Just saw this the other day... Unbelievable. You manage to mix in modern melodrama with CK. Just Ausgezeichnet, as your German enemies would say.
The Beautiful Girl and the History Class
- Thread starter Jestor
- Start date
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Chief Ragusa: Thanks 
Very interesting suggestions and theories you propose. Nick asked one of his brothers for advice once before and it may happen again, but then again it might not. The girls before asking Melody to take him down would be interesting. Payment obviously wouldn't be a motive for someone who is as rich as Melody. But we'll just have to see it plays out.
aussieboy: Thank you! To be honest, I never expected that this story would get the legs that it has, but I'm happy it has.
Very interesting suggestions and theories you propose. Nick asked one of his brothers for advice once before and it may happen again, but then again it might not. The girls before asking Melody to take him down would be interesting. Payment obviously wouldn't be a motive for someone who is as rich as Melody. But we'll just have to see it plays out. aussieboy: Thank you!
To be honest, I never expected that this story would get the legs that it has, but I'm happy it has.
Only the lecture today. That' s all I'm going to concern myself with this Wednesday. I'm going to ignore the fact that Melody's wearing a short white skirt and a form-fitting pale orange blouse. Not going to pay attention to that at all. Is that a hint of cleavage I see as she's walking towards her seat from the front door?
The whine of the overhead projector firing up breaks my distraction, as does the inevitable picture that Morengay slides up.
"This is the situation in Croatia as of May 1103, three and a half years after King Louis took control of Alexandria. Croatia was where the sheik of Egypt fled and was building a new kingdom and where Louis pursued him. By this time, Alexandria had fallen back into Muslim hands and it now belonged to the caliphate of Cyrenaica, which was quickly replacing Egypt as the dominant North African Islamic power.
Louis was aided in his Croatian campaign by the Dukes of Rashka and Karten, but what's interesting to note is that the Italian king had very little interest in the region. He simply wanted to flush the Muslims out from being too close to Italy for his comfort.
Over the next two years, as the war raged on, several of Louis's relatives came to distinguish or shame themselves on the battlefield as the case may be."
Morengay changed the map for a series of portraits, which he explained one by one.
"This is Thomas de Semur, King Louis's eldest son. He was not in line to inherit the throne because under the de Semur laws of inheritance established shortly after they came into possession of Chalons, only the strongest son could receive the title. This turned out to be a wise move, for Thomas embarassed himself greatly. He lost numerous battles with the Bolognan regiment and also managed to become wounded in one of those poorly mismanaged conflicts. I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to you that Louis considered his eldest a disgrace to the de Semur name."
"Here's Nazareno de Semur, who I forgot exactly what his relation to King Louis was, but he was part of the bloodline somehow. Appointed to the command of the capital regiment after Thomas's ineptitude, he successfully helped to turn the tide of the war back in favor of the Italians. As a sign of his skill in war, he conquered the county of Zadar and declared himself the ruler there under Louis's banner. Louis, pleased with Nazareno's efforts, let him keep the title with his blessing.
"Like Nazareno, I don't remember just where he fit in the scheme of the bloodline, but this guy was incredible. The Marshal of the Italian armies, he almost singlehandedly saved Louis's Croatian war from ending in disaster with extremely innovative and ingenious tactics, some of which were still being used centuries later and have been adapted to business form today. He wrote a book titled The Invocation of Victory, in which he outlined his strategems and advice. If any of you happen to run across a copy of it, I urge you to read it. Brilliant writing and some hilarious ancedotes.
He also consulted with what passed for the engineering and architectual communities in Italy at the time and helped them to create the designs for a much larger and more formidable castle in Bologna, one that Louis hoped to have built once he was finished meddling in Croatia.
The whole Kingdom of Italy was sent into mourning in the fall of 1105. King Sancho Jiminez of Navarra and Aragon was killed in battle against Muslims and his sons, too, perished in a campaign as long and drawn out as the de Semur efforts in Croatia. Thus, a de Barcelona now ruled. Not only was the Spanish king dead, but Louis's own beloved second son, Steward Jimeno, who professed such love for the Castillian lifestyle. He, too, fell in war.
A week after Jimeno's death, Thomas died of his own war injuries that had pestered him for so long. It was a sorrowful time all throughout Italy, even in spite of the military successes and the agony was only added to in December when Callisto, the Count's fourth son, died of pneumonia. Now only Louis's chosen heir, Arnaud and Yves, a fifth son lived.
By early 1108, Louis was in control of Croatia and no Muslims remained. Despite this fact, the Caliph of Egypt stubbornly refused to make peace. Nonetheless, Louis disbanded his troops in the field and set about the task of reorganizing his Croatian lands.
In September 1108, what Louis feared would happen with the Duchy of Lombardia did, to a degree. The title was inherited by the Duke of Alsace, the King of Germany having been forced to surrender his title in a earlier civil war. This put a small dent in the Italian coffers, which at the time was getting approximately 54 florins a month in profit. Let's just say that was a lot of money for that time.
One thing that really vexed King Louis wasn't so much losing Lombardia, as it was the fact that just one province stood between him and a second crown and so saying, he went to war with the county of Usora shortly after Lombardia became the Duke of Alsace's.
On May 18, 1109. King Louis of Italy marched into Usora, and there, in the wealthiest province in all of Croatia, with great ceremony and paegantry and all of his dukes in attendance, he was coronated the King of Croatia.
Now two crowns at on one de Semur head.
That's all for today. See you next time."
By my math, which isn't the greatest, that means in just over 50 years, the de Semurs went from counts to kings of two countries. That's pretty damned impressive.
I'm so amazed as I'm thinking about that feat that I don't even notice Melody as I go out the door.
Hah! Take that!
The whine of the overhead projector firing up breaks my distraction, as does the inevitable picture that Morengay slides up.
"This is the situation in Croatia as of May 1103, three and a half years after King Louis took control of Alexandria. Croatia was where the sheik of Egypt fled and was building a new kingdom and where Louis pursued him. By this time, Alexandria had fallen back into Muslim hands and it now belonged to the caliphate of Cyrenaica, which was quickly replacing Egypt as the dominant North African Islamic power.
Louis was aided in his Croatian campaign by the Dukes of Rashka and Karten, but what's interesting to note is that the Italian king had very little interest in the region. He simply wanted to flush the Muslims out from being too close to Italy for his comfort.
Over the next two years, as the war raged on, several of Louis's relatives came to distinguish or shame themselves on the battlefield as the case may be."
Morengay changed the map for a series of portraits, which he explained one by one.
"This is Thomas de Semur, King Louis's eldest son. He was not in line to inherit the throne because under the de Semur laws of inheritance established shortly after they came into possession of Chalons, only the strongest son could receive the title. This turned out to be a wise move, for Thomas embarassed himself greatly. He lost numerous battles with the Bolognan regiment and also managed to become wounded in one of those poorly mismanaged conflicts. I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to you that Louis considered his eldest a disgrace to the de Semur name."
"Here's Nazareno de Semur, who I forgot exactly what his relation to King Louis was, but he was part of the bloodline somehow. Appointed to the command of the capital regiment after Thomas's ineptitude, he successfully helped to turn the tide of the war back in favor of the Italians. As a sign of his skill in war, he conquered the county of Zadar and declared himself the ruler there under Louis's banner. Louis, pleased with Nazareno's efforts, let him keep the title with his blessing.
"Like Nazareno, I don't remember just where he fit in the scheme of the bloodline, but this guy was incredible. The Marshal of the Italian armies, he almost singlehandedly saved Louis's Croatian war from ending in disaster with extremely innovative and ingenious tactics, some of which were still being used centuries later and have been adapted to business form today. He wrote a book titled The Invocation of Victory, in which he outlined his strategems and advice. If any of you happen to run across a copy of it, I urge you to read it. Brilliant writing and some hilarious ancedotes.
He also consulted with what passed for the engineering and architectual communities in Italy at the time and helped them to create the designs for a much larger and more formidable castle in Bologna, one that Louis hoped to have built once he was finished meddling in Croatia.
The whole Kingdom of Italy was sent into mourning in the fall of 1105. King Sancho Jiminez of Navarra and Aragon was killed in battle against Muslims and his sons, too, perished in a campaign as long and drawn out as the de Semur efforts in Croatia. Thus, a de Barcelona now ruled. Not only was the Spanish king dead, but Louis's own beloved second son, Steward Jimeno, who professed such love for the Castillian lifestyle. He, too, fell in war.
A week after Jimeno's death, Thomas died of his own war injuries that had pestered him for so long. It was a sorrowful time all throughout Italy, even in spite of the military successes and the agony was only added to in December when Callisto, the Count's fourth son, died of pneumonia. Now only Louis's chosen heir, Arnaud and Yves, a fifth son lived.
By early 1108, Louis was in control of Croatia and no Muslims remained. Despite this fact, the Caliph of Egypt stubbornly refused to make peace. Nonetheless, Louis disbanded his troops in the field and set about the task of reorganizing his Croatian lands.
In September 1108, what Louis feared would happen with the Duchy of Lombardia did, to a degree. The title was inherited by the Duke of Alsace, the King of Germany having been forced to surrender his title in a earlier civil war. This put a small dent in the Italian coffers, which at the time was getting approximately 54 florins a month in profit. Let's just say that was a lot of money for that time.
One thing that really vexed King Louis wasn't so much losing Lombardia, as it was the fact that just one province stood between him and a second crown and so saying, he went to war with the county of Usora shortly after Lombardia became the Duke of Alsace's.
On May 18, 1109. King Louis of Italy marched into Usora, and there, in the wealthiest province in all of Croatia, with great ceremony and paegantry and all of his dukes in attendance, he was coronated the King of Croatia.
Now two crowns at on one de Semur head.
That's all for today. See you next time."
By my math, which isn't the greatest, that means in just over 50 years, the de Semurs went from counts to kings of two countries. That's pretty damned impressive.
I'm so amazed as I'm thinking about that feat that I don't even notice Melody as I go out the door.
Hah! Take that!
aussieboy said:
Bless you.
as judged by the number of pullups they could perform on the Holy Chinup Bar of St. Arnold in its gym-sized reliquary at Chalon Cathedral. In the case of infants, their prospective strength was foretold by the court astrologers, who proved uncanily accurate.
Salic consang is so amusingly implemented.
The De Semurs are adding crowns that could cause a problem inf Louius' successors feel they have to emulate the feat. The Croatians do seem peculiarly able to get conquered by an amusing buncnh of Muslim rulers. The De Semurs now have the Tribe of Cuman and its many offshoots as neighbours. Conquering them wouldgive the de Sekmurs something interesting to doforthe next three hundred years.
At least, with Alsatians the King can say, "Good boy, sit!"
Much as Melody is doing to Nick.
At least, with Alsatians the King can say, "Good boy, sit!"
Much as Melody is doing to Nick.
Not bad self-control for our hero...Kings of Croatia and Italy, not bad. A shame about Lombardy, but I think the new crown is more than adequate compensation- the Germans are bound to self-destruct and give it back to you eventually in any case.
Zaccaria desperately needs to be handed some provinces. Poor stats in two areas, but great in the others.
Llywelyn: Inded it is. I wish it wouldn't go off of base stat, though. That's one of my quibbles with it.
Chief Ragusa: Excellent point on Nick and Melody I don't think the Cumans are necessarily neighbours at this point in the game. I'll have to go and check next update. Interesting theory about the two crowns possibly causing problems for successors.
JimboIX: Croatia definitely makes up for losing Lombardy. Whether or not it'll revert back to me is uncertain, since it's a duchy in the hands of another duchy. If I really need to, I can always go get it back anyway, since I have a free claim on it.
J. Passepartout: Yeah, I know, but... he's the best marshal I've -ever- had. Not necessarily in terms of martial stats, but in his results. Both in winning wars and in the events that have been popping up. I'd hate to lose him.
Fulcrumvale: Yep, it's only a minor pain right now, though, because Egypt is just about KO'ed in Africa, so they don't have much to throw at me.
Next update will be sometime this week, just don't know when. First two finals were easy and I've got my capstone paper done, but there's another final paper and my roughest final due this week.
Inded it is. I wish it wouldn't go off of base stat, though. That's one of my quibbles with it.Chief Ragusa: Excellent point on Nick and Melody
I don't think the Cumans are necessarily neighbours at this point in the game. I'll have to go and check next update. Interesting theory about the two crowns possibly causing problems for successors.JimboIX: Croatia definitely makes up for losing Lombardy. Whether or not it'll revert back to me is uncertain, since it's a duchy in the hands of another duchy. If I really need to, I can always go get it back anyway, since I have a free claim on it.
J. Passepartout: Yeah, I know, but... he's the best marshal I've -ever- had. Not necessarily in terms of martial stats, but in his results. Both in winning wars and in the events that have been popping up. I'd hate to lose him.
Fulcrumvale: Yep, it's only a minor pain right now, though, because Egypt is just about KO'ed in Africa, so they don't have much to throw at me.
Next update will be sometime this week, just don't know when. First two finals were easy and I've got my capstone paper done, but there's another final paper and my roughest final due this week.
Jestor: ...Now two crowns sat on one de Semur head.
excellent accomplishment ! ! btw, how many crowns in the de Semur family ? ?
awesome update ! !
excellent accomplishment ! ! btw, how many crowns in the de Semur family ? ?
awesome update ! !
GhostWriter: Thanks! It certainly does feel like an accomplishment. Not too long ago, it was a struggle just to even be King of one country, let alone two. As for your question about the number of crowned de Semurs, it's sadly just Louis, as Queen Hermengarde of Navarra and Aragon lost her crown when King Sancho and his sons were all killed and the crowns passed to a de... Barcelona I think it was. It's in one of my earlier updates.
Tonight I'm celebrating the semester being done and cleaning my room. I won't be back home until Monday night and I should be able to update then.
If everything goes how I expect it to, I'll have a 3.5 in my toughest semester ever. I'd certainly take that!
It certainly does feel like an accomplishment. Not too long ago, it was a struggle just to even be King of one country, let alone two. As for your question about the number of crowned de Semurs, it's sadly just Louis, as Queen Hermengarde of Navarra and Aragon lost her crown when King Sancho and his sons were all killed and the crowns passed to a de... Barcelona I think it was. It's in one of my earlier updates.Tonight I'm celebrating the semester being done and cleaning my room. I won't be back home until Monday night and I should be able to update then.
If everything goes how I expect it to, I'll have a 3.5 in my toughest semester ever. I'd certainly take that!
EightDeer said:
I haven't decided precisely where I'm going yet. My badboy's not bad at all, thanks to the crusade I went on.
Very important day, this Friday. But as always, there's the lecture from the perpetually cheerful Morengay, who puts a map up on his overhead.
"Here's the state of Italy-Croatia as it came to be called after the crowns were united under Louis, in May 1109. The different parts of the kingdom are, naturally, outlined in red.
Yet, even those boundaries did not stay long, as the remaining Croatian and Serbian lords pledged their fealty to Louis, which greatly pleased the king as you can imagine.
In September, he summoned his Bolognan regiment and set sail for the Middle East to finally once and for all wipe out the Egyptians, for he had other ambitions he wanted to execute that he couldn't with those pesky Muslims in his way. En route, the people of Hum, which by this time had become Louis's wealthiest territory in Croatia, hearing of their new liege's devotion to the Holy Crusade, abandoned Orthodoxy and converted to Catholicism wholesale in incredible public rituals. As a reward for his new co-religionists, King Louis ordered a library built in Hum.
Louis landed in Jaffa in July 1110 and by early September, the impoverished, backwater desert province was his. He pressed on to Hebron, where his forces valiantly battled army after army of Egypt's desparately fighting Muslim hordes, winning again and again.
Finally, in November, the Egyptian caliph offered to make peace in exchange for surrendering all rights to Zeta. Louis, as you might imagine, accepted, eager to get back to his Italian schemes. He appointed a governor in charge of Jaffa and returned home.
Once back in Bologna, Louis set upon his greatest ambition: to control the Adriatic Sea. As you can see from the map on the overhead, Italy-Croatia already held much of the Adriatic under its sway, but the powerful Duchies of Karten and Apuila stood in the way of absolute rule. Thus, it should come as no surprise to you that Louis claimed the right to Karten and invaded, for Karten was the easiest target, able to be hammered by both Italy and Croatia.
The war was going smoothly until February 14th, 1111. Valentine's Day is normally pretty cool, right? Girls, you get the chocolates and the flowers, guys you hopefully get a little fun if you do it right."
I can't stop from chuckling along with the rest of the class. Too bad it's not spring semester or I could plan something with Melody.
"But this Valentine's Day wasn't so great for King Louis I of Italy and Croatia. Pope Folco, seeing Italy-Croatia's bullying of Karten, ordered an end to the conflict, saying that a crusader of Louis's reputation should be concentrating on the Muslims.
Louis flatly refused and the pope excommunicated him.
Now you might be saying, so what? What's the big deal about some, pardon me if I offend any Catholics in here, some jackass in a funny hat saying you're no longer a member of the Church? Well, in those days, it meant that your soul was eternally damned and you could have no hope of the Kingdom of Heaven. It was the single worst thing that could happen to you.
It was even more of an outrage to Louis because of all he'd done to support Catholicism's name. Time and time again he'd defended the Church and to be cast out like this infuriated him.
As if that weren't bad enough, the Duke of Karten and Verona, for he held both titles, proved a much tougher nut to crack than Louis had anticipated. In fact, if it wasn't for the mighty marshal Zaccaria, who I've told you about before, Louis would've suffered a shameful loss from which he might've never recovered.
Unfortunately, the great and heroic man was also gravely wounded in the fighting. Louis, repenting of starting the war and causing his most capable general to be hurt, made peace in July for the Duke of Karten title and 500 florins. He then named Zaccaria the Duke of Karten and gave him the rich county of Provence to rule over, fulfilling the still young Marshal's long-held dream to become a titled noble.
In Zaccaria's place, Louis appointed another de Semur, Charles. Charles at the time was 21, four years younger than the man he'd replaced. He was renowned as an even mightier individual warrior than Zaccaria, but without the genius-level ability of strategy that his predecessor was so famous for.
Despite this attempt to make amends, Louis discovered that God was not done punishing him for Karten yet, for in September, his beloved wife Toda, who had been with him for as long as he could remember, died. It did not take long for him to find another bride however, as he married Irmeltrud von Rheinfelden, the lovely 16 year old sister of the infant King of Germany. Indeed, it is often said that she was so beautiful she rivaled the loveliest girls in France, then known for its stunning women.
December of 1111 brought a man who would play a very significant role in the future of Italy-Croatia. That man was Pedro Jimenez, a priest who was the brother to three Jimenezs already in court and the cousin to yet other Jimenezs who had been married to de Semurs. Upon his arrival into Bologna, he stormed into the castle, pushed the guards aside, marched into the throne room and said, and I quote "God has taken your love and reduced your favorite marshal to a provincial Duke. You have had no bishop since Robert of Chalons's death. Appoint me the Bishop of Italy-Croatia and great bounty shall enter your kingdom again, where now there is sorrow and sadness at every turn."
King Louis readily accepted and named the fiery Castillian the royal bishop.
We now turn our attention to the Middle East, for in February 1112, Louis realized that in obtaining the title of the Duke of Karten, he also received numerous count vassals. This stoked the flames of desire for conquest and crusading in him, to rid his excommunication. He noticed in particular that the Count of Krain held Cairo, a city that would make for an excellent base of operations. Louis ordered him to surrender the title but the Count refused. In response, the Italian-Croatian king declared war.
Zaccaria, furious at Louis's presumption, countered by declaring his own independence from the King and joining in war against Louis. By July, Cairo was in Louis's hands and Charles was about to make landfall on Provence and swords with the legendary marshal he'd replaced. Unfortunately for Zaccaria, he was still too ill to fight and so the battle was swift and in favor of Charles, who, it must be said, fought most impressively.
At the September peace negotiations, Louis demanded only the title of Duke of Karten, allowing Zaccaria to keep Provence in honor of the services his old marshal had rendered him and in acknowledgement of the Count of Provence's justice in defending his vassal.
The moment King Louis returned home to Bologna, he set sail. Where to... will be revealed... on Monday! Enjoy your weekend!"
I'm beginning to hate his cliffhangers, even though it's rather fitting, because I'm sailing into the unknown myself tonight, hell, this whole weekend.
Melody slips out the door while I'm lost in my thoughts.
Now I sit and wait for evening to come.
"Here's the state of Italy-Croatia as it came to be called after the crowns were united under Louis, in May 1109. The different parts of the kingdom are, naturally, outlined in red.
Yet, even those boundaries did not stay long, as the remaining Croatian and Serbian lords pledged their fealty to Louis, which greatly pleased the king as you can imagine.
In September, he summoned his Bolognan regiment and set sail for the Middle East to finally once and for all wipe out the Egyptians, for he had other ambitions he wanted to execute that he couldn't with those pesky Muslims in his way. En route, the people of Hum, which by this time had become Louis's wealthiest territory in Croatia, hearing of their new liege's devotion to the Holy Crusade, abandoned Orthodoxy and converted to Catholicism wholesale in incredible public rituals. As a reward for his new co-religionists, King Louis ordered a library built in Hum.
Louis landed in Jaffa in July 1110 and by early September, the impoverished, backwater desert province was his. He pressed on to Hebron, where his forces valiantly battled army after army of Egypt's desparately fighting Muslim hordes, winning again and again.
Finally, in November, the Egyptian caliph offered to make peace in exchange for surrendering all rights to Zeta. Louis, as you might imagine, accepted, eager to get back to his Italian schemes. He appointed a governor in charge of Jaffa and returned home.
Once back in Bologna, Louis set upon his greatest ambition: to control the Adriatic Sea. As you can see from the map on the overhead, Italy-Croatia already held much of the Adriatic under its sway, but the powerful Duchies of Karten and Apuila stood in the way of absolute rule. Thus, it should come as no surprise to you that Louis claimed the right to Karten and invaded, for Karten was the easiest target, able to be hammered by both Italy and Croatia.
The war was going smoothly until February 14th, 1111. Valentine's Day is normally pretty cool, right? Girls, you get the chocolates and the flowers, guys you hopefully get a little fun if you do it right."
I can't stop from chuckling along with the rest of the class. Too bad it's not spring semester or I could plan something with Melody.
"But this Valentine's Day wasn't so great for King Louis I of Italy and Croatia. Pope Folco, seeing Italy-Croatia's bullying of Karten, ordered an end to the conflict, saying that a crusader of Louis's reputation should be concentrating on the Muslims.
Louis flatly refused and the pope excommunicated him.
Now you might be saying, so what? What's the big deal about some, pardon me if I offend any Catholics in here, some jackass in a funny hat saying you're no longer a member of the Church? Well, in those days, it meant that your soul was eternally damned and you could have no hope of the Kingdom of Heaven. It was the single worst thing that could happen to you.
It was even more of an outrage to Louis because of all he'd done to support Catholicism's name. Time and time again he'd defended the Church and to be cast out like this infuriated him.
As if that weren't bad enough, the Duke of Karten and Verona, for he held both titles, proved a much tougher nut to crack than Louis had anticipated. In fact, if it wasn't for the mighty marshal Zaccaria, who I've told you about before, Louis would've suffered a shameful loss from which he might've never recovered.
Unfortunately, the great and heroic man was also gravely wounded in the fighting. Louis, repenting of starting the war and causing his most capable general to be hurt, made peace in July for the Duke of Karten title and 500 florins. He then named Zaccaria the Duke of Karten and gave him the rich county of Provence to rule over, fulfilling the still young Marshal's long-held dream to become a titled noble.
In Zaccaria's place, Louis appointed another de Semur, Charles. Charles at the time was 21, four years younger than the man he'd replaced. He was renowned as an even mightier individual warrior than Zaccaria, but without the genius-level ability of strategy that his predecessor was so famous for.
Despite this attempt to make amends, Louis discovered that God was not done punishing him for Karten yet, for in September, his beloved wife Toda, who had been with him for as long as he could remember, died. It did not take long for him to find another bride however, as he married Irmeltrud von Rheinfelden, the lovely 16 year old sister of the infant King of Germany. Indeed, it is often said that she was so beautiful she rivaled the loveliest girls in France, then known for its stunning women.
December of 1111 brought a man who would play a very significant role in the future of Italy-Croatia. That man was Pedro Jimenez, a priest who was the brother to three Jimenezs already in court and the cousin to yet other Jimenezs who had been married to de Semurs. Upon his arrival into Bologna, he stormed into the castle, pushed the guards aside, marched into the throne room and said, and I quote "God has taken your love and reduced your favorite marshal to a provincial Duke. You have had no bishop since Robert of Chalons's death. Appoint me the Bishop of Italy-Croatia and great bounty shall enter your kingdom again, where now there is sorrow and sadness at every turn."
King Louis readily accepted and named the fiery Castillian the royal bishop.
We now turn our attention to the Middle East, for in February 1112, Louis realized that in obtaining the title of the Duke of Karten, he also received numerous count vassals. This stoked the flames of desire for conquest and crusading in him, to rid his excommunication. He noticed in particular that the Count of Krain held Cairo, a city that would make for an excellent base of operations. Louis ordered him to surrender the title but the Count refused. In response, the Italian-Croatian king declared war.
Zaccaria, furious at Louis's presumption, countered by declaring his own independence from the King and joining in war against Louis. By July, Cairo was in Louis's hands and Charles was about to make landfall on Provence and swords with the legendary marshal he'd replaced. Unfortunately for Zaccaria, he was still too ill to fight and so the battle was swift and in favor of Charles, who, it must be said, fought most impressively.
At the September peace negotiations, Louis demanded only the title of Duke of Karten, allowing Zaccaria to keep Provence in honor of the services his old marshal had rendered him and in acknowledgement of the Count of Provence's justice in defending his vassal.
The moment King Louis returned home to Bologna, he set sail. Where to... will be revealed... on Monday! Enjoy your weekend!"
I'm beginning to hate his cliffhangers, even though it's rather fitting, because I'm sailing into the unknown myself tonight, hell, this whole weekend.
Melody slips out the door while I'm lost in my thoughts.
Now I sit and wait for evening to come.
... to conquer the kingdom of the Zirids.
Like Nick, Louis has conquest on his mind. See if Castillian big-mouth can back up his claims.
Crusade to lower reputation so that Karnten agreed to become your vassal and then hit him with a revocation of title. Would have worked, first time, let's hope it's still on next.
Like Nick, Louis has conquest on his mind. See if Castillian big-mouth can back up his claims.
Crusade to lower reputation so that Karnten agreed to become your vassal and then hit him with a revocation of title. Would have worked, first time, let's hope it's still on next.
Last edited:
Maybe Louis is becoming a little overambitious, let's hope Nick can learn from his mistakes.
Jestor said:Oh btw, the Cavaliers' football program is pretty decent. I mean, they didn't have the Overrated Cousins at QB *cough*MikenMarcus*cough*
Don't get me started on Marcus Vick :S Note, however, he wasn't overratted. He was a darn good Quarterback, but he was a bad person. Glennon has huge potential, and if Bryan Randall had been a junior, he would have won the starting job and we could have gone undefeated in 05. Besides, shirts and ties! come on!
Oh, and good updates by the way
This news of the king bodes poorly. Next thing we know Nick will discover himself doomed to Hades like Louis.
An unfortunate excommunication, but these thigns happen, another crusade is badly needed to wash away the stains. Nick better bring his A game with Melody, he'll need it.