The Atheling Chronicle - A King without a Crown

Chapter 45 - The Reign of Theodorus I, part 12


From the Royal Archives, Jerusalem

November, 1174
Royal Proclamation:

Let every able-bodied man of the Kingdom report to his liege lord, and prepare for the mustering of the fyrd. Take up spear and shield, and stand ready to defend God’s land against His Enemies!


December 2nd, 1174
Duke Sigebert of Edessa to Cosmas, King’s Shieldbearer

For the second time we met the armies of the Egyptian King outside the city of Asas, and again we were victorious. Our shieldwall held strong, and the servants of Satan were routed from the field. We are now pursuing them into Syria, to lay waste to their cities and strongholds.


January 11th, 1175
Duke Sigebert of Edessa to Cosmas, King’s Shieldbearer

The castle at Bichri is safely in our control, and its pitiful wretch of a lord lies humbled at my feet. The meagre defences erected by the infidels were no obstacle to our armies, who fought with the ferocity of a host of angels, and overcame the defenders easily. I have, however, received disturbing reports that the armies of the Emir of Mosul have overrun the castle at Sinjar. Having restored order here, we shall proceed immediately against the Mosulites.


January 15th, 1175
Cosmas to the Lady Godfigu

The war against the infidels proceeds smoothly. In Syria our armies have driven the infidel from his hiding places and captured his fortified lairs. In Sinai too, my fyrdsmen are victorious, and press ever onwards to the Egyptian king’s palaces.


February, 1175
Duke Sigebert to the Lady Godfigu

Lately our armies did battle with the wicked Emir of Mosul himself, and though the battle was hard-pressed, we were driven from the field by them. The horsemen of the infidels were as howling daemons appearing from the sand, covered from head to toe in mail shirts and armour. Our men, while strong in the faith of the Lord, stood firm against the enemy footsoldiers, but were shaken to their core by the encirclement of the diabolic hordes. The strong line of our spearsmen gave way, and our manoeuvrable Syrian cavalrymen, were chased from the field. Now we will regroup in Aleppo, before returning, to evict the Mohammadeans from the citadel at Bichri.


March, 1175
Cosmas, King’s Shieldbearer, to the Lady Godfigu

Our armies have reached the shores of the Red Sea, and as Moses parted their waters to escape from Egypt, so we shall cross the desert and march into the land of the infidels. Our armies shall chastise the heathens for their long-ago enslavement the Hebrews, and their lands and riches shall become ours.

March 20th, 1175
King Theodorus to Abdul-Aziz, Emir of Mosul

This is not your war, and nor has it ever been. It perplexes me that you and your ancestors have often sought to take advantage of our weaknesses and to make war against our people. We are, as your bishops say, all ‘people of the book’. Does that not mean we should live in peace and harmony with one another? My earls urge me to continue to make war against your lands, but the Good Lord preaches forgiveness, and I desire only peace in this land. Our conflict against the King of the Egyptians was only begun to ensure good order in Syria, that our pilgrims would not be attacked when they sought to worship at our holy places. If your soldiers can guarantee that order as well as ours, I see no reason for me to insist on English authority over the cities of Sinjar or Bichri. If I have your sacred oath to allow all pilgrims safe access through Syria, and to halt the nomads who make raids against our farmers, then there may be peace between our peoples.


March 23rd, 1175
Archbishop Stephen to Philip, Count of Eliat

Your loyal service to God and to the Kingdom has not gone unnoticed. By the power granted unto me by His Majesty the King, and by His Holiness, I hereby appoint you Duke of the desert of Sinai, and lord of all the lands between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Unto you falls the responsibility to protect the Kingdom against the Egyptian armies, and to protect those pilgrims making the journey from Alexandria to Jerusalem.


June 14th, 1175
Cosmas, King’s Shieldbearer to the Lady Godfigu

We have wrested control of the mouth of the mighty river Nile from the infidels. Soon all the ports of the Mediterranean in Egypt will be under our protection, and the Egyptians will no longer be able to deny pilgrims and traders access to these cities. The King of Egypt himself once resided in the palace here, and we have unearthed many wondrous treasures. Surely more are to be discovered as we make our way inland.


July 21st, 1175
Thurcytel, Duke of Baghdad to the Lady Godfigu

Our armies finally encountered the forces of the cowardly Egyptian King outside of his city of Manupura today. Abandoned by all but a few of his followers, the infidel’s armies proved no match for ours, and the king himself was nearly captured by our men. We now hold him prisoner in his own fortress, which will fall by siege within the month. Surely there is nothing to stop us confiscating the entire country from his unworthy grasp now?


August 18th, 1175
King Theodorus to Archbishop Stephen

I have, with some difficulty, given my illness and the apparent disobedience of many of the palace servants, remained abreast of your progress over the last months. While I applaud your success and admire your zealotry, it is my belief that our war aims have been well accomplished by now. Some of the earls, it seems, would like to evict the Egyptian King and all his vassals from Egypt all together. But to my mind, this would only create more problems than it would solve, particularly in the enmity it would engender among the common people. It is my sincere wish, therefore, that, having secured the branches of the Nile and the Mediterranean ports, we allow King Hamad to remain upon his throne. Moreover, I believe that we have captured Hamad’s son, who commands the castle at Pelusia? I am willing to sponsor him to be baptised in the True Faith, and wish you to perform the ritual, with me as his godfather. With luck, this young man will lead his people into the light of the Lord, and they will grow to be allies of ours.

August, 1175
Duke Thurcytel to Archbishop Stephen

Surely the King is not sincere in this wish? He desires that we not only excuse the Egyptian King for his crimes, but that we adopt his son as one of our own? Does the King not realise the extent of our success? It appears to me, and to many of the other Earls, as if the King wishes to hand Egypt back to our enemy and his son! Or if not to him, perhaps to the armies of Henry the Norman, who even now watch from the other bank of the Nile, eager to finish the work our men have begun! Such a treaty will do nothing to dispel the King’s reputation as a coward.

August 1175
The Lady Godfigu to Archbishop Stephen

I am aware of your concerns and those of the earls, but the King will not be dissuaded in this. How he came by the reports of the war, I do not know, for I have endeavoured to keep his attention elsewhere. Nevertheless, his meddling cannot now be undone, for he has already proclaimed his treaty to the people of the city, and presented it as a victory. We cannot very well override his wishes without completely destroying what little royal authority remains. Our only option now is to enact his will and portray it as a victory for the Kingdom.

Enewald said:

Soon to become the King of Egypt?

Click to expand...

That would be nice, but not yet. The wicked Henry the Norman has more of Egypt than I do (Cairo, Alexandria, everything West of the Nile), plus the current occupant hasn't lost his lands yet.

Back to chronicler style for the next little while methinks. Dialogue is hard.

The Reign of Theodorus I, part 14


Wilfred of Acre’s Tripartite History

Negotiating an end to the Egyptian war was to prove to be one of King Theodorus’ final actions as King, though he was to live nearly five more years. For soon after news of the peace arrangements were announced, the King fell ill once more. It is assumed that the wound he received during the Medinan campaign was troubling him again, but there were also darker rumours afoot, for the King’s negotiations with the King of Egypt and the Emir of Mosul were unpopular with many.


However it came about, the King’s illness resulted in his being confined to his bed for most of the next five years, during which time his formidable aunt, the Lady Godfigu, and Archbishop Stephan, the powerful Patriarch of Jerusalem, ran the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom. Indeed, this had almost been the custom for most of the King’s reign, for the nobility of the realm had grown accustomed during the regency of Theodorus’ minority to dealing with the regents directly, and the King’s general ineffectiveness in dealing with matters of state made them prefer to work with the more competent Godfigu and Stephan. The end of the Egyptian war had come as a shock to many, precisely because it had shown initiative and bold decision-making by the King, whom all had thought to be already powerless. Just as the Medinan affair had led to an unofficial reduction in the King’s power, so the Egyptian war reduced it still further.

In this period, under the pretext that he was too ill to leave the palace, the King was rarely even seen in public in the City of Jeruslaem. The rare exception to this was at the baptisms held in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the third day of September, 1176. Cosmas, who was the King’s Champion and Shieldbearer during the Egyptian War, had retired and passed his office on to his nephew, Demetrias, who was now being inducted into the Community of Christ. But the more important baptism to be held on the same day was that of the Earl of Pelusia, Ghazi, son of Hamad. Ghazi being the son of the Egyptian King, Theodorus was eager to act as his godfather, for it was his hope that Ghazi, who was adopting the King’s name, would ascend to the throne of his father and convert the Egyptians to the true faith. Needless to say, the King’s role in the ceremony was a minor one, and for many inhabitants of the city, this was the last time they laid eyes upon him.


Even the Queen, it seemed, had abandoned the King. It became common gossip among the servants that she promoted her favourites to positions of authority within the household, and that she carried out illicit acts with unmarried men, even those who were strangers to the court. The King, of course, remained unaware of her faithlessness, bedridden as he was, but this indiscretion did nothing to increase respect for the crown.


There were many who argued that the absence of the King was in fact beneficial, for it allowed the court to continue to function without the distractions of rivalry for royal favour. And the Lady Godfigu and Archbishop Stephan were undoubtedly competent. In the outlying areas of the Kingdom, away from the City, affairs continued much as they had for some time now. The provisions of the Megalos Cartes gave a great amount of independence and autonomy to the Earls, Dukes and city governments, so that affairs at court had little effect on their prosperity. The wars in Syria, moreover, had restored order to the region, and the Emir of Mosul maintained his pledge to allow merchant caravans and pilgrims to travel across his lands in safety. The caravan city of Palmyra grew rich and prosperous during these years as a result.
The disadvantage to this arrangement was, of course, the lack of royal oversight into the affairs of the earls. For example, the Egyptian palaces were reported to be full of expensive luxuries and piles of gold and silver. But very little of this made its way into the royal treasury. Instead, a large number of Earls had well-decorated palaces and castles, and dined from jewel-encrusted tableware, while the Kingdom struggled to maintain its civic buildings.


One last attempt to assert the royal authority was successfully made in this period. Aethelwaerd, the renegade Earl of Arish, a city in the Desert of Sinai, passed from this world in the year 1180. The Lady Godfigu and Archbishop Stephan seized upon this opportunity to demand that Aethelwaerd’s son, Eadfrid, pay homage to the King for his title, overlooking the fact that the King had previously neglected to receive any sign of vassalage form the father. When the young Earl refused, the King’s Housecarls were able to have the man arrested, and his estate absorbed into those of the Duke of Sinai.


The death of the Queen’s sister, Eadflaed, in that same year would have gone largely unremarked, except that her children by the treacherous Harold, onetime Duke of Jaffa, were then transferred to the care of her aunt, the Lady Godfigu. The children’s’ tenuous claims to their father’s title or ambitions were thus nullified by their proximity to the royal court. The event also left the Lady Godfigu as the most senior relative of the King alive
.

Another enemy of the crown died in that same year. Nard, the Bishop of Beirut, who had for so long defied royal authority, passed into the next life. But in this instance the court was unable to capitalise on the pleasant happenstance initially by events that occurred abroad, and then by the dramatic events of Christmas 1180.


The fourth death of 1180 was that of the Queen’s father, Leofwine, who had been both Earl of Lancaster and of Kent. At the time of her wedding to the King, it had been hoped that their son would inherit the English estates, but it was not to be. For the inheritance passed instead to Erik, a Swede, and son of the Queen’s older sister, and he was invested as Earl of Kent. Meantime Hastan, the King of the Swedes, took possession of the shire of Lancaster for himself. Though there was some outrage within the court at this, there was little anyone could do.


Had the court held any ambitions either to contest the will of Earl Leofwine, or to recover the See of Beirut, they were thwarted by news that His Holiness, who had previously been an ally of the Kingdom, encouraging Archbishop Stephan to increase royal authority where possible, was under the sway of Henry, King of the Normans.


This long-time enemy of the English people had impressed the Pope by his sponsorship of theologians who expounded the benefits of Papal authority, and by his apparent desire to expel the heathens from the Holy Land. In fact, his proposals were designed primarily to highlight the weakness of the English Kingdom, and many said that Henry coveted the throne of Jerusalem for himself, or one of his sons. To this end, he persuaded His Holiness to cease issuing indulgences to those who made war in Iberia, claiming it a distraction from Christendom’s true aim of recovering the East.

This concern at the growth of Norman power in the region, combined with the royal treasury’s need for gold, prompted the Lady Godfigu and Archbishop Stephan to call for a convocation of the Witan at Christmas in the year 1180. This would prove to be a momentous decision for the Kingdom and the English people as a whole.

Enewald said:

What about forcing the nobles to pay taxes?

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The nobles? Contribuiting to the upkeep of the kingdom? They won't like that!

All will be revealed soon, but let's just say things take a dramatic turn.

Also, for those who are interested, I've begun a second AAR, for HttT. I'm new to EU3, so there's a learning curve involved. I'll welcome any advice you have. Also, get your poetry dusted off! (link is in my signiature)

Chapter 48, the Christmas Witan of 1180, part 1


Wilfred of Acre's Tripartite History


In the last months of the Year of Our Lord 1180, the Lady Godfigu and her advisors determined that it was necessary to convene a session of the Witangemot, and in this she was supported by the Archbishop Stephan. The Kingdom had incurred great expenses at the time of the Egyptian War, and the expected riches had not been gained from the looting of the heathen palaces. The only way for the Kingdom to acquire more gold was to impose higher taxes upon the earls, and ask them to pay greater dues to the royal treasury. By the terms of the Megalos Cartes, the King could only do this through the authority of the Witan.

Calling upon the earls to contribute further was not something undertaken lightly by the Lady Godfigu, since the Witan’s disobedience was well-recorded. However, almost as soon as the invitations were issued, the earls each replied that they would attend. It was the custom in the kingdom, at that time, as now, for earls and bishops to attend mass at the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem on Christmas Day, and so the meeting of the Witan in Jerusalem was to be arranged around that time, in the hope of encouraging more of the lords to attend.

The Witan had not met in full for some eight years, since the King announced the appointment of several new earls to govern the royal demesne in 1172, and so its composition had changed somewhat since then. Given the King’s long reign, only one of those lords who had witnessed his election to the throne, twenty-three years previously, was still alive. This presented both opportunities and challenges for the royal court. The spirit of rebellion against the crown had faded with the death or deposition of the traitors, but at the same time, those assembled in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on St Stephen’s Day 1180 were committed to the upkeep of the Megalos Cartes, and were comfortable with the King’s hitherto lack of authority over their lands. While the agenda for the Lady Godfigu was clearly to collect more fees from the lords, she and her allies could not have anticipated the motives the lords themselves had for attending.

In order to understand the events of the Witan, it is first necessary to understand those who attended. These were the great and good of the Kingdom, and so their characters would also be instrumental in shaping the Kingdom in years to come.

Those Present at the Christmas Witan

The most senior earl, who had been invested King’s father, and owned the most extensive estates, was undoubtedly Thurcetyl, the Duke of Baghdad. This Duke had rebelled against the King twice, in 1160 and again in 1170, but both times his life had been spared. The Duke had acquitted himself well in the recent war against the Egyptians, and his opinion in any matter would be vital.


The only men who could match him in number of years (Thurcetyl was, at this time 40 years of age) were Edmund Leofwineson, Duke of Jordan and the Orkneys, who by happy chance, was making his first pilgrimage to the Kingdom since his father’s death, at this time, and Ludwig, the rebellious Archbishop of Medina, who had recently attempted to thwart the King’s resolution to allow the Mohammadeans to worship at their holy shrines.


The King’s other episcopal nemesis, the Bishop Nard of Beirut, had perished some years earlier, and his successor, a Lombard, by the name of Comita Manin, was in attendance instead. This undoubtedly cheered many present, for the fiery Bishop Nard had been a staunch opponent of the King, and an assured troublemaker. Nonetheless, Bishop Comita still retained the concessions wrung from the King by his predecessor, and did not recognise the Patriarch or the King as having authority over his see.


Each of the other lords was less than 30 years of age, and the King was in the unusual position of having seniority over most of them, the lack of which had hindered his dealings with their fathers. The Lady Godfigu was hoping this would allow her to overawe the young attendees.

Of the other English earls, the following were present:

Sigebert, son of Siward, Duke of Edessa, who had been invested as duke at a young age, and was known to be a shy, modest man of little ambition, though there were whispers that he held grudges for undue length of time, and punished his servants with undue zeal.


Coenwulf, son of Edgar, Duke of Tripoli, shared the misfortune of losing his father at a young age, but could not be much different from his neighbour. Where Sigebert was furtively begrudging, Coenwulf was openly generous and merciful towards his servants. OF course, this gave him a reputation for effeminacy among his peers.


Wiglaf, Duke of Petra, was a somewhat unremarkable man who had served as a carl in the service of his predecessor, Walcher, who had been appointed to the duchy by King Saelred, but had been among those who rebelled against King Theodorus. When Duke Walcher had perished some years before, the King (or more precisely the Lady Godfigu) had sought his replacement among the local aristocracy of Arabia, and chosen Wiglaf as the new Duke primarily for his very lack of distinction, and thus, of ambition.


The Duchy of Damascus was at this time invested unto Egrith, the son of Saexred, who has the first Duke appointed by Theodorus to rule the territories of his grandfather. As Egfrith was but a boy, only nine summers old, he was not permitted to vote, nor voice an opinion at the gathering, but he was, nonetheless in attendance, as the ward of his cousin Mordred.


Though at the last meeting of the Witan, in 1172, the King had appointed several earls from men either of a Greek ancestry, or who shared his appreciation for Greek culture, the Witan nevertheless remained dominated by men of English ancestry. In fact, somewhat surprisingly, the tensions between Greek-speaking and English-speaking earls that had torn apart the Witan of 1157, had largely disappeared. This was partly due to the deaths of the earls who had fought so bitterly twenty years ago, but also because the King, for all his faults, had promoted tolerance wherever he could, and rarely sought to impose Greek values upon his subjects. Indeed, if one were to count their numbers, there were at that time seven Dukes or bishops of foreign ancestry (of which three had not yet sworn fealty to the king), as opposed to an equal number of English Dukes, all of which were loyal to the crown.

The secular duchies which were held by non-English-speakers were therefore few:

Heraclius, the son of Andronicus, Duke of Aleppo, was present for the gathering of the witan, despite his and his father’s refusal to pay any tithe to the crown for some decades. There was also very little prospect of coercing the young man to renew his allegiance to the King, for he possessed many strong burghs, and was known to be a cruel man and difficult to deal with.


Assad, son of Reza, had inherited his father’s Duchy of Syria, but none of the old man’s skill or ambition. Following Reza’s support of the Queen Mother, the Persian Dukes of Syria were regarded with suspicion and downright hostility by the other earls. Not only were their customs odd, but they were now forever associated with Alexia’s failed attempt to usurp the throne from her own son. Assad was, accordingly, a disgustingly obsequious and cowardly fellow, particularly when faced with the opposition of his peers.


The duchies of Arabia and Sinai were, like the Duchy of Damascus, held by youths, one of Teutonic ancestry, and one Greek. Andronikos, son of Philip, was not present at this gathering, though Albrecht Rudulfson, being thirteen summers in age, was, and was further permitted to speak under the rules of the Witangemot.


Notably absent was Ølver, son of Morcar, the disgraced Duke of Jaffa. The treacherous Morcar had perished earlier in that year, and while some hoped that the son was willing to reconcile with the other earls, the fact that he did not attend the gathering indicated otherwise.


Most of the minor earls in Syria and Egypt did also attend the gathering, but, as their voices were less important than those I have listed above, I have omitted them. Finally, there were several unusual guests from outside the kingdom at the gathering.

The grandmasters of the Knightly Orders were not, as had sometimes been the custom, invited, but instead, there were present, Robert, Archbishop of Alexandria, who was a guest of the Patriarch, but, it was widely rumoured, a spy on behalf of Henry the Norman, and also Basil, Bishop of Antioch, who was representing the Emperor Alexander on other business. Neither one had any legitimate business in attending the Witan, and many bristled when they entered the chamber at the first session, but others were to defend their presence, for their inclusion was a ploy by some to further their own interests.

The Roll Call

Those present on the first day of the Witangemot, St Stephen’s Day, 1180, were therefore as follows:

Godfigu, Lady of the English, on behalf of Theodorus, King of the English
Aethelflaed, Queen of the English

Edmund Leofwineson, Duke of Jordan
Thurcytel, Duke of Baghdad
Wiglaf, Duke of Petra
Heraclius, Duke of Aleppo
Sigebert Siwardson, Duke of Edessa
Assad, Duke of Syria
Coenwulf, Edgarson, Duke of Tripoli
Albrecht, Duke of Arabia
Mordred, on behalf of Egfrith, Duke of Damascus

Stephan, Archbishop of Jerusalem
Ludwig, Archbishop of Arabia
Comita, Bishop of Beirut

Robert, Archbishop of Alexandria
Basil, Bishop of Antioch

Enewald said:

What about forcing neighbours to pay tributes?
Or beg the Pope to give money.

Click to expand...

All good ideas, no doubt. However, the first was what we tried in Egypt, and didn't work. The second - well, let's just say things with the Pope have changed a little...

Chapter 49, the Christmas Witan of 1180, part 2


From Wilfred of Acre’s Tripartite History

The convocation of the Witan began in a most solemn and appropriate manner, with Archbishop Stephan presiding over mass, and prayers being offered for God’s wisdom to properly guide his sheep in their deliberations. As the lords were seated in the Great Hall of the Temple, there was some murmurs among the earls, and a noticeable intake of breath from the visiting bishops when the Lady Godfigu took her place at the head of the table, in the chair normally reserved from the King. Some, like Duke Thurcytel, were less surprised by the move, for it merely stated what was already widely-known, that the Lady was exercising the King’s powers in his name, and had been doing so for some time. As she herself explained it,

“Gentlemen, you are all aware that the King is far too ill to attend the meeting in person, and he has delegated his role to me. All he asks is that you treat me as though I myself held the royal authority.”

This was enough to silence the mutterings among the assembled Witan, though some wary looks were exchanged, and, with the Queen seated to her right, the Lady began with the most important item of business.

“The King issued this summons because the war in Egypt is still to be paid for. Under the terms of the Megalos Cartes, every member of the Witan is required to meet the King’s demands for silver in the event that the Kingdom is summoned to war. The simple matter before us, then, is to determine the expenses incurred and the amount of gold that must be entered into the royal treasury.”

But as the Lady made to continue, several Dukes stood from the table at once, wishing to be heard. Godfigu nominated the timid Duke Walcher of Petra to speak, prompting noises of disgust from the other earls, who held him contempt.

“But surely, your Highness, the treasure seized from the heathens should cover the cost of the war? I was lead to believe that our armies sacked the palaces of the Egyptian King on the Nile – was that treasure not enough?”

Before waiting for a reply, or indeed, for his colleague to finish his speech, Heraclius of Aleppo leapt to his feet.

“Of course there was enough! The heathen temples were filled with golden adornments and bejewelled objects. I witnessed it with my own eyes! This demand for silver is nothing more than a ruse to impoverish us all at the expense of the crown, and I won’t stand for it!”

In reply, Archbishop Stephan rose, to address the Witan.

“My Lord Heraclius, since the treasury has yet to receive any tithe from your lands in the last decade, I think there is no danger of you yourself being reduced to begging on the streets.”

A ripple of laughter through the assembled lords, many of whom had little love for Heraclius.

“As for the rest of you – ” The room fell silent.

“I think many of you know full well whence that treasure has gone. The royal treasurer is more puzzled than most that he never quite received the hoards of silver that was promised us by your reports, yet none of you, I see, are wanting for wealth. The King’s reeves and justices go hungry, and the Lord’s churches crumble, while your own burghs and halls grow ever larger and more resplendent. The Good Lord taught us the it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Why do you cling to your earthly possessions, when all you are doing is building a stronger prison for yourselves in Hell? Look beneath your fur-lined robes and gilded mail, and into your hearts, for that is where you will find answers to your own questions.”

Several of the earls looked uncomfortably at each other, especially Sigebert Siwardson and Thurcytel of Baghdad. But then, composing himself, Thurcytel rose to speak.

“The Good bishop is no doubt well-intentioned in his concern for the treasury, and, of course, the mother church.” This time it was the bishop’s turn to look somewhat discomforted.

“But be that as it may, the King surely cannot be absolved from blame. Why, it is a well-known fact that the chief treasurer is either incompetent or corrupt! That gold is unaccounted for should come as no surprise. If the Lady and Bishop continue to run the Kingdom in this manner, appointing whomever they please to key positions, the empty treasury may soon be the least of our concerns!”

Applause greeted this accusation. Every one of the earls, it seemed, resented the fact that Archbishop Stephan and the Lady Godfigu were together running the Kingdom with little concern for the opinion of the Witan. In fact, for many years, things had been working well. The Egyptian war and the resulting financial disaster had now provided the excuse for several earls to second Thurcytel’s motion, questioning whether the Lady and Bishop even had the authority to make such decisions on behalf of the King, illness or no. This went on for some time, until the following point was made by Sigebert Siwardson:

“My fellow earls, I believe we are forgetting the purpose for which we were summoned here. More relevant than the Good Lady’s management of the court is her proposal that we pay for this war that was, after all, instigated the request of the Archbishop, without our opinion. For those of us in Syria, the campaign to eradicate banditry was surely a worthy one, but what of the need to cross the Sinai into Egypt? I propose that the King’s efforts would have been better directed against the Emir of Mosul!” Nods of approval followed this, from the Earls of Tripoli, Syria and Damascus, in particular.

“It seems completely unfair that we should be asked to contribute to the cost of a war that none of us desired, and moreover, that we are being asked to pay after the war has been conducted.”

The Lady Godfigu protested. “Good sirs, the King is within his rights under the Megalos Cartes. The King put his mark to this charter, as did all of you present. Under the charter, the King has the right to collect payment for costs incurred in war, and which of you could truly deny that a war against the heathens was just?”

There was indeed no denying that the wording of the Charter allowed the King to do just what the Lady Godfigu was proposing, and after some disagreement, this conclusion was reached. Nevertheless, few were happy with the idea.

As the afternoon sun was beginning to set upon the first day of the Witangemot, the earls reluctantly agreed to the Queen’s proposal, with the caveat that the Charter must be modified in future, to prevent such a retrospective request being issued. In future, it was proposed, all wars must be approved by a meeting of the Witan, and funds secured in advance.
With this compromise reached, the attendents retired for the night, and resolved to meet again the following day.


This first struggle with the Witan had been surprisingly hard-fought, but for the King and his supporters, it was only to be a taste of the difficulties to come.

Sorry it's been a while - we had a 30-hour power outage here, but normal service will be resumed shortly.

Enewald said:

Give unto Caesar what belongeth to the Caesar.

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c0d5579 said:

Save that we've already established that Theo the Lesser there on the throne is probably not Caesarian in any scope; at the moment, he seems more of a post-Crucifixion Christ, waiting for his moment to be called home and bearing a weeping spear-wound. To his credit, though, he's dealt with his wounds MUCH better than Caesar with his.

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You know, I might just borrow that idea...

General_BT said:

Well Caesar certainly got his. Theodorus' days look numbered...

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Indeed so. Not many more chapters left for him, I'm afraid.

Arilou said:

That's a pretty spread-out king of Sweden there. Lancaster and Damietta?

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Well spotted! I have to thank you, for I was searching everywhere for the Duchy of Damietta! I should have known it belonged to the perfidious Swede. It is, of course, mine by right, but I needed to know whom to usurp it from. A war with the Vikings might be in our future.

Okay, so no update until tomorrow. However, in the meantime, why not take the time to vote in the CrusadAAR's Chalice for AARs completed in 2009. That only 6 made it to completion tells you something about what a feat that is, and I can only hope this one makes it in for 2010 (or 2011?!)

Anyway, take a look at the nominees, and vote, since they are all very good.

Edit: Nominations close at 4:00 AM EST (9:00 AM GMT), so hurry!

Edit 2: Nominations now close March 8th (Monday) at the same time (10:00 AM forum time).

Chapter 50, the Christmas Witan of 1180, part 3


From Wilfred of Acre’s Tripartite History

Having gained the concession from the earls that they would retroactively fund the war in Egypt, the Lady Godfigu would have been well advised to let the matter rest. Yet she did not. For the King’s counsellors were unanimously irritated by the compromise wrung from them by the members of the Witan. The Witan had been called with the hope that, after years of decline, the king’s authority would be strengthened, but in fact, it seemed that the opposite had occurred. With the King’s power to make war upon his enemies now under threat of veto by the members of the Witan, some even believed that the very safety of the kingdom was now under threat.

Therefore, on the twenty-seventh day of December, the feast day of St John the Evangelist, the witan was recalled for a second days’ meeting.
The following proposal was presented to the somewhat surprised earls (who assumed that the business of the Witan had already been concluded): that, in the same way that the serfs and freedmen paid a tithe unto the earls for the privilege of farming their land, so the earls should pay a regular tribute unto the King, for the holding of his land. The Lady Godfigu, and others, attested that among other realms, this practice was already implemented, and indeed that it had once been practiced in the Kingdom of the English until the signing of the Megalos Cartes, but many of the earls were greatly disturbed at the suggestion.


Duke Thurcytel, who, we have already seen, was a great supporter of the rights of the Witan, summed up their unease at the proposal. “What the good Lady proposes is nothing less than an undoing of what was agreed but yesterday! If she should revive the practice of the paying of scutage, then there will be no need for the King to summon us in times of trouble. He shall simply make war on any he so pleases!”


“Or perhaps offer Danegeld to whomever he pleases?” The suggestion came from Heraclius of Aleppo, and was greeted by some jeers from the others. The King’s habit of making peace with the heathens was never popular among the earls, and invited comparisons with his infamous ancestor Aethelred Ulraed.


“Indeed.” Thurcytel continued. “For how will we determine the purpose to which the King puts our silver? For that matter, how do we know the money will even reach the King, and not line the pockets of members of the court?”
Duke Edmund then rose to speak. “Whether or not the gold is delivered unto the King’s hands is less relevant to me than whether the King has the right to our silver and our land. Was it not agreed, in the Great Charter, that each of us would have sovereignty over our own holdings?”



A rebuttal was issued from Archbishop Stephan, who attempted to reassert the position of the crown. “Surely, my Lords, you do not object to the tithes collected by the Holy Church, for this is demanded by the Scriptures?” Muted agreement came from the earls, though some present hardly looked elated by their obligation to the Lord.

“If that is so, then perhaps you would do well to remember the words of our Lord Jesus himself, that you should ‘render unto God what is His, and unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’. We, as mere mortals, cannot presume that this proscription is overridden merely by a charter composed and signed by men. The law of Heaven commands loyalty to one’s liege, whatever the law of men might desire.”

The Bishop of Antioch was frowning at this use of the title Caesar, which was traditionally claimed by the Emepror in Constantinople, but he made no move to object. Many of the Earls, however, were sceptical, if not openly amused.


It was Duke Sigebert who spoke on their behalf, a sardonic smile playing upon his lips. “Caesar? I was not aware that we were under oath to one so mighty. Perhaps if the great Caesar demands our silver for himself, then he should have the good grace to do so in person!”
“Yes!” The demand was taken up by several of the other lords present. “Let us look upon great Caesar in person!”

This outburst caused consternation among the Archbishop and the Lady Godfigu, who considered it an unnecessary slight upon the King’s character, but they were unable to call the meeting to order. Finally, over the objections of the Queen, who was concerned for her husband’s health, they consented to invite the King to chair the meeting.
This, of course, was a further blow in favour of the earls. They desired to overrule the authority of the good Lady and the Archbishop by dealing directly with the King, who they knew to be weak of will.

When the Witan re-met, later in that day, the King was indeed present, and seated at the place of honour, with the Queen to his right, and the Lady Godfigu and Archbishop Stephan to his left. Just as his counsellors had feared, Theodorus posed a less than imposing figure. Weakened from his long illness, he appeared pale and gaunt, and had difficulty staying upright on his throne. His voice, when he spoke, was thin, and whistled slightly, like one blowing through a reed. Yet he took his responsibility seriously, and, it seemed, relished this opportunity to act as a king, perhaps for the first time since the Egyptian war.


As I have already made clear, the King had not been seen outside the palace for quite some time, and even the earls were astonished at the appearance of their liege. The King’s attendance at the meeting thus changed the agenda quite immediately from the matter of scutage to that of inheritance. The condition of Theodorus appeared so poor that many of the earls refused either to leave or discuss anything else before the succession was secure.

It should be said here that the King, himself the last male descendent of Prince Edgar the Aetheling, was possessed of three legitimate sons (and, it was whispered, many more sons by maidservants throughout the palace). The eldest of these was John, who was at this time 12 years of age. His two brothers were David, who was 8 summers old, and Romanos, who was 6. The succession of Theodorus himself had been in doubt, and the troubles of the regency in his early years were well-documented, so no-one present at the meeting was eager to repeat the troubles of twenty-some years previously. On the other hand, there was no precedent for the death of a King who had sired more than one son, and it was by no means certain whether or not the entire inheritance should pass to John. As the eldest, custom at the time favoured John, and some in the council, especially the King’s closest advisors, wanted to avoid a the prospect of a long regency by anointing him as successor. Others, however, particularly some of the earls, were more eager to see a long regency in which the power of the Witan to make decisions might be increased. There were also a small number of earls who, even in the very presence of the King, dared to argue that there was no clear reason for a son of his to succeed to the throne, especially when there were so many well-qualified men there present. Though he did not say so in person, it was commonly thought that Duke Thurcytel was the most likely candidate for the throne, should the sons of the King be overlooked.

These discussions went on for some time, and throughout, the discomfort of the King was evident. He did not speak, but sat slumped in his chair with a pained expression on his face. Whether this was because of the pain of his illness, or the sorrow of seeing his children’s future decided by others, it was impossible to tell. Meanwhile, Archbishop Robert of Alexandria was growing evermore flustered until he interjected with such an outburst as had not been witnessed previously.



“I cannot sit here in good faith, gathered under the watchful eye of God, and witness such perjury and blasphemy being committed. All of Christendom knows King Henry to be the lawful King of the English – why is it only here, on the outskirts of the civilised world, that men continue to talk as if Harold Godwineson and his kin had been victorious at Hastings? The Lord’s wrath fell upon the people of England for their choice of a false king, and he granted the throne unto William of Normandy. These discussions here today deny not only the truth as acknowledged by all the lords of Europe, but also the will of God! This man seated here is not the King of the English, and neither therefore is there any question as to which of his descendents should receive a title that does not belong to him. The rightful heir to that title, and to this kingdom, is most assuredly King Henry, and all here present owe their allegiance to him!”

This rash proclamation of what may have been a political reality in England, but was anathema to all the Lords in Jerusalem, caused such a commotion as I cannot herein describe with accuracy. Suffice it to say that the bishop was perhaps lucky to escape with his life, for all swords had been left outside the chamber, but a number of the earls’ housecarls made efforts to lay their hands upon him. While the other bishops in attendance made an appeal for calm, even Archbishop Stephan made no great effort to come to his assistance.


In this disturbance ended the second day of the Witan’s meeting, with the forcible ejection of the Norman Archbishop from the meeting, and with the earls retiring to their quarters renewed in their dislike of the Normans, and thusly united in their commitment to the family of Edgar. For all their rage, it was clear to everyone that without the legitimacy of the family’s claim to the throne, Henry the Norman could easily attempt to enforce his threats of suzerainty over the Kingdom.

Chapter 51 – The Christmas Witan of 1180, part 4


From Wilfred of Acre’s Tripartite History

Given the disturbances of the previous day, it surprised a few that the Norman archbishop even attended the next day’s proceedings. He was too influential a figure in the Norman court for the Witan to treat him too badly. The English lords, however, re-met on the twenty-eighth day of December more united and determined than they had been in many years. Whatever their individual differences, they had been reminded that the ambitions of Henry the Norman (whose influence stretched throughout the kingdoms of Europe and even unto the city of Alexandria) were as much of a threat to the Kingdom as they had ever been. While men like Thurcytel, and perhaps also the senior Dukes Sigebert and Edmund, might once have held royal ambitions of their own, each now realised that the Kingdom’s fate was now inextricably linked to that of the family of Edgar the Atheling.

This being said, the matter of the succession was still pressing, perhaps more so, and it was this item which dominated the discussions on the third day of the Witan’s gathering. This day is also known as Childermass, or the Feast of the Holy Innocents, as it falls upon that day on which King Herod the Wicked ordered the slaughter of the babes of Jerusalem, while he sought the death of Our Lord. It was appropriate therefore, that the Lords of the Realm squabbled over the fate of King Theodorus’ children in perhaps the very room that King Herod gave the orders to commit such a crime.

In the previous day, it had emerged that the earls were divided over the necessity for John to inherit upon the death of his father (though this was the custom among most of the kings of Christendom), because some earls preferred the idea of a long regency, in which the Witan might be allowed to increase still further its power. Naturally, the Lady Godfigu and Archbishop Stephan, who hoped to act as regents themselves, were not opposed to this, as long as they were the anointed rulers of the kingdom, and not the earls. With the King present (though silent), neither side voiced such opinions out loud, but danced around the issue as though it were all a game to them.

The King, weak-willed though he undoubtedly was, was no fool, and even through the fog of pestilence, he could determine what the discussions were failing to address. It no doubt pained him to see his sons argued over as pawns, in the same way that he himself had been controlled in his youth (and indeed, through most of his adult life as well). Once the arguments had continued for some hours, he brought them to a startled halt by signaling his own intention to speak.


“My friends, my family, it pains me to see you so at odds with one another, and unable to reach an agreement. It has always been my wish that the kingdom remain at peace after I am gone, but now I see that looks unlikely. I seem to remember that I was called here yesterday to resolve your disagreement about the payment of scutage, yet I don’t think I’ve heard a word about it. And I hear men whisper that I am weak of will!” A thin smile crossed his face which, given his gaunt appearance, resembled the grimace of a skeleton. “All I have listened to, for more than a day, is every one of you saying very little about the succession once I have passed. Is it really so obvious that I will perish soon?” This prompted, as if by divine intervention, a fit of coughing that engulfed the king for several minutes. “Perhaps you are right,” he conceded, that tight smile passing once more over his lips, “but in that case I shall lie in the ground before any of you have decided anything. The solution, to my mind, appears simple. If the good earls will agree to pay scutage to the treasury, why not allow them to exercise the regency for my son while the gold is being spent in his name? And if, as I wish, John is endowed with the royal powers, no-one need be upset, since period of regency will be limited to a few years. Surely this is a solution to suit everyone involved?” Looking eager now, the King peered earnestly at a number of the dukes, seeking their approval.


The King’s solution was indeed neat, and his honesty somewhat disarming. Thurcytel of Baghdad was soonest to answer, making use of the charisma that had made him a popular figure among the lesser nobility of the kingdom. “Your Majesty, the solution you propose is undoubtedly wise and well-imagined, and the Witan would be honoured, should the unthinkable occur, to act as guardians of all your children, and to guide John to the responsibilities of kingship. I myself will personally guarantee it.”

With this, the Duke sat down, with the air of a man who has single-handedly resolved a difficult problem. In fact, he seemed to have convinced the king of the same thing, for he looked pleased with this statement. The other earls, however, thought very differently of Duke Thurcytel’s remarks. Both Sigebert of Edessa and Edmund of Jordan stood and, fearing that Thurcytel was determined to assume leadership of the Witan, and thus exercise the powers of regent for himself, told the king that there would need to be further discussion of the matter before the rest of the earls would be convinced of the idea.


The Lady Godfigu, who must have felt somewhat betrayed by her nephew’s endorsement of the Witan as guardian for Prince John, then argued that this showed the Witan’s inability to rule. “Sire, the lords present here cannot even agree upon whether they approve of your proposal or not. What chance have they to resolve more pressing issues? This body is not capable of exercising the full powers of the crown – a single hand is required at the helm of the ship which is this kingdom.”



To this, Duke Sigebert replied, angrily leveling the same charges at the Lady. “My Lord, you may not be fully aware of this, but the Lady here, and her friend the Archbishop, during your unfortunate illness, have brought the kingdom into ruin. There would be no question of payments of silver if their mismanagement had been brought to a halt earlier. Should either of these two be entrusted with the kingdom unchecked, your son’s reign will be a disaster!” To this, the King frowned, but did not look overly surprised.
“Whether they are competent or not, my Lord,” for the first time Reza, the Duke of Syria rose to speak, “they have failed to look after the interests of all the kingdom. In Syria, it has been some time since we were visited by the reeve in Palmyra, and I find it hard to believe that they are even aware of our existence most of the time. I have sent many reports of provocations by the Emir of Mosul to Jerusalem, but I have received no responses. While this city receives further adornments daily, our enemies on the edge of the Kingdom laugh at our impotence.”


“Indeed,” Heraclius of Aleppo took up the charges, “many of us were startled that we were called to war against the King of the Egyptians when the Emir of Mosul was so much a greater threat to the Kingdom. And all of us are frustrated that the Emir receives Danegeld” the earl almost spat the word “from us whenever he chooses to attack. The heathen temples in his lands must be paved in our silver!”


But at this the Archbishop Stephan rose in reply. “This man does not even offer any payment to the crown, and has not done so for years, nor did his father before him! What right has the Duke to speak of Danegeld when he contributes nothing to the treasury?”


This did not receive the response the bishop had desired, and Thurcytel was quick in his rebuttal. “If Lord Heraclius has not been asked to provide revenue for the crown, and likewise Lord Ølver in Jaffa, that is you fault, Lord Bishop, and not ours. How can you expect the members of this body to pay more if you do not collect what is even owed to you?”


Before an objection could be made, Archbishop Robert of Alexandria made to speak. Though everyone in the room (with perhaps the exception of the King, who bore little malice towards anyone) was universally hostile towards him, he dared to rise once more and make a proposition. On this occasion, he was attended by two large men to act in place of his housecarls, and offer a degree of protection against the angered earls. “Good men of Jerusalem, I think I can resolve your predicament. It seems to me that your...kingdom” he spoke the word hesitantly, as if it left a bad taste in his mouth, “is too large to be managed effectively. I would not be surprised if my lord’s illness were brought on by the stress of such a heavy burden.” Here the bishop smiled, no doubt in an effort to appear sympathetic, but the effect was more of a shark observing his next meal. “Therefore, why not divide the responsibilities of rule? There are three sons of the fair king available, why not anoint each to rule, and where one ruler is insufficient, let three share the burden between them?”


This was anathema to the Lady Godfigu, who realised that the archbishop was suggesting dividing the King’s inheritance into three parts. “Such talk, my lords, is only to be expected from this Norman. He means to divide us amongst ourselves, and the Kingdom also, into three parts, so that we might spend more time quarrelling with each other, and be reduced to insignificance. Besides, such a solution would be ridiculous – whoever heard of three kings on one throne?”


“But My Lady -” now the bishop’s expression was unmistakable, as he moved to close the trap. “I was not suggesting three men share one crown, nor one throne. Would it not simply be easier to allow the dukes here to gather in their own lands to make decisions? Jerusalem is a long way from Baghdad or Palmyra, after all. And why should the earls of Edessa or Aleppo pay for expensive wars in Egypt – would they not prefer that their silver go to the defence of Syria? If the lords here were to gather locally to discuss such things, in Jerusalem, and in Palmyra and Baghdad, they might, in fact, quarrel less and accomplish more. Each curia would of course need to be chaired by a person of authority, for which purpose our three kings would be most suited.”

Mummers swept the chamber like an autumn breeze stirs the leaves, as the bishop’s words were understood. In effect, the Kingdom of the English would be divided into three parts, just as the Lady Godfigu had feared, but the bishop’s proposal to delegate the daily affairs of state to the local witan appealed greatly to the earls.


Arguments against this course of action still remained, however. The bishop of Antioch, speaking for the Emperor in Constantinople, made it clear to everyone present that the Emperor disagreed with Archbishop Robert’s analysis, and valued a strong English Kingdom above any other consideration. Meanwhile, the Lady Godfigu tried, without success, to invoke the earls to remember that such a division of patrimony and authority went against all the Roman and Saxon laws used in the Kingdom. Her final appeal was made to her long-time ally, Archbishop Stephan. “Surely such a thing as this Norman bishop proposes goes not only against our laws but those of God Almighty Himself. I cannot believe that His Holiness would acknowledge the rightfulness of this idea, which is without reason or legitimacy. Surely He will recognise this for the sacrilige that it is?”

But here, too, the good Lady was to be abandoned. Though the Archbishop Stephan clearly wished to assist her, he could offer her no assurances. The Holy Father, once a keen ally of the English Kingdom (it was he who had dispatched Stephan as Papal Legate to the Kingdom in the darkest days of civil strife, and tasked him with stitching the fragmented lands together again) was now of a different mind. Henry the Norman, having expelled the heathens from Egypt and thence from the northern part of Iberia, was able to poor honeyed words into the ears of the pontiff, and gain his approval for almost anything. Apart from his family’s long opposition to that of Edgar the Atheling, his dislike of the English Kingdom in Jerusalem was also fuelled by his desire for dominion over all the Holy Land, and not merely Alexandria and the lands along the Nile. If he could not have the kingdom delivered directly into his hands, he would at least weaken it so severely that it would not trouble him any further.


This, then, was the terrible conclusion to the Christmas Witan of the Year of Our Lord 1180. To be certain, there were more days of negotiation and argument, but the bishop’s proposal, as objectionable to the Lady Godfigu as it was, appealed somewhat to the earls, and they resolved to enact it. Even the King was won over by the compromise, since it appealed to his desire for peace among the earls and among his sons. To his mind, this division of his inheritance ensured equal provision for all his sons, and harmony between the lords.


The effects of the resolution might have been mitigated somewhat had the children of the King been allowed to grow into their majority. Perhaps with time, the ignoble idea could have been undone, or laid to rest in a dusty library, but tragedy of a different sort was soon to hit the royal family. Not long after the conclusion of the Witangemot, on the Feast of the Epiphany, that is, the sixth day of January, 1181, King Theodorus’ soul escaped this world, and was delivered into the arms of the Lord. He was thirty-one years of age, and had been King of the English for twenty-four years, longer than any king previous to him (with the possible exception of King Aethelred, who was king for fifteen years, but Prince of Tripoli under the Emperor for nine years before that). Upon his death, the Kingdom was enlarged by territories in the Sinai and in the delta of the River Nile, but much the same as he had inherited it from his father. His reign had been consumed by internal dissent between the lords, and the King had dedicated his life to peace and compromise, between Greeks and Englishmen, Mohammadeans and Christians. The cruellest fate of all was that upon his death, those divisions within the Kingdom which he worked to heal were to be transformed into an outright shattering of the realm into three parts.