Chapter 1: Setting the stage
[Hi readAARs! This is my first AAR, and nearly my first time playing a game like EU3, so expect lots of mistakes! Expect a mixture of high drama and low humor; I’m trying to balance the two approximately in alternate entries, we’ll have to see how it works out. As a technical note, I played a few decades before I decided to make an AAR, so screenshots will be sparse for the first while.]
It was the summer of 1453, and Europa appeared to be on the edge of collapse. The West reeled before the Ottoman onslaught which had finally destroyed the last vestiges of the Roman Empire; Moors still ruled southern Spain; and Germany, France, and Italy were disunified masses of petty statelets constantly fighting among themselves. Peasant families prayed, “From the Turk and the comet, good Lord, deliver us” [1] Europa needed a savior to unite a fractious Christendom and focus a continent’s potentially vast might against the Infidel..
Into the breach stepped the Kingdom [2] of Austria. The Habsburg patriarch Ladislaus Posthumus called all his nobles together in solemn conclave, and, assembled them in his throne room. On the dias before the throne there stood a table covered with a cloth of the finest red velvet. On the table was a large chest worked of solid gold. Ladislaus put his right hand atop the chest and addressed his nobles, so:
“My Lords, you all know the crisis facing Austria and Christendom. I call you here to bear witness to a vow, the most sacred vow I know how to make. This chest contains relics of our own Saint Leopold [3], just canonized ten years back by his Holiness the Pope. He will carry my words to the Almighty.
“For many years Austria has been protected and guided by the holy Martyr Saint Koloman. In this time of trouble we need a more martial protector. Recall then the deeds of Saint Leopold, who, with Divine help, saved us from the Hungarians. Who, with Divine help, cleared the forests for towns and monasteries. Who performed miracles which none can deny.
“Only Leopold can save us.
“My Lords, I hereby rededicate Austria to Saint Leopold. My family and my nation will never rest until Europa is free of the Turkish yoke, and the One True Church is respected and glorified in every corner of the continent. My sword I lay at his feet. It will never be sheathed until the Turk is chased back to the wilds of Asia whence he came. Amen”
Ladislaus then drew his bejeweled sword, and laid it reverently before the golden chest. There was a moment of silence, then, as one, the gathered nobility of Austria drew their own swords, and, some openly weeping, placed them along with the King’s.
The Long Crusade had begun.
[Next … Whither Austria?]
[1] Historical note: this prayer was actually introduced in 1456 when Halley’s comet showed up
[2] It’s a little unclear whether we can call Austria an Archduchy or a Kingdom right now, as in real life the Duke of Austria was the emperor of the HRE, which is not the case in-game. So we’ll call it a Kingdom and be done with it.
[3] Saint Leopold (1073-1136) was an extraordinary fellow … he really did all the things Ladislaus listed. Margrave of Austria defeated a Hungarian invasion, established monasteries, and *turned down* the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. In real history he was canonized in 1485 and made the Patron of Austria in the 17th century (replacing St. Koloman). I have sped this up for the story’s sake.
[Hi readAARs! This is my first AAR, and nearly my first time playing a game like EU3, so expect lots of mistakes! Expect a mixture of high drama and low humor; I’m trying to balance the two approximately in alternate entries, we’ll have to see how it works out. As a technical note, I played a few decades before I decided to make an AAR, so screenshots will be sparse for the first while.]
It was the summer of 1453, and Europa appeared to be on the edge of collapse. The West reeled before the Ottoman onslaught which had finally destroyed the last vestiges of the Roman Empire; Moors still ruled southern Spain; and Germany, France, and Italy were disunified masses of petty statelets constantly fighting among themselves. Peasant families prayed, “From the Turk and the comet, good Lord, deliver us” [1] Europa needed a savior to unite a fractious Christendom and focus a continent’s potentially vast might against the Infidel..
Into the breach stepped the Kingdom [2] of Austria. The Habsburg patriarch Ladislaus Posthumus called all his nobles together in solemn conclave, and, assembled them in his throne room. On the dias before the throne there stood a table covered with a cloth of the finest red velvet. On the table was a large chest worked of solid gold. Ladislaus put his right hand atop the chest and addressed his nobles, so:
“My Lords, you all know the crisis facing Austria and Christendom. I call you here to bear witness to a vow, the most sacred vow I know how to make. This chest contains relics of our own Saint Leopold [3], just canonized ten years back by his Holiness the Pope. He will carry my words to the Almighty.
“For many years Austria has been protected and guided by the holy Martyr Saint Koloman. In this time of trouble we need a more martial protector. Recall then the deeds of Saint Leopold, who, with Divine help, saved us from the Hungarians. Who, with Divine help, cleared the forests for towns and monasteries. Who performed miracles which none can deny.
“Only Leopold can save us.
“My Lords, I hereby rededicate Austria to Saint Leopold. My family and my nation will never rest until Europa is free of the Turkish yoke, and the One True Church is respected and glorified in every corner of the continent. My sword I lay at his feet. It will never be sheathed until the Turk is chased back to the wilds of Asia whence he came. Amen”
Ladislaus then drew his bejeweled sword, and laid it reverently before the golden chest. There was a moment of silence, then, as one, the gathered nobility of Austria drew their own swords, and, some openly weeping, placed them along with the King’s.
The Long Crusade had begun.
[Next … Whither Austria?]
[1] Historical note: this prayer was actually introduced in 1456 when Halley’s comet showed up
[2] It’s a little unclear whether we can call Austria an Archduchy or a Kingdom right now, as in real life the Duke of Austria was the emperor of the HRE, which is not the case in-game. So we’ll call it a Kingdom and be done with it.
[3] Saint Leopold (1073-1136) was an extraordinary fellow … he really did all the things Ladislaus listed. Margrave of Austria defeated a Hungarian invasion, established monasteries, and *turned down* the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. In real history he was canonized in 1485 and made the Patron of Austria in the 17th century (replacing St. Koloman). I have sped this up for the story’s sake.