In the shadow of giants, a Brittany AAR

[EMC2Trooper]

In the shadow of giants, a Brittany AAR​

Rennes, Brittany - Spring 1453
Nantes, Brittany - Summer 1453
Brest, Brittany - Autumn 1453​

In the roaring giants' shadow
No man's heart can stand such eclipse
Where law and duty stand so bound
And the past drives us like doomed beasts

Peter II, Duke of Brittany
May 31, 1435​

Rennes, Brittany
Spring 1453
​

"Empty pots have more comfort and warmth than these cloudy nights. It takes no strained ear to hear all the good men dying out there in the dark. And here we are like babes that dare stand too soon. I want no more war with England," said Peter. He was resting on a balcony at Gilles Binchois' new Rennes estate. Both men pretended to look for the stars so that they wouldn't have to look at each other.

Peter made Gilles nervous because of his constant daydreaming and fickle moods. He had sent for the Burgundian composer as the first step in realizing his dream: a strong, stable and safe Brittany. For this, he would need strong men, men of genius and talent like Gilles that could give the Duchy an identity beyond being England or France's puppet.

Fra Angelico was, at the same moment, settling in at Nantes. Peter had paid a considerable sum, far more than he would admit to anyone at all, to have the Italian artist come stay the summer in Brittany. From there, the Duke hoped he could convince Angelico to stay on longer and perhaps help fulfill his dreams for Brittany.

And to show how serious he really was, Peter had sent a peace envoy to England and disbanded Brittany's standing army, leaving the security of his Duchy in the hands of local levies and garrisons. This particular die having been cast, it was no wonder that Peter was making Gilles nervous. Peter himself was almost shaking from the realization of what he had done.

Brittany's future was now in his hands, save a few poorly armed peasants, Gilles Binchois and Fra Angelico.

* * *​

Author's Note.

This is my first AAR. I apologize in advance for making things up, twisting history and abusing the Scottish. Ok, so I'm not really going to abuse the Scottish.

-My goal is a stable, prosperous Breizh (Brittany).

-I will NOT manipulate other countries.

-I will be using MM 1.3.1

-Since there will be little to no initial conflict, I will write asides about other wars and conflicts. For example, on my trial run using Brittany, Burgundy declared war on Portugal and marched through all of France and Spain, successfully occupying Lisboa and everything north without ever having launched a ship. Events like that will definitely be narrated in depth and, in essence, milked for all they're worth.

-I strive to be historically accurate, using that as a foundation for narration and interaction but I will also make things up completely out of the blue (for example, I completely made up the verse at the beginning of this post).

-There will be a love story.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Capibara]

Nice start and interesting choice, good luck and I'll be following!

 

[comagoosie]

Congrats on your AAR. Good luck too. Trying to survive france will be quite tough.

Fra Angelico is the best artist in the begining (sometimes with exceptions)

A love story :wacko: I am exicted, yet I can't imagine what the love story will be!

 

[EMC2Trooper]

Men more skilled than I,
Stride sagely in from fairer lands,
While our men-at-arms go home to rest,
And rob their neighbors blind.

Peter II, Duke of Brittany
July 1, 1435​

Nantes, Brittany
Summer 1453

Fra Angelico, born Guido di Pietro, had come to Brittany under the auspices of piety and humility. "The more barbaric corners of the earth need beauty and art in the name of Christ," he said. So, after a lifetime of work, Angelico made a show of leaving Rome to spend his last years making beautiful things for backwards people.

The man of God had no idea that he would be walking into a land where, not two months earlier a standing army of five thousand well-paid men-at-arms had been dispersed with no further pay, obligations or promise of further work. These men were ravaging their native Brittany, mostly to the east and south on the French border. Fra Angelico rode in past burning hamlets and broken wagons lining the roads. Everything he thought about the "barbarian" Celts of Brittany was true. "God has abandoned this place," he whispered once on the road to his new estate.

In reality, it was Peter II, the Duke of Brittany that had abandoned his ties to France and England, forsaken the ancient practice of Salic law and set out to create his own land. In the process, he had thrown five thousand able-bodied men back into the wild to feed on whatever they could find. Of course, nothing they could find rivaled the amount of money the Duchy had paid them during their stint as Brittany's first real army.

And while the brigands were having their fill in the south and east, Rennes in the north was having its own small disaster, set forth in the form of an absentee bishop. The man that had been left behind to teach in the bishop's absence had a passion for making up his own Bible stories. One such story was, "The Fiery Maiden and the Garden of Passionate Love." It was known to drive the local maidens wild. However, Gilles Binchois, the Burgundian mercenary composer and righteous man (in his own way) was getting wise to the fact that he had come to Brittany at a most unusual time.

 

[comagoosie]

hmm...sounds like tough times in Brittany. Does this mean that "backwards" brittany is already falling behind in the tech race, even though the first year isn't out. Or are you just planning on being "backwards"

 

[EMC2Trooper]

With the Echorcheurs event and the Absentee bishop right on its tail, it's all I can do to hold the little country together. Luckily, there have been an inordinately large amount of wars to keep everyone occupied. In addition to the Fourth Phase, there is also an Ottoman Civil War under their Regency Council that has lasted almost a decade in the time that I've been playing while I've allied with Castille and Aragon.

 

[unmerged(61606)]

I've always wanted to see a Brittany AAR, good luck with it.

 

[EMC2Trooper]

Grace will hold us aloft,
For a while, anyway.

Peter II, Duke of Brittany
August 15, 1453​

Brest, Brittany
Autumn 1453​

The Ecorcheurs that plagued France in years past had taken form in Brittany as the Five Thousand, or the forgotten soldiers of the old army. Peter II had disbanded them in order to procure funds for domestic projects, namely those of the arts. While Gilles Binchois was busy in Rennes and Fra Angelico in Nantes, Peter found time to visit Brest in the westernmost part of his duchy.

Along the way, his royal envoy was overtaken by bandits, men of the Five Thousand. They attacked while Peter and his entourage were making their way through a dense thicket.

Peter drew arms along with the rest of his men. The bandits were lightly armored themselves, most only decked in hard leather and they fought with rusted weapons. They seemed little match for the solid expertise of Peter's elite guard. The bandits' weapons broke after several blows. They fell back quickly and ran into the woods.

Shortly thereafter, Peter realized that they had taken off with his wife. The struggle had left everyone distracted and it became obvious that the attack wasn't an attack at all but rather a distraction. Françoise d'Amboise, Peter's wife of eleven years, had been taken by the Five Thousand.

Envoys followed Peter into Brest. They were Castilian and Aragonese diplomats with offers of alliance. His wife's abduction momentarily put aside, Peter knew this was the bit of grace he had been looking for. An alliance with these two Iberian powers would mean that France and England would think twice before forcefully annexing Brittany.

The envoys also brought news that England and France had come to a peace accord. Nicolas II Henri had come to the throne in France and England was currently led by a Council as her former King had fallen ill and died. There was no longer any good reason for the two nations to fight. The Hundred Years' War had ended. They brought news of the Ottoman Empire as well. Its leader too had passed away but the Empire was split upon who would lead it. The Western half followed the military and its former generals. The Eastern Ottoman Empire was in anarchy with a loose confederation of regents in charge. Castile had taken advantage of this fact and declared war. She would have a piece of the Empire while it was at its weakest. Peter agreed to join in this endeavor.

Meanwhile, Peter sent scouts into the countryside to find Françoise while he waited for the inevitable ransom demand.

 

[unmerged(76711)]

Very good so far, keep it up. I have to persoanlly say that i could never quite come to terms with Magni Mundi. All the time there just seems to rebels and events which increase the revolt risk. I mean, look at the Ottomans there THE OTTOMAN!!!!

You've got a problem when the green machine is over run by SOMETHING.

Keep it and goodluck on finding your dear wife!!! I smell a heroic ad daring quest on the breeze...

 

[comagoosie]

You are going to need those alliances, but do not declare war or they have a higher possibility to refuse to participate.

In one of the screenshots I see Georgia and more importantly it looks as if they have expanded. Can you give me a screeny of just them for me. Please!

 

[unmerged(61606)]

Geeze, everybody likes carving up the Ottomans...

Good to see you managed to survive the Hundred Years' War though. I had my doubts.

 

[EMC2Trooper]

ProffessorEGADD: I'm still coming to terms with Magna Mundi myself. I'll know by the end of this AAR if I want to use it again. So far, I like the event strings but you're right about there being revolt penalties around every corner.

And if you'll look north, the Ottomans are still occupying Transylvania with half of their own empire occupied. They're still the Mean Green

rcduggan: The Hundred Years' War was over way faster than I wanted. England and France could stay embroiled forever as long as it kept France occupied. So there were a few years there where I was biting my nails wondering where they were going to set their sights next. Luckily, they went in a bit of a different direction (future update).

comagoosie: It's so odd for me to see the entire peninsula, Portugal/Castile/Aragon at peace. It makes my two allies that much more formidable. I hopped in as Georgia to give you the skinny.

 

[comagoosie]

I think I am going to frame that and put it on my wall. That is impressive. Who would of thought that Georgia, a poor orthodox nation, would not only survive, but conquer their neighbors. Even as I speak it looks as if Georgia is at war with another and neighbor and is winning

This is very strange. Is this an omen for things to come for Brittany?

 

[unmerged(61606)]

Wow, Georgia is doing amazingly well, they even managed to annex the Nogay Khanate. You don't see that much.

 

[coz1]

Nice work so far. You're in a tough spot, but Brittany can be fun if you get some ground on France. Good luck. And enjoy the MM. It's made a huge difference in my EUIII gaming.