Miscellaneous <1900 (Alternate) History Thread

It doesn't seem that crazy to me, so long as we're talking about post-John.

So, a word on the title of English heirs apparent: besides 'atheling,' the first one with a title I'm aware of was William Adelin, who was 'Duke of Normandy.' This title lacked any substance; his father ruled Normandy proper. The next one I know of was Henry the Young King, who was named co-king by his father. Again, this title was not substantive; Henry II still called all the shots and all young Henry got was a fancy hat. I believe Richard I was only Duke of Aquitaine, his mother's title, prior to becoming king. This was already his life plan prior to his older brother dying, so it was substantive.

I don't believe John ever gave his son a title. Henry III likewise didn't give his son a title despite ample time and opportunity. Edward I was just 'Lord Edward,' and although he was given many lands to administer as heir, he held no titles pertaining to them. Edward I trots out a bunch of titles for his sons; basically anything he can collect. His first heir's title was 'Earl of Chester,' while of course his next heir became 'Prince of Wales.' Edward II was also Count of Ponthieu before he became Prince of Wales. In this case, Prince of Wales wasn't initially intended to be the heir's title. Edward II used the title sporadically throughout his life and never gave it to his son (Edward III was only Earl of Chester).

The purpose of such titles was multifaceted. They conferred the heir with special status. They (sometimes) allowed him a chance to gain experience in land administration. They could also 'pass the buck' in an administrative sense; English kings routinely granted the title 'Duke of Aquitaine' to their sons to avoid having to do homage to the King of France, as they considered it humiliating. They could even solidify newfound claims (for example, I've heard the son and heir of Alexander III of Scotland was named 'Lord of Mann,' referring to the Isle of Man, which had been recently acquired by Scotland at the time).

Given the perimeters, an English heir's title could be anything. Yes, Ireland was thorny issue and I don't know of any medieval English king or king's son who actually succeeded in making good any claims on it. But, if such a thing ever were possible, I see no reason why a title for the heir is out of the question. There's no sovereignty issue like with Aquitaine, but theoretically the king could relinquish rule of Ireland to his son if he screwed up royally or required a puppet. So it has diplomatic value theoretically.
Did the title 'Lord of Ireland' actually have administrative powers or was it just an honorific?
 
Did the title 'Lord of Ireland' actually have administrative powers or was it just an honorific?
When held by John prior to becoming king (and later by he and his heirs in conjunction with the royal title) it was certainly intended to have real powers. Ireland was supposed to be John's sphere of influence (with Henry the Young King's being England and Normandy, Richard's being Aquitaine, and Geoffrey's being Brittany). But John's introduction into Ireland did not go well and he became a regional lord in England itself (Gloucester was his inheritance).

John's heirs certainly wanted the title to have some substance to it, and various inroads were made to that effect throughout the years, but it pretty much remained an honorific part of their titulary. Anglo-Norman families did settle there and gain varying degrees of regional clout (like the de Burghs), but I don't believe the degree of control exercised directly by the king was ever very high. The impact on Ireland itself was fairly substantial, but large parts of it were completely unaffected.

Let it be known that I'm hardly an expert on the subject of medieval Ireland, though so take this all with a large grain of salt.
 
bit of a random question for those knowledgeable on the period:

what would've happened had Philipp the Magnanimous had died prior to 1562 (when he wrote the testament dividing the Hessian territories amongst his four sons and formed Kassel, Marburg, Rheinfels and Darmstadt)? Up until that point, FWIG, he intended his eldest son to inherit the lot (the eldest, Wilhelm IV, certainly seems to have regarded this as the case). While Philipp had set aside portions for his younger sons, AFAICM, those were in the "non Hessian" territories (like Katzenelnbogen) rather than dividing the landgraviate. It was only in 1562 that he seems to have "changed his mind" (not sure what caused it). But if he had died during the period when Karl V was holding him hostage (when Wilhelm IV was acting as regent of Hesse anyway), for instance, how would this have affected the future of the "Hessian" state? All of the sons only married after their father had partitioned the inheritance(Wilhelm IV in 1566, Ludwig of Marburg in 1563, Philipp II of Rheinfels in 1569 and Georg I of Darmstadt in 1572), and I doubt that they would remain single (Wilhelm IV, Ludwig and Georg's all seem to have been "love matches"- Wilhelm met his wife at Ludwig's wedding, for instance. Ludwig met his wife during a random meeting with her uncle/dad).

Or would there be a Hessian civil war between the younger (and seemingly disinherited) sons challenging Wilhelm IV getting "all the marbles".

@Jan Olbracht @VVD0D95 @isabella @Vitruvius @Space Oddity
 
Given the perimeters, an English heir's title could be anything. Yes, Ireland was thorny issue and I don't know of any medieval English king or king's son who actually succeeded in making good any claims on it. But, if such a thing ever were possible, I see no reason why a title for the heir is out of the question. There's no sovereignty issue like with Aquitaine, but theoretically the king could relinquish rule of Ireland to his son if he screwed up royally or required a puppet. So it has diplomatic value theoretically.
a surviving York dynasty would actually be useful in this regard. Since a) the Yorks were the primary royal landowners in Ireland (Edward IV was 10th Earl of Ulster, and had also inherited the claim to the earldom of Louth via his Mortimer ancestry) and b) most of the Tudor "repression" in the late 1490s/1500s was to put down the Irish who had backed Lambert Simnel (Warwick was Earl of Dublin and one of the "theories" about the dukedom of Clarence is that it was tied to Co. Clare rather than the honour of Clare in England) and Perkin Warbeck. Now, the wheels on the royal bus in Ireland started coming off with Richard III's seizure of power in 1483 when the Burkes rebelled (AFAIK, this wasn't related to Dickon's coup, but a separate event). Unfortunately, the whole "Richard III-Bosworth-Henry VII" drama playing out in England meant that it wasn't dealt with quickly. If there hadn't been a "distraction" (say Edward IV survived), the then Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland would have had royal backing to deal with the Burkes (after all, once the Burkes seized the royal town of Galway and demanded ransom, the king would have little choice to get involved). Instead, there was the Burke's terrorizing pro-royalist Connaught, then the Tudor repression of the pro-Yorkist Simnel-Warbeck uprising (as seen by the fact that Poynings Law passed with the vote of only three Irish peers- the remaining lords hadn't been summoned due to involvement/support for Simnel-Warbeck, and only one of those is known to have been incapacitated due to his age (the Talbot earl of Shrewsbury who held the earldom of Waterford was also not summoned back from France AIUI), culminating in the royalist victory at the Battle of Knockdoe in 1504.

So...just a thought: Edward IV survives. Hears of Burke's seizure of Galway. Sends trusty Richard of Gloucester to "deal with the Irish" (after all, lets give credit where credit is due, Dickon was capable, having been sent up north to deal with the Scots). Then, we go Ricardian and Edward IV and his sons die while Richard is in Ireland, leaving Richard III as the last Yorkist male standing. His son, Edward of Middleham (who inherits dad's martial skill as well as grandpa Warwick's political skill), and he gets made "duke of Ireland" by his dad and left as Lord Lieutenant in Dublin. Later, Edward succeeds as "Edward V, King of England and Ireland", and instead of sending heirs to Ludlow (a practice only started by Edward IV), they send the heirs to Dublin instead.

Least, that's my interpretation. Those more knowledgeable about Irish history of the time (Burke's, Simnel, Warbeck's rebellions can correct me).
 
a surviving York dynasty would actually be useful in this regard. Since a) the Yorks were the primary royal landowners in Ireland (Edward IV was 10th Earl of Ulster, and had also inherited the claim to the earldom of Louth via his Mortimer ancestry) and b) most of the Tudor "repression" in the late 1490s/1500s was to put down the Irish who had backed Lambert Simnel (Warwick was Earl of Dublin and one of the "theories" about the dukedom of Clarence is that it was tied to Co. Clare rather than the honour of Clare in England) and Perkin Warbeck. Now, the wheels on the royal bus in Ireland started coming off with Richard III's seizure of power in 1483 when the Burkes rebelled (AFAIK, this wasn't related to Dickon's coup, but a separate event). Unfortunately, the whole "Richard III-Bosworth-Henry VII" drama playing out in England meant that it wasn't dealt with quickly. If there hadn't been a "distraction" (say Edward IV survived), the then Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland would have had royal backing to deal with the Burkes (after all, once the Burkes seized the royal town of Galway and demanded ransom, the king would have little choice to get involved). Instead, there was the Burke's terrorizing pro-royalist Connaught, then the Tudor repression of the pro-Yorkist Simnel-Warbeck uprising (as seen by the fact that Poynings Law passed with the vote of only three Irish peers- the remaining lords hadn't been summoned due to involvement/support for Simnel-Warbeck, and only one of those is known to have been incapacitated due to his age (the Talbot earl of Shrewsbury who held the earldom of Waterford was also not summoned back from France AIUI), culminating in the royalist victory at the Battle of Knockdoe in 1504.

So...just a thought: Edward IV survives. Hears of Burke's seizure of Galway. Sends trusty Richard of Gloucester to "deal with the Irish" (after all, lets give credit where credit is due, Dickon was capable, having been sent up north to deal with the Scots). Then, we go Ricardian and Edward IV and his sons die while Richard is in Ireland, leaving Richard III as the last Yorkist male standing. His son, Edward of Middleham (who inherits dad's martial skill as well as grandpa Warwick's political skill), and he gets made "duke of Ireland" by his dad and left as Lord Lieutenant in Dublin. Later, Edward succeeds as "Edward V, King of England and Ireland", and instead of sending heirs to Ludlow (a practice only started by Edward IV), they send the heirs to Dublin instead.

Least, that's my interpretation. Those more knowledgeable about Irish history of the time (Burke's, Simnel, Warbeck's rebellions can correct me).
That would be a very nice TL to read!
 
Would it be possible for a southern equivalent of the Erie Canal to be built where the AUS breaks up by 1800? I know Virginia had several attempts IOTL (most notably the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and its predecessor of sorts in the Potawmack Canal) but none were nearly as successful as the Erie Canal.
 
I was wondering something for my TL, but I suspect it would require a far earlier POD than 1826:

Would itbe at all possible for thr Methodist Church (or even their Moravian predecessors) to reconcile with or become part of the Catholic Church. Not understanding the nuts and bolts of Methodist/Moravian theology, I can't think of a reason aside from that the Methodists dont have bishops and they allow their priests to marry.

Any thoughts?
@FalconHonour @Nuraghe @isabella @VVD0D95 @The_Most_Happy @Jan Olbracht
 
I was wondering something for my TL, but I suspect it would require a far earlier POD than 1826:

Would itbe at all possible for thr Methodist Church (or even their Moravian predecessors) to reconcile with or become part of the Catholic Church. Not understanding the nuts and bolts of Methodist/Moravian theology, I can't think of a reason aside from that the Methodists dont have bishops and they allow their priests to marry.

Any thoughts?
@FalconHonour @Nuraghe @isabella @VVD0D95 @The_Most_Happy @Jan Olbracht
Think if you’re meaning the British Methodist it would likely need something akin to Weslyian theology to be different. As from what I understand the founders wanted to purify the Church of England rather than go back to rome
 
I was wondering something for my TL, but I suspect it would require a far earlier POD than 1826:

Would itbe at all possible for thr Methodist Church (or even their Moravian predecessors) to reconcile with or become part of the Catholic Church. Not understanding the nuts and bolts of Methodist/Moravian theology, I can't think of a reason aside from that the Methodists dont have bishops and they allow their priests to marry.

Any thoughts?
@FalconHonour @Nuraghe @isabella @VVD0D95 @The_Most_Happy @Jan Olbracht
Near impossible and still remain recognizable Methodist.

The idea of reconciliation but maintaining a distinct identity is not a problem, recently their have been some moves to incorporate Anglican clergy into the Roman Catholic Church. Though it has not risen to the degree of creating an separate rite which has happened with many Eastern Churches though it generally causes a split in the Eastern Church.

Before we get into the major issues of sola scriptoria and sola fide there is, as you put it, the bishop problem. In Roman Catholicism priests do not act on their own authority. Everything flows from their bishop. And the bishops authority descends from the Apostles, without bishops you don't have a Church.

The marrying priests are not an issue. Roman Rite priests can't marry because of pastoral tradition not theology (there are reasons behind the tradition it isn't just random). In fact most of not all Eastern Catholic Rites allow married men to become priests (you can't go the other way around and can't become a bishop though).

I'm not familiar enough with traditional Moravian theology to comment on that.
 
I was wondering something for my TL, but I suspect it would require a far earlier POD than 1826:

Would itbe at all possible for thr Methodist Church (or even their Moravian predecessors) to reconcile with or become part of the Catholic Church. Not understanding the nuts and bolts of Methodist/Moravian theology, I can't think of a reason aside from that the Methodists dont have bishops and they allow their priests to marry.

Any thoughts?
@FalconHonour @Nuraghe @isabella @VVD0D95 @The_Most_Happy @Jan Olbracht


I'm sorry Kellan, I did some research on this possibility and I came to the conclusion that a much earlier Pod is needed (I would say around the great counter-reform operation in post-30YW Hapsburg Bohemia) but in any case seeing what Otl happened in Italy ( where they joined with the Waldensians ) with the Methodists I would say that they would find it easier to join the Lutherans ( for the reason that they both have serious diatribes with the Calvinists ) than with the Catholics ( of course their direct intervention in social questions can be a point in important common but the theological difference terrifyingly separates them )
 
I've got a query in related to that last post actually.

What might have been needed to be done to keep the Federal Provinces of Central America (Or United States of Central America as some called it) as a single unified entity to this day, and what kind of regional (or even global) effects might such have come about from such?
 
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