Chapter One: Duke Pieter van Sliedrecht 769-792
The chronicle of our nation and it's rulers dynasty starts with Duke Pieter van Sliedrecht, the first of his name.
Pieter ascended the throne on the first of januari in the year of our Lord 796, as Duke of Holland. A vassal to the king of West Francia, his priorities lied foremost with the people of the Duchy of Holland.
Pieter had a strong sentiment for independence, but realised his influence and power were insufficient to start a war of independence against his liege. For the coming years, he had to wait.
However, to start a dynasty one needs a spouse with whom to concieve. So on januari 16th 769, Pieter married to Hilciperga, daughter of Lord Mayor Tachiperto of Urbino.
However, not all was peacefull in the Duchy. An annoyance of Duke Pieter was Bishop Theudoald of Egmond. Theudoald frequently questioned the legitimacy of Duke Pieter's Rule. In may 769 A.D. Theudoald overstepped his bounds. Viciously slandering Duke Pieter, he erred and gave Duke Pieter a valid reason to imprison him for treason.
Pieter sent his best agents to apprehend Theudoald, but he managed to escape.
Theudoald raised his troops in rebellion, and Duke Pieter was forced to raise his levies.
In july of the same year, rumour had it that King Karl was considering Duke Pieter for a title, however, when Pieter informed, the King declared he was unable to fulfill his request for a title.
Pieter focused on quelling Theudoalds revolt, and succeeded on november 3rd 769 A.D. A few weeks later, after an apology and trough mediation of the bishop of Haarlem, Theudoald was released and reinstated as bishop of Egmond. He was fortunate Duke Pieter was a benevolent lord.
However, as it turned out, Theudoald was a stubborn man. In december of the same year he insulted Pieter again, and as before eluded the guards that were sent to capture him, raising his flag in rebellion another time.
Pieter was outraged by this insolence, and struck back with the full military might of the duchy of Holland.
The rebellion was struck down in January 770.
On the 26th of october 770 Duchess Hilciperga found out she was with child, to great joy of Duke Pieter.
In november of that same year visitors from Hindustan came to the court of Duke Pieter, and gave him a eunuch as thanks for his hospitality. Being the first in the north to actually own an eunuch, this gift was very prestigious.
Duke Pieters Daughter Cornelia was born on may 27th of the year of our lord 771. As Duke Pieter and lady Hilciperga's first born, she was the righful heir to the duchy.
Unfortunately she, was not a “he”
In 771 A.D. Lord Pieter tried again to gain a title from his liege, the King of Francia. This time the king was more positieve to our Duke, and said the Blessed Virgin would surely grant him a title when the time was due. The king, unfortunately, did not.
The year of our Lord 771 did have some good news on the other hand: Lady Hilciperga announced that she was with child, and Prins Pieter was born in the next year.
The year 773 was quite uneventfull, although there were rumours of a star falling from the sky and killing some livestock in the county of Sticht. No one could confirm these rumours though.
The year of the Lord 774 on the other hand, brought many changes.
Duchess Hicirperga announced she was with child again, In may of the same year Pope Stephanus III died and was succeeded by Pope Caelestinus II.
Our duke Pieter was working very dilligently to make the realm prosper, and his virue was rewarded by the Lord with the birth of his second son Goderic.
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King Karl however, was waging a war against the heathens in Saxony. Although winning, the war took a heavy toll on his levies. Perhaps there was opportunity in this struggle.
In the same year we received reports that the great Avar kingdom in the east had fallen. No longer under Avar rule, the nation continued to exist as Pannonia. Since the dukes interest wasn't in the east, nor with the Avar, the news was welcomed with indifference at best.
In the following year, 775 A.D. Duke Pieter still tried to diplomatically gain power in the north of Europe. Hoping to be awarded the Duchy of Flanders, so valuable ports and its riches were gained, he kept diplomatic ties with the court of King Karl Karling, hoping to persuade him to bewow Flanders onto him .King Karl was welcome of his efforts, but refrained from giving Pieter a title, fueling the ambition of Duke Pieter. He was certain he, and his dynasty were destined for greatness.
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Meanwhile, duke Pieter carefully managed his treasury in the hope he might be able to buy his way to a title.
It was not meant to go this way. You see, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh, hower when He does provide, he does it in His own mysterious ways.
In 775 the lands of West Francia were ravished by a plague. The colder climate of Holland proved to be a great resistance to the plague, and our lands were unaffected. The Frankish lands however, saw plague and famine.
King Karl, no matter how benevolent and willing he was to ease the peasants pain, was unable to stop the plague. When it ended in 776 A.D., his lands were ravaged. The Saxons, having been subjagated in 774 A.D., had a few claimants in free countries. One of these claimants, Widukind Immedinger, gathered a host and decided to attack King Karl to reclaim his rightful lands.
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In 776 A.D. King Karl rallied his levies and engaged the Saxon invaders. However, he suffered a few defeats, his ability to wage war diminished by the plague in the south, and his northern armies unable to reach because of the invaders and the provinces they took over.
In march of the same year the Saxons were nearing the Duchy of Holland, besieging the duchy of Köln, and slowly taking over the counties there.
Duke Pieter was plagued by indicision for weeks. He had no quarrel with King Karl, a benevolent ruler who did him no wrongs. Although King Karl curbed duke Pieters ambitions for a greater realm, they were on good standing. On the other hand, duke Pieter had a strong wish for independent rule and saw an opportunity he could take.
The king was occupied in the North, barely holding the Saxons at bay. Furthermore, his armies were decimated in the battles with the Saxons, and although still larger than the armies of Holland, it was a better opportunity then there ever had been. The treasure was able to sustain a war for at least 2 years on it's current state.
After rumours of a possible rebellion or even a civil war in the south of king Karl's domain reached the court, duke Pieter decided to move.
To his people he argued that he could not swear fealty to a king that was unable to protect his people, and wished to acted before the Saxons entered the lands of his demesne. He assured his people of victory, and in the unlikely event that his armies should be defeated, king Karl surely would take his past loyal service in mind, and if not, the succession of his line was safe with Pieter, who someday might be able to gain independence for his people.
His speech was not met with the fervor he had hoped, but the people of Holland and Brabant, another part of his realm, joined their leader in the rebellion.
On march 13th in the year of our Lord 776 duke Pieter declared a war for independence on king Karl Karling of the kingdom of West Francia.
King Karl was outraged, but with his armies occupied elsewhere, duke Pieter was able to march into Flanders unopposed. On july 15th he captured the castle of the count of Gent, after a prolonged siege. He moved on to claim the other assets in the county. In october an opportunity presented itself when a defeated army of West Francia, led by king Karl himself, was discovered to be recovering in the neighbouring county of Hainaut.
Pieter ordered his troops, hoping to capture the king or at least gain a victory and clear a possible threat.
The armies met near the city of Valenciennes and the attack began. Although it started with a small skirmish and a token force distracting duke Pieters forces away from the main body, on the 24th of october duke Pieter and about a hundred cavalrymen noticed a few hundred men of light infantry who tried to sneak past his army to retreat and regroup elsewhere.
A cavalry charge was commenced, and duke Pieter charged the infantry. Unfortunately a few nobles accompanied them by horse and engaged the charging cavalry in the flanks. Though fighting bravely, they managed to wound duke Pieter who had to retreat with his personal guard, whilst the other cavalrymen defeated the infantry.
In the next few days they harassed the retreating forces, but it was clear that king Karl was defeated in this battle. Although the king himself was not captured, the count of Evreux was cornered and yielded to our forces. He is sure to bring a nice ransom.
And so the year of the Lord 776 concluded, and the year 777 started. It did not start well, because the wounds of duke Pieter started to get infected, threathening his life.
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The war was still waging. With the duke incapacitated due to his injuries, his commanders concerned themselves over the realms military matters.
They found an opportunity at the end of january. Another Frankish army, retreating from the Saxons, was found in the neighbouring province of Ghent. With the army besieging the city of Brugge, the commanders split the army, hoping to intercept the Frankish army an decimate it. It was a chance, since the strength of both armies was equal. Succes brought us closer to victory, defeat would mean the loss of half of the duke's forces.
The army marched and engaged the retreating army near the town of Kortrijk. It was a major succes. Our forces succeeded in ambushing the enemy army and for every man we lost, about ten of the enemy were killed.
It appeared that the smaller towns and churches in the region were lightly defenden. The army stayed split and it was decided to take over both provinces, Brugge and Gent.
In the mean time, king Karl kept losing to the Saxons.
When we won the siege of Oudenaarde in august, and the siege of Sluys in september, hope grew that we could actually win this war. These hopes were crushed at the end of september, when king Karl of the Franks conceded defeat to the Saxons and granted them their independence.
His armies, however, were still in shambles, reduced to a meager one thousand men.
This changed on october 28th 777. After a diplomatic back and forth king Desiderius of Lombardy pledged his support to king Karl and joined him in the war against us. This was grave news, but with the majority of the Lombard forces tied in Italy, it would take a few months before they could be effectively deployed. It didn't prevent us from taking Brugge itself in November.
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At the turn of the year it was clear king Karl needed king Desiderius to come to his aid. His armies were a mere spectre of what they once were, being dwarfed by the standing army of duke Pieter.
Having lost almost a quarter of his lands in the treaty with the Saxons, he could ill afford to lose duke Pieters lands as well.
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Duke Pieter was unfased by all this. As long as Karl did not grant him his independence, and we were able to continue the fight, he would keep on fighting the war.
So for the first few months of 778, his armies continued to besiege the Franks, capturing Damme in February, and Nieuwpoort in april.
The counties of Brugge and Gent were now under complete control of duke Pieter, but king Karl still refused to surrender on our terms.
In an effort to bring the war to our lands, king Karl had invaded the county of Hainaut in the first week of april. Duke Pieter preferred to assert control over the occopied counties, so he let them besiege Hainaut.
After we had captured Nieuwpoort, the army was sent to relieve the city of Ath in Hainaut. Unfortunately they were engaged by the Frankish army near the town of Mons, and were unable to reacht the town of Ath in time. The town fell on may 7th.
With the besiegers joining the army engaged with our forces, the commanders decided to make a stand and, if God wills it, defeat the enemy decisively.
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While the battle was waging, another king saw an opportunity to get a piece of Frankish land.
Unfortunately it was king Widukind of Saxony, and most unfortunately the lands he was trying to obtain was the county of Sticht, one of the counties that duke Pieter ruled over.
A formal declaration of war was issued on may 15th , and duke Pieter was confronted with a war on two fronts.
Fortunately the battle of Mons was won. It wasn't a decisive victory, but it diminished king Karls ability for war, for minimal losses. On the same day duchess Hilciperga announced that she was expecting another child.
Duke Pieters infection had subsided, and he was able to assume command of the army again. His first priority was to beat the Frankish king, hoping the castles in Holland were strong enough to withstand the sieges of the Saxons.
His first order was to assault the city of Ath, bringing it back under his rule.
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After he took Ath, Pieter wanted to force an end to the war, so he could focus on one threat, instead of two. He marched on Vermandois, hoping to seize the Frankish capital at Rethel.
He succeeded on december 14th.
On december 27th another son was born to duke Pieter and duchess Hilciperga named Hendrik. However, Hendrik was a feeble child and the court physician feared he would not live past his first birthday.
On january 2nd 779 we also found out that the Saxons were besieging our capital Vlaardingen with an army of nearly five thousand warriors. The duke could barely field two thousand.
His marshall came with a solution. He adviced to hire a band of mercenaries to strengthen the force, and equalize the strength in men.
The treaury of the duchy was able to hire the mercenaries, and sustain them for little more than half of the year. It would be necessary to hire the mercenaries, because losing the war, would most likely mean losing the gold as well.
The duke hired the Navarrese company under command of Condottiere Belasco. The mercenaries assembled in Zeeland, where they would meet with the duke and the army.
The duke was marching from the Frankish capital Rethel, when they encountered a small band of Franks looking for their main army. They were soundly defeated near the town of Cambrai.
The duke finally met the mercenaries in March, after which they marched for Vlaardingen.
They arrived too late. The Saxons had just assaulted the city and were flooding trough the gates.
They were defenseless. After a cavalry charge led by duke Pieter cut trough their lines, the festive Saxons started to rout and fled. The infantry was waiting for them and assaulted the routing Saxons.
The Saxon army was in disarray. A part of the army still looting the city, another part routing and the largest part of the army confused on what to do. Another charge by the cavalry ended this, and soon the Saxons were in a rout.
Duke Pieter decided not to chase the fleeing Saxons, but ordered the Condottiere to assault the walls and take out the Saxons that locked themselves inside the city.
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The city was taken in a few hours.
Duke Pieter, asked his council for advice. He wanted to end the war as fast as he could. The mercenaries were draining the treasury, and his people were exhausted of the war. For most people the war was far away, but after the short fall of the capital, fervor for the war was a lot less than before.
The advice was to let the mercenaries chase the Saxons, promising them the spoils of war. King Peter could focus on subduing king Karl to gain his independence.
So the mercenaries chased the Saxons, and Pieter marched to the county of West Friesland where the barony of Alkmaar was besieged by king Karl.
On april 25th the troops of king Karl were defeated once more. Outnumbering the enemy nearly three to one, the battle was an one-sided affair.
After the battle the army marched back to Vermandois, to completely occupy the county.
Condottiere Belasco and his Navarranese company of mercenaries chased the retreating Saxons to their capital in the county of Kleve. The Saxons were intercepted near the small hamlet of Goch, and another battle ensued.
The lack of cohesion and military organisation after their rout in Vlaardingen left the Saxons with a big disatvantage, and although they were putting up a stiffer resistance then before, the mercenaries dealt them a heavy blow, in a decisive defeat.
The Saxons retreated in to Frankish territory, allowing the mercenary band to besiege the Saxon capital on june 25th of 779 A.D.
To make matters worse, a plague of camp fever came from the Frankish lands, and now finally entered those of the duke.
In the first week of october the Saxon army returned, having recuperated and reorganized.
Scouts had seen the army gathering, and the Condottiere decided to meet the army on the field, leaving a token force behind to avoid lifting the siege altogether.
The Saxon troops were intercepted near the city of Rees, and gave the mercenaries a run for their money.
The Saxons were a well equipped army, not suffering from any distractions or disorganisation and low morale. After hard fighting, Belasco and his band won a close victory. The Saxons retreated once more, and the mercenaries returned to besiege Kleve. The city fell to our troops a few weeks later, on october 22nd 779
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For now, this did not mean the end of the war. With the bottom of the treasury in sight, calculations were that we could sustain this war for no more than two months. This was unacceptable, and the duke decided to swallow his pride and lend gold from Jewish moneylenders. The amount of gold received would allow duke Pieter to finance his war effort for at least a year and a half.
Good tidings were received on october 31st of 779 A.D. In the early morning of the day duke Pieter captured this city of Laon, exerting more control over king Karl's lands.
In the evening a messenger arrived with the message that King Widukind conceded, and gave duke Pieter the victory in his war for Sticht. The decimation of his armies and capture of the capital, with no real gains to show for it gave way to unrest and rebellion in his lands, leaving the pagan ruler unable to continue the war.
One of the fronts was closed, But king Karl wasn't about to give up lands of duke Pieter.
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His small army managed to capture the barony of Alkmaar, on november 20th and moved on the siege the city of Hoorn.
With the manpower of the mercenaries unneeded with the Saxons reigned in, the duke ended the contract with the mercenaries, hoping to be able to pay back the loan in little time.
Still besieging the demesne of king Karl, he managed to finally capture the last part of the capital county, St. Quentin. After the siege duke Pieter ordered his men to march to Westfriesland, to liberate the barony of Alkmaar as fast als possible.
Whilst marching, a message was received that the Byzantine had converted to a heresy, and were now apparently Iconoclast. Matters that were a worry for another day, because half the world was between the duke and the emperor.
In the new year, 780 A.D the duke arrived in West-Friesland. The army of king Karl was weak, and a small battle took place on february 6th. The battle had very few casualties, but duke Pieter managed to get wounded by a stray arrow. Sometimes, luck is with the enemy.
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However, the battle was won, and king Karl retreated. The barony of Alkmaar was liberated a few days after the battle.
With king Karl on the retreat, and the lands free of occupying enemy troops, Pieter decided to push into the Frankish lands again, hoping to convince king Karl to give in to his demands.
Pieter marched his army into the province of Friesland and besieged the towns and castles of the county, capturing Groningen on march 21st and Stavoren on april 3rd.
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Stavoren proved to be the straw that broke the camels back. King Karl realized he was unable to stop the slow takeover from the north, and with three other lords that were waging war against him in both the north and the south, he realized he was lost. For the moment he had to give duke Pieter his independence, whether he would take it back in a few years or not.
On april 10th of 780 duke Pieter and king Karl met in the castle at Vlaardingen, and signed a peace treaty. Duke Pieter decided he would not ask for more than his independence, king Karl a possible ally he wished to preserve. Altough relations were soured, they were not unmendable.
The duchy of Holland and Brabant gained their independence under duke Pieter.
The time of peace allowed duke Pieter to see the realm prosper and focus on stewardship. He seemed to have a talent for it, and in 781 was commended by his peers.
Martial concerns were not forgotten, and the fear of an occupied Holland made Pieter set his gaze upon the island of Britannia. The problem at the moment was an inability to ship troops to the island and from the island, not to mention the lack of a valid claim and unwillingness from any marital ties.
Unfazed, Pieter sent his chancellor to East Anglia, to scour the archives to find a possible claim on the lands, and if not found, then forge one.
In 782 the spymaster brought good news. During a “buisiness travel” to Constantinople, he was able to aquire the technology of shipbuilding, allowing Pieter to instuct his masons to start constructing a port in Vlaardingen.
In december of the same year the old wound, sustained in the battle of Hoorn nearly three years prior was finally healed, leaving nasty scar.
In august of 783 the changes influenced by the independence was getting noticable. Were most people considered themselves still Frankish, the majority of people started tosee themselves as people of the low land, or Dutch. It seemed a cultural shift was underway.
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On september 2nd the catholic world was shocked to learn of the death of pope Caelestinus II. After several days the Conclave chose an new pope, who named himself Anastasius III.
The rest of the year proved uneventful. On april 11th of 784 an unexpected thing happened. King Karl of West Francia's brother, king Karloman of Middle Francia, had a de jure claim on Breda and decided to press it.
Holland was ill equipped for war, and although Middle Frankia was recovering from a terrible civil war that ended only months earlier, king Karloman was able to field more men and keep them funded much longer.
The treasury had been filling up at a steady pace for the past few years. Able to pay the debt to the Jewish money lenders for quite some time, duke Pieter decided against it, to have a war chest in the case of war. This precaution is what saved the moment.
Pieter immediately mustered the available troops and decided to head straight for the Frankish capital in Troyes.
As he marched to the Franks, he received word that his wife, Hilciperga, was with child again. A newborn was expected in about 7 months.
As the Dutch marched to Troyers, entering the Frankish lands in the county of Reims, scouts reported a large army of Franks defending the capital.
Unwilling to attack an enemy that had the defensive position, he decided to lure the Franks out of their defensive position and started to besiege the castle at Provins, in the county of Reims.
The plan worked, and on september 17th the Frankish army attacked. Although they had more men, the dutch had a better defensive position, and above all, better leadership. This proved to be Franks undoing, and they took heavy losses, losing the battle decisively. To make matters worse for the Franks, count Robert of Bourbon was captured, taking an important commander out of king Karlomans army.
The Franks retreated and regrouped, allowing the Dutch to continue the siege of Provins, capturing the castle on the 9th of January 785.
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After a four month siege, the city of Châlons surrendered. It was by then, that Pieter noticed that the Frankish army besieging the hold of the count of Breda. He immediately ordered a forced march to relieve the siege.
The army arrived a few days too late and encountered the Franks near the town of Willemstad. After a few skirmishes the main body of both armies engaged, and the battle engaged in fullest. Both armies were at each other throats and the battle could go either way for a long time. A breaktrough happened when a group of infantrymen were able to corner a few nobles during the battle and capturing them.
With the loss of leadership came the slow collapse, until the remaining commanders ordered a retreat. It was a close victory that diminished our forces by enough to start worrying about the remaining Franks. It appeared a phyrric victory.
Duke Pieter ordered the liberation of Breda, which was achieved a few days later.
Directly after the battle Pieter had the captured nobles brought before him. The first was a baron, saying his name was Fulcard of Montbéliard. He was led to the dungeons awaiting the end of the war, when he would be ransomed.
The other man on the other hand, had a regal stature. He was brought into duke Pieters tent as if he was an equal. After exchanging the required pleasantries Pieter realized his prisoner was none other than king Karloman himself. This was a gift from God. The war could not be won very easily, and should it continue it would mean either the depletion of available men, or that of the treasury.
But now, King Karloman. This changed the war. Pieter offered a peace treaty to King Karloman, offering his freedom and a small amount in gold as war reparations. The terms were fair and acceptable, and King Karloman agreed.
The peace was declared on the first of july 785. The Dutch had won another war. It was God's will, or a sheer amount of good luck that led to the capture of Karloman and a quick end to the war, having lasted for little over a year.
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The next few year were spend recovering from the war and increasing prosperity and technology accross the realm.
The victory also marked a great moment to introduce thirteen year old heir Pieter to the realm.
Pieter impressed the right people and gained a few training offers. Although not all vassals of his father were impressed, more then enough were.
He was betrothed to princess Zaynab of Africa, and would marry her when she came of age in 789.
In may 789 duke Pieter received word from his chancellor that he had been able to fabricate a claim to the kingdom of East Anglia on the island Britannia.
Have secured a few ships with the stolen Byzantine technology, Pieter had a way to ship his troops, albeit in small groups of at most fivehundred men.
Pieter declared war on king Æthelred of East Anglia on may 30th, and ferried his men to the county.
The tactic was to let enough men hold a province Norfolk, engaging a small army and keep getting reinforced by fresh troop brought by boat.
It worked for a while, but about halfway during the operation the line was broken and a retreat necessary. The Dutch fled into Mercian lands. With the Anglo retreating from Suffolk, there was another opening. Fresh troops landed and were intercepted by the Anglos.
The troops that had retreated to Mercia made their way back and reinforced them. Together with fresh troops from the main land they overcame the Anglos and pursued the fleeing army.
The armies of king Æthelred were defeated at Suffolk, allowing the Dutch to besiege the king's holdings in a matter of few weeks.
King Æthelred signed peace in july of 790, tranferring total control of East Anglia to duke Pieter.
Riled by this victory, and the former years of prosperity made Pieter decide to found a new kingdom.
By official decree he declared the lands in his domain, the duchies of Holland, Brabant and East Anglia to be an official part of the newly found Kingdom of the Netherlands, and named himself absolute ruler of the kingdom.
More good news arrived on april 10th 791. Heir to the kingdom, prince Pieter and his wife Zaynab were given a daughter, Cornelia.
The succession was still safe.
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In september king Pieter decided to hold a grand tournament. The efforts to get this arranged increased his ability to govern as well.
In november the tournament started, and with several ranked jousts, archery competition and a melee over the course of two months, on january 16th 792 the winners were announced.
Geteye came in third, Bartolomeus of Amsterdam came in second, and the bravest warrior was crown prince Pieter himself, claiming the first place in the tournament.
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In april 792 the king decided to enact the Low Centralization Law, centralizing the realm.
A few days later this ambitious move earned it's first profits.
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On may 16th 792 the inevitable happend. King Pieter of the Netherlands died in his sleep at the age of 52 years.
Having fought for independence and having defended the realm against outside agression, he brought stability and prosperity to his lands in the final year of his rule.
His son Pieter ascends the throne. His regal name will be King Pieter II of the Netherlands.
The king is dead, long live the king!
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