The Morea, a Palaeologid AAR

It was a bright summer day in the year 1084. Things had been slow in the Morea over the past three months, and King Georgios was doing anything he could to keep entertained. But nothing seemed to do the trick. He spent most of his time sitting on the throne cracking his knuckles and looking bored. But today would be different.
It was early afternoon, when Chancellor Helena Chrysanthos approached the king and said, "Your highness, I have an important matter to speak to you about."
Georgios sat up straight, ready for an end to the boredom, "Good! Good! What matter is it?"
Helena continued, "Sire, your youngest son, Prince Ermene... Prince Erma... Ermenegul..." Helena never could pronounce that Italian name just right.
"Ermenegildo?" said Georgios.
"Yes, sire. Prince... the young prince is nearly five years old now. I believe now would be a good time to begin his education."
"Hmm, yes... let me think..." Georgios pondered for a few minutes, then said, "Helena, I want you to teach him the ways of the court."
"Me, sire?"
"Yes, you, Helena. Teach him well."
"I shall." Helena bowed and left. Georgios was just about to slip back into boredom when his eldest son and heir, Athanasios, entered the throne room.
"Father!" said Athanasios, "I have come to speak to you about my lands."
"Lands? What lands? You don't have any lands!"
"Yes, father. That's what I want to talk to you about. I am sixteen now, father. I am an adult, and I feel that the time is right for me to have lands. I've been thinking about Belgorod. I've read your letters about it. It sounds like a nice place to govern."
"No."
"Father?"
"No. You will not rule Belgorod."
"Then Abkhazia?"
"No. You will not leave this court."
"But father!"
Georgios would not tolerate his son's lack of discipline, "NO!"
"Why, father? Why can't I rule? I am ready!"
"You think you are, but your are not! You may be an adult now, but you are not mature. You still think and act like a child. You act on impulse, you have no respect for others, no remorse for your actions! God only knows what may happen to the people in Belgorod if you rule them! No, I will keep you here, where I can keep an eye on you, and hopefully kill this tendency of yours to beat servants and treat your father and king like an equal! Besides, you haven't even finished your martial education! How can I let an uneducated boy rule lands far from here? It would be irresponsible of me!"
"Would you give Ermenegildo lands?" demanded Athanasios.
"When he comes of age, if he shows himself worthy of such responsibility, I will give him lands."
"Then why won't you give me any? Don't you care about me father?"
Georgios began to feel sorry for his son. He walked over to him, calmly, put his hand on the lad's shoulder, and said, "Athanasios, I'm only trying to do what I feel is best for you. Ofcourse I love you, son. And that is precisely why I cannot give you lands yet. You are not yet ready. You are the heir to the throne of the Morea. I have to make sure that you are fully ready for this greater responsibility. I will be more lenient with Ermenegildo because he is not going to inherit the throne when I die. You will, that is why I am being so hard on you. But I promise, if you show yourself worthy, I'll give you Belgorod."
Athanasios' eyes grew big with excitement, "You mean that, father?"
Georgios smiled, "Yes, Athanasios, I mean that. It may be a few years, but I have confidence that you can show me that you are worthy of that city."




Things had just started to look brighter for the royal family, until one rainy day in September. It was early morning, on the 27th of September, when Queen Lavinia went into labor. This time, there was a problem. The royal physicians did not arrive in time, and Lavinia died in childbirth. The young child was also lost. The smile that had only recently returned to Georgios' face was once again gone...


Georgios tried his best not to let the grief of losing his wife get the better of him. He became very busy, always doing something. In early October, he became obsessed with finding a wife for Athanasios. He sent his most trusted friends and advisors throughout Europe, looking for a perfect bride for his son. On the 20th of October, Dragos Kenchres returned with a letter from Duke Bleddyn Cynfyn of Gwynedd. The letter was offering Bleddyn's daughter, Morganna, in marriage to Athanasios. Georgios accepted the offer, and the young couple was wed at once.


Again, things began to go uphill. But in February of 1085, Georgios learned that his ally, Duke Robert de Hauteville of Apulia, had died and that Robert's son, Roger Borsa, had inherited the Dukedom. Georgios chose not to renew the alliance.

In July, Princess Sofia began a court education with her brother, Ermenegildo, under Helena Chysanthos. A few days later, a man came to Georgios with a petition.
"Most gracious majesty," the man began, "I am a loyal servant of your highness, and of the Morea. I have travelled far and wide, and I have seen the horrors of the world. One such horror is when children are born into serfdom, and through no choice of their own, default as servants of another. Even here in the Morea, such things are practiced. I come to you, to ask you to end this perverse injustice. I recognize the importance of serfdom to our society, and I do not ask that serfdom be removed, I only ask that it be solely the choice of the peasant, and that the child of a serf be born free, and not into serfdom. Please, consider this proposal, oh just and wise king."
Georgios did indeed consider it. And he answered, "You are right my friend. Let it be known throughout the realm that no one shall be born into serfdom. The children of a serf are free, and do not belong to the master of the serf, but to the serf himself, who is their father. Let is be so now and always, a law carved in stone, so that no king may ever erase it!"
The man bowed repeatedly, whilst saying, "Thankyou, on great and mighty King Georgios. Your subjects will love you for your justice and your grace. God protect you, great king!" And the man left.
Ofcourse, the nobles weren't very thrilled to hear this. But Dragos Kenchres, Leonidas Megenos, and Marshal Romanus went through the realm reminding the nobles, sometimes at the point of a sword, that they had no right to complain, as Georgios had already given them the Feudal Contract, something most Greek nobles did not have. So there was no unrest amongst the nobles.

In September, Princess Xanthe fell terribly ill. She could not stop coughing. The apothecary did all he could, but could not stop the disease. Georgios prayed fervently for his child. He did not want to lose another child to illness.

In November, Princess Sofia began to take an interest in relgion. What made this an interesting case was that few children as cruel as her really care about religion. But Sofia was determined to learn all she could about her Faith. And in February, she decided that she would try to end her cruelty. She became a forgiving child, and sought compromise over conflict. But there was still that spark in her eye that revealed that deep down, there was still much anger in her, and no matter how hard she tried, she would probably fight with her dark nature her whole life.

In March of 1086, Princess Theodora came of age.

Soon afterwards, Georgios began looking for a good husband for her. But no one seemed interested in this depressed young princess. They all feared that she might lose her mind and end up destroying her new family. So no one dared marry her.
This only deepened her depression.
One day in April, Dragos Kenchres, who had always been a close friend of hers, and who cared deeply for her, approached Georgios and said, "Sire, I have come to speak to you about Princess Theodora."
"Have you found a husband for her?"
"Well... yes..."
"Who man? Who?"
"Me..."
Georgios' jaw dropped, and it took him nearly a minute to regain his composure. Then he became angry, "Dragos. This is not a joking matter! Do not offend my daughter in such ways!"
Dragos bowed, "Sire, I am not joking. I meant every word."
"But Dragos... You are the same age as myself. Theodora is young enough to be your daughter! You're more than twice her age!"
"Yes, I know this. But I have always been a friend to her. And it pains me that no one will marry her. Besides, I might be able to help her with her depression."
Georgios had to admit, Dragos had a way with people. Maybe, just maybe, he could resuce Theodora from her depression. So he agreed, "Very well, Dragos. Welcome to the family. It will be wierd to have a son who is as old as I am."
Dragos smiled, "Not as strage as having a father my age!"
Dragos and Theodora were wed before the month was out.
Georgios was turning out to be quite the rennaisance man. He had fought and won the first Crusade in human history, he had abolished the concept of birth into serfdom, he had married a princess to a courtier, and he was holding his family together despite circumstances trying to tear it apart.

Olaus Petrus said:

LOL

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Glad you thought that was funny. I'll have to rewrite that part, though. I had mixed up Dragos' age with another courtier, Alvanites Apolethes. Alvanites is two years older than Georgios. Dragos is the same age. o

Or... we can just pretend that Dragos was born in 1048...

Veldmaarschalk said:

A Welsh bride for a Greek prince, any particular reason you choose a roman-catholic bride ? Or just because of her stats and she was available ?

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Well, Morganna does have great stats, but also, she was the first available girl whose father would agree to let her marry Athenasios. I tried many Greeks first, including the daughter of Alexios Comnenus, but no Greek prince would marry his daughter to my son. Since my first (successful) game in CK was as the Duchy of Gwynedd, I like to keep track of them, and I knew that Bleddyn had a daughter who was the right age, so I figured, "Why not?". And it worked.

east_emnet said:

crusaderknight said:

Dragos is the same age. o

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Which would make the joke more amusing.

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That's good.
When I first realized that I had mixed up Dragos' and Alvanites' ages, I thought that I had ruined the whole joke! o

stnylan said:

Poor boy getting impatient. The young these days...

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Lol. Right now I'm a little worried about Athanasios. Once things calm down I will probably give him land, as Georgios promised.

Chief Ragusa said:

Keeps them both in the demesne.
All these Catholics aren't going to go down well with good Orthodox folks. There is a schism to maintain!

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I would be marrying Orthodox women, but no Orthodox man will allow his daughters to marry me.

Chief Ragusa said:

Now to connect those northern holdings.

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Unless the Byzantine... er... I mean Roman Empire falls apart, that won't happen anytime soon.

Quirinus308 said:

Bummer about Lavania, you hate to loose a baby factory, er...

I mean a fine woman like that. Do you plan to remarry. It's always good for a few extra pounds, or prestige from the duty, if nothing else.

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I don't know if I'll remarry. I've got 8 kids, 7 of which are still alive. I don't know if I can handle many more. Plus, poor Georigos has a lot to worry about as it is. Giving him another wife and then all those kids will only make things worse. Plus, when my total demesne has 3 provinces, I really don't want more than 2 sons... otherwise, there goes the prestige.

Chief Ragusa said:

I was suggesting linking your two chinks of land in the north together. If the, er, Roman Empire does not fall apart, you could do as one poster suggested and surround the Empire with your holdings. :rofl:
As you have not renewed your alliance with Apulia, you could try to take that Duchy with the help of your Italian inlaws.

Are there no suitable single women with no other heirs struggling to hold onto an Imperial province whom you could "assist"? The woman wouldn't necessarily need to be of childbearing age (older, not younger), in fact it might be better if she weren't.

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Oh, o I thought you meant connect my northern holdings to the Morea itself.

I don't know about attacking Apulia... Roger Borsa has a good army. They kicked Roman butt earlier, only losing one province. They nearly destroyed the Imperial Army. If the Empire cannot defeat Apulia, I doubt that the Morea could.

Quirinus308 said:

I a little new to CK, so could you explain that one to me. Do you loose prestige if you don't give land to your sons?

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Yes, you do lose prestige. You also lose prestige if your daughter is older than 16 and not yet married. So it is usually good to marry off daughters early and to give sons land ASAP. But as I said, I'm worried about what Athanasios might do if I give him lands so far away from me. When Georgios' father dies, and I inherit his Duchy, I will probably give Athanasios the new land that I inherit.

Dragos and Theodora apparently loved each other very much. Soon after they were wed, the young Princess was pregnant with her first child. Dragos and his new father-in-law were both very excited.

In early May, Athanasios finished his education. Unfortunately, he did not learn everything he should have. Even though Romanus had tried to teach him strategy and tactics, all Athanasios leanred was how to fight. He was a magnificient swordsman, don't get me wrong. He just didn't give a care about thinking things through. In his own words, "Strategy is for weaklings and children who sit behind the line of battle. A TRUE warrior only worries about his swordsmanship!" Needless to say, Georgios was disappointed in his son.

Things started looking up the following month. Princess Morganna was pregnant with her and Athanasios' first child.

In July, Princess Xanthe finished her court education and turned out to be a very good diplomat. Despite her coughing fits, she was a very talented negotiator. Georgios knew for sure that she would be accepted by a Roman Noble. Little did he know how wrong his assumption would be. He sent emissaries to every Prince and Count within the Roman Empire, and none of them would allow their son to marry Xanthe.

1087 was to be a bad year for the Royal Family. Things started off in February, when Princess Theodora went into labor. She encountered similar problems to the ones that her mother had had, and like her mother, died in child birth. Dragos and Georgios both mourned deeply, and no one could tell which one missed her more.

In March the only truly happy event of 1087 occured. Princess Morganna gave birth to a healthy little girl, and Athanasios named her Zoe. The young prince was a father at the age of 17, and King Georgios was a grandfather at the age of 37. But soon after, things would again go down hill for the royal family...

As the year progressed, Georgios continued his search for a husband for Xanthe. But every suitor he tried refused her, most of them in rather impolite ways. People throughout the Morea began to gossip. On night, in early August, Xanthe was walking through the halls, when she overheard a conversation between two maid servants.
The first one said, "Have you heard what they're saying about Princess Xanthe?"
"No, I haven't" replied the second.
"Well, word is that she has a secret lover, and that the princes and counts of the Empire don't want to marry their sons to an unchaste princess. I've heard that she's gonig to elope with her lover and run off to Italy."
Xanthe could not believe her ears. How could anybody think such things about her? Her initial sadness soon turned to rage. She rushed into the room that the maids were in, screaming, "How dare you slander me like that!?" She immediately began to beat the maid servant who had said those things. The other maid was too shocked to do anything. As the princess and the first maid wrestled on the floor, Xanthe saw a knife, grabbed it, and stabbed the maid multiple times, killing her. She immediately realised what she had done, and ran in fear.
When Georgios heard about this, he was very angry. "How could you do this!?" he shouted.
Xanthe bowed her head and said, "I-- I don't know. I over heard her saything horrible things about me, about how I was unchaste, and about the princes not wanting to marry me for that reason. It hurt. I-- I just-- just filled with rage. I-- I don't remember much... I--"
"You should have told me about it. I would have had her properly disciplined for the foul lies she was spreading. But now you've killed her. I cannot just let this go. You will be punished. You will fill the maid's place until we find you a husband. You will also personally apologize to her family."
Xanthe did as she was told. She felt awful for the next few months.

In October, young Princess Kale was sent to an Abbey to recieve a clerical education.

Later that month, Georgios offered Xanthe's hand to the son of Count Alexandros of Korinthos. When he recieved the letter which respectfully declined the offer, he tore it to pieces. Months and months of rejections had finally gotten to him. His temper burned. He grabbed a chair, and threw it agaist the wall with such strength that it broke into pieces. As he threw it, he said, "Is there no man on this wretched world that will marry my daughter?"
He then stormed into his chambers and proceeded to destroy just about everything in the room.
Normally, this would be very unkingly behaviour. But when you consider that the only man who would marry Georgios eldest daughter was one of his own courtiers, and that no one at all would marry his second daughter, you can understand why he would be so ticked off.

Things only became worse in December. Xanthe's cough became worse. She fell deeply ill, and was confined to her bed. The Royal Apothecary could do nothing to stop the illness, neither could the Royal Physician. Xanthe slowly became weaker and weaker, and on Christmas Eve, 1087, she died at the age of 16.

Georgios became even more angry now. He had lost four children now, two to disease, one while giving birth, and the fourth died as a new born along with Lavinia.
Georgios began to pace around the castle all day, every day. He did nothing but pace, and ponder the wreck his life was becoming.
One day, Marshal Romanus decided to try and speak to the king. He approached the king and walked along side him, but he could see that Georgios was deep in thought at the moment, so he decided to be patient, and walk with the king until Georgios was ready to talk.
Georgios did not seem to notice Romanus, until out of the blue he said, "Do you know what I need to do, Romanus?"
Romanus had not been expecting Georgios to initiate the conversation, after a moment he replied, "No, sire. I do not."
Georgios half smiled and said, "I need to go on campaign again. I remember how I felt when I was fighting the Abkhazians and toppling the unity of the Pechenegs. I never felt more care free than during the siege of Belgorod."
"But sire, where would we attack. All of our neighbors are strong, too strong for us to consider attacking."
Georgios half smiled again, "Not all, my friend. Not all."
Romanus was unsure what the knig was talking about, "Sire?"
Georgios chuckled, "When I toppled the Pechenegs, I only took their captial, Belgorod. The smaller clans were left alone, and they became divided. But they are still there. I plan to take them out. Starting with the Olvians, to the north of Belgorod. I want you to sail up to Belgorod and take the garrison to Olvia. Reinforcements will arrive shortly from the Morea and Abkhazia. The Second Crusade has begun!"

Romanus left right away, March of 1088. By April, his army of 800 men of Belgorod had reached Olvia, and had engaged the tribesmen.

The battle was quickly won, and Olvia was besieged.

In May, 1,300 men from Abkhazia reinforced Romanus army. And in June, Georgios himself arrived with 400 men.

The siege did not last much longer. By August, Olvia had falled to the Morean Crusaders. Romanus and the men thought that they could go home now, but they were wrong. Georgios had more plans for this Second Crusade.

Below is a map showing the progress of the 2nd Crusade thus far.
The Green Outline shows Pecheneg lands already controlled by the Morea. (Belgorod)
The Yellow Outline shows Pecheneg now conquered by the Morea. (Olvia)
The White Outline shows remaining Pecheneg lands.
The Red Arrows indicate Georgios' plan of attack.

stnylan said:

Of course, people might be hesitant to marry their sons to a woman who has the ability to kill people in a fit of picque, without even really trying! Dangerous person to have loose in their courts and all that!

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Well, no one would marry her, even before the murder of the servant. My guess is that they feared her Illness trait. But I still don't know why no one would marry Theodora.

stnylan said:

War could be good.

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Oh yes!