The Legacy of Saint Brendan: A History of the Western Hemisphere, 512 to 1400

[Rognvald]

Chapter Three, Part Four: The Advent of the Britons, 880-882

From The Owainid

“And thus fell the Lion, Cadog, the great hope of all Britain [1], at the hands of the Beast of Bernicia. The death of the Lion placed all of Britain in a feeling of great anxiety, for they feared that the sword of the Saxon would fall upon them now. The eldest sons of Cadog despaired, for they feared that soon they would follow their father into the grave, their lands and patrimony passing to the Saxon.

“But Owain, the third son of the Lion, did not despair.

“’My brothers,’ he said, addressing the other four by night, ‘I have seen a land where we would need not fear the sword of the Saxon, a land where we and our people could live out our days in peace and plenty and enjoy the blessings of God. I speak of the land wherein dwell the Wanderers of the Goodheylon [2] and the Helhti [3]. I have visited this land, and I know that it is desirous and choice.

“But the elder brothers of Owain grew angry.

“’If you had stayed in our land instead of going over the sea, our Father would not have mourned you, and he would not have been weakened in heart. We would still have our crown secure upon our heads.

“But the younger brothers of Owain harkened to his words.

“’We will travel with you to the West. It is God’s Mighty Hand working upon you that caused you to travel there, to find a place where we could flee.

“And Owain’s elder brothers went away, and were captured some days later by the Beast of Bernicia and torn by his dogs. [4] But Owain and his younger brothers gathered their people, and counted them by Captains [5].

“Bely and his, 1000 persons.

“Duwnwal and his, 2000 persons.

“Gwaskolomm and his, 1500 persons.

“Redherch and his, 3000 persons.

“Toudir, the younger brother of Owain, and his, 4000 persons.

“Arthal, the youngest brother of Owain, and his, 3000 persons.

“Owain and his, 6000 persons.

“Thus, all the souls departing with Owain were twenty-thousand and five-hundred persons. [6]

“And Owain and his people sailed across the sea, to the land of the Goodheylon, and searched for passage.

“And the sailors of the Goodheylon laughed at Owain and his brothers and their company, and said that there would be no berth for them all on their ships. For they were a tremendous host, and they would surely sink the ships if they got on them.

“And Owain and his brothers talked, one with another, and they agreed to use the last of their father’s treasury, which they had carried from his halls, to seek to purchase vessels and sailors.

“And when Gold was discussed, the sailors of the Goodheylon became more willing to allow Owain and his brothers and their company to embark on their vessels. All the vessels of Iwerdhon were gathered to ensure that the voyage could succeed. [7]

“And so Owain and his brothers and their company loaded the vessels with their war-gear, their helms, their coats of mail, their horses, and their provender [8]. And they departed, one year after the realm of the Lion had fallen.

“As they voyaged across the sea, they saw many great signs and wonders, sent by God to speed them on their way...

“And after all these, they arrived in the West, on the Ynys Gybi [9]. There, Owain was joyous for one of his friends, the monk Kolomm [10], had become the Bishop of all the land. Colom welcomed them to the Ynys Gybi with open arms, and a great feast was held to honor the Britons.

“Shortly after the feast, Kolomm approached Owain and spoke with him with a grave look on his face.

“’Owain, dear Prince of Britain, you are a man mighty in both word and deed. I come to you to ask you of a boon, which I would not ask of any other unless they were as daring as you.’

“’Speak, friend Kolomm.’

“’I ask for your aid, my Prince, in helping to secure this land. As you know, my great predecessor, Brendan, sailed to this land and built this monastery with his bare hands, with only the angels and a few sainted companions to assist him. You know that they did a great work among the Croeni [11] and brought them to the Faith of Christ Jesus.

“’You know also that Brendan’s Holy Work was hindered by the Kings of the Goodheylon, who sent their men, the Wanderers, to take the wealth of this land to line their treasuries with fine things. These same Wanderers ravaged the daughters of the Croeni and turned them into harlots, and from thence sprung the Helhti, who are easily led by the designs of the Wanderers.

“’Now the children of these Wanderers and the Helhti that they have corrupted live upon the fat of the land, dwelling in Arthtir [12] and refusing to recognize the authority of the Holy Faith. For my predecessors were granted the rule over all the lands in the West, for to bring the inhabitants thereon to the Church and to help them praise the Glory of God.

“’We monks are not warriors, and those that are loyal to us are not either. I therefore ask you, Owain, to be my Gorfodi [13], to gather your Captains and warbands, and help bring the Wanderers back to the Authority of the Church. If you do so, God will reward you and your children with glory and riches.

“And Owain knelt before Kolomm, and kissed his hand, and declared that he would do this thing.”

[1] - Cadog was the ruler over a large portion of Northwestern Britain, and some contemporary British chroniclers held him as the “hope of all Britons”, but more in a metaphorical sense, as a man who they should aspire to be.

[2] - Cumbraek for “Gaels”. “Wanderers of the Goodheylon” refers to the Fanaithe. (Author’s Note: I’m using someones reconstruction of Cumbric for this part. It seems kind of sketchy, but I like the sound and look of it.)

[3] - Cumbraek for “Split”, referring to the Measctha. Split in this context meant they had split heritage.

[4] - An invention of the author, really. The elder brothers of Owain ended up fleeing to Pictland, where they and the vast majority of those fleeing the fall of their father’s kingdom traveled to. Of course, this was not fully known in the West when this was written.

[5] - “Counted them by Captains” is a good indication that these were not civilians being brought to the New World; these were fighting men. There would have been no space on the ships Owain would have utilized to take large bands of men, women, and children.

[6] - Like all chronicles of the time, the Owainid exaggerates numbers. In all likelihood, it was closer to around two-hundred or two-hundred and fifty men.

[7] - While likely a slight exaggeration, it is true that fewer and fewer sailors were risking the voyage to the New World, so perhaps they did get the services of many of the remaining men brave enough to risk the trip.

[8] - It sounds much more like a supply list for an army going on campaign than a band of refugees.

[9] - The Holy Island, or the “Insula Benedicta”.

[10] - Columb

[11] - The “Skin People”

[12] - Bear Land

[13] - Enforcer; this would later become a title in the West.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Three, Part Five: The Reconquest of Talbeáh, 882-900

With his “holy mission” received from Bishop Columb, Owain set about organizing his force to “reconquer” the mainland for the Bishopric. Columb, in the meantime, began to send messages to the various Companies on Talbeáh [1], seeking to convince them to support the campaign and submit back to the rightful authority of his office. None were that interested; they had had years of being left alone, and so were unwilling to give up what freedom they had to a figure that had always been on the periphery. In fact, there are accounts of several Company heads being confused by the letters, believing that they had been fulfilling “their end of the bargain”, as established by Columb’s three predecessors.

While Columb’s diplomacy would be frustrated, Owain’s efforts to martial a force would be hampered by rivalries within his army. Army, of course, being an overstatement. Owain certainly had a martial core for his army, in his Britonnic warband that had joined him in the exodus, but Owain wished for a strong auxiliary to support him. Though he might have been able to cow the Companies into obedience with just his personal retinue (as numbers in this period were still rather small), it would not have been as critical of a victory as he wanted.

Therefore, Owain, with Columb’s blessing, began to recruit among the Measctha that dwelt on the Insula. The Measctha proved rather hard to train; though they had their own militia, it had not seen any action beyond guard work in its entire history. Additionally, many were unhappy with the curt way that the Britons Owain placed over them treated them- were they not men, as well as they? Brawls would break out between Britons and Measctha if the Britons did not treat them with enough “respect”, forcing Owain to pause in his efforts to organize supplies and plan the course of action to deal with his fractured coalition.

Meeting with Columb, his “captains”, and several Meascthan ethnarchs [2], Owain wished to settle the dispute before he set out for his campaign. The ethnarchs demanded that the Britons treat their people with respect, and that they were organized along their own lines. The Britonnic captains scoffed at this, demanding submission to their military expertise. Owain would end up creating a sort of compromise. Two clans of Measctha would be assigned to each captain; the ethnarchs (or their representative) would consult with the captain in between actions, and would have control of their men in camp, but the captain’s authority would be absolute in combat. This seemed acceptable, and Owain could return to his preparations.

This delay, however, cost him valuable time, and his campaign, originally planned to begin in 883, was delayed an additional year. Owain feared that the Companies, getting wind of his plans, would organize themselves into a coalition to oppose him. His fear was unfounded, however, as the Companies didn’t treat the news coming from the Insula seriously. Additionally, even if they had, it was unlikely that the Company leadership, divided and scattered as it was, could organize an effective resistance at this point in time.

When his campaign finally got underway in 884, Owain had developed a plan that he believed would deliver him a quick victory. Knowing that the settlements of Rineen and Cósta Dhearg were the most important trade hubs for the Companys, he reasoned that be seizing these, the Companys would be forced to depend on him for their economic prosperity, and thus be coerced through trade manipulation into obedience. Setting out with five-hundred men (one-hundred Britons and four-hundred Measctha), Owain sailed towards Nuadu’s Isle to bring Rineen to heel. He expected a fight, and had readied his men for an extended siege.

However, much to his surprise, he discovered that Rineen lacked any sort of defensive fortifications; under Company control, Rineen (due to its importance) was a kind of neutral zone where feuds could not be carried on openly. It lacked even a palisade around it. To Owain’s surprise as well, Rineen’s population was very small. The fall trading season was not-yet begun, and the population, which swelled in the winter as various Company men arrived to spend the off-season trading, was at its annual low point. Therefore, Owain simply sailed into town and, as some surprised locals looked on, hoisted the banner of the Bishopric and declared the territory secured.

This set off reactions across Company lands as word of this spread, but initially there was little panic. Some of the Company men reasoned that a permanent force being stationed in Rineen could help them focus more on trade, especially as they no longer had to take turns manning the “watch” to enforce the truce that bound conduct within its borders. It wasn’t until embassies sent to Owain were met with guarded hostility from the Prince that some of the Company men began to be more concerned with what had taken place.

Owain, in the meantime, prepared for the second of his campaigns, readying his men to sail against Cósta Dhearg. This time, however, Owain was surprised again. This settlement, unlike Rineen, was more established, being the first permanent European town established on the continent. Long held by the Cernaig Company, who had fended off rivals trying to pry it from their grasp, Cósta Dhearg was dominated by a hill-fort overlooking the harbor. While Owain was readily able to occupy the town itself after a standoff with Cernaig guards, he was unable to hold it for long without taking the fort.

Thus began the siege. With about seventy-five Cernaig men holding the fort against the two-hundred men (fifty Britons and the rest Measctha) Owain had brought with him for this operation, the odds seemed to be heavily in the Prince’s favor. However, the head of the Cernaig, Donngal, was a crafty man. He launched raids at night over the walls into the Prince’s camp, slaying several men until Owain reordered how watches took place.

Owain also did not wish to risk an attack against a supremely fortified position, lacking any siege equipment beyond a simple ram or hastily constructed towers. With time on his side and his supply line secured by the sea, Owain simply settled to wait Donngal out. This took much longer than he would have wished, as the Cernaig had withdrawn much of the settlement’s foodstuffs to the hillfort once Owain’s ships were sighted, but the strategy eventually won out. By mid-fall of 884, the Cernaig Company was on its last rations.

But Donngal had one last trick up his sleeve. Gathering his men, and prepping for battle, he set the fort ablaze at midnight and rushed out with his Company, screaming at the top of their lungs. The Meascthan militia that made up the majority of Owain’s force were terrified by this, and refused to give battle, allowing Donngal to rush through the lines and escape deeper inland.

The Prince had secured Cósta Dhearg, but all he had to show for it was a burned-out hillfort. He was also realizing that he had miscalculated the importance of the two trading settlements. The Companies were fairly self-sufficient, to start off with, not requiring the greater trade to survive; additionally, if they wished, they could simply circumvent the outposts and sail directly to trade with each other. That winter, Owain reevaluated his strategy.

The Companies were also beginning to become more savvy about Owain’s intentions, especially as Donngal spread word about Owain’s taking of Cósta Dhearg. Donngal was angry about losing his territory, and he was willing to do anything to take it back, including lie. He spoke of wholesale rape by the Britons, pillaging, plundering, and butchering of children. Though these were mostly outright fabrications, the allegations spread like wildfire, and turned general opinion among the Companies against Owain. Though Donngal’s hope of creating a sort of anti-Briton coalition failed to materialize, it would make the conquest more difficult for Owain.

However, some Companies were impressed by Owain’s defeat of the Cernaig, which had been a regional player for decades. Their main rival, the Imchada Company, was impressed enough to open up discussions with Owain. Rechtabra, the head of the Imchada, met with Owain in January of 885, and offered support for his campaign if he granted the Imchada stewardship over Cósta Dhearg and much of the surrounding area. Owain, brightened by the prospect of adding an additional eighty veterans of Company feuds to his ranks, signed over the stewardship to the Imchada.

Owain also spent the winter retraining the Measctha, treating the ethnarchs harshly after the recalcitrance of their men allowed Donngal to escape. Backed by Columb, he walked away from his earlier compromise and vested more authority into his Briton captains. The ethnarchs complained, but they had respect for the Bishop and thus agreed to the changes, despite grumbling. This would prove crucial to his campaigns in 885, as initially the Companies believed that the Measctha would not stand and fight if pressed.

885’s campaigning began in April, with Owain setting his sights on the Dubthaig Company. Though a relatively small player, the Dubthaig had been one of the Companies that tried to use Rineen as a trading post. Like most of the Companies, it was turned off by the requirements for trade that Owain had placed on it, but unlike the others, they had decided to rough up the place before departing. This would prove a mistake, as Owain would send Redherch, one of his captains, to raid the Dubthaig settlement.

The Dubthaig were only able to mount an effective defense of thirty men, and were quickly overwhelmed. Redherch set the place on fire and scattered the survivors, many of whom sought to join with Donngal, who was doing his best to assemble an army to oppose the Prince. The destruction of the Dubthaig settlement angered several of their neighbors as well- the Dubthaig had always been friendly, and they felt they did not deserve what happened to them. Redherch was attacked by a coalition of neighboring Companies, and driven back to the coast. Owain’s brother, Arthal, would lead a relief force, and together he and Redherch would spend the remainder of the campaign season establishing control over the area.

This put Owain in a bit of a bind. His forces were so small at this point that he felt he could only risk one major campaign at a time. He had had plans of trying to secure the coastal regions around Cósta Dhearg, but the difficulties Redherch was facing caused him to postpone these plans for another year. The Imchada would present him with a solution to this. For while Donngal was doing his best to rally Companies against Owain, Rechtabra was meeting with Companies friendly to him. By 886, a coalition of Companies friendly to Owain would be established, adding more men to his army and allowing him the freedom to launch two campaigns at a time. The fractured nature of the Companies would prove to be their undoing, for the rivalries they had established over the years allowed Rechtabra and Owain to augment their forces with Gaelic collaborators.

886 would see Owain launching the “Northwest” campaign, with Redherch and Arthal moving up along the coastline North of Nuadu’s Isle to bring the Companies there to heel (more time-consuming than anything else, as the Companies here were relatively small but scattered across the landscape) while he led the effort to take the territory around Cósta Dhearg. He would be met with fierce resistence from Donngal, who led his makeshift army to oppose him, clashing in several small engagements, fighting him at some points to a standstill. The more Donngal succeeded in beating off Owain’s efforts to push the Companies to submission, the more they were willing to stand up to the Britons. At one-point Owain was considering entering into negotiations with Donngal, afraid of turning all the Companies against him.

In an engagement, however, one of the points on which history turns took place. Donngal was leading a small band of men in burning a handcart pulling supplies for Owain’s men, when Imchada men arrived on the scene. Instead of pulling back, Donngal led his followers to scatter the Imchada; he succeeded, but an arrow loosed by a retreating man hit him in the leg. Infection would set in, and Donngal would die as a result. With Donngal’s death, the best hope for organizing the majority of the Companies against Owain would vanish, sealing the fate of the coast as the army Donngal had organized broke apart.

The campaign would last for another three years until it finally concluded to Owain’s satisfaction, but the fighting was scattered and mostly consisted of raids. Why was this so? In a large part, it was due to the fractured nature of the Companies. Though those who would likely have opposed Owain outnumbered those who supported him, they were divided into many Companies that were sometimes so small they could only field a dozen fighting men. While the patchwork made any effort to subdue territory an investment in time and effort, there was no way that they would be able to stand up to Owain’s more unified force in the field.

By 890, at any rate, a new sort of peace settled over the land. Owain was triumphant, and the Companies were subdued. Those Companies that had supported him were rewarded with the territory of their rivals, while Owain’s own captains held control of territory in the name of the Bishop. Columb was pleased, as he had reversed three generations of decay and restored rightful ecclesiastical rule over the entire West; he asked Owain to meet with him to discuss how the Bishop could effectively rule over these territories, and establish a new pattern of life in the West.

However, Owain did not simply wish to hand over the land he had secured to the Bishop. He had forged an army out of his campaign, and had built alliances that the Bishop lacked. The Imchada and their allies preferred to deal with Owain directly; his captains had no special love for the Bishop. Even the Insula Measctha that had made up the bulk of his forces had developed a sort of respect for Owain, the only kind of respect that could come from combat.

Whether the old stories of Owain being complicit in it are true or not is up for debate; but whatever the case, Columb collapsed during his meeting with Owain and died shortly thereafter. Owain publicly mourned his friend, but also exercised great influence over Columb’s successor, Cernach. Cernach announced that Owain was to be granted the title of Enforcer, or “Gorfodi”, as it was rendered in Cumbraek, and that this title was to be held by his house forever.

What exactly was this office? In essence, the Gorfodi was in charge with ruling in the name of the Bishop. While the Bishop remained the absolute authority in the lands, holding the secular rights granted to him by the Peace of Armagh, the Gorfodi was tasked with enforcing this authority in how he saw fit, as well as controlling day to day affairs of state. In all but name, it was a kingship. [3]

The newly minted Gorfodi would spend the next ten years reorganizing the patchwork of former Company territory into controllable vassaldoms. His captains and brothers would receive fiefdoms carved from the land, while those Companies that were loyal to him had their rights reaffirmed. A new era dawned on the West; in 900, Owain died of a brief illness and his son, Carodoc, would become the new Gorfodi, the first time hereditary succession came into play in the New World.

It would also be a new era for another reason; for in 900, the Ostish conquest of Askraland was completed, and the connection to the British Isles, which had been growing ever more tenuous, was broken.

[1]- As the various factions involved in this period began to use the mutated Gaelic form more commonly, as opposed to the original Latin term, this work will begin to move away from use of Terra Ursus.

[2]- It may be worth pausing for a moment and discussing how the Measctha on the Insula were organized. While the “continental Measctha” were assimilated into the general milleau of the Companies, the “island Measctha” did not follow a similar course. With the monastery under generally weak leadership during this period, the island Measctha devolved into a loose clan system of their own, based on blood ties. The leaders of these “clans”, termed “ethnarchs” by the monks, each had their own hall in Peace Town, and met yearly to discuss the economic activity on the island and plan out what actions their clans could take so as to avoid conflict with each other. It was a much more peaceful system than that experienced on the mainland.

[3]- Some historians have compared this office to that of the Taishogun of Yamato, and while this may be helpful for some readers, there are several key differences that make me wish to stay away from making this comparison.

 

[Rognvald]

Terminology

Ostmen: OTL Norsemen

Ismaili, Ismailism: TTL’s equivilant of Islam, which has more of a Jewish feel thanks to Himyarite influence.

Leontine Plague: Roughly analogous to the Plague of Justinian. Hit shortly before the Ismailis invaded the Rhomanians.

Askraland: OTL Iceland

Insula Benedicta/Inis Tairngire: OTL Newfoundland

Tálbeah/Terra Ursus: OTL North America

Fánaí, Fánaithe: Similar to fur trappers or coureur du bois; adventurers originally coming to the New World for the fur trade. Also a general term for a Gael/Irishman living in the New World.

Measctha: A person of mixed European/Native American descent. Measctha living on the continent are assimilated into the general population, while Measctha on the Insula have their own traditions.

Cumbraek: The dialect of British Celtic spoken by Owain and his fellow Britons. Similar to Welsh.

Bay of Saint Peter: OTL Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Onogurs: A Turkic group that invaded the Balkans during the Leontine Plague. Roughly analogous to the OTL Bulgars.

Gorfodi: A title given to Owain and his descendants, meaning “Enforcer”. The real power in the late 9th and 10th Century New World, ruling in the name of the Bishop.

Peace of Armagh: A 7th Century peace treaty that established that the Bishop-Abbott on the Insula is the highest secular authority in the West.

Company: A term for the clan-like divisions of the Fánaithe and their descendants in the New World. Originally money-making entities, they took on a more symbolic meaning after permanent Gaelic settlement began. Some were as small as fifty while others were fairly good sized. After the Reconquest, the number of Companies has drastically shrunk and consolidation has taken place under the allies of Owain.

(Work in progress; let me know of any other confusing terms)

 

[Rognvald]

I'd love to start seeing some maps. Because, maps.

Ask and you will recieve

Pictured above: The general reaches of the secular authority of the Bishopric of Tairngire around 900 A.D.. Population density is generally very low, and spaces between settlements are often just "colored in".

Pictured above: The administrative divisions of the Bishopric of Tairngire. Pictured are the domains of the loyalist Companies, the Britonnic nobility, and the "island" Measctha clans around 900 A.D. Rivers form fairly effective boundaries, meaning there are relatively few artificial borders. The borders between the island Measctha clans are also fairly fluid, and shift from year to year; this is a general approximation of trends.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Four:
The Crisis of the 10th Century

“And on the day that the stag fought the dragon, the raven circled above, ever watchful, waiting to strike...”​

 

[Rognvald]

UNIVERSITY OF EOFRIC TERMINAL 4 ASKS:

What were the Four Righteous Campaigns? What was their significance?

SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AT THE COLLEGE OF SAINT LIDWINA TERMINAL 1 ANSWERS:

The Four Righteous Campaigns are the term given by Ismaili scholars to the four military actions that took place in the early days of their religion. Another term used by them is the "Four Cardinal Campaigns", referring to the idea that each campaign was launched towards a different "cardinal direction".

The Northern Campaign, perhaps the most famous in Western circles, was the campaign launched against Rhomania in the late 8th Century A.D.. It saw all but the Anatolian reaches of that Empire fall to the Ismailis.

The Western Campaign took place five years after, after an insult sent by the ruler of the Kingdom of Carthage (Vandal), which encouraged the Ismailis to take ride West, conquering much of North Africa before being halted by the Italo-Gotho-Frankish expedition under the auspices of Pope Sabinian II (one of the first major instances of the Pope taking action beyond the control of the Rhomanian Emperor).

The Southern Campaign was the one that the Ismailis had always wanted to launch. Their religion had been born out of the fires of the Abyssinian attacks against Mecca and the conquest of Himyar. This was an act of vengeance against the Abyssinians for all the fire they had visited upon the Arabs. Launched in the 740s A.D., the Ismailis ground South through Nubia and made a daring crossing of the Red Sea. After nearly thirty years of violence, the Ismailis succeeded in their vengeance and had burned Abyssinia to the ground.

The Eastern Campaign was launched almost as an afterthought, in 820 A.D., after the Mihranid Persians launched an illfated attempt to retake Mesopotamia. Easily brushed aside, the Ismaili counterattack was brutal and resulted in the incorporation of Eastern Persia in the Ismaili sphere.

The significance of the Four Righteous Campaigns was that it expanded the reach of the Ismaili Domain to much of the Near East, and brushed aside the old order, forcing rulers to adapt and change.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Four, Part One: The New Reality, 900-923

In the year 900 A.D., “Thule”, as it was known to the Christian world, finally fell to the Ostmen. Now, the term “fell” in and of itself needs some explanation in this context. Christian Thule was never very heavily populated beyond the Western coast that served as a stop along the circular route across the Atlantic to Talbeah. Over the course of the 700s and 800s, however, Ostish settlement of the east had begun to spill into the territories traditionally held by Christians. Raids and violence eventually caused the Christian population to dwindle, and in 900 A.D. the last Christian settlement on Thule was abandoned, the few survivors sailing back to Ireland. This left Thule, now known as Askraland, in the hands of the Ostish.

This caused the traditional route to Talbeah to no longer become feasible. Though the Ostish would have probably let ships through if they paid some form of protection money, Christian Irish paranoia of the bearded raiders was at its all time high. After all, the Ostmen had sacked Iona in 898, carrying off the riches of that edifice, as well as taking many slaves. This made the Irish less willing than they already were to try to make the dangerous crossing to the New World, and all but ended contact with Talbeah. [1]

In Talbeah, this had surprisingly little direct material effect. Though the loss of contact was worrying to some, trade with the Old World had dwindled among the permanent inhabitants. Much of the trans-Atlantic trade in the preceding period had been undertaken by independent companies that only came to the New World for the trading season. Those living in Talbeah had adapted, and had begun to trade much more intensely between their own settlements (hence the seeming importance that Owain had placed on the trading communities during the Reconquest). This prevented too much economic chaos from breaking out in the New World.

However, it did have a concrete social effect. As time passed and little-to-no contact with Ireland continued, a more independent identity began to develop among the Irish descendants in Talbeah. Taking the Fanaithe name upon themselves, they were almost two-hundred years removed from Ireland. To them, their world was Talbeah; their world was the great forests and the harsh coasts, the frozen North and the cod-filled sea. Their language was different, having developed an accent all of its own, peppered with words from the long-vanished Skin People or words of their own invention. They also no longer looked fully Irish; though the blood of the Skin People had been heavily diluted over the centuries, their mixed-descendants (which made up the majority of the Fanaithe living in Talbeah) retained a slightly-bronzed cast to the skin, dark hair, and brown eyes. To them, Ireland was a tale of their ancestors; they had all that they needed around them.

To the much more recent Briton arrivals, however, the loss was more heavily felt. There connection to the Old World was less distant, dating back only twenty-years. It compounded the loss of their independence to the Anglo-Saxons, and created a feeling of nostalgia for a golden age that never really existed. As evidenced in their literary works, such as the Owainid, the children and grand-children of the Talbeahan Britons believed that the “Old Country” was a land of eternal splendor and glory, sullied by barbarians.

The Gorfodi Carodoc, son of Owain, handled himself well in this transition period. He would grant gifts to the loyal Company leaders and to the still new Briton nobility, as well as assist with the construction of new buildings at Brendan’s Monastery. His generosity won him many friends, but it also drained his coffers. Frustrated with the low income he was receiving, Carodoc first developed an idea to reestablish trade with the Old World in 908. Support for this expedition was high from his fellow Britons, who helped outfit the trading fleet. However, after it set forth in 909, it was never heard from again.

This made some of Carodoc’s friends a bit put off that they had put their wealth into an expedition that would receive no return on investment. Carodoc was aware of this, as well as the state of his own treasury. He did not want to risk a second potential failed expedition and the political fallout that could result from that. Therefore, he put aside any thought of sailing massed ships to the Old Country, and instead turned to the South.

The territories to the South of general Celtic settlement in Talbeah remained fairly unknown in the beginning of the 10th Century. This may seem odd, as there had been a permanent Celtic presence in the region for over 200 years (in the form of Fanaithe Companies, early Meascthan traders, and the actual settlers themselves). It has certainly seemed suspicious to historians of the modern era that there were no explorations down the Tullaha [2] to try to see what was there, or that no currach made the voyage down the Atlantic seaboard. Some historians have gone so far as to accuse the Briton chroniclers of writing these earlier contacts out of the record to give themselves more glory.

More recent historical thought, however, has absolved the Britons of this particular sin, and instead place a differential between the likely incidental Fanaithe contact and the more permanent Briton expedition. The Fanaithe “visited” these regions, but made no effort to return regularly or to expand settlement in those directions. The Britons, on the other hand, likely based off of reports of potential trading resources, opened permanent contact with the areas in question.

Carodoc’s expedition, which comprised of five currachs, with a mixed Fanaithe-Briton crew, set-off down the Tullaha in 914, with the stated goal of seeing what was down river, to hopefully discover some new resource to exploit. Moving against the current, they found themselves in increasingly virgin wilderness. They would travel for only a short time each day, taking extended breaks to explore the land on either side of the river.

After a few weeks of travel, they would be shocked when they encountered a canoe, carrying an equally shocked looking native. This marked the first time, almost since the 7th century, that a native had been seen. [3] The confused native led the confused Celts to his village, where they met with the elder of his tribe- a woman, of all things. Through improvised sign language, the Celts learned that there were other settlements further along the river. As they continued their way to the massive lake that ended their journey, the expedition confirmed this- there were quite a few settlements, though most were not very populous.

Why was there a “dead zone” between the arc of Celtic settlement and these seemingly thriving, albeit small, native communities? One native myth, which was recorded a few years later after regular contact was established, told of how the North was plagued by what the translator rendered as “Hollows”- creatures that looked like emaciated men, but were really full of evil and brought destruction to those that they came into contact with. The North was believed to be full of them, which the chronicler believed was the reason they hadn’t pushed further up-river and encountered the Celts. Some modern historians doubt the veracity of this tale, while others believe that it came from oral retellings of those stricken with illness stumbling into settlements and spreading devastation.

It was also extremely likely that these natives, or their ancestors, had had some contact with Europeans, as they were not as susceptible to disease as the Skin People on the Insula and further North had been.

At any rate, Carodoc was elated to receive this information. The expedition he had sent lacked much by way of trading goods (as they did not expect to encounter anybody), but he made perpetrations for a second, more trade-oriented expedition, to be launched. Returning back the next year, the traders found most natives were willing to engage in commerce, trading what appeared to be shell money, furs, and, most intriguing to the Celts, something they called “oyangwa”; it was a plant that, when smoked, gave a very pleasant feeling. [4] What most caught the natives eye were the blades carried by the expedition; impressed by their durability and utility, they were willing to pay seemingly outsize prices for them. This struck Carodoc with an idea.

Talbeahan mining had begun by this period in limited numbers, but Carodoc revolutionized that. Meeting with the Company heads and the Briton nobility, Carodoc introduced the concept of “man-tax”- that the proto-feudal tribute that was owed to him could be paid by lending the service of working men for a period of time. Carodoc reasoned to the leadership that through the man-tax, he could increase production at the mines and make cheap blades to then sell South for the shell money (which could be used in future commerce) and the oyangwa (which was becoming a runaway hit among the Fanaithe). The profits from this trade would be shared with the grandees of the Bishopric; seeing how lucrative it could be, his subordinates agreed.

Thus, in 919, the man-tax was introduced; something that would have a massive effect later on in that century. But for now, the rich got richer, and Carodoc’s coffers were replenished (less with gold, more with “Talbeahan equivalents” thereof). The natives, too, would be heavily impacted by this trade, though the effects also were not immediate.

All seemed well for Carodoc, until in 923, sails were spotted on the horizon. Thinking it was contact from the Old World, Carodoc and many others in Peace Town came down to the docks to greet them. Instead, they were met with a hail of arrows- Carodoc was wounded in the volley. To the horror of those gathered, these were not Celts; these were Ostmen.

The alarm was sounded, and the Measctha militias came down alongside the Briton levies. A vicious battle took place at the docks and, much to the relief of the citizens, the Ostish were sent back heavily bloodied, with not a captive taken. They did inflict some heavy casulties though; including Carodoc.

This began a new period of fortification in the West; though subsequent raids would be scattered (as the Ostish seemingly saw the Talbeahan settlers as too far away and too well protected after this failed raid), paranoia grew.

These fortifications would prove to be useful, however, later in the century, as talk of rebellion began to simmer along the Celtic Coast.

[1]- There would be several notable exceptions, especially the five voyages of Ercc, a brave seaman who made the direct crossing more than any other. He would meet his tragic end at the hands of one of his own countrymen, after an argument over a woman. The stories of Ercc visiting Talbeah (which was becoming more and more mythical to greater Christendom) were passed down, and survive in an albeit mutated form as the Tales of Ercc of the Sea.

[2]- OTL St. Lawrence River

[3]- Similar to the discussion of “visited” vs. “explored”, it is extremely likely that there had been incidental contact between Fanaithe and the natives of Talbeah preceding this encounter. A recent burial find contained trinkets of the sort typical of the Fanaithe, alongside more traditional native ephemera. This contact, however, was likely transitory in nature.

[4]- For the Native Americans of this region, I will be using words that are either Algonquin of origin or from some of the six Iriqouian tribes. The distant ancestors of these tribes would have been the ones living in the area. This particular word means “tobacco”

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Four, Part Two: The Blade Trade and the Enchaining, 923–977

The developments in the Talbeahan trade would have major social repurcussions, both in the society of the Bishopric and in the lands of the natives. For the Bishopric, there would be an increasing trend of power being exercised over previously relatively free individuals. For the natives along the Tullaha, referred to increasingly as the Afonbren (A mutation of the Cumbraek term for “River Queens”, so called due to a misinterpretation of their matrilineal society), there would be major societal upheaval and the formation of rough polities. These changes would trigger future developments that would lead to seismic shifts in how life developed in Talbeah.

First, the development of the “Blade Trade” had a massive impact on the life of the Afonbren. Traders from the Bishopric would sail downriver, their currachs loaded with poorly made blades of all kinds, ranging from spear-heads to knife blades to axe heads to the occasional sword. The Afonbren, seeing the advantages that even these rough instruments gave them, bought them at increasingly inflated prices, trading with belts of shell money, furs, and oyangwa. The Europeans from the Bishopric would also charge for repairs, sharpenings, as well as offer a small selection of other goods, including mead, which was rapidly catching on among the Afonbren.

As time wore on, the various tribes of the Afonbren seemed to realize that they were not going to be able to meet with the demands of an increasingly inflated market. While oyangwa was able to be cultivated along the Tullaha, the climate did not allow for overly long growing seasons (even though, some noted, the seasons were getting longer each year). Additionaly, the value of the shell money was depreciating, as the previously relatively rare item became more in demand. This left tribes with less purchasing power, vis a vis the traders from the Bishopric. Soon, the Afonbren began to feel that they were being cheated by the traders (especially as the blades had a tendency to break after a few years of use).

By the mid-930s, some tribes of the Afonbren had developed a solution to this problem. Their elders, gathering together to discuss the issue, decided to form a confederation of sorts. The purpose of this new band was to unite their economic efforts and allow for greater collective bargaining with the Bishopric. An embassy was sent upriver in 938, and from there to the seat of power at Peace Town itself. This was the first time that inter-state diplomacy between a European-style state and a homegrown native state was recorded.

The representative of the Confederation (called the “Kingdom of the Afonbren” by the Bishopric’s sources, but generally referred to as the “TeKaienwa” [the Unity] by the Afronbren themselves) presented the Gorfodi at the time, Morfael ap Carodoc, a list of demands for continued trade with the inhabitants of the Confederation. These ranged from controlling how many merchants could travel into the lands of the Afonbren, set trading rates, and a general reevaluation of what, exactly, the shell-money was worth. Morfael, seeing that many of these would help him as well (for example, limiting the number of merchants that could travel downriver would increase investment in larger expeditions and prevent the proliferation of non-sanctioned one currach expeditions that were developing at this time). He offered to agree to the demands of the Afonbren, on one condition; that Christianity be preached to their people. The representative, thinking little of this, agreed.

Throughout the 940s and 970s, the Confederation came to dominate trade with the Bishopric, edging out smaller independent bands that had initially refused to join its ranks. Some tribes would sense which way the wind was blowing and join the Confederation, which helped increase its economic clout. Other tribes would simply pack up and leave, or stubbornly remain.

The Confederation also expanded the trade contacts of the Bishopric, in their own efforts to make a profit beyond the organized trade with the North. The largest of these efforts revolved around the trade with the semi-nomadic inhabitants to the south of the Tullaha, as well as those living along the shores of the Five Lakes [1]. Trading their “leftover” blades to these tribes, the Confederation received oyangwa and other valuables in exchange. This extension of the blade trade would contribute to the increasingly settled lifestyle of these tribes, some of which had already begun to establish small settlements.

Overall, the period from 938 to 977 was one of economic prosperity among the Confederation, but the seeds for future violence were already being sown. The newly settled tribes to the South had no interest in forming such Confederations; they, instead, began to raid each others settlements, seeking to have the largest amount of goods when the Confederations traders came to visit. These raids, relatively bloodless at first, were becoming increasingly violent towards the end of this period.

Within the Confederation, as well, trouble was brewing. The Confederation was never a truly unified polity, acting more as a way to regulate trade with outside groups. The tribes that were a part of the Confederation were independent in almost every other way, and the threat of internal war breaking it apart continued to loom. Additionally, as society began to change and the Confederation became increasingly focused on the acquisition of wealth, a new class began to emerge that challenged the traditional order. Comprised generally of Christianized men who had gained much through the Blade Trade, these Afonbren began to chafe underneath the traditional polciies of the matrilineal society they were a part of. Associating themselves more with the new religion than with their tribes, this would set the stage for looming conflict.

In the Bishopric, the expanding Blade Trade had a tremendous impact. Carodoc’s policy of “man-tax” had never been viewed favorably by the Fanaithe that were affected by it. Many considered it a breach of trust, or a new indignity thrust upon them by a foreign conqueror. It was during this time that “Heroic Literature” began to become more popular among the lower class, with new legends being developed and old ones retold. The Fanaithe began to look upon the chaotic times of their past as a sort of Golden Age, where they had been free to live their lives how they wished with no interference by some grandee, where they had a voice in who ruled them. This new period of rule, under the heel of the Britons, was called the "Enchaining"- for some Fanaithe began to feel as if they were naught but slaves.

However, talk of rebellion to try to bring back this Golden Age had not yet developed at the beginning of this period. The main reason for this was that the Blade Trade at first was very profitable for all engaged and presented opportunities for advancement. Small bands of independent traders, mostly Fanaithe, would set out, usually in one currach, to engage in the Blade Trade themselves. Perhaps sponsored by their village or relatives, they would come back with a small profit, which would then be split between their sponsors.

This changed, of course, with the 938 agreement between the Confederation and the Gorfodi. Gorfodi Morfael believed that such small-scale trade took away from the bottom line of his officially sanctioned expeditions, and it was easy for him to sell to the nobility and company-chiefs below him that they could also make more by cracking down on small-holder trade. While enforcement was patchy at first, Morfael’s son, Riderch, would take a more hardline. He decreed that such trade was tantamount to theft from the Gorfodi and the Bishopric, and that it would be punished as such. The grandees of the Bishopric also began to patrol the Tullaha more frequently to crack down on the trade, and the Confederation was encouraged to not accept traders who failed to present the Bishop’s seal upon arrival.

This prevented the common man of the Bishopric from receiving any benefits from the Blade Trade, and caused more simmering discontent. [2] Some middle-level Fanaithe officials began to talk behind closed doors of some sort of action during the 950s, though these talks would ultimately fizzle out. They felt that they did not have the ability to rally popular support, due to the peculiar nature of the Bishopric- as the Bishop was the technical head of the nation, as well as the head of Christianity in the New World in general, he could simply excommunicate those who opposed him. This was a potent threat, and helped calm down any talk of revolt.

In the 960s, however, Gorfodi Riderch began to take a much harsher line as the Confederation expanded the web of trade southward and across Talbeah. He introduced quotas for the mines, and increased the frequency of when the man-tax was implemented. The noblemen of the Bishopric generally went along with him, blinded as they were by the profits they were receiving. This increase coincided with the growing belief among the Briton upper-class that they were presiding over “half-mad savages”, who needed a hard hand to avoid slipping into anarchy. This was a natural development of their own Golden Age belief, that they had been forced from their idyllic home by barbarians, and came to this new world to restore order and Christian governance.

While the noblemen of the Bishopric were led along by this, a growing number of clergy in the Bishopric were opposed to this new measure. One of the most vocal of this number was Olchobar, a Fanaithe who had joined the monastery at Brendan’s as a young man. Olchobar was concerned with the harsh measures affecting his fellow countrymen, and believed them to be contrary to Christian teachings. When he tried to present his concerns to the Bishop at the time, Froech, he was not granted an audience by the Bishop’s assistant, and even given the humiliating job of tending to the monastery’s stables.

This made Olchobar mad, and he became more and more vocal about his opposition to the new measures being implemented. This got him the attention of the would-be rebel leaders among the Fanaithe, who began to communicate with him and followed his developments with great interest. Olchobar’s growing popularity among the common man terrified Riderch, who was concerned that the monk might be able to influence the aging Bishop Froech if he got close to him. Riderch went so far as to consider killing Olchobar, but ultimately held off, fearing the wrath of God should he lay hands on a cleric.

Besides, he reasoned, what did he have to worry about? After all, the office of Gorfodi allowed him to appoint the next Bishop (with the assent of the monks at the monastery). [3] And he would not choose Olchobar, so it would not be a concern that he would ever attain any position of influence.

However, when Froech died in 575, a document began to circulate among the monks at Brendan’s. It claimed to be the last will and testament of Froech, and it stated that he wished Olchobar to be appointed, for he had “been moved upon by the Holy Spirit and would lead the people in the paths of righteousness”. Riderch dismissed it as a fake, as do most modern historians, but at the time, it was viewed with great seriousness by the monks. So, when Riderch made the choice to not follow the “will” of Froech, but instead appointed Finian, a cleric he had firmly in his pocket, the monastic community at Brendan’s erupted into controversy. For the first time, there was not unanimous consent in the Gorfodi’s choice of Bishop.

That was a useless gesture, however, for the clergy had no real ability to counter the pressure of the Gorfodi. Finian was invested with the office, and Olchobar, fearing for his life, fled with a few of his supporters away from the Insula. Riderch believed that the problem was, once and for all, solved.

With Olchobar now no longer confined to the walls of the monastery, however, he was free to enter into discussions with those that wished to return Talbeah to its pre-Briton Golden Age. Plans for a rebellion were formed, and Olchobar was a key component of this.

The conspirators, referring to themselves as the “Filleadhaithe” [4], began to spread the rumors that the Gorfodi’s selection of Bishop was invalid. First, he had contravened the will of the man who (nominally) in charge of the Bishopric; second, he had not secured the complete assent of the clerical community. They contended that this made Finian a false Bishop, in service to a false ruler. Riderch had acted to preserve his power, not true Christian rule- which Olchobar would have done.

This began to gain traction, and though Riderch and the nobility did their best to try to counteract these words, a seed of hope and resistance began to blossom in the hearts of many Fanaithe. Many began to realize that war was imminent; one Briton record lamented that “we shall soon be spilling the blood of Christian men in this heathen land”.

The spark that would set the tinderbox alight took place in 977, when the Filleadhaithe attacked officials coming to enforce the man-tax. Killing them, the Filleadhaithe officially proclaimed that they followed the “true” Bishop, and called upon all Christians to follow them. [5]

The Filleadhaithe Revolt had truly begun, and Talbeah would never be the same.


[1] - OTL Great Lakes.

[2] - It is worth noting, perhaps, that several noblemen and company-chiefs were known to be generous gift-givers, often allowing the heads of villages the chance to partake in some of the benefits of the Blade Trade indirectly. This grew increasingly uncommon as time went on, however, as nobility became more entrenched in the Bishopric.

[3] - This right developed out of Owain’s involvement with the selection of the successor of Columb, and had grown stronger over time.

[4] - Returners in Talbeahan Gaelic

[5] - While this may seem like a theological stretch, Talbeahan Christianity had had almost a hundred years of separate development from more mainstream European Christian thought. It seemed very logical to them.

 

[Rognvald]

Dramatis Personae, or A List of Historical Actors

Chapter One

Brendan: Irish monk and seafarer. Accidentally discovered the Insula Benedicta in 512 A.D. after being blown off course. Returned in 517 with a group of monks to establish a monastery. This was the first European settlement in the New World. Was driven into a depression after the Plague in 535, feeling personally responsible for the destruction of the Skin People. The first to apply the term "Fanaithe" to the roving trappers that came from Ireland. Passed away in 577.

Arjalinerk: Also known as "Abraham". The leader of the first tribe of Skin People to encounter Brendan's monks. Was vital to the survival of the monks in their first winter. Took Brendan with him to explore the island in 519. Was a close friend of Brendan. Died in the Plague in 535; first indigenous American to be baptized a Christian.

Muirchertach mac Muiredaig: Also known as "Mac Ercae". King of Ailech, received the first monks to return from the Insula in 519. Established the forerunner to the later Fanaithe trade.

Chapter Two

Forggus and Domnall: Sons of Mac Ercae; co-Kings of Ailech. The first Irish petty kings to commission a Fanaithe expedition in 538.

Conchobar and Dualtach: Successors of Forggus and Domnall; co-Kings of Ailech. Allied with the Cruthins to attack Dal Riata (570-574). Challenged Loingsech's Fanaithe expedition, but were ignored. Ailech lost the monopoly on the Talbeahan trade due to this.

Faelan: Leader of the Cruthins. Allied with Conchobar and Dualtach in their war against Dal Riata. After the success of that campaign, proclaimed himself the "King of Ulaid".

Loingsech: King of Connacht. Commissioned a rival expedition to the Ailech Fanaithe in 578. His refusal to recognize Ailech's exclusive "right" to the Talbeahan trade opened the New World up for wider commerce.

Totnan: Abbot of Brendan's Monastery; successor to Brendan. To counteract the rowdy influence of the Fanaithe, Totnan allied with local Measctha to enforce peace around the Monastery. This area of peace would later be known as "Peace Town"- the capital of the future Bishopric.

Domhanghart: The last full-blooded Skin Person of the Insula Benedicta. He was influential in the development of early Meascthan culture. Died in 607.

Congus: Bishop of Armagh. Sailed to the Insula Benedicta to negotiate and end to the Fanaithe War that was disrupting trade. Established the Bishopric of Tairngire, placing ecclesiastical authority in the hands of the Abbot of Brendan's Monastery. Gave the name "Terra Ursus" to the continent, which evolved into Talbeah. Wrote the Peace of Armagh, which became the governmental document of the Bishopric until Owain's arrival.

Chapter Three

Tadc: Bishop of Tairngire during the main period of Fanaithe settlement in Talbeah. Encouraged the new arrivals to settle down, believing the influence of women and children would moderate the Fanaithe's rough nature. Encouraged Meascthan interaction with the Fanaithe as another method of integrating the new arrivals.

Eidigean, Robartach, and Muirchu: Bishops of Tairngire between 800 and 880. Known as the "Quiet Bishops". More focused on ecclesiastical activities than their temporal responsibilities, enabling the Fanaithe to develop their own institutions during much of the 9th Century.

Owain: Briton princeling of Cadog's Realm. Sailed to Talbeah as part of a later Fanaithe company. Returned to Britain where he fought in the losing war against Bernicia. After the death of his father, led a warband west to Talbeah. Allied with Columb, Owain led the "Reconquest", where he subordinated the Fanaithe Companies to the Bishop's authority. After the death of Columb, Owain proclaimed himself Gorfodi, establishing a new system of government in the New World. Died in 900 after a brief illness.

Columb: Bishop of Tairngire. Upset with the lax way that Muirchu conducted the office, Columb allied with Owain to extend the authority of the Bishopric back over the Fanaithe Companies. Died under suspicious circumstances in 890, allowing Owain to establish the office of Gorfodi and take control of affairs in the Bishopric.

Hussa: The "Beast of Bernicia". Anglo-Saxon King who defeated Cadog and destroyed the last major Briton kingdom.

Cadog: The "Great Hope of All Britain". Father of Owain, last Briton king to offer any real resistance to the Anglo-Saxons. Killed by Hussa's forces; his kingdom did not survive him.

Rechtabra: Main leader of the collaborationist Companies during the Reconquest. Aligned himself with Owain in an attempt to gain further power for his Company. His assistance would be crucial in the successful completion of the campaign.

Donngal: The main leader of the resistance against the Reconquest. Led the defense of Costa Dhearg and denied Owain a total victory. Rallied opposition against the Britons around him, though his coalition fell apart after he was killed during a raid in 886.

Chapter Four

Carodoc: Son of Owain, succeeded his father to the office of Gorfodi in 900. After a failed trade expedition to Europe in 909, shifted the focus of trade to the South, establishing contact with the Afonbren. Oversaw the beginning of the Blade Trade, and established the hated man-tax. Killed in a failed Ostish raid on Peace Town in 923.

Morfael: Son of Carodoc, succeeded his father to the office of Gorfodi in 923. Made a trade agreement with the Afonbren Confederation in 938, limiting trade South to officially sanctioned expeditions. Died in 944.

Riderch: Son of Morfael, succeeded his father to the office of Gorfodi in 944. Took greater steps to enforce the trade agreement made by his father, as well as increasing the reach of the man-tax. Appointed Finian to the Bishopric in 975, over the objections of the clergy and the "will" of Froech, precipitating the Filleadhaithe Revolt.

Froech: Bishop of Tairngire until his death in 975. A copy of his will (now commonly accepted as fraudulent) circulated after his death, claiming he wanted Olchobar to succeed him to the Bishopric.

Olchobar: Monk at Brendan's Monastery. Called for better treatment of the Fanaithe and was ignored by his superiors. In 975, the "will" of Froech named him as successor to the Bishopric, though it was ignored. Fled to Talbeah from the Insula, and became involved with the Filleadhaithe, lending their movement legitimacy. Proclaimed as the "true" Bishop of Tairngire by the Filleadhaithe in 977.

Finian: Bishop of Tairngire after 975. Appointed to the office by Riderch over the objections of the clergy and the "will" of Froech. A cleric firmly controlled by Riderch.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Four, Part Three: The Stag and the Dragon, 977-985

When the Filleadhaithe revolt first broke out, Gorfodi Riderch generally ignored it. He didn’t think it too much of a threat to his reign, believing the revolt to be the actions of a few disgruntled poor-folk. He was also getting old, approaching his 60s, and was more willing to allow his subordinate nobles or company heads take action against the Filleadhaite. However, over the course of 977, as the revolters clashed with bands sent to fight them, the threat became suddenly much more real.

Riderch’s idea that this was a poor-driven revolt was incorrect. The Filleadhaite had their base of support in a sort of middling-class that was unique to this period in time. Before the Reconquest under Owain, they would have been the close retainers of a company chief, almost like an Anglo-Saxon Huscarl or Thegn of the same period. However, that rank no longer existed in the new system, though their nominal status remained. These were the men most affected by the evolution of the Bishopric in the 10th Century, and they were the ones most willing to fight to reclaim their “birthright”.

This, however, prevented the Filleadhaite from fielding large numbers of men in the field in the early days of the revolt. While many poorer Fanaithe were sympathetic to their goals, and assisted them by hiding and supplying them, the Filleadhaite were loathe to trust them in the field of battle. They feared that these farmers, fishermen, miners, and timbermen would break down and run in the face of an opposing warband.

Riderch finally decided to take the Revolt more seriously in 978, after a year of disruption to his efforts to collect the man-tax. He encouraged his nobility to take more aggressive action in the fight against the Filleadhaite, destroying their bases of support and capturing Olchobar, who he viewed as the head of the revolt. He still refused to send his own retinue to assist in the campaigning, likely out of worries that the Meascthan population on the Insula had some ties to the Filleadhaite and would strike the moment they departed. [1]

This forced the petty nobility of the Bishopric to try to fight against the Filleadhaite themselves, which would prove to be a difficult endeavor. Without a centralized commander assigned from above, the noblemen pursued their own objectives without establishing proper communication with their fellows. The elusive nature of the Filleadhaite also proved to be a major obstacle to reaffirming control over the populations- the members of the movement were adept at hiding amongst the populace, while others existed in small roving brigand-like bands.

The inability to win decisively against them in 978 helped embolden the Filleadhaite, who felt that victory was shortly to be achieved. Like Riderch, the Filleadhaite had misperceptions of the revolt. The more starkly anti-Briton tendency expressed later in the fighting had yet to develop, and the Filleadhaite were certain that by denying the Gorfodi his victory that a “clerical coup” would soon follow- the monks of Brendan’s would unite to remove the Gorfodi status from the Briton, and restore Olchobar to his rightful position. How exactly this would happen when the vast majority of the clergy in the monastery were loyal to Riderch was unknown, but the Filleadhaite were confident they could accomplish this.

When no coup came in 978, the Filleadhaite began to adopt a more offensive approach. They started targetting the Gorfodi and the nobility where it hurt- the trade expeditions down the Tullaha.

Organized Filleadhaite, for lack of a better word, river piracy was the last straw for Riderch. While the expeditions were hard targets for the Filleadhaite, as they sailed in groups, the rebels became more and more creative at how they attacked them- sometimes they came at night, when the expeditions tended to camp on land, and simply burned vessels; sometimes they attacked while in the river; sometimes they managed to convince a crew to defect. These were annoyances that slwoly added up to lost profits. And if Riderch was concerned about anything in this life, it was profits.

The Gorfodi sent his warband to Talbeah in 980, marking the beginning of a new stage of war. Organizing the various bands of the petty nobility under his son’s command, Riderch gave orders to do whatever was necessary to secure his trading expeditions. And to his son, Andras, this was taken as a carte blanche to engage in a punitive campaign.

Andras was very different from his father. Records at the time indicated that something was off about the princeling, that he was eager for violence at a level even 10th Century men viewed as extreme. Modern psychological attempts to read back conditions into history describe Andras generally as some kind of psychopath. Whatever the case was, Andras began to carry out atrocities against the Fanaithe citizens on the mainland. This was ostensibly to deny the Filleadhaite their bases of support; it had the opposite effect.

More and more Fanaithe, not even part of the social class of the Filleadhaite, began to rise up in support of the revolt. The Filleadhaite were nervous about this rise in support- they feared that their fighting capacity was going to be weakened by the new recruits, and their leadership hierarchy, already strained by the vast geographic distances involved in Talbeah, began to break down. But after some hastily organized militias won some early successes against scattered retinues, the Filleadhaite began to encourage these actions more and more.

To Andras, this was seen as a chance to indulge in his bloodlust and as a self-fulfilling prophecy. He believed strongly that the Fanaithe were barbarous beneath the surface, and that a strong hand was needed to control their natures. That was the natural conclusion of the propaganda and myth-making the Britons had been engaged in since their arrival almost ninety years before. On the other side, the brutality of the Britons reinforced to the Fanaithe their own myths, causing both sides to believe that they were firmly in the right.

Campaigning in 981 and 982 was violent and followed a similar pattern. Loosely associated militias, loyal to the Filleadhaite, would attempt to besiege the forts of noblemen or ambush patrols. Andras would lead his warband in campaigns across vast distances, destroying militias when he ran into them. The “true” Filleadhaite would avoid engagements with Andras, and absorb the more skilled militia men into their ranks; the leadership of the Revolt was generally in favor of gradually increasing their ranks to avoid flinging untrained men against Andras’s armies. [2]

983 was viewed as a year that everything would come to a head. The brutality had devastated the economy of the Bishopric (spilling over into the Confederation, which will be discussed later), and internal trade had ground to a halt. The Filleadhaite began to abandon their idea of a clerical coup, and came to the realization that they would have to defeat Andras’s army in the field if they wanted to have a chance at achieving victory. They began to develop plans to draw Andras into a trap, which would force him to meet them on the field of their choosing.

Andras also prepared to deliver a killing blow to the Filleadhaite. The mobile nature of his war had caused him to realize the importance of what modern military minds would describe as “combined arms” operations. The larger, sea-going currachs that had been developed over the centuries of trans-oceanic trade proved their worth, allowing him to move his army from one coastal outpost to the other rapidly. The usual refusal of the rebels to meet him in open combat required quick movement to pin them down before they slipped into the deep woods; this caused him to develop a fairly strong cavalry contingent, manned almost entirely by Measctha from the Insula.

With his desire to deliver a killing blow, Andras took the bait that the Filleadhaite prepared for him. Claiming that Olchobar was becoming more bold, the rumor spread that he would celebrate Easter in public. This drew the attention of Andras and also various supporters of the Revolt. Large numbers of men gathered to hear Olchobar- fodder for the Filleadhaite to use to wear down the Briton attack that was sure to come. The Filleadhaite’s leadership believed that the battle was to come the Tuesday after Easter- Andras wouldn’t dare attack during the celebration of one of the holiest days of Christianity.

The battle came on Good Friday. Andras, over the objection of his commanders, desired the element of shock.

His initial cavalry attack into the outer camps of the unprepared Filleadhaite was devastating, forcing many erstwhile militia men to flee in chaos or be cut down. The Filleadhaite were able to rally, however, as the central core of their force, developed over two years of fighting, was located in the middle of their camp. They moved forward and blunted the cavalry’s attack, the momentum of which had been slowed by forcing through unorganized mobs of terrified men, women, and children (as many of those wanting to hear Olchobar’s words had brought their families with them, unaware of the true purpose of the gathering).

The battle began in earnest then, as Andras brought up his infantry and shield clashed against shield. Chroniclers at the time described it as a “sea of strife”, comparing the men slamming against each other to the surf crashing into rocks. The exact details of the battle are fuzzy, due to the differing accounts, but the outcome seemed very much in the air for much of the day.

However, the weight of numbers was on the side of the Filleadhaite, and they began to drive Andras’s more skilled men back, despite heavy casualties on their own side. Andras, seeing his force begin to waver, rallied his cavalry to him and led a desperate charge against the right flank of the Filleadhaite. They pierced through, rolling up the flank, and causing mass panic to descend in the ranks of the rebels. His men, rallied, attacked with new vigor, and the Filleadhaite line broke. A tremendous slaughter followed; the day ended with the Britons victorious.

But it was a decidedly Phyrric victory. Andras himself had fallen in the charge, and the retinue he had led was decimated.

However, the Filleadhaite were in no place to take advantage of this. Much of their leadership also lay dead on the field, and Olchobar, who had been watching from the read, fled into the Confederation (as many would later do). Unfortunately for him, the Confederation did not take kindly to his movement’s disruption of trade; he was captured, clubbed to death, and his head was sent to the Gorfodi to show the Confederation’s desire for trade.

The Gorfodi was not Riderch however- the old man, shocked by news of his son’s death, passed, leaving the title in the hands of his grandson, Arthfael. Unlike his father, Arthfael was not violent by nature. He would seek to restore some semblance of order to his realm, trying his best to make concessions- though these would be ignored by his nobility, many of whom were embittered by years of war. The Fanaithe would also look at these reforms with suspicion, and low-level violence became endemic to the Bishopric.

Arthfael’s reign would soon face another threat, when, in 985, an Ostish raiding party arrived and successfully sacked Peace Town. Arthfael holed up in his fortress, giving the raiders a free hand. This was the first time the men of the sea had pulled off a successful raid in the West- a harbinger of things to come…

[1] - This was untrue, as was proven later in the war.

[2] – The Filleadhaite leadership was very decentralized. While Olchobar was the rallying point, he was merely a member of a sort of cabal or council that led the movement. This lack of a central leader may have hindered some aspects of the Revolt, though it did allow the Filleadhaite to react to local threats faster.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Four, Part Four: The Raven Comes, 985-990

From the Hreining Saga

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Inheritance

And, so, in his eighty-eigth year, King Hrein called all his sons and daughters to his house in Jorvik.[1] And as he sat upon his throne, he watched all his seed gather before him. When they had been seated, he began to speak.

“I am old, older than any of my ancestors before me. I have lived too long upon this earth, and I desire only to be called by Odin to join him in his hall. Therefore, I am going to go a-viking.”

And his children were astonished at his words. His eldest son, Aki, stood forth.

“Let me go with you, father, for my sword-arm is strong.”

But Hrein shook his head.

“No, my son. For you, it is fated that you should rule over the southern Angles.”

Then Thorlak, his second son, stood forth.

“Let me go with you, father, for my bow can strike far and true.”

But Hrein shook his head.

“No, my son. For you, it is fated that you should rule over the northern Angles.”

Then Eyvald, his third son, stood forth.

“Let me go with you, father, for my axe has never been broken.”

But Hrein shook his head.

“No, my son. For you, it is fated that you should by over-lord of the Irish." [2]

Then Holmlaug Sheildmaiden, his daughter, stood forth.

“Let me go with you, father, for my spear can pierce all armor.”

But Hrein shook his head.

“No, my daughter. For you and your husband, it is fated that you should rule over Askraland and the lands of northern Norwegia.”

Then Sverting, his fourth son, stood forth.

“Let me go with you, father, for my armor can shed off all blows.”

But Hrein shook his head.

“No, my son. For you, it is fated that you should rule over Denmark and the lands of southern Norwegia.”

Then Sigfus, his fifth son, stood forth.

“Let me go with you, father, for my tongue is known as the most cunning.”

But Hrein shook his head.

“No, my son. For you, it is fated that you should rule over the Swedes.”

Then Arvid, his youngest son, did not stand, though all looked upon him to follow the examples of his brothers and sister.

And Hrein looked upon him.

“Why do you not stand, my youngest son? Do you not wish to travel with me?”

And Arvid shook his head.

“I have nothing to offer you, as my siblings have to offer you. If you reject them, you would surely reject me.”

And Hrein frowned and began to weep.

“Arvid, son of my old age; your mother was a Christian, and I know you have followed in her footsteps. You have only known a life of luxury- none of the strivings for glory that your elder siblings have seen.”

Hrein then stood and pointed to the West, where his door was open.

“You shall find your glory in the lands to the West, to Setraland. [3] You shall have to seek far for your inheritance.”

And from that day forth, Arvid was known as Arvid Far-Seeker...

Chapter Nintey-Six: How Arvid Far-Seeker Conquered Setraland

One day, Arvid Far-Seeker called for Gnuppi Korisson to visit him.

“I hear that you have seen Setraland with your own eyes.”

Gnuppi nodded.

“Yes, I have. For four years I have raided there, and carried away many captives and taken much treasure.”

Arvid nodded.

“I am preparing an expedition to take the Setraland for myself. Would you guide me?”

And Gnuppi nodded.

So Arvid Far-Seeker gathered together many men and ships, and sailed to his sister’s kingdom in Askraland. And Holmlaug greeted him, for she was in Askraland passing judgement. And the two spoke for many nights. Before he departed, Holmlaug gifted Arvid a sword of fine make and a coat of strong mail.

From Askraland, Arvid Far-Seeker and his band sailed to Setraland. When they came into sight of the island of the King of that land, they were met with a fleet of men in boats. The King of Setraland was in the front boat, girded for war. Arvid called for the raven banner of his father to be unfurled, to inspire his men who doubted being led by a Christian.

And then a fierce battle at sea was met, and Arvid lashed the boat of the King of Setraland to his own. And the King of Setraland tried to take off his armor so he could jump into the sea and escape, for he was sore afeared. But Arvid slew him, and took his head and placed it on the front of his boat. And the Setralanders fled, seeing their King was dead.

And Arvid and his men sailed to the island of the Setralanders, and rode up to the monastery there. And the monks there barred the door against him, fearing he would seek to raid them. But Arvid calmed their fears.

“I am a Christian; and I will honor your rights and arrangements if you will proclaim me King of these lands.”

And the monks did so, consecrating him as King of Setraland. [4] But the relatives of the slain King were angered, and sought to turn the mainland against him...

[1] - Hrein, son of Glam, also known as Hrein the Great or Hrein the Conquerer, was one of the most important Ostmen in the history of the world. His conquests in the 9th century saw the uniting of the vast “Northern Realm”; this would not survive him. He was noted for retaining his pagan beliefs, though he would work closely with a Christian Anglish population.

[2] - The phrasing here is different than the others, as the Ostish grip on Ireland was much more loose than on their Ascomannian or Anglish holdings. The Ostish were tributary lords here, controlling several coastal trading settlements directly.

[3] - “Setting Land”, as in the “Land of the Setting Sun”. The Norse term for Talbeah.

[4] - Unlike the office of Gorfodi, which was roughly translated as "King" in the Saga, the office that Arvid Far-Seeker was given was a more traditional kingship.

 

[Rognvald]

The British Isles, c. 1000 A.D.

The death of Hrein the Great saw the division of his Anglish realms between his two sons, Aki and Thorlak. A third son, Eyvar, was appointed the Overlord of Ireland, tasked with ensuring continued tribute from the petty Kings there.

This event also triggered other political changes around the Isles. The Skots of the Northwestern Isles and the Cornish in the Southwest both breathed sighs of relief, as their realms were no longer targets for expansion by Hrein. The Welsh petty Kings, believing the truce between them and Hrein not applicable to his seed, resumed raiding the Anglish lands near their borders, becoming a thorn in Aki's side. The Picts, united out of fear of Hrein, began to turn into internal squabbling, preventing High King Unust from taking advantage of the change in the political situation.

Copyright: 2014, White Rose Educational Tools, Lunden, Angland

 

[Rognvald]

Western Christendom, 1000 A.D.

The western reaches of Europe in 1000 A.D. was still recovering from the last great Rhomanian attempt to reclaim its Italian possessions. The victor of that war, Aurelien (Emperor of the Romans, Over-King of the Franks, King of Italy), was focused on solidifying his hold on his vast realms, doing his best to prevent his Frankish brother-kings from restarting territorial feuds with each other. This marked the year that he signed the Concordant of Pisa with the Italian nobility and the Pope, granting special privileges to the Italians, some of whom still wished the descendants of Theodoric to be restored (even though Aurelien was a descendant of Theodoric).

Aurelien shared the Italian peninsula with the other Emperor of the Romans, Volusian II. Even though his uncle had failed to restore Rhomanian control of Italy (and fallen to asassins daggers when the war began to turn south), Volusian still retained crucial outposts on the Peninusla, as well as ruling over Sicily, Sardinia, Malta, and the Balearic Islands. Volusian had no interest in restarting a war with the West, instead turning his attention to matters closer to home. This allowed the Rhomanian rulers of these farflung outposts to, in a large part, pursue their own agendas, playing an important role in Western Mediterranean trade.

The Hispanians, having long abandoned their attempts to compete with their larger Frankish neighbors, focused instead on developing their internal economy, as well as engaging in intrigue and diplomacy in Christian North Africa. King Eberardo, seeking to strengthen his realm, prepared to launch Hispania into what would prove to be a fifty-year struggle for domination with the Amazigh, Moorish, and Vandals for control of the region.

Copyright: 2014, White Rose Educational Tools, Lunden, Angland

 

[Rognvald]

Rhomania, 1000 A.D.

Despite the failure to recapture the old Italian territories, the Rhomanian Empire in 1000 A.D. was sitting strong as an economic and political powerhouse in Mediterranean Europe. Her northern borders were secured from the Croats, Onogurs, and Servs, and the border with the Ismaili Tayifa was quiet (or as quiet as it could have possibly been). Volusian II, Emperor of Rhomania, was content to maintain trade dominance of the Mediterranean, with very few territorial ambitions.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Four, Part Five: An End and a Beginning, 990 – 1000 A.D.


With Arvid Far-Seeker crowned as the King of Setraland by the monks on the heels of the defeat of the Bishopric’s navy, perhaps he felt that his reign would be accepted by the continental lords and company chieftains as a fait accompli. However, he could not have been more wrong; though he had smashed the main body of troops possessed by the Gorfodi, the continental nobility still had their own forces to lead into battle. Granted, many of these were still fighting small brushfire skirmishes with Fanaithe still loyal to the ideas of the Filleadhaite, but they still existed as a potent force to be reckoned with.

Additionally, there were three claimants to the title of Gorfodi that Arvid would have to deal with one way or another if he wanted his reign to be secured. One, Mihael, was the younger brother of the slain Arthfael, while the other two, Gallmau and Vormvini, were the sons of Arthfael. Mihael, in possession of Nuadu’s Isle, was perhaps in the best defensive position of the three, holding the critical settlement of Rineen; however, he lacked the following of either Gallmau or Vormvini. Gallmau, the more talented soldier, the eldest of Arthfael’s sons, was not especially popular among the nobility; Vormvini, the more talented of a speaker, had more friends in the noble circles.

Mihael, not a fan of either of his two nephews and the first to hear of Arthfael’s demise, was quick to proclaim himself Gorfodi, backed by the clergy on Nuadu’s Isle. Gallmau reacted to this by trying to organize an expedition to take out his uncle, though he found this difficult. Vormvini was the next to openly declare himself Gorfodi, so proclaimed at Costa Dhearg by the personal priest of Deicola, the head of the pro-Briton Imchada company and a descendant of the famous collaborator Rechtabra. This gave Vormvini a strong position on the continent. Gallmau, after hearing of this betrayal, belatedly declared himself Gorfodi, but, as the story goes, was forced to find a backwoods priest to consecrate him to that office.

Of course, all of these consecrations to Gorfodi were “temporary” in nature, until the Insula could be reclaimed and the Bishop made them official. But they were good enough for campaigns to be launched and for blood to be spilled once again on the soil of Talbeah.

Perhaps, as the three Britons try to rally their forces to fight each other and Arvid, this is as good a place as any to discuss what had been happening in the Confederation up to this point...

----

The Confederation suffered during the Filleadhaite Revolt. Their entire raison d’etre had revolved around the Blade Trade with the Bishopric, which was heavily disrupted by the piratical actions of the Filleadhaite early in the conflict and the general carnage and chaos of the later war. This threw a wrench in the relatively smooth operations of the state, and the Afonbren began to grow more desperate to find some way to replace the lost trade.

This was driven, in turn, by the class of Christian traders that had developed over decades of close contact with the Bishopric. These men were not fans of the matrilineal society that dominated the tribes that made up the Confederation, and they stood the most to lose from continued trade contacts. They would be boosted, however, by the trickle of refugees fleeing the violence and coming down river. While Olchobar would meet with a tragic fate when he tried to mimic this movement, most refugees were welcomed by the Confederation, especially the Christians. They brought with them some small trade goods, which were quickly absorbed into the trade networks, but, more importantly, they brought with them knowledge.

Mining and metal work were completely unknown to the Afonbren prior to the contact with the Bishopric. While there had been some work done with native copper, it was purely for ornamental or ritual purposes, not for tools or for weapons. The Blade Trade revolutionized this, bringing the cheap weapons from the Bishopric flooding into the Confederation. The Afonbren still lacked the ability to manufacture their own, but they did develop ways to patch or repair broken blades, sometimes merging two broken blades into abominations of iron. This would begin to change as the refugees came downriver, bringing knowledge with them.

Finding common cause with their Christian brethren, these fleeing Fanaithe were quickly valued for their mining and blacksmithing abilities. Termed the “Iohristani” by the Afonbren (meaning something along the lines of “ironmen”), these Fanaithe helped the natives to develop the metal resources that they’re land was sitting upon. While it would take some time to find and work iron deposits of a large enough magnitude to supply some of their needs, copper tools began to be fabricated as a stop-gap measure. These tools, generally lower in quality, nevertheless fit the niche that the Confederation needed filled.

Spurred on by the Christian Afonbren and the Iohristani, the Confederation stepped up and began to take the place of the Bishopric in the continental trade. The smaller tribes, scattered throughout the region, that had been introduced to the trade earlier in the century, began to have their orders filled by native Afonbren artificers. The Confederation also drove its caravans further into the interior, searching for new markets for its goods; this would bring them over the coming century into the greater continental trade networks, beginning to be developed as tribes across central and south-eastern Talbeah began to settle down. [1]

The most dramatic of these transformations, of course, was in the original region contracted by the Confederation’s traders. The tribes which had been spurred to almost eternal warfare between themselves had settled down and “sophisticated” further, constructing palisaded villages and developing small polities of their own. This was welcomed by the Confederation, which had been hoping for this eventuality in the first place; it enabled trade to be conducted more formally, as well as allowing the spread of the knowledge of the Iohristani.

These developments all, of course, played to the strength of the Christian Afonbren. The driving force behind these efforts, they were able to profit strongly from the changes in trade. This placed them in stronger positions, vis a vis the traditional leadership of the Confederation, their wealth allowing them to swing more individuals into their influence. By the close of the century, the Confederation would be, for all intents and purposes, controlled by these monied interests, though direct political control would not be sought by these men until later. For now, they were content to control the trade and the wealth of the Confederation.

-----

The developments in the Confederation had the effect of weakening the position of the European settlements, vis a vis the continental trade. Their position at the head of the Blade Trade had been usurped over the time of troubles, making the Confederation more interested in establishing trade ties on a more equitable level when trade was resumed (as, of course, the Confederation’s blades left something to be desired). While this did eliminate much of the impetus behind the hated man-tax, the nobility and company heads were left in the lurch. Their wealth, depleted over years of warfare, was unable to be as easily replenished as it had been earlier in the century.

This would play both in favor and against the three claimants to Gorfodi, as well as their loyal noblemen and company heads. With a lot of excess blades lying around, it was quite easy for them to arm their loyal retainers; however, at the same time, it was difficult to pay these same retainers. This strange environment led to the development of Talbeahan manorialism, in its earliest senses; noblemen, lacking the traditional methods of gift giving, would promise powerful warriors land and labor [2], in exchange for martial services and a part of their profits. These developments would be felt more strongly in the coming centuries, however; for now, it was simply a stop-gap measure.

Gallmau was faced with the unfortunate position of being a military minded man with no military to lead. His general unpopularity, due to an apparent speech impediment (if the Chronicles of Rineen are to be believed), prevented him from gathering a large enough force to pose an effective challenge. It also made him vulnerable to intrigues; the eldest son of Arthfael would be assassinated in 992, likely at the behest of his younger brother.

This would place the contest for who was the true Gorfodi between Mihael and Vormvini. The two were forced to wage a sort of running raid-style of warfare against each other, due to Mihael’s geographic security on Nuadu’s Isle. Small flotillas would sortie to attack small settlements, driving people from small towns on the coast into defensible settlements. This disrupted the economy of the Bishopric further, while also causing more human hardship and suffering.

Arvid Far-Seeker, in the meantime, was initially content to watch the Birtons fight between themselves. This would change to distraction when the Island Measctha clans rose up against him, inspired by one of the few monks from Brendan’s that actively opposed the new King. This war would nearly cost Arvid his crown when the Measctha almost took all of Peace Town in a surprise attack; but the Ostman would rally his supporters, and drive the Measctha back, eventually slaughtering many of them. The survivors would flee the island, many of them landing on Nuadu’s Isle in 995, where they would be welcomed by Mihael. This would open up the Insula for future Ostish settlement, changing the character of the island in the coming centuries.

The conflict between Mihael and Vormvini would grind to a standstill towards the end of the century, though Vormvini would get a break when Mihael was stricken with a grave illnesss in 997 and passed away after a short struggle. Mihael’s children would quarrel with each other, allowing Vormvini the chance to sail against Nuadu’s Isle and secure it for himself. Now, with the entirety of the continental Bishopric behind him, he felt prepared to sail against the Insula.

However, the day after he finished his council of war at Costa Dhearg, the sails of the Ostmen were seen against the horizon. Arvid Far-Seeker, ready for further conflict after repairing the damage left by the Island Measctha revolt, had come to meet the last challenger to his authority.

By all accounts, Vormvini should have won. Costa Dhearg was notoriously well-fortified, his ancestor Owain only able to secure it himself after a lengthy siege. However, Vormvini was terrified of the Ostish forces, having come to believe the many legends he had heard about their brutality. He was also unsure of his own military prowess, knowing he lacked the command presence of either his brother or uncle. With this in mind, he decided to try to slip out of the town himself, leaving his men with a command lurch. When he was unable to, due to the walls of the town being closed, Vormvini instead hid himself in the basement of a flour mill, as the story goes.

With their commander missing in action, the forces of the would-be Gorfodi fumbled many of the opening actions, allowing the Ostmen to secure their ships at anchor with nary a casualty and land their men without much opposition. A fierce fight followed as some tried to rally and regain the initiative, but the damage was already done. Most of the Gorfodi’s forces scattered, breaking down the gates to escape; Vormvini was found by an Ostman spearman, covered in flour. Brought before Arvid, the Ostish King had him thrown into a pot and boiled “as if he was a dumpling.” [3]

With Owain’s line all but snuffed out, no real threat to Arvid’s authority remained. Over the next three years, Arvid would establish a sort of understanding with the myriad of companies and nobility that remained on the Talbeahan continent. Arvid recognized that a campaign to bring all of them to heel would be violent, time-consuming, and leave him with little to rule over; he also feared uniting them behind another candidate for Gorfodi if he presented such a threat, as they were currently content to squabble with each other over creeks and woods and fields. Therefore, in exchange for a reasonable tribute and some manner of homage, Arvid would allow them to continue to operate as they had become accustomed to.

And thus, the century ended, and with it, the first Millenium after the birth of Jesus Christ. In the New World, Arvid now presided over an impoverished realm, while the star of the Confederation began to beam ever brighter.

Perhaps the Ostish King regretted selecting this as his kingdom of to conquer; it would take years to bring it up to profitability again.

Everything would change, of course, on New Year’s Day, 1000 A.D., when Arvid Far-Seeker, King of Setraland, was served a dish flavored by something so revolutionary to him, something that would come to dominate European attentions in the New World for centuries to come.

For that was the day that Arvid was given a piece of maple sugar candy...


[1] - Unlike what has been held as historical orthodoxy for centuries, it is now believed that this settlement period was related to independent phenomena from the Confederation’s trade efforts. The natural progression of indigenous developments, this was hastened, of course, by the Confederation, but it would have likely happened with or without the traders.

[2] - The traditional view of a Fanaithe being a “free-man” had been destroyed by the man-tax. The victory over the Filleadhaite had reinforced to the victors that they had the right to dispose of the labor of those beneath them how they saw fit- they could simply redirect the man-tax towards the service of a loyal vassal. The further indignities- such as travel restrictions, clothing laws, and the like- were still in the future.

[3] - The rather creative style of the records at the time makes such an account suspect.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Five:
The Sugar Rush
1000 - 1150

“They carried buckets, taps, hammers, logs, cauldrons; bundled in heavy clothing; it was maple time...”
​

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Five, Part One: The Reconnection, 1000-1045 A.D.


With the rise of Arvid Far-Seekrr to the throne of the Kingdom of Setraland, the long-standing isolation of the New World with the Old World was over. The remainder of Arvid’s reign would be spent trying to ensure the profitability of his new realm, juggle the competing interests of untrustworthy continental Britonnic grandees, and keep the church in his favor. That last would prove fairly easy- with his presence established in Peace Town, the clergy knew better than to try to take back the crown that they had given the Ostman. Arvid was a merciful friend to the clerics, however- under his reign, a grand effort to rebuild Brendan’s Monastery took place, funded in a large part by the King. The King would also write to the Pope in Rome, seeking to have Brendan recognized as a Saint, writing at the behest of the local Bishopric.

This reconciliatory behavior did not extend to the Christian Briton nobility or Fanaithe companies on the mainland, however, if they proved disloyal or failed to meet his tributary requirements. One revolt, in particular, was treated with a heavy hand. Islwyn, a young and popular grandee, refused to pay his tribute and raised his flag in rebellion in 1004, hoping to encourage his friends and relations on the continent to join him. The rapid response of Arvid’s force, however, preempted any such spread of the revolt. Islwyn’s fort would be cast down, his people slaughtered or taken into slavery, and he himself taken captive back to Peace Town, where he was, if the Chronicles of Rineen are correct, “castrated, blinded, robbed of his tongue, and made to sit in a cage, only brought out to dance for the amusement of the Pagans.” This harsh example seemed to cow the Britons and Fanaithe into general acceptance of his rule, though sporadic resistance is reported until the 1020s; those that accepted tended to do better, however, as Arvid was quite generous with the land and spoils taken from rebels.

Arvid may have distracted the nobility, however, by his choice to not invoke the “peace of the realm”, something that the Gorfodi’s had taken very seriously the century previous. The House of Owain had taken the responsibility to enforce the “Peace of Armagh” to heart, intervening in disputes between noblemen. With the order upset by the Filleadhaite Rebellion, the extended fighting between the claimants to the Gorfodi’s office, and the final consolidation under Arvid Far-Seeker, that had changed. Disputes over farmland, titles, or pure revenge for being on the wrong side of the civil conflict fueled the rise of new violence. Arvid refused to intervene in this, though he did make it clear that any warring grandees still had to fulfill their allotted tributary requirements- as made evident in his destruction of the Finsnectha Company and Arglwyð Gwydion’s forces when their feud prevented them from meeting their quotas.

With a new rise of violence, however, a new sort of soldier made an entrance onto the scene- the marchawc. This tied in with the development of Talbeahan manorialism, as the marchawc were men that were granted land and workers in exchange for their military service. This distinguished marchawcs from previous household retainers that the nobility and company-chiefs on the continent had employed. Another distinction, however, was their general adoption of mounted tactics. Cavalry, spread from the exodus of the Island Measctha after their failed revolt, had proved its worth during the Filleadhaithe Revolt, and many noblemen were eager to field mounted horsemen against their rivals. However, comparisons with the cavaliers of continental Europe, especially those fielded by the Frankish Emperors, are not completely accurate, as the marchawcs were generally more lightly-armored and relied more heavily on speed and maneuverability than their European brethren. There also existed a tradition of spear throwing that did not exist in the cavalier tradition.

Marchawcs and the new rising period of inter-feudal violence were on the backdrop of a greater change in the New World- that of the sugar trade. Arvid Far-Seeker had found in maple sugar a commodity that would bring him and his descendants' great wealth. And it was just in time as well- the fur trade that had previously characterized trade from Talbeah had been usurped by his Ostish brethren, who hauled cheap furs from the vast East at less of a cost and with less risk than the transatlantic voyage. Sugar, though, was special- the only other sugar that one could consume in Europe had to come on long journeys and change hands many times, and, to make matters worse, one would have to purchase from Rhomanian or Ismaili merchants. Many European traders felt they could stomach their pride and buy sugar from Ostish pagans at cheaper rates.

However, the nature of maple sugar made extraction a difficult prospect. One couldn’t simply create vast estates of maple trees- that would take years to get a return on investment. Instead, the nobility and company-chiefs saddled with the maple tax would pass the buck down to the villages under their control. The early months of new years were filled with the “maple time”- villages going out into the woods, finding maple stands, tapping them, and turning the sap into sugar. If villages failed to meet the quotas set by their lords (which were often higher than necessary, as they wanted some business for themselves on the side), they would be subject to harsh punishments in the vein of Arvid’s example. The status of the freemen of Talbeah had fallen far from its previous, lofty position.

This change in economic patterns also extended to the Afonbren Confederation. The Afonbren, content as they were to engage in the blade trade, were confused when the traders downriver began to ask for maple sap. They were accommodating, however, and soon exchange rates of some kind were established- blades for syrup. This fueled, in turn, a new rise of development of the Afonbren culture, enriching further the Christian merchant class of that nation, as well as their supportive population of Iohristani. This would have tragic consequences for the Confederation later in the century, but for now spirits were running high and wealth was flowing both ways along the Tullaha River.

This, in turn, affected the development of the other native populations the Afonbren were in contact with. Some historians speculate the continued contact with the Afonbren and the Kingdom of Setraland likely hastened development of more complex, settled civilizations by hundreds of years, though more recent historians, especially those of native descent, dispute this. Whatever the case, proto-states continued to develop, clustered around trading centers. Several of these communities would rise to great prominence later, especially a small settlement called K’omani, located on the eastern bank of the Great River. [1]

The Confederation’s Christian community also saw one of the first “firsts” in world history, though the event is generally a footnote in most histories. In 1033, a band of Afonbren Christians decided to take a voyage to Rome, to engage in pilgrimage. They were assisted by Arvid Far-Seeker, who had the policy of trying to maintain friendly relations with the Afonbren to ensure the flow of trade continued. Fifteen made the voyage, sailing and encountering many hardships along the way, from storms to pirate attacks. However, they all made it to Rome, and marveled at the great buildings of the Frankish Empire and the churches of the Papal Seat.

They would be met with curiosity, and then confusion, as they performed the Christian rituals in the strangest way. The priest among them had his head shaven in the wrong pattern, they celebrated the holy day’s on the wrong dates- after all, the Church in Talbeah had missed a few Councils. This inspired the Holy Father to send a mission to Talbeah, to help turn that church back into order. This was welcomed by Arvid, ever hopeful of seeking to engender Papal favor to help save his Pagan siblings from the wrath of Christendom, but a few clergymen on the continent resisted. This marked, therefore, the beginning of “Goidelicism”, a heresy that, while small, nevertheless persisted in the backwoods of Talbeah.

In 1044, Arvid Far-Seeker died, in full possession of the realm that he had, as his father had commanded him, won with his own hand. His son, Bolverk, inherited in 1045 a realm much more prosperous than the one his father had found, and, despite the feuds between his tributaries, had not seen any major war for forty years. It was a realm that was once again integrated with the Old World’s economy and culture.

It was also a realm that, soon, would find itself involved in one of the defining conflicts of Talbeahan history...


[1] The rise and fall of K’omani, of course, will be discussed in detail later in this work.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Five, Part Two: Expanded Connections, 1045-1055 A.D.

Bolverk was not much like his father. While Arvid Far-Seeker was more than willing to sit down and wade through the “boring” business of government, Bolverk possessed an active personality that made him naturally seek to avoid this in favor of hunts, voyages, or skirmishes. This won Bolverk much support from younger men, though his father’s old advisors were worried he would bring down the realm. Luckily for them, Bolverk had a sister, Grelod, who was Bolverk’s opposite. She was more than happy to conduct the day-to-day mundane business, and Bolverk was more than happy to let her do so. This saw some grumbling from the nobility, but Grelod was a capable administrator and Bolverk was more than willing to beat any man that insinuated he was being led around by a woman’s skirts.

The first major activity of Bolverk was the formal expansion of trade along the Talbeahan coastline. While informal contact had been made with tribes along the Atlantic seaboard for years, there had not been a stronger effort to integrate the tribes here into the trading system. This would change when Bolverk would sail south in 1047, overseeing the establishment of a trading post at the mouth of the Bucks River [1] to facilitate the expansion of commercial interests south.

The tribes along the coastline were ready for this integration into the system of trade as well. The coasts had been at the tail-end of the Blade Trade for years, with more well-equipped tribes in the interior launching raids against them, forcing them to form fortified, palisades communities. These proto-city states would be more than willing to trade what goods they had for weapons directly from the source, allowing them a stronger defense against the raiders.

While trade with these settlements would be somewhat profitable, the more potent discovery was made further South. In the warmer tidewater region [2], the furthest South (formally) any European had yet gone, the Paqwachowng were encountered. This tribal kingdom was crafted by the effects of European interactions, though that would not be fully understood for centuries. The tribes on the coasts that had not adopted the palisade strategy had migrated South to avoid raids, encountering and disrupting the ways of life of tribes in this region. Occasional contacts with the Blade Trade would create temporary wealth disparities, kicking off conflicts that eventually resulted in the “centralization” of power into the Paqwachowng realm.

These tribesmen were ferocious, with their men focused on warfare and the hunt, and with the women focused on farming and gathering. Among the crops that were grown by these native females was the much desired oyangwa, which was a major export to Europe, where even the Frankish Emperor had taken to smoking the thick-rolled herb. Oyangwa had been nearly exclusively gained by the European traders through the intermediaries of the Afonbren, but the lands of that Confederation were not very conducive to the growth of that herb. This shifted the oyangwa trade south, ending the Afonbreni monopoly on that commodity.

Not that those tribesmen minded very much- they were in possession of large stocks of maple, which was able to compete effectively with the sugar tax enforced by the grandees within the Kingdom. In fact, the Afonbren in this decade were riding high from the success of the newly forged European connections. Growth of trade with the Old World, as well as the growing demand there for maple sugar, saw silver and iron flow into the Confederation in unprecedented numbers.

However, this trade did not benefit the members of the Afonbren Confederation equally. This new wealth was heavily concentrated in the hands of the Christian trading class and their Iohristani allies. With wealth came power, and this power threatened the traditional balance of authority in the Afonbreni lands. The traditional chiefdoms that made up the Confederation did not mesh well with the increasingly emboldened Christian merchants. The traditional leadership was afraid of losing their authority, as well as growing increasingly concerned with the development of Christianity among their ranks. What had once been a sort of tolerated curiosity began to be perceived as a threat to the Afonbren way of life.

This marked the development of the first anti-Christian movement in the New World, the so-called “Wind Lodge” (Kanónhsa ówera) as the sources close to the time label it. While earlier works painted it as a “fearful heathen response to the triumph of the Cross”, as Volkert Smied put it in The Conquest of the West, putting all sorts of crimes and dark ceremonies to the hands of the Wind Lodge. More modern analysis, however, suggests that the Wind Lodge was more a sort of “protective society”, to prevent the exploitation of non-Christians and the preservation of the role of the chiefs in the Cofnederation. One modern historian even contends that the term Wind Lodge itself is inaccurate, holding that there was no central organized body as suggested in earlier works, and it was a European/Christian appellation to various, semi-related groups throughout the Confederation.

Whatever the case, religious tensions and disputes over power continued to grow among the Afonbren, even in the face of such new wealth. By the end of the decade, the simmering pot had begun to boil over, and the power-dynamic in Northeastern Talbeah would never be the same…

[1]- OTL Penobscot River

[2]- OTL Chesapeake Bay

 

[Rognvald]

This is the long-awaited map of the current state of the New World. Beyond the Afonbren, Setraland, and Paqwachowng, the "tribes" on the map are more just general swathes meant to indicate general tribal similarities (palisade building, small settlements, small tribal polities, etc.).

An area being blank on the map does not necessarily mean that it is empty.

 

[Rognvald]

Chapter Five, Part Three: Blood and Fire On the Tullaha, 1055-1080 A.D.

The Afonbren Confederation lacked any sort of central, directing leadership. It was, for all intents and purposes, an economic grouping, meant originally to help increase the trade power of the tribes along the Tullaha in the early days of the Blade Trade. However, over the next hundred years, the Confederation had begun to take on more symbolic meaning, becoming more concrete as cooperation brought the disparate tribes closer together. By 1055, an annual meeting of the major chiefs of the Confederation, known as the Council Fire, became a massive ceremonial event in the Confederation. A time for trade, marriages, negotiating the end of tribal disputes, and dealing with Confederation business. [1]

The general build up of conflict within the Afonbren came to a head at the Council Fire in 1055. Tensions had been building up for the past decades, as the Christian traders and their Iohristani associates butted heads with the traditional chieftains. The rise of the Wind Lodge had increased conflict further into actual blows, at least according to traditional sources. Most blame for this has historically been placed on the Wind Lodge, as Christian sources indicate that the Wind Lodge was responsible for attacking trade caravans or attempting the murder of prominent Christian traders. A small school of historians, hailing from mainly Neo-Native thought, has sought to change the accepted narrative by blaming the Christians and the Europeans for their ills, but this has been generally discounted by mainstream historians and has little traction outside their own echo chambers.

The reality is probably both sides were responsible for violence, and that escalated further over time. This developed in the context of further economic shifts within the Confederation, as the expansion of trade serving to enrich the Christian trading class. The economy of the Confederation, which was based on a sort of shell-currency known as wapapyaki, had been thrown into disarray by the trade. [2] The arrival of European metal tools had made the ease of manufacturing the belts of wapapyaki easier. This allowed those with access to more blades the ability to get more wapapyaki. This generally placed it in the hands of the Christian class, giving them more economic prominence, especially as the value of wapapyaki and what it could purchase inflated. This put the chiefs and others who did not participate in the trade as directly at a disadvantage as they lacked the ability to compete economically.

This was not the only insult. Wapapyaki had a ceremonial significance that Setralander traders seemingly failed to grasp. Wapapyaki was exchanged at funerals, at weddings, at council meetings, and on many other occasions. The shell-belts were the glue that kept the tribe together, with each belt holding significance and representing a families power and influence in ways that gold coin never could. With wapapyaki inflating in value, and gathered in larger numbers by the Christian traders, it threatened the very social hierarchy that allowed the tribes to function as polities.

This shift so alarmed the chieftains that they had decided to take drastic action. In 1055, at the Council Fire, the chieftains announced their intentions to place the manufacture of wapapyaki firmly in the hands of a sort of “guild” of traditional artificers, presenting it as a way to protect the “everyman” in the Afonbren Confederation from the great shift in value, which had made it so that the average tribesman would be unable to purchase a blade or knife. Going beyond that, they decried that the tradition had lost its significance, failing to honor the line of ancestors that traced all the way back to the dark, distant past of the beginning of their people. Therefore, they declared that they would go through all the stock of wapapyaki, and discard that that they believed failed to meet their ceremonial standards.


This was met with outright hostility by the Christian Afonbren, who rightly took this as a threat to their newly developed authority and power. They yelled and howled derision at the chiefs, who were insulted by this insolence. While tensions had been building, none had yet dared to cross the line and insult their leadership directly. What crossed the line into outright violence, however, was a ceremonial game of begadwe, a ball and stick game that was already extremely vicious. A dispute between a Christian and a traditional player (who most accounts claim was a member of the Wind Lodge) grew into outright death as both men drew blades and went after each other, soon joined by their comrades. Violence spread through the Council Fire, as women and children fled and men slaughtered each other.


The conflict only spiraled out from there, as the survivors of the slaughter on both sides (there appears to have been no clear winner of this initial contest) retreated to their various bases of power to gather their men to assist them. This was no clear tribe on tribe conflict, like those that had been taking place in Talbeah since the beginning. Fighting broke tribes apart along the lines of religion. Members of the Wind Lodge attacked and burned churches, killed priests, and burned copies of the sacred texts. Those loyal to the Christ, in turn, chopped down sacred trees, disrupted old burial grounds, and burned medicine men and women alive.

The effect of this struggle for the soul of the Confederation had immediate impacts on the Talbeahan trading patterns. The Confederation played a key role as middle men and a lesser role as producers, but now they were too busy slaughtering each other to fill that role. Trade along the Tullaha came to a stop, blades from the Setralanders no longer reaching the waiting tribes of the interior, and maple from the Confederation not reaching Costa Dhearg for transport to the Old World. This would have tremendous consequences on the future development of the New World, forcing tribes to improvise and come up with their own solutions, and driving the eventual intervention of the Setralanders in the war.

Bolverk was probably ignorant of what his advisors were telling him about the loss of profit margins and the economic consequences of the smaller shipments of maple sugar reaching European markets. However, what he did understand was that Christians, his neighbors, were being attacked, and that some had sought for his assistance. Always spoiling for a fight, never able to stay in one place and settle down to rule, Bolverk voiced his decision to launch an expedition along the Tullaha, to help bring the war to a close. He was joined, initially, by a large group of men, led by various grandees who hoped to profit from the effort while paying lip service to Christ. This force would sail down the following year, entering the fray in 1056.

This would prove to be decisive in the short-term, as the well-armored, equipped, and trained Setralanders “secured” the river by the year’s end after a few vicious battles. However, in the long-term, this would bog Bolverk down in a conflict with seemingly no ending. The Wind Lodge and its supporters of the traditional way of life, after the first few contests with the Setralanders went the wrong way for them, slipped into the woods and hills, and adopted guerrilla tactics, not unlike those that were utilized by the Filleadhaite during their revolt in the 10th Century. These would frustrate Bolverk, as he was not used to countering such tactics.

Additionally, after the initial “victory’ helped free up the Tullaha for trade, the grandees that had accompanied Bolverk, for the most part, set about securing their economic future. Using their retinues, they set up shop along the river, feuding with each other over prime maple strands. In this, they butted heads not only with each other and the traditional Afonbren, but the Christian Afonbreni as well, who felt as if their helpers were helping themselves more than they. This would lead to new cycles of violence, as Christian fought Christian over sugar, and blood flowed as well as the syrup. This also served to complicated Bolverk’s efforts to defeat the Wind Lodge, as he often had to criss-cross the region, seeking to stop his own vassals from totally crushing each other in order to focus on the real threat. He was often obliged, as he refrained from intervening in every disputation- just the major ones.

This delayed the eventual “victory” of the Christians, but as soon as the Setralanders became involved in any meaningful way, the game was up for the Wind Lodge. Though they could launch hit and run strikes all the day long, Bolverk eventually savvied up to a way to defeat them- the “Heathen Line”, a series of stout forts flanking the Tullaha, started in the early 1060s. This outposts would be manned by Bolverk’s retinue, or the retinues of those of his most trusted grandees, and were mostly within supporting distance of each other. These could head off Wind Lodge raids, and ride to the protection of each other in case of siege. As the pace of the conflict turned further and further against them, the Wind Lodge eventually dissipated, its hatred for Christianity not enough to keep its coalition together. The descendants of the originally disputees would become semi-nomadic tribes wandering the hinterland- a thorn in the side of Christians in the region for generations, but no more than that. The situation grew quiet enough that Bolverk was able to finally return back to Peace Town full time by the mid-1070s, having run himself nearly ragged trying to end what he had thought would be a quick and easy adventure.

He would return to a Kingdom that, despite being involved in a complicated dispute for two decades, nevertheless maintained a positive cash flow. This was due to the efforts of Grelod, the sister of Bolverk and his appointed regent. She was ruthless in her efforts to keep the Kingdom wealthy, not afraid to tread on the toes of grandees, not afraid to use her influence with the Church, with the Ostish pagans who were generally uninterested in battle upriver, and with ambitious lesser nobility to ensure that tribute remained paid. She grew to be hated, called “Grelod Hard-Hearted” by those who clashed against her, but she managed to keep the Kingdom going long enough for Bolverk, popular only as a King who generally practiced non-interference in the practices of his nobility could be.

While conflict would rage for decades along the Tullaha, the river had been generally reopened after 1056, but it was only in one direction- towards Setraland. The land on either side was too much of a conflict zone to effectively launch expeditions into the interior, forcing the tribes there that had become dependent on the trade with the Confederation to look elsewhere. Many looked to the coasts, where the tribes that had traditionally found themselves on the recovering end of the Blade Tarde’s violence now found themselves acting as middle men. Their sea-lane connections with the Setralanders allowed the flow of trade to continue, bringing them greater wealth and influence. Unlike the Afonbreni, however, the coastal tribes did not form some sort of Confederation, instead holding in their own tribal groups, each with their own palisade or pair of palisades, each competing with each other to attract the most trade.

Additionally, the collapse of the Confederation saw a flow of refugees along their previously established trade routes. These refugees, some Christian, some traditional, brought their knowledge with them, enabling the development of new industries in these regions, and kick-starting the development of new polities. Some small tribal chiefdoms began to develop more lofty ambitions- ambitions that would help drive the development of settled civilization in North-Eastern Talbeah, beyond the coasts and the confines of the Tullaha.

The situation on the Tullaha could not have been more different. Where the natives had once controlled the trade along the river, much of their land was now devastated. Traditional tribal bonds had been broken by the conflict, forcing the development of new identities centered on the Church. These coalesced around Ethnarchs, powerful and wealthy Christian Afonbreni men, who were considered by Bolverk to be roughly the same rank as the continental Britonnic nobility or Fanaithe company leadership. These Ethnarchs, in turn, did not control as much land as the old Confederation had; the grandees had done their best to wrest their land from them, and now the banks of the Tullaha belonged to a patchwork of feudal holdings and “ethnarchies”, solidified by Church intervention in 1080. This brought much of the Tullaha under the indirect control of the Kingdom of Setraland- even more so, as the Ethnarchs were keen on bending the knee in order to receive some protection from the worst excesses of the grandees. [3]

This expansion upriver would prove to be crucial in the future development of Christian Talbeah, bringing new wealth and territory into the borders of its only champion. However, it would also serve as the impetus for the rise of the greatest rival for Christianity in the New World. For not every tribal who was part of the Wind Lodge, or of the ancient traditions of the Afonbren, quietly faded into the night, only to lash out like wolves at the fringes of society.

As was earlier stated, refugees fled along the trade routes, helping to kick start development. One such group of refugees wound up in a small trading settlement that was just beginning to come into its own. Their arrival would help send it on its meteoric rise, on its course for empire, for its eventual titanic clash with Talbeahan Christendom.

For the end of the Confederation marked the true beginning of K’omani…

[1] Comparisons have been made with the Althing of the Ostish of Askraland, which for the most part are fairly apt. However, there was no central “lawspeaker” as in the Althing, and, overall, the Confederation dealt with more economic discussions than the Althing.

[2] Wapapyaki is similar unto the wampum used as currency in the early days of OTL European settlement in the region.

[3] Bolverk himself, of course, following the example of his father and the example he had set during the campaign-intervening if disputes grew to the point where they disrupted the flow of the maple tribute.