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The man just cannot do things right, can he?
 
A thoroughly Breton Outremer, by the looks of it, not even Brandon's incompetence managed to jeopardise it.
 
Part IV: Foreign Venture: Spain

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Anne Morena's The Bretons




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Fulup Kerne, Count of Leon

The Breton Crusade would eventually suffer setbacks. Rivalries amongst the leaders Brandon appointed shattered the army. Fulup would have very little success in the long run. A Duchy of Jerusalem was established, in the hope of giving the fledgling state some legitimacy. It would be Énna Kerne, Count of Acre, who would become Duke of the new nation.

Fulup returned to Brittany bitter. He felt he had been abandoned by Brandon. He had never quite believed those that mocked the Duke for his cowardice, but after seeing his flight in Jerusalem – he felt as much contempt. In April of 1146, confident there would be little incident, Fulup declared Leon a County free of Ducal authority. Contrary to his beliefs, Brandon responded with crushing force. Within weeks, Fulup was forced to sign a new treaty, binding him to the Duchy for life.

Brandon wasn’t about to simply forgive Fulup. He had other plans. The Christians in Spain had been crumbling before the Berber onslaught. Now famed for taking Jerusalem, the Brandon felt the Breton people were obligated to aid the Castillians and Aragonians. In August of 1148, a fifty-eight hundred man expedition force sent to the shores of Spain with the goal of supplementing the Castillian armies – Fulup would be forced to join them.

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Count Devi de Porhoët


Amongst the leaders of this Crusader Expedition were Devi de Porhoët and Brandon’s brother Alan. On November 10 of 1148, the Crusaders made landfall in Asturias de Santillana. The Berber army sent against them – equal in size, was easily defeated by Devi. Seeking to fight pitched battles, the Bretons treaded south into Iberia. It wasn’t until their army made it to central Ibereria that they began to experience heavy combat. Fighting jointly alongside the Castillians, the Bretons helped battle the Berbers to a standstill. Before victory could be delivered unto the Christian armies, tragedy struck them. Devi de Porhoët was struck dead by a Berber arrow in the midst of combat. In a panic, the Breton forces fled north. Fulup took command and led the remaining 3,000 troops to a series of surprise victories over their Berber adversaries. Though their significance was little in the grand scheme of Iberian politics, Fulup became a legend amongst the Spaniards. Alas, the Bretons were not destined to remain in Spain forever. Dysentery and constant war left the Crusaders withered. In June of 1149, a ragged, shivering, band of 359 Bretons were all that returned home. Castille fared no better in the end, either. King Alvaro Jimenez surrendered not long after the Breton withdrawal.

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Part V: The Partition of Brittany

For at least twenty years, Brandon’s reign would remain fairly stable. The Bretons were once again bathing in wealth and were reaping the prestigious benefits of the title of “Conquerors of Jerusalem.” Brittany’s neighbors were once again expanding outward, however. The Kings of Galles-Aquitaine and France had signed a pact a non-aggression, whilst both calmed the intrigue plagued domestic front. As a result, the two nations were often free to attack their weaker neighbors. France aided the English in their war against Scotland while Galles-Aquitaine was a valuable partner in the Crusade. The security Brandon felt at the heels of the two great Kingdoms vanished in early September of 1162. King Guilhèm d’Aquitaine sent an ultimatum to Brandon – relieve Breton independence to Galles-Aquitaine, or be attacked. It was refused.

On September 21, Guilhèm declared war. Two weeks later, King Amèdèe Capet joined him. Brandon had at least 8,000 men sent east to fight the French, while 12,000 were sent south to fight the Occitans. The 12,000 strong Southern Army, under Brandon himself, engaged the Occitans on equal terms near Poitiers. Though the Occitan commander was killed initially and Brandon fought heroically, the battle was ultimately lost. Over 5,500 casualties were sustained. The Southern Army was obliterated.

The Eastern Army fared no better. The leaders were quickly bribed with promises of titles in Brittany and the army dispersed. Whilst the French roamed the province of Maine unobstructed, Ducal authority was ruptured.

In January of 1163, Daniel’s Castle in Maine fell to the French forces with no resistance. Only a few days later, Castle Fergant was overrun by the Occitans in Nantes. Then, in the last dramatic act of the war, Fulup joined the invaders in against Brandon. The war was all but over.

On February 25, 1163, Breton independence was revoked in the ‘Treaty of Breton Liberation.’ The Duchy was partitioned between various French vassals and the Kingdom of Galles-Aquitaine. After this final act of humiliation, shame, and treachery – Brandon died of illness in obscurity, banished to Scotland.


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Oh my! That's a whole series of dramatic misfortunes.

Is that it? Or will there be more to the Kernes later in the future?
 
The Kernes shall return.
After all, their family is not dead yet. :)
I hope....

but maybe now the story will move to others Kernens court?
Who is left?
 
Well, I suppose this could have been unfortunately forseen.
 
stnylan: It was bound to happen :(

kadvael56:
Perhaps. That could be a ways off yet.

Enewald: Brandon's son Alan is Count of Cornouaille and theres Fulup too. Another one of Brandon's brothers is Count of Penthievre.

RGB: I'm currently playing as Brandon's son Alan at the moment. An update might not come for a while and it has proved to be fairly boring so far. Brandon's vast riches were stripped of him in the peace deal and France is a monster.


Note: I stupidly forgot to save in at the end of the war, so things will be slightly different. Perhaps not even noticeably but we will see.
 
Book 2

Chapter 5: Descent Into Obscurity

Part I: Count Alan V

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For the purposes of continuity, we will continue the Kerne story with Brandon’s son, Alan V. Following Brittany’s partition, a cousin of Alan would rule a Duchy in Scotland for a brief period and a brother would become Bishop of an obscure Monastic County in Southern France.


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Count Alan V​

Not even one year after the banishment of Duke Brandon, Galles-Aquitaine and France turned on each other. In January of 1164, the King of Aquitaine launched a massive invasion of his former ally. The five year war that followed devastated both Kingdoms. Brittany managed to remain free of the perils of their wars. Maeog de Porhoët, grandson of Devi, was appointed Duke by King Amédée Capet.

Alan Kerne the Fifth languished amid his relatively poor County of Cornouaille. The people were nearly starving and so was he, yet his mind never forgot Fulup’s treachery against his father. In November of 1168, Alan finally acted on his vengeance before it was too late. The 68 year-old Fulup could barley waddle away from his assassins before he was stabbed to death.

Maeog, who was making every effort to strengthen his rule, would have none of these assassinations. By 1176, he had successfully taken the province of Leon from Fulup’s heirs. In addition to inheriting Penthievre from Máelcolium Kerne, Maeog had successfully instated the Porhoët dynasty as the premier Breton noble family – save for Alan, the remaining Kerne in Cornouaille.

In an effort to improve the struggling economies of his port cities, Alan relieved many tolls that had been traditionally laid upon the Burghers. In addition, they were given greater freedom to advance into higher social strata. To pay for projects, lowered taxes, and even new fortifications, Alan was able to draw from a steady stream of inheritance money. The Kerne Dynasty was by that time quite vast and in total, quite wealthy. The investments by Alan would pay off and slowly but surely, Cornouaille began to grow economically.


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Kastell Oaled in Cornouaille. The center of operations of Alan and his successors for generations to come.


In July of 1179, Maeog passed away and left Brittany to his son, Jilberz. Alan was initially hesitant to acknowledge the new Duke, seeking desperately any catalyst to declare himself independent. In the end, he gave up. The Porhoët Dynasty was already too firmly entrenched. Alan and Jilberz actually became close associates, as opposed to the cold and suspicious relationship with Maeog. In even greater contrast to his father, Jilberz hated the French upper class. Whilst seeking advice from Alan, Jilberz would hatch a plan to free the Bretons from Capet dominance.

Following a bittersweet victory over Galles-Aquitaine, France was soon invaded by the Holy Roman Empire. The rich Counts of Holland, their lives dependant on the Hanseatic Trade, convinced the Emperor that the French were trading fraudulently. The battered French armies were unable to withstand the Germanic armies and soon the Kingdom withered. Seeing his chance, Jilberz declared war on the French Crown.

The result was a rather disappointing one, in dramatic terms. It took only a handful of raids into French holdings to convince the beleaguered King Amédée to give up. Jilberz even walked away with a hefty tribute payment. Alan and Jilberz would enjoy friendly relations for some time following the victory. However, Carthac Porhoët, Count of Leon, detested Alan and the Kerne dynasty and sought to acquire the County of Cornouaille for himself. At a Spring Celebration in May of 1188, Alan barely survived a poisoning attempt – an episode of seizures and vomiting that gripped him for several days. At the time, Carthac seemed to be the obvious culprit, yet Count Alan refused to act. A year and a half later, Alan died peacefully. Five days after his death on December 12, 1189, Alan’s son Máelcoluim ascend as Count of Cornouaille.

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(Six years before Alan's death)
 
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An important first step in reclaiming their position.
 
Enewald: To take back Breton provinces is a long term goal, but that is still a ways off.

stnylan: Indeed. With France so powerful, I might have to look elsewhere for the moment...
 
Part II: Count Máelcoluim

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Count Máelcoluim Kerne


Máelcoluim Kerne was a brilliant man, though his reign was short and rather uneventful. The night after his coronation as Count, assassins burst into his sleeping quarters. Thanks to being a towering figure and fearless warrior, he managed to kill his attackers outright. In the confusion of the fight, Máelcoluim suffered a chest wound – one which miraculously missed his heart. Though he would recover before long, the Count’s response was swift and decisive against the obvious culprit. Whilst on a hunt, Count Carthach Porhoët of Leon and his entourage were struck dead by a hail of arrows.

Máelcoluim’s court also experience several tribulations amidst the relative calmness of his rule. Most of these were murders motivated by rivalries and ambition. The first murder was Kadvalaer Kerne’s stabbing of Koneg, Máelcoluim’s uncle. The Count’s sisters also fell into feuding, resulting in Konstanza forcefully drowning Ninnog as she was bathing. Both murderers were banished from Cornouaille. The final tremor of this quake of sin was Dungal Kerne’s murder of his supposed, yet unrelated nemesis, Ercc. Though Dungal had struck Ercc down in full view of a group of peasants, the charges were dismissed. What saved him? The man could count.

In March of 1197, Laura Trencavel, Máelcoluim’s wife, died in labor. The Count was not one to let opportunities pass and in an attempt to expand his influence, Máelcoluim married Seonaid O’Briain, daughter of the Duke of Munster. Should the mentally unstable, ill, and depressed Irish Duke have passed, the son of Máelcoluim and Seonaid would have inherited. Alas, this was not to be. The two’s only son died of a fever while barely three years old. When Máelcoluim passed away in April of 1201, the crown fell to his 22 year old son, Aimeric.

Around this time, Sayer Bruce “the Great,” King of England, annexed Scotland. The short lived rulership of the Kernes in the Kingdom was cut short amidst the Normans’ attempts to purge the Gaelic elements of Highland nobility.

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An overview of the British Isles around the time of Sayer Bruce
 
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A remarkable fall from grace... now it is time to rebuild the Kerne name!
 
Impressive kingdom this Sayer Bruce has.
 
it seems like Brittany has picked itself up after some hard times, but an alliance with the English against the Capet dynasty and perhaps bring down the Capets ;) Ok so that is a little adventerous :D Great work here! I'm a'following :cool:
 
That England looks too big by half.