Rule Britannia! - An English AAR

[Lord Valentine]

Yea verily I say unto thee, King Robert, buck up and keep the faith, Your Majesty, it's always darkest before the end... or something like that.

Crush this insignificant rebellion (even if it isn't insignificant play if off as if it were, it'll make the rebels mad as hell and do stupid things! ), and enjoy the sounds of the lamentations of their women as reap your revenge!

Well mademen tend to become more agressiv than usual so I think that Robert will devout even more of his energy on destroying all oposition to his family.

I hope I can post the final chapter of Roberts reign this afternoon.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Lord Valentine]

The Reign of Robert II. (1109-1148)
The King that never gave up(1142-1148)

Roberts madness lead to a great change in his personality. Robert now regarded Robert II., King of England, to be dead. He saw himeself as a completly new, and greater, more realistic person.
He now declared himeself "Caesar Imperator Robert Augustus" of the Roman Empire. He was determind to destroy anything that stood against his imperial power.
But just now that the Kings abilities were more limited than ever, because he prefered pretending beeing a roman emporer to running the state affairs, the tide turned in favour of the Kingdom.
In June the Pope made Robert Papal Controller, in spite of his insanity.
In July the Duke of Hainaut was finally completly destroyed by greatly superior forces.
The Dukes demense was chrushed. Robert had the Duke throwen into the Tower of London which he himeself always called the "Dungeon of Tulanum".
Nevertheless prospects looked bleek with an absolutly incompetent monarch who was showing no sign of physical illness.
The only important event 1143 was that Robert orderd a civilian harbour to be built in London which he named "Ostia".


The situation in the Middle East was still far from secure but Jerusalem was once again under christian rule.


Many english nobles hoped that Richard would depose or even murder his grandfather to bring back stability to the realm but it was not to be. Richard though proud and cruel was not ready to comit such an atrocity against his grandfather. He only said that he would "accept the crown if it was offered to him after Roberts resignation."

Robert in the meantime had great planes once again. Although his rule was far from secure he planned to fight against the Kingdom of Germany to become German King himeself. Before he was ready to strike however there was the most serious rebellion against the rule of the de Normandies since the conquest of England.
In December 1145 the Dukes of Warwick, Lancaster, and Connacht rebelled against Robert.
Robert himeself lead his troops against the rebels. He was however defeated in the bloodiest battle in England since Hastings. Robert lost 1.500 men wheras the rebels lost 1.600 men.
In January 1146 Geza the Normandy, Duke of Poitou, joined the rebelion. His aim was however not to abolish norman rule but to become King himeself.
In England the rebellion was now quickly chrushed. However at the same time several counts in Spain declared independance and another Duke in France began the civil war against Robert.
It was at this point that insanity lost its grip on Robert.

In April the Dutchy of Trondelag which controlled half of Norway declared war upon Robert. The King headed towards Norway at once with all his men. This gave the Duke of Cumberland the oportunity to declare himeself independant.
Robert managed to defeat the Norwegians three times in 1147 without managing to subdue them. The rebelion in France however had collapsed by now.
But still Robert would not live to see the realm back at peace again. He died in Norway 8th of March 1148.

The reaction to his death in the realm were very different. Some mourned the greatest conquerer in british history. Some were happy that the maniac who with his great ambitouns had nearly destroyed the Kingdom.
Robert II. was buried in Hampshire Cathedral which had been built by his father Robert I. and expanded by Robert II. He was buried right next to his first wife Etiennete.
The indecent inscription of Robert I. was removed. The gravestone of Robert II. said:" Here lies Robert II. King of England, France, Ireland, Norway and Wales, Conquerer of France, Norway and Spain, fighter for Gods Glory in two Crusades, patron of art and most pious and just ruler of the British Isles."

Robert II. is a difficult ruler to judge. One could perhaps compare his reign to that of Justinian. He greatly expanded the realm but towards the end of his reign it became overstrechted and the empires ressources were becoming rare.
Robert as a person was, except for his short period of madness, always a likeable and pious. Rightfully he was beatified after his death. Robert always tried to make more out of himeself than he originally was. He never gave up. This lead to some of his greatest sucesses but also to his greatest failures. One can think what one wants about his policies but one has to admire Roberts personality.

It was now up to Roberts eldest son Abelard to shape to future of the Kingdom.

Here end the chronicles of the reign of Robert II.


~Lord Valentine

 

[stnylan]

A tough act to follow in almost every department, though one suspects what the Kingdom needs right now is a complete bore. someone who will not ruffle feathers, who will make money, and generally be inoffensive to all and sundry.

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

I kind of liked Robert II, lets see what his son Abelard is capable of

 

[Lord Valentine]

The Reign of Abelard I.(1148-1156)
Death to Traitors and Heathens!

Although Abelards reign was the shortest since the de Normandies had taken the throne it was a very important one. If Robert II. was the King who conquered a great empire, it was Abelard I. who held it together.

As so often the new King was very different from his predecessor. Diplomacy and stewardship were not a strenght of his. He prefered to tackle problems by less obvious means. His martial skills were compareable to those of Robert I.. He was not really good at but also not ignorant of military matters.

Abelard soon realised that he could not fight on all fronts at once and so he accepted a peace offer by the Duke of Trondelag.

England had lost 1/3 of Norway.
In June 1148 however Abelards atention was directed towards England. The Count of Somerset rebelled but he was to remain alone and within 2 1/2 months the uprising was history.
In August the Pope called for another Crusade to free Tunis. Although the very religious Abelard would have loved to go on a crusade like Robert but he knew that he first would have to secure his realm.
He was proved right when in December the Dukes of Navarra and the Spanish Marche rebelled.

Untill 1150 Abelard concentrated on defeating the dutchies. In the end in completly anexed the Dutchy of Narvarra and made a white peace with the Spanish Marce, seeing that he could not upset his vassals any further by stripping another of their peers of his demense.

From 1152 on Abelard was involfed in the so called "Italian War". His son had been at war against the Fatamid Kingdom for several years at that point and lost important teritories in Italy. Now the Muslims had even taken the eternal city Rome! Of course the Pope called for a crusade to liberate the city.
Abelard now saw his chance to make his dream of becoming a Crusader King come true.
So Abelard whent onto a 4 year campaign in Italy during which he conquered Il de France (which had also fallen to the Fatamids), Genoa, Livorno, Firenze, Ancona, Nice, Orvieto, Urbino, Pimobino and Rome which he handed back to the Pope.
This conquest, though not as large as the conquests of Robert II., would prove very important for the realm. The italian provinces were very rich compared to the english teritory and brought the King great wealth which would prove essential to hold the vast empire together.
However just when the King was preparing to return home to England he began to fell sick and died on the 4th of Feburary 1156. He was only 49 years old. His reign had been less spectacular than Robert II. but it had been very important. Abelard had stabilized the realm and exspanded into a economicaly strongly developt area which would strenghten the crown greatly in the long run.
Out of gratitude for retaking Rome the Pope also beatified Abelard.

Rule now fell to his eldest son Richard, so now the Kingdom of England was united with the Kingdom of Burgundy and Italy.

Here end the chronicles of the reign of Abelard I.

~Lord Valentine~

OOC: Sorry this update is so short but I lost most of my screenshots and notes so I had to make most of this from my memory.

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

That is an impressive empire you now have.

Abelard I, seemed to be the right king on the right time (15 intrigue )

 

[Lord Valentine]

That is an impressive empire you now have.

Abelard I, seemed to be the right king on the right time (15 intrigue )

Yes I think now England is the major power in europe. I had never planned to place myself in sucession to the throne of Burgundy. Well but you have to be lucky someday.

And yes Abelard was exactly the guy I needed. Now Richard can enjoy the spoils of his fathers reign.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[stnylan]

Yes, that reign seem to be exactly what the doctor ordered.

 

[unmerged(51164)]

And yes Abelard was exactly the guy I needed. Now Richard can enjoy the spoils of his fathers reign.

Why do I have a feeling that Richard is not going to have an enjoyable riegn.

 

[Lord Valentine]

Why do I have a feeling that Richard is not going to have an enjoyable riegn.

Wait and see. I have played until 1188 now and there is a lot still to happen.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Lord Valentine]

The Reign of Richard I.(1156-1165)
Peace, Prosperity and Crusades

Richard was crowned on the 3rd of March 1156 only a week after his fathers burial in Westminster Abbey. In a big ceremony he adopted the title "King of England" and made the titles "King of Italy" and "King of Burgundy" hereditary part of this title.
Richard now ruled the by far migthiest realm in europe. Only the Seljuks could perhaps contest with it.


Richard had proved to be a capeable King in his over 10 year reign of Burgundy and Italy. Although his martial and intrigue abilities did not match those of his father he was a reasonable diplomat and a good steward. All in all this meant that he basically had no great weaknesses.
Richards personality was a strange one.The fact that he had been a King since his youth had made him proud. Furthermore he liked cruelty which no english King had since the arbitary reign of Robert I.. But still he knew to controll his lust for cruelty and had always been a just ruler providing cruelty only to people who deserved it.

At the begining of his reign many Lords who had declared independance during the reign of Robert II. wished to rejoin the realm. They included the Counts of Dyfed, Santigone and Armagnac. Furthermore Henry de Normandy, Count of Jaffa, accepted an offer of vassalazation from Richard.
A similar offer was sent to the Duke of Zaragoza who gladly accepted.
The Bishop of Chur and Trent, who had seperated from the Kingdom of Germany, also accepted to become Richards vassal. Out of gratitude for this Richard made him Archbishop of Switzerland.

In 1157 Richard orderd his vassals in spain to undertake a campaign against some petty independant muslim Emirates.
Within a year the old town of Burgos as well as Leon and Salamanca were conquered.
In 1158 Richard started a big building programe in Italy. He built a great Church in Lucca and a Grand Palace in Firenze.

In 1159 Richard became very thoughtfull, spending many weaks in italian monestaries. He emerged a different, zealous person.
In 1160 the realm that had been so incredibly peacfull during Richards reign so far witnessed a rebellion.
The heretical Duke of Brittany refused to pay homage to the King and declared independance! Richard decided to take terrible revenge for the Duke was guilty of two dreadfull crimes, heresy and treason.
After an inital defeat the Kings men made good progress and while the fight was still continuing Richard orderd a grand palace in his capital London.

By June 1161 the Dukes demense was completly conquered. Now the only question was how the Duke should be executed. Traitors were normaly beheaded whereas heretics were burned. The King summoned a council to decide which of the two crimes was more serious.
It came to the conclusion that although treason against the King, who is the representativ of God on earth, was crime worthy of the death penalty heresy was even worse because it was treason against God and meant eternal damnation.
Logically the ex Duke of Brittany was openly burned the next day.

But in 1163 the most important deed of Richards reign should have its begining. In November 1162 the Pope had called for a crusade to liberate Jerusalem that once more had been lost to the infedils.
Richard reacted at once and mobilized most of his vassals in Italy and southern France and shipped them, over 30.000 men, on own exspense into the Holy Land. At the same time Richard personally lead a war against the Sheikdom of Toledo which controlled parts of central Spain and Portugal.

In July 1163 the first troops had arrived in british held Tyrus. Now Richard declared war upon the Emirate of Jerusalem and its defendor the Fatamid Kingdom.
The heathens were completly taken by suprise and allready in August the Holy City of Jerusalem was in the hand of the crusader. The Duke of Romanga s men had taken it claimed it for their Lord.
But Richard did not make the mistake of all previous Crusaders to be happy with taking the aim of the crusade and returne home. He orderd his men to take the provinces around the holy city to secure it for the years to come.
In spite of several defeats they suffered the crusaders had taken considerable teritories by January 1164.

Soon afterwards Damascus was taken and Richard made peace with the Fatamids, seeing that he should not overstretch his luck.
He in the meantime had conquered the Emirate of Toledo and hoped to enjoy his new Grand Palace in London. But it was not to be. In November the north African Kindom of Zenata declared war upon the Dutchy of Romagna. Richard at once set out to destroy them.

He was still fighting in North Africa when he when he died in his sleep on December 17th 1165. He was only 39 years old. Richard was buried in acordance to his last will in Jerusalem, the city he had fought so hard for.
Althoug Richards reign had been short it would be remembered as one of the happiest in british history. During his reign the realm was at absolute peace, with the wars beeing fought abroad, and the wealth of the italian mediteranian trade made the whole realm wealthier. His great building and economical development programs earned Richard the title "Pater Patriae".
The crown now passed to his oldest son Engelbrecht.

Here end the chronicles of the reign of Richard I.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[stnylan]

You know, with his name and exploits he really should be called Coeur de Lione.

 

[Lord Valentine]

You know, with his name and exploits he really should be called Coeur de Lione.

Very true! He managed a lot if one considers how little time he had. He really is a "Richard Lionheart". Let's just hope that Engelbrecht is not a King John. :rofl:

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

A short but succesfull reign, though I would more call him Richard 'the Builder' then 'Lionheart'

And now we have our first 'German' Norman King

Question what are those CoA in the Middle East, those two crossed swords ? They seemed to be used by different realms

 

[Lord Valentine]

A short but succesfull reign, though I would more call him Richard 'the Builder' then 'Lionheart'

And now we have our first 'German' Norman King

Yes the De Normandies have become really international. There are Basque, Castilian, Italian, German and Scot De Normandies now. I am really keen to see where the german branch of the family will lead the Kingdom.

Question what are those CoA in the Middle East, those two crossed swords ? They seemed to be used by different realms

They are out of a CoA Pack I downloaded sometime. I don't know why but it changed all muslim CoA to this double sword. Didn't bother me much though. All heathens are the same anyway to my heathen-bashing kings. :rofl:

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Lord Valentine]

The Reign of Engelbrecht I. I.(1165-1178)
The German War (1168-1172)

Engelbrecht was the first german on the english throne. It had been primarily his mother who had raised him. Because of this Engelbrechts mother tongue was german and not like all de Normandies before frensh or english. Engelbrecht was crowned in Westminster on the 26th of December 1165, not even 10 days after his fathers death.

Little was known about Engelbrecht, here a portrait out of his time as count of Salisbury. He was not zealous like his father but rather on the contrary, he was deeply sceptical.
Most importantly Engelbrechts was just as great a general as William I. had been. His diplomatic abilities were reasonable, as were his talents as a steward. Like his grandfather he was also a master of the court intrigue.

But Engelbrecht should be remembered for fighting the most savage and greatest conflict in the history of the Kingdom.
All began when Engelbrecht accepted an offer of alliance by the polish King Wladislaw.
After two years of peacfull reign Engelbrecht then was faced with a fatefull decision. Wladislaw had attacked the Kingdom of Germany in January 1168 and called for help.
Engelbrecht knew that Germany could mobilize over 100.000 men and that Poland would be chrushed without help. On the other hand such a huge conflict coul considerably weaken his Kingdom.
But then he remembered that he was the greatest general the Kingdom had seen since his ancestor William. He was eager to win glory in battle. He also remembered Robert II. plan to become German King and was filled with eagerness to acomplish this aim. So began "The German War (1168-1172), the bloodiest war in english history.

To sumbimte the german King he would have to conquer 6 provinces. 3 were on his western border 2 in central Germany and 1 in northern Germany.
Engelbrecht counted on the fact that the poles would bind considerable forces so he only mobilized 40.000 men for the campaign.
While heading into enemy teritory Engelbrechts enginers developed a siedge tower which would come in handy.
At the begining the campaign was a full sucess. The germans were beat twice killing 3.600 of them with only 1.100 casulties on english side.
In April another great victory was won with 3.200 germans dead and only 1.000 english dead.
While the King was still on his way to the theatre of war he invented a new tactic for archers instructing them to shot in barrages. In June there was the first major setback with nearly a whole english army beeing destroyed in Bavaria. They lost 3.500 men whereas their foes only lost 1.700.

The King however was still hoping that victory was close after two sucessfull battles in September and October where 6.100 germans and 1.000 english were killed in action.
However while the King was marching from the north of Germany towards the centre basically his whole forces on the German-Frensh border where destroyed in two battes in November and Januar. In the first a total of 7.100 english were killed by an army led by the German King Leopold Premyslid, who suffered only 3.500 casulties.
An even greater disaster occured in January when over 9.000 english were killed by the Kings brother Vol Prmyslid who lost 4.800 men.
Even the Kings splendid victory over the germans in Plauen in March in which he killed 1.800 germans for the loss of only 120 men could not change the balance of power.
It was becoming apparent that the germans were avoiding the kings army and rather cut of all forces that tried to link up with him.

A new offensive against Cologne was started in Summer but ended as a complete disaster. 16.200 men were killed in three battles wheras the germans only lost 13.000 men.
Another personal tragedy struck the King when his wife Gisela died in labour in September. The King could not even arrange for her funeral because of the war. The King duly remarried two months later.
The war dragged on for another year with the King winning battle after battle but his vassals failing time and time again to break through to him.
The King took a stronghold one month only for it to be retaken by the germans a few months later.
In July the germans engaged the King in Meissen. They had assembled a force of over 30.000 men against the Kings 13.000. It was the most desastrous defeat in the whole war. All of the Kings men except for 500 men were killed. The King himeself narrowly escaped capture. The germans had lost only 6.000 men.

The King now realized that his strategy of fighting the war with as limited resources as possible had failed.
The King now for the first time since the Invasion of England by William de Normandy orderd a Grand Mobilization. He feared that this would cause civil war but the whole nobility stood to their King and mobilized all remaining ressources of the Kingdom, over 250.000 men.
At the begining of 1171 huge forces were assembled and smashed through the german lines.
A further 10.000 english were killed in action, the germans lost 25.000, until
In January 1172 the german kings demense was taken and he had to abdicte.
The most deadly war in english history had ended. Estimates say that over 65.000 english were killed in battle. Probably a minimum of further 30.000 died of illness, hunger and other hardship. The germans most have lost roughtly 70.000 men in battle and also 30.000 though plague and food shortage.

So in total nearly 200.000 men had lost their live for their crownes. It is impossible to say how many civilians were killed during the conflict.
Howether Engelbrecht was now master of Germany and officialy crowned on the 5th of March 1172 in Aachen. He suprised the german nobility by adressing them in perfect german. The took comfort from the fact that their new King was not a foreigner but one of them.

The ex King of Germany only held the light green provinces of his "Kingdom of Bohemia".

Engelbrecht had won the war but now he was faced with the more difficult task of winnig the peace.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[stnylan]

England is getting to be of the size where a nation is very difficult to manage.

 

[Lord Valentine]

England is getting to be of the size where a nation is very difficult to manage.

Yes that is what I meant with "winning the peace". It will take more than a good warrior for that.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[unmerged(58610)]

Conquest of Denmark or coronation as Emperor? It's a tough choice.

Taking Denmark removes the obstacle between Norway and Germany. The King is now as powerful as anyone after the Roman Emperor Honorius.

The peace that the King has will, I suspect, be maintained by his military prowess.

 

[Lord Valentine]

Conquest of Denmark or coronation as Emperor? It's a tough choice.

Don't forget the Turk Menace in the east! Or perhaps the possibility to exspand in Spain or the Balkans.

Taking Denmark removes the obstacle between Norway and Germany. The King is now as powerful as anyone after the Roman Emperor Honorius.

Yes but hopefully his empire will be more stabil than that of Honorius.

The peace that the King has will, I suspect, be maintained by his military prowess.

Yes and his big treasury will also help.:rofl:

I think I may be able to post the final chapter of Engelbrechts reign today.
~Lord Valentine~