• 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.

Veldmaarschalk

Cool Cat
151 Badges
Apr 20, 2003
30.151
1.994
  • 200k Club
  • 500k Club
Today I am starting a new AAR


Cymbru am byth - Wales forever

There have been some excellent Welsh AAR lately and I hope this AAR will come close to that high level.

I have started the game as the Meriadoc family, who in 1066 are counts of Glamorgan and Gwent. The AAR starts in 1113, at that time the Meriadoc's are duke of Deheubarth and Meath and counts of Glamorgan, Gwent, Mide and Dublin.

Goal is to unite all the British kingdoms under Welsh overlordship.

Patch: 1.05
Difficulty: Hard
Mods: The Alternative Scenario Setup 1.02 and BOPACK/SMACK

And another modification I have done is to disable the Crusader Events, so there won't be any Crusade. Hopefully this prevents such CK'ish things as the Emirate of Scotland. :)

I also hope that this will be an AAR that I will actually finish.
 
Cymbru am byth



Our story starts in 1113 AD with Hywel, son of Ewyas son of Cadwgan Mediadoc. Hywel is duke of Deheubarth and Meath and count of Glamorgan, Gwent, Dublin and Mide.

Cadwgan was the first member of the Meriadoc family from who we have heard, in the late 11th century he was the count of Glamorgan and Gwent in southern Wales, or Cymbru in his native language. Cadwgan wrested the duke title of Deheubarth from counts of Dyfedd in 1070 AD. While Cadwgan was besieging Dyfedd castle, the ally of the count of Dyfedd, the count of Ulaid conquered Gwent and after that invaded Glamorgan. So as soon as Dyfedd had fallen, Cadwgan hasted back to Glamorgan where he defeated the count of Ulaid. But the Irish garrison of Gwent refused to surrender and Cadwgan succesfully stormed the castle, but though brave as the action was it also lead to his death.

His son Ewyas was at that time just 1 year old and the regency council therefor decided that it was wise to ask William I, king of England to become the protector of the young duke. William accepted and so Deheubarth became a vassal of the Norman king of England. When Ewyas came of age in 1085 he married a daughter of his vassal, the count of Dyfedd, Gwenhwyfar ap Seisyll. They had several children together, one of them Hywel who was born in 1096 AD.

King William I, also known as William the Conqueror and behind his back as William the Bastard, was a great warrior king and after having dealt with with his disloyal Anglosaxon vassals, he started to look elsewhere for expansion. And his eyes fell on the Emerald Isle of Ireland, which he invaded in 1090 AD. Young Ewyas, went with his liege to Ireland and while king William was conquering the duchy of Ulster, Ewyas was able to conquer the county of Mide, in the middle of island for himself.

Hywel’s mother, Gwenhwyfar, died in 1100 AD and Ewyas married for the second time, this time not with a Welsh lady, but with a Norman woman. Fressenda de Normandie, daughter of William Rufus, count of Lancaster and so a granddaughter of king William I. With the prestige gained from this marriage, Ewyas was able to claim the county of Dublin as his. King William though didn’t allow Ewyas to force his claim. But in 1102, William died and he was inherited by his eldest living son, William Rufus, now William II, king of England. With his father-in-law on the throne, Ewyas couldn’t be stopped anymore and he invaded Dublin in 1103. After the conquest, Ewyas was granted the title, duke of Meath by his father-in-law. And it seemed like there was no end to his ambitions yet.

But this success also brought him enemies, especially the other vassals, most of them Normans whose fathers had come to England with king William I. And so a conspiracy took shape and in 1105, Ewyas was poisoned and though he lived for a few more weeks he died soon under agonising pains. Ewyas and Fressenda had one son, Cynidr and most people thought that he would be the new duke, especially since he was favoured by his grandfather, the king. But the Welsh nobles in Deheubarth wanted nothing of that, Cynidr was much to ‘Norman’ in their eyes and so they forced Fressenda to accept Hywel as the new duke, much against her will though. She therefor asked her father to intervene. But William Rufus was to busy at that time, the king of France had invaded the county of Maine, land belonging to the duke of Normandy, Richard de Normandy, a cousin of the king. He told his daughter to accept the wishes of her vassals, but that she at least should insist on being the regent for young Hywel.

And so we have arrived in 1113 AD, Hywel is 16 and his regency has ended. The last thing that his stepmother has arranged for him, is his marriage with Isabella de Beaumont, daughter of the duke of York. King William II has died in 1110 and his son Osbert is now king of England. Osbert, another looks like another great warrior-king, just like his grandfather ‘the Conquerer’, He has wretched the counties of Gwynedd and Powys from the king of Scotland and has himself crowned as king of Wales.

The starting characters

Hywel Meriadoc, the young duke of Deheubart and Meath. A suspicious and vengeful character

1113hywel.jpg


His wife, Isabella de Beaumont, daughter of the duke of York, Roger de Beaumont. Forgiving, just and zealous.
1113isabella.jpg


His elder brother Idwal, Marshal of the duchy of Deheubarth. A suspicious, vengeful, valorous tough soldier.

1113idwal.jpg


His stepmother, Fressenda de Normandie. Chancellor and his former Regent. She is the sister of Osbert, king of England and Wales. She is a lazy, trusting coward. Though it is also believed that she was the one who posioned her husband, Hywel's father Ewyas.

1113fressende.jpg


Her favourite son, Cynidr.

1113cyndyr.jpg


And finally her brother, the newly crowned king of England and Wales. Osbert de Normandie. A deceitful and wise warrior-king.

1113osbert.jpg


 
Last edited:
A new Veld AAR! Great! :)
 
Personal diary of Hywel Meriadoc

December 19, 1113 AD
Those damned Normans, are they never satisfied ? King Osbert has called on me to do my duty as his vassal and join him in his war against my fellow Gaelic brothers, Eochaid Dunn Chaillean, king of Scotland and Anarawd Matharafal, duke of Gwynedd. Who cares that both of them are excommunicated ! Don’t they know that I know who is responsible for that ? My father-in-law, Robert duke of York, he has setup the Pope to excommunicate these fine catholic men. It looks like those Normans want to eradicate all the Scots and Welsh from our island, that is for sure. I don’t want to fight them, but I have no choice, if I refuse Osbert will come looking for me after the war and then install my ‘brother’ Cynidr as duke. Won’t that please my stepmother ? No, not with me. I will bow to my kings, tomorrow I will order Idwal to gather our troops and sent them north.

April 10, 1114 AD
It has been a tiresome day, the men from Gwynedd put up a stiff fight. But we finally beat them, though Idwal has made me the laughing stock of the entire army. How could he run away like that ? His cowardice hasn’t gone unnoticed with the king ! I can still hear him laughing when the other vassals described Idwal’s painful flight. I hope this war is soon over, I want to see my new born son, Emrys.

September 12, 1114 AD
The war is going well for our king, duke Anarawd has fallen and Osbert has installed one of his puppets as archbishop of Gwynedd. We are now ordered to go to Scotland to fight against Eochaid.

Idwal won’t be going with us, I have ordered him to go to Dublin. He will be responsible for the building of the first stone castle in my demesne. Hopefully he is a better ‘builder’ then ‘fighter’.

July 27, 1115 AD
It has become clear to me, that not everyone is fond of our king. Even though the war against Scotland has been a great success, I see many unhappy faces, Osbert has given all the newly acquired lands to his favourites, people who haven’t done anything in this war. I have a feeling some of those unhappy vassals are conspiring against Osbert. They haven’t approached me yet. Why ? Do they see me as a member of the kings ‘clan’ ?

1122intrigue.jpg


March 20, 1116 AD
Oh god, what have I done to deserve this ? Why are you so mean to me ? I have just buried my daughter, Myfanwy and now poor little Emrys has the same illness. Will he die to ? Oh god, have mercy on me and my family.

Idwal has returned from Dublin, the castle there is ready, it is by far the strongest fortification in all of Ireland.

January 5, 1117 AD
Thank you god, thank you ! Emrys is cured. I am glad that I have put my faith in that miracle-worker. The money he got was fully deserved. Emrys is all healthy and lively again, asking for new toys, which I gladly bought for him of course.

1120miracle.jpg


February 17, 1117 AD
Had a good meeting with my steward today, the wealth Glamorgan is increasing day by day. This means a rise in the tax-income, I can use that money very well for my upcoming plans.

1120richprov.jpg


June 25, 1118 AD
Isabella is angry at me again, she says that I have wasted my money. Who does she think she is ? It is my money after all. A tapestry of depicting me as a fearless commander in the midst of battle. Mmm, when it is done I will hang it on the great hall of Glamorgan castle. People will be astonished when they see it.

1120tapestry.jpg


December 16, 1118 AD
Life as a duke is hard work, today a delegation from the nobility of Dublin arrived. They think that they deserve to have more to say in the ruling of their county. Though I don’t like it when people demand things from me, I have given them what they wanted, it is best to keep the nobility happy and loyal to me and my house, they are the ones who fight for me after all. I will need them and their friends in the future.

1120noblesdemand.jpg


April 18, 1119 AD
I wonder if I have done the right thing ? Will Idwal be a good mentor for Emrys ? Of course who is better to train my son all the things a knight needs to know then my marshal. But Idwal is not a brave man, will Emrys become a coward to ?

October 19, 1119 AD
Had an argument today with Fressenda, damn that woman ! Who does she think she is ? Her demands were outrageous as always. Does she really believe that I would agree to such things ? Cynidr was to be made duke of Meath ! The nerves of that woman. I told her that those lands and titles were won with Welsh blood and Welsh money and I wasn’t going to give those things away for free to a ‘Norman.’

November 1, 1119 AD
I think I have been fooled by my stepmother, grrhh that evil witch. Threatening to go to her brother and tell him what I have said about the ‘Normans’. And now she has what she wanted, her son Cynidr married to a Norman lady ! Yolanda de Normandie. Oh how I hate that family. Sure she is pretty and a daughter of the duke of Northumbria and a cousin of our king, but I had other plans with my brother.

1120happymarriage.jpg


To bad, but luckily I have other things to think about. We are going to Ireland tomorrow, finally I have a chance to fight in a war of my own. To bad Idwal can’t come with us, he says he is to ill. Sure !


February 4, 1120 AD
Aarggh, those damned Irishmen ! That is not why I came to Ireland. I hadn’t set a foot on this island or a bunch of nobles approached me and demanded that I would respect their hunting-rights on lands that belong to the church. I said that I would look into it and ‘bang’ I got angry clergymen telling me that I am the most unpious and cruel man there has ever lived. Don’t they know that I am here for serious business, not there petty problems.

March 17, 1120 AD
Tomorrow is the big day, then me and my army will invade the county of Osraige, I am so excited that I can’t sleep.
 
Nice AAR so far, Wales is always fun to play- easy to get the King title, but a real struggle to resist the Norman monster to the east. Good luck.
 

Osraige, May 10, 1120 AD

'To lady Isabella,

Osraige is ours ! It has been a glorious day for us Welsh, the Irish of Osraige and Munster have been defeated and the count of Osraige has been expelled from his castle. Which now, rightly, belongs to our brave duke. Duke Hywel fought brave an valiantly in the battle and siege, he was always there where the fight was the thickest and the danger the greatest. He has been an inspiration to all us and me and my brother Cynidr are proud to be part of his family which gives us the opportunity to serve under him.

The invasion of Osraige started on just two months ago and I can still remember that day as if it was yesterday. Both lord Hywel, my brother and me were so excited that we couldn’t sleep the night before and all we did was sit at our fireplace and tell each other stories about our beautiful Welsh homeland and our wives and children we had left behind.

Three days after the start of our operation we reached the castle of Osraige and outside the castle the count had gathered his men, a wild looking bunch of fearsome warriors with painted faces. And even though we greatly outnumbered them, there were 10 to us to 1 of them, many of our men were still scared when they saw their enemy for the first time. But lord Hywel wasn’t, he galloped on his horse, all by himself, to the Irish line and started to defy the count, he wanted to duel him personally. He just raised his right harm, pointing his sword high in the air and then suddenly a arrow was fired from behind the Irish line. This arrow penetrated lord Hywel in his armpit, right at the point where he wasn’t protected by his mail-armour.

When our men saw their duke fall a rage came across them, and soon the first of them where storming towards the Irish. It was a massacre, my lady. A lot of Irish and Welsh blood fled that day on that field, but in the end we were victorious. I then finally had the time to see how injured lord Hywel was and though he had lost a lot of blood, he was still alive my lady. And lucky for us he still is, though still to weak to write you himself. That is why I write this letter to you, he tells you that you need not to worry about him, he is still young and strong and the wound isn’t that serious, and we will soon return home as soon as he can stand on his own feet again.

Yours truly,
Owain Meriadoc, marshal.’​

1123wounded.jpg


November 27, 1120 AD
The wound still isn’t healed, it is still impossible for me to use my right arm and sometimes it feels like my whole right side is in flames. I try to hide it of course, but that is sometimes so hard.

Idwal’s death has hit me hard, did he really die of an illness or of shame ? Sacking him as my marshal wasn’t easy, but Owain has done a terrific job in Osraige, if it wasn’t for him I might be dead now and Osraige would still be in the hand of the Irish. Though it may also be that, that work was done by his brother Cynidr. Those two look so much alike that it is hard for me to tell who is who.

1123twobrothers.jpg



March 9, 1121 AD
Will this pain ever go away ? I hardly can get out of bed some days, let alone ride on my horse. I now I hear bad things from Ireland. The people in Osraige aren’t defying me as their duke, they say that if I can’t keep peace and justice in their land I am not worthy of being their ruler. They demand (how dare they) from me to come to them myself and deal with their problems.

Even if I could, I wouldn’t do that of course. I don’t let myself be blackmailed by that. I will sent my brother Cynidr to Ireland, lets see how he handles this. This will serve two purposes, people can finally see what kind of loser he is and, god forbid, if I die he will be to far away to be considered a serious candidate for the rule of my duchy. That title will go to my son, I have made all the arrangements, but with my stepmother still around, who knows what happens.

1123rebelsosraige.jpg


If Cynidr does a good job, which I doubt, I will make him count of Mide. Which will be an honour for him, but it will keep him as far away from Glamorgan as possible.

Isabella told me that she is pregnant, I am glad that everything ‘down there’ is still working properly.


December 4, 1121 AD
Rejoice, rejoice ! I have another son, Cadell will be his name. I am so proud, hopefully this good news will have a positive effect on my injury.

Cynidr has, against my expectations, succeeded in dealing with the problems in Osraige. He wanted to return home, but I have told him that as count of Mide he needs to stay in Ireland.

Fressenda wasn’t pleased with this, she says that since I will die soon, her son should be here at home. And that being count of Mide was a much to lowly title for a grandson of a king. She again ‘demanded’ from me to make him duke of Meath, that woman ! Will she ever learn ?

August 1, 1122 AD
I never have been so insulted in my entire life, if it hadn’t been for Owain I would have called for a duel against Osbert. Telling me, in my own house, in front of all my barons, that I am incapable of ruling and that I should make my brother the co-ruler of the duchy. Deheubarth needs a strong ruler he said, not an invalid ! Especially now that he is preparing for another war, this time against the duke of Moray, in northern Scotland. He asked me if I could command my own troops, like if he doesn’t know how badly injured I still am ? But I told him that the Welsh still fight and that marshal Owain will command the Welsh troops, we will show those Normans what great fighters we are.

1123maltreatment.jpg


October 29, 1122 AD
Owain dead ? How is that possible ? I don’t believe a word the herald told me. Owain, on his way to the war in Scotland, came across a group of villains and the leader of those villains challenged Owain for a duel and Owain lost ? This can’t be true, Owain was an experienced knight, he would not lose a duel from a simple peasant. No, someone else is behind his death.

1123owaindies.jpg


If I only wasn’t to ill ? Then I would go investigate this matter myself.


Diary of Cynidr Meriadoc, diocese bishop of Glamorgan.

July 7, 1123 AD
My cousin Hywel passed away last night, the last few weeks must have been hell for him. The pain and agony, his body in flames from the high fever, but now he is finally in a better place, together with my dear brother Owain.

His final words were for me, it is my duty to look after his two young sons, to protect their inheritance against any possible adversaries. He hasn’t told me who that might be, but I have a good feeling who are meant by that.

Tomorrow Emrys will be installed as the new duke, the young boy is only 9 years old and has no idea yet what has come over him. But I will guide him, I owe that to Hywel.
 
Jon Young said:
Excellent, I'll be following this one! I keep trying Welsh campaigns to reclaim Lloegyr, but haven't got very far. Can't wait to read about your moves!

Cynidyr could have done better

Maybe his time will come. Cynidr (as a grandson of king William Rufus) has a claim on the kingtitle of England

Judas Maccabeus said:
Bloody Normans. Too bad you couldn't get Gwynedd, that could have helped a lot...

JimboIX said:
Nice AAR so far, Wales is always fun to play- easy to get the King title, but a real struggle to resist the Norman monster to the east. Good luck.

Well, having the kingtitle of Wales as my primary target isn't my most important goal, yet.

canadiancreed said:
nice! Always like the underdogs

Underdogs ? Who are the underdogs here ? :)
 
Diary of Cynidr Meriadoc, diocese bishop of Glamorgan​

December 26, 1123 AD
I am very worried about young Emrys, the conversation I had with him today has upset me very much. It started all innocently, first he asked about his father, Hywel. Was Hywel a good man he wanted to know, I said of course your father was a very good man. Then he asked about my brother. Was Owain a good man ? Yes, I said Owain was a very good man. Then he asked is God a good ? Of course God is the goodness himself I said. Then why does God let Hywel and Owain die, he asked. I told him that we don’t know Gods intentions and that it is not up to us humans to question him. Then Emrys said something very dangerous, he said ‘I am Emrys son of Hywel, duke of Deheubarth and Meath, I have every right to ask God about his intentions.

I hushed him, I told him that such language wasn’t appropriate for a good Christian like him, he the just walked away and laughed. It is obvious that I should be more firm to him or else this might turn into something very dangerous.

1130emryssecptial.jpg


January 17, 1124 AD
Oh god, how could this have happened, I have been released of my duties as tutor for the young Duke. The other regents of Emrys, chancellor Fressenda and steward Thora of Orkney, the widow of my cousin Idwal, have decided that I should go to Scotland where our troops are still fighting in the war of king Osbert against the duke of Moray. They have said that a Meriadoc should command the troops from Deheubarth and since I am the only living male Meriadoc around here, the uncle of Emrys, Cynidr, is far away in Ireland, they have chosen me. I told them that I am not a warrior, but they wouldn’t hear and since it was 2 against 1 I had to accept their decision.

The current commander of our army, Ziemomysl O’Cathasaigh, has been captured by the enemy and they demand a ransom for his release. It is my duty to take the ransom-money with me and see to it that Ziemomysl is set free again. Why duchess Fressenda wants to pay the ransom is a mystery to me. Ziemomysl is a stranger who hardly speaks our language, nor has he proven himself valuable for us.

1130ransom.jpg


The news from the royal court has also been very disturbing, king Osberts behaviour has been very weird and erratic lately, Or at least so it is rumoured. I have asked duchess Fressenda about her brother, but she says it are al just nasty lies. Her brother, the king, is in good health and will soon be joining his army in Scotland again.

1130osbertschizo-1.jpg


Now it is time for me to pack, I will leave tomorrow morning. I haven’t even had the time to say goodbye to Emrys and his young brother Cadell. Hopefully I will see them soon again.


November 7, 1124 AD

A letter from steward Thora of Orkney to her sister Margaret.

1130thora.jpg


‘Dear Margaret,

A lot has happened in these last twelve months, the last time I wrote you duke Hywel had just died, shortly followed by his cousin, Cynidr, you know that bishop I told you about. He was murdered on his way to Scotland, he was on his way to take command of the army of Deheubarth and he carried with him a large sum of money, which was intended as a ransom for one of our other commanders with unspeakable name. Who murdered poor Cynidr is unknown, but probably the same villains who killed his brother Owain. Yes, the Meriadoc and villains don’t have a very good relationship.

1130cynidrdies.jpg


And as you probably have heard, king Osbert has gone completely bonkers and I can tell you that his sister Fressenda is far of going that way to. The condition of Osbert has lead to a lot of unrest in the kingdom, vassals are starting to break free and some have even declared war on the king, though the kingdom is not yet in thrown into a full civil my expectation is, is that it will happen pretty soon. I am especially curious about what the family of Osbert will do, his brother Robert, count of Dorset and his cousin Henry, duke of Normandy and Northumbria, will not stand idly when the see the realm fall apart due to Osberts current incompetence.

Our young duke is growing up to be a fine young man, though I sometimes have the feeling that he will get in trouble with the church, since his ideas about religion and the duties of the clergy are, well lets say, a bit out of the ordinary.


Your loving sister,
Thora.’​



Diary of Loui de Thouars, former count of Thouars.

August 17, 1129 AD
I still can’t believe what all has happened these last few months, first I was expelled from my homecounty by my liege the duke of Aquitaine, who wanted his son as the count of Thouars. My family and me barely had enough time to pack our belongings and search for a new homeland, staying in Thouars or even close to it would have lead to our death.

Luckily we found a warm welcome, here in this cold land of the duke of Deheubarth. The duke is still a young boy of only 15 years old, but already very mature in his appearances and actions. As soon as we had arrived he game me an my family the feeling that we were at home. He showed me a lot of respect to me and the rest of my family, making me his chancellor, my brother Gautier was made the marshal of his army and my daughter Esclarmonda was offered the position of spy-master.

Duke Emrys has said that he needs good people around him, the king of England and Wales has had some troublesome times, but with the new king, Robert, a brother of king Osbert the Mad. Emrys expects a lot of changes, not all of them might be good for the Meriadocs and the Welsh, as he said it.

1130kingrobert.jpg


I told him that he doesn’t need to worry, the duchy of Deheubarth had stayed loyal to the royal house during all the years of madness of king Osbert. But Emrys told me that the royal family always have had their eyes cast of his rich lands and only the presence of the sister of king Osbert and king Robert, Fressenda, in Deheubarth has prevented them from acting on it. But Fressenda has died last year so now there is no more tie between the Meriadoc family and the Normandie family. And being a loyal vassal isn’t a guarantee for safety, look what happened to me, he said. He is a wise man, this young duke.

1130thouars.jpg



May 14, 1130 AD
Duke Emrys, Gautier and me went out for a ride today, duke Emrys wanted to show us the new stone castle that was being raised just outside of Glamorgan, it is also finished and will make it hard for any attacker to quickly gain control over this county.

During the ride Emrys told me that he was still worried about what king Robert might do and that he was in search of an ally. He wanted to know if I knew rulers who would be useful as an ally. All the vassals of king Robert as so scared of him that they don’t qualify for as a useful ally. I told Emrys that I would think about it.


September 21, 1130 AD
I still don’t understand that I didn’t come up with this sooner. Emrys will turn 16 pretty soon, a good age to get married and also a good way to gain a new friend and ally. And as it happens to be, one of the archenemies of the Normandie family happens to have a daughter of about the same age and conveniently I happen to have good relations with this man. When I told Emrys what I had in mind he quickly understood the advantages of this marriage. ‘Yes’ he said ‘perfect, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Loui ! Go to France and arrange this marriage-alliance.’

So here I am on a boat, back to Deheubarth and with me I have the youngest daughter of the king of France, Frederi Capet. Princess Mabila will be a perfect bride for Emrys.

A great day for Deheubarth and me, I must say !

1130emrysandmabila.jpg


October 4, 1130 AD
Emrys coughed the entire journey today, I told him to take it easy, his cold wasn’t over yet. But Emrys wouldn’t listen, I need to inspect my lands he said. Everything needs to be ready for the Big Day.

When I asked what Big Day, he wouldn’t tell me.

October 23, 1130 AD
His fever has risen again, how a man ever can survive such a high fever is unknown to me. Princess Mabila refuses to leave his side, I have urged her to be careful, she can’t take any risks now that she is pregnant. But they are so much in love, it is like I am talking to a brick wall.

The day to day business of the duchy is now in my hands and I have sent Gautier to Ireland, where a revolt has broken out amongst the peasants of the county of Osraige, the peasants have already defeated the Osraige regiment. Gautier will take command of the regiment of Dublin, he will stamp out this revolt, before it has time to spread.

 
I'm worried for the duke's cold. In those days, you never knew what would kill you. OTOH, another regency would give a good breeding ground for intrigue.:D
 
I suppose that you want to be king of Ireland first isn`t? Good luck with creating celtic kingdom, and writing interesting story :)
 
Diary of Loui de Thouars, chancellor in the duchy of Deheubarth​

December 20, 1130 AD
I have to say that it has been a perfect day for the funeral. All the day long a storm from the sea swept up on us, bringing us rain and light snow and cold wind. The death of duke Hywel, has affected me very much. He showed so much promise, this young lion and now he is dead, his body buried in the cold ground.

Princess Mabila, 6 months pregnant, threw herself on the coffin of her husband a few times, crying all day long. I will have to tell her that is not the appropriate way to show once grieve, a lady of her standing should know better. His younger brother Cadell, the new duke held himself magnificently though, standing their besides his brothers grave, and then laying the sword of Hywel on the coffin when it was lowered down.

1135cadell.jpg


I also have met for the first time, Cynidr Meriadoc, the count of Mide. After hearing all those terrible stories about him I expected some kind of monster, an ogre. But he has turned out to be a most charming man, in his late twenties. He has told me that he wants to stay a while here, I have therefor giving him a room in the main tower.

Cynidr hasn’t brought his wife him, Yolande de Normandie with him. It is said that she has the same illness as her cousin, Osbert the former king of England.

December 27, 1130 AD
I will soon have to serious conversation with princess Mabila, the way she has been acting this last week is most scandalous. That flirting that she, so openly, does with count Cynidr is highly inappropriate and un-lady like. This may have been normal in the French royal court, but not here. Certainly not doing such things with a married man.


September 30, 1131 AD
Spectacular news from Scotland, Henry de Normandy, duke of Northumbria and Normandy has taken over the Scottish throne. Another Norman king in the British of the same family as our king Robert of England and Wales.

1135henry.jpg


The news was brought to us by count Cynidr of Mide, who stopped by on his way to the coronation. King Henry is the father of countess of Mide and therefor Cynidr’s father-in-law.

Now if I only can keep Mabila away from Cynidr, we can’t afford a scandal. I don’t think king Henry will be pleased when his daughter is dishonoured this way.

Mabila is a very capable steward, but her social behaviour is most shocking. When I expressed my concern about her behaviour she said, that she, as a princess can do what ever she feels like and that no grumpy old man like me can do anything about that.


January 19, 1132 AD
It is time to start a proper education of our young duke, I will teach him about diplomacy and politics. For his convenience I have provided a map of the British Isles, showing all the important rulers. This map makes it clear that de Normandy family is the dominant force in this region.

1135britishisles.jpg



May 7, 1134 AD
I don’t think we can be pleased with the latest events, king Robert has conquered the duchy of Gloucester. He has made his eldest son, Gregory, count of Gloucester and he has added the county of Hereford to the royal demesne. This means that our entire northern frontier now borders with the personal lands of our king.


July 11, 1134 AD
The countess of Mide, Yolande de Normandie has died. When this news was brought to us, I saw the look on the face of Mabila and that look still worries me today. She is still in love with Cynidr and she wants to go to Mide to visit the funeral. I have vetoed this, the situation in Ireland is much to dangerous I have said. Osraige is in revolt again and it is not safe for a lady to travel through those lands. This veto has made me an enemy of Mabila, I am afraid.

It is clear to me that the situation in Osraige can’t be ended with force, maybe bribing some of the leaders of the revolt will have more success. It may cost some gold, but that is preferable to having the entire county in revolt.

1135bribe.jpg


November 1, 1134 AD
Dear God, what has happened today is just to terrible. Duke Cadell is dead, poisoned I believe. Who would ever do this to this young boy, who hasn’t done harm to anyone.

1135poison.jpg


The only person in Glamorgan not taken over by grieve is Mabila, she was almost cheering from excitement, since now that Cadell is dead, her ‘lover’ Cynidr is the new duke. I have already sent a messenger to Mide, to inform Cynidr of his nephew’s death.

Somehow I have a feeling that Mabila knows more about this poisoning, but then again I can’t really believe she is capable of doing such a thing. Since she is not that evil (I hope).

 
Judas Maccabeus said:
A Polish Irishman? Now I've seen everything... :p

Good you got through Osbert's insanity well enough, too bad you couldn't get anything from it.

I don't have that much claims yet

Nikolai said:
I'm worried for the duke's cold. In those days, you never knew what would kill you. OTOH, another regency would give a good breeding ground for intrigue.

I will contact you personally to ask for some more advice on winning lottery ticket numbers and so on :D

thrashing mad said:
I suppose that you want to be king of Ireland first isn`t? Good luck with creating celtic kingdom, and writing interesting story

Both England, Wales and Scotland are momentarily out of reach, so yes Ireland might be my goal