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PART V: Shifting allegiances

Duke Guillaume quickly and firmly secured his power base and the loyalty of his court. His kinsman Boson was allowed to remain the ducal chaplain after reaffirming his loyalty to the new Duke. Guillaume also gave his great-uncle, the former count of Leon Charles, the county of Amiens. Another loyal courtier, the priest Robert d'Anduze, was appointed bishop of Molina.

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Duke Guillaume and his wife

Meanwhile, the new child-king of France was suffering new reversals. His Spanish vassals were beginning to rebel, the counts of Zamora and Albarracin the first among them in June 1121. Duke Guillaume tried to take advantage of the situation by expanding his own power base; he approached the independent counts of Viscaya and Valladolid, all that remained of the kingdom of Castile in Iberia, offering them his protection. But the counts, in their hubris, rejected his offers.

Rebuffed, Guillaume looked to secure his own lands. The county of Bearn had recently been inherited by young Philippe, eldest son of the Duke of Flanders. Thus there was a distinct danger of Bearn changing allegiance to Flanders, and Guillaume could not allow that. In March 1122, he dispossessed the boy of his county on account of his youth and inability to govern, and sent him back to Flanders.

At this time, saddled with wars, the French regency raised scutage taxes on the French vassals to extreme levels, and the ducal lands barely brought any profit. Unrest was brewing among the French dukes, and Guillaume knew it was time to act decisively. His first move was alliance with King Jan of Bohemia, who already had been an ally of his father. Finally, a secret letter was dispatched to the old King Heinrich of Germany. A reply soon came, and shortly Guillaume announced that Aquitaine and its vassal domains now swore fealty to the German King. Within days, the kingdom of France had dwindled to a mere shadow of its former glory.

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France reduced

In April, Guillaume's wife Alfonsina gave birth to their second daughter, Cecile. In November, the Duke's sister Ermesinde finished her education, and became known as a charismatic diplomat. However, not all was well. The Duke's second son Bernard, trying hard to learn court procedures and intricacies, became very restless and stressed. Also marshal Philippe de Saint-Denis, under pressure from the Duke to prepare the newest campaign, became very depressed and withdrawn. Nonetheless, he was compelled to remain in his position, as the new war was already in the making.

In May 1123, dissatisfied with his brother Henri's lack of male heirs, Guillaume stripped him of the county of Empuries and exiled him and his family to his wife's former court in Provence. To mollify his vassals, the Duke appointed the priest Manasses de Quatrebarbes as the bishop of Bearn. In September, the old steward Robert de Montmorency died of old age. His replacement was one Louis de Garlande, a retired merchant.

September saw the beginning of the Duke's first war. A couple of years prior, the emirate of Cordoba had destroyed the last remnants of the kingdom of Aragon, and now held several important passes in the Pyrenees. Guillaume saw an opportunity when the Moorish emirates began fighting each other, with Cordoba, Sevilla, Badajoz, and Almeria squabbling while the North African Berber kingdoms sent forces to support one side or another. Guillaume led his army to Bearn, and declared war on Cordoba and its vassals, crossing the Pyrenees. Naturally, his new liege, the King of Germany, took the opportunity to join the war. Old Heinrich, however, died on the way to Spain, and German armies, disorganized, made little overall impact, mainly acting as auxiliaries to Guillaume's forces.

While in the south Guillaume's Spanish vassals were fighting off invading Cordoban forces, the Duke marches first to Jaca, former capital of Aragon, taking it in February 1124. In June, Navarra had also fallen to the Duke. Wasting no time, Guillaume had himself crowned King of Navarra on June 9th, thus renouncing his fealty to Germany. The Carolingians now had their first royal crown in two centuries.

All was not well in the ducal family. Bernard, his stress getting the better of him, now completely lost his mind. The boy, nonetheless, continued his education, and was allowed to do as he pleased providing others were not harmed. In July, Guillaume gave the hand of his sister Ermesinde to the steward Louis de Garlande.

After his coronation, Guillaume marched south, and took Cuenca in October. In December 1124 and January 1125, his army faced a series of concerted Moorish attacks in La Mancha, but they were repulsed and the province was taken. Finally on the last day of January, the city of Cordoba itself surrendered to Guillaume's army. The rest of the war was merely mopping up the remaining Cordoban sheiks. Calatrava fell in April and Plasencia in July, ending the age of Cordoban dominance.

Backed by his new royal power, Guillaume laid claim to the independent counties of Viscaya and Valladolid. He soon appointed counts in Empuries and Navarra, and raised the counts of Armagnac and Bourbon to ducal status. He also made his uncle Helie the Duke of Gascogne. Guillaume chose the wealthy, cultured city of Cordoba as his own capital.

In the meantime, Guillaume's mad son Bernard was taking an interest in religion, and the King allowed him to do so. But the ten-year old boy seemed to get bigger ideas than was wise, and started saying that he was the new Messiah, which naturally earned him a condemnation from the Church. The King still did not mind his son's crazy behavior, letting him live out his childish fantasies. Soon Guillaume's wife Alfonsina was again expecting a child, and gave birth to another girl, Adelaide.

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Bernard the Mad

In November, the King gave Barcelona to his half-brother, count Ramon of Lleida, and made him Duke of Catalonia. He also raised the count of Navarra to ducal status and gave Plasencia to his kinsman Alire, second son of the chaplain Boson. At this time, the King also entered into alliance with Guy, the King of England. Finally, Guillaume made one last attempt to secure the fealty of the independent Castillan counts, but without success. In January 1126, he marched on the county of Valladolid. The count's small force was easily defeated and Valladolid was taken in May and added to Navarrese fiefs.

Back home, steward Louis de Garlande, in his pride, suggested that his skilled service should be generously rewarded. Guillaume, however, snubbed him by refusing to give him any more than was his due. Louis, rebuffed, was obviously disappointed, but did not press the matter.

Also in April 1126, Veronica de Comminges, the kingdom's chancellor, died of illness. Her widowed husband, the chaplain Boson, was made the new chancellor. In his former place, Guillaume appointed the elderly bishop Jean Lainez as his chaplain. Jean was somewhat irreverent and enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh more than a bishop should, but nonetheless the King sought his religious counsel. Perhaps ironically, perhaps fatefully, Jean fell ill quite soon after his appointment, but still continued in his position.

As soon as Valladolid had fallen, Guillaume marched north on Viscaya. The army of Viscaya, though larger than that of Valladolid, was still defeated without too much trouble, and the county was annexed in January 1127. To prevent any unrest and to placate the Church, Guillaume made Valladolid a bishopric. But regardless, chaplain Jean, pressured by the Church to leave his post, became quite stressed. In April, the King made an old friend of the family, the merchant Claud of Poitiers, count of Cuenca and Duke of Toledo, to the dissatisfaction of some hereditary nobles. Finally in December 1127, the King arranged a marriage between another of his kinsmen, Boson's eldest son Robert, and the daughter of the Duke of Provence, giving the couple the county of Jaca as a wedding present.

In the beginning of 1128, the King decided to secure his Spanish possessions once and for all. Mustering his army, he marched on the sheikdom of Urgell, a vassal of the Berber King of Tunisia. Guillaume's ally, King Guy of England, joined the war as well. In June 1128 Urgell was taken, with the sheik captured and brought to the Navarrese court.

Meanwhile, the Church, still unhappy with Guillaume's choice of chaplain, tried to send him several clerical candidates. These were all however rejected by Guillaume, and his scepticism in religious matters soon became infamous.

The war against Tunisia continued, with Berber armies disembarking in Catalonia and fighting the King's forces. Chancellor Boson, marching from the north to reinforce the royal army, met a superior force in Rosello and was badly defeated. The King, however, sailed from Barcelona before news of this defeat could reach him. In December, Urgell had again fallen to the Berbers just as the King's army disembarked in Bejaija and took it.

Back at the court, the steward Louis de Garlande took advantage of the King's absence to embezzle some funds from the royal demesne, with nobody to stop or punish him. Meanwhile the King's half-brother Gaietan found a wife for himself, Catherine, daughter of the Duke of Burgundy. At the same time, the King's eldest son Philippe finished his military training, and became a brilliant battlefield commander like his father. In January 1129, the King's aunt Jorgia died, and Vexin reverted to the royal demesne.

In February 1129, under the influence of bishop Jean Lainez, Navarra instituted lay investiture, denying the Pope's right to appoint bishops within the kingdom. At the same time, steward Louis de Garlande, now self-proclaimed regent in the King's absence, continued his arbitrary governance, upsetting the burghers of Vexin almost to the point of revolt.

In Africa, the royal army took Tell Atlas in March, and marched eastwards. Medjerda, Tunisia's capital, was taken in July, after which the Berber kingdom collapsed into independent sheikdoms. King Guillaume spent the rest of the year in the region, taking Annaba, Constantine, and Biskra by February 1130.

Back in Spain, things were not going that well. Berber armies continued to advance, taking Lleida from the Duke of Catalonia. An army led by chancellor Boson to relieve Lleida met with stiff opposition, and Boson himself was badly wounded in the fighting.

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Battle of Lleida

In Africa, Guillaume engaged in one more campaign. A Bohemian noble, Svatobor of Opava, had some years back inherited the kingdom of Castile. Having lost all Spanish possessions and vassals, he was still holding out in the mountains of Lemdiyya. Guillaume, certain that he now had a better claim to Castile, decided to put an end to the charade. Marching on Lemdiyya, he expelled Svatobor in July 1130. Guillaume, however, was not yet strong enough to claim Castile himself, but it was something for the future.

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Guillaume fights the Bohemian pretender

Guillaume returned to Cordoba in August, and immediately began cleaning the house. New counts were appointed in the conquered African lands. Steward Louis de Garlande was relieved of his duties; as he was the King's brother-in-law, he was merely exiled to Africa, and even made Duke of Constantine. The new steward was one Arnaud, a Frankish merchant who had traveled extensively in the Moorish lands of Spain, and knew how to manage them; he was called Al-Rahman by the Moors.

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The new steward

At this time, bishop Jean Lainez had died of his illness. Guillaume's new chaplain was Louis d'Auvergne, a noble scion, a duly zealous, militant priest, but proud and hotheaded. At the same time, the King also arranged the marriage of his son Philippe to the eldest daughter of the Duke of Toulouse.

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The new chaplain

Before engaging in the next war, Guillaume gave Geraud, a French knight, the county of Asturias de Oviedo and made him Duke of Asturias. Soon, the royal army gathered in Barcelona and was ready to march on the Berber holdings in Catalonia. In March 1131, Lleida was again liberated from the Berbers, and in June, Urgell was liberated, thus securing the Pyrenees. Lleida was given back to Duke Ramon, while Urgell was given to Demetri, and Occitan noble, who was also made Duke of the Spanish Marche. Guillaume also made his mad son Bernard the count of Viscaya, despite protests from the Church.

The recent marriages of the Vermandois were designed to acquire new lands in France, and Guillaume decided to help things along. In June, the eldest son of the Duke of Burgundy was thrown from a tower by unknown assaillants. It could not be connected to Navarra, of course, but nonetheless soon an attempt was made on the life of Guillaume's eldest son Philippe. The assassins were caught and confessed to having been hired by the Burgundians.

The King's taste for military conquests was still strong, and in early 1132 he laid claim to the independent county of Denia, marching on it. The count's small army was quickly defeated and Denia was taken in May. Guillaume was now undisputedly strongest monarch in Spain, seconded only by the emirate of Sevilla. He was soon looking for new targets...

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Vermandois genealogy updated to May 1132. Sharp-eyed viewers will notice a budding Arab branch of the dynasty. ;)
 
The Kingdom of Navarre! How splendid! The children of Charlemagne are not the kind to lay around when they lose a throne! :) Splendid stuff.

Interested to see whether the Frankish Carolingians will try to gain the throne of France, or turn Iberian and try to throw back the Moors...

Lets just hope Bernard the Mad doesnt try anything crazy :p
 
A good and intersting update.:) To take the Navarran(sp?) throne was a good choice, btw! Now, the new chaplain looks like a promising papal candidate...;)
 
Quite a war you had going there. I take it France is on your 'Things to Get' list?

Interesting move taking up German vassalage. Any particular reason why and not go independent?
 
Nice update. Amazing to see how France was screwed over practically overnight. :eek:
 
PART VI: Blood feuds and the Reconquista

Life continued at a relaxed pace at the King's court in Cordoba while he made new plans. His chancellor and kinsman, Boson, got an illness from his war wound and was forced to spend much time in bed. In December 1132, a comet was seen in the skies above Cordoba, but the King assured everyone that it was a good sign of the coming fortunes.

Despite Guillaume's efforts, the independent Dukes Mauront of Toulouse and Tancred of Brittany would not offer their fealty to him. Though Angry, the King did nothing more at this time, especially as he received some bad news in May. His elder son Philippe turned out to be more interested in men than women, and with the younger son Bernard a madman, Guillaume's succession looked to be in peril. Still, the King refused to disown his son despite the Church's pressure.

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Philippe, the King's older son

In September, the family saw another setback as Boson died from his festering illness. Again ignoring the Church's warnings, Guillaume appointed as his new chancellor a Moorish woman, Salma, widow of the former sheik of Urgell who fought against Guillaume. Salma was a wise and modest young woman who enjoyed much respect among Spanish Christians, Moslems, and Jews alike, and her appointment was welcomed by all but the most fanatical.

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Chancellor Salma

In November, giving up on his son Philippe's amorous preferences, Guillaume gave him the county of Denia to rule and get some experience in. Though Philippe had only sired two girls, Guillaume hoped he would come to his senses and produce a male heir when he experienced the business of ruling.

In March 1134, the wife of Guillaume's half-brother Gaietan, Catherine de Bourgogne, died in labor. However, she did previously give birth to one son who lived - Guy, who was now in line to inherit the Duchy of Bourgogne and with it some important claims. A mere week after Catherine's death, her father, the Duke of Bourgogne, also died - leaving the infant Guy to inherit him.

Things were getting interesting, and Guillaume saw a chance to expand his realm. Gaietan, who had just recently been made the count of Vermandois, was naturally his son's only heir. A nursemaid was bribed to suffocate the infant Guy with a pillow, but she later regretted the deed and admitted to it, confessing that she was hired by King Guillaume's agents. Gaietan, in the meantime, was the new Duke of Bourgogne, thanks to the murder of his son, but naturally held no love for his brother. A week later, on a hunting trip, King Guillaume was narrowly missed by an arrow which flew inches from his head. Few doubted that the "accident" was arranged by Gaietan, but the King decided not to pursue the matter. The only person his half-brother hated more than him was the Capetian King of France, and with reluctance the new Duke of Bourgogne swore fealty to Navarra.

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Near-death accidents were common throughout Guillaume's reign

In July 1134, King Guillaume's sister Judith returned to his court, having recently been widowed after the death of her husband Jean de la Marche. The King soon offered her hand in marriage to Charles d'Auvergne, a distinguished warrior and commander in the royal armies, and brother of the chaplain Louis. At the same time, Guillaume's eldest daughter Almodis, a girl fond of wild parties, was given as a wife to Louis de Blois, another exiled French noble who had come to serve in the Cordoban court.

It was now time for the last stage of the Reconquista. Some time ago the North African Hammadids had annexed the Emirate of Badajoz, and the King wished to drive them out of Spain. He gathered his armies in Cordoba and in March 1135 marched on Badajoz. Defeating the defenders there, he took the city in June. At the same time Hammadid armies in Africa had taken the county of Lemdiyya. The King quickly collected tribute from the sheiks of Mertola, Lisboa, and Alcacer do Sal, then marched on Alcantara, where in September a battle was fought against Hammadid armies. Unfortunately, marshal Philippe de Saint-Denis, ravaged by illness, displayed bad ineptitude at the battle, nearly costing the victory.

But the battle was won, and the royal army continued its march, despite news from home that typhoid fever was ravaging Cordoba. Alcantara was taken in November and the King marched west. At this time, a letter came from the Pope, demanding the revocation of lay investiture. Though it was clearly an attempt to take advantage of his vulnerable position, Guillaume accepted, soon giving most of the religious authority to the kingdom's monasteries.

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The Pope meddles

In January 1136 another battle was fought in Mertola. This time, marshal Philippe acquitted himself well, displaying great heroism. King Guillaume himself fought bravely as well, and was praised for his courage. Meanwhile, chaplain Louis d'Auvergne had sailed with another army, disembarking in Africa, where he took Beni Yanni in February, installing himself as it count.

In March, Guillaume took Alcacer do Sal, and sent a letter to Louis d'Auvergne, establishing royal rights to Beni Yanni and ordering him to stay put until the royal army could arrive in Africa. The King fought several Hammadid armies in Mertola; during this time, marshal Philippe, already advancing in years, had caught fever and was barely able to lead his regiments. Finally the King marched back to Alcacer do Sal, sailing from its port through the Straits of Gibraltar, headed for Africa.

The royal army disembarked in Al Djazair in late August, laying siege to the city. At the same time the army of Louis d'Auvergne arrived from the east, joining the King. Al Djazair was soon taken, and the King marched south. In November, marshal Philippe de Saint-Denis, unable to cope with the hot climate, died from his illness. Right then and there, the King appointed Charles d'Auvergne as his new marshal. Charles, besides being the King's brother-in-law, was also his distant cousin (Charles' maternal grandmother was Adele, daughter of count Herbert of Vermandois).

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Guillaume's new marshal and brother-in-law

In December, the King liberated Lemdiyya, and in January 1137 he took Mzab. In February he defeated the sheik of Kabilia, but news came from Spain that Hammadid armies captured Alcacer do Sal, though their vassal the sheik of Lisboa had rebelled. The King hurried back to Spain, where he arrived in July.

The treasury was getting empty, and the King hurriedly convened the Estates General, managing to get them to approve new taxes and collections to continue the war. Finances secured, the King hurried west, eager to conclude the war, as some provinces were now getting restless. In September he took Mertola from the Hammadids, and in October he took Alcacer do Sal, the last Hammadid stronghold. To celebrate his victories, Guillaume had himself crowned King of Africa on October 29th.

His territory expanded significantly, Guillaume gave free reign to his obsession about bringing the duchy of Toulouse under his rule. Duke Mauront was still recalcitrant and unwilling to give away his independence, and his daughter Leontina, married to Guillaume's gay son Philippe, was completely ignored by her husband, meaning that no sons would stand to inherit Toulouse. Complicating matters were Mauront's own three infant sons.

But another avenue of inheritance opened. The King's half-brother Gaietan, Duke of Bourgogne, stood to inherit Toulouse via his mother Esteveneta, Mauront's sister. What followed soon became known as Bloody November of 1137. At first, Mauront's eldest son Ausoni was poisoned by a substance applied to one of his toys. Soon thereafter, King Guillaume himself narrowly escaped a poisoning attempt at a banquet. A week later, Mauront's second son Onorat was accidentally left alone in a room with a wild wolfhound, and did not survive. Soon, news came from Viscaya that Guillaume's second son, Bernard the Mad, jumped from a tower, apparently after having stabbed himself seven times and put himself in a sack. The spree of deaths abated somewhat afterwards, though rumors of assassination attempts, with varying success, would come for years afterwards.

In February-March 1138, the King engaged in another brief campaign, taking Lisboa from its sheik. Lisboa was soon populated by new waves of settlers from Aquitaine, becoming a strongly French and Catholic city. In November, Guillaume's second daughter Cecile was given in marriage to Arnaud al-Rahman, the kingdom's steward. At the same time, the King's kinsman Alire, a son of former chancellor Boson, was made Duke of Badajoz.

The next few years went by peacefully as Guillaume was building up his strength for the final push in the Reconquista. Finally in early 1141 royal and vassal armies began to gather in Badajoz, and the following month war was declared on the last Moorish power in Spain, the Emirate of Sevilla. The King led his army to Caceres, while in the north the Duke of Asturias marched on the Sevillan enclave of El Bierzo.

Caceres fell in April, and the King defeated some Sevillan armies before marching on Niebla, which fell in late June. Unfortunately, news came that Cordoba had fallen to the Sevillan Emir, and the royal court was forced to flee to Badajoz. Worse, the King's son Philippe, Duke of Valencia, attempted to liberate Cordoba but suffered a major defeat at the Emir's hands in August. The southern Dukes of Toledo, Badajoz, and Tejo were panicking and trying to buy the Emir off with tribute.

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Guillaume's son Philippe fights the Emir of Sevilla

King Guillaume, however, pressed on, taking Aracena in September before marching to Cordoba. At the same time the northern Spanish vassals reached the city as well, and it was liberated in mid-November. The King marched to his temporary capital at Badajoz, also besieged by the Moors, and drove them back in January 1142. Sadly, steward Arnaud al-Rahman, bravely leading a regiment of knights, was killed by a Moorish arrow. Giving him a quick but honorable burial, the King appointed his sister Judith, wife of marshal Charles, as the new steward.

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Guillaume's sister Judith, the new steward

The King fought several more battles against the Moors south of Badajoz, while news from the north told that the Duke of Asturias had taken El Bierzo and was marching south. In July, the King conquered the city of Cadiz. In September, another setback was suffered when the Duke of Asturias ran into a large Moorish army in Aracena and was thoroughly crushed. Nonetheless, the King continued south, and in October took the port of Algeciras. But Aracena was lost in December.

The typhoid fever in Cordoba finally subsided, and the royal court moved back to the city, which was more protected than Badajoz. King Guillaume visited the city briefly, taking the time to finish his power plays against Toulouse. In a replay of the Bloody November of 1137, Augier, brother of Duke Mauront and bishop of Carcassonne, was killed when he mistook some sulphic acid for holy water. The King himself barely survived when a load of bricks falling from a balcony nearly hit him. In January 1143, Mauront's sole surviving son Gerard died when the toy sword he was playing with somehow turned out to be real. A week later, King Guillaume's elder son Philippe, the Duke of Valencia, was found dead in an alley famous for its brothels (though some thought this strange, knowing the young Duke's sexual preferences). Finally, in late January news came that Duke Mauront of Toulouse was fatally thrown from his horse, which somehow became rabid and uncontrollable. Gaietan, the Duke of Bourgogne, now inherited Toulouse as well, bringing it within Navarra.

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Gaietan, the King's favorite brother

King Guillaume soon continued his war against the Moors. The city of Sevilla was taken in March, and in May he retook Aracena. In August, the sheikdom of Faro was crushed, and the king was marching on Silves when news came that the Emir of Almeria had attacked one of Navarrese vassals, the bishop of Molina.

Not wanting to turn from his campaign, the King continued to Silves, taking it in October, and from there again sailed to Africa. This time he disembarked in Tangiers, a holding of the Emir of Almeria. Tangiers fell in late December 1143. By this time, Guillaume's zealous warfare against the infidels had earned him recognition, despite his earlier scepticism. He soon allied with his fellow monarch, King Richard of England, as well as with Oberto Dandolo, the Doge of Venice.

From Tangiers, the King sailed back to Spain, arriving in Almeria in March 1144. In April, Almeria fell, and the Emirate was no more. Guillaume then sailed to Africa again, headed for Tlemcen, the last stronghold of the Emir of Sevilla.

But not all was well in the kingdom, and word came that the bishops of Rioja and Molina, tired of the long wars, had rebelled against their lieges, the Dukes of Navarra and Toledo. The King, however, concentrated his forces on fighting the infidels, taking Tlemcen in June and putting an end to the Emirate of Sevilla. Only then did he sail back to Spain, arriving in Algeciras in late August.

The treasury was empty by now, but Guillaume was determined to restore peace by force of arms if need be. His army marched north, and in March 1145 the bishop of Rioja was defeated and exiled. In July, the same fate befell the bishop of Molina.

With the war ended, several new Dukes were appointed. The count of Silves and Faro was made Duke of Algarve, and the count of Niebla and Aracena was made Duke of Sevilla. Finally, the King's kinsman, Qutaiba, the count of Castellon and a lover of Moorish culture, was made Duke of Valencia.

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The Duke of Valencia

In October, Guillaume's brother Gaietan died, having suffered from intestinal worms for a year. Gaietan's reputation for having tried to murder his brother made him very unpopular in the courts of Europe, and he never remarried or had any more children. Still, to spite Guillaume, the Pope beatified Gaietan ostensibly for his extreme mercy and friendliness. All this did not matter to Guillaume though, as with Gaietan's death he finally inherited the former Burgundian and Tolosan domains - along with a very important claim passed from the old Dukes of Bourgogne.

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An important claim is inherited

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Gaietan was beatified by the Pope

The King soon appointed new loyal Dukes over Auvergne, Languedoc, Toulouse, Bourgogne, and Murcia. On Christmas Day 1145, Guillaume was crowned King of Castile, Leon, and Aragon, as well as Emperor of Spain, before the assembled courtiers and vassals in his splendid palace in Cordoba.

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Guillaume, Emperor of Spain

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The New Carolingian Empire

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Vermandois genealogy updated to December 1145.
 
Hurrah! Now onwards to Paris!
 
And within a century no less! Woe betide the Frenchies who mess with the Carolingians now! Still, on ehas to wonder if we'll see an Arab Catholic on the throne before long...
 
First France, and then Germany?
 
Well, one of my vassals is about to inherit Provence, which is a stepping stone into Germany and Italy... ;)
And Germany has already begun to disintegrate in this game.

And to any Swedes reading this, the AI King of Denmark has conquered Sweden and took its crown. :p :D
 
Solmyr said:
And to any Swedes reading this, the AI King of Denmark has conquered Sweden and took its crown. :p :D
Sounds good, and when the Norwegians inherit that throne... :p
 
Solmyr said:
Well, one of my vassals is about to inherit Provence, which is a stepping stone into Germany and Italy... ;)
And Germany has already begun to disintegrate in this game.

And to any Swedes reading this, the AI King of Denmark has conquered Sweden and took its crown. :p :D

Hmm, same thing happened in my game (well OK, it was Norway who did it, but Sweden is still gone). Maybe something in 1.03b makes Sweden less secure. If I recall, they were weakened by conflicts with neighboring pagans before the sneaky Norwegians attacked.


EF1

~oh yeah, nice AAR by the way. It's the only one I read regularly. :)
 
Solmyr said:
And to any Swedes reading this, the AI King of Denmark has conquered Sweden and took its crown. :p :D

NOOO! The shame, the shame (shakes my head). :D

Splendid update, though. :)
 
PART VII: Empire of the Franks

Having established control over most of Spain, Guillaume now prepared for the greatest goal of his dynasty. He gathered his armies in the south and in the north, preparing for the attack on the hated Capets. In February 1146, war was declared. Guillaume's army marched from Cordoba, its goal the wealthy city of Granada that has been held by the Capetian Kings for decades. In the north, Simon de Macon, the Duke of Bourgogne, led a second army to assault Orleans, while Guillaume's cousin Guy, the count of Amiens and Vermandois, marched on Paris with the third army.

March saw the first battles as the Capetian loyalists defended Orleans and invaded Vexin. An army of the bishop of Vexin, greatly outnumbered by the attacking force, nonetheless managed to send the Capetian cowards fleeing for their lives, proving to everyone that God was on the side of the Vermandois. The bishop of Vexin hastily marched southeast to join the force attacking Paris. The Duke of Bourgogne also routed the Orleannais defenders and laid siege to the city.

In mid-April, Guillaume arrived in Granada, and quickly routed the Capetians there, also laying siege. By mid-May, both Granada and Orleans were taken by the Vermandois. In the north, the Burgundian army marched north hastily to join the siege of Paris. Unfortunately, the old Duke Simon died on the march. But by the end of June, count Guy had taken Paris for his cousin.

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The Capetian usurper

Bereft of his lands and captured in Paris, the sickly Capetian king Louis had no choice and was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris on June 22nd. By the Treaty, Louis renounced all his titles and went into exile to his relatives' court in the county of Rosello. Guillaume promised to allow the other Capets to retain their current counties, provided they sword fealty to him. On June 24th, Guillaume was crowned King of France and Emperor of the Franks in Paris. The city became his northern capital but his court continued to reside in Cordoba.

For his heroism and leadership in the war, count Guy of Amiens was made Duke of Hainaut. Raymond, the bishop of Vexin, was made Archbishop of Francia and given religious primacy rights in the whole of France, attached to the archiepiscopal position. At the same time, Guillaume's grandson and heir-apparent Robert was made Duke of Cordoba, and since then it became established that the heir to the throne would be given that title.

After his victory over the Capetians, Guillaume became less tolerant of Moors in his court. In July, all Moors in the Imperial court were exiled. Even Salma, the chancellor, was dismissed from her position and sent away. The new chancellor appointment went to Bertomieu of Charolais, a former protege of the late Duke Simon of Bourgogne. Though no wider measures were taken against the Moslems in Iberia, some of them began to convert to Christianity, including even a majority of the people of Cadiz.

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The new chancellor

Guillaume's rule of France was now disputed only by his ally, the King of England, who possessed some enclaves in the north and northwest, as well as by Tancred, the independent Duke of Brittany. Once again Guillaume offered vassalage terms to Brittany, only to be rejected. Gradually, he began collecting claims on the Briton lands.

In November, the old Pope died, and as if to spite Guillaume, his successor was Renaud, bishop of Tarragona and an uncle of the ex-king Louis. Naturally, no love was lost between Guillaume and the new Pope.

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With that intrigue rating, there is no need to ask how he got to be Pope!

On February 18th, 1147, in the process of planning another crusade into Africa, the 55-year old Guillaume took a cold midday bath in his palace in Cordoba. Unfortunately the water was much too cold, and the Emperor's heart failed from the shock. Doctors could not revive him and pronounced him dead within an hour. Despite the Pope's reluctance, Guillaume was beatified by the Church for his valorous deeds and zeal in completing the Reconquista. Guillaume's grandson Robert, an 11-year old lad with military upbringing, now became master of the largest empire in the west.

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Guillaume's great deeds are recognized

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His grandson has a hard task ahead of him...

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... ruling this Empire!

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Vermandois genealogy updated to February 1147.
 
Just discovered this AAR and i love it! I wonder what is going to happen to Robert ruling that empire... he'll probably get lots of "your demense is hard to administer" events.
 
Huzzah! Spain & France - united at last. Im assuming the next push will be for Germany. Will we be seeing a Charlemagne like division of the empire between your sons? Ooh, cant wait to see!