Norgesveldet – A history of the Norwegian kings

[spambot]

Become a heretic

[Nikolai]

Btw, I forgot to mention it, but France inherited Aragon...

[Dinner]

Will you continue the story?

[Nikolai]

I will. But new job and slower game due to late game save blobbing means I need to slow down the updating.

[Nikolai]

Hemming I the Great
(1358-1377)

The reign of Hemming I was a matter of slow expansion, plenty of revolts and the start of the great struggle against the forces of Jihad meeting the biggest Empire in Christendom. His titanic struggle, where countless Norsemen perished in the deserts of Morocco, defending the kingdom of Christ against the heathen forces, gave him deep respect of his peers and a place in European history.

Family
Hemming was married only once, to a minor noble woman named Georgia. To all accounts they lived a happy marital life, with her keeping in the background. Together they sired three children, one of which would succeed him, to great detriement to the realm:
Geirr
Totil
Haukr

His reign
Eager to match his sire, the new Emperor immediately upon his ascension declared war both on the Mauritanian sultanate as well as the currently revolting nobles of that realm. A West African uprising immediately happened in the Canaries, but a small army quelled this one within weeks. Within three years, both wars were won, greatly increasing the Norse lands in Africa. Between 1360 and 1361, no less than three additional revolts happened, all of which were quickly struck down.

After a few years of improving of the infrastructure of the realm, Hemming again went to war in 1367, this time in the north. A holy war for Tver was declared, but it would take four years before it was won, due to the untimely Slavic revolt engineered by the enemy during the fighting.

Upon the ending of the war in the north, the Emperor turned south again, declaring war on the sultanate of Mauritania for the jarldom of Tlemcen. The sultanate’s forces were severely depleted and the war was in reality a mere formality. When the war ended, Hemming turned to France, which was in full rebellion. Eying the by de jure rights Scandinavian lands in Thouars, the war ended inconclusively when the rebellion ended and Hemming not wanting a full war with the powerful neighbouring Christian kingdom.

This turned out to be a wise move, as mere weeks later the declaration of Jihad for the kingdom of Mauritania arrived in the Scandinavian court. The Empire was in for the fight of a century. Mauritania soon swarmed by Muslim faithful, fully motivated in their religious desire to regain the African kingdom for Allah. All Scandinavian allies were called, a full mobilization of the Scandinavian forces were done. The Scandinavian armies fought and won, but were slowly decimated in the hot sun of the African desert. For half a decade the battles raged, the Muslims seemingly never waning in their power, and Christendom slowly burning through their manpower. Soon the Norse had to retreat, only to advance a few months later with fresh recruits arriving. The war was slowly won, but at a great cost, and the Muslim faithful showed no wish to sign a peace.

At this point, in late 1377, the old Emperor died of old age, in his son and heir’s residence in southern Spain. The Emperor was dead, his oldest son was Emperor. A kinslaying Emperor, not liked by anyone. He inherited a weakened realm and the biggest war in ages.



Aftermath
The reign of Hemming I the Great was defined by the great Jihad waged in the deserts of Mauritania. His legacy would be his monumental fight to preserve the independence of Christendom in Africa, and the succession of one of the greatest stains to ever grace the Norse throne.

[N35t0r]

It's back!

[Nikolai]

Indeed it is. But I have much on my plate atm, and little time to play, so I have just half a decade played on. So it might be a while until next installment.

[C0ckney]

nicely done. i'm looking forward to the next one.

[Bereta_Eder]

It is a delight that pyrgos in the peloponese is scandinavian.
I propose you keep them as one of their customs is to release pigs on the streets and bang them on the head with a hammer.
So it's more up your alley. hehe
boom

[Nikolai]

Geirr II the Shadow
(1377-1382)


The reign of the kinslaying Geirr II the Shadow was a short was a short, but eventful reign. During the short five years he was on the throne of Scandinavia, tensions slowly rose, ending in a big showdown that could have ripped the fledging Empire apart.

Family
Geirr II was married twice, first to the noble princess Martha of the Byzantine Empire. When she died an early death, he married his mistress, the lowborn Gurli. Between the two wives, Geirr II sired four children, one of which would succeed him:
Birgitta
Halsten
Sofia
Mats

His reign
The reign of Geirr II the Shadow was a troubled one. An evil man by any accounts, he had killed his kin in cold blood to further his goals, and worse, he didn’t show the slightest signs of remorse. A cruel man, his wives and children feared him, and rightly so. In his mind, fear was a great tool. In the end, this belief would almost shatter the realm his predecessors had built over the centuries.

The first year of his reign alone, two major revolts happened. Disgruntled peasants and Slavic faithful rose in revolt, and it would take the better part of a year and lots of manpower to subdue them. What was worse, by marriage and scheming, the king of Gardariki had aquired the kingdom of Lithuania. Now controlling all the Norse lands between the Polish Knightly kingdom of Santiago and the heathen lands in the Russian East, the dual king was a formidable thorn in the side of the new Emperor. He also publicly showed his contempt for his kinslaying liege. The Emperor quickly sent his loyal spymaster to build a plot to kill the king and get his minor son on the throne, planning to divide the kingdom when the dual kingdom was in turmoil. Within a month the king was dead, and his heir was forced to give up the kingdom of Lithuania. The vacant throne was given to the Emperor’s kinsman, jarl Greger of Polotsk. Another loyal vassal was created in the warn torn western Africa, where the kingdom of Mauritanaia was created and granted to a loyal vassal.

A loyal vassal was gained, and this was needed. The next two years, three major revolts rose up and were crushed one by one. The Emperor gained more and more enemies, however, as his cruel ways was becoming more and more apparent. Down in the south, the neverending Jihad for Mauritania finally ended in 1380. Lasting for seven long years, the flower of the Muslim and Christian youth had died in the deserts of Africa. Scandinavian forces had been pressed hard, leaving the Emperor with fewer loyal forces than he appreciated. The neighbouring Christian kingdoms and Knightly Orders also was decimated, but the Muslim faithful had suffered more losses. In the end, the Caliph had to face the hard facts and sign a humiliating peace. Christendom was saved for now.

Days after, the kingdoms of Skotland, Wales, Finland, Navarra, as well as the jarldoms of Champagne, Cornwall, Mercia-Hwicce, Essex, and the counties of Oppland, Yatvayagi and Dorpat, all demanded independence. Citing the cruelties of the Emperor and his kinslaying ways, the vassals thought they would be better off alone. The taxes and increasing centralization also was cited as a reason to break the feudal contract. The Emperor refused flatly, beheading the envoy and sending his rotting head back to the rebels. The rebels had a numerical advantage of 2-1, but were geographically divided and lacked ships to assemble their host. They also showed a considerable lack of ability to cooperate. Concentrating his forces in Iberia, Geirr II for the next two years slowly obliterated his foes’ armies one by one. Soon the playfield was much more level, but at this time, the Emperor, whose heath never had been good, suddenly fell ill and died. His charming and gentle son Halsten quickly assumed the throne and sent envoys to the struggling rebels.


The Empire at the ascension of Halsten I – an Empire wrecked by civil war.

Aftermath
Geirr II the Shadow’s reign was short and troubled, and sent the Empire into its greatest challenge for generations. He is remembered as a cruel man, and many a play has been written about this – in the memory of future generations – monster of a man. His successor had a challenging task ahead, trying to mend the wounds created by his father.

[No really I am Mobius]

Norway, is that near Wales?

[Dinner]

It is amazing how easy it is to make a huge empire in this game. What is also amazing is how often Byzantium thrives.

[Nikolai]

True. CK2 is an easy game. Or, for me it is. I know some struggles.

[Nikolai]

Interlude – 1350 Anno Domine

In the century that had gone since 1250, much had changed in the Middle East and Western Europe. Along the Atlantic coast, Scandinavia dominated, with the Irish kingdom and half of France and Iberia absorbed into the greater Norse realm. The Basque cultural dominance was still strong, although their independence was now gone; absorbed into the rising French Empire. The Basque people was now almost equally divided between the Norse Emperors and French kings.

In Central Europe, the Holy Roman Empire dominated as it did a century ago, a stable yet inward looking Empire with no apparent ambitions outside its own domain. As such, the heathen kingdom of Greater Moravia has kept its independence, a small sea of Tengri faithful surrounded by Christendom. All the more surprising, the Polish Knightly Kingdom of Santiago, ruled by faithful Knights of Christ, has also yet to invade this little kingdom.

On the Russian steppes, Scandinavia has made potent inroads, but at a great cost, and the Norse Emperors has for the last few decades had their main focus in the western European area. The Golden Horde is still huge, but troubled by civil wars. Alone standing against the Norse is Ruthenia, slowly getting pushed back.

In the Middle East, the Eastern Roman Empire is a stable force. After having regained their lost lands in Crimea and surroundings, the Roman Emperors have left the world to itself. However, one dramatic change has happened; the newly crowned Emperor has forsaken Catholicism for a Catholic heresy, and the future for the realm as such is uncertain. Will Christendom again be divided between a Catholic West and a schismatic East, or will the Emperor be deposed? Only time will tell.

In the Muslim Middle East, much has changed religiously, albeit not politically. Scandinavia has got a foothold into Mauritania and the Christian kingdom of Nubia has fallen, but Islam has fallen out of graces for a large swath of the populace. Much of Egypt, the Mediterranean coast and the Levant has converted to Catholicism, and even local sheiks have converted to the Christian faith. The top leadership in the Muslim states are desperately trying to stem the tide, and some provinces have reconverted, but they are struggling to keep up with the large number of conversions.

In India, a new Empire has risen in the form of Rashtrakuta in the southern half, but in the north much is the same. Deep in Africa, Mali remains united and strong, and has so far been at peace with their new, Norse neighbours.


The political map of the known world in 1350.


The cultural map of the known world in 1350.


The religious map of the known world in 1350.

[N35t0r]

Do the Mongols convert at some point by event?

Also, why is Christianity spreading in the Levant and Egypt? Low prestige due to the failed jihads?