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The Medieval History of England

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EdwardIofVexin.jpg

Edward ‘the Heretic’ of Vexin
By the grace of God, King of England, Ireland & Wales, King of Scots, King of Naples, Protector of Rome
1299 - 1315

Born: 1263, Westminster Palace; Crowned: Westminster; Died: 1315, Windsor Castle; Buried: Windsor

Married: (1) 1279, Westminster Abbey: Constance of Verona, daughter of William, Marquess of Verona: 7 children; (2) 1291, Westminster Abbey: Ermengarde of Anjou, sister of Louis of Anjou, King of France: 2 children; (3) 1297, Westminster Abbey: Beatrix de Leyburne, daughter of Gaucher, Viscount Leyburne: 4 children; (4) 1305, Westminster Palace: Helena (Efrosina) of Byzantium, daughter of Dimitri of Mstislav, Emperor of Byzantium: 3 children. He also had two illegitimate children.

Titles: King of England, Ireland & Wales, King of Scots, King of Naples, 1299; King of Bohemia, 1308 – 1313; Prince of Wales, 1263; Duke of Cornwall & Warwick, 1263; Marquess of Cardiff, 1263; Earl of Caernarvon, 1263; Baron of Harlow, 1263; Lord of Portugal, 1299 – 1313; Overlord of Castile (until 1315), Denmark & Bohemia, 1299;​

As much as his predecessors attempted to build an empire, it would be King Edward who would bring its demise. While Parliament pressed its ‘traditional’ rights of advising the king on state matters, Edward wanted to centralize not only political power, but economic and even religious. Because of his actions, he is known in English history not only as the cause of the later baronial wars, but also be referred to as ‘the Heretic’.

Edward was now king by name and right; he served as de facto regent when his father entered seclusion in 1283 until his death. It is often said that, while others mourned during Henry’s funeral, Edward was in a joyous mood as he was now the most powerful man in all of Christendom. After the ceremony, he called his advisors to aid him in preparing for his coronation, set for the 22nd of May. Edward was an eccentric man of his time, and he adored the luxuries of his position. For his coronation robes, he wanted them made out of gold cloth, with pearls adorning the arms. He commissioned a new ring with emeralds encircling a large ruby. It was he who introduced the practice of wearing a sash, with the colors denoting the person’s position: purple for the King, the Queen Consort, and their children; red for close members of the royal family, like the king’s siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins; with blue, green and yellow for the dukes, marquesses and viscounts respectively. Barons and lesser classes were prohibited to wearing them. The preparations came to a halt when his consort, Lady Beatrix, daughter of the Viscount Leyburne, was refused by King Edward to be crowned with him. It was well known at court that he despised his wife, only marrying her for the large dowry that helped him with his debts. There was also evidence that Edward had many lovers of both sexes, including his brother-in-law David Howard, marquess of Suffolk and the future duke of Norfolk. Such affection was shown when he was given the honor of holding the Imperial State Crown during the coronation and made ‘Honorable Prince’, giving him the right to wear a purple sash. He would later be appointed to some of the most distinguished state and household offices: Master of the King’s Bedchamber, Privy Clerk to the Crown, Master of the King’s Horses, Lord High Chancellor and Lord Chief Justiciar.

Following the coronation, Edward traveled north to Edinburgh for his Scottish coronation; Suffolk again given precedence over the other nobles. However, the Scottish Parliament prepared for the coronation by drawing up a petition that was presented at the ceremony. The petition, later called the Act of Recognition or the Coronation Oath, called for the king to uphold Scottish laws and their sovereignty – in other words, prevent them from facing the same fate Wales experienced – in turn for recognizing him as their sovereign king. The act also provided them with the same powers as the English Parliament enjoyed. Edward was taken by surprise. Cunning he was, he lacked the military strength his father had. In the heydays of his father, Henry II would’ve most certainly refused to sign the act and raised men to protect his interests. Edward was never trained in the art of war, and did not know what to do. Thus, he succumbed to their petition and signed the act.

In January of 1305, Lady Beatrix died during labor. Although the court was saddened King Edward wasted no time in searching for a new bride. By tradition, most Catholic princes – at least of Western Europe – often chose a bride of the same faith, though marrying women of the Orthodox faith was not uncommon. Edward, eclectic as he was, decided to choose one. The only available Orthodox princess at the time was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Dimitri. Edward dispatched an envoy a day after his wife’s death. By March, the envoy returned with his bride Efrosina. On the day of her arrival, she brought with her an entourage of ladies and Orthodox priests. Many of the (English) nobles in attendance were disgusted by her smell of ‘dry fish and meats’, her Oriental fashion and the overwhelming scent of incense used by the priests. Despite her foreign appearance the king was enchanted by her, in particular her faith. The preparation of the marriage took only two days. The problem with the ceremony was that the future consort – who had adopted the name Helena – wanted to keep her faith and Greek tradition. However, the archbishops of Canterbury and York protested, pressing that she must bow down to the whims of her husband and confer ‘her dignity, her body and faith’ to Rome. In the end the king agreed that the wedding would not take place at the Abbey but at the Palace, where Catholic AND Orthodox practices were used. It was at the wedding that many realized such compromise could not be achieved. Such was the demise of the king’s reign.

Rumors told of Edward’s secret practice of sharing his wife’s faith, while others told of the queen’s practice of witchcraft; a rumor which in part formed what would form the Order of the Garter. The king and queen were invited to weeklong festivities in France. At one banquet, while dancing, a garter slipped under the queen’s dress and fell on the floor; garters believed to have been a symbol of witchcraft. Immediately, everyone stopped dancing and looked at the queen. Edward walked over to the garter, picked it up, and slipped it over his own stockings. He then said in French ‘shame on he who thinks evil upon it’, his words later becoming the official motto for the order.

Supporters at his court, though few in numbers, refused to believe in the rumors. But, they began to think otherwise as his behavior changed. He refused to attend public mass and often worshipped in private with the queen. He constructed a small chapel at Windsor and at the Tower of London, where it was used solely for the queen and her Byzantine ladies-in-waiting. Finally, in the winter of 1306, the king summoned the English Parliament where he decreed the first Act of Supremacy, establishing the Anglican Church. The church was not a church that we acknowledge today, though it did lay the foundations for it. The Church was subservient to Rome. However, church officials and offices were to pledge fealty to the Crown, with church properties and wealth now belonging to the king. He also introduced into practice the use of incense, a practice that would later be encouraged by Rome. In the end, King Edward did not want to anger Christian Europe but centralize all forms of authority in his hand.

From Parliament to the peasantry, the Act of Supremacy was a drastic act. Even his close friends and family, including the Prince of Wales (future King Jocelyn) and the marquess of Suffolk distanced themselves from the king. Finally, in July of 1307, a papal legate arrived at court. On behalf of Rome, the legate demanded an immediate dissolution of the state church and the revocation of the act. In addition to the Pope’s demand, Suffolk was forced by his fellow nobles to lead parliament into requesting the king to dissolve the ‘heretic and un-Christian’ church. They further demanded that his marriage to Helena be voided. With no supporters and the possibility of excommunication on the horizon, Edward formally revoked the act. However, it would be another four years before his marriage would be dissolved; the newly-appointed Pontiff, Matthias of Tuscany, again proposed his excommunication. Helena was banished to a small castle in Oxford where she spent the remainder of her years until her death in 1323.

Edward’s final years were spent with the partitioning of the empire. The first partition established an independent kingdom of Portugal. Henry, duke of Braganza, was created count-palatine and prince of Braganza and granted full ‘sovereign and royal rights over the lands of Portugal’; the Royal House of Braganza descendants of his line. That same year, he was forced to create his daughter Beatrice the first Queen of Léon and his son Guy the new king of Bohemia. The collapse of the Vexin Empire came faster than imagined. The king died at Windsor Castle of only 52 years of age. While many believe it was of old age, some contemporaries believed he was either poisoned or the stress resulted from the partitioning. Despite his reign, early Protestants would praise him. Writers like Martin Luther used him as an example of defying Rome’s authority. Nevertheless, his reign was the fall of the Vexin Empire. As for his son and heir, he would be forced to handle the second baronial revolt and the end of England’s influence over the Continent.
 
Yes, congratulations!
 
I just caught up on reading your AAR. I'm very impressed. My only previous AAR attempt was as King of England, but a bug brought a premature end to that. My style was similar, but your talent for writing is better than mine. I really like the way you fill in the family detail too.

One thing that stood out for me was John's War (the first ECW), where one of the main protagonists was the Duke of Norfolk. My game saw a Baron's war too, and guess who the chief rebel was....yeah, you just can't trust those Norfolk folk can you? :D
 
Really nice AAR :)
 
Is CK still in the stores? just poofed into my mind :D

Congratulations on winning the AARLand Choice AwAARd for Favorite Historybook AAR!
 
Interesting to see it all fall down around him. But I can imagine it would be difficult to sustain an empire that size and so spread out during this time period. Especially for the heretical.
 
Continued greatness, well done. Though the Vexin kings dont seem to have it as easy as the Normandies
 
JocelynofVexin.jpg


Jocelyn ‘the Weak’ of Vexin
By the grace of God, King of England, Ireland & Wales, King of Scots, King of Naples, Protector of Rome
1315 - 1321

Born: 1280, Warwick Palace; Crowned: Westminster; Died: 1321, Warwick Palace; Buried: Warwick Palace

Married: (1) 1296, Westminster Abbey: Constance Bourchier, Baroness Clifton: 5 children; (2) 1304, Westminster Abbey: Mahaut of Gwent, daughter of Peter, Marquess of Gwent: 8 children

Titles: King of England, Ireland & Wales, King of Scots, King of Naples, Protector of Rome 1315; Prince of Wales, 1310; Duke of Cornwall, Marquess of Cardiff & Earl of Caernarvon, 1280; Overlord of Denmark, 1315 – 1316​


Jocelyn was unprepared for his reign. Although tutored by the best scholars and studied at the finest universities of his time – the first English king to attend one – there was never a class on the art of kingship. Such teachings would never be taught by his tutors or his father, whom he had a very grim relationship with. Although he tried to uphold his family’s empire from collapsing, in the end the downfall was inevitable.

Father and son were at opposite ends. While King Edward preferred the luxuries of courtly life, Jocelyn preferred the lifestyle of the country folk. As King Edward would gain friends through trickery and bribery, Jocelyn preferred to make them through honesty and truthfulness. Because of this, relationship between the two grew sour. In fact, it was through the efforts of Queen Helena that Jocelyn was rightfully recognized as heir to the throne; Jocelyn became Prince of Wales in 1310 when compared to others who were created so at birth. Relations continued to sour when, following the establishment of the (Catholic) Anglican Church, Jocelyn and other courtiers close to the King were forced to make their distances. Thus, it was by no surprise when Jocelyn, aged 35, took up the throne that the people were happy and held high-regard for their king. However, it was also no surprise when nobles continued to push rebellion in their estates, attempting to break away from the already crippling empire.

While France and Germany were more than eager to gain control of the independent territories, the Church feared the collapse of the Vexin Empire would undermine their influence. After all, the kings of England were also the protectors of Rome; the ‘Holy City of Europe’ still in the possession of the English monarch. Thus, the Roman Pontiff advised further partitioning of the domain. First, Denmark was handed over to Jocelyn’s daughter Isabel. The king next divided up the Iberian Peninsula, in the act more commonly known as the Spanish Partition. In the north, the prince Martin was given the kingdom of Castile; Aragon, to the south, was now to be ruled by William. To gain France as an ally, and a stronghold to defend his estates in Gaul, his eldest daughter Anne was wed to the Dauphin of France, Baldwin of Anjou. Unfortunately, the dauphin died before he could succeed; Anne continued to live at the French court as England’s de facto diplomat.

The remainder of Jocelyn’s reign was tied up in major and minor civil revolts & baronial wars. The most notable of them all was The Yorkist Rebellion. The dukes of York were a strong dynasty. Wealthy, powerful and very influential at court, not only were they one of the most powerful families in the kingdom but also had a claim to the throne: direct descendants of Lionel, 1st Duke of York, who was the son of King John. The titleholder at the time, Humphrey, opposed King Edward and, following his death, formed a coalition against the new king Jocelyn. It was by pure coincidence that his coalition also belonged to the York family by either marriage or blood. On the 2nd of October, 1316, York rallied his personal army and marched southward. It was believed his plan was to not murder Jocelyn, but to take control of the government; seize the keys to the Treasury, take the money, summon Parliament and have them approve his royal claim. Humphrey would’ve succeeded; however, the king was taking a tour through the northern counties and estates. With him was a massive entourage of knights and bowmen. The two factions, though accidental, met on the battlefield outside of the county seat of York on the 25th of December; the duke fell to the royal forces five days later. Humphrey was executed on site and his estates, titles and wealth returned to the Crown.

Isabel, the former Duchess of York, returned to her family’s home in Moray. After hearing the news of his son-in-law’s execution, her father, Humphrey, Baron of Moray, agreed with his cousin the count of Guines to rally men against the Crown. On the 4th of February, Guines called up his men and prepared to sail across the Channel. Fortunately for the king, his uncle William, duke of Normandy, had spies at the count’s court. As the count prepared to set sail, the duke rallied men under his banner to defend the Monarchy. A week later, the duke led a surprise attack at night, destroying the army and killing the Guines while they slept.

Not too far from the site of the massacre, Robert Hamelin, bishop of Eu, was visiting his sister, the widowed countess of Guines – the nephew and niece to the last duke of York. When they received news of the count’s murder, the bishop returned to his estate where he ordered the priests to preach of the Crown’s wrongdoings. Along with his brother the baron of Sens, they marched toward Rouen. When they arrived at the outskirts of the city, they were met with a force of nearly eight thousand men-at-arms and knights; greatly outnumbering their forces. On sight, Sens retreated and left the bishop at the hands of the king’s men. He was arrested and, later, brought before a Papal Court; the new Pope, Albrecht of Savoy, a friend of the king. Hamelin was quickly found guilty and executed early 1318.

The execution of the Robert Hamelin was followed by other major and minor campaigns against the barons, counts and earls throughout the empire; from the county of Asturias in Spain, to the campaigns against the count of Montpellier and Carcassonne in France, all the way east where the lordship of Vas, eventually, bought his independence. In fact, many of the later campaigns would end either by the sword or the purse; many leaders either died or bought their way to end their war against England. In the end, the troubles ultimately forced King Jocelyn to summon Parliament at Oxford in September of 1320. Under the speakership of the Lord Archbishop Canterbury, the Provisions of Oxford were signed. It forced the king not only to recognize the rights, powers and privileges of Parliament, but he was also to concede the rights over state appointments and the custody of royal castles to ‘the assembly of fifteen lords temporal & spirituals, burgesses and knights’ – the King’s Privy Council. From the demise of the Vexin Empire rose the modern parliamentary democracy. Though he had power to dissolve Parliament at any time, King Jocelyn continued to rule with them until his death on the 24th of January, 1321.

Despite the wars with his barons, Jocelyn was in fact quite popular amongst the lower classes. He continued to support programs that helped local farmers and cities, which helped them during the baronial revolts. Under the charter that established the Chapel Royal, twenty-five talented poor-boys from the countryside and cities were given free tuition to any of the royal universities, with a guarantee of a position in the royal administration. As patron of the church, he made renovations to the churches at Westminster, Gloucester and Winchester, as well as completed the Chapel Imperial of the Saints, an Italian domed church in Messina. A man who constantly & voluntarily gave alms to the poor, he would’ve been recognized in history as another saint – or, at the most, a beatified monarch – if there was no duress in his realm. Nevertheless, he will be forever known in the medieval history of England as ‘the Weak’.
 
The Vexin empire seems to be going through a decline.
 
Sometimes dividing up an empire can help in preventing realm duress. I like the titles you give your rulers. A shame the game doesn't support that
 
Just read through. This is a very fine AAR queenimperiale. Well done!
 
east_emnet : Yeah i know. It gets a little worse during Andrew's reign.

Veldmaarschalk : It helped me a lot. I just regret changing the religious law during Edward's reign. I wouldn't be in this situation now and have a strong empire :(

stnylan : Thanks :D
 
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