The Legacy of Uhtred (A Bamburgh AAR)

[Dunaden]

1259- 1264 Plans and Portents

From the hand of Wulfrun Ordgardohtor, Duchess of Northumbria.

I had ransomed all of King Ƥorbrandr’s children whom I had captured during the wasted war. But his granddaughter, Bé-Fáil, had not wanted to return to Gowrie. Her grandfather had arranged her betrothal to Colin Crovan, the cruel and cynical son of Prince Hamish. Prince Hamish was the current heir the crown of Norway. Bé-Fáil did not want to spend the rest of her life tending sheep on one of the windswept islands in the North Sea which the Kingdom of Norway had long been reduced to. She wanted to see the world.

If she had still been a child, I would have just sent her home to her grandfather. But she had lately come of age and I was still put out about the abrupt end to my war. King Ƥorbrandr’s fumblings had snatched Ulster from my grasp so I agreed to snatch his willing granddaughter from him. The betrothal to Crovan boy was broken and I arranged for Bé-Fáil to head for the continent as the bride to my cousin, Æthelric Gythason, who was living in Neuchatel in the Holy Roman Empire. She and any children she might bear would have some claim to Alba which might be useful in the future.

Before Bé-Fáil left for Neuchatel, she told me her aunt, Princess Der-Ilei of Alba, remained a prisoner of Ælfnoth of Cornwall because her husband, Prince Æthelstan of England, did not have the coin to ransom her, as he had lost his land and titles and was living at Duke Cynehelm’s court in South Seaxe. The latest news indicated that Princess Der-Ilei had contracted pneumonia in her dank cell and was not expected to survive much longer. This was interesting news as Prince Æthelstan still remained the leading candidate to be the next King of England. King Ælfstan’s son, Prince Wulf, was still under age and trailed well behind Æthelstan in support amongst the electors.

Princess Der-Ilei had failed to give Æthelstan any children. If she died, Æthelstan’s next wife would potentially be the next Queen of England and mother to a line of Kings. A plan began to form in my head as I looked at my eldest daughter, humble little Ælfflæd.

When word came a few months later that she died, still locked in the dungeon, I moved quickly and I made an arrangement with Duke Cynehelm for a matrilineal betrothal between his landless courtier, Prince Æthelstan, and my 9-year old daughter, Ælfflæd. It would be at least 7 years before they could marry, but it would at least prevent Prince Æthelstan from marrying anyone else and siring any legitimate children who would join the candidates for the throne of England.

While I had been looking to England’s future, Duke Ælffræd of Mercia was trying to change England right now. He had formed a faction to try and reduce crown authority in England and give the nobility more freedom to act as they wished. He had the support of the Duke of East Anglia and the Earl of Wiltshire and they had presented their demands to King Ælfstan. The King had refused the faction’s demands and now Duke Ælffræd was leading a war against the tyranny of King Ælfstan of England with his two allies.

Shortly after this Liberty War started, an envoy from one of King Ælfstan’s allies, the self-styled King of Genoa, arrived in Winchester asking for England to honor their alliance and join Genoa in two wars it was entangled in. The King was quick to promise that England would honor the alliance and send aid, but, as Chancellor, I quickly reminded Ælfstan that if he sent troops to Genoa, he wouldn’t have enough strength to deal with Duke Ælffræd. Ælfstan quickly amended his response to say he would send help as soon as his domestic issues were dealt with. The envoy was forced to smile and accept this condition on aid for his King. The good news was that England winning against rebels for the moment.

I avoided letting myself, or Northumbria, from being dragged into the war. Instead, I was back to thinking of the future trying to find wives for my sons. I had wanted a betrothal for Harold to Richara Salian-Erbach of the Kingdom of Frisia, but her twin brother’s regency council wouldn’t even consider it. My other proposition to King Lóchine of France led to a betrothal between my younger son, Æthelric Wulfrunson, and Princess Echive of France, gaining alliance for Northumbria with France.

While I was away, King Ælfstan agreed to join another war, this one in the Holy Roman Empire against the King of Ruadan. Another war we would be unable to spare men for.

The year 1261 started with good news, when one of rebels, Duke Cynehelm of East Anglia, was captured by King’s men in Battle of Dorset, ending his part in rebellion. Also, the two Genovese wars were over, though I do not think our ally fared well in either of them.

But while England situation was improving, Northumbria was having some setbacks. Two of my Councillors died in 1261. The first to go was my friend and Chancellor, Earl Áeducán of Cheshire, who died of heart failure at the age 57. I invited my Uncle Earl Wiglaf to take Áeducán’s place on the Council as Chancellor.

Áeducán’s loss was soon followed by my spymaster, Earl Cytelbearn of Dunholm, who died at the age 74. His son, Sighere Bamburgh-Hartlepool, became the new Earl of Dunholm and was chosen to take his father’s place on Council.

The loss of my friends and advisors was causing my stress levels to rise. My husband, Manfred, did what he could to help me deal with this increased stress, getting me outside training more and just being there for me. He had been drinking more as the years went by but it had little effect on him or his skills, he remained a formidable warrior.

I also donated more coin to charity to ease my conscience and stress levels. Finally, I agreed to accept an invitation to a feast in Lindsey hosted by Earl Leofhelm. There I enjoyed good company and good food. After this I was no longer overwhelmed by stress.

In 1262, the so-called Liberty war came to an end. King Ælfstan defeated Duke Ælffræd. The King forced Ælffræd to abdicate his title. His 6-year old daughter, Leofwaru af Island, became the new Duchess of Mercia.

More significantly for Northumbria, 1262 marked the coming of age of my son and heir, Harold. Harold had grown to match his father’s size, strength and courage, though he had my caution. He was ambitious, trained to rule, to manage his lands and peoples, not trained for war like his father. In order to mark this occasion, I planned a great feast at Bebbanburg.

The feast was a success, with all my vassals attending and welcoming my son and their future Duke into manhood. I ended up spending a lot of time with my uncle, Earl Swithræd of the East Riding, and we got along splendidly.

Now that Harold has come of age, I again sent another proposition to Frisia regarding Richara Salian-Erbach. But her brother’s advisors still won’t accept a betrothal even though her brother is no longer the King of Frisia, but merely a Duke. It appears that a member of our own Bamburgh dynasty, Amalberga Bamburgh-Saarbrücken, was now Queen of Frisia after having been installed by faction demand in 1261. That made four current reigning Bamburgh Kings and Queens (if you include Leinster); England, Wales, Leinster, and now Frisia. But it wouldn’t last, as Queen Amalberga’s heir is of her husband’s house, Prince Géza Balog-Rimaszombat.

I learn my sister, Judith, and my 7-year old niece, Wulfgyth Judithdohtor, are currently spending their exile from Northumbria in Thomond, a county in Leinster, and she is pregnant with her second child. She is still waiting for her husband to inherit the Duchy of Auvergne. A short time later, Judith gives birth to a second daughter, Ælfswith Judithdohtor.

In Bebbanburg, Shona and my knight, Eanhere de Ros, have a son, Murdoch Bamburgh-Kelso. A beautiful child.

In the summer of 1263 with all of England at peace, King Ælfstan hosted a great feast at his court in Winchester. All of his vassals were invited, though Duchess Leofwaru of Mercia was too young to attend the actual feast, she did come to court and played with the King’s children. The role call of guests included all the notable figures of the realm and their spouses. This included Queen Ecgwyn, the King’s sister Agatha, his daughter Æthelswith, his brother, Prince Eadulf, Duchess Gyða of Connacht, Duke Sigehelm of Kent, Duke Cynehelm of East Anglia, and Earl William of Wiltshire. Also some of the minor nobles who were direct vassals to the King were also invited. In fact, I had an interesting conversation with Reeve Ecgberht of Whitehaven at the feast.

King Ælfstan was drinking heavily, and tried to encourage me to match him drink for drink, but I begged off, letting the King know that I was once again pregnant.

The feast appeared to have been rousing success, and was a credit to all of the Bamburgh dynasty.

But the feast was actually the last moment of peace in England for some time to come.

The first sign of trouble was when 8-year old Duchess Leofwaru of Mercia returned home to find herself under attack from her vassal, Earl Beorn of Warwickshire. But Beorn was just another child, this was obviously some type of plan by his advisors to gain power in Warwickshire or in Mercia.

Meanwhile, Duke Sigehelm of Kent saw there was little hope he could win enough support from the electors to legitimately gain the throne, so he started a faction to place himself on the throne of England by force. Though, at first, he saw as little support for his faction as he had seen from the electors.

I could smell war coming, and I began training more, despite my pregnancy. On one occasion, I began sparring with an ugly hulking boy, who turned out to be much better trained than anyone had told me. I managed to disarm him after several close calls. When I calmed down, I decided to recruit the boy as a knight even though part of me feared that he may have actually been sent to kill me. His name was Ælfgar Tynedale.

When war did come to England in early 1264, it was not the internal rebellion I was expecting … it was France.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Frisia keeps the printers busy. Every year, a new monarch appears wanting new business cards and signs. France/England war, what fantasy world is this, that would never happen in real life! Thank you for the update, my Duchess and good health to the baby.

 

[slothinator]

A good few strategic marriages for our duchess, it's important that England stay in Bamburgh hands.
And Harold seems like a good heir, a good royal name as well, if that might sway any electors.

 

[Dunaden]

Frisia keeps the printers busy. Every year, a new monarch appears wanting new business cards and signs. France/England war, what fantasy world is this, that would never happen in real life! Thank you for the update, my Duchess and good health to the baby.

Frisia is not a happy place, only one King in the last 7 died with his crown, all the rest had it taken away, Hopefully Amalberga can hold it for awhile.

England and France were spared a lot of conflict when the de Normandies were unable to hold onto England's throne, so Normandy fell back in France's hands, removing a source of contention.

A good few strategic marriages for our duchess, it's important that England stay in Bamburgh hands.
And Harold seems like a good heir, a good royal name as well, if that might sway any electors.

Wulfrun is trying to cover every option, playing a long game.
Harold is looking promising, but not in the top candidates for the throne.

 

[Dunaden]

1264 - 1267 Hard Choices

From the hand of Wulfrun Ordgardohtor, Duchess of Northumbria.

I was nursing my new born daughter, a dark-haired little angel named Wulfgyth Wulfrundohtor, when I first heard the news. King Lóchine of France had declared war on England to press Count Adrien of Boulogne’s claim on the Duchy of Kent.

​

King Ælfstan would meet the French alone. His former ally in Genoa had been stripped of his lands and titles. As a Marcher Lord, the bulk of my Northumbrians remained in the North to protect against any incursions from Alba. (At least that was my current position as I was not sure I wanted to risk the betrothal between my younger son and King Lóchine’s daughter and the alliance that represented.) The young Duchess of Mercia was fighting her own internal rebellion and had no men to spare. So King Ælfstan mainly had only his own levys and those of his southern vassals. The traitor, Duke Sigehelm, was forced to set aside his faction for now and to join with the King as it was his lands that were at stake.

The King gathered 11,000 men in Surrey, waiting for the arrival of the French. I would have recommended moving closer to the coast and trying to contest the French landing, but I was the Chancellor, not the Marshal, so I was not asked. When the French landed at Kent in May of 1264 with almost 18,000 men, they were allowed to land and get organized in peace. After that, they were too strong to dislodge.

King Ælfstan and his army shadowed the French, hoping they would divide into smaller parties to allow him to pick them apart. But King Lóchine was too smart for that. He did divide his men in order better live off the land while the larger portion of his army besieged Kent, but the other units stayed close, where the French could quickly merge back together if threatened. So King Ælfstan basically watched the French ravage Kent for the next 18 months.

I stayed out of it, seeing to my children’s well-being. My daughter Ælflæd continued to work hard at her studies and chores, becoming diligent. My husband, Prince Manfred sponsored a tourney in Bebbanburg. My son Harold joined the lists and fought in the Tourney. He also continued his education, learning logistics. I saw that this was a useful skill to have so I had Reeve Eormenred of Salford helps me learn about logistics as well.

By the end of 1264, Duchess Leofwaru of Mercia had won the war started by regents of Earl Beorn of Warwickshire. Young Beorn was imprisoned, awaiting the fate his advisors had led him to.

To the south, the French and Anglo-Saxon armies continued to circle each other in Kent, but King Ælfstan would not let them meet in battle, while the French continued to capture castles throughout Kent.

This waiting for something to happen was causing my stress levels to rise, I found myself losing my temper over trivial and nonsensical things. Part of this stress came from feeling guilty that I still had the traitor Wulfhild locked away in my dungeon after almost 10 years. Every few months, she would wake up and start screaming and cursing my name, this would last until she exhausted herself and she would then return to her normal routine. She hated me and was too dangerous to free, but I could not bring myself to execute her, though many suggested just that. Instead, I retreated into solitude to escape pressure and also donated a significant sum to charity to assuage my guilt.

My cousin Rijeka took on an assistant to help her with her duties as the court physician, a well-educated Irish girl with a compassionate nature. It seemed to be a good idea as Rijeka has gained renown as a physician and more and more people are coming to Bebbanburg to seek her aid. Rijeka’s son Farquhar continues to do well as my Marshal. He had increased control in Lancashire, the county I had revoked from Wulfhild, and had also had some success in training my other commanders.

I traveled to a feast in Lindsey at the invitation of Earl Leofhelm, it was good to out of Bebbanburg and I enjoyed the good company and good food. When I returned from Lindsey, we celebrated my daughter Eadhburh’s sixth birthday. It was time for her to leave the nursery and begin her own education. I took charge of her personally.

In August of 1266, King Hartmann sent an envoy asking for my help in dealing with a peasant revolt. This surprised me, I asked the envoy why Hartmann would need help dealing with peasants. The envoy explained that Hartmann is already deeply involved in another war, a war against his liege, Kaiser Hardwin, supporting a man named Gautselin’s claim on the Holy Roman Empire. He didn’t have any men to spare to deal with the peasant rabble. I agreed to honor the alliance and lead an army to Lotharingia.

Before I left, I celebrated another birthday as my daughter Ælflæd came of age. She has become a master of understanding people’s motivations and desires, without them even knowing she was studying them. We move forward with my plans to see her wed to Prince Æthelstan, a man more than twice her age, but one who happened to be the current heir to the throne of England. As agreed, the couple was married matrilineally and Prince Æthelstan joined my court.

In September, my army finally embarked on the voyage down the coast and across the Channel to Lotharingia.

We landed in Holland in early November and prepared to move inland to hunt down the rebels. But we never saw any sign of the peasant army. The first snows of December had sent them all scurrying home to the warmth of their hovels, abandoning the leader of the plot to King Hartmann’s justice.

So we turned around and marched back to the coast to set sail once again for England. The winter storms were getting bad along the North Sea coast, so soon after crossing the Channel, I landed the army in Suffolk, thinking it would less risky to march them the rest of the way home overland. But upon landing, I heard the news. King Lóchine had finally managed to trap the Anglo-Saxon army and bring them to battle, Ælfstan had been defeated and the broken army had fled inland. It appears the French will soon gain a foothold in England when they claim Kent.

I find that I cannot allow that to happen, a Bamburgh King can’t lose a piece of England. It is not an easy decision, Lóchine is my ally through the betrothal between his daughter and my son, Æthelric. But my family’s reputation and prestige must come first, so I send a messenger after King Ælfstan’s retreating army offering to help defend England.

But the response did not come from King Ælfstan, but from my new son-in-law. Ælfstan is dead, dying during the retreat from Kent, Prince Æthelstan is now the King of England and my daughter Ælflæd is now Queen. I’m even more surprised that King Æthelstan’s first act is to name me Marshal of England and tell me to do whatever it takes to win this war. He’s not sure what I can do as he is doubtful that that even our combined strength is a match for the French after the losses suffered under King Ælfstan. The French armies currently have free reign in Kent and will soon control the whole Duchy and claim victory.

But I have already come up with another option rather than open battle, a less honorable route. I load my army back onto the ships and make a third crossing of the Channel. This time we are heading for Boulogne, the home of Count Adrien, whose claims on Kent are the basis for this war. By May 1267, Boulogne is under siege.

Time is of the essence, so as soon as my trebuchets knock a large breach in the walls, I order an assault. It is a bloody mess and my army and the people of Boulogne both suffer heavy casualties, but we succeed in seizing the castle and capturing Count Adrien and his wife, Countess Ana.

I have the Count brought before me in his own hall. I looked at this old man with pity. He is by reputation an honorable and trusting man. But he is being used by his King to justify the war France has started. And now I must use this old man as well, use all he has left, in order to end that war.

Time is of the essence, so with a heavy heart, I order Count Adrien’s execution. He is beheaded as befits a noble and his body given back to his family. I free his wife Countess Ana and take my army home.

With Count Adrien’s death, his claim on Kent is lost and the war with the French is over. It is said King Lóchine initially raged against me and cursed me, but in the end, he did not break the betrothal between our children. He understands it was a war, and all is fair.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Count Adrien's description is so apt: Honorable Lackey. Regents start war, kid takes the fall. The slowest man is appointed the leader of the peasant revolt and takes the fall. Thank you for the update.

 

[Historywhiz]

Well that’s a brutal way to cut the Gordian Knot of the war.

 

[bsmithers333]

Finally caught up on this great AAR!

Poor Wulfrun, that paranoid trait has not been treating her kindly on the stress front.

 

[Dunaden]

Count Adrien's description is so apt: Honorable Lackey. Regents start war, kid takes the fall. The slowest man is appointed the leader of the peasant revolt and takes the fall. Thank you for the update.

Scapegoats are an ancient tradition.

Well that’s a brutal way to cut the Gordian Knot of the war.

One man executed to avoid 100s dying in battle.

Finally caught up on this great AAR!

Poor Wulfrun, that paranoid trait has not been treating her kindly on the stress front.

Glad to have another reader enjoying the tale.

Wulfrun definitely dealing with a lot of stress and finding different ways to try and deal with it.

 

[Dunaden]

1268 – 1271 War: At Home and Abroad (Part 1)

England was at peace and King Æthelstan is well pleased by his Lady Marshal and mother-in-law. He is also pleased that his new wife is pregnant, I will soon be grandmother to a Prince or Princess.

One bit of welcome news awaits me at home, the traitor Wulfhild has finally died in the dungeons of Bebbanburg, perhaps I will now be free of her.

Duke Sigehelm of Kent, who had been plotting to claim the throne for himself, was killed in the war with the French, ending that threat to peace. However, his son, Æthelwold, is the new Duke, he too is soon plotting, not to claim the throne, but to reduce the King’s authority. While I am sympathetic to his aim, I won’t condone any threat my daughter’s family.

I also learned that the poor child, Duchess Leofwaru of Mercia, had had her ruled challenged once again, this time by another cousin, Sælræd af Island-Stafford, who succeeded in forcing her to step down in his favor. Young Leofwaru remained his vassal in Mercia as the Countess of Nottinghamshire.

Two months after my return, I was a grandmother. Ælflæd gave birth to a daughter Princess Eadhburh Ælflæddohtor Bamburgh of England. She was golden-haired like her mother and grandfather, Prince Manfred, but there was a concern as she was undersized and not very robust. King Æthelstan had his court physician hovering over the baby constantly. There was little I could do other than comfort my daughter and pray for my little granddaughter.

Eventually, I returned home and tried to take my mind off my granddaughter’s condition. I began to focus on making improvements in Northumbria. I decided to start by spending money building barns and storehouses in Eoforwic. But that was as far as I got, as I was soon distracted by other issues.

Firstly, I was pregnant again at the age of 40. I had come through five pregnancies in good health, but I was getting a little old to be birthing babies, I was a grandmother already. But it was still gratifying that I could still get the best out of my husband.

Then an envoy arrived from Lotharingia. King Hartmann had won his war to crown a new Emperor and was now looking to regain portions of Lotharingia. He had declared the Lotharingian de jure war for Upper Lorraine and was asking me to honor our alliance and join him. This was not an easy decision as the Duchy of Upper Lorraine was currently held by the Kingdom of Frisia and my dynasty’s cadet house of Bamburgh-Saarbrücken under Queen Amalberga. But Amalberga was 55 years old and her heirs were not of House Bamburgh-Saarbrücken, so our family would not be holding the crown of Frisia or control Upper Lorraine much longer in either case, so I reluctantly agreed to join King Hartmann in his war. But even then, let us say, I was in no hurry to mobilize my levys and men-at-arms to set sail for the Continent again.

I delayed taking action for two months with thin excuses and then I got a legitimate excuse. Earl William of Wiltshire and my cousin Prince Wulf, Earl of Cumbraland, launched a war to press Prince Wulf’s claim to the throne of England. As Marshal of England, I couldn’t leave England when the very throne was at stake, and I had no intention on leaving anyway when my daughter and granddaughter were threatened.

Six weeks later, while Prince Wulf was laying siege to Bebbanburg with 5,000 men, the Dukes of East Anglia, Mercia and Kent decide to ask King Æthelstan to loosen the laws restricting his vassals and reduce his crown authority. Duke Cynehelm of East Anglia had taken control of the faction from Duke Æthelwold of Kent and then persuaded the new Duke of Mercia to join. King Æthelstan refused and now half of England is at war with the King.

If I had been in Winchester, I would have advised him to agree to their demands, but I was in East Riding. I had been on my way to Bebbanburg as my time was drawing nigh and I wanted my child born at home, but Prince Wulf made that impossible. So, my third son, Roland, was born in Poclintum, under the care of my uncle Earl Swithræd of the East Riding’s court physician. I was tired and upset, but I was also very angry, so I sent word throughout Northumbria for my levys to rally at Poclintum. I would break the siege of Bebbanburg myself, as King Æthelstan had led England’s army west to deal with Earl William.

Three months later, in February of 1269, I was leading my own 5,000 men north through Dunholm with a baby on my hip. Prince Wulf wisely broke off the siege rather than be caught between me and the walls of my home (and the 2,000 men garrisoned there waiting to sally forth), fleeing west toward Cumbraland. I entered Bebbanburg and introduced little Roland to his father and his brothers and sisters.

As a reward for my services and to weaken Earl William’s war effort, King Æthelstan transferred the vassalage of my kinsman, Prince Wulf Ælfstanson, the Earl of Cumbraland and of Dorset, to the me after hearing that I had lifted the siege. Cumbraland is now back in the Duchy of Northumbria where it belongs (Prince Wulf is still the current heir to the throne of England, so if he becomes King, I will lose control of Cumbraland again). But for now, as my vassal, Prince Wulf is no longer free to support Earl William in his war, even if William is pressing Prince Wulf’s own claim, so William is on his own.

Earl William had escaped King Æthelstan by taking to the sea. He ended up on the Isle of Mann laying siege to Holmwick. I was getting ready to head west to dislodge him when England came under attack again. Another of my cousins had decided to take advantage of the chaos in England. King Beorhtric of Wales declared war on England with the support of King Conall of Alba, pressing his claim on the Duchy of Northumbria and everything I owned. That was something I could not and would not allow.

King Conall had apparently joined this fight because I had dismissed some perceived slight by my uncle and chancellor, Earl Swithræd that had greatly offended him.

I told King Æthelstan that I would deal with the King Beorhtric personally, which may have been some small comfort to him, until the fourth war against him started. The King’s half-sister, Duchess Gyða of Connacht, also decided to act at this time, and declared Connacht and Ireland free of England. That made five wars that Northumbria was involved with in some way, and four of those wars involved members of my extended family as the enemy in some way. Only the Liberty war was free of my kinsmen on the other side of the lines, and that was the one cause that I might have supported under different circumstances.

I focused on the threat to my home and marched my 5,000 men into Wales. We soon had Beorhtric’s castle at Aberteifi under siege. However, while I had been marching overland, King Boerhtric had sailed his own army around Alba and landed in Bernicia to put my own home under siege. The Albans joined him, swelling their numbers to over 7,000. Meanwhile, dreadful news reached me from the south. Winchester had fallen to the dukes, and my daughter, Queen Ælflæd, was now imprisoned by Duke Cynehelm of East Anglia.

In November of 1269, Aberteifi fell into my hands, I captured three of Beorhtric’s grandchildren, Eadflæd, Æthelhild, and a younger Beorhtric. I treated them gently as not only were they innocent children, but they were family. A fourth prisoner was taken, a foreigner named Hroznata Žerotinid. I did not know what role he played in King Beorhtric’s court, but I had him treated with dignity as well.

As soon as Aberteifi fell, I pulled up stakes and began the long march home. The last reports I had heard, Bebbanburg still held out against the siege, there was a slim chance I could arrive in time to break the siege and spare my home from being sacked and pillaged.

The warfare and the tutelage of my Marshal Farquhar were improving my Knights skills, Earl Áeducán and Sir Cearl Clifford, were two with the most noticeable increase in skill. As I drew closer to Bebbanburg, my scouts informed me the combined army of Wales and Alba had half again my numbers. It would be a hard fight to dislodge them. I decided to even the odds slightly and sent word to engage the Madhmann’s Company, a mercenary band that had served my family so well in the past, and urged them to join me with all due haste.

Luckily, Bebbanburg held out long enough for the Captain Dínertach and his Irish mercenaries to join me. In February, we crossed into Bernicia and engaged the larger army under the still defiant walls of Bebbanburg. We were outnumbered, but my knights were more skilled and the mercenary band were well disciplined pikemen. They wreaked havoc amongst the peasant levys from Wales and Alba. My mentor, Reeve Eormenred of Salford, was killed in the battle, but even he left a trail of bodies before he fell. Soon the enemy fled the field, leaving close to 3,000 dead behind them. Even more significantly, my men had captured Prince Leofweah, son and heir to King Beorhtric.

Leofweah had been born and raised and even wed in Bebbanburg, his oldest children had also been born here, so I was sad and angry that he taken up arms against his former home. But again, he was family, so I reunited him with his children in my dungeon and awaited his father’s next move.

While my scouts were tailing the retreating Welsh and Albans, they discovered that Earl William had arrived with a small army and was besieging Wigton, a castle in Cumbraland belonging to the very man he was trying to make King. I marched west and fell upon the rebel army. It was a slaughter, the army of Wiltshire ceased to exist.

I then turned my army south, heading to the Welsh border, intending to end this attempt to steal my land once and for all. It seemed as soon as Beorhtric heard I had crossed the border back into Wales, he surrendered. He renounced any claims he had on any of my lands and titles and paid restitution to King Æthelstan. This ended the first of England’s four wars, not even counting the fifth war I was pledged to fight in Frisia.

 

[Midnite Duke]

The AI does like a good dog pile. Thank you for the update

 

[slothinator]

That was a lucky end to the war in Kent and a dangerous few years for England. I don't expect there will be a long peace anytime soon

 

[Dunaden]

The AI does like a good dog pile. Thank you for the update

Yes, any sign of weakness or advantage and they move in.

That was a lucky end to the war in Kent and a dangerous few years for England. I don't expect there will be a long peace anytime soon

Wasn't so much as luck as ruthlessness, killing an innocent man to end the war. But war has come to England and Northumbria, and will continue for the next several years.

 

[Dunaden]

1271 – 1274 War: At Home and Abroad (Part 2)

I retreated to Northumbria after the war against Wales was won and disbanded my army to let them recover from the campaign over the past year. For the next six months, I did nothing. Some of my men returned to Eoforwic and finished the barns and storehouses I had commissioned. I received news from Ireland, Queen Nárblaith of Leinster had died. Leinster had been split in two by her daughters, ending the Bamburgh dynasty’s 150-year hold on Leinster as neither daughter was of the cadet House Conchobar Ruad, but rather they belonged to their father’s Cerneu dynasty. From the far to the south, I learned that my aunt, Countess Ecgfrida of Tui, had founded her own cadet branch, House Bamburgh-Faro. Then I learned that Queen Amalberga had been forced to abdicate as King Odelric V recovered the throne of Frisia he had lost as a child a decade earlier. The war between Lotharingia and Frisia still raged, but now I could join the fight with a clear conscience and I would not be fighting family. My army had rested long enough. My knights, men-at-arms, levys and the Madhmann’s Company boarded ship in April 1271 and sailed for Frisia.

I had a new knight when I sailed, his name was Jacut Boscawen, a Cornishman that Farquhar had promoted through the ranks and sponsored. He was knighted after the Battle of Bebbanburg. Marshal Farquhar was full of praise for the promising young man, he said Sir Jacut was a brilliant strategist and blademaster, a skilled organizer, calm under pressure, sometimes stubborn, especially when he knew he was right, and generous to a fault. After such praise, I had no choice but to take Sir Jacut on.

We landed in Holland in July and lay siege to Haarlem, the capitol of Frisia. Back in Bebbanburg, my son Æthelric came of age. He had no particular flair for strategy or tactics, but was a tough and confident Knight nonetheless, knowledgeable in siege warfare. He was quick to anger and unpredictable, but had a generous nature. My Council followed my orders to the letter and moved forward with his marriage to Princess Echive of France. The Princess was a year older than Æthelric and had a less than stellar reputation, it was said that she was lazy, arrogant and paranoid. The only positive thing that was mentioned was her skill in knowing how to manage money. But the marriage secured my alliance with King Lóchíne of France, my son would have to learn how to manage the Princess on his own.

As the siege continued, more news arrived from England, Earl William had surrendered, the war for Prince Wulf claim on the throne was over, but two more wars remained. The Queen, my daughter, was still a prisoner of Duke Cynehelm. Also, King Æthelstan had passed a new law regarding the succession. Recent interest in England on heraldry had made my people more focused on seeing their family name prosper ahead of even personal gain. The new law introduced High Partition, meaning the primary heir would inherit a greater share in order to keep the dynasty strong.

Haarlem fell in early December, the current royal family managed to slip away, all we captured were the current spymaster of Frisia, who surprisingly turned out to be a 16-year old girl named Willemine, and a strange courtier, an Egyptian, named Abraam ‘the Poet’.

A month later, King Hartmann entangled me in a second war. A war against the tyranny of Emperor Gautselin, the man who Hartmann had placed on the throne in first place. The situation suddenly got a lot more dangerous, Frisia couldn’t come close to matching our combined strength, but fighting the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, that was a different story. Within weeks of this new war declaration an army of close to 14,000 men, almost 3 times our numbers, was marching north toward our position in Holland, discretion proving the better part of valor, I withdrew and loaded my men onto ships and slipped back to England to reassess the situation.

By the time my fleet landed in Lindsey, the Liberty War in England was over after the disastrous Battle of Hampshire. The King and Duke Ælfnoth of Cornwall had been captured by Duke Cynehelm. King Æthelstan was forced to accept the Duke’s demands and reduce crown authority in England, once more opening the door for war between vassals. The end of the Liberty War did not see the end of my daughter’s imprisonment, she was still held by Duke Cynehelm of East Anglia and all reports indicated she was doing poorly in captivity. It would be another three months before King Æthelstan finally negotiated her release. It appeared Duke Cynehelm wanted assurances that there would be no retaliation for the deprivations and torture Ælflæd had suffered at his hands. She would never be the same, but at least she was now safe and back with her husband and daughter. The King may have guaranteed that there would be no repercussions, but I had made no such promise.

The Duchess of Connacht’s Independence war still continued in England, and I was still entangled in the two wars in the Holy Roman Empire.

It would be six months before I was ready to return to Lotharingia’s wars. In that time, I became a grandmother again, as my daughter-in-law Echive gave birth to a son, Eadweard. I also checked on daughter Ælflæd. She had recovered from the physical effects of her captivity, but she never regained her appetite, eating barely enough to stay alive. But she was happy to be reunited with her daughter, Princess Eadhburh.

My cousin King Beorhtric of Wales founded a cadet house of the Bamburgh dynasty, naming the royal house of Wales, Bethell, combined the bars of Bamburgh with the black and gold lion of the Earldom of Ceredigion. After being forced to renounce any claims he had on our ancestral home, he may have wanted to distance himself further from the original Bamburgh dynasty as the future of his family was now restricted to Wales.

Beorhtric was not the only one to create a cadet branch. Prince Eadulf Beorhtnothson, Earl of Buccingaham, also created a new House, Dorset, quartering the three lions of Buccingaham into the Bamburgh-Carleol shield. Perhaps he was trying to distance himself from his nephew, Prince Wulf, who had recently rebelled against the current King.

And I became aware of a growing threat within my own realm. Over the past few years, through inheritance and war, my friend Earl Áeducán of Derby had slowly gained control of a third of Northuumbria, after recently taking Westmorland from Eadfrith Bamburgh-Whitby. This gave him control of four counties, Derby, Cheshire, the West Riding, and now Westmorland. At the moment, he and House Shrewsbury were my friends and loyal vassals, but who knew what the future might hold. Currently, his only son stood to inherit all his father’s land and titles, would he be the friend to Harold that his father was to me?

In April of 1273, the Northumbrian army returned to Frisia, the actual county of Frisia, and laid siege to the holdings there. By July, Frisia was in my hands and my army had moved on to Groningen. We had seen no significant enemy opposition in all that time. News from England was good, the last war, Duchess Gyða’s war for independence had ended in a truce. She remained Duchess of Connacht, unpunished by her half-brother, King Æthelstan.

By All Saints’ Day, Groningen was under my control and we marched north into Dokkum. After another 3 months, Dokkum fell into my hands in February 1074. This was another day of mixed feelings. Dokkum was one of the castles held by the Bamburgh-Saarbrücken, by my kinsman Duke Steffen of Frisia. Several of my kinsmen were included among the prisoners taken, including Duke Steffen’s wife, Duchess Adelaida, his younger brother, Ludolf, and his sister, Irmeltrud.

I realized I had a lot of family members under House arrest back in Bebbanburg, not only these new guests from House Bamburgh-Saarbrücken, but I still had Bamburghs and Bethells from the recent war with Wales. I order my Council to arrange ransoms or other compensation to send all of these people home. King Beorhtric still refused to ransom his own family, his very grandchildren and his own brother. So, I released King Beorhtric’s two granddaughters, Æthelhild Bethell and Eadflæd Bethell, giving them a home in Bebbanburg. I also released King Beorhtric’s brother, Prince Æthelwulf Bamburgh of Wales, and let him stay in Bebbanburg as well, but with one caveat, he was required to renounce any claim he had on any land and titles within Northumbria. He agreed to these conditions.

Duke Steffen was much more generous and paid the ransoms for his family members. That left only two commoners, soldiers captured in the previous sieges and battles, in my custody. One Dutch man named Bavo, was a man of superior intellect and skills. I offered him a place in my court and he accepted. The other man, Malsnectan, was a Scot, a bold fool, who understood nothing but battle. I had more skilled and trustworthy men, so I just cut him loose and sent him back to Alba.

My dungeons were once again empty, but the wars I had pledged to help Lotharingia with continued. By that time, I had marched south into Oversticht and besieged the castle at Zwolle.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Is Base Value the driving force of stats in CK3 like in CK2 with traits second and education third for most people (exceptions will occur)? I noticed the French Princess with a S3 education was only 1 point greater than her husband who had a M2 education in stewardship. Thank you for the update

 

[Dunaden]

Is Base Value the driving force of stats in CK3 like in CK2 with traits second and education third for most people (exceptions will occur)? I noticed the French Princess with a S3 education was only 1 point greater than her husband who had a M2 education in stewardship. Thank you for the update

The Base value is the foundation, so a high base value is good and then the education and personality traits add and subtract the stat values until you get a net stat value.

I think which is more important, stats, traits or education, all depends on the roles the characters will play. For Knights, Prowess comes first, followed by their military education and military skills. For Councillors, their cumulative stats, the base value plus or minus the points that come from education and traits, is more important as that seems to control how good they are at their jobs. For marriages, there are also some variations. Marriages to your heir may focus in part on their cumulative stats, as they will be part of the Council, but will also look at inheritable traits that can be passed to the next generation, possible alliances, and claims. For the other children, who are not the heir, such as case of Æthelric's marriage to Princess Echive, it is more about the alliances and possible claims they can bring, rather than their stats, Æthelric and Princess Echive were betrothed when they were arouund 5 years old, before they had an education or any fixed traits, it was all about the alliance with France.

 

[Dunaden]

1275 – 1278 War: At Home and Abroad (Part 3)

In December 1274, I made a mistake I fear I will be paying for, for a long time to come. My daughter Eadhburh came of age and I went looking for a husband. I had made my eldest daughter a Queen and thought to do the same for Eadhburh, but I picked the wrong King. Almost two decades earlier, I had fought beside King Uc of Sardinia in the Seventh Crusade for Castille. I had been greatly impressed by King Uc and saw that his grandson and successor King Ricard of Sardinia was in need of a wife and I arranged a marriage with Eadhburh. But King Ricard was not the man his grandfather had been. And Sardinia itself had fallen into debt under the mismanagement of young King Ricard’s regents. The boy King was now of age, but he did not appear to be up to the task of righting his Kingdom. I had sent my daughter into a terrible situation, as no sooner than their vows had been exchanged, King Ricard was begging for my help in defending against Duke André of Languedoc.

My distraction with my daughter’s situation would prove costly. I had been focused on correspondence about the marriage and this new war and had grown complacent after almost two years of not seeing any sign of a significant enemy force. But as my army marched into Arnheim following the capture of Zwolle, we were ambushed by a German army with more than double our numbers.

We lost a thousand men before my knights were able to cut our way out of the ambush and flee east. Unfortunately, we could not escape pursuit and were forced to fight a second battle in Luxembourg, costing me another 1,000 men. But after that they seemed to content to let us go, taking their army back south without making any effort to drive out my garrisons throughout Frisia.

While I had been fleeing for my life across northern Europe, there had been other developments. King Æthelstan’s half-sister, Duchess Gyða of Connacht broke the truce and declared war against the tyranny of King Æthelstan. Surprisingly, my son-in-law had handled that revolt on his own and put it down quickly, in less than six months. However, to the south, things were not going as well. Dauphin Leon II of Viennois had joined the Duke of Languedoc against my other son-in-law, and they had defeated the Sardinian army at Montbel. Dauphin Leon II had died from wounds he had received in the battle, but that had made his successor, Dauphine Sança, even more committed to seeing King Ricard defeated.

My trouble in the north continued, we had made a push for the coast to retreat to the safety of England to recover, but Kaiser Gautselin, himself, had caught up to us at Alkmaar. Another ferocious battle, with another 1,200 dead Northumbrians. Even worse, my Marshal Farquhar Bamburgh-Kelso was captured by the Kaiser’s men.

Unable to escape to the ships, I was forced to flee eastward with my surviving 3,500 men, across Frisia and Lotharingia with 8,000 Imperial soldiers in pursuit. We eventually turned north and crossed into Denmark, which was suffering its own revolts. The Imperials did not follow us into Denmark, so I was finally able to secure passage in Jutland for myself and my men back to Northumbria, after 5 months on the run.

As soon as we made landfall, I disbanded my army and sent the survivors home to recuperate. I called together my Council to decide on our next course of action. I had my younger son, Æthelric, take Farquhar’s seat on the Council as Marshal (he was more suited for the role than Harold).

The painful lessons of the past year had improved my skills as a Strategist, but they had come at great cost. I needed to decide how to best proceed with resolving the three wars Northumbria was currently embroiled with, the two in support of King Hartmann, and the one in support of King Ricard.

The war against the tyranny of Kaiser Gautselin, was a lost cause, the Holy Roman Empire was too powerful, and after our losses in the north and similar defeats of the Lotharingian army further south, there was no way to win unless the Kaiser himself was to fall into our hands. The war against Frisia for Upper Lorraine was still winnable, if we could avoid further Imperial entanglements. Lotharingia and Northumbria, even after our losses to the Empire, still outmatched Frisia’s strength. The war in Sardinia was a question of logistics. If we threw all our strength into the fight we would win, but Northumbria was just too far away. Based on all reports, the war would be decided before any help from us could arrive to turn the tide.

Before summer began in 1077, word came from King Hartmann, he had surrendered to Kaiser Gautselin and was in prison, the war against the Holy Roman Empire was over. Two months later, the regents in Lotharingia, ruling while King Hartmann awaited his fate, signed a truce with King Odelric V of Frisia, ending hostilities in the war for Upper Lorraine.

That left only the war in Sardinia. Duke André of Languedoc controlled the County of Béziers, the target of the de jure war against Sardinia, and had defeated King Ricard’s armies at every turn. This war was all but over. The only good news to come from Sardinia was that my daughter, Queen Eadhburh, was pregnant.

In October 1077, King Lóchíne of France passed away at the age of 52, ending my strongest alliance (temporarily at least). I would broach the topic with his heir, King Lóchíne II of France, my daughter-in-law’s brother, after allowing him a little time to deal with his grief.

Just after the New Year, King Ricard accepted his hopeless position and transferred the vassalage of Count Aymeric of Béziers to Duke André of Languedoc, his de jure liege.

Finally, after close to 13 years of constant warfare, Northumbria was, for the moment, at peace. Though we remained vigilant and focused on rebuilding our armies. This period of warfare had reinforced the need for a standing army of professional Men-at-Arms, rather than depending on levys. This lesson was taken in by all the Anglo-Saxon people.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Peace! Thank you for updating

 

[Dunaden]

Peace! Thank you for updating

You are welcome. Thanks for your continued support.

 

[Dunaden]

1278 - 1280 Overindulgence

I love my son Harold, he is my heir and my hope for the future of Northumbria, but his ambitions and arrogance can be annoying.

I have tried for years to find him a wife, but he has rejected every prospect I have put forward. “They aren’t from a prestigious enough family, or don’t bring an advantageous alliance, or they are too old, or too young, or their teeth are crooked”. The bottom line is I think he is jealous of Æthelric marrying a Princess of France and no one he had been offered can beat that. This is a bit unfair, as at the time I arranged Æthelric’s betrothal, I was trying to arrange a betrothal for Harold to the heir to the throne of Frisia. Of course, that plan fell through (and Frisian throne has become as hard to hold onto as a wet bar of soap since then). So Harold remains unwed at the age of 30.

Now Harold is pushing me to go to war. A recent mistake by the Provost Mary of Berwick in the Duchy of Lothian has exposed an ancient claim of the Lords of Bernicia to the County of Dunbar. We Bamburghs had certainly ruled that land at one point in the distant past, when there was a Kingdom of Bernicia instead of just the current county, and Bamburghs had held lands on both sides of the border for centuries until the last of the Bamburgh-Kelsos was pushed out. But to claim we were entitled to that land had very little justification.

But Harold was insistent. He had been upset ever since the birth of Roland and the thought of having to share his inheritance with two brothers now instead of just one. He wanted us to acquire more land to make up for me adding another son to the family. He was also pushing for more than just Dunbar, he also wanted to press my claims to Fife and Cambridgeshire as well. But Dunbar was first on his list as it was directly adjacent to Bernicia. Fife would be the next step after Dunbar was secured. Cambridgeshire was a bit more delicate situation as it was held by a fellow vassal, namely the Duke of East Anglia, while Dunbar and Fife were in the hands of foreign rulers, namely the King of Alba and the Duke of Albany, respectively.

We had just had years of bloody warfare and I was ready for peace, but I let myself be persuaded, partly because I was still mad at King Conall for joining the war with Wales to steal my home and partly because I had always indulged my oldest child. Plus, I had a brand-new alliance with the King Lóchíne II of France to put to the test and King Hartmann II of Lotharingia, my other ally, owed me for all the Northumbrian blood spilled in his wars.

So on April 21st of 1278, Northumbria declared war on King Conall of Alba to press our claim for the Earldom of Dunbar. Both my allies agreed to join the war. But my wayward kinsman, King Beorhtric of Wales, also joined the war on King Conall’s side. Two years later, the war would be won and King Conall of Alba would surrender the Earldom of Dunbar to Northumbria. But the costs of this war and my overindulgence of my first born would be almost too much bear.

It began with a plan to draw out King Conall and destroy him. The Northumbrian army would be the bait and the French army would spring the trap. It worked, but not exactly as planned, we Northumbrians lured the Albans and the Welsh out of Gowrie west into Lomond and drew them into battle. They were confident as they outnumbered us by close to two to one.

I will always wonder if France’s delayed arrival was truly unavoidable or planned. Leading the Northumbrian army were the two people standing between King Lóchíne’s sister becoming the Duchess of Northumbria. The delay killed one of those people and assured that his sister would be Duchess, though not right away.

My knights were death incarnate, piling up bodies all around them, confident that the French would be there to bail us out if we overextended. But we lingered too long, we realized too late that Lóchíne wouldn’t come in time to spring the trap.

By the time we broke free, my son, my Harold, was dead. Killed by Beorhtric the Younger, his own cousin, second in line to the Welsh throne. My husband, Manfred had taken a sword through the belly from one of King Conall’s sons. Bavo, my new surgeon, did what he could to ease Manfred’s pain, but I could tell that it was a mortal wound. On top of that, my friend and Chancellor Áeducán of Derby and my Uncle Wiglaf were captured.

Then the French came, 15,000 men who quickly routed the enemy army.

So began one of the darkest periods in my life, overwhelmed by grief, I gathered my men and in a fit of madness pursed the survivors of the Second Battle of Lomond, while Lóchíne and the French took the more sensible approach and marched on the target of the war, Dunbar.

I caught up with the Alban army at Hexham. I and my men went a little mad, and it was a massacre. I threw myself into the slaughter trying to kill as many as I could. In doing so, I almost died myself, taking a wound when I tried to avenge my boy and attacked Beorhtric the Younger, who was half my age and a better fighter. My knights pulled me out, and then continued the slaughter. My cousin Earl Swithræd died in our mad attack, but the Albans and Welsh broke and ran. My cousin, Prince Eadric, King Beorhtric’ younger brother, who still considered himself a Bamburgh, not a Bethell, was captured. If I hadn’t been wounded, I might have executed him on the spot. But luckily cooler, less mad, heads prevailed and he and our wounded, including myself and Prince Manfred, were sent to Bebbanburg.

There Prince Manfred of Lotharingia died, surrounded by most of his children and grandchildren. All except his eldest son, who he would be buried next to, and his two eldest daughters, both Queens.

The loss of the two most important men in my life pushed me to the edge, I was on the brink of descending into madness, but I remembered that I had promised my son, Dunbar, so I hardened my heart, freezing my grief, all my emotions, and I focused on winning this war. I sent my men north to Gowrie. King Conall had torn out my heart, I would attack his.

Princess Echive gave birth to a second son, Osweald, but I barely acknowledged my new grandson. King Ricard sent pleas north begging for help in two new wars in Sardinia, begging me to come help him and my grandchildren, 1-year old Jordan and the newborn Aliç. My Council pledged our aid, but I was focused only on the war in the north.

St. Johnson was captured along with 6 members of King Conall’s family. In my earlier madness, I might have slaughtered them all, but my frozen grief just saw them as a means to end the war sooner. Besides, while an Alban had mortally wounded my husband, but he had at least been defending their land, however the Welsh, the Bethells, had no such defense, they had tried to steal my land and then chose allies over family and they had killed my son.

The Alban army was making a last-ditch effort to free Dunbar from the French garrison. My army raced south from Gowrie and caught the smaller army before they could withdraw. There we captured two of King Conall’s brothers, the giant young Prince Cináed and his older brother, Prince Morann. With half his family in my clutches, King Conall gave up Dunbar. Then I bled him dry ransoming back his family.