The Mandate of Heaven - Interventionist Irish Isolationsists

[morningSIDEr]

Wonderful to see another update already. After his father's hugely impressive reign Flaithbertach was always destined to struggle to emulate such achievements. Being a cowardly, badly wounded cripple he really did have an impossible task on his hands, and he did reasonably well all things considered. Well, it could have been worse anyway.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Well, at least the regency will be short... Let's hope it's smooth

 

[mike the knight]

So amny daughters more capable but a son succeeds... Let us hope he is more capble than being bedriden like hsi father :laugh:

 

[Omen]

Poor man. He gave up a crown, and was apparently cursed for it.

 

[Silverbow]

So amny daughters more capable but a son succeeds... Let us hope he is more capble than being bedriden like hsi father :laugh:

Well... you'll see soon.

Poor man. He gave up a crown, and was apparently cursed for it.

Pretty sure overlooking a city being built and being unable to get rid of it cursed him...

 

[Silverbow]

Chapter 4.1​

Young Pilib was not a promising king. Ugly as sin, lazy like hell and jealous of those who weren't as ugly and lazy as him, his only redeeming qualities were his sense of justice and strict adherence to the tenets of Christianity. Oh, and he definitely realized how badly suited for the throne he was.

[SUB]Seems like a hellish reign awaits...[/SUB]​

When Pilib inherited the throne, Irish troops pulled out of the Norse excommunication war. This gave Pilib the opportunity to prove to the Pope Gelasius II that his zeal was no sham.

[SUB]Good riddance, cursed town![/SUB]​

It didn't take long for cousin Deheuwant to come asking for aid again. Apparently he managed to lose his throne again.

[SUB]And he was in pretty crappy situation without Irish help.[/SUB]​

Gelasius II, seeing Jerusalem lost to the infidels again, called for another crusade. Too young to join, and too busy with the war to keep England in his family's hands, Pilib couldn't join yet, no matter how much it pained him.

Raised by a bishop, Pilib eventually came of age exceptionally educated in the matters of faith, having lost his jealousy along the way and grown into a kind man, but also fearful of the challenges awaiting him as the King of Ireland.

[SUB]A bit better than it looked before, but still largely incompetent.[/SUB]​

Pilib married soon after he came of age. He chose his bride - a lowborn German girl named Cecilie - himself, and this first successful achievement of his own served to lessen his fear of ruling. Soon after, people started to call him Pilib the Just, and he left for the war in England, accompanied by queen Cecilie. In the following three years of campaigning, Cecilie bore him three daughters.

Pilib's younger sister, Aife, came of age, and married the son of the Byzantine Basileos - the heir to the Empire, in fact.

In 1167 A.D., the war for England was finally over (ending in Irish victory, of course), and Pilib planned a great tournament to commemorate it. Unfortunately, the tournament had to be canceled, as Deheuwant required assistance again.

[SUB]You need help against a single county? Really!?[/SUB]​

During the short war, Pilib's fourth daughter, Eilionora, was born.

The grand tournament was finally held, and despite all odds and seemingly lacking any substantial martial prowess, Pilib managed to nearly win the whole thing.

[SUB]This is actually worrying, as far as the military skills in the realm are concerned...[/SUB]​

Soon after, news from the Pope arrived - the crusade ended in an utter failure.

[SUB]Obviously due to lack of Irish participation.[/SUB]​

Pilib's fifth daughter was born. For some strange reason, still not understood to this day, he named her Eilionora again.

[SUB]Probably a mulligan, since the first Eilionora was as ugly as Pilib.[/SUB]​

All the daughters and no sons - Pilib decided to do something about it, and kept trying even harder for a male heir.

[SUB]Pun not quite intended.[/SUB]​

Pilib has officially joined the small holy war of the Byzantines for Armenia, but never sent the troops - it was too far away and too easily and quickly won by the Basileus himself, faster than the Irish would even be able to arrive. And when Deheuwant came asking for assistance against Gent, he obliged. Pilib's fleet soon sailed towards Gwent, finding it perfectly at peace. Confused, he re-read the missive.

[SUB]Oh, Gent... wait, what?[/SUB]​

Pilib spent a lot of his time and money hunting, becoming diligent and ambitious during the course of the hunts.

[SUB]Actually capable now![/SUB]​

Then, news arrived from France - Ailénor Capet, Pilib's mother and duchess of Burgundy, died. And he inherited the duchy. Even while mourning, he knew it to be wrong, and contacted Gelasius II again.

[SUB]Papal states might grow into strange places over the years, courtesy of Ireland...[/SUB]​

Pilib's hedonism led to another child - his sixth daughter. And then to his seventh...

[SUB]Enough is enough![/SUB]​

 

[DensleyBlair]

Nice update - I imagine you've got the Pope in the palm of your had by now

 

[Silverbow]

Chapter 4.2​

Pilib was building his castles up systematically. That doesn't mean he was at peace...

[SUB]Fairly easy minor war.[/SUB]​

He also joined remote holy wars by Hungary (for Paphlagonia and Armeniacon) and the Byzantines (for Azov), but didn't have time to send troops there.

At home, he tried everything he could to convince his wife to bear him a son. And finally, ruby earrings did the trick.

[SUB]A pair of earrings for a son? Good deal.[/SUB]​

Meanwhile in Europe, Denmark converted to Orthodoxy, and Muslims conquered Aquitaine. The northern half of the Iberian peninsula was in Navarran hands. Pilib considered asking for an invasion, but Navarra was held by a queen, and he deemed it unchivalrous to take the throne from a lady. She was old, and her heir was male, so Pilib chose to wait for a bit.

[SUB]Geez... France, you fail so hard...[/SUB]​

Instead, when the eldest of his seven daughters, Mauda, came of age, he married her matrilineally to a Albrikt Ingvarsson, a man with strong claim on Sweden. But he chose to wait even on that front, for Mauda and Albrikt should have children first, to ensure the dynasty would stay in power in Sweden should Albrikt die.

Instead, he raised his - by now quite substantial - levies, called upon his allies and sailed for Beja, intent on reclaiming the land from the hands of Muslims. Somehow, this made him lose his ambitiousness, unfortunately.

Órlaith and Cacht, his second- and third-born daughters, came of age and married two geniuses.

[SUB]Who just happened to be the King of Denmark and Prince of Croatia.[/SUB]​

Meanwhile in Portugal, the holy war was a resounding triumph of the Christian alliance. Those who questioned Pilib's motivation to go after the duchy of Beja soon saw that it was a stroke of genius, as taking it enabled him to establish the Kingdom of Portugal.

Now, Pilib knew that holding lands outside Ireland tended to lead to problems - he only had to look at his father's reign to see the proof of it. So he gave the crown to his younger brother Fáelán. Many questioned the wisdom of granting land to his close kin, a man with strong claim on the very kingdom of Ireland. But Pilib knew Portugal could never defeat Ireland, even should his brother go insane and betray him - which he never saw as realistic possibility anyway.

[SUB]For unknown reasons, only a pre-coronation painting of Fáelán is available.[/SUB]​

Pilib then joined a small war of Denmark's, claiming Vitebsk. He never sent troops though, feeling that helping Orthodox Denmark to expand beyond its reasonable de jure lands would not be prudent. He also joined a small English war against Derby, and - without sending troops - a crusade against Crimea by Hungary.

His two confusingly named Eilionoras came of age, marrying two more princes.

[SUB]More potential claims in the future.[/SUB]​

Then, noticing that Mauda and Albrikt already had a daughter, Pilib turned eastwards. Portugal, England, Denmark and Hungary all joined him in his endeavors, which culminated in claiming the Swedish throne for Albrikt and thus the na Carraige dynasty; and then in securing it from a rebellion.

[SUB]Not that he broke sweat with the rebellion.[/SUB]​

And so he was in 1188 A.D., ruling Ireland and developing its castles in excellent fashion, all the while his relatives ruled in England, Portugal and pretty much also in Sweden.

The world in 1188 A.D.:

 

[mike the knight]

It is evidently too that even God could be excommunicated after this terrific generosity :laugh:

 

[DensleyBlair]

A nice little land grab in Portugal - I look forward to more

 

[Silverbow]

Chapter 4.3​

At age of 43, Pilib's wife Cecilie, who bore him eight children, fell ill and shortly succumbed to the illness. This saddened him greatly, but he knew he had to marry again.

[SUB]Lowborn again.[/SUB]​

He joined a war against lowering the crown authority in Sweden, and won handily. Then he declined participating in yet another English-Norse excommunication war, and in two Danish-Swedish wars over some backwards county in Estonia. Both were wars between his allies, and in both cases he felt it'd be best to stay neutral.

Asenet bore him his ninth child - eight daughter. Pilib proved his obsession with the name Eilionora yet again.

[SUB]Three Eilionoras - the dark, the fair and the ugly.[/SUB]​

Feeling invincible, Pilib decided to go for the crown jewel of western Europe. Norway, Portugal and Croatia joined the war.

Meanwhile in Roscommon, Pilib's sixth daughter, Lasairfíona came of age. She married Skjalg, younger brother of the Norse king. Then the seventh-born Deirdre married the son of the Basileus, Ignatios Doukas. And Dúnlaing, the only son of Pilib, married his stepmother's friend Isis.

In France, the armies met - and Pilib lost. This made him a coward again. He immediately hired The White Company to bolster his forces and sailed off to France again. King Finn, who inherited England from Deheuwant, joined the war for France as well. All was going well, with Irish and English armies slowly occupying northern France, but then York rebelled. And for some strange reason, Pilib couldn't join the war on Finn's side. With Finn slowly losing his holdings in England, Pilib desperately turned toward York's court.

[SUB]Staining his hands - and for no gain at all. Bleh.[/SUB]​

This had no effect on the war however. Only then did Pilib take a closer look at what the Yorkists demanded - the installment of Finn's brother Deheuwant on the throne. Pilib couldn't care less which of the brothers would rule in England - both were family. So he decided to meddle no further in the crisis in England and to concentrate on France.

Humble no more, he proudly charged into Paris itself and took it by storm. This was enough to bring Arnaud II to his knees.

Naturally, Pilib had no intention of keeping France. But he held no holdings there, just the crown. And he couldn't take any holdings off the former king Arnaud due to truce. So he revoked the county of Anjou, and gave it to his nephew Flaithbertach. And then, he crowned him the king of France.

King Flaithbertach decided to initiate his reign with a holy war. A holy war that Pilib naturally joined. Alas, this proved a mistake, as Berry and Normandy revolted soon after, and Pilib couldn't legally join Flaithbertach in defense of his crown. And the court of duke Jean of Berry was loyal to him. So Flaithbertach lost the war quickly.

The war for Poitou was still on, however, and was almost completely won when the Emir of Poitou stopped rebelling. This infuriated Pilib greatly. He ignored the four Hungarian wars he joined afterwards as far as military went - his vassals hated him for raising their levies enough as it was.

But soon, a call to arms came that he simply couldn't ignore.

Pilib joined the crusade right away, and sailed with his 10 thousand men to besiege Bordeaux. Then, he hired the Teutonic knights and sent the fleet back for them to reinforce his levies, for a Muslim army of 15 thousand was bearing up on him. Alas, the Teutonic knights deserted in the middle of the ocean to go aid the Pope, and while the fleet went back to Ireland and brought the newly hired Knights Hospitaller to the front, they landed into the midst of a frantic rout.

Focusing on heavy infantry, Pilib hired the Templar knights as well as The White Company again. Reinforced, his army made its final stand on the foothills of the Pyrenees - and miraculously won.

With the Dhunnudid army's back broken, it was a matter of time before Ireland and the Pope would carved Aquitaine up.

Sad news arrived from Connacht - the eldest Eilionora died of consumption. Pilib decided that he would make her son Pilib the king of Aquitaine in her honor.

The youngest Eilionora came of age and married Sulistryj Piast, son of the deceased Polish king.

Soon after, Aquitaine was liberated, and granted by the Pope to Pilib. Usurping the kingdom of Aquitaine and the duchies of Bourbon, Poitou, Aquitaine and Toulouse from the former Sultan Abdul-Hasan, and creating the duchy of Gascogne, Pilib granted all the feudal titles in the realm to young Pilib.

[SUB]Note the cities south of Aquitaine. They'll be trouble again.[/SUB]​

Sadly, this left him with three cities in Aragonese and French lands. Cities that he immediately revoked, and granted to the Pope.

And strangely enough, young Pilib declared himself Sultan of Aquitaine...

[SUB]Leave his education to your wife, they said. It'll be OK, they said.[/SUB]​

 

[DensleyBlair]

Leave his education to your wife, they said. It'll be OK, they said

This made me laugh

Certainly a very action-packed update - shame about France, but at least you got Aquitaine I look forward to more.

 

[mike the knight]

The next generation may retaliate about the loss of France ,,,, What amessy stuff an Egyptian Sultan of Aquitaine

 

[unmerged(75409)]

Well, the Turban does look good on him.

Would you mind showing us a screenshot of the economic map of Europe some time? I am curious to see if / how much your development focus on Ireland has paid off.

 

[Silverbow]

This made me laugh

Certainly a very action-packed update - shame about France, but at least you got Aquitaine I look forward to more.

The next generation may retaliate about the loss of France ,,,, What amessy stuff an Egyptian Sultan of Aquitaine

Oh France... the eternal problem. You'll see soon enough just how troublesome can it get. And we don't even have to wait for next generation.

Well, the Turban does look good on him.

Would you mind showing us a screenshot of the economic map of Europe some time? I am curious to see if / how much your development focus on Ireland has paid off.

I'll take an economic map screenshot when I catch up with the writing and play next (maybe later tonight). But does that show the technological advancements or building buildup? Or income? I admit I basically never use it...

 

[Silverbow]

Chapter 4.4​

France added insult to the injury when the child duke of Anjou took back his county from the na Carraige family.

[SUB]Not to mention that the countess only had a weak claim for France that couldn't be pressed.[/SUB]​

As usual, a setback was followed by a success - this time in the form of matrilineal marriage between Pilib's granddaughter Caitlín and Nikolaus, the heir to the (admittedly tiny) Kingdom of Aragon.

[SUB]Extremely weird that this actually got accepted.[/SUB]​

More good news followed - Pilib fell in love with his wife, and his son-in-law Sulistryj Piast, matrilineally married to his daughter Eilionora III, took the throne of Poland.

And feeling a roll of good luck, Pilib decided to avenge his kin and teach king Jean of France, an excommunicated usurper, a lesson. Aquitaine, Poland and England all joined the effort.

The war started with a massive blunder, when Irish and English troops managed to land at separate locations. To this day, the Irish claim that the English can't tell East from West.

[SUB]Well well, ain't that splendid.[/SUB]​

Pilib's newfound love for his wife led to another son of his being born.

Bad news arrived from Poland - Sulistryj managed to get himself killed, mere months before Eilionora was due to give birth to his heir. The child would be born a half-orphan, and with only weak claim for the Polish throne.

[SUB]Can't anything go right with marrying into a throne?![/SUB]​

Aíbinn, the only child of his heir and thus currently the next in line for the throne, came of age. Pilib procured a matrilineal marriage for her to ward off potential trouble with inheritance.

On the French front, Pilib hired The White Company yet again, and led his army to join the misguided English troops. A minor battle was fought, and he once again lost his craven disposition. A few battles later, he even proved his bravery in front of everyone and became renowned for it. In his late 60s...

Soon, France was pounded into submission, and Pilib became known as The Conqueror.

Pilib chose his nephew, younger brother of the King of Portugal, as the new King of France.

[SUB]Smart and capable.[/SUB]​

Pilib then looked towards England, which faced a minor but potentially lethal rebellion. He charged the Kent troops with great anger, and became known as a wrathful man. The war lasted mere days.

England then dragged Pilib into declaring war in defense of Trondelag, but he chose not to participate. Trondelag was a stupid, overseas English outpost in Norway, and he'd rather see it traded for the Norse possessions in England.

In world news, Navarre separated into Navarre and Castille, and Hungary conquered Poland.

Not a year after the conquest of France, Pilib nearly had a heart attack.

[SUB]FFS you moron, why did you give up your crown to infinitely weaker count? You have been given a truckload of counties, you own half of France, you're allied to half the Western Europe and you step down without a fight?!!?[/SUB]​

From the East, news arrived of a Mongol horde closing in on Europe. Pilib had other troubles however, as his wife Asenet died at the age of 48, so Pilib had to marry yet again.

Pilib outlived Cacht, his third-born daughter. She died at the age of 50, and Pilib's bravery was gone in the face of this loss, which reminded him of his advanced age and his most likely imminent death. And in brighter news, his son and heir Dúnlaing had a son, Fergus.

A few minor wars by Hungary and Sweden were joined by Ireland, but not actively participated in. Queen Barbara fell in love with Pilib after he tried the proven ruby earrings trick again. Pilib himself grew infirm with advancing age. And the Fatimids conquered Croatia, gaining a foothold in the middle of Europe.

[SUB]WTF?[/SUB]​

And at the ripe age of 76, Pilib the Conqueror, who spent his life fighting in French lands, breathed his last.

[SUB]Not a very young heir, kinda bleh.[/SUB]​

 

[DisgruntledLemming]

Hm. It would seem as if the fates are saying "no" to an Irish King on the French Throne. >.>

Time to beat down the Fates hm?

 

[morningSIDEr]

[SUB]FFS you moron, why did you give up your crown to infinitely weaker count? You have been given a truckload of counties, you own half of France, you're allied to half the Western Europe and you step down without a fight?!!?[/SUB]

I did laugh upon reading this. Huzzah for the idiocy of the CK2 AI at times!

A few minor wars by Hungary and Sweden were joined by Ireland, but not actively participated in. Queen Barbara fell in love with Pilib after he tried the proven ruby earrings trick again.

Quite the smooth operator Pilib I is.

Good stuff, cracking updates as ever, Pilip proved far better a ruler than I expected. The French throne is proving a constant annoyance though, alas.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Farewell Pilib, you did well I look forward to see what Dúnlaing can achieve.

 

[Silverbow]

Hm. It would seem as if the fates are saying "no" to an Irish King on the French Throne. >.>

Time to beat down the Fates hm?

Oh yeah, France seems to be troublesome out of principle. I also wonder how the hell does everyone and their pet frog from 10.000 different dynasties seem to have a claim on every kingdom imaginable.

Oh, and here's the economic map that Leviathan wanted to see: