I gotta get back to writing but I can't make myself do it. Posting a bit of something already written to try and spur myself on.
Long Live the King?
Though Richard III was dead it seemed that he had left the Plantagenet dynasty fully secure. During their 32 years of marriage Richard’s wife Anne had given birth to no less than 16 children.
The two eldest William and Richard having died years earlier it came down to the 27 year old Prince Edward to take up the position as the most powerful man in Christendom.
Edward IV
The reign of Edward IV though on the surface peaceful was never short of the risk of war.
In 1510 the first major crisis of his reign emerged with border skirmishes between Lotharingia and the Empire escalating almost to the point of war. For several years Europe stood on the brink of erupting into all out war- both France and the Empire wanted to conquer Lotharingia, seeing its lands as rightfully their own.
Lotharingia was both literally and figuratively stuck in the middle between the two great powers of Europe forced to try and balance relations with the two so as to try and ensure they would never come to a partition agreement and collectively launch a campaign of conquest.
This Lotharingian crisis was perhaps the most tense in its history and it’s final resolution did not come for at least a decade; certainly long after Edward’s reign was over.
The second major crisis in Edward IV’s reign was the breakout of war between Milan and Savoy in 1512. This crisis was tied in with that in the north due to Milan’s being (albeit only nominally) part of the empire meaning that for France to directly intervene could have resulted in all out war. Though they couldn’t directly enter into the war a Milan-ruled Savoy would nonetheless not be a favourable situation for France and so they did meddle.
Money was sent to Savoy for the hiring of troops and with some prompting in late 1513 Genoa eventually risked getting involved in the war. The tide quickly turned against Milan and with Venice deciding to go to war against them in early 1515 it became clear to Milan that the war was lost.
Though Edward was a very skilled ruler, successfully managing to keep French lands out of direct danger through diplomatic manoeuvring of other nations his reign was short lived.
From December 1513 onwards the king began to show signs of ill health and on the 21st of August 1515 he finally passed away.
Though they had been married for 10 years Edward’s wife had yet to give birth to a surviving son, instead they had only the two daughters: Isabel and Margaret.
Sometime before Edward’s death when it had became clear due to his ill health that he was not long for the world a decision on his successor had been reached: French Salic law would apply for the entirety of his lands and it would be his younger brother Louis who would take over the whole empire, not his eldest daughter Isabel.
To many this decision was just common sense: Louis was a proven administrator and one of the finest horsemen in the country whilst Isabel was just a six year old girl. Amongst large amounts of both the general population and the nobility however it was not at all a popular decision. Louis was widely seen to have swayed the decision in his own lust for power.
To many in England (and elsewhere) this was seen as nothing more than a blatant disregard of English law in favour of French centred uniformity.
Louis I
The reign of Louis the first could not have possibly gotten off to a worse start. To celebrate his coronation as King of France a grand festival was held just outside of Paris. As part of the festivities a tournament was held in which Louis (always a keen participant in such events) fully participated.
Things initially went well for the young king with several victories being won, when he came to face the Marquis of Astorga however things took a turn for the worse as his opponent’s lance shattered upon his helmet sending splinters through into his eyes.
For a few weeks things were very touch-and-go over whether the king would survive but eventually, he pulled through. As a result of the accident however he was totally blinded and over the years that followed his state of health was shaky at best and his personality post-accident drastically altered beyond even what could be expected from losing ones sight. However he remained somewhat capable of playing a part in government.
Things changed in the Autumn of 1518 however when his mental health declined drastically into full blown insanity. He was soon removed from the public eye with an alliance of nobles taking over the day-to-day running of the country. There was serious talk of officially removing Louis from his role as king due to his being utterly incapable but Louis still had his supporters and he did show brief periods of lucidity.
The argument of what to do with Louis remained a fairly constant issue for the rest of his reign; not that it was particularly long. In 1520 Louis finally passed away.
Officially this was simply as a result of his illness finally getting the better of him though the truth of the matter is even today rather controversial with many believing that there was foul play at work and it was all part of the political struggle between the nobility; the ambitious Duke of Bourbon, Henry I, is believed to be the most likely perpetrator.
Long Live the King?
Though Richard III was dead it seemed that he had left the Plantagenet dynasty fully secure. During their 32 years of marriage Richard’s wife Anne had given birth to no less than 16 children.
The two eldest William and Richard having died years earlier it came down to the 27 year old Prince Edward to take up the position as the most powerful man in Christendom.
Edward IV
The reign of Edward IV though on the surface peaceful was never short of the risk of war.
In 1510 the first major crisis of his reign emerged with border skirmishes between Lotharingia and the Empire escalating almost to the point of war. For several years Europe stood on the brink of erupting into all out war- both France and the Empire wanted to conquer Lotharingia, seeing its lands as rightfully their own.
Lotharingia was both literally and figuratively stuck in the middle between the two great powers of Europe forced to try and balance relations with the two so as to try and ensure they would never come to a partition agreement and collectively launch a campaign of conquest.
This Lotharingian crisis was perhaps the most tense in its history and it’s final resolution did not come for at least a decade; certainly long after Edward’s reign was over.
The second major crisis in Edward IV’s reign was the breakout of war between Milan and Savoy in 1512. This crisis was tied in with that in the north due to Milan’s being (albeit only nominally) part of the empire meaning that for France to directly intervene could have resulted in all out war. Though they couldn’t directly enter into the war a Milan-ruled Savoy would nonetheless not be a favourable situation for France and so they did meddle.
Money was sent to Savoy for the hiring of troops and with some prompting in late 1513 Genoa eventually risked getting involved in the war. The tide quickly turned against Milan and with Venice deciding to go to war against them in early 1515 it became clear to Milan that the war was lost.
Though Edward was a very skilled ruler, successfully managing to keep French lands out of direct danger through diplomatic manoeuvring of other nations his reign was short lived.
From December 1513 onwards the king began to show signs of ill health and on the 21st of August 1515 he finally passed away.
Though they had been married for 10 years Edward’s wife had yet to give birth to a surviving son, instead they had only the two daughters: Isabel and Margaret.
Sometime before Edward’s death when it had became clear due to his ill health that he was not long for the world a decision on his successor had been reached: French Salic law would apply for the entirety of his lands and it would be his younger brother Louis who would take over the whole empire, not his eldest daughter Isabel.
To many this decision was just common sense: Louis was a proven administrator and one of the finest horsemen in the country whilst Isabel was just a six year old girl. Amongst large amounts of both the general population and the nobility however it was not at all a popular decision. Louis was widely seen to have swayed the decision in his own lust for power.
To many in England (and elsewhere) this was seen as nothing more than a blatant disregard of English law in favour of French centred uniformity.
Louis I
The reign of Louis the first could not have possibly gotten off to a worse start. To celebrate his coronation as King of France a grand festival was held just outside of Paris. As part of the festivities a tournament was held in which Louis (always a keen participant in such events) fully participated.
Things initially went well for the young king with several victories being won, when he came to face the Marquis of Astorga however things took a turn for the worse as his opponent’s lance shattered upon his helmet sending splinters through into his eyes.
For a few weeks things were very touch-and-go over whether the king would survive but eventually, he pulled through. As a result of the accident however he was totally blinded and over the years that followed his state of health was shaky at best and his personality post-accident drastically altered beyond even what could be expected from losing ones sight. However he remained somewhat capable of playing a part in government.
Things changed in the Autumn of 1518 however when his mental health declined drastically into full blown insanity. He was soon removed from the public eye with an alliance of nobles taking over the day-to-day running of the country. There was serious talk of officially removing Louis from his role as king due to his being utterly incapable but Louis still had his supporters and he did show brief periods of lucidity.
The argument of what to do with Louis remained a fairly constant issue for the rest of his reign; not that it was particularly long. In 1520 Louis finally passed away.
Officially this was simply as a result of his illness finally getting the better of him though the truth of the matter is even today rather controversial with many believing that there was foul play at work and it was all part of the political struggle between the nobility; the ambitious Duke of Bourbon, Henry I, is believed to be the most likely perpetrator.