Chronicles of the Saxon People
1458-1469: The Emperor's Expansion
In the Year Fourteen Hundred Fifty Eight:
Throughout all of the peasant rebellions, wars, and general uprisings, our nobles have felt neglected by King Friedrich II. Many of the land owning Nobles of our nation met in the King's court to discuss more privileges for the superior class. Our King gave them the privileges they wanted. Some have seen this as a sign of weakness, but yet many believe this to be a bold effort to balance the peasant and elite classes. Many nations acknowledged this effort. Our prestige as a nation seems to be climbing after being unknown for so long.
In the Year Fourteen Hundred Fifty Nine:
Word has reached our kingdom that the Duchy of Brabant has had trouble with rebellions claiming independence. King Friedrich II and the Shutzstaffel marched across Western Europe to help our ally regain control of their region. Although there were no monetary gains from these attempts, our relations with Brabant have increased, hopefully securing our alliance.
In the Year Fourteen Hundred Sixty:
As a new decade emerges, so does a new Holy Roman Emperor. King Albrecht the Sixth of Austria, Archbishop Gebhard the First of Cologne, Archbishop Wolfgang the First of Mainz, King Gottfried the Second of The Palantine, Duke Hektor the I of our Vassal Saxony, and Archbishop Richard the First of Trier gave Friedrich II their votes and pushed him to the heights of Holy Roman Emperor. With his goal achieved, Friedrich II believes our new mission should be to conquer Silesia in order to keep our prestige high and keep the Bohemian's in check.
In the Year Fourteen Hundred Sixty-One:
Becoming Emperor is not without it's own troubles. Within the first year of his reign, war broke out initially between Venice, our ally, and Switzerland, a member of the Empire. Upon meeting with his council, Friedrich decided to aid Venice in this war, which angered many nations in the Holy Roman Empire, to the point where many changed their vote, though The Palantine and Saxony made sure the majority still fell to our nation. However, The Palantine, allied with the Swiss, decided to engage our troops on the battle field. In response, our King and Emperor marched 17,000 troops into battle to subdue them.
In the Year Fourteen Hundred Sixty-Two:
Venice sued for peace with The Palantine who were leading negotiations with their allied forces, thus ending the war. Our King was furious. Franken, a nation of Saxon people, could have been ours. Brabant also became irritated at the Venetian Doge for suing for peace so hastily, though they have stated that this problem will be fixed within the next five years.
Chronicler Johan Fritz retires, but lives in the court.
Enter Chronicler and Historian Alfred Adlam
Fourteen Sixty-Three to Fourteen Sixty-Four:
Despite being Emperor, King Friedrich II, after many attempts, was still unable to annex any of our vassals to the south. Do they not want the protection of Brandenburg?
Fourteen Sixty-Six:
Saxon artists have been creating many different types of art. So much art was produced, that Kings and Bishops from around Europe have come to see the works of art our nation has produced. Hans Pleydenwurff, Michael Wolgemut, and Lucas Moser have led the painting revolution. As one visiting noble commented, "Epic Art is being produced by the Saxon people".
On a more religious note, Brabant and the Pope have reported that French Emperor Nicolas I Henri was excommunicated by Queen Elizabeth the First of England.
Fourteen Sixty-Seven:
War has broken out. In what would be known as the Third War of Brandenburgian Aggression, our King declared war on Wurzburg. The war was quick as our troops fought swiftly and efficiently. With our Vassals and allies all helping, it was only a manner of time before victory was accomplished with the minors of the War. Brunswick sued for peace, offering us the province of Brunswick and 34 Ducats, Trier would do the same, offering us 31 ducats. Hesse, the former Holy Roman Emperor, also sued for peace, giving up claims on the previously gained Kassel and offering 36 ducats. With a total victory over Wurzburg, our King demanded the province of Bramberg and 50 ducats, which they were more than willing to pay.
Fourteen Sixty-Eight:
Although still at war entering the year, we would not remain so for long. Even though our forces could have marched into Bavaria and slaughtered their troops, Friedrich II believed that enough was enough and offered a White Peace. Some saw this as signs of weakness, but, remembering tales of the Austrian and French collapses, our King wanted to make sure we did not expand to quickly.
Before the year was out, Friedrich II declared war on Luneburg in what would be creatively known as the 4th War of Brandenburgian Aggression. With only Wuzburg coming to their aid, they proved no match for our forces and they were all but defeated by the end of the year.
Fourteen Sixty-Nine:
Peace was quickly struck with Wurzburg, demanding them to give up Bamberg as a core province and pay the sum of 50 ducats. Shortly there after, the forced annexation of Luneburg happened. Upon hearing what we had done in the manner of two years, the Teutonic Knights broke our alliance. However, the Archbishop assured us that this was not a slap to the face or even a warning to our nation, it was simply because they did not want to be dragged into more wars as they have been trying to achieve inner stability. As a show of good faith, they ceded the province of Danzig to us.
During this year, Friedrich II, now becoming known as Friedrich the Balanced, declared more rights for peasants, allowing more and more of the lower class to become free. Although this means supplying our army is more expensive, in the long run our King feels it will lead to increased innovations and even a better trained army.