Norgesveldet – A history of the Norwegian kings

[Nikolai]

Conquest all the way, Oerdin!

[Nikolai]

Sigurdrr I the Bold
(1230-1270)

The long reign of Sigurdrr I the Bold was a time of big religious strife in Europe. A crusade and several long and bloody religious wars defined his reign.


Family
Sigurdrr was married thrice. His first wife, queen Onna of Frisia, died in her sickbed after a couple years’ marriage, with no issue left between them. Sigurdrr then married his wife’s younger sister, the new queen of Frisia, Bava. Between them they got several children, one of which would succeed him. After a long and sometimes struggling marriage, as the Emperor repeatedly refused to aid his wife in her defensive wars against the mighty HRE, the queen died of old age and he married the Byzantine princess Ermenisinda. Together they got several children.


Sigurdrr’s children were as follows:
Klas
Karl
Sigrid
Elin
Asa
Nils
Dag
Sverker
Kol


His reign
The first year of Sigurdrr’s reign were dominated by the holy war he inherited from his brother. Right before this war was concluded favourably for the Empire, the Emperor by fluke of luck inherited the far off county of Achaia in Greece, from his late sister Asa. The county would nominally remain part of the Scandinavian Empire, but de facto it would swear fealty to the Byzantines, although this would remain a latent issue between the two Empires.


Shortly after the conclusion of the holy war for Livonia, the Empire would go to war again, this time a holy war for Polotsk. In the other far ends of the steppes, the Golden Horde arrived, soon butting heads with the superpower of Byzantium. The next decades, the steppes would repeatedly switch hands between these two powers, locked as they were in a deadly struggle. The holy war was concluded a short year later. Sensing weakness, the Emperor declared another holy war on the kingdom of Rus for the jarldom of Novgorod.


As this war was raging, a big peasant revolt happened in the newly won territories in the east. It was shortly crushed, but a year later a major rebellion happened in England. The Emperor tried to imprison the powerful duke of Hwicce, who plotted against his liege. The arrest was not successful, and soon England was in flames. In the east, the last war was turning into a disaster as the army of the Empire suffered a major defeat and the core of the Emperor’s retinue was slaughtered. Fleeing, and repeatedly being beaten, the Emperor was forced to sign a humiliating white peace with the kingdom of Rus.


Disaster came not alone. Sensing weakness, some of the vassals of the Empire demanded independence, and upon refusal, civil war ensued. In the midst of this, the High Priest of the Slavic faith declared a Great Holy War for Scandinavian Prussia. On the brink of defeat on all fronts, the royal retinue totally destroyed and his armies in rout, the Emperor regrouped and managed to push back the rebels in England and Skotland. He then used his vast treasury to hire mercenaries in Scandinavia and sent these towards the rebels in Skåne. The HRE and the Teutonic Knights offered to join defence of Prussia, and soon the Slavic lands were swarmed by Crusading knights. When the tsar of Russia foolishly declared war at this point for the same lands in Prussia, he met stiff resistance.


By this point, things were going in favour of the Emperor. In 1240 the High Priest of the Slavic faith were forced to sue for peace, and the year thereafter the jarl of Hwicce was forced to the table too, and surrendered himself to the loyalist forces. A few months later, the independence revolt was crushed as well, and in 1244 a white peace was signed with the surprisingly resilient tsar of Russia. Eager to show the time of troubles over, the Emperor immediately declared war on the French rebels in Cornwall, for the control of the province of Devon. The rebels turned out to be very resilient, lasting almost four years before surrendering. In the meantime another peasant revolt had to be dealt with in the north of England, something that definitely aided the French rebels in buying some time.


Due to excessive infighting, the throne of the kingdom of Wales had been left vacant for a few years, but in 1249 the Emperor let himself be crowned king of Wales, securing his grip of the western parts of the British Isles save Ireland. The year after the Emperor tried again to subdue the jarldom of Novgorod, declaring a renewed holy war against Rus. This war was halted when the Slavic High Priest declared a Great Holy War for the kingdom of Lithunania in retaliation. A few months later, the Pope declared a Crusade for the kingdom of Poland.


Hoping for help with the Slavic hordes, the Emperor declares his commitment to the Crusade, heading an army himself headed for Poland and Lithuania. His other armies in the meantime mopped up the last pockets of resistance in Novgorod, and the Rus were forced to hand it over. With the whole might of Christendom decending on it, the Slavic faithful admitted defeat in their Great Holy War. A few faithful led a Slavic uprising in northern Lithunania, but was quickly crushed. In 1257, the Crusade was won, and the Knights of Santiago was awarded the kingdom of Poland. Two crusader kingdoms were now led by knightly orders, kingdom of Jerusalem by the Knights Hospitaller and kingdom of Poland by the Knights of Santiago. Catholic prestige were sky high.


In the Isles, a Scottish noble by the name of Neil declared his intent for seizing the throne of Wales for himself, but his endeavour was a doomed one and he was forced to bend the knee merely a year later. The Emperor decided that the entirety of the British Isles belonged to his house, and declared war on Eire for the control of the county of Middlesex. At this point, the Byzantine Empire asked for help against the Golden Horde, where the Byzantines were trying to reclaim their lost provinces on the steppes. The Emperor agreed to help, but did’t send troops, believing the Byzantines to be able to hold their own, as they had twice the number of troops of the Golden Horde. This would turn out to be wrong, as the Horde roamed the steppes with three huge armies, obliterating half of the Byzantine numbers in crushing defeats. The war would end a few years later with the Byzantines handing over a vast sum of gold.


Home in the north, the Emperor declared a holy war for the jarldom of Courland, all while battling the Irish armies in the west. The holy war would end four years later, being set back by two big revolts, one by peasants and one by Slavic faithful. The war ended in a clear defeat of the enemy forces, however. With the holy war won, the Russian descended into civil war, and the Emperor took advantage of this and seized the county of Onega from the Russian rebels. All wars now being won, the Empire yet again went to war, when the attempted revocation of one of the dual jarl of Hwicce and Kent’s counties failed, and civil war ensued on the British Isles. The war was quickly won, and the Emperor landed a claimant to the Irish throne in the revoked county. Promising to press the count’s claim for Eire if he would swear fealty to the Empire, the Irish-Scandinavian war was initiated. This war would not see its end during Sigurdrr’s reign, however, as the old Emperor in the middle of the war fell into a coma, and never woke up. In 1270, Sigurdrr I the Bold died comatose in bed, and his son Klas II the Just was now Emperor.

The realm of Scandinavia upon the death of Sigurdrr I the Bold.


Aftermath
Later historians have dubbed the time of the reign of Sigurdrr I the Bold as The Great Eastern Strife, seeing as his reign saw the biggest religious strife in the East since the conversion of Scandinavia and the start of the long line of holy wars in the area. Crusades and Great Holy Wars killed thousands, not to speak of the lesser holy wars fought. In addition, the arriving of the Golden Horde meant the steppes in South Eastern Europe was the battle ground for the test of strength between the strongest power in the Catholic world, Byzantium, and the emerging great power of the Golden Horde.

[Dinner]

It sounds like your war weariness is high and that it is causing revolts.

[Nikolai]

There is no such thing as war weariness in CK.

[Dinner]

Really? There is in EU and they use the same engine. I also seem to remember vassals get pissed if the levees remain raised too long.

[Nikolai]

HoI, Victoria, EU and CK all use the same engine, still the gameplay is quite different.

[Nikolai]

Interlude – 1250 Anno Domine
While Norway had risen in the North, Europe and the Middle East had seen vast changes as well. In Western Europe, France had consolidated as a medium sized kingdom ruled by the heirs of Charlemagne. The rise of the Basque kingdoms however, was the most lasting change that had happened in the time from Fairhair to 1250. At one point controlling all of Iberia, Italy down to Byzantine Italy, as well as Aquitaine, the Basque Empire was now divided into Castille, Aragon and Aquitaine. Basque culture had spread far and wide, dominating Aquetaine, Eastern Iberia as well as much of Northern Italy. The kingdom of Frisia at one point was a strong, medium sized power, but had dwindled away under the pressure of the Holy Roman Empire and Eire for several decades by 1250.

In central Europe, the Holy Roman Empire dominated politics, a stable and large realm fielding an army a little more than the Scandinavian Empire, and half of the Byzantine Empire. After a deep thrust into Hungary and the Ukraine in the preceding centuries, this realm had stabilized, only doing the occasional attack on Frisia. The little kingdom of Great Moravia, a reformed Tengri realm, lay threatened in between the HRE and the great Reformed Slavic Empire of Russia.

Russia itself had thrust deep into Central Europe, but was by 1250 under constant pressure from Scandinavia in the North, the HRE in the South and West, and by the borders in the East, a new potential threat in the form of the Golden Horde had emerged. The sibling kingdom of Rus was under similar pressure, although only from Scandinavia.

On the steppes, the Golden Horde had just won a devastating victory over the Byzantine Empire, taking control of all of the Byzantine holdings on the steppes, a vast amount of land. The Byzantines themselves had been sent into a crippling civil war, but with a truce with the Golden Horde, the Mongol horde of the Ilkhanate content with consolidating its conquests in Persia and battling the surprisingly numerous armies of the Lords of the Sky, their borders seemed secure for the time being. After Christianity being de facto split for a long time, the Catholic denomination stood triumphant in 1250, Orthodoxy completely obliterated and the Miaphysite and Monophysite denominations only barely holding on in the south of Muslim Egypt.

In the Muslim Middle East, the Muslim powers were divided as they had been for the last few centuries, after the Second Crusade succeeded in taking the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Knights Hospitallers won the kingdom, and then lost it again, the lone province held by the coast of Judea being the only Christian holding there for several decades, before the Third Crusade reclaimed the Kingdom of Jerusalem for the Order.

In Western Africa, the kingdom of Mali laid isolated from the changes in the north, and on the other side of the known world, in India, borders had likewise seen little change for a long time.


The political map of the known world in 1250.



The cultural map of the known world in 1250.



The religious map of the known world in 1250.

[C0ckney]

interesting stuff nikolai, i'm looking forward to the next chapter.

[Nikolai]

Thanks. I need to play some more before I write up the next chapter, I'm almost caught up.

[N35t0r]

What happened to the knights of santiago?

[Nikolai]

A, this is an interlude due to popular request on paradox forums. It covers the state of the world 1250. Previous king died 1270. So we're 20 years before the last update's end.

[N35t0r]

lol, I don't pay much attention to the dates, I'm totally unable to retain them.

[Nikolai]

Hehe, I see. Update up in a minute.

[Nikolai]

Klas II the Just
(1270-1307)

The reign of Klar II was a long one, especially considering he was maimed at the starty of his reign and never totally recovered. He had an impressive physique, living in pain and sickness for 37 years, and still siring four children.


Family
Klas II married strategically, first securing his southern border with a marriage to the German princess Adela of the HRE, and when she died, securing a powerful alliance with the princess Anthe of the Byzantine Empire. Between them, they got four children, one of which would succeed to the head of the Empire:


Gyla
Yrsa
Geirr
Sigrid


His reign
His reign starting in a war for Eire, the Empire almost lost its new Emperor days into his administration. Cornered in battle, the Emperor was maimed, losing an arm and an eye. His wounds would never quite heal, and he was plagued with sickness for the rest of his long reign.


After two years of battle and sieging, the king of Eire gave up, and the kingdom was incorporated into the Empire, making a powerful vassal in the process – a vassal which the Emperor and his successors would have to mind carefully in the future. Alone, the king of Eire fielded a tenth of the total number of men the Empire had to its disposal, way more than any other vassal kingdom or lower.


Not resting on his laurels, the Emperor declared war on the French rebels in Cornwall, for the province of Cornwall; the last non-Scandinavian province in Britain. Within months this war was ended and on March 12th, two years later, the pope himself arrived in the Scandinavian capital to crown Klas dual Emperor of Scandinavia and Britannia.


The next few years was riddled with peasant and religious rebellions, all quickly quelled. An aborted holy war was made on the Russian rebels for the duchy of Lithuania; aborted because the rebels yielded to their king before a peace could be made with Klas. The Emperor however did not despair, moving onto holy war on Russia itself, this time for the duchy of Polotsk. Two years later, with few battles made, the Russians gave in.


In 1286 a French noble declared war for the control of Northern Skotland. He was chanceless, however, and the invasion was repelled before the year was over. During this war Klas, having been maimed for 16 years, and his wife being 40, did the impossible and sired a heathly son. In celebration, a temple and city was built in Hordaland in Western Norway, and a city was built in Uppland in Eastern Sweden.


In 1290 Klas took a page out of his father’s book and landed a claimant to the Frisian kingdom, immiditately pressing the claim on the small kingdom. During the invasion a detour had to be done to England, where two peasant revolts happened, but in 1292 Frisia swore allegiance to the Empire of Scandianvia and Britannia. In celebration, another city was built in Uppland. The Empire then went to war against Russia for the jarldom of Belo Ozero.


Through inheritance, the jarl of Pskov was at this point controlling most of the eastern part of the Empire. This could not stand and the Emperor tries to strip him. Civil war ensues. Three years later, both the civil war and the holy war is brought to an end, with Klas in total victory. The jarldom of Finland is stripped from the defeated jarl. His retinue already in the area, the Emperor declares war on the kingdom of Rus for the jarldom of Yaroslav. The Slavic faithful rebels, but is put down and the holy war is won soon thereafter.


After this, a few years of calm settled in. A vast expansion of the royal retinue ate up most of the treasury, and in Europe the Black Plague decimated city and towns everywhere. The North is mostly spared, however the Emperor’s kinsman the Pope dies a horrible death in Rome. In 1305 and 1306 a peasant and Slavic rebellion arise, both are quelled within a year of their inception. Shortly after the Slavic rebellion is over, the Emperor dies a maimed cripple.



The realm at the ascension of Geirr I the Just.


Aftermath
The reign of Klas II was vastly successful, making the Empire a dual Empire, as well as expanding the realm both internally and externally in a time the Black Plague depleted Europe’s population. Especially impressive is the reign of Klas II when you consider he was a man plagued with pain and suffering that could easily have both cut his life short early, and broken lesser men. Still, the Emperor is set in the shadow by his son and successor, Geirr I the Just.

[Nikolai]

Geirr I the Just
(1307-1358)

The reign of Geirr I the Just saw the biggest change in the fate of the Scandinavian Empire in generations. His rule expanded the realm in new direction, adding whole kingdoms and making the Empire an even more dominating, although somewhat spread out, realm. His reign also saw the first encounter with a whole new enemy religion; Islam.


Family
Geirr was married no less than five times. His first marriage was a strategic one, to the princess of Aragon; Munia. His four successive marriages were to above the average quick and genious women; the Emperor was, it is said, deeply smitten by intellect and surrounded himself with the best men and women he could find. His second wife was the daughter of one of his jarls, Cristina. His third and fourth was by local barons, Eldonza and Inga, respectively. His last wife, and the only to survive him, was the daughter of a local baron, Winidilda. Together they had six children, one of which would succeed him:
Maer
Hemming
Tryggve
Klas
Alvör
Hrane


In his last years, the Emperor also fathered one bastard:
Saga


His reign
The first thing Emperor did was to hand out the kingdom of Wales and Finland. This made for stronger vassals who could, and later would, become dangerous foes, but the realm was by now huge and stretched thin, so it had to be streamlined.


Keeping with tradition, the new Emperor waged a holy war on his Slavic neighbours in the East, claiming the jarldom of Rostov. The war was won within a year. After a minor peasant revolt was squashed, the Emperor changed the Empire forever. Scandinavia had always been a North Sea Empire, content to dominate the north of Europe. In the south-west, Europe was dominated by medium sized kingdoms, with only the Basque kingdom of Aragon having a claim on greatness. The kingdom of Aquitaine was in a civil war in 1312, and at this time the king’s cousin came to court, offering his oath of fealthy if the Emperor would support his claim for the kingdom. The Emperor jumped at the opportunity and sent the entirely of his Britannian host to the south. Less than two years later, the king was deposed and replaced with the Emperor’s cousin, and after a short war against the duke of Toulouse, who was captured in the first battle, the kingdom was united under Scandinavia.


Greatly encouraged by this success, the Emperor declared that Scandinavia was destined to rule the Atlantic, and called for his other cousin, who had a claim to the kingdom of Portugal. The vast armies of the North were sent towards Iberia, and while the core lands were battling peasant and Slavic uprisings, the Empire’s Britannian armies crushed the Portuguese. In 1320, the Portuguese king surrendered his crown.


The next few years, the Emperor built up his demesne, securing more power for himself. But in 1325, he had to intervene in his new won lands in the south. A heretical claimant to the throne had managed to usurp the kingdom of Portugal, and this woman now threatened the religious integrity of the Empire. Threatening to come down with his whole host, the Queen agreed to surrender her kingdom, but then went mad and refused to let go of her lone county in Maghreb. A short war followed, and upon its conclusion, the second son of the Emperor, Trygve, was given the kingdom in place of his spineless relative.


The next couple of decades would see several peasant and Slavic revolts, but Geirr did not stop his expansion or changes to the realm. In 1327, he declared war on the Astrurian rebels for the jarldom of Navarra, and not long after the conclusion of the war, in 1332, he created two new kingdoms in the realm; Navarra and Gardariki. He then set his eyes on the Muslim kingdom of Mauritania, declaring the first Scandinavian holy war on Islam, for the jarldom of Tangier. The Muslim hordes were strong, but in 1335 the war was won.


After this war, the next eleven years were used building up the royal retinue, almost emptying the royal coffers in the process. Now stronger than ever, Geirr declared war on the small kingdom of Castille, for the control of the county of Asturias de Santillana. The war was over within months. He then attacked the weakened sultanate in Mauritania, the Bakrid Sultanate, for the jarldom of Marrakech. Two years later, the war was won, and he moved swiftly towards the chiefdom of Canarias, securing the coast of the North-African Atlantic for Scandinavia. Then, he did a surprise move and decided the White Sea should also be Scandinavian. Sending his armies north to Russia, this war would cost more men than his other wars put together, much owing to the harsh winters of the North. The Emperor seems to have become slightly mad though, and ordered his armies onwards. After five long years, the war for the jarldom of Bjarmia was won, although for a great cost. Two years later, the old Emperor died a natural death. He was succeeded by his son Hemming I the Great.



The world at the ascension of Hemming I the Great.


Aftermath
The reign of Geirr I the Just saw monumental change in the course of Scandinavian history. The seeds of the transformation of the North Sea Empire into an Atlantic Empire was not only planted, but also sprung into life, and Geirr left his Empire transformed. He is remembered as one of the most important Emperors Scandinavia ever had.