The Kingdom of Aarquitania- Alternate History with DVIP

The sudden death of Zavie de Toulouse, scion of his family and general model of Christian kinghood, was a great loss to the realm he had forged through his strength of arms and maintained by his strength of will. His leadership had seen Aquitania weather a storm of crises such as interminable wars with the Muslim Emirates to the south, a low intensity shadow war with his rival France to the north as well as domestic troubles culminating in his execution of Michels Duke of Poitou.

The question facing the realm was whether the young King Guitard would be able to match his father’s success. Only recently come of age, few outside the court of Bordeaux knew the young man personally while the other monarchs of Europe relied on their ambassadors and spies to quickly gather intelligence about him.

Aquitania itself was stable and at peace, linked by alliance to a strong and expanding Breton kingdom. As its new King began to take his first paces in leading his inherited land, many were the paths those steps might tread. A new foreign and domestic policy was in the making and Aquitania would never be the same.

Excerpt from “No Rule But Our Own- A Comprehensive Study of Aquitania’s Middle Ages” by Gervais Terceil, Chapter Four- The Passing of an Era.​

Guitard de Toulouse, first of his name and King of all Aquitania, still saw his father dying each time he closed his eyes. It had been two weeks since the incident in the council room, his father collapsing into the arms of his retinue and Guitard too shocked and scared to move or even breathe. The shouts and screams had seemed to wash over him and even in the flurry of activity he was positive that his father had focused his eye on him, halfway across the room, in his final moments.

That terrifying image had not dissapated at all after his father's body was removed from the chamber. It had not disapeared after the immense funeral held at the de Toulouse manor in Toulouse, surrounded by relatives he had never met and taking the condolences of major courtiers he could not remember the names of. It came back every night and would not leave him along in the day, each unoccupied moment saw his mind drifting back to those seconds.

Guitard felt like he would have that image burned into his mind for the rest of his life, along with the feelings of helplessness and shame it stimulated. The entire council room had erupted into activity, minor nobles and even clerks calling for help or rushing to the side of the stricken monarch. It seemed that only he stood still, unable to move and take action to try and save his own father! The words of the physicians, that there had been nothing to save Zavie once his heart had given out, did nothing to assuaged the guilt held by his son. Indeed he…

“My lord, do you want me to repeat what I said?”



Guitard’s attention snapped back to reality, and it took a moment to identify Ramonda de Provence, his father’s and now his chief of spies, as the one that had spoken. He sat at the council chamber deep in the heart of Bordeaux castle, in the same seat his father had used for years. Faces from around the table looked at him in expectation, a bevy of emotions to be found among them. Some grinned and looked on the point o laughter while others were dour and disapproving in their gaze. Embarrassment welled within him and he felt a bright flush scatter across his face as he stumbled over his response.

“Well…er.. that is.. if it would not… trouble the court… as it stands now.”

Guitard heard a cough towards the end of the room that could easily be interpreted as a hasty attempt to cover a laugh and his face grew even more crimson. How could he be so thoughtless as to daydream in the middle of his first full council session? How would his father feel about such an inconsiderate and brainless maneuver? He was saved from deeper thoughts by his mother, Rosa of Bordeaux, speaking up.



“We will look over your report on the deteriorating German situation closer during the closed session later Ramonda. As of now, let us take a quick break and refresh ourselves, the day grows late. I will present my own statement and then we will be dismissed.”

Conversation on a thousand subjects overtook the table as each turned to his or her neighbor and discussed personal affairs or the matters discussed earlier in the assembly. Servants with baked goods from the kitchens and pitchers of wine were summoned to serve the councilors and magnates. Guitard himself let out a sigh of relief and waited as his mother stood to approach him. Likely he would get an earful for not keeping to his promise of undivided attention, they had rehearsed several times in the past weeks what to expect in the meeting. He had attended several sessions in the months leading to his fathers death, but observing was quite different from being the center of attention.

In a voice barely audible in the cacophony of sound produced by the enclosed chamber, Rosa spoke to her son,

“Lord, you know the importance of this meeting. Your first impressions on these men and women will likely set the course for the Kingdom in the coming months and any sign of weakness or fault will make them respect and honor you less. Once we are through with my report on the condition of your vassals, we will retire to the private chambers and there discuss a matter of the utmost importance. Merely hold your mind focused till then.”

“Of course, you will have my undivided attention” replied Guitard with a furious motion of agreement from his head.

“We will start soon then, lord, mind the advice I give here and later.”

Guitard had no intention of doing otherwise. His mother was perhaps the person he trusted most in this world with his father gone. His earliest memories were of her, seeing as his father had been on campaign more often than not. A close relationship bound the two and the young King could think of no other whose advice he would give more credence to.

A few minutes passed before the servants once again departed and the assembled host of councilors, clerks, minor stewards and nobility were prepared to listen once again. Rosa gathered herself and launched into her report.​

“We shall take a close look at each of your numerous vassals in this report lord, giving you a better sense of those that are bound to you by oath and title. Likely you will meet many of them in the coming weeks as the travel to do you homage.”

“Ermenguad de Toulouse is your distant cousin and holds reign over considerable lands in the eastern half of our realm. He has also recently come to power with the death of his father Guiges de Toulouse late last year but is already far advanced in age. He is a brilliant leader of men and experienced commander who often oversaw the leadership of the demesne levies when they were called to battle by your father. Ermenguad will likely be among the most important of our leaders if large scale war threatens.”

“Esteve de Milhaud is among your younger vassals and is a competent man for his duty as Duke. His fief is generally poor though and he possesses no significant vassals of his own so he will likely try to endear himself to you in hopes of reward. In all, Esteve will likely follow us lockstep and not present any difficulty.”

“The Count of Carcassonne and Protector of Antioch, Rainers Trencavel is another competent vassal that was closely linked to the late King Zavie, indeed he was once the court Marshal in the time of the First Crusade. His loyalty to the de Toulouse is not in question, for he owes all that he has become to their largess. He will undoubtedly be an important ally in our efforts to maintain the realm and continue its expansion.”

“Doumenge de Caumont is a distant relation to your majesty on your grandmother’s side and he is another vassal that we may count on in difficult times. He is powerful in the north-central regions of the Kingdom and provides a useful counter to any threat from that direction. He is an experienced commander that will continue to serve us both in battle and in council.”

“Raolf de Montesquiou has the potential to become a not-insignificant threat to the security of our north frontier. He undoubtedly recalls the events that saw his father executed and despite his young age, the de Montesquiou family is among the most powerful in the land. Their power and prestige is likely capable of inciting other nobles wavering in their loyalty to break with the crown if they rebel. It would be best to keep a check on any expansion of their power and ensure that they never possess the opportunity for betrayal.”

“The Count of Labourd is still a child and is currently working through his father’s old advisors. There is not much else to comment on at this point other than his position close to Bordeaux and the Kingdom’s power base would render any attempt at independence foolhardy.”

“Miquel de Curieres is another child holding title in the Kingdom. He is a major power in regard to our Spanish possessions and will likely play a strong role in any plans to expand our dominion further in the peninsula. Only time will tell how he will turn out but we must make sure to keep him close to our side.”

“The last of the child lords under your dominion is Gui de Montesquiou, majesty. A member of the most powerful family in the realm apart from your own, Gui will likely side with them if any issue should divide us. Otherwise, he rules a province on the outskirts of the land and poses no threat to us on his own.”

“Urraca Jimenez is undoubtedly the strongest single vassal we possess in the land south of the Pyrenees. Ruling the city of Burgos and its neighboring environ of Soria, she has generally played a key role in Aquitanian politics in the region. Her appointment was seen as a disappointment when Zavie announced it, but he was convinced of the virtues of reinstalling the local nobility to lands they once held. We must hope that Urraca recalls this generosity.”

“Raolf de Foix was a key participant in the Spanish campaigns of Zavie and was considered a close associate. He reigns in the borderlands of south Aquitania and north Spain and is beginning to show his age but the de Foix family will likely remain loyal so long as Raolf reigns. Our agents report that he is concerned over the lack of experience your majesty possesses, but this doubt will certainly fade with time.”

“Ruler of the mountainous lands of Jaca and Urgell, Isabel de Barcelona is one of the poorer vassals we possess. With no living children of her own, she will pass on her title to one of the many exiled de Barcelona’s scattered in the courts of Europe. In all, she is unlikely to cause trouble on her own.”

“Sanc al-Somadhi is ruler of the unspectacular province of Rosello and, like Isabel, is not a threat to the Kingdom’s security on his own. Before his death, Zavie was in the midst of a minor argument with the Count over tariff rates and relations were suffering as a result. We can only hope that diplomacy will smooth over the troubled waters and allow for continued peace and relative prosperity for the province and it’s Count.”

“Agostino da Romano was a close personal friend and the former confessor of Zavie’s and was given the titles of Lleida and Zaragoza in order to speed the conversion of the heathens of those regions, a task that the Bishop has delved into with fervor. He is a potent force among your Spanish lands and it would be a wise course to keep him as a friend.

“Guerrino Contarini is the newly appointed replacement Bishop holding the fiefs of Forez and Viviers. In the short time that Zavie dealt with him, he represented a difficult personality to negotiate through. He is generally crass and undiplomatic as well as unhappy with what he considers the lack of attention directed at his lands. He will be a difficult personage to work through, but the affairs of state require such sacrifices from us.”​

As the majority of the council members departed amid conversation, King Guitard was drawn by his mother to an adjoining chamber where the rest of his private councilors were assembled.



Girad de Montesquiou, no relation to the powerful vassal family, was a dark and brooding man given to melancholy moods. His continued presence in court was due to the lack of others that might take his place. It was lucky for the Kingdom that no major wars had been forced on them during the years of his downward descent to severe depression.



Also present was Flora of Bordeaux, no relation to his mother. She had stepped into the vast gulf left by the passing of Alix de Baux and only held an inkling of the capability the last steward had. Yet she was still a solid administrator and Zavie had known that he could do worse when he appointed her in the months before his death.

After the chamber was secure, Rosa went straight to the point of the private council. Her words shocked Guitard as soon as they were past her lips.

"The matter we are gathered here to discuss is your future marriage, lord. Your father and others in the Kingdom had not been idle as you grew to adulthood and several candidates have been agreed upon by all the court functionaries that matter. While many have vested interest in one or two of the possibilities, no furor will occur should you decide on one or the other. I will lay out the potential brides here.”

“This is an issue of critical importance. The only ones standing between the junior branch of your house inheriting are you and your brother at the moment. As he is likely to pursue a path to the priesthood, we will likely not see any heirs to the line from him. As such, the matter must be decided as soon as possible.”

“Perhaps the most attractive opportunity lies with Eve Capet, as she is the eldest daughter of the French King Louis. With the near constant enmity between our nations, such a union would likely smooth relations for years to come. Perhaps a more substantial alliance might also be born of the marriage.”

“Daughter of Morcar King of England, Gunhilda Godwineson is nearly of age to marry and would be another perfect partner for securing an alliance. We would have to wait only a short while for the marriage itself and the potential rewards from a close connection with the Saxons should not be underestimated.”

“Angharad Mathrafal is another candidate from a royal court, though it be a small one. Adding weight to this option is the distinct chance of the Mathrafal family inheriting the Breton throne if King Marc does not sire a male heir soon.”

“Even with the decline of the German Kingdom, the von Franken family is still a major player in the continent and will likely remain so. Adela von Franken is certainly an option that bears investigation.”

Still somewhat shaken at the forthright way that his marriage was being discussed mere weeks after his ascension to the throne and knowing that his choice would likely affect foreign policy for years, King Guitard could not find the voice to answer right away.



Alright, this is the next poll that I will be holding. Which of these lovely ladies will Guitard seek to marry? I will have the poll up here in mere minutes!

Note that none of these possibilities are likely to result in me gaining the throne, each of the houses has plenty of male heirs that I can make out. If you have any questions please ask!​