Lotharingia -- A tale of resurrection
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He is like that. Read it anyway.Enewald said:Looks odd.
If war is not profitable, it is not waged correctly!Peleus said:
[/warmonger]
Since 8 PM CET today, the first of August 2008, I am entitled to say that I -- and I will never be able to fully express how proud I am of saying this -- have been named the best writer of Crusader Kings Narrative in the second quarter of 2008. That makes me especially happy since, after all: it is my category of writing; it is the one I feel the most eager to promote; it is the one I feel the best reading.
Crusader Kings holds a small AAR-fora, but it has got a strong circuit of readers and writers -- most people that read one thing in here reads multiple others. A CK-reader knows his category, and thus I am even more proud of receiving this, because there is quite some competition out there.
So thank you! Thank you who voted for me in the ACA Q2 2008. Thank you that will vote for me in the next. Thank you that have read this since the beginning -- likewise, thank you that have joined up along the way. Thank you, everyone. And I cannot say this enough: If it was not for you, my readers, and the knowledge that I write something you enjoy, I would not be typing this at all.
Thank you.
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You done good, kid. It was a remarkable contest and a well-deserved triumph. You're an asset to the Crusader Kings sub-forum as a writer, a reader, and a commenter. Well done on your victory, and keep up the good work.
It is always nice to hear that, thank you very much. And rest assured, Crusader Kings will be my hunting ground for a long time to come.phargle said:
And now for something completely different.
Well, dear readers, its been a wonderful evening, what with the ACA and a new AARlander out, so it seems as if the next update will be a tad bit delayed. I am going away tomorrow morning and I'll be home Sunday evening CET -- if you're lucky, the next update will be then. Otherwise, Monday.
Have a good weekend, all. And thank you again.
Well, dear readers, its been a wonderful evening, what with the ACA and a new AARlander out, so it seems as if the next update will be a tad bit delayed. I am going away tomorrow morning and I'll be home Sunday evening CET -- if you're lucky, the next update will be then. Otherwise, Monday.
Have a good weekend, all. And thank you again.
Just dropped in to say excellent job and congratulations snugglie! Have a great weekend!
Hello again. A change of plans has lead me to be home during the weekend instead... So I will now have to spit out an update today. On its way fellows, and thank you for your patronage.
So I will now have to spit out an update today. On its way fellows, and thank you for your patronage.
Snugglie said:Hello again. A change of plans has lead me to be home during the weekend instead...
Boo! Hiss! Me wanna update!
Hey, things happen. We'll all be patiently waiting for when you can work on it.
Congratulations on your ACA showing... good job, you definitely deserved the award!
Thank you very much! And thank you for your vote.General_BT said:Boo! Hiss! Me wanna update!
Hey, things happen. We'll all be patiently waiting for when you can work on it.
Regarding the update, it is almost finished, but I am giving a try to another way of writing; namely, I will have the next chapter finished before I publish the previous. That way, I will have time for re-reads and edits. So except for a short period of time when I apply this, we'll be back to ordinary tempo soon.
Chapter XXIV
The duke’s residence by the cathedral was too small to house the host of military commanders, nobles of both high and low origin, merchants seeking to profit on the war and generally curious people that gathered in the wake of the declaration of war. To have a common point of gathering, as well as an official war room, the refectory of the abbey adjoining Aachen cathedral had been transformed from the monks’ cantina into a loud, crowded and generally messy place, much resembling a fair. Duke Dietrich himself had not turned up yet, and so it was his brother, the newly-appointed marshal Ulrich, that was in charge. His enthusiasm was notable, as well as obnoxious for a few of the more tired occupants of the room. Word had been sent to Emperor Martin – currently in Cologne, half a day on horseback away – and the answer was expected to arrive soon after dusk.
However, the emperor’s decision whether or not to support his vassal’s war was not vital for the campaign: the forces of Lower Lorraine had been fully capable of helping the Empire in the Rebellion of the Three Dukes where they beat one of the most skilled military leaders of the realm, and since then the manpower base had been extended with that of Upper Lorraine. Orders of mobilisation were being prepared all through the room to be sent to the various counts and their vassals – if Martin von Franken did not support the war, Lorraine would fight on its own.
Dietrich appeared when most of the people temporarily residing in the refectory had eaten their midday meal. By then the counts of Loon, Metz, Pfalz, Jülich and Brabant and the bishops of Liège and Sticht had arrived and received their orders to mobilise.
“How are we doing, Ulrich?” Dietrich greeted his brother as he sat down in a chair, a servant rapidly bringing him a goblet of wine.
“I believe you are doing very good, milord,” smiled Ulrich, “and you will be even better when you have heard the plans, I assure you.”
“Go on.”
Ulrich brought forward a large map, showing both the territories of France as well as Western Germany.
“I’ve seldom seen such an incoherent and messy map!” complained Dietrich. “What is this?”
“It is not the mapmaker’s fault – the situation in France is incoherent and messy. See here,” he said, pointing at the map, “everything crossed by diagonal lines is occupied by another power. Here is the duchy of Valois. Eudes de Valois is one of the three prominent dukes attacking their liege – the other two are Raymond Berenguiè of Toulouse and Odon d’Aquitaine of Poitou – and as we are speaking, he is marching on Hainault. Now, Hainault is king Adémar’s last fortress, save for some occupied territory in Northern Toulouse that is expected to be retaken very shortly.”
“It hardly looks as if there is much else for us to do,” said Dietrich. “Raymond and Odon have done their job well in the South, and Valois is making quite a performance.”
“Yes, but there is one thing that makes this worth it,” Ulrich said with a triumphant look on his face. “You see, Raymond and Odon are united in their battle against Adémar – it is actually Odon’s forces that are about to retake that territory in Toulouse, Gevaudan – but Eudes de Valois is acting independently and is aiming for the crown. So we’ve got no less than three belligerents in action, and that is not counting the remaining, loyal vassals of the crown – Boudewijn of Flanders, Centule of Anjoy, Etienne-Henri of Champagne and Hugues of Bourgougne.”
“So what exactly is our plan?”
“The pot has already been broken, and our goal is to snatch as many pieces as we can before anyone gets the idea to mend it. Thus I think we should march on Flanders – it is not a theatre of war right now, and the forces are busy battling Valois. We cannot fail.”
“Excellent! Then…”
“Oh no, I’m not finished Diet… er, sir!” Ulrich exclaimed. “See here… when Eudes de Valois defeats Adémar, which he inevitably will, he will most likely claim the crown of France for himself. Then he is the king of the kingdom we are waging war against, and we can direct our swords towards him instead and snatch a few of the French Royal Lands in the process.”
“Glorious!” answered Dietrich, content. The situation was looking so bright that there was a risk of getting blinded – France was about to crumble, and this was the time to enter the battle for anyone who wanted maximal gain with minimal effort. “Now we will wait for Emperor Martin’s decision – merely cosmetic, of course; we will go to war no matter what, but it looks better if he supports it – and then we will march on Flanders.”
Ulrich and Dietrich were just about to start complimenting each other of their combined genius, when a panting courier loudly entered the refectory.
“Milord!” he shouted when he saw Dietrich, and ran towards him. “Milord! Bohemond de Normandie is sailing to France!”
“No wonder, he is from France!” shouted Dietrich in return.
“No, not for holiday, he is sailing to war! England has declared war on France!”
All colour dropped from Dietrich’s face for a moment. “Verdammt! Ulrich, ignore the Emperor, arms the troops and march immediately, we will not let that bloody Norman take all the spoils of war!”
Ulrich answered with a forceful ‘Yes, sir!’ and set off to follow his orders. The hall erupted into a mild form of chaos at the notion; Lorraine was going to war. Preferrably before Bohemond managed to.
The sun did not shine any more or less mercilessly over any creed of Outremer; in its eternal fairness, it did its best to roast Frank and Saracen alike. But whereas the Saracens had learned to cope with the heat and even use it to their advantage – all courtesy of actually having lived in the region during the past centuries – the Christians felt as if they were about to enter Gehenna, to where they had been sent for their crimes. For someone grown up in Bavaria, Saxony or Lorraine, desert climate was not at all ideal.
It did not become better when one looked upon the infrastructure of German Outremer – the territories were, seemingly randomly, split between various counts and dukes – all intent on ruling their acquired lands personally from mainland German, and Jerusalem itself was controlled by a French adventurer with no intention of giving it away. Some territories had however been given to people that the original conquerors deemed loyal enough for the stewardship of the provinces – among them were Jaffa and Acre, currently ruled by Guntram d’Ardennes, previously the heir presumptive to the throne of Lower Lorraine.
Guntram’s residence in Jaffa was large and spacey: before the German conquest it had been the administrative centre of the sheikdom of Akko and it was richly decorated with mosaics and white stone. Along a few of the walls were also quotes from the Quran, until further notice covered by linen sheets – a few of the German priests had reacted rather violently when they realised what it was. The building was rectangular with an atrium garden and was two floors high. In the north-eastern corner was another floor, resembling a sort of tower; it had previously been the office of one of the head clerks of the sheikdom of Akko, and was now inhabited by Guntram.
This morning, the twenty-first of October in the year of turmoil – although he was not yet aware that it was, in fact, the year of turmoil – 1106 the grand war on the Western European mainland reached its fifth month, but in Outremer none of that had been noticed. That is, before Eckhard de Lorraine all of a sudden stepped into the room. Guntram jumped in his chair at the sight of him.
“What… how… You are supposed to be in Germany! What are you doing here, how did you get here?” he said, still surprised at the sight of an old acquaintance. He was no friend of Eckhard’s, but nor was he a foe – they knew each other on distance, and that was all.
“Great things are stirring, Guntram!” Eckhard exclaimed heartily. “We march tomorrow.”
“March?! Halt, stop! What are you talking about?”
“We’re marching on the French, of course,” Eckhard said, surprised. Guntram’s dumfounded look showed that an explanation was needed, and so Eckhard quickly went over the situation, all the while marvelling at how incredibly behind they were in Outremer. A servant came in and offered him an ornate goblet of silver, filled with water that, to his surprise, was ice cold. He had no idea how they managed, but kept on talking.
“And that is why we are marching on the French! And really, how do you manage to keep this water so cool?” he finished.
“It’s complex,” Guntram stated without interest, but pleased at hearing Eckhard wondering something. It clearly showed how behind they were in Germany. “But with what army?”
“Your army. How many are they?”
“About eight-hundred Germans and a few hundred loyal Bedouins. Nothing to wage a war with.”
“And what does the French commander south of here have?”
“A little less, they had problems with raids this spring.”
“Glorious! See, we will beat them. We mobilise tomorrow!”
Eckhard left Guntram with a headache, and a severe need for a glass of something that could numb his worries at an upcoming, tremendously tedious campaign.
Thus endeth the twenty-fourth chapter.
The duke’s residence by the cathedral was too small to house the host of military commanders, nobles of both high and low origin, merchants seeking to profit on the war and generally curious people that gathered in the wake of the declaration of war. To have a common point of gathering, as well as an official war room, the refectory of the abbey adjoining Aachen cathedral had been transformed from the monks’ cantina into a loud, crowded and generally messy place, much resembling a fair. Duke Dietrich himself had not turned up yet, and so it was his brother, the newly-appointed marshal Ulrich, that was in charge. His enthusiasm was notable, as well as obnoxious for a few of the more tired occupants of the room. Word had been sent to Emperor Martin – currently in Cologne, half a day on horseback away – and the answer was expected to arrive soon after dusk.
However, the emperor’s decision whether or not to support his vassal’s war was not vital for the campaign: the forces of Lower Lorraine had been fully capable of helping the Empire in the Rebellion of the Three Dukes where they beat one of the most skilled military leaders of the realm, and since then the manpower base had been extended with that of Upper Lorraine. Orders of mobilisation were being prepared all through the room to be sent to the various counts and their vassals – if Martin von Franken did not support the war, Lorraine would fight on its own.
Dietrich appeared when most of the people temporarily residing in the refectory had eaten their midday meal. By then the counts of Loon, Metz, Pfalz, Jülich and Brabant and the bishops of Liège and Sticht had arrived and received their orders to mobilise.
“How are we doing, Ulrich?” Dietrich greeted his brother as he sat down in a chair, a servant rapidly bringing him a goblet of wine.
“I believe you are doing very good, milord,” smiled Ulrich, “and you will be even better when you have heard the plans, I assure you.”
“Go on.”
Ulrich brought forward a large map, showing both the territories of France as well as Western Germany.
“I’ve seldom seen such an incoherent and messy map!” complained Dietrich. “What is this?”
“It is not the mapmaker’s fault – the situation in France is incoherent and messy. See here,” he said, pointing at the map, “everything crossed by diagonal lines is occupied by another power. Here is the duchy of Valois. Eudes de Valois is one of the three prominent dukes attacking their liege – the other two are Raymond Berenguiè of Toulouse and Odon d’Aquitaine of Poitou – and as we are speaking, he is marching on Hainault. Now, Hainault is king Adémar’s last fortress, save for some occupied territory in Northern Toulouse that is expected to be retaken very shortly.”
“It hardly looks as if there is much else for us to do,” said Dietrich. “Raymond and Odon have done their job well in the South, and Valois is making quite a performance.”
“Yes, but there is one thing that makes this worth it,” Ulrich said with a triumphant look on his face. “You see, Raymond and Odon are united in their battle against Adémar – it is actually Odon’s forces that are about to retake that territory in Toulouse, Gevaudan – but Eudes de Valois is acting independently and is aiming for the crown. So we’ve got no less than three belligerents in action, and that is not counting the remaining, loyal vassals of the crown – Boudewijn of Flanders, Centule of Anjoy, Etienne-Henri of Champagne and Hugues of Bourgougne.”
“So what exactly is our plan?”
“The pot has already been broken, and our goal is to snatch as many pieces as we can before anyone gets the idea to mend it. Thus I think we should march on Flanders – it is not a theatre of war right now, and the forces are busy battling Valois. We cannot fail.”
“Excellent! Then…”
“Oh no, I’m not finished Diet… er, sir!” Ulrich exclaimed. “See here… when Eudes de Valois defeats Adémar, which he inevitably will, he will most likely claim the crown of France for himself. Then he is the king of the kingdom we are waging war against, and we can direct our swords towards him instead and snatch a few of the French Royal Lands in the process.”
“Glorious!” answered Dietrich, content. The situation was looking so bright that there was a risk of getting blinded – France was about to crumble, and this was the time to enter the battle for anyone who wanted maximal gain with minimal effort. “Now we will wait for Emperor Martin’s decision – merely cosmetic, of course; we will go to war no matter what, but it looks better if he supports it – and then we will march on Flanders.”
Ulrich and Dietrich were just about to start complimenting each other of their combined genius, when a panting courier loudly entered the refectory.
“Milord!” he shouted when he saw Dietrich, and ran towards him. “Milord! Bohemond de Normandie is sailing to France!”
“No wonder, he is from France!” shouted Dietrich in return.
“No, not for holiday, he is sailing to war! England has declared war on France!”
All colour dropped from Dietrich’s face for a moment. “Verdammt! Ulrich, ignore the Emperor, arms the troops and march immediately, we will not let that bloody Norman take all the spoils of war!”
Ulrich answered with a forceful ‘Yes, sir!’ and set off to follow his orders. The hall erupted into a mild form of chaos at the notion; Lorraine was going to war. Preferrably before Bohemond managed to.
---
Seven months later
Seven months later
The sun did not shine any more or less mercilessly over any creed of Outremer; in its eternal fairness, it did its best to roast Frank and Saracen alike. But whereas the Saracens had learned to cope with the heat and even use it to their advantage – all courtesy of actually having lived in the region during the past centuries – the Christians felt as if they were about to enter Gehenna, to where they had been sent for their crimes. For someone grown up in Bavaria, Saxony or Lorraine, desert climate was not at all ideal.
It did not become better when one looked upon the infrastructure of German Outremer – the territories were, seemingly randomly, split between various counts and dukes – all intent on ruling their acquired lands personally from mainland German, and Jerusalem itself was controlled by a French adventurer with no intention of giving it away. Some territories had however been given to people that the original conquerors deemed loyal enough for the stewardship of the provinces – among them were Jaffa and Acre, currently ruled by Guntram d’Ardennes, previously the heir presumptive to the throne of Lower Lorraine.
Guntram’s residence in Jaffa was large and spacey: before the German conquest it had been the administrative centre of the sheikdom of Akko and it was richly decorated with mosaics and white stone. Along a few of the walls were also quotes from the Quran, until further notice covered by linen sheets – a few of the German priests had reacted rather violently when they realised what it was. The building was rectangular with an atrium garden and was two floors high. In the north-eastern corner was another floor, resembling a sort of tower; it had previously been the office of one of the head clerks of the sheikdom of Akko, and was now inhabited by Guntram.
This morning, the twenty-first of October in the year of turmoil – although he was not yet aware that it was, in fact, the year of turmoil – 1106 the grand war on the Western European mainland reached its fifth month, but in Outremer none of that had been noticed. That is, before Eckhard de Lorraine all of a sudden stepped into the room. Guntram jumped in his chair at the sight of him.
“What… how… You are supposed to be in Germany! What are you doing here, how did you get here?” he said, still surprised at the sight of an old acquaintance. He was no friend of Eckhard’s, but nor was he a foe – they knew each other on distance, and that was all.
“Great things are stirring, Guntram!” Eckhard exclaimed heartily. “We march tomorrow.”
“March?! Halt, stop! What are you talking about?”
“We’re marching on the French, of course,” Eckhard said, surprised. Guntram’s dumfounded look showed that an explanation was needed, and so Eckhard quickly went over the situation, all the while marvelling at how incredibly behind they were in Outremer. A servant came in and offered him an ornate goblet of silver, filled with water that, to his surprise, was ice cold. He had no idea how they managed, but kept on talking.
“And that is why we are marching on the French! And really, how do you manage to keep this water so cool?” he finished.
“It’s complex,” Guntram stated without interest, but pleased at hearing Eckhard wondering something. It clearly showed how behind they were in Germany. “But with what army?”
“Your army. How many are they?”
“About eight-hundred Germans and a few hundred loyal Bedouins. Nothing to wage a war with.”
“And what does the French commander south of here have?”
“A little less, they had problems with raids this spring.”
“Glorious! See, we will beat them. We mobilise tomorrow!”
Eckhard left Guntram with a headache, and a severe need for a glass of something that could numb his worries at an upcoming, tremendously tedious campaign.
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Political map of the German Outremer and its surroundings as of October 1106 A.D.
Internal political map of the German holdings in Palestine.
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Political map of the German Outremer and its surroundings as of October 1106 A.D.
Internal political map of the German holdings in Palestine.
---
Thus endeth the twenty-fourth chapter.
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Ok, so screw what I said before. I decided that you deserved an update today, so here it is, as promised.
I also want a few comments on the maps. Too few, too many? Suggestions for improvements -- more than the Germany-map being cluttered -- or remarks on things you think I do well, and should apply to other maps? Bring it on.
I also want a few comments on the maps. Too few, too many? Suggestions for improvements -- more than the Germany-map being cluttered -- or remarks on things you think I do well, and should apply to other maps? Bring it on.
Well well, just defeated the Muslims and already fighting amongst themselves again eh?
My opinion on the maps: The French one is cluttered, but as you say, the whole situation has gone to hell over there, so that is understandable. I'd like to see on the map what Lorraine has though. The maps of Outremer are nice, especially the first one, with the surrounding lands showing. The second one I think would look better, or at least better understood if you wrote the names of the occupiers in their respective territories (or their initials in provs separated from the main bulk).
My opinion on the maps: The French one is cluttered, but as you say, the whole situation has gone to hell over there, so that is understandable. I'd like to see on the map what Lorraine has though. The maps of Outremer are nice, especially the first one, with the surrounding lands showing. The second one I think would look better, or at least better understood if you wrote the names of the occupiers in their respective territories (or their initials in provs separated from the main bulk).
I was thinking about marking the Lorraine-territory on that map as well, but decided against it -- it would have made it even worse. Nevertheless, I basically had to include the markers for occupied territory to show that the French king has close to nothing left under his control.Qorten said:Well well, just defeated the Muslims and already fighting amongst themselves again eh?
My opinion on the maps: The French one is cluttered, but as you say, the whole situation has gone to hell over there, so that is understandable. I'd like to see on the map what Lorraine has though. The maps of Outremer are nice, especially the first one, with the surrounding lands showing. The second one I think would look better, or at least better understood if you wrote the names of the occupiers in their respective territories (or their initials in provs separated from the main bulk).
I think making it bigger could help.Ah, the two Outremer-maps are actually almost an inofficial referendum, how you want your maps.
One of the problems presented with the first variation though is that Braunschweig, for example, has three different territories not at all adjoining to eachother. I.e. it would once again be very cluttered with text. But very well, if it is the wish of the readers I'll adapt to it. 
I think you made the right choice with the second Palestine map, and for just the reasons you stated. The Lord of Braunschweig's lands are just too scattered to mark them any other way.
Just for map reasons, it must have saddened you to see France collapse.
Just for map reasons, it must have saddened you to see France collapse.
Are you jesting? I love making maps!Alfred Packer said:
The France one was wonderful to make, although if I was to redo it I would cut away most of the lands not France, enlarge it, and use smaller text.These few chapters wil have quite a few maps in them, so expect more.