Lords of the Mountains - A Basque/Navarran AAR

[Midnite Duke]

An Icelandic Adamite will convert come winter. Thank you for the trip around the world.

 

[Idhrendur]

Yes, Iceland seems a bad place for Adamite worshippers.

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, that's a lot of religions. The alternate Crusades/Jihads/Great Holy Wars should prove interesting.

The Abbasids appear to be doing well. How much internal conflict are they suffering?

 

[Flinteroon]

An Icelandic Adamite will convert come winter. Thank you for the trip around the world.

Yes, Iceland seems a bad place for Adamite worshippers.

I hadn't even thought of that. Shows how little weather/climate matters in this game . They were the first of the Norse to convert, way before the Scandinavian cultures split, halfway through the Great Heathen Army's invasion of England. Adamitism is there to last.

Well, that's a lot of religions. The alternate Crusades/Jihads/Great Holy Wars should prove interesting.

The Abbasids appear to be doing well. How much internal conflict are they suffering?

There were a lot of religions, which is why I snapped a screenshot at that time to show the before. The after will see a lot of them vanish or weaken severely, specially as Islam is set to spread through the Sahel like wildfire. The Abbasids up to this time were actually thriving, having nearly three times as many troops as the Byzantines. Just outright unstoppable.

The next few decades will see the downfall of the Caliphate however, with an equally powerful Persian Kingdom rising out of its ashes. The Abbasids will remain in control of Egypt despite this, becoming the second strongest power in the region, just ahead of the Byzantines.

 

[Flinteroon]

Chapter 13: Exile (1005 - 1022)

Duke Gontzal II "the Unready" (b. 961 - 1010)

King of Navarra (r. 992 - 1005)
Duke of Brittany (r. 992 - 1008)​

The beginning of the 11th century could not have been harsher on the House of Vasconia. The familial cohesion that once made them powerful enough to challenge the mighty Carolingian Franks had all but disappeared, leading to in-fighting and the exile of the main branch of the family. While the cadet branches still reigned in Castille, Barcelona, and Vasconia-Armagnac, their rule there was tenuous at best and would not last.

Besieged on all sides, the Vascons would come to lose their holdings South of the Pyrenees before the end of the century. In Northern Spain, King Antao and his descendants would continue to vigorously defend Castile against all hope, even as the Iñigas of Leon and Navarra continued to chip at it one county at a time. In Barcelona, King Gartzia would face countless revolts against his rule before finally being conquered by the rising power of the Valencian Malikate.

The house of Vasconia-Armagnac would continue to rule over their holdings in Aquitaine, albeit at the cost of their independence, being forced to submit to the Frankish Kings once again. Their Parisian overlords would enforce their rule over the region with an iron fist, knowing full well the propensity of the Basque to revolt and the chaos that can ensue if left to grow in power. The era of prosperity and independence for the Basque (and Gascon) people had fully come to an end.

---

Following the disastrous collapse of his kingdom, Duke Gontzal would permanently relocate his court to Penthievre in the Duchy of Brittany. Unable to fully admit his defeat he would begin to conscript the locals in an attempt to rebuild his army and retake his lost lands. This move would prove highly unpopular among the Bretons, as they were still recovering from the numerous Frankish assaults on the peninsula during "the Anarchy."

The Duke's attempts would come to backfire as the newly assembled recruits would begin to share their displeasure with his rule with fellow conscripts, leading them to realize they all shared the same sentiments toward their ruler. Their displeasure quickly turned to hate as numerous fires began to spread all over Brittany, forcing thousands out of their homes. Rumours quickly began circulating that the fires were started on the orders of Gontzal, who appeared unbothered by their occurrence.

The conscripts began to abandon the Duke's camp and heading into the woods where they could remain hidden from his men. Soon enough the people displaced by the fires began to make their way to these hidden alcoves in the forest. As the weeks continued to pass, more and more people continued to arrive in the wood, and eventually they realized what had occurred before their eyes: They had accidentally built themselves a large army.

Led by a disgruntled Basque commander who had gone native, the deserters and refugees stormed out of the woods looking to depose Duke Gontzal and restore Brittany to its former glory, free of foreign rule. Led by the former commander Morgen, the 5,000 strong rebel army made their way to Penthievre. Despite their large numbers, the rebels lacked siege equipment to properly threaten the walls of the city. They also lacked enough supplies to endure a siege, especially as the city could be easily resupplied by sea. The wise move would have been to simply wait them out, as the rag-tag of rebels would sooner dissipate than endure the hunger and pains laying a siege could bring.

Of course, Gontzal was far from wise and instead quite mad. Fueled by his lunacy, the Duke decided to meet the rebel army in the open rather than hole up behind the safety of his walls. Unable to even muster 3,000 men, Duke Gontzal began to assemble his men outside the walls of Penthievre, sealing his fate. The battle was an unmitigated disaster for the Vascons and Brittany was lost with all hands to the rebels. Morgen would be crowned King of Brittany, reviving the old Kingly title. He would then cement his legitimacy over the peninsula by marrying into the cadet branch of Armagnac.

As the battle raged on outside the city, the Duke's family scrambled inside the walls of Penthievre. His two older sons Zentulo and Diego began packing their belongings hurriedly. Rather than following their father to an early death in battle, they intended on sailing to the safety of England, where their younger brother Ramiro was being raised under Anglo-Saxon customs in their mother's holdings.. They had planned to take their toddler sister Tekla and their grandmother Marwa along with them, but the former wife of King Aznar claimed she was far too old to embark on such a journey, and holding unto baby Tekla she enclosed herself in her quarters, refusing to come out. Not willing to wait for the inevitable defeat of their father and storming of the walls by the rebels, the two brothers departed from Brittany, abandoning them to their fate. Neither Tekla (3) nor Marwa (67) would be spared in the slaughter that followed.

Escaping from the battlefield within an inch of his life, the former King and former Duke Gontzal would join his family in England, to serve as the Duke Consort for Duchess Guencenedl of Kent-Essex. Gontzal had taken the throne of Navarra at its largest territorial extent in history following its greatest King, King Aznar, only to lose it all within a single lifetime.

Two years later he would be the victim of an assassination by one of his wife's men. His presence in England had been an embarrassment for the Duchess and his sons as Gontzal would parade all over England begging for help in retaking his lost lands, only to insult the English nobles profusely once they refused to do so, turning their opinions against the Duchess. His assassin Ælfric would go unpunished despite the crime, having been ordered to end his life at the behest of his entire family, for they all had come to despise the lunatic failure of a man.

For the next decade Duchess Guencenedl would begin to involve her three sons in the daily duties of ruling a duchy, providing the counsel and education Gontzal never could. She would grant them minor estates over her two duchies, and even assign command of her armies to them. By the time of her death in 1022 AD (of natural causes) her heirs were ready to take on the mantle of the duchies of Kent and Essex. The rich and prosperous lands of Kent would go to Zentulo, the oldest of the three brothers. The much larger (but also far poorer) lands of Essex would be split between Diego and Ramiro, with Diego holding unto the trading city of London.

The heirs of Gontzal and Duchess Guencenedl in the year 1021 AD​

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Here's their traits for those CK2-only players among us:​

1. Zentulo has the Impatient, Vengeful, Brave, Athletic, Comely, and Scarred traits. He received a 3/4 education in Diplomacy and was the only one of the three to be raised in the diplomatic court of Navarra long enough to earn the 1/2 Diplomatic Courtier trait.​
2. Diego has the Paranoid, Ambitious, Stubborn, and Irritable traits. He received a 3/4 education in Learning.
3. Ramiro has the Fickle, Trusting, Content, Drunkard, and Strong traits. He received a 3/4 education in Intrigue and is a great Logistician commander.

---

The people of England had become familiar with the Vascon brothers over the previous decade, and things seemed to be going well for them. The succession over their mother's titles had gone without a hitch, and they began to revel in their newfound power. The youngest of the three had fully embraced his new home and adopted the customs of his subjects, leaving behind his Basque heritage and not concerning himself with the plots of his two brothers. Zentulo meanwhile desired to punish all those who brought about his house's downfall, the Franks, the Armagnac usurpers, the treacherous Iñigas, they all deserved his vengeance. Diego truly was the middle child, most pragmatic of the three as he too was filled with desire to retake his family's former lands but he could also see himself embracing England as a new home, a new Kingdom where he could leave his mark and grow his power.

Zentulo and Diego began planning the reconquest of their ancestral lands in Vasconia and Navarra, but the two could not agree on the plan of action. Diego insisted they took their time and gathered their strength over the coming years, channeling the inner strategist within him that he acquired as he became engrossed on books about the exploits of famous generals in history. Zentulo meanwhile was reckless and had begun hiring mercenaries despite Diego's concerns. Diego feared that his impatient brother would try to force his hand by launching himself and the mercenaries at their enemies, leaving Diego with no choice but to follow him into battle.

Such a move would all but guarantee their failure, squandering the resources and greatly weakening their position within England, leaving them open to rivals within the Kingdom. In reality Zentulo never planned to launch his attack without his brothers' consent and support, knowing full well he would need their combined strength, but Diego's paranoia could not simply let him be, ordering the murder of his older brother. Duke Zentulo would die on September of 1022 and the Duchy of Kent would pass on to his brother Duke Diego, consolidating their mother's realm back under a single ruler.

The Murder of Duke Zentulo​

Without Zentulo to fill his mind with ideas of vengeance and reconquest, Duke Diego began looking toward his brother Ramiro and his embracing of England. Did he even want to reconquer Navarra, or was he just being influenced by his older brother? Navarra was such a troublesome region anyways, so many rebellions... Wait, didn't his mother also have plenty of claims all over the island? His grandfather Tethion, father of Duchess Guencenedl did once rule over a Grand Duchy of Cornwall-Mercia-East Anglia-Essex-Kent after all...

 

[Midnite Duke]

Did Gontzal have a small holding to allow you to play on? Is Zentaul suspicious circumstances? Diego has a nice base and claims, could become a power in Southern England. The trip north could be in the Arctic within two generations at this speed. Does Diego have children and if so are they embracing local rather than Basque customs? Thank you for the update.

 

[Flinteroon]

Did Gontzal have a small holding to allow you to play on? Is Zentaul suspicious circumstances? Diego has a nice base and claims, could become a power in Southern England. The trip north could be in the Arctic within two generations at this speed. Does Diego have children and if so are they embracing local rather than Basque customs? Thank you for the update.

No holdings. Unlike CK2 that sort of bugs out once you lose and doesn't allow you to do anything but exit the game, CK3 allows you to either become an spectator or switch to another character. I observed for 11 years until Guencenedl died and then I took over as Zentulo who was the oldest of the three heirs. Zentulo got murdered on the orders of Diego, but it remained a secret. I only know because I became Diego after Zentulo died without children. None of the three brothers have had children up to this point, as they were all unwed, but it's unlikely that Diego or his children fully abandon their Basque ways.

Diego does have a nice base of power and a lot of ambition, and he really takes after his grandfather Aznar. Meanwhile the house of Wessex is weak and divided...

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you. One may question Aznar's methods, but all must admit his effectiveness. Surely, there are worse role models than King Aznar if one wishes to rule, but better role models could be found than him if one is planning a conversation with Saint Peter.

 

[HistoryDude]

Gontzal failed miserably as a ruler.

I imagine that Diego could retake at least Brittany, if not most of the Spanish and Vascon lands. He does have a rather large realm in England, after all. I wonder if he would prefer such a mainland adventure (alt-100 Years War?) to attempting to take the Isles?

 

[Flinteroon]

Chapter 14: Twilight of the Anglo-Saxons (1022 - 1029)

Ealdorman Diego "Half-King" (b. 990 - )

Ealdorman of Kent and Essex (r. 1021 - )
Ealdorman of East Anglia (r. 1024 - )
Ealdorman of Mercia (r. 1025 - )
Ealdorman of Cornwall (r. 1027 - )

Ealdorman Diego's men chasing the fleeing Norse invaders​

The sudden death of Ealdorman (Duke) Zentulo in 1022 turned his brother Diego into the most powerful Ealdorman in all of England even rivaling King Eadberht in terms of manpower and wealth. There had once been an even greater power within the Kingdom in Ealdorman Tethion of house Cerneu (Diego's maternal grandfather) to whom all the lands of Cornwall, Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, and Essex answered to. Upon his death the house of Wessex forced the eldest of Tethion's two daughters to abdicate all her titles, leaving only Essex and Kent under Cerneu rule, the same lands that Ealdorman Diego now ruled.

Back then holding two earldoms did not pose such a threat for the ruling West Saxons as they were united, working together toward establishing a Saxon hegemony over the entirety of the British isles, fighting off Irish, Scottish, and Norse invaders with ease. Decades passed since then however, and now the house of Wessex began to show cracks. Their dynasty had grown bloated and now competing factions within it fought each other for scraps. Renewed Viking invasions had incurred the loss of much of the old Kingdom of Northumbria, and the armies of King Eadberht laid depleted. The stage was set for the conquest of England.

Ealdorman Diego did not hesitate after his brother's assassination as he began to plan the downfall of the West Saxons. He knew the road ahead would be arduous, and even if he succeeded his legitimacy would come into question as he was an outsider not just to the ruling house but to the land itself. Diego saw to remedy this by marrying into one of the branches of Wessex, taking Ælfflæd as his wife. With this strategic alliance he would now enjoy the support (albeit very, very small) of some among the ruling dynasty, as well as derive legitimacy to his future conquest through this marriage.

With the celebrations of this union finished Diego began gathering his men for war. He knew that tackling the King himself this early on would end in disaster for him and instead decided to bring the Kingdom down by destroying the pillars on which it rested. Diego planned a systematic takedown of the many earls and churls that dotted the island first in order to form a large enough powerbase from which he would hold enough strength to seize the throne.

Calling upon his claims to Ealdorman Tethion's lands Diego began marching North to the lands of Ætheling Ælfræd in East Anglia. The Ætheling or Crown Prince had grown apart from his father King over the years, even falsely being denounced as a bastard to the nobles of England in an attempt by King Eadberht to deny him the throne. Despite these claims he still enjoyed the support of the Witan, the body of nobles that elected the King. Ealdorman Diego believed that by cutting off the head of the serpent first (the Ætheling) the remaining nobles would begin bickering among themselves and be unable to mount a proper resistance against his conquest.

The King of Norway and his eldest son and heir​

Halfway through what Diego thought would be a smooth march to Norwich (where the Crown Prince was located), his expedition turned nightmarish as his men began sighting a large fleet of longboats sailing from the South, almost as if they had come from his own domain. King Friðrikr of Norway too shared Diego's ambition of seizing the crown of England and launched an invasion of his own from across the sea. Almost as soon as Diego departed North the Norwegians had landed in Canterbury and many other coastal towns within Kent, pillaging as they went. During one of their raids they even managed to capture Diego's only son, planning on ransoming him off for even greater profit.

Diego readied his men to face off against the invaders, catching up to them within a mile of their landing zone. The Norwegians had not expected a response so quickly and were caught by surprise, as they had hoped to at least have a day to recuperate from their journey before engaging in battle. At the Battle of Maldon both sides met in a clash of swords with about 5,000 warriors on each side. Worn-out from their long journey across the sea and the multiple raids in Kent the Norse were unable to resist the onslaught of Diego's men.

Losses on the East Saxon-Kentish during battle were minimal, with the greatest of them occurring during the Viking's flight back to their ships. Diego's younger brother Ramiro had accompanied him in battle and gave chase to the Norwegians, setting his eyes on the prince himself. As Ramiro closed in on the Norse Prince however he was taken aback by his sudden turn, and was struck in the neck by the prince's axe, beheading him. Both the King and his son managed to reach the safety of their ships as their pursuers stopped in shock at the sight of Ramiro's headless corpse. The young Gontzal (Diego's captured son) was never recovered and perished somewhere along the Norwegians' journey back home.

Ealdorman Diego's first three opponents​

Unabated by the loss of his child or brother the Ealdorman continued his march North toward East Anglia. His men faced little resistance from the Crown Prince and by the closing of 1023 had managed to seize the prosperous trading town of Ipswich, where they stayed for the Winter before renewing his attacks on East Anglia. By April of 1024 Norwich too would fall, completing Diego's conquest of the region.

Rather than returning home Diego and his men rested in Ipswich for the remainder of the year before departing in the middle of winter toward the city of Tamworth, the capital of Mercia and where the young Ealdorman Eadberht resided. The Earldom of Mercia was a powerhouse on its own, but poor mismanagement by the child ruler had led to its decline over the past few years. Nonetheless Diego did not want to clash with the full might of even a weakened Mercia and thus he struck in the Winter when no one would expect it. Being completely caught off-guard the Mercians were unable to resist Diego and by July of 1025 it too had fallen.

Due to its vast size Mercia required a very hands-on treatment. Within it laid a myriad of warlike nobles that all could wield significant amounts of men, many of which belonged to the house of Wessex themselves. To appease them Diego remained in Tamworth for over a year doling out titles within Mercia in order to gain their favor and support as he continued his campaign. During this time he would also command his armies against the Earldoms of Hwicce and Lancaster, who had previously been engaged in a war against the Mercians.

The Ealdorman of the Hwicce and his ally in Lancaster​

Diego would make his way South to Gloucester where he would defeat the Hwicce and force them to surrender. Shortly after he continued toward Exeter where yet another of King Eadberht sons reigned. He too lacked support from the crown and thus was unable to withstand the armies of the Basque Ealdorman. By mid 1027 all of Cornwall fully submitted to Diego, completing the reconquest of his grandfather's lands.

This initial phase of his campaign had pitted the Basque would-be King against all of the mayor players within the Kingdom, deposing three of them and defeating the other two. The only remaining nobles he had not yet faced were the Earl of Cumbraland and the Ealdorman of Deira, both far too weak and small to pose any real threat. With most of England now under his possession Diego soon became known as Ealdorman Diego "the Half-King," comparable in power only to the King.

The Kingdom of England in 1027 AD after Diego's initial conquests​

Unfortunately Diego did not have much time to celebrate his recent streak of victories as that same year in August most of Mercia rose up in rebellion. Ealdorman Diego had falsely believed his subjects to be appeased when he left Tamworth but in reality they had just been gathering arms to revolt. Among the rebellious vassals were many members of the house of Wessex including the former Ealdorman of East Anglia Ætheling Ælfræd , a relative of the Ealdorwoman of Lancaster, a distant relative of Diego's mother from the house of Cerneu, and Earl Eadweald of Berkshire who led the revolt.

Ealdorman Diego had essentially made enemies of all the noble houses of England. Even minor nobles not involved in the rebellion suddenly began throwing their support at the rebels, feeding their armies as they walked through the land. They began pooling their coffers to hire mercenaries as well, realizing Diego needed to be stopped before he could truly consolidate his gains and oppose the King. Franconian and Saxon mercenaries from East Francia soon began landing in England, while Border Reivers from the North were recruited to fight off against Diego.

The many participants of the rebellion against Ealdorman Diego​

Despite their growing numbers the rebel army stood no chance against the Half-King. Diego had been drilling and training his armies all throughout the campaign, and by the time of the rebellion they had all but adopted the ways of the Basque Caballeros or knights. These caballeros were heavily armored and trained to charge headfirst unto the Anglo-Saxon infantry, tactics unheard of in England at the time as they only used horses for swift transport and not in battle. At the battle of Kettering in Northamptonshire the rebel lines bent and broke like twigs upon the charging horsemen, and soon their 8,000 men were cut down to just under 4,000, the same number under Diego's command.

The charge of Diego's caballeros at the Battle of Kettering​

After the disastrous loss at Kettering the rebel armies scattered back to their individual domains to prepare for the incoming sieges Diego surely planned to lay on their homes. The matter was not if Diego would show up, but rather, when. Fortunately for them Diego could not pursue them right away as yet another Viking invasion was landing on his shores, this time from Denmark.

Ealdorman Diego crushed the new arrivals like a hammer to a bug, capturing and ransoming off the lot of them before sending them back to Scandinavia. Diego had been suspicious about their invasion occurring just as the rebellion was going on, giving his enemies ample time to reinforce their walls while he took care of the Danes. His suspicion then turned to fury as in one of his bouts of paranoia he concluded that the rebels and the Danes must have colluded to topple his reign before it could even begin, that they were allies.

The leader of the failed Danish Invasion of England​

Despite the brief respite via the Danes, the rebels could not withstand the fury of Diego for too long and by July of 1029 all their leaders had been captured and were promptly dispossessed of their titles before being executed. Included among the many killed and brutalized was Diego's own wife who during the rebellion had an affair with one of the mercenary commanders of the rebellion.

Ealdorman Diego had all but secured his reign over the lands of Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Essex, and Cornwall. He had conquered all his enemies and executed all his unruly vassals. He reigned supreme where his grandfather once had, and his ambition fueled his desire to go even further. Yet he was but one man and one man could not rule such vast lands alone. Diego began sending men to Vasconia, Navarra, and even Brittany looking for landless nobles, industrious crafters, mercenaries, traders, and even destitute vagrants. Any and all who wished to come to England would be granted land and if of high enough status even entire shires to rule in his name. Of special note were the fishermen of Navarra and Brittany who were renowned whalers, to whom Diego's recruiters greatly enticed with the promise of vast unpilfered seas to fish in.

Within a year all the lands and titles seized from the rebels and from Diego's many vanquished enemies were granted out to fellow Basque men. Diego hoped that by placing all these Basque foreigners in power they would remain loyal to him, as the rest of the English nobility would look at them with disdain and hatred. They would be grateful and have no choice but to support Diego in all his endeavors unless they wished to have their lands revoked by an Englishman. Now these Anglo-Saxons would not just be ruled by a foreigner but also be forced to live among them. Now Diego would have a steady stream of fellow Basque to draw from in order to complete his conquest of England.

Basque whalers in the Atlantic. It is hotly debated, but there is discourse in academia on whether Basque and Breton whalers actually discovered the Americas before Columbus but kept the waters there a secret to avoid competition. If the French and English colonized the lands of Canada, one could say that the Basque and Bretons colonized the waters, quickly coming to dominate the fishing industry in North America.
​

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Thanks for this far everyone! The next chapter will be the last chapter in this AAR. Due to my own inability to prevent savegames from becoming corrupt I was unable to continue the story past the 1060's, however I believe it will end in a good place.

I believed that by opting into an older version of the game and not installing the newest DLC my savegame would be safe and I'd be able to continue playing, I did not anticipate that the mods I was using would update without me knowing and thus the game became unplayable. I tried to fix it a myriad of ways but in the end I gave up. I did learn how to manually save mods to my computer now however, so if (or rather when) I start another AAR I'll be sure to do so, turning my saves update-proof.

 

[Flinteroon]

Thank you. One may question Aznar's methods, but all must admit his effectiveness. Surely, there are worse role models than King Aznar if one wishes to rule, but better role models could be found than him if one is planning a conversation with Saint Peter.

Aznar was really effective, but his methods led to the almost instant collapse of his "empire" upon his death. While Diego takes after him quite a lot, thankfully he is not his sole influence. Still, I doubt any of these Vascons will ever get a chance to talk to the man in the chair.

Gontzal failed miserably as a ruler.

I imagine that Diego could retake at least Brittany, if not most of the Spanish and Vascon lands. He does have a rather large realm in England, after all. I wonder if he would prefer such a mainland adventure (alt-100 Years War?) to attempting to take the Isles?

Diego did plan to go along with Zentulo and attempt a reconquest, however once Zentulo died he switched gears and looked to his own neighborhood for expansion. Reconquest is reconquest after all, regardless of whether it occurs in Iberia or England. He hasn't fully forfeited those claims in the mainland however, and will soon attempt to gain ground there as well.

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Thanks for reading everyone!

 

[HistoryDude]

Is the AAR over?

That is a lot of claimants for England. It looks like Diego is succeeding in taking over, though.

 

[Flinteroon]

Is the AAR over?

That is a lot of claimants for England. It looks like Diego is succeeding in taking over, though.

Just one more chapter and it'll be over.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you for the bonus chapters as the story could have ended with Gontzal. The artwork is fantastic, especially the two sea scenes. Can you give more info on the Breton/Basque whalers possibly reaching the Americas. For all his great deeds on the battlefield, Diego's home fires burn cold and lonely. Thank you and tough luck with the mods.

 

[Flinteroon]

Thank you for the bonus chapters as the story could have ended with Gontzal. The artwork is fantastic, especially the two sea scenes. Can you give more info on the Breton/Basque whalers possibly reaching the Americas. For all his great deeds on the battlefield, Diego's home fires burn cold and lonely. Thank you and tough luck with the mods.

Perhaps I exaggerated on how hotly debated the discourse is, but there are many stories from Basque sailors telling of their arrival in Newfoundland around 1375. For decades they (and to a lesser extent the Bretons) had hunted the whales in the Bay of Biscay to near extinction and thus kept on venturing further and further North to continue hunting. Basque presence in the North Sea is well documented but the story goes that going after prey they eventually ventured too far West and stumbled with what is now Canada. Supposedly they decided to keep the area a secret to avoid sharing with other fishing fleets the vast fishing grounds of the area. These fishing grounds were so rich and vast that in EU4 Paradox added an event that reduces the price of fish in Europe after a country settles Newfoundland, so it makes sense that they'd want to keep them secret.

In the years after the French began to settle the region both Basque, Breton (and also Norman) peoples began to establish vast fishing communities there, creating Basque language pidgins with the natives. There was also a Basque-Icelandic pidgin used around the 16th century due to the prolific nature of Basque fishermen in the North Sea.

Between the myth and the reality, it is related that when the French explorers came into contact with the natives of the Island of Newfoundland for the first time, the natives greeted them with the common "Apezak hobeto!"("The priests are better!", In Basque), that the Basque sailors used as a response if someone asked them about their health, showing that there had already been enough contact between them and native peoples prior to French settling.

According to Wikipedia the Basque might have also been the first peoples to catch whales commercially, so yeah, whaling was part of the Basque DNA.

 

[Idhrendur]

Mod updates make things difficult. In future aars, I'd recommend making copies of the mods that you then use.

 

[Flinteroon]

Chapter 15 (Final Chapter): The Kingdom of England (1029 - 1066+)

King Diego "the Conqueror/the Usurper" (b. 990 - 1066)

King of England (r. 1039 - 1066)
Ealdorman of Kent and Essex (r. 1021 - 1066)

King Diego I of England​

In just seven years Ealdorman Diego had dismantled the inner polities of the Kingdom of England, building a strong powerbase consisting of more than half of the Kingdom. Diego defeated his rivals, reconquered his rightful earldoms, crushed a kingdom-wide rebellion against him, and even vanquished multiple Scandinavian invasions. He promoted Basque migration to his domain and began establishing small communities all across Mercia, Cornwall, and East Anglia, ensuring those more distant regions remained loyal to him. All he needed now was the crown.

Despite being unable to prevent or stop the continued growth of Ealdorman Diego, King Eadberht did take notice of the Basque upstart and began plotting his downfall. The house of Wessex had prevailed over many, many centuries for a lowly Spanish exile to come in and simply sweep the crown like it was nothing. Multiple assassination attempts were launched against Ealdorman Diego but they all ended in failure, putting the againg King under extreme duress.

*I believe this event was bugged, intending to say that the would-be assassins spoke Anglic, not knowing Diego had already mastered the tongue*​

Diego was very much a master of the battlefield, adeptly commanding armies and squashing his enemies time and time again. This however did not mean he was a fool in terms of ruling and diplomacy. While the recent rebellion in Mercia was defeated quite easily, to simply walk up to Winchester and grab the crown from the foolish King Eadberht would be disastrous for his future reign, especially as the execution of his wife had forever severed his link with the house of Wessex.

Becoming King by conquest would spark the flames of rebellion, inspiring many more to rise up as the Mercians had done. It would be an unending nightmare of epic proportions and likely end in exile as had already happened to his father in Navarra and Brittany. Not only that, but laying siege to Winchester to take the crown from Eadberht would forever his tarnish his reputation as the King who sacked his own capital. If he could do it, what stopped any other ambitious nobles to try and do the same? No, Diego's time in England had taught him better. If he wanted his rule to be legitimized he would have to go about it the diplomatic way and earn enough votes in the Witan to become the next King. After all, King Eadberht's death was inevitable and would come sooner rather than later.

Other than the King himself, there were five other ealdorman, the rank needed to participate in the Witan. Diego himself stood as the most powerful of these among the Witan, but this status alone did not grant him enough votes to simply appoint himself King, he would need support from at least one more of his fellow Ealdormen as things stood.

Ealdorman Ecgfrith of the Hwicce was completely out of the picture as the two had previously met in battle back in 1025-26 when Ecgfrith attempted to seize lands from Mercia as Diego reconquered it, forcing Diego to defend against him in the field. Being the largest landowner in England (after Diego) that didn't belong to the house of Wessex gave him quite the leverage over the crown and he began to poise himself as a potential contender for the throne thanks to his alliance with Ealdorwoman Ealhflæd of Lancaster.

Then there were Ealdorman Cytelbearn of Deira and Ealdorman Edmund of Cumbraland. Both belonging to the house of Wessex, their votes would certainly align with those of the King, yet neither of these ealdormen had reached adulthood yet and thus were not allowed to vote in the Witan. This however would not last forever, and if King Eadberht failed to die by 1036 Cytelbearn would reach the required age of 16 and thus be able to tip the scales out of Diego's range.

Ealdorwoman Ealhflæd of Lancaster was the key to Diego's success. Diego had once clashed against the men of Lancaster during his short war with Ealdorman Ecgfrith, as she had been an ally of the Hwicce back then. Ealhflæd had been but a child back then however, controlled and influenced by her council. Now at the age of 18 she ruled on her own and it would be her votes that would decide the fate of England.

Always a gallant, Diego sought to romance the young Ealdorwoman and seduce her into voting for him in the coming Witan. Despite being 20 years her senior Diego's allure began to win her over. It did not take long for their relationship to turn physical as they became entranced with one another. Diego would continue to meet with Ealhflæd repeatedly over the coming years becoming lovers. Her vote had been secured and now Diego held the needed majority to claim the throne upon Eadberht's death.

The following year the usurper King Morgen of Brittany would succumb to illness, leaving the peninsular Kingdom in the hands of his three year-old son. Morgen had established good rapport with the Frankish King Louis VI and earned his support, making an invasion of Brittany all but impossible. Morgen's death however brought about the perfect opportunity for Diego to grow his power outside of England while he awaited for the old King to die.

Diego raised the banners and gathered his armies in the city of Exeter, Cornwall. There he loaded his men and horses in the docks, ready to sail to Penthievre, the city where his father Gontzal had been defeated and lost it all. The Bretons were fully unprepared for Diego's invasion and in less than two years he had fully conquered the peninsula, reconquering what he deemed as his birthright. Much to his surprise Diego found that a robust population of Basque peoples still remained in the peninsula even after Gontzal's exile, peoples which had mixed and merged with the native Bretons. These existing Basque communities made the transition back into Basque rule a much smoother task than subduing the rebellious Mercia had been. There would be no need to replace the existing nobility as they all fully submitted to their new lord.

Two years of peace went by and Ealdorman Diego's lands began to prosper under his reign. Farmlands were expanded, new churches and cities began dotting the land as more and more Basque and Bretons moved from the mainland and began to populate England. Trade routes were expanded and linked with the cities of Brittany, bypassing many of the French cities like Rouen and Calais. In short, Diego's earldoms bloomed under his watchful eye. And yet the King remained. Almost at the age of 80, King Eadberht remained active within Winchester, as if refusing to die and deny Diego a peaceful and legitimate means to the throne.

Diego wished to spill no more English blood in his quest for the throne, but as things stood there would be no way around it. The stubborn King continued to live and Ealdorman Cytelbearn inched closer to that dreaded age of 16 when he could finally join the Witan. At the insistence of his lover Ealhflæd and with her support, Diego gathered his men and descended upon the city of York, destroying its walls and capturing the young Cytelbearn. In exchange for his life and freedom, Cytelbearn would abdicate his lands and titles, passing them on to Ealdorman Diego. With him out of the picture, Diego's position as the next King remained secured.

As these events took place, King Louis VI of West Francia had concluded his numerous campaigns against his extended family in Italy and East Francia, fully bringing the lands of Burgundy and Lotharingia under his rule. His vast kingdom now extended from the Pyrenees to the Alps and all along the Rhine River. With the exception of the border with Brittany, King Louis had turned his Kingdom into an impregnable fortress. He would be crowned Emperor of the Romans in 1036. From an inexperienced ruler that could not even command the respect of his own vassals in war against King Aznar, King Louis VI had undergone a transformation into a modern Charlemagne.

Despite not actually ruling the Breton peninsula Emperor Louis still saw it as a rightful part of its empire and thus claimed to be the defender of all Christians within it, joining in its defense after a large Viking fleet from Sweden landed on its shores. Fighting side by side with Ealdorman Diego the Franks would utterly destroy the invading Norsemen, ensuring their presence would never again haunt the Frankish or Breton coasts. After the battle Emperor Louis invited Diego to Paris for a feast, establishing a pact of friendship and ensuring peace would continue between England and Francia, recognizing Diego as the true power behind the crown and sensing he would soon acquire it.

The leader of the unsuccessful Swedish invasion of Brittany, defeated by a joint Frankish-English coalition

The Breton Tapestry, commissioned by Emperor Louis, commemorates the meeting of the Frankish emperor and the future King Diego. In it Brittany is claimed to be co-ruled by both monarchs, despite Diego never submitting or swearing fealty to Louis. ​

Very nearly reaching the age of fifty, Ealdorman Diego began to fear that even if he was elected King of England he would not have enough time to secure his hold over the island before he too passed of old age. Even if his family were now the strongest among all the noble houses of England, and even if he acquired the throne through legitimate means, the English would surely resist these foreigners from ruling over them. Diego needed time as King to fully subdue the locals and ensure his heirs would not be challenged upon succession, lest the same thing that happened to his father Gontzal were to happen to his own children.

It also worried Diego that Emperor Louis had begun to challenge his rule in Brittany, sending tax collectors into the peninsula despite not owning any lands or titles within. Ever since their meeting in Paris Louis had began to spread word of a false agreement with Diego over co-rulership of Brittany, and although he had not began to act upon it militarily he worried the Franks would soon make a move into the peninsula. As things stood Diego would not be able to oppose the Franks, but with the expanded wealth and manpower of a King he might be able to at least retain the status quo.

And thus began the planned assassination of King Eadberht II. Assisted by men from Diego's lover Ealfhlaed, the King would be ambushed on January 30 of 1039, ending the life of the 83 year old King, the longest to date. The King is dead, long live the new King, King Diego I of Vasconia.

King Diego's traits at the time of his coronation in 1039: Paranoid, Ambitious, Stubborn, Holy Warrior, Irritable, Adulterer, and Athletic

The Kingdom of England in 1039​

After thirty-four years the main branch of the house of Vasconia once more held a kingly title, ordained by God and anointed by the highest clergy of the land. Despite the nebulous ways upon which he gained the power to seize the throne, this foreigner had earned the favor of enough within the nobility to be claimed King of England. Diego's life-long quest for the throne had been completed, but the work was just beginning. After the customary week of feasting following his coronation (as was the way with Anglo-Saxon celebrations), King Diego set out to ensure that what happened in Navarra to his father could never again occur to his family.

Diego's first course of action was to secure his immediate borders within the island. He began establishing diplomatic ties with the Viking King Ernst to his immediate North, finding with joy that the Swedish warlord had mostly gone native, embracing Anglo-Saxon customs and traditions, albeit remaining pagan. King Ernst of Northumbria would become a frequent fixture in London where Diego established his capital, spreading much of the wealth he acquired during his time as a raider to the English nobility.

King Ernst would soon earn even the favour of King Diego, showing his respect by even learning the native Basque tongue of the King. The two Kings would come to the agreement that upon Ernst's death his heirs would swear fealty to King Diego, restoring the proper borders of the Kingdom, so long as Diego allowed them to keep their lands. And so without any bloodshed the Viking Kingdom of Northumbria would be annexed by the Kingdom of England in 1045.

King Diego then looked West to the recently unified lands of Wales. While his soldiers could easily overwhelm the petty Kingdom he knew brute force alone would not be enough to wield such unruly lands successfully. Diego preferred a combined policy of arms and diplomacy, marrying his oldest daughter Arganteilin matrilineally to a cousin of the Welsh King and claimant to the border duchy of Powys. This union would give birth to a son just a year later, granting a member of the house of Vasconia a proper claim to attack and seize these lands.

While King Diego would not live long enough to see the complete conquest of Wales, this first step into Powys would allow his descendants to conquer the entire Kingdom in the coming decades, ensuring the Welsh would never again be able to compete for dominance over Britain.

Diego then looked South toward his family's former lands. He granted the peninsula to his nephew Beorhtmaer, the son of the late Ealdorman Ramiro, ensuring the peninsula would be watched over by a loyal member of his own family. Diego then arranged a match for his sole heir Henrique with the Duchess of Aquitaine. Duchess Pernelle was technically extended family of Diego and Henrique, being a descendant of Filibert, the bastard half-brother of King Gontzal I of Navarra, King Gontzal I who was King Diego's great-grandfather.

This marriage would begin the long process of England becoming involved in local Frankish politics, attempting to bring down the Empire from the inside. The Duchess would utilize her newfound alliance with the Diego to enlarge her holdings in Southern France, for three long years the men of England would fight for this French duchess, wife of the future King Henrique. This war in Aquitaine would see the main branch of Vasconia battle it out with both Carolingians and the usurper house of Vasconia-Armagnac, and albeit costly, would ultimately enhance the power of Diego's house as Pernelle would die not long after, leaving his grandson Diego as the new Duke of Aquitaine.

This wee-child would one day become King Diego II of England, and through his possessions in Aquitaine as well as through other claims of his siblings (Henrique would marry a Carolingian princess after Pernelle's death, granting even more claims to the Vascons) he would seek to restore his family's rule over all of Vasconia and Armagnac, starting a long-lasting feud between England and France that would long outlast him. Spanning centuries, this rivalry would see both families battle it out in intermittent warfare for over a century, leading to later historians dubbing it "the Hundred Years War."

The new Duke of Brittany and future founder of the house of Vasconia-Brittany, and the future King and Queen of England.

The War for Limousin, the first of many English wars to be waged in Francia during the span of many centuries.

King Diego I's grandson Diego, the future King of England. Also pictured is his step-mother Maria who would grant him many half-siblings with claims all over Francia, further fueling his ambitions over the Empire.​

The war in Aquitaine was very costly for King Diego I, but during it his two biggest rivals met a gruesome end. Both scions of the house of Wessex and Colvile perished in battle, eliminating any would-be leaders of an Anglo-Saxon uprising seeking to overthrow the Basque yoke. With their deaths, the future of England as a Basque Kingdom was sealed. Never again would an Anglo-Saxon ruler reign over the island.

Their language and customs would not fully die out however, for in the coming centuries both Basque and English culture would begin to blend leading to the rise of the Ingelesak people, Ingelesak being the Basque word for "Englishmen."

The death of the last hopes for an Anglo-Saxon England.​

While King Diego and Henrique would battle against the usurpers of Vasconia-Armagnac, not all within that cadet branch of the family were opposed to restoring Diego's line to power. For their service Emperor Louis had granted them lands in Normandy, hoping they would zealously defend the Northern coastline from a possible English invasion. Unfortunately for Emperor Louis, Duke Piarres had come to despise his Frankish emperor and sought a marriage with King Diego's youngest daughter. Through a matrilineal union, the children of this marriage would too contribute to the expansion of English power within Francia, opening another front during the "Hundred Years' War."

---

Well folks, that's all I've got. I was forced to end this run abruptly after I was met with unfortunate issues that left my savegames unplayable after the mods I used were updated. I now know how to save them locally so that such a thing never again occurs, but alas this run is lost.

King Diego is by far the strongest power in the isles, with no one able to challenge him within his kingdom or outside of his borders. The marriages he devised for his children would bring about a ton of claims all over Wales and Francia, claims that I intended to press in due time had the saves not become corrupt. Diego hadn't yet died in my run, but my headcanon is that he died in 1066 at the age of 76, in the same year William the Bastard would ultimately begin his conquest of England in our timeline.

I imagine that in this timeline the Hundred Years' War would come about a few centuries earlier, as all these possessions in Normandy and Aquitaine would surely spark more than a few wars, not to mention the Vascons in England would be eager to reconquer their ancestral homes in Vasconia and Armagnac. Maybe they even attempt to reconquer Navarra, but that seems a bit farfetched with France standing inbetween.

Ultimately I think of Diego I as WAY less brutal version of the sadistic Norman King William "the Conqueror." England will endure a centuries' long process of cultural diffusion from the top-down, Anglo-Saxon culture and language would be drastically changed giving rise to a new hybrid people that will continue to struggle throughout the centuries against their obvious rivals in France. Given the Basque maritime heritage and the propensity for maritime endeavors of our timeline's English, I imagine the history of this Vasco-English Kingdom would not be too different from the history of England in real life, and they're likely to build a colonial empire in the Americas and all over the world as the English did historically.

Anyways, thanks for reading along everyone.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

That is a fantastic position for England to be in the early 11th century. I suspect they'll consolidate the islands and then reinforce their French holdings through Brittany.

What an interesting progression for the family, and quite true to life. The burgundians began as minor nobles between France and the HRE, and ended ruling the largest empire in history up to that point, via Spain.

From the looks of things, I'd say Francia is going to be strong, and the 100 years war is going to be a big thing. The English unifying the islands and having an unshakable peninsula to fight from makes them very difficult to ever actually defeat to the point they could 'lose', at the same time France is so large and would be so chaotic comr a huge war like that, the English might not get very far and succeed only in securing their claims on the north coast, and bankrupting and perhaps splitting up the rest of the empire.

Fascinating stuff though, esepcially if the English then try and get their lands back in Spain too...

 

[Midnite Duke]

1066 is a very apt endpoint for an 'English' realm. Mod stability in n a growing game is an oxymoron. Thank you for bringing this wonderful AAR to us. We even got bonus footage after Gontzal's exile.

 

[HistoryDude]

This is a great restoration of glory.

It would be nice if the Iberian holdings were also reclaimed.

Was the political seduction something that occurred in game? It would make sense, but it just sounds convenient...