Gesta Hungarorum (Deeds of the Hungarians)

[Victor1234]

Tallincourt: Well, it was basically a long period of inactivity, a few minor revolts, then two wars (one against the largest Russian state at the time) and a major revolt of fifty thousand rebels (larger than my standing army at that point...) in the span of two months. Haven't been this scared of failure since I went to war with the Fatamids in CK, took massive losses and almost lost the war

Olaus Petrus: Partly due to the tech advantage (I'm not sure, but I think rebels that spawn get my tech levels, whereas Siena and Suzdal were a few levels behind), but also good fortune. Suzdal fell easily with me and Sweden attacking, Siena's army got wiped out on the plains of Rome instead of my army being wiped out in the mountains of Siena. The only part where I didn't luck out, was when ten thousand rebels spawned on mountainous Corsica, and I had to raise forces and attack about six-eight times before I finally got them....Tough campaign.

stnylan: True, although the stability hits hurt me more. I'm slowly inching my way right towards centralization with the sliders whenever possible, but my stability costs are getting higher as I go. Right now it costs around 600-700 for a stability increase, which isn't too bad, but I'm still relatively left with a long way to go right.

 

[Victor1234]

Chapter VI: The First Years of the Reign of Lajos II, of the House of Árpád-Bihar, King of Hungary and Estonia and Palace Administrator of the Holy See



King Lajos II ascended to the throne in the year of our Lord one-thousand four-hundred and sixty-three to a realm torn by war and revolt. Though the Corsican rebels at last were crushed, the weak state of the army was shown to all in Europe. For the first years of his reign, Lajos II strove to strengthen his power, much reduced by the failures of the Marshal Toth to crush the Corsican rebels in a suitable manner. This only encouraged the scheming nobles further, whom King Lajos II was forced to reward with lavish gifts and titles to placate them. Much of his sought-after reforms were so left undone during the early parts of his reign, as the great wealth thus accumulated by the Kings of Hungary was spent on ensuring the loyalty of the Kingdom's subjects at this state of weakness. For though the armies of Hungary suffered during the campaign of the rebellion, so too did the Royal Guard, now numbering only six-thousand horse and foot and so the King would have been unable to best his rebellious nobles on the fields of battle, should they have chosen to strike at that time. Yet for the next few years, the nobles made renewed and ever increasing demands for wealth or power, until came the demand that the nobility be granted the right to form a council, by which they might spend the Kingdom's taxes, removing this power from the King and his duly-appointed steward. At this, the King could grant no more concessions and so rebellion once more flared up in the lands of Hungary. By this time, the nobles and their vassals of whom the rebellious forces would be composed were much reduced in number, though formidable, and so only twenty-thousand horse and foot answered the call for a new rebellion. Opposing such rebels remained only the six-thousand of the Royal Guard and some ten thousand border guards on the frontiers, who could not be used for fear of other enemies on the borders of Hungary seeing this opportune moment as theirs to strike and so endangering the survival of the Kingdom. Therefore, many new companies were raised and the Royal Guard expanded to eight-thousand soldiers, and these were sent northwards to deal with the rebels beseiging the northern coastal towns and the grand royal estates.

The much weaker rebellion of northern nobles


After this revolt, what remained of the treacherous northern nobility lay slain on the fields of northern Hungary, and the Kingdom was at peace once more. With no more concessions to make or lavish gifts to bestow, the King could at last spend his purse on his true aim of strengthening Hungarian arms, the results of which could be seen when in the year of our Lord, one-thousand four-hundred and seventy-five, the arquebus was first forged. Though of shorter range than the reliable Hungarian crossbows used by the soldiers and rendered useless by the emergence of rain or other foul weather, the shot such a weapon fired was capable of penetrating all but the heaviest armor then seen on the fields of Europe. Soon after the demonstration given to the King of this formidable weapon, used in the dispatching of several traitors and rebels, he at once ordered a large quantity made and distributed to half his guard, so that it's true value would be seen. After some time, it seemed as though ample opportunity for their use would emerge, as troubling news arrived once more from Jerusalem. With their previous wars concluded, the impious nations surrounding the fragile Kingdom once more invaded, with a great horde of hundreds of thousands of infidel. Once more, as had been done in the past, knights and pious men at arms answered the call and departed for Palestine, the latest field of battle in the Holy Wars.

Jerusalem in peril


Within the span of three years, though the valiant Hungarians strove to defend the sacred lands of Palestine, the infidel armies closed in on the capital of Jerusalem, and peace was peace once more, with Syria passing to the infidels. Yet in Hungary, a new weapon was once more forged by the wise men of the land, called cannon. A large weapon from which shot and fire were launched, the terrible noise and tremors created frightened all but the steadiest of mounts. A battery of fifty of these cannon was thus sent to the garrison at Gibraltar, so that their effectiveness might be seen if Portugal or North Africa were to invade. So too arrived news from the Northern Isles, where the Kingdom of Ireland had inherited the realm of England by conquest.

The English join the Scottish under rule by their Irish overlords


Thus for five years hence, all was right with the Kingdom of Hungary, the contingents of cannon being expanded so that now too, both the Royal Guard and border guardsmen of the eastern frontier had sufficient numbers. News arrived to the court in Buda that a group of nobles, of southern origins, had allied themselves with the Duchy of Romagna, and at once were ready to revolt with an army of fifty-thousand. The message, having been delivered before the revolt had commenced, thus spurred the Royal Guard into action, and the rebellious nobles were duly arrested and imprisoned before they could rouse their own followers in revolt. From the lands to the east, came news of a far more dangerous breed, an announcement of a new Kingdom. The Duchy of Suzdal, having defeated the Duchy of Smolensk, Republic of Novgorod and annexed both of these realms, had bested the Duchy of Chernigov on the battlefield, leaving none to challenge it in proclaiming the Empire of Russia, ruled by the Tsar. Such news was alarming indeed for the court at Buda, for the unity of their eastern neighbors could mean only further danger for the Kingdom of Hungary.

The Tsardom of Russia



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Excerpt from "The History of the House of Árpád-Bihar" (Published 1937, Pannonia Könyvek Kft.)


After the mess inherited from King Károly I had been properly cleaned up, new problems began to emerge for the new King Lajos II. After large sums of money were paid to the nobility in return for their loyalty, the revolt in 1470 AD finally provided the means of getting them under control again. The nobles no longer had access to as many troops as before, and so were easily crushed. With this large expense cleared up, the King directed large sums of money into the army, with the two main technological marvels of the day emerging. The arquebus and the cannon, although distributed mainly for the noise and frightening effect they had on enemy morale, would play more important roles in the future. The emergence of firearms seeing large scale use also started the process which would eventually lead to further military reforms, rendering armor useless. The threat from the further revolt was also minimal, as this time the danger was averted, although Jerusalem had been abandoned for the time being, with the Persians taking a large share of Syria. The creation of Russia must have also generated considerable problems for the Kingdom, although Lajos II's reign had only reached the mid-point at this time.

 

[stnylan]

Mmm, a spectre of the East indeed - and fighting in Russia is always a pain with General winter to contend with.

 

[Olaus Petrus]

Rise of Russia is indeed worrying one. They will soon crush the Khanates and expand to the east. Also I predict series of Russo-Swedish wars. So you propably aren't their primary target.

 

[Tallincourt]

Dark clouds gathering on the horizon, eh? What sort of attrition rates did the attackers in Middle East suffer?

 

[Victor1234]

stnylan: Yep, got a first-hand taste of General Winter during this Chernigov war. Should've started the war in Feb. instead of June. Developed a good system for dealing with it, later on though, which you'll see in the game end Napoleonic-esque war...

Olaus Petrus: I didn't want to waste space with posting another Russian screenshot, but Astrakahan, Georgia and Crimea are all already vassals of theirs. If they annex them, they'll border the Seljuks and Sibir in the south and east. Plus, they had cores on those Chernigov provinces I took, so they've got a permanent CB against me now. Interesting prediction about wars with Sweden, they have cores on those northern provinces that Sweden got as well, so permanent CB there too.

Tallincourt: Well, Russia's not exactly a cloud with a silver lining....not sure, but it must've been big, next time I looked over there a month or two later, there was only a 60k group there, down from 110k. Needless to say, Jerusalem was in a bad situation. Even my loans of 200 at a time, had no effect. Turns out Jerusalem and Naples had the highest inflation in the game, at this point being around 15-20% and constantly climbing in a straight-line manner.

 

[Victor1234]

Chapter VII: The End of the Reign of Lajos II, of the House of Árpád-Bihar, King of Hungary and Estonia and Palace Administrator of the Holy See



While the Kingdom lay greatly alarmed by the expansion of the Russian Empire to the east, the Duchy of Chernigov remained still on the borders of Hungary. The Russian Empire, long since having abandoned all pretext and illusions regarding their expansion, soon cast greedy eyes on Chernigov. Yet the Kingdom, bound by the most ancient and sacred of Crown Proclamations, could advance no further eastwards than the boundary drawn by the river Dnieper, beyond which lay the Duchy of Chernigov. Seeking to find an answer without violating the decisions of his great ancestors, the King summoned map-makers to interpret the maps by which the original boundary had been set out. To their relief, the ancient maps held glaring errors and placed the river too far westwards, a finding which they readily reported to the King, who declared that the river in fact lay farther east than previously shown on the maps, and now Hungary would assume rule over those territories. Daring the newly formed Russian Empire to challenge the rule of Hungary, whereby the Kingdom might defeat the Empire utterly on the field, the King raised new armies for the campaign and marched eastwards into the lands of Chernigov, intent on taking the rightful land of the Kingdom away from it's unholy owners, even now engaged in futile attempts to convert the pious population to their Orthodox ways. So was the campaign afoot in the year of our Lord one-thousand four-hundred and eighty-seven, with the armies of Hungary advancing and beseiging fortifications within Chernigov. Owing to the innovative tactics employed by the Hungarian forces and the new firearms with which they were equipped, these fortresses straddling the river banks fell by waves of assaults, the first ever attempted in such a manner, with the artillery opening breaches in the walls as the troops moved to exploit the openings. Soon, the tactics won the day and the forces of Chernigov lay defeated, with the Duke begging the King for peace, by which Hungary gained at last all of the territory from Chernigov which was by right owing to the Kingdom.

The first ever assault

The peace terms


Following this war, the martial power of the firearm had been proven to the Hungarian soldiers, who began to use the arquebus in ever greater numbers. So by the next revolt, in the year of our Lord, one-thousand four-hundred and ninety-five, the primary weapon of war for each footman was his faithful arquebus, though the heavy pikes and battle swords were still retained as the arrival of rain rendered these wonderous weapons useless. For the campaign against the rebels, the first of it's kind making large use of these firearms, the largely outnumbered Hungarian foot felled large hordes of the revolting eastern peasantry, still brandishing their swords and forks. Though still primitive in form, these firearms had proven their worth in battle.

The victorious campaign against the peasantry


Following the campaigns in the east, the Kingdom at last returned to peace, whereby two years further passed, as more artillery and firearms were forged, soldiers trained and warships built. There then arrived news from the west that the Burgundians, a mountainous people of great martial prowess, had recently conquered the remains of those peoples dwelling to the south, by whose conquest they had now free access to the coast of France and Italy. These Burgundians thus posed a threat to the Kingdom of Franconia, the greatest of realms then existing in France.

The expansion of the Burgundians


Within the year, the deceitful peasants of the east rose in rebellion once more, and were once more crushed by the ever-increasing numbers of firearms and cannon, ensuring the authority of the King in the newly conquered eastern lands, for following this rebellion, there remained no leaders nor spirit valiant enough to lead the people in rebellion against the Kingdom once more. With the realm firmly under his control, and the army restored to it's proper standing as the finest in Europe, King Lajos II emptied the coffers of the Kingdom into great naval projects, such as the Arsenal of Venice and the building of new warships called caravels, more suited to the violent waters of the Atlantic than the calm waters of the Mediterranean. So too in the year of our Lord one-thousand four-hundred and ninety-nine, an Italian sea-farer named Alberto Lombardi arrived at the court of Buda with tales of a land that lay beyond the seas to the west, filled with all the treasures of the earth. Granting Lombardi His royal charter, the King bid Lombardi depart and return with news and goods of this fabled land, with three caravels and a crew of Italians. The King, having heard many such tales even in his youth, spared no thought for the loss of three vessels and an Italian crew, sending along only a Finn called Jani Petrelius, as his agent. This minor functionary, formerly a ship captain in the King's service, would be no loss should he fail to return.

The last eastern rebellion


No news arrived for two years hence regarding the expedition of Alberto Lombardi and Jani Petrelius, though the King cared not for the fate of three ships and a ragged band of Italians. Throughout this time, the King instead ordered further ship construction, enlarging the navies of the Kingdom by twenty warships of the caravel design. Within the third year of the sailing of the expedition, by which time all had forsaken it as lost, word arrived at last by way of Gibraltar, that Lombardi's expedition had discovered a new world where the waters were plentiful with fish, the land bore wild grains and plants, and strange men were seen to approach the coasts. With the discovery of this land, a new expedition was to be undertaken, carrying a contingent of soldiers as well. Command of the expeditionary force, an undesirable task if ever one presented itself, was to be given to the grandson of a minor aristocrat, who having advanced no further in rank than Captain of the Royal Guard, hoped for rewards where others saw only failure loom. Olaus Petrus, whose ancestor had thwarted a plot against the King many years ago, was given the task of leading the expedition. Once more, the outcome was irrelevant to the men of power, none of whom had ambitions which spanned an ocean. Yet Olaus, a curious Finn, was convinced that in this new world great things could be crafted. So in the year of our Lord, one-thousand five-hundred and four, the expedition set sail for the nearest island group discovered, halfway between Europe and the new land mass. Here on these islands did the Captain Petrus land with a force of some three thousand foot, to found a new colony. Thereupon, news arrived from the lands of France, where many years before, a royal marriage had been arranged between the third sister of the King Károly I and the son of the King of Franconia, the greatest monarch in the western reaches of Europe. The Kingdom of Franconia had recently annexed the realm of Lorraine, a Duchy bordering the lands of the Germans, and so now comprised vast territories, rivaling Hungary's own. News arrived too from the lands of the Rus to the east, whereby the Russian Empire had annexed many of the neighboring realms, becoming a great power.

The description of the New World sent by Alberto Lombardi and Jani Petrelius after their return to Gibraltar

A large Franconia

A threatening Russian Empire


The expedition of Petrus thus continued onwards, as the Finn and his company landed on the mysterious land mass. The first winter of their journies was spent deep inside the interior, amidst hostile natives and unknown lands. Though exploring the interior of this land, the ships bearing the expedition conveyed it further to islands near the land mass, upon which Captain Petrus founded many new colonies. It was in the year of our Lord, one-thousand five-hundred and nine, when the expedition arrived into contact with the Lenape tribe, a friendly and curious people who healed the sick men of the party and traded gifts with the explorers. It was after three more years and contact with other tribes such as the Hurons, that the Petrus expedition encountered their first major action. Having fought minor actions in the isles to the east of the new world, upon landing on the islands of the Carribean, as the sea was to be known, the natives at once engaged the explorers without reason. The firearms, of which Captain Petrus had a great quantity, succeeded in driving away the greater force of natives intent on their destruction, securing the islands for future Hungarian colonies. It was then, at the end of the island campaign that the great King Lajos II died, allowing his son Lajos III to assume the throne in his stead.

Olaus makes contact with the Lenape

Olaus fights the Jamaicans

 

[Victor1234]

Excerpt from "The History of the House of Árpád-Bihar" (Published 1937, Pannonia Könyvek Kft.)


The closing period of King Lajos II's reign provided much needed funding for the navy, while proving the effectiveness of earlier funding given to the army. Essentially, the Hungarian army was once again Europe's best, having a considerable advantage over all others with the new gunpowder weapons. The expedition to discover Ujvidék also had serious consequences, as the Hungarian colonialism would later greatly affect the Kingdom. At this stage of colonization however, Hungary had no direct colonies on the mainland, instead having very small numbers of colonists on nearly every island they came across. The strategic value of these islands would only be truly shown in later years, but the settlements and colonies set up by Captain (later promoted Brigadier) Olaus Petrus would form the core of settlements from which new settlements could be made. The resupplying possibilities also made these islands important from the navies point of view. The King's decision to grant Lombardi the ships needed for the expedition turned out to be the best decision he made during his reign. As well, although the role of Jani Petrelius is left unclear, recent historical evidence in the form of the expedition log-book shows that the officer often had to assist Lombardi in matters of navigation, without which assistance the expedition would probably have gone around in circles. No doubt, Lombardi, fearful of his reputation, hid the log-book to prevent his failures from being known. In any event, with the end of the reign of Lajos II, despite the failure to assist Jerusalem or to keep Russia from uniting, Hungary once again had a comfortable lead on the rest of the world in terms of technology.

King Lajos III of Hungary

 

[stnylan]

Ahh, it is always nice to have compliant mapmakers who agree to a little cartographical ingenuity

 

[Olaus Petrus]

Nice to see that Hungary is expanding to the New World with the help of the great conquistadors and explorers.

 

[Victor1234]

stnylan: True enough, but I'm just glad I noticed that EU2 puts Kiev on the wrong side of the river before the game really got going. Going to make things better for the Victoria/HOI2 exports if I get the land I want in the game rather than by editing at the end.

Olaus Petrus: Especially with the help of that great Olaus Petrus.

 

[Victor1234]

Chapter VIII: The Reign of Lajos III, of the House of Árpád-Bihar, King of Hungary and Estonia and Palace Administrator of the Holy See



In the year of our Lord one-thousand five-hundred and thirteen, the infant son of King Lajos II, Lajos III, rose to the throne as the twenty-sixth King of Hungary. To signal the event, the peasants of the east rose in rebellion once more, enthralled by the opportunity for treachery which now presented itself. The massed hordes matched in battle by the valiant troops of the border guard were felled in great numbers, slaying a number of guards as well and within a year, the rebellion was defeated.

Eastern rebels, again


Thereafter, news arrived from the Isles to the west, that the King of Ireland inherited the Duchy of York from the slain ruler of that realm. With this inheritance there remained only the Kingdom of Wales, a vassal realm of the Irish Kingdom, to challenge Irish rule of the Isles. Yet for Hungarian Kingdom, this news was joyous, for a royal marriage had been arranged some years prior with the King of Ireland to strengthen the bonds between both Kingdoms.

Irish dominance


With the passing of this turmoil in the western reaches of Europe, all manner of news arrived from the far west of the world, where the valiant explorer and leader of men, Olaus Petrus, was winning glory for his King. Recently invested as Count of Ujvidék, a county then spanning the various islands of the Atlantic settled by Hungarians, Petrus had given up the family lands in Fogaras to retire to these island estates upon his duty to the King being done. As such, there remained more service ahead, as landing on each island of the Carribean, his expedition was beset by natives. Most of these being friendly, permitted Petrus to traverse the islands with no hinderance, but some chose battle and attacked the expedition. Largely with the aid of the new firearms, each attack was repulsed with few losses and the exploration could continue, with each new island being explored by the party of Count Petrus, who would ensure the safety of newly arriving colonists.

A rare attack by the natives


Thus it continued for a great time, with constant exploration and settlements founded, while in Europe, the thirst for knowledge and innovation continued. It was in the year of our Lord, one-thousand five-hundred and eighteen, that at last a new firearm was forged, the musket. This powerful weapon, of greater reliability and strength than the old firearms, was soon available to all fighting men of Hungary, who by it's use grew to be the most powerful in the known world, for no such weapon then existed in the realms of Europe.

The invention of the musket


For many years hence, as the boy King grew to manhood, the Kingdom lay at peace, while the western realms of Europe warred. To the west, a powerful Kingdom of the France had been formed by the Kingdom of Franconia, the largest of French realms. Yet this did not please the Kingdom of Burgundy, who too wished to rule over all of France, and the two thus warred over whom would truly rule the west. It having been deemed most profitable to extend credit to Burgundy in the hopes she would triumph over the French Kingdom and thus preserve the weakness of the western realms, a large sum of golden koronas had been delivered to Burgundy, with repayment expected within a term of five years. Yet in the year of our Lord, one-thousand five-hundred and twenty-five, the loan was due to be repaid and the villians of Burgundy refused to repay the required sum. Such was the reason war was promptly declared, and Hungarian warships and soldiers sent to land in Burgundy and force payment and due concessions.

The refusal of Burgundy


For many years, the Church in Rome under the Holy Father had answered only to God and the King of the Hungarians, providing a most holy influence for Hungary in foreign realms. Thereupon, in the year of our Lord, one-thousand five-hundred and twenty-five, a German monk called Heinrich Rheinfalls from the free town of Hamburg nailed a list of devious and unholy demands to the Cathedral door, demanding that the Hungarian King cease his control over the affairs of the Holy See, and that the Church cease such activities as the sale of indulgences. Upon the pain of excommunication and eternal damnation, the wicked monk refused to withdraw his demands and thus formed a satanic cult to which many in Sweden, England and northern Germany flocked. This new evil faith, to which the English adhered to rebel against the Irish, to which the Swedish adhered to free themselves from Hungarian influence and to which the states of Hannover and Kleves adhered to pacify their unholy subjects was thus condemned by both the Pope and King of Hungary. Following this, a call went forth for all pious defenders of the cross to journey to these satanic lands and do battle against the non-believers, with the Kingdom of Hungary being the only to answer the call. So among their enemies was added the states of Kleves and Hannover, while the war in Burgundy yet raged on.

The warships nearing Burgundy


So it was that Hungary was in war with not one, but three enemies, against which it could not triumph at once. The army of Kleves, having crossed the western frontier into the mountains of western Hungary, was soon met by the arrival of the border guards of the east, whereupon in battle, they were driven to return to their own lands and plague Hungary no more.

The battle against Kleves

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Excerpt from "The History of the House of Árpád-Bihar" (Published 1937, Pannonia Könyvek Kft.)


At the start of King Lajos III's reign, the Kingdom of Hungary was facing a large revolt by the eastern peasants, although not as large as earlier revolts had been. Following this, a relative period of calm took hold, marked by massive technological improvements and an increasing role in money lending to other Kingdoms. The war against Burgundy, however, showed that money lent wouldn't always mean money returning to the treasury, and the following wars of religion proved to be most menacing to Hungarian power and influence. With the death of King Lajos III in 1528, his son Károly II rose to the throne.

The new King, Károly II

 

[Olaus Petrus]

Kleves and Hannover shouldn't be problems and since Burgundy is already in war against the French it shouldn't be difficult to defeat.

But I have question about Protestantism. I know that it has spread to parts of the Hungary, especially to North German parts. So do you keep them peaceful by tolerating Protestantism or is your attitude towards them as condemning as your tone in the AAR is and you have huge revolt risk in Protestant areas?

 

[stnylan]

Sounds like a good opportunity to secure more land on the western border.

 

[Victor1234]

Olaus Petrus: The update was a bit rushed, unfortunately, so I messed up the German states involved. As you can tell from the screenshot showing the naval battle off the coast of Burgundy, I'm at war with Wurzburg, Navarra, Burgundy and the Palatine. Kleves joined in a little while later. I confused Hannover with the Palatine while writing and forgot about Wurzburg (would've been an important part, since they're supposed to be a Hungarian puppet state ruled by Hungarian dynasty...) altogether, but I'll take the next update a bit more slowly and go over all of this in more detail. I also forgot to expand on the internal protestant movement in Hungary, focusing only on the international stuff, so I'll correct that with the next update as well.

stnylan: Probably should, but I've already got way too much land already. I debated for a pretty long time with myself even with that land grab in the east, but I don't want to take even more. Possibly taking Mantua so Venice isn't directly accessible by land, and to smooth my borders out, could be a project for the future, but I definately like my western border near Germany as is. Besides, I'm kind of rooting for one or two states to dominate Germany, to form either a NGF/SGF mix or a united Germany for Victoria. As is, looks like Wurzburg is a good candidate for SGF, but north Germany is still a mess.

 

[Victor1234]

Chapter IX: The Early Parts of the Reign of Károly II, of the House of Árpád-Bihar, King of Hungary and Estonia and Palace Administrator of the Holy See



Upon the ascension of King Károly II, the Kingdom of Hungary as yet remained at war. Owing to the Burgundian refusal to honor their debts to the Hungarian Crown, the King thus saw no remaining path but to declare war upon the Kingdom of Burgundy. Soon after, the allies of the perfidious Burgundians, the Elector of the Palatine and the King of Wurzburg joined in war against the Hungarian Kingdom, each hoping to reconquer the ancient German lands taken long ago by Hungarian arms. The treacherous King of Wurzburg, of Hungarian descent, was the basest of rulers thus at war with Hungary, for his realm had been an ancient vassal of the King and now he had conspired with the electors of the Holy Roman Empire to elect himself as Emperor. This title of the Hungarian Kings had been lost many years ago with the death of King Lajos I, as the electors of the Empire chose a minor German Duke to be their Emperor. The loss of the title was of no consequence for half of the Empire remained within the Kingdom of Hungary and the remaining half was obedient to none, not even the Emperor. Yet now, this Emperor bade all the states of the Empire rise up against the Hungarian Kingdom and only the disloyal Duchy of Kleves heeded his call. Thus Hungary was beset by the forces of Kleves, Wurzburg and Burgundy, while the Kingdom of Navarre was herself beset by the Kingdom of Hispania and thus was unable to dispatch aid to her allies. At the onset of the war, the armies of Hungary were sent both by sea against the Kingdom of Burgundy and by land against the Kingdom of Wurzburg. Now these armies, having arrived both by sea and land, set about their work in the lands of Burgundy and Wurzburg, laying seige to many fortresses and launching assaults against them. What armies these realms possessed were soon destroyed by the arrival of the Hungarians, but the mountains of Helvetia, added by inheritance to the realm of Wurzburg, proved greatly hostile to the soldiers of Hungary. With all aid having been dispatched to Burgundy and the forces in Wurzburg having moved north to the Palatine, the armies of Kleves were thus free to cross the Hungarian border in the south, defended only by small Határörség units. Aid sent from Buda consisting of all the calvary and artillery available to the Királyi Őrség was dispatched, as the two forces met in the mountains of Tyrol and in bloody battle, the Hungarians defended the passes into the Hungarian interior. The armies of Kleves were thus destroyed and the remainder put to flight as Hungarian arms fought those of Wurzburg in their remaining Helvetian strongholds. At last, a peace was agreed to between the Kingdom of Hungary and Wurzburg, who having been chosen to speak for their allies, agreed to provide ample compensation for the war. Thus it was that further land on the western frontier was gained, whereby King Károly II appointed a council of nobles to rule jointly over Helvetia Inferior in his name and another to do the same in the state of Wurtemberg. So was the debt of the Burgundians paid by the Kingdom of Wurzburg.

The reinforcements under General Biro Jozsef

The Peace of the Burgundian War


Thus the years after the Burgundian war passed in relative peace, for though more and more Protestants emerged on the coast, in the north of the Kingdom, there was no war. By virtue of the bonds between the Kingdom and the Papacy, these heretics were to have been purged from the lands of the Kingdom, yet the ongoing colonization was of much greater consequence. From every corner of the Kingdom, families ventured forth into the New World and settled on many islands recently discovered. Yet this colonization which was hoped would give the Protestants of the north, mostly of old Germanic stock, a chance to settle and hence depart from the Kingdom, could draw none of the heretics to foreign shores. Such was the speed with which this evil new belief spread, that soon realm after realm, especially those of the north with German dynasties in power, broke away from the Church and joined the tide of evil. Soon after, a large number of pious Hungarian Catholics wished to stop the spread of this faith and so reviving an ancient knightly order of Catholic brothers, these Knights of the Temple, so named after the fabled temple of Jerusalem, established their order in the year of our Lord, one-thousand five-hundred and twenty-eight. With their first chapter houses established in the central parts of the Kingdom, these men swore to combat the scourge to the righteous forces of the Church wherever they may be found. News then arrived of the recent success of Eire on the isles to the west, who by inheritance secured the Kingdom of Wales and henceforth would rule the isles alone. By their marriage to the Hungarian royal family some thirty years in the past, these Irish had gained sufficient wealth through Hungarian loans to complete their manuevering and secure a proper heir for the Welsh throne. So too news arrived of the death of a great servant of the Hungarian Crown, Olaus Petrus, Admiral of the Oceans and Duke of the Western Isles, by whose efforts some two-hundred islands of varying size had been explored and settled, contact made with several Indian tribes and the interior of the new land mass to the west journeyed into. As the heralds bearing the news attested, the Duke-Admiral was then on the island of Szent Mária, having recently established a small colony of some two-hundred Hungarian settlers, when a strange disease overtook him. Thus was Duke-Admiral Petrus dead, in the year of our Lord one-thousand five-hundred and thirty.

Ireland expands

Petrus no more



Within the passing of two years, the first revolt in the New World began. No more than two hundred Hungarian settlers inhabited Cukorsziget when the natives of that island rose in revolt. Barely numbering two-thousand, no armies were then present on the island to prevent it's fall. Such was the bravery of these foe that not even the fearsome Hungarian musket which produced such great fire and smoke could defeat them. Thus aid was dispatched by the King and a royal charter granted to the "Ujvidéki Kereskedö és Felfedezö Kft" (New-Countryside Trading and Exploring Company), who henceforth would protect, settle and ensure the free movement of trade through the lands discovered in the New World. The UKF was thus established in Velence (Venice) in the year of our Lord one-thousand five-hundred and thirty-five, whereby from the port and arsenal in the same town, they would be able to conduct trade and ships to every part of the New World.

The revolt of the natives


During this time, the Knights of the Temple had grown and expanded in Hungary to a great degree, but found that the Crown Governors' in the northern parts of the Kingdom refused to give them any power in dealing with the Protestant scourge of the north. It was then that news arrived from Jerusalem, of a new invasion by the infidel and a new revolt by the nobility. The King of Jerusalem, in ever-greater peril, had by now been forced to allow the nobles in the Országgyulés (Country Gathering) to advise him on matters of state and to collect taxes in his name. Though Hungary too had such an Országgyulés of the fifty Dukes of the Kingdom, it was still as it always was, a body whereby the Dukes could bring grievances before the King and submit to his judgement. The weakness of the King of Jerusalem being plain to all, a revolt had started when the King refused to relinquish power over justice in the realm to the nobles. So it was that the Knights of the Temple, having offered their services to the Crown of Jerusalem, hence embarked for that land to serve the cause of the Christian faith against the infidel. Yet as they embarked, the Protestant cause in Europe greatly expanded as the King of Sweden too converted to this vile faith. Breaking with the Holy Father in Rome and the Kingdom of Hungary, the Swedish truly wished to challenge Hungary's supremacy, by whose favor in long past times they had gained their present position of power. Within three years, the Hispanics, true defenders of the faith as Hungary was, had declared war upon the Swedes and fought them in the New World, where still those Swedish and Norse lived who refused to follow the evil faith of their King.

Jerusalem greatly beset by enemies

The Swedish betray the faith!

The Kingdom of Hispania fights the Swedes

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Excerpt from "The History of the House of Árpád-Bihar" (Published 1937, Pannonia Könyvek Kft.)


During this time, the Hungarian royal family greatly expanded their relations with the other leading houses of Europe, bringing in both fresh blood and information. All of the princesses and other female nobles sent to arranged marriages with other families in France, Sweden, Ireland, Wurzburg and Holland were in fact, sending information back to Hungary on their respective countries, forming a sort of informal spy network. Naturally, some networks fell apart as Hungary went to war with Wurzburg and the Swedish converted, but the rest functioned well, opening up huge possibilites for intrigue. The domination of Ireland to the west would not have happened if the Hungarian noblity married off to the local nobility hadn't made those large loans possible. Similarily, they were able to play off the French into declaring war on Burgundy, while at the same time Hungary gave loans to Burgundy, in the hopes the war would exhaust and destroy both countries. Sadly, all of this pomp and intrigue and loans cost a great deal of money, so the treasury was very bare compared to earlier times. The upheaval in Jerusalem and the emergence of the Knights Templar also set a bad example, as history went on to prove, as the idea of a Parliament effectively ruling instead of a King was unheard of before it happened in Jerusalem.

 

[Olaus Petrus]

I'm sad to see that you have troubles in your colonies, especially death of a great conquistador was a loss.

 

[Patrick Harte]

I love that Ireland!

 

[joriandrake]

hmm...maybe athens should become a catholic byzantine, or a second latin empire

can you please show pics from the trade map, and from north africa?

 

[Victor1234]

Olaus Petrus: Yes, although my bigger worry is losing the colony race. I found the New World first, but Sweden already has those two islands I wanted
I'm also colonizing islands only, until much later, to prevent things like American Revolution breaking out in 1625

Patrick O'Harte: Glad you like it. Those Irish sure know how to get royal marriages in all the right places o

jorian: For now it's an administrative division within Hungary (represents loose control over the area, although most of the native Greeks were wiped out by the big plagues at the end of the CK AAR and have been replaced by Hungarian settlers), although later there is an event for incorporating it and Estonia (a Kingdom, administratively) into the main Hungarian Kingdom or not. The whole status of the territory currently under Hungarian rule gets clarified with the legal reforms of a later King in the early 1600's, until then it's a really messed up situation (like it was for most Kingdoms historically )

I'll be sure to include the trade maps and N. African screenshots in the next update.