The Treancavels and Their Rise to Power II

[bigdan]

History of Carcassonne

Carcassonne was a strategically important city near the Pyrenees in southern France. The Romans conquered the city in 122 B.C. and controlled it until the Visigoths conquered it in 436 A.D. The Visigoths controlled most of Southern France but in 508 A.D. Clovis launched an attack that took Toulouse but failed in taking Carcassone. It changed hands twice until the Arabs conquered it in 725. Pepin the Short kicked them out of France in 759 and took control of the city once and for all. Raymond-Bernard Trencavel became Viscount of Carcassonne by his marriage to Ermengarde who was the sister of the last count.

The Builder

The reign of Raymond-Bernard was a time of peace and building. The count greatly improved the infrastructure of his rich county. He had the help of many good adminastrators including his own wife Ermengarde. Their reforms gave the nobility more power than the clergy, burghers and peasants. However these reforms were meet with resistence. Many circles were talking about open revolt. This was very troubling to the count. The majority of these 4 groups did support him and perhaps that is the only thing that kept him in power. The Treancavel family was a very aristocratic family and decided to embark upon certain allowances for the nobility. These included Divine Rights. Even while these new laws were slowly winning over supporters it would still take many years to increase the loyalty of the nobles dramatically.

The Treancavel family was a happy one. While Raymond-Bernards father was dead his mother was still alive and living in the hill fort with him and his wife, Ermengarde. Ermengarde was much younger than the count but provided him with many children. Raymond-Bernard's heir was Maissenc. While the count had very little martial skill Maissenc was a general in the works. After he recieved his martial training he became recognized in France as a knowledgeable tactician. His brother Manasses recieved an ecclesiastical eduaction. It was important that Manasses recieve and ecclesiastical education since he would soon become a bishop. Maissenc's son Donat was heir to Viviers and since Raymond-Bernard had been accused of assassinating the count of Viviers three sons the Treancavels needed to do something to smooth things out. Raymond-Bernard designated Viviers to be made a bishopric.

By the time of Raymond-Bernards death in 1101 Carcassone was a rich and powerful county. It was making as much as most of the duchys in Europe. The only thing was that it was slightly lagging in military technology. The county had several types of leather armor and spears for the peasants but not much more than that. However it was surrouned by advanced provinces and it was assumed the technology would eventually leak into Carcassone. Raymond-Bernard was known as "the Builder" because of all the wonderful things that were built in his county. It was the first county to have a library and advanced roads. Many people from France and even a few Spanish, Germans, Italians and English came to visit the man they either had ties to or had heard of. Several days after the funeral ceremonies Maissanc was declared count at age 28.



The Martial Counts

Maissenc's reign was very short lived for he was assassinated six months after he became count. It was assumed the assassin was either sent by Carcassone's still wavering nobles or from the county of Viviers. However in his short time on Earth he had six children with his wife. His heir Donat was an even more skilled martial than his father. When Donat became count at age ten he was still in the process of finishing his eduaction with the army. His mother died in labor some years earlier so one of his aunts ruled the county as regent. The women in the family were blessed as stewards. The regent Constance had been steward since she came of age. She was a genuis with financial affairs. Under her regency the county prospered. However she knew riches were not enough.

After three years the count of Viviers finally died. The county was incorporated into Carcassone. Constance sent messengers to the King of France asking that he grant the title of Duke of Languedoc on Donat. Considering that Carcassone was a very powerful entity he decided it would be better if the Treancavels served him directly instead of the dukes of Toulouse. So in 1104 the county of Carcassone was declared the dukedom of Languedoc. Constance granted the title of bishop upon Donat's uncle and her brother Manasses. The Treancavels were finally dukes and even had one vassal. They were coming up in the world but would Donat be the one to lead them to dominance or would he suffer the same fate as his father?



Here is my second try as the Treancavel family. Hopefully this one wont end in a ctd like my last one. Instead of doing a more personal account I'm just going straight for the details. I'll try to make it a little more detailed for Donat's reign. If people want dialogue I'll be willing to put it in, but my last aar didn't get very far with it. Sorry you have to click on the screenshots if you want to see them, but I don't know how to make them any bigger and I'm to tired to try to figure it out.

[Fiftypence]

Nice.

However, you might want to separate the paragraphs out a bit. It just makes it a bit easier to read.

[bigdan]

Thanks, I didn't notice how hard it was to read.

I should have part two by tuesday, it just depends on how long Donat lives. Part one wasn't as good as it could be and sometime I might fix that but part two should be pretty interesting. After all it was interesting while I was playing it. Donat's reign will probably be in several parts, because of everything that happened.

[A trooper]

Good stuff, very interesting. I always find the Treancavels an intrieging family to play as as they are fairly well positioned in the game.

I often make a bid for the Duchy of Catalonia.

[bigdan]

Donat
1st Duke of Languedoc

After the death of Donat's father Maissenc things became hectic for the young boy. He was the first Duke of Languedoc and because of that there was increased prestige. In away it was a cycle since it was because of that increased prestige that lead to increased security. How would it look if the first Duke of Languedoc was assassinated just like his father? Luckily none of the measures taken were necessary. No assassin ever even struck at Donat. Maybe it was because they feared the increased security or maybe it was because they were afraid of attempting anything while he was with the army receiving his education.

Either way here he was in his hill fort nine years later with a reputation as a merciful ruler, probably from being around his uncle the bishop. "Kindness is everything," his uncle always said. However his martial education hadn't gone as well. Donat was only interested in fighting and not any of the planning good tacticians and strategists do. He decided that was what his martial was there for. He of course would listen to everything that was said but he would leave most of the decisions to his martial. The only problem was that he had no martial, but it didn't matter. With him at the head of the army, if he made any mistakes he would still lead his men to victory regardless.

Back to matters at hand. The party tonight was progressing well. The ladies at the court were trying their best to impress the young and ambitious Donat, hoping he would marry one of them. "Pathetic attempts," he said to himself. Even though he knew he needed to take a wife, if not for an heir then to get people off his back. "What was that my lord," his spy master asked. "Nothing." That woman hears everything Donat thought to himself, perhaps he should be more careful around her. His eyes wondered around his hill fort looking at the various people and the whole room in general. To damn small, he thought. What if someone invaded. While the other dukes in France could go to their stone castles all he had was this pathetic hill fort. Everytime he asked his steward why the only answer he got was that the engineers could not build a stone castle. Why couldn't they? Were they incompetents or just to lazy to go somewhere and learn the technology. No matter he thought, if someone like the Muslims invaded his army would defeat them.

Now that was something to think about. The Muslims. Iberia was a complete mess because of them and France was feeling threatened. They had taken the Kingdom of Leon and the poor king had barely escaped under cover of darkness to his brother the King of Castille. What's worse is that there were rumors about him trying to kill his brother in order to take the Kingdom for himself. That despicable Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar. Spreading such rumors about his king's brother who had just lost his own kingdom and now getting the populace excited everytime he walked the streets like he were king. Oh well Castille lost her first war with the Muslims next time when there is no Castille the people will see the truth.

Back to Iberia though. Catalonia was also gone even though France had taken part of that. The King had gone to war with the Count of Rosello and took the county for himself which was not a popular move among the nobles. There had been rumors of the King and the Duke of Toulouse becoming good friends and perhaps the King wanted to be able to help the Duke incase Donat or someone else wanted to challenge him. The court of Languedoc had been outraged when Toulouse removed the Count of Narbonne just to give the county to his heir. However the big reason Languedoc was outraged was that Narbonne was considered a part of the Languedoc region.

"Sidetracking once again I must stop," Donat thought. Anyway Catalonia was weakened and Lleda had been taken over by Muslims. The Kingdom of Navarre had also been taken over a long time ago and so France already shared a border with these... these heathens. They kept getting more and more powerful and something had to be done about it. Just then he remembered his mother discussing something with her advisors several years ago. The Pope had called for a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. In exchange for service in this the leader would be much respected and viewed as a pious man while him and all his men were given a place in heaven. The same also applied not just for a crusade to the Holy Land but for any place held by Muslims. A crusade to Iberia would give Donat much power and influence over the other French nobles.

Rising everyone respectfully quieted down and paid attention to what he had to say. "I would like my advisors to come with me to my office where we can talk privately." Once they were gathered there and the doors shut he began to talk. "My advisors, I have come up with a great idea during that party that could change much, however I am hesitant to speak about it." Of course this raised their curiosity and they begged him to continue. "I feel that the time has come to honor his holiness the Pope's wishes and declare a crusade to liberate Iberia from the infidels of the Emirate of Zaragoza while they are weak." Now I only have to endure their outcrys, Donat thought. Of course all his advisors had something to say. His steward talked about how the duchy would fall into debt and the people would become unruly. The chancellor talked about how the king would be unhappy and declare war also to try to limit the Duke's power and take the glory from him. While the spy master talked about the dangers to the Duke and the future of the duchy if he were killed.

Once they were done Donat began again. "If you are done discussing this with yourselves let me explain my reasons. The Muslim threat grows and grows with each coming day. The Christian Kingdoms in Iberia can do nothing about it and the rest of the Christian world is hesitant to do anything. Also being a new duchy the other dukes and higher nobility do not take us seriously. The king may try to steal our glory and conquests but then the other dukes would view him as to ambitious and may fear that he will not hesitate to take their power and lands. Yes the duchy may not have enough money but I believe it is enough to last for long enough and in the end our conquests will pay off. Yes there is the danger that I may be killed but that danger exists everyday. Plus as I said the other dukes do not respect us and after this, after I have proven myself they may. I am going to Iberia with my army and with Vivier's army and if you all try to stop me I will take you too even if you are women."

His chancellor looked at him inquisitly, "how can you be sure Viviers will join you and what about Poitou and their ambitions?"

Donat took a few moments to reflect but replied, "Viviers is a bishopric ruled by a bishop who happens to be my uncle. Besides the family ties I do believe my dear that a man of god would obey his Pope, especially if he has a chance of being elected by the Cura to the Papacy. This crusade could only solidify his position even more." That was the easy question.

Poitou was a bit harder. Really Donat hadn't even thought about them but what his chancellor said was true, they probably would try to intervene in Donat gaining more power. Everyone, or at least everyone in Poitou and Languedoc, felt that the duchies should unite to form one powerful entity. The main arguement was who should they unite under. Considering that Poitou had no sons and one very pretty daughter, Elicsenda, who would come of age soon it was felt that Donat should marry her and the duchies should unite under their son. However Poitou held out and carried on with his own ambitions hoping to have a son. Sure the two had formed an alliance, which cemented the fact that Poitou would join, but the two only did it out of necessity. His advisors were staring and he needed to say something. "Poitou will not be a problem," is all he said before walking out the room leaving his advisors to ponder his words.

As he resumed his position at the head of the table in the main hall he pondered the outcome of this crusade. So many worries and yet so many rewards. His family had a long military tradition dating before Raymond-Bernard. Yet he wondered what they would think about this venture. "Oh well," Donat thought, "tomorrow everything will begin and what happens will happen for a reason." There was no point in trying to change that. As he let his mind wander back towards the party he still couldn't help but reflect back every once in awhile.


Well this is where the fun stuff begins everyone. I decided to add in Donats thoughts and some dialogue to add some flavor to this and to give you all some insight of what I was thinking. I'll try to post the Iberian Adventure sometime this week. Hopefully this will build up some suspense.
A Trooper I don't think I'm going to go for Catalonia this early. I'll allow them to live for a little longer.

[bigdan]

Looks like I need to start proof reading my stuff, but I guess you all could tell that just by looking at the title. I think I took care of most of the mistakes in the last update. I guess I need to start putting what year I'm in on my updates too. Basically Donat became count in 1101, Carcassone was declared a duchy in 1104 and that update brings us to 1110 when Donat is 19 years old.

[bigdan]

The Iberian Sun

Several good things happened to Donat and the Treancavels before war was declared. One of Donat's brothers, Onesifor, inherited the independent county of Bearn that was lost to the Duke of Toulouse a few years back when his one of his own sons declared independece. That son had the misfortune of all his sons dying(of natural causes) while his only daughter survived. The other event that happened was the gaining of yet another vassal. France liberated Navarre in a brief war with Zaragoza that no one else got involved in. Navarre was given to Tomas de Comminges who was not too happy about being a vassal of the King. In the war for his independence Donat offered him his protection in exchange for Tomas swearing fealty to him and naming Donat his heir until he had a son. Considering his situation Tomas did not hesitate and accepted. His war ended soon after with him giving up his small treasury to the King.

These two things increased Donats prestige and his manpower. Now he could send the armies of his newly aquired vassals to Zaragoza's lands in Western Iberia before Spanish Galicia, who had just declared war, or Castille could. Donat called his advisors together for one last meeting before the war began. He wanted to make for certain everything was as it should be. As they entered his office he noticed his spy master was missing and know one knew where she was. "Chancellor, I would like you to begin," Donat decided to put a little authority in his voice so that his advisors would remember their place. They doubted him to much and it was time for them to show a little respect. "Yes, my lord. I have some very good news for you. It appears that the Christian kingdoms in Iberia that recently declared war upon Zaragoza several weeks ago have fought its army to a stalemate. Neither side has gained any ground which means by the time we arrive Zaragoza's army will be tired and worn out, it will not stand a chance against our might." Donat shocked and briefly terrified his poor chancellor once he heard that. "Good news! You call going up against a broken army good news? My armies and I might not get a chance to fight and if we do it will be against exhausted troops. Any kill I make won't be honorable it will be easy and cheap." Donat watched for awhile as his chancellor regained some color in her face and he rethought his words. "Forgive me, my dear chancellor, you are right this means less of my own people will die which is good for everyone. Please do not think of me as lusting for blood, I only wanted to have an honorable and equal fight, but this news does...make me feel good knowing that few of my men shall die."

His chancellor barely had time to think of a reply when the spymaster walked in. "Spymaster, I sent a messenger for you this mourning telling you about our meeting and yet you disobey and interrrupt those that made what you obviously feel was a painful sacrifice to actually obey your lord and master and come to this meeting. Explain yourself!" This clearly was not what his spymaster had expected and yet she knew once he heard where she was he'd understand. "Forgive me master, but I come with important news from England. You see King Robert is dead and his son John took his place, however seeing as how he's a minor a regent will rule." With a puzzled look on his face Donat asked, "I don't understand why you missed part of my meeting just to look into that. You know I would not care about the death of a king unless it was our king."

The spymaster did her best to explain what this meant, "Master the importance of this means that now the Kings of England will have a portion of Treancavel blood in them. You are cousin to the new King of England. Lord, when you were just a baby you grandfather Raymond-Bernard married your aunt Sibilla off to King Robert of England who had failed to produce a son. Sibilla bore him his first heir but during the short reign of your father she died in labor." Donat stood there for a second looking at his spymaster with a look that unnerved her. Finally he spoke, "If this is true, of which I have no doubt, then please do have someone send my greetings to King John and his regent later. Tell them I look forward to a trip to the great Kingdom of England one day to meet my cousin. For now please take your seat." As she sat down Donat tried to remember where he was. Oh, yes he thought, his chancellor was speaking about something before he made the blood rush out of her face, poor thing.

"Please begin once more chancellor unless you have nothing else to say." His chancellor thought for awhile when she finally came up with this, "Master, I have nothing else to say about your war except to watch out for the soldiers of your master the King, he may try to take the lands you wish to conquer. The spymasters words did help me realize that should you ever need it, I am sure the King of England, your cousin, would gladly help you in a time of trouble which could come from the king doing such a thing to you." Donat understood her words more than the others at the table. The chancellor was the only one that realized the potential..."troubles" he may have with his king sooner or later. "Thank you chancellor, steward please do inform us of our treasury's state." "Thank you, lord. I must only stress once again that our current treasury does not have enough money to see us through this war." Sitting back down Donat knew she was right. They would inevitably go into bankruptcy but he had to begin the war before potential territories could be lost to Castille or Spanish Galicia. The most he could hope for was a short war. "Thank you, spymaster do you have anything else?" Standing up while at the same time smiling she said, "Master, under your instructions my agents in Poitou will make sure Casimir never has another son that lives to inherit."


A few weeks had passed since his last meeting with his advisors and the declaration of war on Zaragoza. Now he was on this ship sailing with his best knights from Montpellier. Enjoying the nice breeze against his face while gazing toward the sun going down he couldn't think of anything but how calm the Mediterranean was at that moment. Possibly the calmest moment they'd have for awhile, possibly forever. This was the first time he and most of his men had ever fought in a war. Sure some of his knights had fought as mercenaries and knew what to expect but the vast majority of them, so young and innocent had no clue. Yet there they were washing away their worries with friends, jokes and alcohol. It was as if nothing was different for them. For some of them, though, it wasn't. They had nothing save a weapon and maybe some armour and hoped to gain some fortune out of this venture. Donat however had much to lose. If he died in Iberia his younger brother Onesifor would inherit everything, but he was already married and there went Donat's plans for a united Languedoc and Poitou. Standing there in his scalemail with his sword by his side he couldn't help but feel important, like the future of Europe rided upon him. He was headed toward a great destiny, a great future and so were the Treancavels. His ancestors hadn't been content to just sit around and be the most powerful nobles in France while the king took all the glory. They had put plans into action, plans that Donat was continuing. He was actually the first vassal to independently declare war. He would be the first vassal of the French king to build a kingdom of his own under the Iberian sun. This land they were coming upon was where that great destiny could be found.


The initial landing had went without problems. They found a good spot to land and immediatly headed toward the nearest village. The people there had obviously never seen war and when they saw Donat and his men they were scared and marveled at the same time. The children ran towards them and started reaching out to them, trying to touch their swords and armour. Some of the "more" Christian of his men slapped the children each time they reached for them. Donat tryed to settle things peacefully but it was too late. One of his kinghts unsheathed his sword and stabbed one of the young children in the chest. The parents and other kids were horrified by this sight and immediatly ran for shelter and weapons. Donat's knights knew what they were going for and immediatly raced for the village. The locals put up a courageous fight but they're knives and staffs were no match for the Occitan knights. They killed most of the people there, took whatever they felt like and burnt the village. They rode several miles west of that village, when Donat ordered them to stop. "Friends, I care not who was the man that killed that innocent, but I guarentee the lord does. Next time an incident like that occurs I will kill the man that caused it. They may be heathens but they are still people. I had hoped to negotiate the peaceful handover of the major fort here in this province but now because of this that will never happen. I will admit the siege will not last long, but it would be even quicker if there was no need for a siege. I will remind you once again that our coffers in Languedoc are low and steadily decrease with each passing month. Speed is the most important factor here in this campaign unless you wish to return to Languedoc and find nothing but poverty. Also I do not plan on pillaging everything. These people are to become my subjects so you will treat them as such." This speech while just meant to discipline his men actually inspired them. Donat's words made sense and while they did not like having lectures they understood what he said. Donat unknowingly inspired his men and won some respect for them right there. Of course he also needed to win their respect in battle, but it was a step.

Donat was right about another thing, though. The siege at Tarragona's major fort was extremely short. Donat's battering rams plowed right through the walls of the hill fort and the garrison quickly surrendered. His only losses were several men to arrows from the garrison and two extremely unfortunates that had their skulls crushed from rocks the defenders were evetually reduced to using. Donat walked around the fort for awhile taking in the sights. His men were piling enemy bodies on a pyre to burn them. Others were interrogating people to find out who was in charge and whether or not that person knew anything worthwhile. Just then a yound knight bowed before his duke. "My lord, we have found the office of the garrison commander and inside there were maps and charts. However it's all in that heathen tongue and we don't understand a word." Donat gazed at the young man for a minute examining him. The knight seemed younger than Donat himself, it looked as if the knight couldn't even sport a full beard yet here he was in Iberia fighting alongside his duke. "Thank you young knight, but before you lead me to this office please tell me your name and where you come from." "Master, my name is Aptoni, I was born in a town called Rennes le Chateau, an old Visigoth center, but my family moved to Montpellier after Narbonne came under the Duke of Toulouse's control. We had lands in Narbonne, my father was a baron, but we sold that and bought some new land in Montpellier. Now to prove myself worthy of my father's title I have come to Iberia to serve you lord."

Donat took this information in. The man just seemed so very young, to young in fact to fight a war. Yet he knew this man would someday make a worthy baron in Montpellier. He allowed the future baron to lead him to the garrison commander's office and inside just as the knight had said were all sorts of maps and charts. Donat looked at them and from what he could make out it appeared that Zaragozas armies were gone, fighting the Castillians in a last attempt to end that war and break through. Interesting Donat thought, if the Castillians break them there will be no army of Zaragoza at all. Things would surely work out.


I know it's long and I probably could have shortened up that first part but I wanted to show how beaten down Zaragoza was and how important those two vassals would be in my war. I wanted to post it earlier this week and then post a little more about my iberian crusade later but the forums have been down for me. Consider this your two for one special. For those that read this can you guess where I'm going with Rennes le Chateau?

[Lucius Sulla]

Ah, nice! Love to see another Trencavel AAR going on . I see we have taken similar, if not identical paths. Going iberic is indeed quite a temptation, as you have big troops for a count, and Catalonia falls quite easily if in IA hands.

[bigdan]

History of the Iberian Crusade

This first crusade was an attempt by the Treancavels of France to regain parts of Iberia that had been lost to Muslims. The whole affair went extremely well for Donat Duke of Languedoc. The army of Zaragoza had impaled itself on the spears and lances of the remnants of the Christian kingdoms still left there. In turn they had devastated the armies of those same kingdoms. Donat's army just swept in and captured the land while letting Christian Iberia and Zaragoza wear themselves out on each other. Zaragoza did not have the strength or position in order to challenge Donat nor did Castille have the manpower needed to capture every province they wanted.

Zaragoza had land both on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coasts. In order to get anything from their war Castille decided to allow Donat to finish up the remnants of Zaragoza's army and take Zaragoza's Mediterranean coast while they went west and took the provinces there. Donat, while not the best strategist, was smart enough to send the armies of his vassals towards those same provinces to take them for their own. It is debated on why he did this. Some say he realized that Castille could gain them while he was in the east of Iberia. Most agree however that he had assumed Castille's army was almost or already destroyed and could not challenge him for that land after he was finished in the east. He just gave in to the demand of his vassals for more land.

Regardless of reason it became a virtual race. Castille ended up with all of the provinces directly on the coast while Languedoc got all of the provinces further in. Once messangers reached Donat he decided to allow his vassals to maintain control over these places while the war was still on, which at the time the messangers reached him did not seem like it would be much longer. By that time Donat had captured all but two provinces but was at a slight disadvantage for a problem that he did not know was headed his way. Feeling confidant that he would not be attacked this war he had split his army up so that the Carcassone men could go north while Donat took the men from Montpellier and went west to take the last two Muslim provinces at roughly the same time. Almost as soon as Donat and his men reached Calatayud he received reports of a nearby Muslim army marching toward his position.

This Muslim army was only aware Donat was somewhere in the area but they weren't sure where. They were just marching toward Calatayud to get supplies, reinforcements and rest while their leaders tryed to pinpoint where the Languedoc armies were. They didn't expect Donat to already be sieging their main fort and city. Spies and scouts had made Donat aware of this so he figured that it was the same for the Muslim army. Since he felt they were already expecting him it would be harder to make an ambush. So he sat down with his captains and came up with a plan. They wouldn't set an ambush instead they would be standing on the field several miles away from Calatayud ready to give battle. They felt that since the Zaragoza was tired and worn out this would give them several bonuses. They outnumbered Zaragoza's army and they wanted the Muslims to see that. They also had the advantage of being able to pick the terrain and picking somewhere Zaragoza would not expect them so that the Muslims wouldn't be well rested or prepared.

So the crusaders picked a perfect spot for their army several miles away. Their men sat up in battle order with the first rank comprised of the light infantry and peasants, the second rank made up of the archers, and the third rank made up of the pikemen and heavier infantry. It was decided that since the cavalry outnumbered the heavy infantry the crucial point of the battle would arrive when they would be sent in. Of course there would be a light cavalry charge some time after the first rank. Their main duty would be to finish the Muslims horse archers but they would also try to kill whoever they could in the Muslim ranks. After some time they'd come out and rest. By the time the heavy infantry would charge Donat and his captains expected the Muslim spears and to be finished and if not the heavy infantry would hopefully hold them up while the knights charged the flanks. These would be a series of charges though since after the first time, knights felt their service was done. The battle is probably best told in the words of one Knight that was there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it was we sat out from the fortress of Calatayud looking for any place we might bring battle upon the Saracen host. Their sultan was not a man of arms and could not be relied upon to make competent decisions during battle. The group's only fear was the Saracen army fleeing from our heavy Knights in their scalemail. Either way the Holy See had promised to renounce our sins so we headed with our glorious lord, Donat, to the place where the Lord told him to do battle. The Saracen host was not immediatly there so we took the time we had to rest and set up camp. We awoke the next mourning to complaints about the poor condition of the land. Many people complained about the heat and especially the smell of the rabble of peasants that were gathered with us. However peasant and baron alike did take mass and recieve unto them the sacred sacrement of the Blood and Body of Jesus Christ. We than awaited the enemy, and when he did arrive it was obvious that the Lord was on our side.

We first noticed their presence by the vultures flying above their host, signifying that they were dead men. Their own Sultan even sent a herald to our lord Donat saying that they would leave their equipement upon the field if they could in exchange leave with their lives. The sultan himself said he would go into exile in the Emirate of Badajoz. Donat convened a council and called upon all men of birth to attend while there was a truce. He told us God had told him that the cowardly infidels were using this as a reason to return with the army of Badajoz and at worse catch us while we were still asleep to slaughter us inside our own homes. Truely only vile heathens would plot such a thing! We were all in agreement about what had to be done. The Saracens had to be destroyed.

We let the enemy know of our disapproval and immediatly began setting up in full array. I imagine the fear and hatred the infidel felt as he viewed our heavy troops in order. Surely the sun shining off our scalemail must have blinded them as much as us. We had our archers unleash a furry of arrows upon the enemy, the power of the cross driving the arrows through their armor. I myself witnessed such miracles upon the field. After they had exhausted their supply our peasants and lower men in the first ranks charged forward. Regardless of the arrows they discovered the enemy was prepared for battle. The hand to hand fighting became tulmultuous and eventually our inferior troops were expelled. Some of them ran by us crying that all was lost and immediatly our pious lord Donat ran infront of our heavier troops and let out a war cry unmatched by any I have heard. We would all charge with the light cavalry and thus we resolved to either win upon this field or die for our religion.

The infidel must have surely realized that the full power of Christ had been released upon them. Their horse archers had been prepared to counter charge to imitate our knights but we sliced right through them and the men at arms finished off the rest. Our horses as though possessed made it impossible to stop. We kept gaining speed and when we reached the enemy host the initial impact scattered and disoriented them. The last for awhile but in a matter of minutes began to run. Our lighter cavalry set after them and slaughtered what we couldn't. Some of the Muslims probably managed to get away, but would have been doomed to a life wandering the land like sheep without a shepard. The ground had been purified in heathen blood and little of ours. We found that in haste to flee his meagre camp their sultan had left most of his personal belongings.

Lord Donat led us himself in giving thanks for the victory and immediatly sent out heralds to the kings of France, England and Germany along with one to the Holy See detailing our first encounter with the Saracens and how easily they fell upon our lances. After resting ourselves we returned to Calatayud where the garrison there immediatly handed over the fort once we showed them certain trophies we had collected. Now all of Zaragoza was ours. Maybe the other Muslims in this land will learn not to start trouble with those blessed by the true lord. What other enemy will dare to challenge our new power?

-Baron Lucan de St.-Gilles, Languedoc knight 1111

[bigdan]

The Battle of Catalayud painted on Donat's own Chapel.


The Muslims horse archers and light cavalry fleeing from the Languedoc knights after unsuccessfully trying to meet them head on.


The French engaged the Muslims at Lleda and eventually suffered a terrible defeat which ended their presence in Iberia. Their army went from 1300 to barely 400.


A monument to El Cid who restored his reputation to Christian and Muslims alike during Castille's war with Zaragoza.


Donat's gains during the 1st Iberian Crusade. Navarre was the man that captured all of Zaragoza's western provinces and the titles were taken from him and given to other men while Donat made Lleda a county in the east.

[Lucius Sulla]

It seems the natural expansion area of the Trencavel is Northeastern Iberia, after all . With that usually failing reconquista, is just a too tempting place to go to, specially since the moors, unless an über-taifa has formed recreating the Caliphate of Cordoba, are usually exhausted after their wiping out the iberian christian kingdoms.

Not always the case, since in my own game the Jimenez brothers did a successful reconquista (by 1136 the only remaining muslim possesions in my iberian peninsula are Valencia, Almansa and La Mancha, iirc).

Eager to see how our stories keep diverging, since unlike mine, yours seem in their way to become Imperator Iberiae!

[bigdan]

Steps in a Staircase

When Donat returned from Iberia he returned to a struggling Duchy that had been bankrupt for several months. The steward had to sale the rights to the forestries of Montpellier and Carcassone. Of course with the war over and several new vassals Languedoc quickly rose out of this depression and became rich once again. He had gained a new aura of power and much glory for Languedoc, France and most of all for the Treancavels. Other countries were not far behind in crusading against people they deemed infidels. Constantinople had sent several armies to attack the Pechnegs. In response to the growing threats and eventually innumberable wars, the Muslims in the Middle East campaigned in the regions controlled by the "Russian" princes. This had worried much of Western Europe.

Donat did pay attention to all of this but for different reasons. He could care less about Muslims taking over Orthodox lands, after all they weren't Catholic. While in Iberia Donat developed a thirst for power and most of all...a crown. After he returned he spent many nights in his study thinking about how this could be achieved. Most of the important Christian nations had heirs in fact Donat had been trying to arrange a marriage with Poitou so unlike Raymond-Bernard he and his descendants would inherit and equal title not a higher one. He had to achieve his dream of a throne by force and the perfect people to do this against would be the Fatimids. The Fatimids had never been popular since their conquest of the Holy Land and therefore, Donat decided, he could count upon Christian support to liberate Jerusalem and all the areas he could link to a kingdom there.

This could work for several reasons. First, he would've after all liberated the Holy Land, dealt a terrible blow to the Muslims "aggressors" and had spent his own resources to conquer it instead of relying upon outside support. Secondly, there was no Kingdom of Jerusalem so creating it himself instead of usurping it would meet better approval. The most important reason behind his choice, however, was Rome. If he created a Christian Kingdom out of the Holy Land that was determined to either convert the Saracens into Christians or send them to the Creator he could more than likely count upon Papal approval. If any other kingdoms did not support his actions, namely France, his Papal favor could scare them off. After all no good Christian wanted to be excommunicated. Not to mention he wouldn't have to risk that himself by going for a Kingdom that already existed. Before any of this could materialize he needed to build steps in a "staircase" that would eventually lead to the top of power for either him or his descendants.

Finally in 1112 the regent of Poitou gave Donat permission to marry Duke Casimir's only sister, Elicsenda. Considering who Donat was and the importance of a marriage that had the future potential of uniting the most powerful French duchies the wedding was big. Donat had expected the King, Phillippe and his cousin King John of England the surprise was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. France and the HRE had been warming up to each other much to the dismay of the rest of Christian Europe. Even though the wedding was suppose to be a time of joy and bliss it was political to the core for everyone there. France had been getting considerably worried about the growing power of her already most powerful vassal and had been trying to cement an alliance with the HRE to not only protect her interests but to also dominate the political landscape of Europe. Although Donat viewed this as another step it was more of a backup in case he could not achieve his ambitions in his lifetime. He needed more solid steps. Iberia was like a partially built staircase however there were still some weak steps that still needed to be replaced and Donat was in the right position to do it.
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I had wanted to give you several smaller updates from 1112-1150 but I doubt I'll be able to update until next weekend. If I can then expect a longer read. Also expect the screenshots for this period next weekend as well. Just figured I'd give advanced warning so no one would think this is dead.

Lucius, I'll admit I had thought about going for an Iberian title but I decided during my first crusade that Jerusalem would be preferable. I figured that my title described what I'm using Iberia for very well.

[bigdan]

Fruits of Peace
1112-1125

After Donat's wedding he spent 13 years at peace. He tried to encourage the duchy to develop its technology on its own and did make some breakthroughs. The construction of a library encouraged learned scholars from all over Europe. Despite his best efforts, however, Provence was the leading center of technology in Southern Europe and thus Languedoc recieved most of its technology from travellers and merchants from Provence. The political system in Greater Languedoc was implemented in the new provinces. As with Montpellier and Carcassone this caused problems with the clergy but the nobility with its new found power was able to keep them in line. While Arab Muslims were still the majority in Treancavel Iberia, Occitans and Frankish peoples steadily migrated. In 1121 Zaragoza the "jewel" of Donat's Iberian provinces had a major culture change. The Arabs had begun to adopt Frankish ways from the ever growing surge of immigrants. While Donat was disappointed they had not adopted his Occitan culture he could not overlook the fact that they were beginning to become more like their masters.

The Treancavel family itself was also reaping the joys of piece. The fruit of Donat and Elicsenda's wedding night was born late in the same year, 1112. They had decided to name this son Vianc and when he was old enough he followed in the Treancavel tradition of being educated with the army. Two years after Viancs birth his brother Gaudenc was born. Gaudenc was educated with army as well after displaying amazing strength and fighting abilities. This lead to competition between the two, which culminated in constant fighting. Vianc was not an angry person nor was he vengeful but he could not stand being shown up by the "spare". This feud finally stopped in 1120 when Donat's fourth son Venceslau guilted them into making piece. He was Vianc's younger by 4 years and Gaudenc's by 2 years. One day as the whole family was watching The two elder brothers started argueing and right before it broke out into a fist fight, Venceslau started asking why they were fighting. He had spent a lot of time in Viviers with his great uncle the bishop until he died earlier that year. In his time there he had seen his uncle break up many fights and used the same techniques and a little bit of his childish innocence. Vianc forgave Gaudenc for everything he had done and then asked for forgiveness for the wrongs he had commited. Donat decided that on his fufth birthday Venceslau would be commited to a monastery.

By 1125 Donat had enough of peace. He had just lost his first daughter to disease and even though he had experieced the death of a child(his third son Marcau) this upset him very much for he was close with the chid. The armies of Languedoc greatly outnumbered Valencia and Donat had several family members that were able administrators and big annoyances. The time was right for another crusade so Marshall Aptoni assembled the brave warriors of Languedoc to once again perform their duty to the cross and their Duke. Great adventures awaited, or at least Donat hoped.
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Looks like I gone longer than I expected but it feels good to be back even though I injured my wrist. Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes but I had to type with my left hand. Next update should come later this week.

[sleepyirv]

Great Update!
Good luck to Donat

[bigdan]

When I got this I thought "Poor kid doesn't realize what he's getting into."


Then years later I see this and figure nature's on my side. I had nothing to do with those deaths.


Head of the de Comminges.

[bigdan]

Preparations
1125-1127

The plan was simple. Aptoni had to decided that the Iberians and Occitanians would work separately. The Duke would command the men from Montpellier while the marshall would command the men from Carcassone. The Iberian troops would wait for both their arrival and would defend against any attacks by Valencia. While Languedoc outnumbered Valencia 2 to 1 Valencia still had the technological edge over the men coming directly from Languedoc. Noting that Aptoni decided it would be best to preserve as many Iberian warriors as possible until the Duke and he arrived. Once they arrived in Castellon they would begin laying siege to the fort there. While the fort was not expected to last long they were very concerned about attacks therefore as soon as they had landed the Iberians, who would be waiting in Albarracin, would then advance across the border. Of course if the armies of Valencia had simply decided to go around Castellon, which most doubted but still was a possibility, then Donat would continue the siege while Aptoni took his men and the Iberians and doubled back. Regardless of what happened after Castellon fell Donat would wait for Aptoni if the Muslims did attack Calatayud and then procede to Valencia itself.

This was expected to be the most contested therefore they would want to arrive there with the biggest force they could get. After Valencia fell the army would then split up. If they weren't attacked in Valencia that would probably mean the Muslims did not have enough men to contest them or if they were attacked it would probably be by the majority of Valencia's army. Aptoni felt that if Valencia fell they would be safe enough to split and they needed to split to take Denia and Almansa at roughly the same time. Once they fell the armies would once again converge at Murcia. Speed was necessary in this as Poitou would join the war as Languedoc's ally and Donat wanted Valencia's Mediterranean coast. However since Valencia also controlled Toledo and Cebta and Donat did not feel like wasting more people's lives to take them, they could be Poitou's gains.

While Aptoni took care of the military matters Donat sent out letters to the Pope, his king and his ally Poitou about his plans. Couriers were sent to all parts of the Duchy to alert his vassals and all warriors of the coming conflict. He also checked the financial state of Languedoc and had the steward calculate if they could handle a war lasting from one to three years. While his steward warned him that they would go into debt within six months of a war Donat informed his advisors that the economy would be even greater after the war was complete. In early December he recieved word from the Pope that the Holy See approved of this endeavor. He had already recieved the approval of Poitou who was greedy for more land and the grudging approval of the King. Donat would spend one last night with his wife and the next day he would set out to conquer. The stage was set and the actors were prepared now Donat only had to raise the curtains.
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Expect details of the war tonight hopefully.
sleepyirv-thanks but I'm going to warn you tragedy is about to strike Donat.

[bigdan]

The Noble Quest

So we took upon our shoulders
a grave quest fit for Christ's soldiers
our lord Donat pious and daring
looked upon us with kindness and caring
to a distant land he said we'd sail
armed proudly with sword and mail
to defend the cross from the infidel
and take the land on which he dwell
no fairer task has been taken since the day
that the Saracen became our prey
and thus our company put out to sea
where there's no greater mistress than she
the boats and men were rattled by the wind
but we continued on to wash away our sin
accompanied by knights of an ancient temple
warriors and monks their way simple
their souls commended to our Lady and Lord
whom they did render in service with sword
we would not turn away from the holy demand
after months of sea our feet touched the lonely land

Priests exhorting the crusaders.


This story how can I possibly retell?
we reached the unholy castle when evening fell
the camp set but it must be
that we were cursed to misery
the land poor and the enemy devils
surely this castle must lie in Satans levels
the scorching sun merciless with its rays
set many tents and objects ablaze
but we were there in God's holy name
and thus we would take the land we claim
the siege was set they could not escape
our valor made it less a wait
within barely a month it would yield
reinforcements our numbers did build
we rode forth with new company
our steps rang o'er the land audibly
towards the heathen capital we must face
Valencia was our stopping place
they possessed a grand defence
protected from a host immense

The signs were bad, messengers came
Donat's son Edrad was born but his mother slain
our lord that had fought without any fear
suddenly could not hold back a tear
the city of the duke's desire
would soon be wreck by pure fire
not before the Muslim host
came and defeated us almost
the battle violent and terrible
the ringing of swords became unbearable
advances and maneuvers filled the day
our spirits and banners refused to sway
we had to remove our steel attire
for the heat was to much quickly we would tire
our arabs set traps the enemy walked into blind
and when it was closed what did they find
a quick death their necks cleaved
with much loss they took their leave
the city ours after a siege much violent
but the evil done I cannot deny it

Messengers relaying to Donat news of his wife.


We faced now a bitter desperate foe
surprise attacks and sieges much blood did flow
our fire still bright and burning inside
for little over a year we fought and died
regardless of the force the enemy could provide
in the end we would not be denied
we came and conquered with iron fist
and took leave from a land we would not miss
as the Duke addressed the assembled they wept
for we could finally return to what we left
our ruler's sibilings would get title for which they had not fought
the states workings can sometimes leave us distraught
our wails were thus abated
the Duke's will dictated
Castellon to a nephew rather unknown as a man
while Beneset brother of the Duke got the rest of the land
titles of minor nobility our reward
this our birth and laws accord
I return to Langued'oc still a knight
knowing I will die with sins made right

-Langued'oc Knight from Albi
There is debate over whether the author was Cathari or not since he came from Albi however just the mention of him as a soldier of Christ hurts the theory but does not rule this out. After all the beliefs of the Templars themselves are questionable yet they still insist that they serve Jesus. Even if the knight was a Cathar he could have still went on crusade for riches and written the poem to appeal to the Catholic masses.
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To prevent confusion I actually wrote the poem to give some flavor to this story. Considering that the Trencavels ruled an area known for its "heretics", Templars and esoteric groups and ideas I felt I should bring the Cathars into the story. In fact in 1070 Montpellier itself was a recognized center for esoteric learning. There were a number of cults and other groups in the area. Some of the bigger religious groups would be the Manichaean and Arians. Scholars have been studying whether the Cathars in fact were a Manichaean offshoot and many rulers of areas in the Langued'oc were at one time Arian. In fact in the early Church at one time all the bishoprics were either Arian or vacant.

It is also very likely that Donat as ruler of this region would have contact with such ideas and people. Also take into account that before 1082 Raymond-Bernard Trencavel was viscount of Albi and Nimes. Albi is where the Abligensian crusade got it's name because Albi was a principal Cathari district. Not to mention the Trencavels eventually came into possession of Razes, now Rennes-le-Chateau, which is a very important town in regard to the Templar-Cathari mythos. All in all the probability that they had contact with ideas the Church deemed "heretical" is very likely. If in fact they were in contact with such things it is also probable they may have shared such beliefs. They would also have probably formed a relationship with the Knights Templar who would have had a large presence in the Langued'oc.

Also notice that I put an apostrophe in Languedoc. It is a cultural and a linguistic reference. The word "langued'oc" makes reference to the southern dialect term for "yes"-"oc". The language was distinct from the north from having been in contact with Mediterranean civilizations for a long time.

[Jackbob]

Nice one!

[bigdan]

1127-1142

When Donat returned home from the 2nd Iberian, he returned with more than just riches and treasures he had won. He returned with his new wife, Heria de Hauteville, who was already pregnant with their first child. About five months later the couple, and duchy, celebrated the birth of their child Estaqui and their first profit since 1126. However the happy mood quickly ended in the Duke's household when Estaqui died in little over a week. Unfortunantely this trend continued. Heria would eventually give birth to Eusebi, Mart, Xavier, and Egle. Mart and Egle would be her only children to survive their childhoods.

By 1142 several things had happened to the family. Gaudenc had proven himself just as skilled as Marshal Aptoni at conducting wars and since he was a son of the Duke Aptoni's title was given to him. Aptoni was promised land in compensation next time the duchy went to war. He even was given the Duke's only surviving daughter Egle in marriage. Aptoni had been a good friend and loyal servant to the Duke so he was viewed as worthy enough. Donat feared that the reason many of his children with Heria were taken from him was because God was angry at him. Therefore to win God's favor once again he sent his son Mart to a monastery. Edrad showed an interest and skill with numbers and was kept at the court to learn from his father. Donat also found an excellent wife for his heir, Vianc. While Elisabeth of Bar from Toscana could not help him governing she could offer him lands. Her only brother was seven and already had pneumonia. The doctors felt that there was no hope for the boy and Donat wanted to capitalize on this.

The most important change that affected the family was Casimir, Duke of Poitou, dying from pneumonia. Since he had no surviving sons his lands went to Donat's heir, Vianc. Now the Treancavel's were undoubtedly as strong as King Raoul himself if not stronger. One of Vianc's first acts was to agree to renew the alliance between the Duchies. As expected talk immediatly circulated about father and son plotting rebellion against their king, but nothing came. Donat was saving his men for something else entirely.

On a more personal note in 1133 engineers from Languedoc studied fortification techniques in Provence. While they had learned of surrounding a stone keep with a wall, they still did not know how to build such a keep. This of course aggravated Donat to no end. It would not be until nine years later that his engineers could build a stone keep.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany and Poland were at war over Germany's claims to Polish counties in the south. Predictably Germany came out regarded as the winner, but the Emperor did not win all his claims. It had been a fierce war and both sides exhausted themselves. While Germany was regarded as the winner it had only agreed to a truce with the King of Poland. The Emperor had conquered two separate counties and forced those counts to make piece earlier in the war.
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Sorry for such a delay, but I just could not figure out what to type for this update. I have screenshots but I'm going to put them up tomorrow if possible.

[bigdan]

The Final Steps

During the winter of 1141 Donat had been planning final stages that would lead to a confrontation with the Fatimids. He realized that he would need a base in the Mediterranean to keep men pouring into the Holy Land, and what better place than Sicily for such a base. Besides being used as a marshalling point Sicily could be used to exert power in the Mediterranean. Donat could control who and what crossed the sea. This would be very good for commerce. However Sicily was controlled by the Zirids and the populace had no problems with them. So it was decided that Sicily would go to a bishop, Malta to Donat's son Venceslau, and Zirids mainland to Aptoni.

Since this was expected to be relatively painless the offensive began in 1142. Of France wanted to get something out of this war but they were weak and did not move fast enough. Donat and his troops from Languedoc along with Viviers and two other vassals landed in Zirids mainland and began a campaign of devastation. Soon after troops from Carcassone and the rest of Donat's East Iberian vassals landed in Palermo. Donat and his marshal, Gaudenc, did not want Zirid massing in any one place since they held the advantage in numbers.

There were only two major battles as a result of this strategy. The battle on Sicily was short and bloody for Zirid. Shortly after Donat's choice for Bishop, Barnard de Barbaira, had taken control of Palermo over 400 Zirid soldiers challenged his 2,000 strong warriors. Zirids commanders were ruthless and had told the commander of Trapani's garrison that the western infidel had barely touched Palermo's walls. The men from Agrigento and Siracusa were sent to assist their masters in Northern Africa. Needless to say those 300 Zirid soldiers that challenged the Bishop's forces were swept away like flies. The whole of Sicily fell by summer.



Donat's situation in Northern Africa was slightly different. Zirids troops were returning home from a former conflict and were completely exhausted. They recieved a big shock when they returned home. Donat had moved very quickly and in less than two months Mahdia and Tunis were under his control. Bizerte was the only place in Northern Africa that remained. While Zirids forces numbered about 950 Donat had over 3,000. Zirids forces did what they could to fight but it was useless. Their men were to exhausted to charge and to wait for the Languedoc knights would have been equal to suicide so they found the roughest terrain they could to delay the Languedoc charge while their horsemen raided Donat's lines. It was of no use. Very few raiders made it back to their lines and those who did were next to useless from fatigue or wounds. The next mourning there was a skirmish between the forces and then Donat sent in his lighter forces. He didn't even need to use his knights or heavy infantry in the battle. after losing over 400 of their number what remained of Zirids forces dropped their weapons and ran. Shortly after the battle Donat heard reports that other forces were coming from Sicily. He decided to press on to Bizerte since these new forces were small in number.

In the end his strategy paid off. While Zirid managed to win back Mahdia for a short while they could not hope to resist Donat's superior army. The Duke quickly swept them aside and took back Mahdia. At this time the court of Zirid was in disarray. The sultan had to start repelling his vassals titles so he would have something to rule. The first was Siracusa. Unfortunately having already sent their garrison to North Africe where they were destroyed there was nothing to defend the province with. Bishop Barnard immediatly laid siege to the territory and conquered it. Malta lasted four months longer however. Donat had to take time to amass larger troops for an invasion. When they finally landed there were problems that delayed his advance. The supplies were lost and the roads were destroyed. The army was continuously harassed. However these were guerilla tactics and had no chance of actually defeating Donat's forces in a pitched battle. After the island mostly subjugated Venceslau was sent for to take control. As promised Barnard got the whole of Sicily(except Messina which Apulia controlled), Venceslau got Malta, and Aptoni recieved Tunis, Mahdia, and Bizerte.



At first everything was calm but then his son Venceslau started to complain about how he, the Duke's son, ruled such a small island. At a feast commemorating Donat's father Venceslau walked out on the family. Donat said many times to his courtiers that the only thing that saved Venceslau was his blood. If he had been any other man he would have lost his head. Of course he still did not trust his son entirely and sent his prized Templars to Malta to "insure the order and prosperity of the island". Everyone knew that was just a polite way of saying they were reporting Venceslau's every move to Donat and were prepared to remove the threat if he ever misbehaved. Over time the count, realizing there was little he could do and hope to survive, settled down. On the night of his wedding he officially apologized to Donat for the problems he caused. Donat had other troubles of his own on the home front.

Italy was starting to take notice of Donat's actions. Knowing that his grandson, Armentari, would rule Toscana one day, the Italian states started making alliances incase the Duke's ambitions became to large. The Duchy of Apulia was a little more mild since Donat had been married to a de Hauteville. While they weren't as open with their actions they still recognized the need to do something. When Donat conquered Sicily they opened their mouths for the first time. They controlled Messina, in Sicily, and felt that it was there responsibility to liberate it from the Muslims. To counter his actions they sent representatives to the King of France to remind him Donat swore fealty to him, not the other way around.

Donat knew any further actions in Europe could cost him everything. It was time to sit back and bring everything back up to strength. There was only one way to go and that was East, toward Jerusalem. To have any hope of succeding without interference he'd need every man he could get and a big miracle. Fate must have been on his side, because he was about to receive a big miracle.
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I can't believe it's taken me this long to post an update, but better late than never. I'm going to try to update at least once a week from now on but I'm not promising anything.