Very nice! Würzburg will surely not last long now! And are you up to taking on Poland again? As for Pfalz, with any luck it might just revolt and defect to you during a bad patch for France - you can always hope!
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Nice update!
However, I couldn't help notice you reached land tech 7 only in 1555 and with $ 88 you can't build a tax collector.
That says " 'been minting like heck" to me; what's your inflation?
And your territory looks nicely rounded off now! What are your territorial plans for the future?
However, I couldn't help notice you reached land tech 7 only in 1555 and with $ 88 you can't build a tax collector.
That says " 'been minting like heck" to me; what's your inflation?
And your territory looks nicely rounded off now! What are your territorial plans for the future?
TheBee said:Nice update!
However, I couldn't help notice you reached land tech 7 only in 1555 and with $ 88 you can't build a tax collector.
That says " 'been minting like heck" to me; what's your inflation?
And your territory looks nicely rounded off now! What are your territorial plans for the future?
Inflation is at 29.7%, largely due to early game when I had to keep 50% treasury slider just to pay military maintenence. I've allowed land research to lag so I could hypertech naval (to get transports) and infra (to get governors). And Hessen's Tax-Collector has been promoted, but hasn't taken office yet (the screenie was taken during the 12 months it takes to promote the guy). Interesting tidbit curtesy EUReader--Nogai has the highest income of all nations in the game
at 212.5.
LOL, that only goes to show that even with three clues the conclusion still may point in the entirely wrong direction.
Guess it just shows my level of paranoia or something... :rofl:
Guess it just shows my level of paranoia or something... :rofl:
TheBee said:
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you
In other news, I see that Denmark has been conquered by somebody (the Teutonic Knights?), Siena (!) has taken over most of northern Italy and Burgundy has made a comeback. Also Austria continues to lose ground to the Turks, who are now on Germany's very borders at Presburg. The Hapsburgs are obviously inept and undeserving of the Imperial Crown. I'd do something about that, if I were you - right after I'd liberated Sachsen & Brandenburg from Poland.
Looking forward to more!
Looking forward to more!
Yep, war with Poland can't be long in coming now.
Your position with respect to France is that of the man who rode the tiger. If you try to get out of that alliance now, you might well be eaten. If your relations with Austria remain good, and IF Austria gains territory next to France so that they can help you, then ally with Austria and stab France in the back. Stab hard, strike deep.
Why? You occupy the middle position between the two most commonly successful countries, France and Austria. Ally with one to reduce the other... then switch. Wash, rinse, repeat as needed. Remember - to occupy the middle you need pieces of both ends!
The real path to easy money, of course, leads to colonies.
Glad to hear you enjoyed 'Bremen'. Looks like you are well on your way to a Germanic empire of your own. Good luck!
Many humorous bits scattered throughout. I especially liked the line about the man remaining dead... reminded me of the old SNL bit, 'and in other news, Genral Francisco Franco continues to be dead, today...'
Your position with respect to France is that of the man who rode the tiger. If you try to get out of that alliance now, you might well be eaten. If your relations with Austria remain good, and IF Austria gains territory next to France so that they can help you, then ally with Austria and stab France in the back. Stab hard, strike deep.
Why? You occupy the middle position between the two most commonly successful countries, France and Austria. Ally with one to reduce the other... then switch. Wash, rinse, repeat as needed. Remember - to occupy the middle you need pieces of both ends!
The real path to easy money, of course, leads to colonies.
Glad to hear you enjoyed 'Bremen'. Looks like you are well on your way to a Germanic empire of your own. Good luck!
Many humorous bits scattered throughout. I especially liked the line about the man remaining dead... reminded me of the old SNL bit, 'and in other news, Genral Francisco Franco continues to be dead, today...'
My question is, just how long will the love affair with France? When does Wurzburg's tactical sucide come to be.... and lastly, When do the Hapsburgs finally decide to take a bit out of Cologne?
Farquharsan: I get a strange feeling that Würzburg won't survive this update .
Director: Glad you're enjoying this one. The discussions of Cologne's inner workings are modelled on "Bremen." Colonies, interesting idea....
Merrick: Denmark was annexed by Prussia, the Turks have surpirsed (and pleased) me with their very historical expansion (now if only they'd take on the Mamluks, who are using Cologne's patentened Dark-Green map color without any authorization).
Adolf III died in 1556, but the influential Schauenberg faction retained power in the Council and secured the Archbishopric for Adolf’s brother Anton. Anton was given only a brief time to reign before death intervened, but in that time he strengthened the Church and sent Dominican Inquisitors to the provinces of Anhalt and Mainz to eradicate the heretical teachings of Luther in these provinces. The people of Anhalt, the original seat of the Lutheran error, remained wedded to their heresies, but the ancient Church center of Mainz abjured the heresies of Luther and Calvin and was restored to the True Faith, amid much celebration in Cologne. Archbishop Anton died in 1558 after only two years at the helm, opening the way for a long and bitter internal power struggle between the Schauenbergs and the Wittelsbachs. The Wittelsbachs, almost unique among the former sovereign dynasties now resident in Greater Cologne, had managed to rise to positions of power and influence in the archiepiscopal government. The fact that their old seat was in Austrian Bavaria certainly helped, as did their skillful manipulation of Cologne’s government system. The Wittelsbachs had not made the same error as the former Dukes of Hannover and their like had made by demanding top positions in government immediately post-annexation. The Wittelsbachs had taken positions of little power or influence upon their arrival in Greater Cologne and used these positions to slowly build a network of friends, associates, and assorted people who owed the family favors. Only when their power base was in place did the Wittelsbachs make their move, taking gradually more and more prestigious and responsible offices, until they were ready to proffer their first candidate to the Archbishopric in 1558.
Cologne’s Archbishops were elected by the Sacral Council upon the death or resignation of the previous Archbishop. The Sacral Council was not a standing council, but was drawn from the other councils as need arose, members were appointed by Registry Council, the council whose job it was to maintain the smooth operation of Cologne’s torturously complicated bureaucratic system. Each member of the Registry Council chose one official to exempt from his other duties for membership in the Sacral Council until such time as the new Archbishop was elected. The 1558 meeting of the Sacral Council proved explosive, as the Wittelsbach faction stunned the chamber by nominating a candidate in opposition of the Schauenberg candidate. Rather than paralyze the governmental apparatus, the factions settled on a compromise candidate, Gebhard I (r.1558-62), who spent the majority of his reign attempting to mediate in the fierce power struggle broiling beneath the placid surface of Cologne’s government. Gebhard I was followed by Friedrich IV (r.1562-67), a pawn in the hands of the Schauenbergs if not a member of the Schauenberg clan. As the Schauenbergs and Wittelsbachs continued their quiet feud, interesting happenings were diverting Cologne’s attention back to foreign affairs. In 1562, the Muslim people of Zeeland, led by the Amir al-Uranjj, evicted the Ottoman Beylerbey and proclaimed an independent Sultanate of the Netherlands, which Gelre soon joined. In 1564, Austria bested Poland in war and claimed the Mark Brandenburg as prize. That same year, the Swiss government was toppled by revolutionaries and the Imperial City of Strassburg regained its freedom. France brought Strassburg into the alliance in 1565 and Cologne and France once again raced to see who could establish a protectorate over the territory first. Cologne’s efforts were off to a fine start when a page in the Alsatian court with links to the Wittelsbach clan insulted Archbishop Friedrich IV for his Schauenberg sympathies, seriously damaging relations between Cologne and Strassburg. France stepped into the void and became Strassburg’s suzerain in 1567, only a few weeks before the death of Friedrich IV. Friedrich died of food poisoning, and the Schauenbergs openly accused the Wittelsbachs of assassination. The moderates in the 1567 Sacral Council had their hands full preventing a brawl between Wittelsbach sympathizers and Schauenberg supporters. Though the Wittelsbachs managed to call in enough favors to dodge the bullet of investigation for treason, they were unable to stop the Schauenbergs from placing Salentin von Isenburg (r.1567-77) on the Archiepiscopal throne.
Salentin was a poor choice for the Schauenbergs, as he was able to rise above factional squabbling to restore central power in Cologne and was to go down in history as one of Cologne’s greatest Archbishops. He expanded Church/state control over the Liquor industry by building a new government refinery in Mainz, finally giving the state sufficient brewing capabilities to ban the private production and sale of alcoholic beverages altogether. He was also the first Archbishop since Hermann V to find money in the budget for continuing the German colonization of America, sending the first new settlers in a generation to Isle Royale, which was renamed Salentinburg in his honor. In 1572, Salentin traveled to Italy to join the Council of Trent in person. He argued a vigorous case in the favor of the anti-Lutheran measures being contemplated by the Pope and was instrumental in getting those measures incorporated into the Council’s pronouncements of 20 August 1572. On 23 August 1572, after completing the journey back to his see, Salentin made Cologne Europe’s first Counter-Reformed Catholic nation. With his nation now at the forefront of the Anti-Protestant cause, Salentin declared war on Würzburg to “restore the heretics and heathens of the region to the True Church.” Würzburg’s resistance was characteristically feeble and by 1573 Cologne was in complete control of the Duchy. The international community now expected Würzburg’s forced conversion, but Salentin had other plans and announced the dissolution of the duchy and its annexation into Greater Cologne in order to “stamp out the heresy properly.” Nor was this the end of Cologne’s territorial growth under Salentin, for when Saxony declared independence from Poland in 1575, Salentin sent the Saxons a letter offering them the chance to join Greater Cologne. When the Saxons answered that they preferred independence, a second letter was dispatched asking them to reconsider. Salentin’s second letter was most persuasive, and the Saxons announced their desire to join Greater Cologne, whether due to the letter’s phrasing or Salentin’s use of 19,000 infantrymen as couriers is not recorded. Either way, by the time of his death in 1577, Salentin had brought Cologne consolidation both at home and abroad. Other than the tiny Duchy of Pommern in the north (France had annexed Strassburg in 1577), Cologne and Austria were the only German states left standing. Competition between the “2 Germanys” now seemed inevitable.
Europe in 1589, some years after Salentin but with no territorial changes since 1577 in the West. England owns most of Norway and the Muslim Dutch own Ireland. Austria entered the France-Cologne alliance in 1578, so Cologne must look elsewhere for expansion....
.Director: Glad you're enjoying this one. The discussions of Cologne's inner workings are modelled on "Bremen." Colonies, interesting idea....
Merrick: Denmark was annexed by Prussia, the Turks have surpirsed (and pleased) me with their very historical expansion (now if only they'd take on the Mamluks, who are using Cologne's patentened Dark-Green map color without any authorization).
Adolf III died in 1556, but the influential Schauenberg faction retained power in the Council and secured the Archbishopric for Adolf’s brother Anton. Anton was given only a brief time to reign before death intervened, but in that time he strengthened the Church and sent Dominican Inquisitors to the provinces of Anhalt and Mainz to eradicate the heretical teachings of Luther in these provinces. The people of Anhalt, the original seat of the Lutheran error, remained wedded to their heresies, but the ancient Church center of Mainz abjured the heresies of Luther and Calvin and was restored to the True Faith, amid much celebration in Cologne. Archbishop Anton died in 1558 after only two years at the helm, opening the way for a long and bitter internal power struggle between the Schauenbergs and the Wittelsbachs. The Wittelsbachs, almost unique among the former sovereign dynasties now resident in Greater Cologne, had managed to rise to positions of power and influence in the archiepiscopal government. The fact that their old seat was in Austrian Bavaria certainly helped, as did their skillful manipulation of Cologne’s government system. The Wittelsbachs had not made the same error as the former Dukes of Hannover and their like had made by demanding top positions in government immediately post-annexation. The Wittelsbachs had taken positions of little power or influence upon their arrival in Greater Cologne and used these positions to slowly build a network of friends, associates, and assorted people who owed the family favors. Only when their power base was in place did the Wittelsbachs make their move, taking gradually more and more prestigious and responsible offices, until they were ready to proffer their first candidate to the Archbishopric in 1558.
Cologne’s Archbishops were elected by the Sacral Council upon the death or resignation of the previous Archbishop. The Sacral Council was not a standing council, but was drawn from the other councils as need arose, members were appointed by Registry Council, the council whose job it was to maintain the smooth operation of Cologne’s torturously complicated bureaucratic system. Each member of the Registry Council chose one official to exempt from his other duties for membership in the Sacral Council until such time as the new Archbishop was elected. The 1558 meeting of the Sacral Council proved explosive, as the Wittelsbach faction stunned the chamber by nominating a candidate in opposition of the Schauenberg candidate. Rather than paralyze the governmental apparatus, the factions settled on a compromise candidate, Gebhard I (r.1558-62), who spent the majority of his reign attempting to mediate in the fierce power struggle broiling beneath the placid surface of Cologne’s government. Gebhard I was followed by Friedrich IV (r.1562-67), a pawn in the hands of the Schauenbergs if not a member of the Schauenberg clan. As the Schauenbergs and Wittelsbachs continued their quiet feud, interesting happenings were diverting Cologne’s attention back to foreign affairs. In 1562, the Muslim people of Zeeland, led by the Amir al-Uranjj, evicted the Ottoman Beylerbey and proclaimed an independent Sultanate of the Netherlands, which Gelre soon joined. In 1564, Austria bested Poland in war and claimed the Mark Brandenburg as prize. That same year, the Swiss government was toppled by revolutionaries and the Imperial City of Strassburg regained its freedom. France brought Strassburg into the alliance in 1565 and Cologne and France once again raced to see who could establish a protectorate over the territory first. Cologne’s efforts were off to a fine start when a page in the Alsatian court with links to the Wittelsbach clan insulted Archbishop Friedrich IV for his Schauenberg sympathies, seriously damaging relations between Cologne and Strassburg. France stepped into the void and became Strassburg’s suzerain in 1567, only a few weeks before the death of Friedrich IV. Friedrich died of food poisoning, and the Schauenbergs openly accused the Wittelsbachs of assassination. The moderates in the 1567 Sacral Council had their hands full preventing a brawl between Wittelsbach sympathizers and Schauenberg supporters. Though the Wittelsbachs managed to call in enough favors to dodge the bullet of investigation for treason, they were unable to stop the Schauenbergs from placing Salentin von Isenburg (r.1567-77) on the Archiepiscopal throne.
Salentin was a poor choice for the Schauenbergs, as he was able to rise above factional squabbling to restore central power in Cologne and was to go down in history as one of Cologne’s greatest Archbishops. He expanded Church/state control over the Liquor industry by building a new government refinery in Mainz, finally giving the state sufficient brewing capabilities to ban the private production and sale of alcoholic beverages altogether. He was also the first Archbishop since Hermann V to find money in the budget for continuing the German colonization of America, sending the first new settlers in a generation to Isle Royale, which was renamed Salentinburg in his honor. In 1572, Salentin traveled to Italy to join the Council of Trent in person. He argued a vigorous case in the favor of the anti-Lutheran measures being contemplated by the Pope and was instrumental in getting those measures incorporated into the Council’s pronouncements of 20 August 1572. On 23 August 1572, after completing the journey back to his see, Salentin made Cologne Europe’s first Counter-Reformed Catholic nation. With his nation now at the forefront of the Anti-Protestant cause, Salentin declared war on Würzburg to “restore the heretics and heathens of the region to the True Church.” Würzburg’s resistance was characteristically feeble and by 1573 Cologne was in complete control of the Duchy. The international community now expected Würzburg’s forced conversion, but Salentin had other plans and announced the dissolution of the duchy and its annexation into Greater Cologne in order to “stamp out the heresy properly.” Nor was this the end of Cologne’s territorial growth under Salentin, for when Saxony declared independence from Poland in 1575, Salentin sent the Saxons a letter offering them the chance to join Greater Cologne. When the Saxons answered that they preferred independence, a second letter was dispatched asking them to reconsider. Salentin’s second letter was most persuasive, and the Saxons announced their desire to join Greater Cologne, whether due to the letter’s phrasing or Salentin’s use of 19,000 infantrymen as couriers is not recorded. Either way, by the time of his death in 1577, Salentin had brought Cologne consolidation both at home and abroad. Other than the tiny Duchy of Pommern in the north (France had annexed Strassburg in 1577), Cologne and Austria were the only German states left standing. Competition between the “2 Germanys” now seemed inevitable.
Europe in 1589, some years after Salentin but with no territorial changes since 1577 in the West. England owns most of Norway and the Muslim Dutch own Ireland. Austria entered the France-Cologne alliance in 1578, so Cologne must look elsewhere for expansion....
I really liked that line. Anyway, this is a great tale you are telling and I enjoy the way you weave the events into plausible history. I try to do that myself in my own AARs, though I am unsure if my efforts come off as well as your own.
The muslim dutch of the Netherlands Sultanate is just plain Bizzare. Is their state religion actually Sunni? I am surprised Greater Cologne has tolerated their existance.
Amir al-Uranjj? Simply brilliant.
Are the Netherlands truly muslim, or are you just saying it because they used to belong to the Ottoman Empire?
If they are in fact Muslim state culture, you should keep them around to make things interesting.
Are the Netherlands truly muslim, or are you just saying it because they used to belong to the Ottoman Empire?
If they are in fact Muslim state culture, you should keep them around to make things interesting.
I was also more than a little shocked at those Dutch Muslims. What exactly happened? Did I miss something earlier on? Do tell! Oh - and nice work Cologne! But that White Blob is looming larger than ever...
Troggle said:
Hmm, that's right, though I was about to suggest incorporating the northern Low Countries in Greater Cologne.
BTW, I'm surprised at how quickly power consolidates into a few large powers... a quick count brings me no further than 8 or 9 "2+ countries".
IIRC, that's quite quickly for the 1580's.edit: nice one to convert to counter-reformed; it certainly adds (even more) flavour to the AAR! Keep it up!
With apologies for the non-update post, I felt the need to elaborate on the Islamic Sultanate of the Netherlands a bit as it seems a popular subject. The Ottomans grabbed territory in the Lowlands during the collapse of the Burgundian state and converted Zeeland to Sunni with a missionary. Zeeland then revolted a declared itslef independent as the (Sunni) Netherlands. Gelre then got the "Dutch Republic" event and submitted to the Amir al-Uranjj, though they were Reformed, and all their Irish provinces remain good Catholics. Bizarre indeed. The Dutch, who are even now building great mosques on the Emerald Isle, have forged an alliance with Persia and the Mughal Empire. In 1585 (and thus in the next update) the Dutch Sultanate becomes a vassal of the Great Mughal in India and I anxiously await what's coming next in this interesting little aberration.
Machiavellian: Good to have you on board. Glad you like the descriptions, I enjoy trying to make these alternate histories sound somewhat plausible.
Troggle: Glad you appreciated the Amir al-Uranjj, it's my guestimate of what the "Prince of Orange" would sound like if Arabized.
Farqharsan: Austria is indeed getting far too blobbish for my tastes. Unfortunately, the dim-witted French have brought them into our alliance, so there isn't much I can do about them just now.
TheBee: Cologne gets only one core shield (on the capital), so I've been totally dependent on a combination of events, warnings/guarantess and French warmongering for my CBs up to now. I figured a free CB on all Protestants could come in handy (now if it only cost less than 1500D to send a missionary to Mecklemburg ). Hasn't been a good game for minors (with one or two notable exceptions ), myslef and the Austrians have polished off the Germans, while Naples and Tuscany swallowed the Italian minors (Spain then swallowed Naples). The Ottomans have made a clean sweep of the Balkans. Pommern's still around though, with the Vorpommern, Holland, and some province in Norway!
The Islamic Sultanate of the Netherlands
and I anxiously await what's coming next in this interesting little aberration.Machiavellian: Good to have you on board. Glad you like the descriptions, I enjoy trying to make these alternate histories sound somewhat plausible.
Troggle: Glad you appreciated the Amir al-Uranjj, it's my guestimate of what the "Prince of Orange" would sound like if Arabized.
Farqharsan: Austria is indeed getting far too blobbish for my tastes. Unfortunately, the dim-witted French have brought them into our alliance, so there isn't much I can do about them just now.
TheBee: Cologne gets only one core shield (on the capital), so I've been totally dependent on a combination of events, warnings/guarantess and French warmongering for my CBs up to now. I figured a free CB on all Protestants could come in handy (now if it only cost less than 1500D to send a missionary to Mecklemburg
). Hasn't been a good game for minors (with one or two notable exceptions ), myslef and the Austrians have polished off the Germans, while Naples and Tuscany swallowed the Italian minors (Spain then swallowed Naples). The Ottomans have made a clean sweep of the Balkans. Pommern's still around though, with the Vorpommern, Holland, and some province in Norway!
The Islamic Sultanate of the Netherlands
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Will Zeeland convert to Reformed when Calvin occurs I wonder? Even if it does, the Netherlands can't convert to any form of Christianity from Islam. This is a really fascinating turn of events (not to say the rest of the AAR isn't fascinating, but this is the first time I've ever heard of this).
Well, in my attempts to add a new AAR to my reading list, I have happily come across this little gem. Always one to enjoy an attenpt with a German underdog, I have enjoyed myself quite a bit catching up on what you have done with Cologne.
I also marvel at the strange turn of events that have taken place with the Dutch, but it's also interesting to note the small number of kingdoms now present on the continent. It seems the major players are you, France, Austria, Bohemia, Tuscany and Spain - with England always a player and Poland always a threat. You might start thinking about taking on France while the Ottomans have Austria occupied.
Regardless, your attention to the inter-political squabbles and church/state issues has been quite entertaining and the level of writing in general is top notch. Great work and update soon.
I also marvel at the strange turn of events that have taken place with the Dutch, but it's also interesting to note the small number of kingdoms now present on the continent. It seems the major players are you, France, Austria, Bohemia, Tuscany and Spain - with England always a player and Poland always a threat. You might start thinking about taking on France while the Ottomans have Austria occupied.
Regardless, your attention to the inter-political squabbles and church/state issues has been quite entertaining and the level of writing in general is top notch. Great work and update soon.
Troggle: I believe Calvin has fired already, in any case Zeeland remains staunchly Islamic.
Mssr Roy: The Russian War begins this update (it's actually part of an alliance war) and they keep refusing my kind offers of WP.
Coz1: Good to have you along, glad you're enjoying the tale.
As the winter of 1576 set in, Salentin von Isenburg knew his death was near. He was ill and there was nothing his physicians could do to cure his ailments. As he put his affairs in order, he reflected that the one thing he wished to bequeath to Cologne more than anything else was a secure future. Salentin had risen above the squabbling of the Schauenburgs and the Wittelsbachs during his term as Archbishop, but he knew his death would reignite the feud between the families. As rumors of his illness made the rounds, Salentin could see the back-door machinations of the families as they began to mobilize their supporters. Salentin had a candidate of his own in mind, Gebhard von Waldburg, a studious and broad-minded cleric currently serving as a Professor in the University of Cologne. Gebhard had no ties to the Schauenburgs or the Wittelsbachs, which put him out of the running altogether. Unfortunately for Salentin, the Archbishop had no authority over his own successor, and the Registry Council was quite jealous of any attempt to infringe its powers. Were Salentin to challenge the Registry Council, the Council would fall back upon its constitutional powers to censure or even depose an Archbishop.
The Cologne Constitution was not a written document, but a series of precedents and legal findings collected by the finest jurists in Germany. Like nearly everything else in the ecclesiastical state, the precedents composing the Constitution were an admixture of rulings from secular and ecclesiastical courts. The power to depose an Archbishop had been encoded in precedent by a secular ruling that had legalized Adolf III’s coup against the Hermann V back in 1546. Adolf III (who was a member of the Schauenburg clan) had been a member of the Registry Council prior to the coup and the Council had insisted that the ruling gave the Registry Council the power to depose any Archbishop who exceeded his authority. Adolf III, needing all the help he could get to secure his ill-gotten throne, had agreed to the Council’s demands. Salentin gave the issue much thought before he hit on a scheme that, while fraught with possibility of error, would give the Registry Council nothing to use against him. He wrote a short biography of his friend Gebhard, lauding his wisdom and capability to take action. Salentin summed up his work by claiming that Gebhard would make an ideal Archbishop and stating that he would happily surrender the office to him if he were constitutionally authorized to do so. All this praise came as the greatest surprise to Gebhard, who had shown not the least interest in secular government throughout his long and distinguished career as a scholar and a cleric. Nonetheless, Gebhard von Waldburg soon found himself every bit as popular among the populace as Salentin the Great himself. Salentin’s book was a best-selling phenomenon and when the Great Archbishop died in 1577, Gebhard seemed the logical choice of successor. The Schauenburgs and the Wittelsbachs were both unwilling to risk running a candidate in opposition to a man as popular as Gebhard. With no one to oppose him, Gebhard easily won the election and was consecrated as Archbishop Gebhard II in 1577.
Gebhard II was a curious fit in the archiepiscopal office, a prelate almost solely concerned with the ecclesiastical affairs of his bishopric, who paid little attention to secular matters of government. Gebhard left the business of secular government to Cologne’s immense bureaucracy, while overseeing ecclesiastical affairs with a diligence that the worldly Archbishop-Electors rarely exhibited. Gebhard relished being the celebrant and delivering the sermon during weekly High Mass at Cologne Cathedral, a requirement of the office that most Archbishops found chafing. As a result of his careful attention to religious matters and the popularity of his written compendium of sermons, the people of Magdeburg renounced the Lutheran heresy to return to the Church in 1580 (Random Conversion), which Gebhard took as the crowning accomplishment of his reign. Quiet ruled in foreign affairs, as the Tripartite Alliance of France, Austria, and Cologne effectively deterred any hostilities. The archiepiscopal state enjoyed 5 years of peace and prosperity under Gebhard II, whose reign saw a 5-year continuation of the policies of Salentin the Great. This period of peace ended abruptly in 1583, when the unexpected death of Gebhard II brought about a renewal of the dormant Schauenburg-Wittelsbach feud. The 1583 election finally brought success for the Wittelsbach faction, and Ernst von Bayern was elected Archbishop (1).
The euphoria of the Wittelsbachs proved short-lived however, as Ernst, a drunken and dissolute youth with precious little to recommend him for any post of responsibility, proved a disaster as Archbishop. He arrived drunk at Cologne Cathedral to perform High Mass during his very first week on the job. He was only rarely sober enough to attend important state meetings and would occasionally blow them off even when sober out of general inattention to his many duties. Even worse, as the cadre of advisors and officials brought into the state by Salentin began to retire, Ernst replaced them with his drunken and debauched friends. Ernst’s appointee as Ambassador to the Dutch Sultan caused a major political scandal in 1585 when he arrived to take up his post hopelessly drunk, scandalizing the Islamic officials of the Dutch court. The Registry Council censured Ernst’s behavior on 11 different occasions between 1583 and 1586. Rumors began to spread that the Council was preparing to depose the incompetent Ernst when the Duke of Pomerania, observing the chaos in Cologne, launched a full-scale invasion in 1585 with the backing of his Russian allies. Ernst ordered the northern border patrol to meet the invaders, but as those soldiers hadn’t been paid in months they dispersed before a much smaller Pomeranian contingent (I forgot to raise troop maintenance to 100%o ). The situation was desperate both for Cologne and the Wittelsbachs when the head of the Wittelsbach family called a meeting of the family elders to discuss the problem of Archbishop Ernst one cold January day in 1586. They had scarcely begun their discussion when they received an unexpected visitor…
1. Cologne's only scirpted event, "Bavarian influence in Cologne" (Choice A makes Cologne a vassal of Bavaria, Choice B leaves Cologne independent) fired on schedule in 1583 despite the fact Bavaria doesn't exist
Mssr Roy: The Russian War begins this update (it's actually part of an alliance war) and they keep refusing my kind offers of WP.
Coz1: Good to have you along, glad you're enjoying the tale.
As the winter of 1576 set in, Salentin von Isenburg knew his death was near. He was ill and there was nothing his physicians could do to cure his ailments. As he put his affairs in order, he reflected that the one thing he wished to bequeath to Cologne more than anything else was a secure future. Salentin had risen above the squabbling of the Schauenburgs and the Wittelsbachs during his term as Archbishop, but he knew his death would reignite the feud between the families. As rumors of his illness made the rounds, Salentin could see the back-door machinations of the families as they began to mobilize their supporters. Salentin had a candidate of his own in mind, Gebhard von Waldburg, a studious and broad-minded cleric currently serving as a Professor in the University of Cologne. Gebhard had no ties to the Schauenburgs or the Wittelsbachs, which put him out of the running altogether. Unfortunately for Salentin, the Archbishop had no authority over his own successor, and the Registry Council was quite jealous of any attempt to infringe its powers. Were Salentin to challenge the Registry Council, the Council would fall back upon its constitutional powers to censure or even depose an Archbishop.
The Cologne Constitution was not a written document, but a series of precedents and legal findings collected by the finest jurists in Germany. Like nearly everything else in the ecclesiastical state, the precedents composing the Constitution were an admixture of rulings from secular and ecclesiastical courts. The power to depose an Archbishop had been encoded in precedent by a secular ruling that had legalized Adolf III’s coup against the Hermann V back in 1546. Adolf III (who was a member of the Schauenburg clan) had been a member of the Registry Council prior to the coup and the Council had insisted that the ruling gave the Registry Council the power to depose any Archbishop who exceeded his authority. Adolf III, needing all the help he could get to secure his ill-gotten throne, had agreed to the Council’s demands. Salentin gave the issue much thought before he hit on a scheme that, while fraught with possibility of error, would give the Registry Council nothing to use against him. He wrote a short biography of his friend Gebhard, lauding his wisdom and capability to take action. Salentin summed up his work by claiming that Gebhard would make an ideal Archbishop and stating that he would happily surrender the office to him if he were constitutionally authorized to do so. All this praise came as the greatest surprise to Gebhard, who had shown not the least interest in secular government throughout his long and distinguished career as a scholar and a cleric. Nonetheless, Gebhard von Waldburg soon found himself every bit as popular among the populace as Salentin the Great himself. Salentin’s book was a best-selling phenomenon and when the Great Archbishop died in 1577, Gebhard seemed the logical choice of successor. The Schauenburgs and the Wittelsbachs were both unwilling to risk running a candidate in opposition to a man as popular as Gebhard. With no one to oppose him, Gebhard easily won the election and was consecrated as Archbishop Gebhard II in 1577.
Gebhard II was a curious fit in the archiepiscopal office, a prelate almost solely concerned with the ecclesiastical affairs of his bishopric, who paid little attention to secular matters of government. Gebhard left the business of secular government to Cologne’s immense bureaucracy, while overseeing ecclesiastical affairs with a diligence that the worldly Archbishop-Electors rarely exhibited. Gebhard relished being the celebrant and delivering the sermon during weekly High Mass at Cologne Cathedral, a requirement of the office that most Archbishops found chafing. As a result of his careful attention to religious matters and the popularity of his written compendium of sermons, the people of Magdeburg renounced the Lutheran heresy to return to the Church in 1580 (Random Conversion), which Gebhard took as the crowning accomplishment of his reign. Quiet ruled in foreign affairs, as the Tripartite Alliance of France, Austria, and Cologne effectively deterred any hostilities. The archiepiscopal state enjoyed 5 years of peace and prosperity under Gebhard II, whose reign saw a 5-year continuation of the policies of Salentin the Great. This period of peace ended abruptly in 1583, when the unexpected death of Gebhard II brought about a renewal of the dormant Schauenburg-Wittelsbach feud. The 1583 election finally brought success for the Wittelsbach faction, and Ernst von Bayern was elected Archbishop (1).
The euphoria of the Wittelsbachs proved short-lived however, as Ernst, a drunken and dissolute youth with precious little to recommend him for any post of responsibility, proved a disaster as Archbishop. He arrived drunk at Cologne Cathedral to perform High Mass during his very first week on the job. He was only rarely sober enough to attend important state meetings and would occasionally blow them off even when sober out of general inattention to his many duties. Even worse, as the cadre of advisors and officials brought into the state by Salentin began to retire, Ernst replaced them with his drunken and debauched friends. Ernst’s appointee as Ambassador to the Dutch Sultan caused a major political scandal in 1585 when he arrived to take up his post hopelessly drunk, scandalizing the Islamic officials of the Dutch court. The Registry Council censured Ernst’s behavior on 11 different occasions between 1583 and 1586. Rumors began to spread that the Council was preparing to depose the incompetent Ernst when the Duke of Pomerania, observing the chaos in Cologne, launched a full-scale invasion in 1585 with the backing of his Russian allies. Ernst ordered the northern border patrol to meet the invaders, but as those soldiers hadn’t been paid in months they dispersed before a much smaller Pomeranian contingent (I forgot to raise troop maintenance to 100%
o ). The situation was desperate both for Cologne and the Wittelsbachs when the head of the Wittelsbach family called a meeting of the family elders to discuss the problem of Archbishop Ernst one cold January day in 1586. They had scarcely begun their discussion when they received an unexpected visitor…1. Cologne's only scirpted event, "Bavarian influence in Cologne" (Choice A makes Cologne a vassal of Bavaria, Choice B leaves Cologne independent) fired on schedule in 1583 despite the fact Bavaria doesn't exist
Well, you wouldn't want to be left with no scripted events at all would you? Obviously the program took pity on you and overlooked Bavaria's non-existence for once
Also it gave you something else to put in this great story - keep it up!Ten years of internal struggle and a war. Fortunately Russia can't reach you, so you have to deal only with Pomerania. Let Austria fight Russia.