The shadow of Muret

Muret, September 12th, 1213.
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Muret, September 12th, 1213.

The battle, in fact, had been a skirmish. True, the two forces crashed with violence and many knights were unhorsed and killed on the spot just as the first corps of Montfort hit the lines of Raymond Roger de Foix. Then, Montfort attacked with his own corps and mayhem explode.

Suddenly, in the confusion that followed, some knights came dangerously close to the enemy leader and, realising that it was him, doubled their attack and, even if some of them were killed in the process and even if the great warrior fought like a devil for his life, the almost suicidal charge resulted in his death.

Thus, the vision of such an accomplished leader, with such an impressive fame won recently, falling from his horse and hitting hard the ground, where he remained unnaturally still, caused a conmotion in his men. Thus, the death of their leader gave the signal for a general flight. The defeated army ran in all directions. The reserve force, that had been kept in reserve, had not been able to join the fight, broke and also fled. The enemy calvary harassed them, killing more men during the persecution that in the battle itself.

It was not a rout, it was a slaughter.

Later on, when the victorious foot soldiers began to plunder the corpses of their enemies, they had no qualms to do the same with such a famous knight. Simon de Montfort's eyes were fixed on the sky, seeing nothing, and in this way, still, bloody and naked, Peter I of Aragon and his knights found him.
 
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Could Henry I of Castile and Ferdinand of Leon (the firstborn son of Alfonso IX of Leon and his first wife Teresa of Portugal) survive ITTL keeping separate the kingdoms of Castile and Leon?
 
As I suppose that this TL is an Aragonese-wank, it would be interesting to make ITTL the Count of Provence Ramon Berenguer IV die without descent and the county revert to possession of Peter II of Aragon.
 
Could Henry I of Castile and Ferdinand of Leon (the firstborn son of Alfonso IX of Leon and his first wife Teresa of Portugal) survive ITTL keeping separate the kingdoms of Castile and Leon?

Could it be...

As I suppose that this TL is an Aragonese-wank, it would be interesting to make ITTL the Count of Provence Ramon Berenguer IV die without descent and the county revert to possession of Peter II of Aragon.

Not really a wank, I hope... About Ramon Berenguer IV... for that I would need to get rid of his younger brother, too.
 
Interesting and some of the consequences seems that would be the continuation and strengthen of the trans-Pyrenean as the main characteristic of the Kingdom of Aragon.
As well as that the kingdom main geopolitical interest wouldn't change to a Mediterranean one nor (guess) would be (only) do focus in the reconquest nor in the Iberian affaires and consequently would remain in Provenza and Occitane would be able to avoid the conquest and the plundering of the 'crusaders'.
But consequently the relations with the Pope would be worsened and foreseeable for the Pope would be a major and worrisome defeat by an excommunicated king against his chosen crusader leader.
Especially if in the battle or in the chase against the defeated Montfort's forces would be killed some of the clergymen and/or abbots that, reportedly, were following or were among the Montfort forces.

Finally, I think that some of the main questions/consequences to explore would be if the Pope would call for a new crusade against the King of Aragon and his Kingdom and what would be the reaction of the rest of the Iberian kingdoms and mainly of the French King. What would happen to the Montfort, son and especially the English one that later would become in (OTL) the de facto England ruler.
 
Interesting and some of the consequences seems that would be the continuation and strengthen of the trans-Pyrenean as the main characteristic of the Kingdom of Aragon.

Yes, the trans-Pyrenean nature of the kingdom is going to give its rulers (and me) some headaches...

As well as that the kingdom main geopolitical interest wouldn't change to a Mediterranean one nor (guess) would be (only) do focus in the reconquest nor in the Iberian affaires and consequently would remain in Provenza and Occitane would be able to avoid the conquest and the plundering of the 'crusaders'.

Bearing in mind how some Aragonese kings were able to change their focus depending on the chances... all options are open, methinks.

But consequently the relations with the Pope would be worsened and foreseeable for the Pope would be a major and worrisome defeat by an excommunicated king against his chosen crusader leader.
Especially if in the battle or in the chase against the defeated Montfort's forces would be killed some of the clergymen and/or abbots that, reportedly, were following or were among the Montfort forces.

That is something is still have to deal with it... Bearing in mind that both sides saw the battle as trial by battle devinely ordained, even the Pope will have to bit his tongue. After all, he's not dealing with the heretic count of Tolouse, but with the heroe of Navas, so...

Finally, I think that some of the main questions/consequences to explore would be if the Pope would call for a new crusade against the King of Aragon and his Kingdom and what would be the reaction of the rest of the Iberian kingdoms and mainly of the French King. What would happen to the Montfort, son and especially the English one that later would become in (OTL) the de facto England ruler.

About the French king, the Magna Carta and the Montfort clan... more to come. The second POD will deal with two of them.

We still have an unmarried brother of Peter I, Ferdinand who could be married off to Eleanor and John could ally with Peter I..

Fernando was destined to the church, so, unless that the need for an English alliance is very pressing...
 
Bearing in mind that both sides saw the battle as trial by battle devinely ordained, even the Pope will have to bit his tongue. After all, he's not dealing with the heretic count of Tolouse, but with the heroe of Navas, so...
I would think that the menace of a Crusade would be a clear possibility since the Pope had already threatened to the King/Kingdom with a crusade... of course I think that all would depend if the Pope would be able to find allies/supporters in the Iberian Kingdoms and/or in France.
 
Margaret of Provence and James I of Aragon would make sense as a marriage as there is no Treaty of Corbeil, however we have Isabella of Jerusalem who would have a more attractive inheritance.

Since Maria of Montpellier is DEAD in the POD, he can remarry, there are Alice and Philippa of Champagne who are claimants to Jerusalem and nieces of John of England.
 
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I would think that the menace of a Crusade would be a clear possibility since the Pope had already threatened to the King/Kingdom with a crusade... of course I think that all would depend if the Pope would be able to find allies/supporters in the Iberian Kingdoms and/or in France.

Well, the French "Crusade" of 1280 did not fare well. And Peter is not fighting for the cathars. He has a clear record of not being too friendly to them in his lands. So, all depends on future events.

Margaret of Provence and James I of Aragon would make sense as a marriage as there is no Treaty of Corbeil, however we have Isabella of Jerusalem who would have a more attractive inheritance.

Since Maria of Montpellier is DEAD in the POD, he can remarry, there are Alice and Philippa of Champagne who are claimants to Jerusalem and nieces of John of England.

And Peter was mad to get a claim on Jerusalem...
 
1. After the battle.
1. After the battle.

The anger of the Pope when he heard that Montfort had been defeated and killed reached a boiling point as the crusaders were slowly but constantly forced out of the conquested lands. Thus, Innocent III was unwilling to hear any explanation of Peter of Aragon. Thus, until 1214, Rome turned his back and kept all the heretics and their allies excommunicated. However, if Innocent III hoped for a divine intervention, he waited in vain. He was in the worst of moods when Aimery, Viscount of Narbonne, who had paid homage for his lands to Peter II of Aragon, joined the Aragonese host.

In the months following the battle of Muret, Peter of Aragon kept pressing the crusaders, while his forces were reinforced by vassals who had been unable (or not too willing) to join hands at Muret, like Gaston VI of Béarn. For once, the Occitan lords who had sworn fealty to him remained by his side. The failure of Castelnadaury was still present in his minds and were not willing to thrown such a decisive blow to the enemy, with, with a great number of its leaders dead or captured by the Aragonese-Occitan host, seemed unable to react, but when locals rebelled, they replied in kind with all their might and violence.

However, their hopes for reinforcements comming from France were dashed in 30 July 1214, when the forces of King Philip Augustus of France barely were able to hold their ground at Bovines while facing an Allied force led by Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, King John of England and Count Ferrand of Flanders. Thus, Phillip would have to wait until Otto's death in 1218 to see the Coalition finally breaking and with it, the threat against the French kingdom. However, by then it was too late to move against Peter II of Aragon, and the last Crusader holdings were crushed by the spring of 1215.

Furthermore, Pope Honorius III (Innocent IIII died in 1216) had a hard task in front of him. He hard to heal the damage caused by Innocent, who had organized two failed crusades, further eroding the prestige of the "institution" and of Rome. Furthermore, he had to take into consideration not only the troubled state of affairs in Italy but also the threatening attitude of the Tartars. Thus, he became qujite prone to talk as Peter II of Aragon wasted no time in making clear ihis attitude towards the Cathar heressy. Thus, as his father, king Alfonso I of Aragon, had done in 1194 and Peter himself in 1198, he made known in his lands that heressy was a crime of high treason, and proceed to apply that law in his new lands... only to find the same troubles and excuses that the Occitan lords had been offering to Rome during the last decades.
 
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