DOWNLOAD ÆTHELSWEORD VERSION 1.2 HERE
Æthelsweord is an Anglo-Saxon and Celtic Improvement Pack for Crusader Kings II, containing various historical fixes and cultural improvements for increased accuracy, immersion and flavor.
Watch for Version 2.0, containing additional fixes and a completely revamped 867 scenario, coming soon!
INTRODUCTION
The year is 1066. The old king is dead, and the great men of the realm have chosen Harold Godwinson to be his successor, bypassing the old king’s inexperienced young grand-nephew, Eadgar. Yet even as the jubilant vivats echo through the great abbey of Westmynster, the new king finds himself beset by foes on every side. From the distant fjords of Norway comes the bloodthirsty viking Hardrada, who plots to claim the throne of England by force. He is aided by Tostig, Harold’s vicious younger brother, who is seeking vengeance for his brother’s betrayal. Across the channel, William of Normandy seethes at the frustration of his ambitions. Vowing to make England his own, he has ordered the construction of a fleet of ships and waits only for the winds to turn in his favor. To the west and north, the myriad petty kings of Scotland, Ireland and Wales are ever seeking opportunities for greater power. Will they be a help or a hindrance? King Harold will not face these threats alone, however. His faithful brothers Gyrth and Leofwine continue to stand by him, as do his new allies, the northern Earls. He also has the support of England’s mighty thegns, noble warriors who will defend their homeland to the death. But even if all these should fail him, there is still his beloved Ealdgyth Swanneck, who will remain by his side to whatever end.
Will you take on the mantle of King Harold and defend Anglo-Saxon England from its many enemies? Or will history repeat itself? The choice is yours.
INSTALLATION
After downloading the mod, unzip its contents to your CKII mod folder in your computer’s Documents library. Then start up the game as usual, making sure to select the mod from the game’s initial start-up menu.
CHANGELOG v. 1.2: New Scenario
GENERAL FEATURES
- Increased the Same Dynasty modifier from +5 to +15 to better represent family ties [experimental and subject to change]
NEW SCENARIO
- 15 October 1066: Last Stand of the Saxons
HISTORY
Changes as of 1066.1.1.:
- Odo, brother of William, is now Bishop of Bayeux and his brother’s vassal
- Eadulf ‘Rus’ is now a vassal of Gospatric of Lothian
- Rhiwallon is now Prince of Powys and a vassal of his brother Bleddyn of Gwynedd
- Wulfnoth Godwinson is now William’s hostage in Normandy
Changes as of 1066.10.15.:
- Eadgar Ætheling is now King of England
- Ealdgyth of Mercia (Harold's #2 wife) is now at the court of Eadwine of Mercia
- Olaf ‘Kyrre’ is now Jarl of Ostlandet and Vestlandet, simulating his role as co-king of Norway
- Some minor tinkering with the Norman invasion to make it work properly for the new scenario
GRAPHICS
- Anglo-Saxons now use some Norse Christian facepack elements, as opposed to Pagan ones
- Increased the Same Dynasty modifier from +5 to +15 to better represent family ties [experimental and subject to change]
NEW SCENARIO
- 15 October 1066: Last Stand of the Saxons
HISTORY
Changes as of 1066.1.1.:
- Odo, brother of William, is now Bishop of Bayeux and his brother’s vassal
- Eadulf ‘Rus’ is now a vassal of Gospatric of Lothian
- Rhiwallon is now Prince of Powys and a vassal of his brother Bleddyn of Gwynedd
- Wulfnoth Godwinson is now William’s hostage in Normandy
Changes as of 1066.10.15.:
- Eadgar Ætheling is now King of England
- Ealdgyth of Mercia (Harold's #2 wife) is now at the court of Eadwine of Mercia
- Olaf ‘Kyrre’ is now Jarl of Ostlandet and Vestlandet, simulating his role as co-king of Norway
- Some minor tinkering with the Norman invasion to make it work properly for the new scenario
GRAPHICS
- Anglo-Saxons now use some Norse Christian facepack elements, as opposed to Pagan ones
CHANGELOG v. 1.1: Irish Fixes
VERSION 1.1 (Archived)
LOCALIZATION
- Irish Counts are now Ruires
- Irish Tribes are now Counties again
- Irish Dukes are now Kings
LOCALIZATION
- Irish Counts are now Ruires
- Irish Tribes are now Counties again
- Irish Dukes are now Kings
CHANGELOG v. 1.0: Initial Release
VERSION 1.0 (Archived)
NEW SCENARIO
- 6 January 1066: The Coronation of Harold Godwinson
LOCALIZATION
- Anglo-Saxon Barons are now Thegns
- Anglo-Saxon Mayors are now Reeves
- Anglo-Saxon Counts are now Ealdormen
- Anglo-Saxon Dukes are now Earls
- Anglo-Saxon Princes are now Æthelings
- Anglo-Saxon Counties are now Shires
- Anglo-Saxon Duchies are now Earldoms
- Scottish Counts are now Mormaers
- Scottish Dukes are now High Stewards
- Scottish Regents are now Guardians
- Welsh Dukes are now Teyrns
- Welsh Counts are now Princes
- Irish Counts are now Tribal Kings
- Irish Counties are now Tribes
- Irish Dukes are now Ruires
- Irish Duchies are now Provinces
- Irish and Scottish Barons are now Chiefs
- Norman characters now use the “Fitz” patronymic
- New "High King" special title defined
- e_britannia now uses High King title
- k_ireland now uses High King title
- Added new de jure Duchy setup for Anglo-Saxon and Norman England
HISTORY
Changes as of 1066.1.1.:
- Modified King Harold’s stats and traits to more accurately reflect his historical attributes
- De facto setup of Anglo-Saxon earldoms corrected to be historically accurate
- Added new holding histories for Anglo-Saxon earldoms
- Harold’s more danico wife renamed to Ealdgyth ‘Swanneck,’ relocated to his court and made his lover
- Harold’s ahistorical brother Ælfgar removed
- Temple holding in York now held by Ealdred of York
- Wulfstan is no longer Prince-Bishop of Worcester, he now simply holds the temple holding there instead
- Harold Ralfsson now holds the castle of Ewyas Harold in Hereford
- Eadric ‘the Wild’ is no longer Earl of Shrewsbury, he now simply holds a castle there
- Ralf ‘the Staller’ is no longer Earl of Norfolk, he now simply holds a castle there
- Eadulf ‘Rus’ is no longer Earl of Teviotdale, he now simply holds a castle there
- Cadoc is no longer Earl of Cornwall, he now simply holds a castle there
- Stigand and Ealdred now hold the special title “Archbishop”
- Gospatric of Lothian now possesses Anglo-Saxon culture
- Added various new historical characters, including Saxon thegns and pre-Conquest Normans:
- Diarmait son of Donnchad is now Petty King of Leinster
- Diarmait's son Murchad, the Tribal King of Dublin, is now his vassal
- Moved Toirdelbach ui Brian to Diarmait's court
- Malcolm of Strathclyde is Welsh culture and Petty King of Strathclyde, controlling the provinces of Clydesdale, Teviotdale, and Cumbria
- Dolfin is no longer Earl of Cumbria and is a courtier of Gospatric of Lothian
- Mael-Snechtai is now Petty King of Moray
- The Mormaers of Galloway, Carrick and the Isle of Man are no longer vassals of the Petty King of Soreyar
- Changed the Duchy of Leinster's succession law to Tanistry
- Changed the Kingdom of England’s succession law to Elective
GRAPHICS
- Added some new Anglo-Saxon coats-of-arms, including the Wessex Wyvern
- Anglo-Saxon, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish cultures now use Norse settlement images for castles and cities, but not temples (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
- Anglo-Saxon, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish cultures now use Norse models for the Chancellor, Steward, Spymaster, and Marshal, but not Court Chaplain (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
- Anglo-Saxons now use some Norse facepack gfx elements (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
- Anglo-Saxons now use modified Norse unit sprites (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
NEW SCENARIO
- 6 January 1066: The Coronation of Harold Godwinson
LOCALIZATION
- Anglo-Saxon Barons are now Thegns
- Anglo-Saxon Mayors are now Reeves
- Anglo-Saxon Counts are now Ealdormen
- Anglo-Saxon Dukes are now Earls
- Anglo-Saxon Princes are now Æthelings
- Anglo-Saxon Counties are now Shires
- Anglo-Saxon Duchies are now Earldoms
- Scottish Counts are now Mormaers
- Scottish Dukes are now High Stewards
- Scottish Regents are now Guardians
- Welsh Dukes are now Teyrns
- Welsh Counts are now Princes
- Irish Counts are now Tribal Kings
- Irish Counties are now Tribes
- Irish Dukes are now Ruires
- Irish Duchies are now Provinces
- Irish and Scottish Barons are now Chiefs
- Norman characters now use the “Fitz” patronymic
- New "High King" special title defined
- e_britannia now uses High King title
- k_ireland now uses High King title
- Added new de jure Duchy setup for Anglo-Saxon and Norman England
HISTORY
Changes as of 1066.1.1.:
- Modified King Harold’s stats and traits to more accurately reflect his historical attributes
- De facto setup of Anglo-Saxon earldoms corrected to be historically accurate
- Added new holding histories for Anglo-Saxon earldoms
- Harold’s more danico wife renamed to Ealdgyth ‘Swanneck,’ relocated to his court and made his lover
- Harold’s ahistorical brother Ælfgar removed
- Temple holding in York now held by Ealdred of York
- Wulfstan is no longer Prince-Bishop of Worcester, he now simply holds the temple holding there instead
- Harold Ralfsson now holds the castle of Ewyas Harold in Hereford
- Eadric ‘the Wild’ is no longer Earl of Shrewsbury, he now simply holds a castle there
- Ralf ‘the Staller’ is no longer Earl of Norfolk, he now simply holds a castle there
- Eadulf ‘Rus’ is no longer Earl of Teviotdale, he now simply holds a castle there
- Cadoc is no longer Earl of Cornwall, he now simply holds a castle there
- Stigand and Ealdred now hold the special title “Archbishop”
- Gospatric of Lothian now possesses Anglo-Saxon culture
- Added various new historical characters, including Saxon thegns and pre-Conquest Normans:
- Marleswein - Thegn of a castle in Lincoln
- Ansgar - Thegn of a castle in Middlesex
- Bondi - Thegn of a castle in Northampton
- Ælfstan - Thegn of a castle in Wiltshire
- Eadnoth - Steward of England and Thegn of a castle in Somerset
- Siward Barn - Thegn of a castle in Gloucester
- Lyfing - Thegn of a castle in Derby
- Regenbald of Cirencester - Chancellor of England, at Harold’s court
- Richard Fitz Scrob - Thegn of “Richard’s Castle” holding in Hereford
- Osbern Fitz Richard - Son of Richard Fitz Scrob, at his court
- Robert Fitz Wymarc – Thegn of “Clavering” holding in Essex
- Diarmait son of Donnchad is now Petty King of Leinster
- Diarmait's son Murchad, the Tribal King of Dublin, is now his vassal
- Moved Toirdelbach ui Brian to Diarmait's court
- Malcolm of Strathclyde is Welsh culture and Petty King of Strathclyde, controlling the provinces of Clydesdale, Teviotdale, and Cumbria
- Dolfin is no longer Earl of Cumbria and is a courtier of Gospatric of Lothian
- Mael-Snechtai is now Petty King of Moray
- The Mormaers of Galloway, Carrick and the Isle of Man are no longer vassals of the Petty King of Soreyar
- Changed the Duchy of Leinster's succession law to Tanistry
- Changed the Kingdom of England’s succession law to Elective
GRAPHICS
- Added some new Anglo-Saxon coats-of-arms, including the Wessex Wyvern
- Anglo-Saxon, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish cultures now use Norse settlement images for castles and cities, but not temples (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
- Anglo-Saxon, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish cultures now use Norse models for the Chancellor, Steward, Spymaster, and Marshal, but not Court Chaplain (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
- Anglo-Saxons now use some Norse facepack gfx elements (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
- Anglo-Saxons now use modified Norse unit sprites (REQUIRES THE OLD GODS)
CREDITS
SirDraco - Lead Modder, Anglo-Saxon Improvements
Galle - Modder, Celtic Improvements
AlexanderPrimus - Project Coordinator, Historical Consultant
Note: This mod utilizes Characters: 1.000.209.000 - 1.000.211.999
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