Life and Death of Emperor Turquetil I, part I
Catharism
The conquests of Turquetil were something the world had not seen since Charlemagne. Norman armies were seen all over the Mediterranean, conquering from Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox alike. The expansion of Hauteville Empire was unprecedented for centuries and the whole world feared them more then even the new threat- the Mongols. Though less blood-thirsty, the Normans were much more hungry for lands and gold- and their neighbours had plenty.
But that is not the main reason Turquetil is known. Despite his conquest, our warrior-emperor is remembered more because of the single decision he made. It was back in 1200, when Turquetil had ruled for three years and was less then 20 years old.
The relations between Normans and the Pope had always been strained. Normans in the south were military power to fear, especially when you’re living in Rome, just one province away. On the other hand, Normans were the shield of Papacy against Muslims. In time though, the shield turned into sword that cut first into Muslims, then into fellow Christians. On one side, Normans were liberators of Jerusalem, on the other side, they were heavily armed neighbours with a taste for warfare and willingness to take the law into their own hands.
The previous paragraph shows the Popes as innocent victims- but of course, they weren’t. Money from all over the world flowed into coffers of the Pope. Bishops from Sicily to far north of Norway paying their dues more often to Pope then to their rightful Kings meant that Pope is very-very rich. And with such richness comes corruption. Popes were power-hungry manipulative bastards that tried to control Kings, expand their lands and become supreme rulers of Catholics.
Turquetil’s grandfather Emperor Bohemond solved the problem one way- he took Rome, installed de Hauteville, now called Simplicitus II, as a Pope. But that was temporary solution, for until Bohemond lived, the new Pope followed his commands. Soon after his death, Pope showed him his true face- he turned against de Hautevilles, his own family- in order to increase the power of the Popes.
Turquetil reacted unexpectedly- he turned heretic. He embraced the Cathar religion. Being a ruler for less then 5 years, that was a gamble- but it paid off. In less then a year, most of the Dukes and Counts of Hauteville Empire had embraced the new religion. The royal court slowly followed and the rest of the Empire as well.
42 years later, when Turquetil died, Catholic Norman was a rare sight. The conversion that had begun slowly picked up pace soon. Mallorca was the first province to convert, then Palermo, the royal capital. One after another, the populations of provinces turned Cathar. By the time of Turquetil’s death, most of the lands in the Empire were followers of Catharism, and the Catharism had became the major religion in the Mediterranean area.
The spread of Cahtarism by the time Turquetil died. Italy and North Africa are mostly Cathrar, with other regions picking it up by fast pace.
In the end, it would be appropriate to talk about moral authority of Catharism. In the beginning of Catharism, it was 50%. Since there was no religious head to make it bigger, the advance was only achieved by holy wars. By the time Turquetil died, it was 91%.
Wars with the Holy Roman Empire
What Hauteville Empire was in the South, Holy Roman Empire was in the north. The Kaiser was ruler of Germany and Northern Italy. Normans also wanted that rich land and that had caused tensions between the nations. The first war between Normans and Holy Roman Empire was in 1159, when King Asclettin decided to take back the county of Spoleto. The Normans won that war and since that, in about every 10 years or so, Normans had been at war with the Empire, slowly gaining lands in Italy.
War for Corsica, 1198-1199
First war of Turquetil, taking place even before his conversion to Catharism, was with Holy Roman Empire- as was becoming tradition of de Hautevilles. From May 1198-May 1199, Turquetil spent his coronation war conquering Corsica. Of course, Turquetil won, adding another Duke to his list of vassals- and more importantly, finishing what his ancestors begun. In May 1199, Turquetil crowned himself as a King of Italy. A long dream of de Hautevilles had finally become true, though half of Italy was still under German rule.
Holy War for Ferrara, 1208-1209
In May 1208, after the 10-year truce it was time for a war again. This time, the target was Ferrara, a merchant republic under rule of the Empire. But this time, things had changed. Kaiser Leopold, seeing threat from Normans growing, had managed to persuade King Eudes of France to become his vassal. With that, Normans faced the combined might of two greatest nations in Europe and with that, the Holy Roman lands extended from Sweden up north to the Iberian peninsula in the west.
Still, combined German and French troops were no match for the Normans. Three Germans intervention armies were beaten back and in January 1209, Kaiser gave up and Ferrara was Norman.
Holy War for Tuscany, 1220-1222
Again, after 10 years, it was time to go to war. This time, Normans were in for the fight of their lives. Besides Holy Roman Empire (and remember, that is the combined might of Germans and French, with a little sip of half of Iberia), English and Polish Kings came to aid the Kaiser against the heretic Normans. The armies soon rose over 20 000 soldiers and the battles became more and more bloody. Biggest was battle of Lucca, where combined army of Empire, English and Polish, numbering nearly 27 000 soldiers, met Norman main army of 22 000 soldiers. If was fought in March 1122, and it was one of the biggest battles in medieval Europe. Normans won, an though 7000 Normans were killed, the number of fallen Empire and allies troops were over 16 000.
Just showing the battle again
There were other smaller battles as well, but Normans with their use of Navy, lots of resources and good military commanders were able to win every single one of them. The war lasted for 2 years and 1 day, being the longest war ever fought with the Germans. In the end, Normans were victorious and Tuscany was properly Norman.
French Intervention War or Holy War for Modena, 1232-1234
The alliance between King Eudes of France and Kaiser Leopold was a strong one. French and Germans against Normans worked well- until Eudes died and his son Arnauld inherited the French realm. The relations between Kaiser and King were not nearly as good- and soon, it turned into full-scale war of French independence. The war had been raging for a few years already when Turquetil intervened, declaring Holy War on Modena.
But this time, Modena was not the main target. Of course, troops were sent to Modena to take the province, but they were the troops of surrounding Norman vassals. Main Norman armies sailed to Ibera, where the battles between the French and the Germans were taking place. There, in the hills of Salamanca, they beat the German main army, then reconquered lost French holdings and set sail... to north, to Normandy.
For the first time in nearly 200 years, de Hautevilles set their feet back in their original homelands. They stayed only for a while, but it was heartwarming. From there, the Normans marched to Paris, liberated the city and for the first time in Norman history, crossed the German border and beat German army in Verdun.
Normans marching to Germany for the first time- and from a direction most unexpected
All was in vain though- Arnauld gave up in January 1234. Normans signed a peace few days later, gaining a duchy, but lost France. Or at least they thought that at the moment (see more in Advance to French lands).
Holy War for Provence, 1240-1241
Provence was a province standing between Norman holdings in Italy and Norman holdings in France and Iberia. When Leopold finally died back in May 1240, Turquetil did celebrate the demise of his old arch-enemy with happy invasion to the province. Empire, partially engulfed in civil war, since not everyone liked Otto V, the new Kaiser, was unable to offer much resistance.
The war as over in June 1241, Normans gaining another rich Duchy from the Empire.
The Other Wars with the Holy Roman Empire
There was total five wars fought between the Empires. Or, one should say- five direct wars. The conflict between Turquetil and Leopold raged through the whole era and was not limited to just direct wars between Empires. As seen below, in Advance to French lands, Turquetil was quick to take advantage of internal conflicts within the Holy Roman Empire and gained several Duchies in the process. They basically should count as wars against the Empire as well, though in theory, Turquetil was picking on rebellious France and rebellious vassals of rebellious France.
More annoying was the tendency of the Emperor to intervene almost every other war Normans fought against Catholics. Want to attack Croatia? Sure, but Leopold comes to the rescue. Want to expand to Iberia? Sure, but count on Leopold bringing his troops to the game. Involvement of the Holy Roman Empire made wars that should have been easy into huge conflicts, raging from Ibera to Italy to Balkans. To be honest- though Normans did lose some battles, all Leopold’s attempts were in vain. Normans always achieved their goal, always won their war and never did the German achieve anything.
To be continued...