A Game of Thrones: A Tale of Europe. Book One

Seems that at least to medium term won't be a hegemonic kingdom within the Iberian Kingdom nor perspectives that their kings will be able to avoid their unending feuds.
Speaking of feuds... what happen or will happen to the House of Lara or similar Noble Houses in the above scenario from TTL... because a short term seems me that they will be stronger than OTL .

About England seems that the new king had received a more or less stable kingdom without imminent foreign danger and perhaps may be more attentive and /or develop a foreign policy centered in France (equal to or even more than the English monarchs, OTL).

But, also both his stepfather and illegitimate brother... are a concern matter and may be a possible joint point for the/his royal government's opponents/ noble rebels.
 
Castille-Leon will be always in troubles with its neighbours... unless he gets rid of them... The de Lara familiy and some others will have a role in the future. Basically, they are going to be even worse than IOTL.

England has learnt a basic lesson: don't have queens. Ever. As Normandy is stille there and france right by their side, you can bet what happens next. About the "other" family of the king, keeping in mind the fate of Roger Mortimer in OTL...
 
In the end, the worst problem of Phillip I was not to be a lady's man, not even having nobility more troublesome than in OTL, but the two sons of his second marriage. Thus, when Phillip II became king, his younger brother Henri decided that there could be only one... the murder of his brother would be on his back for the rest of his life and, in the end, he decided to depart from the regal obligations and let his brother's son to rule France
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Phillip III, called the Great (1110-1164)
King of France (1127-1164)
After the regency of his uncle Henri, Phillip III began to rule with the advice of those who had been by his side during his childhood, which included some of the most important noblemen of France, chiefly among them Theobald II, Count of Champagne.

However, before he became the sole ruler of France, his kingdom faced a war with England because of Anjou. The first stage included a bold attempt: the siege of Caen in 1125, but the French army had to withdraw. Another attempt, in 1128, with Phillip III as king, also failed. The third attempt, aimed at conquering the fortress of Gisors was to be more successful.

In 1129 he intervened in Flanders, which was in chaos and fraught with anarchy since the murder of its count, Charles the Good. He joined hands with Thierry of Alsace, who became the sole and indisputed ruler of Flanders and then withdrew to reorganize his country. It was a triumph for Louis and demonstrated how far the Crown had come under his leadership,

In 1147, after several years or reorganizing the country's finances and the army, he put Gisors under siege, and conquered it 30 days later. Then, they moved against Caen, again, in another bold move. Eight months followed in which the city stood a heavy siege and the English and French armies moved around the flanks of each other in an endless and futile movement war. In the end, Phllip had to withdraw after rampaging Normandy in such a way that, as a chronicle of the times says, even the crowns had to take their own food with them if they wanted to fly over Normandy.

Then, in 1148, during the last stages of the third Norman campaign, Theobald II, Count of Champagne switched sides and joined the English. Phillip moved fast against his old friend and, after four years of intermitent war, he deprived the coun of all his lands and incorporated them to the crown. After this, again, he moved against England. This time the dispute was about Anjou, Britanny and Maine, causing a long war that was to last from 1150 to 1167 and that would end with his son Phillip IV as suzerain of Brittany and Maine, but not Anjou.

Phillip died in 1163. He had been married first with Lucienne de Rochefort (1112 – after 1137), the daughter of Guy III de Monthery and Elizabeth, dame de Crecy. They had no son. Then he married Agnes of Savoy (1125 – 1158), the daughter of Amadeus III, Count of Savoy. Together they had:

Constance (1140 - 1178), married Raymond V, count of Tolouse.
Phillip IV (1141 - 1194)
Louis (1142 - 1187)
 
What happens when you have an emperor fully devoted to be a warrior and to conquer whatever he wants but he lacks the political abilities or the patience to keep up what he conquered? That you have a Conrad III, a complete mess that put the whole Empire upside down.

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Heinrich V called the Wise (1081-1152)
Holy Roman Empeor (1125-1152)

While Conrad had been a warrior, Heinrich had become an intelectual. Friend of books and of priets, he had almos run away from court and had devoted his life to study. So, he was mightly surprised when he was asked to be the next German Emperor after the death of his brother. However, the southern estates were unwilling to accept Heinrich and they elected as king of Italy Boniface IV Frederick of Tuscany (1), son of Matilda de Canossa.

When Heinrich V, focusing on the rest of the Empire, seemingly let Italy to go, two mistakes were made: Heinrich's, for obvious reasons, and then his nobles, who thought he would be docile, meek, coward and easily steered to their wishes, but discovered him to be inflexible. When Bohemia also went away, he tried several times to recover the lands, but he was defeated over and over again (in 1125, in 1126 and in 1129) In order to produce an heir, he married Agnes (1105-1159), daughter of Duke Guillaume X of Aquitaine. However, she only bore a daughter, Bertha, in 1126. She was speedily betrothed to Frederick, the elder son of Frederick II, Duke of Swabia, at the age of one (Frederick was seven years old). The marriage contract made Agnes the heiress to the Imperial crown , which in event of her childless death would pass to Frederick and any children he might have by other wives. Meanwhile, Heinrich V would rule unnoposed. That the electors made no complain and ratified this contract still puzzles and surprises all the historians.

In any case, a few nobles rebelled against him and tried to depose him. Heinrich, nowing himself not to be a war king, and after the Bohemian failure, he passed royal authority to his in-law Frederick II of Swabia on November 1131. Frederick II of Swabia became the effective chief of the kingdom's armies, although Heinrich V never formally resigned his royal rights, continuing to use the royal title, and keeping aware of the business of the kingdom, which he let rest on the shoulders of his in-law, he withdrew from public life in 1132, although he never renounced to the crown.

In 1136, at the insistence of Pope Innocent and Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus, a campaign against Roger of Sicily began. Frederick, King of Italy, was afraid of the German armies crossing his lands on the way to the south, but he lend them pass and Heinrich V kept his word and nothing was attempted against him. The campaign was a failure, even if Apulia was conquered and returned to the Pope.

Heinrich V died on 16 August 1152, the crown then formally passing to his daughter.

Heinrich and Agnes had one daughter.

Bertha (1126)


(1) He did not died in 1055
 
Sancho III managed to put his kingdoms against him and, in spite of his wealth and charm, to be hated by almost everbody, neighbours included. Thus, in the end was deposed by his own brother and packed into oblivion.

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Alfonso IX, called The Fair (1120-1186),
King of Castille, Leon and Galicia (1155-
1186)
With the civil war over, Alfonso VIII had a hard time to put and end to the chaos and to rule over his nobility while keeping an eye on his greeding neighbours, that led to a war with Aragon in 1145-1146 and again in 1151-1153. His son Alfonso IX faced a more powerful kingdom of Aragon, which had allied itself with Portugal. He quickly took oaths of loyalty from the noblemen and made them also to swore fealty to his heir, Enrique. By that time, Alfonso's position was remarkably secure. He commenced rebuilding the kingdom at once. Showing a strong hand, Alfonso IX was also careful to show that he would listen to the advice and counsel of others, and worked hard to restore the royal justice and the royal finances.

Ramon Berenguer IV and Sancho VI of Navarre had taken advantage of the civil war in Castille to seize disputed lands; Alfonso IX was determined to reverse this trend. In 1157, he offered a treaty to Ramon Berenguer IV to divide among themselves the Navarrese kingdom, but the offer was refused. Pressure from Alfonso resulted in Sancho VI returning Logroño to the Castillian king, who promptly began to refortify the northern frontier. Forcing Ramon Berenguer IV to do the same proved harder, and a brief war ensued, starting a border clash that lasted from 1157 to 1158 before the new Aragonese king, the young Alfonso II, agreed to a return to the pre-civil war borders.

Alfonso IX's problematic relationship with Alfonso II only went to worse. Alfonso invariably attempted to use his experience to patronize the young Aragonese king and, when that failed, he resorted to military threats but Alfonso II used all his resources at hand to rebuke his rival's advances. Thus he drew in other powers, as Portuga and, very briefly, France. In an attempt to improve relations, the two Alfonsos met at Barcelona in 1165, agreeing to betroth Alfonso IX's eldest son, Enrique, to Alfonso II's sister, Dulce de Aragon. The marriage deal would have involved Alfonso II granting the disputed territories to her sister on her marriage to Enrique. The marriage, however, never took place.

Meanwhile, Alfonso IX turned his attention to Portugal. He claimed to be the overlord of Portugal on the basis that the duchy-turned-kingdom had owed loyalty to his ancestors and regarded the independent ruler of Portugal as nothing but a rebel. Initially his strategy was to win over to his sides as many Portugese nobles as posible, but with little success.

Then, in 1159 he began his long campaign against the Muslim petty kingdoms, that was to last until the crushing defeat suffered at the Guadiana River (1171) at the hands of the Almohads put and end to these attempts. At the same time, the long-running tensions between the two Alfonso's continued during the 1160s and 1170s and finally spilled over into open war in 1177. Alfonso II of Aragon allied himself with Portugal and the duke of Toulouse but Alfonso IX's offensive forced him to to abandon his allies and make a private truce.

Then, all the dreams of Alfonso IX came to naught. Tensions were growing up among his sons, specially about the inheritance. Alfonso II of Aragon used the chance to poison the relations of his namesakes with his sons and thus bore fruit in 1181, when Sancho rebelled against his father. By 1182 his son Fernando had joined his elder bropther in the rebellion, but the determination of the king and through vigorous military action, they were defeated in April 1183. Fernando was not to see his final defeat, as he died from dysentery on December 1182. Sancho would rise in arms again in 1184, but he was again defeated.

When he was planning to invade Portugal, Alfonso IX died from cancer in 1186. His son Sancho, who was still a kept isolated in one of the Leonese castles of is father, became the next king as Sancho IV.

Alfonso IX and his wife Eleanor of England had five children.

Enrique (1142 - 1170)
Urraca (1143 - 1189)
Sancho (1157–1199)
Fernando (1158- 1182)
Juana (1160- 1210)
Juan (1166 – 1215)
 
Being a woman, Margaret of England was not deemed to reign. In addition to that, she had been given the wrong husband and she picked up the wrong lovers. However, in spite of all, this, her short time as queen of England was less chaotic that it seems. And, above all, she had a son that was to become someone to behold.
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Richard II, called the Lionheart (1102-1157)
King of England (1131-57) and
Duke of Normandy (1131-57).

Once he became king, Richard II found himself at war with France and Scotland because of Anjou. He had inherited a war that his mother was unable to stop but was able to win, for the time being. Even if France did not look as in shape to attack him, Richard was convinced that, once war began again, Scotland was to join them. So, when fate struck, Richard joined.

David I of Scotland died in 1134. His only son, Henry, saw him caim to the throne disputed by his half-brother, Simon II de Northumberland, who had been a "loyal and constant" supporter of Margaret of England. Thus, Richard II moved to help himself setting a would-be puppter king in the throne of Scotland. Even if he was able to conquer Edinburgh, city he gave back to Simon in 1136 in exchange for his swear of fealthy when he saw that governing the realms in unison was proving too difficult. After this, Scotland was put to vassalage

In 1135, most of the prominent Welsh lords also swore fealty to Richard II. However, when most of them did not repeated the oath in 1138, Alfonso invaded Wales. For six months he raided Wales, specially the lands of Hywel ab Owain, Prince of Gwynedd. He invaded Wales again in 1139 and in 1142. Hywel realised he had no choice but to surrender, and by the Treaty of Aberconwy in October 1142, he was left only with the land of Gwynedd, though he was allowed to retain the title of Prince of Wales.

When war broke out again in 1146, it was an entirely different undertaking. For the Welsh, this war was over national identity, enjoying wide support, and thus they rebelled, led by Hywel, who was discontented with the treaty of Aberconwy. Other Welsh chieftains soon joined in, and initially the Welsh experienced military success. However, Hywel was killed at the Battle of Orewin Bridge and thus the conquest of Gwynedd was finished by 1147.

Just in time, as Phillip III of France attacked Normandy that same year, even if he had to withdraw nine months later. He was to attack again in 1147, and, again, in 1550. The war was to last until 1167, but by then both Richard and Phillip were dead.


In 1157 the Welsh rebelled again but Richard II was unable to defeat them, busy as he was keeping the French at bay. As he was preparing to campaign against them, he died on August 21st, 1157.

In November 1128, he had married Berenguela, daughter of Ramon Berenguer III, count of Barcelona. Their children were:

William (1134–1158)
Stephen (1136)
Edward (1137–1188)
Constance (1138–1160)
Margaret (1139–1179)
Henry (1142-1145/6)
 
Phillip III was the indisputed king of France, and focused on that: being the only one to rule his lands, and that included getting rid of the English presence. He also attempted to rule ovrer Flanders, with mixed results. In the end, he managed to have the English power curtailed and his own enhanced.

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Phillip IV, called the Troubador (1141-1194)
King of France
(1164-1194)
Ironically, after so many efforts devoted by his father to defeat the English king, Phillip IV began his kingdom by finishing the war that his father had began and kept his conquest, only to ally with Edward I of England in 1179. That peace was to last until 1191, when he changed allies, joined hands with Scotland against the English.

Then, he moved against Aragon. His king, Alfonso II, had been adopted as heir by his step-mother, Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, the second wife of his father, Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona, whose marriage had not been blessed with any surviving male son. Thus, after he acussed Alfonso of not fulfilling his duties and vassal for the Dukedom of Aquitaine, he went to war against him, after declaring his lands forfeited. With these grievances, two years of combat followed (1164–1166), but the situation remained unchanged, until Phillip IV conquered the Berry in 1167. By 1180 he had been able to incorporate Provence (1168), Cerdagne (1170) and Rouisillon (1174). Bearn and Bigorre paid him homage to him in 1180. These efforts proved to be quite beneficial to the crown, strengthening the French trade.

However, when his younger brother Louis, who he had named earl of Provence, was murdered by Raimon IV of Tolosa in 1187, Phillip IV used the chance to fully incorporate Provence to the French crown and went to war. By 1192 he had forced Raimon IV to abandon his claims over Provence and forced the earls of Rasés, Carlat, Foix and Bigorre, and the viscounts of Carcassone, Beziers and Bearn to swore him loyalty and to break their ties with Aragon.

By 1186, however, his relations with England had become less than friendly again and in 1191 he allied with Scotland, even if he attempted a reapprochement in 1193.

Phillip died in 1194. He had been married with Urraca of Castille (1143 - 1189), the daughter of Alfonso IX of Castille. Together they had:

Robert III (1170 - 1213).
Constance (1171 - 1222)
Phillip (1175 - 1209), earl of Provence
Eleanor (1177 - 1226)
 
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After a warrior-emperor came a wise man who felt lost outwside his library. Somehow he was loved and respected, even if Italy was lost. In the end, he gave way to three centuries of glory.

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Conrad IV Augustus (1157-1196)
Holy Roman Emperor (1164-1196)

Bertha, Conrad's mother, reigned from 1152 to 1164 but only in name. Her father in law, Frederick II, Duke of Swabia, had been the power behind the throne since 1131, after Heinrich V had made him the de facto ruler of the Empire, and he kept his role with his grandson until 1174. From then on, Conrad IV, who had just married Constance of Sicily, became the sole ruler of the Empire.

When in 1166 Frederick of Canossa, king of Italy, died without a male successor, Frederick, acting in the name of Conrad, pressed the Pope to have his half-brother, Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine, elected as King of Italy, which was granted. From then on, the kingdom became a powder keg with constant rebellions by the less than thrilled subjects of the new king, and that led to the intervention of the German emperor. By the Peace of Sponheim, Conrad saw his namesake uncle finally recognized as king of Italy in 1172. In 1176 he would go to war against his half-uncle as he wanted to be recognized by Conrad of Italy as his overlod. The war would be over by 1179 with the defeat of the king of Italy. This victory led to Conrad I being nicknamed as "Augustus".


The relations of Conrad IV with Rome were just friendly. Conrad IV had supported Alexander III against the Antipope Victor IV, but that had not helped too much, as Alexander distrusted Conrad IV's intentions and that resulted in an alliance formed between the Norman state of Sicily and Pope Alexander III against Conrad IV and tried to drag Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos into that alliance. This would came to naught after Alexander died in 1181.

Then, another rebellion arose in Italy in 1181 and soon were joined by Henry the Lion from Saxony and a number of neighbouring princes who were growing weary of Conrad IV's power, influence, and territorial gains. The war, which looked lost to Conrad, take a change for better when Henry the Lion died in the battle of Alessandria (1185). From then on, Conrad IV was able to outmannouver his enemies and to win some of them to his side. The war was to drag until 1189, and it would end with a return to the status quo ante bellum.

Then he embarked on the Third Crusade (1189-1194) along with Edward II of England and Phillip IV of France, who sent his heir, Robert, in his place. The Crusade proved to be a dissapointment for all involved. Conrad II soon lost interest in the Crusade. He had quarrelled with Edward II for his decision to break his betrothal with Conrad's daughter Gisela, and, as his army approached the gates of Constantinople, Conrad lost his temper and returned to Germany. He was soon followed by Robert. In the end, only Edward II would reach the Holy Land.

Conrad V died in 1196

Conrad V and Constance of Sicily had the following children:

Frederick I (1179-1218)
Heinrich (1180)
Otto (1181)
Gisela (1182-1236)
Conrad (1184-1228)
 
Alfonso IX tried to rule all over Spain (And even Portugal) but in the end he could not even controll his own sons, and ended up regretting being their father. He, who saw himself as a new Hispaniae Imperator, was to go into history books as a king that tried hard and failed even harder.

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Sancho IV, called The Braveheart (1157–1199)
King of Castille, Leon and Galicia (1186-1199)
Hardly had Sancho sat on the throne and he was away fighting the Muslims. In 1187, allied with Alfonso II of Aragon, his father's nemesis, he reconquered Cuenca in 1188 and, by 1190, he had conquered Murcia. However, that victory became soon a problem with him, as Murcia was within the area of influence of Aragon. Also, in October 1190, the Muslims rose in revolt in Murcia and the king attacked the city, which was looted and burnt. In the end, Sancho and Alfonso reached an agreement: Sancho's younger brother, Juan, was to marry Alfonso's daughter Leonora, and would become duke of Murcia. Alfonso was to receive 20,000 ounces (570 kg) of gold as compensation for the loss of Murcia.

In 1195, after the treaty with the Almohads was broken, as the Almohad caliph Abū Yūsuf Ya‘qūb al-Manṣūr gathered his armies, Sancho IV reacted by massing his own forces in Toledo and marching south. This time, Sancho's efforts end in failure. Reluctanly supported by Alfonso II of Aragon, in spite of conquering some castles and cities, he was unable to bring the enemy forces into battle. Finally, in 1196, Alfonso withdrew from the war after his eleventh quarrell with Sancho, who was now alone and without allies.

Nevetheless, in 1197 Sancho achieved an important victory at Alarcos. The Muslim army was not destroyed, despite the considerable casualties it suffered, but it did rout; this was considered shameful by the Muslims and boosted the morale of the Christian host. In spite of this, even if he marched almost to the outskirsts of Sevilla, he had to withdraw because of the bad weather and the lack of supplies. In June 1198 he marched again against Sevilla and he came within sight of the city before being forced to retreat once again.

Sancho, ill with scurvy and a broken man after so many years of wars, died without a heir in 1199. His brother Juan, duke of Murcia, became Juan I. To this day historians are still divided about Sancho IV, but the popular view on him is that he was a demented but cultured man, with a deep mistrust about women caused by the actions of his mother and that only felt comfortable at war.
 
Not too much.

- Dulce (b.1158 - d.1193) married William II of Sicily, no sons.
- Leonor (b.1162 - d.1210) married first to Raymond VI of Tolouse (1180-1182), divorced; then to Isaac Kommenos of Cyprus (1185 to her death); a daughter named Theodora, the "Damsel of Cyprus".
- Constanza (b.1164 - d. 1199) became a nun
 
Not too much.

- Dulce (b.1158 - d.1193) married William II of Sicily, no sons.
- Leonor (b.1162 - d.1210) married first to Raymond VI of Tolouse (1180-1182), divorced; then to Isaac Kommenos of Cyprus (1185 to her death); a daughter named Theodora, the "Damsel of Cyprus".
- Constanza (b.1164 - d. 1199) became a nun
The lineal heirs of Eleanor are the daughters of Dulce, Philip, Earl of Provence might have married one or Theodora of Cyprus..
 
An mighty warrior, Richard II was less successful as conqueror, as the constant rebellions in Wales prove. However, he kept the French at bay, his noblemen under control and the gravediggers constanly working.

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Edward II, called the Noble (1155-1214)
King of England (1157-1214) and
Duke of Normandy (1157-1214).

William II had hardly time to get used to being king when he died in the summer of 1158. Married with Mathilda of Scotland, daughter of king David I of Scotland, he had a son, who became Edward II. On his deathbed, William appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Edward to reclaim the kingdom but, in spite of this, England was plunged into conflicts between the various noble houses vying for ascendancy in the inevitable regency. In the chaos that followed, his grandfather took advantage of the chaos and the king's minority to seize lands along the border, including much of Northumbria.

In 1170, Alfonso sent an embassy to Sancho IV of Castille to seek the hand of his niece daughter Joan. Due to the bride's young age of 5, the marriage was finalized at Windsor, before 17 September 1182. In 1176, Edward asked his father-in-law to arbitrate the disputed border territories, with mixed results: he received back much which had been taken from him, but he had to pay a heavy monetary compensation.


He embarked on the Third Crusade (1189-1194) along with Conrad IV and Phillip IV of France, who sent his heir, Robert, in his place. The Crusade proved to be a dissapointment for all involved. Edward quarrelled with Conrad about the bethrothal of his heir, Edward, and he finally broke it. Conrad lost his temper and returned to Germany, soon followed by the French host. Edward went on, however. . He was soon followed by Robert. In the end, only Edward II would reach the Holy Land. There, although he defeated several times the Muslims forces, he had to withdrew in exchange for a peace treaty that allowed Christian pilgrims access to Jerusalem, and initiated a three-year truce

His relationship with David I and his successors, Malcom IV and William I of Scotland continued to be filled with conflict. In 1196, the papal legate negotiated a treaty between them to temporarily end their conflict. However, in 1197 they went to war again when William Iattacked. A more lasting peace was achieved finally by the older Edward's daughter Eleanor getting married to William's heir, Alexander, in 1199. The annulment of this marriage by the pope drove William to attack again in 1205, but he was defeated in 1208 and forced to concede further territories and rights.

Edward I died in 1214.

He and Mathilda of Scotland had the following children:

Mathilda (1182-1246)
William (1183-1190)
Margaret (1184)
Eleanor (1187-1220)
Beatrice (1195-1230)
Constace (1196–1240)
Katherine (1199-1264)
Edward (1204–1217)
 
With this king I close this book. If the future is kind, I'll try to go on with the next 200 years :happyblush

While was interesting to read this Book and give me the chance to remember my olds, half forgotten knowledge about medieval and in special Iberian 'dinastic matters'...
I want to raise a question/suggest: I must assume that you won't have planned (to think) include the Mongols raids/invasion to Europa in this TL? Because while I don't know the rest of your TL reader's opinion, but at least for me would be very interesting to read a different kind of reaction and eventually a better performance in the fight against them.
 
Mmmm... the Mongols... I still remember the hard times they gave me while playing Crusader Kings.

Well, if they go along their historical lines and get close to the German Empire, something should be done about them, indeed.
 
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