The End of Simon's Line
1132-1137: A New Duke, An Old War
Simon de Luxembourg's only son, Philippe, was crowned on August 28, 1132. He had ruled (though not necessarily well) since he was two years old. His privilidged life of command and deference had caused Philippe to develop into an extremely cocky and impulsive person. His courtiers would often wince at the reckless disregard he showed for his own life, as well as the lives of those around him.
Simon did not hesitate to begin his war. The Count of Julich was the most loyal of Philippe's new vassals, so the Duke continued to utilize his troops. Philippe also raised his regiment in Luxembourg, who enjoyed an entire month of rest between the end of the Baltic crusade and the beginning of the war with Germany. Philippe, in his typical brash manor, decided to go for a quick win by directly assaulting the German capital of Gent. Before he left Luxembourg, though, he showed his audacity by crowning himself Duke of Courland, a duchy he invented on his own.
King Alerick's troops in Gent were worn down from the continuous warfare Germany has endured under his reign, and so they were no match for the hardened Luxemborgers and the fresh Julichers. The German capital lasted less than a month before the ferocious assault of Philippe's forces. Alerick, however, was still in France, and so shrugged off the loss of his capital.
As Philippe marched south, he dealt with a range of small matters. Word came that some of the lands that his father had conqured had converted to Catholicism, but Philippe didn't really care all that much. Rather, he busied himself setting up his oldest (illigitimate) son Edouard in the County of Mecklemberg. During the arrangements, Eduoard suggested to his father that he make a display of strengh by confiscating the lands of nobles who seemed less than enthusiastic about his rule. Philippe thought that seemed a good idea, and agreed without considering the consequences. Soon thereafter, burghers began demanding that pesants be barred from selling their wares within city walls. Once again, their concise statement seemed reasonable to Philippe, who agreed to their demands without considering the consequences.
Philippe's campaign progressed quickly. Besancon fell in March, Province in mid July, and Brescia as the first snows of December began to fall. By New Year's Day in 1134, Philippe was on his way into the German heartland, heading towards Oberbayern. Philippe reached his destination in March, and settled in for his siege. Scant days after beginning, word reached Philippe that his foe, King Almerick, had finally died. His son and heir, Bruno, proved to be far cannier than his father. Bruno's ascention forced Philippe to relinquish the holds he had on German provinces he had already conquored. Bruno quickly made peace with all of his father's old enemies- except for Luxembourg- and soon Philippe found himself the sole focus of the German King's attention.
A comet was sighted on May 4th. Philippe was quick to argue that the ill omen portented by it's sighting was meant for King Bruno, coming so soon after his ascention, and claimed that the King should settle peacefully with Luxembourg now before things get worse. King Bruno was not interrested in the offer, however, and began to gather his forces in Gent.
The boldnes of Philippe's proclimation impressed the Teutonic Knights, who volunteered to serve Philippe in his war. Philippe, never one to say no to more fighting men, accepted their enlistment in May of 1134.
With reinforcements on the way, Philippe quickly retook Oberbayern. He then headed south to retake the lands he was forced to release upon Almerick's death. 1135 followed in much the same way as 1134, as province after province fell to Luxembourger assaults. Philippe fought two minor skirmishes (one in Forez on the 6th of March and one in Salucies on October 18th), but for the most part Bruno was content to draw in forces and prepare for a final battle in Gent.
Matters other than military affairs occupied more of Philippe's time during the summer of '35, however. On July 25th, 1135, the Pope passed on to his final reward. When the Curia came together to select the next Bishop of Rome, they elected another de Luxembourg- this time Eudes, Bishop of Grissons. Philippe, however, did not enjoy the same close ties that his father enjoyed with the Church, and Eudes made it known that he favored the opinions of a certain Sweedish count over his cousin's. Philippe, indignant, made the claim that Pope Eudes lacked the permission of his liege lord to break his oath of fealty before his ascent to the Papacy, and made his claim upon the Bishopric of Grissons widely known. His boldness cost him quite a bit of the prestige he had earned over the last two years of conflict and conquest.
Later, in October, the Burghers of Luxembourg, emboldened by their previous successes, demanded that they be given the right to be appointed to Philippe's council. The Burghers were decidedly more loyal to Philippe at this time than his nobles, so Philippe happily agreed to the request.
As 1135 rolled into 1136, Philippe began his preparations for his final battle. Ashe conquored the remaining counties under the direct control of the King of Germany, Philippe began to mobilize his vassals in preparation for the final assault. Philippe briefly returned home (as he was want to do during the long campaign) in February, where he was greeted by a happy surprise- his wife had become pregnant during one of his previous visits (or so she claimed), and gave birth to Philippe's first legitimate son on February 5th, 1136. Philippe was estatic. He named the boy Charles after that great unifier of Europe, a none-too-subtle hint about the future ambitions he held now that he had a legitimate heir.
On October 22, 1136, Ansbach fell into Luxembourger hands. The fall of Ansback marked the last county outside Gent that the King of Germany controlled. The time had finally come to finish the war. Philippe marched his army back to Luxembourg, where an army of his vassals were marching to. Philippe rendezvouzed with the army in late January of 1137, and organized them under his unified command. The time for a final reckoning had come.
The battle of Gent began on April 22, 1137. Luxembourg held a decisive advantage in manpower, but both nations had a sizable force.
The battle raged for nearly a month before the Germans broke. Following the German flight from Gent, Philippe quickly secured the province. Philippe once again offered to settle the matter. King Bruno, now thuroughly humiliated, had no choice but to accept. King Bruno conceded Gent to Philippe, as well as recognizing the claim Philippe had made to the Duchy of Province Philippe had made years ago when he was still the Count of Tourraine. The King of Germany also relinquished any claims to any of Philippe's holdings and titles.
1137-1140: The Aftermath
Philippe quickly installed his second (illigitimate) son, Errand, as Count of Gent, and then found his third bastard son, Mattieu, a very good match to the only daughter of the Count of Slupsik. After that, Philippe settled back for a while to allow his army to rebuild.
Duke Philippe, flush after his victory.
Philippe's mind continued to wander south, however. Philippe had been raised in a French court, as a French Count and vassal to a French Duke. As France began to disentegrate, Philippe could not help but think that France needed a strong hand to guide it back to greatness. Following his victory against the King of Germany, Philippe considered himself the best candidate to perform such a ressurection.
Philippe began to negotiate with French counts that had broken away from Ile de France and had not been absorbed by some other power. The Count of Reims, Pierre, was the first to see the wisdom in Philippe's notion, and swore fealty to him on September 13th, 1139. Of course, many say that he offered his service to Philippe more out of fear of being deposed by saying no than true admiration for Philippe as a possible future King. Emboldened by his success, Philippe decided that he would dig up some excuse to march upon the King of France and claim his title.
Once again, though, the Lord intervened to show his displeasure with the House of Luxembourg. As armies from the Baltic region prepared to set sail for western Europe, Philippe suffered a massive heart attack. Philippe hung on for several days, but in the end he could not resist the siren call of oblivion. Phillippe's lands and titles passed on to his son, the 5-year-old Charles.
Luxembourg's western European holdings at the end of Philippe's reign.
Luxembourg's Baltic holdings.
1140-1145: The Reign of Duke Charles
Charles was but a child when he ascended to the throne. As a minor, the responsibility of governance fell onto a collection of Philippe's advisors. Philippe's council had in later years become populated by the burghers, who held most the power within Luxembourg. The burghers, uninterested in another costly war, immediately sent orders in Charles' name to disband the mustering armies.
In Duke Charles' name, moneylenders were allowed to operate in the Baltic region, where the notion had first spread to Luxembourg. The Council, recognizing that Charles' name was already falling into disrepute, also gave away West Dvina to the Church, installing a very business-friendly Mattieu de Luxembourg to serve as Bishop.
The Council of advisors also pushed Charles towards studying in the courts, both so that he could develop a good appreciation for the more peaceful ways of governance and so they could keep the young Duke under their thumb. That proved not to be the best place for the young boy, however, who seemed greatly stressed by the constant pulling and manipulating from all sides by late March of 1142. The stress worstened, and Charles fell ill soon thereafter. The Council worried greatly about this, and went to great effort to ensure that the boy stayed healthy. Their efforts worked for a while, but their constant bothering of the boy ensured that whatever gains he made in his condition were quickly followed by new and worse developments. Duke Charles struggled on for three years, but in the end the stress and disease proved to be too much. Charles died on February 3, 1145, two days shy of his 9th birthday.
The death of Charles marked the end of Simon de Luxembourg's male descendants. Court geneologists had to go back to Duke Conrad, and traced descent from his second son, Berthold. Berthold had died years ago, but his eldest son Folkmar, who was count of Lubeck and Rostock, still lived. Thus, by the laws of sallic primogeniture that governed inheritance in Luxembourg, Folkmar de Luxembourg was crowned Duke.