Rags to riches: The Adventures of the Counts of AuxAAR

It was the evening of December 26 of Anno Domini 1066 and the snow was falling down on Auxerre. Darkness came swiftly in winter and people went to bed early, but in the castle keep the torches were still lit as the council was assembling in the great hall for a meeting called by Guillaume de Bachaumont, Count of Auxerre and Nevers. The council members at the table were talking but fell silent as Count Guillaume gestured for silence.

"I welcome you once again and open this meeting in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen", Guillaume said with a deep voice as he made the sign of the cross. The other members also made the sign of the cross, before Guillaume continued: "Chancellor Oddon has important news from the king that warrants dicussion".

The council members looked at Oddon de Châtillon, who was a man in his early thirties. His garb was covered with snow and dirt from the road and it revealed that the man was a cleric, but the pallium associated with a bishop wasn't there.

"My lord, fellow members of the council, I bring word from the court in Paris that King Harold Godwinson of England has been slain and William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, has taken possession of the English throne", Oddon said with a stern and solemn voice.

The other council members started to mutter excitedly. Traders had spread the news to Auxerre a couple of weeks ago, but the news from the court confirmed that the impossible had in fact happened. William was valiant and ambitious, but he was also stubborn to the point of being foolhardy and everybody expected the invasion to fail. Now the bastard had become more powerful than the king of France in a single bold stroke of luck. It was a signal for many French nobles that lands and titles were for the taking. King Philippe was still a minor and Enguerrand de Crecy, the king's regent, was so overwhelmed that he hadn't been able to muster a response to William or other nobles.

"Silence, please. I want your opinion on how to take advantage of the situation. Our liege, Duke Robert the Old, is well..old and he has put his eggs in the wrong basket. Do you have any ideas on how we can improve our position in Burgundy?", Guillaume asked.

"My lord, you ought to marry off your children to other lords in the region, preferably to neighbouring dukes, so that they can strengthen your position. Your daughter Havise has already been married to the son of the count of Évreux, but your other daughters are still available as well as both your sons. I almost forgot to mention that your brother Robert is also available", Oddon said.

"May I remind you that my sister Alix is also without a husband", Count Guillaume interjected.

"My lord, I think you'd better send her to a nunnery. I fear she is too old to conceive and is therefore not in high demand", Oddon stated with the blunt honesty that characterised him.

"Very well, I will consider it. What about my son Guillaume? He will come of age in a few years. Do you think I ought to give him the county of Nevers?", Count Guillaume asked.

"My lord, you must do as you please. There are advantages and disadvantages. If you grant him the county he can learn more about ruling and he may be a more attractive husband, but it will weaken your position in the duchy. At the moment only Hugues de Sémur can rival your power, being count of both Chalons and Charolais. Of course your son will be able to assist you, but the levies of Nevers will no longer be under your direct control. Duke Robert only controls Dijon and Count Guy of Macon is still underage. By the way, may I remind you that he is an excellent candidate for a betrothal to one of your daughters as an alliance with him could strengthen your position in the duchy", Oddon advised.

"My son Renaud will turn eight shortly. I think it best that he starts an ecclesiastical education. Since you are a priest, I will place him in your care, Oddon. Furthermore you are to fabricate claims against Duke Robert in Dijon. Do not disappoint me", Guillaume answered.

Oddon smiled and bowed slightly. "Thank you for your faith in me, my lord. I am honoured to raise your son", Oddon said.

"I wish to thank Oddon for his advice. Relationships can bring us very far, but it may take too long to come to fruition. We may need to intervene with military force", Guillaume remarked.

"I can help you with that, my lord", Adalbert de Druyes said. Adalbert was even younger than Oddon and served Count Guillaume as marshal. He was a patrician from Druyes and was mayor of that town. Even though he was a brilliant strategist, Guillaume wasn't really fond of him. It hadn't escaped his notice that Adalbert always sulked whenever Guillaume reserved praise for someone else and he hated the way he went about with women. For Guillaume and his spouse Ermengarde making love was a sacred act for God to bless with offspring, but this was not so for Adalbert who regularly made love with other women even though he wasn't married.

Adalbert proceeded: "We can only fight people againssst whom you have claimsss. I am confident your leviesss can defeat your foesss, but you need to complement our forcesss with your alliesss if we are to make any sssignificant headway. And we probably need to hire mercenariesss", Adalbert said with an audible lisp.

"Begin training the levies in Auxerre straightaway", Guillaume ordered.

"Aye, ssstraightaway my lord", Adalbert acknowledged.

"Alright, we will need coin to raise mercenaries. Inform me about rents and tithes, Aldebert", Guillaume asked his steward.

The man in question, bishop Aldebert of Pontigny, was about the same age as Adalbert and he wasn't paying attention. Instead he was deeply immersed in studying a book with sophisticated drawings. Count Guillaume knew that Aldebert possessed all kinds of strange equipment at his abbey of Pontigny with which he tried to reveal the secrets of the stars. Aldebert was also known to talk endlessly on the many treatises he wrote even when nobody was interested, and yet Count Guillaume usually listened patiently. Guillaume vaguely recalled Aldebert explaining to him that he thought stars were balls of fire and that they were similar to the sun. Once Aldebert had dazzled everyone by stating that according to him the Earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa. Marshal Adalbert had considered it to be a heretical insult to God and almost put Aldebert to the sword there and then.

"Aldebert, could you please tell me about the rents and tithes?", Guillaume repeated.

Aldebert was startled. "Excuse me, my lord. Of course. You can earn rents and tithes from your castles, cities and churches. In the long run you can increase your income through research", Aldebert said with an increasingly excited tone.

"Are you also willing to put your life on the line by going round the villages to tax the peasantry?", Guillaume asked.

Aldebert's face dropped and he nodded. "Then that's settled", Guillaume said.

"My lord, may I ask if there are people that you need to dispose off", his spymaster asked. His name was Manassès de Châtillon and he was a cousin of Oddon. Over fifty years old, he was stuffing his mouth with roasted chicken and his enormous waist proved that this was a distasteful habit of his. Manassès was distasteful in general. He preferred eating to work and was known to scheme not only to serve Guillaume's interests, but also his own. His son, also named Manassès, was Guillaume's court chaplain and was of the same age as Guillaume himself. Compared to his father he was only slightly more virtuous, but whereas his father's obsession was food, his was coin.

"No, I do not need to rid God's earth of people yet. I will let you know if I do. You are to protect me from plots. Your son may serve me by going through the Ancients to see how we can improve our laws and customs", Guillaume said.

"Alright, you all know what to do. Go now and do your duty. Dominus nobiscum", Guillaume concluded as he once again made the sign of the cross. The council members made the sign of the cross and left the room to go to bed, before they would leave to do their jobs.

Thank you for the comments, they are more than welcome. I am still planning to ordain Renaud if it is at all possible, because as things stand now the family holdings will be split between him and Guillaume Jr. Guillaume Jr's wife is entering her prime, so I haven't given up hope completely. If only Guillaume Jr would leave his Merry Men alone a bit more!

EDIT: Unfortunately my save game got corrupted . This means that I need to restart my AAR. I have deleted the post titled 1066-1075 The First Years and I will begin anew in 1066.

As the night fell on the abbey of Pontigny in early 1067, a monk sat behind his desk in the abbey scriptorium. In front of him lay a parchment of vellum and next to the parchment was a lit candle. The monk was sharpening his quill before he started writing something in the Latin language, the language of learning and power in Europe.

Res gestae comitum Antisiodorensis – The deeds of the Counts of Auxerre.​

The monk looked at the parchment and smiled, satisfied with his command of the language, but he also enjoyed writing in his own language. Therefore he decided to add one line in his native French.

As the monk started to write the actual work he switched to Latin again.

The year of Our Lord Jesus Christ 1066 brought much turmoil to France. William, Duke of Normandy, crossed over to England and being blessed by Our Lord he defeated the English, killed their leader Harold and took the country for himself. Whilst the red eye was still in the night sky as the new year dawned; Philippe, the king, was forced to defend himself from all sides.

Christmastide had barely passed before he had to face opposition from Thibault, Duke of Champagne, who wanted to depose the king for tyranny. Amidst this turmoil Guillaume, Count of Auxerre and Nevers, was a beacon of peace and stability. Uncertain times called for powerful allies and thus he betrothed his daughter Ermengarde to Count Guy of Macon. Shortly thereafter at the end of January, the Lenten season had not yet started, Mayor Arnoul of Beaugency appeared before the walls of Auxerre to besiege and despoil the city. Lenten came and went with Arnoul making very little progress against the town and he and his army left for the Orléanais before Holy Week in early March. In the month of September Count Guillaume gained an important ally as his brother Robert married Béatrix de Poitou, the sister to Duke Guilhèm of Aquitaine.

On 2 March 1068 the old duke Robert of Burgundy declared war on king Philippe, believing his claim to the throne to be superior. The duke tried to rally all of France to his cause, but it was of no avail for nobody but Count Herbert of Vermandois answered his call. Even though unwilling to turn against an anointed king, Count Guillaume served valiantly in the army of the duke for over a year, but God did not favour Robert the Old’s cause for he was killed by the king’s men two weeks before Christmas of the year 1069. When the new year 1070 arrived Count Guillaume’s son, also named Guillaume, came of age and married a holy maiden so beautiful that a wandering troubadour composed a poem.

As the year was still new,
Lining the morning grass with dew.
From heaven a young virgin came,
Out of Galicia to set a heart aflame.
Though no daughter of a lord,
she brought nothing but concord.
Seeking only thoughtful consent,
Men did her bidding wherever she went
Then who set Guillaume’s heart aflame?
Aye, Mary was the virgin’s name.

The young Guillaume himself also knew how to seek consent and the Count appointed him to be chancellor and sent him to Dijon for important business. The king had invoked the wrath of God by becoming known as a drunkard and serving as a bad example to his people, causing him to suffer setbacks against Thibault of Champagne. Count Guillaume showed his bravery and he raised his levies for the king, defeating Thibault’s army near Bourges before marching on Troyes. There he was joined by the king’s forces and at the end of November the city fell and Thibault surrendered to the king. The king showed his kindness by letting him go after Epiphany. In the summer of 1071 His Holiness Pope Alexander II died and he was replaced by a Roman named Agapetus III. In November the king declared a holy war against the infidels from the Hammadid Sultanate as he justly sought to liberate the Christians of Sardinia. In the year 1072 our lord Guillaume was blessed with a grandson, also named Guillaume. He also joined his ally Guilhèm of Aquitaine to quell a revolt against him led by Count Guy of Limousin and Count Foulques of Angoulême and Count Guillaume’s forces won a great victory at Royan in the province of Saintonge. Even though Count Guillaume lifted several sieges and retook several town on behalf of his ally, his men were outnumbered and Duke Guilhèm’s forces were too scattered or were accompanying the king to Sardinia. Upon hearing the news that his son had found a parchment in Dijon proving that Guillaume was in fact the rightful count of Dijon, Guillaume disbanded his forces so that they could be replenished and be used to bolster his claim on that county.

The year 1073 was a dreadful year for France and all of Christendom, for the Moorish infidels crossed the Pyrenees into Gascony. Not since the days of Charles Martel and Eudes of Aquitaine had we seen such horrors! The news was so grave that our good lord Guillaume sank into depression. In January 1074 Guillaume’s daughter Sybille was betrothed to Philippe of Blois, the son of Duke Thibault of Champagne and heir to the county of Blois. On 4 May the most powerful vassal of France, duke Guilhèm VIII of Aquitaine, was killed in service of the king in a battle against the Riyahdids. All his titles and estates were passed to his 5-year old son, now Guilhèm IX of Aquitaine. The week before Christmas duke Henri II of Burgundy suffered the same fate as his father five years before, dying in battle against the Hammadids. When the new year came his son Hugues II saw to consolidate his position by marriying Aínes of Aquitaine, allying with the young Guilhèm. This was certainly a suprising switching of sides and most likely produced by evil counsel as it was known that Hugues did many lewd things with other men that Saint Paul had forbidden. When Guillaume’s marshal reported in March 1076 that the levies were ready for deployment, he hired mercenaries and raised his levies to bring to total number of men up to about 2500. In command he placed Captain Rorgon de Genève of the Swiss Band, Manassès de Gourney and his cousin Guy de Bachaumont. He declared war on Hugues II, claiming Dijon as his patrimony. Guillaume tried to call his allies in the war, but both Count Bouchard of Vendome and Count Guy of Macon proved themselves to be cowards and traitors. Fortunately duke Guilhèm IX had problems with the Moors and was unwilling to aid Hugues as well. A great victory was won in the Battle of Autun on 2 April. When the Burgundians counterattacked in early May at Auxerre they were repulsed. The ducal army was all but destroyed when the forces of Auxerre won a final victory at Suerre near Chalon.

In January 1077 Count Guillaume allied himself with the powerful duke Etienne of Champagne and his kin, by marrying off Sybille to Philippe of Blois. Later that month the joyous news of the fall of Dijon was received. The three commander reacted quickly by taking Sémur as well in April. On May 7 the weak Hugues accepted his defeat and Guillaume duly made a triumphant entry into Dijon.
In the fall of that year all of France was surprised when the young Guilhèm of Aquitaine decided to enfeoff his vassal Count Hugues of Lusignan with the duchy of Poitou. Malignant whispering saw in it the hand of Guillaume of Auxerre and ambitious nobles in the Guyenne and Gascony.
After exchanging many letters and promises Guillaume was recognised as rightful duke of Burgundy by a group of discontented nobles led by Hugues de Sémur, count of Charolais. Duke Hugues had angered him by taking his county of Chalon after being defeated by Guillaume. In 1079 king Philippe exacted revenge on William the Conqueror for taking Normandy out of the French orbit, by having him excommunicated by Pope Agapetus. On 28 September tragedy struck as Guillaume’s daughter Ermengarde fell ill and died. Her husband Guy of Macon had been an ally of Guillaume, but had proved to be worthless in the last war. In late April Guillaume sent a messenger to king Philippe with cash and on 9 May he was installed as the new duke of Burgundy, not only in name now but also in truth.