L'État, c'est moi / A France MMU AAR

[unmerged(90806)]

curious to see how you handle 16 infamy though

...and how you'll manage your vassals; high infamy is bound to sour their mood; I find it especially intriguing as you haven't consolidated the French territories yet and already you're drawn into protecting your Italian interests. High infamy may well hinder your expansion into (hm... I mean your incorporation of ) Brittany and Burgundy.

 

[NACBEAST]

Very nice; both the war and the AAR - curious to see how you handle 16 infamy though

Thank you for the compliment, and as for that there's only two ways to handle such high infamy: don't do things that'll make it go any higher while you burn it off and cross your fingers. Charles reign from here on will end up being more about really setting up for the eventual transformation of the French Monarchial system, so there'll be time to burn this infamy off.

so which area is next? Benelux of North Italy?

An excellent question. I'll be working on an area where I have at least one core territory, that's all I'm telling you.

If my games are any indication the thing that's next it getting FRAMED

Yeah, then again if your AAR is anything to go by, I'll also be dog-piled on by nearly all my neighbors as they try to reign in my growth. Doesn't help that Burgundy, Brittany and Savoy are allied.

Nicely done, with Castille falling down on the job its up to France to bully...be the shining beacon of Western Europe

Castille isn't so much falling down on the job (although it certainly is taking it's sweet time annexing Granada), but yeah. France will certainly be a mover and shaker in Western Europe (and beyond) for a while.

...and how you'll manage your vassals; high infamy is bound to sour their mood; I find it especially intriguing as you haven't consolidated the French territories yet and already you're drawn into protecting your Italian interests. High infamy may well hinder your expansion into (hm... I mean your incorporation of ) Brittany and Burgundy.

The French vassals, even in the OTL, were always a bit of a nuissance for the French monarchy. Heck, the Armagnac line was ordered into extinction by Louis XI because they were trying to force their way to a semi-independent status, with their own coinage and the use of 'by the Grace of God' for their County titles. So, while I had hoped things would go simply with the vassals, it makes sense story-wise for the growing ambition of the monarchy to chafe the lesser nobility.

As for consolidating my French territories: even if I were to annex all of my current French vassals one right after the other every ten years, it'd still take about sixty years to accomplish. That was before I ended up with Sicily and Naples and excluding any other territories I might try to incorporate into the Kingdom through diplo-vassilation/annexation. So I figured that, given that it was going to take a long time already, I shouldn't let myself be slowed down by a few lesser nobles still hanging around France.

As for Brittany and Burgundy, believe me, their time is coming. But for now, I'm going to do a bit of cleaning up and throw a bit of my excess coin around. Nothing says 'sign an alliance with me' to your vassals like a couple hundred ducats.

 

[Chris Taylor]

The Ottoman diversion is interesting and colourful; I wonder what it will herald for the Empire's direction.

I was about to gnash my teeth at the inevitable annexation of Malta, but then you went and took Sicily instead. Do you get cores on Sicily from Italian Ambitions?

If my games are any indication the thing that's next it getting FRAMED

:rofl:
The Force is strong with this one.

Yeah, then again if your AAR is anything to go by, I'll also be dog-piled on by nearly all my neighbors as they try to reign in my growth. Doesn't help that Burgundy, Brittany and Savoy are allied.

Eeeexcellent, Smithers! Errr, I mean, what an unfortunate confluence of events.

As for consolidating my French territories: even if I were to annex all of my current French vassals one right after the other every ten years, it'd still take about sixty years to accomplish. That was before I ended up with Sicily and Naples and excluding any other territories I might try to incorporate into the Kingdom through diplo-vassilation/annexation. So I figured that, given that it was going to take a long time already, I shouldn't let myself be slowed down by a few lesser nobles still hanging around France.

The survival of the French minors (as vassals or otherwise) will also be maximum DoW-bait for certain others—Brittany, Burgundy, England and so on. Whom you will not be shy about tussling with. So it's a winning hand even if incorporation takes longer than usual.

 

[Ashantai]

This is a great AAR! A nice counterpoint to Chris Taylor's fantastic England one!

 

[Derahan]

Cant wait for the next chapter, keep it up!

 

[NACBEAST]

_________________________
Chapter 5:
" And so the work of great men is never truly over."
_________________________

Charles own personal coat of arms, replaced as of late by the France Ancien as a unifying symbol for the French nobility, began to see more frequent use after the Franco-Catalan War​

The Post-War period of France following both the Franco-Catalan War and the Hundred Years War saw a France and French nobility that was still attempting to find a new footing for itself. For the larger part of both wars the French nobility had found itself besieged at home, fighting relentlessly for it's land and for who many viewed to be the true Kings of France. While the Franco-Catalan War wasn't a war on home territory, it was still a heavy drain on the treasury of many noblemen through taxes and dues.

With the nobility otherwise distracted or even fighting against France itself, certain machinations of the French state would fall into disrepair. While it wasn't anarchy, it was enough to get many members of French society, including Charles VII himself, thinking about how France was running it's ship. While the institution of a new bureaucratic class had helped to ease the pressure of multiple wars, an expanding kingdom and new vassals, it wasn't a permanent fix for France's ambitions.

Faced with this, Charles VII sought to continue his efforts at reforming France's various military and state matters. With the wars bringing Charles unprecedented support and goodwill with the various factions of the kingdom, Charles could manage to press forward with a great number of new laws and reforms, even ones that weren't quite so popular with the ruling classes.

The first of which was Charles efforts to center more power for himself within the Kingdom. Although the nobility would not seriously push back against him, grumblings of discontent were heard as, soon, Charles' personal coat of arms began to replace the France Ancien on signed documents and newly signed laws and orders. The serious shift in responsibility from the nobility to Charles that went along with such aesthetic changes added to the frustration: it was becoming apparent to the nobility that Charles was not simply going to slip off into the twilight of his years quietly.

Charles VII in the presence of France's Estates​

From there, Charles VII used his new strength within the French court to move two new reforms he had up his sleeve into the forefront. A little over a month later the Militia Act of 1464, was then put into motion. For a long time the kings of France had the authority to declare war and call upon their vassals soldiers in times of need (although the vassal soldiers would remain under the command of their respective lords). Knowing that this was going to be nearly impossible to touch, Charles sought to increase his own power through the next lowest form of soldier (in the perception of the crown), the militias.

Before the Militia Act the militias were most just peasants organized in an ad-hoc manner in order to gather some sort of defensive force for a small town or farming community to defend itself from bandits, pirates or invading forces depending on the events going on Europe or their region. However, during particularly endangered times, the militia could be used as a major force in an army. Before the compagnie d'ordonnance and France's professional military, Joan of Arc organized and lead members of numerous militia's from the beginning of her military career until her capture.

Charles saw the use of a readily available and organizable force that wasn't either dependent on certain lords or required great years of training to be of use. Thus, the purpose of the Militia Act was to give anyone in position of the title 'King of France' the right to organize or disband the militia at will and to command them in situations where invasion or insurrection were imminent or present. The move, while unpopular with the peasants who organized the militias, or the nobility who saw the entrance of the king's control of the militias as a partial usurpation of their own power in the military, Charles furthered his own power and control of the Kingdom of France and allowed for a further expansion of France's military power.

King Charles VII exhibiting his new powers over the militia, summoning the Parisian Militia​

Charles continued his work at a feverish pace, setting up for the declaration of a new government body: the Court of Wards and Liveries. If the new bureaucratic class had taught Charles one thing, it was that dividing up lesser responsibilities to be handled independently by different bodies within the government was, by far, one of the best ways in which to secure a more stable and smooth running system of government. Thus, Charles sought to create a court, directed by those he would pick for it, to manage the increasingly frustrating feudal traditions of dues, wardship and liveries.

With Charles and his successors turning their gaze out of France and towards securing more power for the French throne, the traditional feudal activities were becoming more distraction than honor in the eyes of the Kings of France. So, in creating the Court of Wards and Liveries, Charles would have a branch of the French bureaucratic class (or, at least, another one) directly under his control that would independently collect feudal dues, handle disputes and changes in wardship amongst the nobility and manage livery issues. To the French nobility, this court was as much a burden, more effectively handling the dues system and taking away their ability to attempt to influence the king in manners of wardship and liveries, as it was a boon.

After all, to the nobility, it reflected a small glimmer of hope that the Kings of France still recognized feudal law and authority, even amidst their efforts to centralize the powers of the kingdom within the crown itself.

The Court of Wards and Liveries would exist for quite some time in France, and would be seen as an instrumental tool by future monarchs to keep a distant, but present, hand within the manners of the lords of the realm​

Whereas the Court of Wards and Liveries handled manners of income as it concerned the feudal dues owed to Charles VII by his vassals, new income was going to be needed if France was to recover from it's recent wars. The annexation of Bordeaux and the Duchy of Provence, as well as France's lordship over the Duchies of Naples and Sicily, had expanded French wine-making capabilities by a large percentage, to the point where France was able to influence the market, albeit by a small degree, through it's circulation of wine.

While France produced gin and beer like any other European country of the age, France was by and large far more recognized for it's wine than it was any other alcoholic beverages. With massive vineyards and minor refineries spread out throughout France, and with an excellent grape growing climate with which France could spread the vineyards, wine was by far one of the easiest drinks to grow the necessary fruit for and make.

So, it was no surprise, that when Charles VII took notice of his kingdom's expanded wine making capabilities, that he would target this for new revenue. Able to claim a complete monopoly as it came to the wine production in France, and able to influence in a minor manner the markets for wine in the surrounding region, Charles saw a great opportunity for new revenue in the grape-based alcohol.

Thus, new taxes on wine, gin, beer and various liquors were passed, all of which were grouped together into a single 'Liquor Act'. The new treasurer of France, Maximilien des Herbiers, ensured that the tax would get through the Estates and that it's implementation would be near immediate and well enforced.

The Liquor Act brought new revenue to the Kingdom, which would soon be sorely needed

_________________________

A Plague Doctor, one of the most striking symbols of the Black Death​

Fernando V of Castille arrived in the country during a time where it was absolutely torn apart. A war, a resurgence of the Black Death and civil strife sparked by his own rise to the thrown, the ordinarily stalwart defender of Catholicism in the Iberian Peninsula and overall powerful Western European Kingdom was brought to it's knees by the events that had plagued it for the past few years.

To many Catholic nations, including the Pope himself, such death and destruction was a horrid sight. To help alleviate the pains of the Catholic men and women of Castille, the Catholic princes of Europe organized a charity. The charity was met with widespread approval and excitement, as many of the Catholic nation in Europe who could afford to help sent aid to Castille. After all, very few men in Europe who could afford to make the appearance of being so greatly charitable when it came to a fellow Catholic nation would pass on the opportunity to gain favor from His Holiness or approval from their neighbors.

France itself made a hefty donation to the effort, helping to ease tension between France and her neighbors.

Charles had a way to go, but his and France's reputation was well on it's way to recovery through this charity

_________________________

Europe and France's Diplomatic Situation in February of 1466​

In the final days of Charles' life, Europe entered a calm that it had not known for some time, with several wars that had raged for several years coming to a close, with only a handful of wars in the peripheries of Europe currently being fought. Of course, most obviously The Hundred Years War and the Franco-Catalan War ended in 1461 and 1463 respectively, with France being the major victor in both wars. Burgundy, in 1458, had launched an invasion of the Bishopric of Liege, managing to conquer the land at a price. The soldiers of the Holy Roman Emperor and a large alliance of smaller states of the Empire launched into Burgundian held lands. Burgundy might've obtained Liege, but they lost Luxembourg to Trier.

On the Russian Steppes, the Tsardom of Moscow had finished up waging war against the Republic of Novgorod, and other Princely States that had previously occupied territory that Moscow itself had claimed. Currently, Moscow found itself at war with the Polish-Lithuanian Union, in an attempt to reclaim Orthodox lands from the two Catholic nations. Further south but quite far east from France itself, Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire had launched a war against the Mamluks Sultanate.

As previously covered, Mehmed's dalliances with Biljana had left relationships with the nobility in the Ottoman Empire strained to say the least. To the point where the succession of his son Ali, born from his union with Biljana, was in question. In Mehmed's mind, conquering the Mamluk sultanate would be a surefire way to rally support of the nobility and further expand the Ottoman's territory into very rich and religiously important areas of the Middle East. The war had been going extremely well for the Ottoman Empire up until 1466, with their thrust into the Mamluk territory allowing them to annex, in one fell swoop, the Mamluk held Levant, and other such territories north and east of the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza, with the Ottoman Turks still attempting to drive their way into the heart of Mamluke Egypt: Cairo.

The Mamluks, however, were beginning to summon forth a very strong opposition to the Ottomans, slowing the war down to a crawl on what remained of the Mamluk-Turkic border. Nearby, Ak Koyunlu, the White Sheep Turkomans, as they were otherwise known, invaded the Kingdom of Georgia, managing to divide Georgia in half, annexing their coastal provinces and sandwiching them between Ak Koyunlu itself and Shirvan.

And finally, attempts by Balkan powers to consolidate their position, should the Ottomans ever turn their gaze back to Europe, continued on with Bosnia's invasion of Ragusa. With no allies coming to Ragusa's aid, Bosnia managed to successfully and occupy the tiny state, giving Bosnia access to the sea.

_________________________

The final moments of Charles VII​

On February 18th, 1466, Charles VII, King of France and Dauphin of Viennois, died in his bed. With his sixty-third birthday only four days away and his bones sore from several wars and battles, Charles slipped into death, leaving behind a Kingdom he had quite practically rescued from the brink, and then made it greater than it had been before him.

With several reforms of the operations of the state, the military and other aspects of French life under his belt, two wars won and the great respect of the nation, he would go down in history as one of the best Kings of France, amidst his titles would be 'The Victorious' and 'The Well-Served'.

Having ruled since October 21st, 1422 he had ruled France for forty-three years, staking his claim as the fourth longest reigning King of France, coming in behind Charlemagne himself.

Upon his death, messengers rode to Dijon to inform Louis of his father's death, and his ascension to the throne as King Louis XI, King of France and Dauphin of Viennois (as regent for his son, Charles).

Vive le Roi

_________________________

France c. 1466

Louis XI de Valois (ADM 7/DIP 6/MIL 5)
By the Grace of God, King of France and Dauphin of Viennois (as Regent for Charles de Valois)​

Dynastic Links:

~ Lorraine (Duke Jean II de Valois)

Treasury: 78 million ducats
GDP (estimated): 612.0 million ducats
Domestic CoTs: Paris 146.75

Army: 6,000 Knights (Armored Knights), 14,000 Men at Arms
Reserves (potential levies): 55,462
Navy: 5 Carracks, 2 Pinnaces, 2 Gallies, 5 Cogs
Discipline: 121.10%
Tradition: 30.80% Navy: 0.00%

Prestige: Seventeenth (31)
Reputation: Rather Bad (11.9)
Legitimacy: 95

 

[NACBEAST]

The Ottoman diversion is interesting and colourful; I wonder what it will herald for the Empire's direction.

I was about to gnash my teeth at the inevitable annexation of Malta, but then you went and took Sicily instead. Do you get cores on Sicily from Italian Ambitions?....

.... Eeeexcellent, Smithers! Errr, I mean, what an unfortunate confluence of events.

The survival of the French minors (as vassals or otherwise) will also be maximum DoW-bait for certain others—Brittany, Burgundy, England and so on. Whom you will not be shy about tussling with. So it's a winning hand even if incorporation takes longer than usual.

Well, considering I had Naples and Sicily, Malta isn't all too valuable and it's only real purpose is to serve as a single-province, not easily invadible route to the Near-East, I saw it as more of a waste of AE than it was worth. Also, no, I didn't. You see, immediately upon getting the Sicilian territories I released them as a vassal, the Kingdom of Sicily. Because of this Italian Ambitions didn't fire, and I can save that for either Sicily or Naples (depending on my choice). Without the reputation bonus from releasing Sicily as a vassal, I would've been in an even worse situation rep wise than I am now.

Heh, yes, it is rather interesting: the AI is actually preparing for me. We'll see, we'll see...

As for that, considering that I really don't want to get into a war with England (just a waste of time and money), that's really not an attractive reason to keep them around XD

This is a great AAR! A nice counterpoint to Chris Taylor's fantastic England one!

Thank you very much for the compliment! I hope I continue to entertain.

Cant wait for the next chapter, keep it up!

Well, here you go my good man, enjoy!

Everyone: I realize that this chapter might be shorter than the past couple have been. I'd like to apologize for that, but this really was just the best point to stop for now and not too much happened during Charles VII's last years. The action will pick back up eventually, so I hope that you all will enjoy what I have presented to you all for now!

 

[Razgriz 2K9]

The Centralization of France came at a better time. Will you be going to the New World as soon as possible? (since at this time depending on how the mod works, you should be coming pretty close to your second governmental idea) Also, what are the stats for Louis' heir, the future Charles VIII de Valois?

 

[NACBEAST]

The Centralization of France came at a better time. Will you be going to the New World as soon as possible? (since at this time depending on how the mod works, you should be coming pretty close to your second governmental idea) Also, what are the stats for Louis' heir, the future Charles VIII de Valois?

Well, you'll see how it unfolds soon enough. As for Charles VIII, well, I'll be keeping his stats a secret. Let's just say that he's quite the capable ruler in his own right.

Everyone: Alright then, I'm getting ready to write the next update soon enough (although my readings for university will slow that down a bit). Now then, Louis has quite the history before succeeding to the position of King, enough that it could easily make up it's own chapter (similar to the first prologue) so I'll be trying to decide between making it it's own chapter or combining it with the early years of his reign. So, this next update will take a little time (even if I decide to just go with divided chapters), but it shouldn't be too long.

 

[unmerged(90806)]

I did enjoy this peaceful, internal-reforms update. I'm a bit unsure about some of your choices.
I tend to play minors, or medium powers so stab cost increasing decisions are fine.
But with France, which will surely expand and colonise, aren't they too risky? I mean will the banefits from, say, 'Liquor Act' outweigh the prolonged periods with lower stability (low stab = less money)? Does French military (with its unlimited manpower) really need 'Militia Act'?

 

[Merrick Chance']

I'm all about the internal reforms update, so this was right up my alley.

Continue France's march to modernity! In the long term, are you planning on forcing a revolution or are you going to stay the ancien regime?

 

[Chris Taylor]

Well, gabor says, the stability-impairing decisions might hurt you down the road. Hopefully they are worth it in the long run. A good update though; it's always fascinating to see the choices made by other players!

I enjoyed the pic of Charles and the Estates—took me a while to realise the Valois coat of arms is prominently displayed on the wall. Very cool.

Oh, and are you getting nailed by "Laws of the Empire" for eating a chunk of Lorraine and all of Provence?

 

[NACBEAST]

_________________________
Chapter 6:
The Prudent
_________________________

Louis XI de Valois, King of France​

Louis XI of France was born on the 3rd of July, 1422 in the city of Bourges in what was the Duchy of Berry (before it's eventual absorption into the crown), to then Charles VII, King of France (if only by claim) and Marie of Anjou. The years of Louis' birth and childhood were turbulent times for his homeland indeed. His father, constrained to the loyal, southern areas of France out of indecision and doubts, allowed the northern half of his country, including the grand city of Paris, to be held by the Englishmen and the Burgundians.

Growing up in such times, and watching his father prove either unable or unwilling to take the fight back to the English, it was small wonder that Louis would eventually come to despise Charles for what he perceived in his father to be 'weakness'. This hatred Louis held for Charles would be a main staying point in the relation between father and son, a staying point that would only be cemented as Louis' childhood went on. After all, what son could possibly respect a father who was too frightened to leave the loyal areas of his kingdom to challenge the invading English, needed a teenage girl to save his kingdom and then would promptly leave her at the stake to burn without as much as lifting a finger?

Although no one can say for certain, quite possibly one of the most crystallizing moments for Louis' ill-regard for his father came during his first marriage. As Louis approached the age of thirteen, France was finding itself with the momentum in the Hundred Years War. Although Jeanne d'Arc had been dead for five years by the time 1436 rolled around, her victories on the field had been quickly followed by other French generals and nobles.

Charles most likely felt that if there was one thing that his country could use to it's advantage in the war, it was Scotland threatening England on their shared border. The threat of the second half of the Vieille Alliance would surely keep England from completely dedicating her armed forces on France during the most crucial hour of the war. Thus, in an effort to seal the alliance for good, Charles arranged with James I of Scotland to have Louis marry James' eldest daughter, Margaret Stewart.

Although the first meeting between Louis and Margaret was at least one of begrudging acceptance, the relationship between husband and wife would gradually degrade overtime. As Margaret would prove to be a favorite of Charles VII, and Margaret proving to be supportive of Charles over Louis in many affairs, Louis came to hate his wife greatly, if only for her relationship with his father. Such intense hatred would cause Margaret to take steps to avoiding pregnancy, wearing tight corsets, eating green apples and drinking apple cider.

These measures, among possible others, would be successful as Margaret would never come to bear Louis a child. She would die of a fever on August 16th, 1445 depressed, unhappy and childless at the age of twenty.

Margaret of Scotland​

However, while Louis was openly hateful of his father with his wife, it seemed the young man was able to keep it close to the vest around the King himself. Soon after Louis was wed, Charles took his son around a tour of the loyal regions of France, finding himself impressed by the intellectual capabilities Louis was already showing at such a young age. As such, Louis was soon made Dauphin, the official heir of the Kingdom of France.

The territory of Dauphiné Viennois, formerly known as the County of Albon, had been prior to it's union with France a largely independent state within the Holy Roman Empire. However, large debts and the death of the Dauphin Humbert II lead to the sale of his lordship in 1349 to then King Philip VI of France on the condition that the territory would remain superficially separated from the crown of France and administered by the heir to the French King's throne.

This lead to a long period of anarchy within Dauphiné. As the chaos of the Hundred Years War was beginning to ignite, many of the would be Dauphins of Viennois would either be outside of the province fighting against the English or would be too young to effectively rule the territory themselves. Both of these would ultimately lead to the various noble of the province, by and large, running the terrtiory, leading to a highly chaotic scene for the territory as in-fighting and squabbling between the various ruling factions became common.

When Louis came to be given the title Dauphin, he actually began administrating the province. Louis set about wrangling the various nobles of the region in order to solidify his power and cease the infighting which had left the territory in such a state of anarchy previously. In addition, Louis took upon diplomatic actions more beneficial to Dauphiné than to France as a whole. As an example, Louis sought to solidify his relationship with the Duchy of Savoy, a longtime ally of the Dauphiné, by marrying Charlotte, the daughter of Duke Louis of Savoy in 1451, just six years after the death of Margaret. The marriage went on without the consent of Charles VII, a move that left the King growing increasingly frustrated with his son.

After all, this was but one of many rebellious actions taken by Louis.

Charlotte of Savoy was merely nine years old when married to Louis, who at the time of their marriage was a twenty-seven year old man​

Although Charles' reforms would go a long way to reducing anarchy in France and help to drive out the English in the north, not every nobleman of France was ecstatic about the King's reforms. The reduction of the brigand-soldiery, ordinances that gave the King an aid of 100,000 francs (effectively freeing him from Parliamentary control of his purse string once the one-time aid was turned into a perpetual grant) and the requirement of royal nominations to officerships in the army marked huge gains in the royal prerogative, much to the chagrin of many noblemen.

Thus, influential nobles such as Duke of Bourbon Charles I (who, three years prior, had instigated a similar revolt and was granted pardon by Charles), Duke of Brittany John VI, an ally of England at the time, other lesser dukes and counts and even captains of various mercenary companies, most notably Rodrigo de Villandrando, all banded together in 1440 to ready a revolt against Charles VII.

Of course, in need of a figurehead to help grant legitimacy to their reign, the nobility roped a younger Dauphin Louis to their cause. The nobles offered that, in exchange for Louis' support, they would force Charles to submit to Louis and make him Regent of France. Louis quickly accepted and threw his full weight behind the revolt. The Praguerie Revolt, named as such for a similar revolt that had taken place in Prague, Bohemia against the House of Luxembourg, Kings of Bohemia, who had a close relation association with France, did not go over well for the French nobility.

While the nobility had their private holdings to account for, Charles could draw upon the energetic officers of his army and the loyalty and wealth of his 'good cities'. The king's artillery battered down the old feudal forts and the constable de Richemont quickly subdued the country. Louis' failure to stir a sympathetic rising in Auvergne largely lead to the quick defeat of the nobility, with only some scattered looting Saintogne and Poitou marring the victory of Charles VII.

Charles, at this time, kept a level-head and largely forgave the behavior of the nobles and his son, keeping Louis on as the Dauphin and granting Duke Charles I of Bourbon a large pension as a gift. The Hundred Years War was still raging, and Charles could ill afford a protracted conflict with his own greater nobles. For Louis, this was a great learning experience, as the young man's energy and drive alone could not carry him through this task. As James Cleugh notes:

“Like other strong minded boys, he had found at last he could not carry all before him by mere bluster. Neither as prince nor as king did he ever forget his lesson. He never acted on pure impulse, without reflection, though to his life’s end he was constantly tempted to take such a risk.”

Indeed, the failure of the Praguerie likely instilled the mischievous nature and tact that Louis would become later known for, even granting him the title 'the Universal Spider' alongside his other title, 'The Prudent'.

The Bourbon Dukes would prove to be quite the hassle for three consecutive Kings of France, although this would not last long after the turn of the century​

Eventually, however, Charles' patience with his son wore thin. Louis refused to come to court when Charles called him, ruled the Dauphin as if it were his own personal kingdom and, even after the failure of the Praguerie, continued to plot against his father with the other nobles. Thus, as was chronicled earlier, in September of 1453 as the last actions of the Hundred Years War were taking place, six thousand soldiers under King Charles' command marched into Louis' domain, bringing it under Charles' control and forcing Louis to flee to the Burgundian capitol of Dijon.

Despite calls by Charles for Duke Philippe le Bon to force Louis to return to Paris, Philippe, and later his son Charles, would give the Dauphin safe sanctuary in their capitol, frustrating Charles to no end. While Louis would continue to puzzle over how to claim the Kingdom of France for himself while his father was alive, his power and influence to do so was diminished in Dijon. So, from 1453 until 1466, Louis would publicly snipe at his father from Dijon, one of his most loud and blatant criticisms coming during the peace process of the Franco-Catalan War where, in Louis mind, Charles simply strengthened the forces of the Estates of France to stand against him by adding two greatly powerful nobles to their ranks.

Still, it wouldn't be too long before Louis would have his turn on the throne of France, his father was only a mortal man after all. After the birth of Louis fourth son and, at the time of February of 1466, only living heir, Charles de Valois, Louis received a message from Paris. Charles was quite literally slipping away right before the eyes of the members of the court: Louis was needed in Paris to take Charles' place on the throne.

Louis, seeing his moment finally arrive and fearing that his brother, another Charles, would swoop in to take the throne for himself whilst Louis was in Burgundy, quickly rode out from Dijon without either his wife or his newly born son. These two, while they would arrive in Paris after several months, would stay in Dijon with Charles the Bold while Louis would ride quickly to Reims. While Charles would be falling ever closer to dieing on February 16th, Louis would be crowned King of France at the age of forty-three years.

Two days later Charles VII would die in his death bed, leaving the effective governance of France to Louis and Louis alone.

As Louis would ride into Paris, he could be secure with the knowledge that his father's reforms had well and truly improved the status of government in France​

Amongst Louis' first moves upon becoming King of France was actually unrelated to the matters of administration for which Louis' time as the Dauphin showed he had talent for and, while the act was closely associated with France's diplomatic standing, it was less aligned towards securing good relations, as it was showing up a wayward vassal, or so it seemed.

Philippe le Bon was famous for numerous reasons in Burgundy, but amongst the nobility of Europe Philippe was most well known for his establishment, in 1430, of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The Order of the Golden Fleece, by and large, was the remnants of the steadily dieing institution of knightly orders. Philippe le Bon sought to establish this order to help represent the prestige of his realm, united from Flanders to the Franche-Comté. The Order itself also served, however lightly, as a advisory body to the Duke on the matters of war, as Philippe would take care to consult the knights of his order before committing to war.

This had the effect of greatly increasing the prestige of both Burgundy and Philippe, as the Order of the Golden Fleece was seen as a truly great order of knights lead by a very well-versed and skilled sovereign. It was rather transparent that this move to increase his prestige was one suited towards increasing Burgundy's strength, and possibly earning Philippe the title of King of Burgundy. Although Philippe had perished in 1453, Charles I (or, The Bold) was just as driven as his father, and continued to use the knightly order as a means of increasing his prestige.

Although Louis had taken sanctuary in Burgundy after he had been driven from the Dauphiné, the young man had no strong love for either Charles or the state of Burgundy. Louis, above all else, wanted the unification of France's central authority around himself and around the title of King of France. The nobility he had schemed with to overtake his father, like many other people and things in Louis' life, were just pawns to be used to obtain the throne of France. Now that he sat upon that throne, Louis wanted nothing more than to bring the nobility into line underneath him.

And Burgundy, the duchy that had turned against France earlier in the Hundred Years War, was the biggest threat to his centralization of power.

So, Louis sought to counter the prestige that Duke Charles I of Burgundy was obtaining from the Order of the Golden Fleece with a knightly order of his own. Thus, Louis created the Order of Saint Michael: although Louis found, just as his father did, that the old systems of Feudalism were holding France back, the King sought to use the last vestiges of it to counteract Burgundy's.

The move was a complete flop. While many monarchs in Europe saw Philippe's Order of the Golden Fleece to be a genuine knightly order created to embody the chivalric values that were still popular with much of the nobility, Louis' intentions with the Order of Saint Michael were as plain as day. Although Louis would press on with the creation of this order, he would be mocked for his blatant jealousy of Charles who was, by Feudal rank, a lesser noble to him.

Despite the embarrassment suffered by the court, the Order of Saint Michael would be fully instituted, becoming a lasting part of France's royal court

_________________________​

Although the war with the Mamluks had gone very well for the Ottoman Empire, as the year 1466 drew to a close the mighty Turkic Sultanate was finding itself grinding to a stand still with the Egyptians just out of the reach of the Sinai Peninsula. While the war was also grinding to a halt, much of the Ottoman administrative structure was as well, now being forced to govern over a vast series of new territories in the Levant, all the while managing the war from so many miles away.

The Mamluks, however, did not have this problem. No longer even pretending to be in control of the Levant, and with it's war right on it's doorstep, the Mamluks were able to effectively carry out war operations in Egypt, sending orders and changing strategies to suit the new situations faster than the Ottomans could respond in kind.

With the war seeming ever closer to coming to a standstill, Mehmed figured that having captured so much territory from the Mamluks would already improve his prestige greatly, thus allowing him to more effectively argue for Ali. His own war goals were accomplished, and then some. Thus the Turks and the Mamluks signed a peace agreement on November 19th, 1466, signing the rest of the Mamluk territory outside of Egypt over to the Ottomans, as well at the northern segment of the Sultanate of Hedjaz, to give the Ottomans a more direct land route to the cities of Medina and Meccah.

The Mamluks, while greatly reduced in size, managed to survive the Ottoman's assault

_________________________​

The Franco-Catalan War and the attempted Invasion of Navarre left the Kingdom of Aragon utterly ravaged. Losing a good chunk of it's mainland territory and nearly all of the Kingdom's possessions in southern Italy showed to the rest of Europe that, compared to the other Kingdoms it was surrounded by, Aragon was terribly weak. In the minds of some lesser-nobles, it was seen as even possible that Aragon was weaker than them.

Desperate for a greater amount of prestige and desiring territory to help counter the growing presence of France on it's border, the Duke of Savoy would make a play to claim the throne of Aragon. While this was a failed ploy, it did show to the rest of Europe just how weak the Kingdom of Aragon was perceived as: much to the shame of the Kingdom itself.

Even Savoy is capable of perceiving the weakness of Aragon

_________________________​

One of many policies that Louis continued after the death of Charles, likely to his own great chagrin, was the steady reconstruction of France after the terribly damaging years of the Hundred Years War. Although northern France had been reclaimed from England quite some time ago, there was still issues with the territories that had been possessed by the English. Infrastructure that had been damaged during battles and sieges needed replacing, small cells of English supporters still needed uprooting and relationships with local nobles, whom had found themselves greatly upset when Charles had all but abandoned them after the death of Charles VI, needed payments to keep happy.

In order to facilitate this Louis began bringing in Swiss mercenaries, whom he had fought against himself during the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs, to help save a small amount of money for a standing army. Additionally, cuts were made to other segments of the army, resulting the uniforms and tabards of many soldiers to be made either hastily or with a great lacking of attention to detail.

Despite some anger from the men who served France, by 1470 Louis could claim to have brought France all the way back from the damages of war, with the great city of Paris standing proud, shining and strong after many, many decades of war.

While Paris wasn't exactly badly damaged during the war, the reconstruction of it received a great deal of attention to it. The attention brought the capitol a great deal of wealth and new construction, increasing the prestige of the city, and of the Kingdom

_________________________

Although history would find Louis XI and Charles I on opposite sides of a great divide, let it not be said that the two leaders were not without their similarities. Louis and Charles both were the sons of great rulers, their fathers famed for great deeds and massive expansions of the territory they originally inherited. Both Charles VII and Philippe le Bon fought in or amidst the Hundred Years War, both racking up amazing victories and a great deal of respect. Both of their fathers were also great diplomats, seeking to undo their enemies and achieve their goals, if not through force, then through diplomacy.

Both Louis and Charles were brought up during the firestorm of war that so deeply marked Western Europe during their lives, both fighting in their armies whilst awaiting their own rise to their respective thrones. And both, more than anything, were driven and passionate men, who would do what they could to ensure that their goals were met.

However, whereas Louis was tricky, deceptive and deceitful, Charles was bold, brash and brave. Charles embodied the dieing values of chilvary that the nobility found so artful and amazing, while Louis was decidedly trying to move away from them. Finally, while one was the king of his land who desired one of his most petulant dukes to get into line, the other was a duke who wanted nothing more than his own kingdom.

For Charles to achieve this, he required two things: a weakened French King and acceptance by the Holy Roman Emperor, at that time Maximilian I von Habsburg, the Archduke of Austria.

While Charles was confident enough in his ability to force Maximilian to accept him as King of Burgundy, if he wouldn't recognize him as such willingly. However, he didn't think he could accomplish this while he had Louis, who by this time was known to the nobility as a King in the same line as his father when it came to central power, breathing down his neck.

So, taking up a tactic that Louis himself had participated in during his youth, Charles began to gather French nobles whom were unhappy with or afraid of the King of France.

Charles, hoping to weaken Louis greatly, formed the League of the Public Weal.

Members of the League of the Public Weal were Charles I Duke of Burgundy, Charles de Valois Duke of Berry, Pierre II Duke of Brittany, the remainders of the House of Orléans (who lost the Duchy to the Foix family), Charles I Count of Armagnac, Jean II Duke of Lorraine and Charles I Duke of Bourbonnais​

A good number of the nobles whom had taken part in the effort of the House of Bourbon in the Praguerie, includies the nobles of Brittany and Bourbonnais, and other families who felt newly threatened by Louis' far more expanded efforts at centralization. One of the key new nobles who joined the effort was Charles of Berry, Louis' brother. The two siblings struggled against each other for much of their life, the younger sibling even contemplating rising to the throne once Louis fled to Burgundy.

However, this didn't matter in the end, as Louis beat Charles to Reims and was crowned King of France anyway. Charles would now act as Louis had during the Praguerie, giving legitimacy within France to Charles the Bold's plot. Charles of Burgundy believed that this would keep Louis' hands tied, allowing him to turn his gaze to the Holy Roman Empire.

Indeed, Louis was quite caught up in the threat to his throne. However, he was also able to negotiate the rough waters that Charles sought to put in front of him, and to further set Charles' gaze away from France. After a few months of fighting and resistance, Louis 'granted' his brother the Duchy of Normandy, and began loosening his grip on his nobles, even going so far as to seemingly ignore the County of Armagnac's efforts to increase it's independence.

He had managed, before this revolt, to sign the Duchy of Orléans to the Foix family. For a long time after the death of Charles I de Orleans, there wasn't a true heir to the throne, the last surviving member of the House of Orléans, was born as a bastard, and so a Regency Council took to ruling the Duchy. Eventually, as a reward to the Foix family for having faithfully served the Kingdom during the Franco-Catalan War, the Duchy was rewarded to them, although the new Foix Duke of Orléans had to surrender any claims to the County of Foix, thus ensuring the loyalty of one of the largest and most rich remaining duchies in the Kingdom of France.

Additionally, Louis had secured the support and loyalty of the Dukes of Sicily, Naples and Auvergne. Naples and Sicily both appreciated the level of independence France did allow, as both had, while under the rule of Aragon, been ruled directly by the Kings of Aragon, with no direct rulers of their own, while Auvergne, as it had been for decades, remained loyal to the Valois Kings.

Louis, while he hadn't seen the Leauge of the Public Weal coming, was ready to set Charles the Bold up for the fall. Giving Normandy to his brother, withdrawing from conflict with the League of the Public Weal and allowing the nobility to seemingly escape his ring of influence, all of these moves carefully placed, the lines carefully drawn. Louis kept ready his web of alliances, kept a close ear to the ground in Normandy and just waited for Charles of Burgundy to make his move.

And Charles, ever so bold, and believing the Louis had well and truly been cowed, made his move.

The Great Mistake of Charles the Bold​

Charles sought a war with the Holy Roman Empire, hoping to secure Burgundy's position on the Rhine (and perhaps reclaim the Duchy of Luxembourg, which had been lost to Trier during the Conquest of Liege) and to secure a Kingdom for himself.

Louis immediately began pulling the strings he had laid down: he forced his brother, with all the power of that his position entailed, to return the Duchy of Normandy to the royal domain, took advantage of Lorraine being forced to answer it's call to war from the Empire to fight against Burgundy, and not France, and gathered the support of the Holy Roman Emperor, claiming to be entering this fight to stop Burgundian aggression. Such a move cowed the lesser French nobles, whom did not wish to be defeated by their lord (for the Duchy of Bourbonnais, twice in the same century) and the Holy Roman Emperor.

Thus, France declared war on Burgundy on June 22nd, 1470 after a month of war preparations. Although Brittany and Savoy disavowed Burgundy's act of war on the Holy Roman Empire, they did come to Burgundy's aid against France, not wishing to see the Valois monarch strike down Burgundy, whom they saw as an excellent weight against French power.

And so, the Burgundian Wars began in earnest.

War revisits Western Europe

_________________________

France c. 1470

Louis XI de Valois (ADM 7/DIP 6/MIL 5)
By the Grace of God, King of France and Dauphin of Viennois (as Regent for Charles de Valois)​

Dynastic Links:

~ Lorraine (Duke Jean II de Valois)

Treasury: 149 million ducats
GDP (estimated): 754.0 million ducats
Domestic CoTs: Paris 157.16

Army: 6,000 Knights (Armored Knights), 14,000 Men at Arms
Reserves (potential levies): 59,182
Navy: 5 Carracks, 2 Pinnaces, 2 Gallies, 5 Cogs
Discipline: 122.20%
Tradition: 27.00% Navy: 0.00%

Prestige: Forty-Second (22)
Reputation: Rather Bad (9.2)
Legitimacy: 93

 

[NACBEAST]

I did enjoy this peaceful, internal-reforms update. I'm a bit unsure about some of your choices.
I tend to play minors, or medium powers so stab cost increasing decisions are fine.
But with France, which will surely expand and colonise, aren't they too risky? I mean will the banefits from, say, 'Liquor Act' outweigh the prolonged periods with lower stability (low stab = less money)? Does French military (with its unlimited manpower) really need 'Militia Act'?

Well, I try to balance out gameplay advantage with 'what would logically happen'. Charles VII did indeed have attempts to center the military around himself, or at least try to, so the Militia Act was a no brainer (also, I don't plan on hosting a huge army and, as I'd rather not try to use the Human Wave Doctrine due to War Exhaustion, the discipline bonus seemed like a plus). As for the Liquor Act, well, I just really needed the money in order to move forward, and France's wine monopoly seemed like a good enough reason to enact it.

I'm all about the internal reforms update, so this was right up my alley.

Continue France's march to modernity! In the long term, are you planning on forcing a revolution or are you going to stay the ancien regime?

We'll see how things shape up. I'd rather not go through the chaotic, stability-shattering times of a revolution, but if it's unavoidable then I'll bring down the monarchy!

Well, gabor says, the stability-impairing decisions might hurt you down the road. Hopefully they are worth it in the long run. A good update though; it's always fascinating to see the choices made by other players!

I enjoyed the pic of Charles and the Estates—took me a while to realise the Valois coat of arms is prominently displayed on the wall. Very cool.

Oh, and are you getting nailed by "Laws of the Empire" for eating a chunk of Lorraine and all of Provence?

Thank you for the compliments. Like I said above, I have my reasons for making those choices, but as with all choices, there are consequences.

Yeah, I kinda laughed when I found the picture of Charles and the Estates myself, seemed like such a grand find.

And no, due in part to the facts that I have cores on Provence and Barrois. Although I can't imagine I'll be avoiding the Laws of the Empire for much longer though.

Everyone: Sorry for the lateness of this one fellas. As I've said, I'm in university now so I have to prioritize my time. I hope that you all will enjoy this update though!

 

[Faeelin]

Smashing, as always.

 

[Razgriz 2K9]

Well, well the Burgundian Wars has begun. Makes me wonder if it'll end as in OTL, with the House of Bourgogne destroyed and the realms divided between the Austrian Hapsburgs and the French Valois, or if something special is to happen too.

 

[General_Hoth]

I suscribe But with a special demand: give me a powerful Nouvelle France

 

[unmerged(90806)]

Can't wait to see how the wars played out. Will you be tempted to vassalise Savoy and/or (possible?) Brittany? How much of the Burgundian territory will be taken?

Btw, how did Louis's wife react to his hubby being at war with her daddy?

 

[Chris Taylor]

Such intense hatred would cause Margaret to take steps to avoiding pregnancy, wearing tight corsets, eating green apples and drinking apple cider.

Cider does that?! <pitches cans of Strongbow into the trash>

In all seriousness, that's a wonderful bit of pre-modern medical lore—bravo.

... Louis sought to solidify his relationship with the Duchy of Savoy, a longtime ally of the Dauphiné, by marrying Charlotte, the daughter of Duke Louis of Savoy in 1451 ...

... Although Brittany and Savoy disavowed Burgundy's act of war on the Holy Roman Empire, they did come to Burgundy's aid against France, not wishing to see the Valois monarch strike down Burgundy, whom they saw as an excellent weight against French power.

:unsure::blink:hmy:

I usually try to avoid fights with my in-laws. But then they don't have any neighbouring counties I can incorporate into my demesne.

You'll forgive me if I'm rooting for the Deadmeat Alliance (Brittany, Burgundy, Savoy) in this go-round.

I enjoyed the rivalry of Louis and Charles, and was impressed by the way you tied in the real history of the French and Burgundian chivalric orders. Well done.

 

[NACBEAST]

Smashing, as always.

Why thank you, glad you enjoyed.

Well, well the Burgundian Wars has begun. Makes me wonder if it'll end as in OTL, with the House of Bourgogne destroyed and the realms divided between the Austrian Hapsburgs and the French Valois, or if something special is to happen too.

Unfortunately due to the way MM works, Burgundy doesn't usually end up getting split till sometime after the 15th Century. It's a little bit annoying, but historically accurate I suppose. The only time it's really a pain in the ass is when Charles the Bold dies and he, somehow, already has an heir ready to take the throne when he dies. Then again, given that they're now catering to both a 1453 and 1399 start, it's hard to try to work in the death of Charles I as a trigger for the event, as Charles could end up randomly appearing early on in the 1399 start, long before he's historically supposed to (and long before when the event is aimed to fire)

I suscribe But with a special demand: give me a powerful Nouvelle France

That'll be a tough order, but I'll see what I can do. Needless to say, France will have a rather rocky start to it's colonization.

Can't wait to see how the wars played out. Will you be tempted to vassalise Savoy and/or (possible?) Brittany? How much of the Burgundian territory will be taken?

Btw, how did Louis's wife react to his hubby being at war with her daddy?

I'm afraid that how the war works out will be kept under wraps for now. As for Charolette, well, she'll be alright. Take that as you will

Cider does that?! <pitches cans of Strongbow into the trash>

In all seriousness, that's a wonderful bit of pre-modern medical lore—bravo.

I usually try to avoid fights with my in-laws. But then they don't have any neighbouring counties I can incorporate into my demesne.

You'll forgive me if I'm rooting for the Deadmeat Alliance (Brittany, Burgundy, Savoy) in this go-round.

I enjoyed the rivalry of Louis and Charles, and was impressed by the way you tied in the real history of the French and Burgundian chivalric orders. Well done.

Well, a big part of writing a good history-based aar, as I've learned from you and others, is flavor. So things like common lore of the time period can do wonders for helping to really bring in that richness of detail.

Your in-laws also probably don't make alliances with the express value of witnessing your demise... then again, they wouldn't be your in-laws if they didn't XD

You know, they might look like the poor, small nobles trying to fight off a belligerent King, but really, look at it from Louis' perspective. All he wants to do is rule over all of France with an iron fist, unquestionable in his authority. Is that really too much to ask?

As for the rivalry, once again, flavor and detail demanded that I write about what would lead up to the DoW. The stuff about the chivalric orders, however, was just as much an aesthetic decision as it was a detail decision. I'm sure you've noticed the change in emblem used in the update sections as it concerns France. It was a common symbol used by Louis during his reign (apparently the Universal Spider didn't wish to make his symbol all ornate and pretty). The most 'ornate' thing on it, however, is the chain of the Order of St. Michael. Well, I couldn't very well let that go unexplained, especially when, up to this point, Charles the V and VI used a broom pod collar.

Plus it really fit in with the 'Scandal at the Court' event. I couldn't resist!