The Burgundian Heritage - A Burgundian & Successor states FTG AAR

After a few months of reign Charles of Lotharingia was called by its English allies in a war against Britanny, wich was allied with several German states and Scotland. This war was absolutly fitting into Charles' designs for Germany, as he would have been ready to launch a campaign on his own really soon.


The German principalities located on the left bank of the Rhine were easily conquered by Charles' armies. While in Alsace, Charles even managed to aquire the Habsburg region of Breisgau for a decent sum of money. Soon enough the Rhine was crossed and the Burgundian/Lotharingian (the Royal title was far from being used by everyone yet) forces threatened the capital of Kleves. Instead of a direct annextion, Charles agreed to make the duke of Cleves a vassal. This policy would be applied to most of the states on the other side of the Rhine.



Charles' policies toward the army made the Burgundian forces one of the msot efficient army in Europe. In a few more months both Hesse and Saxonny were forced to pledge allegiance to the King of Lotharingia, who's influance in the center of the Holy Roman Empire was now rivaling the Emperor's authority.


This war was a total victory for Charles. But in order to not upset the Emperor, who has been very generous into giving his father the royal crown of Lotharingia, he accepted to rebuild the authority of the former electors in the Rhine region: in return they would certainly support Charles' eventual candidacy for the title of Holy Roman Emperor. The growing ambitions of the energic King of Lotharingia were not meeting any organised resistance from anybody: the actual Emperor was too weak, and the King of England and France was too busy with internal problems to even bother sending a formal protest. And Charles was still officially his ally.

After the victories scored in Germany Charles decided to use a good part of the kingdom's income to bribe the German states into supporting his Imperial ambitions. His reputation was still tarnished and his diplomatical skills not so great, so it would require alot of time.



The ambitious king was soon bored of giving all his money to the German princes so he decided to wage a war against Oldenburg instead. The principality was soon joined by a coalition of states forming the southwest of the Holy Roman Empire: Provence, Savoy, Switzerland and the electorate of Mainz.

After a few months of battle, the unpossible happened. During a battle near Freiburg, a detachement of the Swiss army stormed the camp where King Charles was preparing to join the fight. Beleived to be a soldier by the Swiss troops, he was slaughtered like the rest of the regiment. In a few hours, the face of Europe has changed, one of the most powerfull monarch was dead and without heir. The second life of Lotharingia was even shorter than its first one, and uncertainity was threatening the once confident Burgundian court.


The young Mary of Burgundy, daugher of Charles, immediatly took charge of the realm. Despite the growing unrest, she managed in two months to calm the lowlands and to end the war with the Swiss/Savoyard/Provençal coalition, managing to force the allegiance of Mainz in the process. What would happen to Lotharingia is not yet clear, as Queen Mary is not married yet. In the emergency of producing a suitable heir to her kingdom, she would have to find a suitable husband as soon as possible.

coz1: It will be more than Germany or France, but staying Lotharingia would eventually get boring because I'm already covering most of its cores and it will not get any event in the future, or any explorer so I can colonise.

Duke of Wellington: Thank you! and about the Lotharingia events, yes they are! But beware of the impossibility of becoming France later if you do so, and of the quite ugly yellow flag. Have good relations with Austria (beyond 170) and the second demand for the crown may be the right one.

coz1: (2) At least half of the event descriptions are useless now without France. o Right now I am more interested in either the Count Palatine or the Duke of Kleves, but I think that will most likely be the second one.

Storey: The other option offered... well... revolts in the Netherlands. I was very glad to accept to give those privileges, after all those wars -10 badboy is something you can't refuse. Now the reputation is clean and the lowlands pacified; at this rate I'd be happy to grant even more privileges if possible.

fireseth: I never used F6 so I don't know. Better post this somewhere else like the bug report place.

Enewald: I do not know who is the strongest, between England-France and Lotharingia, since the English was machine has never been fully tested since the Dauphin's surrender. I'll keep them as 'allies' as long as my designs in the East are not fulfilled.

Formula51: Indeed, without France and the Netherlands there will be plenty of room for colonisation; even if I don't get explorers having possetions on every continents is a must for a true great power and I will try to spread the influance of Lotharingia (or its successors) far beyond the borders of Europe.

matt12th: Probably, maybe that should be an AGCEEP possibility for the player who remains as Burgundy and keep the Netherlands- at least some of the most famous explorers would do.

aldriq: I'll try to protect the H.R.E. even more, and soon I'll turn against England who's rule over France has already been far too long.

Davisx3m: Well, its a For the Glory AAR so its to be expected.

GregoryTheBruce: I can only agreee, especially for countries in western Europe wich would have certainly took part into the colonial adventure if they existed, like Burgundy, or a potentially united Germany or Italy.

V - Mary's wedding and John the Pious​

A few months after his father's dead Mary was faced with three possible suitors for wedding: Maximilian of Habsburg, the Duke of Kleves-Mark or the Count Palatine. An union with the powerfull Habsburs would certainly improve the prestige of the House of Burgundy even further, but its not what Mary was looking for. She tought that by uniting with a lesser noble, the House of Burgundy would be predominant and would finish by absorb the lesser family. Thus, she married the Duke of Kleves, who's small demsene would in no way rivalise with Mary's Lotharingia.


Unfortunatly for Mary, her wise rule was even shorter than his father's. Only three years after her marriage, Fate stabbed the House of Burgundy once more. Mary died after falling from a horse, and Johann of Kleves inherited her vast demesne.


Unfortunatly for the crown of Lotharingia and the ancestral lands of Burgundy, Johann was a German, who's heart and ambitions were turned toward the Holy Roman Empire. He decided to rule as the Duke of Kleves instead as the Archduke of Burgundy and King of Lotharingia, wich made the noblity of Dijon very displeased. As his French lands were less and less considerating him as legitimate he was consolidating his hold upon the Holy Roman Empire, with the firm ambition to be elected Emperor after the death of the very aging Frederik III.

Johann was overall very well viewed by the German princes. They tough that a German inheriting Lotharingia would end the Franco-Burgundian menace over the Empire, effectivly turning the situation upside-down: the Germans were now having the upper hand in Lotharingia. The Duke of Kleves followed the ideas of Mary and Charles, and continued to use his whealt to bribe the German princes. After a decade of Johann's rule, Kleves-Lothringen was again prospering and its diplomatical influence over the Empire was huge.


Then year after his inheritance of Lotharingia, Johann II was electer Holy Roman Emperor by the seven electors at the Imperial Diet of Frankfurt. The dream of his life fulfilled, he was now considerating giving his newly aquired title a new meaning.