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stnylan

Compulsive CommentatAAR
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Aug 1, 2002
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Stories of King Sean:
Introduction


There have been a very good many books written about King Sean. Of the academic, some are dry musty tomes whose turgid prose would do better in the fireplace of some poor unfortunate hard on the their luck than wasting space on the shelves of various University libraries about the world; whereas others are incisive and informative, a credit to their authors and a boon to the human race. Of the popular, some are filled with pages that should be better sent to benighted countries who are running short of lavatory paper; but others would be worth the expensive of distributing to every household in the land. The last is the aim to which this little collection of stories aspires.

This book does not pretend to academia. Whilst I myself have spent most of my life defiling the intellectual ivory tower with my persistent presence, and to my great shame am responsible for at least one weighty entry in the annals of irrelevant scholarship, this is the book I have been wanting to write ever since I was an undergraduate. Indeed in many ways my undergraduate thesis was the seed which, after many long years dormant and near-forgotten in the dusty soil of erudite thought, has finally germinated. I present a collection of tales of Just King Sean, a selection of stories of the colossal king. Some of these entries are taken from the chronicles that described his reign, either written at that time or shortly thereafter. The rest have been selected from the entire period of time from then to now. Some of these are historical accounts, others are fictionalised renderings - though the ones selected I believe to be plausible unlike some scribblings in that particular field of authorship.

What is my aim? Very little in truth. I hope this fusion of perspectives from differing times and in different mediums will both entertain and enlighten. Rather than directly seek to impose my own view on the reader, I aim to let the reader do the leg-work and formulate their own conclusions. To be sure my selection of this story instead of that tale does not entirely remove my influence from the process, but I pride myself I am not totally corrupt. Do not therefore always expect consistency, or even agreement, in all that follows. Humanity's view of itself and its past is one wondrous, unresolved, argument.

The other reason I have chosen to collate this work is that King Sean is one of those figures about whom stories have gathered across the centuries, much like the remains of ancient tar pits gathered the bones of creatures who had become trapped. He is like a vortex in our history, continuing to affect us even now. It is largely through the stories of him and his reign, retold with varying levels of skill and ability, that most folk know of him at all.

I would like to thank the authors still living, or the estates of those now dead, whose works I have sampled that are still within copyright. To those long gone writers whose works are no longer protected by law, I praise for having put to paper the words as best they could. And I thank the fates to allowing me to live long enough to see this work be published, and for allowing some of the older examples to survive their long journey in spacetime.
 
Game Details:
CK 2 - All DLC active except Sunsent Invasion
1066 Hastings start
Count of Dublin

This AAR is based around a ruler a couple of generations down the line. It will be a collection of short stories. I hope to write once a week, though at times that may slip depending on outside life.
 
Sounds like an interesting project, if you stick with it this could be excellent!
 
I do, finally, believe I should follow an AAR from a Paradoxian who has left a great mark upon me.

"To view IS human" but you've always been right, "to comment" truly is "divine!" :cool:
 
Stories of King Sean
1 - A self-prophesied ending

Whilst I will briefly introduce each story, I begin with one of my own re-telling. Hugh of Hereford is, of course the original source of this rumour, but he claims to have read an account of it in a letter from the Bishop of Kells to his Abbot, that was kept in their monastic library. That letter, of course, is long since lost. A secondary mention is made in the writings of Diarmant of Dublin, from about twenty years after Sean's death. Given the somewhat scurrilous nature of Diarmant's work I would have thought that the tale was already widely known by that time. When the chroniclers of the thirteenth century were writing the story is frequently repeated.

When he was a young man, just before his wedding to his first wife, the young Prince Sean was summoned to see his father. King Domnall was an often capricious man, and as his life lengthened he became capable of enacting great cruelties, such that eventually made him infamous. As yet however he was mostly able to control himself, and the majority of the realm were unaware of the brooding darkness. Prince Sean however was not so ignorant - he had gotten to see his father closely over the years as King Domnall had instituted a policy of educating his own son.

The King said he wanted to go hunting, in and of itself nothing un-usual - but given the relative lack of attendants it was clear that the King desired to have a private word with his son. Of course, there was no such thing as total privacy for a man like King Domnall, so those few he trusted most accompanied them both. These private hunts with father and son were a moderately regular occurrence. We know from later episodes of his life that Sean was a capable huntsman, but was generally indifferent to the sport outside of the great events. His father was altogether a more avid proponent of the chase, and there is a suggestion that the King often requested his son's presence precisely because he knew his son would rather be ensconced studying.

That particular day they brought down a mighty hart. After the kill King and Prince watched their few attendants set about the corpse, preparing it for transport back to their lodgings, when King Domnall asked the Prince how he would like to die. Believe me that Prince Sean knew this was no idle question, for King Domnall was adept at ferreting out his foes. The tale goes that the Prince was silent for a moment, and then answered he wanted to die in bed making love to a beautiful woman. The King laughed, and they went home safely.

If his crude behaviour seems out of character for the scholarly minded ruler than we learn about at school, that is because it is. King Sean survived his father, no mean feat, in part at least by playing a role that made him seem less of a threat. This would appear just to have been another small episode in the game between the two of them that lasted until King Domnall's death. However, amongst their attendants was a young priest - one always accompanied King Domnall. This young man, in due course, became Bishop of Kells, memory of this incident locked in his brain, quite possibly forgotten by everyone else who might have brought it to mind.

Then King Sean died. The manner of his death seems remarkable, but it is attested widely enough that it is difficult to doubt. Infatuated with his young, fourth wife the elderly King often spent the night with her. One can imagine the servant's gossip and jokes about the life left in the old man as he conducted himself with such vigour and virility. Apparently though he enjoyed his new bride a little too much, because in the midst of their lovemaking one night he cried out of a pain in his heart, and by the day's dawning he had gone to the judgement of God.

When news of this remarkable occurrence reached Kells, a day or two later, the Bishop was in the process of writing a lengthy missive to the Abbot of Hereford. He included the following news, as copied by Hugh of Hereford a couple of years thereafter.


It may seem strange to interrupt the narrative of this letter, but it will be reaching you far later than originally intended, for King Sean has died, apparently in his wife's bed. It calls to mind a conversation I heard between the King and his father, many long years ago. King Domnall had asked his son about death, and the prince jested that he wanted to die in an act of fornication. He came close to fulfilling his doom, though by God's Grace it was not technically fornication that did him in, but the sanctioned act of union.​
 
Sounds like an interesting project, if you stick with it this could be excellent!

Indeed, I hope to stick at it. Time will tell :)

I do, finally, believe I should follow an AAR from a Paradoxian who has left a great mark upon me.

"To view IS human" but you've always been right, "to comment" truly is "divine!" :cool:

Now now Volk you are going to embarrass me. :) Good to have you along, and I hope not to disappoint.
 
Short stories are fun! I suppose you might end up doing an AAR like Aesop's Fables if this gets really long! :p
 
It is good to see you writing again, stnylan!

Interesting how this short tale manages to sketch out (future) King Sean's fraught childhood, his love of study and his quick wit, and then manages to come back full circle in describing the King's death in old age.

We don't yet know anything about King Sean's life between these two incidents (though your introductory post neatly sets him up as a pivotal giant in the history of whatever might be the modern-age successor to his country - Ireland, presumably?), but it promises to be an informative journey to gain that insight. :)

PS: His fourth wife? I know full well the game allows for that, but would the historical Catholic Church have been quite so lenient? I seem to dimly recall some rulers running into trouble because they wanted/needed to remarry and could not obtain permission... Come to think of it, I'm probably thinking of Henry VIII, so not quite the right era.
 
I saw this the other day and was intrigued, and now really interested after reading the first post :)

Like Stuyvesant said the journey to find out who King Sean is and what occurred before his fateful frolic in the marital bed sounds like it should be quite interesting and probably fun to read.

So count me along for the ride :)
 
Forster Good to have you along sir

Comrade_Green And you too sir

volksmarschall Well, I doubt it will be that long in truth. I hardly want to exhaust myself :)

Stuyvesant Ahh, the quality of your commentAARy does warm the heart my friend. All I will say at the moment is that Sean had a full and interesting life! :D As for the question of marriages, it will all become clear.

tnick0225 Glad to have you along. It will hopefully be an entertaining ride.
 
Stories of King Sean
2 - Sean's foundation


The historiography of King Domnall has been largely negative. Indeed there have been few indeed prepared to paint him as anything than an inveterate villain, until our next writer began his career. Dafyd O’Croinin burst onto the scene with his doctoral thesis, which was later republished as “King Domnall: The Firm Foundation”. This began what some have called an insurgency in the academic literature against the majoritarian view. With permission below is an edited excerpt of a talk he regularly gives to first-year undergraduates at the University of Dublin.

Everyone knows of the many great things that King Sean achieved in the course of his reign, yet few consider for a moment that those achievements came out of nothing. Despite the evident animosity between father and son, from the perspective of the Kings of England, Scotland, or France there was a remarkable consistency of purpose between the two reigns, especially in the earlier period. However, King Domnall’s successes have largely been obscured.

Consider this, when Domnall ascended to his lordship on the death of Earl Murchad, he held the towns of Dublin and Leinster and their vicinities, and nothing else. As it happened Earl Murchad died whilst besieging Kildare castle. Domnall oversaw the successful prosecution of that war, adding further land to his domain. His detractors claim he was just tidying up the work of this father, and in this there is some truth. The charge is interesting nevertheless, for the same charge can be levelled against King Sean.

Domnall did not have a peaceful reign, and by the time of his passing he had declared himself King of the ancient lordship of Tara, and expanded his realm to include the regions of Ossory and Breifne. This made Tara the pre-eminent Irish lordship exerting power over a great rump of eastern and central Ireland, and he had made no secret of his ambition to see the whole country united under his banner.

Just as King Domnall completed the work of his father, cannot the same be said of King Sean? If Domnall did not rule effectively, how was King Sean able to continue this programme of dominance so effectively? Indeed, were Domnall’s life not cut short, who is to say the first High King of the Re-United Kingdom would not have been Domnall?

There are those who claim that it was the young Sean leading his father’s armies that secured the military victories, or that it was his Domnall’s brother Enna who oversaw the ruling of the realm whilst Domnall hunted and whored. Recent discoveries have shown this was exaggerated, if not at times patently false.

This is not to say that King Domnall did not have his faults, for he did, as do all rulers. However, the modern historian must always bear in mind there was an active campaign to blacken Domnall’s name during King Sean’s time that has left a permanent stain on the historical record.
 
stnylan said:
Well, I doubt it will be that long in truth. I hardly want to exhaust myself :)

It could serve as motivation if you think about it! :p

King Domnall either made a lot of enemies who had control of the history books or he just made a lot of enemies for all the negativity surrounding him! :glare: One might be left wondering how much influence he had on King Sean now...
 
A kinder perspective on King Domnall, and the central idea certainly sounds very reasonable. Still, what's that old saw about history being written by the victors? Sounds like good King Sean appreciated (and utilized) the value of some good writers during his reign. ;)
 
volksmarschall I think it is fair to say that King Domnall was not universally loved by all that knew him. While not quite as dysfunctional as, say, the Plantaganets, this dynasty has had its moments ;)

aldriq Thank you! I must say I don't recall ever knowing you were from Somerset before. Where, if I may ask?

Well, Sean did have quite a full life, with lots of incident :D

Director Thank you my friend. Only, one question - Joel Harris?

Stuyvesant A man in love with books appreciating the importance of the written word when it comes to shaping how events of yesteryear are remembered - never! :D


I am hoping to get an update up tomorrow, but given I haven't managed to do anything on it the last couple of days due to my daughter's birthday party means it may slip into early next week.
 
Stories of King Sean
3 - The first great drama

Our next entry is taken from that play of that English playwright, Will Shaxbeard, who wrote a good many history plays at the end of the sixteenth century. The below excerpt is from a somewhat modernised version of the text of The History of King Sean, Part I. This section is from the First Act, the Third Scene, and the scene begins with the soliloquoy of King Sean's first wife, Lady Lucija Trpimirovic. It is a matter of some debate why King Kresimir the Great sent his youngest daughter to be married to a still relatively unknown lord in the extremity of Europe. Many academics dispute Shaxbeard's interpretation, but myself I wonder if the wordsmith has had it right all along.

[In a chamber of the castle, Princess Lucija sits with her sewing]

Lucija:

When first I came to this wind-blasted isle
I praised the lord for granting me escape
From the presence of my hate-filled father
Who took care to insult and degrade me,
To lampoon and revile me with ice-tones
In his voice and dark schemes in his black heart.
For though he sent me here for his designs
Apart I thought I would become myself
That I could be transformed by this marriage
Into a new joyous thing, untrammelled
Like a butterfly spreading fresh-made wings
When it emerges from its dull cocoon.

I persisted in my dream for long years,
Clinging to hope like a shipwrecked sailor
Grasps a bit of flotsam in the wild sea,
But there reaches a time in the long night
When the fingers tire and have to let go,
And so I too have come to this despair
And must open my eyes to a fell truth
I am not free, yet imprisoned anew
By my husband and his cruel father both
Who agree on nought but keeping me out
Of any semblance of a worthy life
Even the happy chance of motherhood
Has been denied each and every night
Of this mockery of matrimony.

[There is a great blowing of horns]

Do you hear the foul screeching of the horns
Sounding untimely on this doleful day?
The sun’s rays are weak, and fail to warm me
And the night’s cold will chill me like a corpse
I see nothing

[More horns]

See, even in my grief this place hates me
And inflicts on me yet more misery.

Captain:

My lady, a messenger approaches
He is riding hard, not sparing his mount
And following on, very close behind
There is another group of grim-faced men
And your husband, the Prince, is amongst them

Lucija:

Can you see the King?

Captain:

I cannot my lady. I fear some row
Has occurred - A terrible argument
Between Sire and Son, the Prince and the King
For our land is in thrall to their disputes.

Lucija:

My husband was in a foul distemper
When he left my side this very morning
I remarked not on it at that moment
So often is his face clouded by storms
But now I greatly fear that he has let out
A mighty tempest from within his breast
A torrent of words with only one end:
His father.

I do not doubt that we will be banished
We may need to flee in very great haste
Possible ere the setting of the sun.
Truly I am cursed beyond redemption.

Captain:

The messenger comes!

Messenger:

My lady, your husband nears with great speed
For a fell tragedy has happened
A mighty stag there was, a forest-king
But the King of Tara was the one slain.

Captain:

By whose hand?

Messenger:

We know not, sir. The prince – the new King – comes!

Sean:

My lady, I am relieved to see you
Captain, take charge your men and secure here
The bishop will be bringing the body
We must be seen to be strong, for Tara
Must survive this foul deed and rise anew.
Take this man now, I must speak with my wife

[Captain and Messenger leave]


My lady, there are many words to say
And not much time, for matters move at pace.
So while we have this moment to ourselves
Know for all the trials you have suffered
And all the troubles that have beset you
I repent, each fibre of my being
Desires to make right all that was wrong.

[More noise]

I must go, but I beg of you this boon:
Give me this one chance to prove to you now
That I hold you in honour and esteem
And I hope that you will one day see fit
To forgive me all my sins against me.

I must go. Farewell.