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codie

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Dec 10, 2018
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Hello fellow paradox members
From my prior experience in writing aars(which ended tragically due to save game shannignans) I've found that I quite enjoy writing aars, as such I decided to write a narrative one based on a playthrough as King Phillipe I of France, in the 1066 start. With that being said, I more than look forward to comments, suggestions, insight and constructive criticism.
 
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Getting in early. A dynasty that generally seems to be held in poor odour by most of my fellow forumites :D
 
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Getting in early. A dynasty that generally seems to be held in poor odour by most of my fellow forumites :D

Oh yes it certainly has, especially by certain Angevins..... Thank you!
 
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Oh, I am subbing this. Phillipe's reign has gone badly in so many AAR's, and yet he has been such a character. I look forward to his antics.

Thank you very much, it normally does not go well. The man is iconic.
 
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September 1066
September 1066



King Phillipe I of France sat at a table, in the chambers of the royal council, surrounded by older, more experienced statesmen, whose experience could be invaluable yet dangerous. As he took a sip of some sweet Brugndian, red wine he pondered the members of his council,”These men act as though we are friends, allies and kin. We’ll see if they prove themselves to be loyal or not.
King Phillipe of France(1st screenshot) September 1066.PNG

Council Septemebr 1066.PNG

As he gently put the crystal goblet back on the fine, oak, table his Regent Étienne cleared his throat,”There is much to do your majesty, namely, that you should pick a woman to be your queen, and mother of your heirs.”
Phillipe nodded,”Of course, Regent Étienne. Has The Duchess of Tuscany said whether she’d consider a match with me?”

“Yes she did, she said she would welcome your suit….It would be a fine marriage, if you had children by her the crown would eventually inherit a great deal of land in Italy.”

“That does sound good.”
Regent Etienne September 1066.PNG

Duchess Matilda of Tuscany September 1066.PNG

Duke Guilhèm de Poitou, the French King’s spymaster spoke up, from his seat to the right side of the table,”Yes, but I would consider other brides first, inheriting in Italy could eventually lead to a devastating war with the Holy Roman Empire, as my cousin views himself as rightful lord of Northern Italy.”

The King’s stepfather and chancellor, Raoul, Count of Amiens interjected,”The Duke of Aquitaine does make a good point King Phillipe. But it is still your decision, and I believe you have sound judgement.”

“Thank you for your faith in me stepfather, I do indeed wish to look at other candidates, just to be sure.”
Count Raoul of Amiens September 1066.PNG

Duke Guilhem of Aquitane, September 1066.PNG

Heinrich IV Holy Roman Emperor Sepetember 1066.PNG

The Regent took a sip of his wine and said,”Another candidate is Rocca de Hauteville, niece of Robert Guiscard, the Duke of Apulia.”

“How old is she?”

“Sixteen, your majesty, they say she is of good character as well.”

Phillipe shook his head,”That may be true, but I want to marry a woman of higher status than the niece of a duke.”
Rocca de Hauteville September 1066.PNG

Robert Guiscard Septmebr 1066.PNG

Étienne inclined his head slightly,”Very well, you are in luck that there are a number of eligible princesses as well.”

“Like who?”

“Well the King of Norway has two unwed daughters, only a few years your senior.”

“They are my cousins through my maternal aunt though, even if the pope were to acquiesce to the union, the children we may have may suffer due to our degree of kinship. Even marrying Rocca would be preferable to that.”
Queen Yelsivaeta of Norway September 1066.PNG

“Very well then. The Kings of Denmark, England and Navarra also have unwed daughters and sisters.
King Svend III of Denmark September 1066.PNG

King Harold II of England September 1066.PNG

King Antso IV of Navarre Septmeber 1066.PNG

“Tell me about Denmark and Navarra, I’d rather not marry into an Anglo Saxon house that’ll be dethroned soon anyways.”

“Well, the Navarrese king’s sisters are Eremnisinda, Ximena and Maior. They are twenty-five, twenty-one and twenty respectively.”
“Hmmm. The eldest is too old for my liking, and last I heard Navarra isn’t very powerful.”

Duke Thiabalt of Champagne nodded in agreeance,”Yes, King Antso can barely muster two thousand men.”

“That won’t do it all then. Tell me of the Danish Princesses.”

Étienne raised his eyebrows,”There are two that are close to in age your majesty. The older of the two is Gunnhild, who is sixteen, they say she has a formidable attitude though. The other is Princess Ingrid, who is the same age as your majesty. Reports from Danish court say she is a spritely, hard working girl, so she may make a fine queen.”
Princess Gunhild of Denmark September 1066.PNG

Princess Ingrid of Denmark 1 September 1066.PNG

Count Étienne of Boruges chimed in after biting into an apple,”They are both legitimized bastards though, so that may lower how they viewed within our kingdom.”
Count Etienne of Bourges September 1066.PNG

King Phillipe took a deep breath, and the teen then announced,”I will marry Princess Ingrid of Denmark after we are both of age to wed. Hopefully she will make a good queen.”
Betrothal of King Phillipe and Princess Ingrid.PNG

As Prince-Bishop Gervais of Reimsas and other members of the council made ready to leave Phillipe brought up more order,”Speaking of marriages, I’d like you to sound out whether King Sancho of Castile would like to be betrothed to my sister, Princess Emma.”

The Prince-Bishop bowed before leaving,”Of course your majesty, hopefully we can help King Sancho drive infidels from Iberia.”
Princess Emma of France 1 Septmeber 1066.PNG


Princess Emma of France 1 Septmeber 1066.PNG

Prince-Bishop Gervais of Reims.PNG

King Philipe nodded, despite his inner doubts,”Yes, defending Christendom there would be a fine venture.”

As the rest of the council prepared to leave for their other duties Phillipe’s stepfather Raoul approached him,”Phillipe, your mother asks if she can request your presence for a short while, before dinner.”

The king nodded,”Of course, I hope she won’t be upset that I arranged Emma’s betrothal without consulting her.”

“We’ll see, you know how she can be sometimes.”
Queen Mother Anna September 1066.PNG

One hour later…

It turned out that Raoul’s prediction was correct, for after Phillipe told his mother of his sister’s betrothal she started stalking her chambers, furious,”You didn’t even think to ask me first? She is my daughter, and you marry her to whoever you see fit to without even asking me?”

“Mother I…”

Anna threw a metal goblet at the wall, and it fell to the stone floor with a clang “You should have asked me dammit, but no you wanted to show how much of a king you are by making the decision yourself.”

Phillipe suddenly felt hot in the face, not the shame that he felt a moment ago, but anger and he raised his voice,”Stop this nonsense now! I made the decision and you are going to have to abide by it, whether you like it or not mother. The same goes for Hugues’s betrothal, I am King here, you are not.”

“Leave me Phillipe, now!”

As Phillipe walked to the door he gave a snippy goodbye,”Very well Mother, I’ll see you at dinner, hopefully you’ll be in a better mood.”
 

Attachments

  • Duke Thibault of Champagne September 1066.PNG
    Duke Thibault of Champagne September 1066.PNG
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  • Prince Hugues September 1066.PNG
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  • Princess Ximena of navarra September 1066.PNG
    Princess Ximena of navarra September 1066.PNG
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  • Prince Hugues September 1066.PNG
    Prince Hugues September 1066.PNG
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  • Betorthal between Princess Emma and King Sancho of Castile.PNG
    Betorthal between Princess Emma and King Sancho of Castile.PNG
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Not to be that guy but why not marry the Tuscan duchess lol thats some good stuff there! Also I like the cut of this jib, duly subbed :p
 
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Phillipe is remarkably level headed for one nicknamed "the amorous."

Yes he is, hopefully he gets a better one this time around. Thank you very much for commenting!
 
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Not to be that guy but why not marry the Tuscan duchess lol thats some good stuff there! Also I like the cut of this jib, duly subbed :p

Trust me, I was sorely tempted, it's not every day she'll accept a non matrilienal marriage. Unfortunately I didn't want to provoke the Holy Roman Emperor to cause some war that lasts for generations over inheritance. Haha I couldn't resist giving Phillipe the opportunity to be a snippy teenager towards his mother(though perhaps with good reason). Thank you so much for commenting!
 
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Not sure the AI would’ve attacked over Tuscany though? I’ve done this marriage before and only ran into trouble with the De Hautivilles :mad:
 
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Not sure the AI would’ve attacked over Tuscany though? I’ve done this marriage before and only ran into trouble with the De Hautivilles :mad:

Oh, I was unsure, I was afraid they would've went the whole de jure claim/claim route. Thank you very much for your input.
 
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Hopefully Phillipe can utilise his betrothed! I do wonder if you’ll be able to be like Jabber’s Phillipe who was probably one of my favourite interpretations :p
 
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Ah Philippe. He turned out far more noble in my AAR than he was in real life, but I look forward to seeing how you play him. It would be funny to repeat history and get into a long-running feud with a certain Comte d'Anjou.

I actually have never played him either but I think there's a lot of potential there, even accepting you're probably losing something to the HRE early on (Zeeland?), and Normandy's probably going to end up lost as well. But if the Iberian rulers do their usual disunity, then there are lots of expansion possibilities in Spain. Just... don't overrule your council if they don't approve of the war. ;)

King Philipe nodded, despite his inner doubts,”Yes, defending Christendom there would be a fine venture.”

Funny based on OTL, on many levels.

Anna threw a metal goblet at the wall, and it fell to the stone floor with a clang “You should have asked me dammit, but no you wanted to show how much of a king you are by making the decision yourself.”

That wroth trait showing through.

On the marriage... man I would have rolled with Matilda and just hoped the HRE imploded. I'd also would have spent most of Philippe's ensuing reign worrying about the eventual war that would come as a result! So it may be just as well to avoid that.

I also might have run with Aines de Poitou, just hoping Guilhem died before siring any male heirs in the hopes of landing Eleanor of Aquitaine a century early. But that's also a big gamble, since I think she's a decade younger than Philippe, so that's a loooooong time to wait for a wife, even a good one.

Not sure the AI would’ve attacked over Tuscany though? I’ve done this marriage before and only ran into trouble with the De Hautivilles :mad:

I think if you take area out of a realm that ruler gets a strong claim to get it back automatically, regardless of the means? I know Philippe (or whoever is ruling) gets a strong claim on all of Normandy if William wins England, and will almost always attack at some point, just because England usually devolves into internal bickering, weakening William's hold. It wouldn't shock me if the HRE, if given the opportunity in Tuscany, does the same thing. Of course, if you get three or four decades to prepare (no sure thing) then you might be strong enough where the HRE is hesitant to attack.

Anyway, looking forward to this. 1066 France can become a powerhouse, or it could be devoured by the opportunistic nations around it... or bad luck! Have fun!
 
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Hopefully Phillipe can utilise his betrothed! I do wonder if you’ll be able to be like Jabber’s Phillipe who was probably one of my favourite interpretations :p

An alliance with the Danes will likely prove useful, whether it's against upitty vassals, Normans or Germans will be yet to be seen. Hopefully my Phillipe does prove to be a slightly more honorable version of himself but I also hopes he avoids the tragic end that Jabber's Phillipe met. Thank you very much for commenting!
 
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Ah Philippe. He turned out far more noble in my AAR than he was in real life, but I look forward to seeing how you play him. It would be funny to repeat history and get into a long-running feud with a certain Comte d'Anjou.

I actually have never played him either but I think there's a lot of potential there, even accepting you're probably losing something to the HRE early on (Zeeland?), and Normandy's probably going to end up lost as well. But if the Iberian rulers do their usual disunity, then there are lots of expansion possibilities in Spain. Just... don't overrule your council if they don't approve of the war. ;)



Funny based on OTL, on many levels.



That wroth trait showing through.

On the marriage... man I would have rolled with Matilda and just hoped the HRE imploded. I'd also would have spent most of Philippe's ensuing reign worrying about the eventual war that would come as a result! So it may be just as well to avoid that.

I also might have run with Aines de Poitou, just hoping Guilhem died before siring any male heirs in the hopes of landing Eleanor of Aquitaine a century early. But that's also a big gamble, since I think she's a decade younger than Philippe, so that's a loooooong time to wait for a wife, even a good one.



I think if you take area out of a realm that ruler gets a strong claim to get it back automatically, regardless of the means? I know Philippe (or whoever is ruling) gets a strong claim on all of Normandy if William wins England, and will almost always attack at some point, just because England usually devolves into internal bickering, weakening William's hold. It wouldn't shock me if the HRE, if given the opportunity in Tuscany, does the same thing. Of course, if you get three or four decades to prepare (no sure thing) then you might be strong enough where the HRE is hesitant to attack.

Anyway, looking forward to this. 1066 France can become a powerhouse, or it could be devoured by the opportunistic nations around it... or bad luck! Have fun!

It would be very ironic if Phillipe ended up in a feud with a certain member of the house D'anjou. I considered Aines but I was afraid that her father may have a son, and that'd I waste Phillipe's hand in marriage on a dukes non inheriting relative, though perhaps Aines would make a fine match for his younger brother. Once again I was afraid of being weakened by the HRE, I'm willing to lose Zeeland to them but the Holy Roman Emperor's mother Agnes is a member of the house De Potiou and will give him a weak claim to Aquitane. You are right in saying that France has many risks and opportunities at this start date, but if you can fight off the HRE, deal with uppity vassals and retake Normandy you can make the French crown strong again. Thank you so very much for commenting!
 
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His mother needs to be put in her place, who does she think she is!

Oh yes she certainly does take more liberties than she ought to, perhaps the best way for Phillipe to show her who is actually King is to keep making his own decisions. Thank you very much for commenting!
 
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Fair to say he is not precisely playing "happy families" with his mother, let us hope he does better with his wife.
 
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Fair to say he is not precisely playing "happy families" with his mother, let us hope he does better with his wife.

Yes hopefully he does get along better with his wife, but who knows, maybe trying times will unite mother and son. Thank you for your insight.
 
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