Or a tight civil war with a rather distant relative.
Well, lets see what can do. I guess there are another at least 20 rulers coming up, so there should be an opportunity.
House Wessex and the History of England - A Wessex Ironman AAR
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Or a tight civil war with a rather distant relative.
Well, lets see what can do. I guess there are another at least 20 rulers coming up, so there should be an opportunity.
I HAVE A SON!!!
Now the father just has to live another 16 years.
EDIT:
And a second one year later. Always the same with these late fathers.
EDIT II:
And a third one. What is going on here? This guy is too much at home.
EDIT III:
A daughter. Pffff. Combobreaker.
Now the father just has to live another 16 years.
EDIT:
And a second one year later. Always the same with these late fathers.
EDIT II:
And a third one. What is going on here? This guy is too much at home.
EDIT III:
A daughter. Pffff. Combobreaker.
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I HAVE A SON!!!
Now the father just has to live another 16 years.
EDIT:
And a second one year later. Always the same with these late fathers.
EDIT II:
And a third one. What is going on here? This guy is too much at home.
EDIT III:
A daughter. Pffff. Combobreaker.
Look forward to reading all about it!
Well, I can`t mention the most interesting detail, for I had the beginning of the "Child of Satan" event chain with that daughter and I made short work of her and the mother. I guess in the update I`ll write that that marriage ended for...*cough*..."unknown reasons".
Hahaha! Really? Brilliant! I've heard about this-I wouldn't 'gloss over' it just tell it as you did it hehe :ninja:
I love that event series.
Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture; Low Crown Authority
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After a long and good reign the King died. The King is dead, long live the King. Update Saturday or Sunday.
Harold "the Careless"
(966 - 1006)
(966 - 1006)
Harold was born in the year 941 as second son of Edward II and his wife Cynethryth of Faversham. Since his older half-brother Edward died in 963, Harold became King at the age of 25 when his father died on 15th October 966.
He had three children of the first marriage with Hedwig Wilhelmiden (+ 971), daughter of the Count of Steiermark:
Aelfgyth (* 960; + 961)
Saethryth (* 962; + 997)
Beorhtflaed (* 964; +997)
In his second marriage with Barbara Babenberger, daughter of the Baron of Henneberg, another four children were born:
Edward (* 980)
Edmund (* 981)
Aethelred (* 983)
Cynegyth (* 984; + 987 ?)
It is unknown, for which reasons the wedlock with Barbara ended, but it is believed, that he was not the father of Cynegyth. In 985 he married Cacht Breifne (+ 1002), daughter of the Count of Breifne, with which he had four children:
Leofflaed (* 986)
Alfred (* 989)
Waerburg (* 995)
Beornflaed (* 1001)
In his last years he was married with Verounica de Gevaudan, daughter of the Count of Rouergue, but this marriage remained childless.
Harold died in Oxford on 8th November 1006 at the age of 65 years, probably due to old age.
Early Years
In 963, when Harold`s half-brother Edward died, he became Earl of Bedford at age 22 and ruled his County for the next three years until he succeeded to the throne.
From 966 to 969 he had to secure his reign versus two revolts. Pretenders were Maerleswegn, the Bishop of Coventry, and Eadburg, the Duchess of Hwicce. According to reports, these two rebellions occurred simultaneously and uncoordinated, so Harold could gather his forces and defeat the several enemy armies successively.
In the battle of Salisbury (967), Eadburg`s army was defeated and a year later the opposition to Harold`s rule was reduced to a few castles. Maerleswegn and Eadburg were imprisoned and allegedly spend more than thirty years in jail before they died.
Liquidation of Jorvik
The two decades from 969 to 988 saw the end of the Kingdom of Jorvik and its incorporation into the Kingdom of England.
In early 969, Jorvik was still ruled by Wiglaf II. When Harold had defeated the Pretenders to his throne, he immediately turned his army northward and declared war on Wiglaf. Within less than one year, Wiglaf`s army was defeated and the County of Shrewsbury occupied by the English force.
In the aftermath of this swift defeat, Jorvik experienced internal unrest and the remaining Kingdom was divided between Wiglaf II, who held the western part (Lancaster, Derby), and his aunt Cuthburg in the east (York, Lincoln). This division probably accelerated the demise of the Kingdom and after another three wars (972 - 973; 980; 988) all of its holdings were conquered and it ceased to exist.
Fig. 4: The British Isles in 1006
The Maid of Bedford
After the downfall of the Kingdom of Jorvik, there was one foreign enclave left in England. The County of Leicester, that still belonged to the Kingdom of Burgundy. In 990 King Aubry II of Burgundy was at war with Lotharingia and Harold decided, that it was the right moment to press his claim.
The small Burgundy force in Leicester was soon destroyed, but the fortifications withstood a long siege, that was still ongoing, when rumors spread, that a 17 year old virgin called Aethelgifu from a small village near Bedford had visions and brought a message from God for King Harold. Harold invited her to the court, where she revealed, that God had send her to lead the English army, take the Burgundy strongholds by storm and add Leicester to the Kingdom.
The nature of this incident is still debated among historians. Either she was a simple and harmless farmgirl and sincerely convinced that she had received a message from the Almighty. Or she was a mere figurehead installed by the King to uplift the spirit of his soldiers.
Anyway she was popular among the simple folk, but had enemies among the nobles. In 991, when the war versus Burgundy was won, resistance versus her role increased. Harold was forced to withdraw his support and a trial for heresy began. In 992 the trial ended with Aethelgifu being acquitted of all charges on the condition that she took the vows and became a nun. She spend the rest of her life in a monastery, still beloved by the people. Some families made her the guardian of their children, among them Harold`s daughter Leofflaed, who became Queen of Italy in 1005.
End of the Viking Era
Throughout the first half of Harold`s reign the coastal raids by Viking parties became less frequent. This had two major causes:
1. Scandinavia experienced major political unrest, when the Danish Empire (that consisted of today`s Denmark, Norway and northern Sweden) collapsed. The following wars between the new realms absorbed most of the military resources.
2. These internal quarrels were further fueled by religious conflicts. In the early 980s Frirek "the Unready" of Denmark and Hrane "the Wise" of Norway were baptized. With the rulers being Christians, missionaries from the south came to the land and began to convert the common people. Around 1000 most of Denmark and southern Norway was already under the control of the catholic church, while southern Sweden adopted a Slavic faith and the people in northern Scandinavia still held to their traditional Norse religion.
With Scandinavia becoming part of the Christian world and being distracted by internal conflicts, the British Isles stopped being targets for Viking aggression. The last report about a raid on English territory dates from 986. And so, after almost exactly two centuries, the "Viking Era" came to an end.
Urban prosperity
The second half of Harold`s rule was a period of peace and it is probably no coincidence, that it was the beginning of an elaborated urban culture in England.
The absence of war, the fading Viking threat for seafaring merchants and a period of dry summers and mild winters caused a general increase of the total population and profits from trade and production within the Kingdom. Existing cities like Southampton grew in size, previously underdeveloped regions like East Anglia got linked up with the trade network and even new cities like Rockingham in Northampton were founded.
Another evidence for the increasing importance of the cities for the Kingdom was the foundation of the first University on English soil in Bristol in 985, that was also one of the oldest Universities in Europe. A few years later a crisis with unknown causes led to an Exodus of many students to Leominster, where the second University was founded in 998. A third institution in Ilchester got its privilege in 1000.
Aftermath
Despite a long reign and several important accomplishments, Harold is one of the less known and more misunderstood rulers in English history.
The following centuries focused on the legend of the maid Aethelgifu, who was a good projection surface for religious, romantic or even nationalist sentiments. In this tale, Harold appears as the weak King who needed help from a young girl and, in the end, did not have the courage to support her versus her enemies. This plot ignores the facts, that Harold did extend the territory of his Kingdom without divine help and that the war with Burgundy was not over yet, but already decided in England`s favor.
Additionally his epithet caused a lot of confusion. In its current meaning, one could come to the conclusion, that he was a rather lazy character with no interest in his affairs or his relation to others, close to being reckless. But the few sources describe him as attentive King and pleasant individual, interested in self-improvement and the matters of his subjects. His epithet first appeared around 1030 in the Canterbury chronicles and was probably an attack on his stance toward the Catholic church and her claims, depicting a careless attitude toward his own salvation.
The epithet prevailed, although Harold "the Caring" would have been more justified.
Fantastic Wiki style update
How do you increase the trade links for your towns though?
Nice one on the universities too!
How do you increase the trade links for your towns though?
Nice one on the universities too!
Not at all. Some Toll Booths were build and together with the Universities I simply wanted to make a story about the cities.
