Kentoc'h mervel eget bezañ saotret - Breton Megacampaign

[Masked Pickle]

Kentoc'h mervel eget bezañ saotret

(Breton Megacampaign: part I, 1066-1453)

"Rather death than stain"

History before 1066:

The Armorican peninsula was first mentionned in Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars and, as the rest of the Gauls, was conquered by the legions of Julius Caesar. During the anarchy that resulted from the invasion of the Roman Empire by Barbarian peoples, Armorica was allowed to take its independance, but had to deal with the migrations of Breton peoples from Britain, chased away by Scot and Anglo-Saxon invasions. A Celtic culture, with a language linked to Welsh and Cornish, developed there in Britanny (that the Romans had called "Little Britain" in order to distinguish it from Great Britain), christianized by the Seven Founder Saints of Britanny, St Pol, St Tudual, St Brieuc, St Malo, St Samson de Dol, St Patern and St Corentin. Managing to preserve its independance against the Merovingian Franks, Britanny repeatedly revolted against the invasions from the following Carolingian dynasty: at the battle of Ballon, in 845, where he defeated King Charles the Bald of Western Francia, Nominoë became the first King of unified Brittany. His son, Erispoë, had the independance of his kingdom recognized by Charles in 851. Alas, the little kingdom quickly fell into succession wars and weakened it, making Britanny an easy target for the Viking raiders. Alain Barbetorte successfully beat the Normans (Viking inhabitants of Normandy) and became Duke of Britanny in 936. The Duchy of Britanny felt to the Counts of Rennes by 987. They participated to the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066

Britanny for Dummies, pocket edition, by Arthur Le Lay, Paris, 2009

(Megacampaign as Britanny with Crusader Kings, difficulty and AI: Medium)

[Masked Pickle]

House of Naoned (Nantes):

Alan II al Louarn (the Fox) 936-952
Drogon 952-958
Hoel I 958-981
Gwereg 981-988

House of Roazhon (Rennes):

Konan I 990-992
Jafrez I 992-1008
Alan III 1008-1040
Konan II 1040-1066

House of Kernev (Cornouaille):

Hoel II 1066-1096
Alan IV 1096-

[czam2007]

*subscribed*

[uphillarnie]

so am I

[kadvael56]

It is good to see another Brittany AAR, Chañs vat deoc'h.

[Masked Pickle]

Hoel II Kerne (Hoel II of Kernev)

c. 1031 - 1096 (age : 65)
Ruled 1066 - 1096

Count of Kernev 1058-1096, count of Naoned 1063-1096, duke-consort of Brittany (1066-1095), count of Desmumu (1080-1087) and Tuadmumu (1087-1096), King of Munster (1087-1096), reigning duke of Britanny (1095-1096)
-Son of Alan Kanhiart, Count of Kernev, and Judit Naoned
-Married to Hawiz of Brittany, sister of Duke Konan II
-Brother of Guerech, Benedic, Agnès, Hodierne, Adelendis
-Children:
- Alan IV (1066-), who follows as Duke
- Gwenn (Blanche, 1076-), who married Alan the Bastard, illegitimate son of Konan II

Hoel became count of Kernevat the death of his father in 1058 and of Naoned in 1063, when his mother, heir of the county, died later. Marrying Hawiz, the sister of Duke Konan II of Britanny, who had for years tried to conquer Hoel's father holdings, Hoel II came to a crucial importance in the peninsula on December, 11 1066. As Konan had died while he was rising against William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy (later King of England, some said he has commandited the poisoining of the Duke of Britanny) without any direct inheritants, Hawiz became Duchess of Britanny; as Duke-Consort, it was Hoel who was really holding power.



Obssessed by the old Celtic legends and, after his predecessor's death in the hands of the Normans, Hoel was willing to give Britanny its true independance and power in the troubled world of the XIth century. Devoting the few resources of his duchy to improve its facilities, tempering his vassals by adopting a purely feudal policy, Hoel made the most ambiguous and crucial decision of his whole reign, and maybe of history of Britanny: using claims coming from the late Roman Empire (which, according to the work of modern historians, had been totally invented), he decided in 1079 to claim for himself the little kingdom of Munster, one of the few realms that Ireland had in these times. King Toirrdealbeach was seriously injured during the battle of Desmumu that followed the Breton landing, and agreed to cede the county to the invaders from the continent. A second campaign, in 1087, that led to the death at the field of honour of King Muirdetach and the exile of his young son GillaPetrac, gave to the Bretons the control of the Kingdom of Munster, beginning the Breton colonization of Ireland.




His deeds deeply tarnished the reputation of duke Hoel as his country's, who quickly became known as a treacherous liar coupled with a petty king. It's the reason Guilhem VIII, duke of Aquitaine, who was then rebelling against his former liege King Philippe of France, gave to attack the little duchy of Britanny in 1090. A first attack on Poitiers, the capital of the powerful duke, led to a total Breton defeat; by luck, a little group of knights and armed peasents had managed to hide and repeatedly attack the little vanguards that the duke was sending throughout the little peninsula, after the fall of Nantes. Thanks to them, and later to reinforcements from Ireland, the Aquitains failed to take control of Cornouaille, the climax in this struggle being the defeat of the city besiegers by less than 300 Breton soldiers. In return for the whole Breton treasury, Guilhem, who was about to be vainquished by the Royal French troops, agreed to sign peace two years later.



After his wife died in 1095, Hoel II became the sole and official duke of Britanny, and tried to refill his damaged prestige by accepting pope Pius II's insistances about the superiority of Roman decisions on spiritual life in Britanny. But he didn't made the most of his full control, nor suffered of his widowood: he died the following year, in his 65th cause, of natural causes. He was succeeded by his only son, Alan, who had been governing Ireland for years on his behalf.



The question of Hoel's morality is still an object for debates and has inspired hundreds, or better say thousands of writers, playwrighters, essayists, historians, politicians, philosophers or ordinary people who were interested by what was called the "Breton miracle". Even if he has began the conquest of Ireland for treacherous reasons, it's a duty to recall that Hoel lived in troubled times. The timeframe from 1066 to 1096 was one of the most perturbed of the Middle Ages: from the early death of William the Conqueror in 1070, to the rebellions of the dukes of Aquitaine and Champagne in France...



...To the First Crusade, proclaimed by Pope Callixtus II after Rome was sacked and occupied in 1086 by the Muslim inhabitants of Sicily, who murdered Pope Alexander II; its reconquest in 1089 by King Maslaw the Pious of Poland, and the return of pope Celestine II in the Holy City by 1096...



...The fall of Byzance to the Seljuk Turks in 1092, despite the efforts of Michael VII Dukas...



...In all these events, the strengthening of Britanny was quite unnoticied.


(Gray: Britanny; Red: England; Light Blue: Scotland; Deep Blue: France; others: Welsh and Irish kingdoms)

Taken from Dictionnary of the Dukes of Britanny, Charles Spencer, London, 1983

[Tommy4ever]

I saw the link in your sig from the HoI forum. Never read any Crusader Kings AARs before but I've enjoyed the start of this one.

One question though by 'megacampaign' do you mean to say you will continue to play this game through EU, Vicky and HoI?

[czam2007]

Why must everyone pick on the irish

[uphillarnie]

that's some interesting rewritten history!
William dies 10 years early, the pope has left Rome
This could be an interesting story!
Good luck in your campaign

[kadvael56]

It is a good story, I am looking forward to seeing Alan Fergant as "Roué Breizh hag Iwerzhon" (King of Brittany and Ireland).

[C'est Moi]

I'm very interested by this, I always wanted to a megacampaign myself but was afraid it would be rubbish or people would get bored or I'd just give up half way through.
This looks good, SO DON'T GIVE UP!

[longlee]

best megacampain start ever. Good luck and great writing

[Kasakka]

Quite interresting start! I'll subscribe also. However, I'd like to ask how if at all will it be possible to play as Brittany in HoI2 when there is no such revolter? Or do you mean to mod it into the game when you get there?

[Nethros]

Originally Posted by czam2007

Why must everyone pick on the irish

Because Guinness is overrated.

But also cause we need funny people.

[Enewald]

Because the irish are so easy military targets.
Btw, are ya going to mod in a title called King of Bretagne?

[Nethros]

Bretagne, Britanny, it's the same thing. And there's a title called King of Britanny already.

[Vesimir]

A nice start. I haven't visited the CK forum for a while now and was pleasantly suprised when i found this.

And good job Poland!

[RGB]

Interesting start, both for Brittany and for Europe in general.