Swertic Tales

[The Swert]

It all began on the Isle of Man...

Welcome to my first CK AAR. This AAR will be a encyclopedia-style AAR with annotations occasionally being made by the characters involved. Hopefully the style sort of works. This game is being played with Deus Vult and features the Swert Dynasty, a dynasty I have implanted who start by ruling the County of the Isle of Man. I have also added swertic culture to the game in the same province. I started this game earlier in the year and forgot about it but upon rediscovering it, I figured it would make a good AAR. However I have lost some of the save games and therefore some of the history before 1149 could be a little vague and lack screenshots, so please forgive me for that in advance.

PS: I've also lost which font I used for the title image. If anybody recognises it please let me know.

[The Swert]

Origin of the Swerts –

The origin of the Swerts is highly contested. Some say that they are somehow descendent from the mythological Geatish king Swerting as documented in Beowulf. Others claim that they came across with the Norwegian invasions with their leader holding the epithet of ‘the sword’ in a similar fashion to many Viking leaders. However in Old Norse sword was spelt ‘sverð’ which may have morphed into ‘swert’ giving rise to the name of the clan. It is also possible that they were related to the extant De Swert families living in Belgium and surrounds.

Looking beyond the name, there is still little documentation about how the Swerts ended up on the Isle of Man. They may have arrived there during either invasions from Norwegians or Saxons or been living there beforehand. The Swerts appear genetically to be a very mixed tribe consisting of Irish, Welsh, Scot, Saxon and Norwegian blood. This suggests that whether they existed there before the invasions or not, the tribe mixed with their new neighbours and it was only by about the 1000AD that the Swerts appeared to form their own culture and systems. The tribe soon came to be ruled over by a lineage who adopted the name Swert as their own and thus the word came to refer to both the tribe and the chief family.


Swertic Ascension to the County of Man -

In the mid 11th Century, the Isle of Man was under the authority of the Duke of Leinster. In 1061, upon the expulsion of Duke Echmarcach, the Swert family sided with the Uí Cheinnselaig candidate, Diarmiat, and succeeded in dispelling Echmarcach’s rule over of the island. Diarmiat rose to be the new Duke of Leinster and granted the Swert family the County of the Isle of Man as a reward. Most of this movement was the thanks of one Swertic man, whose name record has unfortunately been lost. However it is believed he was the father of the Doric Swert, who would lay the foundations for the dynasty’s growth.

[kadvael56]

I will follow the Swertic history.

[Iain Wilson]

Subscribed.

[The Swert]

Doric Swert -
1045 - 1115

Little is known of Doric’s ascension to the County of the Isle of Man but it was clear that his father had died by 1066 and that he was the only surviving son to take up the throne; he was 21 at the time. He, like his father, would act as a vassal of the Dukes of Leinster for most of his tenure but was not without disagreement with his liege. Initially Doric got on well with Diarmiat’s successor Enna and they formed a solid friendship. Enna and Doric were two sides of the same coin in many ways; Enna the lustful accountant and Doric the chaste martial cleric, but yet they seemed to get on and for the next 40 years the County of Mann was a loyal vassal of the Duchy of Leinster.

Doric’s effect on the Swert dynasty cannot be underestimated. Not only was he their founder, he is also seen as the picture of swertic idealism. As mentioned he was a chaste martial cleric but there was so much more to him than that. His piety, honour and longevity made him one of the great medieval rulers. He was generally a forgiving and generous man, who was modest and trusting in nature. To the uninitiated it might then sound like he was rather weak-willed which is true but despite this he was also a very zealous leader passionate about the crusades and just in his actions. His only real fault was his recklessness which sometimes brought him undone but despite this he was an amiable man who most rulers of the British Isles wanted to impress. By the time he died in 1115 at the age of 70 he was one of the most respected Counts in all of Europe.

Despite his noble standing, pious lifestyle, foundation of the Swertic dynasty and longevity as a ruler, arguably Doric’s greatest claim to fame was his fertility. He married three times and each time was remarkably loyal to his wife. The first of Doric’s wives was Adelais de Ponthieu, niece of the King of England. They married in 1066 and she bore him six children before becoming depressed and committing suicide in 1082. Doric married his second wife in 1084, Ingrid of Orkney, first daughter of the Duke of Orkney, who had failed to produce a male heir. With the intention of inheriting the duchy he began having more children and ended up with six more children before Ingrid before she died in childbirth of the seventh in 1097. By now Doric was in his fifties but he chose to remarry once again and this time to a woman 13 years younger than his first born. She was Gruoch Dunkeld, second daughter of the King of Scotland. With her Doric bore another 7 children to bring his total 19. The last child was actually born posthumous of Doric creating a gap between the eldest and youngest of 47 years. This long succession of children played havoc with the generational gap of the Swertic dynasty with some nephews being older than their aunts and such, however it also gave birth to another Swertic trait that would persists for decades as a sort of curse: out of Doric’s 19 children, only eight were male and of them only four of them lived past infancy.

Doric Swert in 1102.

He was also the Papal Controller during his later years. A title achieved by his grand piety and one which he held for nearly 20 years. However such were his ways that he could not come to use this power for his own gain sparing several of his rivals of excommunication. Upon gaining control of the Pope, a crusade was already underway to rescue Byzantion which had fallen to the Turks. It was Doric who ended this mission in success after the Kingdom of Croatia had fought well to recapture the lost lands.

For a long time Doric had wished to travel to the East on a pious crusade, the call to arms was strong within, however he could not leave for upon each occasion he prepared to travel his wife would announce she was pregnant again. Doric realized his first duty was to his family and chose to take on the no less difficult task of attempting to raise 19 children. So Doric never went on crusade and it was his only pious fault, perhaps it was the reason he was never beatified, a crime for which the Swert dynasty never forgave the Papacy.

A famous quote attributed to Doric is “The only time I lifted my sword was the fetch the bible beneath it”


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Annotations

"I can't remember saying that quote, but I wish I did, it sounds awefully good. I suppose if people make up that sort of quote about me then I've left a good legacy on history. My father died when I young but I always felt I had a duty to complete his work. He had founded the dynasty and my responsiblity firstmost was to see it grow both in terms of numbers and in education. I tried to lead my children by example and teach them proper swertic values. This was my greatest goal. It's not about conquest, it's about sowing the seed for the future and making sure that seed is distinctly swertic. Time will tell whether my work was in vain or not."

[The_Guiscard]

Hey, The Swert drops by this part of AARland! Swell. I'll keep my eyes on this.

Btw, the encyclopedia style is totally working for me. Nice.

[The Swert]

Hey, The Swert drops by this part of AARland! Swell. I'll keep my eyes on this.

Btw, the encyclopedia style is totally working for me. Nice.

Thanks for the support. I think I'll try embedding the annotations using quotes rather than have them at the end.

[The Swert]

Children of Doric Swert

Doric Swert had a total of 19 children through his three wives. They were born over a period of 48 years and included 8 males and 11 females. However six children died during infancy. Nonetheless, Doric's children ensured the future of the dynasty. The following three articles provide a brief description on each child and their life and are split as per their mother.

How did remember all my children's names? I hear you ask. Well it's quite simple really. I used to have a mnemonic. Let's see if I remember it. "Don't worry son, I'm positive the challenge that all kings go spiritually on..." Hang on, do I have a daughter named Onya? No. Ah forget it, too many damn names.

To the wife Adelais de Ponthieu:

Daniac (1067-1084)

Raised with the hopes of becoming the matriarch by her parents for what was during her lifetime a quickly growing family. Entered the clergy and prospered becoming a scholarly theologian and upheld the pious traits of shyness, cowardice and modesty despite her laziness; perhaps not matriarch material after all. She married Harold Godwineson, son of the former King of England and with a claim to the throne. Soon after her wedding she became pregnant but died during the childbirth along with her child.

Ah my Daniac. My first, my darling, my princess. She had so much yet to give when she was taken. I cried for days upon her death so young.

Warenzo (1068-1069)

The eldest son, he immediately became heir apparent. Unfortunately at the age of 14 months the infant was suddenly involved in an accident and died. Luckily by that stage a new heir had been born.

My first born son. I could forget every other child's name but could never forget his as all I had was intended to be his. If only we had put a guardrail on that balcony...

Samolk ‘the unlucky’ (1069-1108)

Upon the death of Warenzo he became the heir apparent of the Swert clan. Raised in the military he matured to be a competent leader ready for the thone but failed to impress as a warrior. At the age of 16 he married Thora Yngling, a daughter of the King of Norway whose training as a charismatic negotiator prompted Doric to hire her as his chancellor for many years despite her deceitfulness. Furthermore, this marriage meant that if a son was born, a Swert would be second in line to the Norwegian throne.

Samolk is famous for his bad luck with his fertility. Together with Thora he gave birth to 6 children. Unfortunately for him his first five children were all daughters. Under the pressure of his duty to provide a male heir, became very stressed. Finally in 1093, his wife did provide him with a boy and they named him Edoran. However Edoran was born with an illness and despite his father’s prayers and wishes, he passed away a year later. This death affected Samolk in a way from which he never recovered. He soon had a falling out with his wife as he blamed her for her inability to provide him with a son. With his failure to ensure an heir, Samolk fell into a depression which saw him become rather distant from everyone. He grew rather tired with life and comtemplated suicide but did not follow that path. However his habits soon became unhealthy and he developed pneumonia. It is recorded that his heartbreak at the death of Edoran and his five preceeding daughters shortened his life considerably. In 1108, he died at the tender at of 39, heirless, unhappy and never actually succeeding in taking up the throne of his father.

And I thought my luck was bad when I only got 4 living sons from 19. Poor Samolk lost his faith. As I told him time and time again, patience will bring an heir. But alas, not only did he not gain one, I lost one when he couldn't take it anymore.

Immor (1071-1141)

The third son of Doric, his claim to the throne became superceded by the maternal descendents of Samolk. Immor followed the ways of his father in that he adopted chastity in what became a common trait amongst the Swert dynasty. Whereas Samolk was a competent man until his depression, Immor was naturally gifted in regards. However thanks to his training in the military he became a tough soldier and one of the best skilled marshals in the land. He was adopted as marshal by Doric and after his father’s death continued in that role for his nephew Stomagh. Immor’s personality was a melting pot combining romance and hostility but despite this fell in love with Nichola Dunkeld, the niece of the King of Scotland. Immor seeked a male son in a hope of getting a Swert into the Scottish line of succession but, in the same manner as Samolk’s wife, Nichola failed to provide Immor with a son. Instead they had two daughters Sione and Isabel before Nichola’s sudden death in 1099 at the age of 29. Immor remarried to a much younger woman, Clemenza de Normandie, daughter of the King of England. However Immor could not love this woman despite the possible gains through inheritance and instead chose a life of celibacy. They were married for over thirty years without a child until Clemenza died in 1130. Immor continued serving as a marshal until his death in 1141.

If there was one son who most imitated myself it would be Immor. A great warrior of a man who ended up taking the vow of celibacy. Which is a bit of a shame because he had the fertility to create many sons.

Petrimarc (1071-1144)

Born just ten months after the birth of Immor the two were treated as twins on occasion. Petrimarc became the oldest living son of Doric and the first to provide a proper heir, which meant in many ways he ensured the Swert dynasty’s continuance. He married Gudrid of Orkney in what was a political marriage which now saw both daughters of the Duke of Orkney being married to Swerts, with Ingrid having married Doric years earlier. This also meant Petrimarc married his mother-in-law’s sister even though she was the same age as Petrimarc.

Petrimarc was also a skillful accountant with a midas touch. He was adept as both a chancellor and steward but it was the latter that became his role for the County of the Isle of Man for many years.

Petrimarc's marriage to Gudrid completed my plan to inherit the Orkneys. With the Duke's two daughters each married to a Swert, it would only be time before the Swerts gained a Duchy.

Toro ‘the Mad’ (1076-1124)

The fourth son of Doric, Toro grew to become mad at a young age. Despite several attempts at treatment, no cure was found of his illness, however the man himself didn’t seem too worried. He lived his life as though he wasn’t the total lunatic he was. At the age of 16 he married Felicia de Normandie and had six children.

They say there's alway one, don't they? Well Toro was a real handful growing up, had I not lived so long I could have blamed him for sending to me to an early grave.

Quack

[The Swert]

Children of Doric Swert

To the mother Ingrid of Orkney:

After the succession of the dynasty seemed assured thanks to the birth and survival to adulthood of four sons from his first marriage, in his second marriage Doric Swert was able to consider growth through inheritance. Doric considered his options around the British Isles and chose the Duchy of Orkney as a possible target for inheritance; the Duke there was middle aged and had two young daughters. It was clear that, barring the birth of a miracle child, whoever the eldest daughter married would inherit the Duchy. Adelais de Ponthieu’s timely death presented an opportunity for Doric as Ingrid was only two years away from maturity and he chose to bide his time until she became available. In 1084, the 39 year old Doric married the 16 year old Ingrid and immediately the marriage blossomed with the birth of six children over the next eleven years. However, unfortunately for Doric’s plans, all of them were girls meaning that inheritance would be impossible. Finally in 1097, at the seventh attempt at a son Ingrid gave birth to a son but it was a stillborn and Ingrid also died in the childbirth and the curse of the Swert’s fertility struck again.
Out of the children that were born, four made it to adulthood and each one married into Welsh nobility.

Cuplia (1084-1106)

Cuplia, the eldest of the Ingrid children, married Gwydion Meriadoc, first son of the Duke of Deheubarth. She gave birth to one son who didn’t make it past infancy and then died during childbirth of a second.

Terila (1085-1100)

Terila got stressed during her court education and was found overdosed on a bizarre concoction she had received from a witch doctor that was supposed to relieve her stress.

Abedil (1087-1134)

Abedil married Merfyn Cynwyn, nephew of the King of Wales. She bore him a son and a daughter.

Kaldora (1089-1142)

After the sudden death of Cuplia, Doric intended to patch up relation with the Duchy of Deheubarth and so in 1108, Kaldora became the second Swert of marry the heir apparent in Gwydion. This marriage was more fruitful with three sons and three daughters being born.

Gyrid (1091-1092)

The Norwegian baby was all confused when her father tried to teach her the swertic way of things. She was sick as they tried to convert her and it was all too much for her to cope with. She died at age one.

Sione (1095-1121)

Sione once again strengthened relations with the King of Wales as she married the second son of the Duke of Gwynedd. They had six children including five sons before Sione died at the tender age of 26.

To be honest. My second marriage was a failure and the daughters that resulted from it were little more than extra mouths to feed. This marriage made me know how Samolk felt when he couldn't get a son. I didn't really care what happened to the daughters but it was good that relations with the Welsh were maintained. I was always one for keeping things local.

[The Swert]

PS: Has anybody had more than 19 children before? What's the record?

[Murmurandus]

Wow, 19 children... that would be a record for me for sure...

It's almost like that Welsh AAR which I forgot who wrote it...

[The Swert]

Wow, 19 children... that would be a record for me for sure...

It's almost like that Welsh AAR which I forgot who wrote it...

Not bad for a bloke with only fertility of 6 is it?

[Iain Wilson]

PS: Has anybody had more than 19 children before? What's the record?

The most I've managed before is nine.

Actually, I should point out by that I mean that the most I've managed IN CRUSADER KINGS in nine. In real life I've only managed two!

PS - love the avatar Swert. I'm assuming that's from FtG?

[The Swert]

PS - love the avatar Swert. I'm assuming that's from FtG?

Yep. I'm a beta tester

[Iain Wilson]

Sweet. Is that the UK crest?

[The Swert]

Sweet. Is that the UK crest?

It's the Royalists. I used to use a Royalist EU2 shield but i've upgraded.

[Iain Wilson]

It's the Royalists. I used to use a Royalist EU2 shield but i've upgraded.

As in English Civil War Royalists? Cool.

[The Swert]

Children of Doric Swert

To the mother Gruoch Dunfeld:

With the sudden death of Ingrid of Orkney and the failed attempt to bear an heir to the Orkney throne, Doric remarried and on this occasion had even grander plans for inheritance. He married Gruoch Dunfeld, the second daughter of the King of Scotland and a woman 36 years his junior, in fact she was younger than his first six children. Such were the state of things that if they were to have a son he would become second in line to the Scottish throne. Indeed, Gruoch did give him a son, three in fact, but in true swertic style none of them lived to adulthood and the opportunity to inherit Scotland fell by the wayside. In total though, they had seven children, one more than in either of Doric’s previous marriages. Yani the last child was actually born after the death of her father in 1115; she had great nephews who were older than her. Gruoch Dunfeld easily outlived her husband but she did not remarry. She remained in the court of the Swerts as Spymaster for some time but eventually returned to Scotland and lived a long life.

Mitar
(1099-1100)

After the miserable relationship with Ingrid of Orkney, and over twenty years of trying, Mitar was Doric’s sixth son. He was destined to be 2nd in line to the throne of Scotland however illness got the better of him. He died just after his first birthday however by that time there was new hope as another child was about to be born.

Kaldor
(1100-1102)

Kaldor was born a few months after Mitar’s death and immediately replaced him in the succession order. This boy made it past his first birthday and hope was high that he would make it through the adulthood. However Kaldor died before the age of two and Doric was becoming rather frustrated by his poor luck.

Doric
(1101-1101)

A third son was born into the Scottish line and he was given the name of his father, who having lived for 55 years so far was seen as a lucky name. Doric was seen as an insurance policy for Kaldor as surely one of them would make it to adulthood however Doric was a sick child and was outlived by his older brother, although only just. Young Doric was Count Doric’s final son and it meant that the Swerts had failed to put a member of their dynasty into the line of succession of either Orkney or Scotland. His second two wives had effectively failed him.

You're so happy when you have a son, you always think that he's going to live. And when you three sons you feel sure that at least one of them will grow up to inherit something. To lose three sons in as many years was heartbreaking. What more can I say?

Ilora
(1102-)

Ilora is perhaps the most distinguished and most successful of Doric’s children, despite being female. She married the Einion Cynwyn who became the King of Wales and an ironfisted one at that. Ilora herself was a brilliant steward such that when Einion’s kingdom grew too large to maintain, Ilora was granted the County of Halsingland in 1139. She bore Einion 12 children, typically though only one son lived to adulthood. When the Kingdom of Wales suffered under its own weight in the 1150s, Ilora chose to break away her county from the kingdom and she became the Free Countess of Halsingland. Her swertic relatives attempted to woo her county into their fold however she declined and joined Sweden instead, all the time keeping her marriage with Einion intact. She became the most glorious swertic woman and as of 1161 still rules her county.

Who would've thought the 16th child would be the lucky one. When she married Einion he wasn't even suppose to become king. It was only by fate that Einion's uncle died and he inherited Wales and for Ilora, as a woman, to be granted a county...well it's something I would never do. Still she's held her own county in good stead and has made me proud.

Majita
(1104-)

Majita married the Duke of Sussex and together they had three children.

Veranga
(1109-1113)

Veranga was the last child that Doric saw given that Yani was born after his death. However she was also the last child he saw die and she got sick at the age of four and died.

Yani
(1115-1148)

Yani was born two months after the death of Doric but was by no means forgotten. She was a smart child who grew up to become a flamboyant schemer and married Findlay of Atholl. They were both highly fertile and had eight children together before Yani’s death during the birth of the ninth.


PS: This should be the end of this listing format. Sorry if it's a bit dry but I felt having 19 children doesn't happen everyday and it deserved a writeup on each child. From now on I'll only focus on the events and such that were shaped history. And once we get to 1149 I can be more detailed as I've played it more currently.

[Deamon]

Very nice.

[kadvael56]

Too many deaths in childhood and too few surviving males . If you like a story about a man with many children you can read this excerpt at your own peril . Though I hope the Swerts will not be like Magnus.