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Where does the Pope reside then?
No where, there is no Pope anymore... I think I am going to break Catholicism into three chunks (based on Protestant, Reformed, Hussite religions in MMP).

Basically there will be three groups, the Isles, Germany + Croatia, Scandinavia. A majority of the provinces will still be catholic, but the governments no.
 
It will be an interesting EUIII game, What bout the Holy See in EUIII (if Catholicism is gone from the start)
 
Homelands
Chapter Six: The Sharpened Sword
Part 3


Prelude:
By 1100 large numbers of Prussians and Letts had converted to Orthodoxy, especially in Marienscír. It is during this same time that it is assumed that the last of the original Saxon warriors died out, ending true Saxon blood in Prussia. The greater enthusiasm for the new religion can be attributed to its function to break away from an enemy. Both Saxons and Prussians could relate to a religion that was uniquely theirs. So the Orthodoxy celebrated by Prussians and later conquered peoples was notably different than Greek and Russian Orthodoxy. The Saxons especially enjoyed the idea of “Geléaffulnes æt Anginnum” (“faith through actions”). They often accused Catholics of “Geléaffulnes æt Wordum” (“faith through words”). The difference was that at the time Catholicism often went about the task of converting heathens while preaching good deeds. The church itself, however; was corrupt to the core and people rarely took time in their lives to actually do the good that was preached.


May 1st, 1104

Aethelweard stood on his balcony watching men put down the foundation of the first Orthodox Church in Prussia. Each man worked tirelessly trying to help build the church. With the conquest of the northern territories large numbers of Letts and Lithuanians had been brought into the nation. The Letts especially had grown to become a majority of the population and would often refer to themselves as “Prūsija” (Prussian). The Letts, Lithuanians and Native Prussians seemed to blend in nicely with one another.

“You seem eager to get that church up, Aethelweard,” Markéta said.

“Yes, it is important to the people.”

“You have united this land, something many did not believe would happen. I hear talk that in the realm of Boris Letts and Lithuanians leave their farms fallow and walk here.”

“I would like to think so, but Boris is a threat that will soon have to be dealt with.”

“I assume you have been planning this for some time.”

“I have, you learn quickly.” Aethelweard smiled and turned to face his wife.

“I must, my Duke, I am in a strange land with so many new peoples.”

“In that way we are very similar.” Markéta nodded, she paced over gently to Aethelweard who turned back to watch the church being built. It was on the site of the Royal tombs, deep underground and protected by guards.

“Aethelweard, they say that you have the makings of a great Kingdom.”

“Maybe so,” the Duke became quiet as he returned his attention to the church being built in the center of town.

“You have enemies that need to be removed,” his wife said. “Boris is sitting in Polotsk, drinking wine and consorting with the seediest of women. He is not fit to rule, Aethelweard! But you are! Remove him, husband, remove him and take his throne as your own! He will forge you a crown made of his sword, and you shall wear it as a symbol of your power.”

The Saxon faced his wife, almost surprised by her forcefulness.

“Geléaffulnes æt Anginnum! Act, Aethelweard! Act!”


End Chapter Six
 
Oh yeah, attack him with a pre-emptive strike! :p
The best defence is attack... ;)

Making him your vassals meaning his vassals become your vassals would be awesome!

Soon for the title Rex Balticum, this time the title bough from Constantinople instead of Rome, awesome!

Soon marry some Greek princesses. :p
So with Bishop of Rome gone, the only original seat of Christendom lies in Constantinople... as it should be...
 
Oh yeah, attack him with a pre-emptive strike! :p
The best defence is attack... ;)

Making him your vassals meaning his vassals become your vassals would be awesome!

Soon for the title Rex Balticum, this time the title bough from Constantinople instead of Rome, awesome!

Soon marry some Greek princesses. :p
So with Bishop of Rome gone, the only original seat of Christendom lies in Constantinople... as it should be...
My plan is to have the catholics split into three main groups (these are per my terms, not history):
- Protestants: Based in Southern Germany, Protestants are the warrior branch of Christianity. They are notorious fighters and fanatical priests. Their religion has been forged through "Endless War" between the Caliphs of Aquitaine and Italy against the Christian Kingdoms.
- Reformists: Based in Northern Germany, Reformists are trying to reconcile the differences that have split Christianity apart.
- Hussites: Based in Scandinavia, they represent the farthest away from Catholicism and follow the teachings of Harold Hus, a Norwegian. It blends Viking paganism deeply into Christianity.

I like the idea of Rex Balticum, but Boris gets no mercy from Aethelweard. ;)

This gets more and more interesting with every update!
Thanks, keep reading, Prussia is just getting started.
 
Homelands
Chapter Seven: King and Conqueror
Part 1


Prelude:
In 1106 the Duchy of Prussia invaded the Principality of Polotsk. Aethelweard took personal control over his armies and marched quickly into the heart of the neighboring territories. The war very quickly turned into a personal grudge between Aethelweard and Boris. The two men represented two different sides of the spectrum. Boris was known for being a fat, perverted and inconsistent ruler. It has been proposed that he suffered from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and manic depressive disorder. Aethelweard, on the other hand, was one of the best rulers of his time, though it has been proposed that he suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder.

March 6th, 1106

Aethelweard marched his army before the start of spring. He hoped to catch Boris completely off guard by attacking while snow still blanketed the ground. His troops complained of cold feet, but he urged them to press on. The Lettish soldiers made up the bulk of the army. For years they had waited for a chance to strike at Polotsk and it was upon them. In the distance stood Polotsk, and within was Boris the Fat.

But the fat Russian had build up the walls to his city, and attempted to defend it to the last man. So Aethelweard had to set up a siege camp outside of the city.

“Sir, the battle of time has started. Boris knows we can only survive so long out here, and we know he can only survive so long in there.”

Aethelweard smiled and place a large hand on the young soldier, “Ah, but my boy we are surrounded by virgin forest! Send out three men from every company to fell every deer and boar they can see. Feed the army!”

The soldier nodded and ran off; it was all a part of Aethelweard’s war. That night, the smell of cooked venison wafted over the walls of the Russian fortress and into the starving city. Boris looked out his window and saw massive campfires and more deer than even the Prussian army could eat. His mouth watered, but there wasn’t even food for him.

“Prince, the people are restless. They can smell all the food that the Prussians have. Soldiers are threatening desertion!”

“Tell them to calm down, tomorrow we shall see our enemy and if we can, sally forth and drive them from our city!”

But Aethelweard was wise. His army of 10,000 was about equal to that of Boris’ army. So to try to dissuade Boris from attacking, during the night the Prussians set up a second camp, just as big as the first on the other side of the city. They manned it lightly so that it would appear fully manned.

The next morning, Boris was terrified to find that Aethelweard had found more troops, and even more so to find his soldiers deserting the army. The Prince himself fled into the city and tried to get lost amongst the people.

Aethelweard gathered his forces and prepared to march into the city. The resulting battle within the city became a deterrent to urban warfare for years to come.
 
Mmm, venison :)

You should push west as well and get those rich German provinces for EUIII

I will admit, I want to play a real country, so I think I'll reach a peak during EUIII and then I kind of want to stagnate, maybe have some civil wars... I've done WC's and they are never much fun...
 
Homelands
Chapter Seven: King and Conqueror
Part 2


Prelude:
The siege of Polotsk was one of the bloodiest sieges in history. The battle between Russian and Saxon soldiers spilled not into the surrounding countryside, but into the city itself. The entire city would be sacked and burned, leaving its residents little place to go. Since snow still covered the ground, food was scarce, and many peasants were forced to cannibalism to survive. Aethelweard prevented any word of the sack from leaking out of Prussia. Polotsk was never rebuilt; instead Aethelgrad (Noble City) was built a few miles away. The war however; sparked events outside of Prussia. Germany was able to send the Teutonic Knights to seize Riga. And the Kingdom of Estonia lost Livonia during a civil war between chiefs. The region was once again ripe for Prussian expansion.

March 13th 1106

Aethelweard walked down the main street of Polotsk, fires raged and the screams of people engulfed all the senses. His soldiers were told to find Prince Boris and bring him before their Duke. When he was not found in the palace, Aethelweard burnt it down, and with it the city. Someone amongst the packs of peasants was the Prince.

Outside the gates Prussian soldiers inspected peasants as they fled. Each one was asked if they had seen the Prince and finally a well-dressed noble confessed.

“Good Duke, the Prince hides in a wine cellar of my house! I will take you to him!”

Aethelweard smiled and asked, “What is your name son?”

“I am Andrei Rurikovich, nephew of Boris.”

“Andrei, you shall return to Marienscír with me, and there I shall make you lord of this new city.”

“M-m-m’lord, you are very kind! Here!” Andrei led Aethelweard and a group of soldiers to his house and down into the cellar. There, drunk and sprawled out against a wall was Boris, Prince of Polotsk.

“Boris, rise to meet your master!” Aethelweard held out his hand with his signet ring so that Boris might kiss it in fealty. Boris laughed in a drunken chuckle and knocked Aethelweard’s hand away.

“No son of Rurik bows to bloody invaders.”

“Then Rurik will have to make an exception, now I offer my mercy one last time, Boris.”

Boris spat wine-colored phlegm on to Aethelweard’s ring. The Saxon chuckled under his breath. “Boris, I had so very hoped that you would make that mistake.” Lifting his sword out of its sheath Aethelweard placed the tip of the blade under Boris’s chin. The drunken Russian began sobbing uncontrollably. His tears ran down his face and two chins onto the steel blade. Aethelweard brought the sword up and swung through the Russian’s neck. Andrei grimaced and the scene and looked at Aethelweard to sense his motives.

“We shall return to Marienscír, Count,” Aethelweard said calmly, sheathing his sword.

Map1106.jpg

Prussia in Red, Teutonic Order in Orange, Livonia in Dark Green, Estonia in Light Green.
 
That's a very early and quite large already Prussian nation.

Annexing Polotsk made for a quick doubling in size, and with the weak little pagans around, I expanded rather quickly. However; after Aethelweard, wars become much more infrequent and smaller. Once I ran out of pagans to conquer, it was mostly about waiting for times to strike at my crumbling neighbors.
 
Homelands
Chapter Seven: King and Conqueror
Part 3


Prelude:
On January 1st, 1107 Aethelweard accepted the title Rex Balticum, or King of the Baltic. Usually the title was referred to as King of Prussia, or in some places King of Lithuania. The title, recognized first by Alexander of Kiev was of Aethelweard’s own invention, and was meant to further his own power and prestige while allowing him to more easily divide the nation up. One noble that gained much was Andrei Rurikovich, who became Prince of Polotsk. Aethelweard’s own son became Prince of Lithuania, the title of the heir apparent until the 1200’s. By the end of 1107 Aethelweard had moved his capital north, from Marienscír to Memelbuhr (formerly Memelscír and also called Memelburg). Aethelweard correctly assumed that by moving his capital to a more central location he can better run the nation.

January 1st, 1107

On the balcony of the great long house, Aethelweard kneeled before the Patriarch of Constantinople. Great throngs of people had gathered to watch their Duke be made a King. The buildings all flew colorful banners and the buildings were lined with flowers. The new church rang her bells loudly as Aethelweard had a small circlet of steel laid on his head. The circlet was adorned with the Prussian Eagle. It was a simple crown, but a crown of authority rather than wealth. Great cheering rose throughout the entire city and eventually, standing back up, Aethelweard urged calm.

Returning inside, Aethelweard made sure that packing and moving arrangements were beings finalized.

“Aethelweard, I don’t understand why it is so important to move from our cozy home here in Marienscír,” Markéta whined.

“Yes, father this seems rather unnecessary,” Eadbert said. The young man, not yet wed, was the heir apparent and Prince of Lithuania. He tried hard not to flash a look of anger toward his father.

“Both of you, we must move to Memelbuhr, I can better rule from there.”

“But the church and the burial tomb…” Markéta pointed out.

“When I die I will be brought back to Marienscír, but I must go where I can best rule this entire Kingdom,” the King then turned to Eadbert and sternly said, “And then we find you a suitable wife.”

August 7th, 1107

The move to Memelbuhr had taken longer than expected. The construction on a new palace had fallen behind schedule, but the workers tried furiously to complete it before winter. The new castle had more room in it, and was effectively divided in two, part for living and part for working. Aethelweard was the first to miss the bustling streets of Marienscír, but in moving the palace, people had moved into the new capital. Memelbuhr, unlike Marienscír, was populated by Lettish speakers. The two groups were similar, but the Letts were more full-blooded. Many Prussian men had died during the initial invasion and settlement, so that most Prussians fifty years later were half-bloods, either the result of Saxon and Prussia marriages or Lettish and Prussian marriages.

Languages.jpg

Languages of the baltic:
Green: Wendish
Light Green: Polish
Grey: Prussian
Dark Red: Lithuanian
Medium Red: Lettish
Red: Estonian
Blue: Russian
Teal: Swedish
Pink: Finnish
Areas with black hashes: Provinces with a large Saxon minority

Eadbert, pleased with his own set-up in the palace, took the labor of finding a wife. Aethelweard took the time to find only one suitable woman, Agita of Memel. She was the daughter of a conquered Lettish chief, and wedding the two would bring some legitimate unity to the northern region. Eadbert looked at the small woman with some displeasure.

“Father, am I to bed a pagan witch who does not speak Saxon?”

“Eadbert, she was raised in a convent and speaks fluent Saxon.” The woman was out of earshot, so Eadbert sighed. “You must go through with this, now the wedding is in a week, and you shall produce an heir for the sake of your Kingdom!”

“Yes, father,” Eadbert said spitefully.
 
Eadbert tell your dad off and burn the Pagan witch!:wacko: