Chapter 28: A deal is struck
23 December 1386, Schloss von Hohenzollern
For the first time in a very long time, Bayern was not crippled by a long regency. Instead, Reinhard II, the new Herzog von Bayern, came of age mere weeks after the death of his father.
He was a very well loved man; kind, generous to a fault, and always willing to talk. His personal bravery inspired many to follow his example. Yet his most dominant personality trait was his all-consuming fire for the Lord. Even a whisper of heresy got him into an uncontrollable rage. In most affairs of state, he was perfectly fine, but he brooked no disagreement over religion.
His wife was much less popular.
For whatever reason, perhaps because of his tutor, many of his nobles saw Reinhard II as a foreigner. True, Reinhard's first language was Swedish, but he was every bit as fluent in German. Nonetheless, without a properly German wife, he feared risings against him. That was why he'd chosen Agnes. She was very bright, kind, and humble, yet had a nasty side that either Reinhard didn't see or chose not to. She had none of his fiery conviction. She preferred to skulk in the shadows, to make pacts with various unsavory characters to get ahead. Her scheming was what turned her people against her. If not for Reinhard's superior character, she might have been assassinated.
Then again, she didn't last long as his wife anyway.
23 September 1388, Ireland
Johanna and her new husband, Karl, had been given a very important mission from her brother, Herzog Reinhard II. To absolutely no one's surprise, the Holy Roman Empire was at war with itself once again.
Her brother had something planned -- something he wouldn't share with his beloved sister -- but whatever his ultimate plans were, her assignment was to secure the betrothal of an important marriage in Ireland. Her brother divorced his wife when he realized she was far too old to bear children -- almost 40 years old. Johanna, as both the sister of the Herzog von Bayern und Schwaben and, more importantly, the daughter-in-law of the Basillia of the Byzantine Empire, was given this critical task.
Finding a husband for Johanna had been somewhat difficult. She was a dwarf, and as tended to be common of people of such short stature, envious of all those who were larger. She was temperate in all things, absolutely devoted to chastity, and did not lack for courage or charisma. Reinhard's choice of Karl for her husband -- the grandson of Simon von Hohenzollern, the former spymaster -- was inspired. He was a skilled diplomat, as any child of a Basillia would be, and although he was Greek, Johanna was not really in the direct line of succession so the matrilineal marriage remained a very popular one.
So, with both skill and alacrity, a marriage betrothal was signed on Reinhard's behalf and his new bride -- Aife, countess of Breifne. She belonged to the Ua Conchobair clan, which gave her an important position within Ireland; in fact, she could probably secure some key alliances later on. That, at least, is why Johanna thought her brother wanted to marry somebody who wasn't even 16 yet.
31 December 1389, Nürnberg
Erich von Hohenzollern, son of Orderic de Hauteville and Reinhard's aunt Gerlinde, was easily the youngest person at the council of war.
Despite his youth, Erich was trusted by Reinhard enough to be his personal representative at the war council. Reinhard II wanted somebody from the family on the council, and with the only other available Hohenzollern, Grimhild, being named regent for the Count of Essex, Erich was it. Erich was, indeed, an impressive figure, and a very skilled general. He was still far too young to hold an important battlefield commission, but his role as coordinator in Nürnberg would be invaluable. For all of Erich's personal courage and willingness to do what needed to be done, he was not very good at inspiring his men, and was ill besides. Erich's voice would be important, but not in the actual conduct of war.
Reinhard himself was not present, but visiting his wife in Ireland. Although she was now Herzogin von Bayern, she was also still the Countess of Breifne, which meant she had spend at least some her time home in Ireland. Erich personally found Aife incredibly intimidating. She was easily the smartest person in the entire Holy Roman Empire. She was a genius at diplomacy and had a military mind superior to everybody in Bayern but the Marshal. She shared her husband's love of charity, worked hard in whatever task she set for herself, yet in public was surprisingly graceful and popular. Everybody who spoke with her was enchanted by the experience; they always felt she trusted them implicitly. However, she shared something else of her husband's: her unflinching Catholicism. With no crusades at the moment, her (and his) zeal needed to be aimed somewhere.
That target was the Kaiser.
No fewer than four major nobles had started wars against the Kaiser; to both Reinhard and Aife, that must mean God himself had abandoned the Holy Roman Empire. It was time, therefore, for Bayern to be independent, to make its own way in the world, free from the sin and corruption of the Askaniens. Of course, to Erich and the other members of the war council, it looked strangely like suicide.
Bayern was among the largest and most powerful Duchies in the Empire. The armies were massive, and the Kaiser simply couldn't face the Bavarian army as well as all of his other opponents. At least, that was what Reinhard thought. To Erich, the very idea of betraying the Kaiser seemed like idiocy. Erich knew the Kaiser's reputation was unmatched in the field. Bohemia was the sole former member of the Holy Roman Empire to have truly attained independence, and it had taken them years of preparation. Reinhard simply declared war without thinking. Barring capturing the Kaiser himself, victory seemed very doubtful. Of course, Erich didn't say that out loud. It wasn't his place. He even prayed for victory every single night.
Would prayer be enough?
6 October 1392, Hohenburg
Karl von Hohenzollern, in addition to being named the Chancellor of Bayern, was also enlisted in the war effort. He glared at the October sun as he cooked in his armor. The past three years, shockingly enough, had seen considerable successes for the Bavarian Independence effort. Every battle against the Kaiser's troops was a victory. 19,000 mercenaries had been hired to fill the ranks of the Bavarian army, but that was why men like Karl found themselves leading portions of the army. They had to, while Reinhard coordinated everything in the Schloss von Hohenzollern. Again, so far, the Herzog seemed like he knew what he was doing. Under cover of darkness, the mercenaries added themselves to the Bavarian army; the effect was to fool the Kaiser's army to attack Bavaria in Nürnberg, to bring everything to one single battle, where victory should mean independence.
Yet at the same time, Karl was concerned about the Herzog's judgment. When Reinhard II inherited Schwyz from his mother after her death, he gave it to a complete unknown, Rudolf von Zähringen.
This alarmed many of Bavaria's most prominent nobles. However, Reinhard's foreignness meant he had fewer friends to choose from, and the one thing he could not afford was a disloyal vassal. If Reinhard won this war, in his view, he could deal with his vassals later. Karl, personally, was insulted that the county wasn't even offered to him. It had taken many a conversation with his wife Johanna before he'd even agree to fight; but fight he did.
He studied the terrain very carefully.
The Herzog claimed they were more than halfway to victory. Karl didn't believe that, especially since the Kaiser and his court had fled to Bulgaria, beyond the reach of the Bavarian soldiers. However, perhaps, if there was victory here in Hohenburg, the Kaiser might sue for peace. To that end, Karl's own unit had a very specific task. He was to draw in the enemy skirmishers with some purposefully badly aimed arrow shots. It worked; the poorly armored skirmishers charged at the well defended positions, and with the Bavarian heavy infantry ready to absorb the blow, the day was won.
All that remained was to hear the Kaiser's response.
29 May 1394, Monferrato
Reinhard II was absolutely furious. After a series of victories, the Kaiser had refused to see reason and surrender. Bohemia would allow Bavarian troops to get through to Bulgaria, and Reinhard was preparing to lead the expedition himself. Until, sadly, he was betrayed.
Arnold von Hohenzollern's treason was the ultimate insult to Reinhard II. His already uncompromising attitude to his duties became even more circumscribed. The birth of his daughter and new heir to the Duchy, Barbara, barely distracted him a week.
Despite his intransigence, though, the Herzog recognized that the time for revenge was not now, and certainly not alone. He swallowed his pride, briefly, agreeing to
status quo ante bellum with the Kaiser. Arnold quickly surrendered as well; he remained safe from prosecution, though. Reinhard found new, even more heinous foes.
29 October 1396, Nürnberg
Reinhard grew increasingly more violent as the final years of his life progressed. If he'd barely paid attention to Barbara when she was born, he completely ignored Andrea.
He was obsessed with his moral rectitude, the idea that God had personally selected him for greatness, and brooked no argument with his plans. Two Counts of Vodi were disposed of, allegedly for plotting against distant cousins, but in reality because they tried to convince Reinhard to calm down and allow peace to restore the lands of the Hohenzollerns.
When the Basileus of the Byzantine Empire also became Kaiser in September 1396, Reinhard II, Herzog von Bayern und Schwaben, simply couldn't handle it. He'd already joined a shadowy cabal designed to restore the ancient Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, but upon becoming its head, he declared war on the new Kaiser.
To Reinhard, his new Kaiser was an apostate, one who had rejected the true nature of God for his pathetic heresy. His passion burned so brightly that he committed most of the ducal treasury to an assassination attempt on the loathsome Kaiser.
Reinhard's killers did manage to stab the Kaiser in the eye, yet he lived. The Kaiser/Basileus was no more a forgiving man than his would-be killer, but he was smarter about it. Reinhard II was a kinslayer, after all, and had alienated most of his court with his increasing paranoia and hatred. Yet the Hohenzollerns were loyal to their family, so the Kaiser offered them a deal. If they removed their Herzog, not only would they be unpunished, but the new ruler of Bayern, whomever it would be, would find themselves a new title: König von Bayern. He would elevate a Duchy to a Kingdom. Of course, the war would have to end too, but in the end they would get what they deserved.
All five members of the council voted yes. Every last one. Reinhard's death, at least, was relatively painless.
Although Barbara was only formally invested with the titles of her father, at least to begin with, after the war was ended she would be given her proper due. Her regents had committed murder to elevate the Hohenzollerns; they had not done so lightly.
As a tiny spoiler, Bavaria will not become a kingdom in the CKII timeline; I've missed my chance. However, EU3 calls all independent rulers "kings" for the lack of a better title, so I wanted to explain how they got elevated.
The final update is coming up this weekend; if you have special requests for end of game screenshots, please let me know. I'll include a world map and a reasonably complete family tree. If there's anything else, please let me know by
Saturday; that's when I intend to update.