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An Anglo-Saxon revolt led by the elderly Harold? Godwinson Ho!

That orthodox HRE is a strange, strange creature.


Almost as strange as Irish Insular Christianity taking root in Byzantium. :D Basileus is insular christian, right?
 
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What is up with that religious map? How did that happen?
 
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An Anglo-Saxon revolt led by the elderly Harold? Godwinson Ho!

That orthodox HRE is a strange, strange creature.
Indeed, isn't it glorious? :D He lost a kingdom and regained another on the same soil, decades later. :D
Almost as strange as Irish Insular Christianity taking root in Byzantium. :D Basileus is insular christian, right?
Yes, that is correct. The Basileus is indeed Insular Christian. He's in a civil war where an Orthodox is trying to get on the throne, but he's currently winning. :)
What is up with that religious map? How did that happen?
Not sure. The HRE Emperor is Catholic, but I wager someone converted sometime earlier, as most of his realm as you can see is Orthodox...
 
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Insular Byzantium ... the mind boggles.
 
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Chapter III - Emperor Guy I up to 1215
Welcome back, class. The topic of today’s lecture is none other than the Man himself. Emperor Guy I of Normannia. The creator of the Empire, and a really colorful character in himself. We will today talk about his rule and life up to the creation of the Empire.

Lewis, pay attention! I’m not going to repeat myself!

Right. Guy. As they say, what a guy. At the time of the creation of the Empire, Guy was fifty years old and had ruled for twenty-seven of them. An astitute intellectual, he was not very pretty, but being a powerful ruler still made him a popular man on the marriage market. He was athletic and humble – as well as gregarious to people around him. His paranoia probably served him well, especially during the first years of his rule, before he was properly in control By all accounts, however, he should have been dead before the second year of his rule.

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His luck was just not great. Or perhaps it was. In any case he must have had an iron constitution. Not long after his ascension to the Sicilian throne, he contracted leprosy. This could easily have been a death sentence, but he would live for years on end after this. He even, somehow, sired three more children. The horror for the wives, I’m sure. He was on his second at the time the Empire came to be.

His physicians in the beginning surely did a good job, as he survived and even prospered – despite the sickness. Having leprosy in the middle ages was not easy however, aside from the pain and people’s disdain, which would surely have affected anyone, the view was by many that one was cursed by God himself. Guy surely must have felt this, being by all accounts a devout Christian, and he soon became a well-known flagellant. Which also could easily have gone badly health wise, I assure you. He survived, though.

Blair, for heaven’s sake! Let poor Hjarg be! And turn around and pay attention!

Ahem. Yes. In the long list of tragedies in his life, Guy hit rock bottom a year before the creation of the Empire. He contracted the bubonic plague in addition to his pre-existing leprosy. He survived, though, and became well from the former. It cost him though. A failed treatment, if you can call a treatment resulting in someone surviving failed, cost him his face. Greatly disfigured, the man would rule the rest of his life behind masks and well covering clothes.

Had he been any other guy, he would have been a pariah. Instead, he was a well respected and feared man. Loved by his close family, hated by his siblings, feared by the heathens and unruly vassals alike. He ordered most heathen prisoners executed after a while in the dungeons, he waged many successful holy wars and crusades alike. He crushed opposition to his rule like it was no sweat.

The size of the realm under his rule swelled, the Christian faith spread far and wide, as did the Norman culture. His income was great, but his coffers seldom swelling and he used most of his wealth to improve the lands he possessed, to increase their income even more, and to fund his many wars and build up the quality of his armies. He was by the time Normannia came to be an exalted figure, well underway to become a living legend. The Church loved him, the nobles either loved or feared him. He ruled with an iron fist when needed, but was generous to his friends.

Let’s at the end review his family. His first wife, Márta, died of the bubonic plague her husband survived. She gave birth to all his six children. His second wife, Marie, was a Hauteville herself, distantly related. At the time of the creation of the Empire, they had no children and there was with the Emperor’s poor health little to no expectation of any. Mostly, their marriage was one of care and support. An Emperor needs someone at his side, you might say.

Emperor Guy I had at this point six children, of which four was still living. The oldest. Oriel, died in childbirth and left him one grand-daughter. The second was another daughter, Avelina. She had in 1215 two children of her own, a boy named Guy and a daughter named Alberada. The third was named Guy and was the heir to the throne, 25 years old in 1215. He had already sired four children, two of which were boys and thus potential future Emperors.

Then came Lambert, who died tragically aged 10 in a siege during one of his father’s wars. A civil war in fact, waged at the same time as a crusade and holy war with the Almoravids. Quite a tragedy for the father, I assure you. The chronciler’s tells us Guy was heart broken when it happened. Lambert’s brother and twin, Botolf, was still alive at this time, aged 21. He was married, but had sired no children as of yet. Lastly comes Judit, aged 17 and still had already managed to give birth to a baby girl, Gohilde. More skilled than any of her brothers, she is sure to have succeeded her father had she had a man’s parts. Times has surely changed.

And that, students, ends today’s lecture. Make sure to read pages 205 to 247 by next week. And Lewis? Please use your computer’s spell checker this time. Thank you, that would be all.
 
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...and then I need to find time to play through the rest of his rule. :p I've had plenty to do both home and at work lately, so I haven't had time to play. It's sure to be a fun ride still, though! :) Time will show how long Guy lives. :)
 
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How the hell is this guy alive :eek:
That was my thought too. :D I had some time tonight to play, and have come to 1224. And this guy is STILL alive and kicking! :eek:
 
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There absolutely must be Guy truthers out there by this point. Surely some cult somewhere is convinced it’s not him behind the mask.
 
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He must have an iron health! How does that make sense, you ask? Simple- because you have to have an iron health to survive all these diseases :D

Surviving bubonic plague while being a leper is an achievement on it's own. And flagellating leper sounds... real messy :p

But this is one impressive emperor indeed.
 
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There absolutely must be Guy truthers out there by this point. Surely some cult somewhere is convinced it’s not him behind the mask.
Hahaha! You got an actual LOL out of me there. :D Glorious! :D
 
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He must have an iron health! How does that make sense, you ask? Simple- because you have to have an iron health to survive all these diseases :D

Surviving bubonic plague while being a leper is an achievement on it's own. And flagellating leper sounds... real messy :p

But this is one impressive emperor indeed.
Yeah, I couldn't believe it as the game progressed. He just kept on going. I'm in 1224 now as I said (taking a break to make dinner) and he's already crusaded his dynasty another kingdom. :p And the money keeps pouring in.
 
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Obviously, a Zombie Emperor... with a great personality.
 
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A super messy mess. Messy.
 
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He ruled with an iron fist when needed
That was all the time surely? Due to the whole bubonic leprosy issue he would just leak out of a normal glove. He need the iron ones to hold himself together.
 
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Won’t feel pain at least…
Always look at the bright side of life. :D
Obviously, a Zombie Emperor... with a great personality.
He also has great tracts of land.
A super messy mess. Messy.
Leprosy does that to you. :(
That was all the time surely? Due to the whole bubonic leprosy issue he would just leak out of a normal glove. He need the iron ones to hold himself together.
Heh, yeah pretty much all the time. ;)
 
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Well, Guy looks very... hard to kill.

Let's see how he expands his empire!
 
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