Cold winds and summers of rain – A Norway/Bergenhus AAR

[Hawkiee]

Introduction
According to my great grandfather, his grandfather before him bore the name Joakim and was a farmer. I picked the last name Hauge as it was and is still a common last name. Long ago it was used as a last name for farmers and many still carry this name today. It simply means some kind of mound, hill or knoll and is commonly used as a last name for farmers. I actually did a mistake when I picked Hauge as it should have been “Haugr” from Old Norse. The character was created with the ruler creator tool and given the county of Bergenshus where he, according to my great grandfather lived. Everything about this character is fictional and so is the story off course. The name doesn’t mean anything in particular.

This AAR was inspired by Zealuu and his AAR A Song of Mostly Ice , I will also be using some of his terms in the game as I believe it will give more flavor and make it more interesting.

« - Jarl and Lendmann (plural: Lendmenn).
Most noble titles in Norway during the early and high middle ages were inherited from the Viking age, and thus tended to have meanings relatively unlike their more continental counterparts.

Jarl has the same etymology as the English "Earl", but whereas in the game these both translate to Count-level power, the actual powers of 11th-century jarls and earls were more akin to Dukes. Jarls were expressly "second only to the King" until the rank was formally replaced with Duke ("Hertug", from German), in OTL around the 13th century. So keep that in mind when Jarls and Jarldoms are referenced.

A Lendmann manages a len, but the title represents varying degrees of power - from the equivalent of minor barons to fullblown counts.

- Hird
A professional, standing army under the command of one person. Besides the King, only Jarls had the right to retain a hird. "Kongshirden" describes the King's hird.»
(Taken from Zealuus AAR, all credit for this overview goes there)

Last I'd like to note that I do indeed suck, and I mean really suck at writing and hope that this will make me a little better. Thanks for reading all this.


Overview

- Prologue
November 1066