Viva England- A Norman England AAR

[Directorio]

King William I the Conqueror- 1066-1089
House of Normandy

Having killed King Harold Godwinson at Hastings, William I was anointed by God as the new King of England. Crowned on Christmas Day 1066, the militarily minded paragon established court in London City and would almost instantly distribute lands to various Norman lords, most controversially declaring his youngest son, William, as Duke of Warwick. His feudal system would do more to shape English politics than any of his predecessors.

In order to avoid another war of succession, William implemented Agnatic-Cogantic Primogeniture succession, which declared his eldest son Robert as heir to all his titles. Robert had one son at the time of the succession change.

William would set up cordial relations with King Malcolm of Scotland, signing a non-aggression pact and gifting his counterpart pieces of gold. Even when Malcolm died after a fit of illness, good relations where kept with King Donald III.

William commanded previously unseen levels of support amongst his vassals, so when the Duke of Brittany attacked his Normandy holdings, more Bretons where mourned in the opening battle. As the war raged on, God began to desert William as his eldest son Robert Curthose was slain in battle. A vengeful William would execute the Duke once the war had decisively been won.

In 1084, the year of our lord, William was devastated to find that his second son, Richard had been plotting to slay him. Tearfully banishing Richard to the HRE, William’ health would continue to decline for the next five years. Being thrown into depression by the sudden death of his wife in 1088, the ailing King would die early the next year.

Nowadays he is viewed as a great general, who defined England but who’s reign could never have lived up to his conquest in 1066.

 

[Directorio]

King Robert I- 1089-1123

House of Normandy

Upon the death of his grandfather, the son of the late Robert Curthose had only just hit 16 the month before his succession, removing the need for a regency council. Marrying a Scottish Princess of the same generation, Robert would have twins on the second year of his reign. Princess Eleanor was betrothed to the heir of a French dukedom, whilst Prince Cyril’s future spouse was up to speculation.

King Robert would gain legitimacy as his uncle, Prince Richard, died under suspicious circumstances whilst in exile. Prince William the Red had died of Smallpox in 1086.

A large crisis of the early years of Robert’s reign was the lack of money in the treasury. Robert was known as an arrogant King, an attribute that was shown up in a reluctance to raise taxes of any sort.

Having secured county Leinster in Ireland, Robert was the first English King to declare himself King of Ireland, albeit without much authenticity. Robert’s strong catholic views would constantly offend several counts and earls in the North of Ireland.

It was in the summer of 1195 that Robert discovered that his wife, Catherine, had cheated on him with the Duke of Kent. Ultimately Kent was beheaded, with his title given to another noble family of the region. Catherine was a Scottish Princess and if he beheaded her, he would set back the cordial relations his father had built and potentially risk war. Having bribed a divorce out of his wife, he would develop a friendship with the new King Alexander of Scotland. Robert would never remarry having built a distrust against women.

The King had the greatest scare of his reign involving succession just two year later. His refusal to remarry almost cost him is realm as his only son, Cyril, fell ill in November 1097. Terrified, Robert reached the lowest point of his reign, praying to God for 21 hours a day. Cyril would make a miraculous recovery and returned to his studies.

Construction of Buckingham Palace in London would begin under him, a palace which would later be used by future monarchs to seduce women and execute rivals. It would only finish construction in his successors reign.

King Alexander’s sudden death in 1100 would allow Alexander’s cousin, King David, to be crowned King of Scotland. Whilst the previous three kings had enjoyed good relations with England, David was a known Anglophobe and relations between the two nations broke down.

The last notable event of his reign occurred in 1115 when he controversially squashed a peasant’s revolt with more force than needed. The rest of his reign saw Robert build up his wealth and power to pass onto his son. He would shockingly pass aged 50 in 1023.

Nowadays he is viewed as a slightly arrogant ruler who confirmed Norman rule over England simply by sitting on the throne for long enough.

 

[Directorio]

King Cyril I- 1123-1156
House of Normandy

King Robert had ensured a swift succession for his son, who found himself with more resources than he knew what to do with.

Cyril is most famous for his disputes with King David of Scotland about problems such as overlapping lordships in Cumbria but these are were settled diplomatically with either split land or more commonly marrying together. A more difficult issue was his disagreements with Rome over Pope Julius’ preferred choice for Archbishop of Canterbury. The pope’s growing influence had only increased under the reign of his deeply religious father and now he was championing the English course by standing up to Rome, founding modern English patriotism.

When not fighting Peasant or court revolts, Cyril was known as a humble and modest King. Happy to sit with nobles and servants alike his manner bred loyalty amongst his nobles on both sides of the channel. Whilst no great patron of the church he planned great improvements to the cathedrals in Canterbury and Salisbury although a shortage of money would scale back these in the end. He married a Danish Princess and they had four children: Prince William, Prince Cyril, Princess Margaret and Princess Cynthia.

Cyril I died in December 1156 of a fever. He would be succeeded by his second son (William having died in 1152), Cyril II.

Nowadays his reign is looked on fondly as a King who was loved in his life, but forgotten in death.

 

[Directorio]

King Cyril II the Unready- 1156-1199
House of Normandy

When viewed next to the last three Norman Kings before him, Cyril II is often viewed as underwhelming. War with France and other various Irish States resulted in the loss of lands and high taxes which provoked revolt and unbalance for the next several decades. Some historians point out that England's losses could have been much worse and for that he should be seen as a good king.

As a young boy, Cyril read about his great great grandfather and his invasion of England. Encouraged to become a warrior king by his ambitious trait, Cyril was plagued by a lack of a tactical mind.

Although England effectively lost control of alot of Normandy and Ireland, in Europe it’s influence grew. By the Treaty of Paris the influence of the French kings was reduced once more to within there own boundaries. This would have dire consequences for France as its nominal vassals in various duchies and counties around Francia could once again simply ignore any decrees issued by Paris.

Although now potentially more secure Cyril II struggled with his noble. The wars had left the crown in debt and attempts to restore the treasury provoked anger. Yorkshire rose in revolt in 1185 as did Suffolk a year later. He attempted one last war, though failing health soon put a stop to it. After his death in 1199 he would be succeeded by his eldest son of the same name.

Nowadays he is viewed as having had mixed legacy in that he expanded England’s influence, but not it’s borders.

 

[Directorio]

King Cyril III- 1199-1233

House of Normandy

Cyril III, like his father, has a mixed reputation amongst England's medieval kings. Whilst he proved himself to be more than capable on the battlefield, recovering and extending England's territories in France and Ireland he proved much less successful at home, permanently undermining the authority of the monarchy.

Cyril was in English Normandy when news came from across the Channel that his father had died. For three years Cyril had served on the council as Marshall, wrangling funds and armies out of the Normandy. He had been regarded as a fair but slightly overbearing presence and his nobility probably wished he would quickly disappear off to the continent to pursue territorial squabbles and continue where his father left off; opposing Philip of Holland's Imperial wars. Instead he plunged into the still simmering Long Scottish War demanding the powerful Earl of Northumberland, David McDouglas turn his Scottish fortresses over to the crown. McDouglas would begrudgingly cede Berwick and Selkirk with their considerable estates which Cyril proceeded to ruin with poor management. Attempts to force the Scottish lords to battle proved fruitless and supplies frequently fell short. Eventually in 1215 he returned the castles to McDouglas' control and travelled to the continent, confirming his alliance with Rudolph of Austria.

He returned to England, largely unheralded in 1218, to extract taxes for a war against France, specifically to take back the rest of Normandy once and for all. Though a popular cause it provoked an instant reaction from the nobles. Stirred up by McDouglas and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the nobles rebelled. The English Baron's War was not an instant success, in fact the death of McDouglas in late 1220 nearly derailed it completely, and it would take two years for Cyril's support to crumble. Captured in Norwich castle in February 1223 Charles reluctantly signed an approximation of England's Magna Carta agreement. In return however Cyril was granted taxation, enough to cover two years of war with France. Cyril gladly took this up and disappeared off to the continent once more.

In 1233 Cyril was betrothed to a third potential wife, Joanna of Brabant, however he died in London before they could be wed. She would instead become David VI of Scotland’s second wife after the church cleared the couple of any potential embarrassing complications.

Nowadays he is viewed as politically weak but greatly militarily minded.

 

[Directorio]

King Robert II- 1233-1237
House of Normandy

If ever there was as much wasted potential in a King than that of Robert II’s.

A bright young boy, Robert was destined for greatness. His father and grandfather had been the worst kings England had had to offer at that point. Upon his father’s death, he as the eldest son was declared king.

The treasury fell even further into debt and Anglia suffered a peasant revolt. Eventually in the Spring of 1234 Robert was forced to confront the peasants revolt, which drained alot of his energy and destroyed his character. At one of these, the Battle of Lincoln hill in October 1237, Robert’s only surviving son William was killed while volunteering to pass messages as a boy, the only English heir to die on the battlefield. The war is notable for its reliance on pitched battles rather than sieges, though this was probably a result of lacking the money to start a siege. As it was the battles were extremely bloody and many lords would lose their lives in the fight.

The death of William appeared to drive Robert into fits of madness and the violence petered out into a uneasy ceasefire. The King’s sister had died in childbirth whilst giving birth to her son, Edwin. Eventually the King would die in a rather bad fit and his body just stopped working. It is rumoured he was put down, but no evidence that backs this. He was the last king of the house of Normandy and of the Normandy era.

Nowadays his death and decline is viewed as a tragedy, and many plays and films have been made of his life.

 

[Directorio]

King Edwin I- 1237-1302
House of Sydney

The reign of Edwin I is considered by many to mark the one of the highest points of the Medieval English realm. He was successful in many things and was the first member of the House of Sydney.

Born in 1236, the only child of Princess Helena and Lord Henry Sydney, Edwin was brought up in Lincoln with finest tutors the expansive English lands could provide. He was heir to the Kingdom of England and as King Robert descended into madness, had his claim cemented by his father.

For such a long one, his reign saw no major wars and great prosperity however King Edwin preferred to stay behind shut doors. For such a long reign, it was remarked that very little happened. Taxes where decreased and an abnormal amount of assassination attempts where uncovered. No surviving member of the Normandy family would challenge him for his throne in his life time. The economy would boom and England would continue to separate from Rome, whilst maintaining a religious identity. The change in houses marked the first time that a King was not seen as secure in his role by the public.

Edwin died in 1302 at the age of 66. Surprisingly he had only one surviving legitimate son, Eric, who would succeed him in all territories. He fathered several illegitimate children however, most of whom were employed as regional mayors or were fast-tracked into high-ranking church positions, such as Jacob Edwinson who would become Archbishop of York in 1288.

 

[Directorio]

King Eric I- 1302-1310
House of Sydney

Eric I was King of England briefly in the early 14th century. His reign 'barely registered' on the national consciousness according to various contemporaries. His brother-in-law, David IX of Scotland, called him 'exceedingly dull and exceedingly fat'.

Eric was the only legitimate son of Edwin I and Queen Elizabeth. Tutors were said to have 'attempted their best' but, unlike his quick-witted Scottish counter part, he proved a poor student.

Afflicted with gout from an early age by the point of his succession he was almost bedridden and was heavily dependent on a coterie of doctors. His sedentary lifestyle had made him obese and had numerous sores which made him maudlin. He was carried by sedan chair for his coronation. His maiden speech to council was mumbled and its message lost. The council was soon rolling back taxes and laws and Eric gleefully signed them through. His lack of public appearances was derided in the press and the cheap theatres and in contemporary cultural depictions was usually portrayed as a half-asleep fool to be taken advantage of.

Eric would die in mid 1310 having complained of excruciating headaches for a week and succumbed to a 'malignant fever'. Henry and Queen Mary's only child, Eric II, would succeed him. The new king was only 3 months old at this point beginning a long regency, first under his mother, then his grandmother. The Regency would prove crucial in forging a country ruled by the authority of the council rather than a monarch.

 

[Directorio]

King Eric II- 1310-1354
House of Sydney

Eric II ruled England in the early half of the 14th century. He is generally held to be a uninspiring and unimaginative figure, delegating the levers of government to his chancellors and profligate with the kingdom's finances.

3 months old at the point of his succession, Eric spent the first year of his reign under a regency of his mother, Mary and his father's mother Elizabeth, the Queen Mothet. Despite the best efforts of his tutors Eric appeared to be a slightly dull pupil and the period of regency seems to have been instructive in allowing him to delegate all decisions to those around him throughout his reign.

Eric had little interest in the workings of government, other than extracting funds out of it and successive chancellors worked piecemeal to create lasting organs of state which could operate outside of the direct scrutiny of the monarch.

It appears that Eric slipped into depression as the 1330s progressed, often snapping at his lords and making occasionally poor decisions. However it seems he outgrew it.

Eric would die in 1354 having ruled for just over 44 years. He would outlive all but one of his own children and in his final months would lament that 'God would not have taken them all if I had been more strict on the heretics. The crown passed to his son Herbert.

 

[Directorio]

King Herbert I- 1354-1378
House of Sydney

Herbert I was King of England from 1354 to 1378. He is said to have described his own reign as 'a series of disappointments'. This was being a bit hard on his reign.

Despite his best efforts England would be beset by an almost unending succession of rebellion during his reign. This would constrain his ambitions to further English domination of France and also wreck his plans to exploit his continental territories to make up for the lack of discretion over domestic English affairs.

As England’s council was keen to limit the powers of the monarchy and was partially fearful of another Peasant Revolt if too large a taxation was granted Herbert felt his options shrank in England. On the continent however he felt and indeed assumed he would have much more scope to exercise his power.

Herbert married Margaret of Meissen in 1353 but the marriage was loveless and he was accused of ignoring and belittling her. They would have three children, though he is known to have had at least three other illegitimate children.

Toward the end of his reign he travelled to Rome, gaining permission for the papacy to establish a university in Oxford. He would have to play this down to a Papal-Phobic English population and claim more credit than he felt due.

Herbert would die in 1378 of pneumonia. He would be succeeded by the eldest of his three surviving sons.

 

[Directorio]

King Eric III -1378
House of Sydney

Eric III is England's shortest reigning monarch, ascending the throne in March 1378 and dying seven months later in October.

While his father, Herbert I, spent his time extending England's authority over France the young Prince Eric was groomed for government with a steady if unimaginative stewardship of England. However his father had grand plans for his son. In 1367 he arranged the marriage of Eric to the Elizabeth of

Eric succeeded to the throne in March 1378 following the death of his father and three weeks later the couple celebrated the birth of their son, Prince Cyril.

Three months after his coronation, at the wedding of one of his lords, Eric was taken ill. He would never recover and died in bed on 4th October.

Desperate for stability in the face of building hostility from France the English lords chose to accept the status quo rather face a potentially messy struggle for the crown. The infant King Cyril IV would be proclaimed king but matters of government would be maintained by a council of regency headed by Elizabeth.

 

[Directorio]

King Cyril IV the Lionheart- 1378-1420
House of Sydney

Cyril IV is usually judged the first king of England to enter hostile relations with the Scots. He personally ruled over England for 42 years.

Born in 1378, only a few months before his father's untimely death, Cyril would quickly be accepted by the English nobility as the kingdom's rightful heir and ruler. English lords reckoned a united front behind a king, even if that king was a mere baby, was better than a disputed crown and division. Due to his age a council of regency was established under his mother, Elizabeth of Viken being a competent and formidable ruler in her own right. Elizabeth quickly set about turning the fragile peace with the French nobles into something more stable.

Elizabeth would die in November 1392 whereupon Cyril would tour his inheritance, reconfirming laws and rights, and the lands of the nobility. On his return to London at midsummer 1393 he would be handed full reign of the kingdom and the council of regency was dissolved. Cyril did not deviate much from the template he had been given and mostly his reign was simply business as usual.

In 1400 Cyril committed the English army to support David XII in the War of the Lions, a Scottish civil war which had spiralled out into a general war with England and Scotland. It was the first time in 250 years that the two nations had hostile relations. It would confirm England’s dominance in Cumberland.

The next 20 years would see Cyril age and adapt to become a beloved aged king. He would pass in 1420 and be succeeded by his second and eldest surviving son, Prince Edwin. He was post humously be dubbed “the Lionheart”.

 

[El Pip]

As always I am delighted to see anything occur in long-forgotten corners of AARland, so this was a treat. If, as it appears, things did stop with Cyril IV then a bit of an epilogue (or even just "The End") would not go amiss, but that is quibbling.

 

[DensleyBlair]

I will catch up with this fine-looking ready-made AAR over the next few days, but as Pip says fantastic to see a fresh tale in CK of all places!

 

[DensleyBlair]

Found a spare moment and managed to blitz through this in one sitting. Lovely, concise timeline. Would be interested to see a screenshot of Britain/France by the end of the game if you have one.

 

[JSB217118]

It was in the summer of 1195 that Robert discovered that his wife, Catherine, had cheated on him with the Duke of Kent. Ultimately Kent was beheaded, with his title given to another noble family of the region. Catherine was a Scottish Princess and if he beheaded her, he would set back the cordial relations his father had built and potentially risk war. Having bribed a divorce out of his wife, he would develop a friendship with the new King Alexander of Scotland. Robert would never remarry having built a distrust against women.

Is Catherine descended from the House of Wesix? If so her adultery would have been an even greater blow, since the Normans placed so much effort into aquiring the blood of the former royal family. That people still view CK1 AAR's gives me hope for my AAR once CK3 inevitably becomes the main game on these forums.

 

[Directorio]

King Edwin II- 1420-1456
House of Sydney

Edwin II was the last of the House of Sydney to succeed to the English throne. Despite a promise to the nobles to rule over a calm, orderly kingdom he would be frequently frustrated by events.

Edwin was the first son from Cyril IV's second marriage to Queen Matilda with his only son from his first marriage passing away at a young age. Many English lords found him distant and his love of the arts would provide friction in the future. Even so it was expected that his life would be that of a provincial lord; holding the frontier but otherwise largely inconsequential. After all, he had several younger brothers and even though Prince Henry had no children, Prince Robert did.

As it was, Edwin got lucky and outlived all of his own siblings and their children too. He married Princess Charlotte of Spain, who he was repulsed by and so only had one daughter named for her mother in 1421. The younger Charlotte was more popular than her father and married John, Earl of Devon. She would die giving birth to her son, Simon in 1455.

Edwin hammered through reforms to England's taxes. Largely these did not entirely benefit the crown they were meant to put the entire treasury on to a sure footing. However they stirred up anger that the king was overstepping his mark. When in 1432 he attempted to strip the lords of their right to raise private armies, or rather ensure that they pledged their allegiance to the crown in the first instance, several lords rebelled and war started.

The “Authority War” was very complicated, with internal and external loyalties very blurred. However what is known is that it ended in a humiliating defeat for Edwin and confirmed the Lord’s Authority. He would spend the rest of his reign humiliated and trying to reclaim lost authority. The death of his daughter then heavily destroyed his will to live and when he caught an unkown disease in January 1456, he let it carry him off to heaven. He was succeeded by his grandson, Simon.

Nowadays Edwin II is viewed in many lights, ranging from being a tyrant to a saddening mess. The shocking collapse of the Sydney dynasty in such short time adds to a preconceived idea of him being a bad king.

 

[DensleyBlair]

The fifteenth century seems to be a pretty bad time to be an English king, whichever universe you find yourself in.

 

[Directorio]

King Simon I- 1456-1536
House of Devon

Reigning from the ages of 1 to the grand age of 81, King Simon is the longest reigning monarch in not just English but world history. Simon I dominated England for eight decades. He would oversee much of England's slow drift toward becoming a Protestant country.

The grandson of Edwin II and Queen Charlotte, Simon of Devon became heir apparent after the death of his mother in 1455. Therefore when Edwin died in 1456, Simon was readily accepted by as the rightful king and crowned in early 1456.

At the end of his reign, Edwin had been an idle king allowing his privy council to effectively rule for him but then dragging his heels over certain areas. Unless it related to military matters, or getting more money to pay for military matters then it appears he simply wasn't interested. This included the religious development of Protestantism and Edwin or his council made no concrete moves to either ban it or discourage its spread. The result was that by the end of his reign almost half the population was Protestant. This mostly manifested itself in the towns and cities but the eastern counties boasted a rural population which had mostly converted too. Simon had secretly converted as well but seemed happy to continue with the status quo in England, suggesting he was not ideologically motivated at this point.

His early reign saw a progression of he was much interested in the standardisation of laws across the country. For instance he fixed 1st January as the official beginning of the calendar year, replacing the various dates which often changed from diocese to diocese. He would also implement new coins, increasing the amount of silver within them. This move was welcomed by the populace which had been troubled by increasingly debased coinage, but put a squeeze on the crown's treasury. There was also a revision of the kingdom's poor laws, long overdue considering the number of beggars crowding the towns after being dispossessed by enclosures or ruined by famine, but this put another squeeze on funds.

Simon privately held strong Protestant beliefs, but refused to act against England’s catholic population. When his chancellor publicly converted to Protestantism in 1487, Simon merely commented on how diverse Christianity was becoming in England. In May 1492 having reigned over a religiously peaceful England, he asked his privy council to work toward an act of religious tolerance such as had been enacted in Germany.

Simon I’s reign is largely marked as the start of the renaissance in Europe, where arts and the classics became more popularised in England. Simon would become known for encouraging such reforms in England.

By the time of his death in 1536 at the grand age of 81, both his children, Prince Simon and Prince Samuel had died and his grandson was entering his 30s. Nowadays he is viewed as a great king who brought stability during uncertain times.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Interesting that Protestantism has become so well established so early. And that the Renaissance has come to England. I wonder what it would signify in this case?