Des Hebreux, comme des Orientaux : a French Renaissance TL

Mary of Burgundy finally agrees to sign the conclusions of the posthumous process of Burgundy, begun in 1477 at her own request, in order to fix inviolably the lands of the Dukes of Burgundy. The posthumous process of Burgundy confirms the totality of the territorial losses of Burgundy, guarantees the peace between the Crown of France and the Crown of Burgundy, and declares Charles the Bold traitor to the Kingdom. Marie's signature was made in exchange for of two additional clauses: the first is the guarantee that Marie's rights to succession to the United Duchy of Burgundy (legal entity created by the Trial, making Flanders, Brabant , and Holland, Luxembourg and the two Burgundies a single Duchy) will not be questioned, nor those of his descendants. The second clause is that of the definitive exclusion of John of Burgundy and his descendants from the succession.

The civil war breaks out in Hungary, between the nobility and the King in October 1478, when a conspiracy of nobles commits an attack against Mattias Corvin and his son. This one fails to kill the father but plunges the son in the unconsciousness, one realizes that he broke a part of the back. Mattias Corvin, furious, beheaded the two nobles who agreed to commit the attack in person, and tortured one of their accomplices to obtain a total list of the conspirators. Several militias supporting the king rise up against their lords, while the Polish and Austrian interventions, sometimes against the King, sometimes against the nobles, fuel the chaos. The nobles, believing at the beginning to have the support of the coalition against Corvin, realize in what trap it was thrown. A bloody civil war tears Hungary apart, making it unable to resist the joint invasion.

The Ottoman armies launch raids in the south of Hungary, without the goal being clearly defined. A letter from the King of Poland, signing as King of Hungary, asking the Sublime Porte to explain his motives, will receive only a very vague answer, concerning the restoration of order at the Hungarian border. Coalition armies enter Budapest on fire, defenseless after the destruction of the King's armies during the Battle of Alfold. The historian Jacques de Craonnais also enjoys the similarity between the invasion of Hungary by the coalition and the taking of the Holy Land during the first crusade, the various factions having no desire to intervene to help an ally by fear of losing one's own land.

In the end, the Emperor Frederick III, King Kazimierz IV of Poland and the Voivode of Moldavia and Wallachia Stephen III meet in Buda, capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, to decide the fate of this one. The Sultan of Constantinople also sends an emissary to secure his interests. Four treaties are signed between the four monarchs:
The Treaty of Buda is written by the King of Poland and ratified by the Diet. It authorizes the King of Poland to sign the treaties to put an end to the war, establishes the powers of the Hungarian Diet (right of censure on taxes, right of censure concerning treaties signed which affect the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, right of meeting with the Sejm to compel the King to abdicate) and recognize him as King of Hungary.

The Treaty of Cluj is signed between the King of Romagna of the Danube, the Ottoman Sultan and the King of Hungary and Poland, at Targoviste. He enthroned Stephen III of Moldavia as King of Romagna of the Danube, and defined the borders of the Kingdom: Wallachia to the East of Arges and Transylvania are added to the Moldovan territories to form Romagna of the Danube.

The Treaty of Sopron is signed between the Archduke of Austria and the King of Poland, defining the new western border of Hungary, and the status of the Hungarians of Austria. The Austrian border encompasses a large part of the Slovaks and Croats, occupies the cities of Sopron, Esztergom, Zagreb, Györ and joins the Polish border in Arva County.

The Treaty of Vukovar is signed between the King of Hungary and the Ottoman Sultan. He granted the Sultan the administration of a march south of Hungary, the march of Syrmia, provided that part of the fortresses of the region remain under the control of the King of Hungary.

The former King of Hungary, Mattias Corvin, is captured in Fiume as he tries to reach Italy. The magnanimous King of Poland does not execute him, and only forces him to abdicate officially. He is banned from Hungary and Romagna to prevent him from seizing his former kingdom or his former duchy.

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Approximative map of the Hungarian split
 
The Rus' of Moscow continues to fight against the Republic of Novgorod, without much success: the integration of the city to the Hanseatic Alliance is a great success, and the conversion of a part of the aristocracy to Catholicism via Unionist missionaries who traveled along the Hanseatic brought the Livonian order to support the Republic. However, the growing importance of the aristocracy leads to the establishment of a monarchist faction in the vetche, supporting the secularization of the role of the archbishop. The success of this idea among non-aristocrats is mainly due to the fact that the political system of Novgorod is extremely complicated and inefficient in times of crisis, which is the long war against the Muscovites. As it is obvious that the role of Grand Prince can not be attributed to the enemy of the Republic, it is considered vacant and ruled by the archbishop.

Queen Yolande begins to feel old, and appoints as her heir her son René de Lorraine-Vaudémont, already nicknamed "the Sage" by his subjects in the County of Vaudémont. He is renowned for his taste for the arts and antiquity, which pushed him to correspond with Emperor Andreas Palaeologus about Constantinople, on which the young count actually had much more knowledge than the Emperor in exile . It definitively settles the question of the lands of Bar-sur-Seine, north of Burgundy, attributing them to Jeanne de Lorraine-Vaudemont, wife of the Count of Maine. Seeing that Louis XI was also a declining health after he caught cold during a trip to Flanders in the summer of 1480, she urged him to do the same to "avoid chaos."
Louis XI, having lost his health with age, had indeed become very fragile. He decides, before he is no longer capable, to formalize his works that have no definitive status yet, with the hope that they survive the regency. Thus, he founded the Royal Intelligence Agency, in charge of the Post and the sending of emissaries to investigate suspicious situations, agency based at the Château de Vincennes. He also modifies the Chancellery of France, creating the Wing of Delegations, designed to house envoys from different allies close to France: the Salon de Navarre, the Salon de Lorraine and the Salon de Gênes. The archives previously occupying the wing are moved to Palais de la Cité, and the few residents of it moved to nearby buildings. By sending delegates to this wing, the different states de facto recognizing their dependence on the Kingdom of France.

The invasion of the barbarian coast of North Africa, after 3 years of preparation by the Republics of Genoa and Perpignan, began in autumn 1480, with three shots fired at Algiers by the "Majorque". The Majorque is the finest ship of the Roussillon Navy, with three canons capable of shooting very long on each side. The goal is to sink and sow enemy boats without the need for a battle on the bridge. A military engineer dispatched by Louis XI is responsible for assisting the two fleets by bringing them the Fire Potion. Small boats are responsible for going to torch the city at night, to facilitate bombing during the day. However, the use of these methods on the city itself is condemned by some of the Moorish crews of the Roussillonnaise fleet, and Admiral Loup de Halleur, unwilling to risk a mutiny, agrees to concentrate his attacks on the defenses from the city.

The Algerian population eventually revolts against the city leader, seeing that their sultan is unable to repel the attacks of the two republics. However, the leaders of the rebellion do not really know how to negotiate: they have on one side a Sultan who does not visibly worry about their fate, and on the other side of the infidels who invade the city for an unknown reason. One of them finally devotes himself to talk to these invaders, speaking himself Italian to trade. The two republics are fighting over the suzerainty of the city has not even abdicated. Should we keep the Sultan in place? No, the natives have knocked him down, they should not be hurt. To name a new one? But who ? Finally, the choice is on the negotiator himself. Two large sections of the city are under the control of the two republics, and the new Sultan admits his submission to the two Republics and the King of France. The two republics, after their triumph in Algiers, continue to attack the corsair cities of North Africa, what some will call "Majorque diplomacy".

Meanwhile, the King of France develops a Royal Way, axis from the Castle of Louvre, in which the fortune of the country had been transferred and where the Council of Paris houses, to the Château de Vincennes, headquarter of the Intelligence Agency. This Royal Way goes through the Hotel-Saint-Pol, the Bastille, along the Abbey of Saint-Antoine and passes near Saint-Mandé. This way must allow to pass the royal carriage in all circumstances and must be difficult to barricade. The work will also allow the installation of sewers on this axis. The City of Gentilly also trades strongly with the capital, and attracts many goods from the East thanks to the former relations of Charlotte de Lusignan.

After a much longer pilgrimage than expected, Princess Jeanne returns to France, very happy with her long journey. The long duration of her trip is due to the fact that she simply refused the carriages and the boats that were proposed to her. She stopped in tiny villages and dined anonymously with the poor ones, only revealing her identity once she was welcomed, telling them that they would always find an ally in her.

During this long march, she also read the Bible in French and Italian, so that the poors could grasp the meaning of the sacred texts, and was even driven out of a church for doing so. When she arrived in Rome, she was in such a state that she was mistaken for a beggar before a legate who had been sent to France recognized her. When she returned to Paris in the spring of 1481, her hip had not realigned, she had almost caused a diplomatic accident by delaying the marriage by her absence, but she now spoke fluent Italian and had obtained a reputation as a humble and benevolent princess .

The wedding of Jeanne de France and Maximilian of Austria takes place in Paris, on the brand new Place de l'Hotel de Ville, built in the place of the latter during the renovation of Paris and the transfer of the Council from Cité to the Louvres. At the request of the Princess, the ceremony does not take place in the Cathedral, but in the open air, in the presence of the crowd. Her new husband has fun with his wife he calls "the eccentric French lady," and Louis XI lets flow. The archbishop of Sens marries the two spouses in this particular atmosphere of a Paris oscillating between the Middle Ages that ends and the Renaissance that begins. The word Renaissance comes from elsewhere the "Renaissance of Paris", an expression used to describe the important work and the establishment of a municipal administration by Louis XI. Both spouses get along pretty well, Maximilien admires the excellent level in German of his wife and enjoys his stories of travel. Jeanne appreciates the great culture of her new husband and is happy that someone makes the effort to listen to her, the shy and introvert princess.
 
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The University of Fontaine is finalizing the final preparations for its journey around the world: it has recruited a navigator, Christophore Colombe, Cristoforo Colombo in his native language, his brother cartographer Bartholomew Colombe, Basque and Breton sailors knowing the way to the islands of West, planned as stopovers. The Universities also found an interpreter for meetings with the Chinese, an astronomer to establish the precise position of the boats each evening, fishing equipment for fish feed and an experimental gear designed by Fontaine's engineers who would have the ability to purify the sea water. Large quantities of fresh water are still carried away at the request of Louis XI, in order to overcome a possible defect of the machine. An agreement has been signed with the King of Portugal to authorize a stopover for the university expedition, even if the true purpose of the expedition is not disclosed to the King.

Gaston de Foix-Béarn dies of old age in Pamplona on July 17, 1481. His succession is ready, he had time to get ready and his grandson, François-Phébus I is inducted King of Navarre, Count of Foix, Duke of Bearn and Count of Bigorre. His other children receive small lands on the royal estate to provide rents. The young King whom some people call King Phoebus hastens to renew his friendship with the King of France, lest the turbulent Catholic Kingdoms, who have not hesitated to launch expeditions against Morocco and Grenada, also decide to gain land in the North.

Summer 1481 is also one of the rainiest ever seen in France: several fields are changed into real marshes and harvests are ransacked by bad weather. The Duchess Mary of Burgundy, whose lands have been relatively spared by the weather, helps the rest of the Kingdom, against the granting by the King of an authorization for Mary of Burgundy to appoint the prince-bishops herself on its field. The famine lasts only two weeks, while the wheat comes from Burgundy.

Louis XI is invited to the second coronation of John II of Portugal, after the death of his father Alfonso V. Louis XI, being ill, decides still to make the trip, accompanied by his son and his wife. The Regency is entrusted to her eldest daughter to ensure that she will rule the Kingdom in due time. The journey will be very long, so the King calls his doctor to ensure the health of his heir. Hélène de France thus receives the role of regent for about three months, being assisted by members of the royal administration.

It is during these three months that a conspiracy will be set up by nobles to capture the regent and ransom against the weakening of the royal power: Pierre II of Luxembourg; Antoine de Chabannes; Francis I of Orleans-Longueville; and the Marshal de Rieux. The lords thus meet and organize an attack on the route between the castle of Vincennes and the Hotel-Saint-Pol. The Regent is attacked by this composite army, but escapes its aggressors by taking refuge in the walls of Paris. The Regent, thus attacked, realizes that her father has not achieved a real stability, just a fear of King Louis XI.

Princess Jeanne, residing at that time in the old castle of Amboise with her husband Maximilian of Austria, learns the news. She goes to Orleans, where she receives the support of her distant cousin, Duke Charles, to fight the revolt. It also manages by letters to obtain the support of the Parliaments of Bordeaux and Lyon, thus obtaining the right to raise armies in Aquitaine and Lyonnais.

So, when Louis XI came back exhausted from this long trip to Portugal, he found a kingdom in a civil war, but the nobles disassociated themselves from François d'Orléans-Longueville, the leader of the revolt, on learning of the King's return. However, King Louis XI, exhausted, dies after having crossed the door of the Hotel-Saint-Pol declaring "I will finally be able to rest ..." in a diminished voice. It is October 4, 1481, the young Charles is 17, and he just received the Crown of France, as well as the territories of the Duke of Provence, who died shortly before, and whose estate bequeaths all the lands to the Royal Domain.

The marriage between Charles IX and Mary of Burgundy gives rise to impressive festivities, because it is associated with its coronation. The ceremony takes place in the Cathedral: Charles enters, is sacred by the Archbishop of Sens, then Marguerite of Burgundy enters, and the wedding ceremony takes place. This event will be a great source of inspiration for artists, becoming a classic theme of painting. Marie de Bourgogne is 24 years old, seven years older, but both spouses get along rather well, having spent their childhood together.

Charles IX's first action will be to confirm the rights of the "Charter Cities" by having them registered by the Lyon, Dijon, Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux parliaments, and the second to start a lawsuit against François d'Orléans-Longueville for regicide and lèse-majesté. He is stripped of his lands and sentenced to life imprisonment at his own expense. The Seigneurie of Parthenay is merged with the Duchy of Poitou, and the County of Longueville is integrated with Normandy. With the elimination of the last openly rebellious noble of France, King Charles IX managed, thanks to the efforts of his father, to pacify the Kingdom of France. This royal peace opens the way to an era of prosperity is nicknamed "Carline Era".


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Map of the Kingdom of France (I'm working on a map of Europe)
 
So Charles VIII is born in 1464 and a twin of Joan of France 1464 ITTL..that is better, the easier POD is either having Joachim of France or Louis, son of Louis XI survive, they are more age appropriate for Mary.
 
So Charles VIII is born in 1464 and a twin of Joan of France 1464 ITTL..that is better, the easier POD is either having Joachim of France or Louis, son of Louis XI survive, they are more age appropriate for Mary.

*is completely lost* I ... might have messed up with my notes honestly ... I'm not very sure about the different ages of the people : Hélène (Anne de Beaujeu) is still born at the same moment; Jeanne is born three years before and I made Charles younger, since with time Louis XI had developped a better relationship with his wife. Sooooo, yeah, tried to mind the age gap between them
 
A Popular Parliament is prepared at Clermont d'Auvergne, proposed by Charles VIII to restrict the power of the nobles on their subjects, after a delegation of free peasants, come to express their sufferings and those of serfs, spoke of abuses committed by several counts and barons. Several of the 200 nobles were condemned to lose their property, which was entrusted to ecclesiastics at the suggestion of Jeanne de France. Several castles were kept by the King, so that the administration, posts and garrisons could carry further into the Kingdom.

Castile signed a law of expulsion of the Jews, who took refuge for the most part in Roussillon or in the city of La Grave. This law followed the capture of Granada in 1482, which surrendered after an epidemic of influenza killed the royal family and the majority of the city's population. La Grave saw it's population tripled, especially as several priests opposed to the violent Holy Order of the Spanish Inquisition joined the convoys of exiles. Having lost most of their possessions on their journey to exile, the inhabitants of La Grave were helped by Charlotte de Lusignan and Jeanne de France, despite the different faith.

The Cities of Charters becoming wealthier and bigger, Charles VIII decided to establish one by province, in order to accommodate all populations wishing to settle in France to contribute to its greatness. However, it was decided to establish them in place of already existing cities, to ensure that newcomers learn the language of the country. Indeed, in Fontaine, one-third of the inhabitants understood French only with difficulty. These new cities of Charters, officialized in January 1483, however attracted the wrath of ecclesiastics, reproaching Charles IX to attract "the dregs of Europe with its slums." Many Mennonites, Romanis and others who were excluded fled to these cities, without really knowing what they were going to do next.

Jeanne de France, determined to fulfill her duty of charity, paid the authorities of these new cities from her own money to buy them abandoned buildings and wastelands. Inspired by the "banquiérisme" of the Lusignan Foundation, she initiated the idea of a Royal Charity, which would own part of the land and use its profits to help the peasants. His idea, although finding a favorable ear with his brother Charles VIII, was refused because of the taxes that should be levied on the nobles to finance this operation. She also asked for help from the Holy See, who laughed in her face, telling her that she did not have to fulfill this duty of charity for others, and that the Church would not finance "the French deviations. ".

François Phoebus of Navarre died of his consumed lungs on the night of January to February 1483, leaving the crown of Navarre to his sister Catherine, whom he had made Countess of Bigorre. Worried by the claims of the King of Aragon on Upper Navarre, Catherine de Foix asked the King of France for an eternal alliance between France and Navarre. Her husband, Charles de Clermont, Duke of Bourbon, proposed that the Queen of Navarre align her diplomatic policies in exchange for total protection, making Navarre a de facto vassal of France.

A great news is the birth of Louis-Alexis de Valois-Paléologue, son of Hélène de France and Ludovikos Paléologue. The Franco-Byzantine prince was born in the Hotel des Pourpres at Fontaine. He is highly coveted because of the colossal fortune he is destined for. His coats of arms are already debated, for this new branch of the Valois and Byzantines. The ball given in honor of the new prince is impressive by its good taste, its richness and its innovation. Hélène de France and her husband have indeed made sponsors of the University of Fontaine. The City of Fountain has been decorated as a vast open-air palace, with the central street extending the bridge and leading to the Hotel des Pourpres. The influence on Grenoble was also evident, with Cyrillic markings and small discussion rooms and workshops influenced by Greek techniques and thoughts.

Troubles shake Genoa in the autumn of 1483, the archbishop trying to seize some of the prerogatives of the Doges and governors. The Duke of Milan intervenes by sending mercenaries to loot the Ligurian villages, portraying them as Doge men. This attempted coup failed however with the arrival of the King of France, who wanted to check the progress of the exploration project to the West. The royal guard manages to invest the palace of the archbishop to stop it, alienating the support of the Pope by forcing an ecclesiastical lord to abdicate. The troubles are reduced little by little, and the protection of the King of France becomes in the eyes of the townspeople a counter-power to the intriguers of the Doge's Palace.

In Castile, the nobles, with the support of the Queen of Navarre and Jeanne de France, refuse to help the Spanish Inquisition, considering that this order encroaches both their prerogatives and those of the Pope. The Queen of Castile decides in retaliation to invade the estate of several small vassals around the capital, triggering the Inquisitor's War. The nobles, not expecting such a reaction, incited the remaining Moors and Jews to revolt, some even speaking of recognizing the former ruler of Granada as Duke. The King of France, despite the request of his sister, refuses to take sides.

The Queen Marie must face the disobedience of her Flemish possessions, especially the city of Ghent, which is trying to proclaim its independence and to become a Serene Republic, with the support and fortune of one who claims to be "Edward V from England ". The Duchess must thus deal with the citizens of nearby towns and put an end to all taxes except customs duties in all Flanders in order to cut Ghent from the outside. The Duchess, furious with this revolt, demands that the gates of the city be reopened only when the instigators of the revolt, Edward V included, have thrown themselves over the walls. However, she invites all children and old people to go out, without letting their families accompany them, considering that it was necessary to be "inflexible but human".
 
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WIP of the map of Europe in 1485. Trying to keep everything in order, but it's COMPLICATED GODDAMNIT

Oh and, Ireland is not united, but I don't know the exact internal borders, so I don't know if I'll make some striped grey or something. Oh and, yeah, Poland-Lithuania is kinda wanked
 
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Hi ! I finished the map of Europe in 1485. It was LONG, and I've actually taken off some parts that were way past Europe because it was dull to draw and irrelevant to the TL (at least for now)

So, of course HRE is not united, by I chose to make my life easier by just indicating the Austrian possessions and the Burgundian possessions inside HRE. Also Ireland isn't united either but I idn't find any map of Ireland at this time so I just assumed it was tangled and messy. The Russian state is Novgorod, that survived Muscovy thanks to the Hanseatic League and Polish support.
 
The Emperor Frederick III of the Holy Empire died at the beginning of the year 1486, for Jeanne de France and her husband, to return to Vienna. Maximilian was crowned Emperor of the Romans and Archduke of Austria. His wife was very good at learning Hungarian, Kranje and Czech before leaving for Vienna to speak the language of all her husband's subjects. She retains her rights in the Lusignan Foundation as a pension, and takes away her colossal library. She also left to her friends who have contacts in a manuscript about theology, the place of Mary Magdalene, as a character and symbol of repentance, and comments on various passages of the Bible.

The rebellious Spanish barons invade Burgos and make their movement counter-inquisitorial. The few thousand Jews and Moors have not yet gone to the Iberian Peninsula rejoice Burgos and form militias fighting alongside the nobles. The Spanish royal army has met somehow, lacking capitals at the origin of the revolt of the nobles, and the disastrous state of the finances of Castile does not allow the Catholic Kings to hire mercenaries. The Queen of Navarre, through various factories in the South of France, revoked to weaken the Spanish Kingdoms.

The scientific expedition to reach China from the west left Genoa on August 16, 1486, consisting of seven boats cut to carry many food over long distances. On board are soldiers, astronomers, doctors, experienced sailors and interpreters. Viscount Turenne oversees the fleet to the Azores in the name of the King of France, then takes control of the role of captain. Food is provided for a trip from the Azores, so that the meat supplies are insured.

Neapolitan barons rise up against Ferdinand I of Naples, and receive the support of Rene II of Naples-Lorraine, who hopes to seize Kingdom of Naples thanks to this revolt. The Pope also supports this revolt and excommunicates the King of Naples because of his rebellious and cruel actions. The King of France also offers the Arbëresh to settle in Charter Cities in exchange for their non-intervention in the conflict (and a guarantee on the part of the King of Lorraine obedience to the King of France). The Republic of Venice is also involved in the conflict, in order to weaken this cumbersome King. The people calmly support the rebellious barons, hoping that the cruel and false King will be deposed.

The War of the Inquisition is declared, wreaking havoc in northern Castile. The military religious orders refuse to intervene without the approval of the Pope, who does not pronounce himself. The rash act of a military captain to ransack Oviedo to rid himself of this overly agitated and anti-Inquisition city is going to weld the rest of the peasantry against the monarchs, despite the fact that they have not had their say in say in this disastrous decision. The Republic of Roussillon, pushed to act by its strong Jewish and Muslim minorities, decided to intervene directly in the conflict by arming volunteers, who attack north of Aragon to open a second front. The King of Portugal, feeling the trouble come in case of intervention, whatever the side, proclaims its total neutrality, and ceases the diplomatic relations with Burgos as with Toledo.

An attack against the Queen of Castile causes the Great Fire of Toledo, and burns several parts of the city, after the Palace was itself burned. The three culprits are arrested in the following days: they are two Sienese spies who have had trouble with the Castilian monarchy in the past. They claim to have acted alone, but the Queen sinks into paranoia and cloisters herself in a Madrilenian monastery. The King of France, in spite of this news, decides to do nothing, in order to avoid to his Kingdom a war from which he would not withdraw anything: the Iberian Kingdoms maintained cordial relations with France, so this one had no concern to have about the South for now. Charles VIII, however, does not invite the Queen of Navarre

The problems, in fact, and the concerns, did not really come from anywhere. No heir? The King and the Queen have time. The Queen besieges Ghent? The revolt of the Flemish city can not really have any other conclusion than a Burgundian victory, and it seems that this absence of a tax, as damaging as it may be for the Burgundian finances, also stimulates the Flemish bourgeois trade, which in exchange invest in the economy of the rest of the country, thus bringing new profitable revenues to the Crown. The new Pope is not very favorable to France? He does not give the Capetians a fierce hatred either, and he is more an architect than a politician. The expedition has not yet given any news? They were probably greeted by the Khan, and decided to stay longer.

This tranquility in the Court is rubbing off on the people, and even seems to influence the rest of Europe: the Kalmar Union has been strengthened by the Malmö Constitution, and extends the powers of the Oslo and Stockholm Parliaments. In England, peace agreements are signed with Irish lords, guaranteeing the autonomy of the Irish in exchange for their subjection. In central Italy, the Pope committed Peace of God, a policy aimed at imposing peace: Tuscany is experiencing an unprecedented period of peace, and Florence finally agrees to live with Lucca and Massa. This external stability allows Pope Innocent VIII to focus on the pitiful state of territories in principle subject to his authority.
 
The Emperor Frederick III of the Holy Empire died at the beginning of the year 1486, forcing Joan of France and her husband to return to Vienna. Maximilian was crowned Emperor of the Romans and Archduke of Austria. His wife had tried to learn Hungarian, Kranje and Czech before leaving for Vienna to speak the language of all her husband's subjects. She keeps her assets in the Lusignan Foundation as a pension, and carries her colossal library. It will also leave friends with contacts in printers a manuscript about theology, the place of Mary Magdalene as a character and symbol of repentance, and comments on different passages in the Bible.

The rebellious Spanish barons invade Burgos, and make it the center of their counter-inquisitorial movement. The few thousand Jews and Moors who have not yet fled the Iberian Peninsula join Burgos and form militias fighting alongside the nobles. The Spanish royal army is gathering somehow, lacking captains because of the revolt of the nobles, and the disastrous state of the finances of Castile does not allow the Catholic Kings to hire mercenaries. The Queen of Navarre, through various weapon factories of the South of France, arms the revolt to weaken the Spanish Kingdoms.

The scientific expedition to reach China from the west left Genoa on August 16, 1486, consisting of seven boats cut to carry many food over long distances. On board are soldiers, astronomers, doctors, experienced sailors and interpreters. Viscount Turenne will oversee the fleet to the Azores in the name of the King of France, then his second will take the role of captain. Food is planned for a one-year trip from the Azores, relying on fishing for meat supplies.

In Vienna, the imperial couple settles down and Maximilian tries to negotiate with the Moravian and Hungarian nobilities, in order to lead them to cooperate with the Holy Roman Empire. He took advantage of his rank of elector of Bohemia to strengthen his authority in the Holy Roman Empire, which puts off the Hanseatic, especially after the vote of the imperial decree on trade, which puts in place legislative restrictions on merchants in order to better tax them.

Françoise de Dinan is elected to the Parliament of Brittany. The function of the newly created Representative of the Parliament is designed to assist the Duchess in her administrative functions, and to ensure the respect of the interests of the bourgeoisie and the nobility of Brittany. Françoise de Dinan notably supported the creation of a Charter City in the country of Retz, to help modernize the country, and to obtain printing presses to facilitate administrative tasks.

A great fire devastated Bourges for three days, destroying half of the city. The French government is trying to relieve the misery of the inhabitants, but the main help will come from the Berry bourgeoisie and the French nobility, who send small sums which, put end to end, are enough to finance the construction of homes for the majority of inhabitants . The Lusignan Foundation contributes to the economic recovery of the city by investing in construction and opening textile factories. Jeanne de France finances the distribution of soups by the Sisters of the Annonciade, a small convent that the princess had founded with her personal fortune as a result of a vision.

The Portuguese bypass Africa and reach Ormuz by the Sea. However, the expedition can not return immediately, because of the cost of repair nailing the ships on the spot. One of the leaders of the expedition, however, is allowed to accompany a group of merchants going to Europe, in order to cross the Ottoman territories without hindrance. Meanwhile, the rest of the expedition is allowed to remain in the port until the return of the Portuguese envoy, in exchange for information on Europe and business developments.

Charlotte de Lusignan gives her fortune to her eldest daughter Roseline de Lusignan-la Tour, retaining part of her fortune. She joins her family in Fontaine, and is greeted with great pomp. Princess Hélène de France also receives a small portion of the land holdings of the Lusignan Foundation, and gives free rein to her architectural fantasies. A coffee shop is opened in Grenoble, and soon becomes the meeting place for thinkers of the city. The Intendant of the City of Fontaine, David Argyre, also supports innovation by creating a Council of Thinkers in the City Hall, responsible for producing and reviewing all the projects of shops and salons to know if the City must support them financially or not.

The Pope dies, and his successor, Paulus II, is elected. He is not known for his qualities of theologian, but for his leadership abilities (being prince-bishop of Benevento, he managed to repel the attacks of the King of Naples-Sicily, and to force it to yield some lands to link Benevento to the Papal States). This young Pope (37 years old) has reached his position without being part of any noble family, and in a relative independence of external pressures. The Cardinals hope that it will cause a renewal for the Church, undermined by French clientelism and corruption, knowing the intransigence of the new pontiff.
 
In France, a commercial alliance between Lyon, Dijon, Grenoble and Orange allows a development of the four cities, which, if they do not exceed Paris individually, together manage to form a counter-trade power in Paris and Champagne. However, trade on the Rhone was interrupted: Pope Paul II announced a few days after his coronation that he would let no more French ship cross the Comtat Venaissin as long as the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges was abolished. The French Cardinals realized what terrible adversary the Conclave had opposed them, and tried to convince the King to revoke the Pragmatic Sanction as soon as possible, before the Pope threw an excommunication on the whole Kingdom.

The King of Portugal promulgates a status on the slave trade, which limits it and tries to justify it based on the words of the Cardinal of Porto. However, this text has little effective reach, trade and raids taking place thousands of kilometers from the capital. Venetian merchants also receive the right to participate in the slave trade in the territories of Portugal. It also benefits from the accurate mapping of Africa to ensure the establishment of a Route to India.

In Brittany, Christophore Colombe returned from his trip to the West. He claims to have arrived in India, but the interpreters are formal: it is inconceivable that the Chinese language has evolved so much in such a short time, and none of the words reported by Marco Polo seemed to evoke anything to the "Browns" encountered during the war. shipping. Some volunteers remained on the island, which Colombe insisted on calling Cipango, while the interpreters named her Caroline, named after the King. The King orders that a second expedition be launched to settle this misunderstanding.

Roseline de Lusignan-La Tour builds castles with the fortune of her mother: she houses the merchants of her Foundation, caring sisters, officials, artists, travelers ... she is more interested in architecture and art only to the real possession of these castles. It also builds workshops, hospices and inns, with elaborate and oriental architecture. She raises her two children with her husband Louis de Pierrefonds, and devotes herself to her passions that are architecture and music. His eldest son, Jacques de Lusignan-Pierrefonds, is brought up as if he were the heir to his grandmother's kingdom.

In February 1489, the Empress Jeanne finally admitted, much to her dismay, that she was probably unable to have children. It was not for lack of trying, the imperial couple loving each other very much. However, the Emperor refuses to petition the Pope for divorce, but Jeanne of France decides, with the consent of her husband, to write to the Pope asking for permission to adopt a child, with the papal blessing, so to make him the heir of the Habsburgs.

Georgians send an appeal for help to Europeans, hoping to receive a guarantee against the Ottomans. The King of the Three Crowns offers his guarantee to Tamar II, King of Georgia, on condition that she marries his son. Emperor Maximilian also signs an agreement promising to intervene against the Ottomans if they receive the support of a foreign power. The Sultan of Morocco, in particular, hopes to obtain Mediterranean possessions or coastal counters by helping the Ottomans, to form a real commercial power.

The Count of Angouleme died in his sleep, leaving his inheritance to his cousin the Duke of Orleans, who himself has no direct heir. The Duke becomes the most powerful vassal of France after the Queen herself. The Countess of Périgord Françoise de Châtillon and her husband le Vicomte de Turenne have a child in mid-September, which will therefore unify entirely the territories between Auvergne and Angoumois. Her cousin, the Duchess of Brittany, married a powerful Breton lord, and thus obtained a relative peace in Brittany.

Merchants Roussillais arrive in Paris by presenting to the King of France seeds of "Moka" and "Qutuun", two plants from a Christian Empire of the South. They offer as a gift to the King these plants, but warn him: such a plant can grow in the vicinity of Paris, it should rather plant in the south of France, or even in Algiers. It is thus recorded the construction of royal gardens in Arles, which is joined by plants around Algiers.

Venice is developing new manufacturing processes for perfumes, creating a process based on wine and incense that creates expensive but highly refined perfumes, that all patrician families snapped up. It is credited with improbable virtues, such as cleaning wounds or easing pain, but the truth is that everyone wants them because they are expensive and new. It is even said that Alessandra da Verona, the wife of the Doge, would have plunged some of her fabrics when dying to ensure that the smell never disappears. However, this magnificence fails to hide the truth: with the strengthening of the Ottomans and Austrians, Venice loses its influence and its Terra Ferma.
 
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Hi, that's a heavy part going on. I lost inspiration for a month, but I'm back ^^ I'll try to go back to a better productivity, hope you enjoy :) (Also, Romagna is OTL Romania, it's called the "Danubian Romagna", not the Italian region)


With the conflict against the French monarchy already engaged, the sovereign pontiff sent a first letter of refusal to the Empress Jeanne, arguing that a noble house could retain its divine right only by making sure that the blood was wholly pure and from the marriage. However, the Empress replies a few days later by sending a new letter, indicating that the adoption took place several times in the Old Testament without questioning the legitimacy of the lines using it. She quotes the exact texts and reproaches the Pope for this omission. When he receives the message, furious that his spiritual authority is being questioned, he threatens to strike the Empress of Excommunication if she continues to disturb and question him. He receives a letter a few days later, telling him with a sharp and edgy stroke that the imperial couple will announce its decision to adopt a child from the beginning of next month, with a sentence in French: "You do not visibly know nothing, "written with a nervous hand.

On receipt of this letter signed by the two members of the imperial couple, the Pope unleashes the anathema on the Empress Jeanne de Valois for repeated blasphemy. Even if the relations between the heir of Saint-Pierre and the dynasty of the Kings of France were not good since the advent of the new Pope, such an announcement amazes everyone Christian: the Empress, known for his piety and devotion, popular among the peoples of Italy, France, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and known in the rest of Europe for his kindness and piety, would have been struck by the heaviest sentence the Vatican could inflict. ? With the news spreads a protest movement among the friends of Jeanne, who gather around them thinkers and clerics criticizing the current functioning of the Church. They formed a great European secret society called the "Protestants", those who protest against the abuses of the Vatican.

The Cardinal of Vienna, outraged by this news, offers the Empress to attend the Mass anyway, insisting that a miracle should surely arrive, which would pardon her in the eyes of the Pope. The Emperor himself publicly appears with his wife, contrary to what anathema requires of every good Christian. The King of France, outraged and pragmatic, begins the siege of Avignon in retaliation. In the very heart of the Conclave, Pope Paulus meets resistance from cardinals reluctant to the child-king behavior of the Pope. The Doge of Genoa refused to destroy the Statue of the Empress which had been erected on the Grand Place on the occasion of its coronation, declaring to be Genoese first, then Catholic. The year 1490 began in a very strange and surprising way ...

The League of the Rhone sent mercenary troops to help the King of France take Avignon provided that the city joins their alliance after liberation. The King of France accepted the market, provided that the Prince of Orange supported his own troops with the assault on the city. After a month of siege only, the town surrendered because of an epidemic of smallpox having broken out between the walls, it is suspected the mercenaries to spread the disease by throwing a corpse in the well of the city at nightfall. Archbishop Jules d'Avignon himself gives the keys to King Charles VIII, who removes from the Archbishop his temporal powers (but not his clerical title) and gives them to the new bourgmestre: the dean of the merchants of the League of the Rhône, Emilien Rochebrune, is charged to replace the administration of the Archbishop by a more in conformity with the interests of the merchants. The North of the Comtat Venaissin is attributed to the Prince of Orange, and another Part to the King of France. The same League of the Rhône invests in the construction of a Burgundy Canal, which would make the Ouche more navigable, and make it a fluvial trade route that would allow Dijon to be better connected to the Rhône.

But there was one in Europe who was looking forward to this unexpected mess: the Ottoman Sultan, after having seized much resistance from the south of Hungary, realized that Europe was not so much defended. Unlike the unified Empire, despite its diversity that the Osmanglu had managed to build, Europe was in their eyes a Roman Empire whose collapse was absolute. This overconfidence led them to launch looting in southern Wallachia, provoking the King of Romagna. The latter, when capturing one of the armies sent to plunder Ploiesti, refused to ransom them, and instead decided to enslave them until they had rebuilt the damage caused by their looting. The King of Romagna offered Orthodox rebels their support if they rose up against the Sultan during a war between the Kingdom and the Empire.

In order to aggravate the religious tensions in Europe, the Ottoman Sultan has appointed a new Patriarch to Constantinople: Dionysus I is made Ecumenical Patriarch, and he grants to the Orthodox Churches absolute autocephality, weakening in fact the legitimacy of the one he calls the "Patriarch of France". Only the Church of Romagna continues to recognize the Patriarch of Fountain as the Orthodox Primate. Fountain (or Sydrivani, the Greek word for fountain) is still a booming city, and the Patriarch, regardless of his new situation, declares his full support to Jeanne de France, and even recognizes some of its work concerning forgiveness, which will be recorded under the name of Magdalenian Doctrine. The Jewish community of France, flourishing in the Charter Cities, even weaves friendly relations with the Orthodox community and with Catholic thinkers.

And in this chaos, the interested Jeanne de France, is suffering because of the shock caused by the news. After two months of rest, she finally felt strong enough to go to Mass, as the Cardinal of Vienna had advised her. On their way to St. Stephen's Cathedral, those who recognize her are divided between their duty as faithful Catholics and their respect for the Empress. A small apple seller even helps her to cross Stephanplatz, noting the weakness of the latter. Instead of her usual place, which was reserved for her in her capacity as Empress, she sat down on the common benches, in simple clothes, and her sickly air made her unrecognizable among the believers. The priest himself did not notice his presence.

And during the Mass, while the sermons in Latin were linked, those around the Empress saw her dark circles close, her red eyes regain their whiteness, her brown hair regain their brilliance, and her whole appearance take on a sacred aspect. As the mass ended, everyone realized that she was present. Some devotees were scandalized, but the Empress was acclaimed, and, feeling the confidence invade her, she rose and raised her voice through the Cathedral.

She spoke to them of forgiveness, of love, of grace, of virtue, in their native German, and not in the dark Latin that she must have been one of the only ones to understand in this room full of people. humble. The priest, smug, instead of interrupting, recognized in her the image of the Blessed Virgin, a virgin in humility, whose holy light radiates despite its simple appearance. It gave birth not to a flesh savior, but to a hope for all those poor, having sinned and being incapable of the brilliant deeds that saved the knights who crossed and bought indulgences. And she sat down again to pray a little more, leaving her biblical airs to withdraw into the analysis of what she had just said. She had let her heart guide her words, without really thinking about what she was saying beyond measure. She had spoken of a righteous God, refusing the immeasurable indulgences of the rich and seeing the little sacrifices of everyday life, giving as much value to virtue and benevolence as to prayer. Silly of having found in a few minutes of improvised speech what she had spent days searching for when she was studying theology, she gave herself a long introspection, to determine whether she had spent three full minutes of her life in to blaspheme in a cathedral, or if God himself had inspired him with his words.
 

sodan

Donor
The story of this "protestant" will be interesting martin Martin Luther will be inspired by the imperatrice
What is the nature of relations between the kingdom of France and the "league of the Rhone"?
 
The story of this "protestant" will be interesting martin Martin Luther will be inspired by the imperatrice
What is the nature of relations between the kingdom of France and the "league of the Rhone"?

Don't worry, I have plans for Luther, but you're right, his life and faith will be changed completely by the Imperatrice's Speech.

To answer your question : the League of the Rhône is an alliance of the municipal powers of Dijon, Lyon, Orange and Grenoble (and now Avignon), similar to the Hanse in Northern Germany. Their main goal is to ensure the prosperity of the members, economically and politically. This means they are completely recognizing the authority of the King, but they will fight if they deem it necessary (as they did in Avignon). For now, the French King just acknowledges their presence and cooperate with them when it seems profitable to do so. The case of the Prince of Orange is a bit special, as he has granted more rights to the merchants in his entire Principality, not only in the City of Orange, so he is cooperating further with the League than Charles VIII.
 

sodan

Donor
To have too independent vassals is always dangerous I think that with the war of hundred years the kings of France would not have forgotten it yet
 
To have too independent vassals is always dangerous I think that with the war of hundred years the kings of France would not have forgotten it yet

Well, for now, they stay mostly in the boundaries of what powers municipal councils and corporations have : they don't have their own army for instance, they paid for mercenaries. For now, they play by the rules. But you're right, I'll take note of this fact : the King will be very cautious about this development, and won't tolerate any bold move from the League. I didn't think of it that way until you pointed that.
 

sodan

Donor
I was thinking of the way kings treated Protestant cities as the larochelle's seat the problem was mostly their independence not religion
 
I was thinking of the way kings treated Protestant cities as the larochelle's seat the problem was mostly their independence not religion

Oh, I see. Well, this I'll note too. I already have several ideas of how to balance this out and how the monarchy may intervene
 
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