Essays on Toulouse
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Excellent AAR format. Death to the Normans! 
I wonder what Toulouse plots of his own to expand his power and influence.
I wonder what Toulouse plots of his own to expand his power and influence.
The Song Of Toumas said:
Julius looked up at the walls of Calatayud, the verses of the Song of Toumas de Termes rolling through his mind while gazing upon the sun-bleached walls of the citadel. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by one of the students helping on the current dig at Calatayud. "Professor, we just found a bridle and what looks to be the frame of a saddle by the south gate. Unfortunately, it looks to be Moorish," said the student, almost pouting... Fatima bin-Amin from Palermo. Though her own Moorish ancestry was clear from her smooth, olive complexion and dark hair and eyes, she was devoted to the Professor's desire to find artifacts from the first era of Provencal conquest, to the point of obsession. Julius appreciated her motivation... and her hotness, but tried his best to keep things professional. After thinking for a moment, Julius turned and started to walk towards the area of the new find. "Don't be so sure on the Moorish thing, Fatima, because it is documented in some chronicles that William of Toulouse soon adopted Arab arms and equipment for his hosts in Spain after the first conquest. We may well have finally found an artifact from the era of William himself, perhaps even used by the Duke or one of his captains!" Julius was running now to the site and beaming with excitement. He just needed evidence to back up his unsubstantiated exuberance.
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So he is ambitious, and Barcelona didn't make it long in the came- could the dukes be the new Kings of Aragon perhaps? And the Moors came through with Sicily, lazy neapolitans. I hope our protagonist finds his evidence.
@Zeno of Cyprus - Why not go with the best of both worlds, cheap port Of course, Julius isn't a poor college student anymore, but a professor on the brink of getting tenure, so he can afford a few extra shekels for the good stuff.
@Kurt_Steiner - Counties aren't just handed out by my fickle AI master, you know. I'll have to take more by the sword, as you will see as the Prof will show in his next essay.
@CrankyYanqui - Thanks.
@thrashing mad - Thanks and the same to you on the Poland aar. Its been a great read and given me ideas for my future aars, especially the use of MTW2 (which should arrive in my mailbox shortly ).
@JimboIX - Indeed, but its always a hard path (unless you are a prince of the German or Roman Empires) to between loyalty and your own desire for greatness. William of Toulouse found a middle path, as you will see, that pleased King Philip, the Pope, and his own nobles, but things will get harder around the turn of the century as France breaks up and a new generation ascends to rule in both Toulouse and the Kingdom.
@stnylan - He did, but he never saw the full fruit of his actions in his lifetime. Poor Eudes, the son and successor of Philip, would bear that burden, but already I have said too much.
@Fulcrumvale - Thanks.
@Jestor - I'll give you a clue as to Toulouse's route to near-term expansion, "Santiago!"
Of course, Julius isn't a poor college student anymore, but a professor on the brink of getting tenure, so he can afford a few extra shekels for the good stuff. @Kurt_Steiner - Counties aren't just handed out by my fickle AI master, you know. I'll have to take more by the sword, as you will see as the Prof will show in his next essay.
@CrankyYanqui - Thanks.
@thrashing mad - Thanks and the same to you on the Poland aar. Its been a great read and given me ideas for my future aars, especially the use of MTW2 (which should arrive in my mailbox shortly
). @JimboIX - Indeed, but its always a hard path (unless you are a prince of the German or Roman Empires) to between loyalty and your own desire for greatness. William of Toulouse found a middle path, as you will see, that pleased King Philip, the Pope, and his own nobles, but things will get harder around the turn of the century as France breaks up and a new generation ascends to rule in both Toulouse and the Kingdom.
@stnylan - He did, but he never saw the full fruit of his actions in his lifetime. Poor Eudes, the son and successor of Philip, would bear that burden, but already I have said too much.
@Fulcrumvale - Thanks.
@Jestor - I'll give you a clue as to Toulouse's route to near-term expansion, "Santiago!"
Wow. I have just caught up with this and this is excellent!
I'm subscribing and I will be at the forefront of the lynch-mob if you ever stop updating, hear?
I'm subscribing and I will be at the forefront of the lynch-mob if you ever stop updating, hear?
With the seasonal dig at Calatayud done, everyone went their separate ways while Professor Augustus went to Barcelona, bring the artifact found to the local university for more analysis and dating. It was also a great chance for him to relax and perhaps enjoy the hospitality of the women of Catalonia.
A few days later, still waiting for a call from the university on results (especially on the age of the saddle), Julius was in a cafe across from the Barcelona Cathedral. "Another restoration attempt" he mumbled to himself as he looked up at the scaffolding reaching to the spires. The "cathedral" had switched between being a church and a mosques so many times, it was impossible to truly come up with an original facade even, predating the Baroque anyway. It was then that someone suddenly came up behind Julius and hugged him. The shocked Professor whipped around only to see the dark, almond eyes of Fatima. She had an annoying ability to sneak up on him and hugging isn't exactly professional. "Fatima, what are you doing here?" Julius said, trying to maintain his cool exterior.
Fatima grabbed a chair and sat down right side Julius. "I have a bit of time before I go back to Sicily, Professor, so I figured I would spend the rest of summer vacation here. Also, I'm very excited about what the result of the dating of the wood on that saddle we found will be. I would to have to wait months until its published in some three line blurb in some scholarly magazine that no one reads! *laughs* I'm not patient enough for all that."
Julius nodded as he sipped the last of his espresso. He knew she wanted something more... this had happened to him a few times before, though not with a girl that wasn't in one of his classes. He wasn't her professor, but impropriety could still be found in such relations. "Is there any other reason you decided to ambush me here?"
Fatima blushed slightly. "Actually, I am curious as to how a French duke became so involved in what should have been a solely Iberian matter, the Reconquista as it was called. Shouldn't have William of Toulouse gone to Alexandria, as Pope Alexander II declared at Clermont?
Julius smiled at the young lady's deflection of the topic but obliged her curiosity, real or created, in the involvement of Toulouse in Spain. "I gathered up some old notes from a class I once did on 11th century Iberia for another published article I have coming up. I left it back at my hotel room but we can go and grab it. It think the details I wrote about Clermont and the relation of Toulouse to the Spanish March will answer your questions easily." Back to his room? Julius sighed as he picked up his backpack... he was older, but wasn't any wiser than in his own college days. Back to his hotel room...
Coming back to the hotel, Julius came in the room and grabbed his laptop, intending to take it back downstairs. Fatima instead came in too and plopped down on the bed, waving him over to stay and sit. The cagey professor frowned, but followed his basic instincts and sat down.
"Well, here it is," Julius said in a monotone. "Read it to me," smiling Fatima replied without missing a beat. Why any grown person would want a history paper read to them was beyond Julius' comprehension, but once again he put of his apprehension and started.
A new era for the West began on the 7th of July, 1075. At Clermont in southern France, Pope Alexander II called a meeting of clergy and laymen to make launch a grand mission, what we know know as the First or Alexandrian Crusade. The Pope's goal was not just to liberate the East from Muslim rule and preserve the Byzantine Empire, but also to bring about the "Peace of God" within Christendom turning its warriors (especially those of the French realm) against the infidel instead of the faithful.
Pope Alexander II, formerly Bishop Anselm of Lucca
The Council of Clermont or Auvergne
The Pope spent the rest of the year traveling France preaching the crusade to the peers of the realm and their knights. William of Toulouse, who is to believed to have been at Clermont as as well as receiving a visit from the Holy Father in August, agreed with the idea of crusade, but not the destination. the objective of Alexandria had been in fact prompted by the Roman Emperor, Michael Ducas, who desired to reconquer Egypt to provide more money and food for the counteroffensive to recent Seljuk victories. Pope Alexander saw Egypt as a rich gateway to the future taking of Jerusalem. The French nobility, however, demurred. The journey would be long and dangerous, the earthly rewards too few. King Philip I of France also publicly said at court that the Pope had become a "pawn of the Greeks." He preferred to have his fighting men at home, ready for a new war with England. The result was Philip's excommunication in December. Still, most of the French nobility stayed home; the King of Leon was the first to in fact follow the Papal call to march against the Fatimid Caliphate (March, 1076).
William of Toulouse, however, was a much more diplomatic man than his liege. In a series of meetings and correspondences with the Pope, William proposed, due the "poverty of his lands, yet full devotion" that he be allowed to execute the holy mission in northern Spain. At first, the Pope was non-responsive, but by the new year granted William special dispensation to carry forth "the work of the Lord, liberating the March above the Ebro, once Christian in the reign of Charlemagne, and freeing all Hispania he can from bondage to the Infidel."
"Well, here it is," Julius said in a monotone. "Read it to me," smiling Fatima replied without missing a beat. Why any grown person would want a history paper read to them was beyond Julius' comprehension, but once again he put of his apprehension and started.
***
William of Toulouse and the Early Reconquista
by Prof. Julius C. Augustus
William of Toulouse and the Early Reconquista
by Prof. Julius C. Augustus
A new era for the West began on the 7th of July, 1075. At Clermont in southern France, Pope Alexander II called a meeting of clergy and laymen to make launch a grand mission, what we know know as the First or Alexandrian Crusade. The Pope's goal was not just to liberate the East from Muslim rule and preserve the Byzantine Empire, but also to bring about the "Peace of God" within Christendom turning its warriors (especially those of the French realm) against the infidel instead of the faithful.
Pope Alexander II, formerly Bishop Anselm of Lucca
The Council of Clermont or Auvergne
Pope Alexander II said:
The Pope spent the rest of the year traveling France preaching the crusade to the peers of the realm and their knights. William of Toulouse, who is to believed to have been at Clermont as as well as receiving a visit from the Holy Father in August, agreed with the idea of crusade, but not the destination. the objective of Alexandria had been in fact prompted by the Roman Emperor, Michael Ducas, who desired to reconquer Egypt to provide more money and food for the counteroffensive to recent Seljuk victories. Pope Alexander saw Egypt as a rich gateway to the future taking of Jerusalem. The French nobility, however, demurred. The journey would be long and dangerous, the earthly rewards too few. King Philip I of France also publicly said at court that the Pope had become a "pawn of the Greeks." He preferred to have his fighting men at home, ready for a new war with England. The result was Philip's excommunication in December. Still, most of the French nobility stayed home; the King of Leon was the first to in fact follow the Papal call to march against the Fatimid Caliphate (March, 1076).
William of Toulouse, however, was a much more diplomatic man than his liege. In a series of meetings and correspondences with the Pope, William proposed, due the "poverty of his lands, yet full devotion" that he be allowed to execute the holy mission in northern Spain. At first, the Pope was non-responsive, but by the new year granted William special dispensation to carry forth "the work of the Lord, liberating the March above the Ebro, once Christian in the reign of Charlemagne, and freeing all Hispania he can from bondage to the Infidel."
Nice speech of the Pope, that`s something edited, or your own work? Good luck in Spain. I`m curious whether duke of Toulouse would gain some royal title?
The Pope is sensible to allow Toulousians into Spain. That way he can have Spanish Inquisition at his disposal in the future.
The gentlemen of the "Republic" of Cordoba, led by Abd al-Malik, led the resurgence of the city-state in the latter 11th century and prompted outside intervention into Iberian affairs by other Christian princes, such as William of Toulouse
Spain, at the time, was divided between two powerful states, above and below the Tagus. To the south, Cordoba, now a republican city-state, revived her power under the government of Abd al-Malik. From the begin of the decade, he began the policy of making peace with Christian princes and turning Cordoba's armies against the numerous neighboring taifa (an independent Muslim-ruled principality, an emirate or petty kingdom, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia) after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031) states. Only those bordering the Christian states of the north, such as Zaragoza and Albarracín, escaped the onslaught.
To the north, the Kingdom of Leon dominated the scene. Though successful against the Muslims in nearly a decade of constant war, Enrique I accepted the generous monetary peace offered by Cordoba in the early 70's. Leon now turned to preparing for war with their cousins in Navarra (who had recently annexed the Kingdom of Aragon) and eventually went on to lead the way in the First Crusade.
To William of Toulouse it was evident that the focus of both the Christian kings of Spain was wrong and could only lead to the ruin of their states. While their energy was wasted against fellow believers or abroad, the Muslim princes of the south were nearly ready with their consolidated power to drive for the Pyrenees. By the time of the First Crusade, it is clear that the Duke of Toulouse and his vassals were convinced that the only way to save Spain and their only lands from conquest was by a powerful French offensive into Spain, since the Spaniards refused to do that deed for themselves. Of course, beside such altruism, the prospect of new lands and titles to be gained in such wars (along with the remission of a lifetime of sins) boosted the support for the effort all the more in the Duchy.
The route of the Crusade army to Jaca - Autumn 1077
Duke William's trusted lieutenants - Marshal Michels of Carcassonne and Raymond of Toulouse, Count of Rouergue and William's younger brother
After conducting a rare census (which is covered in more detail in "Toulouse and the First Anglo-French War," The Four Hundred Years War, Vol. 11 and "A Provencal Host - The Arms and Tactics of Duke William of Toulouse," Early Medieval France, Vol 28) in the spring of 1077, Duke William marched south that autumn to the County of Jaca. Although there are no documents to prove the motive, it is most likely that the news of King Sancho of Navarra's hasty peace with the Emir of Zaragoza, Yusuf al-Mu'tamin, prompted the near wintertime movement. This, along with the new war with England launched by King Philip I in August, most certainly convinced William that there was no better time than the present to enter Spain.
Sancho, Count of Jaca and cousin of the King of Navarra
Arriving in the bitter cold of January, the hosts of Toulouse forced themselves upon Sancho, Count of Jaca, as guests. William apologized for situation, even paying the Count for the use of his supplies and various quarterings till spring. Sancho, for his part, dared not complain he knew that even if he had wanted to evict the Frenchmen, the entirety of Navarra did not have the army to do so. Instead he praised William as "savior of Hispania" and wished him well in his war with the Muslims. Few, in truth, expected the Duke to be anymore successful at fighting the Muslims than the Spanish themselves had been.
The men of Provence knew better, though, and had every confidence in victory when war finally came. So it was, when William broke the winter rest of his army late in January and crossed into the Emirate of Zaragoza, they were ready and more than eager to fight.