The Grey Eminence - A Narrative/History AAR 1399-1821

Edgewise: Haha! I think he might soon see the wisdom in your advice....
Sather: Aren't all monarchies? Especially the more absolutist ones anyway.
Chris Taylor: Well, I'm not so sure. She does have her own private army remember, and the Orkneys are a LONG way from anything!
Dewirix: That's actually a good thought. Wellington used to do that with particularly bad officers; send them to really dangerous (and glorious) postings in the hope they'd die and rid the army of them!
Morrell8: Definitely not! It's like making fun of the Comrade General Secretary!
Arakhor: Interesting idea, that....
Loki: Well, I think she has a lot on her mind.

Chapter 16a – The Challenges of Reformation

Summarised from Chapter 5 of ’Britannia Triumphant’ by Lady Mendenhall.

The Reformation did not die away as King Henry expected and wanted. Instead it grew and rapidly became a much more divisive and dangerous issue than he could have thought possible. Very soon large areas of England and France were turning to the heretical ways. In France especially this new religious philosophy became a way of flaunting the authority of the monarchy and the church, which was getting more and more powerful, many thought. This came at a time when once again the succession and legitimacy of the de Vere monarchy was once again questioned in light of these new religious questions.







In France troubles also flared up, with Normans especially feeling left out of the process of government. Henry was forced to institute a Duke of Normandy to oversee the area, but the problems continued. Furthermore, the still independent areas of France were restless, and work on a unification of churches was widely distrusted.






However, there were gains as well, notably the integration of Flanders into the English crown, and further explorations that reached Japan and China in 1521. All of this came at the cost of the ill-treatment of native populations, something King Henry was unwilling or unable to stop.









The most important policy decision in Henry’s reign was the establishment of toleration for all Christian faiths. This view completely went against the instincts of many on both sides, who wanted the King to move decisively one direction or the other. Alas for Henry, he was a man of considerable, perhaps too much compassion. When faced with several Protestant ministers brought before him for trial he merely exiled them rather than the gruesome punishment of burning for heresy. In many ways the King was far ahead of his time, and was simply unwilling to enforce his will on his people.

Opposition in parliament meant that the frequent rebellions and demonstrations against the religious settlement of the country were difficult to suppress without funds. Prematurely aged, the King had to endure another tragedy; the death of his first son James, leaving his granddaughter Caroline as heir to the throne. Perhaps beyond caring, the King died on the 9th of April 1523 believing himself to have failed.









In a way this was certainly true; England seemed set to descend into all out civil strife, and his efforts at toleration were not treated with the respect they deserved.
However, in one respect Henry unwittingly contributed to English history. As he was dying the question on everyone’s lips was who would succeed. James had only one child that had survived to adulthood; Caroline. However James had a brother, King Henry’s second son Edward. Strictly speaking Edward, being the male, should have taken the crown, but Henry spoke for Caroline, disliking his second son. Furthermore, the ancient Marian Acts from the time of Queen Mary were revived, and since Caroline had no brother, she was appointed Queen. It was a good decision made for bad reasons, and it brought to the throne the greatest English monarch since the Middle Ages and beyond.





(Now, there is an interesting story here. I wanted a good Queen at this point, so when I got an event giving me Charles, an 8/9/5 heir I edited it to be Caroline. Unfortunately I put "female = yes" in the wrong place, so when she succeeded it didn't show as female. So, another save game edit later and it was all good!)
(Also, Ecumenism is REALLY bad...but I took it because it seemed right for poor Henry to do.)

Unfortunately the family tree website automatically capitalises names. It isn't capitalised in the narrative. If you do see it as such let me know and I'll edit.

Good point about the I, but it's included more for clarity than anything else, again, especially with that site.

Thank you all for your comments, and thanks to bananafishtoday for his kind award.

Sather: Not sure what you mean in the first bit? I wanted a Queen because it fitted well with the story, and Queen Caroline is a cool name.
Range: Thanks!
blsteen: It will be a feat, but her dealing with matters makes her reputation justified.
Dewirix: Trust me, I got this event a LOT, but I only included a couple of them. My thoughts are that there's a stable of Miss Feudal Englands somewhere who get married off to Kings!
hoi2geek: Thank you. I may do so...we'll see how the story turns out whether its feasable.
Avindian: I chose it because that is what Henry IV de Vere would do. He was an intelligent man (high adm), but not very persuasive or firm (low DIP and MIL), so he took the view of toleration. It also forms a good contrast with his grand daughter....
Loki100: Yes, lots going on!
bananafishtoday: THANK YOU! And yes, she doesn't like Bretons...I wonder why?

Chapter 17 - The Library

24/1/1820

John had gone to the library that night, but after Victoria had left him Tempest appeared and watched him. Uneasy under the steady gaze John had taken the book he wanted and left. Still, he was interested at looking further into the works contained there, and sought the opportunity the next day.
As it turned out he did not get his opportunity until later in the day as her Ladyship left early for business. Later when she returned he had finally gotten permission to go to the library.
“Of course you must go, John,” Lady Mendenhall had said indulgently. “Take as long as you like. You know the way; Victoria is with her family today in Kirkwall.
So John had gone, and this time Tempest had left him alone after a few minutes, returning upstairs to her Mistress.



Now free to browse by himself, John started to look over the books arrayed there. He guessed that over two thousand books were assembled in this room. Some were very old, made of parchment with heavy covers of metal and leather. Others, the majority, were printed, though even here some went back to the 16th century. Systematically going through the shelves one by one yielded some interesting finds. One book caught John’s eye, a rather slim volume entitled ‘Manuscripts and Other Published Works From the De Vere Kings and Queens’. He pulled it down and blew the dust off it. It looked barely used, and was yellowed, having been printed in 1765.
John opened it and flicked through it. Most of it was dull records, exchequer reports and entries from chronicles.
One word caught John’s eye. ‘Mendenhall’
He looked at it. He had turned to the Bishop of Winchester’s account of the fall of France. Having read it in Lady Mendenhall’s book he glanced over it and noticed it was different from how she had quoted it. The original version ran;

When our party arrived at the palace of the King of France we were at first denied entry. The wardens reported that they had been ordered to restrain us entry. Whereupon the Lords Apparent demanded entrance, threatening violence if not commended entry. The Lady Mendenhall spoke with the Castellan, and convinced him of our intent. Whereupon they stood aside, and we entered.
His Majesty Louis, King of France, sat upon his throne, having been told of our coming. He carried with him the ancient Crown of Charlemagne, the symbol of his line.
When we entered at first he spoke most sharply with us, and refused our errand, whereupon her Ladyship bade him look upon the grounds beyond his palace. There, a hundred knights and soldiers of renown waited. Upon being informed by her that Her Majesty had a great army a day from his standing, the King grew much enraged. Casting down the crown at her Ladyship’s feet he cursed her, and the crown was broken. At last, he came forth with us, and his daughter Isabelle and wife Anaïs also.
Thus ended the Kingdom and Realm of France.

John sat back, then looked again at the notes. It was strange that she would edit the passage from the original. Noble families usually delighted in the exploits of their ancestors, so to find it was different here was a surprise indeed. Of course, there was something strange about it, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

John heard the sound of voices, and slipped the book back. The library had two doors, and he went to the second one and opened it slightly. Down the hall, one of her Ladyship’s soldiers, a cavalry trooper, was talking with Tempest.
“…Anything to report?” she was asking.
“Nothing, Miss. There’s never anything to report. We’re the only people here,” the soldier said in a bored voice.
“Her Ladyship considers it very important. You would do well to remember that. Now, you go get the next watch organised.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the soldier said, seemingly relieved to be getting off his boring duty. He turned and walked back down the hall.
When he was gone Tempest looked around carefully to make sure she wasn’t being observed. John had the door open the barest fraction and was looking at what she was doing from the doorway of the library.
The black woman pulled down on a torch bracket, and a slab of stone swung inwards, offering a small doorway. John stared, but made no sign. A few moments later Tempest returned and pushed the bracket up. The door slid closed, and became indistinguishable from the surrounding wall. With a small box in her hands, Tempest left.

John was tempted just to let the matter go, to return to his books. If he was caught he was sure it would be bad news for him. But just perhaps some of the many oddities would be solved by going and looking.
Slowly, he approached the door, pulled down on the torch, and looked into the darkness. A dark stone stairway yawned before him. Turning back, he grabbed a set of candles from the library and begun his descent….