The Legacy of Uhtred (A Bamburgh AAR)

[Dunaden]

1223 – 1226 Wooing Beorhtwaru

With the revolt over, I now needed to decide how to deal with those who had challenged my rule. I thought to consult my Council, but wasn’t sure how much faith I had in them to be unbiased. My Chancellor, now former Chancellor, Wiglaf, was now in the dungeon as he had led the revolt. My Marshal Eadgyth’s son was one of my prisoners and Wiglaf’s son-in-law who had led Wiglaf’s troops before he had been captured. I had a new Steward, Æthelthryth, the Reeve of Bridlington had called in favor that she had earned years ago, helping me with a small issue long before I became Duke. In payment for that debt, she had coerced me into allowing her to join the Council as Steward. I had reluctantly agreed, even though she had no aptitude for the task. This also angered one of my more loyal vassals, as I had to dismiss Earl Wulfgar from the Council to seat Æthelthryth.

For the most part I decided to be lenient, most of these people were family and if I started executing them, it would thoroughly complicate my life. The first couple of prisoners were easy enough to deal with. A Swabian named Adam, was a mercenary, part of the Flemish Band. His commander, Captain Emich agreed to ransom his man. Ealdwine, Eadgyth’s son, I released without any conditions, allowing him to return to his wife and sons in Eoforwic. This pleased my Marshal.

I required Earl Cenræd to pay ransom for the return of his wife and daughter. He had bought leniency by abandoning the rebellion, but I did not want him to escape without any penalty. Countess Eadgyth and her daughter, Beorhtflæd Randolph, were soon back in Derby.

Earl Wiglaf’s brother, Ælfræd, was also ransomed, but I just released Wiglaf’s wife, Countess Æthelburh. I would not take out my wrath on Wiglaf’s family, I would reserve it for the actual traitors. These were Earls Wiglaf of the North Riding and Hacon of Lindsey, who remained in their cells for now.

One prisoner’s status was a bit more complicated. Beorhtwaru Eastmundohtor Kiil had been captured in the fall of Eoforwic. She was the widow of Wiglaf’s late brother and her only child had died in the cradle. But her ties to Wiglaf were not the issue, rather that she was the daughter of Duke Eastmund of East Seaxe. Duke Eastmund was a dangerous man. While I had been dealing with my rebels, he had been pressing his claim on East Anglia against Duke Ecgfrith, Torbrand’s son, and had won against the combined might of East Anglia and Mercia to depose Ecgfrith and claim East Anglia for himself. I didn’t want to anger him needlessly by keeping his daughter locked up, but I also saw opportunity in keeping her close. I needed to free her, but didn’t want to send her back to Eoforwic or East Seaxe, so instead I asked her to stay in Bebbanburg. She agreed. Then I did something uncharacteristic for me, as someone who had been uncomfortable around people all my life, I decided to make a concerted effort to seduce her. Partly this was a political move, as getting a hold on someone in Duke Eastmund’s immediate family could be useful, but also, I was just lonely, never having anyone truly close, except maybe my brother Beorhtnoth. In some ways, it was not hard to get myself to try this, as she was 30 years younger and much better looking than the shrew, but I was still not very skilled or comfortable with small talk and social situations.

As things got settled at home, one of my knights, Swithelm Colville, a man I considered a friend came to ask me a boon. He asked permission to marry my stepmother, the widowed Princess Trude, who had remained in Bebbnaburg following my father’s death. I agreed and the Princess of Holy Roman Empire and former Duchess of Northumbria was happily married to a simple knight.

My Aunt Wulfhild, who remained court physician in Bernicia, did not like me much, though I’m not sure what I had done to displease her. As my life may one day be literally in her hands, I made an effort to improve her opinion of me by donating a sizable sum to support her clinic and her further medical studies.

My sister Gytha soon gave birth to her first child with her husband Detmar of Gosseck. The baby was named Osulf of Bamburg after the first Duke. He showed a glimmer of his mother’s intelligence and I had high hopes for the boy.

I also learned about this time that Prince Werestan had created a faction to place himself on the throne of England. I was surprised, until I learned why he was driven to plot treason. Initially, after King Ecgberht’s death, Prince Werestan had gained those who had supported Sæbert as the new King who had transferred their votes to Werestan as his closest male relative. But over time this initial reaction had worn off and the electors had rethought their position and things had drifted back to the situation five years ago, before Father’s death. I was once again 2nd in line for the throne, again behind my brother Beorhtnoth. Werestan saw his chance to become King fading away and was becoming desperate. But Sæbert was decades younger than my brother and I, so unless he met some misfortune, we were as unlikely to see the crown as Werestan.

I spent some of this peaceful time working on my plans toward seducing Beorhtwaru. I enlisted the aid of a troubadour to help. He dedicated a performance to her in my name, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. It seems if I wanted to court her, using a proxy would not work, I would need to do it myself, no matter how difficult it might be.

I would have my chance at a dance that was held in Bebbanburg. Usually, I would duck out of these social duties as soon as I could, but this time I stayed and finally worked up the nerve to ask Beorhtwaru to dance with me. I was sweating and stammering a bit, but she agreed anyway. It did not go as well as I had envisioned. I continued to fumble about in trying to talk to her, and she soon made her excuses and moved to a new partner.

As I was plotting my next move in the courtship, one my guards brought me a note from Earl Hacon who had been languishing in the dungeon for close to a year by now. He begged for my forgiveness and offered a large sum in exchange for his freedom. I was still hoping to win my vassals’ loyalty, so I decided to be magnanimous and accepted his contrition, freeing him. Shortly after he invited me to a feast in Lindsey to thank me for my mercy. I decided to go, even though I had heard rumors that he had been talking out against me almost as soon as he had been released. I would just see for myself if my mercy had been wasted.

The feast included only the most important people in Lindsey. Earl Hacon and the rest of the Ross family, his wife Lady Eremberga, his son and heir Hlothere Ross, two of his three daughters Maud and Beorhtflæd, his sister Æthelburh, and two of his vassals, the Reeves Beorhtwine and Eanswith. His other sister Sifflæd did not attend, which was not unusual as she had been a recluse since she had been disfigured and forced to wear a mask to hide her face.

The feast started off a little tense. Earl Hacon and his family were eager to prove their devotion and loyalty to Northumbria, hoping I would forget their treason and hoping I hadn’t heard that their treason persisted. But as the night continued, I sensed the tension was not only related to my presence. I was seated next to Reeve Eanswith of Grimsby and she had also trained in managing estates and we had common ground to discuss. But I noticed as the night went on her gaze often drifting toward Hlothere, and I saw hate in her eyes. Hlothere was not a pleasant person. He was ambition and sadistic and had obviously done something gain Reeve Eanswith’s ire.

But I was still shocked when I saw her later in an argument with the heir to Lindsey that erupted into violence. One second, they were shouting at each other, and the next, Eanswith produced a dagger and drove it into Hlothere’s throat. I was stunned briefly as Hlothere bled out on the ground and then I shouted for the guards. Reeve Eanswith was taken into custody as the feast ended in chaos.

I left Lindsey after the burial of Hlothere. Leofhelm Hlothereson Hacon’s six year old grandson was the new heir to the Earldom of Lindsey. Somehow, after all of this, Hacon had a better opinion of me after his son’s murder, than he had had before.

Almost two years after my setting my eyes on Beorhtwaru, my fumbling attempts at seduction finally bore fruit as she finally invited me into her bed. I have heard of plenty of lords who would drop a woman immediately after their conquest, but I had never experienced anything like this. It was so much better than any time I had ever spent with my wife and with any of the camp followers my men had gotten for me when on campaign. I was determined to keep it going, so we became lovers.

Some family news came from Castille. Our dynasty members had inherited the Duchy of León to go with the Duchy of Coimbra that they had earned in the Third Crusade. The death of Duke Estabanu had split the two Duchies between his sons, the eldest, Alonso, was Duke of Coimbra and Antonino was Duke of León. Now, it seems Duke Antonino had decided to create his own cadet House, the House of Badajoz, the new ruling family of León, splitting away from the House of Bamburgh-Aveiro.

In March of 1226, my second grandchild was born as Æthelburg gave birth to another son who she named Swæfræd. This was the last grandchild that my wife, the Duchess Homlaug, would have a chance to see. In July, the shrew died of heart failure at the age of 66. I was finally free of her. Now I faced an interesting dilemma, should I make my lover, Beorhtwaru, the new Duchess of Northumbria, or should I finally try to claim a Princess of my own.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Which comes First Wedding with New Duchess or Funeral of Old Duchess? Doing both on same day should get discount from priest!

 

[Hootieleece]

Just need to find a Princess that will let you keep a mistress!

 

[slothinator]

Ah damn, the reaper makes fools of us all; England will remain out of Bamburgh hands for a while longer.
Beorhtmaer sounds like quite the bitter fellow. I'm curious to see if the bitterness will grow or be assuaged with time.
With all these plots around, I suspect that Beorhtmaer will remain cagey for the time being.
King Saebert seems like he will be a strong ruler for England, unpleasant news for the Bamburghs.
It's good to hear that Beorhtwaru yielded to Beorhtmaer's charms, may she be of comfort in the hard job of ruling.
As for the future wife, I wonder if there is a match that would appeal more to the electors.

 

[Dunaden]

Which comes First Wedding with New Duchess or Funeral of Old Duchess? Doing both on same day should get discount from priest!

Beorhtmær doesn't want to flaunt his lover in his and Homlaug's children's faces, so shows some propriety.

Just need to find a Princess that will let you keep a mistress!

There will be a Princess search, but there are some issues.

Ah damn, the reaper makes fools of us all; England will remain out of Bamburgh hands for a while longer.
Beorhtmaer sounds like quite the bitter fellow. I'm curious to see if the bitterness will grow or be assuaged with time.
With all these plots around, I suspect that Beorhtmaer will remain cagey for the time being.
King Saebert seems like he will be a strong ruler for England, unpleasant news for the Bamburghs.
It's good to hear that Beorhtwaru yielded to Beorhtmaer's charms, may she be of comfort in the hard job of ruling.
As for the future wife, I wonder if there is a match that would appeal more to the electors.

Yes, Æthelric picked the wrong time to die, delaying Bamburgh's attempt to claim the throne.
Beorhtmær has some issues, but as much as he disliked his father favoring his younger brother, he didn't blame his brother, who was his best friend.
King Sæbert is definitely a worthy King which does hurt the Bamburgh's position, but for the moment the King is childless which might give the Bamburgh's another chance.
Beorhtmær may go through the motions of looking for another prospect, but he is uncomfortable around strangers, so would much rather have a wife that he already knows well.

 

[Dunaden]

1226 - 1236 Modern Family

It wouldn’t be proper to marry Beorhtwaru too soon after the shrew passed, plus it might upset Æthelburg and Ordgar. So, I took the opportunity to see if there were actually any Princesses available for me to marry. It turned out most of the unmarried ones were underage, and any marriage would be years in the future. I was already close to 50 and didn’t not want to wait that long for a new wife.

In the neighboring kingdoms, there was Princess Macsarose of France who was still in her cradle, not yet weaned. The Princesses of Brittany, Alis and her sister, Enoguen, were both still in their first decade. Princess Ben-Mide of Scotland was seven. Princess Gwenhwyfar of Wales was five (but as she was the heir to Wales, my suit would have been rejected anyway). Only Princess Julia of Norway was an adult, but her royal father was dead and the throne had passed out of Crovan hands, so she brought no alliances or claims. Plus, she had recently suffered an accident and it was unknown whether she would survive her injuries.

Further afield were the five unmarried Princesses of Poland, though only one was of marriageable age, Princess Kazimiera, who was already a widow with two sons. Also rumors had it that she was afflicted with an inherent weakness, a tendency to bleed easily. And finally, there was Princess Visnja of Croatia, another widow, the oldest of the lot at 26. Croatia meant little to me, all I knew was that it was too far away to be much use as an ally.

After this brief search, I felt better about claiming Beorhtwaru as my new wife, she had claims on the Duchy of Cornwall though her dead mother and grandfather, and was the eldest daughter of Duke Eastmund of East Seaxe and now East Anglia, securing an alliance for me with one of the most powerful lords in England.

As soon as a very brief mourning period was observed, I made Beorhtwaru the new Duchess of Northumbria. She was well pleased and reveled in her new status. She took her place on the Council bringing her knowledge as the daughter of a great lord to help me manage my domain. At her urging, I took another look at her former brother-in-law, the traitor Earl Wiglaf. She asked as head of House Bamburgh, could I not grant a claim on his titles for myself? I had not thought to use my office for that, but at Beorhtwaru’s suggestions, I granted myself a claim on Eorforwic. This allowed me to then use that claim to revoke the title from Wiglaf without upsetting my other vassals. This still left him the Earldom of Westmorland.

Within six months, the new Duchess was pregnant, but it would be my daughter-in-law, Eithine who would provide the next member of the family. In June of 1227, she gave me another grandchild, a granddaughter named Wulfrun. My son Ordgar was very pleased with the dark-haired little girl, his first child. Two months later, I had a second daughter of my own, Æthelhild, with my own flame red hair. She would share the nursery with her older niece.

A little over a year later, Eithine would bear another child, named Judith. This granddaughter would have the Bamburgh ginger hair. Beorhtwaru, not to be out done, was soon once again pregnant herself, which led to my own dark-haired daughter, Ecgfrida being born in May of 1229.

A year later, Beorhtwaru gave birth to a son Swithræd, my second son, which would complicate the succession in Northumbria, but I realized it didn’t matter. I had never been happier. Swithræd was followed by another dark-haired daughter, Sifflæd, and then finally by the twins, dark Mildrith and ginger Wiglaf, my third son.

In 30 years of marriage to the shrew, I had had two children, but in less than 8 years of marriage to Beorhtwaru, we had had six children. Æthelburg and Ordgar had been born out of duty, but Æthelhild, Ecgfrida, Swithræd, Sifflæd, and the twins were children born out of love.

My daughter Æthelburg also had another child, my grandson, Eadric. Then her other son, my grandson and ward, Beorhtric, came of age. I arranged his marriage to Cairech nig Alice Cétchathach-Kilcudbrite, an Irish widow who was a kinswoman of Duke Sweeny of Strathclyde and sister to the Earl of Galloway. She had already borne her previous husband a child and her obvious fertility was further proven as nine months after the marriage, she gave birth to my first great-grandchild, a boy named Leofheah. Even my former stepmother, Princess Trude, had a child, giving my friend and knight, Swithelm Colville, a son named Eastmund.

But the Bamburghs weren’t the only growing family. Queen Finneacht had given King Sæbert a son at the age of 42. The new Prince was named Æthelstan. Queen Finneacht, however, had lost her chance to give her son the Duchy of Connacht. Shortly after King Sæbert had won the war to make Finneacht the Queen of Connacht, a faction had arisen within the Duchy and forced her to abdicate in favor of her daughter Gyða, the product of her first marriage. Gyða was now Duchess of Connacht, though she remained a vassal to King Sæbert, maintaining England’s foothold in Ireland. The new Duchess herself was pregnant and would soon have a child of her own which would push Connacht further out the reach of her half-brother, Prince Æthelstan.

The birth of the new Prince had not yet impacted the current succession in England. My brother Boerhtnoth was still the frontrunner and current heir to the crown. Prince Werestan, the King’s uncle, had moved past me to place a distance second behind my brother, while I lingered in third place. But Beorhtwaru pointed out that as the boy grew, he would undoubtably gain support from his father, the King, and other electors and the Bamburghs would lose another chance to claim the throne.

King Sæbert was two decades younger than my brother and I, while he could afford to wait for his son to gain support, we couldn’t. Prince Werestan certainly knew that, as he had already tried to rally support for his own claim to the throne, creating a faction to claim it directly rather than follow the will of the Witan to select the future king. But so far, he had gained no support from the other vassals in England.

Prince Werestan’s faction wasn’t the only threat to King Sæbert’s rule. His step-daughter, Duchess Gyða of Connacht, wanted to free the Irish from England’s rule and regain their independence. Three other vassals were challenging the King’s crown authority, but were not yet strong enough to challenge the King.

I also had had my own little rebellion brewing, Earl Hacon of Lyndsey, wanted to reduce my authority in Northumbria. But like Werestan, he had no support from his fellow vassals. Beorhtnoth, my strongest vassal, was also my brother and best friend, he would never betray me. Earl Wiglaf was safely locked away and severely weakened with the loss of his holdings in the North Riding. Earl Cenræd of Derby was too scared to challenge me after the last revolt that had seen his home sacked and his family captured. The rest of the important vassals in Northumbria served on the Council and were happy with the status quo.

In October of 1228, Countess Ilsa of Cheshire, my spymaster, had passed at the age of 69. Ilsa’s grandson, Áeducán Tomásson hUalgarairg, became the new Earl of Cheshire. He was married to the new Countess of Derby, Beorngyth Randolph. Earl Cenræd of Derby had died within two weeks of Countess Ilsa, leaving the southwest of Northumbria in this young couples’ hands.

Because of the death of Countess Ilsa, I had made some adjustments the Council to streamline it and solve the problem of Earl Hacon. I shifted Reeve Æthelthryth, who had forced her way onto the Council permanently by blackmailing me with a youthful indiscretion, from Steward (a post she was wholly unsuited for) to Spymaster (another post she was almost as wholly unsuited for). This allowed me to move my cousin Eadgyth from the role of Marshal to the Steward. It was a little outside Eadgyth’s training, but she would do a much better job than Æthelthryth, and at 66 it may be time for her to leave the fighting to a younger man. This allowed me to appoint Earl Hacon as Marshal. He was a skilled warrior and skilled tactician and would fit the role well. And being on the Council appeased him enough to abandon any thoughts of reducing crown authority in Northumbria.

The Council would continue to evolve over the next year. First, my father’s cousin and close friend, Countess Eadgyth, passed away at the age of 67. Her son, Eadulf, became the new Earl of Lancashire, while her grandson Ulfcytel Mildrithson of Bamburgh-Whitby became the Earl of the West Riding. Earl Eadulf almost immediately started a faction to lower crown authority. But I saw this was just a ploy to get me to offer him his mother’s spot as the Steward of Northumbria. As soon as I confirmed his appointment, the faction disbanded.

​

Then Reeve Æthelthryth, my unwanted Spymaster, died of old age. I quickly asked my aunt Wulfhild, my current court physician and the smartest person I knew, to take over as Spymaster. She accepted, though she still did not have a very high opinion of me.

Other than those few deaths, I spent an enjoyable ten years with my growing family staying close to home. I occasionally travelled through Northumbria to visit my vassals, joining feasts in Lancashire, Derby, the West Riding, and Buccingham, but I much preferred staying at home and dealing with people through correspondence rather than talking with them directly.

Mainly, I spent my time making improvements to my various holdings. I had a carp pond built at Bebbanburg for Beorhtwaru, which pleased her greatly. Then I took on more ambitious projects. I began construction on improving the central keep in Bebbanburg by adding a double ring of concentric walls. In the West Riding, a bailey was added in Eofrowic. In the East Riding, I made a deal with the local guild of stonemasons and had them help me construct homesteads for the local peasants who planted my fields and raised livestock and construct a stone barracks to house my levys, and finally build an aqueduct to bring water to the less suitable lands in the county. On the Isle of Man, aviaries were constructed to house hunting falcons and other birds of prey which helped supplement the Manx fish diet with water fowl and grouse and meadows were fenced off to grow hay for the four-horned Manx Loaghtan sheep.

After those 10 peaceful years, my eldest daughter, Athelburg, came to me and asked that I provide for the future of her family, of my grandchildren and great-grandchild. I reluctantly agreed.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Growth is good. Low profile in English politics.

 

[Hootieleece]

Setting the stage for a comeback....or allowing for the Kingdom to fall in appropriate hands.

 

[slothinator]

It's good to see the Bamburghs growing and developing their lands. As for the throne of England, it might have to wait another generation.

 

[Dunaden]

Growth is good. Low profile in English politics.

10 years of peace to improve the lands and grow a family. Beorhtmær with his shy nature is quite happy with a low profile.

Setting the stage for a comeback....or allowing for the Kingdom to fall in appropriate hands.

His daughter is pushing Beorhtmær out of his comfortable life and changing the future for the Bamburghs

It's good to see the Bamburghs growing and developing their lands. As for the throne of England, it might have to wait another generation.

Beorhtmær is giving back some of the wealth the Bamburghs have accumulated, and improving their lands. The birth of Prince Æthelstan does not bode well for prying the throne from the current Royal family.

 

[Dunaden]

1236 – 1238 A Crown for the Bamburghs

In 1220, Young King Steffen of Wales had come to the throne in at the age of 2 following the death of his mother Queen Gwenhwyfar in child birth, leaving him his only sibling, his newborn younger sister Gwenhwyfar as his heir. For 10 years, the lords of Wales jockeyed for influence over the young King until finally in 1230 the court intrigue escalated into war when King Steffen came under attack from Duke Cynwrig III of Deheubarth in the war to press the claim of Princess Mallt, Steffen’s great aunt, for Wales. Duke Cynwrig was Princess Mallt’s father-in-law and wanted to see his son and grandchildren ruling Wales. The civil war lasted 2 years and saw Princess Mallt crowned as Queen of Wales, with her husband Gronw ap Cynwrig crowned as King.

Queen Mallt’s reign had been troubled for the last four years, but she had managed to hold onto her throne with the help of her father-in-law. But now my daughter was asking me to step in and turn Wales on its head again.

Æthelburg’s husband, Ernán ua Canannáin was the son of Steffen ua Canannáin, who had ruled Wales from 1184 to 1187 before he had been deposed by his cousin King Cadwallon who had restored the throne to House Mathrafal. Steffen had died last year at the age of 61, leaving his only child, Ernán, with a strong claim to the throne. Æthelburg wanted that throne for her husband and for her children and she asked me to get it for her. My sons would inherit lands in Northumbria, but she and her sons would get nothing when I was gone. She asked me to give them a future and I agreed to do so.

After 10 years of peace, Northumbria began to gear up for war. I put out a call for knights as my current ones were getting a little long in the tooth. While awaiting to see what the heralds could find, I upgraded my current Men-at-Arms. I doubled the size of my Trebuchet regiment, added 200 more huscarls, another 100 light footmen and bowmen, and 200 more light horse. I also reorganized the muster rolls for increase levy reinforcement.

​

Three new Anglo Saxon knights were recruited, Ulfcytel of Dorset, an honorable adventurer, Eanbarht de Ros, an evil craven it turned out, and Sigehelm of Surrey, a gracious zealot. I also was able to gain another fighter, by marrying my kinswoman, Rijecka Bamburgh-Kelso, to a young man named Hemming Johannsen af Bornholm, the younger son of a Danish Count, Johann of Szczytno and inviting them both to Bebbanburg.

By August of 1236, I was ready and sent a declaration of war Queen Mallt to press Ernán’s claim for the Kingdom of Wales. This shocked everyone in the Britain and I took a huge prestige hit and many didn’t see justification for Ernán’s claim, as his father had lost his throne before Ernán had even been born. I ignored all that and called my allies and dynasty members to war. Duke Eastmund of East Seaxe, my father-in-law, was the first to pledge support, he was followed by Duke Gerlach of Frisia, Petty King Cóelbad of Leinster and finally Captain Fergus of the Warband of the Great Hall (Captain Fergus was a mercenary from the Bamburgh-Kelso side of the family).

Queen Mallt also called in allies, including King Demmán of Catholic Mirdasid, but even with his support I should outnumber her forces by over 2 to 1. And before any of her allies could arrive from the distant Mirdasid, the first battle of the war took place at Morgannwg.

It was a slaughter. An army of 2,800 Welsh led by Duke Cynwrig IV, the Queen’s nephew, were surrounded and massacred by my army and my allies. The Welsh army ceased to exist and the young Duke was captured in battle and Lord Gwrfoddw of Ferlix was slain. Only three of the Duke’s knights managed to break through my lines and escape.

After that battle, my troops spread out and besieged several holdings to secure control of our supply lines before pushing further into Wales. But I did not stay with my men. I had become ill during the winter campaign and returned to Bebbanburg. Once there, my aunt Wulfhild, my court physician gave me the bad news. I am dying. She gave me less than a year to live. I asked if there was anything she could do but she just shook her head and said she couldn’t reverse 60 years of overeating and poor lifestyle.

I was further shocked and dismayed when my other aunt, the Holy Sister Beorhtgyth, passed away a month later at the age of 65. She had been my friend and spiritual advisor for most of my life, more trusted than the bishops forced on me by Rome. I left the war to my Marshal and Knights and retreated to my chambers.

Reports continued to come in of the progress of the war. Caerdydd was captured in May. Lord Rhufon’s daughter Lleuca was captured, but quickly ransomed as no one wanted to hold a toddler prisoner. In June, Queen Mallt’s ally, Catholic Mirdasid landed 7,100 men at Chester. They immediately besieged Cheshire. This army was actually led by King Ealdwine II, his father King Demmán had died back in December on the long voyage from Syria. Demmán’s two sons, King Ealdwine and Prince Uargalach of Genoa, had both joined Queen Mallt in the war.

Brycheinoig fell in September to Leinster. Then Caerfyrddin fell in October to my Northumbrians, securing more prisoners including Duke Cynwrig’s cousin Orthanach. My army next set up a siege at Penfro. The war was going well.

I spent some of my time with my son Ordgar trying to prepare him for responsibility that would soon fall to him. I advised him as best I could. He was a likable man and had a decent grasp of most of his duties, but he would never understand the minutia of managing and administrating a realm as well as I did. I told him to choose his Council wisely to help him. I told him to make sure his sister got her Kingdom and to look after the rest of his younger brothers and sisters.

My kinswoman, Rijecka, gave birth to a son, Farquhar Bamburgh-Kelso, and then in February, my grandson Beothric’s wife Cairech, gave birth to a third child, a daughter named after my own daughter Æthelburg.

If this war is won, she would one day be Princess Æthelburg of Wales and her father would be King, a Bamburgh King of Wales. I take some comfort from that.

 

[filcat]

Apologies for the late comment, despite checking it first time in June 2021. Still in the first chapters, and hopefully will catch up with it to its latest update - though still re-reading The People of the Forest, now have to prioritise this one.

Interesting run - since never have played with the islanders at all (never since ck1; and played ck2 only after horse lords); very enjoyable to read. Kudos.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Just because you war with a 12yo, they name you a dishonorable villain (Queen Malt). The Duke does not live to see his family crowned but a good life none the less.

 

[slothinator]

Beorhtmaer had a good run in the end, although it's a shame that he won't get to see a Bamburgh Wales.
The promise of a crown is a great one even if it would just be a cadet branch of the house. It will still be a useful alliance if Ordgar chooses to take on England with less legal means

 

[Dunaden]

Apologies for the late comment, despite checking it first time in June 2021. Still in the first chapters, and hopefully will catch up with it to its latest update - though still re-reading The People of the Forest, now have to prioritise this one.

Interesting run - since never have played with the islanders at all (never since ck1; and played ck2 only after horse lords); very enjoyable to read. Kudos.

No need to rush, enjoy both stories at your leisure.
Thank you.

Just because you war with a 12yo, they name you a dishonorable villain (Queen Malt). The Duke does not live to see his family crowned but a good life none the less.

Beorhtmaer had a good run in the end, although it's a shame that he won't get to see a Bamburgh Wales.
The promise of a crown is a great one even if it would just be a cadet branch of the house. It will still be a useful alliance if Ordgar chooses to take on England with less legal means

Children are not always innocents, as Mallt was aware.
Beorhtmær had a happy life once he married Beorhtwaru and raised their children together. Having his daughter become Queen of Wales would have just been icing on the cake.
A crown of Wales was mainly providing for Æthelburg and her family, the added prestige will be a bonus.

 

[Dunaden]

1238 – 1241 Uneasy Lies the Head

I’m not sure if I should make some sort of introduction first before I start writing. A few months before my father died, he had shown me the collection of journals kept by the previous Dukes (and the Duchess) of Northumbria and I have been reading through them and I noticed that my predecessors rarely say who they are in their own writings. I assume they started these to keep track of their own personal recollections, but seeing how the writings have become required reading for each Duke, I think I would want it a little clearer who is the “I” that each writer is referring to as they write. So, in this case, I am Ordgar Beorhtmærson of Bamburgh, the 7th Duke of Northumbria, following the death of my father, Duke Beorhtmær Æthelricson of Bamburgh of Northumbria on the 11th day of June in the year of our Lord, one thousand two hundred thirty-eight.

Wait… that’s not right. I am the 7th Bamburgh Duke of Northumbria, but there were earlier Dukes from House Hwicce and Godwin and others before that. Actually, King Harald ‘Hardrada’ held the Duchy after he conquered England and his son, King Magnus, had it after Harald’s death until the first Bamburgh Duke, Osulf, usurped it from him in 1088. So that would make me like the 13th, 14th or 15th Duke of Northumbria. Nevermind. Not important.



Three months after my father (Duke Beorhtmær Æthelricson) passed and was buried in the family plot in Bebbanburg, the war with Wales was over. My men had captured Queen Mallt and one of her sons during the siege of Abertiefi. She surrendered her throne after that. My brother-in-law was now King Ernán of Wales and my sister was Queen Æthelburg. She and her brood, my three nephews and my grandnephews and grandniece were all on their way to the new King’s court at Ceredigion.

They weren’t the only ones to leave Bebbanburg. My two half-brothers had gone to their own lands as the new Earls Swithræd of the East Riding and Wiglaf of the Isle of Man. With them had gone nursemaids, tutors, guards and other retainers to watch over them as they grew. But not their mother. The Dowager Duchess of Northumbria instead fled south to be pampered in her father’s court in East Seaxe. Beorhtwaru didn’t want to play second fiddle to my wife in Bebbanburg, and didn’t want to live on the windswept Isle of Man or in the small court of Poclintun in the East Riding with either of her sons. She even left her daughters behind in Bebbanburg for me to raise. So, I was left surrounded by women, my wife Eithne, the new Duchess of Northumbria, my four half-sisters, Æthelhild, Ecgfrida, Sifflæd, and Mildrith, and my own two daughters, Wulfrun and Judith.

It turned out the war for Wales was the easy part of taking the reins of Northumbria.

My Uncle Beorhtnoth (Earl of Buccingaham and Cumbraland), Earl Eadulf of Lancashire, and Earl Hacon of Lyndsey had banded together and were petitioning that I lower crown authority within the Duchy of Northumbria. I assumed they just posturing to gain positions of authority on the Council, so I appointed Uncle Beorhtnoth, Chancellor, Earl Eadulf Steward and Earl Hacon Marshal. My great-aunt Wulfhild I kept on as spymaster, Bishop Swithelm I couldn’t dislodge if I wanted to, and, of course, Eithne joined the Council as the new Duchess.

But it turned out I was wrong, the three of them took the seats on the Council and still insisted that the current crown authority in Northumbria was infringing on their rights and threatened violence if I did not “see reason”.

What I saw that they had twice as many troops as I and they had Earl Hacon on their side, the best general in the Duchy, while I had troops that were exhausted after fighting in Wales for the past two years and a Bishop that wouldn’t support me with levy’s and supplies. This left me with the choice of giving in to their demands or spending gold to bring in foreign mercenaries to slaughter my own people. I had the gold, but I didn’t want my people’s blood on my hands, certainly not as my first real act as Duke.

So I caved. I gave into their demands and gave them freedom to fight each other, to give their titles away to foreigners, to refuse my lawful right to revoke titles, retract vassalage, or imprison with no penalty, and to skimp on the amount of taxes and levys owed to the Duchy, to me. On top of that, I couldn’t fire the three smug bastards from the Council, as it would just make things even worse. Even more annoying, after bowing to those three, I still had to abase myself and play up to Bishop Swithelm to try get him to do his duty to the Duchy.

I was not happy.

Surprisingly, it was my daughter Wulfrun, who helped me regain my equilibrium as I watched her one morning in the courtyard. I had been sitting by a window overlooking the courtyard, breaking my fast, when I noticed my half-sister, Ecgfrida, preaching at her playmates, basically telling them everything they were doing was wrong. Not unexpectedly, they didn’t like be lectured at. I thought I was about my little sister pummeled, which meant I would have to interrupt my meal to save her. But then Wulfrun stepped in and calmed everyone down, telling them to just think about what Ecgfrida had said, while leading her aunt away, claiming she needed her help with a lesson. The tensions faded away and no one got hurt. I needed to follow that example, let my anger go and deal with my situation calmly, after I finished my eggs.

Then another half-sister, Æthelhild, came to me talking about a lesson she had learned in generosity from one of my knights about giving others their due and you will receive your own in turn. I was astounded, I was supposed to be teaching these girls and it was they who were teaching me.

Of course, a month later I got a letter from the man I had given so much to already. My brother-in-law King Ernán was calling for aid, it seems the former Queen Malt was not as ready to give up her throne as she had professed when she was my prisoner. She had gained support to try and unseat Ernán and reclaim the throne. I agreed to help. Too much Northumbrian blood had been shed to put him on the throne to see him lose it less than a year later.

​

My troops had had 6 months to rest and recuperate, so we gathered 3,800 men together once again and marched west. We caught up with Princess Mallt’s army at Llandudno. It was a massacre, with Ernán’s men we numbered close to 5,000 while the rebels had less than 1,200. Two thirds of the rebels died on the field while we lost less than 60. Princess Mallt escaped, so we marched on her castle at Dinbych. Once the siege works were in place, I left the 800 Welsh to keep Dinbych contained and went hunting the remnants of the rebel army.

We found them in the south, outside of Caerffili, trying to besiege the castle with 400 men. At that point, the rebel army ceased to exist and Princess Mallt knew she had lost, so she wisely surrendered before her home was sacked. She went to Ceredigion in chains. The war had lasted a year, hopefully, Ernán is smart enough to make sure she isn’t the cause of another war in the future.

In November of 1240, Earl Hacon died of a bad heart. His grandson, Leofhelm, became the new Earl of Lindsey. He was a bookish young man, not the warrior his grandfather was. I was not sad to see Hacon die, but I would miss him as Marshal. I appointed one of my knights, Swegn of Sussex, to lead my armies for now.

The death of Hacon had weakened my Uncle’s coalition and he immediately tried to make nice with me now that he now no longer was in a position of strength. He invited me to Buccingaham for a feast, which I gladly accepted. I had decided I wanted to rule Northumbria though my vassals’ loyalty, not rule by fear, so I accepted my Uncle’s peace offering. So I made nice with him and his wife Princess Raymonde and with my cousins, Hacon, Beorhtnoth’s oldest son and heir, Ælfstan, the second adult son, and Beorhtnoth’s daughters, Agatha, Ælfgyth, Cristina, and Gytha. The feast went well, with Beorhtnoth thinking he had my measure, but then his eyes narrowed when I mentioned how my next stop was a feast in Lyndsey that Earl Leofhelm had invited me to.

​

The feast in Lyndsey went even smoother with the young Earl falling over himself to please me when he wasn’t crowing about the birth of his first child, a son. Countess Beorhtflæd looked tired, but happy.

I returned to Bebbanburg well pleased with myself.

That lasted until the spring of 1241, when my brother-in-law came calling again asking for help with a liberty war in Wales and King Sæbert was unexpectedly dead at the age of 40, he died from wounds he had sustained in an accident.

Sæbert’s only son, Prince Æthelstan, was still too young to have gained enough support to claim his father’s crown, so my grandfather’s plan had come to fruition, though 20 years later than originally envisioned. My smug vassal was now my King and liege lord.

Beorhtnoth Æthelricson was crowned as the first Bamburgh King of England on the 25th day of June in the year of our Lord, one thousand two hundred forty-one.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Uncle Smug Bastard is on the throne and you are dealing with a passel of women.

 

[Lazarenko]

A son of Uhtred is king of England. King Alfred must be turning in his grave!

 

[Dunaden]

Uncle Smug Bastard is on the throne and you are dealing with a passel of women.

His Uncle as King doesn't make Ordgar feel safe, quite the opposite. He does find himself surrounded by a alrge contingent of females to raise, dress, and eventually find husbnads for.

A son of Uhtred is king of England. King Alfred must be turning in his grave!

Alfred's only consolation is that at least Uhtred's descendants finally embraced Christianity.

 

[Dunaden]

1241 -1248 Paying for Our Sins

Hi, Duke Ordgar here with some more entries for these journals. It has been some time since I last wrote here, but not a lot has happened until now. Oh, looking at the last couple of entries, Ernán did lose his liberty war, because I kind of neglected to give him much help.

I was dealing with my Uncle becoming King and taking Buccingaham and Cumbraland with him, weakening Northumbria. So Ernán did have to give his vassals more freedoms (I know that feeling), but he kept his crown. The only other old news was both my daughter and my half-sister came of age. As Wulfrun is still my heir, I arranged a matrilineal marriage with Prince Manfred of Lotharingia, the young uncle of King Hartmann II of Lotharingia. King Hartmann was quite happy to agree to matrilineal marriage as it would get his more militarily-minded uncle out of Lotharingia. I also arranged for my half-sister Æthelhild’s more conventional marriage to Napoleone von Landsberg, the heir to the Duchy of Carinthia.

The reason I am writing now is my uncle has decided he and his spawn are too good to simply be Bamburghs.

In 1244, King Beorhtnoth created a cadet House, the Royal Bamburgh-Carleol House of the Bamburgh Dynasty. I think he picked Carleol as part of the House name just to rub it in my face that he holds Cumbraland which should rightfully be under Northumbria (He can keep Buccingaham). He wanted separation from the rest of us Bamburghs. He was King and his son, Hacon was a lock to succeed him on the throne, he had sewn up most of the electors’ support. The rest of his children, both his daughter and sons had moved ahead of me in the succession. When Beorhtnoth had first been crowned, I had ranked third, behind just Prince Hacon and Prince Æthelstan Sæbertson. But that had changed quickly as more of Beorhtnoth’s children came of age and began to have children of their own.

As my stock fell and Beorhtnoth’s children’s rose, I began worrying about another concern. Uncle Beorhtnoth had three sons and three counties. Winchester would go with the crown to Prince Hacon, and his two younger sons would claim Buccingaham and Cumbraland. That would leave Hacon in a weak position as King. But Uncle Beorhtnoth also had strong claims to the Duchy of Northumbria and all of my other holdings. Would he try to revoke some of my titles to strengthen his son’s future prospects?

Beorhtnoth seemed to like me more than he had as my vassal. He had appointed me to the Royal Council. I was serving as Steward, with Duke Swithræd of Mercia as Chancellor, Duke Budog of Cornwall as Marshal, and Duke Eastmund of East Seaxe as Spymaster. Queen Raymonde and Archbishop Tostig were part of Council. But I had to always keep in mind, Beorhtnoth had a silver tongue and could convince anyone of almost anything. If he came after my titles, he would come wearing a smile.

So I began efforts to ingratiate myself with him even further, to try to make sure the affection he showed me was real.

While I was worrying about all that, the girls in my household continued to turn into women. My younger daughter Judith came of age. She was second in line, behind Wulfrun, to the Duchy, so I decided a matrilineal marriage was warranted for her as well. So, I arranged her betrothal to Pedru de Vivar, Duchess Marguerite of Auvergne’s son and heir. Duchess Marguerite was of the House Rat and did not care if her grandchildren were de Vivars or Bamburghs. Judith had turned into a formable young woman, a skilled tactician, ambitious and deceitful. I worried how much she might chafe as her older sister’s vassal.

My half-sister Ecgfrida also came of age, in some ways she was much like Judith, a brilliant strategist, skilled at deceit, but she had a much more forgiving and generous nature than her niece, as well as being more devout, seeing herself as a Holy Warrior. She was in no hurry to marry, content to ride and hunt and train.

Bishop Swithelm died in the spring of 1245. It wasn’t unexpected as he was into his eighth decade. It was unfortunate as he was replaced by a spineless zealot, Bishop Leofwine, who had little to recommend him. At least he was enough of a coward that he would do whatever I told him.

My efforts to sway my Uncle Beorhtnoth continued. I spent time in Winchester helping him sort through the records left by the past Kings and cataloguing his library. He seemed to appreciate the efforts, I think. At least when he finally decided to expand his holdings, he looked west toward Ireland, rather than north to my lands.

In 1246, England declared war on Leinster to press its de jure claim on Meath. This disturbed me a bit. King Rogellach of Leinster was our kinsman, though distant, and I did not like Beorhtnoth attacking family. If he did it once, he could do it again. Rogellach was new to his throne as his father, King Cóelbad, had just died the year before.

The war led me to be thrown into contact with Duchess Gyða of Connacht, England’s Irish vassal who held the Duchy of Meath and whose de jure claim was the basis for the war. As Steward, I worked with her to make sure our armies were locally supplied during the war in Ireland, rather than having to ship supplies across the Irish Sea. Our interactions became a friendship of sorts and we continued to correspond beyond just logistics and military matters.

Other than ensuring the supply lines, I avoided getting involved in Beorhtnoth’s war on family. But as luck would have it, I instead got roped into another war by my brother-in-law, King Ernán. This time he was attacking the Kingdom of Alba to press his claim on Gowrie. I honored our alliance and joined him, but I was concerned that Northumbria would bear the brunt of this war due to our proximity to the enemy.

At the same time, I was dealing with the deaths of two of my Council. My steward, Earl Eadulf of Lancashire, the third member of Beorhtnoth’s triumvirate who had bullied me when I first became Duke, passed away at the age of 62. His death was soon followed by that of my great-aunt Wulfhild, who had served as my spymaster as well as my court physician. I chose Eadulf’s daughter and heir, the new Countess Wulfhild of Lancashire, to replace him on the Council as Steward. To replace Great-aunt Wulfhild as spymaster, I chose Earl Cytelbearn of Dunholm, the head of House Bamburgh-Hartlepool. He was a noted scholar, well read, who made good use his accumulated knowledge to root out secrets.

To fill Great-aunt Wulfhild’s other role as court physician, I turned to Rijeka Bamburgh-Kelso, who was a skilled herbalist and had assisted Wulfrid in treating people in the past. One of Rijeka’s first duties was to assist in the birth of my first grandchild as Wulfrun gave birth to a son. She and Prince Manfred named the boy Harold, Harold Wulfrunson of Bamburgh. He was currently second in line to the Duchy after his mother, pushing ahead of my second daughter, his Aunt Judith.

As I had feared, the Albans focused on the border between Northumbria and Alba. An Alban army was heading for Bebbanburg, so I sent my army to intercept them. They met at Galashiels, just over the border into Alba. We were outnumbered, and were driven from the field in defeat. But apparently, we hurt them badly enough that they gave up on the idea of besieging Bebbanburg and turned west, heading toward Gowrie.

It turned out they had gone to meet the Welsh army and drive them off. Six months later they were again marching toward my home. My army had not recovered from the last battle, and though we gallantly marched to meet the Albans, we again were defeated by their superior numbers, this time on the Northumbrian side of the border, near Rothbury. With the Alban army between us, my army and the Welsh were never able to link up to combine our strength, so the Albans continued to punish us individually. By July 1248, Ernán saw he was outmatched and gave up his claim to Gowrie.

England’s war with Leinster was faring better, with the King’s army controlling the contested lands, but the progress had come at a shocking cost. My cousin Prince Hacon, Uncle Beorhtnoth’s oldest son and future successor, was dead. He was killed in battle by our kinsman, Earl Assiuac of Thomond, King Rogellach’s brother. My Uncle had paid dearly for his sin of attacking family. Prince Hacon left only a daughter behind, so his brother, Prince Ælfstan, became Beorhtnoth’s direct heir, but it was Prince Æthelstan Sæbertson, the Duke of Kent, who was supported by Electors of England to be the next King, threatening to take back the throne from the Bamburgh dynasty.

​

This whole situation, first the war against Alba and the continuing war for Meath against our kinsmen, I found very stressful. I decided to hold a feast to try and forget everything for a while. And forget I did. For a night, I forgot so much that I forgot I was married to Eithne and that Godgigu Cytelbearndohter, was not only the daughter of my vassal and spymaster, but also married to my half-brother, Swithræd, and mother to my nephew. But for one night everything was forgotten and I was at peace. But as wonderful as that one night was, I knew it must never happen again, it was far too dangerous and sinful.

Of course, the stress soon returned as Pope Victor III sent out a call for all righteous Christian rulers to once again take up arms against the infidels who had attacked our brothers and sisters in Castille. I would, of course, join this Crusade, not only to help my kinsmen in Castille, the Bamburgh-Aveiros and Villablinos of Coimbra and the Badajoz of Léon, but also to gain absolution for the sin of adultery, having lain with my brother’s wife.

​