Born a King; The Life and Times of John the Posthumous
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Expect a visit there shortly.
I mean that. 14th century Iberia is like a dysfunctional horror show that you can't help but keep your eyes glued to.
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I think it kinda defines the entire Europe in the 14th century. Pretty interesting times, for sure.
Ahh, but did I? Oh, it might not be our Ines who is born, but there's a good chance that one close enough for government work comes into being.
Well, yeah, but... look, for a while you had two Peter the Cruels operating in Iberia, simultaneously. Who were uncle and nephew.
Funnily enough, both were also called "Peter the Just". It tells a lot about the kind of justice you could hope for those times...
Yeah, though some of that was their defenders desperately looking for a positive spin on things.
"Sure, they killed people! But those guys had it coming!"
Wait, wait, wait, there is a new Space Oddity Timeline and I wasn't aware of it? And it deals with a living Jean le Posthume? Hot diggity damn! We might finally have a king named John in France or England who doesn't goes down in infamy! That will show all those Ivans, Jans, Johans, Hanses, Juans and Joãos!
Well, you've butterflied away most of Les Rois Maudits' plot. And ASOIAF's by the same token. Marie de Cressay and Guccio Baglioni are probably doomed to obscurity. Not a bad deal for them, all things considered. I wonder if Jacques de Molay's curse will emerge and if the Templars' reputation will change as a result.
Anyway, on to the congratulations. Your style in damning inept political players remains unchallenged. My biggest surprise was finding out that Edward II had actual defenders. I guess a crown sometimes count as just enough to give you legitimacy in some circles. Shame for Louis de Nevers that he doesn't have one. Or a clue about what he is doing, really. But then again, that region always was trouble for its rulers, wasn't it?
I am reminded of your Macrinian Timeline, although that might be an artifact of the titles assigned to the chapters, some of which are hilarious in their own right. You give a very vivid depiction of the massive amount of blundering that led up to the Hundred Years' War. I'm a bit afraid for the fate of French armies in the coming conflict because of John's aside to Froissart that he never saw a better show of arms than the one he witnessed when he was ten. Might spell trouble down the road. Knowing your appreciation for bloody resolutions to conflict, it will. Also, about his comment to the worst gossip hen since Suetonius, should we interpret the 'past forty years' as his whole life or the period begun by Philippe of Valois's regency? The first makes him live at least until 1356, the other one until 1366. That definitely means the Anglo-French conflict will be protracted, though, not that there were much doubt about it. I suspect he'll encounter trouble with the good burghers of Paris down the line, although it might not be with Etienne Marcel specifically. He will also have a more firm authority than poor teenage Dauphin Charles. He probably won't end up a prisoner of the English and even if he does, he does not strike me as the kind to go back a prisoner just because it's the honourable thing to do like his idiot of a homonym. Even though he'll have to levy taxes at some point to pay for war, there'll probably be a great deal fewer times requiring the Etats Généraux to be called up. Oh. Oh dear. The thought just struck me. Without the need for a literal kingly ransom, the franc might never be coined. You wouldn't be that cruel, would you?
Speaking of cruelty, I'd like to defend the two Peters a bit. The Castilian one was the loser of a civil war and he wasn't the one who stuck his half-brother in the head with a dagger, so he didn't get to create a black legend about his adversary. Plus, he stood up for the Jews and everyone knows that's a big no-no in medieval politics for your legacy. Just ask Louis IX: he got sainted for going the exact opposite way. As for the Portuguese one, he probably got the nickname for what he did to his wife's killers. But considering Ines de Castro's fate, I'd say he was paying evil unto evil. Not the most defensible course of action but still, I'd say those two guys had it coming by medieval standards.
And now, if I might just ask... Has William of Ockham's life gone pretty much as OTL? f he has gone to Avignon, has he manage to extricate himself from it yet? For that matter, has John XXII dealt with Gediminas any better in the negotiations for his conversion or has he stuck to siccing all of Christendom upon him? And how are Ladislas I and his son Casimir doing? Is Jewish toleration a thing in Poland or is even in the cards for the near-future?
Well, you've butterflied away most of Les Rois Maudits' plot. And ASOIAF's by the same token. Marie de Cressay and Guccio Baglioni are probably doomed to obscurity. Not a bad deal for them, all things considered. I wonder if Jacques de Molay's curse will emerge and if the Templars' reputation will change as a result.
Anyway, on to the congratulations. Your style in damning inept political players remains unchallenged. My biggest surprise was finding out that Edward II had actual defenders. I guess a crown sometimes count as just enough to give you legitimacy in some circles. Shame for Louis de Nevers that he doesn't have one. Or a clue about what he is doing, really. But then again, that region always was trouble for its rulers, wasn't it?
I am reminded of your Macrinian Timeline, although that might be an artifact of the titles assigned to the chapters, some of which are hilarious in their own right. You give a very vivid depiction of the massive amount of blundering that led up to the Hundred Years' War. I'm a bit afraid for the fate of French armies in the coming conflict because of John's aside to Froissart that he never saw a better show of arms than the one he witnessed when he was ten. Might spell trouble down the road. Knowing your appreciation for bloody resolutions to conflict, it will. Also, about his comment to the worst gossip hen since Suetonius, should we interpret the 'past forty years' as his whole life or the period begun by Philippe of Valois's regency? The first makes him live at least until 1356, the other one until 1366. That definitely means the Anglo-French conflict will be protracted, though, not that there were much doubt about it. I suspect he'll encounter trouble with the good burghers of Paris down the line, although it might not be with Etienne Marcel specifically. He will also have a more firm authority than poor teenage Dauphin Charles. He probably won't end up a prisoner of the English and even if he does, he does not strike me as the kind to go back a prisoner just because it's the honourable thing to do like his idiot of a homonym. Even though he'll have to levy taxes at some point to pay for war, there'll probably be a great deal fewer times requiring the Etats Généraux to be called up. Oh. Oh dear. The thought just struck me. Without the need for a literal kingly ransom, the franc might never be coined. You wouldn't be that cruel, would you?
Speaking of cruelty, I'd like to defend the two Peters a bit. The Castilian one was the loser of a civil war and he wasn't the one who stuck his half-brother in the head with a dagger, so he didn't get to create a black legend about his adversary. Plus, he stood up for the Jews and everyone knows that's a big no-no in medieval politics for your legacy. Just ask Louis IX: he got sainted for going the exact opposite way. As for the Portuguese one, he probably got the nickname for what he did to his wife's killers. But considering Ines de Castro's fate, I'd say he was paying evil unto evil. Not the most defensible course of action but still, I'd say those two guys had it coming by medieval standards.
And now, if I might just ask... Has William of Ockham's life gone pretty much as OTL? f he has gone to Avignon, has he manage to extricate himself from it yet? For that matter, has John XXII dealt with Gediminas any better in the negotiations for his conversion or has he stuck to siccing all of Christendom upon him? And how are Ladislas I and his son Casimir doing? Is Jewish toleration a thing in Poland or is even in the cards for the near-future?
Not completely. It would be amusing to see Les Rois Maudits pop up as an AH novel ITTL.
To be fair, all of the major accusers have died out in a year, followed by the deaths of all Philip the Fair's children within a decade of his. So yes, people will doubtless speak of the Curse of the Templars.
You know, Edward II always had those moments of competence, where he frequently came out from behind and managed to pull out a win, and inherited a tough situation.
Louis of Nevers, with the backing of one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, found new ways to fail in Flanders. When compared to his son and grandson-in-law, both of whom managed to handle problems with some skill, it's especially embarrassing.
Yeah, it's sad fact that the various setbacks that France suffered in essence forced improvements that kept the kingdom viable. Which is often the way of things, but still...
Peter of Castile is a complicated case--yes, he's the undeniable victim of his brilliant asshole of a bastard brother's smear campaign. But it's also worth noting that even his allies found him a bit much at times, with Prince Edward noting to him, correctly, that if he didn't learn to forgive some of his enemies, then he'd lose the throne as fast as he got it.
And yeah, Peter of Portugal is a more ambiguous one, but the whole damned story is a giant horror show. Nobody comes out looking good in that.
A glance at the Papacy will be in the near future.
Poland will have to wait.
Svitrigaila #1!
1329-30: France
1329-30: VERY SUPERSTITIOUS, THE DEVIL'S ON HIS WAY
"By the end of the 1320s, the France political scene was heaving under powerful factions, each advancing their own private interests above the state. The Regent, Philip of Valois, proved ineffectual at preventing this, and frequently putty in the hands of such individuals as Robert of Artois, Jean de Marigny[1], and his own wife Joan of Burgundy. Indeed, the Regent was soon preoccupied by a string of personal tragedies, the death of numerous children that trimmed his swelling brood into nothing more than two sons. Valois turned to religion and mysticism in response, holding elaborate masses and consulting with astrologers and fortunetellers.
"He was not alone in this. When, over twenty years later, the Affair of the Horoscopes was being brought before tribunals, the list of clients would include many of the most prominet nobles in the court, one reason for the scandal's persistance. It was an age of superstition and fear, an age where men saw God as a spirit to be appeased more than a beloved creator.
"It was in this atmosphere that the Regent began to approach the Pope about another crusade. John was wary--Charles of Valois' efforts had generally amounted to nothing more than an attempt to gouge money from the French clergy--something which might have derailed the entire effort if something had not happened to make the Count of Valois hopeful. In 1329, Levon IV of Armenia came of age, and in a bloody purge, executed the regent, Oshin of Korikos, his brother Constantine, his daughter Alice--who was Levon's wife--and ushered in a new, pro-Western government[2]. While Philip doubtless could not help be somewhat worried by the sudden destruction of a man whose situation so resembled his own, the siren call of a friendly Armenia remained for those who dreamed of a free Jerusalem, and so, like his cousin Charles of de la Marche, he found himself in the exhausting and ultimately pointless discussions with the kingdom.
"Discussions that distracted him from threats closer to home..."
--While the Savior Wept: Crusading in the 14th Century, by Barbara Morell, 1983
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[1] Brother of Enguerrand de Marigny, Philip IV's famed Chamberlain, and one of the great political survivors of medieval France.
[2] This happened IOTL. Armenian Cilicia was a... terrifying place at times.
"By the end of the 1320s, the France political scene was heaving under powerful factions, each advancing their own private interests above the state. The Regent, Philip of Valois, proved ineffectual at preventing this, and frequently putty in the hands of such individuals as Robert of Artois, Jean de Marigny[1], and his own wife Joan of Burgundy. Indeed, the Regent was soon preoccupied by a string of personal tragedies, the death of numerous children that trimmed his swelling brood into nothing more than two sons. Valois turned to religion and mysticism in response, holding elaborate masses and consulting with astrologers and fortunetellers.
"He was not alone in this. When, over twenty years later, the Affair of the Horoscopes was being brought before tribunals, the list of clients would include many of the most prominet nobles in the court, one reason for the scandal's persistance. It was an age of superstition and fear, an age where men saw God as a spirit to be appeased more than a beloved creator.
"It was in this atmosphere that the Regent began to approach the Pope about another crusade. John was wary--Charles of Valois' efforts had generally amounted to nothing more than an attempt to gouge money from the French clergy--something which might have derailed the entire effort if something had not happened to make the Count of Valois hopeful. In 1329, Levon IV of Armenia came of age, and in a bloody purge, executed the regent, Oshin of Korikos, his brother Constantine, his daughter Alice--who was Levon's wife--and ushered in a new, pro-Western government[2]. While Philip doubtless could not help be somewhat worried by the sudden destruction of a man whose situation so resembled his own, the siren call of a friendly Armenia remained for those who dreamed of a free Jerusalem, and so, like his cousin Charles of de la Marche, he found himself in the exhausting and ultimately pointless discussions with the kingdom.
"Discussions that distracted him from threats closer to home..."
--While the Savior Wept: Crusading in the 14th Century, by Barbara Morell, 1983
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Brother of Enguerrand de Marigny, Philip IV's famed Chamberlain, and one of the great political survivors of medieval France.
[2] This happened IOTL. Armenian Cilicia was a... terrifying place at times.
Stevie Wonder always happens in every timeline. Stevie Wonder is the Doctor...Stevie Wonder still happens ITTL?