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Expensive, but worth it for the city of Alexandria.
 
Estonianzulu: Well, it was definitely worth the huge amounts of prestige and piety I got.

phargle: The cliche or ping pong?

Enewald: I'm not about to deal with those irritating Jihads. It's more interesting this way, don't you think?

robou: I hope so too...he better.

Peleus:
Yes, quite nice. I forget why I didn't go further, actually.


Note:
The next update will come later tonight but it is going to be small, as it describes the end of Crimthann's reign. I wasn't really thinking very far ahead or else I might have incorporated it into the last one. :eek:o
 
A very nice prize to have taken from the infidels.
 
Kerne Theory
Part IX: The End of Crimthann

Within a year of the Crusade, Folcaud died of age – perhaps there was no better time. Crimthann and his surviving comrades were amongst the most well known in Europe. Not since Saint Hoel and Alan IV had a Breton ruler experienced such prestige. As the year of 1290 arrived, the 63 years old Duke lost his young wife, who died in labor. After some grieving, Crimthann threw the largest Melee tournament yet seen in Western Europe. It was a celebration of the life of his wife, but it would be his last shining moment. Three days later, he was murdered – stabbed in his sleep. Though his death was not unexpected, the assassination was.

Though his son Cairpre was excommunicated, Crimthann would leave his grandson a Brittany at the peak of its power. A majority of the Breton people enjoyed what was one of the most wealthy and prestigious states at the time. Uilleam would be the new ruler and though Brittany’s future looked bright, his short lived reign would be marred by mediocrity.

deathofCrimthann.jpg

***​

OverviewofEurope1290.jpg

Europe c. 1290


This is a map of Europe a short time before Crimthann's death. Crimthann's distant relatives in Galicia have done well for themselves. Though some minor setbacks have befallen them, they are on their way to dominating Spain completely.

Italian heirs of the von Frankens, the former rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, have bounced back as the Kings of Burgundy. Though the Holy Roman Empire itself was annexed in 1223, King Aimery de Vergy of France decided to found it once more. He had hoped that the new Germanic King would remain under the strings of France, yet he would only realize, several years later, that he had created a powerful rival.

The Golden Horde has since been driven out of Europe by Poland and Sweden, as well as token forces from the French Empire. Though Sweden faltered at first, they managed to win several important victories in Livonia and Estonia. The result of those victories is a shriveling Orthodoxy and one of the most powerful states in Europe.

Ireland, place of Indrechtach's defeat, has been brought under a single Kingdom. The Duke of Leinster, after crushing the Duchy of Connacht, quickly put the rest of the Irish rulers under his heel. Despite Connacht being a point of tension between Brittany and Ireland, the new Kingdom has proved useful ally for the Bretons.
 
Let's home a Kerne can keep an inheritance together for a change :)
 
RIP Crimthann, truly a great ruler.
 
I suppose a French ruled HRE would have been too unstable, I suppose the German choice was the best one. Unfortunately it appears to have backfired.
 
Confused - did the kings of France give away the King of Germany title? Did that require a bit of editing?

I like your maps because of the generalizing they do. One thing about CK that gets messy, and that doesn't reflect the decentralized nature of medieval states, is the way countries fall apart into tiny opposing counts. That's pretty much how it often worked in reality, but back then they called them countries. ;)
 
phargle: I loaded up as France to free Germany. The reason I did this was because they were in perpetual war with the German Dukes and Counts. With 250-300,000 troops, they couldn't lose to anyone, yet it made things really boring. I also wanted to organize the Duchies and things.

My head would explode with fatigue before I ever got in every little Count.

Estonianzulu: Oh yes it did. I didn't think that'd happen :D

Peleus: Yeah, he was my favorite thus far. The end really makes it :(

robou: Yes, quite a poor move by the de Vergy...It's their fault...

Enewald:
You can see that in the Alexandrian Crusade. Save for the region depicted, it's a mind bending patchwork.

stnylan: Having played to the end, sigh...
 
Kerne Theory

Chapter 7: The Heirs of Crimthann

Part I: Uilleam


PortraitofUilleam.jpg

Duke Uilleam Kerne


At first, Uilleam seemed completely typical of a Medieval ruler: increasingly suspicious of his own family, gluttonous, and amongst the most frivolous spenders of the era. He was friends with Brandon de Porhoët, a suspected culprit in Crimthann’s assassination. As a result, most viewed him as a usurper – something which would not fall lightly for the neighboring Duchies, but that was in the future. In the meantime, Uilleam enjoyed feasting, tournaments, and promiscuous escapades of all kinds.

In August of 1294, Damietta collapsed under the onslaught of Kiliç’s armies. Uilleam acted completely unaware of the event, one which badly shook the still boastful Christians of Europe. It was when Galicia came under siege as well that Uilleam decided to help. With 5,900 troops, he hoped to provide vital manpower for the weakening Crusader state. On October 30, 1296, the Duke fought his first battle outside the war weary walls of Lisboa. Uilleam fought with “admirable determination for a man of such heavy condition,” noted the Bishop Geoffroy, who was present at the battle. Just as the Moors were on the verge of breaking, the Duke was struck in the leg by an arrow. Almost immediatly, he fled the field. Geoffroy himself scraped out a victory but it was a costly one.

Early in the next year, Uilleam returned home, completely crippled by his wound. Many attributed the severity of it to his hasty flight from battle. Had the Duke stayed and fought, many said, he might have already been walking. Geoffroy continued the siege of Lisboa, eventually succeeding in June of 1297. Whilst the Bishop fought the Muslims, Uilleam found himself embroiled in a war against Brandon de Porhoët. In the Duke’s absence, the Count had taken it upon himself to plunder several villages in Cornouaille. Summoning what troops he could, Uilleam had himself carried along with an 8,000 man army, bound for the city of Vannes.

Brandon, having realized he had overplayed his cards, offered himself as a vassal to Uilleam. So it was, on October 1st, 1297, the Count of Vannes pledged to Uilleam – himself confined to a bed throughout the ceremony. This would be the Duke’s only achievement and on May 22, 1298 -- only 26 years old, he succumbed to the infection. His eight year reign would have been forgotten if not for the final unification of the Bretons. His six year old son, Tigernach, would be the next Duke of Brittany.
 
A ten year regency.

This does not bode well.
 
stnylan said:
A ten year regency.

This does not bode well.

I read that as pregnancy instead of regency, and had to go back and reread the update.

At first, Uilleam's pregnancy seemed completely typical of a Medieval ruler: increasingly suspicious of his own family, gluttonous, and amongst the most frivolous spenders of the era. He was pregnant with Brandon de Porhoët, a suspected culprit in Crimthann’s assassination.
 
Kerne Theory
Part II: Tigernach -- Promise and Mediocrity



MotherRegent.jpg

Echrad Dun Caildren

Given the young age of Tigernach, many of the duties of office went to a collection of courtiers and relatives. Chief among them was Echrad Dun Caildren, mother of Tigernach. Though a pleasant women, she was also fanatically devoted to the church. Two marshals, Franz von Wetterau and Galeazzo von Stenzlingen were closest to her ear, given their military expertise. The regent’s first acts were to withdraw Geoffroy from Spain and conclude a peace treaty with Valois. She instituted laws that gave complete supremacy to the church, leading to the expulsion of the moneylenders that drove the powerful economies of Nantes and elsewhere.

Máel-dúin Madek, Bishop of Penthievre, dismissed her a usurper and declared war. Though the he was soon brought down, the Duchy of Valois opportunely reneged on its peace treaty, declaring Máel-dúin’s grievance just. Seeing her position threatened, Echrad had a 10,000 man army sent west to confront the Duke. By May of 1306, the stunned ruler found himself recognizing Tigernach with a blade to his neck. As a result of this, Echrad successfully won she and her son’s legitimacy, for the moment at least. In April of 1308, she handed over all duties to the grown Tigernach – ending her exhausting reign.


PortraitTigernach.jpg

Duke Tigernach Kerne

Tigernach was the last of the great Breton warrior Kings. He showed as much promise as any of his forefathers as a well as a knack for chivalric virtues. Such qualities did not dissuade outsiders, who sought to claim Brittany for themselves – using the controversial ascension of Uilleam as a pretext. For most of his rule, the Tigernach would be tied up fighting the Duchies of Toulouse, Champagne, Poitou, Glascony and Valois. Tigernach was able to annex and dismantle Poitou completely on March 25, 1330 – brining Saintonge and Thouars under his control. Amidst the white noise of the constant war with foreign Duchies, Tigernach was able to look beyond the bubble.

The Kingdom of León, formerly the Duchy of Galicia, was crumbling beneath the weight of the Zirid Kingdom. Ighlaf ibn Ziri, the King of Zirid, was a powerful religious firebrand that swept all before him. Though Tigernach’s initial attempts to aid his brethren were curtailed, the Duke was finally able to give the issue his full attention in June of 1335. Hoping to give León a decisive advantage, Tigernach gathered 15,100 troops and 1,500 knights for an expedition to Spain.

The vast army was successful early on, driving off many smaller Berber armies sent to take the city of Évora. However, as Tigernach marched east of the city to Mértola, he was attacked by the Zirid King himself. King Ighlaf ibn Ziri had amassed a 22,000 strong army to crush the Crusaders in one blow. The ensuing Battle of Redondo would be amongst the greatest battles and bloodiest massacres of the era.


redondo.gif



According to local sources, 13,565 Crusader corpses were counted on the lands around Redondo. The Zirid King had suffered nearly 5,000 on his part. With barely of fraction of his men remaining, Tigernach limped home in utter defeat. León was soon to be conquered by Zirid and as a result, the battle is still looked upon by Muslim Spaniards with reverence – for it reopened the doors of Islamic conquest in Europe. The story of the Kernes in Spain was over.
 
wow, that is a serious defeat, but at least the Kernes will now focus on Brittany rather than the many expeditions that have gone to Spain but ultimately failed.