The Morea, a Palaeologid AAR

stnylan said:

So now a wastrel rules the throne.

Mmm, that might be unfair. The opinion I have of the new Crown Prince is that he refuses to have enough energy to be a proper wastrel.

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He is a very lazy bugger. However, things won't be boring... for long. The 1160's are a very hectic decade in the Morea's history, and in the next few updates you'll see why.

Chief Ragusa said:

He, Georgios II, was a good ruler. The new King is however likely to spend weeks celebrating - I mean mourning - his father's death.

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I was sad to see Georgios go. He was also only 47 when he died. He out-lasted both his father and grand-father on the throne, but they both out-lived him.

Stephanos probably won't be spending weeks celebrating his father's death, that would require too much energy.

Chief Ragusa said:

If Konstantinos is not careful, he'll be sharing a cell next to Cheilous.

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Fate has something else in store for him...

Stephanos wasted no time getting crowned (the only time in his life he would ever be hasty about anything), and was crowned on March 17th, 1163, the day after his father's death. Many people were shocked at his refusal to even wait the customary three days until after his father's death before his coronation.


However, no one is sure why he was so hasty to become king. Immediately after his coronation, Stephanos announced to the entire crowd, "I'm going now, time to read my book. Ta ta."

No one could believe it. No one could explain it. To be quite honest, no one really cared. Everyone immediately looked to their new Queen, Maria, and knew that, though she was not the ruler of the Morea in title or on paper, she was in actuality the sole power in the Kingdom.

Queen Maria smiled at her sub... her husband's subjects, waved, and said, "My good people, you have nothing to fear. The Kingdom is in good hands."
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Five days later, a herald from Constantinople brought this message to King Stephanos... or, it was addressed to Stephanos, but the messenger was told to deliver it to Queen Maria, and that she would give her husband's answer.

The letter said this:

Andronikos II, Emperor of Rome; the King of Trebizond, Epirus, and Bulgaria; the Prince of Thrake and Abydos; and personal overseer of nearly half the Empire, to his illustrious neighbour, Stephanos I, King of the Morea.

Stephanos, your father and I shared in an Alliance during his reign, despite the past rivalry between our two mighty families. There are many in my court, and indeed my family, who were always in opposition to this Alliance with the Palaeologi, and they urge me now to let Georgios II's death also be the death of this friendship.

There is, however, one thing they do not understand about me: I am the Emperor, and the opinion of others means nothing to me, not even the opinions of my family.

It is my desire that the Alliance between the House of Dukas and the House of Palaeologus be restored. What say you?

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Upon reading the letter, Maria crumpled it up. She was Blangid, her family could be counted among the Angeli, the Komneni, and so many others which the Dukas family had abused in the past. How could she support an Alliance with such an evil family? But... on the other hand... she also knew the penalty for awakening the wrath of the House of Dukas. Could she, for the sake of family pride, bring that wrath down upon the Morea? Granted, the Morea had some of the fiercest warriors in the world: the Knight-Guard, and added to that the ferver with which even common Morean soldiers fought, and then their Pecheneg warriors-who fought like wolves, and the Italians and Normans now also under her rule, the Morea could put up quite a fight if that's what Andronikos wanted. But... even if Maria could win against the Dukas, it would cripple the Morea economically. The Empire was still over three times the size of the Morean Kingdom, with manpower far exceeding even that ratio.

At last she made her decision, and she reluctantly agreed to the Emperor's Alliance request.
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The remainder of 1163 passed quietly. King Stephanos spent most of his time reading books, while Maria spent most of hers managing the Kingdom.

1164 saw the rewards of having such a hard-working Queen. The prosperity of the realm was completely un-equaled. Never in the 98 years of Morean history had the entire Kingdom known such boundless prosperity.

Many people began toasting King Stephanos (and Queen Maria) whenever they were at a bar or feast, saying, "Long live King Stephanos! May he reign a hundred years! And may his Queen live just as long, that we may know prosperity greater than even that of Constantinople!"

1165 was a quiet year. The prosperity continued to increase, but nothing else of note happened.

stnylan said:

Just what the Kingdom needs - a women's touch

Actually, providing he keeps his nose out of things, this coudl work out very well.

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If only it were so. But Stephanos is about to do something to ruin everything...

Olaus Petrus said:

New king seems to be talented ruler.

Well, it's better to have mediocre than insane king.

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If only... if only...

The 1160's were destined to be a bad decade for the Morea. And as it turns out, because there had been such prosperity and happiness in the first half of the decade, fate decided to double the misery for the remaining years of the decade.

Konstantinos the Younger had begun to speak out in defense of Cheilous since their first meeting in the dungeon. But no one would listen to him. And he began to grow frustrated with the world.

To make matters worse, his conversations with Bartholomaios were beginning to take a very dark turn.

The most pivotal conversation they ever had, which took place shortly before Christmas of 1165, would change the shape of their friendship (and Konstantinos' life) forever.

"Things are beginning to fall into place," Bartholomaios said.

"What things?" asked the Prince.

"Your cousin's prophecies are beginning to come true. As is mine."

"What are you talking about?"

"He is here."

"Bart, you don't mean..."

"I do."

"Where is he?"

"I am talking to him right now."

Konstantinos gasped, "It can't be! I would never destroy this Kingdom!"

"No one ever said you would. But you will be King soon, and you will destroy the old order of things, and bring a new order to rule in the Morea! THAT is what your cousin meant."

"But... what of this prophecy of yours?"

"Remember when I told you there is only one who can stop him, or, should I say, you?"

"Yes..."

"He has been born."

"He has?"

"Yes, Konstantinos, he has."

"But... that would make him no older than my son, Theotokios. This 'One' will not be a threat for a long time."

Bartholomaios shook his head, "I'm afraid not. He will become a threat sooner than you think."

"But who is he? Where is he?"

The Prince's mysterious friend put a hand on his shoulder, "Konstantinos, my friend, all will be revealed at the proper time. For now, just trust that I have everything under control."
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Now there was much stress placed upon young Konstantinos. According to Bartholomaios, he was going to be King soon. But, how was this possible? Stephanos was still young. And even if Stephanos should die soon, Konstantinos' father, Konstantinos the Elder was ahead of him in the line of succession. And suppose Stephanos has a son before he dies! How can Bartholomaios' prophecy come true?

And on top of that, how could the Prince be the one in Cheilous prophecy? Was he really going to destroy everything? But how? Why?

And who was this mysterious threat, who was no older than an infant right now, but would soon come to challenge Konstantinos?

These thoughts went through the young Prince's mind every day, and by January of 1166, he began to shout in anger, and bang his fist against the wall. His stress was becoming quite obvious.

To make matters worse, he soon began to feel sick in his stomach at times, and often he would vomit.

But slowly and surely, he began to believe everything Bartholomaios told him. And soon... he was completely under his friend's control...
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In December, Queen Maria began to notice that Stephanos didn't even read anymore. He rarely even got out of bed. So she decided to talk to him, to find out what was the matter.

It turned out that the King was depressed. The life of a King was not at all what he had expected. He didn't feel any stronger, or smarter. The books he read weren't any better than the ones he read before his coronation. The food didn't taste any better. And there was nothing fun to do. He felt as though there was no point in life.

Maria became very worried for her husband. She began to think long and hard about what to do to cheer him up. Suddenly, it came to her! This Christmas would be the centennial of the Morea! She would arrange for the largest and most extravagant celebration in the Kingdom's history, and she would dedicate it to her husband. Surely this would cheer him out of his depression.
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When Christmas morn came, everyone was excited to be at such an amazing feast. Over 1,000 guests had been invited, and every soul in the hall was talking. They talked about everything.

"Poor Princess Cheilous, I can't imagine what it must be like to be mad."

"Have you read the new Chronicles of the Ancient Roman Emperors, by Isaias of Abydos? I hear its very accurate, and that he rejects many ancient anecdotes."

"MM, this food is good! Don't you wish we could eat like this every day?"

"<BURP!> My... <hic> that was some <hic> some of the best <hic> ale <hic> I ever ha<hic> ever had. <hic>"

"Have you seen the new Captain-General of the Knight-Guard, Gregorios? He's no doubt the strongest and most handsome man in the land! The King's safety is in good hands."

"Say... where is the King?"

This last comment was spoken very near to Queen Maria, who had just noticed that her husband had not arrived when he should have. He told her he was going to be late... but by now two hours had passed. Where was he?

Gregorios, the handsome young Captain-General of the Knight-Guard, came and whispered in the Queen's ear, "Milady, I fear that something is not right. Allow me to take an armed guard to search for His Majesty."

"No," she whispered, "I do not want to alarm the people. It is probably nothing. He is likely on the loo again. You know what Cheese-Cake does to him, and he ate quite a lot last night."

"Then at least allow me to search for him, so that if indeed something is wrong, I will be able to deal with it." As he said these last few words, Gregorios unsheathed about two inches of his sword, to show his readiness to kill any threat.

"Very well," the Queen said, "But only yourself. And keep that blade of yours sheathed unless you really need it."

"Yes, Milady." And with that, Gregorios went in search of the King.

His search did not last long. He first checked the Royal Bedchamber, the last known location of the King. Unwilling to simply enter and violate the King's privacy, Gregorios knocked first. When there was no response, he knocked again, this time announcing himself, "My liege? It is I, Captain-General Gregorios. Are you in there?"

Gregorios suddenly heard behind the door a crack, and then a thud. He immediately burst through the door, sword drawn, ready to slay anyone who would dare harm the King. Instead, he saw something terrible.

The "Crack" he had heard was a rafter cracking and falling. The "Thud" was the rafter hitting the floor, and also... the King's body hitting the floor. There was a noose around the King's neck, and from the looks of it, everything was self done. The King had hung himself.

Gregorios immediately rushed to the King, casting his sword aside. He searched long and hard for any sign of life, praying that the rafter had broken before the King had died. But no sign of life could be found. The King was dead. He had reigned only three years, and lived only twenty-five.

stnylan said:

That was a little unexpected, and will definitely shake things up a little bit.

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That's a bit of an understatement, sadly.

BTW, the update that I post today will be the last one until November. I will be away from the 20th to the 27th, and I will be rather busy for the remainder of October.

But in November and December there should be plenty of updates.

The death of King Stephanos meant a great change for the Morea. Up until now, a King had always been succeeded by his eldest son. Georgios I was succeeded by his eldest son, Athanasios I. Athanasios had been succeeded by his eldest son, Georgios II. Georgios had been succeeded by his only son, Stephanos I. But Stephanos had died without any children. This meant that the throne passed to his uncle, Georgios II's almost twin, Konstantinos the Elder.

An Italian Chronicler (and very distant relative of the Morea's first Queen, Lavinia) by the name of Adone Tittoni wrote this about the inheritance:

...And so, with the death of Stephanos the Lazy, the pimary line of Georgios the Pious had been broken. The main branch of the Palaeologi, known to us as the Achaians, was dead. Perhaps it is a good thing, though, for the name was really no longer fitting for them. They had received this name in the days of Georgios the Pious, because his throne was at Nafplion, which is in Achaia, and to differenciate them from their brethren in Butrinto. However, in the days of Georgios the Great, the throne was moved to the mighty city of Korinthos, thus making the Achaian Branch's name out of place. It can be taken for granted that the new branch which rules the Morea now will be known as the Korinthians.

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The coronation of King Konstantinos I took place three days after the death of Stephanos, on December the 28th, 1166. He was a popular man, having fought many battles for the Morea, and being most famous for his battle in Bari against the Norse Ake of Halsingland (where he earned the nickname "Achilles"). Indeed, no one was more pleased with his coronation than the army. The very moment the crown touched his head every soldier at the ceremony began chanting, "Ach-i-lles! Ach-i-lles! Ach-i-lles!"


Everyone was sure that this mighty warrior would be a great King, a man to strengthen the Morea.

In January, the alliance with Emperor Andronikos II was renewed, raising hopes for the Morea's prosperity.
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It was a sunny day in early June, 1167, and the King was enjoying the weather as he rode his horse near the old capital of Nafplion.

He saw the old castle, and he could barely remember living there. They had all moved to Korinthos after the Inheritance Wars, when he was just a lad.

He sighed as he tried to remember his father. Most of what he knew he had read in books. He had only been five years old when Athanasios had died. Athanasios had been a strong man, and a mighty warrior, much like himself. At that thought, Konstantinos smiled, he truly was his father's son.

He looked up to heaven, and said, "Father, I'll bet you are smiling down with pride right now. Two sons have inherited your throne, now. I know that Georgios made you proud, and I promise that I will, too."

The King wasted no time in getting started on his promise. He summonded the best engineers in the Kingdom and told them to rebuild Nafplion castle as the mightiest fortress in the Morea.

The new castle was to be twice as large as the former, with four gates, one facing each of the cardinal directions. The gates on the east and west would be the larger main gates, named in honour of the first two Kings: the west gate was the Georgios Gate and the east gate was the Athanasios Gate. To the north and south would be the smaller gates, named in honour of the two greatest generals in the Morea's history: the north gate was the Romanos Gate (named in honour of Romanos Rentakenos) and the south gate was the Alexios Gate (named in honour of Blessed Alexios Dekanos).

It was the most expensive project in the Kingdom's history, but Konstantinos was ready to pay any expense.
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Sadly, the King would not live to see his castle completed. In late September, as he slept, the same heart failure which took his father and grandfather claimed his life. And so King Konstantinos I died on September 29th, 1167. He was 50 years old, and had reigned 9 months.

stnylan said:

A king of great promise indeed - though I wonder if now tongues might be wagging about some sort of curse on the kingdom.

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Perhaps there will be some loose tongues. However, if the Kingdom seems cursed now... well... just wait and see.

Olaus Petrus said:

You have been very unlucky with your kings recently. It's annoying to lose kings quickly in a row.

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The bad luck isn't over yet...

Chief Ragusa said:

So much for being the evil one: he didn't even last a year. I wonder if Barty put in a bad word when he saw his friend spurning his advice?

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The Evil One is Konstantinos the Younger, the son of Konstantinos I, and the new King of the Morea. Bartholomaios is now the effective (even if not titular) ruler of the Kingdom: Konstantinos II will be like putty in his hands.

Also, I should let everyone know that I won't be as busy as I had previously thought upon my return. I should have the next update up either tomorrow or Sunday.

Konstantinos the Younger could not believe it. How could his father be dead? He was only 50! Not even a year on the throne. He began to cry. Soon, his best (and with the exception of Cheilous, his only) friend, Bartholomaios, entered his chambers, put a hand on Konstantinos' shoulder, and said, "I know how sad it is. Losing a father is always terrible. But we must act quickly. There will be time for tears later."

Konstantinos sucked up some snot which had been dangling from his nose, wiped his tears away, looked at his friend, and said, "Act quickly? Whatever for?"

"Your enemies are no doubt already on the move. We must crown you before they can stop you!"

"My enemies? I thought you said the only one who can stop me is as old as my son! That would still make him a toddler. I should have nothing to fear."

Bartholomaios tutted as he shook his head, "My poor, sweet, naive friend. Yes, the only one who can stop you is too young to do anything right now. But that does not stop others from making life hell for you. There are those who want to stop you, and the longer you wait to be crowned, the more time they have to make things harder for you. Do you want to see another Inheritance War?"

"God, no!" Konstantinos shouted. He had read all about the Inheritance Wars. That was the last thing he wanted to happen to him.

"Then we must crown you as soon as possible!"

"Very well," Konstantinos said, "I will get Patriarch Pantoleon to arrange the coronation at St. Sophia's immediately."
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Patriarch Pantoleon was somewhat startled by Konstantinos the Younger's insistance on being crowned before the customary three days had ended, but the King-to-be seemed desperate, though unwilling to state exactly why.

And so, on October 1st, 1167 (barely 36 hours after the death of Konstantinos I), Konstantinos II was crowned King of the Morea.


However, the new King did not stay long after the coronation. His skin had begun to irriate him immensely.
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The next day, the King paced back and forth, alone in the throne room. Every now and then he would stop for a moment to itch his skin. After nearly 45 minutes, Bartholomaios entered.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?" demanded the King.

Bartholomaios bowed, "I am sorry, sire. I was detained."

"I am sorry, sire. I was detained!?" parroted the King in a mocking tone.

"Sire?"

"YOU'RE ALWAYS DETAINED!"

"I apologize."

The King raised his fist, as though to he intended to hit Bartholomaios. Ofcourse he had no intention of doing so, he merely wanted to show his frustration.

Suddenly, a servant nervously opened the doors to the hall, and said, "Milord? Is anythin' the matter?"

"WHAT?"

"Well... s-sire," stammered the servant, "I h-heard shoutin'... and..." the servant paused for a moment, then continued, "beggin' your pardon, milord, but, who are you shoutin' at?"

"THAT IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS! GET OUT!"

"Yes, milord!" And with that the servant left.

The King then glared back at his friend, about to shout some more. But Bartholomaios held up his hand and said, "Tinos, you've known me most of your life. You know the family problems I have. Now, if you really want to shout at me some more, we can certainly continue with this fiasco. But I would much rather discuss the safety of your reign."

"You speak to me as though you were my equal," said the King through clenched teeth.

"Am I not your best friend and Chief Advisor?"

"But I am KING! You are NOT my equal anymore! I expect you to show me the PROPER RESPECT!"

Bartholomaios bowed, "Yes, sire. I apologize."

"Apology accepted. Now, what is it you wanted to discuss with me?"

Bartholomaios cleared his throat, "Your enemies are moving agaisnt you even as we speak."

"What!? How do you know this?"

"My... 'sources'.... are very informative, and very skilled at what they do."

"What 'sources'?"

"I have my connections. Old friends, debtors."

The King raised an eyebrow, "And what have these 'sources' told you?"

"That your enemies are mounting throughout the Kingdom. I propose two steps to help secure your reign."

"And what might those steps be?"

"First, secure the loyalty of Captain-General Gregorios of the Knight-Guard."

"But the Knight-Guard are always loyal to the Crown. It is their sworn duty."

"Yes, but you will want their loyalty to you and not just your position. They will be much more eager to defend you if it is indeed you they wish to defend and not just you as their King. Gregorios is a natural leader. The men will follow his example. If he is truly loyal to you, then all 400 members of the Knight-Guard will be also."

"I see," said the King, nodding his head. He then added, "But what of the other step?"

"Renew the alliance with the Dukas."

"But the people hate the Dukas. All Moreans do."

"Yes, but the one emotion they feel for the Dukas more than hate is fear. They fear the power of the Dukas more than they hate that power. The last thing they will want is for the Dukas to come knocking on their door. If Emperor Andronikos II is your ally, it will cause all potential rebels within your Kingdom to think twice, thrice infact, before threatening your reign."

"You are right, Bartholomaios. I'm sorry I shouted at your earlier. Where would I be without you?"

Bartholomaios bowed, "It is my pleasure to serve you, sire."

Chief Ragusa said:

An alliance with the Doukas, truly is Morea cursed.From your depictions of Konstantinos the Younger, I had pictured him as a much younger man than 28, more like 16.

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Well, he was close 16 when I first started focusing on him (20). I guess he's one of those people who doesn't really grow up much.

Chief Ragusa said:

Where would he be without Barty? Not looking forward to an eternity in a very hot place.

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:rofl: Very good insight. Too bad Konstantinos can't see that!

Konstantinos II was again alone in his throne room. He was deep in thought when he heard someone enter. It was Gregorios. The Captain-General of the Knight-Guard bowed and said, "I was told you wanted to see me, sire?"

The King rose from his throne, walked over to the Captain-General, put his hand on Gregorios' shoulder, and said, "Gregorios, as Captain-General you are head of my personal bodyguard."

"Yes, sire."

"It is your duty to protect me, is it not?"

Gregorios nodded, "With my life sire."

"But what are your personal feelings about this duty?" asked the King.

"Sire?"

"Am I someone you would wish to die for, Captain-General? Or do you only do your duty because I am your King?"

The Captain-General hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Perhaps I should rephrase the question. What kind of devotion can I expect from you, Gregorios?"

"Sire, you can--"

Gregorios was cut off by the King, who said, "My grand-father, King Athansios the Cruel, was not a good man. But the Blessed Alexios Dekanos was always ready to fight and to die for him. I'm sure you know all about Blessed Alexios."

Gregorios nodded, who didn't? Aside from Georgios I, Blessed Alexios Dekanos was the greatest hero in Morean history.

Konstantinos continued, "His devotion to my uncle, Georgios the Great, was also well known. He crushed all resistance to Georgios' claim to the throne in the Inheritance Wars. And his son, Morgan, was no different. Morgan Dekanos fell in battle defending Georgios II."

Gregorios finally understood where the King was going with this, and he said, "My lord, you have nothing to fear. I will show you the same devotion that Alexios and Morgan Dekanos showed their sovereigns. And I will ensure that all of the Knight-Guard stand with me."

The King smiled, "Good."
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The second step in Bartholomaios' plan was much simpler. Andronikos II instantly accepted the Alliance, happy at the chance to continue friendship between Constantinople and Korinthos, and to ease the tensions created by his grand-father, His Heretical Highness Andronikos I.
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Now that his realm was more secure, Konstantinos began to focus on his family. His son, Crown Prince Theotokios, had reached the age at which education could begin, and Konstantinos had decided that the lad should recieve a Court Education. In his mind, the days of the warrior-kings were coming to an end. What the Morea needed now was administrators, not warriors, on the throne.

Also, in order to lessen the burden of managing the vast personal demense that Georgios II had built, Konstantinos gave the province of Bari to Prince Prousenos Dekanos of Calabria.

stnylan said:

Characters going mad are always so much fun - I hope that these updates have been at least as much fun to write as they have been to read. There is something about a little insanity that can really fuel those creative juices!

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True. You know what they say, "Insanity is the mother of invention".

These have been some of the most fun updates yet, I am really enjoying this. Though it will only be more detrimental to the Kingdom, I hope I have at least one or two other mad Kings before the game ends.

Konstantinos' final act of establishing his authority was to release his beloved cousin, Cheilous.

The King's wife, Queen Alexeia, grew jealous of the time her husband spent with his cousin. Ofcourse she knew that no infidelity was occuring, her husband was a loyal spouse, and he spent every night with his wife. It was just that Cheilous understood him so much better than Alexeia did, and so he spent more time with his cousin than he did with his wife.

Most of the Morea was also rather upset to see Cheilous "set loose" as one person put it.

Cheilous didn't mind (much) that she was hated by most of the country, she was free again, and could spend all the time she wanted with her cousin.
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It was a cold day in late January of 1168. Count Sergio di Salerno stood on the bow of his ship, and felt the cool Mediterranean breeze across his face. In his hand he held a summons from the King himself.

He opened it and read it for the fourth time today,

Konstantinos II, King of the Morea, to his servant, Sergio di Salerno:

There is a most urgent matter pertaining to the security of our Kingdom that I must discuss with you. Come to Korinthos at once!

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Sergio was somewhat confused at the King's lack of information, but nonetheless, he was among the most loyal of all the King's subjects, and so he obeyed the summons without hesitation.
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It was the third day of February, and King Konstantinos had summoned the entire court to witness his meeting with Count Sergio.

As Sergio entered the hall, he was awed by its size compared to his own humble one in Salerno, and surprised to see how many other people were here, but that he was the only noble in the assembly.

He knelt before the King, and said, "Thy loyal servant, Sergio di Salerno, has come at thy request."

"Rise," said the King. Sergio obeyed. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, he looked down, and saw that the King had plunged a knife into him. He looked into the King's eyes, and saw a cold hatred there. He felt the life flow out of him as the knife was pulled from his gut. He sank to his knees, then fell to the floor, and died.

The entire assembly was shocked. "My lord!?" Shouted Captain-General Gregorios.

Konstantinos looked around the assembly, calmly tossed the knife at the corpse of Count Sergio, and said, "Thus shall I deal with all traitors who would dare to conspire against me."

"Traitor?" asked Gregorios, "My liege, who has told you that Count Sergio was a traitor?"

"My best friend and most trusted advisor, Bartholomaios."

"Bartholomaios," said Gregorios, "the man we never see. Forgive me, my lord, but when shall we meet this 'Chief Advisor' of yours?"

"YOU FORGET YOUR PLACE! AND HOW CAN YOU ASK THAT? HE IS STANDING RIGHT THERE!" The King pointed to where he could clearly see Bartholomaios standing, and everyone looked to that spot, and saw nothing.

"There is no one there, sire," Gregorios said, "No one at all."

The King looked, and there was his friend. "Bartholomaios," said the King, "Shout to them!"

Bartholomaios said, "Sire, they are all involved in the conspiracy. Cheilous and I are your only friends. These others all want you dead."

Konstantinos turned back to Gregorios, "Is it true?" he demanded.

"Is what true, sire?" asked Gregorios.

"What Bartholomaios said."

"What did he say, my lord?"

"Did you not hear him?"

"There was no one to hear, my liege."

Konstantinos couldn't take it. Were they all mad that they couldn't see a man standing in plain sight? His head began to spin, and he ran to his chambers to hide.
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It should be noted that the harvest of 1167 had produced little food, a stark contrast to the previous prosperity. As a result, by the spring of 1168, food stocks were running low and many peasants began to starve. They cried out to their King to help them, but his response was simply, "You have no love for my dear Cheilous, and to be quite honest, I have no love for you. If you cannot fend for yourselves then you may as well starve."