunk and
that we have been sent to wait for him and make sure he gets home
alright.
After what seem's like an age Din emerges, thankfully he's alone, we
aproach him and take hold of him an arm each and I prod him with a
knife, telling him to keep quite, we march him to a quite part of the
grounds, take him up onto the ramparts and throw him over, he flies
through the air and crashes through the roof of a shack, then to our
surprise there is a lot of shouting and he come running out through the
door, I cant believe it he's cheated death a second time, he's off like
an arrow and by the time we get outside he's nowhere to be seen.
Me and Tom has a quick discussion and reason that now he knows we are
out to kill him he will probably try and leave the Kingdom, the nearest
port is Kingston and thats probably where he will head for, in order to
get to Kingston he will have to cross the river Derwent and there is
only one bridge, so we need to get there before he does.
I tells Tom to go and get us a couple of horses and meet me at the Red lion, where I'm going to see if Fitz has turned up.
I gets to the Red lion and Fitz is there, Tom arrives not long after, we saddle up and head off towards the river.
We get to the river and hide in the undergowth, Me and Fitz on one side
of the river Tom on the other, its around 6 miles from York to the
Derwent, so we are expecting to see him sometime during the night or
early morning, if we have guessed his plan correctly.
Its just coming light when Din arrives, as soon as he's halfway over
the bridge we jump up and run towards him, he turns and runs back
across the bridge, Tom jumps up and fells him with a hefty blow to the
head, "Is he dead says Fitz", I check and say "no not yet", Fitz pulls
out a knife, and I says "no not that way, lets hang him from yonder
tree overhanging the river it will look good and besides I've never
killed a man by hanging before".
We drag him to where the tree is, and fashion a rope out of his turban,
belt and a ripped up cloak that Fitz volunteers for the job, Its a
fairly high bough that we have to get the rope over, but Tom climbs up
the tree to place the rope over it, I lift Din up so that the rope
comes down a bit further, then Fitz jumps up and swings on it and Din
begins to go up, as he's going up he regains consciousness and starts
to thrash about, but by this time we are all swinging on the rope and
he's high of the ground, then with a load crack the bough breaks and
Din comes crashing down rolls down the embankment, into the River and
dissappears, we sit down and watch, after a while to our amazement he
appears from under the water swims to the other side and is gone into
the forest, by the time we get over there our horses are gone, they
were hid in the forest close to where Din went in, he must have stolen
them.
We decide to carry on to Kingston on the off chance that Din may be
delayed finding a ship, we get there two days later and enter a tavern
near the dock, I ask the landlord if he has seen a foriegn looking
stranger, he tells me "yes indeed that fellow was in a mighty hurry to
leave, said the devil was after him", "so he left then", says I, "well
he would have done but he had an accident, while bording ship, slipped
on the gangplank, smashed his head on the side of the boat, fell in the
river and drowned".
We all smile at each burst into laughter and then get completly drunk.
(Here ends the story)
By the time Montford has finished telling me this tale, my sides are hurting and tears are rolling down my face.
I may invite Montford to dine sometime, he may be rough around the edges, but he is a very funny man.
**********************************************
1149.
This year I recieved a visit from the emissary to Emperor Rudolf of the HRE, he is a Bishop by the name of Andreas Raspe.
Me "Greetings Bishop Raspe, what is it thy wishes to discuss?"
Raspe "Sire, the Emperor is baffled by your continued allegiance to the
French, the emperor has ordered me here to try and convince you that it
would be more beneficial that you ally with us".
Me "Beneficial to whom, the Emperor?"
Raspe "Why no sire, to yourself, with the collapse of France you would be sure to gain French lands".
Me "France has been loyal to us for many years, more loyal I might add
than any other Kingdom, is this the way you repay such loyalty in the
HRE?".
Raspe "No sire, we are very loyal to our allies and with France out of the way, I am sure a solid alliance would be forged".
Me "I will save us both some time Raspe, I have no intention of joining
your alliance, I see the Emperor as an agressive, opportunist, who
should the opportunity arise would have no hesitation in stabbing
England in the back".
Raspe "Sire I cannot return to the Emperor with these words".
Me "I care not what you tell your Emperor, now away with thee for I have matters to attend to".
Raspe leaves and I summon Henry Montford, I tell Montford that it is
imperative that Raspe does not leave the Kingdom and that he should
disappear without a trace, Montford assures me that before the day is
out, Raspe will be giving a sermon to the fish in the river Thames.
**********************************************
1150.
Bishop Thomas has been a very busy man, he now informs me that we have
holy men in every province and that God will now look favourably upon
us.
We now have a fort in Norway, this security enables the invasion of Sweden to get under way next year.
I would have liked to have added to the fortification of the fort, but
we have more pressing needs in the shape of port facilities, so more
fortification will have to wait for now.
**********************************************
1151.
The battle of Orebro(Sweden), in the words of Prince John.
Our scout returns and informs us, that he can see Vikings hiding in the forest atop the hill in the distance.
We are possitioned on the road, there is a small wooded hill to our
right and a large flat plain in front of us which leads to the foot of
the hill with the forest on top where the Vikings are concealed.
My uncle Stephen who is in command of the army, tells me to take
command of the peasants who form the bulk of our army, march them to
the foot of the hill in front of the Viking possition and await his
signal to attack. Stephen, Henry, Richard and around 10 Knights ride
off heading for the left side of the hill.
We reach the foot of the hill and the peasants, who are around 400
strong and formed into two groups line up facing the Vikings, I look to
the left and a little forward, where I can see Stephen and his group
are halfway up the hill, I await the signal.
The Vikings emerge from the forest and start heading towards Stephen
and his men, who turn and head back down the side of the hill drawing
the Vikings with them, I await the signal.
As the Vikings reach the bottom of the hill Stephen turns his men and
attacks them, the fight rages and I keep my gaze on Stephen waiting for
the signal, until eventualy Stephen is dismounted and disappears into
the melee.
I order the peasant's up the hill towards the possition's the Vikings
have vacated, about halfway up I look across to the melee and can only
make out 2 of our men still alive and fighting, I order the group of
peasant's nearest to the fight down and into battle, whilst I send the
second group along the hillside to try and get in behind the Vikings, I
take my 20 knights up to the top of the hill.
The first group of peasants are now fighting the Vikings and getting
slaughtered, I can see they are going to break at anytime, so I order
the second group down into the fight, just as the second group engage
the first begin to run.
After more slaughter the second group turn and run also, the Vikings
begin to climb the hill towards our possition, then the peasants rally
and come in for another attack, it doesn't last long before they are
running again, however, although this second attack has not done much
damage, it has seperated the Viking commander from the main bulk of his
men.
This is my chance, we charge down the hill and slaughter the commander
and around 10 men who are with him, this proves too much for the larger
group of Vikings who now panic and begin to run, victory is ours but we
have paid a high price for it.
I estimate we have lost over 300 men, including, Stephen, Henry and Richard, the Viking dead number no more than 80.
(here ends John's account)
Later in the year I recieve word from John telling me he has returned
to Norway leaving Andrew Becket, a peasant! in charge in Sweden.
I am furious at this news but there is nothing I can do, from my
possition in England, to make John return to Sweden, I will have
something to say about this next time I meet John though.
My closest ally King Philippe of France has died, at the age of 75, his
son, now King Charles IV, who at 48, is himself not a young man, has
already promised to continue our long standing alliance.
**********************************************
1152.
There was a massive storm in the channel, earlier in the year and much
of our channel fleet was destroyed. this has set back our shipbuilding
somewhat, we had to pull or ships out of the Baltic for the invasion of
Norway and now we will have to pull out of Skagaraak, in order to
replace our lost channel fleet.
There are rumours of growing unrest in Aquitane, I have ordered that a
town watch be set up similar to the one's we have in Scotland and
Ireland.
I have sent Prince William to Sweden to take charge of the peasant
garrison there, he isn't the ideal candidate but I have no one else
available, John is still in Norway, I think he may be staying there in
order to avoid my wrath.
On a happier note, my good friend Strongbow Fitzgilbert, the Earl of Wessex, has married my only daughter Edith.
I also have another son, whom I have named Alfred, in honour of my lost elder brother.
**********************************************
1153.
Sweden is lost and my son William dead, the treacherous dog Sweyn of
Denmark, has broken our alliance and invaded, Sweyn's men numbered 120
royal knights, 100 spearmen and 60 vikings, William with his 20 royal
nights and 130 peasants didn't stand a chance.
The news from Sweden on its own is bad enough, however, our misfortunes
have been compounded, by the consequences of this war between Denmark
and ourselves.
Spain and Italy have cancelled alliance's with us, Italy does not concern me too much but Spain is now a worry.
Denmark has not escaped unscathed, they have lost alliances with Poland and Novgorod, who remain loyal to us.
More bad news on the diplomatic front, the old Pope Nicholas III has
died, which in itself isn't bad news, however, I asked my man in Italy
to request an alliance of the new Pope, Nicholas IV, the request was
turned down.
The good news this year comes in the shape of another son, named Edmund after my good self.
Also the work on the Tower of London has been completed, before you
would probably have described it as a keep with curtain wall, now it is
most certainly a castle.
**********************************************
1154.
The Spaniards have Invaded Aquitane, I am not too concerned about this
as yet, Bordeaux proved too formidable for the Aragonese during my
fathers reign and I expect it to prove the same for Spain.
Spain has lost two alliances as a result of this action, Novgorod and Poland, who remain loyal to our cause.
Prince John has finally returned from Norway, this is an account of our reunion.
Me "Ah, so you have finally summond up the courage to face me".
John "I realise you think it was wrong of me to leave Sweden, but I had no wish to die for a lost cause".
Me "Your brother William died in your stead".
John "Yes I know, it must give you great satisfaction that he did not disobey you".
Me "What are you trying to say?".
John "I am trying to say that you were wrong to send William to Sweden".
Me "I had to send someone after you decided to run away".
John "I DID NOT RUN AWAY, Who do you think won the battle of Orebro for you?".
Me "Prince Stephen was in command at Orebro and died a hero's death leading the army to a great victory".
John "Father, Stephen led Henry and Richard, in an insane suicidal
attack, by the time he had recieved his hero's death, we were getting
slaughtered.
You may or may not believe my words but I know they are true".
Me "I will never know the truth of it, However, your actions on leaving Sweden were not honourable".
John "Honourable!, did William's honourable behavior save Sweden?".
Me "No but William died an honourable death".
John "Father, there is no merit in honourable defeat, will we take
solace in the fact we died honourable death's should the Spaniards
reach Wessex.
War is a dishonourable thing, I saw many bodies with stab wounds in the back on the field of Orebro".
Me "I cannot forgive thee John, I have much to consider, now leave me".
John is a changed man, the petulant boy who left for Norway, has
returned as a man who knows his own mind and is not afraid to let
others know it too, I am impressed.
In my own mind I have forgiven John, but he need not know this just yet.
**********************************************
1155.
My assessment of Emperor Rudolf has proven true, he is indeed an agressive opportunist.
The HRE are trying to take advantage of the Spanish invasion of
Aquitane by lauching their own invasion into Anjou, I think John may
have been right, when he said "War is a dishonourable thing".
However, I am still optimistic that our fortifications will prove too formidable for both the HRE and Spain.
Loyal Prince Mikhail of Novgorod has cancelled his alliance with the HRE.
**********************************************
1156.
This is my 60th year, but there will be no celebration, as this is the
blackest year of my reign, the keep at Angers in Anjou has fallen to
the HRH, it proved not to be as impregnable as was thought.
From accounts that have reached England, the Count of Anjou made an
heroic last stand against the enemy assault, inflicting substantial
losses on the Army of the HRE, but their numbers proved too great and
the Province of Anjou, which we have held since the days of the
Conquerer, was lost.
I feel great shame at the loss of Anjou and I am now very concerned for Aquitane.
Some building work has begun this year on port facilities in Mercia and a keep in Akershus in Norway.
**********************************************
1157.
It has taken me a great deal of effort to come to the diary this year.
Bordeaux, the first great fortification that my father built has fallen
to the Spaniards, the Duke of Aquitane fought bravely to the death and
our garrison inflicted even greater casualties on the Spaniards than we
did on the HRE in Anjou.
We no longer have a border with Spain now and so I assume our war with
them is at an end, however, this is of no consolation to me, I feel as
if I am being slowly tortured as I see each piece of the Kingdom, of
which I was so proud, taken away.
**********************************************
1158.
Although everone at court has tried to lift my black mood, it still
persists, the shame I feel for the loss of Aquitane and Anjou will not
lift and I now feel that only death can release me from this torture.
I have given much of my duties over to Edward, the Kingdom will soon be
his and I wish not to bring more misfortune on his inheritance.
Edward keeps me informed of things and will continue to record them in the diary.
Our trade route with the polish province of Pomerania has been re-established.
**********************************************
1159.
I see very little of anyone one now and spend nearly all of my time in
my chamber, I fill the days reading the bible, something which it pains
me to say I have neglected over the years.
Each night I pray that death will visit me before dawn, I have
entertained thoughts of taking my own life, but this would be sinful
and so my torture must continue.
I fear death yet welcome him, I fear if it is my fate to spend time in
purgatory, it will be worse than the living purgatory I am enduring
now, however, if this is to be my fate I would rather death come soon,
so that I may get this torture over with and be with God.
Edward informs me that shipbuilding facilities are being built in Northumbria.
**********************************************
1160.
My son Edward has tried to kill the dog Sweyn, I think he did this for
my sake, as he knows of the hatred I have for Sweyn, whom I consider to
be the root of all the ill that has befallen my Kingdom.
Sadly the plan failed, Edward sent Lord Plantagenet of Ireland to
Norway with the intention of ambushing Sweyn somewhere in Sweden,
Plantagenet did succeed in ambushing Sweyn, several of his men were
killed and Sweyn himself injured, but eventualy Plantagenet and all his
men, except for one who escaped, were overpowered and killed.
Edward's good intentions, no matter how well placed, have however upset
the idiot of Rome, who has warned us against any more aggression
towards the Danes.
how can he do this to us?, we have suffered more at the hands of aggressors than anyone else in recent years.
I believe it is a conspiricy and that the Pope is in reality the devil
and the rulers of Denmark, Spain and the HRE are his appostles.
**********************************************
1161.
Edward tells me that we are making provisions to train soldiers in the
province's, he says that he and a person called Strongbow, have devised
a plan for this, I advised him to beware of this Strongbow as he has a
devils name, Edward says that I know of this person, but I have no
recollection of this.
After reading my last entry sometime later, I fear I may be losing my
sanity, although I have not seen Strongbow for sometime, I certainly do
remember my old friend.
I have been troubled by terrible dreams recently and have lost whole
days with no recollection of what happened, I am dreadfully feared as
to what may come.
**********************************************
1162.
I must write this down quickly whilst the devil is sleeping, if he were to find this diary it would mean more torture for me.
The devil has taken up residence in my chamber, he is asleep on my bed
as I write this, he has shown me visions of my dead brothers being
tortured by Duncan Douglas in purgatory and Sweyn sitting on the
English throne.
I have begged him to cease and even promised him my soul if he would
only leave me to die in peace, but he says it is more entertaining for
him that I live, I have threatened to kill myself, but cannot carry out
this threat, as the devil says that death will be much worse for me
than life.
**********************************************
1163.
This will be my last entry in the diary.
The devil is now inside my head and is whispering to me as I write
this, he knows everything I think and do and is trying move my quil to
write evil but I have enough strength to write this one thing, England
I have loved thee dearly.
**********************************************
1164.
Final entry in the diary of King Edmund III, written by his son King Edward III.
I have just finished reading my fathers diary and it hurts to read of the torment he lived through in his final years.
Much of the time during my fathers insanity, he was incoherent or spent
time just sitting staring into nothingness, other times he would become
very violent and quite dangerous to servants and family alike.
In his last two years of life he would allow no one into his chamber
except for me, many times he has asked "who are you" and on occassion
he has attacked me, believing that I was the devil.
The circumstance of his death will live with me for the rest of my
life, I entered his chamber to bring him some food, as I entered he
backed off into the corner, shouting at me "BE GONE DAMNED FIEND", his
eyes were wild and darted from side to side, I had seen him in a
similar state before and it was usualy best just to leave, I put the
tray down and walked towards the door to leave, then he shouted "YOU
SHALL NOT TAKE ME ALIVE", and with that he ran across the room and
threw himself through the window, my fathers chamber is situated on the
top floor of the keep.
When I reached the spot outside where his body lay, there was a crowd
of people around him, they parted to allow me through, I picked up the
body of my dead father and was surprised how frail he was, I looked
into his face as I carried him inside, gone was the crazed mask that he
had worn these past years and in its place was the face of an old man
who was finally at peace.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 1:33 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 633
(3/14/04 11:31 pm)
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Chapter 3.
The Diary of King Edward III. 1164-1194
1164.
So I am King, Its a role I'm ready for, as I've been performing the
Kings duties for the last few years during my fathers madness, this
however, was not the same thing as being King, because with every
decision I made, I had to take the ideas and principles that my father
held before his madness into consideration, now that constraint is gone.
Dont misunderstand me I am sad at the passing of my father, but I think
it was for the best, as a dark shadow has hung over all the court
during his madness and I think the shadow over my father himself was
darkest of all.
I consider myself to be an English King.
My father, grandfather and great grandfather, had strong ties to the
continent. William I and William II were both born and raised in
France. My father although born in England, had been brought up to
think as France as the ancestral home and this was the reason losing
Aquitane and Anjou, had such a profound effect on him.
I am English, born and raised in England, I have never set foot in
France and have no wish to do so, unless it is in the role of conquerer.
My aim as King is simple, to build our fleets and make as much coin
from overseas trade as possible, this will fund my plans for conquest,
I estimate with 3 armies the size of our army in Wessex I can expand
the Kingdom considerably.
I have two good men to aid me in this, my mentor Strongbow Fitzgilbert
Earl of Wessex and my brother Prince John, I am also keen to find more
such men.
I have been disgusted with the hypocisy of Rome that has been evident
during the past, the Pope is no more than a puppet to the Kingdoms
around him, I would consider the lowest of English peasants to be more
devout than he.
However, although weak in a military sense, the Pope does wield the
powerful weapon of excommunication, so we have to choose our words
carefully.
The carefull words that I have choosen come in the form of a document, that I have named The constitutions of Clarendon,
This is a legal document that will limit the power of the Pope and the
clergy, I have softened the blow for our own good clergymen by
authorising the building of some rather grand churches in the provinces.
A keep has been completed in Akershus in Norway, we are to improve it
with ringwall and balista towers, although this proved inadequate
against Spain and the HRH I think it will be enough to deter the less
powerful Danes.
I have one major problem that I have very little control over,
The queen and I have had problems making children over the years of our
union, we have had success this year with the birth of Princess
Elizabeth and I have one other daughter Joan who is 14 years of age.
At the age of 41, I am in desperate need of a son, maybe being King will make my loins more potent.
I must say being King gives me a great feeling of power, I like it when
people address me as "my King", although quite a few use "Sire", I must
correct them on this when next they say it.
Now I must go, as I have an evening of drinking with Strongbow and John ahead of me.
**********************************************
1165.
Earlier in the year I issued the proclamation, ordering that I be
addressed as "My King", however, some people in the Kingdom seem to be
a bit dim witted, as was demonstrated during a recent evening of
drinking with Strongbow and John.
John "What are we celebrating tonight?".
Me "I dont know, Strongbow what are we celebrating tonight?".
Strongbow "We could celebrate the recent birth of your daughter, Princess Mary".
Me "No, another daughter is not cause for celebration, what else is there to celebrate?".
John "What about the laying of the foundation stone for the new keep in Scotland?".
Strongbow "We celebrated that a few nights ago".
John "It will be a fine building and worthy of more than one celebration".
Me "Indeed it will, but to celebrate it twice would just be an excuse to get drunk".
Strongbow "We could celebrate the new curtainwall being built at Akershus".
Me "It is not yet finished".
Strongbow "that is true, but who is to say when next we will all be together to share a drink".
John "Strongbow is right, the next time we are together for a drink could be as far away as tomorrow night".
(we all laugh)
Me "Then its settled, my friends all stand and raise a tankard, to the
mighty curtainwall of Akershus, may it stand for a thousand years and
protect all who seek sanctuary within".
All "To the wall".
Me "Servant, bring more ale".
Servant "Yes sire".
(the servant goes to get more ale)
Me "What did he just call me?".
John "He called you sire".
Me "Agh, just wait till he returns".
(the servant returns)
Me "Fill our tankards".
Servant "yes sire".
Me "ARE YOU STUPID MAN".
Servant "I dont know sire".
Me "tell me oh dim witted one can thy read".
Servant "No sire".
Me "STOP SAYING THAT".
Servant "What sire".
Me "Have you not heard of the proclamation ordering you to call me my King".
Servant "No sire".
Me "Very well repeat after me, my King".
Servant "my King".
Me "now when you speak to me in future that is what you will say, is that clear".
Servant "Yes sire".
Me "Aghh, get out of my sight afore I take thy head off and dont say a word".
(the servant leaves, by this time John and Strongbow are laughing so much tears are rolling down their faces)
Me "Of all the fools in the Kingdom I end up with the most foolish of
fools serving at my table, and stop laughing it is not a laughing
matter".
John and Strongbow "yes sire".
(they dissolve into fits of laughter, I try to stop the smile spreading
across my face, but the laughter of those two scoundrels is infectious,
and I also dissolve into laughter)
**********************************************
1166.
Damn it, another daughter has arrived, this one is called Beatrice, I shall persevere.
With the help of John and Strongbow, I have devised a plan for the recruitment and training of men in the province's.
Ireland, will provide us with the barbarian types that are native to
Ireland, also as we will need to provide infrastructure to produce
swords for some of the barbarians, Ireland will also provide us with
men at arms.
Scotland, is already providing us with Highlanders and will continue to
do so, in addition to this we will build infrastructure to allow the
training of spreamen.
Northumbria, will provide us with bowmen, seige engines and their crews.
Mercia, will provide us with men at arms and spearmen.
Wales, will provide us with bowmen, seige engines and their crews.
Wessex, is providing us with all types of soldiers at present. When the
infrastructure in the province's is in place and they are capable of
providing us with the required men. Wessex will concentrate only, on
producing all types of mounted units.
All province's will provide us with militia men.
Me thinks it is a good plan and worthy call for celebration.
**********************************************
1167.
The curse of female only children, has struck again with the birth of yet another daughter, Princess Margery.
A keep at Caernarvon in Wales is to be built, I have decided that
during the summer months I shall take up residence there, returning to
winter in Wessex.
The Keep at Caernarvon is to be situated on the coast and there is much
good hunting to be had in the country surrounding the site.
Our ships have free range of the sea's, from the baltic to the Spanish
coast, along with the benefits of trade this also brings us news of
events further afield, and whilst on the subject of things further
afield, King Enrique of spain has died, his son Pedro has taken the
throne, but the transfer of power has not been a smooth one and Spain
is now in civil war.
I will finish this years entry, with an account of my brother Alfred's coming of age celebration.
Me "Gentlemen, we are gathered here this evening to help my young
brother Alfred take the step from boyhood into manhood, in time
honoured tradition Alfred will later take the oath, bring on the ale".
(servants appear with huge jugs of ale one for each man, they contain at least 8 tankards each)
Me "Let us drink and converse, John tis good news from Spain is it not?".
John "Indeed it is, the death of Enrique and civil war, must be a curse brought down on them by our father".
Strongbow "I wonder what death might be like".
Me "Why we no what it is like, the holy men tell us that it is a time in purgatory followed by heaven or maybe hell".
Strongbow "Do you believe it to be so?".
John "This is dangerous talk Strongbow, it is good that you are among friends".
Me "Are you a heretic Strongbow".
Strongbow "No, I believe wholeheartedly in God, but I am less inclined to believe the words of some of his messengers".
Me "I see, tis a valid point, especially as God's main messenger on earth, is that bloated sack of rat droppings in Rome".
Strongbow "Exactly".
John "I myself have no affection for the seaping boil that we call the Pope, Alfred what is thy opinion?".
Alfred "I am shocked at such talk, as it contradicts everything I have been taught".
Me "Yes, but by the end of this evening you will be a man, and it is
the way of men when they are in trusted company, to discuss such
matters, now Alfred what is thy opinion".
Alfred "I am of the opinion, that the Pope is a tic on the sad backside of a dead nag".
Me "Haha, thats more like it, now let us continue with our intelligent debate on death".
(the conversation goes on for a long time until finally, our jugs are empty and its time for Alfred's initiation)
Me "servant bring more ale".
(another four jugs are brought to the table)
Me "Very well Alfred, this is how it works, you down a whole tankard in
one attempt then you bang the tankard down once on the table and recite
this verse, "The big bald Bishop of Kingsgate, took twenty two tankards
to Bishopsgate, but brought but one butt of best brown beer back".
Then you down two tankards and bang each one down twice on the table, before reciting the verse once more.
Then you down three tankards and bang each one down on the table three times, before reciting the verse again.
However, should you make a mistake at any point you must start again from the begining with one tankard".
(Alfred is already drunk after drinking a jug of ale, and has little
hope of completing the task, in fact no one has ever completed it.
But he tries valiantly, with the rest of us cheering him on and looking
for any mistakes, so that we can make him start again, it is hilarious,
we roar with laughter each time he makes a mistake, eventualy after
many attempts Alfred passes out, slides down his chair and under the
table and we carry on drinking late into the night.)
**********************************************
1168.
Why does God punish me so, after four consecutive years of the Queen
presenting me with daughters, my first son is stillborn, it is sad but
does give me hope that a male child may still be produced.
My brother Edmund has come of age this year, he crossed the threshold into manhood in the same manner that Alfred did last year.
I have decided to place my two younger brothers in the charge of
Strongbow, he is an excelent teacher, both my self and John are
testimony to this.
With completion of the balista towers at Akershus in Norway, the
fortification is good enough for now, I have asked Lord Stanley Earl of
Norway to build some facilities for trading from Norway and improve the
farming a little.
The Almohads have taken advantage of the civil war in Spain, by moving
into the rebel held province of Castile, they already hold the
province's of Portugal and Cordoba.
Although a state of war does not exsist between the Almohads and Spain,
I think it may not be too far away after this development.
**********************************************
1169.
Death has brought great sadness and great joy this year.
My Queen Elena died during childbirth, ours was not a love match, but
Elena was a good woman and I will miss her, the child also died, it was
another female.
Sweyn of Denmark is dead, we celebrated for two days on hearing this news.
His son the new King is the butt of humour in much of northern Europe, where he is known as Harald the oaf.
The knowledge that his Kingdom was to be left in the hands of a half wit, must have caused Sweyn much anguish before his death.
I have agreed a truce with Rudolf of the HRE, my father would not be
pleased at this news, but I think it serves our purpose at present.
Rudolf made the offer and I saw no reason to refuse, secretly I
consider the agreement worthless and if I feel it is the right thing to
do, would have no hesitation in breaking the truce and attacking the
HRE.
John sugested that I might invite one of his aquaintances to share an
evening with us, he is a knight by the name of John Mercadier and John
said I might find him interesting.
Me "Greetings Mercadier, I take it you will have a drink or two with John and myself".
Mercadier "I would be very pleased to do so my King".
Me "John here, tells me you are widely regarded as the most evil man in Mercia, is this so?".
Mercadier "Yes it is a reputation I have worked hard to achieve".
Me "Tell me Mercadier, how does one obtain such a foul reputation".
Mercadier "With much torture and killing".
Me "Do you find having such a reputation, makes the peasants behave in your manor".
Mercadier "Yes it is very helpful, each time I suspect that the
peasants are getting unruly, I select a man and brutaly torture him to
death, this will usualy keep the peasants quite for many months
afterwards".
John "I have viewed Mercadier's torture chamber, it is equiped with all the latest device's for inflicting pain".
Me "We have quite a good chamber here and our man who performs the
torturing takes much pride in his work, he is capable of keeping a man
in constant pain for weeks before death".
Mecadier "I prefare to do the torturing personally, it gives much more
satisfaction than just watching, you should try it yourself".
Me "No, it is not fitting of a King to involve himself in such work, I would like to see some of your technique's though".
Mercadier "I would be more than willing to demonstrate them for you".
Me "Yes, you can give us a demonstration tomorrow".
Mercadier "Very well".
Me "Servant more ale".
(We talk late into the night and I find Mercadier to be a highly intelligent man.
The following day he demonstrates his unique skills for us, Mercadier
is truly an expert at inflicting pain, although it is a little
disturbing to see just how much he enjoys the task.
I conclude that Mercadier is possibly the most evil man I have ever had
the pleasure to meet, and will make a good governor at some point in
the future.)
**********************************************
1170.
I married again early in the year, there is still time for me to
produce a son to carry on my line. At 47 if a son were to be born next
year I would need to live to 64 in order to see him come of age, My new
wife is Margaret, daughter of Lord Stanley Earl of Norway.
John has found another good man amongst our growing ranks of royal
knights, His name is Sir William Marshall, he is intelligent and has
the attributes to make a good general.
I have placed him on my list of potential governers, along with Sir John Mercadier.
I have recently conducted a review of all my governors and divided them into three groups as follows.
1. Governors I am pleased with.
Lord Fitzgilbert of Wessex.
Lord Stanley of Norway.
2. Governors who are adaquate.
Lord de Normandie of Mercia.
Lord Great Chamberlain Becket of Northumbria.
3. Governors who I would like to replace.
Lord Stuart of Scotland.
Lord Fitzalan of Ireland.
Lord Borleng of Wales.
Lord Beaufort of Normandy.
The men in groups 2 and 3 are not bad men and I will not dishonour them
by confiscating their lands, but I would prefare more able men in their
stead. I will allow them to keep their titles for the rest of their
lives and then allocate the titles to better men when they die.
The men in group 1 I have given heredity titles to, they are men of very good stock, at the head of very powerful families.
**********************************************
1171.
Damn it, the curse of no male children continues to haunt me, with the
birth of another daughter, Princess Emma, I now have six daughters.
Two of my staunch allies have died this year, King Charles IV of France
and Prince Mikhail I of Novgorod, the new monarchs are, King Henry I of
France and Prince Andrei I of Novgorod.
We have lost ships in the North sea this year to bad weather, many of
our new ships have had to be used as replacements, had this not been
the case our trade routes would have reached Gibraltar this year.
As we are now at peace with the HRE I intend to take the opportunity to
strengthen defences in Normandy by bringing the fortifications there up
to castle status.
**********************************************
1172.
Another one of our allies has died this year, King Leszek I of Poland, his son becomes King Kazimierez II.
We now have spies in all our provinces, I find them a useful tool in
keeping the peace. I have placed our most experienced spy Edmund
Eadwulf, in charge of foreign matters, he tours various foreign
provinces in search of information that may be of use to us and stirs
up trouble for our enemies.
**********************************************
1173.
There are many young knights at court, who seem to spend all their time
drinking and getting into brawls. I believe they need another outlet
for their aggession and to this end I have decided to mount an attack
on Sweden next year.
Prince Alfred will lead a force of 120 royal knights, amongst their
number will also be, Lord Stuart of Scotland, Lord Fitzalan of Ireland
and Lord Beaufort of Normandy.
Whilst these Lords are away I intend to place Sir John Mercadier in
charge in Scotland and Sir William Marshall in charge in Ireland, these
two men are are very capable and should any unfortunate accident befall
the Lord's of Scotland or Ireland, I would have replacements already in
place to take over.
Sir Edmund Bollingbroke, will hold the fort in Normandy, I would describe him as Adequate.
To our knowledge there are 100 Danish royal knights in Sweden at present lead by King Harald the Oaf.
Our ships are now trading as far afield as the Gulf of Valencia and
report sightings of many other ships in these waters, all belonging to
the Almohad Kingdom.
A number of buildings have been completed this year, most prominent
among these are, a keep in Edinburgh, a church in York and a monastry
here in London, the first of its kind in all the Kingdom.
I have told Marshall that when he goes to Ireland next year he should
look into the possibility of recruiting some native Irish warriors into
our army.
I believe that including Scotish Highlanders in our army has helped
Scotland come to terms with being part of the Kingdom and not only that
if the Highlanders are as fearsome in battle as the way they look they
will prove very useful indeed.
**********************************************
1174.
The Battle of Uddevalla as told by Prince Alfred.
I was a little apprehensive when we borded ship for the crossing to
Sweden. For myself and many of my men, this would be our first sea
voyage. But we need not have worried, for our sailors are very
experienced after many years of seafaring and I was impressed to say
the least by their skill.
We arrived in Sweden late in the day, just as the sun was setting. The
weather was fine, we made camp and settled down for the night.
Morning arrived, and the sun began to chase the mist away, we eat
breakfast saddled up and headed inland. After riding for a while, we
came upon some deserted farm buildings and a few roads that headed off
in various direction's, after a brief discussion we decided to follow
the road that headed north and I sent some scouts on ahead.
By midday the weather had become quite warm with a gentle breeze and I
could see our scouts in the distance returning. On their return I was
informed that the Danes were on a hillside over the next rise. As we
neared the top of the rise the danes came into view, all mounted
knights, spread in a line along the hillside in five group. We had a
slight advantage in numbers with our six groups of knights.
I decided the battle plan would be, to send two groups of knights one
to either side, to work their way round and up the hill in a flanking
manouver. Whilst three groups would move straight up the hill towards
the Danes. Stuart was to take the left flank, Fitzalan the right and
Beaufort the center, I would follow behind Beaufort.
As our men deployed the sky suddenly clouded over and it went very
dark, this was a very spectacular prelude to a battle. from my
possition I could now see our men closing in on the Danish possition,
two of the Danish units made a move down the hill, then thought better
of it and returned back to their possitions on the hillside, it had now
begun to rain.
Our men moved in closer and the Danes attacked, with two units against
stuart on our left flank. I immeadiatly ordered a group of knights from
our center to Stuarts aid and ordered the other two center units at
King Harald who I could clearly see in the center, our right flank was
charging in by this time.
As our right flank and two center units hit King Harald and his three
units a mighty thunder clap sounded. At this point there were two
fights taking place, away to my left it was two against two units of
royal knights and ahead it was three against three, I decided to take
my men and join the battle ahead where King Harald was. As we charged
up the hill I could see our men on the left had done well and were
almost done. My unit hit Harald and his men and they immeadiatly broke
and run. We chased after them into the forest on top of the hill, but
they knew the terrain better than us and made good their escape.
Although the battle was won, I couldn't help feeling a little
disappointed, the weather had provided us with a dramatic setting for a
great victory, that would have been crowned by the death of King Harald
had he not fled the field.
In the aftermath we counted 59 Danish dead, including Prince's Eric and
Knud, we suffered 28 dead including Lord Stuart of Scotland.
Here ends Prince Alfred's account.
Our victory in Sweden is good news indeed, I do however, anticipate a counter attack.
I have hired a small band of mercenary order of foot, and sent them
over to Sweden to make our numbers up to just over 100. I have also
sent word to Alfred that he is to begin building a fort.
I am furious. The Pope has ordered that we stop aggession towards the
Danes. This makes no difference to the situation, as I have no
intention of invading Denmark for some time. However, the Popes
statement has overshadowed the great achievement of our brave knights.
It is wrong that the foolish Pope should spoil with words, what brave
men have achieved with sword.
Sir John Mercadier is to become King of Scotland, it is a title which I
bestow with full rights of inheritance for his decendants. I can now
rest assured there will be no rebellions in Scotland, given Sir John's
evil reputation.
Hubert Langton is a monk, who has spent much time abroad. He tells me
that in Spain they have a thing called the inquisition, and that this
inquisition is a useful tool in the fight against heresy and unrest. I
have allowed him to begin an inquisition in Wessex, we will see what
the results are, if it is as useful as Langton says it is, we will
expand it to take in the province's.
**********************************************
1175.
The Battle of Linkoping, as told by Prince Alfred.
Over half way through the year and the expected attack from the Danes
had not materialised. We had been busy all year since spring, building
defence's, shelter and making preparations for the onset of winter,
this is a damned terrible place in winter and we were determined to be
better prepared this time around.
We had thought any attack from Denmark would come early in the year, As
the year wore on we became more and more convinced, that no attack
would come. So it was with a heavy heart that I recieved the news from
my scout, that a group of Danish knights had been seen heading north
towards our position, His estimate was, that they were of similar size
to the force we defeated last year.
I called my men together and we began the march south. I had already
chosen the prefared field of combat and hoped to get there before the
Danes. However, this was not be, and towards the end of the second days
march, we encountered Harald and his army of knight. my scout had been
correct, they were of similar numbers to last year, around 100. My army
consisted of the survivors of the first battle, plus 25 order of foot
mercenaries, we numbered just over 100 sligthly less than last year.
Both sides sat on their horses looking out across the flat featureless
field, neither side wanting to make a move, until finaly we could see
them no longer as darkness fell, we made camp. During the night some
men sat in groups and with false bravado made light of the coming
battle, others sat alone quitely pondering if tonight would be their
last and some men slept soundly, but these men were few and far between.
As night gave way to day, we made preparations, and before the mist
lifted we moved up closer to the Danish possitions. My plan was simple
as soon as we could see them through the mist we would attack, hopefuly
catching them unprepared.
As we sat their peering into the mist, looking for any sign of
movement, listening intently, the tension was overwhealming. The longer
we waited the worse it got, I suspect it was not long but the wait
seemed to last forever. Finally I could make out the shape of a horse,
from that time on things happened very quickly.
They must have spotted us at the same time that we saw them, as there
was much shouting and noise of horses. I ordered my men forward into
the mist, as we came closer to the Danes, the scene opened up before
us. They were now mounted and forming up, I ordered the charge, as we
were almost upon them they also charged.
The two sides collided with the combined force of mounted knights at
full speed, Neatly made up ranks of horses, dissolved into chaos. Men
fell of horses and were trampled to death, riderless horses ran amock
causing havoc. There was no order to this butchery, between slashing
and stabbing with my sword, I urged my men on, as I killed one man
another took his place.
We were gaining the upperhand, but only just. Harald's men had formed
up around him desperatly trying to protect their King, as the slaughter
continued.
There were barely 20 men left alive on either side when, Harald turned
and ran, we gave chase but our horses were spent and Harald's loyal men
gave their lifes so that their King could escape.
The field was a scene from hell dead and dying men and horses, body parts and everything covered in blood.
We dismounted and made our way through the carnage, I looked down and
there was a decapitated head looking up at me, it was Fitzalan of
Ireland, his dead eyes stared straight through me. So this is the true
glory of victory I thought.
We counted 100 Danish dead including Prince's Olaf and Valdemar, on our
side there were 86 dead including Lord Fitzalan of Ireland and Lord
Beaufort of Normandy.
Here ends Prince Alfred's account.
I hope this victory will finish the ambitions of Harald in Sweden, I
have bolstered our Swedish garrison with 90 mercenary spearmen.
Sir William Marshall becomes Lord of Ireland and Lord Bolingbroke will take charge in Normandy.
A group of Irish soldiers known as Kerns, have arrived in Wessex, they
are expert javelin throwers and bring this new capability to our army.
The treasury has recorded record figures this year, with income of 5046
florins and profits of 2509 florins, however the treasury is still
empty by the end of each year as there is much to spend our profits on.
**********************************************
1176.
The Second Battle of Linkoping, as told by Prince Alfred.
King Harald is a stuborn fellow and becoming somewhat predictable. He
invaded in the autumn once more, and we marched out to meet him.
It was around midday when my scout arrived and informed me, the Danes
were over the other side of the small hill just ahead of us, the scout
told me that the Danes seemed to be stopped by the side of a chapel.
I took a couple of men and rode up the hill, we dismounted before the
top and walked up to take a look at the situation. They were eating and
watering their horses, and were unaware of our presence, so we had
plenty time time to survey the lay of the land and gauge their strength.
We counted around 30 royal knights, 90 spearmen and 60 vikings. This
gave them the advantage in numbers, as our army was made up of 15 royal
knights, 15 order of foot and 90 spearmen.
On the march out I had been confidant of victory, after beating Harald
in two battles in as many years, now I was a little worried, hopefully
we could cancell out their superior numbers with the element of
surprise.
I sent a man down the hill to bring the rest of the army up. We formed
up on the hillside, and then marched over the top into view of the
Danes.
On seeing us a group of knights quickly mounted their horses, and began
to circle around to our right in a flanking manouver, their spearmen
and vikings came on towards us, whilst Harald himself remained in the
rear.
I sent the spearmen out to the right, to engage the knights, sent the
order of foot down totaly outnumbered, to engage their main force, and
I circled around to the left with my knights, the intention was to get
to Harald and kill him.
Their knights to the right now saw what I intended and abandoned the
flanking manouver and began to ride in towards the main battle, seeing
this I waved my spearmen into the main battle. we arrived at a position
from where we could charge in towards Harald, we charged in and just as
we got to where Harald was his knights came through and engaged us.
The battle now turned into yet another bloodbath, with everyone engaged in this one melee by the side of the chapel,
Both sides experienced men routing, who rallied and rejoined the fray.
After a while my battle hardened knights got the upperhand over their
knights and they broke, this gave us the opportunity to charge their
vikings who where giving our spearmen a bad beating. The vikings where
no match for our knights and they were soon running, this spread panic
and their spearmen also broke, we chased them for a while and cut some
of them down. Then I turned what was left of my army on Harald.
Harald put up a brave fight, and some of his vikings rallied and
attacked us again but they didn't stand long, eventualy we unseated
Harald from his horse, jump off our own horses and decended on him like
a pack of wolves, hacking him to pieces, we didn't stop until his head,
arms and both legs were detached from his body.
The Danish dead numbered around 140, our own dead numbered around 100.
Here ends Prince Alfreds account
My young brother Alfred has become something of a warrior. He is third
in line to the throne, and considering that John and myself are of
similar age and I still have no heir, there is a possibility he could
be King one day. If this does happen I would not be displeased, because
of our age difference I think of Alfred as more of a son than a
brother, and as such he is a son I am very proud of.
Hubert Gascoign is to be Earl of Sweden, he is a very capable man and
will make a good governor, he sails for Sweden with his royal knights
and a small band of mercenary militia sergeants.
We may have some respite from this war with the Danes now Harald is
dead. Hopefully his 16 year old son King Hardeknud will see the
futility of this war and accept that Sweden is ours.
**********************************************
1177.
My brother John, at the tender age of 50, has finally decided to take a
wife. She is Elena of Novgorod, A woman of mature age, 32 years to be
precise. I am pleased for John, it is good that he will have someone to
tend for him in old age. Hopefully now he will stop chasing the young
damsels of the court, as this has become something of an embarrasment.
We now have many buildings in the province's, built or in the process
of being built, that are capable of training and equiping fighting men.
I thought it would be a good idea, to spend a day with Strongbow, in
order to devise a plan for our armies, this is the plan we arrived at.
The basic army unit will consist of two parts, defensive and offensive.
The defensive part will consist of the following.
The generals unit of 20 royal knights.
3 units of spearmen, 200 per unit, 600 in all.
5 units of archers, 120 per unit, 600 in all.
2 units of militia, 120 per unit, 240 in all.
2 units of swordsmen, 120 per unit, 240 in all.
3 artillery crews.
The offensive part will consist of the following.
1 unit of heavy cavalry, numbering 80.
1 unit of light cavalry, numbering 80.
2 units of swordsmen, 120 per unit, 240 in all.
2 units of highlanders, 120 per unit, 240 in all.
1 unit of gallowglasses, numbering 120.
1 unit of kerns, numbering 120.
This is how it will work in a defensive battle.
We would deploy as follows.
The 3 spearman units form the basis of our formation, deployed in a long line across the field.
At both ends of the line of spearmen protecting their flanks would be a
unit of militia, the militia are a multi purpose unit, and as well as
guarding the flanks could be used to attack forward and to the center,
if no threat to the flanks materializes.
Behind each spearman unit will be a unit of archers, and behind the middle archer unit will sit the generals unit.
Our artillery will be deployed as follows, one piece in front of the
middle row of sprearmen, and one piece on either end of the sprearman
formation and a little forward.
Inbetween our artillary pieces and infront of the spearmen will be two
lines of swordsmen, ahead of them will be another two lines of archers.
It is anticipated that as the enemy comes into range of our forward
archers, and artillery.The swordsmen would move forward to engage, thus
providing all our missile units with time to rain down as much death as
possible.
Should thing go badly we would still have our reserve to rely on.
In an offensive battle we would deploy in exactly the same manner, but
with one difference. The artillery would be left out, and in their
stead would be 2 units of highlanders and 1 of kerns, we would use
these units to assault the enemy and try to bring them on. Once these
unit were spent we would bring in 3 units of reinforcements for a
second assault and after that another 2 units of reinforcements for a
third assault.
If after this the enemy still refuses to come on, then our main force would advance to within arrow range.
The offensive part of the army has been carefuly thought out to
include, inexpensive units, units capable of a heavy charge, units
capable of giving chase and some backbone in the shape of swordsmen.
This is the plan for our basic army, we almost have one full army in
Wessex, and plans to build a second, once the first complete.
**********************************************
1178.
This year I decided that a meeting of all the heirs to the throne be
held, the purpose of this meeting was to agree a common long term
strategy.
Present at the meeting are Prince John, Prince Alfred, Prince Edmund
and myself. Alfred made the journey from Sweden to attend the meeting.
Me "Thank you for attending gentlemen, Alfred, how was thy journey?".
Alfred "It was terrible, man was not meant to travel on water, our legs are proof of this".
John "I agree with thee, I myself made that journey to scandinavia some
years ago and I was heartily tired of vomiting by the time I set foot
on land".
Me "Before we get down to business, I would like to propose a toast,
would you all please stand and raise a tankard. To Alfred, our heroic
warrior prince, may he live long and may his enemies continue to cower
before his mighty sword.
All except Alfred "PRINCE ALFRED".
(We all drain our tankards)
Alfred "You honour me my brothers".
Me "I have not finished yet, here accept this as a token of Englands gratitude".
(I present him with a magnificent sword, the handle is gold, encrusted
with jewels and the chevron patterns on the finely worked blade shine
in the light)
Alfred "My dear Edward, it is magnificent, truly the finest sword I
have ever seen, it would be a pity to stain such a magnificent sword
with blood".
Me "No, you must use it my brother, it is a fine weapon. Now let us get
to work, I have called this meeting to discuss a long term strategy for
expansion. I think it important that we agree on a common cause, I am
aproaching old age and without a heir, so any one of you may find
himself King at some time. Now who will start this debate?".
John "You are King Edward, and so it is right that we hear your opinion first".
Me "Very well, I believe that our best course for expansion is into
France. Once we have two armies ready, I think we should cross the
channel into Flanders, and then onto Ille de France. when our third
army is ready we should attack through Champagne and into Lorraine.
this would gain us four province's, and we would have a well defended
border, with armies in Flanders, Ille de France, and Lorraine. John
what are your thoughts?".
John "I will go along with that unless someone has a better idea".
Me "Alfred what are your thoughts?".
Alfred "I think the idea is good, however, I would like to suggest an idea of my own".
Me "Pray tell us thy idea".
Alfred "I think we may make better use of our first two armies. I agree
we should attack into Flanders, as our army in Wessex could be just as
effective as a frontier army in Flanders. However, if we used our
second army in Scandinavia, we could advance all the way down to
Saxony. Thus gaining three province's with just two armies".
Me "That is an interesting idea, Edmund what is your opinion?".
Edmund "I think Alfreds idea is the more promising of the two, and
holds greater reward for us at it would enable the Scandinavian
province's to be developed without risk of invasion".
Me "Yes indeed the idea is tempting, although I do see one drawback.
Our two frontier armies would be divided and only able to share
resource's by a sea link, which would not be ideal, considering the
plan would bring us into conflict with the HRE".
John "I think I have a compromise soloution. When we have two armies
ready to go, we attack Flanders and then onto Freisland. Our third army
would then be used to implement Alfreds plan of attacking through
Scandinavia down to Saxony.
Thus with our three armies we gain five province's as opposed to the
four of the first idea. The frontier would be Flanders, Freisland,
Saxony, all our forces would be linked by land and we would also be
able to develop Scandinavia in safety".
Me "Excellent, Alfred, what do you think of John's propossal?".
Alfred "I can find no fault with it, and would be more than willing to help make it happen".
Me "Edmund?".
Edmund "Yes, it is the best option in my opinion".
Me "Then we are all agreed. Now, whilst we are all together, let us
take this opportunity to enjoy an evening of drinking to excess, unless
someone has another plan".
(everyone smiles and laughs and a night of heavy drinking gets underway)
Other news this year includes, The completion of the fort at Stockholm
in Sweden and the birth of yet another daughter, I think the Queen said
she had been named Joan.
**********************************************
1179.
Nothing of note to report this year, so in an attempt to fill this years entry, I will write a little about foreign matters.
There are many alliance's on the continent and to list them all here
would serve no purpose. the two main alliance's that we have an
interest in are, our own alliance with France and the Danish alliance
with the HRE. We are also allied to Poland and Novgorod, these are old
alliance's that dont really serve any purpose, I let them continue
because there is no reason not to.
There are many wars in progress and I will list them here, as they give an indication of what is happening in the wider world.
A state of war still exsists between Denmark and ourselves.
The Almohads and the Spaniards are at war.
The HRE is at war with France.
The Sicilians are at war with Egypt, Hungary and the Byzantines.
The Byzantines are also at war with the Poles.
It is not possible to say how these wars are progessing. the only
constant information we get is from our traders, here is what we know
for definate about the world.
The coastal lands east of Saxony are all barbarian, with the exception
of Novgorod, which as the name suggests is held by the people of
Novgorod.
The Danes still hold their lands in Denmark.
We know that the HRE holds Saxony, Provence and Anjou.
We know that France holds Freisland, Flanders, Brittany and Ille de France.
Spain holds Aquitane, Toulouse, Navare, Aragon and Valencia.
The Almohads occupy the rest of the Iberian peninsular and Morocco, we have no knowledge of north Africa beyond Morocco.
So as you can see our perspective of the world is very limited.
**********************************************
1180.
Disturbing news reached me earlier in the year, concerning the
activities of Hubert Langton the monk, who is said to be holding trials
to discover if people are heretics, and if found guilty the heretics
are being burnt in public. I recalled Langton to Wessex, so that I
might learn more of his activities.
Me "I am a bit disturbed by the news I am hearing, I think we need to discuss your methods".
Langton "They are Gods methods, I am just a tool that he uses".
Me "I see, tell me more of Gods methods?".
Langton "If a heretic is suspected, they are subjected to trial by
ordeal, to establish guilt or otherwise. If found guilty we cleanse the
soul with purifying flames".
Me "Tell me more of this trial by ordeal?".
Langton "There are many ways, God decides which is appropriate".
Me "Discribe them to me?".
Langton "One way is to immerse a person fully in water untill their
breath ceases, if the devil brings them back to life after we remove
them from the water, they are heretic and must face the purifying flame.
Another way, is to remove a persons heart too examine if it is black or not.
By far the simplest way is to examine a persons body, sometimes a mark will be found, this is the mark of the devil".
Me "I think the inquisistion should cease, these methods may cause unrest".
Langton "On the contrary my Lord, the people are very happy when we
burn a heretic, I fear if we stop the Lords work now, It will prove an
unpopular decision. I also hear the Pope is pleased the inquisition is
at work in England".
Me "I see, in that case you may continue".
The man is clearly insane, but what am I to do. I suspect it is the
burnings that are popular with the people and not the inquisistion, and
on consideration if it makes the people happy and gains us favour with
the Pope then maybe the inquisistion is of some use after all. I will
keep a watch on it.
Another daughter has been born, the Queen tells me she has been named
Beatrice and that I now have eight daughters. I will ask Langton to
pray for a male child before he leaves for Mercia. This will be his own
trial by ordeal.
**********************************************
1181.
Great joy, I have a son, Prince Stephen. I was wrong about Hubert
Langton, he is not insane at all, in fact he is obviously a very pious
man. This has made me think deeply about my religion, and I now spend
much more time at prayer. it has also convinced me that the inquisition
is indeed Gods work, I have informed Langton that he has a free hand to
use the inquisition as he sees fit, and should he require anything he
need only ask.
I have one daughter less this year, my eldest, Princess Joan has married Lord Marshall of Ireland.
**********************************************
1182.
The war between the Almohads and Spain, Has claimed the life of King
Pedro, he was slain during a battle in Navare, His heir is Ferdinand I.
Although Spain is far from beaten. The Almohads continue to make steady
progress, in pushing North through the Iberain peninsular. I am unsure
whether to be pleased or not, as to the way this war is progessing. On
the one hand Almohad aggression has put a stop to Spanish ambition in
Europe. On the other hand, if Spain were to collapse, the Almohads
could make quick gains through France, and threaten lands which we
ourselves have an interest in.
A marriage has taken place between our Prince Alfred, and the Byzantine Princess Epiphania.
After the ceremony I informed Prince Alfred that there was no reason
for him to return to Sweden, and that he should now spend some time
here in England, with his new bride. Alfred replied he still had work
to oversee in Sweden, and that he would return once the work was
complete.
I cannot understand Alfred’s haste to return to Sweden, Epiphania is a
beautiful woman, and were I in Alfred’s place, Returning to Sweden
would be the last thing on my mind.
For as long as can remember, at the end of each year the treasury has
been empty. There has always been something which required the spending
of money. However, over recent years there has been a surplus, and this
has left us, with over 10,000 florins to spare at the end of this year.
If this trend continues, England is set to become a rich Kingdom.
**********************************************
1183.
I am 60 years of age this year. I am in good health, and do not feel as
old, as my grey beard and lined face suggest. However, I am coming to
the same realization, which I am sure every ruler comes to, as he
approaches the grave. That one lifetime is not enough time to complete
a Kings work. I will persevere to the end though, and hope that the end
is some years away yet.
The inquisitor Hubert Langton, has requested, that I remove Lord
Borleng from his possition in Wales, and replace him with Langton’s
brother Harry. Although I do not consider Borleng to be indespesable,
his proposed replacement is not much better.
I do not much like it that a lowly inquisitor, is telling me who is to govern Wales.
I will agree to this, as I do feel indebted to Langton, for bringing
about the birth of my son, and he also has a certain amount of
influence with the Pope. However, I do not intend to bend anymore than
this.
The castle at Rouen in Normandy is all but complete, the main building
is finished, and work on walls and towers is now underway. I had
thought we would lose Normandy, to continental aggressors at some point
during my reign, now it appears the old ancestoral home is secured.
This is something my father would have been pleased about.
**************************
1184.
At the age of 71, my good friend and mentor, Strongbow Fitzgilbert has
sadly passed away. He did not suffer, and died peacefully in his sleep.
As a young men, my father entrusted Strongbow with my education, he was
a fine teacher, an excellent military tactician, and a thoroughly
decent man. I doubt I will meet a man like Strongbow again in my
lifetime.
Although Strongbow has been Earl of Wessex for many years and has made
his home here, his family are originaly from Northumbria, where the
ancestoral home is, and it was Strongbow’s wish that he be buried there
by the side of his father, who was also named Strongbow.
My brothers and I all made the journey north to honour him. The
Fitzgilbert estate is set in a valley it is a beautiful place, and
Strongbow’s final resting place alongside his father, was on a hillside
with a magnificent view overlooking a picturesque lake.
I’m sure Strongbow is at peace, what man could not be at peace in such a beautiful resting place.
Strongbow’s son, who like his father and grandfather before him, is
also named Strongbow, inherits the title Earl of Wessex. If he is half
the man his father was, he will make a good Lord.
**********************************************
1185.
Hubert Langton and his men are out of control, they have recorded 1350
burnings this year, in Wessex alone, and the burnings were the guilty
ones. God alone only knows how many innocents have died during trial by
ordeal.
Langton has now declared the province cleansed, and has moved on to Wales.
There is nothing I can do to stop him, in all honesty I fear the man.
He prayed for a son to be born and it happened, if I were to displease
him, he may pray for a son to die, and this is something I cannot risk.
Not only this, but now Langton has used his influence, to secure for
us, an alliance with the Papacy. This is something, I, my father, and
my grandfather, have been endeavouring to achieve for almost one
hundred years now. So this leaves me even more indebted to him, he
certainly makes things happen, but there can be no doubt, Langton is a
very dangerous man indeed.
I was hoping, that I would not have to choose sides, in the war between
the Almohads and Spain. However, the emissary to Khalifah Ismail I
arrived at court this year, with an offer of alliance.
We earn much trade income from the Almohad lands, and if I were to
insult Ismail, by refusing his offer, I am sure there would be trouble
for our shipping, so the offer was accepted.
Following in his brother Alfred's footsteps, Edmund has also taken a
Byzantine princess for his wife. She is named Zenophilia and is every
bit as beautiful as her sister Epiphania.
Unlike Alfred, Edmund has no wish to be away from his new bride.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 1:38 pm
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Dave P
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Posts: 634
(3/14/04 11:32 pm)
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The Doomsday Book of 1185
BUILDINGS/IMPROVEMENTS.
Wessex.(Lord Fitzgilbert. Loyalty 9, Piety 4, Dread 6, Command 6, Accumen 7)
Castle, Bowyer, Armourer, Spearmakers workshop, Siege engineer, Town
watch, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, 40% farmland,
Horse farmer, Royal court, Church, Monastry, Border forts, Port,
Shipwright.
Mercia.(Lord de Normandie. L8, P3, D3, C4, A3)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Armourer, Swordsmith,
Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Merchant, 80% farmland, Church,
Border forts, Port, Shipwright.
Northumbria.(Lord Becket,Chamberlain. L9, P2, D5, C1, A5)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege
engineer, Town guard, Merchant, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts,
Port, Shipwright, Copper mine complex.
Normandy.(Lord Bolingbroke. L9, P4, D5, C3, A3)
Castle, 20% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Wales.(Lord Langton. L9, P8, D3, C1, A3)
Keep, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege engineer, Town watch, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Copper mine complex.
Scotland.(Lord Mercadier. L9, P3, D9, C4, A4)
Keep, Armourer, Spearmaker, Town watch, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Ireland.(Lord Marshall. L9, P3, D3, C6, A5)
Keep, Spearmaker, Town watch, Trading post, 80% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Norway.(Lord Stanley. L9, P5, D3, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Trading post, 20% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Sweden.(Lord Gascoign. L9, P7, D4, C1, A4)
Fort motte & bailey, Border forts.
MILITARY.
Wessex.
20 Royal knights.
600 Spearmen.
600 Archers.
240 Militia sergeants.
240 Feudal men at arms.
240 Urban militia.
240 Highlanders.
160 Hobilars.
120 Kerns.
3 Balista's crews.
Mercia.
20 Royal knights.
Northumbria.
20 Royal knights.
Normandy.
20 Royal knights.
Wales.
82 Royal knights.
Scotland.
20 Royal knights.
Ireland.
20 Royal knights.
Norway.
20 Royal knights.
Sweden.
40 Royal knights.
37 Mercenary spearmen.
43 Mercenary militia sergeants.
NAVAL.
16 Barques.
AGENTS.
3 x Emissaries.
3 x Assassins.
10 x Spies.
5 x Inquisitors.
11 x Bishops.
TREASURY.
Province income.
Wessex. 956
Mercia. 751
Northumbria. 1138
Normandy. 442
Wales. 485
Scotland. 330
Ireland. 646
Norway. 514
Sweden. 356
Tot income 5618
Tot in Treasury 12,899
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 2:31 pm
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Dave P
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(3/14/04 11:34 pm)
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Chapter 3. (continued)
1186.
Emperor Rudolf of the HRE has died. We in England will shed no tears at
his passing, as it was he who took the decision to invade Anjou, during
my fathers reign.
The incoming Emperor is Heinrich V.
Our new ally Khalifah Ismail has also died this year. It is to be hoped
that his son, Yusuf III, will continue to encourage trade between our
two Kingdoms.
Yusuf's reign has started well for him, but not for Spain, as Aragon has now fallen to the Almohads.
**********************************************
1187.
I have made an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus IV. This
meant cancelling our long standing alliance with Poland, as they and
the Byzantines are at war. I feel it will be more advantageous, for us
to ally with the Byzantines, than keep the alliance with Poland.
The HRE has begun to build a fleet. our traders report seeing their
ships in the north sea, and although our fleet is huge in comparison,
they could still cause us some problems. Therfor I have decided to
begin making moves towards establishing a better relationship with the
HRE.
Lord Stanley of Norway has married my daughter Princess Mary. Stanley
is a good man, he has done well in Norway, and this is just reward for
his endeavours.
The Almohad Khalifah Yusuf, after his early success of last year, has
suffered a reverse of fortunes this year. A massive Loyalist army rose
up in Aragon, and the Spaniards sent men in to support the uprising, it
is rumoured that the Spanish force numbered over 4000, it is little
wonder that the Almohads chose to retreat.
**********************************************
1188.
During my fathers reign, we lost the province of Anjou to the HRE. It
now looks likely, that the HRE will now lose Anjou to the French. They
invaded earlier in the year and now lay siege to the castle at Angers.
It is a pity that the opportunist Emperor Rudolf died just two years
ago, and did not live to see the loss of Anjou.
I have experienced problems finding suitable foriegn Prince's, to marry
my many daughters. I have decided that two of my eldest daughters, will
marry into English nobility.
Princess Beatrice is to marry Lord Gascoign of Sweden, and Princess Elizabeth is to marry Lord Mercadier of Scotland.
The keep at Stockholm in Sweden is now completed, and work is to begin
on walls and towers. Although these fortifications would not hold a
major power at bay, I believe they would prove too difficult for the
small Danish army to breach.
**********************************************
1189.
I have another son, this has come as something of a surprise, I was
expecting another eight daughters before God would allow me a second
son. He has been named Henry.
I have started to take a keen interest, in the war between Spain and
the Almohads. We have many traders operating in Southern France and the
Iberian peninsular, so it is easy to keep up with developments in this
conflict.
At present the Spanish Kingdom consists of Aquitane, Toulouse, Navare
and Aragon. The Almohads hold everything south of this. This year there
was an uprising in the province of Valencia in support of Spain, but
unlike the successful uprising in Aragon of a few years ago, this one
was brutally put down by the Almohads. I will keep the diary informed
of further developments.
The castle at Rouen in Normandy is now complete with ring wall and
catapult towers, it is a magnificent fortification, the finest in the
Kingdom, even better than the Tower of London.
**********************************************
1190.
During the early part of this year, I began to develop a cough, which quickly turned into something far worse.
As this illness took hold of me, I grew very weak, and was chilled to
the bone, eventualy I had to take to my bed and shortly after remember
nothing, until many days later when I began to recover.
My brother John told me that during my illness, I seemed to be possed
by the devil, and eventualy fell into a deep slumber. Everyone thought
that I would die, and the Bishop was summond to pray for my soul. Then
miraculously I began to recover, and I am now completly recovered.
This however, did make me think of what might have happend should I
have died. I asked John what he would have done, and John told me, that
he would have assumed the power of regent until my son Stephen came of
age, he also said that I would be wise to talk with Alfred of this
also, as he himself was getting old, and as Stephen is only 10 years
old there was a possibilty that the role of regent could fall to Alfred.
I spoke with Alfred of this some time later, and he assured me there
was nothing to worry about. I am truly fortunate to have such loyal
brothers.
Things look grim for Spain, France has allied with the Almohads, and I
believe the purpose of this is to carve up the Spanish lands between
them.
The Almohads have also retaken Aragon.
**********************************************
1191.
I have been trying for some years now to make an alliance with the
Italians. The reason for this being, the Italians have a substanstial
fleet in the waters around the Italian peninsular, and I think our
ships would be safer should an alliance be formed between our two
Kingdoms.
This is not a simple matter though. The Italians are part of a large
alliance that also includes Denmark, who we are at war with, and I
think this is the reason they refuse our offers.
I have tried to make peace with Denmark, in order to try and gain favour with the Italians, but the Danes also refuse.
After this I tried to make an alliance with the HRE, hoping they would
except, because an alliance with the HRE would mean the end of our
alliance with France, who they are at war with.
This in turn might have applied enough presure to make the Danes agree
to peace, and so open the doors to an agreement with Italy.
So the HRE hold the key to alliance with Italy, but after exhaustive
negotiations with the HRE, during which I offered them one of my
daughters as a royal bride, they would still not agree.
So all my efforts have come to nought, diplomacy is a tiresome business indeed.
In the war between the HRE and France, the HRE have now lost Anjou
completely, as the castle at Angers has finally fallen to the French.
In the war between the Almohads and Spain, Aragon has changed hands once more, after Spain took it back from Almohads.
**********************************************
1192.
Earlier this year the HRE, had revenge on the French for the fall of Anjou, when they invaded Friesland with a large army.
The French were ill prepared for this, and withdrew leaving the province to the HRE.
Spain have followed up last years success with another one, by taking Valencia.
The buildings and grounds of the royal court are to be extended, as I
wish to create a royal estate the likes of which exist in the HRE, I
think our status and wealth demands that we have such a place.
I am writing this towards the end of the year, and my illness of two
years ago has returned. It is still in the early stages, I have a cough
and feel somewhat weak, I am fairly sure that it is the same affliction
as last time, although I hope it is not.
**********************************************
1193.
The illness I had feared towards the end of last year, has proved not
to be the same as the one of three years ago. It is similar, but not as
fierce as the previous one, although it does seem to have more stamina,
as I have suffered throughout the whole year with it. It seems to be
something I may have to learn to live with.
Someone who will no longer have to live with such things is, Lord de
Normandie of Mercia, he died just recently after many years of service
to the Kingdom.
Lord de Normandie never married and leaves this world without a heir to
his title. I have awarded the vacant title to Sir Nigel Curthose, he is
a capable man who should do well for Mercia.
After being quiet for some time, Hubert Langton has taken up the torch
again. With renewed vigour, he has set about cleansing the province of
Northumbria. There are rumours of 700 dead already, and he has only
been at the task 3 months.
In the midst of all this illness and death, there is new life. The Queen has given me another son, he has been named Edward.
**********************************************
1194.
(An extract from the diary of Prince John)
January.
The illness that my brother has been suffering for almost a year now, has shown its self to be the same illness as before.
During the night loud shouting was heared coming from the Kings
chamber. On investigation the King was found to be in a delirious state
and sweating profusely.
The illness progressed much as before, after several days he once again
slipped into a deep sleep, and prayers were said, as we thought he
might die. then as before he awoke and began to recover.
February.
The King has recovered somewhat, but this time the illness has taken a
greater toll on him than before. He has not risen from his sickbed, and
spends much time sleeping. During time when he is awake, he is able to
converse as normal, but seems to tire quickly.
February 21st
It is just gone midnight as I write this entry. I have just left my
brother the King asleep in his chamber, and decided I had to write down
our conversation whilst it is fresh in my mind.
I had gone to Edward's chamber to see how he was, and found him asleep,
I decided to stay a while in case he awoke. I took a book down of the
shelf, pulled a chair up to the side of his bed, and began to read.
After a while Edward awoke.
Edward "Ah John, help me sit up would you".
(I sat him up and placed a pillow behind his back)
Edward "Thank you, is all well in the Kingdom?".
Me "Yes everything is fine, are you feeling any better?".
Edward "No, just the same really, I just had a very nice dream though".
Me "What was thy dream about?".
Edward "It was that night in the great hall at tower, the one when father gathered us all together, do you remember?".
Me "Oh yes, who could forget that night, poor father it must have been a great disapointment for him".
Edward "Yes, it is funny now though to think back of it".
Me "Yes I have allowed myself a smile many times over the years, when I think back upon that night".
Edward "I think my mind must be growing old, as I cant remember too much about it".
Me "There is nothing wrong with your mind my brother, In fact I am
surprised you remember the night at all, after the amount of ale you
consumed that night".
Edward "Will you do something for me John?".
Me "Of course what is it".
Edward "Bring us a jug of ale".
Me "Is that wise considering your state?".
Edward "Oh come now John, all the good intentioned souls who take care
of me seem to suffer from deafness when I mention ale. If ale is to
kill me then so be it".
(I smile and leave the chamber, when I return I have a jug of ale and two tankards)
Edward "Ah good ale, man's finest achievement".
Me "What shall we drink to?".
Edward "Lets drink to the man who brewed the first drop of ale".
Me "Do you now who he was?".
Edward "No, but he must have been a fine fellow, and were he here now I should knight him".
Me "I was just thinking about that night with father, our brother Richard was such a pompous ass".
Edward "Indeed he was, I imagine he was very indignant when he was killed on the field of battle".
Me "Yes, I am sure he would only consent to be killed by someone of royal blood".
Edward "Hahaha, Your right he was an ass, I doubt if our brother William shed many tears for him".
Me "No, William hated him, and I also hated him for the way he teased poor William".
Edward "Ah yes William, father should never have sent him to Sweden".
Me "It should have been me who died in Sweden. had I not disobeyed father, it would have been William sat here now with thee".
Edward "Late in his life father told me he regreted sending William to Sweden".
Me "I think he blamed me for Williams death".
Edward "No he didn't, he blamed himself, he told me you were right to disobey him, but that I should not tell you so".
Me "You have just told me".
Edward "Yes, well you should know".
Me "Thank you brother".
Edward "I am growing tired again John".
Me "Here, let me make you comforable".
Edward "I am pleased you did not go to Sweden John, you are the finest brother any man could have".
Me "And I love thee dearly as well, now sleep, I will visit thee again tomorrow".
(Edward closes his eyes and is soon asleep, I pull the covers up around him, and leave)
February 22nd.
Last night my brother Edward died in his sleep, I do not wish to write anymore than this, as I am too upset.
February 23rd.
I still cannot come to terms with the fact that Edward is no longer
with us. However I must find strength, as this is what Edward would
have wanted.
I have called a meeting of my brothers, to take place tomorrow.
February 24th.
(The meeting)
Me "The purpose of this meeting, is to discuss how we are to manage the situation of having a King in minority".
Edmund "You are not seriously considering doing this are you?".
Me "Doing what?".
Edmund "Come now John, Prince Stephen is a tiresome brat, and should he
become King, it will cause all manner of problems for the Kingdom".
Me "I thought this was already decided, Alfred, what are your thoughts?".
Alfred "It is decided, we gave our word to Edward, and as far as I am concerned nothing has happened to change that".
Edmund "To hell with that, make thy self King, John. You have the support of the nobility, and England needs a strong King".
Me "It is God who makes Kings, not men, and we all know the story of Hubert Langtons prayer that gave birth to Prince Stephen.
I for one am not willing to incur the wrath of God".
Alfred "I am of the same mind, what are you worried about Edmund?".
Edmund "I am sure weak leadership will bring invasion".
Me "Do you think we are just going to leave Stephen to his own devices.
Stephen will be King in name only, I will be making the decisions and
when I pass on, then Alfred will take over".
Edmund "This I can accept, although I still believe it would be better to make thy self King".
Me "That is not going to happen, we have Stephen at a young age, he
will do as he is told, with Alfred taking over the reins of power
should I die, and you should anything happen to Alfred, Stephen will be
no more than a puppet".
Edmund "We cannot keep him as a puppet indefinately".
Alfred "Yes but it will give him time to mature and us time to mould him into a King".
Edmund "Very well I agree".
Me "Good, now let us get down to the details of managing the situation".
(The discussion carries on for the rest of the day, until we eventualy have a workable plan)
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 1:43 pm
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Dave P
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Posts: 636
(3/14/04 11:35 pm)
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Chapter 4.
The Diary of King Stephen I. 1194-1242
1194.
February 22nd
As a Royal Prince of 14 years, I have had very little contact with my
father and uncles over the years, as they are always busy with matters
of the Kingdom. I have spent much of my lifetime in the company of the
women and children of the court.
So when Uncle John entered my chamber this morning, and told everyone else to leave, I knew something important was happening.
John "There is no easy way to tell you this Stephen, so I will just say it. Your father is dead."
Me "Oh."
John "Are you not upset boy."
Me "Yes of course, poor father."
John "You do realize, that this means that you are to be King."
Me "Yes Uncle John."
John "Very well, I will leave you with your grief, and will speak with you again in a few days time."
I am not upset, my father was a stranger to me, how can I mourn someone
I didn't really know. I am however, looking forward to being King.
February 23rd.
Uncle John has ordered that no one should leave the court. The select
few of us who know of my father's death have been confined to the royal
quarter's, there is a strange mood about, my mother looks frightend and
worried.
February 24th.
The sense of forboding has deepend, it feels as though we are all
waiting for something to happen. When I ask mother what is happening,
she just tells me not to worry and that all is well.
February 25th.
The waiting is over, and mother was right there was nothing to worry
about, I suppose this is the way of things when a King dies.
I have had another meeting with Uncle John.
John "I am sorry about the last few days Stephen, there was much to do
and it is important that we do things the right way. This afternoon I
will issue a proclaimation telling all of your fathers death, and then
things can return to normal at court.
Now Stephen tell me, do you know what minority means."
Me "Yes, it is when the King has not yet come of age."
John "That is good, you are a bright boy, so you will understand that this is the situation we have in the Kingdom now?"
Me "yes, what happens now Uncle John."
John "You are to be crowned King on the first day of March, But during
the time before your coming of age, I will perform the duties of King.
and keep you informed about things that you may wish to keep an account
of."
Me "Are there things I need to do as King?"
John "Do not worry about that, I will tell thee what is required."
March 1st.
I am now King, my coronation was a grand affair, although it was
exciting to begin with, as the day wore on it became tedious and by the
end I was glad it was over.
May.
I am very disapointed, being a King in minority is awful. I can no
longer do things that other boys of my age are allowed to do, because
Uncle John says it is not fitting of a King. yet I am not allowed to do
any of the good things that grown up Kings do.
Uncle John has told me Pope Nicholas IV has died. His successor is
Nicholas V, Uncle John says I should record this in my diary as it is
an important event.
August.
I have found out that being King has some advantages. Uncle John
explained to me that France has invaded the Spanish province of
Aquitane, and that they were laying seige to the castle at Bordeaux. He
showed me maps of France, drawings of the castle, and explained in
great detail what had happened, it was very interesting.
September.
Uncle John tells me that King Casimir of the Polish has been killed in
battle by the Byzantines, and the Polish Kingdom is destroyed. I asked
him if he had any maps of Poland, he said he had some of the northern
part, but that he was busy and would show them to me another time.
**********************************************
1195.
Uncle Jonh tells me that Lord Becket, who is the Earl of Northumbrland
and Lord Chamberlain, has died. He says that he has given the title
Earl of Northumberland to Sir Geoffrey de Vere, and the office of Lord
Chamberlain to Fitzalan of Wessex.
All this is of little interest to me, as I dont know any of these men.
I will record it in the diary though, as Uncle John says these things
are important.
Now to something I am interested in, war.
Uncle John told me that The Almohads had Invaded Aragon again, he also
gave me a large map of the known world so that I may know more of the
places where all these wars are taking place.
After he had left, I studied the map and found that with the Almohads
now in Aragon Spain is now divided into three parts, Navare, Valencia
and Toulouse.
Uncle John tells me that the Kingdom of Sicily is now destroyed. The
Byzantines captured King Paolo of Sicily and executed him by removing
his head with an axe. I imagine this was a fine spectacle, I would have
dearly loved to have witnessed such a thing.
**********************************************
1196.
My sister Joan has been married to Lord de Vere of Northumbria. There
was a long ceremony which I found very tedious, However I did enjoy the
feast afterwards.
Uncle Alfred sat next to me and told me much about his time in Sweden,
he has fought many battles and killed over a thousand men. I like
Alfred, he knows much more about war than Uncle John.
I had hoped there would be more news about the war in Spain, but none
has come this year. However, The Byzantines have now gone to war with
the people of Novgorod, and we have cancelled our alliance with
Novgorod.
I find the Byzantines very interesting, they are always at war,
hopefully there will be more news of a another gruesome execution soon.
Uncle John tells me that the Egyptians have reached Hungary, he says
they are heathens, and are renowned for the many ways of execution they
practice, I must learn more of the Egyptians.
My minority ends during the winter of this year, then I will truly be
King. I intend to take England to war next year against the Danes.
**********************************************
1197.
(A discussion I had with Uncle John)
Me "Uncle, now that I have come of age, I have decided that I should
start to do the work of King. The first thing I wish to do is take an
army into Denmark."
John "Yes, it is good that you wish to assume more of the duties of
King, but an invasion of Denmark would not be wise at this time."
Me "Why is this?"
John "For many years during your father's reign, and since his death,
we have been building our forces up towards an invasion of France. That
time draws close, and an invasion of Denmark would set our plans back."
Me "Oh I see, I would like to view these plans."
John "Indeed, and I will show them to thee, but first you must learn more of the financial side of running the Kingdom."
Me "Such things bore me Uncle, I am more suited to commanding armies."
John "Stephen, these things may be tedious, but a great warrior King
needs to know all about such things. An army on the march needs to eat,
and weapons cost money. The greatest of military tacticians cannot win
battles if his men cannot fight."
Me "Very well teach me."
John "I will teach thee, but you must be patient as there is much to learn."
I have spent much of this year in the company of Uncle John, learning
about how much a soldier eats per day, how much a spear costs, who my
governors are, how much tax we take on a bale of wool, and a thousand
other tedious details.
By the time Uncle John has finished filling my heard with all this, I doubt there will be room left for military matters.
I am still taking an interest in the war in Spain, and this year the
Almohads have taken Valencia. Surely now it can only be a matter of
time before the Spanish Kingdom is no more.
My sister Emma has married Lord Curthose of Mercia this year, and
during the feast which took place afterwards, Uncle Alfred said to
Uncle John, "We will need to find a bride for young Stephen here soon".
This is the first time that such a thing had occured to me, although I
must admit I am intrigued by the thought of having a woman.
**********************************************
1198.
I am losing patience with Uncle John. During much of last year and the
early part of this year I have been a hard working student of fiscal
matters, and other tedious trivialities.
I had hoped that come the spring I would be leading the invasion force
across the channel and into Flanders. Now Uncle John tells me that the
invasion force will not be ready to leave this year. I argued with him
over this, accusing him of keeping me in the dark over military
planing. He said that he did not want to bother me with the details, as
I was already embroiled in learning of other matters of state.
I cant help thinking that my uncle is purposely trying to frustrate my
ambitions, however, I will give him the benefit of the doubt this year,
as he did put up a rather strong argument about the strength and make
up of our armies.
As if to dampen my spirits even more, war on the continent still continues to rage.
The HRE has invaded French held Burgundy, and The Almohads have put down a loylist uprising in Aragon.
One thing I am very pleased about. The work that has been going on for
several years now, to transform the royal court into an estate is now
finished.
The extension to the court itself contains a new quarters for myself, I
have now taken up residence and am finding it much to my liking. Also
the estate itself is very good for riding and hunting.
**********************************************
1199.
(A meeting with Uncle John)
Me "Uncle John, are we finally ready to go to war this year."
John "I fear not Stephen, our source in Denmark tells me that the Danes
have become stronger, and it looks likely that they will soon launch an
attack on Sweden.
Before we can launch an invasion of France we will need to weaken the Danish army."
Me "So when do we attack Denmark?"
John "Next year."
Me "Good, what army am I to take with me?"
John "Oh no my boy, that is not the plan, Early next year we will set
about recruiting a mercenary army, and when we have enough men, we will
turn them loose on the Danes."
Me "Who will lead these mercenaries?"
John "It matters not, we do not intend to conquer Denmark, just to cause as much damage as possible."
Me "This is not a very chivalric way of fighting a war Uncle."
John "I agree, but it is a necessary evil."
Me "So when will the invasion of France go ahead?"
John "It will be 1201."
So I am now to wait two years before I can lead our armies to a
glorious victory. I am not pleased about this, but there is logic in
Uncle Johns words. Although I am sceptical about this proposed attack
on Denmark, I will wait and see if it materializes.
More misfortune has befallen the Spaniards. King Ferdinand has been
killed in battle during an ill fated attack on Aragon. His heir is King
Sancho III, who inherits a very precarious possition, as The castle at
Bordeaux in Aquitane has now fallen to the French. This will now free
up French armies for an invasion of Toulouse or Navare.
**********************************************
1200.
Uncle John has surprised me, true to his word the attack on Denmark has taken place.
Early in the year, Uncle John introduced me to a man he had found to
lead the attack. His name is Adolf Blankenberg, a native of Saxony, now
in exile. He has a strong hatred for the Danes, as he says it was their
treachery that caused his exile. This is a man motivated by money and
revenge. Uncle John says he is the ideal man for this task, and I agree.
When Blankenberg ask what the task was to be, Uncle john explained,
that he was to gather a small band of mercenaries, numbering no more
than 400. then we would transport them by sea to a place north of
Helsingor. Once there Blankenberg would be given a free hand, to do as
he pleased, with just one condition. That at some point he would bring
the Danes to battle and inflict some damage on their army.
As spring arrived Blankenberg had his men ready to leave, they were
slightly more than 400, numbering 437 in all, made up of 120 militia,
120 vikings, 80 alan cavalry, 80 horse archers and 37 spearmen. The
plan was to sail them through the Skagerrak, close to the coastline's
of Norway and Sweden, then across to the point north of Helsingor.
(Blankenberg takes up the story)
We made landfall at the place north of Helsingor, and after a nights
rest, I decided we should march on Helsingor to see what booty was to
be had. we reached the settlement to find it undefended, I gave my men
orders to take anything of value, and lay waste to the rest.
We left Helsingor ablaze, with not a soul alive, we were laden down with treasure, our stomachs full and our loins empty.
We made our way south along the coast towards Copenhagen, leaving a
trail of burning villages behind us, until we reached a place close to
Niva. It was here that we came face to face with King Hardeknud and his
army.
The Battle of Niva.
My scout had returned to tell me, that the Danes were on the other side
of the forest that lay ahead of us, and that they numbered around 200.
Made up of mostly militia, but with some vikings and sprearmen, they
also had two balistae and were lead by the King and around 25 royal
knights.
First to appear through the forest was the King himself. I deployed my
small band of spearmen to the fore, and sent my horse archers on ahead
to greet him.
The Horse archers attacked a couple of times, and this was enough to
draw the King and his knights on to our spears. Our horse archers
retreated behind the spears, and proceeded to fire into the melee. This
killed some of our men, but also took many of the knights from their
horses.
We stood there and watched the fight, as I am sure the rest of the Danish army also did, from their refuge in the forest.
Eventualy we could see no more horses, and our spearmen were grouped
together seemingly stabing the ground with their spears. As I arrived
at the scene, the spearmen parted to allow me to view their
craftsmanship. Hardeknud lay on the ground, spears had pierced his body
everywhere that his armour would allow, most gruesome of all was the
fact that his visor had been forced open, and instead of eyes he now
looked through two spearholes.
I ordered my alan cavalry to move around the forest, and destroy their
balistae. Whilst the rest of my men moved up to the edge of the forest.
Once there the vikings moved into the forest and set about their work.
There was a brief and violent engagement, but eventualy the vikings
prevailed, and the remanants of the Danish army fled out through the
other side of the forest, to where my alans, who had now finished with
the balistae, waited for them.
We counted 150 Danish dead, and took 50 captive. After stripping the Prisoners of everything of value, we set them free.
We marched on Copenhagen, and After promising to spare the lives of the people within, the castle opened its gates to us.
(Here ends Blankenberg's tale)
So we have an unexpected victory to celebrate, and the Danish are no more, as Hardeknud was last of the Danish line.
Uncle John immeadiatly sent Uncle Alfred to Copenhagen, with a large
bag of gold for Blankenberg, who we were now worried would assume
control of Denmark, but our worries were unfounded, Blankenberg said he
had no wish to become King of Denmark, and was more than pleased with
the wealth he had gained from this venture.
Uncle Alfred has been made Prince of Denmark, this is fitting reward for all his endeavours in Scandinavia.
Spain has suffered another blow, the Almohads have invaded Toulouse and now lay seige to the castle there.
One other piece of news, Uncle John's son, Prince Richard has now come of age.
**********************************************
1201.
(A meeting with Uncle John, in February of this year)
John "Stephen, I am afraid there is much I have to tell thee, and none of it will be to your liking."
Me "I am listening."
John "The planned invasion of France will have to be postponed until next year."
Me "Why is this."
John "I think we may have been a little too optimistic about having
everything in place, for the invasion to go ahead this year."
Me "So that is it, we are not ready yet again. Answer me this one thing
truthfully, Uncle John. Will I have an army to lead across the channel
next year?"
John "Ah, this is something else I have been meaning to discuss with
thee. It will be your Uncle Edmund who leads the army across the
channel."
Me "NO, I FORBID IT, I am King and I will lead my army into France."
John "I am sorry Stephen, but the decision is already made."
Me "BY WHOM, MAY I ASK?"
John "By me."
Me "Uncle John, it may have escaped your attention, but the crown sits
upon my head, not yours. I will lead the army and that is my final word
on the matter."
John "Unless I give my word the men will not follow you Stephen."
Me "I have had enough of your treason, GUARDS."
(Two guards enter the chamber)
Me "Arrest Prince John and escort him to the tower."
(The guards look at each other, then across to John, who smiles at them
and waves them out of the room. I slump down into a chair.)
Me "So that is it, I am King in title only. why do you not be done with it, have me killed and take the crown for yourself."
John "If that was what I intended, I should have done it when you were 14."
Me "So why didn't you?"
John "God chose thee to be King, Stephen. You are my brothers son, and
when your father died I promised myself that you would become the King
he had hoped you would be, and if I allow thee to go to France, where
there is good chance of being killed, I would be breaking that promise."
Me "Do you mind leaving me alone Uncle John, I have much to ponder."
(John nods sympatheticly and leaves the room)
A month later and after much sulking, then drinking, and finally thinking, I meet Uncle John again for another discussion.
John "Are you still sore with me Stephen?"
Me "Yes very, but with time it may ease."
John "What is it you wish to discuss?"
Me "Although I am displeased about not being allowed to lead the invasion, I would like to know of the plan."
John "Ah thats better, you know Stephen I would have dearly liked to
have gone myself, but I am an old man and would just be a burden to the
army."
Me "I am a young man uncle John, and would have been an asset to the invasion."
John "Yes, but as a dead King you would have quickly become a burden. Now let me tell you of the plan.
Edmund will lead the old army across the channel first, along with all
the spare knights we can find. The old army has many obsolete units
within it, and so I am expecting very heavy losses. This is the main
reason I am against you going. Edmund will then advance on Ghent.
Should things go well for us, the new army lead by the Earl of Wessex
will follow across the channel to consolidate our possition.
Should things go bad for us, we will make another attempt next year with the new army.
Me "You say all the spare knights, does this include your own son Prince Richard?"
John "Yes, I am sorry to say it does."
Me "Why do you not forbid him to go, as you have me?"
John "You will achieve great things Stephen. This is Richards chance to achieve, and he wishes to go."
Me "Uncle John, can I request something of thee?"
John "Yes, what."
Me "Will you make me the King my father wished I should become?"
John "Yes, I have already started. trust me Stephen, and with a little
patience you will become something far greater than a mighty warrior."
Me "I feel my soreness towards thee has abated a little Uncle."
John "That is good."
**********************************************
1202.
An account of the Battle of Oostende in Flanders. as told by Prince Edmund, commander of the English invasion force.
The night before I had made it know to the night watchman, that I wished to be woke at first light, and this he did.
I made the short walk from our camp down to the beach, sat on a rock
gazed out across the channel and listened to the waves breaking on the
shore. All alone, I thought that a man with out purpose would find this
a very peaceful place to be.
However, that man is not me. yesterday I sailed across from England
with my army of over two and a half thousand men, today we march on
Ghent.
My army is made up of.
100 royal knights.
160 hobilars.
240 feudal men at arms.
600 spearmen.
600 archers.
240 militia sergeants.
240 urban militia.
240 highlanders.
120 gallowglasses.
120 kerns.
3 balistae and their crews.
As I sit here they are being woken and making ready for the day ahead.
I take out the bread and ale I have brought with me, and sit a while
longer while I eat and drink. This peacful place is so far removed from
the place I am going to, a man could live out his days here and be very
happy I think. I can see a fishing boat in the distance, I wonder what
the life of a fisherman might be like. I here a horse coming close, I
turn about, it is young Richard. "The men will be ready to move soon
Uncle", says richard, "Yes I am finished here", I reply. I must have
been sat here longer than I thought, I get up and make my way back to
camp.
I arrive back at camp, and begin to give orders to my unit commanders.
just as I finish a rider comes in, "Sire they are on the other side of
the hill and approaching", he says, "how many", says I, "at least the
same as us", says he.
I quickly form the men up, just as we get into something resembling a
formation, the first Frenchmen come over the hill in the distance. I
order 3 groups of knights forward in case they decide to attack, and
start organising what we now call the English defence, behind the
knights.
The English defence has 3 lines of spearmen, in front of 3 lines of
archers. In front of the spearmen are 2 lines of foot soldiers in this
case they are urban militia, and in front of them are another 2 lines
of archers. guarding our flanks on this occasion are 2 groups of
hobilars. About half way through this deployment the French stop and
begin to form up, this is good because it affords me the time to finish
our formation.
I take up position behind the army and central.
The battlefield is flat, to our left is a forest, to our right the
beach, in front and quite a way off are two wooded area's with a gap
between them. The french have deployed across the gap and into the
trees on either side.
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The scene is set, now let us test the mettle of these Frenchmen. I
order the 3 groups of royal knights forward, towards the gap. As they
get in range they come under fire from balista and catapult, French
militia sergeants and hobilars come forward to meet them. Our knights
are getting the better of them when the French send more militia's in,
after a while our knights retreat, towards the middle of the field. The
French follow and our men attack again, eventualy our men are beaten.
We have inflicted losses though and I would say honours are even.
The French now have two units forward of their original position, where the bulk of their force is.
I call up men from the rear, 2 units of men at arms and 1 of
gallowglasses. I order our urban militia forward from their positions,
behind our forward archers, and at the group of French militia in the
center of the field. I order the men at arms into the positions the
urban militia have vacated, and keep the gallowglasses just behind me.
As our militia close on the Frenchmen in the middle, two groups of men
at arms emerge from the forest, and rush towards the middle. As the
fight gets underway the French send in another 2 units of militia
sergeants. Our men are outnumbered, and break towards our lines drawing
the French with them.
As they come into arrow range of our forward archers, I send in the
gallowglasses, 1 unit of men at arms, and the hobilars guarding our
left flank. the French attack is destroyed, and they turn and run. I
let our men chase after them and they rout another two units of militia
on their way towards the French positions.
I decide to test the resolve of the French, by letting the attack
follow through into their front line, there is a brief fight and our
men are routed.
Some of the Gallowglasses and men at arms rally, and attack into the
left wooded area that the French occupy. They disappear into the trees
and are gone sometime before they re-emerge, followed by around 200
spearmen in hot pursuit.
They give chase all the way across the field, and end up in the forest on our left flank.
I move the Hobilars on our right flank, across to the left to guard
against the spearmen in the forest, and move our remaining unit of men
at arms into a central position behind our forward archers.
More reinforcements are arriving, in the shape of 2 units of highlanders, and 1 of kerns.
I send the kerns into the forest on our left to flush out the spearmen,
and move the highlanders up to the edge of the forest. As the kerns
come running out of the forest with the spearmen behind them, they are
confronted by 240 highlanders. The spearmen turn to run back into the
forest, but the highlanders are too fast for them, they chase them back
into the forest where a bloody masacre takes place. I send the hobilars
in to chase the spearmen down as they flee.
More reinforcements have arrived, 2 units of militia sergeants, I
deploy them to the flanks. We now have a substantial force in the
forest to our left flank, where the massacre took place.
I decide to send them forward to attack the flank of the main French army, which is in the wooded area to the left of the gap.
Kerns out front, highlanders behind, and hobilars behind them, in case
the French emerge from the trees. Our men disappear into the trees,
Frenchmen move from the gap also heading into the trees.
The Kerns come running out chased by hobilars, who are met by our
hobilars, whilst the kerns toss javelins at them. We win this
encounter, and fall back a little to await the outcome of the fight
which is now taking place in the forest.
After a while a handfull of highlanders emerge from the trees, running
like men possessed. the French redeploy into the gap, there numbers
look depleted.
I send the kerns back into the forest, and almost immeadiately, they
come running back out chased by spearmen. Our hobilars have no choice
but to attack, and they are performing well, until French militia's and
peasants overpower them. The appearance of peasants on the field gives
me a clue that the French are getting near to breaking.
Our last reinforcements arrive, Prince Richard and 40 royal knights. I
place them out front and order the whole army forward into arrow range.
Now we finish this I think.
As Richard and his men draw close, the catapult begins to fire again.
Richard panics and charges his men into the gap, where They put up a
brave fight but they are badly outnumbered, and cut down.
Emboldened by their success against our knights, the french now pour
forward, into the full force of a hail of arrows. I send my foot
soldiers forward to hold them there, whilst the archers use their
arrows. All our arrows gone I order everyone forward. A unit of French
peasants break and run, panic quickly spreads through the ranks, the
rout begins, and the day is ours.
The battlefield is covered with bodies, but this tells a false story,
because hidden in the trees are at least as many again. Over 3000 men
dead, around 1500 each side, including my brother John's only son. That
night I returned to the place on the beach, to try and find some
solace, but none was to be had. This was now a god forsaken place,
where no man would want to remain.
(Here ends Edmunds account)
After reading this account, I marveled at the complexity of the battle, and am very impressed by Edmunds generalship.
Secretly I think Uncle John was right not to allow me lead the invasion, As I could not have commanded the army in such a way.
Uncle John took the news of Richards death with such dignity, although
I have a feeling he is deeply hurt. I would like to offer him some
words of sympathy, but cannot find the right ones.
The castle at Ghent is now under seige, Edmund estimates they can last
but two years. Our new army commanded by the Earl of Wessex is now also
in Flanders.
The Almohads have cancelled our alliance, because of the war with France.
King Matyas of Hungary has been killed in a battle against the
Egyptians. Matyas was the last of the line, and the Hungarian Kingdom
dies with him.
**********************************************
1203.
In spring of this year, the French launched a desperate bid to lift the
seige at Ghent. We have over 4000 men camped around Ghent. So I dont
know whether to call King Henry's actions brave or foolhardy, as he
aproached that day with his rag tag band of 700 men. This encounter in
itself, would not have been worthy of mention, had it not been for one
event that day.
(An account by Lord Fitzgilbert Earl of Wessex and commander of the invasion force.)
When I arrived in Flanders last year, shortly after the battle of
Oostende. I was determined to find out what had gone wrong. "what had
gone wrong" you might say, after all we did win the battle.
Well for the first time since its conception, a version of the English
defence had been tried out, and we had suffered many casualties.
You may wonder why this should be of such concern to me. Well, the
English defence was mainly the Idea of my father Strongbow, and so I
feel somewhat responsible for it.
After discussions with Prince Edmund about the events that day. I
finally came to the conclusion, that the heavy casualties that day,
were due in no part to the English defence strategy, but rather the
obsolete units that were tasked with making it work, and so decided
that the strategy should be given another chance to prove good.
King Henry of France offered me the opportunity to test the defence this year with his vain attempt to lift the seige at Ghent.
This time we were able to deploy the English defence, as it was meant
to be done. no royal knights and hobilars this time. In their stead
were 3 balistae, out front of the spears, and 2 units of militia
sergeants guarding our flanks.
First to attack through the forest ahead of us, and across the flat
field was around 100 knights, royal and feudal. they came straight on
into the hail of balista bolts and 600 archers all giving flight to
arrows. Many had their horses shot from beneath them, before I sent in
the militia sergeants, and men at arms to slow their advance.
As King Henry and his foot soldiers appeared through the forest they
were passed by the remanants of his elite horsemen fleeing the field.
A more astute commander would have called a halt to this carnage there, and left the field, but not Henry.
Henry was determined to see God that day, and we were more than willing
to help him on his journey, on they came, into the arrow storm.
I had reformed my militia's and men at arms after the first attack, and now sent them forward again to meet the second.
I had a fine view of the melee that developed in front of our
possitions, and saw Henry thrown from his horse in a hail of arrows.
It is not often that one gets to witness the death of King, and as our
men decended on Henry, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing
up. I turned to my second in command who was wearing a big foolish grin
on his face and said, "It is sad to see such a man cut down, I should
have liked to have met him on the battlefield on more occassions, many
more occasion.
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The death of King Henry signals the end of the battle, his men have no more will to fight and flee the field.
Although not tested to the limit, the English defence has proved its
self this day. I am now sure my fathers idea was a sound one.
We lost just 173 men. The French dead numbered 412, and 145 prisoners were taken, who were later ransomed back
(Here ends Fitzgilbert's account)
Uncle John was ecstatic at the news of this victory. He came bursting
into my chamber shouting "read this, read this", after I had finished
reading the report, John said "The glory of this victory is thine
Stephen, it will be recorded that an English army during thy reign,
killed the King of France on the battlefield."
Uncle John was right, I now realize my reign will be judged on the size
of Kingdom I leave behind, and not by the amount of peasants I cut down
on the battlefield.
King Henry's son Jean inherits the French crown. Let us hope is every bit as good a commander as his father.
Henry was not the only King to die this year, King Sancho of Spain also
leaves this world. Given over to the Almohads along with the castle at
Toulouse, by the treacherous garrison commander. Sancho was paraded
naked through the town before being beheaded. Such barbarism is beyond
contempt.
This event signals the end for the Spanairds, such a sad end to a once proud Kingdom.
On the diplomatic front, we have finally secured an alliance with
Italy. This is something we have been striving for for a long time so
we are understandably pleased. The union is to be sealed by the
marriage of Prince Giovanni, to my sister Beatrice.
The HRE have offered alliance, no doubt worried by our large force in
Flanders, and with justification, as Friesland is our next target. The
offer was turned down.
**********************************************
1204.
I am pleased to report that the castle garrison at Ghent has
capitulated. As an added bonus to us we have discovered, that Flanders
has all the necessary facilities for Training good swordsmen.
Considering that we have swordsmen to replace, after our battles with
the French, this is indeed good fortune.
Uncle John tells me, that Sir Anthony Becket is the best man we have to
govern Flanders at present. He is not ideal but will surfice until
someone better is found.
Still with Flanders. My brother Henry has come of age this year, and
has gone to Flanders to join the army. I do feel a little jealousy,
that my younger brother goes off to fight, whilst I cannot, but then as
Uncle John would say "Stephen, you are meant for greater things than
this."
(A discussion I had with Uncle John recently)
John "I think it may be some time before our 2nd army is back at full strength again and able to move on Friesland."
Me "Uncle John, is it wise to go to war with the HRE, whilst we are still at war with the French."
John "Yes I had considered that, and it is not ideal. However, in order
to fully exploit Scandinavian resources, we need to be able to protect
them, and for this we need an army in Saxony. We need Friesland so the
link between our forces, is not dependant on shipping. So war with the
HRE is, although not desirable, unavoidable."
Me "Will not the HRE invade Denmark if we move into Friesland?"
John "It is quite likely they will. We would have to hope, that our
fortifications are strong enough to hold out, until a third army is
ready."
Me "Would it not be better, to wait until the third army is ready, and then launch a double attack, on Friesland and Saxony?"
John "I thought you were eager for conquest."
Me "Yes I am, but I see little point in going to war with the HRE, until the rewards to be had a worth it."
John "It will take quite a while if we go down this route, and will cost us money in the short term."
Me "I believe our patience would be rewarded though."
(John smiles broadly and slaps me on the back)
John "Haha, my patience is already being rewarded Stephen. The faith I
had in thee is finally paying off, This is the reasoning of a King, and
we will go with your idea."
(John Leaves the room)
I am very pleased with myself. This is the first time I have been able
to wield influence in matters of the Kingdom, and it is a good feeling.
**********************************************
1205.
I now have a wife, Princess Dobronega of Novgorod, she is 22 years old, and has long dark hair, I think she is very beautiful.
She does not speak much English as yet, but I am teaching her, and it is quite amusing.
We have a new ally, Egypt. They requested the alliance and I was more
than pleased to accept, as our ships are now trading off their
coastlines.
Egypt is a large powerful and wealthy Kingdom, so this can only be of benefit to us.
Uncle Edmund has shown me a weapon which he says is much used on the continent, it is called a crossbow.
The crossbow is powerful and accurate, but is quite slow to use.
However, after spending some time testing the weapon, and discussing
whether it might be of some use to us, we decided that crossbowmen
could be used in our English defence instead of forward archers.
**********************************************
1206.
My first child is born, a daughter, she has been named Matilda. I hope
this is not the return of the curse which plagued my father. Eight
daughters before I was born.
My brother Henry is to be married to Tatiana of Novgorod. Tatiana is
the Queens sister, and she is delighted that her sibling will be coming
to live in England.
I have been reading much about the crusades of late, and one book in
particular, which discussed not only the fighting of a holy war, but
the planning as well.
The scholar that wrote this book, stated that when planning the route a
crusade should take to its destination. careful consideration should be
taken into account, of the religious zeal, of places that one might
pass through.
As the more zealous regions provide more men willing to take up the cross.
After reading this I started to think about our own province's.
Although we have not had crusades pass through our lands, a time may
come when this will happen, and although I support the crusaders in
their noble quest to spread the faith, I think it would not be a good
thing, if a crusade was to pass through our lands, and take with it
fighting and tax paying men.
Then something occured to me. When talking to Uncle John, some time ago
about the inquisition, he said that although the inquisition did seem
to convert the heathens, it had a tendancy to upset the god fearing
folk.
With all this in mind I have decided that the inquisition should be
encouraged more, we have already experienced the good work of the
inquisition in Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, now the good people of
Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Flanders are to benefit, Starting this
year with Scotland.
Hopefully, the people will then have little compulsion to join a crusade should one visit our lands.
**********************************************
1207.
Uncle John has died, he passed away whilst sleeping he was 80 years old.
I am ashamed to write this, but some years ago this entry in diary would have given me pleasure.
In the early years of my reign, I hated my Uncle. I saw him as the man
who was stopping me becoming a great warrior, something I had dreamed
about as a young boy.
Over the years the hate turned to respect, then liking, and the last
few years I have grown to love uncle John, as a son might love his
father.
Right up until his death, Uncle John had shouldered much of the burden
of being King for me. The day after he died I felt as though a great
weight had settled upon me. It is now my responsibility to make all the
important decisions, that may mean life or death, or worse the fall of
the Kingdom. These decisions I relished as boy, but now with the
knowledge taught me by my uncle, I worry that I am man enough to make
the right choices.
Uncle John left me a letter which he had wrote a few weeks before he died, it reads.
To King Stephen I.
I go to my grave knowing that England is in safe hands, had it not been so I should have refused to die.
In military matters trust the judgement of Lord Fitzgilbert, he is the most knowledgable man in the Kingdom on these matters.
Now I am no more, In all other matters the man to trust is one you know well, for it is thyself.
May thy reign be long and glorious, I am honoured to have served the my King.
This is praise indeed, never before has my uncle refered to me as King.
My first son and heir to the Kingdom was born three weeks after Uncle John's death, I have named him John.
**********************************************
1208.
The inquisition has finished its work in Scotland and Flanders, The
inqisition has now moved on to Ireland, and some of our inquisitors
have moved into France. Before they left for France, I had a meeting
with their leader, a man by the name of Will Giffard. During the
meeting, I suggested that they not be too hard on the French commoners,
and instead concentrate their efforts on the French nobility. I hinted
that if this were to happen more resources may be made available to
them.
The thinking behind this request, is that I do not want the French to
benefit from lowered zeal, should a crusade pass through their lands.
My brother Prince Edward has come of age, and has gone off to join our brother Henry in Flanders.
**********************************************
1209.
I fear Khalifah Yusuf III has become insane. He has launched a naval
war against our shipping. Using the element of surprise he has drawn
first blood by blockading the Straits of Gibraltar and sinking our
shipping in that area.
I see no benefit for either side in this conflict, as we both stand to lose considerable trade revenue.
With Spain now gone, any notions of further expansion that Yusuf may
have, must lie in France, as his only other border is with Egypt, and I
doubt very much he is willing to attack his Muslim ally. So rather than
being against us, surely it is in his best interests to be with us,
against the French.
Any sane minded person would have come to this conclusion, so I must assume that Yusuf's mind has betrayed him.
I do not doubt we will win this naval war, as I suspect our fleet is
the largest in the world at present. However, this conflict has brought
with it a number of undesirable Consequences.
We now will have to concentrate on ship building, and this will put our recruitment and training of land armies back somewhat.
The financial penalty for this war is likely to be high. Added to the
cost of building more ships, to replace the ones we are likely to lose,
is the loss in trade. We now estimate that profits will fall from
around 3000 per year, to -900 per year. The treasury holds around 15000
at the moment, so time is not on our side and this war will have to be
resolved as quickly as possible.
Another result of the conflict has been the loss of our ally Egypt,
they chose to stay loyal to the Almohads, who themselves have lost an
ally in the shape of Italy, who remain loyal to us.
The only other event of note this year, has been the death of Emperor
Nicephorus IV of the Byzantines, his heir Romanus V inherits the empire.
**********************************************
1210.
We have suffered further losses in the Straits of Gibraltar and the
Barbary Coast, this year. I pray for a victory, as these defeats do
nothing to improve the morale of sailors.
I have had to suspend all building work, recruitment and training, as
all our remaining resources are now to be channeled into shipbuilding.
The French have launched a crusade against Egypt, and as a result
Khalifah Yusuf has cancelled their alliance with the Egyptians.
This is indeed a strange decision, and I now wonder, if Yusuf's madness has been induced by some kind of French witchcraft.
It is rumoured that Sultan Ali of Egypt was eating when he heared of
this news, and promtly choked to death on a bone, more evidence of
French witchcraft I suspect.
The new Sultan is Mustali III.
As our invasion of Friesland is now set to be delayed for some time, I
have decided to except an offer of alliance made by Emperor Heinrich of
the HRE. Hopefully this will secure Denmark until we are ready to move.
Two items of news closer home. The inquisition has now finished its
work in Ireland, and now turns its full attention to Wales, as the
people there are proving very stubborn in their heretical beliefs.
The queen has given birth to a daughter, she has been named Emma.
**********************************************
1211.
My prayers have been answered, we have achieved our first naval victory
in the Straits of Gibraltar, let us hope it will be the first of many
to come.
We have made good use of the breakdown in relations between Egypt and
the Almohads, and have managed to re-establish our alliance with Egypt.
It is rumoured that the Sicilians have re-emerged, lead by King Roger
III. I suspect that it is only a rumour, as there is no sign of them in
Sicily of all places.
**********************************************
1212.
There have been more battles at sea this year. In the Straits of
Gibraltar we were once more victorious, but on the Barbary Coast
honours were even. Naval warfare is indeed a costly enterprise, I curse
Yusuf the mad for drawing us into this folly.
Our shipyards have produced their first caravel type ships, hopefully
they will give us an advantage in the war at sea. We will also be able
to follow the Almohad ships into deeper waters now.
Our new alliance with Egypt was short lived, as they are now at war with or allies the Italians.
I was faced with a difficult choice between these two, on the one hand
the Egyptians are more powerful and provide more wealth through trade
links, whilst on the hand the Italians are closer and provide trade
routes which are easier to maintain.
I chose the Italians, because at the rate we are losing ships it is
going to prove difficult to maintain trade with Egypt anyway.
The HRE has invaded French held Lorraine, they now lay seige to Nancy castle.
The rumours of the Sicilian King Roger, have been proved to be true, he is alive and well, on the island of Malta.
**********************************************
1213.
Sad news has arrived from Denmark, Uncle Alfred has died, he was 62
years old. Alfred was a hero to me as boy, he won three great
victories, Uddevalla and the two battles of Linkoping, all in Sweden,
although he ended his years as Prince of Denmark, he was more commonly
know as Conquerer of Sweden. His epitaph shall be "Alfred Plantagenet,
Prince of Denmark and Conquerer of Sweden"
My emissary in Spain tried to secure a cease fire with the Almohads,
but was unsuccessful. He says that Yusuf the mad, is becoming more
insane with the passing of each day, and that during negotiations,
Yusuf insisted on consulting with his camel, whom he believes to be his
brother.
I now wonder if we can find a female camel and secure a royal marriage.
I was disappointed at the refusal of our offer, I am very keen that
this pointless war be over. Now it appears we will have to completely
destroy the Almohad fleet, and to this end we have had some success off
the Barbary Coast this year.
It is misfortune indeed that I have an uncompromising madman as my
adversary, hopefully the madness will soon kill him, and maybe then his
brother the camel will be more accomodating when he becomes Khalifah.
I have two items of happier news to report this year, the birth of my
second son, William, and the marriage of my sister Princess Edith to
Prince Heinrich of the HRE.
**********************************************
1214.
Another naval victory in the Straits of Gibralter, has seen the Almohad
blockade lifted, but although our sailors are reporting fewer sightings
of Almohad shipping, they are still not defeated, we will persevere.
With the lifting of the blockade we are now making a small profit, and
this has happened just in time as the treasury is now empty. we now
need to re-establish our trade routes in the mediterranean sea, whilst
finishing off the Almohad fleet.
Emperor Heinrich of the HRE has died, his younger brother Conrad
becomes Emperor at the age of 66. No doubt he will be pleased at the
news, that his men now control Nancy castle, after the surrender by the
French garrison.
**********************************************
1215.
I recieved a request for a meeting, from Lord Becket Count of Flanders
in the autumn of this year. I agreed to the meeting, thinking that
Becket wished to discuss matters concerning his province.
(Account of the meeting)
(Becket arrives and informs me that, Lord Bolingbroke Duke of Normandy
and Lord Langton Prince of Wales, are here with him, and also wish to
discuss this matter with me. Still not knowing exactly what this matter
is, I agree and they are shown in. Becket then produces a document,
entitled Magna Carta, and hands it to me. As I read, it all becomes
clear, these men are dissatisfied Barons, looking for concessions.)
Me "Take this document, leave now, return to your province's, and we shall forget this meeting took place."
Becket "I dont think you understand the seriousness of the situation sire".
Me "Then explain it to me."
Becket "If this document is not signed by thee there will be rebellion."
Me "This is treason Becket, I assume you are aware of the penalty for treason."
Becket "Yes, but you are not in a possition to carry out such a threat sire."
Me "If you were to organise a rebellion, do you think I would not recall the army from Flanders to put it down."
Becket "Yes, but with winter aproaching, they would not be able to sail before spring next year at the very earliest."
Me "Very well, supposing your rebellion was successful, who would be
King, thee Becket, and assuming you did make yourself King, would your
neck not be streached next year, when my Uncle Edmund arrives with the
army."
(The door opens and in walks Uncle Edmund, who being the oldest member
of the Royal family, is without doubt the most respected and influntial
man in the Kingdom. My heart sinks, as here is a man the barons would
recognize as King)
Edmund "Sign the document Stephen, it is for the best."
(I look long and hard into Edmunds eyes, before signing the Magna Carta, and giving it the royal seal)
Edmund "You have made a wise decision King Stephen."
Me "There was none to be made."
Edmund "Indeed, but bear in mind, thy seal has just bought the loyalty of every nobleman in the Kingdom."
(The four men leave. I shall have revenge on these four should the opportunity present itself)
To add to my bad year, the Almohads have re-established the blockade in the Straits of Gibraltar.
**********************************************
1216.
We finally managed to lift the blockade of the Straits of Gibraltar in
summer of this year, and no Almohad ships have been seen since. However
the loss of trade from last year and half of this year has left us with
a deficit of over 1000 florins.
To no avail, my emissary tried to negotiate a cease fire with the
French this year. It was a vain hope really, and I did not expected him
to succeed.
**********************************************
1217.
The French have invaded Normandy, and now lay seige to the castle at
Rouen. It is good fortune that my brother Henry was in Roune at the
time and has taken contol of the defence. For I should have been
worried indeed had it been that treacherous dog, Bolingbroke. He would
have no doubt been tempted to sell the castle to the French.
I must blame myself for letting this happen, I have been so taken up
with our war with the Almohads, I did not think, that one of our armies
in Flanders, might be better used in Normandy as a deterent to the
French.
The castle at Rouen is well fortified and supplied, I think we will
allow the French to winter in the fields of Normandy, before evicting
them next year in the spring.
Emperor Conrad's short reign has come to an end. The new Emperor
Herrmann II should have a much longer reign, as he is a young man of 24
years.
**********************************************
1218.
On the first sign that spring had arrived this year, Prince Edward and
an army of almost 3000 men, crossed the border from Flanders into
Normandy. By the time Edward reached Rouen, the French beseiging force
were long gone.
Prince Henry, who had spent the winter under seige in the castle, was
in fine spirits and said that he had enjoyed the winter at Rouen, and
that the provisions in the castle had provided them with ample food and
warmth throughout the cold months.
Henry said that it had become a ritual that after feasting of the
evening, they would load up the catapults, and launch all the waste
over the wall towards the French.
He also told of an amusing piece of sport he would play with the
French. A joint of meat would be tossed over the wall within arrow
range, it always proved to tempting for the starving Frenchmen, and
eventualy someone would try to take it, then Henry and his men would
then enjoy some practice with the bow.
It is not all good news in Normandy, the French have stripped the land
of all that could be eaten, and many peasants have died because of
this. But this is of no real concern, as the good people of Normandy
now blame the French for their misfortunes.
After re-establishing our trade routes to Egypt, the treasury is now
making a healthy profit of almost 1500 per year, and although we have
lost some shipping in the Gulf of Lions, it seems that the worst of our
conflict with the Almohads is over.
My emissary in Spain, has tried once more to make Yusuf the Mad realize
the futility of this war, but once again was thwarted by the advice of
Yusuf's brother Prince Camel, who this time was dressed in fine robes
befitting of his possition.
I have another daughter, she has been named Mary.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 3:25 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 637
(3/14/04 11:36 pm)
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Chapter 4. (continued)
1219.
The sea battles continue, we have victory in the Gulf of Lions, yet
have suffered defeat in the Gulf of Valencia. My major concern is to
keep the Almohads away fom the Straits of Gibraltar and so keep our
trade routes open, as long as the conflict is confined to its present
location it is only a minor inconvinience.
Our ally Doge Enrico I of the Italians has died. His heir Lorenzo II has pledged to keep good our alliance.
**********************************************
1220.
We have suffered more losses in the Gulf of Valencia, I will order
extra ships to this area, as it appears the Almohads have an
experienced commander in these waters.
The Egyptian Sultan Baybars I has died. his heir the 17 year old Sultan
Nasir I, has sent an emissary to offer allaince to us, although I would
dearly like to establish an alliance with the Egyptians, it is still
not possible as they are at war with our loyal friends the Italians. I
explained this to the emissary, told him to offer my deepest
condolances to the Sultan on the death of his father, and that I wished
him a long and prosperous reign.
I have another son, He has been named Alfred, I wonder if he will become a great warrior, like Uncle Alfred was.
**********************************************
1221.
The Almohad fleet in the Gulf of Valencia is no more. However,
achieving this has not come without cost to ourselves, we had to
ounumber the Almohads 3 to 1 in order to send this stubborn fellow, and
all of his ships to the bottom of the sea, and many of our own ships
went down along with them.
The Byzantines have won their war against the people of Novgorod, and
that Kingdom has come to an end. Prince Vladimir I of Novgorod, was
treated with utmost respect on his capture, and allowed to choose his
own excutioner. The Byzantines are indeed a civilized people.
I have another son, and altough I was loathe to do this have named him
Edmund after my traitorous uncle. On the childs arrival Edmund had
commented to me "We have a John, an Alfred and now we shall have an
Edmund", I was about to say something to the contray, when I thought
better of it. Edmund is still a very powerful man in England, so it is
better that I give him no reason to be aggrieved, and tis only a name
after all is said and done.
My brother Prince Edward has married the Byzantine Princess Irene, I am
pleased for him, although I do see problems at the court with this, as
the Queen, and my brother Henry's wife are both originally from
Novgorod.
**********************************************
1222.
There have been no battles in the Mediterranean sea, this year, and we
have not seen any Almohad shipping in the waters that our own ships
sail in. However, foreign traders tell our merchants, that the Almohads
still sail off the Barbary Coast.
With our trade routes now re-established throughout much of the
Mediterranean, our income, for the first time ever has surpassed 10,000
florins per year. Which after expediture, this year gave us a profit of
3,500 florins.
Prince John, my son and heir to the Kingdom has come of age, I will now
begin to instruct him in the ways of Kingship, as his namesake my Uncle
John did for me. Hopefully his lessons will not be as painfull as mine
were, and by the time he is King, he will be well prepared for the role.
There are reports of an uprising centered on the Egyptian province of
Carpathia, which has spread to a number of bordering province’s. The
leader of this uprising has proclaimed himself to be King Bela II of
the Hungarians, and claims to have a direct bloodline to the previous
Kings of Hungary.
After learning of this uprising, I decided to have a look at some maps
to see exactly where Carpathia is situated, and found it to be to the
east of Hungary, which I suspect to be one of the other province’s
involved.
Whilst looking at the map, I decided to try and determine the extent of
the different Kingdoms, from limited knowledge passed on to me by our
merchants, and various other people who travel foreign lands.
These are my findings.
We have not had any merchants trading around the Baltic sea for many
years now, since they found it to be unprofitable. So we know nothing
of the lands east of Pomerania, which is held by the Pomeranians.
The HRE holds Saxony, Friesland and Lorraine.
The French hold Brittany, Champagne, Ille de France, Anjou, Aquitane and Provence.
The Almohads hold Toulouse, Aragon, Navarre, all the Iberian peninsular and north Africa from Morocco to Cyrencia.
The Italians hold Venice, Genoa, Tuscany and the islands of Corsica and Sardinia.
The Papacy holds Rome, the Papal states and Naples.
The Sicilians lead by King Roger are in exile in Malta, whilst rebels also calling themselves the Sicilians hold Sicily itself.
The Egyptians hold all the coastline that runs from Egypt to Nicaea and also the Adriatic coastline from Croatia to Greece.
The Byzantines Hold the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus.
It is almost certain that Egypt still holds Constantinople, unless
there have been some very recent developments in that area, and in
recent years, they have also been as far north as Hungary and Lithuania.
In recent years the Byzantines have held Kiev, and have defeated
Novgorod. So I would say it is a fair assumption that they control a
large part of the steppe.
Most of central Europe is a mystery, and provinces are prone to change
hands frequently, so these provinces could be held by The HRE, Italy,
Hungary or rebels.
**********************************************
1223.
The Straits of Gibraltar are blockaded once more. The Almohads must
have been building ships in North Africa and have now moved them into
the straits. This will mean more lost trade for us unless we can
quickly defeat these ships.
I grow weary of this war with the Almohads. I was a young man of 29
when this war began, now after 14 years of naval battles, I am 43 years
old. This stalemate is wasting away my years as King, were it not for
that fool Yusuf, we would have an army in Saxony by now and our
Scandinavian province's would be earning us great wealth.
All my hopes are being destroyed by a mad man, if this continues for very much longer I shall begin to fear for my own sanity.
**********************************************
1224.
Another year has come and gone, and there is still no end to the madness of this war with the Almohads.
We sink their ships in the Gulf of Valencia, they sink our ships in the
Straits of Gibraltar. The blockade continues, and the treasury dwindles.
**********************************************
1225.
These are dark years indeed, I can find no grain of hope to lift the black mood which has decended upon me.
We have lost more ships in the Straits of Gibraltar, and the treasury
is now empty. I am now begining to resign myself to the situation, and
now believe as long as Yusuf the mad lives, so this war will continue.
Each day I awake, and my first thought is, the hope that today will bring news of his death.
Uncle Edmund is another who's death would bring me much joy, he is 73
years old, and it is now 10 years since he forced me to sign the Magna
Carta. During those 10 years I have longed for revenge over the men
involved, but can have none whilst Edmund lives, and any move against
Edmund would surely bring rebellion.
**********************************************
1126.
Although the eternal war with the Almohads continues, and more ships
have been lost on each side, there is now a glimmer of hope.
This year I sent my daughter Princess Emma, to the French court with an
offer of peace. It was a vain hope, and I had not expected it to
succeed. So I was overjoyed when news came back, that King Jean also
wished for an end to our war, and requested that the agreement be
sealed, by the marriage of his son Prince Henri to Princess Emma. I was
more than happy to agree to this.
It was the war between France and ourselves, that sparked the war with
their allies the Almohads. I now have renewed hope of an end to this
war also, now the reason for war is no more.
I have despatched an emissary to spain, to try and negotiate a peace with Yusuf.
**********************************************
1227.
(an account of my emissary, Perkin de Beauchamp's meeting with Yusuf the Mad)
Beauchamp "Your magnificence, it is most gracious of thee to grant me this audience."
Yusuf "Indeed it is, now what is it thy wishes to talk of infidel."
Beauchamp "In view of our recent peace agreement with your allies the
French. His Majesty King Stephen, thought now might be an opportune
time, to discuss a peace between our two great Kingdoms."
Yusuf "I am not sure the time is right infidel. However you might tell
your King, that if he were to make war with our enemies, I may
reconsider."
Beauchamp "Who are these enemies sire."
Yusuf "Why, the English and the Spaniards of course."
Beauchamp "Sire correct me if I am wrong, but are not the Spaniards defeated."
Yusuf "Yes but they have returned, and as we speak are gathering a great army off the coast of Aragon."
Beauchamp "What island is this sire."
Yusuf "Tis not an island infidel, they are under the sea, and may march up onto the land at any time."
Beauchamp "Oh I see, well I am sure King Stephen would be more than willing to declare war on the Spaniards."
Yusuf "That is good, now what of the English?"
Beauchamp "Sire forgive me, maybe I forgot to mention that it is from England I come with this offer of peace."
Yusuf "It is?, Oh well in that case, I demand that you remove your armies from Aquitane."
Beauchamp "Sire we have no armies in Aquitane, your allies the French hold Aquitane."
Yusuf "French allies!, nonsense, we defeated the French many years ago in Egypt."
Beauchamp "What am I to tell King Stephen sire?"
Yusuf "Give me a few moments to consult with Ismail."
(Yusuf walks over to his camel and begins to hold a one sided discussion with the creature, and then returns.)
Yusuf "I have argued your case with Ismail, but he is adamant that you
must go to war with the English, before we will consider peace. Now
away with thee infidel."
(Here ends the account)
So that is it, we must make war with ourselves, and attack the undersea
Kingdom of Spain. Poor Yusuf, the place where his mind dwells must be a
strange one indeed, it would be kind of death to pay him a visit.
Although the talks with Yusuf proved futile, we have good news
concerning our war with the Almohads. No Almohad ships have been seen
this year, the blockade is gone, and our trade has been re-established.
I prefare to not get to excited at present though as this has happened
before.
**********************************************
1228.
Good news from the Mediterranean, for a second consecutive year we have
had no sightings of Almohad ships. The last time this happened, they
were building up on the Barbary Coast, and attacked in the third year,
so we wait to see what happens next year.
The Egyptians have offered alliance once more this year.
Although we have much trade with the Egyptian lands, it would be
impossible for me to accept their offer, as they are at war with two of
our allies, The HRE, and the Italians. To add even more weight to our
argument for not accepting this offer, they are also at war with the
French, Hungarians and the Byzantines, and have not one ally in the
world.
Hugh Herbert is the man I have tasked with spreading the inquisition to
the French lands, Herbert is now in Paris, and by all accounts is
causing much concern amongst the French nobility, after Lord Boulogne,
Duke of Provence, Grand Chamberlain, was tried, found guilty of heresy
and burnt at the stake.
The French are powerless to do anything about Herbert’s crusade against
heretics, as the inquisition is backed by the Pope himself, and any
move against Herbert would be greated by cries of heresy.
My second son Prince William has come of age, he is quite an
intelligent boy, more so than his older brother John, who is more taken
with military matters.
**********************************************
1229.
A third year and still no sign of Almohad shipping, I wonder what the
reason for this might be. Could it be that they have decided that they
just cannot compete with our naval strength, or maybe they do not have
the funds available to build ships. The later could be true as they do
have a massive army in Toulouse, which must be costing a small fortune
to support. Either way it is most pleasing to me.
After a great surmon by the Pope calling upon Christians everywhere to
take up arms against the Egyptians, the Italians were first to answer
the call, and their crusade now marches towards Constantinople.
**********************************************
1230.
Uncle Edmund has died aged 78, and with him dies any serious threat to
reign. Although his son also called Edmund might cause me some
problems, he does not have the same level of support among the nobility
that his father had.
With the death of Edmund, I now feel that I am able to weild the full
power of King, 36 years I have waited for this power, and I intend to
make full use of it.
I am now confident that the Almohads have abandoned hope of defeating
us at sea. With each passing year our fleet grows stronger, and we are
now by far the biggest maritime power in the world.
After many years the treasury has begun to grow and our income looks
secure, so it gave me great pleasure this year to authorise building
work to restart.
My daughter Princess Matilda, is to be married to Prince Charles of
France. I am keen to re-establish a good relationship with the French,
as our ambitions lie in the lands of the HRE. Also our friendship with
the French exerts pressure on the Almohads, and although I have given
up hope of convincing Yusuf the mad to agree to peace, he is an old man
of 66 years, and maybe his son will prove more accomodating when Yusuf
dies.
Hugh Herbert the inquisitor, continues to torment the French nobility,
this time by cleansing the soul of Lord Coeur, Duke of Provence.
Herbert is becoming a popular figure with the ordinary people of
France, they see him as good man punishing the rich and powerful, for
their decadant ways.
**********************************************
1231.
News has reached us of a vast horde of barbarians, calling themselves
the Mongols, attacking from the east into the Byzantine and Egyptian
lands. This could mean the end of the mighty Egyptian empire as it has
sparked a number of rebellions. In Anatolia and Palestine there have
been large rebel uprisings, and in Lesser Armenia a massive uprising in
support of the Byzantines. Although this situation is distant from our
own lands, it is of concern to us because of the trade we have with
Egypt.
The death of Uncle Edmund has cleared the way for me to have revenge on
the Magna Carta traitors, Becket of Flanders, Bolingbroke of Normandy
and Langton of Wales. Earlier in the year all three men were arrested
and brought to the tower.
I cannot have these men tried for their roles in the signing of the
Magna Carta, as most of the nobility support this document, so another
way had to be found.
(The interogation of Becket in the tower dungeon)
Me "Becket, it would be easier on thyself if thou admited to thy treason now."
Becket "I am no traitor sire, I was just the messenger of the Lords."
Me "Very well, we will do it the hard way then, to the rack with him."
(The two guards drag him over to the rack, and fasten his arms and legs in place)
Me "Now Becket, are you to sign this confession or do we have to stretch thee?"
Becket "I beg of thee my Lord, I have always been loyal to thee."
(I give the signal, the dungeon keeper turns the wheel and the ratchet
makes three loud metalic clanks. Becket is stretched taught now, his
eyes closed tight, his teeth bared, and all his body is shaking. we
leave him like this for a few moments before the ratchet is released,
Becket relaxes breathing heavily.)
Me "It will only get worse for thee Becket, sign the confession now and you can go back to your cell."
(Becket looks at with hatred)
Becket "I am no traitor."
Me "Stretch him."
(Four times the ratchet clanks this time, when it is let back it is
plain to see that one of Beckets shoulders has become dislocated, and
he's screeming in agony. We leave him for a while and return later when
the screeming has subsided.)
Me "Are you ready to sign the confession?"
Becket "I am no traitor."
Me "You are obstinate fellow Becket, but you will sign, I assure thee of that. Dungeon keeper, the iron."
(The Dungeon keeper rips beckets shirt open, picks up the red hot iron,
and places it on his side close to the armpit. Becket screems in agony)
Me "Will you sign?"
(Through heavy breaths, and barley audible, Becket replies "I am no
traitor". I nod to the Dungeon keeper and he brings down the reheated
iron across Beckets chest, he passes out. The Dungeon keeper throws a
bucket of cold water over him and he comes round.)
Me "Will you sign?"
Becket "Never."
Me "Stretch him. Guard, bring me Bolingbroke."
(The guard goes away and returns with Bolingbroke, who turns white at the sight of Becket.)
Me "Bolingbroke, do you see a traitor before thee?"
Bolingbroke "yes sire it was all his doing sire."
Me "And will you testify to this at trial?"
Bolingbroke "Yes of course sire."
(Bolingbroke is taken away and the scene repeated with Langton.)
Me "Will you now sign Becket, it is hopless for thee, even thy friends have forsaken thee."
Becket "I am no traitor."
Me "Very well, it is of no consequence, I have the testimony of
Bolingbroke and Langton, that will be enough to place the noose around
thy neck."
The trial is a formality Bolingbroke and Langton have promises that
they will not suffer Beckets fate, and recite word for word the
accounts that has been prepared for them.
Becket is found guilty, the sentence is the traitors death of hanged, drawn and quartered.
Bolingbroke and Langton are safe, at least for the time being.
Beckets title, Count of Flanders goes to his ambitious brother, a
clever piece of diplomacy I think, as this shows me to be a fair and
just King.
We have started recruiting and training men for our armies again.
**********************************************
1232.
In summer of this year I instructed Lord Bolingbroke of Normandy, that
he was to return to his province as the army might be leaving soon and
he would be needed to take charge of the garisson once more.
I also sent a letter to Hugh Courtenay, who is conducting the
inquisition in Normandy, the letter told Courtnay of my suspicions of
Bolingbroke's heresay.
(The courtroom at Rouen)
Courtenay "Lord Bolingbroke, you are today charged with heresay, do you have anything to say in your defence?"
Bolingbroke "Tis ridiculous, anyone who knows me, knows that I am a pious and God fearing man."
Courtenay "I call my first witness, farmer Jack Dregs."
(A peasant farmer comes forward)
Courtenay "Tell us what you saw on the day in question?"
Dregs "Well it were a knight and his orse sir."
Courtenay "And what was this knight doing."
Dregs "He were talking to his orse sir."
Courtenay "Talking to his horse indeed, only a man in league with the
devil could converse with the beasts. tell me peasant, do you see this
man in the court."
(All this time Courtenay has been standing next to Bolingbroke and now looks directly at him.)
Dregs "Yes it were him at the side of thee."
(he points at Bolingbroke.)
Courtenay "Lord Bolingbroke, tell us what did thy horse say to thee that day?"
Bolingbroke "He said nothing to me."
Courtenay "There we have it, the horse said to Lord Bolingbroke the
words, "Nothing to me", an admission that he does talk with the beasts."
Bolingbroke "I did not mean that."
Courtenay "Now now Lord Bolingbroke you have already had your chance to speak. I now call my second witness, Ann Hore."
(An old woman steps forward.)
Courtenay "Tell us old crone, what happened on the day in question?"
Ann "I was walking through the forest going to market, when I came upon him, and the devil talking."
Courtenay "Lord Bolingbroke have you known the devil long?"
Bolingbroke "No I.........."
Courtenay "Let it be noted Lord Bolingbroke has only know the devil for a short time."
Bolingbroke "Now listen to............"
Courtenay "Let it also be noted that Lord Bolingbroke tried to cast a
spell on me during questioning. Now old crone what then happened?"
Ann "Well the devil disappeared, then he seduced me, and he had two organs."
Courtenay "Did he promise to marry thee afore the copulation?"
Ann "Yes he did."
Courtenay "Lord Bolingbroke, are you married to this woman."
Bolingbroke "Perish the thought, I........."
Courtnay "There we have it, after promising to marry this woman he
seduced her, using both of his organs, and then made off with no
intention of keeping his promise. Tell us old crone how old are you?"
Ann "I is 19."
(There's a gasp from the courtroom.)
Courtenay "So why does thou look so old an hideous?"
Ann "I was turned like this when he had his wicked way wi me."
Courtenay "I ask you members of the court, do you not have pity for
this beautiful young girl, who has now been transformed into this
decrepit old hag that thou now see's before thee, and if so what are we
to do with the devil Bolingbroke?"
Courtroom "BURN HIM, BURN HIM, BURN HIM, BURN HIM."
The trial was over, the courtroom fell upon Bolingbroke, carried him outside, and to the stake.
I have given the title Duke of Normandy to Edmund Plantagenet, Uncle Edmunds son. better to have him with me than against me.
**********************************************
1233.
Lord de Plaisians, another member of the French nobility, has benefited
from the cleansing torch of Hugh Herbert, our inquisitor in France.
I must say, the inquisition is proving to be a very effective tool, I'm
sure my father did not realize, just how useful these men could be,
when he first allowed them about their work.
They do have demands, but I find them to be quite reasonable. They ask
that I finance the building of monastries, pay for their needs, and
insist that they be given a free rein, to try people as they see fit.
This does lead to some innocent people being burnt, but this is only a
minor drawback, compared to the benefits these fine men bestow.
Our ships now trade from frozen Baltic sea to the warm Black sea, they
bring in all manner of exotic goods, and a good amount of income to the
treasury to boot.
One other benefit of having such a large fleet, is the knowledge we
gain, of what is going on elsewhere in the world. I can now tell the
diary much more of the make up of far of places. For instance we now
now the Mongol empire stretches from Lituania in the north to Trebizond
in the south, and that the Egyptians still hold Constantinople.
**********************************************
1234.
That stupid fool, King Jean of France must have been spending too much time in the company of Yusuf the Mad.
He sent his armies into Flanders, thus causing a state of war between
our two Kingdoms and then promptly withdrew before reaching Ghent. This
surely cannot be the actions of a man of sane mind.
here in London we have begun work on the building of a Chancellery,
once built I intend to give the title of Chancellor to one of my
trusted Lords, this will relieve me of some of the burden of running
the Kingdom.
**********************************************
1235.
Yusuf the Mad is dead, the story of his death is very much in keeping with his life.
Apparently, Yusuf became involved in an argument with his brother
Ismail, who you may remember is a camel. Yusuf accused Ismail of
plotting to usurp his throne, and promptly flew into a rage and
attacked his brother. Ismail being much stronger than Yusuf retaliated
and Yusuf was killed during the fight.
Yusuf's son Idris acted quickly on news of this, taking a band of men
they stormed the palace, and took Ismail prisoner, who was later tied,
found guilty of treason and beheaded.
Khalifah Idris I, is 46 years old and reputed to be a notorious drunk,
it is to be hoped he has not inherited his fathers madness.
Yusuf, with his madness proved impossible to deal with, if Idris turns
out to be a drunken madman, it will be pointless to even attempt any
diplomacy with the Almohads.
My son Alfred has come of age, this year.
**********************************************
1236.
Five Years ago I sent my eldest son John to Denmark. He was to take
charge of the garrison at Copenhagen, so that Lord Plantagenet, Prince
of Denmark could go to Flanders and take charge of the third army that
was being assembled there.
John was only to spend one year in Copenhagen, before My brother Henry,
who had now returned from Flanders, would take over at Copenhagen, then
John would return here, via Norway.
John has finally returned, Over the past four years all of my requests
for him to return have been met with excuses. Since his return I have
asked him why he has spent so long in Norway, and all he says is, it is
a beautiful place and Lord Stanley is a fine host. I just hope now that
John has returned, he will show the responsibility that is befitting of
the next King of England.
Lord Plantagenet has now moved the third army to Denmark, it is not yet at full strength, but will be soon.
Prince Edmund my youngest son has come of age this year.
The Byzantine Emperor Romanus V, has died his heir is John II.
**********************************************
1237.
Pope Nicholas V has died at the age of 67. The incoming Pope is
Nicholas VI, a mere boy of 22 years, although the powers in Rome are
saying that he is a saint, born to be Pope, I suspect the real power
lies elsewhere.
I think the men of the royal family need to be given some purpose, and
to this end I called a meeting. Present at the meeting are My two
brothers, Henry 49 years old and Edward 45, my four sons John 31,
William 25, Alfred 18 and Edmund 17.
Me "Welcome gentlemen, it has come to my attention that some members of
the royal household are not pulling their weight, so I have decided on
tasks for each of thee."
Henry "Now I am free of the duties of Copenhagen, I was hoping to spend some time in Flanders, with our armies."
Me "That is good Henry, that is exactly what I was going to ask of
thee, I would also request that you take William, Alfred and Edmund
along with you, it will be good for them to get a taste of life in the
field."
Edmund "I dont wish to go."
Me "Why?"
Edmund "I like it here in London."
Me "And what will you do here in London."
Edmund "I'm not bothered, anything as long as its here in London."
Me "No you are going to Flanders."
Edmund "No I'm not."
Me "You will go where I send you boy."
Edmund "Its not fair, I'm only 17, William didn't have to go when he was 17."
Henry "Let him stay here Stephen, we wont have time for this kind of behavior in Flanders."
Me "Very well, Edmund Leave the room, you are not yet man enough to be sat at this table."
(Edmund leaves.)
Me "William, Alfred, do either of you wish to leave the room?"
William and Alfred "No."
Me "That is good."
Edward "I would also like to go to Flanders."
Me "If it is your wish I will not stop you, but I ask that you stay, as I rely on your good judgement more than any man."
Edward "Very well my brother, Your younger more handsome and intelligent brother will not desert you."
Me "Haha, you forgot more modest. John now that you have decided to come home, it is time we found you a bride."
John "There is time for that yet father, I would rather go to Flanders with Henry."
Me "No, and you are not 17, so I wont be asking you to leave the table, its time you learnt some responsibility."
John "But..........."
Me "No, and thats final."
**********************************************
1238.
(A conversation I had with Prince John.)
Me "I have high hopes of finding thee a bride this year John, Perkin de
Beauchamps is now in Hungary, and due to their perilous position I know
the Hungarians are keen to establish friendships with other Kingdoms,
Let us hope tha.............."
John "I am already married father, there it is said."
Me "WHAT!, WHEN, WH........"
John "IF YOU WILL LET ME SPEAK, I will tell you all."
Me "Yes, explain you must."
John "Do you remember 10 years ago when Lord Stanley's daughter, the Lady Mary was at court?"
Me "Ah!, things are already becoming clear, she was the one I had to
send back to her father, because you were becoming too enamoured by
her, but why did y........"
John "Please father let me finish the story, I will listen to all thy has to say afterwards."
Me "Yes, I am sorry John please go on."
John "When I reached Norway on my way back from Denmark it was late in
the year, and not fit to sail, so I had to winter with Lord Stanley.
During this time I found that Lady Mary had a four year old son, it did
not take me long to work out, that this son would have been concieved
around the time she was at court.
Mary was avoiding me, and when I did manage to speak with her, she
would make excuse's to leave when I mentioned the boy. Eventualy my
suspicions grew so strong, I asked Lord Stanley who the boys father
was, it came as no surprise when Stanley told me that it was I.
I spent the winter in Norway tortured by my conscience, I knew that you
would be displeased if I were to marry Lady Mary, But in my heart I
knew it was the right thing to do, and we were married in the spring.
It is the reason I was so reluctant to return. I am sorry father, but I
cannot, and if I could, would not undo what is done, for I love the
Lady Mary and the boy deeply.
Me "This raises many problems John, the child is illegitimate and
cannot be King, we would have to keep the boy a secret, and groom your
next son as heir to the Kingdom."
John "Why do you not let me go to Flanders father, if I die in battle, your problem is no more."
Me "You may go to Flanders John, after we have gone through the charade
of your marriage to Lady Mary. and I do not wish thee to die in
Flanders.
The boy will stay in Norway with his grandfather, Lord Stanley is a good man and will understand the situation."
John "You are right father, I have spent many nights discussing this
with Lord Stanley, I know he will agree to what you are suggesting."
Me "What is the boys name?"
John "It is Stephen, Lady Mary named him after his grandfather."
Me "Why would she do this, after I had sent her back to Norway to be away from thee."
John "She thought it might soften thy heart towards the boy if the secret was to become know."
Me "Your wife is a clever woman John."
(End of conversation)
All the other news I have this year is to do with the Kingdoms of the east.
The Egyptians have again requested that we ally with them, I have once
again refused. Egypt is in decline, and this became very obvious this
year when they lost Constantinople to the Byzantines.
The Byzantines themselves have also had their share of problems,
defending their possessions on the steppe against the Mongol horde.
Things may improve for them now though with the re-emerence of Novgorod
in Mongol held territory, under the leadership of Prince Sviatopolk II.
**********************************************
1239.
I am rid of Langton the last of the Magna Carta traitors. I have Hugh
Courtenay, the man who also rid me of Bolingbroke, to thank for this.
Langton never made it to the fire but died whilst being questioned,
apparently his gut burst after drinking copious amounts of water.
I have awarded Langtons lands in Wales to Sir Robin Longchamp, he is a clever man and will do well for Wales.
Unfortunatly there is sometimes a price to be paid for the good work of
the inquisition, and it fell to the scholar Roger Bacon to pay this
time.
Bacon was an intelligent and interesting man, I have had a number of
conversations with him, and his views always proved thought provoking.
However, he made the fatal mistake of provoking thought in Wales, where
the inquisition has been about their work for many years now.
There are now many witty coments to heard about cooked Bacon.
**********************************************
1240.
It was the Queen who finally made me aware of what was going on
between, Prince Edmund and his sister Mary. As I stormed out of the
room in search of Edmund, the Queen pleaded "Please dont kill him
Stephen."
I burst into Edmunds quarters, and they were both there.
Me "So it is true what your mother tells me, you get out of here, I will deal with you later."
(Mary quickly leaves the room)
Edmund "I was just showing her my etchings."
Me "Dont make me beat the truth out of you boy."
Edmund "It is the truth father, I would not lie to thee."
(I storm across the room and grab Edmund by the throat)
Me "Give me the truth boy or I will break thy neck in two."
(Edmund begins to whimper)
Edmund "Please dont kill me father."
(I let go of his throat, he falls to the ground like a sack of rat entrails, and begins to grovel around my legs)
Edmund "I am sorry father, please forgive me, I am so sorry.........."
(I kick him away)
Me "Get up you spineless pervert, if you ever displease me again it will be the last thing you do.
(I storm out of the room)
Mary has been sent to a convent, where she will now devote the rest of her life to Gods service.
We have quickly married Edward off to one of the girls at court in order to kill any rumours before they start.
We have moved the army in Normandy to Flanders in preparation for the
offensive against the HRE which should get under way in Spring of 1242.
This does leave Normandy open to attack by the French, but the castle
at Rouen is strong, and would be hard for the French to break.
I have also sent the inquisition on ahead into Friesland and Saxony.
The Chancellery is now built, and I have given the title Chancellor to my cousin Lord Plantagenet of Denmark.
King Jean of the French has been involved in an accident, whilst out
hunting he fell from his horse landed badly, and later died of his
injuries. His son Henri III is the new King of France.
**********************************************
1241.
It is now 64 years since my father and his brothers sat around the
table, and devised the grand strategy. which I hope to see through to
its end next year. I have a feeling that they are all looking down
watching my every move.
The plan will work as follows.
We will have three armies, one in Denmark and two in Flanders, each army will comprise of the following.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Militia sergeants.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
240 Highlanders.
120 Kerns.
3 Catapult crews.
The 1st army will be commanded by Lord Fitzgilbert Earl of Wessex and Great Lord Chamberlain.
This army will move from Flanders into Friesland.
The 2nd army will be commanded by Lord Marshall of Ireland.
This army will remain in Flanders.
The 3rd army will be commanded by Lord Plantagenet Prince of Denmark and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
This army will move from Denmark into Saxony.
In addition to this Prince John will lead a force of 120 Royal knights,
400 spearmen, and 3 Baliatae crew, into Lorraine. We do not intend to
capture Lorraine just to cause confusion, but if it were to be captured
we would then try to hold out until the 4th army is ready.
At the moment the 4th army under the command of Lord Mercadier of Scotland is about half way ready.
I have recalled Prince William from Flanders, as if things go badly for
John, this could leave me with the despicable Edmund as heir to the
throne.
As our armies move on the HRE, our fleet in the North sea will engage and hopefully destroy the HRE fleet.
I was worried that the Pope may interfere with this grand plan once it
is underway. So in order to discourage him, we launched an attack on
the Sicilians in Malta this year, to show Pope Nicholas that we are
more than capable of striking Rome should he get in our way.
(The Battle of Fomm ir-Rih, as told by Sir Henry Roos.)
If I ever return to England I vow never to set foot on a ship again, as
we have spent almost three weeks at sea. On arriving at Malta my men
could not wait to set foot on dry land again, it proved hard to
convince them to stay aboard over night, and disembark at first light
the following morning, but they finally agreed to this.
The place where we disembarked, was a small sandy bay, as we marched
inland from the bay the landscape turned into a valley, which funneled
us up too a steep hill, and beyond that another hill could be seen
rising above the first.
We had spent most of the morning disembarking, eating, preparing our
horses and equipment, as we formed up in the valley, the first
Sicilians appeared atop the hill in the distance, so this was to be our
battlefield, and I did not like it one bit.
Apart from myself and my 19 Royal knights, my army is made up entirely of mercenaries, we have.
2x80 Khwarazmian cavalry.
1x120 Halbardiers.
1x120 Billmen.
1x200 Italian infantry.
2x200 Spearmen.
2x120 Pavise Crossbowmen.
1x120 Crossbowmen.
I give orders, Italian infantry to the center, with Spearmen on either
side, outside the Spearmen the pole arms and outside them on the flanks
the cavalry.
The two pavise are spread out in a long line in front of the spears,
and the crossbows in front of them and central, I take up position
behind the Italians.
We begin our advance towards the first hill, this is a steep hill and a ballista is somewhere up top firing on us.
The Sicilians are on the crest of the first hill, when my scout returns
and tells me that the enemy has around 500 Knights both royal and
feudal, and around 500 foot soldiers of all types. 500 Knights I think,
if they all attack at once down this hill we will dead before noon.
Fortunately for us they retreat back up to the second hill.
Our crossbow men are first to the crest of the hill, and now begin
firing at the ballista which is now in range. By the time the rest of
us have reached the crest of the first hill the ballista is finished.
The Sicilian army is now in full view, I just cant understand what they
are waiting for. They have more than enough horses to defeat our
cavalry and get into our flanks and rear.
I can see King Roger’s standard at the rear, if this was not such a
desperate situation I would be honoured to cross swords with a King
this day.
I order the men to take a rest, after climbing the hill. Our only hope
is to make it a long and drawn out battle, so that our crossbows can
inflict maximum casualties. This plan all depends on King Roger, if he
decides to launch an all out attack we lose, if he chooses to defend,
and we have God on our side we may inflict enough death on them to make
them withdraw.
I order our crossbows forward into range, as they are almost in range,
a unit of feudal knights charge down from the hill at them. Our
crossbows retreat back towards our lines but the knights catch them and
begin to cut them down, However by now the knights have come within
range of our pavise who begin to fire upon them.
Whilst the knights are preoccupied cutting down our crossbows, I order our pole arms in from either flank at them.
The knights are caught between the two groups, dragged from their horses and butchered.
First blood to us I think, as I call our pole arms back to line up in
front of the pavise, and order the crossbows forward again for another
try.
The Sicilians have now called forward archers, who are hitting our pole
arms so I order them to fall back behind the pavise. After a while they
attack again this time with royal knights, our pole arms do the killing
again, but our crossbows are now beaten and head off back towards the
beach.
I call up some pavise to take their place out front, a duel gets
underway between their crossbows and archers, and our pavise, after a
while all their crossbows are dead and their archers have retreated,
after using their arrows up I assume.
Our two units of pavise continue for much of the afternoon firing bolts into their ranks.
During this time I bring our cavalry in to cover the flanks vacated by
our pole arms, who are now just behind the pavise and in front of our
spears.
As the day begins to draw to a close, King Roger finally decides to
attack. The first wave of feudal knights are defeated by our pole arms,
followed by a second wave of foot knights and spearmen, who also get
badly mauled by our pole arms, before the main charge comes down.
Everyone except Roger and his men comes down on us.
I order the cavalry in from the flanks, they get there just as our pole arms begin to break and run.
All this time, our one remaining unit of pavise have been firing into the melee and the battle is almost upon them.
Our cavalry on the left get totally destroyed by royal knights, but our
right side cavalry fare much better and sweep away their foot soldiers,
before getting caught in the center of the field by more feudal knights.
I now send in two units of spearmen, one into the main battle which is
taking place ahead of us, and one at a group of knights to the left and
ahead.
I now only have the Italian infantry, and my own men left in reserve,
plus the pavise out front of the Italians, totally exhausted but still
firing.
Our spears in the middle break and run, and their knights are into the
pavise, I send in the Italians, a group of feudal knights try to flank
the Italians, there is nothing now to lose I join the battle to stop
the flankers.
My remaining memories of the battle are ones of butchery and chaos as
we fought for our lives, the battlefield was knee deep in bodies it was
a scene from hell.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=42508
King Roger eventual graced us with his presence and came down from the
hill, a furious fight developed in which all but three of my own
knights were slain. We were all but beaten, and then a miricle happened.
King Roger with victory within his grasp decided to leave the field, I
watched them disappear over the hill, then dismounted and there amongst
the many dead I fell upon my knees and thanked God for his mercy.
The Sicilian dead numbered 838.
Our own dead numbered 1139.
(Here ends Henry Roos account)
This is a fine victory against the odds, Henry roos has proved himself
to be an astute commander and a brave man, I must reward him for this.
I have received a letter from Pope Nicholas demanding that we leave
Malta immediately, I replied stating that we will do as he wishes this
time, but that I will not tolerate further interference in any
conflicts in the near future.
Henry roos and his hero’s have been recalled.
**********************************************
1242.
(April in Flanders, preparations for war as told by Prince John)
This is an exciting time indeed. In just two weeks time we unleash our mighty armies against the HRE.
There are over 7000 of us here camped at Rouen, and a further 2500 in
Denmark waiting to move. In adition to our attack on the HRE father has
also arranged for Sir Henry Roos, and his band of mercenaries, who are
now returned from Malta, to attack across the channel into French held
Brittany.
My own part in the invasion is to lead an army of 120 Royal knights,
and 400 spearmen into Lorraine. I have been given a free hand with my
strategy, which could include taking Nancy, cutting off the HRE
retreat, or even pushing into Franconia, where the Emperor himself is
at present.
My men include my Brother Alfred and my Uncle Henry, they have been
good company throughout the winter months, at the castle in Rouen. Each
night has been spent drinking, speculating about what might happen in
Lorraine, and telling amusing stories, of which Uncle Henry's supply of
is inexhaustable.
Henry has us in fits of laughter, at first he tells us of how honest
and good a knight he is, and of all the chivalrous deeds he has done.
Then in the same sentence he's telling us how he blackmailed a lord for
every florin he had before killing him because he refused to pay.
Before finally giving us a fire and brimstone sermon, on how to ensure
our passage to heaven. Everything he says contradicts everthing else,
and he says it all with conviction and a straight face, before he
finally gives a big grin and says, "Haha I really had you believing
that, Hahaha"
It was during one of these evenings that a letter was brought to me
from England, the letter was from my Uncle Edward, and this is what the
letter said.
My dear nephew, I have terrible news for thee. This morning April 7th,
your father the King was found slumped across his desk, the servant who
found him at first thought him to be asleep, but he could not be roused.
He was lying across a map of Northern Europe, which he must have been
studying when he died. It is so sad that he should pass away so close
to the invasion. He had said to me only a few days before, that this
was to be the greatest year of his reign.
I know you will now be shocked and saddened by this letter, and please
dont think me insensitive, but I must now request you return to
England, so that we may crown thee King, it is important that England
has a King when we go to war, and go to war we must, for thy father's
sake.
Your loyal and devoted servant Edward.
I pass the letter to Henry, and he and Alfred read it together.
Death is a cruel master, how could he have taken father so close to his
hour of glory. The war will go ahead without me, I leave Alfred to
command our knights into Lorraine, and set off back for England the
following morning.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 3:29 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 638
(3/14/04 11:37 pm)
Reply
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The Doomsday Book of 1242.
BUILDINGS/IMPROVEMENTS.
Wessex.(Lord Fitzgilbert. Chamberlain. Loyalty 9, Piety 4, Dread 6, Command 6, Accumen 9)
Castle, Bowyer, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard,
Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, Chancellery, 80%
farmland, Horse breeder, Royal estate, Church, Monastry, Border forts,
Port, Dockyard.
Mercia.(Lord Curthose. L9, P7, D3, C1, A4)
Castle, Armourer, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard,
Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastry,
Border forts, Port, Dockyard.
Northumbria.(Lord de Vere. L9, P6, D3, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Bowyers workshop, Armourer,
Siege engineers workshop, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80%
farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Copper mine complex.
Normandy.(Lord Plantagenet. L9, P5, D4, C6, A3)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Inn, 20% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Wales.(Lord Longchamp. L9, P4, D2, C0, A4)
Keep, Bowyers workshop, Armourer, Siege engineers workshop, Town guard,
Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Copper
mine complex.
Scotland.(Lord Mercadier. L9, P3, D9, C4, A4)
Keep, Armourer, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts. Port, Dockyard.
Ireland.(Lord Marshall. L9, P5, D4, C6, A7)
Keep, Armourer, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Border forts, Port, Dockyard.
Norway.(Lord Stanley. L9, P5, D3, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town watch, Merchants guild, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Sweden.(Lord Gascoign. L9, P7, D4, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town watch, Trading post, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Copper mine.
Denmark.(Lord Plantagenet. L9, P0, D6, C6, A6)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Town watch, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Flanders.(Lord Becket. L9, P0, D5, C0, A4)
Castle, Armourer, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Saxony.(Lord Langton. L9, P4, D1, C2, A4)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege
engineer, Town guard, Chapter house, Watch towers, Port, Shipyard, Salt
mine complex.
Friesland.(Currently under siege)
Fort motte & bailey, Spearmaker, Master horse breeder, border forts.
Lorraine.(Currently under siege)
Fort motte & bailey, Horse breeders guild, Watch towers.
Brittany.(Currently under siege)
Castle, Bowyers guild, Armourer, Sworsmith, Spearmakers guild, Town
guard, Royal palace, Horse farmer, Royal estate, Monastry, Border forts.
MILITARY.
Wessex.
100 Royal knights
Mercia.
20 Royal knights.
Northumbria.
20 Royal knights.
Normandy.
20 Royal knights.
Wales.
20 Royal knights.
Scotland.
20 Royal knights.
Ireland.
20 Royal knights
Norway.
20 Royal knights.
Sweden.
20 Royal knights
Flanders.
40 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
160 Mounted sergeants.
840 Feudal men at arms.
360 Militia sergeants.
1200 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
480 Archers.
240 Gallowglasses.
240 Kerns.
480 Highlanders.
5 Catapult crews.
Saxony.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Militia sergeants.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Friesland.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Militia sergeants.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Lorraine.
98 Royal knights.
400 Spearmen.
3 Balista crews
Brittany.
23 Royal knights.
460 miscellaneous mercenaries.
NAVAL.
13 Barques.
22 Caravels.
AGENTS.
3 Emissaries.
3 Assassins.
12 Spies.
5 Inquisitors.
11 Bishops.
TREASURY.
Province income.
Wessex. 1746
Mercia. 493 (blockaded)
Northumbria. 542 (blockaded)
Normandy. 426
Wales. 500
Scotland. 318
Ireland. 1090
Norway. 1104
Sweden. 1848
Denmark. 1129
Flanders. 2268
Saxony. 244
Friesland. 0
Lorraine. 0
Brittany. 0
Tot income 11,708
Tot in Treasury 13,852
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 2:30 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 639
(3/14/04 11:39 pm)
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Chapter 5.
The Diary of King John II. 1242-1270.
1242.
It has been a busy year. I was back in England, two days after the news
of my father's death arrived. The day after my arrival was father's
funeral, and the day after that I was crowned King.
In four days I had gone from being a carefree knight in charge of a
small army, to the King in charge of the whole invasion, which would go
ahead as planned in 10 days time.
I made only two changes to my father's original plan. For obvious
reasons I could now no longer lead the attack on Lorraine, and so had
placed my brother Alfred in charge.
I also allowed my brother William to accompany Henry Roos across the channel into Brittany.
The invasion was almost a complete success.
Lord Plantagenet's attack from Denmark into Saxony, saw the HRE retreat from the province, abandoning the castle at Dresden.
Lord Fitzgilbert's attack from Flanders into Friesland, saw the HRE
retreat into the fort at Groningen, we now have the fort surrouded and
will wait for it to fall, It is estimated that the garrison will starve
within two years.
My brother Alfred has had a surprising success in Lorraine, with his
small army. The HRE retreated to the fort at Nancy, and this is also
expected to hold out for two years.
It was the same result against a different foe in Brittany, however,
Henry Roos, my brother William and their small band of mercenaries,
will have to wait considerably longer, if the French castle at Nantes
is to fall.
Our only failure was the naval battle in the North sea, but we already
have more ships arriving, and hope to succeed at the next attempt.
We now wait for the response from our enemies, which I am sure will come soon.
One Response that we have already recieved is that from our allies the
Papacy and the Italians, they choose to side with the HRE, and now
leave us without any allies whatsoever.
I wrote to both saying I was sorry to lose their support, and also
added it was a pity that they had chosen to be on the losing side.
Sir John Langton has been given the title Duke of Saxony, he is a good
man, and quite high up my list as a potential army commander.
I have brought with me something of a problem to the thone. My
illegitimate son Stephen is my only son at present. Apart from the
Queen and myself, only Lord Stanley and his wife, know that Stephen is
my son. Stephen is 14 years old and is living with the Stanley's in
Norway.
I must make some kind of reason for a trip to Norway, so that I may take stock of the situation.
**********************************************
1243.
My brother Prince Alfred has abandoned the siege at Nancy in Lorraine,
and has moved on to Franconia. This has proved to be a good decision,
as the HRE have retreated abandoning the Fort at Bamberg. I have made
Sir Roger Uhtred Duke of Franconia.
Our mercenary army in Flanders has been destroyed by the French. Prince
William and Sir Henry Roos, did make it back to England though, and I
had a meeting with Roos to establish what had happened.
Me "Greetings Sir Henry, I am pleased that the French did not take thee, Now tell me of what happened?"
Roos "As you know sire, our army in Brittany was made up mainly from
the leftovers of the raid on Sicily, and as such, when faced with the
superior army of the French stood little chance."
Me "What was the make of the armies?"
Roos "Our army was made up of 23 Royal knights, and a mixture of just
under 500 mercenaries, consisting of Italian infantry, Khwarazmian
cavalry, halbardiers, crossbowmen and spearmen.
The French army consisted of around 60 Royal knights, 240 light cavalry and 800 foot soldiers of many different kinds."
Me "What tactics did you employ?"
Roos "That was not for me to decide sire, Prince William said that you had told him to take command."
Me "Sir Henry, you must forgive me for this, I did not say anything to
William about taking command, and I will have words with William when I
see him.
Now tell me, how did William command this battle?"
Roos "I fear battle is not the correct word for this sire, massacre would be a much better description.
I thought our best strategy, would have been to move into the forest,
and told William this, but he would have none of it, and said we should
move up close to the French, and launch an all out attack.
It was a total disaster, our men were running from the field moments after engaging the enemy."
Me "What was William doing at this point?"
Roos "I am sorry to have to tell you this sire, but William was one of the first to turn and run."
Me "Thank you for being frank with me Henry, you are a good man. Now go
home to your family and take some time with them you have earned it."
Roos "Thank you sire."
So William is a runner, I will send him and his no good brother Edmund,
to Alfred in Franconia, maybe Alfred can show them what is expected of
a Royal Prince, or even better get these two wasters killed in battle.
Our ships in the north sea are victorious, the small HRE fleet is now
destroyed, and as we have taken all their coastal province's, there
should be no more ships to trouble us.
**********************************************
1244.
The HRE has attempted to lift the siege at Groningen in Friesland. This
has proved a good opportunity, to test the new types of units we have
brought in to the English Defence formation.
(Lord Fitzgilbert's account of the battle at Groningen.)
We had prior warning of the attack by the HRE, so marched out to meet
them. I chose the battlefield, it was flat, with a few wooded area's
dotted here and there.
We found an area devoid of trees and decided to set up there, as this would give our bowmen and artillery a good field of view.
The army formed up in our now familiar English Defence formation. 3
lines of spears, with 3 lines of archers behind them, 2 groups of
militia sergeants, one on each end of our spears protecting the flank.
In front of the spears are 3 catapult crews, positioned, 1 in front of
our central line of spears, and 1 each on either end of our spears.
In front of the spears and between the catpults, are 2 lines of feudal
men at arms, and in front of them are 2 lines of crossbowmen.
I position my own unit of Royal knights, behind the spears and central.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=43546
The forces of the HRE consist of around 40 Royal knights, 240 spearmen,
240 archers, 120 militia sergeants, and a handfull of various other
units. They also have 2 catapult and 2 balistae, that have been
positioned in a wooded area straight ahead of us, but out of range of
our lines.
The enemy begins their advance, and moves towards a wooded area just ahead of our left flank. It is now raining.
They move into the wooded area, and I surmise that they intend to come
upon our left flank, by moving though the cover of the trees, and this
proves to be correct.
I order the crossbows and men at arms on our right to come across, and
form up at a right angle to our main lines and extending out ahead of
our position. Now the enemy will come out of the trees into a hail of
bolts, arrows and rocks.
I am now begining to warm to the task and eagerly await sight of the
enemy, this will be easy, all we need to do is hold them off with our
militia and swordsmen, whilst our missiles obliterate them, and that is
exactly what happens, after a short fight and the launch of many
missiles, the enemy is in full flight, I wave my knights forward and we
join the rout.
All in all, more of a miltary exercise than a battle, and jolly good sport it was.
We killed around 450, and took 157 prisoner, our losses were a paltry 94 men. I have ransomed the prisoners back to the HRE.
(Here ends Fitzgilberts account)
This is a great outcome for us, it sends out the message that the
English armies are professional, well commanded and well organised.
After this the fort at Groningen capitulated, I have given the title
Count of Friesland to my Uncle Edward, it is just reward for the years
of service he gave my father.
**********************************************
1245.
There has been little to do this year, there appears to be no appetite
for any sort of counter attack by the French or the HRE, and our armies
are not ready to press on the attack just yet.
So I decided late in the summer to make the trip to Norway.
It was a strange visit, Stephen does not know that I am his father, and
was told that his mother had died when she came to England to be Queen,
he was 10 years old at the time.
Since then Lord Stanley his grandfather has brought him up as his own son.
Stephen is now 17, he is a fine lad, and very well mannered, Stephen,
Lord Stanley and myself spent much time together during my visit, and
many times I was sorely tempted to tell him the truth, but did not.
I returned to England feeling a little saddened by the situation, I
would be glad to have Stephen as my heir, and may have to find a way to
make this happen, as I still have no other son.
My brother Alfred returned for a short time this year to be married to
the Byzantine Princess Helena. it was good to see Alfred, and discuss
with him what had happened during his time in Lorraine and Franconia. I
couldn't help feeling a little jealous of him, as this would have been
I, had father not died, I told Alfred of this, and he said that he
would be glad to take over as King if I had grown tired of the task.
This made me realize that I am truly fortunate to be King, after all it
is a title very few men achieve.
**********************************************
1246.
Stanley has written to me asking my permission for Stephen to wed, He
wishes to marry the daughter of a Swedish nobleman. Stanley says she is
a good girl from a good family, and he is in favour of it.
I have agreed to this, I could not refuse considering the
circumstance's of my own marriage to his mother, and the fact that he
may never become King.
King Roger of Sicily is dead, and the Sicilians have once more decended
into rebel factions, I cannot help feeling we are in some way
responsible for this, as it is rumoured that King Roger lost much
respect from his subjects after our victory in Malta some years ago.
There is now a horse breeders guild in London, and they have presented
me with a fine horse, I have named him Saxony, after the first province
I conquered as King.
**********************************************
1247.
Next year we will be ready for the next stage of our advance into the
HRE. Lord Mercadier and his army will move from Flanders into Lorraine,
which reverted back to HRE control when Prince Alfred moved onto
Franconia, if this attack is successful, Lord Fitzgilbert will then
move his army into Franconia, which at present is only garrisoned by
Prince Alfred and his small force of knights and spearmen.
If everything goes well, this will leave us with large armies in
Flanders, Lorraine, Franconia and Saxony, protecting everything within
the Kingdom except for Normandy.
The Inquisition have finished their work in Saxony, and have now moved on to Lorriane.
There has been an uprising in Pommerania, by a faction claiming to be
the Polish and lead by a man claiming to be King Mieszko VI of Poland.
**********************************************
1248.
Our advance into Lorrain has succeeded, The HRE fell back before
Mercadiers advance, and he now lays siege to the fort at Nancy, it is
estimated that it has supplies for two years.
We can now begin to plan for our next offensive, which will be against
the French. We have a fifth army now building up in Flanders once it is
ready to move, we will attack into Champagne, subdue the population,
and then move on to Ille de France. We will then move our army in
Flanders into our province of Normandy, bringing it under the
protection of our mighty armies.
Now Alfred is free of garrison duties in Franconia, I plan to let him
take his small army of Knights and spearmen to Champagne, in order to
probe the French defence's, prior to the major offensive.
The Queen has presented me with a son, he has been named Henry. This is
a great relief for me as it solves the problem of my illegitimate son
Stephen being my only heir. the secret can now hopefully remain a
secret.
We have once more tried to resolve our long standing conflict with the
Almohads, and once more they have refused to see reason. Both sides
would gain much from peace in the way of trade, at present we have
ships throughout the Mediterranean, yet cannot trade in the Iberian
peninsular and much of North Africa. As for the Almohads, our dominance
in the Mediterranean, prevents them from any kind of seaborn trade.
Beauchamp my emissary tells me, that Khalifah Idris is every bit as mad
as his father Yusuf, it must now be assumed that madness is in their
blood, and therfor the situation looks unlikely to ever be resolved.
The Inquisition have now finished their work in Friesland and Denmark,
and now go forth to cleanse the lands of the HRE and France.
**********************************************
1249.
That damn fool Lorenzo II of Italy has declared war on us. I do not
like this situation at all, it bears a striking resemblance to the
situation my father experienced with the Almohads.
The Italians have a big fleet, just as the Almohads had, and it took
many years of my father's reign, to defeat them, years when my father
lost huge amounts of money in trade, and the cost of replacing ships.
The area of conflict is just south of the Italian peninsular. The
attack came without warning and we took losses in the Straits of Sicily
and the Ionian Sea.
Although our trade routes to the holy land remain open, the treasury
has been hit hard. last year we recorded profits of 3363, this year we
recorded losses of 3236, there is at present 16463 in the treasury.
I will need to suspend building and recruiting until we resolve this situation.
**********************************************
1250.
My three brothers Alfred, William and Edmund are all dead killed in
battle in the province of Champagne, I have obtained an account of the
battle from Sir John Grey, one of only two knights who returned from
Champagne.
(The Battle of Chalons-sur-Marne, as told by Sir John Grey)
The battlefield at Chalons was dominated by a large lake, we were positioned on one side the French on the other.
Our army numbered 110 Royal knight and 400 spearmen, I estimate that
the French numbered around 1300, made up of every kind of soldier you
wish to name.
Prince Alfred decided to attack around the left side of the lake, as
the terrain there looked more favourable. As we made our way towards
the left side of the lake, the French began to move back from their
positions, up onto a small rise, this revealed a number of artillery
pieces, that were now out in the open ahead of the new French position.
Prince Alfred halted our advance, and ordered me and my group of
knights to go and destroy the artillery. We advanced on the artillery
and when we got near to them they began to fire rocks and bolts at us,
so I ordered the charge.
I expected the French to attack us when we got to where the artillery
was positioned, but this did not happen, and we were allowed to kill
the artillery crews.
I turned to where the rest of our army was, and could see that they were already marching to where we were now positioned.
Alfred arrived and ordered that the knights were to spread out in a
long line facing the French, and that our spearmen were to advance on
the French lines.
As our spears drew close the French attacked with, feudal sergeants,
militia sergeants, spearmen, urban militia and a large number of
peasants.
After a while the French got the better of our spearmen and they began
to run, Alfred ordered the advance and we charged in to stop the rout,
destroying their spearmen in the process, before returning to our
positions, by this time Alfred had rallied our spearmen, and they were
now advancing again.
Whilst our spears attacked again, Alfred ordered Edmund to attack a
group of peasants who where trying to get around our right flank.
As our spearmen began to run once more, Alfred ordered us in again, and
a big battle now developed in the center of the field, as we fought the
French rained down arrows and crossbow bolts upon us, although we
killed many, eventualy their numbers proved to great for us.
I gestured to Alfred that we should retreat, but although the situation was hopeless he would not.
(Here ends Grey's account)
I questioned Grey further on the events.
Me "Did you see any of my brothers die?"
Grey "Yes Sire, William was fighting alongside me when he fell from his
horse, I think he may have been hit by a missile of some type, judging
by the way he fell."
Me "What of Edmund?"
Grey "The last sight I had of Edmund, was that of him engaging the
peasants, after that I was in the thick of battle and too occupied to
look across in that direction."
Me "And Alfred?"
Grey "Alfred fought valiantly to the death sire surrounded by the remainder of the French army."
Me "How many would you estimate died in the battle?"
Grey "We lost around 450, The French losses were much higher, they must have lost well over 800 men."
Me "So you left my brother to fight on alone?"
Grey "The situation was hopeless sire, Alfred should have retreated."
Me "My brother Alfred was a brave man, and would never have done such a cowardly thing. GUARDS!"
(Two guards enter the room)
Me "Escort Sir John to the tower."
Grey "But Sire the situation was hopeless."
Me "As is the situation you find yourself in now, you sir are a coward, and will be dealt with as such."
(End of the meeting with Grey)
I am sad at the loss of my brother Alfred.
William and Edmund I will not miss, however, I am pleased they redeemed
themselves for past failures, and died as brave fighting men.
The war with Italy has not gone well, the conflict has now spread to
west coast of the Italian peninsular, and further south. We have lost
ships in The Ligurian and Tyrrhenian sea's and the Malta channel.
However, it is not all bad news I have to report this year.
The Italian Doge Lorenzo has died, the new Doge is Enrico II, let us hope he will soon follow in his father's footsteps.
The fort at Nancy in Lorraine has fallen to our army there, and I have
made Sir Henry Berkeley Duke of the province. This is welcome news
indeed, as the cost of keeping the seige was great, and this along with
savings from other support costs we no longer have, such as Alfred's
small army and a number of ships that we have lost, means that the
treasury is now showing a small profit of 59 florins. Although this
will not make us rich it is better than the large loss we took last
year.
There is now 11727 in the treasury.
A bad year has ended well with the birth of my second son, Edward.
**********************************************
1251.
We have achieved a number of victories at sea. and definately gained the upperhand on the Italians this year.
We have now pushed the Italians out of the Ligurian Sea and the Ionian
Sea, the conflict is now confined to the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Straits of
Sicily and the Malta Channel. There was a particularly large engagement
in the Straits of Sicily.
Although our victories at sea are welcome, they do not come without
cost, we have lost many ships ourselves, and these ships have to be
replaced.
The treasury is now down to 8986, profits are still low, a paltry 194 this year.
The Almohad Khalifah Idris has died, he has been replaced by his son
Yusuf IV, this name brings back memories of Yusuf the Mad, who was such
a thorn in my fathers side.
The inquisition have finally completed their work in Wales, they have
been busy in Wales for as long as I can remember, it has proved to be a
place full of heretical thought.
Sir John Grey the man who run from the field and left my brother Alfred
to die fighting alone against the French, has been sent into exile.
Before Magna Carta I would have ordered his execution, but now the
Lords insist on a fair trial, and to overule them would just cause
discontent amongst their number.
**********************************************
1252.
This year sees the worst losses so far in our naval war with the
Italians, although we have inflicted losses on the Italian fleet, our
losses are estimated to be four times greater than those of the
Italians. The largest part of the action has again been centered on the
Straits of Sicily.
We have seen a jump in profits this year, they are up to 462, and
although this has stablized the treasury somewhat at 8080, and is a
significant improvement on last year, it is still well below the level
it was at, before the war.
**********************************************
1253.
The naval war against the Italians has once more swung back in our
favour. We have won a major battle in the Straits of Sicily, and forced
the Italians out of this stretch of water. The war is now confined to
the Tyrrehenian Sea and the Malta Channel.
The treasury has been hit hard this year, it is down to 5342. All our
expediture at present is on new ships, and a number have been built
this year, this is the reason for the large drop in funds, and with
profits down slightly on last year at 288, this is not nearly enough to
cover our costs.
We now have an ally, after many years of standing alone, we now have an
agreement with the Egyptians. During my fathers time many offers by the
Egyptians were turned down, because of alliance with the Italians,
maybe my father would have done better to have accepted one of these
offers, considering our present situation.
I now have a third son, he has been named Richard.
**********************************************
1254.
The Italians have had the better of the naval war this year, and our
losses have been the greater, we have however managed to push them out
of the Malta Channel.
The treasury is now down to 3630, our profits are 585.
The Emperor of the HRE Herrmann II has died, the incoming Emperor is Otto IV.
Lord Stanley has wrote to me requesting that I find a position for
Stephen my Illegitimate son, I replied saying that he should make his
way to Franconia, and present himself to Lord Fitzgilbert, who would
find him a position in the army there.
It is best that Stephen is kept away from England, as too many awkward questions could be asked of him.
**********************************************
1255.
Great news, our war with Italy is over. after a victorious battle in
the Tyrrehenian Sea, Doge Enrico requested that a peace be established.
This peace has come just in time, as the treasury was all but empty. We
have seen immediate benefit with profits up to 1988 this year.
It is a pity that the Almohads are not as resonable as the Italians, as once more they have turned down our request for peace.
I have another son, he has been named John.
**********************************************
1256.
A terrible plague has decended on Swabia in the HRE, it is to be hoped
that it does not spread to Lorraine or Franconia. My Bishop John
Burnell, says I need not worry, as it is obviously Gods retribution on
the Unholy Roman Empire, I hope he is right.
The Sicilian dynasty has once again re-established itself on the island
of Malta, this time under the leadership of King Geoffrey II.
**********************************************
1257.
After the plague that God sent to punish the HRE last year, I have
decided that we must make greater efforts to please God, so that he
might look more favourably on my Kingdom.
To this end I have taken to praying from dawn until noon each day, and have also provided more funds for the inquisition.
I have authorised the building of the last ship that we need, in order
to bring the strength of our fleet up to that of before the war with
Italy.
Money is now available again to spend on building work, we have made a
start this year, and should be back to normal next year. Hopefully the
year after that we will be able to begin recruiting and training again.
**********************************************
1258.
The extra funds I made available to the inquisition last year have been
put to good use. The inquisiton have now cleansed the people of Sweden
of heretical thought, and continue to go about their work in Norway,
Lorraine and Franconia.
Abroad, the inquisition has a different way of doing things, instead of
rooting out heretical thought amongst the common folk, they purge the
nobility. My chief inquisitor Robert Herbert, refers to this practice
as "Removing the serpents head".
Lord Franken Margrave of Brandenburg, was one such serpents head that
has been removed this year, Herbert says that he was a foul being
indeed, a charismatic speaker who used his forked tongue to spread evil.
Now our traders are back at their work trading to all corners of the
world, we have a better picture of foriegn Kingdoms, we do not know
much of the inland area's, so the picture is somewhat incomplete.
The Polish Kingdom has but one province, Pomerania, their homelands of Poland and Silesia are controled by the Byzantines.
There are also a number of rebel controled province's around this area,
and east along the Baltic coast. They are, Bavaria, Bohemia, Prussia,
Lithuania and Livonia.
The People of Novgorod control Finland, Novgorod and to the south Khazar.
The HRE are in control of Brandenburg, Swabia and Burgundy, I suspect
they control more land to the east of Burgundy, but information is
unreliable.
The French control Champagne, Ille de France, Anjou, Brittany, Aquitane and Provence.
The Almohad Empire starts at Toulouse, Aragon, Navare and spreads south
taking in the entire Iberian Peninsular, and North Africa as far east
as Cyrencia.
The Italians hold, Tuscany, Genoa, Milan, Venice, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and also the islands of Corsica and Sardinia.
The Papacy controls the remainder of the Italian peninsular, Sicily is rebel and the Sicilians control Malta.
The Egyptians hold the Eastern Mediterranean coast from Egypt to Lesser Armenia.
In addition to Poland and Silesia, the Byzantines also control
Trebizond, Nicea, Constantinople, Greece, Serbia, and the three islands
of Crete, Rhodes and Cyprus.
The Mongols hold Anatolia, Georgia, Crimea, Kiev and Moldavia.
**********************************************
1259.
The Poles have declared war on us, in the spring of this year they invaded across the border from Pomerania into Saxony.
Lord Plantagenet Prince of Denmark finally brought them to battle near the town of Lubeck, here is his account of the battle.
(The Battle of Lubeck in the words of Lord Plantagenet of Denmark.)
My scouts had been shadowing the Polish army for a few days now, and
from the information I had received, I had now come to the conclusion
that they would pass through the town of Lubeck tomorrow.
We camped that night in a place between the Polish army, and Lubeck,
directly on the route the Poles would take the following day.
I awoke early in the morning and watched my scouts disappear into the
distance, they would give me warning when the Poles grew near. It was a
pleasant morning, and I let the men that could sleep do so.
Our army is the standard English army, 2610 men in total, made up in two parts, the defense, and the reserve.
The defense consists of.
My own 20 royal knights.
600 feudal sergeants.
360 archers.
240 militia sergeants.
240 feudal men at arms.
240 crossbowmen.
3 catapults.
The reserve consists of.
80 feudal knights.
80 mounted sergeants.
240 feudal men at arms.
240 highlanders.
120 gallowglasses.
120 kerns.
The information I have of the Polish army is comprehensive, after many
days of following their movements. They are led by their King Mieszko
VI, and number just over 1000, and are made up as follows.
100 royal knights.
340 feudal knights.
240 feudal foot knights.
300 archers.
100 arbelests
Although we outnumber them almost 3 to 1, I do expect this to be a hard
fought battle, 440 knights and 240 feudal foot knights will not be easy
to overcome, this will probably be the sternest examination of the
English defense formation yet.
Towards noon my lookout tells me there are horses on the horizon, these
will be my men returning, and the signal to organize my army.
The land is quite flat in this area, so there is no big hill for us to
defend, instead I have found a small rise where we will set up our
defense.
I order the men to take up position and send my reserve out to the
right and out of sight to a predetermined place where we will make a
stand if things go bad for us.
We are ready in plenty of time and have a while to wait before the
first sight of the Poles on the horizon. This is the worst part of any
battle, watching the enemy slowly agonizingly marching towards you, it
gives the men time to become apprehensive, the Poles will be
experiencing the same feelings but to a lesser extent as they are busy
marching.
The Poles come on, ahead but slightly to the left, after what seems
like an eternity the battle begins as our catapults begin to fire into
their ranks.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=44709
There appears to be far more than 1000 men in this army, it probably
just appears so because of the many horsemen, it is quite a daunting
sight, and I am little worried, although outwardly I appear confident.
A group of feudal knights are now coming around onto our left flank, as
the rest of the Polish army move towards the center, I order a unit of
militia out to engage the flankers, and pray that the Poles continue to
come straight on. This is an army overflowing with horse and therefore
very maneuverable.
They continue to come on and our crossbows begin to fire upon them, a
little further and our archers begin to fire, then a large group of
knights peel of to the left, and at our militia who have been bravely
holding the ground up until now. I quickly order swordsmen in to
bolster their numbers, but they are headed of by more knights before
they can get there.
Our militia are outnumbered and quickly cut to pieces, leaving our left
flank exposed to their knights, I cannot order our left unit of spears
at them as they are now facing a frontal attack by more knights.
Now the rest of the polish army comes on in a frontal assault, I
quickly send in my remaining men at arms and militia in, to slow their
attack, but it is too late they have pinned our spears with the frontal
attack, and their knights are now hacking their way through the left
flank of our spearmen.
I move to the right and watch in disbelief as one by one our spears are
flanked and routed, this situation is now lost, I ride off to organize
the reserve whilst the Poles are busy chasing down our men.
I arrive at the reserve, which is some way off to the right of the main
battle, and begin to organize them ready for the Polish attack, which
is some way in the distance but already heading this way.
I hastily arrange my feudal knights out front in a long line, with my
light cavalry behind them, whilst I wait for the rest of the reserve to
ready themselves.
As the Poles come nearer I cant believe what I see, it is King Mieszko,
leading around 100 knights and obviously throwing caution to the wind,
as the vast majority of his army is some way behind.
I order our knights at him, followed by the gallowglasses, and kerns,
who are now ready to move, our men fight bravely and destroy the first
wave of polish knights, and every consecutive wave that comes in,
eventually King Mieszko himself is felled, and the remnants of his
knights turn and flee, leaving the Polish foot soldiers and bowmen at
the mercy of our light cavalry and knights, I now join the action
myself as the slaughter begins.
(Here ends Lord Plantagenet’s account.)
Our losses number 1016, the polish dead number 527, and we took 432 prisoners who where ransomed back for 2236 florins.
King Mieszko has no heir and the Poles have now descended into rebel factions.
Although we are pleased to have this victory, it has exposed a weakness
with the English defense when facing large cavalry laden armies,
fortunately this is not the norm in Europe, and should we have the
misfortune to face such an army again, we do have the reserve to rely
on, so we will continue to use this strategy.
Our financial situation is now much better, and I am pleased to report
that we can now begin to recruit and train men once more, the first
priority will be to make good our losses in Saxony.
The Inquisition in Italy has rid the world of another vile being this
year, in the shape of the devil worshipping Don Marino Macchiavelli,
who has been burnt at the stake, witness’s say he burned with a green
flame, overwhelming proof of the evil of this man.
**********************************************
1260.
The French have invaded Normandy, their army is small and although it
would be a simple enough task to send one of our armies to evict them,
this would leave our borders open to attack. So I have chosen to let
them besiege the castle. My cousin Edmund Plantagenet is in command of
the garrison at Rouen, he is an unpleasant character but a useful
soldier, and he has the strong fortifications of the castle to help
him. The castle is well supplied, and has its own livestock within the
outer courtyard. Should the French chose to assault the castle, it will
likely cost them many men, as this would mean advancing through
catapult and arrow fire, before having to go through two gates.
The devils Kingdom of the HRE has lost one of its evil sons to the
inquisition, Lord von Salza Duke of Swabia and Imperial Chamberlain,
burnt at the stake for the crime of heresy.
My alchemist has shown me a substance that has been brought back by our
traders in the holy land, he calls it gunpowder, When ignited it
creates the fire of hell and gives off an evil aroma. I have forbidden
our traders to bring anymore of this devils work to our shores, for it
is surely a sign that the evil one grows stronger by the day.
The Egyptian Sultan As Salih I, has been Killed in battle, slain by the
Byzantines, he has no heir and the Egyptian Kingdom has now dissolved
into rebel factions. The Egyptians were our only ally, so now we stand
alone once more.
Italian ships have begun to appear of the Italian coast, I am in two
minds what to do about this. On the one hand we could sink them now
before they are strong enough to present a threat, this would mean
renewed war with Italy, and loss of trade with them. On the other hand
we do nothing, continue to benefit from trade with Italy, watch their
fleet grow stronger, and hope that they to do not wish for another war.
For the time being we shall wait.
**********************************************
1261.
More Italian ships have appeared, I feel sure they are gathering their
strength in readiness for another attack on us. I tell you diary those
Italians are all possessed of the devil and cannot be trusted. Our
inquisitors have uncovered a heretic amongst their generals this year,
a man by the name of Piccolomini, a devils name if ever I heard one. He
was given over to the cleansing flame.
There have been great storms in the Aegean Sea, and we have lost ships,
I blame the cursed Italians for this, it must have been they who called
up the storms.
**********************************************
1262.
The inquisition have completed their work in Franconia, Only Norway and
Lorraine now suffer the curse of heretical thought. I am told Lorraine
will soon be cleansed, but the Norse are a pagan people, and many more
will burn before the good Lords work is done.
One less heretic in the world this year is Don Ercole de Medici of the
evil Italians, he was discovered talking to the devil whilst asleep,
this was enough to send him to the stake.
My emissary offered the hand of friendship to the Byzantine Emperor
earlier in the year, but he would not take it, I suspect the Italians
of planting thoughts in his mind.
I have decided to start building work on two mighty castles one in Wales and one in Northumbria.
**********************************************
1263.
The good people of Normandy have risen up against the French occupation
and driven them away, the enemy had no stomach for a fight and left the
province with much haste.
We now have another army gathering strength in Flanders, Once this army
is complete we will conquer Champagne and Ille de France, so that the
inquisition may move in and begin their work in earnest.
A new type of soldier is being trained in Mecia, they are to be called
billmen, they will be accomplished in the use of polearms, and will
eventually replace militia sergeants on the flanks of the English
defense, this has come about because of the weakness, exposed during
the battle of Lubeck, when Polish knights found it easy to break into
our flanks.
My son Prince Henry has come of age, and I have tried to convince him
that he needs to spend more time at prayer, but he will not listen to
me, and says that it is I who should spend less time at prayer. I am
now worried that my son has been possessed by the devil, and I have now
taken to praying from dawn until dusk, this is a heavy burden for me,
and leaves very little time to attend to matters of state.
The Italian fleet grows stronger, it is only my belief in God that
prevents them from attacking our ships, I only hope that as their
numbers grow my faith will be strong enough to hold them back.
**********************************************
1264.
The French waited until the loyalist uprising died down in Normandy,
and then moved straight back in they now lay siege to the castle at
Rouen once more. If the French believe we will give up Rouen without a
fight they are mistaken, the only way they will take Rouen is over the
dead bodies of many Frenchmen.
My illegitimate son Stephen has become a hero. He had been tasked with
making raids across the border into Swabia, whilst on one of these
raids deep into enemy territory he and his 13 knights, encountered the
Stuttgart castle garrison of 40 royal knights. Stephen immediately
attacked, and for the loss of just eight men killed they killed all 40
of the enemy. Flushed with success, Stephen and his men rode to
Stuttgart and under cover of darkness they climbed the walls of
Stuttgart castle, once inside they murdered everyone, set fire to the
place and left, torching as much of the town as they could on their way
out. This has earned Stephen the title the Butcher of Stuttgart.
Stephen’s new found fame could now become a problem to me, as people
will now start to take an interest him, and awkward question’s may be
asked. I have sent a message to Lord Plantagenet Stephen’s commander in
Franconia, asking him to provide Stephen with more opportunity for
heroism.
Stephen’s actions in Swabia have earned us a warning from the Pope. He
demands that we cease hostilities against the HRE. We will abide by
this, although it has confirmed my suspicions that the Pope is not
God’s messenger on Earth, but rather the devil’s.
Which brings me to our quest to rid Europe of heresy. With a great
flourish of burning’s in Lorraine the province is now clean, and our
men there, can now move into foreign lands to continue their noble task.
Our men in Italy have uncovered two of the devils apostles, Don
Giovanni Morosini and Lord Granziano Duke of Corsica, after
interrogation both men admitted that they were possessed of the devil,
and their souls were cleansed with fire.
My Son Henry has married the Byzantine Princess Maria, Although from
the orthodox catholic religion the Emperor assures me she is most
pious. Hopefully this marriage will bring Henry back onto the righteous
path.
I have decided to build a mighty citadel here in London, I have
requested that the walls be 12 feet thick, such stout defenses are
needed when ones adversary is the devil himself.
**********************************************
1265.
My illegitimate son Stephen is dead, caught by the Welfs on a raid into
Bavaria, rumor has it that he was shown no mercy, he was publicly
humiliated and tortured, before they disemboweled him.
Stephens death has left me with mixed emotions, the last time I met
Stephen, was in Norway when he was a young man, I found him to be
pleasant and good humored, and could not help but like him. Since then
I have distanced myself from him, not because I wanted to, but rather
because I had to. So with all this in mind I am left a little saddened
by Stephen’s passing. However, I am also a little relieved, as
Stephen’s existence has cast a dark cloud over the succession.
I will pray for Stephen’s soul, but I think his deeds in Swabia, may have already assured his place in hell.
My son Edward, who is second in line of succession behind Henry, has come of age. I have sent him to Flanders to join the army.
I estimate that our offensive against the French will get under way in
spring of 1267, by that time our armies should be at full strength and
ready to move.
The Italian fleet is now quite large, although I am sure they will
attack us sooner or later, I have no intention of making the first
move, and incurring the loss of trade that this would entail.
**********************************************
1266.
The devils onslaught has begun, his apostles the Italians, have
launched an attack on our shipping in the Ligurian Sea, and we have
lost some ships.
I have the full force of the inquisition at my disposal, now that they
have completed their work in Norway. I have ordered that they now
direct all their efforts towards the Italians.
The Byzantine Emperor has died. This is a bad omen, as like myself he
was named John, and his number was also II. I have no doubt that it was
the devil that smote him down.
This will be my last entry in the diary, as I must now devote myself to
the battle against evil, and intend to spend every waking moment at
prayer.
My eldest son Henry will now take over the running of my Kingdom, and will continue to make entries in the diary.
(Written by Prince Henry)
I have learned much from reading this diary, and it came as something
of a surprise to find out that Sir Stephen Stanley, the butcher of
Stuttgart, was my older brother.
I have also gained an insight into the workings of my fathers mind,
many at court consider him to be insane, however I do not. At 62 years
of age, my father is an old man, and being so close to grave, I believe
he fears what may await him after death.
I myself pray that he finds some peace.
Although I am not yet King in name, my father has passed all the power and duties involved in being King to me.
At 19 years of age, some might consider me too young to assume such
power, and some might find themselves a little daunted, if they were in
my position, but not I. Destiny has seen fit to give this power at such
a young age, so that I may have ample time to achieve greatness, and
the tool I will use to carve my name in history will be the sword.
My goals are simple, I will conquer France and fortify a line from
Saxony to Provence, through Franconia, Swabia and Burgundy, Then rid
this world of the scourge of the Almohads, by conquering the Iberian
peninsular and North Africa.
But first I have another scourge to deal with, the Italian navy. I have
ordered every spare ship to the Italian coast, my father will soon see
evidence that his prayers have not fallen on deaf ears.
I have diverted a number of inquisitors from their route to Italy, and
sent them instead to Champagne, in order to pave the way for our
invasion which will go ahead next year.
**********************************************
1267.
(Written by Prince Henry, in King John’s Absence)
Prince Edward has led our army into champagne, and the French have
taken refuge in the castle at Blois, I have told Edward that time is of
the essence, and that if the siege looks set to be a long one he should
consider an assault.
At sea, both ourselves and the Italians have taken losses, our losses
are slightly greater than theirs, but we have numbers on our side. I
have no doubt our navy will be victorious, we just need to have
patience.
The Prince of Novgorod, Sviatopolk II, has died his son becomes Ysevolod III.
Before leaving for Champagne Prince Edward was married to Princess
Epiphania of the Byzantines, the ceremony took place at Ghent in
Flanders, I made the trip across the channel to attend, and told my
brother that my thoughts would be with him during the Forthcoming
invasion.
Father has now taken up residence in the chapel at the tower, he
refuses to set foot outside of the chapel, saying that it is the only
place where the devil cannot get to him.
Looking back through my fathers words, I notice he has made very little
mention of the major players at work in our Kingdom. I will now
endeavor to put this right.
I can say with all honestly, that of the many men that hold title or
office in the Kingdom, I find not one who is unworthy of the position.
The majority of these men are not great commanders, but rather clever
administrators, capable of making the most of what their province’s
offer.
However there are nine men within the Kingdom, who stand out from the rest for varying reasons, they are.
Prince Edward.
My younger brother, a promising commander who now has chance to make a
name for himself, as he leads the invasion of France. Father has had a
great influence on Edward and this has made him very pious, it is
regrettable that fathers talent for things financial has not also
rubbed of on him, however, he is still a young man and this may change
with time.
The next four names on my list, are all my cousins in one form or another.
Alfred Plantagenet, Prince of Denmark and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Alfred has already proved himself to be a good commander on the field
of battle. In his forties, he comes across as very friendly, in fact
somewhat over friendly, especially when in the company of young
handsome men. Something I found to be rather unnerving when I was
younger. At present he commands our army in Saxony.
Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Friesland.
Edward is a young man, quick tempered, very intense and energetic, he
is high on my list of potential commanders. At the moment he is with
Prince Edward in Champagne, where he should gain some experience for
his future role. I have a mind to give him a title of more importance
than the one which he holds at present.
Sir Henry Plantagenet.
Henry is young and an able commander. However, he is a compulsive liar,
and everyone at court knows of this. I think even Henry himself knows
that everyone else knows, but he seems unable to refrain from telling
untruths, which is a pity, as this trait has lost Henry the respect of
the court, and along with it any chance of title. He is presently with
the army in Champagne.
Sir Edmund Plantagenet.
Edmund is in his forties, he is a good commander, quite influential in
the Kingdom, and popular amongst the nobility. He makes it his business
to build up friendships and loyalties with the powerful, I suspect
there is some purpose behind this, which he is keeping secret. Because
of this I do not trust him. He is presently commander of the garrison
at the besieged castle of Rouen, in Normandy.
Lord Fitzgilbert, Earl of Wessex and Lord Chamberlain.
The Fitzgilbert’s have governed Wessex for many years now, they are a
loyal and trusted family. The present Duke is in his fifties, he is a
serious man, a good commander and probably the most intelligent person
I have ever met. At present he commands our army in Franconia.
Lord Marshall of Ireland.
Although Marshall is advanced in years, his mind is still sharp. When
it comes to matters of a military nature, Marshall is the one we turn
to for advice. He is a strict disciplinarian, but is well respected by
the men he commands. At present he commands our army in Flanders.
Lord Mercadier of Scotland.
In his fifties, Mercadier delights in the fact that people consider him
the most evil man in the Kingdom. The Mercadiers as a family are well
known for the brutality they visited on Scotland, after it was first
conquered. At present he commands our army in Lorraine.
Lord Langton, Duke of Saxony.
In his thirties, he is a military man through and through, and another
high on my list of potential commanders. At present he is second in
command to Lord Marshall in Flanders.
**********************************************
1268.
(Written by Prince Henry, in King John's absence)
In February of this year I received a letter from Prince Edward. In the
letter he informed me that he had decided, come spring, he would
assault the castle at Blois, in order to try and bring the siege to an
end. However, this was not to be, because whilst Edward was making
preparations for the assault, a large French army crossed from Ille de
France into Champagne intent on lifting the siege.
(The Battle of Blois, as told by Prince Edward)
Two years ago I attended a feast given by my cousin Sir Alfred
Plantagenet of Denmark, I was seated next to Sir Alfred, and during the
feast we talked of warfare. Sir Alfred is an unusual character, and
many times whilst we were talking, Sir Alf, as he likes to be called,
would slap me on the thigh and give it a hard squeeze, he also seems to
have an affliction of the left eye as he was constantly winking at me.
During our conversation, he insisted on addressing me as “my handsome
prince”, made many references to the size of my sword, and seemed
obsessed with “putting it up em with our spears”, “coming up from the
rear”, and “using my mighty chopper”, to use his own words. However,
although all this made me feel quite uncomfortable, I did manage to
pick up some useful information.
It appears that during his battle with the Poles, Sir Alf found the
English defence to be vulnerable to highly manoeuvrable mounted units.
He told me that he had deployed far from the enemy, so that his missile
units would get maximum time to fire, but this had also given the Poles
time to manoeuvre, he said given the same situation again he would now
try to deploy close to the enemy lines. When asked how it would be
possible to do this, Sir Alf said it would need to be done with
stealth, in a similar way to an ambush.
On the French route into Blois there is a small hill, I planed to
deploy to the right of their proposed route, so that as they came over
the hill, they would find us on their flank, and our missile units
would already be in range.
In order to achieve this we had to first deploy in false positions, let
the French scouts see us, then chase them off, and make sure they did
not return, whilst we moved to our preferred positions. All this worked
well, the French come over the hill, and our missile units open fire on
their flank. The battle had begun.
Our army is formed up in our now familiar English Defence formation. 3
lines of spears, with 3 lines of archers behind them, 2 groups of
militia sergeants, one on each end of our spears protecting the flank.
In front of the spears are 3 catapult crews, positioned, 1 in front of
our central line of spears, and 1 each on either end of our spears.
In front of the spears and between the catapults, are 2 lines of feudal
men at arms, and in front of them are 2 lines of crossbowmen, except in
this situation one of our crossbow units has been replaced by
arbalests, who joined us from the loyalist uprising in Normandy of a
few years ago.
my own unit of Royal knights is behind the spears and central.
The weather is atrocious, rain is pouring down by the bucketful, and
visibility is not good, this will suit them better than us, I think.
We have caught them by surprise, they wheel round to face us, and begin
to advance. As they get closer I send our militia out to engage mounted
units, who are trying to flank on either side, and swordsmen to attack
their centre.
Our men hold up the French advance, whilst our bowmen fire into the French formations.
Although our militia are holding their mounted units on either side,
the French have a surplus of horsemen, and manage to get another unit
around and onto our right flank, I send a unit of spearmen out to stop
them, it is imperative that we protect our archers long enough, for
them to use their arrows to maximum effect.
Now our swordsmen to the right and central, who have been fighting
chivalric sergeants, lose their nerve turn and run, I send another
group of spears in to try and hold this position, things are turning
sour for us.
Our second group of swords now begin to run, and I have to commit our
final group of spears, I manage to rally the first group of swordsmen,
and send them back into the fray.
We hold the line for a short time, and our bowmen inflict more
casualties on the enemy, but eventually the position is lost, and the
French are through.
I retreat to our reserve position and begin to organize the
reinforcements whilst the French busy themselves chasing our first line.
The French have had the better of the battle up to now, and have
inflicted greater casualties, maybe the French general thinks he has
won the battle, but I have a surprise for him, as many of our best
troops are in reserve and fresh.
From my position on the hill I have a good view of the French chasing
about all over the field cutting our men down, That’s right I think go
ahead exhaust yourselves, soon it will be your turn to run, and no
mercy will be given.
The French finally get tired of chasing around, and begin to advance on
our new position. Their general has now lost command of his army they
are all over the battlefield and arriving in piecemeal fashion. I now
have over 100 feudal knights ready to attack, and royal knights forming
up behind them.
I send in the knights and they quickly put a group of militia to
flight, before attacking the French general himself, who is well out
numbered and soon running himself. A group of hobilars charge towards
our line, and I send the royal knights at them, they too are defeated,
by this time our feudal knights are killing crossbowmen out to the left.
There are now a number of enemy spear and polearm units arriving from
elsewhere on the field, I recall our mounted units and send in 240
highlanders, whilst I order loyalist chivalric knights from Normandy to
form up out front. After watching the highlanders for a while I order
our knights to charge, and the remnants of the French first line are
swept away. I allow the men some sport for a while before calling them
back, as I can now see more French horseman arriving in the distance.
Our chivalric and feudal knights are now down to around 50 each, I
deploy a fresh unit of mounted sergeants out to the left to support
them. We still have around 80 royal knights in reserve, and quite a lot
of foot soldiers who I am hoping that I will not need to use.
Three units of enemy hobilars attack first, our chivalric knights
inflict a lot of damage on them, before I send in the feudal knights
and light cavalry to finish them of.
We regroup, our chivalric knights are now spent. Next in are a group of
militia led by a handful of knights templar, we see them off. Then
another unit of hobilars, I’ve now sent 50 Feudal sergeants in to
bolster our knights and light cavalry, and moved some bowmen up to hit
them on the way in, the hobilars are destroyed.
Now appearing in the distance are around 500 urban militia and
peasants, good thinks I this is the last throw of the French dice, I
wave all our remaining horsemen forward, there are about 150 of us, the
French are already running when we hit them. The battle is over, and
the massacre begins.
We lost 1498 men, the French lost around 1100, we took 692 prisoners all were executed.
(Here ends Edward’s account)
An expensive victory, but a victory all the same.
The war with Italy still rages, honours have been even at sea, but our
inquisitors have inflicted defeats on many Italian noblemen, I am
confidant that the Italian fleet will soon be finished, their navy is
not as formidable as the last time we fought them at sea.
My brother Prince Richard has now come of age and has gone to join Edward on the battlefield.
Fathers paranoia has grown worse he has now had the chapel windows closed off with masonry.
**********************************************
1269.
(Written by Prince Henry, In King John’s absence.)
The garrison at Blois castle in champagne, has now surrendered to
Prince Edward, Sir Perkin Hastings has been given the title Count of
Champagne. I do not think the French will launch a counter attack, as
they are probably now more concerned with the defence of Ill de France.
The Italian fleet is no more, in a final battle of the west coast of
Italy, our ships won an overwhelming victory, and no Italian ships have
since been seen.
The rebel leader in Swabia, a man by the name of Sigismund Courcy, has
requested that they be allowed to join our Kingdom. I sent word back
telling him that Swabia had no place in our plans for expansion, and
that rather than being an addition to the Kingdom, it would be
burdensome.
Courcy then sent me another letter, telling me that he and his army of
1800 men, had no more wish to remain in Swabia, and requested that his
men be allowed to join our armies in their fight against the French.
I have agreed to this, and told Courcy that Lord Mercadier would meet
him at the border and take charge of his army. Courcy himself would be
given a subordinate position.
Mercadier has since let me know, that the 1800 men are all archers and
spearmen. I have decided that these men should go to Champagne, once
there we will take the best of their bowmen, re-equip them and bring
them into our own armies, and the rest can then be used as fodder in
Prince Edward’s next offensive
Father will not allow anyone inside the chapel now, and only opens the
door once per day when food is brought to him. I delivered his food on
one of these occasions to see if I could reason with him, but he is
determined no one shall enter, not even his closest family. He looked
in a terrible condition, I fear he may not be around much longer.
**********************************************
1270.
(Written by Prince Henry)
Father is dead. The man who took father his food came to me, and said
father had not come to the door to collect his food, after banging on
the chapel door, I decided we would have to break it in, it is a stout
door and it took a while before it give way.
I entered the chapel. The only light was from the broken door, it shone
like a path down the aisle to the alter, I could not see father
anywhere.
With the aid of a torch that had been brought, I made my way into the
chapel alone, as I reached the alter and made my way up onto the raised
platform, I saw father at the back of the chapel. A huge wooden
crucifix lay on top of him, he had a large gaping wound on the top of
his head, and there was blood everywhere.
I surmised that whilst at prayer in front of the crucifix, it had become unfixed from its mounting and fell upon father’s head.
No doubt father would have said this to be the devil at work, I myself
suspect it was the state of disrepair that the chapel had fallen into,
during fathers time in residence.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 3:36 pm
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Dave P
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Posts: 640
(3/14/04 11:41 pm)
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The Doomsday Book of 1270.
BUILDINGS/IMPROVEMENTS.
Wessex.(Lord Fitzgilbert. Chamberlain. Loyalty 9, Piety 4, Dread 6, Command 6, Acumen 9)
Castle, Bowyer, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard,
Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, Chancellery, 80%
farmland, Master horse breeder, Royal estate, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Port, Dockyard.
Mercia.(Lord Curthose. L9, P7, D3, C1, A4)
Castle, Armourers workshop, Swordsmith, Spearmakers guild, Town guard,
Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Border forts, Port, Dockyard.
Northumbria.(Lord de Vere. L9, P6, D3, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Bowyers workshop, Armourer,
Siege engineers workshop, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80%
farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Copper mine complex.
Normandy.(None)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, 20% farmland, Watch towers.
Wales.(Lord Longchamp. L9, P4, D2, C0, A4)
Keep, Bowyers workshop, Armourer, Siege engineers workshop, Town guard,
Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Copper
mine complex.
Scotland.(Lord Mercadier. L9, P3, D9, C5, A5)
Keep, Armourer, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts. Port, Dockyard.
Ireland.(Lord Marshall. L9, P5, D4, C6, A7)
Keep, Armourer, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Merchant,
Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Dockyard.
Norway.(Lord Stanley. L9, P5, D3, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Sweden.(Lord Gascoign. L9, P7, D4, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Copper mine complex.
Denmark.(Lord Plantagenet, Chancellor. L9, P0, D6, C6, A6)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Flanders.(Lord Becket. L9, P0, D5, C1, A4)
Castle, Armourer, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Saxony.(Lord Langton. L9, P4, D1, C2, A4)
Keep curtain wall & balista towers, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege
engineers workshop, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 40% farmland, Church,
Chapter house, Border forts, Port, Shipyard, Salt mine complex.
Friesland.(Lord Plantagenet. L6, P2, D4, C2, A4)
Keep, Spearmaker, Town guard, Trading post, Church, border forts.
Lorraine.(Lord Berkeley L9, P2, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Border forts.
Franconia.(Lord Uhtred L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Keep, Armourer, Town guard, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Champagne.(Lord Hastings L6, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall, Town guard, 80% farmland, Border forts.
MILITARY.
Wessex.
74 Royal knights
Mercia.
20 Royal knights.
Northumbria.
20 Royal knights.
Normandy.
20 Royal knights.
80 Chivalric knights.
80 Feudal foot knights.
600 Chivalric sergeants.
120 Longbowmen.
Wales.
20 Royal knights.
Scotland.
20 Royal knights.
Ireland.
20 Royal knights
Norway.
20 Royal knights.
Sweden.
20 Royal knights
Denmark
20 Royal knights.
Flanders.
40 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Militia sergeants.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Saxony.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Friesland.
20 Royal knights.
Lorraine.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Militia sergeants.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Franconia.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Militia sergeants.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Champagne.
96 Royal knights.
15 Feudal knights.
60 Mounted sergeants.
335 Feudal men at arms.
144 Militia sergeants.
480 Feudal sergeants.
334 Crossbowmen.
1312 Archers.
238 Gallowglasses.
240 Kerns.
234 Highlanders.
5 Catapult crews.
824 Spearmen.
108 Arbalests.
6 Chivalric knights.
NAVAL.
8 Barques.
19 Caravels.
AGENTS.
3 Emissaries.
4 Assassins.
18 Spies.
6 Inquisitors.
16 Bishops.
TREASURY.
Province income.
Wessex. 898
Mercia. 493
Northumbria. 542
Normandy. 237
Wales. 500
Scotland. 340
Ireland. 450
Norway. 203
Sweden. 698
Denmark. 576
Flanders. 1164
Saxony. 373
Friesland. 161
Lorraine. 405
Franconia. 369
Champagne. 252
Tot income 7,759
Tot in Treasury 886
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 2:35 pm
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Dave P
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Posts: 641
(3/14/04 11:42 pm)
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Chapter 6.
The Diary of King Henry I. 1270-1317.
1270.
Now I am King in name, all future conquest, and there will be many, will be recorded against my name, tis a good feeling.
I have had the chapel reopened and builders have made it good again,
father has a fine tomb on the spot where he died, now he can remain
within the chapel for eternity.
I have no wish to record a long tribute to father, I am a young King
and eager to become a great King, so I will say only this, my father
was a good and pious King, God rest his soul.
The French have been driven out of Normandy. Once more the loyalists
rose up and the French departed, these loyalists will prove useful as
now they have shown themselves, they have no reason not fight with our
armies, and they are made up of well equipped men to boot.
We move on ille de France next year, the force will be made up of
Prince Edward and his army in Champagne, a great number of the Swabian
rebels who joined us last year, and are now also in Champagne, and the
loyalists from Normandy who will be led by my cousin Edmund
Plantagenet.
This will be a massive army, far bigger than any we have used before,
and I fully expect the French to retreat once the earth starts to
tremble under foot.
Our old friends the Egyptians have returned, they have smote down the
rebels and reoccupied all their old territories, the new Sultan Al Adil
II seems to be something of a force to be reckoned with, let us hope he
has no love for the Almohads.
There have been great storms in the Atlantic this year, and this has
played havoc with our merchants, income is well down on last year, and
considering the massive cost of support for our armies, is something I
could have done without. No matter though, things are sure to improve
next year.
My brother John has come of age, and requested that he be allowed to go
to France. I have talked him out of this, as I would rather he stay
here with me, and help me run the Kingdom. He was flattered by this and
agreed immediately.
Truth is I am bored here in England and need the company, once I have
introduced John to the delights of ale and women, I am sure he will
make a good companion.
**********************************************
1271.
Our attack on Ille de France has gone ahead, and as expected the French
retreated, at present they still hold the castle in Paris. If they do
not surrender within one year we may decide to assault the castle.
I was surprised this year when the Italians offered peace, but I was
completely dumbstruck, when later in the year the Almohads also offered
peace. Finally after a state of war has existed between us for 62
years, we are finally going to be at peace with the Almohads. Needless
to say I have accepted both these offers.
We must now rebuild our fleet as quickly as possible, in order to take
advantage of the new trade opportunities, that will open up due to
these peace agreements.
This could not have come at a better time as the treasury is completely
empty, in fact the treasury currently owes over 1000 florins to the
nobility.
We have quite a number of troops in Ille de France who are surplus to
requirements, they are the product of rebellions and uprisings, and
although this kind of support is not unwelcome it costs money.
So I have decided to press the attack onto Anjou next year, my cousin
Edmund will lead the attack, his army will consist of all the units we
have little use for. Better that they do something other than sitting
in Paris, growing fat on the food I put in their bellies.
Not including the surplus troops I have described above, our forces consist of 5 well trained and well equipped armies.
As soon as money will permit I intend to have a 6th army, with a 6th
army we could push our borders out to a line Saxony, Franconia, Swabia,
Burgundy, Toulouse, Aquitane.
A 7th army would see us take in all the Iberian peninsular, all North Africa, and the Holy land as far up as Antioch and Syria.
If I can achieve this during my reign I will go to the grave willingly,
and pleased in the knowledge that my epitaph will read, here lies Henry
the Great.
I think that is all I have to tell the diary at present.
Not quite, I almost forgot, My first son has been born, he has been
named William. If I have my way, there may be no lands left to conquer
by the time this William becomes King.
**********************************************
1272.
(The Battle of Alencon, Described by Sir Edmund Plantagenet, Commander of the English army in Anjou)
We had marched all day, and it was now late in the afternoon. In the
distance a church and some other buildings could be seen, and I decided
that was where we would make camp for the night.
We climbed the last hill we would climb that day, passed through a
wooded area on top, and came out into the open, hoping to see an inn
amongst the buildings. Instead we saw around 600 Frenchmen on the other
side of a small valley.
This was a bitter blow to the men who were tired after a long days
march, their spirits had lifted when I said we would make camp near
yonder church, we had accepted that there would be no battle today.
I rode to the front of the army, knowing that something was needed to lift morale, after this disappointment.
“Let us do this now, and do it well, then tomorrow we can march on to
Angers knowing our work is already done. Look at them their numbers are
not great, we have more than two men to every one of theirs, our
disappointment is nought compared to the disappointment they are
feeling at seeing us. Lift thy selves men for this is a battle we
cannot lose.”
The men cheered, and waved their weapons in the air. Each man now had
an image of himself in mind, on the carefree march into to Angers
tomorrow. In truth many would not see the sun go down.
The French number 600, around 150 royal knights, the rest feudal sergeants, archers and militia, in equal numbers.
We are around 1500 strong, 80 royal knights, 88 chivalric knights, 824
spearmen, 360 archers, 120 arbalests, and 80 feudal foot knights.
The French are first to move, heading for cover in a small copse on the
other side of the valley. I send our arbalests down into an open area
to take up forward positions, order our spears to form a line behind
them, our archers behind the spears, and everyone else behind them. At
the same time I order 24 spearmen and 8 knights to go and try to draw
the French on.
This works a unit of French feudal sergeants come running out of the
copse, they chase our men up the field and into range of our arbalests,
who open fire. The Frenchmen continue their chase too long, and I send
in our chivalric knights who make quick work of them.
By this time the French have moved their archers up, and there is an
archery contest taking place, after a while one of our archer units has
no more arrows, I send them down to attack their archers, in the hope
that this will draw more of the enemy on. The archers do some killing,
and are eventually driven off, bringing more Frenchmen into range of
our bows, but this time they pull back.
The French army now tries to make a flanking move to our left, I bring
our men around to face them. They respond with a full blooded cavalry
charge into a hale of arrows and at our spears, I let them fight the
spears and send our swordsmen in to attack their militia. After a while
one of our spear units break, and I send the chivalric knights in. The
French fight bravely to the death, and there are very few left when
they finally turn and run.
The French dead numbered 589, our own dead numbered 763.
(Here ends Sir Edmund’s account of the battle)
We have taken Paris. The assault was nothing spectacular, after
battering two walls down with catapult fire, our men met with little
resistance from the peasant garrison. Now that Ille de France is
secure, Lord Marshall has been able to move his army in Flanders onto
Normandy.
The Title Duke of Normandy has been vacant since the loyalist
rebellion, I have now given this title to Sir Robert Langton, who will
surrender his title Duke of Saxony to Sir Henry Plantagenet.
I am pleased to report, our total income for this year was 18220, which
gave us profits of 5962, these amounts should be considerably more,
when we have our fleet back at full strength.
**********************************************
1273.
We have taken Angers castle in Anjou, Although we were without siege
weapons for the assault, we took the castle for the loss of just 81
men. Our conquest of Anjou is something of an historic occasion, we
lost control of the province to the HRE in the year 1156, now 117 years
later we have returned.
The man who commanded our army to victory in Anjou, my cousin Sir Edmund Plantagenet, has been given the title Count of Anjou.
I have given the title Duke of Ille de France to another one of my
cousins, Sir Edward Plantagenet. He was Duke of Friesland, this title
has now passed to Sir Henry Stuart.
**********************************************
1274.
Early in the year the HRE invaded Franconia. There follows an account,
by Lord FItzgilbert Earl of Wessex, of the battle that ensued.
(The Battle of Erlangen)
The battlefield at Erlangen is surrounded on all sides by hills, it is
a natural amphitheatre, a gladiators arena. On that day fog and rain
made the place look even more foreboding. We were drenched to the bone
and miserable as we peered through the fog at the HRE on the hillside
opposite. What cruel fate could bring a man to die in this Godforsaken
place, on a day such as this, I thought.
Neither side wanted to descend from the hillside, into the valley that
would soon become a sea of mud once men started to march across it. If
the HRE thought we were going to come across they were mistaken, for I
was prepared to stay on this hillside until nightfall, if they wanted
the land, they would have to take it from us.
So there we stood glaring at each other through the fog, soaking up the
rain, fatigued yet filled with nervous energy. I don’t know how long
this lasted, as there was no way to tell the passage of time in this
weather.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=46748
Our army is the usual English army, arrayed in the English Defence, with reserves waiting to the rear.
Led by Prince Rudolf, their army consists of, 500 horsemen of which the
vast majority are knights, 300 spears including Order of foot and
feudal sergeants, and 600 peasants.
The sight of so many peasants fills me with hope, the sight of so many horses fills me with dread.
After what seems like an eternity, we win the battle of wills and the
HRE advance, they come straight on. As they come into range of our
archers, I send our militia to attack their outermost horse units on
each side, and send our swordsmen to attack foot soldiers who are
advancing in the centre. They hold the advance for quite while and
allow our bowmen to fire of many arrows and bolts.
The battle ahead of our position has now divided into to two, left and
right, The HRE finally break our first line, and I send two units of
spears, one to each side, they hold the advance for a while longer
whilst our bows loose off more missiles.
Then the HRE find a spare unit of horse, and charge them in through the
centre towards our crossbows, I send in our last unit of spears to
engage them.
Our spears do well and hold the HRE for a long time whilst our bowmen
do their work, but eventually the enemy force their way through and
into our bows.
This position is now lost, and I head off to the reserve. The English
Defence has done well, although it has finally broken, it has left
around 400 dead horsemen on the battlefield, and effectively broken the
back of the HRE army. It should now be a simple task to finish what
remains with our reserve.
Prince Rudolf proves himself to be a good commander, and rather than
let his men get carried away chasing after our broken defence, he forms
them up ready to advance as one on our new position.
We are now on a wooded hill to the rear, and in order to attack the
enemy have to pass through a copse, then out into the open and up our
hill.
First to attack are Hobilars, we counter with mounted sergeants, whilst
this fight is going on, the rest of their knights appear, I order
gallowglasses in backed up by kerns. Some of their knights manage to
avoid the gallowglasses and charge at the kerns, I send our feudal
knights in to stop them.
There is a brief and bloody battle, and the remnants of their horse
units retreat. Next to appear through the copse are the foot soldiers
mostly peasants, and led by Prince Rudolf himself. Our highlanders
attack the peasants, and our knights attack Rudolf, the peasants are
running long before brave Prince Rudolf is knocked from his horse, and
unceremoniously hacked to pieces.
Our loses number 1661, The HRE initially numbered around 1400, they
brought reinforcements into the battle bringing their total to nearer
1700, only a handful of these men escaped with their lives. I believe
this to be a good result for us considering the amount of elite troops
they brought to the field.
(Here ends Fitzgilberts account)
Two other pieces of news to report this year.
Sultan Al Adil II, has made us an offer of alliance, which we have
accepted, and Pope Nicholas VI has died, his successor is Pope Nicholas
VII.
**********************************************
1275.
The losses we sustained last year have put our plans back a little. We
now have to make good these losses, get our fleet back to full
strength, build another army, and then we will be ready to move on
Brittany.
This may take a few years, but once achieved, I expect to be able to push our borders out considerably.
This new Pope is something of a jester I believe, he requests that all
good Christians take up arms against the Almohads. Why did the Papacy
not make this request during our many years of war with the Almohads?
Our good Christian brothers could have helped us greatly during that
time, yet did not lift a finger against the Almohads, Now we have peace
with them, and growing trade the fool wants us to go to war with them,
there is no chance of this happening at the present time.
**********************************************
1276.
A marriage has taken place between my brother Richard and Anna of
Novgorod. Before the event I sent a letter to Ysevlod III of Novgorod,
suggesting that the ceremony took place in Denmark, that we would be
delighted if he were to attend, and should he decide to come, I would
also make the journey to Denmark, so that we might meet.
I am keen to build up relations with the orthodox powers, as they have
been very cooperative in providing royal brides for us for many years.
Prince Ysevlod agreed to attend, so the marriage took place at
Copenhagen in Denmark, It was a fine ceremony, and Sir Alf of Denmark,
laid on a fine banquet and entertainment.
I found Ysevlod to be a charming man, and very well educated, during
our conversation he suggested that our two countries might become
allies, and to seal the agreement, he would offer his other daughter as
a bride for my youngest brother John, I agreed, as this was just what I
had hoped for.
The marriage will take place in summer of next year. John does not know
of this just yet, I will tell him nearer to the time, I expect him to
be opposed to this as he is courting a lady at court back in England.
Not long after my arrival back in England, I received sad news.
Apparently, Prince Ysevlod’s ship had sunk in the Baltic during his
return journey from Denmark, the entire crew including Ysevlod are
presumed dead. His son Yuri has been crowned Prince of Novgorod, and
has promised to honour his fathers word.
Another ruler has perished this year, the barbarian Ogadai Khan of the Mongols, his successor is named Chagatai II.
**********************************************
1277.
(A meeting I had with my brother John)
Me “Ah John, good to see you, there is something I wish to discuss with thee, will you take a drink with me?”
John “Just one drink?”
Me “No of course not, several drinks”
John “What is troubling thee brother”
Me “Do you remember Richard’s wedding last year?”
John “How could I forget it, Sir Alf certainly knows how to make people happy”
Me “Yes, especially young men”
John “Yes he does seem to be very fatherly to the young men in his charge”
Me “It is a little more than that John”
John “What do you mean?”
Me “Let us just say that Sir Alf is different than other men”
John “How so?”
Me “Well, Sir Alf prefers the company of men to that of women”
John “Well I must admit, I also prefer the company of men”
Me “Yes, but not in the bedchamber”
John “Oh, does this mean that Sir Alf is really a woman in the guise of a man?”
Me “HaHa Oh John you are so naďve, have you ever seen a woman with a grey beard?”
John “No I did not think such things existed”
Me “Let me explain for thee, Sir Alf is a man who does things with other men, that you and I might do with a woman”
John “Now I am completely confused, this sounds to me like the work of the devil”
Me “Indeed it is, but Sir Alf is a good man on the battlefield, and so we turn a blind eye to his strange ways.
Now let us get down to the matter I wish to discuss with thee. At
Richard’s wedding last year, I agreed with Ysevlod of Novgorod, that
you should be married to his daughter Evdokia to seal our alliance”
John “I will not do it, you know I am courting lady Helen”
Me “The marriage will not stop you seeing lady Helen, you will just have to be more discrete”
John “A man cannot have two wives”
Me “I know, you will only have one wife, and Helen will be thy mistress”
John “You ask too much of me my brother”
Me “I would not ask of thee something which I would not do myself”
John “You mean you also have this kind of arrangement?”
Me “Yes of course, I have several mistress’s and the arrangement is very pleasing”
John “How many mistress’s would I be allowed to have?”
Me “Haha why how many do you think you might need?”
John “One will do for now, now pour us another drink, I feel in the
mood to celebrate my forthcoming marriage. Tell me is Princess Evdokia
beautiful?”
Me “It matters not, you need only perform once, if you find her too repulsive”
John “Hahaha, what a wonderful life awaits me, more ale Henry”
Me “Of course”
(End of conversation)
The marriage went ahead as planned, John is a lucky man, and I suspect he will be performing more than once with his new bride.
I myself performed with the queen last year, and we now have a daughter as a result.
**********************************************
1278.
The Italians have attacked our ships in the Ligurian sea. Both my
father and my grandfather suffered this pettiness during their reign’s,
and now Enrico II thinks he will make me suffer the same. Well suffer I
will, because this nuisance will without doubt slow down my plans.
However, this time it is different, we are not losing money as we were
during our other naval wars with the Italians, and this time the
Italians will fell the wrath of our armies as well as our navy. This
will not happen immediately, as I will not be swayed from my aim of
furthering our borders in France and the HRE, but once I have another
army at my disposal, this will free up the loyalist and rebel army in
Anjou, bolstered with mercenaries I will then turn them lose on the
Italians, with the main aim of ensuring that we will never again be
bothered by Italian ships.
Due to this war with the Italians, we have lost our alliance with the
Egyptians, this I will not forget as it was England and only England
that stood by the Egyptians, during their war with the Italians many
years ago.
**********************************************
1279.
We are still attempting to build the sixth army, but progress is
painfully slow, as much of our manpower is being taken up by
shipbuilding, and recruiting of crews for these new ships. I will allow
things to continue as they are for this year, but intend to review them
next year.
Although we have lost much trade around the Italian peninsular, the
treasury is not suffering too much, we still have an income of 15400,
and profits of 2066. I am confidant that this will rise next year, when
we begin to trade again with parts of the Almohad empire, that we have
not traded with for many years.
My confidence is such that I have authorised the building of a citadel in Nottingham.
**********************************************
1280.
We have lost shipping in the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian sea’s this year, I
have decided to make building the sixth army our priority, we will make
good our losses at sea after the army is ready.
My forecast of improved income has proved true, our income is up to 17726, and profits are 4303.
After many years work, the tower has been transformed into a mighty
citadel, on the banks of the Thames river, it is an impressive sight
for visitors arriving by sea.
I have now set our builders to work building an admiralty, as the
premier naval power in the world I think it fitting that we have such a
building.
King Henry III of France has passed away, his son has been crowned
Henry IV. The new King is rumoured to be a good runner, we shall see
just how fast he is once the invasion of Brittany gets underway.
**********************************************
1281.
Our war with the Italians has ceased. Although we have not made any
formal agreement, Italian ships are now giving our ships a wide berth,
and our traders have been allowed to enter their ports unmolested.
I have instructed our ships to respect this informal cease fire for the time being.
The Italians have launched a crusade against the Almohads in Spain, a
foolish endeavour in my opinion. However, it may be the reason why the
Italians have ceased hostilities with us, maybe they have no wish to
fight two enemies at the same time, this suits us for now.
**********************************************
1282.
We may be a few years away from the start of a the major offensive, and
things may change in the meantime, but if things go as planed this is
how it will work.
Year 1, We attack Brittany from Normandy.
Year 2, We attack Burgundy from Ille de France, and launch a sea born invasion of Italy.
Year 3, We attack Swabia from Lorraine.
Year 4. We attack Aquitane from Brittany.
If we are unable to launch a sea born invasion of Italy, we will attack them overland once Burgundy is taken.
Once Aquitane is taken we could move on Toulouse from Anjou, but this
would mean war with the Almohads, and I estimate we would need a
seventh army to launch a successful invasion of Spain, whilst securing
our borders.
**********************************************
1283.
We have record an income of over 20,000 florins for the first time
ever, profits this year were 6,800, this cease fire with the Italians
is proving to be an excellent bonus for us, however, it will not stop
us attacking them when the time comes, as I have no doubt that given
chance, the Italians will attack us again at some point.
I have recalled the inquisition from abroad, I feel we have a number of
provinces where they would benefit from the guiding hand of Gods
messengers.
Our training of billmen has been coming along well, in three of our
armies militia sergeants have now been replaced with this type of
soldier. We also have other new types of soldiers, who will be brought
in to our armies as older units get depleted.
They are, Longbowmen, who will replace archers. Arbalests, who will
replace crossbowmen, and pavise crossbowmen who I intend to introduce
in small numbers, specifically as a unit to be used in sieges.
**********************************************
1284.
(An evening spent with my brother Prince John)
Me “Greetings my brother, sit thee down and I will pour us some of this fine French wine”
John “No thank you Henry, a tankard of good English mead for me if you
don’t mind. I have tasted that wine before and it is like peasants piss”
Me “I have never tasted peasants piss”
John “You will if you drink that, for I have it on good authority, that is the way it is fermented”
Me “Hmm, in that case I will join you in a tankard or two of mead”
John “If it is to be only to be two, I am leaving now”
Me “Haha, tis just a figure of speech”
John “Glad to hear it”
Me “I have good news for thee, the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel I, has agreed to ally with us”
John “Will this mean that we will have some Byzantine women visit the court?”
Me “Off course tis the reason for alliance”
John “I have never had a Byzantine woman as yet”
Me “It is said they know much of the Arab ways of pleasing a man”
John “I have heard, that the Arab way is with a camel”
Me “No you are mistaken John, it is only the peasants that perform with
camels. It is rumoured that the Egyptian sultan has a harem of 10,000
women, all of them well versed in the ways of love”
John “10,000 women, it would take him years to make love to so many”
Me “Yes over 27 years at one per day”
John “I would do two a day, that way it would only take 14 years”
Me “Haha, More mead?”
John “Of course”
(We talk and drink late into the night, John is good company and takes
my mind of more important matters. I am glad to have my brother here
with me, but he does have a wish to go abroad and fight with our
armies, I always convince him to stay, but eventually I will have to
agree to his wishes.)
**********************************************
1285.
I suspected it would not be long before the Italians started attacking
our ships again, and it happened this year. However, their attack has
not turned out as they would have liked, and ended with the sinking of
an Italian ship in the Straits of Sicily.
My emissary has returned from Rome, with news that Pope Nicholas has
turned down our offer of alliance. His reasons were as follows.
1, We have not made any attempt at crusade against the Muslims.
2, He accuses us of using the inquisition to further our own cause.
3, He says he is very disappointed with our constant aggression towards
the Italians, and is dumbfounded by our refusal to make peace with the
Italians despite their many attempts at diplomacy.
Well the first two reasons are fair, but as to the third, I can only
assume the Italians have been whispering in his ear. This has destroyed
what little faith I had in the impartiality of the Papacy.
Our attack on Brittany will go ahead next year, Lord Langton Duke of Normandy will lead the invasion.
I now have a second son, he has been named Alfred.
**********************************************
1286.
Our invasion of Brittany went ahead as planned, Lord Langton
encountered no resistance, and the French withdrew to the castle at
Nantes. We surrounded the castle and resolved to wait for them to
surrender.
One month later the Papal emissary arrives at court, and informs me,
that unless we withdraw from Brittany, and cease hostilities against
the French, the Pope will be left with no alternative other than
excommunication.
Very well, says I, we will withdraw, but tell your master my patience is not limitless.
Lord Langton has now withdrawn to Normandy, leaving the French to hide behind the Popes Skirts.
The rest of my plan will go ahead as planned. Next year we will advance
into HRE held Burgundy, and land an army in Venice, we will then see if
the Pope makes so bold with an English army looking across his borders.
The Italians have sunk one of our merchants in the Straits of Sicily,
no doubt Pope Nicholas believes it sprang a leak, and sunk of its own
accord.
Away from plans of war and troublesome pontiffs, my son and heir
William has now come of age, I intend to include him in all of my plans
for expansion, so that he may continue my good work when he is King
himself.
Now, news of a wondrous new invention, it is a mechanical clock, no
more will we need to rely on water clocks, sundials, and hourglasses.
**********************************************
1287.
We have struck the Italians with a mighty blow, which they may never recover from.
Our landing in Venice took the Italians completely by surprise,
unprepared and unwilling to fight, they fled over the border into
Milan, abandoning the province completely.
Our army in Venice is led by my cousin Edmund Plantagenet, and includes
my two brothers Edward and Richard, it numbers around 1500. This army
is not the standard English army, it is made up of a mix of units,
leftovers from various rebellions. They are all brutal and dangerous
men, and given orders to lay waste to Venice they set about the task
with relish, all that remains is the port and some merchant buildings,
Edmund thought our traders may have some use for these.
Our destruction of Venice and the cowardly retreat of Doge Enrico has
plunged Italy into civil war, with a number of province’s turning
rebel, including Croatia, Tuscany and Genoa.
We have also had success in Burgundy, and now have the castle at Dijon under siege.
This compounds Enrico’s problems even further, as we now have another
route into Milan, where he is now in hiding. After wintering in Venice
our army will move on Milan next year, I have also decided to gather an
army of mercenaries to move into Italy via Burgundy, but they will not
be ready in time for the attack on Milan.
All this good news was then added to by the queen, who has presented me with my third son, Edmund.
The only bad thing to come from this year, has been the loss of another
ship in the Straits of Sicily, but this could not possibly take the
shine of all the success we have had this year.
It is now near the end of the year and we have heard nothing from Pope
Nicholas, I can only assume he is afraid that the Papal states my
suffer the same fate as Venice, if he interferes. He is wise to stay
quite.
**********************************************
1288.
(The Battle of St Peters Pass, as told by Edmund Plantagenet Count of Anjou)
St Peters Pass, is at the top of a long narrow valley, it is flanked on
either side by wooded hills. It came as no surprise to me, that this
was where the Italians had chose to make their stand, it is a good
defensive position, and a daunting prospect for any would be attacker.
My army consists of, Just short of 100 royal knights, 600 chivalric
sergeants, 240 archers, 100 arbalests, 400 spearmen, and around 70
longbows and militia sergeants.
As we deploy into formation, I have no idea how many Italians are up
there, but to the right of the pass and on the hill, we can see a unit
of feudal sergeants and some other troops behind them. To the left of
the pass and on top of the hill are some horsemen they look like
knights, we can also see movement in the woods atop the same hill.
We soon find out what the troops behind the feudal sergeants are, when
a massive boulder comes crashing down amongst our men, killing several
of them.
Our men continue to form up, but each time a boulder is launched they
pause, and try to anticipate where it will land, as realisation sets in
that its heading for a group of them, they panic and try to get out of
its way, at least one man is always too slow.
These boulders also bounce into the ranks further back, I saw a man in
front of us lose his head to one such bounce, he continued to stand for
a moment without head, blood spurting from his neck high into the air,
covering the men around him, not a pretty sight.
We are almost formed up now, and I decide it is time we did something
about that catapult, I send the militia and longbows up the hill to try
and take care of it.
Our bowmen concentrate on the catapult whilst the militia engage the
feudal sergeants. Then the Italians send order of foot and more feudal
sergeants down from the other hill, eventually our men are overwhelmed,
and come running down the valley pursued by the Italians, a couple of
volleys from our main body of archers, sends them back up the valley,
before they make contact with our first rank.
The catapult has now ceased to fire. The main body of the Italian army
is now situated in the pass, at the top between the trees, around three
units of spears and militia are about halfway down the pass. I send the
arbalests up to fire on these men, accompanied by my two units of
spearmen.
The Italians attack a couple of times and we counter with our spearmen,
whilst our arbalests continue to fire, after a while our men have
pushed halfway up the valley and the Italians have retreated to the top.
I move the rest of the army up behind our advanced line.
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I now send our arbalests and spears up the hill to attack, a battle
ensues and at one point one of our spear units reaches the top of the
pass, before they are repulsed, our men break and come running down the
hill, once more the Italians get carried away and are met by volley’s
of arrows, but this time they continue and impale themselves on the
spears of our chivalric sergeants.
Instead of defending their strong position, the Italians now decide to
throw everything at us, along the left side of the valley. I rally our
spears and send them in again, and also send chivalric sergeants across
from the right, whilst at the same time repositioning our archers.
A fearsome battle breaks out, and after much killing our chivalric
sergeants win the day, I charge up the hill with my knights hoping to
catch Doge Enrico, as we reach the pass we just catch a glimpse of him
disappearing over the next hill.
We lost 750 men, and counted 1240 Italian dead, out of an estimated 1400.
(Here ends Edmunds account)
We now have Enrico trapped inside the castle at Milan, our mercenaries
will arrive in Milan next year and they have a mangonel with them, so I
have instructed Edmund to wait for their arrival before assaulting the
castle, I have also told him to take Enrico alive if at all possible. I
will take great pleasure, in seeing that man die a very long and
painful death.
I have decided to change our strategy in Italy, instead of the
destruction we visited on Venice, we will try to hold Milan, and maybe
continue on to the rebel held province’s of Genoa and Tuscany, with a
view to holding them also.
Lord Mercadier of Scotland has pushed the HRE out of Swabia they gave up the province, without a fight.
What an opportunist Otto of the HRE has turned out to be, we had no
sooner left Venice than one of his armies moved in, I liken him to a
flea ridden mongrel begging for scraps of food at our feast.
The Admiralty building in London is now completed, I have bestowed the
title Warden of the Cinque ports on my cousin Lord Plantagenet of Ille
de France.
**********************************************
1289.
Enrico II is dead, killed by his own people, his body was thrown over
the ramparts of Milan castle, with a note attached to it. The note said
that the garrison had now abandoned the rule of Italy, and declared
Milan as independent, they requested that we leave the province as
there was now no reason for conflict.
Although I would liked to have witnessed Enrico’s demise myself I think
this is an inglorious and fitting end to his rule. We still intend to
take Milan, when the mangonel arrives.
I suspect that the new Italian ruler Giovanni IV, is hiding on Corsica or Sardinia.
The Castle at Dijon in Burgundy has now capitulated.
**********************************************
1290.
The Army in Milan under the command of my cousin Edmund, is now widely
known as the Barbarians, because of their evil work in Venice. They
have now been joined by 1000 mercenaries and the much anticipated
Mangonel, which Edmund now had the pleasure of testing on Milan castle.
(The Assault of Milan castle, as told by Edmund Plantagenet, Count of Anjou)
We are on a hill overlooking Milan castle, it is a fine, warm day, and
the men are in good spirits. There has been much drinking and jesting,
we have watched the mangonel slowly being built with growing
anticipation, and there is speculation about how much damage it will
inflict on the castle.
After a while we see a white flag being waved on the castle ramparts, I
send a man forward under protection of our own flag of truce to speak
with the castle garrison.
When he returns, he informs me that the garrison have no wish to suffer
attack from the terrible weapon that they can see being built, and wish
to surrender.
What, says I, and rob the men of a good days sport, we will have none
of this, the mangonel is in need of a test, and test it we will.
The Mangonel is now ready, the commander asks me what I would like him
to destroy, Yonder white flag waving on the ramparts should make a good
target for thee, says I.
As it is wound back and loaded, it makes the sound of a rack in a
torture chamber, our anticipation is now at fever pitch, a man pulls a
lever and with a mighty whoosh it launches, and misses completely.
The commander says they will get the range right next time.
The second shot is much better, and takes the top of the outer wall,
the men rush forward to get a better look, and get hit by a rock from a
catapult tower. I try to get them to back off, but they are too keen to
watch, and don’t seem to mind being under fire from the tower.
I let them be for a while then order them to spread out and take up loose formation, which they do.
After a few shots the outer wall collapses, and our men put up a great
roar of encouragement, the mangonel now sets sight on the inner wall, a
few more shots and that also goes down.
I tell the crew to use up their ammunition on a tower, this is a fine spectacle and I mean to enjoy it to the full.
Finally the Mangonel is done, and I wave a group of feudal men at arms
forward, they head towards the breach under a barrage of rocks and
arrows, and disappear inside, after a while our men come running out,
barely 10 of their number remaining, I ask the first man back how it is
in the castle, he tells me that there are less than 100 left inside. I
order our chivalric men at arms forward, and after running the gauntlet
of missile fire they disappear inside, we wait a while and eventually
they appear back at the breach waving, the castle has fallen.
The garrison dead number 121, we lost 209.
(Here ends Edmunds account)
My Bishop John Audley has informed me, that if you are responsible for
the death of a man, you would have to spend 100 days at prayer in order
to cleanse one’s soul.
When I replied that I had killed very few men, he said being King in
charge of armies, made me responsible for the death of all the soldiers
who died in those armies, and also all the deaths inflicted by those
armies.
I later made the calculation, and became very disturbed by my findings.
I think at the very least I am responsible for the death of 10,000 men,
100 days for each man means 1,000,000 days at prayer. I am 42 years of
age, and if I begin this praying now I should need to live until the
year 4029, in order to avoid purgatory.
I immediately sought out Bishop John and asked what I might do about
this dire situation. He said that if I were to build more monasteries,
I could then pay monks to do the praying for me, I have immediately
authorised a number of monasteries to be built, and will have around
1000 monks praying for my soul. This is more than enough to clear the
10,000 deaths, but I have more wars yet to fight, and so expect my
total to increase.
My son and heir William has married the Byzantine Princess Helena, My
brother John has had a long talk with him on the virtues of marriage.
**********************************************
1291.
My emissary recently visited Genoa, to offer the Genoese terms. They
were to surrender the province to our army, and in return would not
suffer the same fate as Venice.
Don Carrado Piccolomini, their leader said he would be pleased to do
so, but would need money to convince his men, when asked how much, He
replied that he would need 1235 florins.
I have agreed to this, it is a small sum for a Kingdom as rich as ours,
and it will save us the time and effort of laying siege to Genoa castle.
I have finally given in to my brother Johns request to go and fight. I
have given him charge of the 7th army which is now forming in Normandy.
**********************************************
1292.
Guy of Gisbourne is the man in charge of our assassins, here is a conversation I recently had with him.
Me “Ah Gisbourne have some of this French wine”
Guy “Why thank you sire”
Me “Tis a good drink is it not?”
Guy “Yes it has a taste of something unusual”
Me “Yes Prince John tells me it is an acquired taste, I prefer mead
myself. Now how many assassins have we, and where are they working at
present?”
Guy “ We have four and they work out of Ille de France and Lorraine”
Me “Have they killed many undesirables recently?”
Guy “I fear not sire, these man are not very good at their work”
Me “Why is this?”
Guy “Men such as myself are in very short supply sire”
Me “How many men has thy killed guy?”
Guy “I lost count many years ago, I would estimate it to over 1000”
(This is a blatant lie, and I nearly choke on my mead when it comes out)
Me “1000, you are a one man army my man”
Guy “Indeed sire, I once killed a man just by looking at him in an evil way, frightened the poor chap to death”
(Now his boasting is getting on my nerves, in fact I seriously doubt he has ever killed anyone)
Me “I have a task for thee, I want Prince Jean of France dead”
Guy “Very well I will send a man to see to it”
Me “No, such a difficult task will need to be performed by an expert assassin, one like thyself”
(Now it is Guys turn to choke on his drink)
Guy “I would be greatly honoured to perform the task myself, but it
would not be fair to deny our men in France the opportunity of killing
such an important man.
Me “Come, come now guy, you said yourself the men you have in France are not very good”
Guy “Yes bu………”
Me “Good then it is settled, you will do the task yourself”
Guy “But sire I th……..”
Me “Now, now I will have none of your modesty, we both know you are the
man to do this, now have some more of this fine French wine”
(End of conversation)
Guy failed miserably, his head now decorates the gate at Nantes.
The Genoese were true to their word and surrendered the castle at
Genoa, there was some unrest later when it was discovered that
Piccolomini had made off with all the money, but it was too late for
them to do anything by then, as Edmund and the Barbarians had already
occupied the castle.
**********************************************
1293.
The Italians have built up a small fleet in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian
seas, whilst we have been absent, however, our fleet is now back at
full strength, and next year we will move in to finish them once and
for all.
We now know for sure that King Giovanni is in Corsica, once we have
control of the Ligurian sea, and Edmund is ready to move we will invade.
Emperor Manuel of the Byzantines, has requested that my daughter Alice
marry his son Prince John, I had no hesitation in agreeing to this, as
the Byzantines have proved to be Loyal and reliable allies over many
years now.
King Geoffrey of Sicily has been deposed by his brother Stephen, who later had his brother beheaded.
**********************************************
1294.
There has been a large naval battle of the coast of Italy, both
ourselves and the Italians have taken heavy losses, but we have managed
to clear the Ligurian sea of them, they are now confined to the
Tyrrhenian.
In exchange for a payment of 1694 florins, the rebels in Tuscany have
consented to hand control of the province to us. There are port
facilities in Tuscany and this will aid our invasion of Corsica, cousin
Edmund and his Barbarians are now on their way to the province.
We have grown rich over recent years, gone are the days when the florin
decided what we built or how big our army was. Now money flows into the
treasury faster than we can spend it, there is currently a surplus of
32,000, our income is 23,000 per year, and profits last year came to
6400.
**********************************************
1295.
The Italian navy is no more, their last few ships were sunk during an
engagement in the Tyrrhenian sea, the seas are now safe for our men to
cross to Corsica next year. I fully expect King Giovanni to flee to
Sardinia, as he only has a small army at his disposal, and to stay
would be suicidal.
As long as the Pope stays quite I now see no chance of survival for the
Italians, it is all their own doing, we have been patient with them
over the years, and tried many times to be at peace with them, our
plans for expansion never included their lands, and had they not
molested our shipping they would not now be faced with extinction.
**********************************************
1296.
My cousin Edmund and his band of thieves and brigands, have now taken
Corsica. As was expected King Giovanni has fled to Sardina, even the
castle at Bastia was abandoned.
I feel I should write something in the diary about the way we develop our province’s and how we treat conquered province’s.
We now have a hardcore of province’s which specialise in the training
of different types of troops, all these province’s have a direct link
to our front line, so that we can move reinforcements immediately to
wherever they are needed.
Here is a list of provinces and the types of troops they specialise in.
1, Wessex. All types of knights and light cavalry.
2, Mecia. Pole armed units. (Mercia is also able to train swordsmen and
spearmen, but this capability may soon be phased out as other
province’s take over these responsibilities)
3, Wales, Northumbria and Norway. All have facilities for training the
various types of bowmen that we use.(Although we prefer to train
longbowmen in Wales if possible, and allow the other province’s to
produce arbalests and pavise crossbowmen)
4, Scotland. Highlanders.
5, Ireland. Gallowglasses and Kerns.
6, Flanders and Normandy. Spearmen. (Normandy is still building the correct facilities)
7, Saxony and Denmark. Siege equipment and their crews. (Denmark is still building the correct facilities)
8, Franconia and Sweden. Swordsmen. (Sweden is still building the correct facilities)
The three province’s that are still building facilities, are all close
to being ready. Once we reach that point, we will have the capability
to build the standard English army of 2850 men in just four years.
In addition to this, Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, Wales, Scotland,
Ireland and Flanders all have the facilities to build the most up to
date shipping.
In the province’s not mentioned above, building and improvement is
limited to things that will increase income and keep the population
content.
The exception to this rule are province’s that lie outside our main
frontlines, Four such province’s at present are Milan, Genoa, Tuscany
and Corsica. In these province’s we concentrate on fortification and
basic facilities to keep the population content, economic improvements
would be too vulnerable to build in these province’s, as being outside
the frontline they are too open to raids.
In newly conquered provinces, we destroy, sell off and loot all buildings and improvements that do not fit into the above plan.
Now news of things abroad, King Stephen the usurper of Sicily, has
himself been deposed. The noblemen of Sicily have replaced him with his
dead brothers son, the 16 year old Prince Henry. By all accounts King
Stephens execution was a bloody affair, and there are rumours of
disembowelment and impalement.
We have made efforts to obtain a peace with the HRE, there seems little
point in being at war with them, as my ambitions do not lie in their
lands. However, Otto II is a stubborn man and would not see reason,
this is of little consequence to me, as the HRE do not Possess the
wealth or power to do us any real harm.
**********************************************
1297.
Cousin Edmund and his barbarian army, have now subdued the Corsicans,
and will be ready to move on Sardinia next year. This will mean the end
for Giovanni, as we now have him trapped like a rat in a corner.
Although this war with Italy was more the making of his father, I have
no feelings of mercy towards him, someone must pay for the money I have
wasted, replacing sunken ships, and so the son will be held accountable
for his fathers sins.
Giovanni would be well advised to choose a glorious death on the battlefield.
**********************************************
1298.
Cousin Edmunds invasion of Sardinia went ahead without problem, our
army landed in Sardinia, and Giovanni retired to the temporary safety
of the castle at Cagliari.
No sooner had Edmund arrived at the castle and began to consider his
next move, than the threat of excommunication arrived from Pope
Nicholas. So once more we come to the moment of victory only to have it
snatched away by Papal interference, although I have no respect for
Pope Nicholas and what I consider to be his own self interested
motives, I have no wish to call down the wrath of God upon my head, and
so I have ordered Edmund to return to Corsica.
After receiving the Popes warning, I replied stating that, Although I
was at a loss to understand his judgement on the matter of the
Italians, I would abide by it, but any other such judgements would cast
doubts upon his own integrity.
This is an implied threat on my part, the implication being that if he
interferes once more, I will view him as corrupt, and see it as my duty
to God, that he be replaced by an Englishman.
Although I would have been mighty pleased to have ended the Italian
dynasty, this new turn of events opens up a much more attractive
prospect for us. Now that the Popes wings are clipped, it leaves us
free to launch a major offensive against the French.
The French currently hold Provence, Aquitane and Brittany, I intend to attack all three next year.
The Duke of Normandy will attack Brittany from Normandy. The Duke of
Ille de France will attack Provence from Burgundy. These two attacks
will be undertaken by full strength armies, and I fully expect them to
succeed.
The attack on Aquitane, will be somewhat different, it will be
undertaken by the barbarians, who will sail from Corsica and make a
landing in Aquitane, they will however, be without their leader Edmund,
who I have ordered to remain in Corsica.
I now feel the barbarians have outlived their usefulness, in fact they
are becoming something of a liability, and so if they were to suffer
misfortune in Aquitane it would not be entirely unwelcome, it is
however hoped that they will cause some problems for the French, and
weaken them in preparation for the Duke of Normandy’s eventually push
into Aquitane.
**********************************************
1299.
Our offensive against France has gone ahead according to plan, and mighty pleased I am with the results.
Most successful was the Duke of Normandy, his attack from Normandy into
Brittany, saw the French completely abandon the province, we have once
more made a tidy profit from conquest by selling off military
facilities and the like.
The Duke of Ille de France was slightly less successful in his attack
from Burgundy into Provence, although this is through no fault of the
Duke, as the French were quick to retreat to the fort at Marseille,
which we now have under siege.
We do not have any proper details of what became of the Barbarians, as
none have returned. We landed them in Aquitane, and I later received a
demand for the ransom of a few hundred men. Although the amount was not
great, these mercenaries have already been paid handsomely for their
work, and to spend more money on them would have been wasteful, so the
demand was refused.
Hopefully the Barbarians will have given a good account of themselves,
and killed many Frenchmen, as this will make things easier for the Duke
of Normandy, when he moves from Brittany into Aquitane next year.
Khalifah Yusuf IV of the Almohads has passed away, his son becomes Ali
III. I have sent my condolences to Ali on the death of his father, and
wished him a prosperous and glorious reign.
Little does he know that my plans will see to it, that his reign will be one of defeat and bitter disappointment.
**********************************************
1300.
The Duke of Normandy has moved on Aquitane from Normandy, he encountered the French army at a place called Saintes.
(The Battle of Saintes, by Lord Langton Duke of Normandy.)
As we marched down the hillside towards the town of Saintes, we saw the French army in the distance, marching in our direction.
I deployed my men in a defensive formation, and speculated about what
King Henri’s plan might be, a sensible commander would set up his
defence down there on the plain, a fool might consider attacking up the
hill, I hoped that Henri might be the later. In the event Henri turned
out to be neither and formed his army up at the foot of the hill.
The position was now as follows, Henri is at the foot of the hill, his
route up is flanked by a cliff on one side and trees on the other, at
the top of the rise the land levels out, before rising again to our
position.
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I have a choice to make, do I move the entire army down of this hill,
across the level to the crest of the hill overlooking Henri’s position,
or do we keep this position and move, an attacking force down and
across the level.
If I move the entire army our bowmen will be in range, this would
probably lead to a swift victory, but would mean casualties amongst our
more defence orientated troops. Alternatively I can use our attack
minded troops, this will mean greater casualties, and a longer battle,
but would save our defensive troops. I decide on the later.
Henri’s army is mightily outnumbered, almost 4 to 1, but they are
fighting for their very existence, so I cannot take this battle
lightly. He has around 30 royal knights, 40 hobilars, 240 feudal men at
arms, 240 crossbowmen, 180 archers, and a handful of peasants. We have
the standard English army, at full strength.
The first men I send to test the French resolve are 240 Highlanders and
120 feudal men at arms. They cross the level, and as they reach the
slope leading down to the French position they are met by a hail of
missiles from French bowmen who have moved halfway up the slope.
Our attack is badly coordinated, and all though we kill the majority of
their archers, we are eventually driven back up the hill. The French
rearguard pursue our men a little, but before they come into range of
our bowmen, they head back down to a position halfway up the slope.
These Frenchmen are tough, thinks I, let us see how they cope with a cavalry charge.
I send our feudal knights forward, backed up by mounted sergeants, they cross the level, and form up at the top of the slope.
Our knights charge down the hill and hit the French front line, which
is made up of crossbowmen, these crossbowmen put up a surprisingly good
defence, our knights finally break through them, but by then they are
spent and retreat back up the hill, our mounted sergeants pass them as
they themselves charge the French line, they achieve little more
success than the knights, before they too head back towards our lines.
The French bowmen are now all but finished, and their front line is now
made up off feudal men at arms. Their horsemen have yet to see action.
I decide to let the Irish try their luck against these stubborn
Frenchmen, and send in gallowglasses, kerns and a unit of feudal men at
arms.
The French meet us at the top of the slope and all hell breaks loose, a
fierce battle ensues in which the French throw everything at our
attack, eventually our men are driven off. The enemy are now feeling
emboldened by their success, and decide to hold their position at the
top of the slope. This make me angry, do these conceited Frenchmen
think they would still be alive, had I decided to launch a full scale
attack upon them.
I decide to see how well these chaps absorb crossbow bolts.
I send forward two units of crossbows, backed up by two units of
militia sergeants, as our crossbows take their toll on the enemy, they
launch an attack, and our militia’s pin them down whilst our crossbows
continue to fire, but eventually the French break through again, I send
in the remnants of our third attack who are now rested.
Henri now enters the battle himself, trying to rally his men for a last
stand, but finally our numbers tell and he turns and flees, taking what
few of his men remain with him.
This has been a hard fought battle, and although Henri’s position is
now one of hopelessness, I cannot help but admire his bravery and that
of his men.
We counted almost 700 dead Frenchmen, our losses were slightly greater by about 70.
(Here ends Normandy’s account)
After reading this, I too admire Henri’s bravery, if he is taken soon I
will be lenient towards him, and allow him to choose his own
executioner.
The fort at Marseilles in provence has fallen, after pounding it into
the ground with catapults, we suffered just 9 casualties overcoming the
garrison.
One black mark on this years entry, is the invasion of Milan by the
HRE, our small garrison has retreated to the castle, and we now wait to
see if the HRE will decide to assault.
Prince Yuri of Novgorod has passed away, the new ruler of Novgorod is Mikhail II.
My second son Prince Alfred has now come of age.
**********************************************
1301.
(The assault on Bordeaux castle in Aquitane, as told by Lord Langton Duke of Normandy)
As I look out across the gentle sloping hillside towards the great keep
at Bordeaux, I have a feeling that destiny has brought me to this place
on this day. It was my ancestor, Sir Robert Langton duke of Aquitane
who built the keep here in 1098, during the reign of King William II.
144 years ago this place was lost to the Spaniards, who themselves
later lost it to the French. Now I am here to reclaim it.
The importance of my task is made even greater, due to the present
occupant of Bordeaux, King Henri IV, sole survivor of the French
dynasty.
I order our 3 catapults to open fire on the weak point where the
curtain wall joins the inner wall, the curtain is quick to fall, but it
takes quite a while longer before the inner wall yields.
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I send forward a couple of depleted units of crossbows and militia, supported by 240 pavise crossbows.
Once through the breach our pavise lay down heavy crossbow fire, whilst
the others pin any attacks that come in, these attacks are few and
easily beaten off, eventually Henri himself makes a brave and suicidal
charge at our pavise, although he gets through, and kills a few of
them, he is already mortally wounded. He continues to fight, but
eventually his strength deserts him and he falls to the ground dead.
(Here ends Langtons account)
Langton later allowed monks to claim Henri’s body, they took him away
to be buried in a chapel nearby. Langton did right, it is fitting that
such a brave man has a proper resting place.
With the French defeated, we now look to the lands of the Almohads for
further conquest, but first we must build a port in Provence, as this
will be vital for moving our troops quickly into Spain and beyond.
Emperor Otto of the HRE is dead, the new Emperor is Friedrich I.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 3:49 pm
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Dave P
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Posts: 642
(3/14/04 11:45 pm)
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Chapter 6. (continued)
1302.
Milan Has fallen to the HRE. None of our people in Milan have returned,
so it must be assumed they were killed during the defence. I know very
little of what happened, it is rumoured that over half of the 800 men
who assaulted the castle, where killed trying to breach the defence’s.
Hopefully this high cost will deter emperor Friedrich from attempting to take Tuscany.
My second son Alfred has married the Byzantine Princess Lupicina. My third son Edmund has now come of age.
**********************************************
1303.
The Italians have invaded Corsica, cousin Edmund has withdrawn to the
castle at Bastia, I doubt the Italians will attempt to assault the
castle, as they do not have enough men to throw at the gates.
I now involve my son William, in the planning of all our military
campaigns. I am fast approaching 60 years of age, and although I am in
good health, I think it wise that William sees the plans as not just
mine, but his also, this way the empire will continue to expand when I
am no longer King.
This is the plan William and I, have devised for the conquest of the Iberian peninsular.
We will use two armies, they will be named North and South. North will
be commanded by Lord Langton Duke of Normandy, and South will be
commanded by my brother Prince John.
There will also be a third army in the making, following behind them that will supply fresh troops.
We hope to be ready to launch the invasion in 1305.
Our first move will see South move from its present location in Anjou,
to Toulouse, once the province is secure, and the population subdued,
South will then move onto Aragon.
The following year North will move from Aquitane onto Navarre, and subsequently onto Castile.
The attack will then move back to South, which will move from Aragon into Valencia, and then onto Cordoba.
North will then move from Castile into Leon, and then onto Portugal, before joining force’s with South in Cordoba.
Then either North or South, will move onto Granada.
**********************************************
1304.
I have given the title of Constable of the Tower to Lord Langton Duke of Normandy.
Orders have been sent to all our ships that are not involved in any kind of trading, to make haste to the Straits of Gibraltar.
Next year as the attack goes in on Toulouse, our ships will make sure
that the small Almohad fleet in the straits, is taken care of.
**********************************************
1305.
We have had our first encounter with the Almohads. Soon after Prince
John crossed the border into Toulouse, his way was barred by an army of
around 1600, defending a hill.
John prepared his men for battle, and launched the first attack, which was driven off.
The Almohads then counter attacked and a brief and bloody fight ensued, after which the Almohads retreated.
We lost around 600 men, and their losses numbered around 400. Quite a
high death toll for what could only be described as a skirmish, this
indicates that the war against the Almohads is likely to see many men
dead.
I have ordered the building of more monasteries to compensate for this in advance.
The remainder of Johns journey into Toulouse has been unhindered, and
we now have the castle under siege. We have resolved to starve the
garrison out, as their numbers are great, and we do not foresee a long
siege.
The Almohad fleet in the Straits of Gibraltar has been despatched, without the loss of a single ship on our part.
Our trade routes will now continue to remain safe from attack. Due to
our war with the Almohads, our income has plummeted, however, it has
not turned out as bad as I had feared, and we are still making a modest
profit.
Another consequence of our war with the Almohads, has been the loss of
alliance with the Byzantines and Novgorod. This leaves us without any
allies, but it is not something I am concerned with, as our borders are
well protected.
**********************************************
1306.
It is estimated that the Almohad garrison in Toulouse castle may have enough supplies to last one more year, we will wait.
Meanwhile the Almohads have declared a Jihad against us in order to
reclaim Toulouse, this I am not too concerned about, however, there are
disturbing rumours coming from North Africa, of a massive army heading
towards the Iberian peninsular.
Away from the war my youngest son Prince Edmund has married the Byzantine princess Zenophilia.
**********************************************
1307.
In spring of this year, it was reported that the Almohads had crossed
the border from Aragon into Toulouse, with the intention of lifting the
siege of Toulouse castle.
Not wanting to get caught between the incoming Almohad army and the
still considerably large castle garrison, Prince John decided to
withdraw to the north of Toulouse, set up a defence and wait to see if
the Almohads would attack.
(An account of the Battle of Montauban, by Prince John)
Our spies had been busy for the past few days, shadowing the Almohad
army, and reporting back their progress, as they made their way to
Toulouse.
The Almohad army had reached Toulouse and joined up with the castle
garrison. Had the combined force then moved south, this would have
meant they were abandoning the province, as it turned out they moved
north out of the town, this meant that we would have to fight.
Warned well in advance of their arrival, I had waited until they came
into view, before ordering the men to form up in the usual defensive
formation.
The Almohads came quite close before halting opposite our positions,
they had all manner of different types of foot soldiers, but the thing
that drew my attention, was around 160 Saharan cavalry and 60 camel
mounted warriors. Our armies have had problems defending against
mounted units in the past, but had prevailed against greater odds than
these, so the omens were good.
I estimate the Almohad force to have numbered around 1000 in total.
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As the enemy formed up, they brought forward two ballistae. I passed
the order forward to the catapult crew some way in front of me, that
they should open fire as soon as the enemy was in range. They opened
fire as soon as they received the order, this was the signal for our
other two catapults positioned on the ends of our lines to also open
fire.
Now it began to rain, not the best of conditions when commanding an
army so dependant on bowmen as ours was, it has become something of a
joke now that it always rains on English bowmen.
As the first rocks from our catapults land amongst them, the Almohads
begin to move. Saharan cavalry ride off to our left, Berber camels head
out to our right, the rest come forward towards our lines, and into
range of our crossbows, and then our archers.
Meanwhile their cavalry and camels, have now rode out and turned to try
and come in on our flanks, I send the militia sergeants on either side
out to meet them, and also turn a unit of feudal sergeants to the left
to face the Saharans, as they are numerous and I expect them to
eventually break the militia’s.
As their foot soldiers draw close to our crossbowmen, I send two units
of feudal men at arms forward to halt them, But not all are stopped,
Muwahid foot soldiers somehow manage to find a gap between our two
units of men at arms, they get through and into our feudal sergeants
who are pushed back.
I look along the line’s to the flanks, and am pleased to see that our
men are holding their own against their mounted units, however, I am
alarmed to see a unit of our archers out to the right apparently
standing around doing nothing, I suspect these men have been idle all
through the enemy advance.
After a while Ghulam bodyguard charge our feudal men at arms and they
break, the Ghulams are now through and into our left group of archers,
who have no spear protection, because I had to send them out left to
halt the Saharan cavalry.
The archers break, panic spreads to our central unit of feudal
sergeants, and they break. With the centre lost, our defence is broken.
I ride out to the right passing the idle archers who are now running, I
curse them as I ride through them, and off to the rear to take charge
of our reinforcements.
The Almohads are busy for a long time chasing our men, and this gives me ample time to set up a good defensive position.
We have two units of pavise crossbows out front, backed up by two units
of highlanders, who themselves are backed up by two units of feudal men
at arms, behind them are gallowglasses, kerns, feudal knight, mounted
sergeants, and my own royal knights.
The rain has stopped, and the sun is now shining as the enemy finally
arrive, their commander seems to be at a loss for an idea, and their
front rank just stand there soaking up crossbow fire. A few time they
make a move to attack but each time back off, eventually their general
is hit by a bolt, and falls from his horse, panic sets in and the
remnants of the Almohad army turn and run. I order all our mounted
units to spare none.
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Our losses numbered around 1350, the enemy dead numbered almost 1000.
(Here ends Prince Johns account)
An expensive victory. I put this down to the large number of obsolete
units we have in the armies that are fighting the Almohads.
We are currently bringing billmen, longbowmen, arbalests, and chivalric
sergeants into our armies, but I have given priority to our armies on
the eastern front. However, these improved units will eventually filter
down into our southern armies.
I am 60 years of age this year, I consider my reign to have been one of
great conquest already, I would like to live long enough to see the
Almohads pushed out of Europe though.
**********************************************
1308.
At the beginning of this year, my brother Richard came to see me. He
told me, that he considered his sins to be great, and at 56 years of
age, he was worried about what might lay in store for him after death.
When I asked if he intended to do anything to make amends, he requested
that I allow him to lead a crusade to the Holy land. I asked that he
give me some time to think about this.
I had no intention of refusing Richards request, after all how could I
deny a man the chance to save his soul, but what I did need to decide,
was whether or not I was to provided Richard with men.
I recalled Richard the day after our meeting, and asked him when he was
planning to leave. He told me, that he planned to make it known, that
the crusade would gather in Saxony during March, and leave sometime
during April.
I told him he had my blessing, and that I would arrange for some troops
to be available in Saxony to accompany him on his crusade.
A few weeks later, my brother Edward informed me, that he was going
with Richard on the crusade. I asked Edward if he was also trying to
make amends for his sins, he laughed loudly, and replied “I would have
to live 100 years in order to do that, no I am going because it will be
a great adventure”.
As promised I made some men available, and in April Richard, Edward and
around 1300 men marched out of Dresden bound for the Holy land. It is
now late in the year, and the last report I received of their progress,
was that they were in Constantinople during September.
The siege of Bastia in Corsica has now entered its 5th year, the castle
was well provisioned, and we estimated that it could last indefinitely.
I do however wonder, if my cousin Edmund is still alive as he would be
61 this year.
Next year will see my brother John lead our army out of Toulouse, and
into Aragon. The Almohad forces in Aragon, are not great, and I would
expect us to prevail. We may have harder times ahead of us though, as
an army of over 7000 men has been reported crossing from Morocco into
Spain.
**********************************************
1309.
I have received news of the crusade from my brother Edward, which I will come to presently, but first other news.
The Egyptian Sultan Adil II, has died of old age. His heir Sultan Ali
II, inherits a fragmented Kingdom. He controls a large portion of the
steppe, parts of Asia minor, and Sicily, yet the Egyptian homelands are
controlled by rebels.
Prince John has now moved his army from Toulouse to Aragon. He met with
no resistance from the Almohads, and now has the castle at Barcelona
under siege. The Duke of Normandy will now lead his army from Aquitane,
into Navarre next year.
There is almost certainly a great battle on the horizon. The massive
Almohad army, which has now been confirmed to be just over 6000 strong,
has now reached Cordoba. I have shipped a 250 strong force of
mercenaries over from provence into Algeria, the hope is that the
Almohads will now send some of their massive army back to North Africa
to deal with this new threat to their rear.
Now news of the crusade, Edward has sent me a detailed account of the
progress of the crusade, and this I will now record in the diary.
(The crusade to the Holy land in the words of Prince Edward)
April 1308.
To set the scene for my story, I will relate to thee an account of the feast we had shortly before we departed from Dresden.
Present at the feast are myself, At 59 years, I am a man on a quest for adventure during the later years of my unfulfilled life.
Our leader, my brother Richard. He is 3 years younger than I, and a man on a quest to save his soul.
My cousin Henry Plantagenet. Had he not been born noble, I am sure he
would have been a court jester. He is 46 years old, and like myself a
man in search of adventure.
Sir Howard Howard. A pompous man of 50 years, he is obsessed with the
notion of chivalry, and it is rumoured that he once killed a man, for
questioning him about his strange double name.
Sir Richard Burnell. 45 years old, and a man of unquestionable piety.
(The Feast)
Prince Richard “My friends, we have an arduous task ahead of us, and I
have no doubt we will face hardship during our quest, but tonight we
feast and make merry”
Me “Pray tell me cousin Henry, do you intend to sample the delights of a camel, once we arrive in the holy land”
Cousin Henry “Haha, Indeed, I intend to have a harem of them, however I shall only choose the prettiest ones”
Sir Richard “I am offended that anyone should entertain such a thought, it is surly tantamount to heresy”
Me “Now now Sir Richard, do not light thy torch just yet”
Cousin Henry “Yes indeed sir Richard, save thy torch, for you will need
it later, when you find yourself in a dark tent, and in the company of
a beautiful camel”
Prince Richard “Come good knights, do not make sport of our pious
friend Sir Richard, for he is a man closer to god than any man at this
table”
Sir Howard “There will be many men closer to god, by the time we reach the holy land”
Cousin Henry “Haha, good old reliable Sir Howard, determined to turn our merry feast into a wake”
Sir Howard “You will not make so merry, when faced with Saracen spears”
Cousin Henry “Haha, what use is a pitiful spear against my mighty sword”
Sir Howard “I speak not of one spear, but 200 spears”
Cousin Henry “Bah! I care not if it is 200 spears or 2000 spears, they would all fall beneath my sword”
Sir Howard “Hehe, we will see”
Sir Richard “Prey tell Prince Richard, how long do you estimate it will take us to reach Jerusalem?”
Prince Richard “I do not plan to march directly on Jerusalem, I plan to take Tripoli, and then take stock of the situation”
Me “Why is this my brother?”
Prince Richard “Tripoli is less well defended, it will give us a foothold in the holy land”
Sir Richard “I am not pleased with this plan, I was under the impression our crusade was for the holy city”
Prince Richard “It would not be possible, However, if we successfully
take Tripoli, this will encourage more crusaders to come to our cause,
and then an assault on Palestine would be a possibility”
Sir Howard “It is a good, and well thought out military plan, and I am in favour of it”
Cousin Henry “I am also in favour, as it is rumoured the camels in Tripoli are particularly beautiful”
(We all laugh loudly, except for Sir Richard who shakes his head disapprovingly)
A few days later we marched out of Dresden, heading for Brandenburg.
Our army numbers just over 1300, and is made up of royal knights, order
of foot, chivalric sergeants, archers, spearmen and militia.
May 1308.
On reaching the town of Berlin, we made camp, and my brother Richard
announced to the men, that they were to make themselves comfortable, as
we would be staying here a for a few days.
That night, as had now become our routine, the five of us sat down to
eat together. The conversation was to bring about a dire situation the
following day.
We had all consumed a large amount of drink, and cousin Henry had been
teasing Sir Richard about his religious convictions, at every
opportunity.
Finally when Henry suggested that instead of Sir Richard Burnell, a
more apt name would be Sir Richard Burn all, we all roared with
laughter, and this proved too much for Sir Richard. He turned towards
Sir Howard and said “What is it that thy finds so amusing, thy father
must have had a strange sense of humour, to have called thee Howard
Howard, or did he perchance suffer from a stammer”
Sir Howard stood bolt upright his chair falling backward behind him and
said “You Sir have insulted my good family name, and I now demand
satisfaction on the field of combat, I will meet thee at noon tomorrow”
and that said he stormed off.
The following day, my brother Richard and myself, spent much of the
morning trying to reason with the both of them, but they were stubborn
as mules, and neither would back down.
Word of the fight had spread, all our army, and a considerable number
of the people of Berlin, were gathering to see the spectacle as noon
approached.
Both men were now on the field being dressed In full armour, finally
Sir Richard walked to the middle of the field, and stood there, his
sword out front, the point on the ground, and both hands on the hilt. A
few moments later Sir Howard strode out to meet him, both men exchanged
words, dropped their visors, and backed off holding their mighty
broadswords each toward the other. The fight had begun.
They circled each other, and then Sir Richard made a move, bringing his
sword up and across, Sir Howard stepped back, and the sword swished
past his breast plate.
Sir Richard tried this four more times each time, Sir Howard stepped back and the sword failed to make contact.
On the fourth attempt, Sir Howard rushed forward and barged his
opponent, knocking him to the ground, Sir Howard stood back beckoning
Sir Richard to get up off the ground, which he promptly did.
They circled again and this time it was Howard who attacked, Richard
parried his blow with sword, and a sword duel ensued. The duel was
cumbersome, each man summoning strength before swinging their heavy
broadswords, each time the swords connected sparks flew.
Richard was first to score a hit. As he swung his sword, Howard
slipped, and failed to defend himself, the blow hit him on the elbow
joint, and he fell to the floor. A huge roar went up from the crowd.
Richard now beckoned Howard to get up, he did this with some
difficulty. When he did get to his feet, he was now holding his sword
with one hand unable to raise it, his left arm dangled by his side,
obviously broken.
Richard sensing victory charged towards him, Howard stood his ground,
just as Richards sword came down, Howard dodged the blow, and barged
Richard to the floor. He fell on top of Richard, and what now ensued
could only be described as a brawl, both men rolling about in the mud
trying to get the better of each other.
This went on for a few moments, both men were clearly exhausted, and a
peasant armed with a pitchfork would have found it easy to kill the
both of them.
It was Sir Howard who eventually came out on top, he had somehow
managed to overpower Richard, and get to a position sat on Richards
breast plate, he drew his dagger and thrust it through his opponents
visor. The crowd gasped, and poor Sir Richard ceased to struggle.
The meals we were to share from this moment on were very quite affairs, even cousin Henry’s wit was now blunted.
We departed from Berlin, on route to Poland, our numbers now swollen to
over 1400. I cant help but think, the show of violence on that field
did much to discourage others from joining us.
June 1308.
Our passage through Poland was uneventful, and by the time we crossed
the border into the Italian held province of Hungary, our numbers were
now over 1500.
July 1308.
After the long march through Poland and a large part of Hungary, our
arrival in Esztergom, did much to revive our flagging spirits. The
people had organized a celebration in honour of our arrival. Richard
decided this was a good place for the men to take a rest, and announced
that we would stay 5 days, he also warned the men against abusing the
hospitality, that the good people of Esztergom had shown us.
The men took note of Richard’s words, and spent their time filling
their bellies in the local hostelries, and emptying their loins in the
local brothels.
When we departed on the 5th day the men were rested, well fed, in great spirits, and our numbers had increased to over 2000.
August 1308.
Our next rest would be at the town of Sofia. The climb into the Balkan
mountains was a march into hell itself, back breaking marching under
the merciless glare of the sun during the day, shivering under
inadequate cover during the freezing cold nights. Desertion became so
frequent, Richard ordered that men caught deserting, would now be
hanged as cowards.
When we finally reached Sofia, and the mood of the men worsened. During
the march they had buoyed there spirits, by speculating about the good
time that lay ahead in Sofia.
This was false hope, the reality was far removed from Esztergom, the people seemed wary, and shunned us.
Our stay was finally brought to a premature end, when 5 of our men were
found to have been raping and pillaging in a neighbouring village.
Richard had them hung, and ordered that the men should prepare to leave
immediately, at this the mood amongst the men turned ugly, and Richard
had to hang another 12 men before order was restored.
We had to endure another back breaking march, before the Balkan
mountains were finally behind us, and by then our numbers had plummeted
to under 1700.
September 1308.
We arrive at the magnificent city of Constantinople, and set up camp
outside the city walls. An emissary from Emperor Manuel, arrives and
extends an invitation to Richard and myself to dine with him, without
hesitation we accept the invite.
Emperor Manuel is an old man, but his mind is still sharp. There
follows an account of the conversation which took place after the
pleasantries.
Manuel “Do you intend to try and take Jerusalem?”
Richard “No we are bound for Tripoli”
Manuel “What route do you intend to take?”
Richard “We had hoped to follow the Mediterranean coastline”
Manuel “I would be surprised if you were allowed to pass through the Egyptian land of Anatolia, without a fight”
Richard “Is there another way?”
Manuel “Yes indeed there is, You might follow the south coast of the
black sea to Trebizond, and then turn south across Rum and into Syria”
Richard “Is Rum not rebel held, and Syria not desert?”
Manuel “The Seljuks in Rum are not many, and will not choose to fight you.
When you enter Syria, if you follow the borders with Edessa and Antioch, you will avoid having to travel through the desert”
Richard “Could we not cross from Trebizond, through Rum, and Lesser Armenia, into Antioch”
Manuel “I will not permit you passage through Antioch, it is a rich
province, and I doubt that your men could refrain from looting.
However, I will extend the hand of friendship, by shipping your men
across the Bosporus, for no payment”
Richard “Thank you Emperor Manuel, you have been most kind, and I am
sure my brother, King Henry will be most grateful, when he hears of
this”
(With this we take our leave)
We suffer more desertions before leaving Constantinople, and on
reaching the other side of the Bosporus, our numbers are now down to
less than 1500.
October 1308.
After a long march along the south coast of the Black sea we arrive at
the town of Trebizond, we set up camp and rest for a couple of days.
The night before we are due to march south, a number of men are caught
trying to desert. In the morning, Richard orders them to be hung.
Richard is now so determined to see the crusade through, that he cannot
see that the men are close to rebellion, I stop the hanging and call a
meeting.
(The meeting)
Me “You cant hang those men Richard, if you do this the men will rebel, and the crusade will be at an end”
Richard “This is my command, and if I do not stand by my word, I will lose the respect of the men”
Me “And if you do you will lose the men”
Richard “I see no other option”
Me “So you intend to go ahead with this hanging, and end the crusade here on a matter of principle”
Richard “Yes”
Me “I will not allow this to happen”
Richard “You are not in a position to stop it”
Me “Your position as commander is not set in stone Richard, this
crusade may have been your idea, but we have all invested a lot of
ourselves in this endeavour”
Richard “Howard, Henry, are you with me or Edward”
Henry “I am sorry Richard I am with Edward”
Richard “Sir Howard, it is your decision”
Howard “Edward”
(My brother turns his back on us and, walks off to his tent without saying a word)
Later I address the men. “Men we have come a long way, and we are now
less than three months away from Tripoli. Should we succeed in taking
the city, you will find it to be a rich and prosperous place, a fine
place to live out your lives, if that is what you please.
All I ask now is you stay loyal for three months, there will be no more
hangings, and any man who wishes to leave should do so now.
A handful of men walk off.
That night I go to my brothers tent, I open the flap and he turns
towards me, he gives me a crestfallen look, the like I have not seen
since we were children, and I was the older brother he used looked up
to.
I cross towards him and give him a great hug, and slap him on the back,
Me “Come now my little brother this is still your crusade, without you we would not now be so close to our goal”
Richard “I know it is for the best that you now take charge Edward, I am no longer thinking logically”
Me “Yes I know, you have had much to contend with since we departed
Dresden. Take a rest Richard let your brother now carry the load, no
matter what happens now they will still speak of this as Prince
Richard’s crusade”
Richard “Will they?”
Me “Of course, it was your idea, and you are the one who has brought us
the greater distance, now get some rest, and try to enjoy the rest of
our journey”
Richard “Will the men still respect me?”
Me “Yes, and I think that they would be glad to be commanded by you, when the time of battle comes”
November 1308.
As Emperor Manuel said they would, the Seljuks of Rum did not oppose
our passage through their land, and we crossed into Syria as strong as
we were when we left Trebizond, numbering 1301 men.
December 1308.
Our journey through Syria has not been good, it has proved to be a long
march, and I am sore at Emperor Manuel for refusing us the shorter
route through Antioch. As a mark of this I allowed the men to loot the
last town we passed through before crossing the border into Tripoli. We
have suffered no more desertions during our passage through Syria.
January 1309.
We could not bring the Seljuks of Tripoli to battle and they retreated
to the Castle, the night before our assault I offered the command back
to Richard, but he refused, stating that he thought it better that I
kept it, as I now had the confidence of the men.
(The assault of Tripoli)
The castle at Tripoli is surrounded on two sides by cliffs, to the
front is a wooden curtain wall. We know there is a large garrison, if
we were to wait maybe two years they may starve, but our men have
marched a long way, and now it is time they had their reward, be it
from god, or of a more earthly nature.
The make up of our army is as follows.
74 royal knights.
38 hobilars.
14 mounted crossbowmen.
8 mounted sergeants.
254 order of foot.
333 chivalric sergeants.
75 spearmen.
17 militia sergeants.
56 urban militia.
217 archers.
4 arbalests.
3 crossbowmen.
208 peasants.
1301 men in total, it is estimated that the garrison numbers around 400.
The first men to attack the wooden curtain are our militia’s and
spearmen, they attack either side of the gate. The right side is
breached first and our men are confronted by 200 Saracens, in two
groups of 100 each, our men wait for the left side to break through.
There is a small valley between us and the castle, I now send the
peasants across, they are just climbing the other side of the valley,
when our men attacking the left side of the curtain break through, our
men now rush in attacking the Saracens from both sides.
A fierce battle breaks out in the courtyard, our peasants arrive to continue the fight just as our first wave breaks
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=51922
These peasants are brave men indeed, they fight to the death, and when
they do break only a handful emerge from the breach pursued by Saracens.
I have our mounted crossbowmen waiting for the Saracens, and they
torment the Saracens long enough for our light cavalry to arrive at the
front of the castle.
The Saracens have made a big mistake, and are now hit in the flanks on
two sides, it’s a massacre which ends with about a dozen of them
escaping back into the outer courtyard.
Our horsemen now try the same tactic on the Saracens in the outer
courtyard, with slightly less success, eventually they are spent.
There are now around 60 Saracens remaining, and before they have chance
to draw breath, 200 chivalric sergeants enter the right breach.
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Both sides advance and a long battle takes place in the centre of the
outer courtyard, I order the remainder of our chivalric sergeants,
across the valley and in through the other side. The battle is still
raging when they arrive, but is soon over as the Saracens are now hit
in the rear.
The outer courtyard is taken, and our men now assault the inner gate.
By the time they break through, our chivalric sergeants are down to
around two groups of 60 each, and they have been joined by 50 order of
foot.
The inner courtyard is defended by three groups of desert archers, around 60 per group and a handful of Saracens.
Of our three groups of men two attack the archers either side of the
keep, and the other attacks the Saracens in the centre. They have a
further group of archers at the back of the keep, who are now peppering
our men, and their own men with arrows.
Their archers put up a surprisingly strong defence, and defeat one of
our groups of chivalric sergeants, this enables them to also start
firing arrows into the melee.
The Saracens in the centre are finally defeated, and our central group
of men charge across to the aid of our order of foot, who are also
taking a beating from these archers from hell, but to no avail, as they
are now attacked in the rear by archers and defeated.
I now send our own archers in just over 200 of them, the last remaining defenders die in a hail of arrows, and Tripoli is ours.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=51925
We lost 930 men in this assault, the defenders all perished.
**********************************************
1310.
My brother John has taken the Castle at Barcelona in Aragon. John says
in his letter, that although the castle fortifications are formidable,
with ring wall and catapult towers, the castle was only garrisoned by a
solitary ballista crew of 8 men, and so the assault was little more
than a formality.
The small force of mercenaries, that I sent over to Algeria last year,
have succeeded in driving the Almohads back into the Castle at Algiers.
This attack was not really meant as an invasion force, but rather as a
way of drawing troops away from the main Almohad army.
In this respect the strategy has failed, as the Almohad army has
continued to march north at full strength, and has now reached Castile.
There is now a possibility that we will face an epic battle next year,
in either Navarre or Aragon.
I have managed to secure a force of 120 mercenaries, and have shipped
them into Cordoba, in a final attempt to draw of troops from the
Almohad army. This will not have a great effect on the size of the army
we will face if the attack comes, but when facing such a huge army, we
must try everything possible to reduce their numbers.
Now for the most welcome news I have to report this year, Civil war has
erupted in the Almohad empire, due in no small part to our resent
success, I think.
The rebels have taken Leon and Granada, and there is rumour that unrest is growing in Castile, Valencia, Morocco and Tunisia.
I take a particular interest in the situation in Castile, as this could be just the thing to stop the Almohad march north.
We wait in anticipation of events, it is indeed an exciting time.
**********************************************
1311.
I have much to write in the diary this year, but I will begin with news of a mighty battle that has taken place in Navarre.
(The Battle of Vitoria-Gasteiz, as told by Lord Langton, Duke of Normandy)
The anticipation of this battle has been unbearable. In normal
circumstance, when facing an attack, a man might wait a few hours, and
then watch the enemy slowly coming on. This had been entirely
different, for we had spent at least three years, keeping abreast of
the movements of the Almohad army on its trek from North Africa, not
knowing if it was heading for Navarre or Aragon.
Now the waiting was over, with all this time to prepare we had chosen
our ground well. We are defending a steep hill overlooking a flat
plain, to our right is a ridge and then another steep hill, just over
this hill, and out of sight of the Almohad attack are our
reinforcements.
As is usual we intend to use the English defence. Considering the
history of this formation, and the huge size of the army facing us,
over 6000 men, I fully expect them to break the defence at some point,
what we need to do, is ensure that they suffer maximum damage in doing
so.
From our position on the hill, we have watched the Almohads forming up
their first line of attack, our scouts have been down to take a look at
them, and have reported back that they are intending to attack with, a
couple of units of Saharan cavalry, around 500 murabitin infantry, and
over 700 militia. The term militia when applied to the Almohads is a
little misleading, these men are the equal of our feudal men at arms,
who number a mere 240, not including reinforcements.
The Almohads come on into the fire of our catapults, crossbows and
archers. It is a steep hill they have to climb, and the higher they
climbed, the more death is rained down upon them.
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Eventually I think, very well that is close enough, and send down our
men at arms, and militia. This is a crucial time when using the English
defence, if the enemy attack breaks down now, we regroup and await
their next move, if they don’t then everyman must be prepared to take
his turn on the anvil.
In the event they don’t break, and next into hell’s furnace, are the
crossbowmen, they charge down the hill to make their sacrifice, so that
our archers may have more time to loose their arrows.
Our polearms have done their job well, and the flanking light cavalry
have been stopped in their tracks, as reward for their good work, I
give them more chance to cover themselves in glory, by ordering them to
the aid of our soldiers out front on the anvil, where the hammer of our
archers, continues to do its deadly work.
I look up briefly, and see a great number of Almohad reinforcements
heading our way, there are camels amongst their number, but the
majority are murabitin infantry.
By the time these reinforcements begin to arrive the anvil has finally
been broken, and the Almohad attack has now fallen on our spearmen, our
bowmen move back a little and now find their new range.
Eventually, and through sheer weight of numbers, our spearmen are worn
down, everyone continues to fight, but there is no longer any form to
the fight, it has now become a struggle of life and death for the men
involved. Although I am loathe to leave, and keen to join the men in
battle, I decide this is a good moment to abandon this position, and
ride off to take charge of our second line of defence, on the hill out
to our right.
Our second defence will take place on a hill slightly smaller than the
first, our tactics will be similar, two units of pavise crossbowmen
will wield our hammer and, everyone else will take their turn on the
anvil.
The first battle is now over, as we can now see the Almohads forming up in our old positions.
They begin to move towards us, led by Saharan cavalry and berber
camels, with infantry bringing up the rear. In addition more light
cavalry and berbers are also heading our way off to the right, where
their reinforcements seem to be coming from.
In addition to our usual reinforcements we have with us some depleted
units, 90 feudal men at arms and 50 militia sergeants, these men are
first on the anvil, as I order them to attack the light cavalry and
camels.
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Our pavise begin their deadly work, and immediately make their mark on
the camels, felling several of these big targets in their first volley.
Our men on the anvil are holding up well, but the extra reinforcements
have now arrived and threatening to overwhelm them, so I send two units
of highlanders down, with kerns to provide support.
This proves to be a great success, the scene in front of us turns into
a massacre, and after a while the field ahead of us is clear, but this
doesn’t last long as, ghulam bodyguards, and more berbers arrive on the
right. I send in gallowglasses to attack the ghulams, and the
highlanders attack the camels, there is a brief fight and we prevail.
Our men now earn much needed rest, as we watch a new wave of attackers marching towards us in the distance.
When they arrive, they are made up of more Saharan cavalry, desert
archers, Ghazi infantry, and four more units of berber camels. I now
begin to wonder if there are any camels remaining in the desert.
The Irish and Scots are still on the anvil, and are first to feel the
force of this new army we must now repel, I let them fight until they
break before sending our men at arms down to stop the enemy advance.
All that now remains on our hill, are myself and my royal knights, 80
feudal knights, 80 mounted sergeants, and our two units of pavise
crossbows, who continue to rain down death on the enemy.
Bolts and swords take a terrible toll on the Almohads, who I now notice
have a number of peasant units involved in the fray, this is it thinks
I, they are finally running out of men if they are having to resort to
peasants.
I order the charge and we thunder down the hill, in an attempt to rout them off the field.
We hit them and panic sets in, they turn and flee, we merrily chase
them across the plain, the battle won, or at least I thought it was,
until one of my men shouts to me, and makes a gesture, I look in the
direction he is pointing and my heart sinks.
Another army appears on the horizon, I call our pavise down off the
hill, as our horses are now tired and to ride them back up, would be
thoughtless.
This new force is not the peasant army I was expecting, it is made up
of Nubian spearmen, crossbowmen, Saracens, and others to numerous to
mention, we bravely make a last stand, but eventually I realise the
situation is hopeless, and order the few men we have left to save
themselves.
Our losses numbered 2600, I estimate the Almohad losses to have been over 4000.
(Here ends Lord Langtons account)
Although the Almohads will no doubt claim this as a great victory, I
suspect that with over 4000 men lost, Khalifah Ali’s private thoughts
may be rather different.
I myself consider it to be inconclusive, we have lost an entire army
and the province of Navarre, the army can be replaced and the province
retaken. Faced with civil war and very little trade income, the
Almohads will probably have to make do with what they have.
The 250 mercenaries I sent to Algeria, have been destroyed. They did
however, take a like number of Almohads to the grave with them.
The 120 mercenaries I sent to Cordoba proved completely ineffective and were wiped out
The loss of these mercenaries is of little consequence to me, they were
sent on their missions with little hope of success, and will now no
longer be a burden to the treasury.
In addition to the loss of Leon and Granada, the Almohads have now lost
Tunisa to the rebels, who now also have the province’s of Castile and
Morocco under siege.
Aside from our war with the Almohads, there have been developments in our conflict with the Italians.
The siege of Bastia in Corsica, has been ended. The foul Italians,
infiltrated the garrison, and my cousin Edmund, hero of the Italian
campaign, was brutally slain whilst sleeping, this enabled the Italians
to take control of the castle, and with it the province.
Such a vile and cowardly act will not be forgotten, and the Italians can now expect no mercy in our future dealings with them.
We have already managed to exact some revenge on them this year, when
they launched a ship from Bulgaria into the Black sea. Before this ship
was out of sight of dry land, we unceremoniously sent it to the sea
bed, an act which earned us a warning from the Pope.
We are now at war with the Byzantines, after they attacked crusaders on
route to the holy land. The crusaders, many of their numbers peasants,
were ill prepared for this attack and lost over 600 men, to a vastly
superior force.
I am angry with the treachery of our once loyal allies the Byzantines,
and will now spend money bolstering the crusaders with mercenaries, in
order to try and force a passage. However, my main anger is reserved
for that vile being the Pope, his bias towards the Italians is now
legendary, and this we accept with a wry grin. What I do find
completely unacceptable is his continued alliance with the Byzantines,
after this attack on gods holy crusade, surely this now destroys his
credibility as gods representative on Earth.
**********************************************
1312.
We have successfully bribed the Egyptian rebels, the cost was 4172
florins. I consider this to be money well spent, as we gain Egypt, and
an army of almost 1500 men.
Ahmed al Hafiz, has been made governor of Egypt, this along with the
vast amount of money he has received, should be enough to guarantee his
loyalty.
Hafiz will now oversee our affairs in Egypt, his second in command,
Bakr Muzaffar ad Din, also now a rich man, will lead this army into
Cyrencia next year.
There has been no movement on the Spanish front this year, we will need
a little time to regain our strength, after the battle of
Vitoria-Gasteiz, last year, and the Almohads I suspect are now merely a
defensive army.
I hired a force of around 700 mercenaries out of Franconia and sent
them to Brandenburg to bolster the crusaders there, however before they
could join the crusade, the foolish HRE, believing them to be an
invasion decided to attack. Their reward for such buffoonery? Defeat
and a garrison of handful of men now under siege in Berlin castle.
**********************************************
1313.
Our army of Egyptian rebels have invaded Cyrencia, and pushed the
Almohad defenders back into the castle at Tripoli, the siege looks set
to be long and drawn out.
Had Algeria belonged to the Almohads, and not rebel, I may have been
tempted to order an assault, so that we could then move on, but as
things stand at the moment I think we shall wait.
The crusaders on route to the holy land, now bolstered by mercenaries,
have once more suffered at the hands of the Byzantine army in Poland,
and have now returned to Brandenburg once more. The Byzantine Emperor
Manuel will not however be celebrating this, as god has brought down
the ultimate punishment upon him, his son becomes Emperor John III.
Another ruler to leave the mortal world this year, was Kalman II of the Hungarians, his son becomes Laszlo III.
**********************************************
1314.
Richard Montford my emissary in northern Spain, has been involved in
negotiations with Umar al Mutamid, leader of the rebels in Leon.
Mutamid is man beneath contempt, he is well know for his brutality and
perversion. There follows an account of the meeting.
Mutamid “Greetings messenger of the great English King Henry, I trust your journey was as swift as the desert wind”
Montford “Yes my journey here was good thank you, King Henry sends his regards, and wishes you well”
Mutamid “What is it that brings you to Leon?”
Montford “I have a proposition for thee”
Mutamid “My ears are like the desert, wide open”
Montford “It is King Henry’s wish that Leon become part of the empire, it would be advantageous to you, to agree to this”
Mutamid “What might the advantages be?”
Montford “It is only a matter of time before our mighty armies banish
Khalifah Ali from Spain, and I am sure King Henry would look kindly
upon those who cooperate with us”
Mutamid “How kindly would he look upon us if we were to agree to this?”
Montford “He would be very pleased with thee, I am sure you would find it agreeable to be one of King Henry’s favoured subjects”
Mutamid “How agreeable might I find this arrangement?”
Montford “Very agreeable”
Mutamid “I think you are missing the gist of what I say. Let me phrase
it a different way. Might I find that the arrangement would have
certain benefits, for instance some men might find being wealthy quite
agreeable”
Montford “Would you, yourself, be such a man”
Mutamid “I am a poor son of the desert, and as such, I am unsure as to whether such things would be agreeable”
Montford “King Henry has authorised me to offer you 2000 florins”
Mutamid “If you have grown fond of wearing those fine ears on the side of your head, you will tell me the true figure”
(Mutamid draws a dagger, and begins to clean his fingernails with it, the implication is obvious)
Montford “Er very well, the figure was 3000 florins”
Mutamid “Come now Englishman, ears are not the only thing that may be removed with a sharp dagger”
Montford “The true figure is 3500 florins, this I swear to thee is the truth”
Mutamid “That is better my friend, you may tell King Henry, that Leon
is his for 3656 florins, and the title of governor of Tunisia”
Montford “We do not control Tunisia”
Mutamid “I am a patient man”
Montford “King Henry will expect you to fight for him in return for such reward”
Mutamid “But of course”
Montford “May I ask thee, why the figure of 3656, tis a strange figure to ask”
Mutamid “It is the number of men I have killed, now be gone with thee Englishman, before the amount I ask for becomes 3657.
(Here ends the account)
Richard Montford is a brave man indeed, the actual figure was far in
excess of 3656. Mutamid is obviously a vile and manipulative creature,
but such men do have their uses.
Laszlo III has been tragically killed whilst hunting. Apparently the
bough of a tree, parted him from the company of his horse, he fell
heavily and did not recover.
Although this is sad, and I have no axe to grind with the Hungarians,
this turn of events has proved to be rather fortuitous for us.
On becoming King, Laszlo’s brother Andras, immediately decided to
invade Byzantine held Poland, and the Hungarians now lay siege to the
castle at Krakow.
This removes the threat of attack on Brandenburg, by the Byzantines.
We have now started to equip our armies on the Almohad border with
trebuchets, and new units of men at arms will now be of the chivalric
type.
As is now customary these men at arms will be slowly phased in through our eastern front.
**********************************************
1315.
This past winter has not been kind to me, my weary bones have given me
much pain and I seem to be susceptible to all manner of ailments.
My sorry state comes as no great surprise, for I am after all an old
man of 68, and have been fortunate to have been in good health for most
of my years.
Although my body may be failing me, my mind is still as sharp as ever,
and I will continue to lead England until I draw breath no more.
When god decides my time has come to leave the mortal world, I will
accept it with good grace, my reign has been long and glorious, and I
have enjoyed my life as King.
I will go in the knowledge that England is in safe hands, my son
William has had a long time to learn the ways of Kingship, and knows
the workings of our Kingdom better than any man, with the exception my
good self.
I have only one piece of news that is worthy of the diary this year.
Khalifah Ali has declared a jihad against us, although this jihad is a
thing not to be taken lightly, I myself believe it to be the action of
a desperate ruler, in fear of losing his Kingdom.
**********************************************
1316.
My old adversary Giovanni IV of Italy is dead, the relentless march of
time has beaten him, just as I am sure it will defeat me in the not too
distant future.
My health has declined more this year, I have difficulty walking, and become breathless after very little exertion,
I am also finding that I am a little absent minded at times, my son
William is mindful of this, and is very patient when he once more
reminds me of something which may have slipped my mind.
Although it has taken me much effort, I have compiled a list of the men
who wield influence within the Kingdom, the list includes my thoughts
on their characters, and any doubts I have about their loyalty.
I have given this list to William, he seemed keen to read it, and
commented that it would prove invaluable to him when he is King, after
which he seemed a little embarrassed, as this was a comment connected
to my death. I reassured him, and said it was for the greater good of
England, that he should be thinking upon such things.
One thing I am determined to live to see, is our renewed attack on
Navarre, which will take place early next year. If the attack goes
well, I think it may prove to be, the beginning of the end for the
Almohad empire.
**********************************************
1317.
(The Battle of Pamplona, in Navarre. As told by Lord Langton Duke of Normandy)
The last time I faced the Almohads on the field of battle, was also in
Navarre at Vitoria Gasteiz. That day we faced overwhelming odds, and we
were defeated.
Since that day I have been at loggerheads with myself, constantly
reproaching myself for bringing the men down off the hill, when I
thought the battle was won, only to be faced by another massive wave of
Almohads.
Although the initial reaction to my performance that day was
favourable, as time went by doubts have been voiced, about whether the
battle might have been won had we stayed on the hill.
So today is a day, I have awaited with some anticipation, it is my
opportunity to set the record straight. The odds are just in our favour
this time, our army numbers around 3000, the Almohads number around
2800.
The battlefield is a valley, we occupy one hillside the enemy the
other, the bulk of their army are hidden from view, in a small wooded
area on top of the hillside.
It is a fine sunny day, and I have a good feeling about this place.
They have a unit of desert archers, in a forward position down in the
valley, and within range of the position where I want to deploy our
lines.
I send down 2 units of highlanders, and 1 of feudal men at arms, to
attack them. As our men draw close to them they retreat at pace, as
they do so our men come under fire from catapults, that are deployed to
the right of the wooded hillside.
I send orders up to our men to continue across the valley, and attack the catapults.
The catapults are guarded by two units of ghazi infantry. One of our
highlander unit’s attacks the catapults whilst the other unit of
highlanders, and the men at arms attack the ghazi’s.
The fight goes our way, our men have destroyed the catapults, and the
ghazi’s are almost finished. Then seeing that their position is now
being threatened, the Almohads counter attack with a large force of
Nubian spearmen and murabitin infantry. The fight continues, until our
men are eventually put to flight.
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During the time it takes for this fight to be resolved, I have
organised our men into the English defence formation atop the hillside,
with the melee now over the enemy retreat back into the woods.
Both the Almohads and ourselves are now bringing up reinforcements from
the rear. During this lull in the battle, I decide to move our lines
forward down into the valley, and directly facing the woods where the
enemy are deployed. Halfway through our movement down into the valley,
a unit of Almohad urban militia appear from the woods, and attack down
the hill threatening our front ranks of crossbows, I send the
gallowglass reinforcements who have just arrived, down to counter this,
they put up a brave fight but eventually I have to send feudal men at
arms in to drive the militia’s off.
Our men have just finished deploying in their new positions, when the
enemy attack, we pin them with men at arms, whilst they feel the full
force of our crossbows and archers.
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Four more times they attack in this manner, and each time they are
beaten back, on the forth attempt I allow our men to chase them up to
the wooded area, this brings the rest of the Almohad army out into the
open.
I fully expect our men to be driven off, and hope this will bring
another wave of Almohads onto our bows, but our men do surprisingly
well and seem to be getting the better of the enemy.
I decide to push this advantage and send our last remaining unit of men
at arms, and 2 units of militia sergeants up into the fray.
The Almohads are slowly pushed back into the forest, and from our
position looking up towards the forest the battle disappears from view,
for a long time all we are able to see is Almohad reinforcements
disappearing into the forest. Then after what seems like an eternity,
we see our men chasing the enemy out of the far side of the forest, I
order the cavalry up the hill to finish the routing Almohad army.
Our losses numbered 947, the enemy losses numbered over 2100.
(Here ends Lord Langtons account)
(Footnote, written by Prince William)
My father died shortly after I read Langtons account of the victory to
him, his health had rapidly deteriorated during the early part of the
year, and I suspect he had been holding death at bay until news of the
outcome came through.
He knew death was close, and had told me this, his last words to me
were “Love England as I have done my son, she is a demanding mistress,
but will give thee greater reward than any other”
No epitaph I could write here would do my father justice, the empire he
has forged will be his epitaph, and no doubt others who write of his
achievements, will now dub him Henry the Great, a title fully deserving
of a great leader.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 4:13 pm
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Dave P
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Posts: 683
(3/23/04 2:48 pm)
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The Doomsday Book of 1317.
BUILDINGS/IMPROVEMENTS.
Wessex.(Lord Fitzgilbert. Chamberlain. Loyalty 9, Piety 4, Dread 7, Command 6, Acumen 9)
Citadel, Armourers guild, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Master
merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, Chancellery, Constable’s
palace, Admiralty, 80% farmland, Master horse breeder, Royal estate,
Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Mercia.(Lord Curthose. L9, P5, D3, C1, A4)
Citadel, Armourers workshop, Swordsmith, Spearmakers guild, Town guard,
Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Northumbria.(Lord de Vere. L9, P6, D3, C0, A4)
Castle, Bowyers guild, Armourers workshop, Gunsmiths workshop, Town
guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry, Copper mine complex.
Normandy.(Lord Langton. Constable. L9, P1, D3, C6, A7)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers
guild, Town watch, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Wales.(Lord Longchamp. L9, P4, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Bowyers guild, Armourers workshop, Gunsmiths workshop, Town
guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry, Copper mine complex.
Scotland.(Lord Mercadier. L9, P3, D9, C5, A5)
Castle, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts. Port,
Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Ireland.(Lord Marshall. L9, P5, D4, C6, A7)
Castle, Armourers workshop, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town
guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Norway.(Lord Stanley. L9, P5, D3, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Bowyers guild, Armourers
workshop, Gunsmiths workshop, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern,
80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Sweden.(Lord Gascoign. L9, P7, D4, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Armourers workshop, Swordsmiths
workshop, Spearmaker, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 80% farmland,
Church, Border forts, Port, Copper mine complex.
Denmark.(Lord Plantagenet, Chancellor. L9, P0, D6, C6, A6)
Castle, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege engineers guild, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Flanders.(Lord Becket. L9, P0, D5, C1, A4)
Castle, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers guild, Town guard, Merchants
guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Port, Dockyard.
Saxony.(Lord Plantagenet. L7, P0, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege engineers guild, Town guard, Merchants
guild, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Chapter house, Border forts, Port,
Bell foundry, Salt mine complex.
Friesland.(Lord Stuart. L7, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, tavern, 80% farmland, Church, border forts, Port.
Lorraine.(Lord Berkeley L9, P2, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town watch, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Franconia.(Lord Uhtred L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Armourer, Swordsmiths workshop, Spearmaker, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Champagne.(Lord Hastings L6, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Ille de France.(Lord Plantagenet. Warden. L9, P1, D4, C6, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Anjou.(Lord Grey L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Burgundy.(Lord Stafford L3, P5, D2, C0, A4)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Swabia.(Lord de Vere L5, P1, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Inn, 20% farmland, Border forts, Salt mine complex.
Genoa.(Lord Langton L8, P6, D0, C0, A5)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Tuscany.(Lord Holland L9, P5, D2, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Brittany.(Lord Basset L9, P4, D1, C0, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Provence.(Lord Longchamp L6, P3, D2, C0, A4)
Fort motte & bailey, Inn, 60% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Aquitane.(Lord Curthose L9, P8, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Trading post, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Toulouse.(Lord Bourchier L9, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Trading post, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine.
Aragon.(Lord Plantagenet L7, P0, D4, C5, A6)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Tripoli.(Lord Howard L8, P9, D1, C0, A3)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Trading post, 40% farmland, Border forts.
Egypt.(Ahmad al Hafiz L3, P0, D2, C2, A5)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Cyrencia.(Under siege)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Bowyers guild, Armourers
workshop, Sworsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Siege engineers guild, Town
guard, 40% farmland, Master horse breeder, Royal court, Watch towers,
Port, Shipwright.
Leon.(Lord Talbot L9, P9, D2, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Merchant, 60% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Brandenburg.(None)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, Border forts.
Navarre.(Under siege)
Castle, Spearmakers workshop, Siege engineers workshop, Town watch, 20% farmland, Horse breeder, Watch towers.
MILITARY.
Wessex.
107 Royal knights
Mercia.
20 Royal knights.
Northumbria.
20 Royal knights.
Normandy.
20 Royal knights.
Wales.
20 Royal knights.
Scotland.
20 Royal knights.
Ireland.
20 Royal knights
Norway.
20 Royal knights.
Sweden.
20 Royal knights
Denmark
20 Royal knights.
Flanders.
20 Royal knights.
Saxony.
40 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Chivalric men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Chivalric sergeants.
240 Arbalests.
360 Longbowmen.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Friesland.
20 Royal knights.
Lorraine.
20 Royal knights.
Franconia.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Chivalric sergeants.
240 Arbalests.
360 Longbowmen.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Champagne.
20 Royal knights.
Ille de France.
20 Royal knights.
Anjou.
20 Royal knights.
Burgundy.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Arbalests.
120 Longbowmen.
240 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Swabia.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Arbalests.
360 Longbowmen.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Genoa.
20 Royal knights.
Tuscany.
20 Royal knights.
Brittany.
20 Royal knights.
Provence.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Aquitane.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants.
120 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
3 Catapult crews.
240 Pavise crossbowmen.
Toulouse.
20 Royal knights.
Aragon.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
240 Pavise crossbowmen.
1 Trebuchet crew.
Tripoli.
61 Royal knights.
195 Order of foot soldiers.
49 Chivalric sergeants.
54 Archers.
22 Spearmen.
85 Peasants.
Egypt.
20 Royal knights.
Cyrencia.
20 Ghulam bodyguard.
479 Saracen infantry.
184 Desert archers.
42 Abyssinian guard.
267 Peasants.
120 Almohad urban militia.
1 Balista crew.
Leon.
20 Royal knights.
Brandenburg.
502 Crusader army waiting to depart for the holy land
Navarre.
17 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
585 Feudal men at arms.
120 Billmen.
171 Militia sergeants.
665 Feudal sergeants.
317 Crossbowmen.
418 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
240 Pavise crossbowmen.
1 Trebuchet crew.
NAVAL.
8 Barques.
28 Caravels.
AGENTS.
3 Emissaries.
4 Assassins.
36 Spies.
1 Grand inquisitor
17 Inquisitors.
32 Bishops.
TREASURY.
Province income.
Wessex. 1286
Mercia. 709
Northumbria. 770
Normandy. 688
Wales. 443
Scotland. 305
Ireland. 596
Norway. 394
Sweden. 1216
Denmark. 771
Flanders. 1749
Saxony. 613
Friesland. 421
Lorraine. 620
Franconia. 475
Champagne. 447
Ille de France. 686
Anjou. 499
Burgundy. 486
Swabia. 359
Genoa. 481
Tuscany. 659
Brittany. 340
Province. 551
Aquitane. 575
Toulouse. 549
Aragon. 729
Tripoli. 846
Egypt. 691
Cyrencia. 0
Leon. 581
Brandenburg. 124
Navarre. 0
Tot income 19,659
Tot in Treasury 75,999
Map of 1317.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=53483
Edited by: Dave P at: 3/23/04 4:14 pm
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Dave P
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Posts: 684
(3/23/04 2:52 pm)
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Chapter 7.
The Diary of King William III 1317-1329
1317.
At 47 years I am late coming to the throne, and one might expect me to
be in a great hurry to achieve great things, but this is not the case.
Father involved me in much of the planning of our military campaigns,
and this has left me with a sense of fulfilment. What I now achieve in
my own right as King, will just add to this fulfilment.
My position as King is a strong one in all respects except one, and
this I will come to presently. We are a wealthy Kingdom, our armies are
strong, the Kingdom is expanding, and I secured the succession 10 years
ago, when my son Stephen was born. He is my only son, but he is strong
and healthy, and barring accidents should see his way through to
adulthood. There may even be another son next year, as the queen is
with child at present, this came as something of a surprise, as the
queen is 42 years old, and has not been with child since the birth of
our youngest daughter 6 years ago.
My first two decisions as King were to reward two of England’s most
loyal servants, My uncle Prince John, one of our finest generals, will
now become Duke of Aragon, and Richard Roos leader of the inquisition
will now have the title of Grand inquisitor.
Now I must speak of men, who’s loyalty, is to say the least questionable.
Lord Stafford Duke of Burgundy, had been in Ireland looking after
things, whilst Lord Marshall of Ireland is away with our army in
Burgundy. My doubts about Stafford’s loyalty, have forced me to call
him to London, so that I may keep a closer eye on him.
Lord Uhtred of Franconia, has gone to take charge in Ireland for the time being.
Two men who are of particular concern to me are Umar al Mutamid, the
man who was promised the title governor of Tunisia, and Ahmad al Hafiz
governor of Egypt, I have sent both these men to Cyrencia, as I believe
it best to keep all the vipers in one basket.
Four men who I am sure were plotting against me are Sir Charles
Langton, Sir John Basset, Sir Robert Talbot, and Sir Henry Giffard, all
royal knights, all found guilty of treason, and all hanged on Tower
hill. Their heads now decorate the tower gate.
Now to news abroad. Berlin castle in Brandenburg is now in our hands,
the small garrison sallied forth in a suicidal attempt to lift the
siege, and were cut down.
Emperor Friedrich of the HRE, has died of old age, he was 66. The new
Emperor is named Otto V, I think we may make an attempt for a
reconciliation with the HRE, as I have no immediate plans for expansion
in that direction.
Late in the year I received the good news, that Andras of Hungary had
agreed to our request for an alliance. This is good news, as the
Hungarians are currently occupying the neighbouring province of Poland.
**********************************************
1318.
My Queen, Helena, has died during child birth, the child, a daughter
survived. This is a great source of sadness to me, as I was hoping for
another son.
I have no immediate plans to remarry at present, I see no need for
this, as I have my son Stephen to succeed me, and a number of discrete
arrangements in place for the other services a wife might provide.
The executioner has been busy this year, though not as busy as I would
have preferred him to be, Sir Roger Longchamps, Sir John Grey, and Sir
Tostig Cromwell, have all kept their appointments with the axe.
However, Sir John Fitzneal was found not guilty of treason by the
Lords, I have now instructed my chief spy Edgar Plantagenet, to take a
closer look at Fitzneal’s affairs.
I have received word from Tripoli, it is in the form of a letter
written by Sir Alfred Pole, a knight in the service of my uncle Edward.
To my Lord and master King William III.
Sire, we are now under siege in the Castle at Tripoli, I have paid a
man a large sum of money to take this letter to one of our captains,
when he next made port at Tripoli. The letter was accompanied by a note
addressed to the captain, instructing him to pay the man more money on
receiving the letter, and deliver it to yourself when he returned to
England.
The story I have to tell, starts with the Byzantine invasion Tripoli.
The news was of an invasion force of well over 3000 men, moving south
from Antioch.
After discussing the situation with his brother Edward, Richard called the men together and made a speech, as follows.
“Men, each one of you has a choice to make this day. As I speak, a
large Byzantine invasion force, numbering over 3000 men, is marching
towards us. The choice before you is twofold, do you march north with
me to certain death and glory, or do you stay here and starve to death
in the castle.
I give a promise to each and every man here, that whatever your choice is, it will be respected.
During our time together on crusade, and here in Tripoli, I have come
to think on you all as my brothers. I am proud to have fought along
side some of the bravest men it has ever been my privilege to meet, and
I will be honoured to lay down my life in such esteemed company, when
we meet the Byzantines.
Those amongst you who choose to march with me, be ready to leave at
noon, and may gods grace go with you, whatever your choice be.”
There where 463 of us garrisoning the castle at Tripoli, and there were
463 of us who marched north from Tripoli at noon that day. We were in
good spirits at the start of the march, we all had a feeling of
destiny, and a higher purpose. However, as the march progressed, one by
one each man became lost in his own thoughts.
It was towards the end of the third day, that our scouts returned with
news of the Byzantine army. The news was mixed, the bad news was, the
first report had been correct, and they did indeed number well over
3000 men, the good news was, that the vast majority of their army were
peasants, the only other type of soldier the scouts had seen were
Nubian spearmen, and Desert archers, but they were few in numbers.
Our own army is made up of 61 royal knights, 195 order of foot, 43
chivalric sergeants, 22 spearmen, 54 archers, and 85 peasants.
Richard ordered that we make camp for the night.
Later that night, Richard passed amongst the men, he stopped and talked
to small groups of men, he could be seen laughing and joking with them,
and sometimes praying with them, by morning there was not a man amongst
us, who had not received a word from our leader.
In the morning I witnessed an argument between Richard and Edward,
Richard wanted Edward to ride back to Tripoli and hold the castle,
Edward wanted to stay and fight. They finally agreed that Edward, and
his men, of which I myself am one, would hold back when our attack went
in. Edward was to keep a close eye on the situation, and would attack
only if there was a clear retreat open to him, so that he, and some of
his men could eventually ride back to hold the castle.
We set off as soon as it was light, our hope was to catch them
unprepared, and attack. Richard had reasoned that because of the huge
size of their army, an attack would be the last thing they would be
expecting.
Richard’s reasoning was inspired, as we marched over the small rise,
the Byzantine Army came into view, they were formed into a square, and
preparing to march.
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Richard gave the order to attack, the men hesitated, Sir Henry
Plantagenet seeing this spurred his horse forward, and alone charged
towards the mass of Byzantines. Inspired by such a show of heroics the
rest of our army followed. The order of foot attacked the middle of the
front rank, the peasants the left, the chivalric sergeants, and
spearmen the right. Our archers gave support.
Richard and his men rode out to the right, and attacked the right flank, whilst Sir Howard Howard did the same on the left.
The Byzantines were caught by surprise, and there was much panic at
first. eventually they managed to regain some kind of composure, but by
this time our men had killed many.
I had a spectacular view of the battle, from atop the small rise. I
glanced sideways at Edward who was at my side, his stare was firmly
fixed on his brother Richard, who could be clearly seen hacking his way
through the right flank.
I looked back towards the battle, just in time to see brave Sir Henry’s
horse killed from beneath him, I know not if he continued to fight, or
was killed at that moment.
Our men were holding the line, but their numbers were now thinning, as
the Byzantines continued to pour men in, to replace their dead.
Our knights had now fought their way in from the flanks, and were very
close to the Byzantine general, who was commanding his army from the
centre of their ranks, when Sir Howard was finally cut down. Over to
the right Richard was now fighting all alone in a sea of men, for what
seemed like a long time he bravely fought on against the odds, but was
eventually overwhelmed.
Edward now turned to me, a tear in his eye and said “Alfred I know this
is hard for thee, but I must ask thee to do what my brother asked of
me, and ride back to Tripoli to take charge of the defence” I had no
argument, how could I? here was a man who had just watched his brother
bravely fight to death, and wished to join him.
Edward dropped his visor and waved the rest of our men forward. I
watched until Edward himself was also killed. Then turned my horse and
headed back towards Tripoli.
Back at the castle, our men returned a few at a time, by the time the
Byzantines arrived to lay siege our garrison numbered 46. We had lost
417 men in the battle including our bravest and best, the men who had
led our crusade from Saxony. I estimate the Byzantine losses were well
over 1000.
I am truly sad that it falls to me, to bring thee such sad news in a
letter. Your uncle’s Richard and Edward were the two finest men I ever
met.
Your loyal servant Alfred Pole.
I have not seen Richard or Edward for many years, but I am saddened at
this news, as I hold fond memories of them, and can still remember back
to when I was a child and they were both young and dashing knights.
We have resolved two sieges this year. The castles at Pamplona in
Navarre, and Tripoli in Cyrencia have both fallen. However, the castle
in Leon is now itself subject to siege by the Almohads. Who have now
also, begun to build ships once more. Our fleet off the coast of
Valencia, was taken by surprise and we lost a number of ships. We must
be more vigilant in future.
There has been a loyalist uprising in Poland, in support of the
Byzantines. The Hungarians were defeated, and King Andras was captured
and executed. His death signals the ends of the Hungarian empire, and
sees us without an ally once more.
As if by some ironic turn of fate, Emperor John of the Byzantines, was
himself captured and executed by the Mongols two months later,
unfortunately the Byzantine empire survives his death, under the new
leadership of Emperor Nicephorus V.
One other leader has passed on this year. The Egyptian Sultan Ali, makes way for his son, Muhammid I.
**********************************************
1319.
My chief spy Edgar Plantagenet, has discovered damning evidence of the
treason of Sir John Fitzneal, who you may remember escaped the
executioners axe last year. This time the evidence was so great, that
the lords had no other option, than to find him guilty.
Edgar’s digging also uncovered another two traitors. Sir John Peckham,
who accompanied Fitzneal to the block, and Fitzneal’s brother Alfred,
who the lords found not guilty. Edgar will now continue to investigate
this man.
My eldest daughter Edith has now come of age, although I would have
liked to have used Edith as collateral, to secure an alliance with one
of our neighbours. I do have a number of governors, who’s increased
loyalty might be bought, with marriage to a royal princess. I will put
the decision off until next year, as Edith is a delightful girl, who
makes much fuss about her father, something that I enjoy greatly.
The siege’s of Leon and Tripoli, have now both ended, with the
withdrawal of the Almohads and the Byzantines from their respective
province’s.
Our move against rebel held Tunisa has been a great success. The army
that completed this task, has within it, a number of men who find
themselves fighting with us, because they are enemies of the Almohads.
They hold no loyalty for me or England, but are motivated by greed and
self interest.
Their leader was Umar al Mutamid the man who sold us the province of
Leon. I say was because he has now been given the reward promised him
by my father, and been made governor of Tunisa. He has now chosen to
relinquish his command and concentrate on his new responsibilities,
namely that of filling his pockets at my expense.
I do not trust Mutamid to stay loyal, and it would not surprise me, if
he were to now declare Tunisa independent from us. To this end I have
decided to remove some of his power by splitting his army, and sending
half to Algeria, and half to Tripoli.
I must admit I was slow to see the threat last year, when the Almohad
fleet was encountered off Valencia, and we now find ourselves with a
blockade to deal with in the straits of Gibraltar. I have made the
removal of this blockade a priority for our navy, as our profits have
now turned into losses.
Next year will see the renewal of our offensive against the Almohads in
Spain, when Langton Duke of Normandy moves against Castile.
The Mongol Khan, Mongke II has died. His son becomes Ogadai VIII.
**********************************************
1320.
Another two men have been found guilty of treason this year. They are,
or should that be were, Sir Henry Mortimer, and Sir Michael Mowbray.
Both were beheaded.
The executioner John Smith, who is a giant of a man, at least seven
feet tall. Had been drinking heavily the night before and made a total
mess of things.
First to the block was Mortimer. Smith slipped when he was bringing the
axe down, and took the top of Mortimer’s head off, this did not kill
him outright, and Mortimer’s legs were kicking and his arms thrashing
about, when Smith brought the axe down a second time, this time only
cutting one side of the neck. The head now fell forward, dangling on
the neck sinews, and hanging upside down looking out towards the crowd,
the eyes wide open.
The crowed gasped, and a woman at the front threw up. Smith brought the
axe down again this time the head came off, and dropped in the basket.
Mowbray had watched all this happen, his face was as white as a ghost,
and he had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the block. It took
four men to hold him down.
Smith was now mopping his brow, and looked nervous after his appalling
first performance, after composing himself he took up the axe, and with
a mighty swing brought it down. Mowbray was struggling so much he
managed to get his head off the block, and in its place, was now the
hand of one of the guards, who were holding him down. The axe came
down, the hand disappeared into the basket, and the guard fainted in a
heap at the side of the block.
The guards found some rope, and tied Mowbray’s hands, and legs behind
his back, and placed him back on the block. The axe came down again,
and this time Smith got it perfect the head came off with such force
that it missed the basket, rolled along the platform and off the edge.
The crowed gave a mighty roar of appreciation.
It seems to me that the more gory the spectacle, the more happy the
common folk are. We must provide them with more of this type of
entertainment.
Lord Longchamps Duke of Provence is a fortunate man. For were he not so
clever at making money for me, he might also have had the misfortune to
meet John Smith.
You see, I have information about the Duke, which throws doubt upon his
loyalty, however, as he is a useful governor, I intend to improve his
loyalty by giving my daughter Edith to him in marriage.
The last few remaining militia sergeants in our armies, have now been replaced by the far more effective billmen.
Now for things abroad, first our war with the Almohads.
Bakr Muzaffar al Din, is one of Umar al Mutamid’s lieutenants, and a
just as disloyal and untrustworthy as his master. However these Muslims
who choose to join our army are very good soldiers, and so we put up
with their vices.
Earlier in the year, al Din moved into Algeria with 200 Saracen
infantry, the Almohads obviously had no wish to make the acquaintance
of these ruffians, and promptly withdrew to the castle at Algiers.
We have suffered a few minor set backs, in our conflict with the
Almohads. Losing two sea battles, one off the coast of Spain, and
another in the straits of Gibraltar. Also the Almohads have invaded
Leon, forcing Lord Talbot to seek sanctuary in the castle there.
We will have revenge next year however, when the Duke of Aragon moves on Valencia.
Another one of Mutamids dogs, has secured us an outstanding victory in
Tripoli. Abdul abu Badis and his force of less than 200 men, made up of
Saracens and Almohad urban militia, repelled a Byzantine invasion of
more than 1400. They killed 690, took 99 prisoners and chased the rest
of the army off the field, for the loss of just 55 men.
Granted the Byzantine force were peasants, Nubian spearmen and desert archers, but nevertheless it is quite an achievement.
I have a plan to gather together some of our Muslim friends for an
attack on Antioch next year, judging by the poor quality of the
Byzantine army I will not need to find many.
This will not worry the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus V though. As the
Mongols captured him, and solved all his problems with one swift blow
of a sword.
Romanus VI is the new Emperor.
**********************************************
1321.
The Almohads have attempted to lift the siege of Toledo castle in Castile.
Our army in Castile is led by Langton Duke of Normandy, it is the
standard English army, at full strength, and deployed straddling a
hill, in the by now familiar English defence formation.
The Almohads, led by Khalifah Ali himself, bring around 1200 men to the field.
They are a rag tag bunch made up of every different kind of soldier you care to mention.
Langtons description of Ali’s strategy is somewhat mocking. He tells
how Ali tried one flanking move with some camels, which was quickly put
to flight by billmen, and then a suicidal frontal attack, led by Ali
himself, into the hail of 3 catapults, 240 crossbowmen, and 360 archers.
They suffered many casualties on the way up the hill and then were
pinned by our feudal men at arms and billmen. Ali himself was killed,
and the army turned and ran.
Langton did not give pursuit, and instead formed his men back into their original positions.
What now followed could only be described as target practice, as one by
one the Almohad reinforcements made their way up the hill, only to flee
in terror as they came within range of our catapults and bowmen. By the
time the last Almohads were put to flight, our catapults had no more
rocks to throw and many of our archers had no more arrows left.
Our losses numbered 321, the Almohad dead numbered almost 900, around 100 prisoners were taken and later ransomed back.
Ali’s son Abdullah, takes over control of the dying Almohad empire.
Another nail in the Almohad coffin, comes in the shape of The Duke of
Aragon’s, successful invasion of Valencia, The castle there is now
under siege.
All this misfortune we have visited on the Almohads this year, has
prompted Granada and Leon to declare independence. I am not sure just
who the rebels in Leon are rebelling against, as we still control the
castle there.
It has however, not all been bad news for the new Khalifah. Honours
have been even at sea, they sunk our ships off the coast of Spain, and
we sank theirs in the straits of Gibraltar.
There has been a loyalist uprising in their favour in Tunisia, and our
friend Mutamid is now trapped in the castle at Tunis. Should he fall
into enemy hands, I do not envy him the traitors death that would most
certainly await him.
We have withdrawn from Algeria. The men there under the command of Bakr
Muzaffar al Din, were shipped to Antioch, to join forces with Abdul abu
Badis, and his band of ruffians.
Once assembled they marched on Antioch castle, but found their way
barred by another one of the Byzantines large peasant armies. What
followed was a massacre, almost 1000 Byzantine peasants put to the
sword, for the loss of just under 200 men.
**********************************************
1322.
After last years festival of gore at Tyburn, when John Smith
unwittingly provided the crowd with great entertainment. I have decided
that the punishment for treason will now be, to be hung drawn and
quartered.
The first person to have the dubious honour of trying out the new
sentence, was to have been Sir Henry Burnell, who was found guilty of
imagining the Kings death.
Burnell had speculated in conversation with some friends, what England
might be like, if I and my son Stephen were to die. Unfortunately for
Burnell, one of his friends, was also a good friend, of my good friend
Edgar Plantagenet.
The execution was much anticipated, a huge crowd had gathered, and
there was a carnival atmosphere. Unfortunately when Smith hoisted
Burnell up for the hanging, he was so enthusiastic he broke Burnells
neck, killing him outright, and denying the crowd their entertainment.
The mood turned ugly, and the crowd advanced on Smith, who picked up
the axe and started swinging it wildly, the crowd backed off, and Smith
made a quick exit.
I have decided to look for a new executioner.
Each time we lift a hand against our enemies the Italians, the Pope
threatens us with the wrath of God. I have now turned that wrath
against the Italians, by sending grand inquisitor Roos, and a number of
his men to Corsica and Sardinia.
The Byzantines have finally grown tired of having their peasant armies
slaughtered, and sent a proper army to Antioch to lift the siege.
Bakr Muzaffar al Din, and his men must have been taken by surprise,
when the large Byzantine army turned out to be Saracen infantry, and
not the peasants and spearmen they are used to fighting.
The majority of our 400 men, and Din himself were killed in the battle.
We have now taken the castle at Valencia, there follows an account of
the assault, in the words of Lord Plantagenet Duke of Aragon.
(The assault of Valencia castle)
The mere sight of Valencia castle is enough to turn a man away.
Situated on top of a huge hill, from every viewpoint its walls and
towers form a silhouette against the background of the sky. To sum this
place up in one word, intimidating.
We have a large amount of men with which to assault this place, but
only three catapults, as the trebuchet we were expecting has not
arrived.
I order the catapults to set up on some high ground just within range
of the walls. This high ground is the best we can find, but even so our
catapults are still looking up at the castle.
As the catapults are wheeled into position, and begin to fire, they
themselves come under fire from the castle towers. At first the fire is
inaccurate, but it does not take long for the enemy to find their
range, and our crews begin to suffer casualties.
I order two units of pavise crossbows forward to try and draw their
fire. As the pavise get halfway up the hill the outer wall collapses,
they continue up the hill, and form up so that they can fire through
the breach.
Our catapults now concentrate on the larger inner wall. It takes a long
time, but eventually the wall comes down. Our leading group of pavise
now move inside, whilst our second, group move up into the first groups
vacant position, just outside the breach.
As our leading pavise find position in the outer courtyard, they are
attacked by muwahid foot soldiers, and a fight breaks out. Our
catapults, and second group of pavise fire into the melee killing men
indiscriminately on both sides.
Finally the muwahids prevail and chase our men back towards the breach.
As they pass close to an outer wall, the wall is hit by catapult fire
and collapses onto the men being chased and their pursuers. The
muwahids retreat back into the outer courtyard.
Our second group of pavise now move inside to try and finish the
muwahids off. I wait a while and then decide to send a unit of
gallowglasses, and a unit of highlanders, up to join the assault.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=55195
As our new men arrive at the breach, the pavise, who have been hampered
by smoke from a burning building, are just finishing the last of the
muwahids. This done the outer courtyard is now clear.
All that now remains are two units of Almohad urban militia numbering
60 each, in the inner courtyard, and on the opposite side of the keep.
Our gallowglasses move around the right side of the keep, our
highlanders around the left, each taking on a group of militia.
Our pavise move into the inner courtyard as a reserve.
Our highlanders break first followed by the gallowglasses, and then the
pavise, but by this time the damage is already done, and the militia
number only 40 in total. I order a unit of feudal men at arms forward
to finish the job, they are given instructions to spare no one, and
this they do, but at some cost, as when they next appear at the breach,
waving us to come up, there are just 25 of them remaining.
We lost 546 men in this assault, more than double the 236 enemy dead we counted.
(Here ends Lord Plantagenets account)
The castle at Toledo in Castile has also fallen, the garrison surrendered when their supply of food ran out.
**********************************************
1323.
We now have a new executioner. His name is Albert Despenser, and he was
the executioner at York, where his work was much admired.
I was eager to see just how good this fellow was, a hasty trial was
arranged, Sir Charles Howard found guilty of treason, and sentenced to
be hung drawn and quartered.
The execution was to take place on tower hill, as this is a shorter
journey for me to make than the one to Tyburn. It is also a shorter
journey for Charles Howard, though I suspect he may have preferred a
longer one.
I take my seat on a platform, overlooking another platform where the
execution will take place. After a short while there is a commotion
amongst the crowd, it is Howard arriving, his hands and legs are bound,
and he is kneeling on a hurdle which is being drawn by a horse. The
people are pelting him with all manner of rotting vegetables, and worse.
He arrives at the place and is dragged from the hurdle, and up the
steps to the gallows. Despenser cuts his feet loose, so that he can
stand, and places the noose around his neck. Two men tentatively hoist
him up, so as not to break his neck.
Despenser makes his way over to me, and tells me that Howard has a
thick neck, and will be able to hang for quite a while, I am impressed
by Despenser knowledge of killing, and send a man to bring us some ale
from a nearby tavern.
After we have taken our refreshments, Despenser gives the two men the
signal to let Howard down, he hits the platform in a heap, and buckets
of water are thrown over him to awaken his senses.
The men now place him lying face up on a trestle, tie his hands and
legs down, and cut all his clothing off, so that he is now naked.
Despenser now takes a torch, and with a flourish of showmanship lights
the brazier next to the trestle. Next he takes up a huge butchers
knife, and with another flourish off comes Howards privy member, it is
cast on the brazier, Howard screams in agony, the crowd roar their
encouragement.
Next with an upward thrust, Despenser rips open Howards belly, he
thrashes about violently, before passing out. Despenser hands are now
in the open wound he pulls them out and holds up Howards intestines,
before they too are cast onto the brazier.
Women amongst the crowd are fainting, and many people are vomiting, but
Despenser is only just warming to his task. His hands disappear inside
again and more organs come out, and onto the brazier. His hands
disappear again, and this time he finds what he is looking for, holds
it up and exclaims “Behold the black heart of a traitor” before casting
it onto the brazier.
Despenser now wipes his hands, and picks up the large axe, swings it
over his head, and brings it down, off come the head. Despenser holds
it aloft and exclaims “Behold the head of a traitor”, another loud
cheer goes up from the crowd.
Despenser now sets about hacking the body until it is in quarters, and then he is done.
I pay Despenser double what he was promised, and tell him that he may now call himself The Kings executioner.
This Traitors death will do much to discourage, talk of treason in future.
Now to our war with the Almohads. We have recorded two victories at sea
this year one off the coast of Spain, and one in the straits of
Gibraltar.
There has been no conflict on land, but we intend to move on Cordoba in spring of next year.
Our armies in Spain are now equipped with bombards, for use in sieges.
these weapons use gunpowder to propel a metal ball, they are very
powerful, but dangerous to use, as they are apt to explode.
The inquisition in Sardinia is gathering strength. Don Giovanni
Machiavelli, a general in the Italian army, has been proved to be a
heretic, and burned at the stake. This burning took place outside the
royal palace, and with the doge Orso looking on.
The Hungarians have re-established themselves in the province of Carpathia, under the rule of King Andras III.
My only Son Stephen has now come of age.
**********************************************
1324.
Another traitor has been uncovered this year, his name is Sir Robert
Cromwell, and he has been publicly executed in the manner of a traitor.
I did not attend the execution, as I do not feel any compulsion to
witness anymore of Despesers work. A large crowd of people did however
make the journey to Tyburn to see the spectacle.
I now have a Baronial court here in Wessex. This is the place where I
will now spend much of my time. It has large hunting grounds, and is
away from the stench, filth and plague of London.
As planned Lord Plantagenet Duke of Aragon moved on Cordoba in the
spring. The Almohads would not fight and retreated to the castle.
With Cordoba now under our control, Lord Langton of Normandy will now
be free to move from Castile into Leon next year. Leon castle is still
held by us, but is under siege by a small force of rebels. We do expect
them to fight as they have nowhere to retreat to, but their force is so
small as to be considered insignificant.
Our ships in the sea of Crete have been sinking Italian shipping this
year, and this has now earned us a warning from Pope Nicholas. We have
no option but to abide by the Popes decision, as there are no more
Italian ships left to sink.
**********************************************
1325.
There was a double execution at Tyburn this year, after Sir Edmund Roos
and Sir Aelfgar Maitland, were found to be plotting my assassination.
Roos also implicated two other men in the plot during his torture. They
are Sir Tostig Gaveston and Sir Ralph Mortimer.
These two men made their escape before they could be apprehended, we will however catch up with them eventually.
As expected the rebels in Leon were defeated with little effort, and
inflicted no casualties on our army whatsoever. Langton moves on to
Portugal next year, we expect a fight, as the Almohads in Portugal have
a sizeable army and no retreat.
After believing the Almohad fleet was sunk, they have shown up again,
this time off the Barbary coast where they sunk a number of our ships.
I have ordered more ships to this area, in order to put paid to this
nuisance.
The Almohads have abandoned their siege of Tunis castle, and moved
their army into Cyrencia, our garrison in Cyrencia retreated to the
castle at Tripoli, and so the Almohads gain nothing. All they have
succeeded in doing is exchanging one siege for another siege.
The Byzantines have invaded Tripoli in the holy land, our men are now
under siege in the castle there. Now that Umar al Mutamid is no longer
trapped in the castle at Tunis, I have asked him, if he wishes to lead
a large mercenary army into Tripoli, to lift the siege. I hinted that
Tripoli is a rich province, and a man could do well for himself in such
a place. Mutamid was more than eager to take up the task.
**********************************************
1326.
The traitor Tostig Gaveston, has been captured. During torture he
confessed to his guilt, and offered to tell where Ralph Mortimer was in
hiding, but only if he was promised a quick end.
No promise was given, but after more torture, he volunteered the
information. Stating that Mortimer was in Normandy, but he did not know
the exact location. He was tortured some more, but we learned nothing
more from him. He later kept his appointment with Despenser at Tyburn.
My only son Stephen is a great disappointment to me. I have not
mentioned anything about Stephen’s appalling behaviour in the diary
before now, I had hoped, that as he grew older he would change.
Well he is now 18 years old, and his behaviour has changed. It has
changed for the worse. Until recently, Stephens worst excesses were
confined to drunkenness and brawling, now I have learned that he is
visiting brothels, and that it is common knowledge, that he has a
liking for both women and men.
My daughter Clare will come of age next year. I have promised her hand
in marriage to the Duke of Burgundy, and sent her to be with him. It is
better that she is away from court, as I do not trust Stephen, and
believe him capable of anything.
Our invasion of Portugal was successful. The Almohads did put up a
defence, and decided to make their stand on a small wooded hill.
Langton manoeuvred our army into position at the foot of the hill, and
then sent in the gallowglasses, and two units of highlanders.
After a fierce battle in the woods, our men retreated, but they had
done their work well, and the feudal men at arms that entered the woods
after them, soon put the enemy to flight.
Out of an estimated 1200, we killed almost 900, and took around 100 prisoners, for the loss of 380 mostly Irish and Scots
These Irish and Scots warriors are a very effective assault force, they
expect little pay, and seem to relish the task of being first in. Even
though this usually ends with many of their number dead
The castle at Cordoba has now capitulated. As Granada is rebel, the
only Almohads now remaining in Spain, are those garrisoning the castle
at Lisbon in Portugal.
There has been a sea battle off the Barbary coast, both sides lost
ships, but we eventually won the day. I am now sure this is the last we
will see of Almohad shipping.
Umar al Mutamid seems to be relishing the task of leading our assault
against the Byzantines in the middle east. After lifting the siege of
Tripoli, he wrote me requesting permission to move on Antioch, and
asking for more mercenaries. These requests I have agreed to.
Although Mutamid is a contemptible character, he is a good commander,
and because of his infamous cruelty, instils fear into friend and foe
alike.
**********************************************
1327.
With each passing year Prince Stephen descends lower into his pit of
depravity, in addition to his numerous other vice’s, he has now begun
to take pleasure in the sadistic torture of those unfortunate enough to
displease him.
On the rare occasion that he is not drunk, I have tried to reason with
him, and explain to him the responsibilities that will be his, once he
is King. It is a lost cause though, on the slightest hint of criticism
he flies into a rage and storms off, usually smashing something on the
way out of the room.
I am 57 years old now, and I am worried what might become of the
Kingdom, when I die and Stephen becomes King. To this end I invited my
cousin John Plantagenet, Duke of Denmark, Chancellor of the exchequer,
to dine with me.
After much small talk, and jesting, I bring up the subject, I am keen to talk with John about.
Me “John, you must forgive me, but I have an ulterior motive for asking thee here”
(John looks at me intently, then smiles and nods his head, in a knowing way)
John “It is Stephen”
Me “Ah John, you are wise beyond your years, and have seen through this old man”
(John is 29 years old, and although I do not consider myself to be old, the company I am in decides my phrasing)
John “The rumours are true then?”
Me “Indeed, and I suspect the truth is far worse than the rumours. What
I am in need of, is a man who is strong enough, and young enough to
control Stephen, when he is King”
John “Am I to take it that this man is me?”
Me “I have considered every man in a position of power, and you are by
far the best placed to do this task for me. I realise this is asking
too much of thee, and will understand if you refuse, but I have to try”
John “What makes you think I can control Stephen?”
Me “A number of reasons. You are in command of our army in Saxony, and
as you know this army is always first to get better equipment, and men.
You are well liked and respected amongst the Lords, and most important
of all you have a legitimate claim to the throne”
John “Some of the Lords may not take too kindly to this”
Me “This is why I am telling you now, whilst I still have time ahead of me. So that you may gather support amongst the Lords”
John “I would have to be very careful who is to be made privy to our
arrangement. If Stephen was to find out before he becomes King, it
would probably make it impossible”
Me “Yes that is right. Do you think that it would be possible to gather
enough support, without knowledge of this getting back to Stephen”
John “Yes, but it will take time”
Me “You will do this for me then?”
John “Of course sire. It is my duty to England, and our ancestors who have built our great empire”
Me “You are a good man John, and I thank thee. Now let us take a drink, and talk of more pleasing matters”
John “To your good health, and for all our sake’s long life”
I trust John to do this task for me, other men might see it as a chance
to put themselves on the throne, but I believe John is clever enough to
see, that England is stronger under one bad King, than several good
ones.
Sir Ralph Mortimer has now been captured, and put to death. This brings
an end to the treachery that would have seen me assassinated.
Lord Langton has written to me, with news of the assault on Lisbon
castle in Portugal. He says that the assault was successful, and that
we suffered relatively few casualties.
He says that the most notable thing, was the use of the new bombard,
and that although it is no more accurate or powerful than the
trebuchet. It has one great advantage, the extra range that can be
used, either to keep our men out of danger, or fire into the inner
reaches of a fortification.
Next year will see the Duke of Aragon move his army from Cordoba into
rebel held Granada. This will secure Spain for us, drive the Muslims
out of Europe for good, and provide the base for our conquest of North
Africa.
Mutamid, and his army, bolstered by the extra mercenaries I sent him
earlier in the year, have successfully pushed the Byzantines out of
Antioch, and are now laying siege to the castle.
The Byzantines have retaliated in kind, by invading Brandenburg, and besieging the castle at Berlin.
Emperor Otto of the HRE has passed away, he was 70 years old. The new Emperor is Rudolf III.
**********************************************
1328.
Early in the year Prince Stephen came to see me, there now follows an account of our meeting.
Me “Greetings my son, what is it you wish to see me about”
Stephen “It is time I had an army to command. I will take over Langtons
command in Spain, I am sure he would welcome some time away from the
battlefield”
Me “But what if you were to be killed, there would be no heir to the throne”
Stephen “I would not be killed, our armies are invincible”
Me “Just because our armies are victorious, does not mean there is no
danger on the battlefield. Langton himself caught an arbalest bolt in
the leg, during the invasion of Portugal”
Stephen “It is a risk I am willing to take”
Me “That maybe so, but it is not a risk I am willing to take. Have you
given any thought to what might happen if you were killed. I am getting
old and when I die, if you are not around to take the throne, England
would almost certainly face civil war”
Stephen “Why are you worried about what will be when you are dead?”
Me “It is the way of Kings, if our predecessors had not given any
thought of what might be after they were dead, we would probably be
working a field somewhere, and England would more than likely be French”
Stephen “I don’t give a damn about what might have been, so just give me the command so that I may be on my way”
Me “I’m sorry Stephen, the answer is no”
Stephen “Why not, if you don’t give me command now, I will take it when
you are dead. so it makes no difference now or later, either way the
outcome will be the same, so it may as well be sooner than later”
Me “It wont be sooner or later, in fact it will be never. Do you think
for one minute, that I would go to the grave, without having made
arrangements to see England through your reign safely”
Stephen “I will be King, and your arrangements will count for nothing then”
Me “A King who tries to rule without the support of his barons, would soon find himself without a head”
Stephen “You devious swine, you are trying to rob me of my birthright”
Me “I am trying to stop you destroying the empire”
(Stephen moves towards me menacingly, he is a big man, over six feet, and broad. I draw my sword)
Me “Stay back, I may be old but I am still a better swordsman than you”
(Stephen backs off)
Stephen “My time will come old man”
(Stephen storms from the room)
Our invasion of rebel held Granada, has been successful. The rebels
choose to defend a hill, the Duke of Aragon slowly advanced our army
towards them, until they eventually sent forward two units of archers.
The Duke attacked them with two units of highlanders, and this brought
the rest of their army on, which consisted of one unit of berbers and
one of camels.
The Duke says, that what he expected to happen was, the highlanders to
break and bring the rebel army into range of our bows, but instead the
highlanders despatched their entire army, for the loss of just 126 men.
The rebels of Venice have asked to join the empire. I have no use for
the province of Venice, as you may remember our armies razed the city
to the ground many years ago. However, I have a use for their army, and
offered the soldiers employ within the existing empire, they accepted.
They bring to us two units of halberdiers, who will be drafted into our regular army once they are equipped with good armour.
The rest are little more than fodder, and will eventually be used as
such, but for now I have sent them to Portugal as garrison troops.
This now frees Langton to move on Morocco next year.
The Byzantines have attempted, and failed to lift the siege of Antioch. Mutamids mercenaries are now in control of the castle.
Pope Nicholas VII has died, his successor is Nicholas VIII.
**********************************************
1329.
Stephen has become a changed character, he has stopped drinking and
brawling, and is taking more of an interest in matters of Kingship. He
has even admitted to me, that his past behaviour has been wrong, and
that he now means to make amends.
He must think I am a fool. I can see through him as though he were not
there. It is all a charade, he has some other purpose in mind, and I
know not what it is, but I do not trust him.
It has been a good year for us abroad, with events in a number of provinces going our way.
First of all, The Duke of Aragon successfully assaulted the rebel held
castle at Granada. Then Lord Langton invaded Morocco, and the Almohads
retreated to the castle at Marrakech.
I think these two successes must have emboldened loyalists in
Brandenburg and Cyrencia, because they have risen up against the
invaders in these two under siege provinces. In Brandenburg the
Byzantines decide to retreat in the face of this new opposition. Whilst
in Cyrencia, there was a small battle in which our supporters defeated
the rebels.
(Entry by John Plantagenet Duke of Denmark)
King William is dead, murdered whilst he slept, a knife plunged into his heart.
This diary was given to me by Bishop Thomas Howard, shortly after my
arrival back in England. Bishop Thomas said that the diary had been
hidden by the king, and that the King had told Thomas of the hiding
place, and said that the diary was to be given over to me for safe
keeping in the event of his death.
After reading the diary, I can think of only one person who may have
wished to destroy it, Stephen. I do not know if Stephen murdered his
father by his own hand, but I am sure it was his doing.
What am I to do now, do I attempt to expose this vile monster, and if I
do this and he is removed, who would then be King. No I must do as King
William asked me, we shall endure the reign of King Stephen, but I now
intend that this wretch be no more than a puppet.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 4/1/04 12:25 am
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 685
(3/23/04 2:55 pm)
Reply
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The Doomsday Book of 1329.
BUILDINGS/IMPROVEMENTS.
Wessex.(Lord Fitzgilbert. Chamberlain. Loyalty 9, Piety 4, Dread 7, Command 6, Acumen 9)
Citadel, Armourers guild, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Master
merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, Chancellery, Constable’s
palace, Admiralty, 80% farmland, Master horse breeder, Baronial court,
Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Mercia.(Lord Mobray. L9, P5, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Armourers guild, Swordsmith, Spearmakers guild, Town militia,
Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Northumbria.(Lord de Vere. L9, P6, D3, C0, A4)
Castle, Bowyers guild, Armourers workshop, Gunsmiths workshop, Town
guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry, Copper mine
complex.
Wales.(Lord Longchamp. L9, P4, D2, C0, A4)
Citadel, Bowyers guild, Armourers workshop, Gunsmiths workshop, Town
guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry, Copper mine complex.
Scotland.(Lord Mercadier. L9, P3, D9, C5, A5)
Citadel, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers workshop, Town guard, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts. Port,
Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Ireland.(Lord Marshall. L9, P5, D4, C6, A7)
Castle, Armourers workshop, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town
guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Border forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Norway.(Lord Stanley. L9, P5, D3, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Bowyers guild, Armourers
workshop, Gunsmiths workshop, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern,
80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Sweden.(Lord Gascoign. L9, P7, D4, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Armourers workshop, Swordsmiths
workshop, Metalsmith, Spearmaker, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 80%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Copper mine complex.
Denmark.(Lord Plantagenet, Chancellor. L9, P0, D6, C6, A6)
Castle, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege engineers guild, Town guard, Merchant,
Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Bell foundry.
Saxony.(Lord Plantagenet. L7, P0, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Bowyer, Armourers workshop, Siege engineers guild, Town guard,
Merchants guild, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Chapter house,
Border forts, Port, Bell foundry, Salt mine complex.
Franconia.(Lord Uhtred L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Armourers workshop, Swordsmiths workshop, Spearmaker, Town
guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Flanders.(Lord Becket. L9, P0, D5, C1, A4)
Castle, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers guild, Town guard, Merchants
guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Port, Dockyard, Bell foundry.
Normandy.(Lord Langton. Constable. L9, P1, D3, C7, A7)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers
guild, Town guard, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts,
Port.
Friesland.(Lord Stuart. L8, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Merchant guild, Inn, tavern, 80% farmland, Church, border forts, Port.
Brittany.(Lord Basset L9, P4, D1, C0, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Aquitane.(Lord Curthose L9, P8, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Anjou.(Lord Grey L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Ille de France.(Lord Plantagenet. Warden. L9, P1, D4, C6, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Champagne.(Lord Hastings L6, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Lorraine.(Lord Berkeley L9, P2, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Swabia.(Lord de Vere L6, P1, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Trading post, Inn, 60% farmland, Border forts, Salt mine complex.
Burgundy.(Lord Stafford L6, P5, D2, C0, A4)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Chapter house, Border forts.
Provence.(Lord Longchamp L8, P3, D2, C0, A4)
Fort motte & bailey, Town watch, Inn, 80% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Toulouse.(Lord Bourchier L9, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Navarre.(Lord Swynford L9, P7, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Aragon.(Lord Plantagenet L7, P0, D4, C5, A6)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Valencia.(Lord Courtnay L5, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Castile.(Lord Curthose L9, P5, D3, C2, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Merchants guild, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Leon.(Lord Talbot L9, P9, D2, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town watch, 60% farmland, Border forts.
Portugal.(Lord Despenser L3, P8, D2, C0, A5)
Castle, Town guard, Merchant, 40% farmland, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Cordoba.(Lord Longchamp L4, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town watch, Merchants guild, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Border forts.
Granada.(Lord Courtnay L8, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, 60% farmland, Watch towers, Port, Silver mine complex.
Morocco.(Under siege)
Castle, Bowyers workshop, Armourer, Swordsmith, Spearmaker, Siege
engineers guild, Town guard, Merchant, Tavern, 40% farmland, Horse
breeders guild, Watch towers, Shipwright, Bell foundry, Gold mine.
Tunisia.(Lord Neville L7, P9, D1, C0, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town watch, Inn, 60% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Cyrencia.(Lord Fitzneale L6, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town watch, 20% farmland, Watch towers.
Egypt.(Lord Percy L9, P5, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Tripoli.(Lord Gaveston L6, P8, D0, C0, A5)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town watch, 20% farmland, Border forts.
Antioch.(Lord Cromwell L7, P8, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town watch, Watch towers.
Brandenburg.(Lord Audley L5, P9, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Watch towers.
Genoa.(Lord Langton L8, P6, D0, C0, A5)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Tuscany.(Lord Holland L9, P5, D2, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
MILITARY.
Wessex.
33 Royal knights
Mercia.
20 Royal knights.
200 Halberdiers
Northumbria.
20 Royal knights.
Wales.
20 Royal knights.
Scotland.
20 Royal knights.
Ireland.
20 Royal knights
Norway.
20 Royal knights.
Sweden.
20 Royal knights
Denmark
20 Royal knights.
Saxony.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Chivalric men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Chivalric sergeants.
240 Arbalests.
360 Longbowmen.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Franconia.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Chivalric men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Chivalric sergeants.
240 Arbalests.
360 Longbowmen.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Flanders.
20 Royal knights.
Normandy.
41 Royal knights.
Friesland.
20 Royal knights.
Brittany.
20 Royal knights.
Aquitane.
20 Royal knights.
Anjou.
20 Royal knights.
Ille de France.
20 Royal knights.
Champagne.
20 Royal knights.
Lorraine.
20 Royal knights.
Swabia.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
360 Chivalric men at arms.
120 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen.
200 Chivalric sergeants.
400 Feudal sergeants
240 Arbalests.
360 Longbowmen.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Burgundy.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Arbalests.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Provence.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Arbalests.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
Toulouse.
20 Royal knights.
Navarre.
20 Royal knights.
Aragon.
20 Royal knights.
Valencia.
20 Royal knights.
Castile.
20 Royal knights.
Leon.
20 Royal knights.
Portugal.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
240 Pavise crossbowmen.
1 Trebuchet crew.
1 Bombard crew.
Cordoba.
20 Royal knights.
Granada.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
240 Pavise crossbowmen.
1 Trebuchet crew.
1 Bombard crew.
Morocco.
20 Royal knights.
80 Feudal knights.
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
120 Kerns.
240 Highlanders.
3 Catapult crews.
240 Pavise crossbowmen.
1 Trebuchet crew.
1 Bombard crew.
Tunisia.
20 Royal knights.
Cyrencia.
20 Royal knights.
Egypt.
20 Royal knights.
Tripoli.
20 Royal knights.
Antioch.
755 Assorted mercenaries & depleted units.
Brandenburg.
20 Royal knights.
Genoa.
20 Royal knights.
Tuscany.
20 Royal knights.
NAVAL.
8 Barques.
28 Caravels.
AGENTS.
3 Emissaries.
4 Assassins.
45 Spies.
1 Grand inquisitor
17 Inquisitors.
41 Bishops.
TREASURY.
Province income.
Anjou. 481
Antioch. 551
Aquitane. 664
Aragon. 841
Brandenburg. 193
Brittany. 469
Burgundy. 541
Castile. 1098
Champagne. 415
Cordoba. 747
Cyrencia. 86
Denmark. 771
Egypt. 1002
Flanders. 1749
Franconia. 441
Friesland. 446
Genoa. 601
Granada. 758
Ille de France. 686
Ireland. 596
Leon. 713
Lorraine. 620
Mercia. 709
Morocco. 0
Navarre. 318
Normandy. 688
Northumbria. 770
Norway. 394
Portugal. 691
Provence. 620
Saxony. 613
Scotland. 305
Swabia. 475
Sweden. 1216
Toulouse. 582
Tripoli. 709
Tunisia. 397
Tuscany. 659
Valencia. 1096
Wales. 443
Wessex. 1286
Tot income 26,440
Tot in Treasury 53,636
Map of 1329.
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Edited by: Dave P at: 4/1/04 12:29 am
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Dave P
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Posts: 686
(3/23/04 2:59 pm)
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Chapter 8.
The Reign of King Stephen II, 1329-1364. (as told by John Plantagenet, Duke of Denmark, Chancellor of the Exchequer.)
1329.
So now the task given to me by King William must begin. I have spent
the last two years preparing for this time, I would have preferred
longer, but still, I think I have established a strong foundation on
which to build.
During these past two years, I have spent my time establishing
relationships with men of power. When I judged that these men could be
trusted, I would let them know of the task entrusted to me.
To this day only four other men know of the conversation I had with
King William, they are, my two cousins the Duke of Aragon and the Duke
of Ille de France, Lord Fitzgilbert of Wessex, and Lord Langton of
Normandy. They are all fiercely loyal to England above all else, and
this includes the King. They are also all commanders of large armies.
With their support, I can call on five of our eight standing armies,
should I need to. I hope this need will not arise, and that when I
confront Stephen with the stark truth of his precarious position, he
will accept my terms. I do however, expect the meeting to be ill
tempered and tense, and I am prepared to use every threat available to
me.
(The meeting)
(I enter Stephen’s chamber, and find him sitting behind a large table, four of his men are in the room with him)
Stephen “Greetings my cousin, have you come to pay homage to your new King?”
(The men around him look at each other with wry grins, it is plain that they plan to have some sport with me)
Me “Greetings Stephen, I will speak with thee alone, as I have important matters to discuss with thee”
Stephen “Speak up John, these men are my most trusted bodyguards. I must be careful after what happened to my father”
Me “Very well, I have in my possession your fathers diary, and I would like to tell you, of some of the later entries in it”
Stephen “May I see the diary for myself”
(I now also have a wry grin on my face)
Me “Unfortunately I have neglected to bring it with me, but I have here
some notes that I will now read to thee. 1329, My son Steph………”
Stephen “Yes yes, you may read them to me later, let us catch up on
family matters. Do you mind gentlemen, John and I have private matters
to discuss”
(The knights leave the room, and I pull up a large chair, and make myself comfortable)
Stephen “Very well what is it you want”
Me “What are you offering?”
Stephen “How would you like to be King of Denmark?”
Me “Haha, if I wanted to be King of Denmark, I would already be wearing the crown”
Stephen “Do not make sport of me John, have you not heard of my reputation for killing men”
Me “I think I should make thee aware of the situation. Two years ago I
met with your father, he was concerned about your behaviour, and what
damage you might do to the empire should you become King. I gave him a
promise that in the event of his death, I would ensure that no harm
came to England”
Stephen “I have no intention of damaging my Kingdom, and I will not tolerate you telling me what I am to do”
Me “If you do what is right, and behave as a King should, there will be no need, but I doubt very much this will be the case”
Stephen “Now look here John, I realize you are a good commander, and a
man of some influence, but I will not answer to thee. I am King and
answer only to God.
Me “Stephen, I have not come here this day to debate with thee, I am here to tell you how it will be”
Stephen “This is treasonable talk and I could have your head for it”
Me “Yes and a foolish King might do just that. A foolish King might
also see his reign brought to a premature end, by his own foolish acts”
Stephen “Are you threatening to depose me John?”
Me “I tire of this duel of words. I have the support of five of our
eight armies, and the other three commanders are men of self interest.
You will remain as King as long as you do not interfere in military,
fiscal, or political matters”
Stephen “It appears my hands are tied. Can we not reach some kind of
agreement, I do not want to be an impotent King, I could make you my
advisor, maybe we could work together”
Me “Stephen, I despise thee as a man, I do not trust thee, and I
suspect that you had a hand in your fathers demise. If it were not for
the promise I made to thy father, and my wish to do what is right for
England, I would take great pleasure in relieving you of the burden of
your pitiful existence. I hope that answers your question”
Stephen “Very well John, we are to be enemies then. I warn thee though,
time will change things, and I will not forget what we have talked of
this day”
Me “I will speak with thee again soon”
(I leave the room)
I am quite surprised. My meeting with Stephen was not as I had
envisaged it. I thought there would be much shouting, and threatening.
I was even prepared to fight my way out of that place, and a number of
my men were in and around the court, in case things had turned ugly.
I must now be vigilant though, as I am sure an attempt will now be made on my life.
It is now late in the year. I will give Stephen some time to consider his position, and then visit him again early next year.
**********************************************
1330.
Although my stance towards Stephen in our last meeting was
uncompromising, I do realise that in order for me to pull Stephens
strings, I will have to make some concessions.
My uncompromising stance, and the two months I have given him to think,
put me in a position of strength for our next meeting. Fortunately no
attempt has been made on my life, as this would have made negotiations
much harder.
(My second meeting with Stephen)
(I enter Stephens chamber, he is alone this time)
Stephen “Ah, King John, would you like to try the crown for size?”
(He smiles at me. I cant help but smile at his humorous comment)
Stephen “Take a seat, will you join me in a drink?”
Me “Yes”
Stephen “What would you like, wine, mead, poison?”
Me “Mead will be fine”
(Stephen calls for two tankards of mead)
Stephen “I hope you are well”
Me “You lie with great ease Stephen, it is quite a talent”
(The mead arrives, I look at it with suspicion, and then look up at Stephen)
Stephen “Haha, drink up man, I would not poison thee here in the Kings chamber, it would look too suspicious”
(I take a drink, Stephen says nothing he just looks intently at me for a while, then)
Stephen “Damn servant must have given you the wrong tankard”
(He looks at me again for a while, then bursts into fits of laughter and downs the other tankard in one long draught)
Stephen “You need to develop a sense of humour John, a man should not
take life too seriously. Now what is it you wish to talk about?”
Me “I have had time to think since our last meeting, and I think your
suggestion that I should be your advisor, may be a way we can make a
difficult situation work”
Stephen “I am pleased John, I am very pleased. I had hoped you would
compromise with me. I am not the monster my father made me out to be
you know”
Me “It matters not one way or the other now, but I would like to know the truth of the Kings death”
Stephen “Ah John, I will tell thee, but not yet. I would have you get to know me as a man first”
Me “Very well I will wait”
Stephen “As you are to be my advisor will you be taking up residence at court?”
Me “I thought the Chancellery, after all I am Chancellor”
Stephen “Yes of course, it is a fine palace, I am sure you will find it
to your liking. Now John, I am eager to know, what plans have we for
this year?”
Me “We have no plans for this year, our armies are all tied up at
present, Marrakech is still under siege, and Granada is still too
volatile to allow us to move on.
I expect Mutamid and his mercenaries to be ready to move on Syria next
year though, I also expect trouble at sea from the Italians, as they
are building a navy once more”
Stephen “Very well, as this looks set to be a quite year, I plan to
spend some time in Normandy. I trust I can leave matters here to you?”
Me “Yes of course, when do you plan to leave?”
Stephen “In a few weeks time. Another drink?”
Me “No thank you Stephen, I have matters to attend to, I will see you on your return”
(End of meeting)
Stephen has surprised me, either I have misjudged him or he is a damn
fine actor. Either way I still do not trust him, and must remain
vigilant.
**********************************************
1331.
I have been left to my own devices for the first six months of this
year. During this time, the castle at Marrakech in Morocco has
capitulated to our forces, and Mutamids attack on Syria has gone ahead,
successfully driving the Byzantines to retreat to the castle at
Damascus.
On his return from Normandy, I reported these successes to Stephen, and
added that Langton would be ready to move on the last Almohad
stronghold of Algeria next year.
On hearing this, Stephen said he would like to lead this attack
himself, and added that it would be a good reflection on him as King,
if it was an army led by him, that captured the Almohad Khalifah.
I agreed, but said that this would be a desperate situation for the
Almohads. That there would be great personal danger to Stephen himself,
if the Almohads decided to die in a blaze of glory, and considering
that there was no heir to the throne as yet, it might not be wise.
Stephen gave a nod of resignation, which seemed to indicate that he had already thought of this possibility.
Later in the year I had to report bad news to Stephen.
Me “As I suspected the Italians have begun attacking our shipping once more”
Stephen “What do you propose to do about this?”
Me “I don’t think it wise to do anything at present”
(Stephen becomes irritable)
Stephen “So we just sit back and take this, and in the process send out
a message that England is weak, and will not protect her trade routes”
Me “With respect Stephen, this only loses us trade with Rome at present, and the treasury will not run dry because of it”
Stephen “I do not like it John, I do not like it one bit. This will
embolden the Italians to go further, if we do not take a firm stand
against this piracy”
Me “I suggest that we make a protest to the Pope. This will show him
that you are a tolerant leader, and willing to try a peaceful route to
resolve this dispute”
Stephen “You know full well that there will be no peaceful resolution
to our conflict with the Italians, so why do we give them the
opportunity to sink more of our shipping?”
Me “It is not the Italians I am worried about, I do not doubt we will
have to take action against them, but we must show the Pope, that we
are willing to give diplomacy a chance to succeed”
Stephen “I am not happy about this, it will lead to conflict between you and I, if things are not settled to my satisfaction”
Me “I hope that will not be the case”
Stephen “Yes indeed, now leave me John I wish to be alone”
As I close the door behind me, I here a mighty commotion coming from
inside the room, it sounds like Stephen is taking his anger out on the
furniture. I shake my head and leave him to it.
**********************************************
1332.
(The Battle of Oran, in Algeria, as told by Lord Langton Duke of Normandy)
As a young man, to me my armour was a thing of beauty. I would look
forward to battles and tournaments, because these occasions gave me the
opportunity to don my armour.
However, after years of campaigning in the sunshine of Spain, and now
the baking furnace that is north Africa, I have come to look upon my
armour with hatred, it is my own personal prison.
Seeing the Almohad army across the valley, is the sign that condemns my
to my prison once more. My body armour is fastened in place, I choose
to leave my helmet off for now. Soon the armour that protects me will
leave me exhausted, why wear it? you might ask, I would reply “It has
saved my life many times, and will do so again, of that I am sure”
Our army is the standard English army, we number just over 3000 men.
The Almohads are led by Khalifah Abdullah, an able commander, but not
noted for his courage. They number around 1000, they have a huge hill
to defend, and their men are desert warriors used to fighting in these
conditions.
Our main offensive force is made up as follows.
20 Royal knights.
240 Feudal men at arms.
240 Billmen.
600 Feudal sergeants.
240 Crossbowmen.
360 Archers.
120 Gallowglasses.
240 Highlanders.
Our reserve to the rear consists of the following.
120 Kerns.
240 Feudal men at arms.
120 Feudal knights.
120 Mounted sergeants.
240 Pavise crossbowmen.
3 Catapults.
1 Trebuchet.
1 Bombard.
The artillery weapons are for use in siege and defensive situation, so
are of little use to us here. The Pavise we also use for siege
situations, but we have had occasion to use them on the battlefield
also.
The remainder of the reserve, are our second, and third wave attack.
Our first wave attack are the Gallowglasses and Highlanders.
The remainder of our main offensive force will deploy into the English
defence. Hopefully our attacks will bring the enemy onto this defensive
line.
My first order is to deploy the Gallowglasses and Highlanders out front
as a makeshift defence. Gallowglasses central, flanked by Highlanders.
If the enemy decide to attack, these men will buy us time to deploy the English defence.
I begin to deploy the defence. Our first line are two units of
crossbows, strung out two deep. There is a unit of feudal men at arms
behind each crossbow unit.
Behind the men at arms, and in a long line are our three units of feudal sergeants, each with a unit of archers behind them.
Protecting each flank of our spear armed units is a unit of billmen. I
along with my unit of knights take up position behind the central unit
of archers.
During deployment, the Almohads send forward a unit of Berber camels,
who begin to fire on our men as they form up. This does not concern me,
I let them be and we continue our deployment.
One thing that does concern me, is a unit of Murabitin infantry moving
around to the right, and trying to flank us. I send a unit of
Highlanders out to engage them.
As our crossbows find their position, they begin to return the Berbers fire forcing them to retreat.
The Highlanders make short work of the Murabatin infantry, and are just
returning to their original position as the defence completes its
deployment.
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We are now ready to take the battle to the enemy. I advance the whole
army to a position about halfway down our side of the valley. Once
there I send our first wave towards the enemy position on the hill.
The Gallowglasses move straight up the hill towards the enemy. The
highlanders move up the hill to either side, in a double flanking
manoeuvre. Our men do well at first, and the Almohads are thrown into a
panic by the attack from three sides, but eventually they compose
themselves, and the melee continues for a while before our men are
driven back down the hill.
There is now a lull in the battle whilst we bring up men from the rear, and they reorganise their defence.
As the remainder of the Scots and Irish arrive back at our position, I
heap praise on them and shout “Well done men, well done”. These men
have given everything, and are totally exhausted. Although some rally
and wait for orders, I tell them their work this day is done, and send
them to the rear to rest.
Of our reinforcements the Kerns are first to arrive, I order them to
the fore. Next to arrive are two units of feudal men at arms, they look
spent after their march from the rear, I order our existing two units
of men at arms to the fore, and order the reinforcements into their
position in the defence.
Our second attack heads off up the hill, same tactics as before, except
the Kerns take the centre and the men at arms the flanks. This attack
is less successful in causing casualties, but the continued skirmishing
of the Kerns, brings the Almohads down from their position and into the
valley.
The sensible thing for Abdullah to do now, would be to order his men
back up the hill, but Abdullah has taken leave of his senses, and
decides to attack our defence.
I send our remaining men at arms out to pin them whilst our bowmen go
about their work, we hold them for a while but eventually our tired men
at arms break, and the enemy falls on our crossbows. I order our
billmen in from the flanks, as the trap closes on Abdullah he bravely
fights on, then just as it seems his fate is sealed he notices the
billmen, and decides his days work is done.
We watch as the remnants of the Almohad army disappear over the hill, we are too tired to give chase.
We lost 667 men, I estimate the Almohad casualties to have been around 800.
(Here ends Langtons account)
The castle at Damascus in Syria has now fallen. The Byzantines sallied
forth in a suicidal attempt to escape. Mutamid put all 145 of them to
the sword, many of whom had been taken prisoner.
**********************************************
1333.
The castle at Algiers, has fallen. After a terrible pounding by our
artillery, in which three towers, two walls, and some buildings in the
outer courtyard are destroyed. Langton sends forward three units of
archers, who made short work of finishing off the small garrison.
When Langton arrived at the castle, he asked the commander of the archers to show him the body of the Khalifah.
Langton is taken into the keep, and to a room where the body is laid
out. The Khalifah’s head, still in its helmet, but somewhat crushed, is
detached from the body.
“What happened to him” says Langton.
“I don’t know he was like this when we found him, I would say that he
was probably hit by artillery or crushed by masonry” replies the
archery commander.
“Hmm, good thing he was wearing his helmet” replies Langton.
After sailing from Portugal, Lord Becket Duke of Castile, has landed
his army in Sinai. The Levantines on learning of the invasion retreated
into Palestine.
We now control all of north Africa. Our next aim is to push up through
the holy land, and Asia minor, to Constantinople and Georgia.
Earlier in the year, I informed Stephen of the rumours circulating,
concerning his close relationship with his younger sister Alice. He
flew into a rage and with all manner of items from Stephen’s desk
flying about my ears I hastily exited the room.
However, this must have given Stephen food for thought, as the next
time I saw him, he told me he had decided to marry Margaret
Fitzgilbert, one of the Ladies of the court.
**********************************************
1334.
(The Battle of Ashkelon, as told By Lord Plantagenet Duke of Aragon)
Although it is a long distance from Granada to Palestine, our sea
voyage had been broken several times as we followed the north African
coast. The last part of our voyage took us from the river Nile, across
to Palestine, making landfall near Ashkelon.
I ordered that camp should be made, and told the men that they would
have all tomorrow to rest, before we marched on Jerusalem the day after.
Towards the end of our day of rest, my scouts returned, and informed me
that the Levantines were making camp a few hours march from here. Good
I thought they have come to us.
On the day of the battle we awoke the men early and told them to
prepare, we had quite a wait, and it was nearly midday by the time they
arrived. Over 2500 of them, with a further 2000 just the other side of
the hill.
Their initial formation consisted of 180 Saharan cavalry, 600 Desert archers, 200 Saracens, and 1800 peasants.
Our army numbers 2888 including reinforcements.
As is usual I deploy the Scots and Irish forward whilst we manoeuvre into position.
What happens next defies belief.
The Levantine leader along with his unit of peasants, charge forward
towards our highlanders. No doubt he is thinking that they will
overwhelm us with numbers, before we are ready. A fine plan indeed, and
it might have met with some success, if he had remembered to tell the
rest of his army, who now watch on as our highlanders destroy the
generals unit, and chase them back towards their own lines.
I decide to allow the highlanders to chase the general back to his own
lines, and also send our other unit of highlanders, and the
gallowglasses onto the attack, whilst the rest of our army continues to
deploy.
The highlanders catch the general right in front of their front rank of
archers, who look on in horror, as their leader is hacked to pieces in
front of them. This done the highlanders attack the archers, who have
no intention of suffering the same fate, and turn and run.
The Scots continue into the next rank of peasants, who also turn and
run. Eventually the enemy bring Saracens, and Saharan cavalry into the
fray, to stop the highlanders destruction of their left flank. Only to
leave their right flank, and centre vulnerable to the gallowglasses and
our other unit of highlanders.
More destruction takes place, and the enemy fall back in disarray,
through sheer weight of numbers they finally manage to stop our men.
They form a new defensive line and begin to bring reinforcements on,
until they have as many men on the field, as at the beginning of the
battle.
I now have to wheel our army around to face them, as their new line is
at a right angle to us. As we come around to face them, we have to
advance through the killing field of their first defensive positions,
which are littered with dead bodies.
It takes a lot of manoeuvring, but we finally get into a position almost facing them.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=57513
I send our second attack in. Feudal men at arms attack into the forest,
to our left and forward of our position. The Saracens are in the forest
and I suspect they are guarding the flank. Our other men at arms, and
the Kerns attack their centre.
Once more their lines dissolve into disarray, and they finally defeat
our attack by throwing bodies at it, before retreating further into the
forest.
Our next reinforcements to arrive are Feudal knights, who arrive on the
field to our left and perfectly placed to attack the enemy flank. This
will mean attacking into the forest, and although our knights are not
best suited for this, I decide they should try anyway. As these enemy
soldiers are so poor, a full blooded charge may be enough to see them
off the field.
The knights charge into the forest, and peasants come running out of
the other side, only the Saracens, and Saharan cavalry continue to
fight. Mounted sergeants are not far behind the knights, and when they
add their weight to the knights attack, the battle is over, and the
massacre begins.
Although this victory was against poor opposition, it does give me great pleasure to write down the following figures.
Our losses numbered 730, Enemy losses were estimated to be almost 2400,
we also took nearly 1800 prisoners, who were all later released.
(Here ends the Dukes account)
Jerusalem is now under siege, and Becket will move on Egyptian held
Arabia next year. We are not yet at war with the Egyptians, but they
now stand in our way, so war is inevitable.
We have now begun to deploy chivalric knights as replacements for
feudal knights, and handgunners as replacements for arbalests and
crossbowmen. As usual the replacements will be fed in through our
European armies, and eventually filter down to our middle eastern
armies.
The King has a daughter, she has been named Edith. After this happy
event, the Kings mood turned very black because the child was not male.
Many servants fell victim to Stephens now legendary temper. I myself
decided to take some time away from the court, while this storm blew
over.
**********************************************
1335.
We are now at war with the Egyptians. Lord Becket of Castile invaded
Arabia earlier in the year, the small Egyptian force led by Sultan
Muhammad, put up a brief defence before retreating to Kerak castle.
The Swiss under the leadership of King Conrad have declared their
independence from the HRE. Although some might consider them rebels, I
believe we should take this new faction more seriously, as my spies
inform me they have a very well trained and equipped army.
In addition to my duties as the Kings advisor, I am still commander of
the army in Saxony, and because of this, my time is divided between
England and Saxony.
On my return to England, after a lengthy visit to Saxony, the King invited me to dine with him.
An evening in the company of King Stephen.
(I enter the room and Stephen strides across the floor and shakes my hand enthusiastically)
Stephen “It is good to see thee again John, come rest thy tired legs, and I will pour us some mead”
Me “Thank you Stephen, it is good to be back. I must say I prefer England to Saxony”
Stephen “How is our army in Saxony?”
Me “Well as you know, they are the best trained and equipped army in
the empire, but because of the constant feeding through of new troops,
they are mostly raw, with no battle experience”
Stephen “You talk as though you long for some action”
Me “No it is just an observation, I have more than enough duties to keep me busy”
Stephen “What is your opinion of this new weapon, the handgun”
Me “It is useless in wet weather, so we are having to train the men who use it, to also use a sword in case of rain”
Stephen “Haha, what foolishness, do you think it may be better to desist with these weapons?”
Me “No I think they will be useful, and will probably improve given time”
Stephen “To change the subject a little, I have an idea for a crusade to Constantinople, what do you think of this idea John?”
Me “Yes, I think such a crusade would help with our plans for conquest of Asia minor. Who would lead the crusade?”
Stephen “Why I would of course”
Me “Well Stephen, I realise that your position as King is now
established, and if you choose to lead the crusade yourself, there is
little anyone can do to change your mind.
However, I would ask that you take into consideration two things. One,
what happens if you get killed on crusade, and two, whilst you are gone
there is no prospect of the queen conceiving an heir to the throne”
Stephen “To hell with it, I am going anyway”
Me “Tis a bad move, and I for one frown on it”
Stephen “I also intend to lead any action myself, I am thirsty for battle John, will you not come with me?”
Me “And just who might look after the empire, whilst we are away on our merry jaunt”
Stephen “It matters not, all that matters is that we die a glorious death”
Me “You will go down in history as Stephen the mad, if you insist on taking this route”
Stephen “Excellent, tis a fine title for a King, and I like it greatly”
(I look at Stephens face, he can contain himself no longer, and his
serious mask disappears into a giant grin, he dissolves into fits of
laughter, banging the table with his fist, and pointing at me. Tears
roll down his cheeks.
His laughter is infectious, and I begin to laugh myself. Eventually we regain our composure.)
Stephen “You believed every word”
Me “You are an incorrigible rogue Stephen, and I will not believe a word you say in future”
Stephen “It is good that you are back John, you are the only man I know, who will speak his mind if he disagrees with me.
I had dinner with a group of my knights, and proposed the same thing
about the crusade to them, and they all agreed. By the end of the
night, they were all proposing toasts to glorious death, they all still
think we are going”
(The evening continues. Stephen is good company, and I find it hard to
believe this is the same man, who I still believe killed his own
father. I would dearly like to know his side of the story, but with
Stephen it can be very hard to broach such sensitive subjects)
**********************************************
1336.
Castle Kerak in Arabia, has fallen to an assault by Lord Becket’s army.
The only noteworthy thing to be said about the assault, is that Sultan
Muhammad was killed during the defence. The Egyptian Empire continues
to exist under the leadership of Sultan Baybars II.
We still continue to call them Egyptians, but the truth is, they are
now a people in exile, living on the steppe, with no prospect of a
return to the lands of their origin.
Jerusalem is now in the hands of the Christians. To be more precise,
Jerusalem is now in the hands of the English, after the city
capitulated to the Duke of Aragon.
Will the Pope favour us, for the great service that we have performed
for God? I doubt it very much. I now believe the only time the Pope
will favour us, will be when the Pope is an Englishman, and Rome is
returned to the Christians.
We have attempted to convince the Seljuks of Edessa to join with us. A
large amount of money was offered to their leader Sulyman al-Abbas, but
the fool refused our generous gift.
I have authorised our emissary in Edessa to raise the amount, and
explain to Abbas that this will be our final offer, which if refused
will cost him his head when our armies arrive.
I regularly dine with the King now, and it was on one such occasion that we had the following conversation.
(It is late and the King and I have had much to drink)
Stephen “You know John, I had plans for your assassination when I first became King”
Me “Haha, you think I did not know of this”
Stephen “Ah, but did you know that I had seven men watching you, just looking for the right opportunity?”
Me “It was eight men actually”
Stephen “Are you sure?”
Me “Yes I was paying them all to keep their eyes closed”
Stephen “Haha, you crafty dog. You know John, I hated my father, but he
did me a great service, when he asked you to oversee the early years of
my reign.
Not because I needed to be controlled, but because he provided me with such a fine advisor”
Me “I am greatly touched by your affection for me”
Stephen “Haha, you mock me, the only man in the Kingdom who would do
so, and the only man in the Kingdom who’s mockery I would not take
offence at”
Me “It is a pity you have not grown to trust other men Stephen, I think you have denied yourself many friends”
Stephen “Tis something I regret John, but I feel it is too late to change things now”
(Stephen looks pensively at me)
Stephen “I feel it is time you knew the truth about my fathers death John”
(He looks at as if waiting for some acknowledgement, I nod, and give him a sympathetic smile)
Stephen “You did not know father as I did John. To everyone who met him
he was fair and just, but up until the age of 15, during the time I
spent alone with him, he would belittle me, and if I answered back to
him a terrible beating would follow.
Eventually I learned not to answer back, but the beatings still
continued. I took a great interest in battles and political matters,
for if these things did not go to fathers liking, it would mean a
beating for me.
At 15, I had grown taller and stronger than father. On one particular
occasion he raised his hand to strike out at me, and I caught his
wrist, shook my head, and said “no more”, after this the beatings
ended. He did however, continue to belittle me, and tried to undermine
all that I did.
I eventually rebelled against his authority. I spent much time getting
drunk, brawling, and doing other things that I am now too ashamed to
talk of.
The final straw was when I asked him to let me go and fight, he
refused, and made it known that he was doing everything in his power to
control me after he was dead. This was too much for me, I then resolved
to kill him.
I bided my time, and made as though I was trying to change my ways.
Eventually, I judged the time to be right, I crept into his bedchamber,
my hands were shaking as they hovered over his throat, then I jumped
onto his chest and began to throttle him, his eyes opened and he looked
at me with disbelief, I relaxed my grip so that I might savour the
moment, then his body relaxed. As I plunged the knife into his heart to
make sure, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders”
(Stephen looks up at me there are tears rolling down his face, I lean
across the table and grasp his hands in a tight grip, I feel a tear run
down my own cheek)
Me “Tis done Stephen, do not torture yourself anymore”
Stephen “Thank you John, can I still call you my friend?”
Me “Yes Stephen, you can now call me a true friend”
Stephen “I wish to be alone now John do you mind?”
Me “Of course not, I will see thee tomorrow”
(I get up from my chair, pat him on the shoulder a couple of times, give him a smile and leave)
**********************************************
1337.
After some haggling the Seljuks of Edessa have accepted our offer, the
final figure was 5082. For this we gain control of the province, 600
Saracen infantry, and 240 desert archers. I have placed these men under
the command of our Muslim friend Mutamid.
Langton and his army have arrived in Tripoli from Tunis, we now have
three armies in the middle east, plus Mutamid’s soldiers of fortune.
We now control all the land south of a line Antioch, Edessa, Syria.
Asia minor is controlled by the Byzantines except for Anatolia, which
is rebel, and Armenia which is controlled by the HRE, this is the
result of a crusade launched by the HRE to take Jerusalem, the crusade
disbanded when our armies reached Jerusalem first.
We must take this province from the HRE soon, as at present, there is
no fortification for them to retreat to, so a quick victory would
remove them, before the Pope has chance to become involved.
The idea of a crusade to Constantinople, that Stephen and I laughingly
talked about some time ago, must have stuck in Stephen’s mind, as he
brought the subject up at a recent meeting we had.
I said it was a good idea, and that he should ask permission from the
Pope. He did this and the Pope refused, stating that the Byzantines
were valuable allies to the Catholic faith.
Stephen was furious, flew into a rage, smashed furniture, and sulked
for two days. This is now accepted behaviour when something upsets him,
we just stay out of his way for two days.
Not to be put off, when Stephen emerged, he said he would request that
the crusade be allowed to go to Mongolian held Moldavia instead. The
Pope had no choice but to agree to this. The crusade will be led by the
our cousin Edmund Plantagenet, and will depart next year from Burgundy.
**********************************************
1338.
I have received news of our crusade. It is in the form of a letter
written by Sir Henry Gaveston. Sir Henry is an old friend of mine; we
were knights of the same company in our younger days. The letter reads.
To my good friend John
I am writing you this letter, so that the story of our crusade may be known, should we not return.
My story begins in January of this year, when your cousin, and the
leader of our band of knights, Sir Edmund, informed us that come April
he would be taking up the cross. He said that we were now free of any
obligation to him, but that he would be pleased should we decide to go
with him. To a man, every one of us pledged to accompany him.
Edmund explained to us, that this crusade was not for those seeking the
personal glory that would accompany the taking of such places as
Jerusalem or Constantinople, but rather an undertaking to God, to
convert the heathen wastelands of the east to the true and righteous
path.
He told us that our first goal would be Moldavia, that our enemy, the
Mongol horde, were a fierce and warrior like foe, and that we would be
shown no mercy, should we be unfortunate enough to be taken alive.
In April we assembled in Burgundy. Our numbers were just over 1400, not
a conventional army the like of which I am accustomed to, but all men
of faith, and strong conviction.
By May we were in Tyrolia, and our numbers had swelled to around 1700.
Edmund made the decision, that instead of the more direct route through
Austria, we would march north into Bavaria, as there we would find more
support for our cause.
We left Bavaria bound for Bohemia numbering almost 1900 men, and
reached Prague in early July, where our numbers were increased to
around 2200.
We now had to pass through Byzantine held Poland. Edmund addressed the
men, he told us we could expect little or no support whilst passing
through Poland, that there was a possibility we may be denied passage,
and that we may have to fight our way through, as had been the case in
the past.
When we crossed over into Poland, it was with some trepidation. The
mood of the men turned sombre, and it wasn’t until the forth day of our
march through Poland, that Edmund informed us, he had received word
from Emperor Romanus, that orders had been issued to allow us to pass
unhindered. From there on our march through Poland was one of good
spirits, until we neared the Moldavian border.
A few days after we crossed the Carpathian Mountains, Edmund called the
men together. He told us that his scouts had brought news of the
Mongolian army, that we could expect to do battle the following day,
and that this would be a battle different to any other we had fought
before.
He explained that the Mongol army was exclusively a mounted army of
heavy cavalry and horse archers, and that should we hold back, and try
to fight a defensive battle, we would almost certainly be flanked by
the large amount of cavalry. Instead Edmund told us, he had decided to
dictate the battle, and launch an aggressive all out attack, using
spearmen backed by archers.
As if to try and bolster our confidence, Edmund added that the Mongol
army only numbered around 650, and that we outnumbered them more than
three to one. Edmund might have done better to have kept this
information to himself. The thought of 650 heavy cavalry and mounted
archers, coupled with the many tales we had heard of how the Mongols
treat prisoners, only helped to dampen our spirits.
(The Battle of Botosani)
The day of the battle finds us high on a hillside overlooking a valley. The Horde are on the hillside opposite.
I think the vast majority of our men would prefer to stay up here, and
defend this position, but Edmunds mind is made up, and he orders our
men down into the valley. Each unit of melee troops are given a
different Mongol horse unit to attack. Our archers are ordered down
close behind them. We also have two demi culverins, and they are now
finding their range.
We watch our men descend into the valley, from our position on the
hillside. The horde are now moving back further up their side of the
valley, many retreat into a heavily forested area.
As our attack goes in the battle divides into two. On the left, and on
the open hillside, we have two units of spears engaging, whilst three
units of bowmen fire arrows into the melee. Although we can see
fighting taking place on the fringe of the forest to the right, it is
impossible to see exactly what is taking place.
Eventually our attack on the open hillside breaks down, and our men
turn and run. We can see many dead horses littering the hillside, so it
must be assumed that our men have had some success
The Mongols who were fighting on the hillside now head into the forest,
where the battle is still raging. Our men who have been chased down the
hill, rally when the reach the bottom, and head back up, and into the
forest.
Both sides now disappear into the forest, we watch the forest, and
occasionally small groups of our own men come running out. Eventually
the remainder of our attack come running out pursued by the horde. A
quick estimate puts their numbers at around 250, all heavy cavalry.
Reinforcements have now joined us on the hillside, one unit each of
knight’s templar, feudal knights, and hobilars. Fanatics and peasants
are also on the way. A unit of Mongol heavy cavalry are now on their
way up our hillside. Edmund orders the Templars at them. There is a
fight in which both units are all but destroyed.
Next Edmund orders the peasants into the fray, they kill some of the
Mongol cavalry but are soon running. Edmund sends in the fanatics, as
more Mongol cavalry arrive. The fanatics fair little better than the
peasants.
Things are now looking desperate for us, and the remainder of the
Mongol cavalry are now making their way across the valley. Edmund
orders everyone to attack; we lose many but manage to defeat the first
wave of the Mongol attack.
Edmund now forms the men up for what will be a desperate last stand, as the horde climb the hill towards us.
Edmund turns to me and says “This battle is lost Henry, save thyself
regroup the men, and return to avenge us” I turn my horse and head off.
As I look back down the hill I can see Edmund, and the rest of my unit
bravely fighting against the odds. This was the last time I saw them
alive.
We lost around 1900 men, I estimate the enemy casualties to have been around 550.
I make my way across the border into the Hungarian province of
Carpathia, and on to the town of Suceava. On my way I meet up with
others from our army. Suceava is the pre-destined place we chose to
regroup should things go bad for us.
We arrive at the town, and over the next few days more of our army turn
up. Eventually our survivors number just over 300. We rest up for a few
weeks, by which time our numbers have been swelled to 585, due to local
hatred of the Mongol horde. Apparently the Horde have raided Suceava on
several occasions in the past.
We form up ready to march back into Moldavia. Before leaving I thank
the leaders of Suceava for their hospitality, and promise them that I
will do everything in my power, to ensure they are not visited by the
Mongols again.
After two days march we arrive back at the place of the first battle.
By the side of the road which runs through the valley, the Mongols have
built a terrible monument to their victory. It is a mountain of skulls,
on top of the mountain is a crusaders shield. This is barbaric I think,
and make a vow to myself, that the Mongol Khan will pay dearly for
this, should we take him alive.
I have the men dig a grave; we bury the skulls, and give prayers for
the fallen. Shortly after this my scouts return, and tell me that the
horde await us further down the valley.
(The second battle of Botosani)
On first sight the Mongol army, around 100 strong and all mounted, give
a false impression of a small army we might easily defeat, but we have
seen these fearsome warriors in battle, and so I do not intend to take
the threat they pose lightly.
I order our two demi culverin to set up forward, and form the best defensive line I can with my limited resources.
Our artillery begin to fire on their position. Several times they
change their position, but each time our men find the new range, and
inflict more damage on them, until finally our artillery is spent.
I order our melee troops forward to engage them, and our missile
troops, who now contain some arbalests and handgunners, to provide them
with support. I keep our knights and light cavalry for a reserve.
The battle is more of a skirmish than a battle. Our men attack, are
driven off rally, and attack again. All the while our gunners and
bowmen constantly harass them. Eventually the Mongols number only a
handful, and retreat from the field. We give chase but their horses are
too swift.
We lost just over 400 men; the Mongols were all but destroyed.
Our march south to the castle at Cetatea Alba was good spirited.
Although our numbers are few, we know we have the means to breach the
walls, and enough men to overpower the remnants of the Mongol army. My
own private thoughts are ones of the terrible revenge I intend to visit
on Khan Batu, should he be taken alive.
The castle defences at Cetatea Alba offer up little resistance to our
artillery, and the walls are quickly breached. I send forward our foot
soldiers with orders to take the Khan alive at all cost. When I arrive
at the castle myself, I am delighted to come face to face with Batu. I
order him to be taken to the dungeon.
We make ourselves comfortable in the keep, and I order the men to
gather all the food and drink they can find. Tonight we will celebrate
our victory, and Batu will entertain us.
We are in the great hall of the castle keep. We have eaten our fill,
and consumed much drink. We have even found minstrels amongst our men
who have kept us amused, but now it is time for the main entertainment
of the night.
Batu is brought to the hall, and tied to a wooden support at on end of
the hall. I get up from the large throne I have been sitting in all
night, and walk across to him.
The room is silent. I look into Batu’s face; his eyes are filled with
hatred for me. “Swear allegiance to the Christian God, and King Stephen
of England” I say, knowing that he cannot understand me. He spits in my
face, I wipe away the spit with my sleeve, and turn to the rest of the
men. “This heathen cannot hear me” I shout.
I turn back towards Batu, and draw my dagger. “You have no use for
those ears, my friend” I grab his right ear and slice it off, he cries
out in pain, I grab the left ear and slice that off also.
I turn back towards the men, who are banging their tankards on the
table and cheering, I make a signal for them to be quite, and the room
falls silent except for Batu’s whimpering. “Do you think he makes too
much noise men?” they begin cheering again. I make a gesture to two of
my men, one forces a piece of wood into Batu’s mouth whilst the other
draws his tongue out with a pair of pliers, my dagger flashes again and
Batu’s tongue ceases to wag. However, this does not silence him.
Batu’s face is contorted, his eyes tightly shut. “Do you not like what
you see” I say, I pinch an eyelid between thumb and forefinger before
slicing it off, and then the other eyelid. Batu looks through lidless
eyes, he now looks like the monster I believe him to be.
One of my assistants whispers something to me, I smile and nod
agreement. He has just reminded me of an old Saxon way of execution.
A horse is brought into the hall, and a grappling hook with rope found
from somewhere within the keep. I return to my throne in order to get a
better look at this spectacle. My two assistants rip open Batu’s vest,
they take up the hook, and force it into his stomach and up under his
ribs. The rope is tied to the horse; they look across at me waiting for
a signal. I look around the room; every man’s gaze is on Batu. The room
is silent, except for the noises of the impatient horse, as its hooves
tap on the stone floor, and Batu’s groans of agony.
In roman style I hold my thumb up, and then turn it down, a man slaps
the horses backside, and of it goes, the slack in the rope is taken up,
and then the hook rips Batu’s ribcage out, spilling his guts in front
of him. A great cheer goes up from the room, we have killed Batu, and
rid the world of these barbarians.
One thing more I must tell thee in this letter before I finish. We now
have need for some reinforcements if we are to have any hope of holding
this province.
Your loyal friend Henry Gaveston.
Sir Henry seems to have developed something of a talent for pleasing
crowds. I have made arrangements for some mercenaries to be sent by
ship to Moldavia.
**********************************************
1339.
My job as Kings advisor has become more akin to being King. Stephen now
asks my advice on everything, including trivial things, such as what he
might wear for special occasions, and what food might be prepared for a
particular feast.
Although this is something of a nuisance, and uses up time which I
could better spend on important matters, how can I refuse him? Each
time we meet, he is so obviously pleased to see me, and he is genuinely
enthusiastic about these things. I fear he would be crestfallen should
I say that I was too busy.
There has been no combat to speak of this year, and all our military
moves have been strategic, as we make preparations for our next major
advance. I would say we are now at a point between two stages of
expansion, the previous one being conquest of the holy land, the one
ahead of us being conquest of Asia minor, and I feel this may be an apt
time to record or position.
Our European border follows a line north to south, and is made up of
the provinces Saxony, Franconia, Swabia, Burgundy, and Provence. Each
of these provinces, are garrisoned by a standard army of around 2600
men. All provinces behind this border are considered permanent parts of
the empire. We also control Brandenburg, Genoa, and Tuscany these
provinces are considered outside of the empire, and because of their
vulnerability, investment in these provinces is kept to a minimum.
Our Asian border follows a line west to east, and is made up of the provinces Antioch, Edessa, and Syria.
Antioch and Syria each have a standard army similar to our European
armies, but with some extra men and equipment for use in sieges. We
have one more standard army, which is presently in Arabia.
Our army in Edessa, cannot by any stretch of the imagination be
described as standard. It is led by Umar al Mutamid, and comprises of
all manner of troops, drawn from bribed armies, mercenaries, and
depleted obsolete units. Once we begin our advance again this army will
be at the sharp end of our attack.
Other than the aforementioned, we have our small force of crusaders
occupying Moldavia, and an army in Anatolia which has been bribed this
year. This army is for the larger part made up of hangunners, it may be
interesting to see how they perform in such numbers, should the
Byzantines decide to invade.
I have made a decision, that in future damaged catapults will now be
replaced with demi culverin. Gunpowder weapons are now proving to be
useful additions to our armies. Some generals are even making the
ridiculous claim, that one day whole armies might carry such weapons,
quite absurd in my opinion.
**********************************************
1340.
We have suffered a number of setbacks this year. In Moldavia, my friend
Henry Gaveston is now trapped inside the castle of Cetatea Alba, after
the Egyptians invaded from Kiev. Our men tried to defend the province,
and killed over 800 of the Egyptian army, but the Egyptian numbers
eventually proved too great, and we had to retreat to the castle.
I fear I may have tempted fate, when I expressed my curiosity about how
the army of handgunners may perform in Anatolia, if an invasion where
to take place. The Byzantines invaded with a mere 160 strong army of
Kataphraktoi and Saracen infantry. The ensuing battle can only be
described as a massacre. Over 1000 men were killed or taken prisoner.
This reinforces my opinion, that gunpowder weapons will never be
anything more than support for conventional soldiers.
We have suffered at the hands of Italian pirates this year. I have
decided to raise a mercenary army to invade Corsica. No doubt the Pope
will voice his displeasure once this attack goes ahead, but we do need
to show the Italians, that we will not sit idly by, whilst they attack
our merchantmen.
Next year will see a renewed offensive against the Byzantines. Mutamid
will move on lesser Armenia from Edessa, the Duke of Aragon will move
up from Syria into Edessa, and Becket will move up from Arabia into
Syria.
Two leaders have died this year. Prince Mikhail of Novgorod has died of
old age, and the Egyptian Sultan Baybars, has been killed in battle,
fighting against rebels on the steppe.
We have recorded income of 31,000 florins this year, the highest ever.
**********************************************
1341.
I have received sad news from Moldavia. The castle at Cetatea Alba, has
fallen to an assault by the Egyptian army. We have no news about the
fate of the garrison, but I fear the worst for my friend Henry Gaveston.
Our invasion of lesser Armenia has been successful. The Byzantines had
no stomach for a fight, and withdrew to the castle at Sivas. We now
have the castle under siege.
The mercenary army, I am gathering together for an attack on Corsica, will be ready to move next year.
I have saved the best news for last. There has been great rejoicing in
the land this year, as England now has an heir to the throne. There has
been growing concern over the last eight years, as the union between
Stephen and Queen Margaret, has only produced one child, a daughter,
but these concerns can now be put aside with the birth of Prince Henry.
Stephen decided to named him after his grandfather Henry the Great.
**********************************************
1342.
Our mercenary army of just over 1000 men has invaded Corsica. The
Italians hastily abandoned the island, leaving us in control. As
expected, shortly after the Popes warning was issued.
This has left Doge Orso, looking like a fool amongst fools. Had he
decided to defend the castle, we would have withdrawn on receiving the
Popes warning, and the Italians would still be in control of the
Island. We have let this become common knowledge, so that Orso may
enjoy his ridicule to the full.
Mutamid has now taken the castle at Sivas in lesser Armenia, and will
now move onto Rum early next year. Lord Langton will move his army from
Antioch into lesser Armenia, to ensure peace remains in the province.
**********************************************
1334.
Once more the Byzantines have retreated in the face of our all
conquering armies. Mutamids advance into Rum saw them retreat to the
castle at Iconium.
Next year will see our offensive gain momentum, as we launch a double
attack. The Duke of Aragon will move his army from Edessa into Rum,
where he will take over the siege of Iconium. This will free Mutamid to
move on the HRE held province of Armenia. Meanwhile Lord Langton will
attack from lesser Armenia into Anatolia. Lord Becket and his army will
remain in Syria for the time being.
King Andras of Hungary has agreed to an alliance with us. This is
pleasing news indeed, as we have stood alone for far too many years.
**********************************************
1344.
King Stephen is becoming increasingly disinterested in matters of
state. Whenever I try to talk to him of such things he says “You take
care of it John, You know more about these things than I do”. The only
way I can engage him in any kind of conversation, is by talking about
trivial matters such as hunting or feasting. Perhaps it is better this
way, as it does give me a free hand to plan as I see fit, without
interference.
Our renewed offensive in Asia Minor has begun, and we have had much
success. Langton has invaded Anatolia, and the Byzantines have
abandoned the province. The castle at Iconium has fallen, after the
garrison sallied forth, only to be crushed by the Duke of Aragons army,
and Mutamid has taken Armenia from the HRE. The castle at Yerevan is
now under siege.
Mutamid and his army will now move onto Trebizond next year, whilst
Lord Becket and his army will move into Armenia, in order to maintain
the siege of Yerevan.
Our shipbuilders are now building a different type of ship; they are called cogs, and are an improvement over the old caravels.
**********************************************
1345.
Our empire now stretches to the Black sea. The Byzantines abandoned the
province of Trebizond, once they learned that Mutamids army had crossed
over from Armenia. Trebizond is a wasteland, much the same as all the
other provinces that we have taken from the Byzantines. It appears they
are employing a policy of scorched earth, to slow our advance.
Earlier in the year, more crusaders left Burgundy bound for Kiev. On
their arrival the rebels surrendered peaceably. Our crusaders delight
soon turned to despair, when they discovered that Kiev had been laid
waste, during the earlier Egyptian occupation. They now intend to push
on into Egyptian held Khazar, early next year, but must first find
shelter and provisions, to see them through what will be a grim winter
in Kiev.
**********************************************
1346.
Yerevan castle in Armenia has now been starved into submission, and the
province of Khazar has fallen to Sir Perkin de Beauchamp and his
crusaders.
Next year I plan to make a voyage, my first port of call will be
Corsica. The large mercenary army which we used in the invasion of the
island is now idle. I plan to take command of these men, and transport
them to Asia Minor where we have use for them.
Whilst there I will review the situation and have talks with our commanders.
**********************************************
1347.
My voyage to Asia Minor has been a long one, but the sea has been kind
to us, and I found the Mediterranean climate much to my liking.
We arrived off the coast of Trebizond, and a small ship ferried me to
the shore. As I set foot on the beach a man riding a white horse rode
down to meet me. He dismounted and walked towards me smiling and
offering his hand.
“Greetings I am Umar al Mutamid” he says in an Arabic accent.
“I have heard much of thee, and I am greatly pleased to meet thee at last.” I reply.
I am provided with a horse, and we ride up to the town. We arrive
outside a white flat roofed building, of the type common to these parts
and go inside. We sit down on large cushions, and Mutamid orders a
servant to bring us food and drink.
Mutamid is an old man, I would guess his age to be in excess of 60. He
is of medium build, and sprightly for his age. His face is lined from
many years in the sun, and he wears a patch over his right eye, a long
scar runs down from the patch to his neck.
Our conversation went as follows.
Mutamid “I see you have brought a large number of men with you, tell me what are these men to be used for?”
Me “They are mercenaries that we no longer have use for in Corsica, I thought they might be put to better use here.”
Mutamid “Ah mercenaries, good fighting men, but not to be trusted, I have a number of them within the ranks of my own army.”
Me “What I have planned for these men is an invasion of Georgia.”
Mutamid “I hope it is not I who will be expected to lead so many of
these mercenaries. I would rather cut out my one good eye, and feed it
to a camel than lead so many of these treacherous dogs.”
Me “No my friend I would not subject thee to such a thing, but tell me,
do you have among your men a capable leader who would be willing to do
this?”
Mutamid “Yes indeed I do, and he is also a mercenary, a Danish man by
the name of Birgir Masson. You can have him, along with all the other
mercenaries I have under my command, if you wish.”
Me “Yes I will take them all, I am sure you will agree it is better to keep all the rotten fruit in one basket.”
Mutamid “Yes indeed, It is also better that such fruit be put to some use before it perishes.”
Me “Haha, you have the gift for reading minds my friend.”
(I know all about Mutamids past, from the time he sold the Province of
Leon to us, through his time as governor of Tunisia, and his many
battles. Here before me I have a living legend; a man who I know is
capable of treachery, yet a man who has given us such great loyalty
over many years)
Me “Tell me my friend, as a man of advancing years does thou not wish for some stability, a title and some land maybe”
Mutamid “I had that many years ago in Tunisia, and found it
disagreeable, I was pleased when the old King offered me the
battlefield instead”
Me “You plan to die an old soldier then.”
Mutamid “Yes, I have already lived more life than a thousand farmers, and hope to continue for a little longer still.”
(We continue to talk late into the night. Mutamid is a fine host, and his endless tales are compelling to listen to)
I stay in Trebizond for eight weeks, during this time the mercenary
army is assembled and marches into Georgia. I leave for Rum after
hearing news that the mercenaries have defeated the Byzantines.
In Rum I meet with Langton and the Duke of Aragon, we have a fine
feast, and I explain my plans for expansion as far as Constantinople to
the west, and the Steppe to the north. They are both in total agreement
with the plans.
Before I leave for Antioch and my ship, Langton pulls me to one side
and voices concern about Lord Becket our commander in Armenia. Langton
tells me that Becket has become a lazy commander during his years in
Arabia and Syria, and suggests that I might want to keep an eye open
for someone to replace him. I trust Langtons judgement, and give him my
word that as soon as I find a better man, it will be done.
I set sail for Granada in Spain where I plan to spend winter before
returning to England in spring of next year. On arrival in Granada, I
am given news that an attempted Byzantine invasion of Khazar from
Crimea has been repulsed by Perkin de Beauchamp and his crusader army.
**********************************************
1348.
A few months before I was to set sail for England, a letter arrived
from Stephen. The letter was short, and informed me that London was
suffering an epidemic of plague. Stephen also suggested that instead of
sailing for England, I should sail for Caernarfon where he himself had
taken up residence.
I arrived in Caernarfon in early July, I made my way to the castle, and
once inside I was shown to the great hall. Nothing could have prepared
me for the sight that greeted me on entering. Stephen is sat on a huge
throne at one end of the hall; he is dressed as one might expect a
Roman emperor to be dressed. I walk over to him with a smile on my face.
Me “What is all this?”
Stephen “Do you not think it fitting of the English Emperor?”
Me “This is a jest is it not?”
Stephen “You have been away a long time John, things have changed.”
(Stephen gestures for me to take a seat to one side of his throne; I sit down craning my neck to look up at him.)
Me “So you have decided to take the title Emperor.”
Stephen “Yes, after all I am the ruler of the mightiest empire on Earth.”
Me “Yes that is true.”
Stephen “It is good to see you again John; however, we will have to
find you some different clothes if you are to dine with us tonight.”
Me “Yes indeed”
(Stephen claps his hands, and several servants appear, all dressed in the Roman way.)
Stephen “Show the Duke to the Royal wardrobe, and find him some
suitable attire. I will speak more with thee at the banquet we are
holding in honour of your visit.”
This charade continues the whole time of my visit, eventually after two
weeks I can take it no more, and decide to take my chances with the
Black Death back in London.
During my time abroad the queen has given Stephen another son, he has
been named Edward. Thankfully Stephen’s Roman charade does not extend
to the naming of children: an English Prince named Julius would indeed
be ridiculous.
**********************************************
1349.
The plague abated during the winter months, and we had thought it had
left our shores. However, this was not the case, and during the summer
it returned with a vengeance. Eventually things became so bad that I
decided to leave London for the countryside.
Stephen is still in Caernarfon; I have visited him on one occasion this
year, and found his obsession with everything Roman has increased to
the extent, that he now addresses me as Tribune John.
On a more serious note, crusaders bound for the Egyptian province of
Volhynia, have been attacked by the Byzantines in Poland. The crusaders
many of them peasants were ambushed and massacred by elite Byzantine
cavalry.
This is an affront to all good Christian people except one, the Pope.
He refuses to condemn the Byzantines, and the Papacy continues to be
allied to them.
I have authorised a large mercenary army to be drawn from Franconia. If
our crusaders are not to be allowed safe passage through Byzantine held
Poland, then in future they will make their journey through English
held Poland.
**********************************************
1350.
The Italian doge, Orso IV has died of old age he was 76, his son Marino has succeeded him.
Marino has wasted no time in making his intentions clear, and Italian
piracy has begun again in the Black sea. This is a minor inconvenience
at present, as the ships that we have lost are obsolete barques in need
of replacement.
We have now brought the population of Rum to heal. This enables our armies to move on.
The Duke of Aragon moves from Rum to Trebizond, Mutamid moves from
Trebizond to Georgia, and Birger Massons mercenary army will now move
from Georgia, through Khazar into Crimea.
**********************************************
1351.
This year we have struck three mighty blows against the ailing Byzantine Empire.
Birger Masson and his mercenary army have taken Crimea. The Byzantine
army there was made up of the remnants of a failed attack on Khazar.
With no retreat possible and no fortification to defend the Byzantines
had no choice but to fight, heavily outnumbered they were soon put to
flight, some surrendered hoping for mercy, but Birger Masson is a man
with no comprehension of the word prisoner, and they were all brutally
put to death.
The Byzantine massacre of our crusaders in Poland two years ago has now
been avenged. The survivors of the massacre bolstered by a large force
of mercenaries, have now taken Poland, the Byzantine cavalry that
perpetrated the massacre received no mercy; their commander took over
six hours to die.
Lord Langton has taken the province of Nicea. The Byzantine garrison
chose to retreat to Constantinople, on hearing news of Langtons army
crossing from Anatolia.
They were in such a hurry to leave, that they have left the province
unspoiled. The population seem happy to the back of their old rulers,
so there is little chance of rebellion. We can now garrison Nicea with
a minimal force, and Langton will be free to move on Constantinople
next year.
Lord Becket has now been replaced by Sir Robert Knolly’s as commander
of our army in Armenia; Knolly’s also takes Beckets title Duke of
Trebizond. I have given Becket the less demanding task of running
Nicea, Becket is an old man, and is said to be pleased at being
relieved of the heavy burden of command.
**********************************************
1352.
The fall of Constantinople, Such a sentence should surely be
accompanied by an account of great heroics, and sacrifice. However, as
is the case with such eagerly awaited events the reality is often an
anticlimax. All I have to say about this historic occasion is that
Constantinople capitulated without so much as an arrow being fired, The
cowardly Byzantine Emperor retreated across the border into Greece,
unwilling to fight for the honour of a once great Empire.
The Egyptian province of Volhynia has fallen to our allies the
Hungarians, our crusaders in Poland who were on route to Volhynia have
now lost their Papal sanction, and the crusade has disbanded.
Stephen’s obsession with everything Roman is becoming an embarrassment,
the common folk now call him Emperor Stephenicus, and many jests are
made of his odd behaviour. I decided to speak with him about this.
Me “Stephen I have come to speak with thee as friend.”
Stephen “What would you speak with me about Tribune John?”
Me “This business of behaving like a Roman Emperor, is making thee a figure of mockery.”
Stephen “Tell me John who is it that mocks the Emperor, is it them treacherous dogs at the senate?”
Me “We have no senate Stephen.”
Stephen “Ah you have dissolved it, good work John.”
Me “It is the common folk that are mocking thee. They call thee Stephenicus, and mock thy attire.”
Stephen “Stephenicus indeed; tis a good name, and I will adopt it.
However, this mockery will have to be stopped, prepare me a list of
names; we shall see if they mock me when they are feast for the lions.”
Me “We have no lions Stephen and I do not have enough years of life remaining to prepare a list so long.”
Stephen “Are you dying John?”
Me “No it is just a figure of speech.”
Stephen “Good, for I would not want thee to have missed this.”
(Stephen unrolls a parchment with a plan on it)
Stephen “See this will be my crowning achievement as Emperor.”
Me “What is it?”
Stephen “Tis the Circus Maximus to be built in London, the people will
mock me no more when they witness the spectacle of chariot racing.”
Me “This is madness, you will be telling me of gladiatorial contests next.”
Stephen “Ah yes tis a fine idea, you have a sharp mind Tribune John.”
Me “Yes tis a pity others have not.”
Stephen “You are right John with the exception of thee I am surrounded by madmen.”
Me “Yes Stephen you have my sympathies, now if you would excuse me I have maters to attend to.”
Stephen “Ah you are always busy John, no doubt making plans for our legions.”
Me “Yes that is it Stephen, it is our legions I must attend to.”
(I leave the room, it is much worse than I suspected, I fear Stephen is insane.)
**********************************************
1353.
I have received great news from Sardinia. The inquisition has tried
Doge Marino for heresy, he was found guilty, and latter burnt at the
stake. I go to see Stephen to tell him of this.
Me “Stephen I have grave news for thee.”
Stephen “Pray tell what is this news.”
Me “The inquisition have burnt Doge Marino at the stake.”
Stephen “Surely this is good news is it not.”
Me “Tis both good and bad, Tis good because Marino is an enemy, but tis bad because he was a Roman Emperor.”
Stephen “I fail to see your reasoning John.”
Me “Do you not see Stephen, the inquisition look upon Roman emperors as pagans as they were in ancient times.”
Stephen “are you saying that because I am now Emperor, the inquisition my charge me with heresy?”
Me “Yes of course they will, I have heard that they make plans to visit England as we speak.”
Stephen “What am I to do John you must help me.”
Me “You must rid yourself of all these Roman artefacts, and begin to act as an English King once more.”
Stephen “Yes of course it will be done.”
(End of conversation)
The truth is the inquisition has no such plans to visit us, and
although this ruse of mine will not make Stephen sane, it may make him
appear to be sane.
Lord Langton has written to me asking if he might be considered for the
title Governor of Constantinople. He explains that it is now such a
long time since he was in Normandy, that he now feels no affinity for
the province. He goes on to say that as his stay in Constantinople
looks set to be lengthy, he feels that the governorship would add
weight to his authority, he also suggests that it might be a good idea
if someone nearer home was given the office of Constable.
I have agreed to Langtons request, and given Mercadier of Scotland the Office of Constable.
**********************************************
1354.
A new Mongol Khan by the name of Temudur has appeared in
Volga-Bulgaria, and rebels in Ryazan, Pereyaslavl, and Kiev have all
pledged allegiance to him. My sources tell me that this new horde is
not as formidable as the horde of old, as their armies consist mainly
of peasants. This is good news because next year we will find ourselves
at war with the Mongols, as the people of Armenia have now accepted our
rule; and this frees our armies up to attack Kiev.
Stephen has now abandoned his Roman lifestyle, and has become devoutly
religious; the plan for the Circus Maximus has been replaced with a
plan for a massive Gothic Cathedral. I support him in this, and think
the Cathedral would do much to mend his reputation.
**********************************************
1355.
Birger Massons mercenary army have now taken Kiev, they suffered
minimal casualties and destroyed the mostly peasant Mongol army with
ease.
To combat Italian piracy we launched an attack on their fleet in the
Sea of Crete, the action did not go well for us and we lost ships.
Unbelievably considering the constant harassment we have suffered at
the hands of Italian pirates, and the fact that we actually lost this
naval battle, we still received a warning from the Pope.
Stephens obsession with Rome has now been replaced with an obsession
for the Inquisition, he has read everything he can find on the subject,
and soon plans to start his own inquisition here in Wessex. I fear that
in steering Stephen away from his Roman ways I may have inadvertently
created a greater problem, only time will tell.
**********************************************
1356.
As Stephen seems content to leave military matters to his generals
whilst he is preoccupied with his latest obsession, I feel it falls to
me to consider our long term military objectives.
I now feel it is inevitable that the only way we can only ensure peace, is by the eventual conquest of the whole of Europe.
I estimate that the eight standard English armies that we have
assembled over many years, should be enough to complete the conquest.
However, we may need to adapt our strategy. Until now our strategy has
been one of placing large armies capable of defending our empire, in
all border provinces. Due to the vastness of the steppe if we were to
continue this strategy, we would need to build more armies, and once
the steppe was conquered these extra armies would be surplus to
requirements.
What I propose to do is this. We will place our three armies in the
east in Constantinople, Kiev and Khazar. We will then use expendable
armies of crusaders, mercenaries and bribed armies, to complete the
conquest of the steppe.
Once conquest is achieved we will move our army in Kiev to Lithuania,
and our army in Khazar to Kiev, thus establishing our border with the
central European powers. As this will take many years there seems
little point in planning further ahead at the moment, as the situation
in central Europe may have changed considerably by that time.
One thing which never seems to change is our constant naval conflict
with the Italians. This year has seen them commit more piracy against
us, this time in the Sea of Crete, where we lost shipping. Although
this problem is not critical yet, I do see a time when it may become
so, as the Italian fleet is growing stronger.
In recent years attempts to strike back at Italian shipping have met
with the disapproval of the Pope. I am now considering aggressive
actions against one of the other Catholic nations as a way to divert
the Popes attention, before we launch an attack on Sicily in an attempt
to destroy the Italian dynasty in its entirety.
Stephen now has a third son, Richard. His first son Henry has come of
age this year, and I have asked Stephens permission to tutor the heir
to the throne in the ways of Kingship.
I am growing older and may die before Stephen, if this was to happen
there would be a need for someone with a grasp of military matters to
take up the mantle, and I can think of no one better to do this than
the next King.
Stephen himself seems much more like the Stephen of old this year, and
we have shared a number of entertaining evenings together as we used
to. This is something which I could not bring myself to do during his
Roman period.
**********************************************
1357.
My hopes that Stephen was returning to normality have been dashed. His
increasing piety and obsession with the inquisition, has turned him
into a zealot. He has given himself the title of grand inquisitor, and
begun conducting trials of suspected heretics personally.
The term “trial” I use very loosely, as these particular trials are
more a case of, torture until the accused confesses, followed by
conviction and subsequent execution by burning.
At present the trials are confined to common folk, so it matters
little, but I fear that as Stephen grows bored of trying peasants, he
may begin to look for more challenging targets amongst the nobility. If
this happens I may have to take action to try and curb Stephens
actions, before a number of like minded nobles decide a more permanent
cure is needed for Stephen’s madness.
**********************************************
1358.
Birger Masson and his mercenary army have attacked the Mongol held
province of Pereyaslavl. The attack was a success, and they now have
the castle under siege.
Our newly formed crusader army has reached its target of province of
Lithuania; unfortunately the Egyptians repulsed our attack. This
crusader army is unusual, as it is led by a Christian man of Arab
origin; his name is Idris ibn Yaqub. I have now sent word to Yaqub that
he is to wait in Volhynia until next year, when I will send mercenaries
by sea to Lithuania to aid him in his task.
The Italians are causing a nuisance of themselves once more. Unusually
for them, this time they have chosen a more direct form of
confrontation than their usual hit and run sea raids, and have invaded
Poland. We only have a small garrison force of 20 royal knights, under
the command of Sir Stephen Stuart in Poland. So Sir Stephen has
retreated to the Castle at Krakow, which has enough supplies to hold
out for several years.
As I feared King Stephen has now begun an inquisition aimed at the
nobility in England, this is an alarming turn of events, and will not
be easy to stop, as Stephen can now count on a number of eminent
religious men amongst his supporters. I will have to keep my eyes open,
and my ear to the ground in case the nobility begin to have rebellious
thoughts.
**********************************************
1359.
We are now at War with the people of Novgorod; the cause of this war
was our invasion of Chernigov. The battle which followed our invasion
will be claimed as a victory by Novgorod, as we were unable to take
control of the province. However, their victory has come at a high
price, as their ruler Prince Chort was slain during the battle. Birger
Masson the leader of our army was also killed in action. We will try
again next year.
Our crusaders, bolstered by mercenaries have once more failed in their
attempt to take Lithuania. I have informed Yaqub that more mercenaries
will be shipped in next year, and this time I will expect to see
success.
The Italians have successfully assaulted the castle at Krakow in
Poland, I doubt they will gain much advantage from this, as when we
took the province from the Byzantines some years ago there was little
in the way of economic development, a situation which we have done
nothing to change. The only money that we have spent in Poland has been
spent on a few inexpensive improvements to maintain order, and this
outlay has been more than covered by the military buildings which we
originally sold off at the start of our occupation. If anything Poland
is more likely to be a drain on Italian resources, as they try to
maintain order.
Stephen has uncovered an assassination plot. Apparently a number of
noblemen were planning the assassination attempt against the King, they
planned to scale several walls to gain access to the tower keep and
then scale the walls of the keep itself to get to the Kings chamber. In
my opinion a scheme of such madness could only have hatched in the mind
of one man, and that man is Stephen himself. Needless to say the men
were found guilty of treason, and executed in the manner of traitors. I
hope Stephen does not make a habit of this as it may lead to a real
attempt on his life.
Prince Henry has married Princess Sarolt of Hungary. I have been
spending much time with young Henry of late, teaching him much of what
he will need to know when he is King. I find Henry to be an agreeable
young man, and an eager to learn pupil.
King Henry of Sicily has passed away this year. His son Tancred is the new King of Sicily.
**********************************************
1360.
Our attempts to take Lithuania and Chernigov have once more ended in
failure. Yaqub has given me all kinds of excuses about our failure in
Lithuania, but his main complaint is that he had too few men. I have
sent word that next year, I will ensure he has double the amount of
mercenaries he had this year, but failure this time will result in him
being relieved of his command.
Perkin de Beauchamp has taken Pereyaslavl castle by force. I have
instructed Mutamid to take over garrison duties in Pereyaslavl, and
Beauchamp to add the weight of his army to our attack on Chernigov next
year.
Earlier in the year I received a request for a meeting from Lord Edmund
Cromwell Duke of Wessex, there follows an account of our meeting.
Me “Greetings Cromwell I trust you are well.”
Cromwell “Yes I am fine thank you Chancellor, yourself?”
Me “Aside from the pains of an aging body I am well. Now what is it you wish to see me about?”
Cromwell “I’m afraid the Kings treatment of our noble families is causing concern.”
Me “Ah I had expected to hear this at some point, how much concern is there?”
Cromwell “Just a few more executions for treason, will almost certainly spark rebellion in Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.”
Me “You do realize that such a rebellion would be doomed to failure?”
Cromwell “Yes I do, but hatred of the King is so strong amongst many of our noble families that I think they are past caring.”
Me “What do you suggest I do?”
Cromwell “You have the Kings ear, could you not steer him away from his present course?”
Me “I will try, but I cannot promise changes. The King can be very unreasonable at times”
Cromwell “Please persevere John, for I fear we will lose many good people if you fail.”
Me “Would you yourself be one of these people?”
Cromwell “No John, but then I haven’t lost any family to these purges as yet.”
Me “Thank you Edmund, you have my assurance that I will try my best to put a stop to the bloodshed.”
(End of conversation)
I decide to broach the subject during one of my regular evenings spent
in Stephens company. During the evening I make many jests, and try to
get Stephen into as good a mood as possible, before introducing this
subject, which I know will probably end in an argument. Eventually I
judge the time to be right.
Me “I am going to say something to thee now that you will not like, but I ask that you hear me out before losing your temper.”
Stephen “Do we have to spoil such a pleasant evening John?”
Me “I am afraid so.”
Stephen “Very well out with it.”
Me “These purges of yours are self defeating, they are fomenting more unrest. I h…..”
(Stephen jumps to his feet, throws his tankard across the room, and paces up and down.)
Stephen “What would you have me do? Sit here and wait for the assassins
knife, or maybe I should stand in a darkened field with my eyes closed
and proclaim “I am King Stephen, and I wish to feel a knife in my back”
You know there are men in England who will not be swayed from their
path of treason and treachery, what am I to do offer them an olive
branch so that they might cut my hand off.”
(He kicks a chair across the room, it smashes against the wall, and he limps back to sit down.)
Me “Did you hurt your foot?”
Stephen “Yes you know damn well I did, you bloody fool.”
(A wry grin spreads across my face.)
Me “It seems to me that a man who losses out in a battle with a chair is somewhat foolish.”
(Stephen smiles.)
Stephen “You see even the furniture plots against me.”
Me “Will the chair face trial and execution for this?”
Stephen “No I will pardon the chair; a rebellion of the furniture would be too dangerous.”
(We both laugh out loud, I decide not to press on with the subject, and hope Stephen might consider it for himself.)
**********************************************
1361.
Perkin de Beauchamp has taken Chernigov. Prince Sviatopolk leader of
the people of Novgorod is now under siege in the castle at Vladimir.
Idris ibn Yaqub has finally come good, and with the extra mercenaries I
provided him with this year, has taken Lithuania. All that now remains
of the Egyptian empire is the small garrison under siege in Vilnius
castle, and Sultan Khalil’s small army in Smolensk.
Although King Stephens’s unpredictable personality makes him something
of a problem for me at times, I pity the poor soul who has to try, and
keep King Andras of Hungary sane, for it is now plain to see that this
is an impossible task.
King Andras leading around 800 men crossed the border into Kiev earlier
this year. Waiting for him was Lord Knollys, and an army of almost 3000
of our most battle hardened troops. Granted, Andras’s army contained a
large contingent of elite chivalric knights, and in the event they did
put up a hard fight, but there was only ever going to be one winner,
and the Hungarian army is now defeated.
The thing that I find confusing is. If Andras was so determined to
break our alliance, and go to war, why did he not make better use of
his army, wait for the fall of Lithuania, and then attack our much
weaker army in that province. If he had done this I feel sure he would
have gained a victory. However, he is fortunate that our plans for
expansion lie to the east at present. If it were not so his depleted
army would stand little chance of survival.
Late in the year something happened that made me think I had been too
hasty in comparing Stephen favourably to Andras the mad of Hungary.
Stephen had been dining alone, and it can only be assumed that one of
the servants must have displeased him. I say it can alone be assumed
because we have no witness’s who survived the carnage that followed.
I received a message from the garrison commander of the Tower that I
was needed urgently, as Stephen had become possessed of the devil, and
gone on a killing spree.
I arrived at the Tower, and was informed that they had locked the keep
and Stephen was inside. I had the guard open the door, and made my way
inside. I carefully made my way through the keep checking each room;
there were many dead bodies, but no sign of Stephen. Eventually I
reached the top floor of the keep, and peered around the door of
Stephen’s chamber. He is sat on the floor in the corner of his room,
his knees tucked up under his chin sobbing like a child. I enter the
room, he looks up at me, and in a pleading voice he says “Please help
me John I am not well.” Tears well up in my eyes as I cross the floor
and help my King to his feet.
I have now moved into the Tower, and taken a room next to Stephens’s
chamber. I will now try to be with Stephen at all times, so that I
might try and guide him through his worst periods of madness.
**********************************************
1362.
Beauchamp has now taken Vladimir castle by force, and Prince Sviatopolk
leader of the people of Novgorod was taken prisoner during the assault.
Beauchamp sent me news of our royal guest and asked for instructions,
as to what should be done with him.
Considering the facts that we are the aggressors in our conflict with
Novgorod, and they have not actively looked for war with us over the
years. I decided that Sviatopolk should be treated fairly, and as
reward for his chivalrous behaviour, he was allowed to choose his own
executioner and method of execution. He chose to be beheaded.
Sviatopolk is the last of his line, and Novgorod itself has now degenerated into a rebel province.
Yaqub has taken Vilnius castle in Lithuania from the Egyptians; they are now confined to just one province, Smolensk.
King Conrad of the Swiss has foolishly decided to sacrifice his army by
invading Swabia. Lord Mercadier had plenty time to prepare, and the
Swiss army was destroyed in a hail of missiles as they advanced on one
of our most well equipped armies. They were finally routed from the
field, and Conrad himself taken prisoner. We have sold him back to the
Swiss for 12755 florins.
It is now a sad situation we have with King Stephen. He now recognizes
that he is suffering from some form of madness that seems to come and
go.
He is particularly susceptible to these bouts of madness when he is
angered, so to combat this, Stephen now spends all his time with me, as
he says that I have a calming effect on him. If I am away he insists on
being locked in his chamber until my return, so that he will not harm
anyone. He feels great remorse for the deaths he caused during his
killing spree of last year.
**********************************************
1363.
It is my joyful task to report that the Italians are now in a state of
civil war. They have lost Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria completely to
the rebels, and are suffering rebellions in Poland and Wallachia. Only
their island Stronghold of Sardinia remains totally loyal.
Many of our other neighbours, I might have felt some sympathy for in
this situation, but not the Italians. Over the years they have been a
constant source of irritation with their petty piracy, much of which I
doubt would take place if they did not have the Popes skirts to hide
behind.
Stephen has been complaining of severe headaches, the surgeon has tried
to alleviate the pressure on his brain by drilling a hole in his skull,
Stephen says the headaches went away for a while after the hole had
been made, but have returned with less severity.
**********************************************
1364.
In January Stephen complained of a small lump on his temple, by
February the lump was the size of a hen’s egg, and Stephen was in
terrible pain much of the time. The surgeon wanted to cut the lump, but
Stephen would not let him near it.
In early March Stephen had become delirious, he was a danger to himself
and everyone else, and we had to tie him to the bed. Periodically his
pain would subside, and we would be able to feed him and wash him.
During the last two weeks of Stephens’s life, he was reduced to little
more than a dying animal, constantly writhing in pain. It was a blessed
release when Stephen breathed his last.
I doubt history will be kind to Stephen. He will likely be seen as a
mad King. But during my time with him, I have caught glimpses of the
man who was locked within a mind that betrayed him, and I believe had
fate been kinder to Stephen, history might have recorded him as a great
King.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 4/18/04 11:21 pm
|
Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 719
(4/1/04 12:29 am)
Reply
|
the Doomsday book of 1364.
BUILDINGS/IMPROVEMENTS
Wessex.(Lord Cromwell. Loyalty 9, Piety 7, Dread 1, Command 0, Acumen 4)
Citadel, Armourers guild, Spearmakers workshop, Town militia, Master
merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, Chancellery, Constable’s
palace, Admiralty, 80% farmland, Master horse breeder, Baronial court,
Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild,
Cannon foundry.
Mercia.(Lord Mobray. L9, P5, D0, C0, A4)
Fortress, Armourers guild, Swordsmith, Spearmakers guild, Town militia,
Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry.
Northumbria.(Lord de Vere. L9, P6, D3, C0, A4)
Citadel, Bowyers guild, Armourers workshop, Gunsmiths workshop, Town
guard, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry,
Copper mine complex.
Wales.(Lord Longchamp. L9, P4, D2, C0, A4)
Citadel, Master bowyer, Armourers workshop, Gunsmiths guild, Town
guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry, Copper mine complex.
Scotland.(Lord Mercadier, Constable of the Tower. L9, P3, D9, C7, A5)
Citadel, Armourers guild, Spearmakers workshop, Town militia, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border
forts. Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry.
Ireland.(Lord Marshall. L9, P5, D4, C6, A7)
Citadel, Armourers workshop, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, Town
militia, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry.
Norway.(Lord Stanley. L9, P5, D3, C0, A4)
Citadel, Master bowyer, Armourers workshop, Gunsmiths guild, Town
militia, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Sweden.(Lord Gascoign. L9, P7, D4, C1, A4)
Citadel, Armourers workshop, Swordsmiths workshop, Metalsmith,
Spearmaker, Town guard, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Copper mine complex.
Denmark.(Lord Plantagenet, Chancellor. L9, P0, D6, C6, A6)
Citadel, Bowyer, Armourer, Siege engineers guild, Town guard, Merchants
guild, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts,
Port, Bell foundry.
Saxony.(Lord Plantagenet. L8, P0, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Bowyer, Armourers workshop, Master siege engineer, Town guard,
Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Chapter house, Border forts, Port, Bell foundry, Salt mine complex.
Franconia.(Lord Uhtred L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Citadel, Armourers workshop, Swordsmiths workshop, Metalsmith,
Spearmaker, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Flanders.(Lord Becket, Chamberlain. L9, P0, D5, C1, A6)
Citadel, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers guild, Town guard, Master
merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry.
Normandy.(Lord Fitzgilbert. L9, P4, D8, C7, A7)
Citadel, Armourers workshop, Spearmakers guild, Town guard, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Friesland.(Lord Stuart. L8, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Master merchant, Inn, tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, border forts, Port.
Brittany.(Lord Basset L9, P4, D1, C0, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Aquitane.(Lord Curthose L9, P8, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Anjou.(Lord Grey L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Ille de France.(Lord Plantagenet. Warden. L9, P1, D4, C6, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Champagne.(Lord Hastings L7, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Lorraine.(Lord Berkeley L9, P2, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Swabia.(Lord de Vere L6, P1, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Salt mine complex.
Burgundy.(Lord Stafford L6, P5, D2, C0, A5)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Chapter house, Border forts.
Provence.(Lord Longchamp L8, P3, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Toulouse.(Lord Bourchier L9, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Navarre.(Lord Swynford L9, P7, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Aragon.(Lord Plantagenet L7, P0, D4, C6, A6)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Inn, tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Valencia.(Lord Courtnay L5, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Castile.(Lord Longchamp L9, P9, D0, C1, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Leon.(Lord Talbot L9, P9, D2, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town watch, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Portugal.(Lord Despenser L3, P8, D2, C0, A5)
Castle, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 60%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Cordoba.(Lord Longchamp L4, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Granada.(Lord Courtnay L8, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Silver mine complex.
Morocco.(Lord Uhtred L6, P6, D0, C0, A5)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn,
Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Gold mine complex.
Algeria.(Lord Uhtred L7, P9, D0, C0, A5)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Gold mine complex.
Tunisia.(Lord Neville L8, P9, D1, C0, A4)
Castle & ringwall, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Gold mine complex.
Cyrencia.(Lord Fitzneale L6, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Egypt.(Lord Percy L9, P5, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Sinai.(Lord Curthose L9, P5, D2, C1, A4)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Palestine.(Lord Holland L3, P9, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Arabia.(Lord de Beauchamp L4, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 40% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Syria.(Lord Longchamp L8, P1, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Tripoli.(Lord Gaveston L6, P8, D0, C0, A5)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Antioch.(Lord Cromwell L8, P8, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, port.
Edessa.(Lord Holland L9, P7, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Lesser Armenia.(Lord Mowbray L8, P8, D2, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Church, Border forts.
Rum.(Lord Curthose L9, P6, D0, C1, A6)
Keep, Town guard, Church, Border forts.
Armenia.(Lord Wulfstan L9, P4, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Anatolia.(Lord Cromwell L9, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Church, Border forts.
Trebizond.(Lord Knollys L7, P1, D5, C6, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Border forts.
Georgia.(Lord von Wittelsbach L7, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Church, Border forts.
Nicea.(Lord Becket L9, P7, D2, C1, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Church, Border forts.
Constantinople.(Lord Langton L9, P1, D2, C6, A7)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Khazar.(Lord Longchamp L9, P8, D2, C0, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Church, Border forts.
Crimea.(Lord Stanley L9, P4, D2, C0, A6)
Fort, Town watch, 20% farmland, Border forts.
Kiev.(Lord Berkeley L9, P7, D1, C0, A4)
Fort, Town watch, Border forts.
Pereyaslavl.(Lord Hastings L9, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Fort, Town watch, 20% farmland, Border forts.
Chernigov.(None)
Fort, Border forts.
Lithuania.(None)
Fort, 20% farmland, Border forts.
Brandenburg.(Lord Audley L5, P9, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Copper mine.
Genoa.(Lord Langton L8, P6, D0, C0, A5)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Tuscany.(Lord Holland L9, P5, D2, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Corsica.(Lord Hastings L9, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
MILITARY
Wessex
120 Royal knights
160 Chivalric knights
Mercia
20 Royal knights
Northumbria
20 Royal knights
Wales
20 Royal knights
Scotland
20 Royal knights
Ireland
20 Royal knights
Norway
20 Royal knights
Sweden
20 Royal knights
Denmark
20 Royal knights
Saxony
20 Royal knights
80 Chivalric knights
80 Mounted sergeants.
480 Chivalric men at arms
240 Halberdiers
600 Chivalric sergeants
120 Arquebusiers
120 Handgunners
360 Longbowmen
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
1 Catapult crew
2 Demi culverin crews
Franconia
20 Royal knights
80 Chivalric knights
80 Mounted sergeants
480 Chivalric men at arms
240 Billmen
600 Chivalric sergeants
120 Arbalests
120 Handgunners
360 Longbowmen
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
3 Catapult crews
Flanders
20 Royal knights
Normandy
20 Royal knights
Friesland
20 Royal knights
Brittany
20 Royal knights
Aquitane
20 Royal knights
Anjou
20 Royal knights
Ille de France
20 Royal knights
Champagne
20 Royal knights
Lorraine
20 Royal knights
Swabia
20 Royal knights
80 Feudal knights
80 Mounted sergeants
480 Chivalric men at arms
240 Billmen
600 Chivalric sergeants
240 Arbalests
360 Longbowmen
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
3 Catapult crews
Burgundy
20 Royal knights
80 Feudal knights
80 Mounted sergeants
480 Chivalric men at arms
240 Billmen
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Arbalests
360 Longbowmen
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
3 Catapult crews
Provence
20 Royal knights
80 Feudal knights
80 Mounted sergeants
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Arbalests
360 Archers
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
3 Catapult crews
Toulouse
20 Royal knights
Navarre
20 Royal knights
Aragon
20 Royal knights
Valencia
20 Royal knights
Castile
20 Royal knights
Leon
20 Royal knights
Portugal
20 Royal knights
Cordoba
20 Royal knights
Granada
20 Royal knights
Morocco
20 Royal knights
Algeria
20 Royal knights
Tunisia
20 Royal knights
Cyrencia
20 Royal knights
Egypt
20 Royal knights
Sinai
20 Royal knights
Palestine
20 Royal knights
Arabia
20 Royal knights
Syria
20 Royal knights
Tripoli
20 Royal knights
Antioch
20 Royal knights
Edessa
20 Royal knights
Lesser Armenia
20 Royal knights
Rum
20 Royal knights
Armenia
20 Royal knights
Anatolia
20 Royal knights
Trebizond
20 Royal knights
Georgia
20 Royal knights
Nicea
20 Royal knights
Constantinople
20 Royal knights
80 Feudal knights
80 Mounted sergeants
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen
600 Feudal sergeants
120 Crossbowmen
120 Arbalests
360 Archers
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
3 Catapult crews
240 Pavise Crossbowmen
1 Bombard crew
1 Trebuchet crew
Khazar
20 Royal knights
80 Feudal knights
80 Mounted sergeants
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen
600 Feudal sergeants
120 Crossbowmen
120 Arbalests
360 Archers
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
3 Catapult crews
240 Pavise Crossbowmen
1 Bombard crew
1 Trebuchet crew
Crimea
20 Royal knights
Kiev
20 Royal knights
80 Feudal knights
80 Mounted sergeants
480 Feudal men at arms
240 Billmen
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Crossbowmen
360 Archers
120 Gallowglasses
120 Kerns
240 Highlanders
3 Catapult crews
240 Pavise Crossbowmen
1 Bombard crew
1 Trebuchet crew
Pereyaslavl
20 Ghulam bodyguard
600 Saracen infantry
240 Desert archers
Chernigov
743 Assorted mercenaries
Lituania
1401 Assorted depleted and obsolete troops
Brandenburg
20 Royal knights
Genoa
20 Royal knights
Tuscany
20 Royal knights
Corsica
20 Royal knights
NAVAL
2 Barques.
22 Caravels
8 Cogs
AGENTS
3 Emissaries
4 Assassins
66 Spies
1 Grand inquisitor
17 Inquisitors
62 Bishops
TREASURY
Province income
Algeria 566
Anatolia 276
Anjou 395
Antioch 1187
Aquitane 605
Arabia 82
Aragon 801
Armenia 278
Brandenburg 311
Brittany 434
Burgundy 466
Castile 915
Champagne324
Chernigov 136
Constantinople 1333
Cordoba 815
Corsica 128
Crimea 128
Cyrencia 119
Denmark 658
Edessa 447
Egypt 1183
Flanders 1770
Franconia 325
Friesland 414
Genoa 440
Granada 655
Ille de France 515
Ireland 550
Khazar 264
Kiev 305
Leon 795
Lesser Armenia 190
Lorraine 473
Mercia 516
Morocco 707
Navarre 369
Nicea 304
Normandy 670
Northumbria 740
Norway 354
Palestine 586
Preyaslavl 136
Portugal 565
Provence 496
Rum 416
Saxony 454
Scotland 242
Sinai 115
Swabia 408
Sweden 1145
Syria 605
Toulouse 645
Trebizond 202
Tripoli 1470
Tunisia 609
Tuscany 490
Valencia 794
Wales 365
Wessex 659
Tot income 32,643
Tot in Treasury 98,294
Map of 1364
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=62673
Edited by: Dave P at: 4/18/04 11:25 pm
|
Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 720
(4/1/04 12:52 am)
Reply
|
Re: The Kings Diary, chapter 9.
The Diary of King Henry II
1364.
My cousin John Plantagenet, or Uncle John as I have always called him,
has informed me that I should begin this diary to chronicle my reign. I
feel I should begin with an entry about the years before now.
Although my father became difficult to communicate with during his
final years, this was not always the case. I have many good memories of
being a boy in the company of my father. During my early childhood he
showed me how to use a bow, how to fence, and took me hunting. He was a
humorous man, and would tease me in a good natured fashion, and
although I now realise his Roman period was probably the onset of his
madness, to me it was a great adventure.
I had become a man by the time fathers madness had begun to make him
dangerous to those around him, and as young men are apt to do, had
begun to spend all my time with friends of my own age, so I was very
rarely around to witness the worst of fathers behaviour. Yet even
though I had grown distant from him, it upset me greatly to see his
eventual demise. Death was a cruel master to my father, and it hurt to
see this man who I had idolised as a boy, suffer so greatly.
So now I am King Henry II, I am 24 years old, tall, handsome, witty and
intelligent. Uncle John has prepared me well for the roll of King, and
will offer me advice if I need it; I also have a number of good men
around me here in England.
I have but one thing which worries me, and that is the madness that
runs in our family. I have talked to John about this, and he assures me
that it is by no means a certainty that I will also be afflicted by it,
and points out a number of very sane Kings we have had in the past, not
least of all my namesake Henry I, who was probably our greatest King.
Even so it is a worry.
I have very little to report to the diary in this my first year as King, but there are two things worthy of a mention.
The Italians continue their piracy, this time in the Black Sea, and
Pope Nicholas VIII has died. The new Pope is Nicholas IX. I must say
the Papacy shows great imagination in the choosing of names for
incoming Popes.
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1365.
The Italians have invaded Corsica and Tuscany; Doge Enrico himself led
the invasion of Tuscany. Neither of their invading armies has the
strength to break our formidable defences in these provinces, so I have
chosen to sit back and wait for them to go away.
I do not think the Italians harbour any realistic notion of conquering
these provinces. Instead I suspect it is an attempt to undermine the
authority of a new King, and to this end it has proved effective.
Although I am not facing open rebellion, I do know of four governors
whose loyalty is a little suspect, and this Italian ruse will have
planted more seeds of doubt in their minds. One of these four, the Duke
of Portugal, I have promised my sister Edith to, and so his loyalty
should now be assured.
The other three I have recalled back to England for now. Other loyal
men will garrison their provinces whilst I attempt to improve their
opinion of me.
Because of the loyalty problems that I have at present, expansion on
the steppe has come to a standstill for now. I expect it will take a
couple of years before people realise that their new King, although
young, is strong and capable. Then I will be in a position to resume
conquest of the steppe.
The Byzantine Emperor Romanus has died of old age. The new Emperor is named John IV.
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1366.
My two greatest companions are Ralph Cromwell Duke of Wessex and Sir
Harry Mowbray, who is next in line to the Dukedom of Mercia. They are
both men of similar age to myself, but totally contrasting in
appearance and character to each other.
Ralph is tall, slim and good looking, he is quick witted and always
jesting. Harry in complete contrast is short, fat and ugly, he is a
little slow witted, but very funny in a coarse sort of way. As you
might imagine this leads to some very amusing conversations, and I will
include some of these in the diary as they arise. However here is not
the time, as I have news of happiness and sadness to record.
The happiness came in the shape of my first born son John, named after
Uncle John. This is my way of saying thank you to John, for his
devotion to my father, and his excellent work in preparing me for the
role of King. I am so glad I was able to do this for John, as just
three weeks later he passed away. He chose his own epitaph before he
died; it reads “Here lays John Plantagenet, an Englishman” It is simple
but sums the man up completely, for John was a man whose loyalty lay
with England above all else. He will be sadly missed.
Another man of loyalty who has passed away this year is Umar al
Mutamid. I never met the man, but John had a lot of praise for him, and
so I must assume he was a good man. His last request was that his son
Suleyman be given command of his army. I have agreed to this.
**********************************************
1367.
More shipping has been sunk by the Italian pirates, this time in the
Sea of Marmara. As far as I am concerned this is the final straw, the
Italians must now be destroyed.
I have hired a large mercenary army out of Franconia for this task.
This army was to march down through Bavaria, Austria and Venice to
Tuscany, where Doge Enrico was laying siege to Florence Castle. On
moving into Bavaria, which is HRE held land, Emperor Herrmann must have
believed himself to have been our target. He immediately fled across
the border into Hungary, where he was promptly captured and executed by
the Maygars.
Although we have had no conflict with any forces of the HRE, our actions have however, earned us a warning from the Pope.
Doge Enrico has now abandoned his siege of Florence, and fled into
Venice. I can only assume that he has become aware of our intentions,
and has decided to try and escape to Poland or Wallachia.
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1368.
Our eastern offensive has resumed this year. With Pereyaslavl now
subdued, Suleyman al Mutamid has been able to move on to Chernigov.
This in turn has freed Yaqub and his mercenaries from garrison duties,
and allowed them to march on Mongol held Ryazan. The Mongols have now
retreated to Vola-Bulgaria, where they are rumoured to have an army of
over 8000.
The province of Novgorod is now part of the empire, after the Livs who control the province, agreed to our terms.
There have also been a number of developments in our conflict with the
Italians. Early in the year we attempted to bring a swift end to the
conflict by assassinating Doge Enrico. Unfortunately the attempt failed
miserably when our assassin was betrayed.
We must now do things the conventional way. We have an army of
mercenaries drawn from Franconia who have now reached rebel held
Austria, and will be ready to attack the Doge in Venice next year.
The Italians laying siege to Bastia castle in Corsica, have been forced
sail back to Sardinia, after a loyalist rebellion in support of our
rule. Next year I hope to use this loyalist army to press our
advantage, by invading Sardinia itself.
The Basarabs of Moldavia have joined allegiance with us and invaded
Italian held Wallachia. The Basarabs detest the Italians after many
years of suffering under Italian rule, and I suspect they saw this as
their opportunity for revenge. They invaded Wallachia and the Italians
retreated to the castle at Bucharest, then everything went wrong for
them, when uprisings in support of Andras of Hungary in Carpathia and
Moldavia, left them trapped in Wallachia. They now plan to fight their
way through to the Bulgarian coast.
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1369.
Those damn Italians have thwarted us again. Our mercenary army attacked
Venice, winning an easy victory, and capturing Doge Enrico in the
process. I am ecstatic at reading this news until I read a little
further down, and find that our commander has ransomed him back for
11174 florins. Who is this fool you might ask, his name is Ettore
Piccolomini, and he is Italian. I am furious with the Duke of Franconia
for hiring this man, and entrusting him with this particular task. I
have sent one of my men to look into the Duke’s affairs; if anything is
amiss he will lose his title and very likely his head.
I now have to plan an invasion of Poland put an end to Enrico and the Italians.
I do have one thing to celebrate in our never-ending war with the
Italians, our loyalist army invaded Sardinia, and wiped out their
entire army before they had chance to retreat to Cagliari castle. The
Italians are now confined to Poland and Wallachia, so although they
still torment us with the ships they have, they will not be building
any new ones.
A small group of crusaders from Burgundy have captured the province of
Smolensk. The ruler of Smolensk calls himself Sultan Khalil and claims
to be the King of the Egyptians. I know not if his claim has any
validity, as the Egyptian empire declined many years ago. However,
these kinds of claims are dangerous as they encourage rebellion, so we
have put the Sultan and his empire to death.
I have devised a novel way to conquer Finland. There are three rebel
factions in Finland totalling over 4000 men in all, and they are mostly
peasants. I plan to bribe the factions one by one turning them against
one another until one remains, I will then bribe that faction to join
with us.
Our Basarab army has now fought its way into Bulgaria, and taken
control of the province from the Bulgars. They now lay siege to Turnovo
castle.
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1370.
The Byzantines have invaded Bulgaria. Our friends the Basarabs have
managed to escape to Constantinople, and have requested that we help
them liberate their homeland of Moldavia. I have given my word that
Moldavia will be liberated from the tyrannical Byzantines, but first
they must prove their loyalty by fighting for me on the steppe.
The truth of the matter is Moldavia is not a priority. We will no doubt
liberate the province at some point in the future, but by then these
men will have sacrificed themselves for the English cause.
The Italians are now confined to Poland after a rebel uprising put an
end to their rule in Wallachia. We are still experiencing problems with
Italian pirates, whom I suspect are now operating out of Byzantine
ports on the Adriatic coast.
King Andras of Hungary is dead. I for one will shed no tears at his
passing, for this is the treacherous dog that betrayed our alliance
during my fathers’ time. I wish his passage through purgatory to be
long and torturous. The new King of Hungary is Bela III, he is Andras’s
brother, and an old man. His reign will probably be a brief one.
The Cathedral in London that was begun many years ago during my fathers
reign, has finally reached completion. It is a truly magnificent
building, the finest in the empire.
My father was far from being a saint, but he has done God great service
in starting this work, and although he did not live to see it through,
the glory must be his. I have named the cathedral Saint Stephens, so
that people might remember which King was responsible for the building
of this fine monument.
The succession is now secure after the birth of my second son, he has been named William.
**********************************************
1371.
This year has been one of great celebration in England. First there was
a great feast to celebrate the birth of my third son Alfred, next came
a celebration of my brother Richards coming of age, then there was the
Earl of Mercia’s funeral.
We didn’t actually celebrate the Earls passing, but the private get
together after the funeral did turn out to be an amusing evening.
Present at the get together were Ralph Cromwell Earl of Wessex, Harry
Mowbray Earl of Mercia, Loefwine Longchamp Duke of Wales, Roger de Vere
Earl of Northumbria and myself.
Me “Gentlemen I am sure I speak for all present in extending my condolences to our friend Mowbray, at the loss of his father”
(Everyone nods in agreement to my words)
Mowbray “Huh, I’m glad the miserable old bugger’s gone, fancy making me wait until I am 32 to become Earl”
Me “Very well in that case let me propose a toast to the new Earl of Mercia”
All “To the Earl of Mercia”
(We all drain our tankards, and Longchamps quickly refills them all from a huge jug)
Longchamps “Well Mowbray you will now need to begin looking for a wife, then you can set about producing the next Earl”
Cromwell “Do you know of any such desperate women Longchamps”
Longchamps “I know of one, this woman is so desperate she has been known to entertain entire companies of knights”
Cromwell “Do I know of this woman”
Longchamps “Yes you are married to her”
(The room erupts into laughter)
De Vere “We need to help Mowbray look more presentable to the fair sex”
Mowbray “I have no intention of changing just to please a woman”
Longchamps “Quite right Mowbray men of influence are far too busy for preening and such”
Cromwell “In Mowbrays case busy eating everything in the county”
Mowbray “I am a big man with a big appetite”
Cromwell “Yes but thy appetite is so huge the poor folk of Mercia are starving”
Mowbray “They are not, and if it were the case there is plenty enough grass in Mercia for them to feast on.
De Vere “You are too kind Mowbray, soil is a good enough diet for the poor”
Me “Come gentlemen we digress, De Vere you are a man of fine clothes
and such, what would you suggest Mowbray wears to make him more
attractive to the fair sex”
De Vere “Full armour”
Cromwell “Yes with the visor firmly down”
Mowbray “This is an unfair fight, have I not one ally amongst you?”
Longchamps “Yes I will be thy ally Mowbray, it is unfair that our
friends here should make sport of thy grotesquely ugly face and
hideously bloated body”
Mowbray “Bah! three to one, I am hopelessly outnumbered. My king, will
you not support your loyal and faithful subject against these cowards”
Me “Yes indeed Mowbray, I would never stoop so low as to make sport of a man just because he has the appearance of a gargoyle”
Mowbray “That is it, I am mortally wounded by your cruelty, and vow never to show my face outside again”
Cromwell “The people of Mercia will be pleased to learn of thy vow no doubt”
(Mowbray now has a look of mischief on his face)
Mowbray “Yes you are right, now I wish to propose a toast, To marriage
may it last for eternity, and may thy wife never grow old and fat”
(We all look at each other, grudgingly raise our tankards and repeat
Mowbrays words. The only unmarried man amongst us has had the last
laugh at our expense)
**********************************************
1372.
The Italians have been attacking our shipping once more, this time in
the Aegean Sea. Hopefully this problem will soon be over, as we will
have mercenaries ready to move on the last remaining Italian province
of Poland next year.
We now control Finland. After a few years of financing the Finnish
civil war, the people of Finland have grown tired of war, and accepted
my guarantee of peace should they opt to become part of the empire.
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1373.
We have now taken the province of Muscovy from the Byzantines. Of the
provinces east of Lituania and Kiev, only two now remain outside the
empire, they are Livonia and Volga-Bulgaria.
Our campaign to take the lands to the east has been one of crusading,
attrition and insurrection. Because of this we now find ourselves with
many small armies scattered about the eastern lands. Our final plan for
conquest of the eastern lands will be as follows.
I plan to use all these small armies to wear down the Mongol horde in
Volga-Bulgaria. I don’t expect immediate success, because the Horde is
8000 strong, and although the vast majority of these 8000 are peasants,
the Mongols do posses a significant number of heavy cavalry and other
useful units.
It is not possible to gather all our small armies together for one
large attack, as many are still busy subduing conquered lands, but as
these lands come to accept our rule, these forces will also be sent to
the east to attack the horde.
The Livs of Livonia I plan to bribe, if successful we will leave just
enough of their army in Livonia to keep the peace, and send the rest
against the horde.
Our attack on Poland has gone ahead. The Italians were defeated after a
long drawn out battle, in which our mercenaries slowly wore them down
with missile fire. There was brief hand to hand fighting at the end of
the battle, but by then the Italians were a spent force. The elusive
Doge Enrico once more made good his escape, and is now trapped in
Krakow castle, unless Doge Enrico miraculously discovers the secret of
flight, his cause is now hopeless.
Bela III of Hungary is dead. The new King of the Hungarians is his son Geza.
**********************************************
1374.
We have sent our first wave of men against the Mongol horde. A mere 700
men against 8000, the venture was doomed to failure. I had hoped that
we might inflict some damage on their army, but this turned out to be a
vain hope. Our army was massacred, it was a complete disaster. However,
we have managed to gather some useful information from this defeat. It
seems that the horde are using their best troops as front line
defenders, even Khan Temudur himself was involved in the action.
I believe if we continue with our strategy of throwing expendable
troops at them, their best units will eventually be worn down, and once
we have broken this hard shell, the peasants and archers who make up
the greater part of this force, will prove to be no more than meat and
drink to our forces.
Doge Enrico is a man who is leading a charmed existence. Trapped inside
Krakow castle in Poland, and just weeks away from being assaulted, his
allies, the HRE decided to come to his aid. The army of the HRE was
outnumbered by 2 to1, yet our army of mercenaries was no match for
their elite chivalric knights, and we were defeated.
I must now gather another army of mercenaries to invade Poland. I will
not be stopped from having revenge of Enrico for all the years of
nuisance he has caused me. May God have mercy on him if he is taken
alive, for he will receive non from I.
Our annual income has surpassed 40,000 florins, I am rightly proud of
this, as it is the highest amount any English King has ever achieved.
Whilst I was making the entry in the diary for this year, my four friends came calling.
Cromwell “Henry have you forgotten that we are to go hunting at noon today?”
Me “I am afraid I am too busy with matters of state.”
De Vere “What could possibly be more important than a good days hunting?”
Me “I have been very busy of late, and must now catch up with writing the diary.”
Longckamp “You should employ a scribe to record events, that way you
would have more time for the important duties of king, such as hunting.”
Mowbray “And feasting.”
Cromwell “Come on Henry; write the diary some other time.”
Me “No it must be done now.”
De Vere “It is a fine day outside, and the hunting will be good.”
Cromwell “And we plan to get drunk afterwards.”
Me “It is tempting gentlemen but I must decline.”
Longchamp “Haha his resolve is beginning to weaken”
Me “No, you cannot tempt me, the diary demands my attention.”
Mowbray “Enough of this, how dare the diary make demands of our good king.”
(Mowbray draws his sword, and with a mighty downward blow, cleaves the
diary in two, and also makes quite an impression on my desk.)
Mowbray “There, the fiendish diary is slain, and will make no more demands.”
(After a stunned silence we all roar laughing, before making our way outside to go hunting)
I have decided that Longchamp is right, and I will now employ a scribe
to record events. The man I have chosen for this task is a member of
our diplomatic service, a young fellow by the name of John Neville.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 4/25/04 11:02 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 775
(4/18/04 11:21 pm)
Reply
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The Kings Diary, chapter 10.
The march to victory. a chronological record of events, by John Neville.
1375.
We attack Mongol held Volga-Bulgaria with an 800 strong army. But our
army is comprehensively defeated by the 8000 strong Mongol army.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66058
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1376.
We attack Italian held Poland with a 1000 strong mercenary army. The
small Italian army is defeated, and Doge Enrico is killed during the
battle. This ends the Italian empire.
We offer the Livs of Livonia 20,000 florins to become part of the English empire. The offer is accepted.
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1377.
We attack Volga-Bulgaria with a 600 strong army; we inflict casualties on the Mongol elite, but are defeated.
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1378.
We attack Volga-Bulgaria with 2300 strong army. The Mongols number over
7000. At first the Mongol heavy cavalry put up a fierce fight, but once
they are beaten, the rest of the mainly peasant and archer army are
quickly routed.
The enemy dead numbered almost 2400; we lost 1116, and took 5197 prisoner.
The prisoners were executed in full view of the besieged fort; we returned their bodies by trebuchet.
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1379.
We invade Prussia with a 1000 strong army, but are defeated by the 1600
strong rebel Prussian army, casualties numbered around 700 each side.
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1380.
The plague ridden garrison of the fort in Volga-Bulgaria has
capitulated, after the Black Death claimed Khan Mongke. This signifies
the end of the Mongol empire.
We have once more invaded Prussia, this time the Prussian rebels surrendered without a fight.
Rebel held Pomerania has also fallen to our armies.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66059
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1381.
We have taken the Volhynia from the Hungarians. Their small army led by
Prince Samuel was greatly outnumbered, with no fortification to retreat
to, and cut of from the rest of the Hungarian empire their situation
was hopeless.
Our aggression against the Hungarians has earned us a warning from Pope Nicholas.
Prince John, heir to the throne has now come of age.
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1382.
We have taken Moldavia from the Basarabs. The remainder of their army is now under siege at Cetatea Alba Castle.
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1383.
We have invaded Byzantine held Silesia. The enemy had a small, yet
elite army of 400 men. Our own army numbered over 2000. We were
victorious, and the Castle at Wroclaw is now under siege.
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1384.
The castles of Cetatea Alba and Wroclaw have now both fallen.
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1385.
A leader claiming to be the last living heir to the ancient empire of
Egypt has appeared in rebel Bulgaria. So strong is the legend of
ancient Egypt that Serbia, Croatia and Sicily have all joined his
cause. There is also a rumour that he may be gathering support in our
own province of Volhynia.
We have now conquered the HRE province of Bohemia.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66061
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1386.
There has been a large uprising in Volhinia in support of The Egyptian
Sultan Baybars III. The uprising was ruthlessly put down by Lord
Knollys and his army.
Our annual income now exceeds 50,000.
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1387.
A plot to overthrow the king has been uncovered. The leader of the
conspirators was none other than the heir to the throne Prince John.
The conspirators, including John have all been found guilty of treason,
and put to death. Prince William now becomes heir to the throne.
We have now conquered the HRE province of Bavaria.
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1388.
We have now conquered the HRE province of Tyrolia.
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1389.
The Kings Brother Edward and third son Alfred have been found guilty of treason, and executed.
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1390.
We have invaded Switzerland, the Swiss army, although small were well
equipped, and inflicted heavy casualties on our own army. However, our
army was much larger, and we eventually prevailed.
The Swiss King Ludwig was killed during the battle, and the Swiss have
now degenerated into rebel factions, however, these rebels do still
hold Habsburg Castle.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66062
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1391.
The HRE province of Tyrolia has now been conquered.
Habsburg castle has now fallen.
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1392.
The last remaining HRE province of Milan has now been taken; Emperor Ludwig is now trapped inside the Castle at Milan.
Pope Nicholas has sent the King a gift of 1000 florins. The king was very amused at receiving this trifling sum.
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1393.
Milan Castle has fallen, Emperor Ludwig has been executed, and the HRE is no more.
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1394.
We have now conquered the rebel province of Venice.
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1395.
We have defeated a large rebel army in Austria, and now have the Castle at Vienna under siege.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66063
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1396.
It has been a quiet year; there is nothing of significance to report.
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1397.
The Egyptians invaded Constantinople with a 2400 strong army, our army
of 2900 proved too strong for them and they were repelled.
We have invaded Malta with an army of mercenaries. Our army was defeated, but many casualties were inflicted on the Sicilians.
This attack has earned us a warning from the Pope.
The castle at Vienna has now fallen.
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1398.
We have invaded Hungary, and now have the castle at Esztergom under siege.
Prince Rudolf, heir to the Hungarian throne has been burned by the inquisition.
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1399.
Carpathia and Croatia have both been conquered.
Pope Nicholas IX has died; the new Pope is Nicholas X.
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1400.
Esztergom Castle has fallen.
The new Pope has warned us to stop attacking the Hungarians, the King
is furious that he has received two Papal warnings in the space of four
years, but will abide by the Popes ruling, and instead turn his
attention to the Egyptians and Byzantines.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66064
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1401.
We have now conquered the Egyptian province of Serbia.
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1402.
There has been a large battle in Bulgaria, where our army of 2610 men,
faced the Egyptian defenders numbering 3500 men. We were victorious in
the battle, killing over 1600 of the enemy, and taking 1400 prisoners,
for the loss of around 500.
Sultan Baybars was killed during the battle. Hopefully this will be the last we shall see of the Egyptians.
Rebels still hold the castle at Turnovo.
Emperor John of the Byzantines has died; the new emperor is Andronicus I.
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1403.
We have taken Greece from the Byzantines; Emperor Andronicus short reign was brought to an end during the battle.
The new Byzantine Emperor is Romanus VII, and he inherits an island empire in the midst of civil war.
King Geza of the Hungarians has died. His heir Andras IV inherits an
empire consisting of the province of Wallachia, which is completely
surrounded by our forces, and protected only by the Popes sanction.
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1404.
The castle at Turnovo in Bulgaria has now fallen to our armies.
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1405.
We have now taken the island of Cyprus from the rebel Cypriots.
King Andras of Hungary has been burned by the Inquisition. The new king of the Hungarians is Laszlo IV.
The Pope has sent another gift of 1000 florins to the King.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66065
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1406.
King Henry has died at the age of 66; his eldest son now becomes William IV.
We have now taken the Byzantine island of Rhodes, and have Emperor Romanus under siege in the castle there.
King Stephen of Sicily has died; the new Sicilians king is Tancred II.
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1407.
Rhodes Castle has now fallen, and Romanus executed. The new Byzantine
Emperor is John V. His empire consists of the island Crete.
The Pope has sent King William a gift of 1000 florins.
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1408-1410.
Confusion over two Papal warnings issued within four years has left us
unsure of our position concerning the Hungarians and Sicilians. This in
turn has tied a large number of our armies up around Wallachia, and so
prevented us invading Byzantine Crete or rebel held Sicily.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66066
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1411.
Civil war has erupted in Crete, and Emperor John is now under siege in Candia Castle.
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1412.
An uneventful year.
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1413.
The Byzantine Emperor has been captured and executed by the Cretan rebels. This ends the Byzantine Empire.
We have attacked Malta with a rag tag army of depleted and obsolete
units. Our army was defeated by a force half their size, but consisting
of many knights.
The Papacies loyalty to the Sicilians will now prove to be their
undoing. As well as issuing a warning to stop aggression against the
Sicilians, the Papal fleet has attacked our shipping in the Adriatic
Sea. A state of war now exists between England and the Papacy.
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1414.
We have taken Wallachia. King Laszlo was killed in the battle, and the
Hungarians are no more. Bucharest Castle is now in rebel hands.
We have invaded Crete. We were victorious in battle, and the Cretans are now trapped inside Candia Castle.
The Papal States were abandoned after our army moved south from Venice.
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1415.
We have invaded the rebel island of Sicily, we were victorious in
battle, and the remainder of the rebel army are now tapped in the
castle at Palermo.
We have captured Rome, but the castle there still remains in the hands of the Papacy. The Pope himself has fled to Naples.
The castles of Bucharest and Candia have now fallen.
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66067
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1416.
The Papacy have abandoned the province of Naples to our army moving
south from the Papal States, and attacked Rome with their remaining
forces. Their attack on Rome was a total disaster and they were
massacred. The Pope himself was killed in the fighting. The Papacy is
now no more.
We have now taken the castle at Palermo in Sicily.
**********************************************
1417.
We have invaded Malta and defeated the last of our enemies. King
Tancred of the Sicilians did manage to escape the battlefield alive.
Rumour has it he has become a monk.
**********************************************
Edited by: Dave P at: 4/27/04 1:09 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 794
(4/25/04 11:05 pm)
Reply
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The Kings Diary, Epilogue.
The
year is 1066. In a field near Hastings in southern England, the army of
William Duke of Normandy has made camp for the night. In a corner of
the field a small group of men sit around a campfire, and listen to the
storyteller weave his tale. As the night grows old, and the storyteller
reaches the end of his tale, a shadow is cast across the campfire. The
men look up at their sergeant.
Sergeant “What’s going on here then?”
Soldier “We are listening to a story sarge”
Sergeant “You storyteller be gone with thee, my men need to rest for tomorrow we do battle”
Storyteller “My tale is ended anyway”
Sergeant “Yes it is”
Having said that, the sergeant lets out a thunderous fart as if to put
a full stop to the end of the story, and then walks away. The soldiers
watch sergeant Mowbray as he disappears into the night, then turn to
each other with knowing smiles, before turning to the storyteller, but
he has already disappeared into the mist.
Edited by: Dave P at: 4/27/04 1:11 pm
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Dave P
Registered User
Posts: 796
(4/26/04 12:23 am)
Reply
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The Doomsday Book of 1416.
BUILDINGS/IMPROVEMENTS
Wessex.(Lord Cromwell. Loyalty 9, Piety 7, Dread 1, Command 0, Acumen 4)
Fortress, Armourers guild, Spearmakers workshop, Town militia, Master
merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, Chancellery, Constable’s
palace, Admiralty, University, College of surgeons, 80% farmland,
Master horse breeder, Baronial court, Church, Monastery, Reliquary,
Cathedral, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry.
Mercia.(Lord Mobray. L9, P5, D0, C0, A4)
Fortress, Master Armourer, Swordsmith, Master Spearmaker, County
militia, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Master Shipbuilder, Master
foundry.
Northumbria.(Lord de Vere. L9, P6, D3, C0, A4)
Fortress, Master Bowyer, Armourers guild, Gunsmiths guild, Town
militia, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon
foundry, Copper mine complex.
Wales.(Lord Longchamp. L9, P4, D2, C0, A4)
Fortress, Master bowyer, Master Armourer, Gunsmiths guild, Town
militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry,
Copper mine complex.
Scotland.(Lord Mercadier, Constable of the Tower. L9, P3, D9, C7, A5)
Fortress, Master Armourer, Spearmakers workshop, County militia, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border
forts. Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry.
Ireland.(Lord Marshall. L9, P5, D4, C6, A7)
Fortress, Master Armourer, Swordsmith, Spearmakers workshop, County
militia, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon
foundry.
Norway.(Lord Stanley. L9, P5, D3, C0, A4)
Fortress, Master bowyer, Master Armourer, Gunsmiths guild, Town
militia, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Sweden.(Lord Gascoign. L9, P7, D4, C1, A4)
Citadel, Armourers guild, Swordsmiths guild, Metalsmiths workshop,
Spearmaker, Town militia, Master merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Copper mine
complex.
Denmark.(Lord Plantagenet, Chancellor. L9, P0, D6, C6, A6)
Citadel, Bowyer, Armourers guild, Master Siege engineers, Town militia,
Master Merchants, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Bell foundry.
Saxony.(Lord Plantagenet. L9, P0, D1, C0, A4)
Fortress, Bowyer, Armourers guild, Master siege engineer, Town militia,
Master Merchants, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Bell foundry, Salt mine
complex.
Franconia.(Lord Uhtred L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Fortress, Armourers guild, Swordsmiths guild, Metalsmiths workshop,
Spearmaker, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church,
Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Flanders.(Lord Becket, Chamberlain. L9, P0, D5, C1, A6)
Fortress, Armourers guild, Master Spearmakers, Town militia, Master
merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery,
Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Shipbuilders guild, Cannon foundry.
Normandy.(Lord Fitzgilbert. L9, P4, D8, C8, A7)
Fortress, Armourers guild, Master Spearmakers, Town militia, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border
forts, Port.
Friesland.(Lord Stuart. L9, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Master merchant, Inn, tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, border forts, Port.
Brittany.(Lord Basset L9, P4, D1, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Master Merchants, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Aquitane.(Lord Curthose L9, P8, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Salt mine
complex.
Anjou.(Lord Grey L9, P6, D2, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Ille de France.(Lord Plantagenet. Warden. L9, P1, D4, C6, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Champagne.(Lord Hastings L9, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Lorraine.(Lord Berkeley L9, P2, D1, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Swabia.(Lord de Vere L9, P1, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Salt mine complex.
Burgundy.(Lord Stafford L9, P5, D2, C0, A5)
Fortress, Town militia, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Provence.(Lord Longchamp L9, P3, D2, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Toulouse.(Lord Bourchier L9, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Salt mine complex.
Navarre.(Lord Swynford L9, P7, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Aragon.(Lord Plantagenet L9, P0, D4, C6, A6)
Fortress, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Valencia.(Lord Courtnay L9, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Castile.(Lord Longchamp L9, P9, D0, C1, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Leon.(Lord Talbot L9, P9, D2, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Portugal.(Lord Despenser L9, P8, D2, C0, A5)
Citadel, Town militia, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 60%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Salt mine
complex.
Cordoba.(Lord Longchamp L9, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town militia, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Granada.(Lord Courtnay L9, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Fortress, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Silver mine complex.
Morocco.(Lord Uhtred L9, P6, D0, C0, A5)
Citadel, Town guard, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80%
farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Gold mine complex.
Algeria.(Lord Uhtred L9, P9, D0, C0, A5)
Citadel, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Gold mine complex.
Tunisia.(Lord Neville L9, P9, D1, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port, Gold mine complex.
Cyrencia.(Lord Fitzneale L9, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Egypt.(Lord Percy L9, P5, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Master Merchant, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Sinai.(Lord Curthose L9, P5, D2, C1, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts, Port.
Palestine.(Lord Holland L9, P9, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Arabia.(Lord de Beauchamp L9, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Reliquary, Border forts.
Syria.(Lord Longchamp L9, P1, D0, C0, A4)
Citadel, Town militia, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Tripoli.(Lord Gaveston, Archbishop. L9, P9, D0, C0, A7)
Citadel, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel,80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Antioch.(Lord Cromwell L9, P8, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, port.
Edessa.(Lord Holland L9, P7, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Lesser Armenia.(Lord Mowbray L9, P8, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Rum.(Lord Curthose L9, P6, D0, C1, A6)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Armenia.(Lord Wulfstan L9, P4, D1, C0, A4)
Cadtle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Anatolia.(Lord Cromwell L9, P8, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Trebizond.(Lord Knollys L9, P1, D5, C6, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Georgia.(Lord von Wittelsbach L9, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Nicea.(Lord Becket L9, P7, D2, C1, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Constantinople.(Lord Langton L9, P1, D2, C7, A7)
Castle, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Khazar.(Lord Longchamp L9, P8, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Crimea.(Lord Stanley L9, P4, D2, C0, A6)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Kiev. (Lord Berkeley L9, P7, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Pereyaslavl.(Lord Hastings L9, P5, D1, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Chernigov. (Lord Becket L9, P7, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Ryazan.(Lord Hastings L9, P3, D2, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Volga-Bulgaria.(Lord Burnell L9, P4, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Muscovy.(Lord Stanley L9, P2, D3, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Smolensk.(Lord Peckham L9, P2, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Novgorod.(Lord Percy L9, P4, D3, C3, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Finland.(Lord Gaveston L9, P3, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Livonia.(Lord Despenser L9, P2, D3, C2, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Lithuania.(Lord Holland L9, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Prussia.(Lord de Vere L9, P0, D0, C1, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Volhynia.(Lord Fitzneale L9, P0, D2, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Moldavia.(Lord Fitzwalter L9, P0, D1, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Merchant, Inn, Church, Border forts, Port.
Poland.(Lord Fitzalan L9, P5, D2, C2, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Pomerania.(Lord Audley L9, P0, D3, C3, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port, Salt mine.
Brandenburg.(Lord Audley L9, P9, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Copper mine complex.
Silesia.(Lord Percy L9, P2, D2, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Bohemia.(Lord Fitzneale L9, P0, D4, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Silver mine complex.
Bavaria.(Lord Howard L9, P0, D3, C2, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Salt mine complex.
Switzerland.(Lord Langton L9, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Inn, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Tyrolia.(Lord Berkeley L9, P1, D0, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts.
Austria.(Lord Audley L9, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, Inn, 40% farmland, Church, Border forts, Copper mine.
Hungary.(Lord Plantagenet L9, P0, D2, C0, A4)
Castle & ring wall, Town guard, Inn, 60% farmland, Church, Border forts, Copper mine complex.
Carpathia.(Lord Roos L9, P0, D5, C0, A4)
Keep, Town guard, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Copper mine, Silver mine.
Wallachia.(Lord de Vere L9, P0, D5, C0, A4)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, Border forts.
Bulgaria.(Lord Eadwulf L9, P2, D0, C1, A4)
Keep curtain wall & ballista towers, Town guard, Church, Border forts.
Greece.(Lord Bourchier L9, P0, D0, C0, A4)
Castle, Town guard, Trading post, Inn, 20% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Serbia.(Lord Burnell L9, P0, D3, C1, A5)
Fort, Town watch, 20% farmland, Border forts.
Croatia.(Lord Uhtred L9, P1, D0, C1, A4)
Keep, Town watch, Inn, 20% farmland, Border forts, Silver mine complex.
Venice.(Lord Bolingbroke L9, P0, D2, C0, A5)
Keep, Town watch, Merchants guild, Church, Border forts, Port.
Milan.(Lord Curthose L9, P5, D0, C0, A4)
Castle ring wall & catapult towers, Town guard, Trading post, Inn,
Tavern, Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts.
Genoa.(Lord Langton L9, P6, D0, C0, A5)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Merchants guild, Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Border forts, Port.
Tuscany.(Lord Holland L9, P5, D2, C1, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Merchants guild,
Inn, Tavern, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port.
Papal States.(Lord Burnell L9, P2, D0, C1, A4)
Keep curtain wall & Ballista towers, Town watch, 40% farmland, Border forts.
Rome.(None)
Castle ring wall & catapult towers, Bowyers workshop, Armourers
workshop, Swordsmiths workshop, Spearmakers workshop, Siege engineers
guild, Town guard, Tavern, Brothel, Royal palace, Chancellery, 60%
farmland, Master horse breeder, Royal court, Church, Monastery, Border
forts, Shipwright, Bell foundry.
Naples.(Lord de Beauchamp L9, P0, D2, C0, A4)
Keep & curtain wall, Town guard, Trading post, 20% farmland, Watch towers.
Corsica.(Lord Hastings L9, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Inn, Tavern,
Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Salt mine
complex.
Sardinia.(Lord Mobray L9, P6, D0, C0, A4)
Castle ringwall & catapult towers, Town guard, Inn, Tavern,
Brothel, 80% farmland, Church, Monastery, Border forts, Port, Silver
mine complex, Salt mine complex.
Sicily.(Lord Swynford L9, P0, D4, C1, A4)
Keep, Town guard, 20% farmland, Border forts.
Crete.(Lord Giffard L9, P1, D1, C0, A4)
Fort, Watch towers.
Rhodes.(Lord Talbot L9, P3, D5, C4, A
Fort motte & bailey, Town watch, 60% farmland, Border forts, Port.
Cyprus.(Lord Herbert L9, P0, D2, C0, A4)
Fort, Town watch, Inn, 40% farmland, Border forts, Port.
MILITARY
Wessex
7 Royal knights
Mercia
20 Royal knights
Northumbria
20 Royal knights
Wales
20 Royal knights
Scotland
20 Royal knights
Ireland
20 Royal knights
Norway
20 Royal knights
Sweden
20 Royal knights
Denmark
20 Royal knights
Saxony
20 Royal knights
Franconia
20 Royal knights
Flanders
20 Royal knights
Normandy
20 Royal knights
Friesland
20 Royal knights
Brittany
21 Royal knights
Aquitane
20 Royal knights
Anjou
20 Royal knights
Ille de France
20 Royal knights
Champagne
20 Royal knights
Lorraine
20 Royal knights
Swabia
20 Royal knights
80 Mounted sergeants
Burgundy
120 Halbardiers
Provence
20 Royal knights
Toulouse
20 Royal knights
Navarre
20 Royal knights
Aragon
20 Royal knights
Valencia
20 Royal knights
Castile
20 Royal knights
Leon
20 Royal knights
Portugal
20 Royal knights
Cordoba
20 Royal knights
Granada
20 Royal knights
Morocco
20 Royal knights
Algeria
20 Royal knights
Tunisia
20 Royal knights
Cyrencia
20 Royal knights
Egypt
20 Royal knights
Sinai
20 Royal knights
Palestine
20 Royal knights
Arabia
20 Royal knights
Syria
20 Royal knights
Tripoli
20 Royal knights
Antioch
20 Royal knights
Edessa
20 Royal knights
Lesser Armenia
20 Royal knights
Rum
20 Royal knights
Armenia
20 Royal knights
Anatolia
20 Royal knights
Trebizond
20 Royal knights
Georgia
20 Royal knights
Nicea
20 Royal knights
Constantinople
20 Royal knights
Khazar
20 Royal knights
Crimea
20 Royal knights
Kiev
20 Royal knights
Pereyaslavl
20 Royal knights
Chernigov
20 Royal knights
Ryazan
20 Royal knights
Volga-Bulgaria
20 Royal knights
Muscovy
20 Royal knights
Smolensk
20 Royal knights
Novgorod
20 Royal knights
Finland
20 Royal knights
Livonia
20 Royal knights
Lituania
20 Royal knights
Prussia
20 Royal knights
Volhynia
20 Royal knights
Moldavia
60 Royal knights
Poland
20 Royal knights
Pomerania
20 Royal knights
Brandenburg
20 Royal knights
Silesia
20 Royal knights
Bohemia
20 Royal knights
Bavaria
20 Royal knights
Switzerland
60 Royal knights
Tyrolia
1 bombard crew
1 ballista crew
Austria
20 Royal knights
Hungary
20 Royal knights
Carpathia
20 Royal knights
Wallacia
120 Billmen
Bulgaria
20 Royal knights
Greece
20 Royal knights
Serbia
20 Royal knights
Croatia
20 Royal knights
360 Chivalric men at arms
Venice
20 Royal knights
Milan
20 Royal knights
Genoa
20 Royal knights
Tuscany
20 Royal knights
Papal states
20 Royal knights
240 Chivalric men at arms
600 Chivalric sergeants
240 Billmen
240 Arbalests
360 Longbowmen
3 Catapult crews
Rome
20 Royal knights
240 Feudal men at arms
600 Feudal sergeants
240 Billmen
240 Arbalests
120 Longbowmen
240 Archers
3 Catapult crews
Naples
20 Royal knights
Corsica
20 Royal knights
Sardinia
20 Royal knights
Sicily
20 Royal knights
Malta
20 Royal knights
80 Chivalric knights
80 Mounted sergeants
360 Chivalric men at arms
600 Chivalric sergeants
240 Halbardiers
120 Arquebusiers
120 Hangunners
360 Longbowmen
3 Demi culverin crews
Crete
20 Royal knights
Rhodes
20 Royal knights
Cyprus
20 Royal knights
NAVAL
1 Barques.
10 Caravels
20 Cogs
AGENTS
2 Emissaries
1 Assassins
97 Spies
1 Grand inquisitor
9 Inquisitors
97 Bishops
1 Cardinal
TREASURY
Province income
Algeria 770
Anatolia 669
Anjou 499
Antioch 1159
Aquitane 649
Arabia 140
Aragon 985
Armenia 800
Austria 248
Bavaria 278
Bohemia 491
Brandenburg 603
Brittany 437
Bulgaria 272
Burgundy 559
Carpathia 520
Castile 1090
Champagne 418
Chernigov 535
Constantinople 1901
Cordoba 839
Corsica 210
Crete 280
Crimea 486
Croatia 346
Cyprus 224
Cyrencia 156
Denmark 650
Edessa 816
Egypt 1342
Finland 191
Flanders 1512
Franconia 425
Friesland 306
Genoa 648
Georgia 341
Granada 808
Greece 503
Hungary 945
Ille de France 667
Ireland 441
Khazar 662
Kiev 774
Leon 941
Lesser Armenia 482
Lithuania 552
Livonia 368
Lorraine 583
Mercia 433
Milan 720
Moldavia 192
Morocco 749
Muscovy 564
Naples 219
Navarre 518
Nicea 776
Normandy 876
Northumbria 515
Norway 201
Novgorod 587
Palestine 924
Preyaslavl 310
Poland 704
Pomerania 367
Portugal 735
Provence 649
Prussia 210
Rhodes 384
Rome 0
Rum 1038
Ryazan 401
Sardinia 407
Saxony 455
Scotland 297
Serbia 416
Sicily 791
Silesia 299
Sinai 151
Smolensk 537
Swabia 453
Sweden 836
Switzerland 119
Syria 772
Toulouse 745
Trebizond 508
Tripoli 1505
Tunisia 695
Tuscany 668
Tyrolia 125
Valencia 932
Venice 456
Wales 445
Wallachia 165
Wessex 635
Tot income 55,236
Tot in Treasury 551,928
Map of 1416
www.imagedump.com/index.c...t&tp=66068
Edited by: Dave P at: 4/27/04 1:13 pm
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