Unsung Ballads of Aquitaine

Fall of France

Now glory to the Lord of Lords, and glory to our King!
The joyful day has finally come when we can dance and sing.
Sing glory to the Lord of Lords for giving us the chance,
And toast to our King Louis and to the fall of France!

And save a word for our allies, for our Breton friends,
And if the words are not enough, we thank them with new lands!
Through all the times, both good and bad, they’d answer our call,
So save a drink for Breton lads, our best friends above all!

And drink the best wine ye can find, the wine of our own land,
And drink to French, our enemies, for their brave last stand.
They fought like lions on the field, like lions did they die,
So drink to fallen foes, my friends, and let their women cry.

At last recall the ones who fell, while fighting on our side,
We owe them eternal debt, for them, not us, have died.
Stand up and spill the merry wine, spill wine onto the grass,
Remember our fallen friends, who fought and died for us.

Now glory to the Lord of Lords, for victory he brings,
And glory to our King Louis, the first of our Kings,
Above all glory to our land, our dear Aquitaine,
Hers, to the last drop of our blood, forever we remain.

(inspiration: IVRY by Thomas Babbington Macaulay)

Commentaries: This piece of poetry was presented by an overzealous courtier to King Louis I of Aquitaine in 1531. The author’s name remains unknown, while there are some speculation that the above mentioned courtier simply changed the existing folk ballad by adding countless praises to the ruling King. One thing obvious, the Fall of France definitely refers to the year 1531, the year that saw French King’s domains shrinking to the immediate surroundings of Paris.

Despite minor setbacks no one thought France was heading to its destruction in 1519. French new King Charles IX was a capable monarch, while French nemesis Aquitaine headed into the new decade ruled by the Regency Council. Even when Aquitaine’s new Duke came of age, France, it seemed, had little to worry about. Louis I lacked basic knowledge in all areas required to rule. Neither he nor his advisors were eager to start a new war with France, especially after the last two wars drained the duchy’s treasury.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, the Duke’s decision was made for him. His Majesty King of Aragon once again orchestrated the creation of yet another coalition against France, which consisted this time of Castille, Aragon, Portugal and Aquitaine (the name finally replaced the archaic Guyenne in 1531). Of course, as soon as Portugal entered the war against France, England, Portuguese loyal ally, joined the war as well.

The first year of the war was brutal for both sides. Armies clashed constantly on the fields of France with the greatest loss of human lives recorded since first French aggression against Guyenne in 1473. The French, it seemed, has chosen an erroneous strategy of attacking Aquitaine from the east, where the border fortresses of Avergne and Avignon were the strongest. The armies of France were considerably delayed there and suffered horrendous losses from attrition, especially in the mountains of Avergne.

Meanwhile, the coalition was able to occupy most of French provinces. French nobles found this moment very convenient to demand more autonomy, which resulted in the Duchy of Orleans re-appearance on the map. Then Castille conquered Bourbonnais and was able to get a separate peace with France, forcing the latter to renounce the Count of Nevers as her vassal, renounce the claim on Bourbonnais and release the Duchy of Normandy. Soon Portugal, Aragon and England all chose to make peace with the French, leaving Aquitaine to fight the war alone.

This break came a little too late for France. Her army made a few brave stands in and out of Ile-de-France, scoring a couple of victories against the Army of Gascogne, but was finally defeated with the arrival of the Army of Avergne.

The peace terms were harsh, Charles IX of France was to cede Saintonge, Provence and Roussillon and to renounce the new Duchy of Orleans as French vassal. This was the beginning of the end for France.

(commentaries to be continued…)



The Western Europe in 1526

Yellow: Kingdom of Castille (note the conquest of Bourbonnais), allied to Portugal, Aragon and Normandy
Blue and Light Blue: Kingdom of France and her allies, the Kingdom of Scotland and County of Nevers (designated as N on the map)
Purple and Light Purple: The Duchy of Aquitaine (Guyenne) and her allies: the Duchy of Bretagne and the Duchy of Provence. The latter is designated Pr. on the map, it was released as vassal after the war to avoid the argument with the Emperor.
Teal: Kingdom of Aragon
White: Austrian possessions in the west (note the loss of French Comte to Swiss Confederation, Helvetia on the map)
Red: United Kingdom of England and Ireland
Green: The Duchy of Lorraine, somewhat enlarged, the map does not show other acquisitions in Germany.

comagoosie said:

This is good, it looks like France won't be a major power anymore in a few years.

Click to expand...

Five to be exact. I decided to postpone the second half of the commentaries on purpose, to give everybody a chance to guess the map changes in 1531. Specifically, who will get the biggest share of the French pie... or what's left of it.

rcduggan, that was my intention, but I have a little suprise for you there

germanpeon, that would mean abandoning this AAR and I am enjoying it too much. A wee hint: I still have cores on Armagnac, the Duchy of Gascogne within my realm would never be complete w/o it. Thus, an eventual showdown with Castille is to be expected.

Vann, are you kidding? Compliments and praise are very constructive to any author out there

(...commentaries for Fall of France continued)

France, beaten badly in the last war, expected to get a little break, but luck was not on her side. Peace with Aquitaine was followed by another war with Castille. The latter may only have desired to conquer the County of Nevers, but France came to her ally's rescue... only to be drawn herself in the waves of enemy troops. The Duke of Lorraine has joined the war as well. And, after a year or so, so did Aquitaine, heeding the call of the Duke of Bretagne.

Ever since Bretagne conquered Maine and returned Armor and Finister, she had the toughest time expanding her borders. A war with the newly born Duchy of Orleans saw the Aquitani troops do most of the fighting and get the lion share of the profit: Orleans was forced to cede Blois and take a vassal oath to the self-proclaimed kingdom of Aquitaine. Initially, Louis I intended to reward his Breton ally with the newly acquired province, but upon discovering its wine he changed his mind. Collecting wine provinces was the hobby of Aquitaine rulers of late.

However, yet another war on France gave the Bretons yet another chance... Seeing that most of French provinces are already overran by Spanish and Lotharingian troops, Louis I was ready to grab whatever he could... and all he could was the province of Anjou for Bretagne with a little gold to sweeten the peace deal.

In 1531 the French accepted yet another humiliating peace treaty. Castille annexed Nevers and received Champagne, Othe and Bourgogne, while Lorraine picked up the remaining three provinces of Dauphine, Lyonnais and Vermandois. French defeat was complete. The Kingdom of France was limited to Paris and the surrounding areas. It would be more fitting to call it the Duchy of the France or the Duchy of the Ile-de-France.

For centuries Aquitaine was ruled by foreigners. Romans, Goths, Franks, English and Franks again, all came and saw and conquered. In 1468 she gained her independence, but it took several more decades to defend it. Now, when the French King could barely hold to his own throne, his claims on Aquitaine become more of a joke than a threat. With Fortune's help and the backing of Aquitani veteran arrmy, Louis I, the seventh Duke of Aquitaine since her independence in 1468, finally had the opportunity to proclaim himself the first king of the Aquitani kingdom. For now the new kingdom was only recognized by the Duchies of Bretagne, Olreans and Provence, the rest of Europe cautiously awaiting either Pope’s or Emperor’s confirmation.

This confirmation would be hard to get, considering Aquitani disputes with Pope over church corruption and Aquitani disputes with the Emperor in Vienna over the status of Provence.

Castille benefited the most from the wars of the last decade. Having conquered no single province since Armagnac, the Spanish kingdom was the new bad boy on the block. Two annexations - Bourbonnais and Nevers - and three more French provinces were sure to raise eyebrows across Europe. However, King Carlos I was confident he can defend his gains with ease. His kingdom was allied with Portugal, Aragon, Granada and Normandy. His army was fresh from defeating the mightiest military in Europe to-date, paying back fully for the humiliation his kingdom received at the French hands in 1500. His neighbors, save for his allies, were numerous yet weak. They awaited his next move with fear and trepidation.



Western Europe in 1531

Yellow: Kingdom of Castille (note the obvious: Castille's gains in France)
Purple and Light Purple: Kingdom of Aquitaine and her allies (Pr. for Provence, Or. for Orleans, both vassals)
Green: Duchy of Lorraine (note: conquests in France, Lorraine is, no doubt, dreaming of becoming the Kingdom of Lotharingen)
White: Imperial (Austrian) holdings in the west
Teal: Kingdom of Aragon
Red: United Kingdom of England and Ireland
Blue: Kingdom(?) of France

Hopefully, the status of French state will soon be resolved by a speedy conquest of one of her neighbors. An Imperial city of Paris, maybe?

Vann the Red, I knew I would have to take Castille on soon enough, but I did not expect it happen so soon... you'll see in the next update or two.

Amric, glad to have you back!

You're right on the spot. It took me awhile to decide what to do with Bourgogne (don't forget that wine making province) and Champagne. In the end I figured that I don't want to own them for the same reasons I gave you before - I don't want Aquitaine to become next France. So, for now, my plan is to liberate them from Castille and give them to either one of my vassals (or make a new one).

I was upset at myself for setting Provence free - forgot they make good wine too Also, kind of upset (at one in particular) that famous for its brendy Armagnac is not represented as a wine province. Oh well, I am still enjoying those MMG 'Wine Monopoly' effects and can't complain too much.

Future plans: stay away from the Empire, they do their thing, we do ours. Grabbing Italian univercities and wine is a bit gamey, although can't say I won't do it eventually. New World is not for me just yet, I get 0 colonists becayse of my innovation. Aragon has couple of wine making provinces and Catalan culture is close to Occitan in RL, perfect for my new kind of nation.

Seven Deadly Sins

Bless me Father, for I’ve sinned
The Nun to Abbot said,
He said that to forgive her sins
He’d take her to his bed.

He told her he’d absolve her sins,
If she shows him some trust,
For he would teach her how to fight
The deadly sin of Lust.

While in the kitchen fat Friars
Fought Gluttony and Sloth,
The Abbot had chastised the Nun
Her penance pleasing both.

In the morning, when she left,
The Abbot held the court.
Two Peasants argued over land,
But he had cut them short.

Greed is a deadly sin, he said,
From court they both be banned.
And to absolve them of this sin,
The Church would take their land.

Soon came the news that village Smith
Had found himself a wife.
A fair Maiden with blue eyes
Would brighten his dull life.

The Abbot too that Maiden liked,
But Envy he would fight
By offering to her his bed
Before her wedding night.

The Maiden, guilty of a sin,
The deadly sin of Pride,
Her would be husband promptly told
What Abbot told his bride.

The Abbot warned the Smith of Wrath,
A deadly sin, he said.
The Smith agreed, his hammer raised,
And smashed the Abbot’s head.

(the credit for inspiration goes to Goliard poetry, for spirit, if not for style)

Commentaries: A widespread corruption of the church had caused much grief to Aquitani rulers and their subjects. Fourteen years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg five provinces of Aquitaine openly declared for Protestant faith. At one point Henry VI of Aquitaine contemplated the announcement of the separate church of Guyenne, but he died too soon to see his plans fulfilled. Some blamed the hand of Rome for his premature death.

Ever since the uneasy relationship between the ruling elite and the church persisted. Several disputes over church corruption only worsened relationship with Papal States. Finally, enraged by the clergy’s continuous refusal to play by his rule King Louis II ordered the confiscation of church estates in Languedoc. The province population, never in favor of Rome, could not contain its excitement and rose in open rebellion against the clergy, massacring hundreds of priests. The saddened King was obliged to put down the rebellion with force, his fight being not with the clergy as a class, but with its head in Rome.

Meanwhile, the spread of Reformation continued.



Ecclesiastical Map of Western Europe 1531

Yellow: Catholics
Blue: Protestants
Purple: Reformed Protestants
Green: Mohammedans

yourworstnightm, yes, my thoughts exactly, adds to the challenge and helps to move the story along.

comagoosie, I loved the abott But he had to go.

Vann, just waiting for the right time, want to have more than five Protestant provinces in my kingdom first. Glad you liked the poem, spent too much time thinking of a way to fit all the seven deadly sins in it. I've got to stop creating limitations for myself