Welcome back, class – to this last lecture before the exams. Today we will cover the last medieval Emperor of Normannia, Stefen I. He was middle aged when he inherited the throne, 50 years of age, but would manage to set his mark on the era during the few years he reigned.
Mr Butterfly! If you want to listen to music, you do it
outside my class,
outside the lecture!
Right. The Emperor rose to office in 1438. His succession was disputed by all, as the man had converted to the Insular faith of his wife years before. The deeply Catholic realm did not want a heretic ruling them. Stefen I thus had to go out publicly to denounce his faith, reconverting to the Catholic faith in a public baptism done by the Pope himself. Doubts remained by some on how much this was a sincere conversion, but in all his remaining years the Emperor at least outwardly seemed like a devout Catholic.
In 1441, the huge treasury of Normannia again was depleted, as Stefen I decided to follow in his grandfather Lancelin II’s footsteps as a builder of epic proportions. During this one year, no less than 58 cities and 31 church settlements were founded – all of them in the now heartland of Africa – from Egypt in the east to Guinea in the west.
Speaking of Egypt, the expansion westwards continued under Stefen I, and in 1442 he declared war on the emirate of Shamir for control over even more of this resourceful land. The war was successful, but during it a disaster struck closer to home. Stefen I, for lack of a better description, became a raving lunatic. Possibly a result of brain cancer – this is disputed even today – the mind of the Emperor became clouded. Decrees of how to clothe during summer – he demanded furs and other warm clothing whenever a noble approached him during the warm summer months – to his demand of his servants to use earrings, whoever it was – made life in court difficult to say the least.
Lewis, stop snoring! Mr Pip, if you would?
Ahem. As a result of this mental illness, the last years of Emperor Stefen I the realms was in reality governed by his son and heir Prince Sewal. It was he who managed the details when Normannaia in 1449 participated in the greatly successful crusade for Persia, which in 1452 ended in a complete victory for the crusaders and another Hauteville realm created.
It was also him who decided to invade Byzantium yet again, for the control of Crete and Rhodes. It was, however, the Emperor himself who lead the assault on Constantinople, an assault which was successful – Constantinople fell – but also cost the Emperor his life. Details are sparse on what happened, seemingly the Emperor started a charge into the breech without notifying his men, but the end result was a severely wounded Emperor.
As the war neared its ending, Emperor Stefen I died of his wounds on January 1st, 1453, after 14 years of rule. His son Sewal I of Normannia, aged 31, took the reins and would lead Normannia into a new age – the renaissance. However, his reign is not part of Normannia 101.
I thank you for your participation, well those of you who actually bothered to do more than just show up for the points…. I especially want to highlight the great work of Cora and Mr Pip, I hope to see you in later subjects and foresee a great academical future for you both. Or, in Mr Pip’s case, possibly as an enforcer. I see qualities there too for you, young man!
Lastly, I will remind you all that the exams are close at hand now. Previous years’ exams, if you want to prepare even more, can be found in the university’s online portal under “Normannia 101”, then the folder “previous exams”. Good luck, all!