"God Ænd Minh Riht" An Anglo-Saxon England under the Godwinson house.

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter IX.

Basilea Komnenoi.

"Great was, indeed, the happiness of the Basileous when the land lost to the Turk and the Mahometans was freed and liberated from the foreign invader."

The Alexiad.

After the crusade and the destruction of the Seljuk the Romans reimposed their control in Anatolia, bordering with the original Armenia, still under the oppression of the Caliphate.

Antioch was given to the vassal kingdom of Cilicia, that effectively was a mediator between the emperor and the crusaders, the help that Byzantium gave to the latins was brutal and Alexius played well his cards, effectively vassalizing Edessa and Jerusalem.

His domestic policies towards the recovered land was the assimilation or expulsion of all Turkish males and the marriage of women with greeks, the children were re-educated or assimilated, with most male teens forced to serve in the army.

He also invited Latin immigration from Italy, France and Spain, along German and Anglish one.

He decided to rebuild and improve the empire infrastructure, he reformed the tax, weights and customs codes to make commerce easier and simplify the life of the subjects, ha reparted the ancient fiefdoms of Turkic warlords between nobles and the peasantry to improve agricultural production.

His burocratic reform simplified and improved the government hability to mobilize troops and resources, acknowledge and resolve problems and made easier to ensure law and order, reducing crime.

From 1101 to 1109 the Basileus built several Aqueducts, churches and hospitals through Anatolia.

His relationship with the Crusaders and the Papacy were warm and constructive, he made a law facilitating the commerce with the western kingdoms, effectively reviving Mediterranean comercial activities in a way not seen since the Fall of Rome.

In 1119 Alexius died, his passing was mourned in the whole Christendom, especially in Cilicia.

From 1120 and forth the Greek Empire saw a military revival, reform and expansion to counter the reborn Abbasid and Gazhanid empires, preparing for a decisive conflict against the Islamic Orde.

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

After the Battle of Stamford Bridge Harold believed that his throne was secured, but a rumor said that the Norman duke would come to claim his "right" to the English throne, but the invasion never came...

The Norman duke and his army were sunk, or ended up in other places like Frisia, after a massive storm. William and his boat ended up in Brittany, but he was severely injured and died in January of 1067, being remembered as William the Drowned, leaving Normandy in the hands of his son Robert.

With this, the peace of England and Harold's security on the throne were ensured, this is how the golden age of the Godwinson would start, or at least he thought...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter I.

Blood ties.

In 1067, Gunhild of Wessex, daughter of the king, married Håkan, prince of Swede and brother of king Halsten, creating an alliance with Sweden. This wasn’t exactly helpful, but could become of great importance when the Swedes stabilize their nation.

But not everything was happiness and celebration, Godwin, the eldest son of Harold, fell ill during the party and died in April of the same year, making his young brother Eadmund the heir to the throne.

"His death devastated the royal family, which was very united, leaving a vacuum that was never filled again in the heart of his parents..."
- Wilhelm Von Schwarzenherz, Professor of history at Vienna University.

Eadmund lamented the death of his brother, especially because he feared the royal responsibilities and considered himself unprepared for his new task, fortunately he was still a teenager, meaning that he had time to improve.

The education of the princes was in hands of the king and some of the most wise men in the country, Eadmund had an exceptional talent in the art of war and sword combat, while Magnus was the intellectual and artistic one, he was so intelligent that memorized all the books of St Gregory the Great.

Eadmund was betrothed to Emma, the sister of the king of France.

On the other hand, the brothers of the king grew in both wealth and ambition, seeking to expand their respective domains they entered into disputes with the earl of Mercia and the king. Girth received the Earldom of Northumbria after a plague eliminated the earl and Leofwine received more land at expense of local landlords.

Edwin, the Earl of Mercia, was the most powerful vassal in the kingdom and was unmarried, so the king betrothed his other daughter, Æthelthryth, born in late 1066, to him in 1069.

In 1070 Eadmund and Emma finally married, a modest celebration was done to avoid another tragedy, something that offended the king of France in a significant way.

During those years a man called Edgar the Ætheling, who claimed to be rightful Anglish king, plotted to overthrow and replace King Harold, while Harold had a vast number of supporters, his rival counted with the aid of the Estridsen king of Denmark, Sweyn II, and two of Harold's brothers, Wulfnoth and Sweyn. They gathered soldiers and resources for the incoming revolt, but one of the lesser nobles involved revealed their plan while drunk.

When the king heard of this was tremendously infuriated, yet unsurprised for the utter treason committed by his siblings, he sent soldiers to arrest all the persons involved, which led to a catastrophic failure for the supporters of Ætheling, that broke before the arrival of the Danes, that we're defeated in a forest on the outskirts of York.

The lands and wealth of the traitors were confiscated by the crown and then distributed among the loyalist, Edgar was executed along with most of his followers, but Harold's siblings were only blinded and had their hands amputated to avoid any further alienation among his remaining siblings, he favored his loyal brothers Leofwine, Gyrth and Tostig, securing his throne, at least for now...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter II.

Sang Normand.


After the tragic death of William after the storm, his progeny saw themselves humiliated by the Anglish and without their strong and beloved father, whilst the king of France, allied with the English, sought their punishment.

If that wasn't sufficiently awful, Richard and Robert start fighting each other, driven by their egos. Their mother, Mathilde, intervened and elected Robert to be Duke of Normandy, which Richard accepted.

"After the humiliating and awful death of the Norman Duke, William "the Drowned Bastard", the village idiots he called sons started fighting, in the darkest moment of their house and their nation. All their army was dead, injured or far away, the economy had collapsed and the clergy were angry and offended by their corruption, not good at all. The crowning glory of this shambolic performance was the alliance of the King of France and the Anglish, who sought retribution, the Duchy of Normandy was not currently experiencing it's finest hour."
- Hughes Main, professor at Dublin University and author of the historic novel "A Deeply Sarcastic Examination of European History."

After some years of trials and tribulations, struggle and learning the Norman brothers finally reached adulthood. Both of them were absolute beasts on the battlefield and their intelligence wasn’t low, exactly. All of them practiced bow and sword everyday.

Robert was a pious man, a good vassal and a better diplomat, which won him the respect and appreciation of his liege and avoided retaliation. Some clergymen come to his aid after he identified and arrested wicked priest and bishops.

All of them reconciliated at some point in their life, but it wasn’t a good relationship all the time. Having lots of disputes over the Duchy of Normandy, Robert named Richard chancellor and William was given some land.

All the males took part in the Crusade.

William lost an arm and while he was recovering he had a vision of his father, telling him to avenge his death and conquer his Anglish birth right…

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter III.

The Sun Prince.

Eadmund, heir to Anglish throne and Emma, sister of the French king married in 1070, this obviously wasn’t a love marriage but a political one, fortunately for both of them, with the pass of time love grew in their hearts and both of them lived happily for most of their lives.

The day of their wedding they consummated their matrimony and nine months after, in September of 1071, a boy born.

They called him Eadmund as his father, but he will be known as the sun prince, because of his blond almost white hair and his yellow honey like eyes.

His birth was celebrated in France, Angland and Sweden, his godfather was the earl of Mercia and his aunt Gunhild.

"The delivery of the Sun Prince was not only a personal happiness to king Harold, but also a potential political tool that he will use when the proper time comes."

Ivan Vladimirovich Kornilov, historían and cómic book writer.

The proper time came ten years later when he was betrothed to Agnes of Gwynned, daughter of the king Guffrud Ap Cynan, who recovered his throne with help of some Anglish nobles who became enemies of his enemies.

The exact age of Agnes is unknown, some sources put her at twelve years old, other eight and the book "Annals of the Albionic Kings", written by prince Magnus, son of Harold II, says that she was seventeen years old.

The other two male sons of Harold were Harold and Wulf, Harold was a vengeful brute with low intelligence while Wulf was a coward who dedicated his time to play with his nephew and praying, he will be an example of pious life.

Prince Magnus married with a german noblewoman called Hildegard Von Ulm, a daughter of the local count in 1075.

Unfortunately for Angland, a war broke out against the kingdom of the Isles after some mistranslation ended in an insult against the king in 1083.

The war lasted two years and ended with Prince Eadmund blind of one eye, Harold lost his right hand and 21,642 persons died and no major benefit in land nor money was obtained.

After the war king Harold died of tuberculosis in 1086, his reign is seen as a transition one, little territorial gains were made, but in political and economic development terms his reign was marvelous, the alliance with France was the biggest insurance of Angland; with the Swedish ports open the wool and clothing industries grew exponentially, and a law liberating serfs with skill in this area assured a constant influx of manpower, in the same way was beneficial to the jewelers the constant influx of amber and to the ship makers the endless supply of timber.

He also patronized art and sciences, during his reign the book "De Sphera Mundi", the sphere of the world became the most important book alongside Plato works, the Anglish music evolved with heavy French influence and the manual arts grew in popularity in the court and the royal family.

His eternal rest place was an unorthodox one, he was buried in his small winter palace in Cornwall, the cover of his sarcophagus was made by Alfred of Kent, a experienced sculptor.

Eadmund ascended to the throne and was coronated in October as Eadmund III...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter IV.

Crusader Kings.

"When the pope declared the start of the crusade, almost all the kingdoms of Europe obeyed his call, Angland was not an exception, the king Eadmund III, his brothers and his two sons, Eadmund and Æthelstan, went to fight the mahometans and reclaim the Holy Land for the Disciples of Christ and liberate their inhabitants from the false pagan faith."

Athawöulf of Mercia, in his book "Rex Bellator Anglorum", circa 1234.

Of the Anglish army the first one to put his feet in the land was the Sun Prince, he was the fastest and most adventurous one of his family, he was followed by his brother Æthelstan, who turned eighteen in July of 1096.

The total number of the Anglish crusader army was of 10,456, including cavalry and bowmans.

During the time they remained in Constantinople, Magnus talked with some philosophers and artists in an almost perfect greek, something that impressed many of the crusaders and Byzantines as well, meanwhile the Sun Prince impressed many women, including noble ones because of his aspect and gallantry.

The king Eadmund refused to swear the oath that Alexius demanded, but finally accepted after his supplies ended.

A small Anglish force, led by Prince Æthelstan, successfully blocked the lake during the siege of Nicaea, the city surrendered before the arrival of Alexius.

Unfortunately, Arslan managed to escape from the city disguised as man sick of leprosy.

Alexius was impressed by the fact that the city wasn’t plundered or destroyed, something that made him trust the crusaders, meaning that he will cooperate even more with them.

King Eadmund was happy about the success of his son, so he granted him the tittle of Earl of Wessex, which was vacant after the childless death of his uncle.

Latter on, in Dorileum, the Crusaders were outnumbered immensely and the Turkish victory seemed near, but a miracle succeeded, by one flank Goddofrey of Boullion and his cavalry smashed the turkish archers and by the other the Anglish and the Greeks charged, destroying the Turks.

During the chaos Arslan was killed by Roger Borsa, his headless body fell like a heavy rock.

Outnumbered, flanked and with their command chain decapitated (literally), the turks fled, but they were pursued by the crusaders and only 3,490 turks survived, sealing the fate of the Seljuk empire and the Sultanate of Rüm.

Later, after the successful end of the crusade in 1099, his son Mesud allied with the enduring Danishmend and tried to reestablish the Sultanate, but was killed in 1101 by the Sun Prince, whit this Anatolia was back in Roman hands.

After the destruction of the Seljuk Empire the Abbasid Caliphate crawled like a snake to recover the territory that years before was conquered by the Seljuks, the Caliph made a triumphant entrance in Baghdad, asserting his dominance once again.

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter V.

Lords of Alba.

After the death of the king Malcolm III in 1093 against Girth, earl of Northumbria and uncle of the king Eadmund, father of Etherelda, wife of Duncan, Donald III took power in Scotland.

He was expelled in 1094 only to return the same year and kill Duncan II, continued to rule until 1095 and was succeeded by Edgar after he killed him with a poisoned arrow when he stormed the castle, being motivated by his new wife, Etherelda, cousin of the Anglish king.

"This turbulent period in Scotland marked the start of the Anglo-Scottish period and strengthened relations between Angland and Scotland, the successor of Edgar, his son Malcolm would reign almost five decades and secured the Dunkeld dynasty for many centuries to come."

Albretch Morgenthau, German historian and entrepreneur.

During the reign of king Edgar trade increased, a urbanization effort started after a small population boom, arts and literature flourished in a way that Scotland will not see again in centuries.

Scottish merchants benefited from the Anglish Baltic trade routes.

The metal workers wealth increased alongside the nation one, the army grew in number and the nobility was always distracted in military affairs.

Religious practices also were influenced by Anglish ones, and they were influenced by French ones.

King Edgar had three sons: Malcolm, Duncan and Edgar, only Malcolm reached adulthood, the other ones died from fever and a horse accident respectively.

When he died in 1125 Malcolm was twelve years old and the regency was carried on by his mother.

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter VI.

The Homefront.

"Eadmund was a great king, a dexterous warrior, a passionate husband and a devout catholic and father, through his thirty years reign Angland saw a cultural and military growth unparalleled in all of Northern Europe, during his reign he also played correctly the game for British domination, making the way up for his kin in political marriages."

Juan Camaney, Mexican Journalist.

He started the construction of a series of castles and fortifications in all the Kingdom, like the Castle of Windsor, Old Sarum and Bramber, alongside military reforms to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

With the constant influx of timber from the Baltic trade lines at a relatively low price and high efficiency he started the construction of a fleet to protect trade and invade other nations in case of war, none of the 56 ships commissioned survives to this day.

Wool commerce was taxed and vast quantities of land were used to produce it, this generated a small famine, forcing the Anglish farmers to work more and harder.

The commercial activities in the ports and cities contributed to their expansion and development, the amber and silver was used by the jewelers and most of the jewels production was traded with France.

In the cultural aspect of society French influence was huge in art and cuisine, but in the linguistic part the French apportion wasn’t significant.

After he betrothed his son Eadmund to Agnes, daughter of Gruffrud ap Cynan, king of Gwynedd, in 1086, both monarchs collaborated with each other in sake of personal gains: Gruffrud wanted to be the hegemon of Cymru, whilst Eadmund wanted to assert Anglish dominance in the region.
Before the crusade started he created the university of Oxnaford, but was unrecognized by the pope until 1254.

After the Anglish participation in the crusade he returned only to find more war; The Powys prince, Iorwerth ap Bleddyn attacked Gwynedd because of a land dispute.

The first battle of the war was in the outskirts of Shrewsbury, when a siege train of the Powys was attacked and destroyed by the Anglish, resulting in the death of 4,095 Powys and 1,234 Angles.

Later in 1104 the Anglish besieged Llanrillod, which fell in late 1105, the remaining Powys fought a irregular war in the Black Mountains and were finally defeated in 1107 when the leaders were captured and executed by the Gwynedd, the Battle of the Black Mountains had taken the life of 12,537 footmens in both sides.

With this Powys was incorporated into Gwynedd only to be lost in the succession after Gruffrud death.

The Sun Ætheling married with Agnes in 1087 when he reached adulthood, the celebration was grandiloquent and expensive, unlike the wedding of the king himself, in 1095 his cousin Etherelda, daughter of his uncle Girth, Earl of Northumbria, married with the king Edgar of Scotland and convinced him to kill his own brother.

Æthelstan was married the same year with Cecilia of Danmark months before the deposition and murder of his father the king Canute IV.

The last 16 years reign of Eadmund where calmed and prosperous in the national level, but in the personal one not so much.

The marital life of his son wasn’t smooth, Agnes became the lover of the ætheling Æthelstan and get pregnant, giving birth to a girl called Agnes, this degenerate into a friendly fratricide attempt by the part of Eadmund when the king tried a reconciliation in the royal palace, latter on the Sun Ætheling attacked his brother, kidnapped him and broke several of his bones, finally settling the issue, the king was so furious that he had a stroke while lecturing his two sons.

A year later Wulf was deformed after contracting leprosy, his beloved wife Emma died trampled by a horse and his mother also died after having a seizure while swimming in a lake.

The only thing that somewhat lessened his misery and suffering was the birth of the triplet sons of Eadmund with Agnes in 1115, one boy and two girls, Rhodri, Emma and Æthelthryth.

He was finally freed from his mortal shackles the last day of June of 1116, he was finally in peace...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter VII.

The Adventures and Tribulations of William Clito.

"William Clito reign was tough, demanding and without respite for him or his collaborators, but this constant struggle made him the most resilient and hard working man in all of France."

Jean-Marie Maurras in "The Complete History of Northern France".

After the assassination of the duke Robert II in the seventh day of July of 1119 by his brother William during a discussion regarding the Anglish question, William Clito fled to Flanders and waged war against his uncle.

The war lasted five years, ending in the Battle of Alençon, after which William was captured by Clito and executed.

Robert Belleme was one of the key supporters of Clito and was rewarded with more land that in the past belonged to his uncle, making him one of the most powerful nobles in the area.

His uncle Richard remained loyal because a far more attractive feudal contract was given to him.

After this he had to fight against Teodoric of Alsace, claimant to the county of Flanders, supported by a popular revolt, he convinced the French king to come in his aid, together they defeated and captured Teodoric, he was blinded by William.

After this he tried to earn the respect of the flemings by lowering taxes and giving them some autonomy.

Autumn of 1128 saw the birth of boy, named Robert by his father, the heir of Clito was finally there after years of stillbirts and spontaneous abortions.

In 1130 he reclaimed Maine, in that moment in hands of Geoffrey Anjou, he defeated him in the siege of Maine and forced him to abandon both the claim and the domain.

This humiliating defeat never was forgiven nor forgotten by the Anjou, leaving a mark in the name of the dinasty.

After finally securing his position in northern France he dedicated the rest of his life to be a fair and wise duke, improving the situation of many peasants after granting them the right to hunt in the duke lands, improved the education and patronized artists and teachers, protected the freedom of the church and started the construction of roads and ports to improve commerce with the rest of France and Europe.

He finally died in 1143 of old age, his beloved son Robert was 15 years old when he passed away.

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter VIII.

The Caliphate Resurgent.

"After the death of Mesud and most Seljuk generals during the Fainted Hearts Crusade, the chaos that formed was so intense that the crusaders couldn’t take more land, but they successfully secured their own borders and states, on the other hand, the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustazhir sent his massive armies and diplomats to reintegrate the land lost to the Seljuks and started preparations to swing the Sword of Islam against the Disciples."

Extract from Rex Bellator Anglorum book.

After twelve years of preparations the Abbasids unleashed their wrath against the crusader states in November of 1113, 45,000 Muslims marched against the Franks.

The war was short and humiliating for the Abbasids, after some advances in Jordan and south Palestine, they were defeated at the gates of Jerusalem, some 24,000 soldiers coming from Armenia, Byzantium and Edessa attacked the rear of the Islamic Army during the night of the eleventh day of January, taking them by surprise and killing half of the army, provoking them to retreat, in the chaos the Caliph was captured and forced to sign a treaty of peace.

No land was gained by anyone, but the crusaders obtained some money from the Abbasids and weakened at least a bit the Islamic Empire.

When he returned home he was assassinated by order of his son Al-Mustarshid, or the nobles controlling him.

Al-Mustarshid made plans to improve the infrastructure, economy and army of the empire, mostly the road to Baghdad, a titanic effort to have safe trade routes and some kind of peasants drill in case of war.

He died in 1135 after recovering the power and wealth that the Caliphate had before the invasion of the Turks, his son, Al-Rashid was notorious because his aggressiveness as leader and ferocity as warrior, but he was a complete incompetent in the administrate territory, the country was practically directed by the ulammas and the philosophers of the court.

The manpower of the Caliphate was, at it biggest point, of 123,000 mens, the economy was strong enough to sustain a short war at full strength, the problem lies in the dependency of trade and the increasing inflation after some monetary reforms, meaning that the Caliphate was a giant with mud feet.

To counter this he allied with the Ghaznavids, who resurged as the controllers of all Persia after conquering the remains of the Seljuk Empire, meaning that this dinasty was worthy of fear and respect by everyone.

He and his spy network lurked in the domains of the Franks and the Romans, waiting a perfect opportunity to strike and expand his domains and the Word of Mohammed far and deep away into Anatolia and then, in the east of Europe...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XI.

Bellum Crucis.

"Their shelter has become their tomb."

Leonor of Aquitaine referring to the Siege of Damascus.

After the Muslims invaded Edessa and almost conquered it the Pope called the faithful to take the arms and protect Holy Land once more from the Sword of Islam.

The crusaders divided in three attack groups, Northern or Persian, in the direct hands of Manuel I Komnenos, the duke of Edessa and the Armenians, Syrian led by the King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, the count of Tripoli, Louis VII of France and Conrad of Germany, lastly African, led mostly by the Normans of Sicily and France and some Anglish crusaders although the main force was sent to fight the Wends.

After reaching Holy Land, the Christian leaders debated in the council of Jerusalem what should be their target: Damascus, Aleppo or Mosul, after some heated argument the crusaders decided to attack Aleppo and Damascus, first Aleppo.

In the way to Aleppo they laid siege upon Hieropolis to secure a direct way to Aleppo. Raids against the crusaders continued throughout the siege and almost forced the crusaders to abandon the siege, but the withdrawal of Saif ad-Din and his troops allowed the crusaders to gain the upper-hand and beat back Nur ad-Din’s forces around the city. The sight of the Saracen withdrawal caused the defenders of the city to lose hope and surrender the city, delivering it into the hands of the Christians. Hama and Caesarea were the next cities to fall to the crusaders as the moved north towards Aleppo virtually unopposed, Saif ad-Din having abandoned the campaign and returning to Mosul, whilst Nur ad-Din fell back to Aleppo to prepare the city’s defences. The crusader army now travelled through the Syrian desert towards Aleppo, later on the duke of Anjou Geoffrey and the duke of Burgundy, Robert. Their arrival also brought much needed supplies for them, since they had been struggling and suffering with the issue of supplies for the length of the war.

In early August the Armies of the Cross laid siege over Aleppo, preparing themselves for what will be a long siege.

In the Northern front things were more complicated as they had to fight the Ghaznavids and their armies capables of causing several droughts in the land they passed, Manuel I tried to engage them in Artsaj but he was repelled, he then retreated to the Armenian highlands to have the advantage of the high ground.

In more than one opportunity the Roman soldiers started throwing stones to Persians, killing mens and animals along breaking some transports.

Then they retreated further in Anatolia, camping near Lake Van, where a "battle" ocurred, near seventy thousand Persian warriors marched against the Christendom, in paper sounds dangerous, in reality only means one huge logistical inconvenience and problem, leading to things like running out of water very soon.

Some general had the "brilliant" idea of taking the water from the Lake Van, which is saline and you know what happens to the body when we consume excessive salt quantities.

Almost all the army died or get severely ill to fight, then the Romans came and finished those who didn’t died or fled.

The Ghaznavids then decided to send small armies to harass the crusaders instead after this humiliating defeat.

In the African front the Normans harassed the Fatimid armies and ravaged the coast of Egypt, disembarking in Damietta, capturing it after a two months siege and establishing crusader control on the Sinai, creating a buffer zone between Egypt and the Levant.

In late November the siege of Aleppo came to an end, despite being close to defeat and starvation, the defenders of Aleppo continued to hold out, led by Nur ad-Din, until they were finally overwhelmed by a mixture of sheer numbers and starvation. The crusader sweep through the city, Nur ad-Din was killed as he attempted to fall back to the citadel. With this, the crusaders had succeeded in establishing what was to become part of the Duchy of Syria and capturing one of the main centres of power in the region.

After the fall of Aleppo the crusaders quickened to reach Damascus, letting the Germans to protect the rear in case of an Abbasid attack, the march north now began, first to Banias and then onto Damascus itself. When they arrived outside Damascus they attacked from the west, setting up their camp in the orchards there after driving back the Abbasid who were defending them.

After a catapult volley wrecked the gate and extensive parts of the walls the crusaders trampled the Islamic defenders, overwhelming them and breaking the barricades and barriers erected in the night, the subsequent sack of the city was so brutal and dishonorable that the king Louis executed many of the offenders.

In the north an Armenian army of fifty thousand recovered Edessa only to lose it again when the Caliph himself and a massive army swarmed and expelled the Armenians, even reaching Antioch and Cilicia.

The Franks tried to aliviate some pressure by cutting the Abbasid supply lines, something that worked until the Abbasids returned and chased them.

Because this the Armenians managed to retake land, they advanced and laid siege upon Mosul, that was severely unmanned after a plague wiped the garrison.

In Cisjordania, the armies of the Caliph entered like a beast, the Muslims reached the Dead Sea and captured the surroundings, reaching the vincinity of Jerusalem, being capable of using their siege weapons, but the arrival of the Norman duke to the zone halted them and created a stalemate between both armies.

The last blown against the Muslim Caliphate was the battle of Tikrit where Romans, Armenian and Crusaders battled against the Caliph himself and his army of sixty thousand soldiers after receiving reinforcements from the surroundings against them the Christian army was of fifty six thousand soldiers better trained and with better morale.

The battle ended with the death of the Caliph in the hands of the French King, his last breath was a hateful and impotent one, then his body fell and the Muslim demoralized and routed, creating a military anarchy that doomed the Abbasid caliphate and dinasty forever.

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XII.

The Eagle of Aquitaine.

"After the dissolution of the French Royal Couple after the crusade, Eleanor searched a husband worthy of her, an it came in form of a German Prince."

Theobald of Frisia, medieval chronist.

After the dissolution of the marriage, Eleanor passed two years single until she founded an appropriate husband, the Duke of Swabia, Frederick Von Hohenstaufen.

This displeased King Louis inmensely, but it was nothing to do, unless a friendly assassination attempt, that failed miserably.

Their first son was born in 1150 and was called Frederick like his father, while he grew he demonstrated a severe resilience and physical strength.

The two spouses were happy together and helped each other to govern their respective lands, making an almost invincible duo.

In 1156 Eleanor gave birth to two girls, one was called Eleanor and the other one Mathilda, Mathilda married with the Sicilian king, William II, the next year she also give birth, this time to a boy, Richard.

Eleanor died in 1167 after giving birth to her seventh child, Johan, who died some months later, both deaths devastated her family and even the Kaiser, who with the years fell in love with her, their son Frederick became the most powerful men in France after the king.

This decease, although sad, was convenient in a political way: His son possessed land in France and was far more popular than the king, not to mention the amount of support he can receive from the Empire and the political determination of Barbarossa to unify what was the Carolingian Empire by denying the legitimacy of the Capets and claiming to be descendent of Charlemagne himself, but the appropriate time will come.

Going down to the Mediterranean Sea, the matrimony between Mathilda Von Hohenstaufen and William was not the happiest one, but at least it wasn’t a complete misery, they had healthy offsprings, three in number, William, Sybilla and Eleanor, William II died in 1190 and William III reign was marvelous, but that is another story.

When Barbarossa finally died in 1199 of incontinence, his reign saw finally the consolidation of imperial power over the nobility, the instauration of a hereditary succession system and the reduction of power and independence for every noble and region in the empire.

If he realized what happened decades later after his death because of his marriage with Eleanor...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XIII.

The Wendish Crusades.

"The Cross is now the guide of my people."
Niklot, Polabian Leader.

The attack on Lubeck by count Adolf ended in failure and the wends chased them out, after breaking an advancing German army the wends secured their position east of the Elba River.

In December of 1147 the Anglish, Danish and Swedish crusaders arrived and attacked the coast, advancing strong and conquering Pomerania after the siege of their capital in 1148, in which 12,367 persons died.

This move effectively encircled the Wends, losing terrain to count Adolf and other crusaders.

Niklot lost Lubeck and was expelled from most of Brandenburg, but his military genius stopped further advances.

Finally in the Battle of Wagria Niklot was defeated and 6,891 of his remaining men died, but he managed to cut Henri the Lion right arm and leg in a duel, after which the Anglish king came with his troops, including almost a thousand huscarls and Niklot decided to surrender, become Christian and Vassal of the Emperor, he handed western Mecklemburg to count Adolf, he retained northern and eastern Brandenburg, except the city that one day will become Berlin.

The Swedish King Håkan II wanted to retain Pomerania, but the pope didn’t allowed it, receiving rights to attack the Karelians instead.

Niklot achieved Wendish unity years later with a crusade as Casus Belli, the crusade lasted from 1156 to 1158, when he managed to capitulate the Lutici after razing to the ground their capital killing more than 5,000 persons.

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XIV.

The last Sunrise.

"Son, i trust in you to govern this land, our land, with justice."
The Sun King last words to his son Edgar.

After the crusade the king returned to his homeland and continued his reign, one of his first actions was to increase taxes to the cities and the nobles, something that triggered an small rebellion in Oxnaford after the local count, Edwin refused to comply with this.

This petty rebellion ended when the Prince Edgar entered the city with his huscarls and burned the gates and part of the city, the count fled the country and the prince assumed the control of Oxnaford.

The Princess Richeza of Poland died in 1150 after giving birth to a boy that died hours later.

Prince Edgar was devastated by this tragedy and had constant nightmares with his son and wife, but it wasn’t time for lamentations, he needed a new wife, but he also needed to heal his tormented spirit, so he departed to Holy Land, seeking peace.

During his trip he stayed in Syria waiting for the end of a sandstorm, where he met several important men, Edgar decided to marry Elizabeth of Syria, daughter of Duke Henry Plantagenet, the Prince was impressed by her beauty face and attractive body, they married in September 1152, the ceremony was celebrated in the Damascus Cathedral, after that he continued his trip and reached Jerusalem.

In July of the next year their first sons, twins, Harold and Leofwine, two blond precious boys, born without complications.

After a cholera outbreak in 1155 the king died of stress trying to reduce the impact on the country, Edgar assumed the throne at the age of 40, a new age awaits for Angland and Wales...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XV.

Their Whit Rōse.

"The Cholera outbreaks in Angland between 1155 and 1169 ravaged the nation, killing thousands of peasants and slaves, the nobility was decimated, the economy and commerce
collapsed, even the Godwinson family was, along their nations, at the brink of death , but a miracle saved our nation and monarchy."

Extract from the Rex Bellator Anglorum.

During all those hard years the king and the royal family prayed and worked hard to stop the situation without any kind of progress until 1168, when the outbreaks reduced their strength and finally stopped in the eleven of March the next year.

During the outbreaks the earls of Wessex and Northumbria and their families died, along most of the populace, making the entire regions improductive and throw in them in chaos after the complete collapse of the governmental structure, the only survivor in the Northumbrian branch of the Godwinson was Æthelthryth, daughter of Leofwine III, she became nun.

The death of most peasants and slaves provoked a immense rising in the salaries and the liberation of most slaves, causing bankruptcy and closure of several business, even the commerce with France and the Baltic nations was shut down, shrinking the royal coffers.

The origin and end of this outbreaks are unknown to this day, the Anglish of that time believed that they were been punished and only when they had calmed God with their prayers the disaster come to a end.

This was announced by the bishops and the royal family as truth, specially by the fact that three months before the end of this ravaging plague, the king prayed in the London Cathedral, after that Prince Harold fell ill and saw in a dream a field of white roses and Christ with His mother by the side, in a hill, under Their feet was a wyvern mortally wounded representing Angland.

In this vision it was revealed to Harold that God was angry with Angland because of the injustice of their rulers, the hipocresy and corruption of the clergy and the indifference of the King and the Witan towards the suffering of the people.

Modern historians attribute this phenomena to the traumatic experiences of the prince with the Bishop of Oxnaford and other bishops that tried to sexually abuse him and his brother, the king wanted to do something but the Archbishop made him thought that his death will provoke the Papal wrath and its consequences.

When the scandal saw the light the Pope excommunicated him and his squad of degenerates and the king ripped them in pieces so tiny that they could fit in a box.

This didn’t solved the other problems in the Anglish church; Sexual scandals, bribes, indifference, utter ignorance, nepotism and incorrect celebration of the Mass, all of that was solved after the last outbreak of Cholera and other diseases, when the pope named bishops with more morality and better formation, one of them was a Norman priest called Thomas Becket.

Independently of the veracity of the vision the royal family adopted the White Rose as part of their heraldic and personal tradition, building a sanctuary with religious images and a roses planted around, in 1170 when the third child of king Edgar was born she was named Rōse.

The royal family kept growing through the pass of time, in 1174 another couple of twins saw the world, Adolf and Mathilde, in 1176 the last child of the royal couple was birthed and she was named Eowyn.

Going to more material and political questions, the death of the earldorman of Wessex and the earldorman of Northumbria let the regions without any kind of control or order, fortunately the king was the dynastic successor to both titles, he kept Wessex for him and divided Northumbria in four earldorms: Northumbria, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Manchester.

Northumbria was given to Egbert Edwinson, founder of the house Northscheld, Cumbria to Girth of Carslile, Yorkshire to Harold Godwinson, heir to the Anglish throne and Lancashire to Adolf the Dwarf, commander of the Huscarls and friend of the king.

Glancing over the Channel, in mainland Europe the business were highly unusual, the southern half of France was patrimony of the Hohenstaufen emperor, the Sicilian Normans annexed Tunisia, the HRE was centralized and became an hereditary monarchy like France, Northern Italy was pacified after the creation of the Viceroyalty, Sardinia also became Hohenstaufen patrimony under King Richard, Swedish economy collapsed due its interdependence with Anglish one, the Baltic was a mess and Iberian wars against the taifas continued as usual.

King Edgar attracted Scandinavian colonizers to repopulate several areas of the nation, started the construction of several palaces and castles, centralized the power of the monarch and started the economical revival, Edgar have greats plans for the British Isles...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XVI.

Y tywysogion a unodd Cymru a Lloegr.

"England and Wales united not through the swing of the sword or the whistle of the arrow but in the private chamber of two Princes."

Dafydd Ab Owain, King of Gwynned and all Wales, betrothed his daughter Gwenhwyfar to Ætheling Harold in 1172, the matrimony was celebrated two years later in the Cathedral of London.

The plan of king Edgar aimed to gain Wales by peaceful means and some schemings to ensure the success of his plan, like the assassination of Owain Ab Dafydd, firstborn son of Dafydd, this remained a secret until the XIX century when a member of the Royal Academy discovered his personal diary.

The second son of Dafydd, Einion died in 1176, after the baptism of his first nephew, Athelsthan, he fell of the tower of the royal castle after slipping while drunk, the sound he made after falling was unforgettable and horrible for most of the family and the commoners but a sweet sound to the king, another one bites the dust.

Dafydd entered in a profound depression by the death of his sons, Gwenllian his other daughter became nun believing that this was a punishment to her father and family for all the parricide and crimes that her father committed.

This only further aggravated the successory question by leaving only one in the line of succession that wasn’t directly related to his brothers and cousins, he then died in 1191 poisoned during a banquet in his castle.

Thomas Becket felt something about all this wasn’t alright, so he started to investigate and pray for knowing the truth, unfortunately his reform and purification of the Anglish Church earned him several enemies and died stabbed in the Canterbury Cathedral by an ex-priest that lost his bishopric after being caught selling charges.

With Gwenhwyfar ascended to the throne she proclaimed herself with pontifical approval Princess of Wales.

The Spy Network of the king discovered that Llywelyn, nephew of Dafydd, pretended to invade Wales and reclaim the throne for him, so he sent most of his army to Wales to protect it.

Llewelyn after seeing the massive amount of troops that the king sent to Wales he decided to negotiate with them to get some land and power as compensation for the assassination of his father, acknowledging the impossibility of winning the war against Angland and possibly Scotland, since the king of Scotland was the brother in law of the Anglish King.

He received the title of duke of Powys and the duke of Gwent, leaving all his pretensions to the throne, at least for now.

Gwenhwyfar died in 1200 during the birth of her tenth son, that allegedly was product of an adventure with her father in law, the child was named Gwenhwyfar in honor to her mother.

The children product of this union are:

Athelsthan.(1176)
Edgar.(1177)
Dafydd.(1179)
Mary.(1179)
Edna.(1180)
Gruffrud.(1185)
Johan.(1185)
Edouard.(1187)
Vilhelm.(1190)
Gwenhwyfar.(1200)

Her death was mourned deeply by his husband Harold, who fell in love with her, a feeling that was mutual, and all the Anglish royal family that liked her in almost every way, unfortunately six years after her death Llywelyn rebelled and dethroned Athelsthan, but that’s a story for other day...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XVI.

The Swedish King and the Karelian Queen.

"A woman with indomitable wrath, a strong warrior spirit and a wisdom unseen in all of Suomi shall rise to defend our land."

Annals of the Fins.

In 1215 king Håkan IV Stenkil decided to continue the wars against the Finnish pagan tribes of Karelia and Tavastia as a way to legitimize his reign and demonstrate that he was a strong leader for Sweden since he was only eighteen years old.

The first months of the campaign were successful but in the Battle of Kokemäenjoki a Finnish army of 9,982 men stopped them and dealt more than 4,000 casualties to the Swedes, meaning that they lost a third of their army.

In the battle the leader of the pagan army died, the daughter of one of them, Aamunkoi, became leader.

In other battle, the Battle of Salpausselkä, she dealt another blow to the Swedes, the king barely escaped from being captured by the pagans.

Håkan managed to push the Finnish to the island of Virmailansaari in the Päijänne lake, approximately killing 12,000 of them, counting non-combatants in winter of 1217.

In spring of 1218 at Tampere the Swedes were defeated after being ambushed, losing 1,320 compared to the 245 casualties of the pagans, Aamunkoi kept the pressure to the Swedish army, making them retreat to the fortress of Phyäjärvi, where a band of deserters let the gates open at night and then Aamunkoi and her best warriors, stormed the castle and captured everyone in there, except the king, that retreated to Oulu, where he planned to smash the heathens once and for after a massive push to the Baltic Coast.

In december of 1218 he reunited almost 35,000 soldiers, the double of the Finnish army, he pushed them to Jyväskylä, location he reduced to cinder and mangled corpses, he kept advancing, ignoring the fact that his supply line was overstretched and suffering from constant raids or desertions.

The last battle of the war was fought in Hämeenlinna, Aamunkoi received help from all the other Finnish tribes, reuniting a bit more than 26,000 soldiers, the battle was fought in the third day of June of 1219, this day was the official end of the crusade, king Håkan was defeated and captured by Aamunkoi, that exhibited her new trophy to her troops by riding in front of the army with king Håkan naked and bounded.

9,000 Finns died, while Sweden lost more than 22,000 men , mostly due atrition, disease and attacks by the local population.

After the humiliating defeat and parade, Håkan was forced to sign a peace treaty that had few wins compared to the losses (mostly prestige), the treaty divided Finland in two, allowed catholic missionaries to proselytize, forced Sweden to pay reparations and the " Pagan Queen" demanded the aperture of trade routes without taxation that went from Finland to Norway.

Håkan blamed the fiasco to his cousin and general Ragnar, responsible for the collapse of the supplie lines and the commander of the army center, which collapsed after three hours of fighting.

Aamunkoi secured her position as queen of Finland after expelling the Swedes and started the consolidation and modernization of the nation, she married with Aikamieli, a 19 years old soldier that fought alongside her in all the duration of the crusade.

Håkan married with Kristina Magnusdotter of Bjelbo as a way to compensate the family for their tremendous losses in wealth caused by several loans handed to the king, this marriage also secured dynastic continuity and calmed the spirit of Håkan.

The adverse effects were the constant increase of power in the hands of the Bjelbo house and the decline of the Stenkil house in positions of ecclesiastical and political power.

The balance of power once again is shaken in Europe, only time will tell what situations awaits in the day after tomorrow...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XVII.

Kingdoms of the Holy Land.

"¡My faith is my shield!"

Motto of the Duchy of Syria.

In 1175 the Zengid remnants in Mesopotamia and Mosul suffered poverty, ravaging diseases, mismanagement, corruption and continuous strife between the nobility, the peasants and the Assyrian christian minority, all of this caused a revolt that dethroned and executed the decaying Zengid dynasty, the successor was the leader of the revolt, a Kurd named Yusuf Ayyub, he adopted the name Al-Nāsir Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb.

His reforms made the now Sultanate of Mesopotamia a state that at least could sustain itself, he replaced, reduced and improved the burocratic procedures, rationalized the taxation system and suppressed the Assyrian minority by a huge tax and several movement restrictions inside their own region, something that caused a rebellion that was brutally suppressed and forced the Assyrians to emigrate, the majority of this refugees ended in Syria.

In Syria the Plantagenet lord managed to pacify the local Arab population and started to slowly but steady christianize Syria, Henry I knew the importance of gaining the local population to be in their favor, or at least the higher class, so he created a nobility of Franks and christian Arabs, seeking to improve the nation economy he dedicated good part of the royal coffers in trade protection and agricultural production, the latter being far more difficult because the local climatological situation, he also started the construction of several churches and monasteries along his crowning monument, the Damascus University, the biggest in all the Outremer until 1321 when the University of Jerusalem was finally costructed after several delays.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was the richest and most populated crusader state, Almaric of Jerusalem strived several years with the Fatimids, seeking the dismantlement of the caliphate and the collapse of the last threat to the crusader states, he couldn’t destroy the Fatimid power but what he did was securing an alliance with the Nubian kingdom of Makuria, the most powerful nation south Egypt apart from Ethiopia.

When Almaric died and was succeeded by his son Baldwin a leper boy with good intentions in 1176, he never married but his sister married with William of Montferrato who died a year later leaving her pregnant and alone, her son was called Baldwin, in 1180 she intended to marry again, the principal contesters for her royal womb apart of Guy of Lusignan were Richard Plantagenet and the Roman Prince Alexius after the decease of Ines.

She married with Guy after her mother intervened in 1181, her sister Elisabeth married with several men until she finally settled down with Richard Plantagenet.

The Roman Empire, finally recovered from several centuries of humiliation and defeat mourned the passing of Manuel I, who was succeeded by his son Alexius II in 1200, Alexius defeated the pretenders that rose in arms against his authority in 1205, securing his position, he understood that the instability of the empire that caused civil wars, assassinations, shameful dethronements and dynastic conflicts was the inherited Senate and another republican institutions that were wiped out like a disease during his thirty years long reign, he replaced the system with a more meritocratic style government with an almost absolute power in the hands of the monarch without any kind of counterpower, the nobility became a mere decoration without inherent power by itself and the empire management resided in the Diacheiristés, administrators designed by the Emperor himself that managed the local institutions of their asigned area.

Alexius married with Helen of Scotland, daughter of the king Malcolm IV and relative to the Anglish Godwinsons, they had three sons: Maximos, Alexius and Manuel in 1206, 1208 and 1216 respectively, the imperial succession was reformed as well and the one who will inherit the throne will be the eldest son, in case of no progeny being form the second brother will inherit, females only can inherit in case of no male dynastic relatives.

The East is secure and in hand of the Christendom powers and it will remain like that until the end of times, at least that is what they think, from Mesopotamia and the furthest steppe in the east danger lurks and it will strike when the time of judgment begins...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XVIII.

La Guerre des Cent Ans.

The relationship between the Capetian kings of France and the Hohenstaufen emperors slowly but steady decayed into outright hostility after Frederick II Declaration of Aachen, in which he reclaimed Carolingian heritage and declared himself the rightful king of France, policy continued by his son Conrad IV.

Conrad started to strengthening the Empire, specially Italy in case of war with France, the economy flourished and the house of Habsburg slowly grew more powerful and influential during his reign, his grandson Leopold, son of Heinrich his youngest and only surviving son, inherited the Empire in 1298 only being twenty one years old after a Italian rebel murdered his father, he married with Edith Stenkil, daughter of Erick IX of Sweden.

In 1325 the French king tried to revoke his possessions in Aquitaine and Guyene after he insulted the king and called him a ill-tempered and soft sword ruler added to his disobedience and several Lésse Majesté crimes, the pope mediated the whole problem trying to avoid a war, his brother Sigmund convinced him to ignore the pope and reclaim their "Carolingian Birthright" and end the impious Capetian "occupation" of the French throne forever; The war started with an invasion in Flanders, region under control of William IV of Normandy, grandson of Robert I, son of William Clito, he was defeated in Henao, losing 1,243 men, but he broke through the French defenses in Lorraine.

Aquitaine, possession of the Emperor, was encircled and the French tried to starve the entire region into submission, a strategy that backfired after the armies led by Conrad II of Sardinia captured Provence and defeated the siege army in the battle of Bordeaux, killing 3,976 Frenchmen and losing 2,346 men.

The duke of Brittany Jean III defeated the imperial army in the battle of Hainaut, victory that eased the Imperial grip on Flanders, unfortunately the emperor himself broke them and reached Evreux, the city surrendered in 1327 after a long siege that killed almost 5,679 persons, including the Norman duke, that was succeeded by his daughter Jeanne.

Philippe IV launched an offensive that mangled Aquitaine, reducing it to Guyene and some other sites, he captured the Sardinian king in the battle of Vichy, he forced him to abandon the war effort and pay almost a million livres, he continued his campaign and liberated Auvergne and Provence, he supported the Genoese Rebellion and invaded Savoy, he was defeated in Turin, losing almost 10,000 men.

The war ended in 1330, after Sigmund invaded southern France again, this time defeating the French with an atoning ease until they were defeated by Edward Plantagenet, Duke of Syria and Anjou, in the battle the French lost 3,456 men compared with the 6,619 of the Germans, repulsing them back to Aquitaine, other aspects that contributed to the peace were the rebellion in Lorraine, Genoa and the eastern margraviates and the Luxemburgian Pronouncement, a strategy that tried to overthrow the tyrannical government of Leopold, the peace was signed in Anjou and resulted in a 14 years truce between France and the European Behemoth, at least for now...

 

[Guatemalan Revolutionary]

Chapter XIX.

La Guerre des Cent Ans II.

During 14 years both nations prepared for the inevitable showdown that will happen when the truce expired, during those years international and dynastic alliances formed, before war ravaged the two most important nations of whole Christendom, loyalties were sworn, battle lines drew and royal children born.

The division of loyalties among the powers was clear, Sicily, Poland and the Nordic nations supported the Hohenstaufen claim to the throne, the Sicilian king was a relative to the kaiser, Poland due to marriage between Casimir III and Eva Hohenstaufen, the Nords had several motives, Denmark feared retaliation, Norway was economically tied and Sweden had a dynastic bound, in the future several writers and musicians depicted this as the union of the Germanic brethren.

On the French side were the Iberian kingdoms, Italian rebels and the crusader states, due to cultural and economic ties, the crusaders saw the French as their lord after the French defended them from Mongolian invasion in the mid 1200’s, while the Germans ignored their help pleas, although none of them had fully recovered from the mongol hampering.

Internally both monarchs centralized the power and administration, the German kaiser also purged, arrested or aterrorized his disloyal and coward vassals, he stopped to avoid a major revolt, the kind of Sardinia Conrad II died and was succeeded by his son Ludwig, who was a coward teenager controlled by his Wendish mother and some noblemen.

Finally the war came, not without an attempt from the pope to avoid the conflict, the negotiations were short due to the intransigence of the emperor and his despise for the Capet king and the pope.

He supported the enemies of Charles of Blois during the Breton Succession War, but he was defeated, his troops and the troops of his underlings sacked France, killing, rapping and stealing everything, in one time even the church.

The first battle of this new period happened in December of 1344, when a German fleet disembarked over 30,000 warriors led by Leopold himself and marched to Calais, laying siege during 3 years, Sigmund marched over Lorraine after Rudolph of Lorraine allied with Phillip VI, Rudolph repelled the imperial army until 1349, when he was captured and beheaded after the battle of Nancy.

In Italy Simone Boccanegra led yet another rebellion against the emperor to liberate Genoa, Giovanni Visconti led another revolt to reduce the power of the emperor in Italy and become the imperial vicar, position occupied by the Habsburgs, the Sardinians refused to partake in a war that was useless and unprofitable for them, angering the emperor, the rebellion of Boccanegra lasted almost 10 years and killed almost 45,000 persons in several combats until he was finally defeted after his attempt to retake Genoa, Visconti was more succesful in his endeavor, after the Venice battle in 1346 and the siege of Tuscany of 1352, general Averardo de Medici reached a deal with the kaiser, Italy gained certain autonomy and self management in exchange of nobility titles and power positions, the Visconti gained the Vicariate of Italy and the emperor (Kind of) loyal subjects to rule Italy.

The French once again attacked Aquitaine, this time going to a direct offensive, called by historians the Gasconian encirclement, the campaign lasted from June of 1344 to december of 1351, the imperial commander was Eudes, viscount of Lusignan and count of Periguex, the French commander was Raoul de Brienne, their first battle was in Poitiers, 12, 321 Frenchmen died in comparison to the 2,092 imperial subjects, Raoul attacked Limoges and captured it the next year, eventually he reduced imperial control to Gascony, taking severe casualties, being unable to advance further.

The emperor razed the north of France, until the duchess of Normandy defeated him at Maine in July 12 of 1348, killing more than 21,000 soldiers and losing less than 2,000 , she was wounded in the stomach, causing infertility, fortunately the house of Normandy will endure thanks to the posthumous birth of his brother Henry.

A truce begun in August due to the Black Death, ending two years and unleashing the storm over the Christendom again...