Sounds like it's time to chew up and spit out Rheged.
Yep, time to kick the celtic Britons out of my home region
Though Rheged split into Elmet and Rheged again by the next chapter, not sure if I mentioned that in Chapter 5 :/
This update made my day thanks
Thanks
its good to have support!
This is wonderful! Although I hope you convert to Pelagianism or adopt Roman culture.
Thank you
and no way, Anglo-Saxon England is the future! though I'm trying to stay pagan for as long as possible.
And here's another chapter, thought I'd treat you guys
also I need to catch up my posting to the rate of my playing so you guys can actually advise me and play along.
Chapter 6, Eadbeald II “The Great” (542-558)
The Lost Years of Eadbeald’s early reign were behind Greater Mercia and now the Anglo-Saxon King who ruled over much of central England began to look beyond our borders once more, to the fractured northern Brythonic Kingdoms. As a reaction to a newly strong and expansionist Mercia the Welsh Kingdoms of Powys and Gwynedd formed an alliance in late 542 to resist Eadbeald’s planned expansion into their north-west territories. Thus in January 543 war broke out between Greater Mercia and the Powys-Gwynedd alliance – Eadbeald intended to conquer the Powysian province of Viroconium and then strike for the Romano-British fort-city of Deva, currently held by Gwynedd. Viroconium fell easily, after a victory at the Battle of Oak’s Cross where despite the Briton defenders inflicting higher losses upon us they could not stand against such high Saxon numbers.
Wasting little time Eadbeald soon pushed the initiative and invaded Gwynedd in October 543, going all out to take Deva. Gwynedd left only a token force to defend the city, mustering its armies in Snowdonia and then attacking at a large battle fought at Letocetum. The Mercians scored a great victory however and the Britons were routed.
The city of Deva in 543AD. Deva was an important old Roman settlement.
On the 19th of January 544 the forces of Gwynedd were finally crushed in the field as Eadbeald II and his army pursued them to Lladudno, on the north coast of Wales. With Gwynedd’s armies defeated the siege of Deva began properly and throughout 544 the Anglo-Saxons waited for the city to starve. After a failed sally by the defenders on the 21st of September the fate of Deva was sealed and by January 545 the city fell into Mercian hands. With the taking of Deva and the surrounding area the Welsh Kingdoms lost their last land border with the other Brythonic Kingdoms of Britannia. Surrounded by the sea and a large, powerful Anglo-Saxon Mercia the Welsh Kingdoms began to develop separately.
545 saw the expansion of Mercian land to the north aswell, with the fragmentation of Elmet-Ebrauc the tiny Lordship of Caistor (the area of modern Grimsby) was friendless and vulnerable – a perfect time for Eadbeald II to grab more Briton land! The Battle of Brayford on Valentine’s day 545 ended with an inevitable Mercian victory and the end of Caistor’s short independence.
In what was proving to be a very eventful year the North Angles (progenitors of the Kingdom of Northumbria) began to arrive in Northern Britain adding yet more chaos and bloodshed into the former Rhegedian Empire, which was now fragemented into 13 small Brythonic Kingdoms. The North Angles soon carved out land for themselves, becoming the third independent Anglo-Saxon Kingdom (Greater Mercia, Cantia and Northumbria).
As Northumbria formed in the north and Cantia continued to grow against a weak Kernow in the south Greater Mercia saw a few years of hard fought peace. In 546 Eabeald attempted to patch up bad relations with Gwynedd and gain an ally within Wales – marrying his daughter Eoforhild to the Prince of Gwynedd. An alliance would not materialise however, Eoforhild fell deeply in love with Prince Bledynn and renounced her father and House Nedalskip.
Though a few years of peace reigned in England over the Channel the Franks at last achieved total hegemony over northern Gaul, destroying the last remnants of Roman rule in Lutetia (Paris). On the 22nd of May 547 word reached Greater Mercia that even the famed Legio VI “Gallicana” had been unable to protect the Soisson Kingdom and that they were offering their arms to whoever could pay. The Legio VI was indeed a legion of Rome that had fell from grace.
Concerned that his people were “going soft” after 3 years of peace Eadbeald declared war on Elmet on new years’ day 548, beginning the war of 548 which would unsuprisingly cover most of that year.
Fought over the Trent Hills region in southern Elmet (the area known as The Peak) the first major battle was won by March the 4th – a costly victory against defending Elmetian forces at Manchester. Nearly twice as many Anglo-Saxons were killed, the good defensive terrain and the insipred leadership of Elmetian King Cadvael led to such high losses. On March 12th Gwynedd joined the war on Elmet’s side, completely disregarding the marriage between Eoforhild and Bledynn in 546. They chose not to declare war, instead their routing of a smaller Mercian force besieging Codnor Fort made their position on the conflict clear.
At war with both Gwynedd and Elmet Eadbeald called in as many troops as possible. Mercenaries travelled from Germania and Denmark, hired for cheap and lured by bloodlust. Even the fanatic Warrior’s of Thunor cult was swayed by Eadbeald’s medicore devotion to the nordic belief in to fighting the non-believers of Britain. With his armies regenerated a new wave of fighting began later in 548. The mercenary/fanatic army scored a victory over Gwynedd at Margidunum on September 16th, practically knocking them out of the conflict. All that remained was to mop up the shattered remnants of the Elmetian army in a series of small battles: Verbeia on the 1st of October being the largest.
With Gwynedd and Elmet’s armies defeated in the field King Cadvael knew when to call defeat and on the 30th of December ceded the Trent Hills to Mercia. For a large war gaining such a large province the pace of the fighting was extraordinary – most provinces took a few years to capture.
As 549 came around the heir of Greater Mercia came of age, Prince Tostig Nedalskip who had emerged form his education as a “Brilliant Commander”. He wed his childhood sweetheart Cwengyth of Brayford an Anglo-Saxon lady of minor nobility from Lincoln. Tostig was immediately given the Jarldom of Hwicce (which made up the core of Mercia) and Eadbeald II moved his court to rule from Deva. Delegating his nation to be ruled by those most loyal to him strengthened Greater Mercia, for Eadbeald had learnt against trying to rule too much, as he had done in the Lost Years before 542.
With Greater Mercia stable Eadbeald II pushed to increase crown rule and increased taxes on his vassals and trade, implementing a slightly harsher town tax law. With more money flowing in as well as more immigrants from the Saxon homelands in Europe Eadbeald felt confident to launch another large war against his Brythonic neighbours, thus beginning the War of Caer Lerion (Leicester) in September 549. A decisive victory against Elmet at the Battle of Sudbury once again prompted Gwynedd to join the war, though this time the ruler of Gwynedd could muster fewer than 500 troops and was easily defeated near Deva by a Mercian force.
As 550 came around Elmet mustered another amy only to be completely routed again near Sudbury. Elmet lost the initiative and by July all of Caer Lerion was in Mercian hands. The Mercian armies then marched north to Legioalium (now Castleford, West Yorkshire) and won a string of small victories against smaller Elmetian forces. By 551 Elmet was defeated and Caer Lerion looked ready to seize. However the King of Powys declared his support for Elmet and the Brythonic cause and marched north with an army to “liberate” Caer Lerion. The Powysian armies were defeated on the 11th of April near Deva however and Elmet was forced to finally admit defeat, losing Caer Lerion.
With the Welsh Kingdoms and Elmet now uniting together it showed that the Britons were now fighting together to defend their culture, which was being pushed aside by Anglo-Saxon in most regions. After riots in Deva following the Mercian victories over Gwynedd, Elmet and Powys Eadbeald decided to “get rid of” the native population through a mixture of genocide and mass Saxon migration. By Summer 551 Deva could be considered a majority Anglo-Saxon province. Across Mercia however the Britons were still the majority, highlighting the divide between Mercia and Anglia.
In late 552 Eabeald II declared war on the remnants of Elmet in order to claim the remaining lands that had once been part of The High Lordship of The Peak. King Cadvael once more called upon his Welsh allies to aid Elmet but this time his cries fell on deaf ears, Gwynedd decided that Elmet would not survive and did not wished to be drawn into another costly war with Greater Mercia. Cadvael then tried desperate measures, sneaking around the main Mercian army and laying siege to Deva in order to liberate the province for Gwynedd and bring them into the war. At the Battle of Treboeth however the Elmetians were defeated and Cadvael forced to flee back to his lands. With the counter-attack defeated Elmet was sent reeling and lost the province of Cornovia.
As the lands of the former Lordship of the Peak were integrated into Anglo-Saxon Mercian lands King Eadbeald II created a new title, the Jarldom of Lancaster and awarded it to his second son, also called Eadbeald. On the 27th of December 553 Eadbeald also created the Jarldom of Pegansaete in Northern Mercia, the second traditional Jarldom of the Mercian Kingdom. The new title was given to his daughter’s new husband, Jarl Eadweald of Ernid’s Hall from Denmark who became another steadfastly loyal noble vassal.
Making use of a new causus beli brought about by the creation of the Lancaster Jarldom Eadbeald II once again declared war on Elmet, with the intention of conquering Hibernicum (Liverpool). With Elmet now reduced to this one province Gwynedd finally stepped in, sending an army to Deva. The Britons were wiped out however and by The 10th October 555 Penstone (Elmet’s capital) had fallen and was looted. Hibernicum had fallen and the Lords of the Peak lost the title of Kings of Elmet (because we killed them all). The High Lordship of Ebruac took on the title Kings of Elmet, though it was a mere fig leaf – Elmet was gone in all but memory.
In 556 the largest civil war to strike Greater Mercia in over a decade began as Jarl Ealdfrith of Somersaete declared independence from Eadbeald’s rule. He was joined in the conflict by the powerful Jarl of East-Seaxe, Cynefrith of Anglia. On the 10th of October a crushing rebel victory at Venonae in the province of Ratae seemed to seal Sumorsaete and East-Seaxe’s independence, a massacre where over 2,000 Mercians were killed to a mere 400 men of East-Seaxe. Despite this defeat against East-Seaxe the King received good news in January 557 as the armies of Sumorsaete were defeated at Cunetio, however the main threat was East-Seaxe with its larger manpower and better leadership.
The rebels of East-Seaxe were led in battle by the son of Cynefrith, Cyneweald. Cyneweald was perhaps the greatest military mind in the Anglo-Saxon world at the time and had won many battles against the Elmetians before the massacre at Venonae. He was dissatisfied and shunned by his father however for the unfounded belief that he was in fact not his son. Cyneweald was a great asset to the rebellion and Eadbeald’s spymaster informed him that the commander could be turned to join the side of the King with enough persuasion, depriving East-Seaxe of its greatest commander and putting that asset in Mercia’s hands at the same time. The turning point of the war thus occurred when Cyneweald turned his back on the rebellion of his father and Jarl of Sumorsaete and joined with King Eadbeald II.
Along with Cyneweald came many of his soldiers and the rebels soon looked in a much worse position. The Battle of Tripontium on the 26th of May 557 saw the utter defeat of the rebel armies of East-Seaxe as Cyneweald led forces loyal to the King in a great victory.
By the 3rd of July the rebels surrendered, unable to continue fighting after the destruction of their forces at Tripontium. Eadbeald took differing approaches with the rebelling Jarls. Despite making up most of the rebel manpower Jarl Cynefrith of East-Seaxe was pardonned and made master of the horse – thus increasing the loyalty of Eadbeald’s vassal and his brilliant commander son Cyneweald. Jarl Ealdfrith of Sumorsaete was executed however, the man who fermented the rebellion in the first place and a minor noble that could be replaced fairly easily.
On August 26th 557 Greater Mercia was partioned into the Kingdoms of Mercia and Anglia in order to prevent such fracticious civil war again during Eabdeald’s reign. The Kingdom of Anglia was granted to Prince Tostig so that upon Eadbeald’s death the Kingdom of Greater Mercia would pass to Tostig Nedalskip.
Tostig immediately solidifed his new power, declaring war on Elmet and seizeing the major city of Ebracum for Anglia, a war in which Eadbeald II sent 800 troops to aid his son.
As 558 dawned it appeared that young Tostig would not have to wait long before he became King of Greater Mercia, as from the European continent a great pandemic spread to the realms of the Anglo-Saxons.
The Plague of Justinian had been ravaging the Mediterranean world for the last few decades and its arrival in Britain marked 558 as a very dark year. The Great plague claimed many victims amongst peasantry and nobility alike. It claimed its most presitigous victim on the 1st November 558 however as after only a week of fever King Eadbeald II “the Great” of Mercia succumbed to the plague.
King Tostig I was crowned King of Greater Mercia the following day, inheriting the Kingdom of Mercia and keeping Anglia for himself. The plague continued to ravage Greater Mercia until 560, leaving about 1/3rd of the Nedalskip extended family dead and many, many more peasants. Population levels would not recover until three hundred years later as Europe slided into the Dark Ages.
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That point where the civil war was ended by simply turning one of the rebel commanders was sooo satisfying, the best "moment" I've had in a paradox game and a nice bit of good luck