Tuscan Sons
- Thread starter Shadow Knight
- Start date
1107 AD –
(January) [Emirate of Tyre] The fortified part of Tyre on the mainland fell to Crusader forces after several prolonged attacks, but the much more secure fortified island part of the city remained free from Crusader occupation.
(March) [Baltic Sea - Ösel Island] With winter coming to a slow end the Crusaders on the island began preparations for an attack on the remaining Eths on Moon (Mohn) Island. However, when the Crusader’s arrived on the island they found it to be deserted beyond a few fisher and farmer families struggling to get past the winter. After some persuasion the few locals informed the Crusaders that the survivors from Ösel Island had fled soon after winter broke.
(April) [Ösel Island] With the reinforcements having arrived at Ösel Island Papal legate Hartwig of Freising began to consider his plans to bring God and Christ to the heathens of Livonia. He decided to begin with an attack on the islands in the Gulf of Livonia [Gulf of Riga] and then establish a fort at the mouth of the Daugava River.
[Prussia] Polish Crusader forces suffered a humiliating defeat (near the future site of the town of Giżycko) at the hands of the native Prussians.
[Pommerania] German Crusaders under the Count of Holstein began a push along the coast pushing the Polabian Wends further east. Further south Grand Master Albert continued his advance east along the Warta and Noteć Rivers and secured the areas along the Polish border.
(May) [Baltic Coast] Missionaries sent by Papal legate Hartwig successfully converted the chief of one of the Livonian tribes, Vojšalk (having promised support and the nearby lands of tribes that didn’t convert helped sweeten the deal for Vojšalk). Vojšalk’s tribe situated near the mouth of the Daugava River gave the Crusader’s a much wider base to further the efforts in Livonia than their tenuous hold from the month before. The Crusader camp was moved further south along the river where it would eventually grow into the town and then city of St. Petersburg (located roughly where OTL Riga is located).
From the Chronicles of the Benedictine monk Arminius, secretary to the Papal Legate:
"Bishop Hartwig's heart was bleeding since the pagans in Livonia refused to accept the True Faith and he prayed to God to find a way. And it came to him in a vision the Archangel Michael, who taught the good bishop what to do. And in obedience to the word of the Archangel, three missionary priests, the learned fathers Petrus and Ludovichus of Meinz and Abelardus of Nuremberg, set forth on the day of the Angels (Easter Monday) to convert the pagans. They were accompanied by a goodly number of knights of the Teutonic Order, under the command of Ritter Heinrich von Salza, to overawe the infidels. The three fathers traveled one week, and came in front of one Vojšalk, chief of the largest Livonian tribe. Two moons waxed and waned while the fathers preached to the infidels and confounded the false priests of their false and cruel gods. Finally, by the grace of God, Vojšalk saw the light, and accepted to be baptized in the true faith. The ceremony was set for the day of the feast of St. John (Midsummer's Eve). However on the appointed day, in front of the river where he would be baptized, Vojšalk lapsed, and declared that he would keep his faith in the old and false gods. All his people rumored with him: it almost looked that the Devil might score a victory. Suddenly, Ritter von Salza draw his shining longsword, and placed the point at the throat of Vojšalk, asking him in a firm voice if he preferred to be baptized in water or in blood. And lo and behold, a drop of blood fell from the throat of Vojšalk, and, falling into the water of the river, turned it all to blood. This was certainly a miracle sent by God, through the intercession of the good Archangel! Vojšalk and his people repented and prayed to be baptized. All of them were baptized in the river, and the water run red until the last of them had not received the sacrament. Afterwards Vojšalk, who that day changed his name to Heinrich, in honor of the Ritter who saved him from the pits of hell, was always the best and most humble of all Christians, and after a few years renounced his title and his worldly possession, and asked to enter a Benedictine monastery, in order to better prepare his soul for the Kingdom of Heaven. He was accepted in the monastery of Platvia (Danzig) and there lived until his death, honored and loved by one and all.”
[The good Arminius may have gilded a bit on the truth; Vojšalk actually died in a monastery in Platvia, but may have been forcibly removed from Livonia since he was not so ready to accept the dominance of the westerners over his ancestral lands. Still, after his death, his tomb became the goal of many pilgrims, and he was made saint in the 13th century. In the 14th century his tomb was opened and his body was moved to the cathedral of St. Petersburg where he still rests to this day. In the same cathedral, there is his most notorious relic, an ampulla of water, taken from the Red River - as it was named after the miracle - on the day of the fateful baptism. Every year, on the feast day of St. John, the ampulla is taken from the cathedral's vault and is shown to the faithful at high mass where every year it has turned the red of fresh blood.
The Chronicles attributed to Arminius, secretary of the Papal Legate in Livonia, are dated more than one century after the Baltic crusade, and the consensus among historians is that they were written in the Benedictine monastery in Platvia, the same where the original tomb of St. Heinrich is located. It is uncertain if the body is really St. Heinrich, the tribal chief, who was allegedly baptized on the banks of the Red River on the day of St. John. The Daugava River eventually would change its name and become known as Red River because of this. It is quite likely that the German knights surprised the Livonian tribe at a ford of the river and massacred the lot of them (and thus the waters turned red). The survivors were forcibly baptized in the same waters. St. Heinrich of the red River is still venerated to this day in Livonia. It should be noted that this miracle is suspect from the fact that when the Chronicles were actually written in the early 13th century the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was one Hermann von Salza, a descendant of Heinrich von Salza.]
[Italy] Adelaide, wife of Boniface, died in childbirth (the nameless boy died before its birth). Boniface in tribute to his late wife and unborn son ordered a magnificent church to be built in Mathildia in their memory. Not far from the church dedicated to his mother.
[Prussia] After a few setbacks the Polish forces regrouped and decimated several Prussian tribes while several others bent knee to the Polish king in exchange for the survival of their villages. The remaining tribes dug into their fortified villages or fled north into the lands of the Lithuanians, Pruthenians, and Yatviogs.
[Pommerania] Grand Master Albert crushed the remaining tribes located along the Warta and Noteć Rivers and established several forts as he marched east. Further to the north the Count of Holstein and the forces under his command marched along the coast bringing the cross and the sword to the tribes along the Baltic Sea.
[Estonia] The Danish king Eric began a series of naval landings and marched forth from his base at Kronborg west along the coast of Estonia. The native Eths repeatedly tried to impede the Danish efforts but failed after several battles which heavily favored the Danes.
(June) [Rome] Pope Paschal II received a letter from Adelissa, wife of Godfrey, begging for an annulment of their marriage for Godfrey’s debauchery in the east. She claimed that he had begun to assume the customs of the natives including the keeping of a harem.
(It is known from historical documents that Godfrey had instituted some serious reforms in the way his Crusader County was being run. Some of the changes were the use of more native-style war tactics [although a sizeable amount of heavy knights were retained], inclusion of non-converted Jews and Arabs into the civil service and military, adoption of native customs, food, and dress while there. However it is unknown whether he did have a harem, but it is known that it was roughly around this time a native Lebanese woman gave birth to a bastard child of his. The boy will become known as Goffredo Capraio.)
[County of Tripolis] Guido Malaparte nominal ruler of the Italian held Byzantine Cyclades arrived in Tripolis at the request of Godfrey.
The Arab chronicler Ibn Mamoun recounts the tale of the arrival of Malaparte in Tripolis:
"Malaparte was a tall man, almost gaunt, dressed in black; a neatly trimmed black beard, surmounted by a large, beaked nose, very similar to the beak of a hawk. But everything pales when compared with his eyes: pale blue, cold like the snows at the top of mountains; they pierced me like a sword, and I felt my soul had been bared in front of this Feranji."
[Emirate of Tyre] After years of siege, blockade, and the capture of the non-island part of the city the city of Tyre finally capitulated to the Crusader forces. The lack of food and an outbreak of disease crippled the defenders and thus they offered terms. The city and its territory were added the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A portion of the city was given over to the Thyrrenian trade cities as part of the bargain for assisting in the blockade. Additionally the Knights of St. Stephen were granted a large chapter house (formerly one of the palaces used by the Emir of Tyre) to be their headquarters in the Patriarchate and the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to the chronicler Ibn Mamoun:
“The surrender terms were respected in the third of the city granted to the Thyrrenians. However, the knight commanding the Patriarchate troops did not respect the terms, and gave their men license to sack the city for two days. It is said the streets of Tyre were running with blood and that even Iskander (Alexander the Great) was less cruel when he sacked the city long time ago.”
[Ibn Mamoun was a Druze, and in the civil service of Duke Godfrey. (An additional note: Godfrey enforced his no-persecution policy among his Moslem subjects too. Not surprisingly, almost the totalities of “collaborators” were either Druze or Shi'a.) As such, he is not completely clean from suspicions of gilding his chronicles to foster the goals of his lord. Malaparte is described as "fearful", but there is no disrespect in the description: it has the appearance of a propaganda leaflet. Same thing with the siege of Tyre it is hard to believe that the city was so sharply divided between the "good Thyrrenians" (who are subjects of Duke Godfrey's brother) and the "bad Patriarchals" (who are not). The siege of Tyre was bloody, difficult and protracted and is unlikely that the surrender terms were respected by any of the parties involved. The portrayal of the Thyrrenians as the “good guys” did not damage Ibn Mamoun a bit.]
(July) [Prussia] Polish forces began the arduous task of removing the remaining fortified Prussian villages. The remaining villages were located in the thickest forests and bogs of Prussia. Only the Polish weight in numbers allowed the Poles to gain a grinding victory over the last free Prussian villages.
[Pommerania] Several tribes of the Polabian Wends, in an attempt to spare their people, converted to Christianity but were turned upon by their neighbors before the German Crusaders could arrive. When they did arrive the Crusader’s slaughtered the pagan Polabian Wends and freed the few Christian Polabians held in thrall by the pagans.
[Denmark] King Eric had returned to København to marry Matilda Canossa, daughter of Boniface of Canossa. Eric had been shown by Matilda’s older brother, Gregory, a miniature of her while they campaigned together in the Baltic Crusade and since Eric was now without a wife (the Queen and his heir had died in a boating accident while he was on pilgrimage to the Holy Land) it was suggested that she might make a good queen. (From surviving writings and even a song it is described that Matilda heavily favored her mother’s Provencal looks and was quite the looker for the age. She is also to have inherited her father’s cunning and his propensity for being rash [in his youth that is].)
The union also had support from Emperor Henry V who sent lavish gifts from the east (plundered goods from the Crusade from his now deceased brother Conrad). Even with Henry’s distrust at the power of House Canossa a chance to ensure stability in his northern neighbor was welcome. With trade starting to bloom between Flanders and the Baltic (courtesy of the expanding trade out of Lübeck) Henry V was keen to ensure that Denmark was stable to allow swift and secure travel through the Sund.
However it was not long after the ceremony that word reached Denmark that in the heavy fighting with the Eths (Estonians), Nikolas, baron of Odz was captured in an ambush during which most of his escort was massacred. Later the body of the unfortunate baron was found and it came clear that he had been sacrificed to Vanatühi. The King went into a rage and swore on the cross that he would immediately return to Estonia and lay waste to the pagans. While many praised the strength of the king's faith there were also a few unsavory rumors to the effect that the king's rage was mostly fuelled by the grief for the murder of a lover.
[France] Philip King of France had a very loud argument with his son, Louis, over Louis’ pride and wife, Constance Duchess of Normandy. This argument was well described in journal by a priest within the royal household.
Again his royal majesty and his son argued today over the influence and power of prince’s wife. For months now the prince has complained to his majesty over the insults to his manhood his wife has forced him to bear. The topic of annulment was broached again but his majesty the king showed considerable restraint and spoke at length to persuade the stubborn prince; in the end, with regret, his majesty was forced to order the riotous prince to refrain from such action as it would threaten their cause to not just bring the baron’s to heel but also the other great landowners. I fear for his majesty as his health is not what it used to be and these arguments drain much from him.
[Northern Italy] Boniface of Canossa began to reflect on his options for a new bride. After polite refusal (and one not so polite one) to several offers it came down to a choice between a Byzantine princess (a cousin of Emperor Nikephoros Brynennios), a daughter of the Duke of Burgundy (Isabelle of Burgundy), and the younger sister of the Duke of Bohemia.
He also concluded a marriage arrangement with a sister of the young King of Castile-León for his youngest son Atto. It would take place in 3 years time when the girl, Sancha (Countess of Portugal), reached of age.
[Note: His eldest son, Gregory, was arranged to married to the daughter of Welf II, Liselotte, of the House Welf-Este, Duke of Bavaria and Carinthia, but the marriage was put on hold while Gregory participated in the Baltic Crusade.]
[Southern Italy] Roger Borsa, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, died after eating a feast that consisted of pickled eel. His nephew Roger the designated heir was soon installed as Duke not long after his elder brother Simon had been crowned King of Sicily (and a whole other host of titles).
Rumors at the time said the two brothers had a falling out over the situation their elder sister Adelisa was in. The much more passive and scholarly Simon was content to let the situation remain as is as it kept the kingdom out of a potential war. The more martial Roger was outraged at the indignities his sister was suffering as her husband, Godfrey Duke of Spoleto, was frolicking with some eastern harlot (as Godfrey’s Lebanese lover had started to become known in the west even if there was no evidence that she was).
[Rome] Pope Paschal II received further evidence from Adelisa of her husband’s infidelity and continued to pressure for an annulment. Pressure from House Canossa in Pavia had kept him from making any decision at the time.
[Dominion of the Almoravids – West Africa] The campaigns against the native pagan tribes have brought much wealth to the Almoravid court through tribute and loot from the conquered tribes. Much of it is spent to further the conversion of the pagans to Islam and additional conquests however a good amount is being spent expanding trade and fortifications in the north (in North Africa and in Iberia).
[Levant – County of Tripolis] The Lebanese mother of Goffredo, Haneen was installed in luxurious mansion in Tripolis guarded by a strange breed of un-bribable foreigners.
[It is unknown how Godfrey met Haneen beyond the well know story of a chance meeting while hunting (the Lay of Godfrey and Annina became a staple of the troubadours' repertoire). It is certain that she was not a common tavern wench or a whore but there is no consensus beyond that. Most sources argue that she was a slave, either Persian or Egyptian (and many a comparison to Cleopatra have been made over the years about her looks); others say that she was a Christian, the daughter of Maronite or Armenian miller; there are even a couple of sources stating that she was the daughter of one of one of the more powerful Druze sheiks of the mountains: this is obviously absurd, as much as saying that she was the “Queen of Sheba". It is quite likely that this legend might have arisen from the proven and historical friendship between the young ruler of Tripoli and the Druze community, which formed the backbone of his civil and diplomatic service. However it would take a conspiracy theorist to believe that not only the Druze sheikhs (the so called "illuminati") met in a conclave on the mountains of the Shouf, and decided not only to support Godfrey's rule (which might be reasonable, given the good treatment of Moslems and non-conformist believers in the county of Tripoli), but also they decided to choose one of their own daughters to become Godfrey's lover, and - in the words of the unknown gossip - teach the young Duke the ways of the East. I do believe that the rumors that Haneen was a succubus or a witch do not need to be even discussed: they were certainly planted by his enemies in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem or by Godfrey's estranged Norman bride.]
(August) [Pommerania] Grand Master Albert marched north from the Noteć River and crushed the remnant of the native Pomeranians.
[Prussia] The Polish Crusaders on word of gathering pagan horde to the north assembled their forces and marched forth to meet them. Near the Pregel River the Polish Crusaders almost fell into an ambush but for the chance encounter between a converted Prussian (who was scouting for the Polish Crusaders) and a hidden band of Yatviogs and Pruthenians.
[Livonia] Papal legate Hartwig using native converted forces and a contingent of Crusaders moved westward along the coast of Livonia where they subjugated several tribes. Another large force of German Crusaders marched along the Red River (Daugava River) deeper into Livonia.
[Kingdom of Sicily - Apulia] Noble lords throughout Norman southern Italy began meet in secret. The plotting went unnoticed within the court of Simon I as unrest in the North African territories had diverted attention from Italy.
[Northern Italy] Boniface after much discussion with his advisors, particularly the il cane del Capraio and Magister Nummium, it was decided that the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, Isabelle Countess of Sens, was the most suited to become his bride.
[Patriarchate of Jerusalem] In reward for their valiant efforts in the conquest of Tyre the Hospitalier Knights were rewarded with Seignury of Oultrejordan to be the forward bulwark against Muslim raiders from the desert. They were also permitted to retain one of the fortresses within Tyre to act as a chapter house to greet reinforcements from Europe (this chapter house would grow to be their biggest within the next two decades).
(September) [Pommerania] The Count of Holstein with reinforcements from Grand Master Albert defeated the remaining Polabian Wends. With their defeat all of Pommerania has fallen to the German Crusaders. (While the Crusaders have defeated any organized resistance much of Pommerania is still pagan and will take many years before the process of Germanification and conversion is completed.)
[Estonia] Eric King of Denmark had returned to Estonia to unleash his vengeance against the pagan Eths. His army marched from the already occupied areas along the coast into the interior of the west where the Baron of Odz was slain. Several battles were fought that the Danes decisively won but with each battle the king became more reckless with both his army and his person. Near what would become known as the Glen of Sorrows Eric ‘the Evergood’, King of Denmark, was killed by spear of a native Eth when his horse became bogged down in heavy mud.
[Livonia] Heavy fall rains that turned into the first snow stopped further progress as the Crusaders began to fortify their gains thus far.
[Lands of the Pruthenians and Yatviogs] Polish Crusaders defeated another gathering of Pruthenians and Yatviogs which brought several of their villages under the Crusaders’ heel. Before the end of the month and the heavy fall rains set in the entire Pregel River valley had fallen to the Polish Crusaders.
(October) [Denmark] Not long after the burial of Eric ‘the Evergood’ several factions within Denmark began to vie for the throne. With no contender able to gain enough votes to be elected king the battle lines began to be drawn. Eric’s only legitimate son from his first marriage to Boedil Thurgotsdatter, Canute Lavard, had been killed years ago with his mother during a boating accident.
Three contenders for the throne quickly came to the forefront. Eric’s brother, Niels who ruled from the Scanian territories across the Sund. The second contender was Harald Kesja (Harald the Spear), a bastard son of Eric, who had gathered support from north Jutland and from the nobles near the capital. The final contender was another bastard son of Eric’s, Erik II Emune, who had support from South Jutland. In a daring escape from the capital of København Erik II had fled with his deceased father’s new bride, Matilda of Canossa, to his lands in Schleswig (South Jutland).
[It was heavily rumored that when Eric had left for Estonia on his ride of vengeance his young bride was attracted to his eldest bastard, Erik, who was of similar age and renowned for his dashing good looks and magnetic charisma. It is unknown at this time whether they had already become lovers.]
(November) [Denmark - Syaland] Harald Kesja launched an early winter campaign against several undecided barons on Syaland from his stronghold of Haraldsborg at Roskilde. The Baron of Løghǽ brought battle against Harald but was outnumbered and thoroughly crushed. The Baron of Flackebyǽrg surrendered without a fight soon after Harald arrived at his stronghold (Harald had captured the baron’s son who had been at the court of Eric I in København and Harald had threatened to kill the boy if he did not surrender.). This brought all of Syaland under Harald’s control.
Harald had wished to continue but the winter and lack of funds prevented him from campaigning elsewhere. (Harald had captured the royal coffers in København but the amount in the royal treasury was low due to funding the Crusade in Estonia.)
[Denmark - Scania] Niels, lord of Scania, found himself in a troubled position. While almost all of Scania was in his hand, baring a few reluctant lords that he would soon deal with, those who were swearing fealty to him were scattered across Jutland far from his center of power. Furthermore he was low on funds with little prospect of garnering any more until the spring.
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik II and Matilda of Canossa arrived in the port town of Flǽnsburgh in Schleswig. Erik’s forces were much smaller than those of either his half-brother Harald or his uncle Niels, but in his favor all of Schleswig was firmly under his control. Erik like the other contenders suffered from a lack of cash to raise more men however salvation came when the seductive Matilda offered up her jewels to help fund his quest for the throne.
[Much like her namesake this Matilda was a shrewd politician and according to what records remain was bent on remaining a queen. If one Eric would not suffice then another Erik would have to do.]
Even with the wealth that Matilda’s jewels would bring Erik faced a manpower shortage. However it seemed Erik’s fascination with German knightly ideals and habits would offer him a solution to his problem. He wrote to Emperor Henry V where he asked permission to recruit knights from within Germany. They would be granted lands and be paid in cash for their services to help him gain his rightful place as King of Denmark.
[Northwest Atlantic Coast of Africa] Two Genoese vessels captained by Lancelotto Morcello and Niccoloso da Recco had, once they cleared the straits, made their way along the coast of Africa. They had heard rumors when docked in Icosium (Algiers) of gold practically flowing northward to the Almohades from their lands far to the south. Both down on their luck and banned from Duchy of the Western Isles for attempting to bribe harbor officials were gambling on striking it rich by helping themselves to some of this Moorish gold.
On the verge of running out of supplies their fortunes turned when a lone Moorish transport vessel hugging the coast came into view. The vessel turned and ran south when it became apparent the vessels closing in were Thyrrenian ships. It took several hours but the Genoese vessels caught up to the Moorish vessel near a grouping of islands off the coast. The Moorish vessel was soon boarded and all aboard slain. To the delight of captains and crews the Moorish vessel carried in its hold a hundred gold bars. The two captains split the gold but before heading out landed on the nearest island, later called Lanzarote, in search of fresh water. Lancelotto in the spirit of their good luck called the islands Insulae Fortunatae (Blessed Islands). This first landing did see the Genoese encounter any of the native people on the island but the two captains vowed to return to these lush islands to continue seeking further fortune.
[Rome] Pope Paschal II comes under increasing pressure to annul the marriage between Godfrey Duke of Spoleto and his wife Adelisa of Sicily. Increasing evidence brought forth by Godfrey’s actions in Tripolis had begun to sway him to agree but pressure from Boniface in the north has stayed his hand for now.
(December) [Italy] Adelisa fled to her brother’s (Roger) estates in Apulia with her daughter, Giovanna, when word from Tripolis arrived that ‘the eastern whore’ had been placed in a palace and was frequently seen in the arms of her husband.
Tempers and tension flared in the Norman kingdom as the court of Simon continued to try to find a diplomatic and peaceful end to the situation. Meanwhile the secret meetings between nobles in southern Italy began to happen more frequently and took on a more urgent tone to those of months past.
[Denmark] A heavy winter storm deposited a thick layer of snow and ice throughout the kingdom which brought the conflict to a ragged stop for the winter.
[Baltic Crusade] Cold weather and snow have brought the advancement of the Crusade to a close for the winter as the Crusaders huddled in their wooden forts waiting for the spring thaw to bring the light of Christ to the pagans.
(January) [Emirate of Tyre] The fortified part of Tyre on the mainland fell to Crusader forces after several prolonged attacks, but the much more secure fortified island part of the city remained free from Crusader occupation.
(March) [Baltic Sea - Ösel Island] With winter coming to a slow end the Crusaders on the island began preparations for an attack on the remaining Eths on Moon (Mohn) Island. However, when the Crusader’s arrived on the island they found it to be deserted beyond a few fisher and farmer families struggling to get past the winter. After some persuasion the few locals informed the Crusaders that the survivors from Ösel Island had fled soon after winter broke.
(April) [Ösel Island] With the reinforcements having arrived at Ösel Island Papal legate Hartwig of Freising began to consider his plans to bring God and Christ to the heathens of Livonia. He decided to begin with an attack on the islands in the Gulf of Livonia [Gulf of Riga] and then establish a fort at the mouth of the Daugava River.
[Prussia] Polish Crusader forces suffered a humiliating defeat (near the future site of the town of Giżycko) at the hands of the native Prussians.
[Pommerania] German Crusaders under the Count of Holstein began a push along the coast pushing the Polabian Wends further east. Further south Grand Master Albert continued his advance east along the Warta and Noteć Rivers and secured the areas along the Polish border.
(May) [Baltic Coast] Missionaries sent by Papal legate Hartwig successfully converted the chief of one of the Livonian tribes, Vojšalk (having promised support and the nearby lands of tribes that didn’t convert helped sweeten the deal for Vojšalk). Vojšalk’s tribe situated near the mouth of the Daugava River gave the Crusader’s a much wider base to further the efforts in Livonia than their tenuous hold from the month before. The Crusader camp was moved further south along the river where it would eventually grow into the town and then city of St. Petersburg (located roughly where OTL Riga is located).
From the Chronicles of the Benedictine monk Arminius, secretary to the Papal Legate:
"Bishop Hartwig's heart was bleeding since the pagans in Livonia refused to accept the True Faith and he prayed to God to find a way. And it came to him in a vision the Archangel Michael, who taught the good bishop what to do. And in obedience to the word of the Archangel, three missionary priests, the learned fathers Petrus and Ludovichus of Meinz and Abelardus of Nuremberg, set forth on the day of the Angels (Easter Monday) to convert the pagans. They were accompanied by a goodly number of knights of the Teutonic Order, under the command of Ritter Heinrich von Salza, to overawe the infidels. The three fathers traveled one week, and came in front of one Vojšalk, chief of the largest Livonian tribe. Two moons waxed and waned while the fathers preached to the infidels and confounded the false priests of their false and cruel gods. Finally, by the grace of God, Vojšalk saw the light, and accepted to be baptized in the true faith. The ceremony was set for the day of the feast of St. John (Midsummer's Eve). However on the appointed day, in front of the river where he would be baptized, Vojšalk lapsed, and declared that he would keep his faith in the old and false gods. All his people rumored with him: it almost looked that the Devil might score a victory. Suddenly, Ritter von Salza draw his shining longsword, and placed the point at the throat of Vojšalk, asking him in a firm voice if he preferred to be baptized in water or in blood. And lo and behold, a drop of blood fell from the throat of Vojšalk, and, falling into the water of the river, turned it all to blood. This was certainly a miracle sent by God, through the intercession of the good Archangel! Vojšalk and his people repented and prayed to be baptized. All of them were baptized in the river, and the water run red until the last of them had not received the sacrament. Afterwards Vojšalk, who that day changed his name to Heinrich, in honor of the Ritter who saved him from the pits of hell, was always the best and most humble of all Christians, and after a few years renounced his title and his worldly possession, and asked to enter a Benedictine monastery, in order to better prepare his soul for the Kingdom of Heaven. He was accepted in the monastery of Platvia (Danzig) and there lived until his death, honored and loved by one and all.”
[The good Arminius may have gilded a bit on the truth; Vojšalk actually died in a monastery in Platvia, but may have been forcibly removed from Livonia since he was not so ready to accept the dominance of the westerners over his ancestral lands. Still, after his death, his tomb became the goal of many pilgrims, and he was made saint in the 13th century. In the 14th century his tomb was opened and his body was moved to the cathedral of St. Petersburg where he still rests to this day. In the same cathedral, there is his most notorious relic, an ampulla of water, taken from the Red River - as it was named after the miracle - on the day of the fateful baptism. Every year, on the feast day of St. John, the ampulla is taken from the cathedral's vault and is shown to the faithful at high mass where every year it has turned the red of fresh blood.
The Chronicles attributed to Arminius, secretary of the Papal Legate in Livonia, are dated more than one century after the Baltic crusade, and the consensus among historians is that they were written in the Benedictine monastery in Platvia, the same where the original tomb of St. Heinrich is located. It is uncertain if the body is really St. Heinrich, the tribal chief, who was allegedly baptized on the banks of the Red River on the day of St. John. The Daugava River eventually would change its name and become known as Red River because of this. It is quite likely that the German knights surprised the Livonian tribe at a ford of the river and massacred the lot of them (and thus the waters turned red). The survivors were forcibly baptized in the same waters. St. Heinrich of the red River is still venerated to this day in Livonia. It should be noted that this miracle is suspect from the fact that when the Chronicles were actually written in the early 13th century the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was one Hermann von Salza, a descendant of Heinrich von Salza.]
[Italy] Adelaide, wife of Boniface, died in childbirth (the nameless boy died before its birth). Boniface in tribute to his late wife and unborn son ordered a magnificent church to be built in Mathildia in their memory. Not far from the church dedicated to his mother.
[Prussia] After a few setbacks the Polish forces regrouped and decimated several Prussian tribes while several others bent knee to the Polish king in exchange for the survival of their villages. The remaining tribes dug into their fortified villages or fled north into the lands of the Lithuanians, Pruthenians, and Yatviogs.
[Pommerania] Grand Master Albert crushed the remaining tribes located along the Warta and Noteć Rivers and established several forts as he marched east. Further to the north the Count of Holstein and the forces under his command marched along the coast bringing the cross and the sword to the tribes along the Baltic Sea.
[Estonia] The Danish king Eric began a series of naval landings and marched forth from his base at Kronborg west along the coast of Estonia. The native Eths repeatedly tried to impede the Danish efforts but failed after several battles which heavily favored the Danes.
(June) [Rome] Pope Paschal II received a letter from Adelissa, wife of Godfrey, begging for an annulment of their marriage for Godfrey’s debauchery in the east. She claimed that he had begun to assume the customs of the natives including the keeping of a harem.
(It is known from historical documents that Godfrey had instituted some serious reforms in the way his Crusader County was being run. Some of the changes were the use of more native-style war tactics [although a sizeable amount of heavy knights were retained], inclusion of non-converted Jews and Arabs into the civil service and military, adoption of native customs, food, and dress while there. However it is unknown whether he did have a harem, but it is known that it was roughly around this time a native Lebanese woman gave birth to a bastard child of his. The boy will become known as Goffredo Capraio.)
[County of Tripolis] Guido Malaparte nominal ruler of the Italian held Byzantine Cyclades arrived in Tripolis at the request of Godfrey.
The Arab chronicler Ibn Mamoun recounts the tale of the arrival of Malaparte in Tripolis:
"Malaparte was a tall man, almost gaunt, dressed in black; a neatly trimmed black beard, surmounted by a large, beaked nose, very similar to the beak of a hawk. But everything pales when compared with his eyes: pale blue, cold like the snows at the top of mountains; they pierced me like a sword, and I felt my soul had been bared in front of this Feranji."
[Emirate of Tyre] After years of siege, blockade, and the capture of the non-island part of the city the city of Tyre finally capitulated to the Crusader forces. The lack of food and an outbreak of disease crippled the defenders and thus they offered terms. The city and its territory were added the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A portion of the city was given over to the Thyrrenian trade cities as part of the bargain for assisting in the blockade. Additionally the Knights of St. Stephen were granted a large chapter house (formerly one of the palaces used by the Emir of Tyre) to be their headquarters in the Patriarchate and the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to the chronicler Ibn Mamoun:
“The surrender terms were respected in the third of the city granted to the Thyrrenians. However, the knight commanding the Patriarchate troops did not respect the terms, and gave their men license to sack the city for two days. It is said the streets of Tyre were running with blood and that even Iskander (Alexander the Great) was less cruel when he sacked the city long time ago.”
[Ibn Mamoun was a Druze, and in the civil service of Duke Godfrey. (An additional note: Godfrey enforced his no-persecution policy among his Moslem subjects too. Not surprisingly, almost the totalities of “collaborators” were either Druze or Shi'a.) As such, he is not completely clean from suspicions of gilding his chronicles to foster the goals of his lord. Malaparte is described as "fearful", but there is no disrespect in the description: it has the appearance of a propaganda leaflet. Same thing with the siege of Tyre it is hard to believe that the city was so sharply divided between the "good Thyrrenians" (who are subjects of Duke Godfrey's brother) and the "bad Patriarchals" (who are not). The siege of Tyre was bloody, difficult and protracted and is unlikely that the surrender terms were respected by any of the parties involved. The portrayal of the Thyrrenians as the “good guys” did not damage Ibn Mamoun a bit.]
(July) [Prussia] Polish forces began the arduous task of removing the remaining fortified Prussian villages. The remaining villages were located in the thickest forests and bogs of Prussia. Only the Polish weight in numbers allowed the Poles to gain a grinding victory over the last free Prussian villages.
[Pommerania] Several tribes of the Polabian Wends, in an attempt to spare their people, converted to Christianity but were turned upon by their neighbors before the German Crusaders could arrive. When they did arrive the Crusader’s slaughtered the pagan Polabian Wends and freed the few Christian Polabians held in thrall by the pagans.
[Denmark] King Eric had returned to København to marry Matilda Canossa, daughter of Boniface of Canossa. Eric had been shown by Matilda’s older brother, Gregory, a miniature of her while they campaigned together in the Baltic Crusade and since Eric was now without a wife (the Queen and his heir had died in a boating accident while he was on pilgrimage to the Holy Land) it was suggested that she might make a good queen. (From surviving writings and even a song it is described that Matilda heavily favored her mother’s Provencal looks and was quite the looker for the age. She is also to have inherited her father’s cunning and his propensity for being rash [in his youth that is].)
The union also had support from Emperor Henry V who sent lavish gifts from the east (plundered goods from the Crusade from his now deceased brother Conrad). Even with Henry’s distrust at the power of House Canossa a chance to ensure stability in his northern neighbor was welcome. With trade starting to bloom between Flanders and the Baltic (courtesy of the expanding trade out of Lübeck) Henry V was keen to ensure that Denmark was stable to allow swift and secure travel through the Sund.
However it was not long after the ceremony that word reached Denmark that in the heavy fighting with the Eths (Estonians), Nikolas, baron of Odz was captured in an ambush during which most of his escort was massacred. Later the body of the unfortunate baron was found and it came clear that he had been sacrificed to Vanatühi. The King went into a rage and swore on the cross that he would immediately return to Estonia and lay waste to the pagans. While many praised the strength of the king's faith there were also a few unsavory rumors to the effect that the king's rage was mostly fuelled by the grief for the murder of a lover.
[France] Philip King of France had a very loud argument with his son, Louis, over Louis’ pride and wife, Constance Duchess of Normandy. This argument was well described in journal by a priest within the royal household.
Again his royal majesty and his son argued today over the influence and power of prince’s wife. For months now the prince has complained to his majesty over the insults to his manhood his wife has forced him to bear. The topic of annulment was broached again but his majesty the king showed considerable restraint and spoke at length to persuade the stubborn prince; in the end, with regret, his majesty was forced to order the riotous prince to refrain from such action as it would threaten their cause to not just bring the baron’s to heel but also the other great landowners. I fear for his majesty as his health is not what it used to be and these arguments drain much from him.
[Northern Italy] Boniface of Canossa began to reflect on his options for a new bride. After polite refusal (and one not so polite one) to several offers it came down to a choice between a Byzantine princess (a cousin of Emperor Nikephoros Brynennios), a daughter of the Duke of Burgundy (Isabelle of Burgundy), and the younger sister of the Duke of Bohemia.
He also concluded a marriage arrangement with a sister of the young King of Castile-León for his youngest son Atto. It would take place in 3 years time when the girl, Sancha (Countess of Portugal), reached of age.
[Note: His eldest son, Gregory, was arranged to married to the daughter of Welf II, Liselotte, of the House Welf-Este, Duke of Bavaria and Carinthia, but the marriage was put on hold while Gregory participated in the Baltic Crusade.]
[Southern Italy] Roger Borsa, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, died after eating a feast that consisted of pickled eel. His nephew Roger the designated heir was soon installed as Duke not long after his elder brother Simon had been crowned King of Sicily (and a whole other host of titles).
Rumors at the time said the two brothers had a falling out over the situation their elder sister Adelisa was in. The much more passive and scholarly Simon was content to let the situation remain as is as it kept the kingdom out of a potential war. The more martial Roger was outraged at the indignities his sister was suffering as her husband, Godfrey Duke of Spoleto, was frolicking with some eastern harlot (as Godfrey’s Lebanese lover had started to become known in the west even if there was no evidence that she was).
[Rome] Pope Paschal II received further evidence from Adelisa of her husband’s infidelity and continued to pressure for an annulment. Pressure from House Canossa in Pavia had kept him from making any decision at the time.
[Dominion of the Almoravids – West Africa] The campaigns against the native pagan tribes have brought much wealth to the Almoravid court through tribute and loot from the conquered tribes. Much of it is spent to further the conversion of the pagans to Islam and additional conquests however a good amount is being spent expanding trade and fortifications in the north (in North Africa and in Iberia).
[Levant – County of Tripolis] The Lebanese mother of Goffredo, Haneen was installed in luxurious mansion in Tripolis guarded by a strange breed of un-bribable foreigners.
[It is unknown how Godfrey met Haneen beyond the well know story of a chance meeting while hunting (the Lay of Godfrey and Annina became a staple of the troubadours' repertoire). It is certain that she was not a common tavern wench or a whore but there is no consensus beyond that. Most sources argue that she was a slave, either Persian or Egyptian (and many a comparison to Cleopatra have been made over the years about her looks); others say that she was a Christian, the daughter of Maronite or Armenian miller; there are even a couple of sources stating that she was the daughter of one of one of the more powerful Druze sheiks of the mountains: this is obviously absurd, as much as saying that she was the “Queen of Sheba". It is quite likely that this legend might have arisen from the proven and historical friendship between the young ruler of Tripoli and the Druze community, which formed the backbone of his civil and diplomatic service. However it would take a conspiracy theorist to believe that not only the Druze sheikhs (the so called "illuminati") met in a conclave on the mountains of the Shouf, and decided not only to support Godfrey's rule (which might be reasonable, given the good treatment of Moslems and non-conformist believers in the county of Tripoli), but also they decided to choose one of their own daughters to become Godfrey's lover, and - in the words of the unknown gossip - teach the young Duke the ways of the East. I do believe that the rumors that Haneen was a succubus or a witch do not need to be even discussed: they were certainly planted by his enemies in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem or by Godfrey's estranged Norman bride.]
(August) [Pommerania] Grand Master Albert marched north from the Noteć River and crushed the remnant of the native Pomeranians.
[Prussia] The Polish Crusaders on word of gathering pagan horde to the north assembled their forces and marched forth to meet them. Near the Pregel River the Polish Crusaders almost fell into an ambush but for the chance encounter between a converted Prussian (who was scouting for the Polish Crusaders) and a hidden band of Yatviogs and Pruthenians.
[Livonia] Papal legate Hartwig using native converted forces and a contingent of Crusaders moved westward along the coast of Livonia where they subjugated several tribes. Another large force of German Crusaders marched along the Red River (Daugava River) deeper into Livonia.
[Kingdom of Sicily - Apulia] Noble lords throughout Norman southern Italy began meet in secret. The plotting went unnoticed within the court of Simon I as unrest in the North African territories had diverted attention from Italy.
[Northern Italy] Boniface after much discussion with his advisors, particularly the il cane del Capraio and Magister Nummium, it was decided that the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, Isabelle Countess of Sens, was the most suited to become his bride.
[Patriarchate of Jerusalem] In reward for their valiant efforts in the conquest of Tyre the Hospitalier Knights were rewarded with Seignury of Oultrejordan to be the forward bulwark against Muslim raiders from the desert. They were also permitted to retain one of the fortresses within Tyre to act as a chapter house to greet reinforcements from Europe (this chapter house would grow to be their biggest within the next two decades).
(September) [Pommerania] The Count of Holstein with reinforcements from Grand Master Albert defeated the remaining Polabian Wends. With their defeat all of Pommerania has fallen to the German Crusaders. (While the Crusaders have defeated any organized resistance much of Pommerania is still pagan and will take many years before the process of Germanification and conversion is completed.)
[Estonia] Eric King of Denmark had returned to Estonia to unleash his vengeance against the pagan Eths. His army marched from the already occupied areas along the coast into the interior of the west where the Baron of Odz was slain. Several battles were fought that the Danes decisively won but with each battle the king became more reckless with both his army and his person. Near what would become known as the Glen of Sorrows Eric ‘the Evergood’, King of Denmark, was killed by spear of a native Eth when his horse became bogged down in heavy mud.
[Livonia] Heavy fall rains that turned into the first snow stopped further progress as the Crusaders began to fortify their gains thus far.
[Lands of the Pruthenians and Yatviogs] Polish Crusaders defeated another gathering of Pruthenians and Yatviogs which brought several of their villages under the Crusaders’ heel. Before the end of the month and the heavy fall rains set in the entire Pregel River valley had fallen to the Polish Crusaders.
(October) [Denmark] Not long after the burial of Eric ‘the Evergood’ several factions within Denmark began to vie for the throne. With no contender able to gain enough votes to be elected king the battle lines began to be drawn. Eric’s only legitimate son from his first marriage to Boedil Thurgotsdatter, Canute Lavard, had been killed years ago with his mother during a boating accident.
Three contenders for the throne quickly came to the forefront. Eric’s brother, Niels who ruled from the Scanian territories across the Sund. The second contender was Harald Kesja (Harald the Spear), a bastard son of Eric, who had gathered support from north Jutland and from the nobles near the capital. The final contender was another bastard son of Eric’s, Erik II Emune, who had support from South Jutland. In a daring escape from the capital of København Erik II had fled with his deceased father’s new bride, Matilda of Canossa, to his lands in Schleswig (South Jutland).
[It was heavily rumored that when Eric had left for Estonia on his ride of vengeance his young bride was attracted to his eldest bastard, Erik, who was of similar age and renowned for his dashing good looks and magnetic charisma. It is unknown at this time whether they had already become lovers.]
(November) [Denmark - Syaland] Harald Kesja launched an early winter campaign against several undecided barons on Syaland from his stronghold of Haraldsborg at Roskilde. The Baron of Løghǽ brought battle against Harald but was outnumbered and thoroughly crushed. The Baron of Flackebyǽrg surrendered without a fight soon after Harald arrived at his stronghold (Harald had captured the baron’s son who had been at the court of Eric I in København and Harald had threatened to kill the boy if he did not surrender.). This brought all of Syaland under Harald’s control.
Harald had wished to continue but the winter and lack of funds prevented him from campaigning elsewhere. (Harald had captured the royal coffers in København but the amount in the royal treasury was low due to funding the Crusade in Estonia.)
[Denmark - Scania] Niels, lord of Scania, found himself in a troubled position. While almost all of Scania was in his hand, baring a few reluctant lords that he would soon deal with, those who were swearing fealty to him were scattered across Jutland far from his center of power. Furthermore he was low on funds with little prospect of garnering any more until the spring.
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik II and Matilda of Canossa arrived in the port town of Flǽnsburgh in Schleswig. Erik’s forces were much smaller than those of either his half-brother Harald or his uncle Niels, but in his favor all of Schleswig was firmly under his control. Erik like the other contenders suffered from a lack of cash to raise more men however salvation came when the seductive Matilda offered up her jewels to help fund his quest for the throne.
[Much like her namesake this Matilda was a shrewd politician and according to what records remain was bent on remaining a queen. If one Eric would not suffice then another Erik would have to do.]
Even with the wealth that Matilda’s jewels would bring Erik faced a manpower shortage. However it seemed Erik’s fascination with German knightly ideals and habits would offer him a solution to his problem. He wrote to Emperor Henry V where he asked permission to recruit knights from within Germany. They would be granted lands and be paid in cash for their services to help him gain his rightful place as King of Denmark.
[Northwest Atlantic Coast of Africa] Two Genoese vessels captained by Lancelotto Morcello and Niccoloso da Recco had, once they cleared the straits, made their way along the coast of Africa. They had heard rumors when docked in Icosium (Algiers) of gold practically flowing northward to the Almohades from their lands far to the south. Both down on their luck and banned from Duchy of the Western Isles for attempting to bribe harbor officials were gambling on striking it rich by helping themselves to some of this Moorish gold.
On the verge of running out of supplies their fortunes turned when a lone Moorish transport vessel hugging the coast came into view. The vessel turned and ran south when it became apparent the vessels closing in were Thyrrenian ships. It took several hours but the Genoese vessels caught up to the Moorish vessel near a grouping of islands off the coast. The Moorish vessel was soon boarded and all aboard slain. To the delight of captains and crews the Moorish vessel carried in its hold a hundred gold bars. The two captains split the gold but before heading out landed on the nearest island, later called Lanzarote, in search of fresh water. Lancelotto in the spirit of their good luck called the islands Insulae Fortunatae (Blessed Islands). This first landing did see the Genoese encounter any of the native people on the island but the two captains vowed to return to these lush islands to continue seeking further fortune.
[Rome] Pope Paschal II comes under increasing pressure to annul the marriage between Godfrey Duke of Spoleto and his wife Adelisa of Sicily. Increasing evidence brought forth by Godfrey’s actions in Tripolis had begun to sway him to agree but pressure from Boniface in the north has stayed his hand for now.
(December) [Italy] Adelisa fled to her brother’s (Roger) estates in Apulia with her daughter, Giovanna, when word from Tripolis arrived that ‘the eastern whore’ had been placed in a palace and was frequently seen in the arms of her husband.
Tempers and tension flared in the Norman kingdom as the court of Simon continued to try to find a diplomatic and peaceful end to the situation. Meanwhile the secret meetings between nobles in southern Italy began to happen more frequently and took on a more urgent tone to those of months past.
[Denmark] A heavy winter storm deposited a thick layer of snow and ice throughout the kingdom which brought the conflict to a ragged stop for the winter.
[Baltic Crusade] Cold weather and snow have brought the advancement of the Crusade to a close for the winter as the Crusaders huddled in their wooden forts waiting for the spring thaw to bring the light of Christ to the pagans.
The year 1108 AD in its entirety (Please post comments or questions in the appropriate thread - NOT here - see link in my sig., thanks.)
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1108 AD –
(January) [Chola Empire]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 56):
“The rumors throughout the city spoke of the return of an enormous trading venture from Seres have proven true. A well placed bribe to one of the officials gained me access to the records of the trading expedition. The records made mention that tens of thousands of copper coins were brought back for mere trinkets and spices. I have ordered my crew for a long voyage to the east to seek further riches there, but I will be sad to have to say goodbye to sweet Vanavan and her tender ways.”
Over the previous year of trading and pirating in the Indian Ocean John II had become the master of his own ship when Dorma had been killed by a stray arrow during an act of piracy. By the beginning of the year 1108 AD John II had three ships sailing for him when he began his trek to the Far East.
[Denmark - Schleswig] Eric II received a confirmation letter from Emperor Henry V allowing him a limited right to recruit knights within the Kingdom of Germany. (The letter, since lost, is believed to have mentioned a preference for recruitment of knights from the Duchy of Saxony and knights from Henry’s own Franconian duchies. It is believed Henry V was doing this as rewards for his favorites by helping second and third sons gain land in Denmark and to curry favor with his powerful ally Conrad Hohenstaufen, Duke of Saxony, who was looking to aid his own vassals. With much of the land in Pommerania destined for the Teutonic Order and Church lands [better to convert the pagans] not much remained to divvy out to vassals.)
Only a few took up his offer as the heavy winter snows had limited the spread of the news of the offer, but it would prove to be but the beginning of the German flood into Denmark.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels lord of Scania began a winter campaign to bring all of Scania* under his control. His first targets were the Counts of Lyrgmǽs and Thornǽ.
[*Scania included the lands of Blekyng and Halland.]
[Denmark – Syaland] Harald like his half-brother and uncle did not let the winter go completely by without some form of action no matter how limited. The heavy snows and lack of funds have curtailed any further conflict till the spring, but Harald in preparation for further actions seized or requisitioned any vessels moored in the harbors under his control. Several foreign merchants protested at the seizure of their vessels and were thrown in prison on charges of attempting to bribe harbor officials and other such ‘crimes’. (Some of those charges may even have been true.)
[Southern Italy – Kingdom of Sicily] King Simon I of Sicily who upon word that his sister, Adelisa, had fled to Roger’s estates in Apulia ordered her to return back to her husband’s estates in Spoleto less an unwanted war was brought upon them.
Repulsed at his brother’s continued weakness and the affront to his family’s name, Roger gave into the whispers of the nobles of southern Italy who proclaimed him Roger II the true heir to the crown of Sicily in Naples on the morning of January 17th. According to a court priest at his hasty coronation Roger II is said to have proclaimed words for his brother Simon.
“…and I accept this burden upon my shoulders. As for my brother Simon I do not wish harm on him, but he is unsuited to the duties and difficult decisions those who wear the crown must make. If he agrees to step down and offer no resistance I will petition his holiness the Pope to make him an archbishop if not a holy Cardinal.”
(February) [Kingdom of Sicily] The court of Simon I fell into chaos when Roger made his declaration and was crowned in Naples. According to a court scribe the pious Simon retreated to his private chapel and asked for God’s guidance. It is unknown what occurred in the silence of the chapel but the scholarly Simon came out a changed man who vowed to place his little brother and his supporters in their place.
With virtually all of southern Italy in rebellion and only a few scattered loyal vassals holding to their vows of fealty the situation looked bleak to Simon. However not all was stacked against him as all of Sicily and the territories in Africa were still in his hands. In addition the majority of the fleet remained loyal even if a sizeable portion of it now sailed for his brother.
[Southern Italy] Roger II waited not but a few hours after his coronation before he marched upon the few garrisons and strongholds loyal to his brother Simon (and his vassals in pre-planned attacks did so throughout southern Italy). Those garrisons that remained loyal were spread out and easily overcome by Roger’s forces. Several were caught unawares and put up little fight.
Roger’s biggest coup was when he gained the great trading city of Amalfi as an ally and backer, whose ruling elite had sided with Roger over Simon in exchange for promises of lower taxes (the city was providing the bulk of the fleet that sided with Roger).
[Rome] Pope Paschal II stunned by the explosion of violence to south in the Kingdom of Sicily called for peace and wrote the two brothers that it was against the laws of God for one to strike down his brother as Caine did unto Abel.
The Pope also sealed official accusations against Adelisa that were brought to light by various nobles from the Kingdom of Italy. (These documents which would not see the light of day until the 18th Century strongly hinted that Adelisa had indeed been in commerce with the powers of Darkness.)
[In this historian’s opinion it is nothing more than counter propaganda put out by Boniface’s spymaster to counter Sicilian accusations against his brother Godfrey. However it should be noted that the more lurid versions of Adelisa's sins were widely circulated within the Kingdom of Italy (and widely believed if writings from the time are to be believed), the papal lands and even the Norman kingdom (where possession of these lies was a capital offense).]
[County of Savoy] Douce, wife of Amadeus du Maurienne and Countess of Provence, died in childbirth. The girl child she gave birth to also died not long after the passing of her mother. This left the comital title empty and with no clear heir. Four contenders had the greatest claim but none were seen as clear successors. [Those with the strongest claims (in alphabetical order) being Atto Canossa [his elder brother having yielded the right to him] a distant cousin of Douce, Amadeus du Maurienne who claimed the county was his late wife’s dowry, Bertrand of Toulouse another distant cousin, and Duke Hugh II of Burgundy yet another distant cousin.] Only Atto Canossa did not immediately make claim to the title (it is said his father, Boniface, urged caution as he did not want to insult one of his family’s greatest allies, the du Mauriennes). The other three began preparations to make their claims stick.
(March) [Insulae Fortunatae (Blessed Isles)] Lancelotto Morcello and Niccoloso da Recco returned to San Giorgio dell'Oceano (Lanzarote Island) and established a small port there to attack Almoravid gold shipments. This port would later grow into the small town of Nova Recco named after Niccoloso’s home town of Recco. Their first few days on the island drew the attention of the native Guancis to the pirates. Surprisingly enough the first encounter between the pirates and the native Guancis was peaceful as it was apparent to the Captains Lancelotto and Niccoloso that the natives had no wealth and posed no threat.
Apparently in awe of the powerful outsiders the native Guanci leader offered up his Lancelotto’s chagrin) as a peace offering. [It is believed by some that she was forcibly taken as well as several other women but there is not much evidence for this as the relations between the pirates and the Guancis were apparently peaceful with no evidence for strife between the two. Most evidence shows that for several years the pirates and natives happily ignored each other and went about their own business keeping a respectful distance from each other.]
[Livonia] Papal legate Hartwig welcomed the first of several waves of German Crusaders to Livonia (several hundred knights and their retainers came in the first wave of reinforcements). They were the first wave of Crusaders who were no longer needed in Pommerania with its successful conquest and thus were sent to Livonia. [Many Crusaders did stay in Pommerania to ensure the conversion of the pagans and maintain their Order’s and the Church’s awarded lands.]
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began preparations for an attack into the Pruthenian villages with a series of raids.
[Estonia] With the civil war in Denmark reinforcements to the Danish Crusader fortresses in Estonia were virtually non-existent. Those forces there contented themselves with consolidating their hold over what they had already taken, but could not do any more until the situation in Denmark became resolved.
[Finland] Swedish Crusaders continued to expand their region of the coast of Finland and began to make inroads into the heavily forested interior.
[Denmark - Syaland] Harald began the spring with an attack on the Count of Syndrǽ thus all of Falstǽr Island was brought under his control. The Count was killed in the battle and one of Harald’s loyal barons was placed in his stead (the heir of the county mysteriously disappeared and is presumed to have been murdered by Harald or one of his cronies).
Not all was going well for Harald. His seizure of merchant ships to transport troops and act as his fleet had begun to hurt his treasury as money flowed out to pay for the war and to pay the foreign merchants to bring in the goods and trade that the native merchants were doing before they were conscripted (and thus paying taxes). Harald after much thought came to the conclusion that if these foreign merchants were getting rich off his difficulties then they could help pay. He ordered his fleet to enforce a tax (unimaginatively named the Sund tax) upon all ships carrying cargo through the Sund.
[It should be noted that several conscripted merchant vessels used this excuse to search foreign ships entering the Sund to enact revenge on rivals. Many a time they would seize the cargo and sink the ship declaring they had arrived too late to save the ship from pirates. The Sund tax and the attack on merchant vessels quickly drew the eye of Henry V north to Denmark.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] With spring returned to the world Erik II launched a few attacks on both his half-brother’s and uncle’s forces to the north. However he only met defeat there. His only successful effort was in having taken Langǽland from Harald using his few ships to land a second army on the island which attacked Harald’s forces there in the rear as it attacked forces loyal to Erik in the south of the island.
Erik’s recruitment of German knights continued and allowed him to rebound from his defeats to the north of Schleswig in his attempts, but they still fell far below what he needed to make any headway north.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels, lord of Scania, began his spring assaults on the counties of Barǽ and Vǽmuńhǿg. When the Count of Skǿz agreed to back Niels (in exchange for some of his former neighbor’s lands of course) the rest of Scania fell into Niels’ hands. Only a few minor nobles remained on that side of the Sund that opposed him.
[Sicily] Sicilian naval forces loyal to Simon defeated an attempt by those ships loyal to Roger to force their way through the Straits of Messina. Unfortunately for Simon the need to keep a large fleet on station to prevent his brother from landing troops in Sicily and increased attacks by the Banu tribes of North Africa prevented him from moving many troops from North Africa to Sicily.
[Southern Italy] With the naval defeat off the coast of Sicily Roger II was in a dire predicament as he could not reach his brother’s forces to defeat him if he could not gain naval superiority long enough to get his army to Sicily. Opportunity came to him when the Venetian ambassador, Pietro Flabanico (a distant relative of former Doge Domenico Flabanico), suggested that Venice may be able to help him…for a price.
[County of Provence] Count Bertrand of Toulouse was the first to act in the struggle for the title of Provence. He sent a thousand soldiers toward the capital of the County of Provence, Aix, in an effort to make his claim stick. From his personal writings that survive he hoped that his quick actions would give him an advantage over the other claimants.
[Land of the Rum Seljuk] Kilij Arslan II finally completed his late father’s dream of defeating the Danishmends. With their defeat the Rum Seljuks were finally on the rebound from their disastrous defeat at the hands of the Byzantines and the Crusaders a decade before. Several smaller Turkish tribes, former allies of the Danishmends, bent knee to Kilij Arslan II in an effort to prevent the same fate that befell the Danishmends at the hands of the Seljuks or their allies in Mosul.
(April) [County of Tripolis] Godfrey reviewed a regiment of soldiers that had arrived from Italy. Trained in the style his brother had pioneered they were far more professional than his other troops, but when added to his conventional and local troops new opportunities began to become possible.
An excerpt from The Life of Godfrey ‘the Tall’ of House Canossa:
(Page 87)
The disciplined Italian soldiers used in combination with the more mobile local troops gave Godfrey unheard of flexibility that harkened back to the days of the Roman legions. Combined they would give Godfrey the advantage used so well later in his conquests to the east.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels brought the remaining neutral lords in Scania onto his side with promises of land (either in Scania itself or in Jutland). However this took time to negotiate and preempted any thoughts of bringing his forces to fight elsewhere in Denmark.
Niels also desired to stop the constant pirate (i.e. naval forces of Harald) attacks on the island of Bornholm. Since Harald’s declaration a sizeable naval raid on Bornholm was conducted, however, the island’s garrison and fortresses withstood the attacks. With the disparage in naval forces Niels decided to hire ships from the free island of Götland to protect the island in exchange for trading rights on the island and throughout Scania. The deal was concluded when the Götlander representative, one Goffredo Bonacolsi (natively from Italy but was asked to lead the delegation for his skill at negotiation was well known), and Niels signed the agreement on April 11th.
[Denmark – Jutland] What had remained a quiet area of the civil war finally broke as neighbor turned upon neighbor and old friends soon became the bitterest of enemies. This fighting was a chaotic and mostly leaderless (as the three contenders were busy elsewhere) and consisted of minor nobles lashing out at those neighboring nobles who were not backing their favored contender.
[County of Provence] The small army that Bertrand of Toulouse had sent into Provence entered the city of Aix which had surrendered when several gate guards who had been bribed allowed them in.
[Italy - Pavia] Boniface quietly dispatches forces to both the border with the Norman kingdom to the south and to border areas near Provence. He also wrote several missives to his ally Amadeus of Maurienne trying to reach an agreement concerning the situation in Provence.
His son Atto, recently returned from the court of Philip I of France, was placed as the squire to Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, the Warden of the West, castellan and commander of the great fortress of San Cristoforo near Biandrate.
[Germany] Henry V attended a celebration in the city of Trier to commemorate their signing of the Imperial Charter. As this was the autonomy they had sought for years (the city was formerly an archbishopric whose archbishop had sided against Henry IV in the ‘Baron’s Revolt’) a grand celebration had been planned. In celebration and in an attempt to show off the Empire’s (and thus his) wealth and power Henry V ordered the rebuilding of the old (Roman) Imperial baths that had been uncovered during recent construction of some warehouses (which were subsequently moved). He even commissioned a bronze statue from Italy to be brought to the baths (the bronze statue of a water boy can still be seen today in the Trier museum).
It was at this time that a petitioner from Baltic Trade Company asked for an audience with the emperor where he presented evidence that Harald of Denmark had illegally seized (whether it was illegal or not is open to debate as there is some evidence the merchant had bribed port officials) a merchant ship belonging to the Baltic Trade Company out of Lübeck. While concerned about the trade through the Baltic the issue of one merchant vessel being seized was inconsequential to the emperor, however, when the petitioner gave evidence that Harald had levied a tax upon all trade traveling through the Sund. Further the canny petitioner pointed out how this was going to affect trade and more to the point how it was going to affect the tithes and taxes due to the Imperial coffers. Roused in anger the emperor vowed to show this upstart bastard who wished to be king what a real king was.
[Southern Italy] Roger II signed a deal with the Venetians that in exchange for ships and men the Venetians would gain some trade rights within the Kingdom of Sicily and would be allowed to have Venetian quarters in several port cities (such as in Bari). The agreement was surprisingly kept secret until the first Venetian fleet arrived later in the month. The news once it was release and spread did not please the kingdom’s greatest traders in Amalfi who had backed Roger II hoping for better deals and not having their rivals get stronger within the kingdom itself.
Several scenes from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with the representative of the city of Amalfi, Lenta (Lenta of Calabria is the fictional representative from Amalfi), shows what the early reign of Roger II was like (if not exactly historical and exaggerated a bit).
Act II Scene II
Roger II: Perhaps you think your city is being treated unfairly?
Lenta: No…but…
Roger II: Good, because it would be most unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here.
Lenta: [to himself] This deal is getting worse all the time.
Act II Scene IV
Roger II: The Venetian ships will be allowed unrestricted access to Amalfi.
Lenta: You said they'd be allowed in the city under my supervision.
Roger II: I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
[Note: Roger II did end up leaving a sizeable garrison in the city under one Robert of Capua, but it seemed more a defensive measure to protect the vital port city than an effort to renege on the deal as depicted in scenes from A Family’s Honor.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik’s planned campaign north into Jutland was ended before it began as he had to divert troops to his holdings and allies on the island of Fyun to contest one of Harald’s armies from overrunning the island.
[Denmark - Syaland] With only a month of collecting the Sund tax Harald had already began to reap its benefits. With his new found wealth he began a campaign on the island of Fyun (split between all three factions) and in the north of Jutland against isolated pockets of supporters of both Erik and Niels. Several nobles who had declared neutrality in the manner also felt the bite of Harald’s spear with the prominent Count of Horǽ ending his neutrality and sided with Niels (he also brought his fellow counts of Biarg and Harz with him).
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began their spring campaign to bring the rest of the pagan lands designated by the Council of Frankfurt. Their first targets were the already weakened Pruthenians whose villages were quickly overrun by the superior Polish forces (in both equipment and manpower).
The Polish king also chartered a new town at the mouth of the Pregel River called Królewlec (Königsberg).
[Livonia] The German Crusaders much like their Polish counterparts began their spring campaign during this month. With the reinforcements from Germany Papal legate Hartwig was able to split his army and moved in two directions. One went along the Red River and the other continued along the coast to the west.
Hartwig also dispatched a hundred knights and their retainers to assist the Danish Crusaders to the north who were under constant threat from the Eths. He was credited with saying. “Not one stretch of Christian soil will fall to the pagans!”
[Which is ironic considering the soil he was talking about was just recently taken from those same pagans by sword and fire.]
[Egypt] The Serene Republic of Venice made another substantial loan to the Fatimid Caliph. This loan was used on much as the last two loans were used to bribe the nobility into following the rule of the Caliph.
[France - Paris] Philip I of France weakened by disease and old age dies. His son Louis VI is crowned king of France.
[Edessa] The Byzantine Empire and the County of Edessa began a ‘cold war’ with the occasional flair ups of violence over the weak Armenian statelets that were situated between them.
(May) [Denmark - Jutland] Harald’s army had begun several sieges throughout Jutland of opposing nobles’ castles. The most prominent being the fortress at Hǽlghǽnǽ held by forces loyal to Niels. Several attempts to storm the besieged fortress met with failure and Harald was forced to engage in a lengthy siege.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The forces of Erik defeated an army loyal to Niels in the County of Almundǽ (directly north of Schleswig) but were forced to abandon the siege of the town of Almundǽ when reinforcements loyal to Niels threatened his baggage train and supply line back into Schleswig.
[Germany] As Henry V’s progress began north he quietly sent orders to Imperial garrisons to send troops and supplies to a staging area north of Bardowlek near the Elbe River. Several letters were also sent to the nobility of Saxony including Duke Conrad II Hohenstaufen that informed him of imperial needs.
[Rome] Old Bonizo da Cremona, titular cardinal of Sutri and advisor to Boniface of Canossa, arrived in Rome as an envoy to the Pope on behalf of House Canossa. In consideration of his age he was be accompanied by the Count of Grazzano, Guiberto Cotta (whose influence on the order of the Patarene Knights is second only to Bonizo's one), and two of Magister Irnerius’ pupils, Ugus and Jacopus. They were also escorted by sixty Patarene knights. The envoy’s mission was to ensure that the Pope did not side with Simon by excommunicating his brother Roger.
While Simon was the anointed king there had been ugly rumors that have been accusing Simon of heresy and worse (the Saracen influence at the court of Palermo and in the territories of Carthage is said to be growing, well beyond what would be tolerable in a Christian kingdom). Oddly enough there were similar rumors spread from Septimania and the County of Barcelona allegedly involving unlawful deals with the Spanish Moors and the Almoravids to the detriment of Christendom. While Roger's assumption of the crown might be labeled as rebellion, Bonizo suggested that it was more likely a natural reaction of a good Christian knight who saw his faith threatened. The envoys tried to convince the Pope to summon both Simon and Roger to Rome, in order to have the former explain his actions which might be hold as contrary to the faith and to try and find a peaceful solution to the southern troubles.
[North Africa – County of Tripoli] With the onset of the civil war the Banu tribes, who had long been crushed under the Norman heel since Roger I’s and Roger Borsa’s invasion of decades past, sensed weakness in the Kingdom of Sicily and armed with weapons provided by the Venetians launched attacks throughout the kingdom’s North African territories.
The Banu tribes quickly encircled the city of Tripoli (the second largest city in Norman North Africa) and placed it under siege. The road to Carthage was also beset by many Banu raiders making it difficult for reinforcements to be gathered without traveling in large groups.
[Coast of Southern Italy] Venetian and Amalfitan ships clashed with the naval forces of the Kingdom of Sicily near the straits of Messina. The battle was inconclusive as neither side pressed the issue and when the Venetians and Amalfitans withdrew the Sicilians did not pursue them. Both sides lost only a handful of ships and the number of killed and wounded combined only totaled five hundred and twenty-three.
It was at this time that it is first noted in historical documents that Aragónese vessels made their first appearance on the side of Simon during the battle for the Straits. These first Aragónese vessels are believed to be ships hired by Simon but ships that arrived later in the month are suspected to have been sent by King Peter II of Aragón in aid to his nominal ally Simon.
[At this time there was no formal alliance between the kingdoms of Aragón and Sicily, but they shared a common rivalry with the Thyrrenians over trade and influence in the western Mediterranean.]
[Latvia] German Crusaders continued their campaign against the Livonian tribes along the Red River and the coast. The surge of the last German Crusaders coming from Pommerania swelled their numbers to the point where a third army was formed that marched northwards along the coast.
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders defeated the last free Pruthenians on the south side of the Nemmunas River. The Nemmunas River was the agreed upon boundary between Polish Crusader territory and that of the territory given over the Papal legate Hartwig in Livonia. They soon turned their eyes eastwards along the river and into the hills where several Lithuanian tribes resided.
[England] Henry II of England completed his subjugation of southern Wales when the gathered army of Deheubarth was defeated at the battle of The Stone Hill. This left only the proud Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd in the north free from English rule.
[Byzantium] Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius greeted by the first year of his reign where the war machine of the empire was not actively engaged in heavy conflict in Anatolia, dealing with Bulgar and Slav uprisings in the Balkans (Many a Bulgar or Slav was resettled in Anatolia after an uprising which in addition to the thousands of Greek settlers pouring into Anatolia were quickly repopulating the inner regions of Anatolia that had been devastated by the Seljuk Turks since the battle of Manzikert.), or fighting the pagans north of the Danube and in Crimea. The past few years had also seen an expanded navy rebound from the disasters that had happened during the conflicts with the Italians during their expeditions to Crete and the Peloponnesus.
It was at this time that an envoy from the court of Simon, King of Sicily, arrived at the court in Constantinople where he asked for assistance against his rebellious younger brother and his Venetian allies.
[Levant – Emirate of Syria] Lulu regent for Alp Arslan al-Akhras finally murdered the young heir to the emirate in a bid for his own power. Many of the nobles openly opposed him when word leaked out that the young Alp had in fact been murdered and had not died of a sickness as Lulu had proclaimed. However the two well defended cities of Aleppo and Damascus were firmly in his hands. Still the first battle between the opposing forces went in favor of the nobility.
[Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse marched an additional thousand men into Provence to reinforce his position in Aix and the surrounding area. He was careful to keep a wide berth around Arles lest he attract unwanted Imperial attention.
Amadeus of Maurienne before he left for Paris had ordered a thousand of his own soldiers to march into Provence towards the Archbishopric of Erubrum along the Durance River with orders to secure that city.
[Southern France - County of Toulouse] Forces loyal to William Duke of Aquitaine started to harass the Toulousan marches. The Duke having left for Philip I’s funeral in Paris left the harassment to several lieutenants.
[France] With the death of Philip I France spent the past month accustoming itself to the new rule of Louis VI. It was not more than a fortnight after his coronation that tension between him and his wife Constance, the Duchess of Normandy, became heated again. It was only the arrival of many of the powerful of Europe to the burial of Philip I in Paris which placed their arguments and marital discord to the side as politics and Philip I’s funeral took precedence.
As described by Suger, Abbot of St. Denis, in his Vita Lodovici Regis:
Since the death of Charlemagne, no king of France was buried in the presence of a more splendid and glorious assembly. It would be too long to mention all the nobles and sovereigns who attended. I will talk only of the most splendid ones: ...the duc de Bourgogne scion of the royal Capetiennes, Guillaume d'Aquitaine, all the great lords of Normandy, waiting upon our dearest queen, the Archbishops of Treviri and Mainz, representing the majesty of the emperor, Floris of Holland and his wife Beatrix.... However, the most splendid cortege was led by Boniface, Comes Palatinus Italiae, and his wife Isobel de Capetiennes de Bourgogne.
From the Vita Lodovici Regis by abbot Suger:
Count Bonifacio brought with him a retinue of one hundred knights and men-at-arms, which the Italians described as a ‘centuria militum’. They were all dressed in identical black armor; equally black were the accoutrements of their destriers, while their mantles were the red of fresh blood. I confess that seeing them for the first time I felt a shiver in my bones. Now looking back to the events that were to happen in the south of France, I feel that God allowed me a glimpse of the future...
Using this rare opportunity where many of Europe’s great nobles were gathered much politicking was done. The events in Provence were much in the forefront of the discussions that concerned the nobility. William Duke of Aquitaine was loudest in his opposition to Count Bertrand of Toulouse, who did not have the courtesy to go to his own liege’s funeral (many at the time believed William’s loud opposition was more in his interest in certain parts of Toulouse that he desired than what happened to Provence or the insults towards the dead king and his son, Louis VI.). The other voice calling for Bertrand’s head was that of Amadeus of Maurienne who claimed Provence through his deceased wife.
Boniface and his advisors conferred with family and attempted to come to some agreement with Amadeus of Maurienne over Provence, but the Count of Savoy had yet to come to a firm agreement.
Louis VI was also gravely concerned with the events to the south and in examinations of historical documents he began to see an opportunity in reigning in the greater lords of France as his father did to the lesser. It would become a delicate balance for the crown of France on whom to back and when.
An interesting outcome of the gathering for Philip’s funeral was the first meeting between Arnaldo da Brescia, a young cleric with known ‘progressive’ views and Pierre Abelard, the learned and quite famous protégé of the French queen.
[Italy] A thousand Flemish farmers and skilled craftsmen finally began to settle into Tuscany after they were brought there by Canossa promises of land after their own was devastated in a huge flood in Flanders the year before. (The bulk of the refugees settled in either Slavinia or Pommerania with roughly ten thousand heading to England, but the Canossas eager to use the Flemish farming techniques in Italy encouraged them to move to Italy with grants of land and coin.)
With the growing naval conflict along the coastlines of southern Italy and Sicily the Thyrrenian cities began to escort merchant ships with dedicated naval ships through the troubled waters. The situation in the south caused a great debate in the cities on whom to back and where and how to intervene were met with loud arguments from all the different points of view and the only directions coming from House Canossa were to not take any position, pending the diplomatic discussions in Rome, and the troubles in Provence. (Boniface who had left for the burial of Philip I of France was absent from Italy and while his son Gregory was left as Steward in his absence [in all practicality though ser Lutterio, the commander of the Legio Prima, was in charge in Boniface’s absence] they didn’t have the inclination to get involved in a conflict without Boniface’s approval.)
(June) [France] With the funeral of Philip I of France over the gathered nobility began to negotiate in earnest. The first deal was that between Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne. They agreed upon a split of the County of Provence at the Durance River until at a point due west of the town of Digne (basically the old County of Forcalouier). To the north it would go to Amadeus and to the south it would go to Boniface’s son Atto. The support of Dukes of Burgundy and Aquitaine against the Count of Toulouse further solidified Boniface’s and Amadeus’ position.
Louis VI meanwhile put forth all of his efforts to prevent William of Aquitaine (and Gascony) from annexing all of Toulouse.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders overran the first Lithuanian villages killing many. The Lithuanians, once vassals of Kiev, had several decades before thrown off the shackles of Kiev and had turned to raiding their neighbors. These experienced fighters caused great casualties among the Polish Crusaders who in turn showed little mercy to the captured pagan villages.
[Livonia] With three separate German Crusader armies Livonia fell much more rapidly than the Papal legate Hartwig had dreamed. However he was facing a shortage of priests to tend to the new flocks and wrote to both the court of Henry V and to Pope Paschal II for more clergy. It was at this time that the first clash between Crusaders and the soldiers of the eastern Principalities took place when a contingent of knights attacked a small raiding party operating out of the Principality of Polotsk near the Red River.
[Levant - Syria] On the pretext of a raid into his lands Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa, Duke of Spoleto and Count of Tripolis, gathered his forces and entered the torn Emirate of Syria in the direction of Damascus.
[Sicily] The second battle of the Straits of Messina culminated in a victory for the forces loyal and allied to Roger II. A good portion of those ships loyal to Simon were able to flee and make their way to Palermo but the way was opened for Roger II to land soldiers in Sicily.
[Rome] Under pressure from both the conservative faction of the Curia and the Canossa delegation Pope Paschal II sent letters to both Simon and Roger II that requested they come to Rome for mediation to their dispute.
[Byzantium] The court of Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius agreed to assist Simon as a rejuvenated and aggressive Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II might again have tried to invade the empire. In a move generated to keep this as secret as possible the Sicilian diplomats were ‘expelled’ by the Byzantines and were quietly removed to an imperial estate not far from Constantinople. Meanwhile Byzantine forces were being gathered for what was expected to be another attack on the Seljuks in central Anatolia.
[Seres (Sòng China)]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 60):
It had been a long journey from India fraught with much peril. One of my ships had been lost to a storm in the Malaccan Straits while the third was damaged beyond repair during a fight with pirates. Some of my crew I lost to natives on an island in the great island chain called the Golden Isles by the Serians [Chinese]. While it was tempting to explore these strange islands the wealth of Seres called to me and I pushed northwards towards where my guides told me it lie.
(Page 61)
…I was shocked at the wealth and size of the Serian [Chinese] city of Gwang [Guang] which was a center of trade, industry, and maritime commerce that I had rarely seen except for the busiest market days in Constantinople. Iron goods were mass produced for an indigenous mass market and for trade with the outside world. A curious invention of a machine that allowed the mass production of reading materials allowed a vast literate civil bureaucracy I am sure that has not been seen since the time of Augustus.
I was at first distressed to have been given paper in exchange for some silver coins after a purchase of a fine silk coat, but when my translator assured me that it was considered money I was perplexed. Who would rather have paper money than gold or silver?
(Page 63)
The more I explore this wondrous mystical land called Seres the more I feel that I do not know much about the world. I arrived in the port town of Fu where I encountered even stranger items, and was thankful that my wealth allowed me to purchase some of them*.
The first was a curious pair of glasses that were flat panes of smoky quartz that protected the wearer’s eyes from the glare of the sun. While interesting and certainly helpful when one was playing cards it was another device that I found to be much more interesting. It was a device described in the text Dream Pool Essay written by a native Serian scholar Shen Kua. The text contained a detailed description of how geomancers magnetized a needle by rubbing its tip with lodestone, and hung the magnetic needle with one single strain of silk with a bit of wax attached to the center of the needle. Shen Kua pointed out that a needle prepared this way sometimes pointed south, sometimes north. With such a device I will have a much easier time navigating in these foreign waters.
*[It is highly likely some of these goods were purchased on the black market.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik II eagerly awaited news of a possible column of German knights heading north into Denmark. Erik II had during the winter and spring distributed many calls into Germany where he offered land and reward for any German knight who came to support his cause for the throne. Erik in desperate need for more soldiers as his half-brother Harald had launched several attacks on his holdings sent these knights an offering to stay at his castle in Reynoldsburgh. It came as much surprise when Erik greeted not just a small column of German knights that he had expected but an imperial field army led by none other than Henry V himself.
An excerpt written by a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
…and with great shock we were greeted not by several knights who were second or third sons as we were told to expect, but the very flower of German knighthood. Saxon heavy knights were the first to enter the town of Reynoldsburgh, but they were soon followed by the red clad* Imperial guard who were guarding none other than his Imperial Majesty Henry V. It was hard to mistaken him for anyone else as only the emperor would be clad in armor seemingly made of more gold than steel. It would take almost a full day for the Imperial army to pass through the town for their numbers were so great. So many that even many of the nobility had to share rooms in the castle, or find lodging in town, or if their rank was lesser than in the tents outside the town with the common soldiers.
*It was at this time that it was first recorder the imperial guard to be solely clad in crimson red. It is derived that it was in respect to their fallen leader Lethold der Blutgedeckt who died in a fluke riding accident in 1105 AD.
(July) [Blessed Islands] Times for the Italian pirates operating out of the Blessed Islands had been good. Several Moorish vessels full of gold had been seized and now crewed added to their already growing fleet (not surprisingly many of the crew manning them were the original crew who were lured over by the lust for gold). They even defeated a small Moorish fleet sent to end their escapades which further increased their strength with several captured warships added to their numbers. However the shipment of gold by ship had come to a rapid halt in favor of the land route through the Sahara that while slower was much more secure.
[North Africa] The Banu tribes launched several desperate assaults towards the fortifications of Tripoli and its outlying forts but were repulsed with heavy casualties. The Banu tribes lacking in heavy infantry and proper siege equipment were forced to settle into sieges of the towns and fortresses throughout the overrun areas of Sicilian North Africa.
An army of Banu Jami was defeated to the southwest of Karwan by forces loyal to King Simon of Sicily as they tried to launch raids deep into the Duchy of Carthage. It should be noted that not many Muslim subjects of the Kingdom of Sicily sided with the Banu tribes and fought them beside their Christian neighbors.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The meeting between Erik II and Henry V in the words of a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
The meeting between his Imperial Majesty Henry V and Erik of Schleswig was a brief one. Henry V informed Erik of his plans to rid Denmark and the Sund of the pirate Harald. Erik agreed to support Henry V as he was far outnumbered by the imperial host and the resources the empire could bring against Denmark. When pressed by Erik if he would support his claim to the throne the emperor kept his own counsel, but did not openly refute Erik’s claim…
The large imperial army spent only a minimal time in Schleswig and quickly made their way towards Jutland and the lands loyal to Harald.
Ships loyal to the empire based out of Lübeck surprised and smashed a Danish fleet loyal to Harald near the island of Thosland as they tried to interdict ships supporting Erik’s forces located on Fyun.
[Provence] The town of Orange opened its gates to the forces of Bertrand of Toulouse as the Bishop who nominally ruled the town was a distant relation. Bertrand quickly revoked the town’s agreement to the Lesser Pact and loaned the Bishop enough troops to enforce his rule upon the town. Several riots broke out among the townsmen and the garrison but they were brutally repressed by the garrison.
A trickle of pure gold was starting to reach Italian and Provencal ports. No one really knew from where the gold was coming and the wildest tales were abroad in all the ports. Still the merchants and moneylenders were paying a keen interest, and were ready to be very generous with the men who will disclose where the gold is coming from...
[Paris - France] The collected nobles and grand princes of Europe began to leave the capital of France in ones and twos towards their homes. Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne traveled together towards Savoy and made plans for dealing with Provence.
A famous, albeit young, teacher of the Sorbonne would attach himself to the train of Boniface on his way to Italy. He comes with the highest recommendations from the Queen of France, and is quite eager to see first hand the wealth of classic Greek and Roman books brought to Mantua after the conquest of Tripoli. On the trip, he becomes fast friend with a young cleric in the retinue of Boniface, Arnaldo da Brescia.
[Southern France - Toulouse] Aquitainian raids into Toulouse continued as Duke William of Aquitaine returned from Paris and began to gather his host near the town of Bergerac. The raids were poorly led disasters for the most part, but succeeded in diverting a good many of Count Bertrand’s forces from entering Provence.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey and his ‘Syrian Legion’ continued their march southeast towards Damascus. The first battle between them and forces loyal to the Lulu saw the forces of the Emirate crushed and routed. The mix of highly disciplined training of the Legion, the flexibility of the native levees, and a core of heavy European cavalry yielded Duke Godfrey a crushing victory. Still his forces were bogged down with raids from Syrian nobility (who themselves were at war with Lulu) upon his baggage and supply train and the need to reduce the few forts and towns upon his way to secure his supply lines back to Tripolis.
[Sicily] With the naval victory of the month before having opened the way Roger II landed over ten thousand soldiers in Sicily from Reggio at the southern tip of Italy to an area just north of Messina. A separate force numbered over four thousand landed further to the south near the town of Taormina which was quickly placed under siege.
Forces loyal to King Simon initially rallied from Messina in an attempt to break up the landings but failed to drive them from their beachhead. Unfortunately for Simon Roger’s forces were able to invest Messina and placed it under siege and blockaded the port. Fast riders from Messina reached Simon’s host gathered near Cerami before the city was completely cut off. Simon quickly marched forth to engage his brother.
[Livonia] An envoy from Niels of Scania arrived in St. Petersburg [Riga] to negotiate the sale of the Danish lands and agreed upon areas in Estonia, conquered in their portion of the Crusade, to the German led Crusade in Livonia. Niels desperate for coin and men (the Danish commander in Estonia swore fealty to Niels when it became apparent that they would be cutoff from supplies when the Gotlanders sided with Niels) sold everything but Dagö Island (the Gotlanders pressured Niels to keep it).
[Both Erik II and Harald protested this move by Niels arguing that he had no right to sell it as he was not king of Denmark, but the Church and Henry V let their protests fall upon deaf ears.]
Once the deal was done two thousand German Crusaders fresh from Pommerania arrived in Kronborg and the other Danish fortresses to replace the Danish soldiers leaving for Scania on Gotlander ships.
Elsewhere with the Red River valley secure the Papal legate Hartwig began a serious push into the Livonian heartland. After the battle of Foggy Glen the most powerful Latgalian chief converted to Christianity and brought their powerful warriors over to the Crusaders side. [The Latgalian chief, one Andryvs Jūrdžs, was a canny politician who saw an inevitable Crusader victory and sought to gain for his people the spoils such a victory would bring. While it wouldn’t be until his son’s rule that the conversion of the Latgalians would begin in earnest the Latgalians would fight on the Crusader’s side with much valor and the famed Latgalian Guard would go on to be a feared group who would not just be the protectors of the Grand Master of the Livonian Order, but would become the Livonian Order’s elite forces.]
The other two armies of German Crusaders continued their push along the coasts to link up with the Polish Crusaders to the south and the Danish, now German, Crusaders in Estonia.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders defeated a gathering of Lithuanian tribes in their southern most territory. The remnants fled north across the Neman River into their holdings there. The Polish Crusaders would spend the rest of the year clearing out the few remaining villages and roaming bands of Lithuanians that crossed the Neman River in search of Polish blood. By the end of the year the Polish portion of the Baltic Crusade had come to a halt.
(August) [Aegean Sea] A Byzantine naval force attacked a small Venetian squadron in the waters near the Duchy of the Archipelago. The Venetians taken by surprise by the new discipline and the overwhelming numbers of the Byzantine navy were routed and fled west towards Venetian Ionia. The Byzantines proceeded to land a small army on the islands and subsequently defeated the Venetian garrisons.
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] A Byzantine fleet arrived at the coastal village of Barka in Banu Sulaym territory. The village was overrun by a Byzantine army that landed in the early morning and slaughtered the defenders (with most of the soldiers and young men off to war in Sicilian North Africa the place was poorly defended and offered little resistance to the battle hardened Byzantine troops).
[North Africa] A Banu assault on the fortresses to the east of Tripoli met with limited success as the two smallest (known as the Fists of the King) fell to the tribesmen, but the larger fortresses succeeded in driving off their attackers.
An army of Sicilians gathered in Carthage under the command of Peter of Messina Count of Bone, a loyal ally and friend of Simon of Sicily intent on driving the Banu tribes out of Sicilian North Africa.
[Tyrrhenian Sea – North of Sicily] Ships loyal to Simon rallied from their defeat at the Straits of Messina at Palermo. From there they set sail towards the Aeolian Islands that lie to the north of Sicily. Once past the Aeolian Islands they had planned to sweep south through the Straits of Messina in an attempt to cutoff Roger’s army that had laid siege to Messina. However to the southeast of the largest island, Lipari, in the Aeolian Island chain they clashed with a fleet from Naples carrying a small army intending to capture the strategic islands. The fleet loyal to Simon succeeded in driving off the invading fleet.
At the end of the month, around the 27th of August, a fleet from Naples again attempted to take the Aeolian Islands. The Sicilian fleet loyal to Simon absent from the second attempt led to the islands falling to Robert’s forces.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued as several large siege engines that were sent from Apulia arrived and began to pound the city’s walls.
Simon’s army from Cerami continued its march towards Messina ignoring the second smaller army besieging the town of Taormina; a mistake that would cost him dearly. On the morning of 6th of August the commander of Taormina’s garrison was killed when a section of wall hit by a catapult fell on him. In the resulting chaos one of his lieutenants surrendered a gate to the town to the besieging forces loyal to Roger.
[Many think the gate commander had been bribed but had been under the watch of the garrison commander and could not act until he had died, but no proof has ever been given to support this thesis.]
With the surrender of Taormina Simon’s flank and rear became dangerously exposed. The commander of the forces, one Robert of Bari, having left only a small garrison in the town marched at best speed north to assist his lord at Messina.
Simon’s army moving at a snail’s pace (Simon insisted upon bringing a vast baggage train filled with things like books against the advice of his more experienced military commanders) arrived after two weeks of travel from Cerami. The morning of the 9th of August saw Roger’s army itself besieged and surrounded by Simon’s. Outnumbered several of Roger’s supporters suggested surrendering, but Roger quickly dismissed the idea. Roger is said to have said, “Desperate times call for a bold strategy” in response to their pleas.
The following battle heavily favored Simon and even Roger’s ‘bold’ strategy achieved only a moderate success in seemingly staving off the inevitable. Roger II is said to have been unhorsed at least twice during the battle. When a sallying force from Messina joined Simon’s army the prospect for Roger’s rebellion was dim. It was at that moment that the force from Taormina arrived. The reinforcements charged into the rear of Simon’s army (according to historical documents it attacked at the point where the center and the right flank joined). The charge which caused only minimal casualties panicked a large number within Simon’s army and thousands began to rout (mainly poorly equipped levies). At the end of the day some two thousand were left dead on the battlefield and another three thousand were wounded. Roger’s army captured over a thousand of Simon’s soldiers and knights. The sallying force from Messina had been driven back into the city and the siege was resumed (several of Roger’s siege engines had been destroyed by the sallying force which weakened the siege until new ones could be constructed or shipped from southern Italy).
Simon was eventually able to regroup his army again near the town of Troina slightly to the southeast of Cerami. Even with his defeat near Messina Simon still commanded a field force of over ten thousand with another fifteen thousand garrisoning the rest of Sicily.
[County of Provence - Kingdom of Arles] Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, on orders from Boniface who had just returned to Italy from France, marched towards the town of Digne in Provence. A smaller force was sent to link up with forces from Savoy and Maurienne in Erubrun along the Durance River.
[County of Toulouse] William IX Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony attempted an invasion of Toulouse from the west in support of his ‘allies’ in Provence. The invasion was a disaster for the Aquitainians that had it not been for the valiant efforts of his personal guard might have seen William IX a prisoner of Betrand of Toulouse. William gathered his routed army and marched north east towards Autun where a royal army commanded by none other than Louis VI himself was being gathered.
[France] Louis VI in an effort to humble his reluctant vassal Bertrand of Toulouse for his ‘presumptions’ gathered a royal army and camped near the bishopric of Autun where he waited for his vassals to join him. The first to join was the Duke of Burgundy followed soon by soldiers from his wife’s duchy (Normandy).
[Emirate of Syria] An army of forces loyal to Lulu defeated a gathered army of rebel nobles outside of the mighty fortress city of Aleppo. Weakened the nobles sought help from their neighbor the Atabeg of Mosul, Kerbogha, who seemed sympathetic to their cause.
Godfrey’s army continued its march towards Damascus but met with continued resistance as bandits, nobles aligned against Lulu, and elements of Lulu’s forces routinely attacked his forces. Godfrey’s forces were able to destroy several hidden encampments that were pointed out by spies and Hashshashin (Assassins) that had lived in the area before they had fled to Tripolis years before.
[Livonia] German Crusaders defeated a gathering of pagan tribes south of Cold Bay [Bay of Riga] which brought a large chunk of Livonia under the control of Crusader’s.
[Denmark – The Sund] The Danish fleet loyal to Harald successfully landed troops on the isles in the Strait controlled by Niels which quickly fell to those forces. By the end of the month that fleet was either sunk or captured by a German fleet sailing out of Lübeck in what is known as the Battle of the Straits. This effectively cut Harald’s forces in two, those on the island of Syaland (and nearby islands) and that of his main force on Jutland.
[Denmark - Scania] With the entry of Henry V and the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, apparently on Erik II’s side, Niels was caught in a quandary. He did not have the resources to challenge the empire even with his sale of most of the Danish Crusading lands and the returning soldiers from there to Scania. After a night in prayer Niels came to a conclusion that he had no hope of becoming king of Denmark, but if providence was with him (and his allies in Gotland would support him) a king he could still remain.
On August 4th 1108 AD in the recently constructed cathedral in city of Lund Niels crowned himself Nicholas I King of Skånia. He wrote letters to his supporters in Denmark to make peace with emperor (and Erik II). He also wrote to Emperor Henry V of his intent to yield his claim to the throne of Denmark and pledged his support to Erik II in this endeavor if he recognized his claim (well political support at the most). He received the backing of the merchants of Gotland with the transfer of Dägo Island to the Gotlanders in support of his new kingdom.
[There are several theories on why Nicholas I (Niels) chose to claim the crown of Skånia instead on continuing his pursuit of the crown of Denmark. The first theory rests on the fact he was low on money, even after the sale of Danish Estonia and its claims to Papal legate Hartwig, and even with the support from the Gotlanders didn’t have the ships or men to challenge Erik II, let alone Harald, and certainly not Henry V. The second is that it was plot of the emperor’s to begin with. The plot supposedly was that the emperor used merchants within the Baltic Trade Company to seed the idea in Nicholas I’s head that a crown in Skånia was achievable.]
[Denmark - Jutland] Imperial forces engaged forces loyal to Harald near the town of Varvith. The much larger imperial host easily crushed Harald’s forces. Harald’s armies crossed the Varde Ă River and made it to the walls of the town before being completely routed by the imperial forces.
It was at this time that Henry V received the letter from Nicholas I (Niels) of Skånia. It is remarked by one of the clerics in Matilda of Canossa’s retinue (traveling with the Imperial Court):
After his imperial majesty read the letter he laughed out that if the petty king wished to rule a petty land then so be it, as long as he leaves my straits alone he can rot for all I care…
It is said Erik II was not pleased by the emperor’s words (he was already hot under the collar at Henry’s support of Niels (Nicholas I) sale of the Danish Crusader lands and the rights to them, but as he was a virtual prisoner of the emperor (to be honest more of a ‘honored’ guest that was well guarded) there was little he could do.
(September) [North Africa] Taking advantage of a bit of cool weather Peter of Messina marched his gathered army of Normans south towards the lands of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes. The Banu Jami tribe was the first to feel the blow of the Norman army. A small army of Banu Jami marching north ran headlong into Peter’s army. The Banu Jami suffered a very high number of casualties and stopped their drive north. Surprisingly a high portion of those casualties were inflicted by a small contingent of Aragónese knights sent by King Peter of Aragón in support of Simon. (Peter was smart enough to know that Simon could still lose against Roger II but neither could fault him for defending Christian lands against the Muslims. He also used this as evidence against previous charges of him being corrupted by the Moors in Iberia. As far as Peter of Aragón was concerned it was a win-win situation for him.)
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] The Byzantine army after ensuring its captured town was well protected began to expand its control into the nearby countryside.
The resistance was minimal as again most of the Banu’s warriors were off fighting the Normans.
[Venice] Doge Ordelafo Faliero was caught very much surprised by the Byzantine attack on the Duchy of the Archipelago. A minor setback he initially called it but when word arrived of their attack on Cyrenaica and the Banu tribes he grew very much worried (documents and letters from him and other prominent men of Venice at the time expressed concern that this might just threaten their plans for Egypt that were decades in the making). Doge Ordelafo quickly began to reorder ships and men bound for the fight in Sicily to instead reinforce Venetian Ionia.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued but with the siege engines replaced and more brought from across the straits the city’s walls were pounded mercilessly by Roger II’s forces. The blockade of the city’s harbor was tight but loosened up as by ones and twos Venetian ships slowly disappeared in the night. However enough Amalfitan ships remained on station to prevent ships loyal to Simon from entering. Roger II also secured the coastal road from Taormina to the siege lines around Messina.
Simon’s army based around Troina slowly rebuilt its strength. The demands of the fall harvest prevented him from drawing too many more forces and instead marched his army in the direction of Taormina in what he hoped was to be a reversal of his fortunes.
[Provence] The first battle for Provence occurred near an abandoned monastery near the Durance River (it had apparently burned down several years before and at the time had yet to be rebuilt). The battle was a short affair leaving Bertrand of Toulouse in command of the field and the forces loyal to Amadeus of Maurienne in full rout. However Bertrand was forced to retire back to Orange when scouts reported to him that the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice della Gherardesca had crossed into Provence and appeared to be heading towards Aix.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army finally reached the outskirts of Damascus. A small battle drove the city’s defenders back into the city leaving Godfrey’s army to encircle it. Lulu still in Aleppo overseeing the defenses there is said to have railed for three days at the interferences of the infidels. However he couldn’t do much about it as word was brought of a large gathering of rebellious nobles near the emirate’s lands on the west bank of the Euphrates River.
Godfrey began preparations for a long siege of the city. His army’s numbers swelled as over a thousand Knight Hospitaliers joined his ranks outside the city. Fortunately for him as this gave him enough men to actually encircle the city in a tight siege.
[Jutland - Denmark] The imperial army pressed its attack in Jutland leaving a large chunk of Harald’s forces under siege in Varvith. Former vassals of Niels, now nominal vassals of Erik (in reality their fear of Henry V’s power made them Henry’s vassals), stopped the remnant of Harald’s army from crossing over the Storá River which pushed Harald west into the County of Heingǽ and the small fortress at Rindum. Henry V pursued Harald there and on the 27th of September began to siege the small harbor fort.
[Livonia] The northernmost Crusader army finally made contact with those forces garrisoning the former Danish forts in Estonia. This army began a series of new forts in preparation for the winter, and as starting points for next spring’s assault upon the interior. The southernmost army crushed a small but fearsome tribe known as the Lettes. The army personally under Papal legate Hartwig rested for the rest of the year and began construction of several large fortifications along the Red River (conscripted local labor did much of the actual labor) to secure it against attacks from the north and from the schismatics from Polotsk.
[France] The royal French army finished gathering near Autun and after much bickering between the king and the greater nobles finally marched south towards Toulouse to teach Count Bertrand a lesson the French king hoped he would not soon forget.
(October) [Sicily] A scene from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with Sebastiano of Palermo, a captured priest, whose loyalties lied with Simon. Sebastiano is historically based on Simon’s personal priest, Sebastian, who was killed in the battle around Messina when Simon’s baggage train was overrun by Roger’s forces. The playwrights again took a bit of historical license but the scene accurately depicts Roger II’s way of dealing with those he considered traitors.
Act III, Scene IV
<Sebastiano held by the arms by two of Roger’s soldiers>
Sebastiano: Lord Roger, only you would be so bold.
Roger II: Where are my brother’s forces headed?
Sebastiano: I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m a simple priest on his way to Rome.
Roger II: You are rebel and traitor. Take him away. <Roger gestures to the nearby guards>
Simon’s army made much quicker progress than his last march. This time only the necessities were brought in the baggage train and the occupied town of Taormina was this time placed under siege by Simon’s forces with Roger’s forces trapped in the city. However the town could still be supplied by ship and refused to surrender. Simon’s fleet had yet to resurge in the area after several defeats aimed at the Straits of Messina.
When it was reported to Roger II that Venetian ships were disappearing and their promised army (supposedly to be numbered around four thousand) had yet to materialize he went into a rage. It is said that when he summoned the Venetian ambassador the man was in his night robe and roughly deposited in the mud outside Roger II’s tent.
Taken from the diary of Roger II’s personal priest:
Several burly soldiers, men from Bari I believe, roughly deposited poor Domenico in his night robe outside in the mud by Lord Roger’s tent. His lordship’s eyes seemed to smoke with a burning fire as he explained to Domenico that if those ships and men are not forthcoming he could forget their deal. And that if that was the case then every Venetian merchant in his kingdom would have their property seized and would be promptly hung. The poor man mumbled something about the schismatics to the east, but his lordship only roared that he didn’t care about some pathetic islands to the east only their bargain.
It is said Domenico was promptly placed on a fast ship and sent to Venice with Roger II’s words for Doge Ordelafo Faliero.
[Venice] The Venetian fleet and army destined for Sicily was rerouted to once again make an attempt on the Byzantine Adriatic port city of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Also the recently created Arsenal was working night and day on additional ships for the expected war with the Byzantines.
It is said that Doge Ordelafo was foaming at the mouth, describing the duplicity of the Greeks as "traitors to the church of Christ and to any decency, worse than Moors and heathens, backstabbers and sodomites", as he denounced them during an arengo in Venice the day before the fleet sailed for Dyrrachium (Durrës). Many astute observers remembered that Ordelafo had been quite disappointed with the results of the last bout in Crete and Morea.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued south in their punishment of the Banu tribesmen. A large battle took place near the besieged town of Gabes which left the Banu Jami tribe broken and in full retreat.
The Byzantine army continued its expansion along the coast and the nearby hinterland in Cyrenaica but was forced to limit its gains as their force was small and with increased Venetian naval activity almost cut off from resupply from the empire.
[Emirate of Syria] The siege of Damascus continued as additional reinforcements from the County of Beyrout arrived to assist in the siege (and of course gain some lands). The contingent was only a few hundred knights and soldiers but it further tightened the noose on the Syrian city. The rest of the available forces of that County were doing their own land grab near the borders of the county.
Lulu disputed emir of Syria left Aleppo with a large force intent on destroying the gathered rebel nobles near the Euphrates River. It is believed that he felt if he could destroy the nobles first he could swing down and relieve Damascus long before the city even came close to falling. However his plans as they had since he assassinated the boy heir went disastrously wrong. Lulu’s army engaged the army of rebellious nobles but to Lulu’s horror found not only their army but that of Kerbogha, lord of Mosul, had sent not just his army but had come in person. [The nobles disgusted by Lulu and with no ready heir offered Kerbogha lordship of Syria if he would help to destroy Lulu.] The battle went badly for Lulu with over a third of his numbers either dead or having switched sides during the battle. Lulu with as many of his men that he could rally made fast for his fortress in Aleppo and awaited Kerbogha’s next action.
[Livonia] An early ice storm in the Baltic put to rest any further campaigning. Several supply ships were lost in the storm. The Crusaders in reaction to lost supplies began seizing food and livestock from their conquered pagan subjects (and in many cases what they did not keep themselves they gave to their converted subjects) which added even more resentment and anger at the invaders and those natives who had already converted.
[Note: It is widely believed that this was done on the advice of several native leaders, those who had already converted to Christianity, in an effort to break the remaining pagans within the Crusader held territory. That and increase their own wealth and stature at the expense of their neighbors.]
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice continued its march into Provence. The legion after a brief stay in the bishopric of Fréjus, a quiet coastal Mediterranean town moved northwest towards the town of Forealquier where they were to meet up with the forces of Amadeus of Maurienne, but Ser Tedice was ignorant of his defeat only a few days ago at the end of September.
Bertrand of Toulouse with reinforcements from his lands marched forth from Orange in hopes of catching Ser Tedice’s forces as they either were crossing the Durance River or if they moved towards Aix then attack their rear or flank as the situation dictated.
[France] Louis VI’s royal army arrived in the town of Montbrán in the County of Forez.
[Denmark - Jutland] Guido Rossi after many months of traveling from Italy finally caught up to Henry V’s court outside the siege of Rindum. Boniface assigned him to primarily keep Henry V happy and looking away from Italy. He was also appointed another task to talk to Mathilda the Fair, daughter of Boniface and dowager queen of Denmark, and try to unravel what's happening in that far away kingdom. Her father was worried at the reports that came into Pavia from Goffredo Bonacolsi (who has been called to meet Guido at the Imperial court) about the situation in that far off kingdom. Guido was sent to find out what the young lady had in mind and was to advise her on future moves. Two of Magister Irnerius’ pets, Bulgarus and Martinus, accompanied him as assistants.
Henry V ordered a large portion of the Imperial Army under Duke Conrad Hohenstaufen of Saxony further into the Jutland with orders to “wipe out the nest of rats following this Piper”. Many a neutral Danish lord soon found Imperial envoys at their courts outlining why their support of the emperor (oh and of course Erik II) was important to ensure the safety of Denmark (and the Straits). [Note: The documents that survive from these envoys once past all the diplomatic jingo basically came out and said support the emperor or face the same fate as those following Harald are about to receive.] All the remaining neutral lords of Denmark wisely decided to support the emperor (and Erik II) and soon found imperial forces and naval assets reinforcing their positions.
The siege at Rindum continued as the siege engines were brought up from Schleswig but were delayed due to a heavy rain that muddied the roads.
Harald’s forces in the town of Varvith surrendered to the Count of Holstein, as he was left in charge of the siege there.
(November) [North Africa] Thirty-five Venetian galleys escorted an Egyptian transport fleet that landed five thousand troops near the Byzantine occupied town of Barka. The town was invested and placed under siege by land while the Venetian ships blockaded the harbor. A small naval battle took place two days later when ten Byzantine naval ships arrived near Barka. Neither side reported the loss of any ships but the Venetian blockade held and the Byzantine ships retreated back towards Crete.
This was the first open cooperation between the Fatimids and the Venetians who had up until this moment had hidden agreements between them. Much of the work done in influencing the Fatimid court goes to exiled minor Italian nobles who had left Italy after or during the Baron’s Revolt and then again fled Constantinople after their persecution there following the war in Crete. Ranieri, the former Marquis of Montferrat, is held as being the architect behind the Venetian-Fatimid cooperation.
Peter of Messina’s army continued its assault against the Banu tribes but was hampered by poor logistics. Also the Banu tribes in the region broke up into small raiding groups making it a difficult and long process of eradicating them from the kingdom’s territory.
[Denmark - Jutland] Duke Conrad’s army defeated the last gathering of nobles supporting Harald in central Jutland at the battle of Cold Springs [named for a small nearby fresh water spring]. It is estimated that well over ninety percent of Harald’s backers in Jutland were either killed during this battle or in the battles since the imperial forces became involved in the Danish civil war.
The imperial siege engines made short work of the fortifications of Rindum. With the walls breached the imperial army swamped the Danish defenders and during the fighting Harald Kesja (Harald the Spear) was killed defending the keep. With cries that their king was dead Harald’s soldiers surrendered to the imperial forces.
With Harald’s body not even cold his crown, incidentally the same one his father Eric I had worn, was removed by an unknown German knight who hand delivered it to Henry V who had personally overseen the fall of the fortress. With the death of Harald and the bulk of his supporters the Danish civil war had come to an end. However the Empire’s interference in Danish affairs was only beginning.
For rest of the month while imperial forces cleaned up the few remaining loyalists [supporters of Harald, those who refused to give up Niel’s cause, and a few independent minded nobles] Henry V and his court decided the fate of Denmark. While Erik II was nominally part of the council there are testimonials and documents that indicate that he was rarely consulted on the arrangements being made in Denmark.
From an excerpt from the writings of one Otto of Köln, a priest serving as a scribe in the court of Henry V:
As his imperial majesty and the assembled court began to rearrange Denmark into what hopefully will be by the grace of God a more peaceful arrangement to the benefit of the Empire and the people of Denmark. Many a second or third son of the noble houses of the empire have been awarded land in Denmark, taken from Harald’s now deceased or exiled supporters. Several of the larger native nobles who wisely chose to side with his Highness also saw their domains enlarged.
It was with an outburst from the young Erik II, Duke of Schleswig and Syaland and heir presumptive to the throne of Denmark, over the construction of several imperial fortifications in the straits [it presumed here that the priest meant not just fortifications built from the Emperor’s purse but also garrisoned by imperial troops] to protect trade, that silenced the court. Young Erik argued that Denmark was not part of the empire and there was no need to garrison imperial soldiers within his kingdom. Then his Highness reminded young Erik that “he was not king yet” and the court went back to the business at hand.
Denmark was reshaped by Henry V into new fiefdoms. The Duchy of Schleswig was removed from the Kingdom of Denmark and made a duchy of the Kingdom of Germany. Erik II was left as the Duke of Schleswig While Jutland was divided into the Duchies of North and South Jutland. The Duchy of North Jutland was given over to the Count of Horǽ, a neutral Danish lord who readily backed Henry V when his envoy arrived. The Duchy of South Jutland was given over to a cousin of the Welfs of Bavaria, Stephen of Innsbruck. The Duchy of Syaland was named an Imperial fief and the ducal title was given over to Erik II [Note: It is recorded that the counsel of Guido Rossi and Matilda of Canossa kept Erik II from flying into a rage and doing something rash when it was decreed that Syaland was named an imperial fief.] however only the few strategic locations destined to have imperial fortresses were kept in imperial hands the rest of Syaland was given over to Erik to do as he saw fit. The County of Fyun was given over to the Count of Holstein for his deeds during the Baltic Crusade and during the campaign in Denmark itself. The County of Laland and Falster was awarded to the House of Lorraine [the County was to go to Simon I’s young daughter Agatha, assuming she survived infancy, as it had been arranged that she would marry Henry V’s own son when they came of age.].
Another change to Denmark by Henry V’s decree allowed several cities and towns in Denmark, namely København, to sign the Imperial charter. In addition he ordered a fleet of imperial warships to be built and stationed in the city of København to protect the straits from piracy.
On November the 27th one of Henry V’s last acts in Denmark was to crown Erik II King of Denmark in a crowded Cathedral in København. It is remarked that most of the crowd was German nobles and those Danish nobles who had clearly sided with Henry V. Only a few were nobles loyal to Erik II.
[Ionian Sea] A small Venetian fleet engaged a slightly larger Byzantine fleet off the southwest coast of Peloponnesus. The Venetian fleet suffered the loss of two ships to the Byzantine one before they withdrew back to Venetian Ionia.
[Dyrrachium (Durrës) – Byzantine Empire] A large fleet of Venetian ships appeared on the morning of November 5th heading towards the Byzantine port town of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Unlike the previous Venetian attack on the city they were not fooled and were prepared for the Venetian attack (several fast riders were dispatched towards Constantinople at the sighting of the fleet). The Venetians in a battle that lasted most of the day failed to force their way into the town’s harbor. This required them to land their army slightly to the south.
The Venetian army successfully defeated a small Byzantine army sent to disrupt their landings however the bulk of the town’s garrison seemed content to remain behind the walls of the town.
The Venetian army settled in for what appeared to be a lengthy siege while a Byzantine army under General Taticius prepared their own forces near the town of Scopia for a winter quarters. [Note: It appears from historical documents that the Byzantines had expected the Venetians to come in the spring and not endure a winter siege of Dyrrachium (Durrës), but the Venetians decided a quick response was the best bet and had moved faster than the Byzantines had expected.]
While a large fleet blockaded the port of Dyrrachium (Durrës) and its army continued the siege a section of the Venetian fleet broke off with three thousand soldiers and made its way to Sicily to back Roger II, who had made it abundantly clear the consequences if they failed to comply with their contract.
[Sicily] Simon I of Sicily and his army continued their siege of Taormina but were dismayed when a Venetian fleet arrived in the town’s port with over three thousand reinforcements for the beleaguered army within. The army loyal to Roger trapped in the town was reduced to a mere thousand men after several direct assaults by Simon’s forces were repelled. Simon decided that a winter siege and perhaps a naval solution might present itself. He left the army under one William of Salerno and retired to his court in Palermo for the winter.
[Sicily - Messina] Months of hard siege had seen the once proud walls of Messina battered down by the large trebuchets and catapults of Roger II’s army. On the night of the 16th of November a fire broke out in the city. Deciding to take advantage of the situation Roger ordered a full night time assault on the city with the hope that the garrison might be distracted enough to allow his forces to gain the walls.
The battle for the walls lasted deep into the night and the early morning but as the garrison was split in trying to defend the walls and put out the fire Roger’s army successfully breached the walls in several locations. Roger II never one to lead too far behind led a small group of knights along the wall and into the city in an attempt to force open the gates. As his men forced open the gates a nearby building that was aflame collapsed near Roger II and had it not been for the quick and valiant efforts of his men Roger II would have died in the fire of the rubble that knocked him down. However Roger II still suffered excessive burns across his body and would be laid up for many months to come.
An excerpt from one of Roger II’s court doctors, an Arab by the name of Hassan al-Kalbi:
His Grace suffered burns to his upper body, but do not seem to have affected his range of motion too much. His face and head though are permanently scarred. I was forced to amputate the left ear as all that remained was sick blackened flesh. All of his lordship’s hair on his head is gone. Curiously his eyes suffered no damage and one can only thank Allah it is so.
Roger II’s injuries would plague him for the rest of his life. As he recovered over the winter in Messina he grew tired of the shocked looks at his appearance and donned an iron mask. Some reports say it was a skull and others a detailed replica of his own face before his injuries. [Note it is not exactly known which as Roger II forbid any writings on what his mask looked like and had ordered it destroyed upon his death. It is believed though that he may have had several and wore them according to his mood.]
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army continued its siege of Damascus but the limited amount of engineers and siege engines limited the effect until more siege equipment could be brought from Tripolis.
Kerbogha’s army consolidated control over the eastern portion of the Emirate of Syria and defeated several small armies loyal to Lulu as Kerbogha’s army crept closer to the fortress city of Aleppo.
[France] As the French army made its way to the border of Toulouse tensions arose between the French knights, several priests, and many of the French nobility over Constance’s use of over two hundred of Matilda’s Maidens in her ducal army. When Louis VI commanded her to send them back to Normandy she refused. Calmly she informed him that the Maidens come with her and the royal army or she and her vassals would leave and return to Normandy. It is said that Louis VI raged for a whole day at his wife’s impertinence. Knowing that his wife’s forces and her vassals made up over a quarter of his army he could not let her leave. Louis relented and allowed them to come, but many a French noble and knight lost a lot of faith in their king.
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice as it crossed the Durance River was attacked by Bertrand of Toulouse’s army. The new tactics and discipline of the legion even partially caught crossing the river thrashed Bertrand’s army. The Toulousian army composed of house troops, mercenaries, and levies broke after only a half an hour of battle and routed back towards Aix.
The Abbot of St. Denis, Suger, sent as an envoy from Louis VI to Boniface’s court was present at the battle and in his Vita Lodovici Regis wrote:
…The cold efficiency of the Tuscan army crushed Bertrand of Toulouse’s army in a manor I have never seen. Having accompanied his majesty Philip I, may he rest in peace, on his many campaigns in France I have never seen the like. Bertrand’s army had the Tuscans trapped and partially across the Durance but with quick efficiency and discipline Ser Tedice was able to order his army into the field in only a manner that Caesar’s armies might have accomplished. The brutal black tide [black and red being the colors of the legion] outnumbered swept the Count and his army from the field in less time than it takes this poor old priest to pray the Rosary…
[Principality of Kiev] Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich the supreme ruler of Kievan Rus and Chernigov agreed to the Byzantine emperor’s proposal to send an army to the coast of the Black Sea to further push the native Polovtsi and Cumans back to help establish further trade routes into and out of the empire.
[Rome] On the morning of November 22nd a letter arrived from Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa for Pope Paschal II. In it he first asks for his Holiness’ blessings for his campaign into the Emirate of Syria. The second portion of the letter asks his Holiness for to grant him divorce from his wife Adelisa of Sicily.
An excerpt from the letter (kept on record in the library of Rome to this day):
…these accusations against my wife can longer be ignored. My own investigations lead me to believe there may be some truthfulness to my wife’s corruption. I do not ask for this for my sake but I must protect my son and daughter from their mother’s crimes…
Pope Paschal II did not respond immediately to the letter, beyond a quick missive giving his blessings in defeating the Muslims in Syria, as there were many considerations to be had.
[Seres (China)] An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 72):
Today while traveling up the coast of Seres my ship encountered what I believe to be a ship that could rival Noah’s famed Ark. The oversized junk sailed passed with a speed I would not have attributed to such a large vessel. From that day on I vowed to learn as much about these large ships as I could and if possible captain one myself.
(December) [Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse gathered what remained of his army after the disaster at the Durance River and retreated back towards Aix. Leaving the city with a formidable garrison he returned to Toulouse when word reached him that Louis VI was camped only days away from the north of Toulouse.
Ser Tedice’s army after its victory at the Durance River made its way to Forealquier where they made winter quarters and awaited the arrival of Amadeus of Maurienne and his army.
[France] The Royal army camped in the two towns of Carlot and Murat just to the north of the territories under the control of the Count of Toulouse, Bertrand. A heavy snow stopped the army and Louis VI decided to camp for the winter. A decision he would later write that he would regret until the end of his days.
[Byzantine Empire – Dyrrachium (Durrës)] With the nearby swamps, winter, and their lessons from the last attempt to siege Dyrrachium (Durrës) the Venetian commander, one Vitale Dandolo, instituted a harsh sanitary regimen among his men during the siege. It is recorded that he established a camp for his sick and diseased soldiers well away from the siege lines and the regular army camp. From the writings of several monks whose care these sick (and in some cases wounded too) soldiers were given over to the camp was nothing more than a place for them to die away from the healthy.
[Emirate of Syria] Kerbogha’s army continued its sweep of northern Syria slowly descending upon Lulu’s stronghold of Aleppo. A small battle some fifteen miles from the walls of Aleppo yielded Lulu’s first victory. This victory by Lulu is attributed to Kerbogha’s absence from the battle whereas his supporters in the battle where mainly made up of local nobles who had backed Kerbogha. Kerbogha is estimated to have been in or around the town of Moumbidj at the time resupplying his large army.
The siege of Damascus continued with the addition of several large siege engines brought for Tripolis that saw the mighty city’s walls slowly pounded into rubble. News of Kerbogha’s host arrived and greatly worried Godfrey and his commanders. Kerbogha’s host in control of Syria could place all of Christendom’s position in the Holy Land at stake.
[Sicily] With Roger II injured and recuperating in the sacked city of Messina and his brother Simon having retired back to Palermo the civil war in the Kingdom of Sicily seemed to come to a close as winter set in. Only a few failed assaults by Simon’s forces laying siege to the occupied town of Taormina was the only combat recorded.
The city of Syracuse came under blockade by Venetian ships and ships loyal to Roger II. A Sicilian naval squadron under Admiral William of Reggio successfully maneuvered his fleet out of the blockaded city during a daring nighttime escape that also saw two Venetian galleys seized by the Sicilians with no losses to their own fleet.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued its drive to relieve beleaguered Sicilian towns and garrisons in North Africa. A gathering of Banu Hilal was defeated as Peter’s army marched towards Tripoli to relieve the beleaguered city. Peter was forced to leave several small armies and detached light cavalry along his supply chain back to Carthage in an effort to keep the Banu tribesmen from undoing what he and his army had accomplished over the past few months.
Curiously even with parts of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes thousands of Sicilians from Sicily made the journey across to North Africa fleeing the encroaching civil war.
The Fatimid army twice assaulted the Byzantine occupied Banu town of Barka but failed to take the town. Supplies however ran low in the town and as the siege began to take its toll a plague broke out among the Byzantine soldiers. The Byzantine leader struck down by the plague led his second in command to ask for and were granted terms.
An Almoravid army unexpectedly began a siege of Thyrrenian controlled Icosium (Algiers). The town had been under Thyrrenian control since 1105 AD. The last siege of the town had failed to retake it had attempted to raid, unsuccessfully, on several occasions since then. However this is the first real attempt to retake the town after the failed siege in 1105.
[Rome] Pope Paschal II began sending out feelers to both the courts of Boniface and the Kingdom of Sicily (a letter was also sent to Roger II but no openly as the Pope did with Simon) on achieving a final solution to Duke Godfrey’s marriage issue. With the Duke’s formal request for annulment the issue needed to be settled. daughter to Niccoloso (who to the chieftain appeared to be in charge; much to
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The map:
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1108 AD –
(January) [Chola Empire]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 56):
“The rumors throughout the city spoke of the return of an enormous trading venture from Seres have proven true. A well placed bribe to one of the officials gained me access to the records of the trading expedition. The records made mention that tens of thousands of copper coins were brought back for mere trinkets and spices. I have ordered my crew for a long voyage to the east to seek further riches there, but I will be sad to have to say goodbye to sweet Vanavan and her tender ways.”
Over the previous year of trading and pirating in the Indian Ocean John II had become the master of his own ship when Dorma had been killed by a stray arrow during an act of piracy. By the beginning of the year 1108 AD John II had three ships sailing for him when he began his trek to the Far East.
[Denmark - Schleswig] Eric II received a confirmation letter from Emperor Henry V allowing him a limited right to recruit knights within the Kingdom of Germany. (The letter, since lost, is believed to have mentioned a preference for recruitment of knights from the Duchy of Saxony and knights from Henry’s own Franconian duchies. It is believed Henry V was doing this as rewards for his favorites by helping second and third sons gain land in Denmark and to curry favor with his powerful ally Conrad Hohenstaufen, Duke of Saxony, who was looking to aid his own vassals. With much of the land in Pommerania destined for the Teutonic Order and Church lands [better to convert the pagans] not much remained to divvy out to vassals.)
Only a few took up his offer as the heavy winter snows had limited the spread of the news of the offer, but it would prove to be but the beginning of the German flood into Denmark.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels lord of Scania began a winter campaign to bring all of Scania* under his control. His first targets were the Counts of Lyrgmǽs and Thornǽ.
[*Scania included the lands of Blekyng and Halland.]
[Denmark – Syaland] Harald like his half-brother and uncle did not let the winter go completely by without some form of action no matter how limited. The heavy snows and lack of funds have curtailed any further conflict till the spring, but Harald in preparation for further actions seized or requisitioned any vessels moored in the harbors under his control. Several foreign merchants protested at the seizure of their vessels and were thrown in prison on charges of attempting to bribe harbor officials and other such ‘crimes’. (Some of those charges may even have been true.)
[Southern Italy – Kingdom of Sicily] King Simon I of Sicily who upon word that his sister, Adelisa, had fled to Roger’s estates in Apulia ordered her to return back to her husband’s estates in Spoleto less an unwanted war was brought upon them.
Repulsed at his brother’s continued weakness and the affront to his family’s name, Roger gave into the whispers of the nobles of southern Italy who proclaimed him Roger II the true heir to the crown of Sicily in Naples on the morning of January 17th. According to a court priest at his hasty coronation Roger II is said to have proclaimed words for his brother Simon.
“…and I accept this burden upon my shoulders. As for my brother Simon I do not wish harm on him, but he is unsuited to the duties and difficult decisions those who wear the crown must make. If he agrees to step down and offer no resistance I will petition his holiness the Pope to make him an archbishop if not a holy Cardinal.”
(February) [Kingdom of Sicily] The court of Simon I fell into chaos when Roger made his declaration and was crowned in Naples. According to a court scribe the pious Simon retreated to his private chapel and asked for God’s guidance. It is unknown what occurred in the silence of the chapel but the scholarly Simon came out a changed man who vowed to place his little brother and his supporters in their place.
With virtually all of southern Italy in rebellion and only a few scattered loyal vassals holding to their vows of fealty the situation looked bleak to Simon. However not all was stacked against him as all of Sicily and the territories in Africa were still in his hands. In addition the majority of the fleet remained loyal even if a sizeable portion of it now sailed for his brother.
[Southern Italy] Roger II waited not but a few hours after his coronation before he marched upon the few garrisons and strongholds loyal to his brother Simon (and his vassals in pre-planned attacks did so throughout southern Italy). Those garrisons that remained loyal were spread out and easily overcome by Roger’s forces. Several were caught unawares and put up little fight.
Roger’s biggest coup was when he gained the great trading city of Amalfi as an ally and backer, whose ruling elite had sided with Roger over Simon in exchange for promises of lower taxes (the city was providing the bulk of the fleet that sided with Roger).
[Rome] Pope Paschal II stunned by the explosion of violence to south in the Kingdom of Sicily called for peace and wrote the two brothers that it was against the laws of God for one to strike down his brother as Caine did unto Abel.
The Pope also sealed official accusations against Adelisa that were brought to light by various nobles from the Kingdom of Italy. (These documents which would not see the light of day until the 18th Century strongly hinted that Adelisa had indeed been in commerce with the powers of Darkness.)
[In this historian’s opinion it is nothing more than counter propaganda put out by Boniface’s spymaster to counter Sicilian accusations against his brother Godfrey. However it should be noted that the more lurid versions of Adelisa's sins were widely circulated within the Kingdom of Italy (and widely believed if writings from the time are to be believed), the papal lands and even the Norman kingdom (where possession of these lies was a capital offense).]
[County of Savoy] Douce, wife of Amadeus du Maurienne and Countess of Provence, died in childbirth. The girl child she gave birth to also died not long after the passing of her mother. This left the comital title empty and with no clear heir. Four contenders had the greatest claim but none were seen as clear successors. [Those with the strongest claims (in alphabetical order) being Atto Canossa [his elder brother having yielded the right to him] a distant cousin of Douce, Amadeus du Maurienne who claimed the county was his late wife’s dowry, Bertrand of Toulouse another distant cousin, and Duke Hugh II of Burgundy yet another distant cousin.] Only Atto Canossa did not immediately make claim to the title (it is said his father, Boniface, urged caution as he did not want to insult one of his family’s greatest allies, the du Mauriennes). The other three began preparations to make their claims stick.
(March) [Insulae Fortunatae (Blessed Isles)] Lancelotto Morcello and Niccoloso da Recco returned to San Giorgio dell'Oceano (Lanzarote Island) and established a small port there to attack Almoravid gold shipments. This port would later grow into the small town of Nova Recco named after Niccoloso’s home town of Recco. Their first few days on the island drew the attention of the native Guancis to the pirates. Surprisingly enough the first encounter between the pirates and the native Guancis was peaceful as it was apparent to the Captains Lancelotto and Niccoloso that the natives had no wealth and posed no threat.
Apparently in awe of the powerful outsiders the native Guanci leader offered up his Lancelotto’s chagrin) as a peace offering. [It is believed by some that she was forcibly taken as well as several other women but there is not much evidence for this as the relations between the pirates and the Guancis were apparently peaceful with no evidence for strife between the two. Most evidence shows that for several years the pirates and natives happily ignored each other and went about their own business keeping a respectful distance from each other.]
[Livonia] Papal legate Hartwig welcomed the first of several waves of German Crusaders to Livonia (several hundred knights and their retainers came in the first wave of reinforcements). They were the first wave of Crusaders who were no longer needed in Pommerania with its successful conquest and thus were sent to Livonia. [Many Crusaders did stay in Pommerania to ensure the conversion of the pagans and maintain their Order’s and the Church’s awarded lands.]
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began preparations for an attack into the Pruthenian villages with a series of raids.
[Estonia] With the civil war in Denmark reinforcements to the Danish Crusader fortresses in Estonia were virtually non-existent. Those forces there contented themselves with consolidating their hold over what they had already taken, but could not do any more until the situation in Denmark became resolved.
[Finland] Swedish Crusaders continued to expand their region of the coast of Finland and began to make inroads into the heavily forested interior.
[Denmark - Syaland] Harald began the spring with an attack on the Count of Syndrǽ thus all of Falstǽr Island was brought under his control. The Count was killed in the battle and one of Harald’s loyal barons was placed in his stead (the heir of the county mysteriously disappeared and is presumed to have been murdered by Harald or one of his cronies).
Not all was going well for Harald. His seizure of merchant ships to transport troops and act as his fleet had begun to hurt his treasury as money flowed out to pay for the war and to pay the foreign merchants to bring in the goods and trade that the native merchants were doing before they were conscripted (and thus paying taxes). Harald after much thought came to the conclusion that if these foreign merchants were getting rich off his difficulties then they could help pay. He ordered his fleet to enforce a tax (unimaginatively named the Sund tax) upon all ships carrying cargo through the Sund.
[It should be noted that several conscripted merchant vessels used this excuse to search foreign ships entering the Sund to enact revenge on rivals. Many a time they would seize the cargo and sink the ship declaring they had arrived too late to save the ship from pirates. The Sund tax and the attack on merchant vessels quickly drew the eye of Henry V north to Denmark.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] With spring returned to the world Erik II launched a few attacks on both his half-brother’s and uncle’s forces to the north. However he only met defeat there. His only successful effort was in having taken Langǽland from Harald using his few ships to land a second army on the island which attacked Harald’s forces there in the rear as it attacked forces loyal to Erik in the south of the island.
Erik’s recruitment of German knights continued and allowed him to rebound from his defeats to the north of Schleswig in his attempts, but they still fell far below what he needed to make any headway north.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels, lord of Scania, began his spring assaults on the counties of Barǽ and Vǽmuńhǿg. When the Count of Skǿz agreed to back Niels (in exchange for some of his former neighbor’s lands of course) the rest of Scania fell into Niels’ hands. Only a few minor nobles remained on that side of the Sund that opposed him.
[Sicily] Sicilian naval forces loyal to Simon defeated an attempt by those ships loyal to Roger to force their way through the Straits of Messina. Unfortunately for Simon the need to keep a large fleet on station to prevent his brother from landing troops in Sicily and increased attacks by the Banu tribes of North Africa prevented him from moving many troops from North Africa to Sicily.
[Southern Italy] With the naval defeat off the coast of Sicily Roger II was in a dire predicament as he could not reach his brother’s forces to defeat him if he could not gain naval superiority long enough to get his army to Sicily. Opportunity came to him when the Venetian ambassador, Pietro Flabanico (a distant relative of former Doge Domenico Flabanico), suggested that Venice may be able to help him…for a price.
[County of Provence] Count Bertrand of Toulouse was the first to act in the struggle for the title of Provence. He sent a thousand soldiers toward the capital of the County of Provence, Aix, in an effort to make his claim stick. From his personal writings that survive he hoped that his quick actions would give him an advantage over the other claimants.
[Land of the Rum Seljuk] Kilij Arslan II finally completed his late father’s dream of defeating the Danishmends. With their defeat the Rum Seljuks were finally on the rebound from their disastrous defeat at the hands of the Byzantines and the Crusaders a decade before. Several smaller Turkish tribes, former allies of the Danishmends, bent knee to Kilij Arslan II in an effort to prevent the same fate that befell the Danishmends at the hands of the Seljuks or their allies in Mosul.
(April) [County of Tripolis] Godfrey reviewed a regiment of soldiers that had arrived from Italy. Trained in the style his brother had pioneered they were far more professional than his other troops, but when added to his conventional and local troops new opportunities began to become possible.
An excerpt from The Life of Godfrey ‘the Tall’ of House Canossa:
(Page 87)
The disciplined Italian soldiers used in combination with the more mobile local troops gave Godfrey unheard of flexibility that harkened back to the days of the Roman legions. Combined they would give Godfrey the advantage used so well later in his conquests to the east.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels brought the remaining neutral lords in Scania onto his side with promises of land (either in Scania itself or in Jutland). However this took time to negotiate and preempted any thoughts of bringing his forces to fight elsewhere in Denmark.
Niels also desired to stop the constant pirate (i.e. naval forces of Harald) attacks on the island of Bornholm. Since Harald’s declaration a sizeable naval raid on Bornholm was conducted, however, the island’s garrison and fortresses withstood the attacks. With the disparage in naval forces Niels decided to hire ships from the free island of Götland to protect the island in exchange for trading rights on the island and throughout Scania. The deal was concluded when the Götlander representative, one Goffredo Bonacolsi (natively from Italy but was asked to lead the delegation for his skill at negotiation was well known), and Niels signed the agreement on April 11th.
[Denmark – Jutland] What had remained a quiet area of the civil war finally broke as neighbor turned upon neighbor and old friends soon became the bitterest of enemies. This fighting was a chaotic and mostly leaderless (as the three contenders were busy elsewhere) and consisted of minor nobles lashing out at those neighboring nobles who were not backing their favored contender.
[County of Provence] The small army that Bertrand of Toulouse had sent into Provence entered the city of Aix which had surrendered when several gate guards who had been bribed allowed them in.
[Italy - Pavia] Boniface quietly dispatches forces to both the border with the Norman kingdom to the south and to border areas near Provence. He also wrote several missives to his ally Amadeus of Maurienne trying to reach an agreement concerning the situation in Provence.
His son Atto, recently returned from the court of Philip I of France, was placed as the squire to Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, the Warden of the West, castellan and commander of the great fortress of San Cristoforo near Biandrate.
[Germany] Henry V attended a celebration in the city of Trier to commemorate their signing of the Imperial Charter. As this was the autonomy they had sought for years (the city was formerly an archbishopric whose archbishop had sided against Henry IV in the ‘Baron’s Revolt’) a grand celebration had been planned. In celebration and in an attempt to show off the Empire’s (and thus his) wealth and power Henry V ordered the rebuilding of the old (Roman) Imperial baths that had been uncovered during recent construction of some warehouses (which were subsequently moved). He even commissioned a bronze statue from Italy to be brought to the baths (the bronze statue of a water boy can still be seen today in the Trier museum).
It was at this time that a petitioner from Baltic Trade Company asked for an audience with the emperor where he presented evidence that Harald of Denmark had illegally seized (whether it was illegal or not is open to debate as there is some evidence the merchant had bribed port officials) a merchant ship belonging to the Baltic Trade Company out of Lübeck. While concerned about the trade through the Baltic the issue of one merchant vessel being seized was inconsequential to the emperor, however, when the petitioner gave evidence that Harald had levied a tax upon all trade traveling through the Sund. Further the canny petitioner pointed out how this was going to affect trade and more to the point how it was going to affect the tithes and taxes due to the Imperial coffers. Roused in anger the emperor vowed to show this upstart bastard who wished to be king what a real king was.
[Southern Italy] Roger II signed a deal with the Venetians that in exchange for ships and men the Venetians would gain some trade rights within the Kingdom of Sicily and would be allowed to have Venetian quarters in several port cities (such as in Bari). The agreement was surprisingly kept secret until the first Venetian fleet arrived later in the month. The news once it was release and spread did not please the kingdom’s greatest traders in Amalfi who had backed Roger II hoping for better deals and not having their rivals get stronger within the kingdom itself.
Several scenes from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with the representative of the city of Amalfi, Lenta (Lenta of Calabria is the fictional representative from Amalfi), shows what the early reign of Roger II was like (if not exactly historical and exaggerated a bit).
Act II Scene II
Roger II: Perhaps you think your city is being treated unfairly?
Lenta: No…but…
Roger II: Good, because it would be most unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here.
Lenta: [to himself] This deal is getting worse all the time.
Act II Scene IV
Roger II: The Venetian ships will be allowed unrestricted access to Amalfi.
Lenta: You said they'd be allowed in the city under my supervision.
Roger II: I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
[Note: Roger II did end up leaving a sizeable garrison in the city under one Robert of Capua, but it seemed more a defensive measure to protect the vital port city than an effort to renege on the deal as depicted in scenes from A Family’s Honor.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik’s planned campaign north into Jutland was ended before it began as he had to divert troops to his holdings and allies on the island of Fyun to contest one of Harald’s armies from overrunning the island.
[Denmark - Syaland] With only a month of collecting the Sund tax Harald had already began to reap its benefits. With his new found wealth he began a campaign on the island of Fyun (split between all three factions) and in the north of Jutland against isolated pockets of supporters of both Erik and Niels. Several nobles who had declared neutrality in the manner also felt the bite of Harald’s spear with the prominent Count of Horǽ ending his neutrality and sided with Niels (he also brought his fellow counts of Biarg and Harz with him).
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began their spring campaign to bring the rest of the pagan lands designated by the Council of Frankfurt. Their first targets were the already weakened Pruthenians whose villages were quickly overrun by the superior Polish forces (in both equipment and manpower).
The Polish king also chartered a new town at the mouth of the Pregel River called Królewlec (Königsberg).
[Livonia] The German Crusaders much like their Polish counterparts began their spring campaign during this month. With the reinforcements from Germany Papal legate Hartwig was able to split his army and moved in two directions. One went along the Red River and the other continued along the coast to the west.
Hartwig also dispatched a hundred knights and their retainers to assist the Danish Crusaders to the north who were under constant threat from the Eths. He was credited with saying. “Not one stretch of Christian soil will fall to the pagans!”
[Which is ironic considering the soil he was talking about was just recently taken from those same pagans by sword and fire.]
[Egypt] The Serene Republic of Venice made another substantial loan to the Fatimid Caliph. This loan was used on much as the last two loans were used to bribe the nobility into following the rule of the Caliph.
[France - Paris] Philip I of France weakened by disease and old age dies. His son Louis VI is crowned king of France.
[Edessa] The Byzantine Empire and the County of Edessa began a ‘cold war’ with the occasional flair ups of violence over the weak Armenian statelets that were situated between them.
(May) [Denmark - Jutland] Harald’s army had begun several sieges throughout Jutland of opposing nobles’ castles. The most prominent being the fortress at Hǽlghǽnǽ held by forces loyal to Niels. Several attempts to storm the besieged fortress met with failure and Harald was forced to engage in a lengthy siege.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The forces of Erik defeated an army loyal to Niels in the County of Almundǽ (directly north of Schleswig) but were forced to abandon the siege of the town of Almundǽ when reinforcements loyal to Niels threatened his baggage train and supply line back into Schleswig.
[Germany] As Henry V’s progress began north he quietly sent orders to Imperial garrisons to send troops and supplies to a staging area north of Bardowlek near the Elbe River. Several letters were also sent to the nobility of Saxony including Duke Conrad II Hohenstaufen that informed him of imperial needs.
[Rome] Old Bonizo da Cremona, titular cardinal of Sutri and advisor to Boniface of Canossa, arrived in Rome as an envoy to the Pope on behalf of House Canossa. In consideration of his age he was be accompanied by the Count of Grazzano, Guiberto Cotta (whose influence on the order of the Patarene Knights is second only to Bonizo's one), and two of Magister Irnerius’ pupils, Ugus and Jacopus. They were also escorted by sixty Patarene knights. The envoy’s mission was to ensure that the Pope did not side with Simon by excommunicating his brother Roger.
While Simon was the anointed king there had been ugly rumors that have been accusing Simon of heresy and worse (the Saracen influence at the court of Palermo and in the territories of Carthage is said to be growing, well beyond what would be tolerable in a Christian kingdom). Oddly enough there were similar rumors spread from Septimania and the County of Barcelona allegedly involving unlawful deals with the Spanish Moors and the Almoravids to the detriment of Christendom. While Roger's assumption of the crown might be labeled as rebellion, Bonizo suggested that it was more likely a natural reaction of a good Christian knight who saw his faith threatened. The envoys tried to convince the Pope to summon both Simon and Roger to Rome, in order to have the former explain his actions which might be hold as contrary to the faith and to try and find a peaceful solution to the southern troubles.
[North Africa – County of Tripoli] With the onset of the civil war the Banu tribes, who had long been crushed under the Norman heel since Roger I’s and Roger Borsa’s invasion of decades past, sensed weakness in the Kingdom of Sicily and armed with weapons provided by the Venetians launched attacks throughout the kingdom’s North African territories.
The Banu tribes quickly encircled the city of Tripoli (the second largest city in Norman North Africa) and placed it under siege. The road to Carthage was also beset by many Banu raiders making it difficult for reinforcements to be gathered without traveling in large groups.
[Coast of Southern Italy] Venetian and Amalfitan ships clashed with the naval forces of the Kingdom of Sicily near the straits of Messina. The battle was inconclusive as neither side pressed the issue and when the Venetians and Amalfitans withdrew the Sicilians did not pursue them. Both sides lost only a handful of ships and the number of killed and wounded combined only totaled five hundred and twenty-three.
It was at this time that it is first noted in historical documents that Aragónese vessels made their first appearance on the side of Simon during the battle for the Straits. These first Aragónese vessels are believed to be ships hired by Simon but ships that arrived later in the month are suspected to have been sent by King Peter II of Aragón in aid to his nominal ally Simon.
[At this time there was no formal alliance between the kingdoms of Aragón and Sicily, but they shared a common rivalry with the Thyrrenians over trade and influence in the western Mediterranean.]
[Latvia] German Crusaders continued their campaign against the Livonian tribes along the Red River and the coast. The surge of the last German Crusaders coming from Pommerania swelled their numbers to the point where a third army was formed that marched northwards along the coast.
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders defeated the last free Pruthenians on the south side of the Nemmunas River. The Nemmunas River was the agreed upon boundary between Polish Crusader territory and that of the territory given over the Papal legate Hartwig in Livonia. They soon turned their eyes eastwards along the river and into the hills where several Lithuanian tribes resided.
[England] Henry II of England completed his subjugation of southern Wales when the gathered army of Deheubarth was defeated at the battle of The Stone Hill. This left only the proud Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd in the north free from English rule.
[Byzantium] Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius greeted by the first year of his reign where the war machine of the empire was not actively engaged in heavy conflict in Anatolia, dealing with Bulgar and Slav uprisings in the Balkans (Many a Bulgar or Slav was resettled in Anatolia after an uprising which in addition to the thousands of Greek settlers pouring into Anatolia were quickly repopulating the inner regions of Anatolia that had been devastated by the Seljuk Turks since the battle of Manzikert.), or fighting the pagans north of the Danube and in Crimea. The past few years had also seen an expanded navy rebound from the disasters that had happened during the conflicts with the Italians during their expeditions to Crete and the Peloponnesus.
It was at this time that an envoy from the court of Simon, King of Sicily, arrived at the court in Constantinople where he asked for assistance against his rebellious younger brother and his Venetian allies.
[Levant – Emirate of Syria] Lulu regent for Alp Arslan al-Akhras finally murdered the young heir to the emirate in a bid for his own power. Many of the nobles openly opposed him when word leaked out that the young Alp had in fact been murdered and had not died of a sickness as Lulu had proclaimed. However the two well defended cities of Aleppo and Damascus were firmly in his hands. Still the first battle between the opposing forces went in favor of the nobility.
[Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse marched an additional thousand men into Provence to reinforce his position in Aix and the surrounding area. He was careful to keep a wide berth around Arles lest he attract unwanted Imperial attention.
Amadeus of Maurienne before he left for Paris had ordered a thousand of his own soldiers to march into Provence towards the Archbishopric of Erubrum along the Durance River with orders to secure that city.
[Southern France - County of Toulouse] Forces loyal to William Duke of Aquitaine started to harass the Toulousan marches. The Duke having left for Philip I’s funeral in Paris left the harassment to several lieutenants.
[France] With the death of Philip I France spent the past month accustoming itself to the new rule of Louis VI. It was not more than a fortnight after his coronation that tension between him and his wife Constance, the Duchess of Normandy, became heated again. It was only the arrival of many of the powerful of Europe to the burial of Philip I in Paris which placed their arguments and marital discord to the side as politics and Philip I’s funeral took precedence.
As described by Suger, Abbot of St. Denis, in his Vita Lodovici Regis:
Since the death of Charlemagne, no king of France was buried in the presence of a more splendid and glorious assembly. It would be too long to mention all the nobles and sovereigns who attended. I will talk only of the most splendid ones: ...the duc de Bourgogne scion of the royal Capetiennes, Guillaume d'Aquitaine, all the great lords of Normandy, waiting upon our dearest queen, the Archbishops of Treviri and Mainz, representing the majesty of the emperor, Floris of Holland and his wife Beatrix.... However, the most splendid cortege was led by Boniface, Comes Palatinus Italiae, and his wife Isobel de Capetiennes de Bourgogne.
From the Vita Lodovici Regis by abbot Suger:
Count Bonifacio brought with him a retinue of one hundred knights and men-at-arms, which the Italians described as a ‘centuria militum’. They were all dressed in identical black armor; equally black were the accoutrements of their destriers, while their mantles were the red of fresh blood. I confess that seeing them for the first time I felt a shiver in my bones. Now looking back to the events that were to happen in the south of France, I feel that God allowed me a glimpse of the future...
Using this rare opportunity where many of Europe’s great nobles were gathered much politicking was done. The events in Provence were much in the forefront of the discussions that concerned the nobility. William Duke of Aquitaine was loudest in his opposition to Count Bertrand of Toulouse, who did not have the courtesy to go to his own liege’s funeral (many at the time believed William’s loud opposition was more in his interest in certain parts of Toulouse that he desired than what happened to Provence or the insults towards the dead king and his son, Louis VI.). The other voice calling for Bertrand’s head was that of Amadeus of Maurienne who claimed Provence through his deceased wife.
Boniface and his advisors conferred with family and attempted to come to some agreement with Amadeus of Maurienne over Provence, but the Count of Savoy had yet to come to a firm agreement.
Louis VI was also gravely concerned with the events to the south and in examinations of historical documents he began to see an opportunity in reigning in the greater lords of France as his father did to the lesser. It would become a delicate balance for the crown of France on whom to back and when.
An interesting outcome of the gathering for Philip’s funeral was the first meeting between Arnaldo da Brescia, a young cleric with known ‘progressive’ views and Pierre Abelard, the learned and quite famous protégé of the French queen.
[Italy] A thousand Flemish farmers and skilled craftsmen finally began to settle into Tuscany after they were brought there by Canossa promises of land after their own was devastated in a huge flood in Flanders the year before. (The bulk of the refugees settled in either Slavinia or Pommerania with roughly ten thousand heading to England, but the Canossas eager to use the Flemish farming techniques in Italy encouraged them to move to Italy with grants of land and coin.)
With the growing naval conflict along the coastlines of southern Italy and Sicily the Thyrrenian cities began to escort merchant ships with dedicated naval ships through the troubled waters. The situation in the south caused a great debate in the cities on whom to back and where and how to intervene were met with loud arguments from all the different points of view and the only directions coming from House Canossa were to not take any position, pending the diplomatic discussions in Rome, and the troubles in Provence. (Boniface who had left for the burial of Philip I of France was absent from Italy and while his son Gregory was left as Steward in his absence [in all practicality though ser Lutterio, the commander of the Legio Prima, was in charge in Boniface’s absence] they didn’t have the inclination to get involved in a conflict without Boniface’s approval.)
(June) [France] With the funeral of Philip I of France over the gathered nobility began to negotiate in earnest. The first deal was that between Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne. They agreed upon a split of the County of Provence at the Durance River until at a point due west of the town of Digne (basically the old County of Forcalouier). To the north it would go to Amadeus and to the south it would go to Boniface’s son Atto. The support of Dukes of Burgundy and Aquitaine against the Count of Toulouse further solidified Boniface’s and Amadeus’ position.
Louis VI meanwhile put forth all of his efforts to prevent William of Aquitaine (and Gascony) from annexing all of Toulouse.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders overran the first Lithuanian villages killing many. The Lithuanians, once vassals of Kiev, had several decades before thrown off the shackles of Kiev and had turned to raiding their neighbors. These experienced fighters caused great casualties among the Polish Crusaders who in turn showed little mercy to the captured pagan villages.
[Livonia] With three separate German Crusader armies Livonia fell much more rapidly than the Papal legate Hartwig had dreamed. However he was facing a shortage of priests to tend to the new flocks and wrote to both the court of Henry V and to Pope Paschal II for more clergy. It was at this time that the first clash between Crusaders and the soldiers of the eastern Principalities took place when a contingent of knights attacked a small raiding party operating out of the Principality of Polotsk near the Red River.
[Levant - Syria] On the pretext of a raid into his lands Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa, Duke of Spoleto and Count of Tripolis, gathered his forces and entered the torn Emirate of Syria in the direction of Damascus.
[Sicily] The second battle of the Straits of Messina culminated in a victory for the forces loyal and allied to Roger II. A good portion of those ships loyal to Simon were able to flee and make their way to Palermo but the way was opened for Roger II to land soldiers in Sicily.
[Rome] Under pressure from both the conservative faction of the Curia and the Canossa delegation Pope Paschal II sent letters to both Simon and Roger II that requested they come to Rome for mediation to their dispute.
[Byzantium] The court of Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius agreed to assist Simon as a rejuvenated and aggressive Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II might again have tried to invade the empire. In a move generated to keep this as secret as possible the Sicilian diplomats were ‘expelled’ by the Byzantines and were quietly removed to an imperial estate not far from Constantinople. Meanwhile Byzantine forces were being gathered for what was expected to be another attack on the Seljuks in central Anatolia.
[Seres (Sòng China)]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 60):
It had been a long journey from India fraught with much peril. One of my ships had been lost to a storm in the Malaccan Straits while the third was damaged beyond repair during a fight with pirates. Some of my crew I lost to natives on an island in the great island chain called the Golden Isles by the Serians [Chinese]. While it was tempting to explore these strange islands the wealth of Seres called to me and I pushed northwards towards where my guides told me it lie.
(Page 61)
…I was shocked at the wealth and size of the Serian [Chinese] city of Gwang [Guang] which was a center of trade, industry, and maritime commerce that I had rarely seen except for the busiest market days in Constantinople. Iron goods were mass produced for an indigenous mass market and for trade with the outside world. A curious invention of a machine that allowed the mass production of reading materials allowed a vast literate civil bureaucracy I am sure that has not been seen since the time of Augustus.
I was at first distressed to have been given paper in exchange for some silver coins after a purchase of a fine silk coat, but when my translator assured me that it was considered money I was perplexed. Who would rather have paper money than gold or silver?
(Page 63)
The more I explore this wondrous mystical land called Seres the more I feel that I do not know much about the world. I arrived in the port town of Fu where I encountered even stranger items, and was thankful that my wealth allowed me to purchase some of them*.
The first was a curious pair of glasses that were flat panes of smoky quartz that protected the wearer’s eyes from the glare of the sun. While interesting and certainly helpful when one was playing cards it was another device that I found to be much more interesting. It was a device described in the text Dream Pool Essay written by a native Serian scholar Shen Kua. The text contained a detailed description of how geomancers magnetized a needle by rubbing its tip with lodestone, and hung the magnetic needle with one single strain of silk with a bit of wax attached to the center of the needle. Shen Kua pointed out that a needle prepared this way sometimes pointed south, sometimes north. With such a device I will have a much easier time navigating in these foreign waters.
*[It is highly likely some of these goods were purchased on the black market.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik II eagerly awaited news of a possible column of German knights heading north into Denmark. Erik II had during the winter and spring distributed many calls into Germany where he offered land and reward for any German knight who came to support his cause for the throne. Erik in desperate need for more soldiers as his half-brother Harald had launched several attacks on his holdings sent these knights an offering to stay at his castle in Reynoldsburgh. It came as much surprise when Erik greeted not just a small column of German knights that he had expected but an imperial field army led by none other than Henry V himself.
An excerpt written by a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
…and with great shock we were greeted not by several knights who were second or third sons as we were told to expect, but the very flower of German knighthood. Saxon heavy knights were the first to enter the town of Reynoldsburgh, but they were soon followed by the red clad* Imperial guard who were guarding none other than his Imperial Majesty Henry V. It was hard to mistaken him for anyone else as only the emperor would be clad in armor seemingly made of more gold than steel. It would take almost a full day for the Imperial army to pass through the town for their numbers were so great. So many that even many of the nobility had to share rooms in the castle, or find lodging in town, or if their rank was lesser than in the tents outside the town with the common soldiers.
*It was at this time that it was first recorder the imperial guard to be solely clad in crimson red. It is derived that it was in respect to their fallen leader Lethold der Blutgedeckt who died in a fluke riding accident in 1105 AD.
(July) [Blessed Islands] Times for the Italian pirates operating out of the Blessed Islands had been good. Several Moorish vessels full of gold had been seized and now crewed added to their already growing fleet (not surprisingly many of the crew manning them were the original crew who were lured over by the lust for gold). They even defeated a small Moorish fleet sent to end their escapades which further increased their strength with several captured warships added to their numbers. However the shipment of gold by ship had come to a rapid halt in favor of the land route through the Sahara that while slower was much more secure.
[North Africa] The Banu tribes launched several desperate assaults towards the fortifications of Tripoli and its outlying forts but were repulsed with heavy casualties. The Banu tribes lacking in heavy infantry and proper siege equipment were forced to settle into sieges of the towns and fortresses throughout the overrun areas of Sicilian North Africa.
An army of Banu Jami was defeated to the southwest of Karwan by forces loyal to King Simon of Sicily as they tried to launch raids deep into the Duchy of Carthage. It should be noted that not many Muslim subjects of the Kingdom of Sicily sided with the Banu tribes and fought them beside their Christian neighbors.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The meeting between Erik II and Henry V in the words of a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
The meeting between his Imperial Majesty Henry V and Erik of Schleswig was a brief one. Henry V informed Erik of his plans to rid Denmark and the Sund of the pirate Harald. Erik agreed to support Henry V as he was far outnumbered by the imperial host and the resources the empire could bring against Denmark. When pressed by Erik if he would support his claim to the throne the emperor kept his own counsel, but did not openly refute Erik’s claim…
The large imperial army spent only a minimal time in Schleswig and quickly made their way towards Jutland and the lands loyal to Harald.
Ships loyal to the empire based out of Lübeck surprised and smashed a Danish fleet loyal to Harald near the island of Thosland as they tried to interdict ships supporting Erik’s forces located on Fyun.
[Provence] The town of Orange opened its gates to the forces of Bertrand of Toulouse as the Bishop who nominally ruled the town was a distant relation. Bertrand quickly revoked the town’s agreement to the Lesser Pact and loaned the Bishop enough troops to enforce his rule upon the town. Several riots broke out among the townsmen and the garrison but they were brutally repressed by the garrison.
A trickle of pure gold was starting to reach Italian and Provencal ports. No one really knew from where the gold was coming and the wildest tales were abroad in all the ports. Still the merchants and moneylenders were paying a keen interest, and were ready to be very generous with the men who will disclose where the gold is coming from...
[Paris - France] The collected nobles and grand princes of Europe began to leave the capital of France in ones and twos towards their homes. Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne traveled together towards Savoy and made plans for dealing with Provence.
A famous, albeit young, teacher of the Sorbonne would attach himself to the train of Boniface on his way to Italy. He comes with the highest recommendations from the Queen of France, and is quite eager to see first hand the wealth of classic Greek and Roman books brought to Mantua after the conquest of Tripoli. On the trip, he becomes fast friend with a young cleric in the retinue of Boniface, Arnaldo da Brescia.
[Southern France - Toulouse] Aquitainian raids into Toulouse continued as Duke William of Aquitaine returned from Paris and began to gather his host near the town of Bergerac. The raids were poorly led disasters for the most part, but succeeded in diverting a good many of Count Bertrand’s forces from entering Provence.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey and his ‘Syrian Legion’ continued their march southeast towards Damascus. The first battle between them and forces loyal to the Lulu saw the forces of the Emirate crushed and routed. The mix of highly disciplined training of the Legion, the flexibility of the native levees, and a core of heavy European cavalry yielded Duke Godfrey a crushing victory. Still his forces were bogged down with raids from Syrian nobility (who themselves were at war with Lulu) upon his baggage and supply train and the need to reduce the few forts and towns upon his way to secure his supply lines back to Tripolis.
[Sicily] With the naval victory of the month before having opened the way Roger II landed over ten thousand soldiers in Sicily from Reggio at the southern tip of Italy to an area just north of Messina. A separate force numbered over four thousand landed further to the south near the town of Taormina which was quickly placed under siege.
Forces loyal to King Simon initially rallied from Messina in an attempt to break up the landings but failed to drive them from their beachhead. Unfortunately for Simon Roger’s forces were able to invest Messina and placed it under siege and blockaded the port. Fast riders from Messina reached Simon’s host gathered near Cerami before the city was completely cut off. Simon quickly marched forth to engage his brother.
[Livonia] An envoy from Niels of Scania arrived in St. Petersburg [Riga] to negotiate the sale of the Danish lands and agreed upon areas in Estonia, conquered in their portion of the Crusade, to the German led Crusade in Livonia. Niels desperate for coin and men (the Danish commander in Estonia swore fealty to Niels when it became apparent that they would be cutoff from supplies when the Gotlanders sided with Niels) sold everything but Dagö Island (the Gotlanders pressured Niels to keep it).
[Both Erik II and Harald protested this move by Niels arguing that he had no right to sell it as he was not king of Denmark, but the Church and Henry V let their protests fall upon deaf ears.]
Once the deal was done two thousand German Crusaders fresh from Pommerania arrived in Kronborg and the other Danish fortresses to replace the Danish soldiers leaving for Scania on Gotlander ships.
Elsewhere with the Red River valley secure the Papal legate Hartwig began a serious push into the Livonian heartland. After the battle of Foggy Glen the most powerful Latgalian chief converted to Christianity and brought their powerful warriors over to the Crusaders side. [The Latgalian chief, one Andryvs Jūrdžs, was a canny politician who saw an inevitable Crusader victory and sought to gain for his people the spoils such a victory would bring. While it wouldn’t be until his son’s rule that the conversion of the Latgalians would begin in earnest the Latgalians would fight on the Crusader’s side with much valor and the famed Latgalian Guard would go on to be a feared group who would not just be the protectors of the Grand Master of the Livonian Order, but would become the Livonian Order’s elite forces.]
The other two armies of German Crusaders continued their push along the coasts to link up with the Polish Crusaders to the south and the Danish, now German, Crusaders in Estonia.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders defeated a gathering of Lithuanian tribes in their southern most territory. The remnants fled north across the Neman River into their holdings there. The Polish Crusaders would spend the rest of the year clearing out the few remaining villages and roaming bands of Lithuanians that crossed the Neman River in search of Polish blood. By the end of the year the Polish portion of the Baltic Crusade had come to a halt.
(August) [Aegean Sea] A Byzantine naval force attacked a small Venetian squadron in the waters near the Duchy of the Archipelago. The Venetians taken by surprise by the new discipline and the overwhelming numbers of the Byzantine navy were routed and fled west towards Venetian Ionia. The Byzantines proceeded to land a small army on the islands and subsequently defeated the Venetian garrisons.
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] A Byzantine fleet arrived at the coastal village of Barka in Banu Sulaym territory. The village was overrun by a Byzantine army that landed in the early morning and slaughtered the defenders (with most of the soldiers and young men off to war in Sicilian North Africa the place was poorly defended and offered little resistance to the battle hardened Byzantine troops).
[North Africa] A Banu assault on the fortresses to the east of Tripoli met with limited success as the two smallest (known as the Fists of the King) fell to the tribesmen, but the larger fortresses succeeded in driving off their attackers.
An army of Sicilians gathered in Carthage under the command of Peter of Messina Count of Bone, a loyal ally and friend of Simon of Sicily intent on driving the Banu tribes out of Sicilian North Africa.
[Tyrrhenian Sea – North of Sicily] Ships loyal to Simon rallied from their defeat at the Straits of Messina at Palermo. From there they set sail towards the Aeolian Islands that lie to the north of Sicily. Once past the Aeolian Islands they had planned to sweep south through the Straits of Messina in an attempt to cutoff Roger’s army that had laid siege to Messina. However to the southeast of the largest island, Lipari, in the Aeolian Island chain they clashed with a fleet from Naples carrying a small army intending to capture the strategic islands. The fleet loyal to Simon succeeded in driving off the invading fleet.
At the end of the month, around the 27th of August, a fleet from Naples again attempted to take the Aeolian Islands. The Sicilian fleet loyal to Simon absent from the second attempt led to the islands falling to Robert’s forces.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued as several large siege engines that were sent from Apulia arrived and began to pound the city’s walls.
Simon’s army from Cerami continued its march towards Messina ignoring the second smaller army besieging the town of Taormina; a mistake that would cost him dearly. On the morning of 6th of August the commander of Taormina’s garrison was killed when a section of wall hit by a catapult fell on him. In the resulting chaos one of his lieutenants surrendered a gate to the town to the besieging forces loyal to Roger.
[Many think the gate commander had been bribed but had been under the watch of the garrison commander and could not act until he had died, but no proof has ever been given to support this thesis.]
With the surrender of Taormina Simon’s flank and rear became dangerously exposed. The commander of the forces, one Robert of Bari, having left only a small garrison in the town marched at best speed north to assist his lord at Messina.
Simon’s army moving at a snail’s pace (Simon insisted upon bringing a vast baggage train filled with things like books against the advice of his more experienced military commanders) arrived after two weeks of travel from Cerami. The morning of the 9th of August saw Roger’s army itself besieged and surrounded by Simon’s. Outnumbered several of Roger’s supporters suggested surrendering, but Roger quickly dismissed the idea. Roger is said to have said, “Desperate times call for a bold strategy” in response to their pleas.
The following battle heavily favored Simon and even Roger’s ‘bold’ strategy achieved only a moderate success in seemingly staving off the inevitable. Roger II is said to have been unhorsed at least twice during the battle. When a sallying force from Messina joined Simon’s army the prospect for Roger’s rebellion was dim. It was at that moment that the force from Taormina arrived. The reinforcements charged into the rear of Simon’s army (according to historical documents it attacked at the point where the center and the right flank joined). The charge which caused only minimal casualties panicked a large number within Simon’s army and thousands began to rout (mainly poorly equipped levies). At the end of the day some two thousand were left dead on the battlefield and another three thousand were wounded. Roger’s army captured over a thousand of Simon’s soldiers and knights. The sallying force from Messina had been driven back into the city and the siege was resumed (several of Roger’s siege engines had been destroyed by the sallying force which weakened the siege until new ones could be constructed or shipped from southern Italy).
Simon was eventually able to regroup his army again near the town of Troina slightly to the southeast of Cerami. Even with his defeat near Messina Simon still commanded a field force of over ten thousand with another fifteen thousand garrisoning the rest of Sicily.
[County of Provence - Kingdom of Arles] Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, on orders from Boniface who had just returned to Italy from France, marched towards the town of Digne in Provence. A smaller force was sent to link up with forces from Savoy and Maurienne in Erubrun along the Durance River.
[County of Toulouse] William IX Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony attempted an invasion of Toulouse from the west in support of his ‘allies’ in Provence. The invasion was a disaster for the Aquitainians that had it not been for the valiant efforts of his personal guard might have seen William IX a prisoner of Betrand of Toulouse. William gathered his routed army and marched north east towards Autun where a royal army commanded by none other than Louis VI himself was being gathered.
[France] Louis VI in an effort to humble his reluctant vassal Bertrand of Toulouse for his ‘presumptions’ gathered a royal army and camped near the bishopric of Autun where he waited for his vassals to join him. The first to join was the Duke of Burgundy followed soon by soldiers from his wife’s duchy (Normandy).
[Emirate of Syria] An army of forces loyal to Lulu defeated a gathered army of rebel nobles outside of the mighty fortress city of Aleppo. Weakened the nobles sought help from their neighbor the Atabeg of Mosul, Kerbogha, who seemed sympathetic to their cause.
Godfrey’s army continued its march towards Damascus but met with continued resistance as bandits, nobles aligned against Lulu, and elements of Lulu’s forces routinely attacked his forces. Godfrey’s forces were able to destroy several hidden encampments that were pointed out by spies and Hashshashin (Assassins) that had lived in the area before they had fled to Tripolis years before.
[Livonia] German Crusaders defeated a gathering of pagan tribes south of Cold Bay [Bay of Riga] which brought a large chunk of Livonia under the control of Crusader’s.
[Denmark – The Sund] The Danish fleet loyal to Harald successfully landed troops on the isles in the Strait controlled by Niels which quickly fell to those forces. By the end of the month that fleet was either sunk or captured by a German fleet sailing out of Lübeck in what is known as the Battle of the Straits. This effectively cut Harald’s forces in two, those on the island of Syaland (and nearby islands) and that of his main force on Jutland.
[Denmark - Scania] With the entry of Henry V and the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, apparently on Erik II’s side, Niels was caught in a quandary. He did not have the resources to challenge the empire even with his sale of most of the Danish Crusading lands and the returning soldiers from there to Scania. After a night in prayer Niels came to a conclusion that he had no hope of becoming king of Denmark, but if providence was with him (and his allies in Gotland would support him) a king he could still remain.
On August 4th 1108 AD in the recently constructed cathedral in city of Lund Niels crowned himself Nicholas I King of Skånia. He wrote letters to his supporters in Denmark to make peace with emperor (and Erik II). He also wrote to Emperor Henry V of his intent to yield his claim to the throne of Denmark and pledged his support to Erik II in this endeavor if he recognized his claim (well political support at the most). He received the backing of the merchants of Gotland with the transfer of Dägo Island to the Gotlanders in support of his new kingdom.
[There are several theories on why Nicholas I (Niels) chose to claim the crown of Skånia instead on continuing his pursuit of the crown of Denmark. The first theory rests on the fact he was low on money, even after the sale of Danish Estonia and its claims to Papal legate Hartwig, and even with the support from the Gotlanders didn’t have the ships or men to challenge Erik II, let alone Harald, and certainly not Henry V. The second is that it was plot of the emperor’s to begin with. The plot supposedly was that the emperor used merchants within the Baltic Trade Company to seed the idea in Nicholas I’s head that a crown in Skånia was achievable.]
[Denmark - Jutland] Imperial forces engaged forces loyal to Harald near the town of Varvith. The much larger imperial host easily crushed Harald’s forces. Harald’s armies crossed the Varde Ă River and made it to the walls of the town before being completely routed by the imperial forces.
It was at this time that Henry V received the letter from Nicholas I (Niels) of Skånia. It is remarked by one of the clerics in Matilda of Canossa’s retinue (traveling with the Imperial Court):
After his imperial majesty read the letter he laughed out that if the petty king wished to rule a petty land then so be it, as long as he leaves my straits alone he can rot for all I care…
It is said Erik II was not pleased by the emperor’s words (he was already hot under the collar at Henry’s support of Niels (Nicholas I) sale of the Danish Crusader lands and the rights to them, but as he was a virtual prisoner of the emperor (to be honest more of a ‘honored’ guest that was well guarded) there was little he could do.
(September) [North Africa] Taking advantage of a bit of cool weather Peter of Messina marched his gathered army of Normans south towards the lands of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes. The Banu Jami tribe was the first to feel the blow of the Norman army. A small army of Banu Jami marching north ran headlong into Peter’s army. The Banu Jami suffered a very high number of casualties and stopped their drive north. Surprisingly a high portion of those casualties were inflicted by a small contingent of Aragónese knights sent by King Peter of Aragón in support of Simon. (Peter was smart enough to know that Simon could still lose against Roger II but neither could fault him for defending Christian lands against the Muslims. He also used this as evidence against previous charges of him being corrupted by the Moors in Iberia. As far as Peter of Aragón was concerned it was a win-win situation for him.)
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] The Byzantine army after ensuring its captured town was well protected began to expand its control into the nearby countryside.
The resistance was minimal as again most of the Banu’s warriors were off fighting the Normans.
[Venice] Doge Ordelafo Faliero was caught very much surprised by the Byzantine attack on the Duchy of the Archipelago. A minor setback he initially called it but when word arrived of their attack on Cyrenaica and the Banu tribes he grew very much worried (documents and letters from him and other prominent men of Venice at the time expressed concern that this might just threaten their plans for Egypt that were decades in the making). Doge Ordelafo quickly began to reorder ships and men bound for the fight in Sicily to instead reinforce Venetian Ionia.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued but with the siege engines replaced and more brought from across the straits the city’s walls were pounded mercilessly by Roger II’s forces. The blockade of the city’s harbor was tight but loosened up as by ones and twos Venetian ships slowly disappeared in the night. However enough Amalfitan ships remained on station to prevent ships loyal to Simon from entering. Roger II also secured the coastal road from Taormina to the siege lines around Messina.
Simon’s army based around Troina slowly rebuilt its strength. The demands of the fall harvest prevented him from drawing too many more forces and instead marched his army in the direction of Taormina in what he hoped was to be a reversal of his fortunes.
[Provence] The first battle for Provence occurred near an abandoned monastery near the Durance River (it had apparently burned down several years before and at the time had yet to be rebuilt). The battle was a short affair leaving Bertrand of Toulouse in command of the field and the forces loyal to Amadeus of Maurienne in full rout. However Bertrand was forced to retire back to Orange when scouts reported to him that the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice della Gherardesca had crossed into Provence and appeared to be heading towards Aix.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army finally reached the outskirts of Damascus. A small battle drove the city’s defenders back into the city leaving Godfrey’s army to encircle it. Lulu still in Aleppo overseeing the defenses there is said to have railed for three days at the interferences of the infidels. However he couldn’t do much about it as word was brought of a large gathering of rebellious nobles near the emirate’s lands on the west bank of the Euphrates River.
Godfrey began preparations for a long siege of the city. His army’s numbers swelled as over a thousand Knight Hospitaliers joined his ranks outside the city. Fortunately for him as this gave him enough men to actually encircle the city in a tight siege.
[Jutland - Denmark] The imperial army pressed its attack in Jutland leaving a large chunk of Harald’s forces under siege in Varvith. Former vassals of Niels, now nominal vassals of Erik (in reality their fear of Henry V’s power made them Henry’s vassals), stopped the remnant of Harald’s army from crossing over the Storá River which pushed Harald west into the County of Heingǽ and the small fortress at Rindum. Henry V pursued Harald there and on the 27th of September began to siege the small harbor fort.
[Livonia] The northernmost Crusader army finally made contact with those forces garrisoning the former Danish forts in Estonia. This army began a series of new forts in preparation for the winter, and as starting points for next spring’s assault upon the interior. The southernmost army crushed a small but fearsome tribe known as the Lettes. The army personally under Papal legate Hartwig rested for the rest of the year and began construction of several large fortifications along the Red River (conscripted local labor did much of the actual labor) to secure it against attacks from the north and from the schismatics from Polotsk.
[France] The royal French army finished gathering near Autun and after much bickering between the king and the greater nobles finally marched south towards Toulouse to teach Count Bertrand a lesson the French king hoped he would not soon forget.
(October) [Sicily] A scene from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with Sebastiano of Palermo, a captured priest, whose loyalties lied with Simon. Sebastiano is historically based on Simon’s personal priest, Sebastian, who was killed in the battle around Messina when Simon’s baggage train was overrun by Roger’s forces. The playwrights again took a bit of historical license but the scene accurately depicts Roger II’s way of dealing with those he considered traitors.
Act III, Scene IV
<Sebastiano held by the arms by two of Roger’s soldiers>
Sebastiano: Lord Roger, only you would be so bold.
Roger II: Where are my brother’s forces headed?
Sebastiano: I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m a simple priest on his way to Rome.
Roger II: You are rebel and traitor. Take him away. <Roger gestures to the nearby guards>
Simon’s army made much quicker progress than his last march. This time only the necessities were brought in the baggage train and the occupied town of Taormina was this time placed under siege by Simon’s forces with Roger’s forces trapped in the city. However the town could still be supplied by ship and refused to surrender. Simon’s fleet had yet to resurge in the area after several defeats aimed at the Straits of Messina.
When it was reported to Roger II that Venetian ships were disappearing and their promised army (supposedly to be numbered around four thousand) had yet to materialize he went into a rage. It is said that when he summoned the Venetian ambassador the man was in his night robe and roughly deposited in the mud outside Roger II’s tent.
Taken from the diary of Roger II’s personal priest:
Several burly soldiers, men from Bari I believe, roughly deposited poor Domenico in his night robe outside in the mud by Lord Roger’s tent. His lordship’s eyes seemed to smoke with a burning fire as he explained to Domenico that if those ships and men are not forthcoming he could forget their deal. And that if that was the case then every Venetian merchant in his kingdom would have their property seized and would be promptly hung. The poor man mumbled something about the schismatics to the east, but his lordship only roared that he didn’t care about some pathetic islands to the east only their bargain.
It is said Domenico was promptly placed on a fast ship and sent to Venice with Roger II’s words for Doge Ordelafo Faliero.
[Venice] The Venetian fleet and army destined for Sicily was rerouted to once again make an attempt on the Byzantine Adriatic port city of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Also the recently created Arsenal was working night and day on additional ships for the expected war with the Byzantines.
It is said that Doge Ordelafo was foaming at the mouth, describing the duplicity of the Greeks as "traitors to the church of Christ and to any decency, worse than Moors and heathens, backstabbers and sodomites", as he denounced them during an arengo in Venice the day before the fleet sailed for Dyrrachium (Durrës). Many astute observers remembered that Ordelafo had been quite disappointed with the results of the last bout in Crete and Morea.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued south in their punishment of the Banu tribesmen. A large battle took place near the besieged town of Gabes which left the Banu Jami tribe broken and in full retreat.
The Byzantine army continued its expansion along the coast and the nearby hinterland in Cyrenaica but was forced to limit its gains as their force was small and with increased Venetian naval activity almost cut off from resupply from the empire.
[Emirate of Syria] The siege of Damascus continued as additional reinforcements from the County of Beyrout arrived to assist in the siege (and of course gain some lands). The contingent was only a few hundred knights and soldiers but it further tightened the noose on the Syrian city. The rest of the available forces of that County were doing their own land grab near the borders of the county.
Lulu disputed emir of Syria left Aleppo with a large force intent on destroying the gathered rebel nobles near the Euphrates River. It is believed that he felt if he could destroy the nobles first he could swing down and relieve Damascus long before the city even came close to falling. However his plans as they had since he assassinated the boy heir went disastrously wrong. Lulu’s army engaged the army of rebellious nobles but to Lulu’s horror found not only their army but that of Kerbogha, lord of Mosul, had sent not just his army but had come in person. [The nobles disgusted by Lulu and with no ready heir offered Kerbogha lordship of Syria if he would help to destroy Lulu.] The battle went badly for Lulu with over a third of his numbers either dead or having switched sides during the battle. Lulu with as many of his men that he could rally made fast for his fortress in Aleppo and awaited Kerbogha’s next action.
[Livonia] An early ice storm in the Baltic put to rest any further campaigning. Several supply ships were lost in the storm. The Crusaders in reaction to lost supplies began seizing food and livestock from their conquered pagan subjects (and in many cases what they did not keep themselves they gave to their converted subjects) which added even more resentment and anger at the invaders and those natives who had already converted.
[Note: It is widely believed that this was done on the advice of several native leaders, those who had already converted to Christianity, in an effort to break the remaining pagans within the Crusader held territory. That and increase their own wealth and stature at the expense of their neighbors.]
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice continued its march into Provence. The legion after a brief stay in the bishopric of Fréjus, a quiet coastal Mediterranean town moved northwest towards the town of Forealquier where they were to meet up with the forces of Amadeus of Maurienne, but Ser Tedice was ignorant of his defeat only a few days ago at the end of September.
Bertrand of Toulouse with reinforcements from his lands marched forth from Orange in hopes of catching Ser Tedice’s forces as they either were crossing the Durance River or if they moved towards Aix then attack their rear or flank as the situation dictated.
[France] Louis VI’s royal army arrived in the town of Montbrán in the County of Forez.
[Denmark - Jutland] Guido Rossi after many months of traveling from Italy finally caught up to Henry V’s court outside the siege of Rindum. Boniface assigned him to primarily keep Henry V happy and looking away from Italy. He was also appointed another task to talk to Mathilda the Fair, daughter of Boniface and dowager queen of Denmark, and try to unravel what's happening in that far away kingdom. Her father was worried at the reports that came into Pavia from Goffredo Bonacolsi (who has been called to meet Guido at the Imperial court) about the situation in that far off kingdom. Guido was sent to find out what the young lady had in mind and was to advise her on future moves. Two of Magister Irnerius’ pets, Bulgarus and Martinus, accompanied him as assistants.
Henry V ordered a large portion of the Imperial Army under Duke Conrad Hohenstaufen of Saxony further into the Jutland with orders to “wipe out the nest of rats following this Piper”. Many a neutral Danish lord soon found Imperial envoys at their courts outlining why their support of the emperor (oh and of course Erik II) was important to ensure the safety of Denmark (and the Straits). [Note: The documents that survive from these envoys once past all the diplomatic jingo basically came out and said support the emperor or face the same fate as those following Harald are about to receive.] All the remaining neutral lords of Denmark wisely decided to support the emperor (and Erik II) and soon found imperial forces and naval assets reinforcing their positions.
The siege at Rindum continued as the siege engines were brought up from Schleswig but were delayed due to a heavy rain that muddied the roads.
Harald’s forces in the town of Varvith surrendered to the Count of Holstein, as he was left in charge of the siege there.
(November) [North Africa] Thirty-five Venetian galleys escorted an Egyptian transport fleet that landed five thousand troops near the Byzantine occupied town of Barka. The town was invested and placed under siege by land while the Venetian ships blockaded the harbor. A small naval battle took place two days later when ten Byzantine naval ships arrived near Barka. Neither side reported the loss of any ships but the Venetian blockade held and the Byzantine ships retreated back towards Crete.
This was the first open cooperation between the Fatimids and the Venetians who had up until this moment had hidden agreements between them. Much of the work done in influencing the Fatimid court goes to exiled minor Italian nobles who had left Italy after or during the Baron’s Revolt and then again fled Constantinople after their persecution there following the war in Crete. Ranieri, the former Marquis of Montferrat, is held as being the architect behind the Venetian-Fatimid cooperation.
Peter of Messina’s army continued its assault against the Banu tribes but was hampered by poor logistics. Also the Banu tribes in the region broke up into small raiding groups making it a difficult and long process of eradicating them from the kingdom’s territory.
[Denmark - Jutland] Duke Conrad’s army defeated the last gathering of nobles supporting Harald in central Jutland at the battle of Cold Springs [named for a small nearby fresh water spring]. It is estimated that well over ninety percent of Harald’s backers in Jutland were either killed during this battle or in the battles since the imperial forces became involved in the Danish civil war.
The imperial siege engines made short work of the fortifications of Rindum. With the walls breached the imperial army swamped the Danish defenders and during the fighting Harald Kesja (Harald the Spear) was killed defending the keep. With cries that their king was dead Harald’s soldiers surrendered to the imperial forces.
With Harald’s body not even cold his crown, incidentally the same one his father Eric I had worn, was removed by an unknown German knight who hand delivered it to Henry V who had personally overseen the fall of the fortress. With the death of Harald and the bulk of his supporters the Danish civil war had come to an end. However the Empire’s interference in Danish affairs was only beginning.
For rest of the month while imperial forces cleaned up the few remaining loyalists [supporters of Harald, those who refused to give up Niel’s cause, and a few independent minded nobles] Henry V and his court decided the fate of Denmark. While Erik II was nominally part of the council there are testimonials and documents that indicate that he was rarely consulted on the arrangements being made in Denmark.
From an excerpt from the writings of one Otto of Köln, a priest serving as a scribe in the court of Henry V:
As his imperial majesty and the assembled court began to rearrange Denmark into what hopefully will be by the grace of God a more peaceful arrangement to the benefit of the Empire and the people of Denmark. Many a second or third son of the noble houses of the empire have been awarded land in Denmark, taken from Harald’s now deceased or exiled supporters. Several of the larger native nobles who wisely chose to side with his Highness also saw their domains enlarged.
It was with an outburst from the young Erik II, Duke of Schleswig and Syaland and heir presumptive to the throne of Denmark, over the construction of several imperial fortifications in the straits [it presumed here that the priest meant not just fortifications built from the Emperor’s purse but also garrisoned by imperial troops] to protect trade, that silenced the court. Young Erik argued that Denmark was not part of the empire and there was no need to garrison imperial soldiers within his kingdom. Then his Highness reminded young Erik that “he was not king yet” and the court went back to the business at hand.
Denmark was reshaped by Henry V into new fiefdoms. The Duchy of Schleswig was removed from the Kingdom of Denmark and made a duchy of the Kingdom of Germany. Erik II was left as the Duke of Schleswig While Jutland was divided into the Duchies of North and South Jutland. The Duchy of North Jutland was given over to the Count of Horǽ, a neutral Danish lord who readily backed Henry V when his envoy arrived. The Duchy of South Jutland was given over to a cousin of the Welfs of Bavaria, Stephen of Innsbruck. The Duchy of Syaland was named an Imperial fief and the ducal title was given over to Erik II [Note: It is recorded that the counsel of Guido Rossi and Matilda of Canossa kept Erik II from flying into a rage and doing something rash when it was decreed that Syaland was named an imperial fief.] however only the few strategic locations destined to have imperial fortresses were kept in imperial hands the rest of Syaland was given over to Erik to do as he saw fit. The County of Fyun was given over to the Count of Holstein for his deeds during the Baltic Crusade and during the campaign in Denmark itself. The County of Laland and Falster was awarded to the House of Lorraine [the County was to go to Simon I’s young daughter Agatha, assuming she survived infancy, as it had been arranged that she would marry Henry V’s own son when they came of age.].
Another change to Denmark by Henry V’s decree allowed several cities and towns in Denmark, namely København, to sign the Imperial charter. In addition he ordered a fleet of imperial warships to be built and stationed in the city of København to protect the straits from piracy.
On November the 27th one of Henry V’s last acts in Denmark was to crown Erik II King of Denmark in a crowded Cathedral in København. It is remarked that most of the crowd was German nobles and those Danish nobles who had clearly sided with Henry V. Only a few were nobles loyal to Erik II.
[Ionian Sea] A small Venetian fleet engaged a slightly larger Byzantine fleet off the southwest coast of Peloponnesus. The Venetian fleet suffered the loss of two ships to the Byzantine one before they withdrew back to Venetian Ionia.
[Dyrrachium (Durrës) – Byzantine Empire] A large fleet of Venetian ships appeared on the morning of November 5th heading towards the Byzantine port town of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Unlike the previous Venetian attack on the city they were not fooled and were prepared for the Venetian attack (several fast riders were dispatched towards Constantinople at the sighting of the fleet). The Venetians in a battle that lasted most of the day failed to force their way into the town’s harbor. This required them to land their army slightly to the south.
The Venetian army successfully defeated a small Byzantine army sent to disrupt their landings however the bulk of the town’s garrison seemed content to remain behind the walls of the town.
The Venetian army settled in for what appeared to be a lengthy siege while a Byzantine army under General Taticius prepared their own forces near the town of Scopia for a winter quarters. [Note: It appears from historical documents that the Byzantines had expected the Venetians to come in the spring and not endure a winter siege of Dyrrachium (Durrës), but the Venetians decided a quick response was the best bet and had moved faster than the Byzantines had expected.]
While a large fleet blockaded the port of Dyrrachium (Durrës) and its army continued the siege a section of the Venetian fleet broke off with three thousand soldiers and made its way to Sicily to back Roger II, who had made it abundantly clear the consequences if they failed to comply with their contract.
[Sicily] Simon I of Sicily and his army continued their siege of Taormina but were dismayed when a Venetian fleet arrived in the town’s port with over three thousand reinforcements for the beleaguered army within. The army loyal to Roger trapped in the town was reduced to a mere thousand men after several direct assaults by Simon’s forces were repelled. Simon decided that a winter siege and perhaps a naval solution might present itself. He left the army under one William of Salerno and retired to his court in Palermo for the winter.
[Sicily - Messina] Months of hard siege had seen the once proud walls of Messina battered down by the large trebuchets and catapults of Roger II’s army. On the night of the 16th of November a fire broke out in the city. Deciding to take advantage of the situation Roger ordered a full night time assault on the city with the hope that the garrison might be distracted enough to allow his forces to gain the walls.
The battle for the walls lasted deep into the night and the early morning but as the garrison was split in trying to defend the walls and put out the fire Roger’s army successfully breached the walls in several locations. Roger II never one to lead too far behind led a small group of knights along the wall and into the city in an attempt to force open the gates. As his men forced open the gates a nearby building that was aflame collapsed near Roger II and had it not been for the quick and valiant efforts of his men Roger II would have died in the fire of the rubble that knocked him down. However Roger II still suffered excessive burns across his body and would be laid up for many months to come.
An excerpt from one of Roger II’s court doctors, an Arab by the name of Hassan al-Kalbi:
His Grace suffered burns to his upper body, but do not seem to have affected his range of motion too much. His face and head though are permanently scarred. I was forced to amputate the left ear as all that remained was sick blackened flesh. All of his lordship’s hair on his head is gone. Curiously his eyes suffered no damage and one can only thank Allah it is so.
Roger II’s injuries would plague him for the rest of his life. As he recovered over the winter in Messina he grew tired of the shocked looks at his appearance and donned an iron mask. Some reports say it was a skull and others a detailed replica of his own face before his injuries. [Note it is not exactly known which as Roger II forbid any writings on what his mask looked like and had ordered it destroyed upon his death. It is believed though that he may have had several and wore them according to his mood.]
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army continued its siege of Damascus but the limited amount of engineers and siege engines limited the effect until more siege equipment could be brought from Tripolis.
Kerbogha’s army consolidated control over the eastern portion of the Emirate of Syria and defeated several small armies loyal to Lulu as Kerbogha’s army crept closer to the fortress city of Aleppo.
[France] As the French army made its way to the border of Toulouse tensions arose between the French knights, several priests, and many of the French nobility over Constance’s use of over two hundred of Matilda’s Maidens in her ducal army. When Louis VI commanded her to send them back to Normandy she refused. Calmly she informed him that the Maidens come with her and the royal army or she and her vassals would leave and return to Normandy. It is said that Louis VI raged for a whole day at his wife’s impertinence. Knowing that his wife’s forces and her vassals made up over a quarter of his army he could not let her leave. Louis relented and allowed them to come, but many a French noble and knight lost a lot of faith in their king.
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice as it crossed the Durance River was attacked by Bertrand of Toulouse’s army. The new tactics and discipline of the legion even partially caught crossing the river thrashed Bertrand’s army. The Toulousian army composed of house troops, mercenaries, and levies broke after only a half an hour of battle and routed back towards Aix.
The Abbot of St. Denis, Suger, sent as an envoy from Louis VI to Boniface’s court was present at the battle and in his Vita Lodovici Regis wrote:
…The cold efficiency of the Tuscan army crushed Bertrand of Toulouse’s army in a manor I have never seen. Having accompanied his majesty Philip I, may he rest in peace, on his many campaigns in France I have never seen the like. Bertrand’s army had the Tuscans trapped and partially across the Durance but with quick efficiency and discipline Ser Tedice was able to order his army into the field in only a manner that Caesar’s armies might have accomplished. The brutal black tide [black and red being the colors of the legion] outnumbered swept the Count and his army from the field in less time than it takes this poor old priest to pray the Rosary…
[Principality of Kiev] Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich the supreme ruler of Kievan Rus and Chernigov agreed to the Byzantine emperor’s proposal to send an army to the coast of the Black Sea to further push the native Polovtsi and Cumans back to help establish further trade routes into and out of the empire.
[Rome] On the morning of November 22nd a letter arrived from Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa for Pope Paschal II. In it he first asks for his Holiness’ blessings for his campaign into the Emirate of Syria. The second portion of the letter asks his Holiness for to grant him divorce from his wife Adelisa of Sicily.
An excerpt from the letter (kept on record in the library of Rome to this day):
…these accusations against my wife can longer be ignored. My own investigations lead me to believe there may be some truthfulness to my wife’s corruption. I do not ask for this for my sake but I must protect my son and daughter from their mother’s crimes…
Pope Paschal II did not respond immediately to the letter, beyond a quick missive giving his blessings in defeating the Muslims in Syria, as there were many considerations to be had.
[Seres (China)] An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 72):
Today while traveling up the coast of Seres my ship encountered what I believe to be a ship that could rival Noah’s famed Ark. The oversized junk sailed passed with a speed I would not have attributed to such a large vessel. From that day on I vowed to learn as much about these large ships as I could and if possible captain one myself.
(December) [Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse gathered what remained of his army after the disaster at the Durance River and retreated back towards Aix. Leaving the city with a formidable garrison he returned to Toulouse when word reached him that Louis VI was camped only days away from the north of Toulouse.
Ser Tedice’s army after its victory at the Durance River made its way to Forealquier where they made winter quarters and awaited the arrival of Amadeus of Maurienne and his army.
[France] The Royal army camped in the two towns of Carlot and Murat just to the north of the territories under the control of the Count of Toulouse, Bertrand. A heavy snow stopped the army and Louis VI decided to camp for the winter. A decision he would later write that he would regret until the end of his days.
[Byzantine Empire – Dyrrachium (Durrës)] With the nearby swamps, winter, and their lessons from the last attempt to siege Dyrrachium (Durrës) the Venetian commander, one Vitale Dandolo, instituted a harsh sanitary regimen among his men during the siege. It is recorded that he established a camp for his sick and diseased soldiers well away from the siege lines and the regular army camp. From the writings of several monks whose care these sick (and in some cases wounded too) soldiers were given over to the camp was nothing more than a place for them to die away from the healthy.
[Emirate of Syria] Kerbogha’s army continued its sweep of northern Syria slowly descending upon Lulu’s stronghold of Aleppo. A small battle some fifteen miles from the walls of Aleppo yielded Lulu’s first victory. This victory by Lulu is attributed to Kerbogha’s absence from the battle whereas his supporters in the battle where mainly made up of local nobles who had backed Kerbogha. Kerbogha is estimated to have been in or around the town of Moumbidj at the time resupplying his large army.
The siege of Damascus continued with the addition of several large siege engines brought for Tripolis that saw the mighty city’s walls slowly pounded into rubble. News of Kerbogha’s host arrived and greatly worried Godfrey and his commanders. Kerbogha’s host in control of Syria could place all of Christendom’s position in the Holy Land at stake.
[Sicily] With Roger II injured and recuperating in the sacked city of Messina and his brother Simon having retired back to Palermo the civil war in the Kingdom of Sicily seemed to come to a close as winter set in. Only a few failed assaults by Simon’s forces laying siege to the occupied town of Taormina was the only combat recorded.
The city of Syracuse came under blockade by Venetian ships and ships loyal to Roger II. A Sicilian naval squadron under Admiral William of Reggio successfully maneuvered his fleet out of the blockaded city during a daring nighttime escape that also saw two Venetian galleys seized by the Sicilians with no losses to their own fleet.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued its drive to relieve beleaguered Sicilian towns and garrisons in North Africa. A gathering of Banu Hilal was defeated as Peter’s army marched towards Tripoli to relieve the beleaguered city. Peter was forced to leave several small armies and detached light cavalry along his supply chain back to Carthage in an effort to keep the Banu tribesmen from undoing what he and his army had accomplished over the past few months.
Curiously even with parts of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes thousands of Sicilians from Sicily made the journey across to North Africa fleeing the encroaching civil war.
The Fatimid army twice assaulted the Byzantine occupied Banu town of Barka but failed to take the town. Supplies however ran low in the town and as the siege began to take its toll a plague broke out among the Byzantine soldiers. The Byzantine leader struck down by the plague led his second in command to ask for and were granted terms.
An Almoravid army unexpectedly began a siege of Thyrrenian controlled Icosium (Algiers). The town had been under Thyrrenian control since 1105 AD. The last siege of the town had failed to retake it had attempted to raid, unsuccessfully, on several occasions since then. However this is the first real attempt to retake the town after the failed siege in 1105.
[Rome] Pope Paschal II began sending out feelers to both the courts of Boniface and the Kingdom of Sicily (a letter was also sent to Roger II but no openly as the Pope did with Simon) on achieving a final solution to Duke Godfrey’s marriage issue. With the Duke’s formal request for annulment the issue needed to be settled. daughter to Niccoloso (who to the chieftain appeared to be in charge; much to
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The map:
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Again please post questions and comments in the comments thread(see sig.).
The year 1108 AD in its entirety (Please post comments or questions in the appropriate thread - NOT here - see link in my sig., thanks.)
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1108 AD –
(January) [Chola Empire]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 56):
“The rumors throughout the city spoke of the return of an enormous trading venture from Seres have proven true. A well placed bribe to one of the officials gained me access to the records of the trading expedition. The records made mention that tens of thousands of copper coins were brought back for mere trinkets and spices. I have ordered my crew for a long voyage to the east to seek further riches there, but I will be sad to have to say goodbye to sweet Vanavan and her tender ways.”
Over the previous year of trading and pirating in the Indian Ocean John II had become the master of his own ship when Dorma had been killed by a stray arrow during an act of piracy. By the beginning of the year 1108 AD John II had three ships sailing for him when he began his trek to the Far East.
[Denmark - Schleswig] Eric II received a confirmation letter from Emperor Henry V allowing him a limited right to recruit knights within the Kingdom of Germany. (The letter, since lost, is believed to have mentioned a preference for recruitment of knights from the Duchy of Saxony and knights from Henry’s own Franconian duchies. It is believed Henry V was doing this as rewards for his favorites by helping second and third sons gain land in Denmark and to curry favor with his powerful ally Conrad Hohenstaufen, Duke of Saxony, who was looking to aid his own vassals. With much of the land in Pommerania destined for the Teutonic Order and Church lands [better to convert the pagans] not much remained to divvy out to vassals.)
Only a few took up his offer as the heavy winter snows had limited the spread of the news of the offer, but it would prove to be but the beginning of the German flood into Denmark.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels lord of Scania began a winter campaign to bring all of Scania* under his control. His first targets were the Counts of Lyrgmǽs and Thornǽ.
[*Scania included the lands of Blekyng and Halland.]
[Denmark – Syaland] Harald like his half-brother and uncle did not let the winter go completely by without some form of action no matter how limited. The heavy snows and lack of funds have curtailed any further conflict till the spring, but Harald in preparation for further actions seized or requisitioned any vessels moored in the harbors under his control. Several foreign merchants protested at the seizure of their vessels and were thrown in prison on charges of attempting to bribe harbor officials and other such ‘crimes’. (Some of those charges may even have been true.)
[Southern Italy – Kingdom of Sicily] King Simon I of Sicily who upon word that his sister, Adelisa, had fled to Roger’s estates in Apulia ordered her to return back to her husband’s estates in Spoleto less an unwanted war was brought upon them.
Repulsed at his brother’s continued weakness and the affront to his family’s name, Roger gave into the whispers of the nobles of southern Italy who proclaimed him Roger II the true heir to the crown of Sicily in Naples on the morning of January 17th. According to a court priest at his hasty coronation Roger II is said to have proclaimed words for his brother Simon.
“…and I accept this burden upon my shoulders. As for my brother Simon I do not wish harm on him, but he is unsuited to the duties and difficult decisions those who wear the crown must make. If he agrees to step down and offer no resistance I will petition his holiness the Pope to make him an archbishop if not a holy Cardinal.”
(February) [Kingdom of Sicily] The court of Simon I fell into chaos when Roger made his declaration and was crowned in Naples. According to a court scribe the pious Simon retreated to his private chapel and asked for God’s guidance. It is unknown what occurred in the silence of the chapel but the scholarly Simon came out a changed man who vowed to place his little brother and his supporters in their place.
With virtually all of southern Italy in rebellion and only a few scattered loyal vassals holding to their vows of fealty the situation looked bleak to Simon. However not all was stacked against him as all of Sicily and the territories in Africa were still in his hands. In addition the majority of the fleet remained loyal even if a sizeable portion of it now sailed for his brother.
[Southern Italy] Roger II waited not but a few hours after his coronation before he marched upon the few garrisons and strongholds loyal to his brother Simon (and his vassals in pre-planned attacks did so throughout southern Italy). Those garrisons that remained loyal were spread out and easily overcome by Roger’s forces. Several were caught unawares and put up little fight.
Roger’s biggest coup was when he gained the great trading city of Amalfi as an ally and backer, whose ruling elite had sided with Roger over Simon in exchange for promises of lower taxes (the city was providing the bulk of the fleet that sided with Roger).
[Rome] Pope Paschal II stunned by the explosion of violence to south in the Kingdom of Sicily called for peace and wrote the two brothers that it was against the laws of God for one to strike down his brother as Caine did unto Abel.
The Pope also sealed official accusations against Adelisa that were brought to light by various nobles from the Kingdom of Italy. (These documents which would not see the light of day until the 18th Century strongly hinted that Adelisa had indeed been in commerce with the powers of Darkness.)
[In this historian’s opinion it is nothing more than counter propaganda put out by Boniface’s spymaster to counter Sicilian accusations against his brother Godfrey. However it should be noted that the more lurid versions of Adelisa's sins were widely circulated within the Kingdom of Italy (and widely believed if writings from the time are to be believed), the papal lands and even the Norman kingdom (where possession of these lies was a capital offense).]
[County of Savoy] Douce, wife of Amadeus du Maurienne and Countess of Provence, died in childbirth. The girl child she gave birth to also died not long after the passing of her mother. This left the comital title empty and with no clear heir. Four contenders had the greatest claim but none were seen as clear successors. [Those with the strongest claims (in alphabetical order) being Atto Canossa [his elder brother having yielded the right to him] a distant cousin of Douce, Amadeus du Maurienne who claimed the county was his late wife’s dowry, Bertrand of Toulouse another distant cousin, and Duke Hugh II of Burgundy yet another distant cousin.] Only Atto Canossa did not immediately make claim to the title (it is said his father, Boniface, urged caution as he did not want to insult one of his family’s greatest allies, the du Mauriennes). The other three began preparations to make their claims stick.
(March) [Insulae Fortunatae (Blessed Isles)] Lancelotto Morcello and Niccoloso da Recco returned to San Giorgio dell'Oceano (Lanzarote Island) and established a small port there to attack Almoravid gold shipments. This port would later grow into the small town of Nova Recco named after Niccoloso’s home town of Recco. Their first few days on the island drew the attention of the native Guancis to the pirates. Surprisingly enough the first encounter between the pirates and the native Guancis was peaceful as it was apparent to the Captains Lancelotto and Niccoloso that the natives had no wealth and posed no threat.
Apparently in awe of the powerful outsiders the native Guanci leader offered up his Lancelotto’s chagrin) as a peace offering. [It is believed by some that she was forcibly taken as well as several other women but there is not much evidence for this as the relations between the pirates and the Guancis were apparently peaceful with no evidence for strife between the two. Most evidence shows that for several years the pirates and natives happily ignored each other and went about their own business keeping a respectful distance from each other.]
[Livonia] Papal legate Hartwig welcomed the first of several waves of German Crusaders to Livonia (several hundred knights and their retainers came in the first wave of reinforcements). They were the first wave of Crusaders who were no longer needed in Pommerania with its successful conquest and thus were sent to Livonia. [Many Crusaders did stay in Pommerania to ensure the conversion of the pagans and maintain their Order’s and the Church’s awarded lands.]
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began preparations for an attack into the Pruthenian villages with a series of raids.
[Estonia] With the civil war in Denmark reinforcements to the Danish Crusader fortresses in Estonia were virtually non-existent. Those forces there contented themselves with consolidating their hold over what they had already taken, but could not do any more until the situation in Denmark became resolved.
[Finland] Swedish Crusaders continued to expand their region of the coast of Finland and began to make inroads into the heavily forested interior.
[Denmark - Syaland] Harald began the spring with an attack on the Count of Syndrǽ thus all of Falstǽr Island was brought under his control. The Count was killed in the battle and one of Harald’s loyal barons was placed in his stead (the heir of the county mysteriously disappeared and is presumed to have been murdered by Harald or one of his cronies).
Not all was going well for Harald. His seizure of merchant ships to transport troops and act as his fleet had begun to hurt his treasury as money flowed out to pay for the war and to pay the foreign merchants to bring in the goods and trade that the native merchants were doing before they were conscripted (and thus paying taxes). Harald after much thought came to the conclusion that if these foreign merchants were getting rich off his difficulties then they could help pay. He ordered his fleet to enforce a tax (unimaginatively named the Sund tax) upon all ships carrying cargo through the Sund.
[It should be noted that several conscripted merchant vessels used this excuse to search foreign ships entering the Sund to enact revenge on rivals. Many a time they would seize the cargo and sink the ship declaring they had arrived too late to save the ship from pirates. The Sund tax and the attack on merchant vessels quickly drew the eye of Henry V north to Denmark.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] With spring returned to the world Erik II launched a few attacks on both his half-brother’s and uncle’s forces to the north. However he only met defeat there. His only successful effort was in having taken Langǽland from Harald using his few ships to land a second army on the island which attacked Harald’s forces there in the rear as it attacked forces loyal to Erik in the south of the island.
Erik’s recruitment of German knights continued and allowed him to rebound from his defeats to the north of Schleswig in his attempts, but they still fell far below what he needed to make any headway north.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels, lord of Scania, began his spring assaults on the counties of Barǽ and Vǽmuńhǿg. When the Count of Skǿz agreed to back Niels (in exchange for some of his former neighbor’s lands of course) the rest of Scania fell into Niels’ hands. Only a few minor nobles remained on that side of the Sund that opposed him.
[Sicily] Sicilian naval forces loyal to Simon defeated an attempt by those ships loyal to Roger to force their way through the Straits of Messina. Unfortunately for Simon the need to keep a large fleet on station to prevent his brother from landing troops in Sicily and increased attacks by the Banu tribes of North Africa prevented him from moving many troops from North Africa to Sicily.
[Southern Italy] With the naval defeat off the coast of Sicily Roger II was in a dire predicament as he could not reach his brother’s forces to defeat him if he could not gain naval superiority long enough to get his army to Sicily. Opportunity came to him when the Venetian ambassador, Pietro Flabanico (a distant relative of former Doge Domenico Flabanico), suggested that Venice may be able to help him…for a price.
[County of Provence] Count Bertrand of Toulouse was the first to act in the struggle for the title of Provence. He sent a thousand soldiers toward the capital of the County of Provence, Aix, in an effort to make his claim stick. From his personal writings that survive he hoped that his quick actions would give him an advantage over the other claimants.
[Land of the Rum Seljuk] Kilij Arslan II finally completed his late father’s dream of defeating the Danishmends. With their defeat the Rum Seljuks were finally on the rebound from their disastrous defeat at the hands of the Byzantines and the Crusaders a decade before. Several smaller Turkish tribes, former allies of the Danishmends, bent knee to Kilij Arslan II in an effort to prevent the same fate that befell the Danishmends at the hands of the Seljuks or their allies in Mosul.
(April) [County of Tripolis] Godfrey reviewed a regiment of soldiers that had arrived from Italy. Trained in the style his brother had pioneered they were far more professional than his other troops, but when added to his conventional and local troops new opportunities began to become possible.
An excerpt from The Life of Godfrey ‘the Tall’ of House Canossa:
(Page 87)
The disciplined Italian soldiers used in combination with the more mobile local troops gave Godfrey unheard of flexibility that harkened back to the days of the Roman legions. Combined they would give Godfrey the advantage used so well later in his conquests to the east.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels brought the remaining neutral lords in Scania onto his side with promises of land (either in Scania itself or in Jutland). However this took time to negotiate and preempted any thoughts of bringing his forces to fight elsewhere in Denmark.
Niels also desired to stop the constant pirate (i.e. naval forces of Harald) attacks on the island of Bornholm. Since Harald’s declaration a sizeable naval raid on Bornholm was conducted, however, the island’s garrison and fortresses withstood the attacks. With the disparage in naval forces Niels decided to hire ships from the free island of Götland to protect the island in exchange for trading rights on the island and throughout Scania. The deal was concluded when the Götlander representative, one Goffredo Bonacolsi (natively from Italy but was asked to lead the delegation for his skill at negotiation was well known), and Niels signed the agreement on April 11th.
[Denmark – Jutland] What had remained a quiet area of the civil war finally broke as neighbor turned upon neighbor and old friends soon became the bitterest of enemies. This fighting was a chaotic and mostly leaderless (as the three contenders were busy elsewhere) and consisted of minor nobles lashing out at those neighboring nobles who were not backing their favored contender.
[County of Provence] The small army that Bertrand of Toulouse had sent into Provence entered the city of Aix which had surrendered when several gate guards who had been bribed allowed them in.
[Italy - Pavia] Boniface quietly dispatches forces to both the border with the Norman kingdom to the south and to border areas near Provence. He also wrote several missives to his ally Amadeus of Maurienne trying to reach an agreement concerning the situation in Provence.
His son Atto, recently returned from the court of Philip I of France, was placed as the squire to Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, the Warden of the West, castellan and commander of the great fortress of San Cristoforo near Biandrate.
[Germany] Henry V attended a celebration in the city of Trier to commemorate their signing of the Imperial Charter. As this was the autonomy they had sought for years (the city was formerly an archbishopric whose archbishop had sided against Henry IV in the ‘Baron’s Revolt’) a grand celebration had been planned. In celebration and in an attempt to show off the Empire’s (and thus his) wealth and power Henry V ordered the rebuilding of the old (Roman) Imperial baths that had been uncovered during recent construction of some warehouses (which were subsequently moved). He even commissioned a bronze statue from Italy to be brought to the baths (the bronze statue of a water boy can still be seen today in the Trier museum).
It was at this time that a petitioner from Baltic Trade Company asked for an audience with the emperor where he presented evidence that Harald of Denmark had illegally seized (whether it was illegal or not is open to debate as there is some evidence the merchant had bribed port officials) a merchant ship belonging to the Baltic Trade Company out of Lübeck. While concerned about the trade through the Baltic the issue of one merchant vessel being seized was inconsequential to the emperor, however, when the petitioner gave evidence that Harald had levied a tax upon all trade traveling through the Sund. Further the canny petitioner pointed out how this was going to affect trade and more to the point how it was going to affect the tithes and taxes due to the Imperial coffers. Roused in anger the emperor vowed to show this upstart bastard who wished to be king what a real king was.
[Southern Italy] Roger II signed a deal with the Venetians that in exchange for ships and men the Venetians would gain some trade rights within the Kingdom of Sicily and would be allowed to have Venetian quarters in several port cities (such as in Bari). The agreement was surprisingly kept secret until the first Venetian fleet arrived later in the month. The news once it was release and spread did not please the kingdom’s greatest traders in Amalfi who had backed Roger II hoping for better deals and not having their rivals get stronger within the kingdom itself.
Several scenes from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with the representative of the city of Amalfi, Lenta (Lenta of Calabria is the fictional representative from Amalfi), shows what the early reign of Roger II was like (if not exactly historical and exaggerated a bit).
Act II Scene II
Roger II: Perhaps you think your city is being treated unfairly?
Lenta: No…but…
Roger II: Good, because it would be most unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here.
Lenta: [to himself] This deal is getting worse all the time.
Act II Scene IV
Roger II: The Venetian ships will be allowed unrestricted access to Amalfi.
Lenta: You said they'd be allowed in the city under my supervision.
Roger II: I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
[Note: Roger II did end up leaving a sizeable garrison in the city under one Robert of Capua, but it seemed more a defensive measure to protect the vital port city than an effort to renege on the deal as depicted in scenes from A Family’s Honor.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik’s planned campaign north into Jutland was ended before it began as he had to divert troops to his holdings and allies on the island of Fyun to contest one of Harald’s armies from overrunning the island.
[Denmark - Syaland] With only a month of collecting the Sund tax Harald had already began to reap its benefits. With his new found wealth he began a campaign on the island of Fyun (split between all three factions) and in the north of Jutland against isolated pockets of supporters of both Erik and Niels. Several nobles who had declared neutrality in the manner also felt the bite of Harald’s spear with the prominent Count of Horǽ ending his neutrality and sided with Niels (he also brought his fellow counts of Biarg and Harz with him).
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began their spring campaign to bring the rest of the pagan lands designated by the Council of Frankfurt. Their first targets were the already weakened Pruthenians whose villages were quickly overrun by the superior Polish forces (in both equipment and manpower).
The Polish king also chartered a new town at the mouth of the Pregel River called Królewlec (Königsberg).
[Livonia] The German Crusaders much like their Polish counterparts began their spring campaign during this month. With the reinforcements from Germany Papal legate Hartwig was able to split his army and moved in two directions. One went along the Red River and the other continued along the coast to the west.
Hartwig also dispatched a hundred knights and their retainers to assist the Danish Crusaders to the north who were under constant threat from the Eths. He was credited with saying. “Not one stretch of Christian soil will fall to the pagans!”
[Which is ironic considering the soil he was talking about was just recently taken from those same pagans by sword and fire.]
[Egypt] The Serene Republic of Venice made another substantial loan to the Fatimid Caliph. This loan was used on much as the last two loans were used to bribe the nobility into following the rule of the Caliph.
[France - Paris] Philip I of France weakened by disease and old age dies. His son Louis VI is crowned king of France.
[Edessa] The Byzantine Empire and the County of Edessa began a ‘cold war’ with the occasional flair ups of violence over the weak Armenian statelets that were situated between them.
(May) [Denmark - Jutland] Harald’s army had begun several sieges throughout Jutland of opposing nobles’ castles. The most prominent being the fortress at Hǽlghǽnǽ held by forces loyal to Niels. Several attempts to storm the besieged fortress met with failure and Harald was forced to engage in a lengthy siege.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The forces of Erik defeated an army loyal to Niels in the County of Almundǽ (directly north of Schleswig) but were forced to abandon the siege of the town of Almundǽ when reinforcements loyal to Niels threatened his baggage train and supply line back into Schleswig.
[Germany] As Henry V’s progress began north he quietly sent orders to Imperial garrisons to send troops and supplies to a staging area north of Bardowlek near the Elbe River. Several letters were also sent to the nobility of Saxony including Duke Conrad II Hohenstaufen that informed him of imperial needs.
[Rome] Old Bonizo da Cremona, titular cardinal of Sutri and advisor to Boniface of Canossa, arrived in Rome as an envoy to the Pope on behalf of House Canossa. In consideration of his age he was be accompanied by the Count of Grazzano, Guiberto Cotta (whose influence on the order of the Patarene Knights is second only to Bonizo's one), and two of Magister Irnerius’ pupils, Ugus and Jacopus. They were also escorted by sixty Patarene knights. The envoy’s mission was to ensure that the Pope did not side with Simon by excommunicating his brother Roger.
While Simon was the anointed king there had been ugly rumors that have been accusing Simon of heresy and worse (the Saracen influence at the court of Palermo and in the territories of Carthage is said to be growing, well beyond what would be tolerable in a Christian kingdom). Oddly enough there were similar rumors spread from Septimania and the County of Barcelona allegedly involving unlawful deals with the Spanish Moors and the Almoravids to the detriment of Christendom. While Roger's assumption of the crown might be labeled as rebellion, Bonizo suggested that it was more likely a natural reaction of a good Christian knight who saw his faith threatened. The envoys tried to convince the Pope to summon both Simon and Roger to Rome, in order to have the former explain his actions which might be hold as contrary to the faith and to try and find a peaceful solution to the southern troubles.
[North Africa – County of Tripoli] With the onset of the civil war the Banu tribes, who had long been crushed under the Norman heel since Roger I’s and Roger Borsa’s invasion of decades past, sensed weakness in the Kingdom of Sicily and armed with weapons provided by the Venetians launched attacks throughout the kingdom’s North African territories.
The Banu tribes quickly encircled the city of Tripoli (the second largest city in Norman North Africa) and placed it under siege. The road to Carthage was also beset by many Banu raiders making it difficult for reinforcements to be gathered without traveling in large groups.
[Coast of Southern Italy] Venetian and Amalfitan ships clashed with the naval forces of the Kingdom of Sicily near the straits of Messina. The battle was inconclusive as neither side pressed the issue and when the Venetians and Amalfitans withdrew the Sicilians did not pursue them. Both sides lost only a handful of ships and the number of killed and wounded combined only totaled five hundred and twenty-three.
It was at this time that it is first noted in historical documents that Aragónese vessels made their first appearance on the side of Simon during the battle for the Straits. These first Aragónese vessels are believed to be ships hired by Simon but ships that arrived later in the month are suspected to have been sent by King Peter II of Aragón in aid to his nominal ally Simon.
[At this time there was no formal alliance between the kingdoms of Aragón and Sicily, but they shared a common rivalry with the Thyrrenians over trade and influence in the western Mediterranean.]
[Latvia] German Crusaders continued their campaign against the Livonian tribes along the Red River and the coast. The surge of the last German Crusaders coming from Pommerania swelled their numbers to the point where a third army was formed that marched northwards along the coast.
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders defeated the last free Pruthenians on the south side of the Nemmunas River. The Nemmunas River was the agreed upon boundary between Polish Crusader territory and that of the territory given over the Papal legate Hartwig in Livonia. They soon turned their eyes eastwards along the river and into the hills where several Lithuanian tribes resided.
[England] Henry II of England completed his subjugation of southern Wales when the gathered army of Deheubarth was defeated at the battle of The Stone Hill. This left only the proud Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd in the north free from English rule.
[Byzantium] Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius greeted by the first year of his reign where the war machine of the empire was not actively engaged in heavy conflict in Anatolia, dealing with Bulgar and Slav uprisings in the Balkans (Many a Bulgar or Slav was resettled in Anatolia after an uprising which in addition to the thousands of Greek settlers pouring into Anatolia were quickly repopulating the inner regions of Anatolia that had been devastated by the Seljuk Turks since the battle of Manzikert.), or fighting the pagans north of the Danube and in Crimea. The past few years had also seen an expanded navy rebound from the disasters that had happened during the conflicts with the Italians during their expeditions to Crete and the Peloponnesus.
It was at this time that an envoy from the court of Simon, King of Sicily, arrived at the court in Constantinople where he asked for assistance against his rebellious younger brother and his Venetian allies.
[Levant – Emirate of Syria] Lulu regent for Alp Arslan al-Akhras finally murdered the young heir to the emirate in a bid for his own power. Many of the nobles openly opposed him when word leaked out that the young Alp had in fact been murdered and had not died of a sickness as Lulu had proclaimed. However the two well defended cities of Aleppo and Damascus were firmly in his hands. Still the first battle between the opposing forces went in favor of the nobility.
[Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse marched an additional thousand men into Provence to reinforce his position in Aix and the surrounding area. He was careful to keep a wide berth around Arles lest he attract unwanted Imperial attention.
Amadeus of Maurienne before he left for Paris had ordered a thousand of his own soldiers to march into Provence towards the Archbishopric of Erubrum along the Durance River with orders to secure that city.
[Southern France - County of Toulouse] Forces loyal to William Duke of Aquitaine started to harass the Toulousan marches. The Duke having left for Philip I’s funeral in Paris left the harassment to several lieutenants.
[France] With the death of Philip I France spent the past month accustoming itself to the new rule of Louis VI. It was not more than a fortnight after his coronation that tension between him and his wife Constance, the Duchess of Normandy, became heated again. It was only the arrival of many of the powerful of Europe to the burial of Philip I in Paris which placed their arguments and marital discord to the side as politics and Philip I’s funeral took precedence.
As described by Suger, Abbot of St. Denis, in his Vita Lodovici Regis:
Since the death of Charlemagne, no king of France was buried in the presence of a more splendid and glorious assembly. It would be too long to mention all the nobles and sovereigns who attended. I will talk only of the most splendid ones: ...the duc de Bourgogne scion of the royal Capetiennes, Guillaume d'Aquitaine, all the great lords of Normandy, waiting upon our dearest queen, the Archbishops of Treviri and Mainz, representing the majesty of the emperor, Floris of Holland and his wife Beatrix.... However, the most splendid cortege was led by Boniface, Comes Palatinus Italiae, and his wife Isobel de Capetiennes de Bourgogne.
From the Vita Lodovici Regis by abbot Suger:
Count Bonifacio brought with him a retinue of one hundred knights and men-at-arms, which the Italians described as a ‘centuria militum’. They were all dressed in identical black armor; equally black were the accoutrements of their destriers, while their mantles were the red of fresh blood. I confess that seeing them for the first time I felt a shiver in my bones. Now looking back to the events that were to happen in the south of France, I feel that God allowed me a glimpse of the future...
Using this rare opportunity where many of Europe’s great nobles were gathered much politicking was done. The events in Provence were much in the forefront of the discussions that concerned the nobility. William Duke of Aquitaine was loudest in his opposition to Count Bertrand of Toulouse, who did not have the courtesy to go to his own liege’s funeral (many at the time believed William’s loud opposition was more in his interest in certain parts of Toulouse that he desired than what happened to Provence or the insults towards the dead king and his son, Louis VI.). The other voice calling for Bertrand’s head was that of Amadeus of Maurienne who claimed Provence through his deceased wife.
Boniface and his advisors conferred with family and attempted to come to some agreement with Amadeus of Maurienne over Provence, but the Count of Savoy had yet to come to a firm agreement.
Louis VI was also gravely concerned with the events to the south and in examinations of historical documents he began to see an opportunity in reigning in the greater lords of France as his father did to the lesser. It would become a delicate balance for the crown of France on whom to back and when.
An interesting outcome of the gathering for Philip’s funeral was the first meeting between Arnaldo da Brescia, a young cleric with known ‘progressive’ views and Pierre Abelard, the learned and quite famous protégé of the French queen.
[Italy] A thousand Flemish farmers and skilled craftsmen finally began to settle into Tuscany after they were brought there by Canossa promises of land after their own was devastated in a huge flood in Flanders the year before. (The bulk of the refugees settled in either Slavinia or Pommerania with roughly ten thousand heading to England, but the Canossas eager to use the Flemish farming techniques in Italy encouraged them to move to Italy with grants of land and coin.)
With the growing naval conflict along the coastlines of southern Italy and Sicily the Thyrrenian cities began to escort merchant ships with dedicated naval ships through the troubled waters. The situation in the south caused a great debate in the cities on whom to back and where and how to intervene were met with loud arguments from all the different points of view and the only directions coming from House Canossa were to not take any position, pending the diplomatic discussions in Rome, and the troubles in Provence. (Boniface who had left for the burial of Philip I of France was absent from Italy and while his son Gregory was left as Steward in his absence [in all practicality though ser Lutterio, the commander of the Legio Prima, was in charge in Boniface’s absence] they didn’t have the inclination to get involved in a conflict without Boniface’s approval.)
(June) [France] With the funeral of Philip I of France over the gathered nobility began to negotiate in earnest. The first deal was that between Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne. They agreed upon a split of the County of Provence at the Durance River until at a point due west of the town of Digne (basically the old County of Forcalouier). To the north it would go to Amadeus and to the south it would go to Boniface’s son Atto. The support of Dukes of Burgundy and Aquitaine against the Count of Toulouse further solidified Boniface’s and Amadeus’ position.
Louis VI meanwhile put forth all of his efforts to prevent William of Aquitaine (and Gascony) from annexing all of Toulouse.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders overran the first Lithuanian villages killing many. The Lithuanians, once vassals of Kiev, had several decades before thrown off the shackles of Kiev and had turned to raiding their neighbors. These experienced fighters caused great casualties among the Polish Crusaders who in turn showed little mercy to the captured pagan villages.
[Livonia] With three separate German Crusader armies Livonia fell much more rapidly than the Papal legate Hartwig had dreamed. However he was facing a shortage of priests to tend to the new flocks and wrote to both the court of Henry V and to Pope Paschal II for more clergy. It was at this time that the first clash between Crusaders and the soldiers of the eastern Principalities took place when a contingent of knights attacked a small raiding party operating out of the Principality of Polotsk near the Red River.
[Levant - Syria] On the pretext of a raid into his lands Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa, Duke of Spoleto and Count of Tripolis, gathered his forces and entered the torn Emirate of Syria in the direction of Damascus.
[Sicily] The second battle of the Straits of Messina culminated in a victory for the forces loyal and allied to Roger II. A good portion of those ships loyal to Simon were able to flee and make their way to Palermo but the way was opened for Roger II to land soldiers in Sicily.
[Rome] Under pressure from both the conservative faction of the Curia and the Canossa delegation Pope Paschal II sent letters to both Simon and Roger II that requested they come to Rome for mediation to their dispute.
[Byzantium] The court of Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius agreed to assist Simon as a rejuvenated and aggressive Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II might again have tried to invade the empire. In a move generated to keep this as secret as possible the Sicilian diplomats were ‘expelled’ by the Byzantines and were quietly removed to an imperial estate not far from Constantinople. Meanwhile Byzantine forces were being gathered for what was expected to be another attack on the Seljuks in central Anatolia.
[Seres (Sòng China)]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 60):
It had been a long journey from India fraught with much peril. One of my ships had been lost to a storm in the Malaccan Straits while the third was damaged beyond repair during a fight with pirates. Some of my crew I lost to natives on an island in the great island chain called the Golden Isles by the Serians [Chinese]. While it was tempting to explore these strange islands the wealth of Seres called to me and I pushed northwards towards where my guides told me it lie.
(Page 61)
…I was shocked at the wealth and size of the Serian [Chinese] city of Gwang [Guang] which was a center of trade, industry, and maritime commerce that I had rarely seen except for the busiest market days in Constantinople. Iron goods were mass produced for an indigenous mass market and for trade with the outside world. A curious invention of a machine that allowed the mass production of reading materials allowed a vast literate civil bureaucracy I am sure that has not been seen since the time of Augustus.
I was at first distressed to have been given paper in exchange for some silver coins after a purchase of a fine silk coat, but when my translator assured me that it was considered money I was perplexed. Who would rather have paper money than gold or silver?
(Page 63)
The more I explore this wondrous mystical land called Seres the more I feel that I do not know much about the world. I arrived in the port town of Fu where I encountered even stranger items, and was thankful that my wealth allowed me to purchase some of them*.
The first was a curious pair of glasses that were flat panes of smoky quartz that protected the wearer’s eyes from the glare of the sun. While interesting and certainly helpful when one was playing cards it was another device that I found to be much more interesting. It was a device described in the text Dream Pool Essay written by a native Serian scholar Shen Kua. The text contained a detailed description of how geomancers magnetized a needle by rubbing its tip with lodestone, and hung the magnetic needle with one single strain of silk with a bit of wax attached to the center of the needle. Shen Kua pointed out that a needle prepared this way sometimes pointed south, sometimes north. With such a device I will have a much easier time navigating in these foreign waters.
*[It is highly likely some of these goods were purchased on the black market.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik II eagerly awaited news of a possible column of German knights heading north into Denmark. Erik II had during the winter and spring distributed many calls into Germany where he offered land and reward for any German knight who came to support his cause for the throne. Erik in desperate need for more soldiers as his half-brother Harald had launched several attacks on his holdings sent these knights an offering to stay at his castle in Reynoldsburgh. It came as much surprise when Erik greeted not just a small column of German knights that he had expected but an imperial field army led by none other than Henry V himself.
An excerpt written by a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
…and with great shock we were greeted not by several knights who were second or third sons as we were told to expect, but the very flower of German knighthood. Saxon heavy knights were the first to enter the town of Reynoldsburgh, but they were soon followed by the red clad* Imperial guard who were guarding none other than his Imperial Majesty Henry V. It was hard to mistaken him for anyone else as only the emperor would be clad in armor seemingly made of more gold than steel. It would take almost a full day for the Imperial army to pass through the town for their numbers were so great. So many that even many of the nobility had to share rooms in the castle, or find lodging in town, or if their rank was lesser than in the tents outside the town with the common soldiers.
*It was at this time that it was first recorder the imperial guard to be solely clad in crimson red. It is derived that it was in respect to their fallen leader Lethold der Blutgedeckt who died in a fluke riding accident in 1105 AD.
(July) [Blessed Islands] Times for the Italian pirates operating out of the Blessed Islands had been good. Several Moorish vessels full of gold had been seized and now crewed added to their already growing fleet (not surprisingly many of the crew manning them were the original crew who were lured over by the lust for gold). They even defeated a small Moorish fleet sent to end their escapades which further increased their strength with several captured warships added to their numbers. However the shipment of gold by ship had come to a rapid halt in favor of the land route through the Sahara that while slower was much more secure.
[North Africa] The Banu tribes launched several desperate assaults towards the fortifications of Tripoli and its outlying forts but were repulsed with heavy casualties. The Banu tribes lacking in heavy infantry and proper siege equipment were forced to settle into sieges of the towns and fortresses throughout the overrun areas of Sicilian North Africa.
An army of Banu Jami was defeated to the southwest of Karwan by forces loyal to King Simon of Sicily as they tried to launch raids deep into the Duchy of Carthage. It should be noted that not many Muslim subjects of the Kingdom of Sicily sided with the Banu tribes and fought them beside their Christian neighbors.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The meeting between Erik II and Henry V in the words of a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
The meeting between his Imperial Majesty Henry V and Erik of Schleswig was a brief one. Henry V informed Erik of his plans to rid Denmark and the Sund of the pirate Harald. Erik agreed to support Henry V as he was far outnumbered by the imperial host and the resources the empire could bring against Denmark. When pressed by Erik if he would support his claim to the throne the emperor kept his own counsel, but did not openly refute Erik’s claim…
The large imperial army spent only a minimal time in Schleswig and quickly made their way towards Jutland and the lands loyal to Harald.
Ships loyal to the empire based out of Lübeck surprised and smashed a Danish fleet loyal to Harald near the island of Thosland as they tried to interdict ships supporting Erik’s forces located on Fyun.
[Provence] The town of Orange opened its gates to the forces of Bertrand of Toulouse as the Bishop who nominally ruled the town was a distant relation. Bertrand quickly revoked the town’s agreement to the Lesser Pact and loaned the Bishop enough troops to enforce his rule upon the town. Several riots broke out among the townsmen and the garrison but they were brutally repressed by the garrison.
A trickle of pure gold was starting to reach Italian and Provencal ports. No one really knew from where the gold was coming and the wildest tales were abroad in all the ports. Still the merchants and moneylenders were paying a keen interest, and were ready to be very generous with the men who will disclose where the gold is coming from...
[Paris - France] The collected nobles and grand princes of Europe began to leave the capital of France in ones and twos towards their homes. Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne traveled together towards Savoy and made plans for dealing with Provence.
A famous, albeit young, teacher of the Sorbonne would attach himself to the train of Boniface on his way to Italy. He comes with the highest recommendations from the Queen of France, and is quite eager to see first hand the wealth of classic Greek and Roman books brought to Mantua after the conquest of Tripoli. On the trip, he becomes fast friend with a young cleric in the retinue of Boniface, Arnaldo da Brescia.
[Southern France - Toulouse] Aquitainian raids into Toulouse continued as Duke William of Aquitaine returned from Paris and began to gather his host near the town of Bergerac. The raids were poorly led disasters for the most part, but succeeded in diverting a good many of Count Bertrand’s forces from entering Provence.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey and his ‘Syrian Legion’ continued their march southeast towards Damascus. The first battle between them and forces loyal to the Lulu saw the forces of the Emirate crushed and routed. The mix of highly disciplined training of the Legion, the flexibility of the native levees, and a core of heavy European cavalry yielded Duke Godfrey a crushing victory. Still his forces were bogged down with raids from Syrian nobility (who themselves were at war with Lulu) upon his baggage and supply train and the need to reduce the few forts and towns upon his way to secure his supply lines back to Tripolis.
[Sicily] With the naval victory of the month before having opened the way Roger II landed over ten thousand soldiers in Sicily from Reggio at the southern tip of Italy to an area just north of Messina. A separate force numbered over four thousand landed further to the south near the town of Taormina which was quickly placed under siege.
Forces loyal to King Simon initially rallied from Messina in an attempt to break up the landings but failed to drive them from their beachhead. Unfortunately for Simon Roger’s forces were able to invest Messina and placed it under siege and blockaded the port. Fast riders from Messina reached Simon’s host gathered near Cerami before the city was completely cut off. Simon quickly marched forth to engage his brother.
[Livonia] An envoy from Niels of Scania arrived in St. Petersburg [Riga] to negotiate the sale of the Danish lands and agreed upon areas in Estonia, conquered in their portion of the Crusade, to the German led Crusade in Livonia. Niels desperate for coin and men (the Danish commander in Estonia swore fealty to Niels when it became apparent that they would be cutoff from supplies when the Gotlanders sided with Niels) sold everything but Dagö Island (the Gotlanders pressured Niels to keep it).
[Both Erik II and Harald protested this move by Niels arguing that he had no right to sell it as he was not king of Denmark, but the Church and Henry V let their protests fall upon deaf ears.]
Once the deal was done two thousand German Crusaders fresh from Pommerania arrived in Kronborg and the other Danish fortresses to replace the Danish soldiers leaving for Scania on Gotlander ships.
Elsewhere with the Red River valley secure the Papal legate Hartwig began a serious push into the Livonian heartland. After the battle of Foggy Glen the most powerful Latgalian chief converted to Christianity and brought their powerful warriors over to the Crusaders side. [The Latgalian chief, one Andryvs Jūrdžs, was a canny politician who saw an inevitable Crusader victory and sought to gain for his people the spoils such a victory would bring. While it wouldn’t be until his son’s rule that the conversion of the Latgalians would begin in earnest the Latgalians would fight on the Crusader’s side with much valor and the famed Latgalian Guard would go on to be a feared group who would not just be the protectors of the Grand Master of the Livonian Order, but would become the Livonian Order’s elite forces.]
The other two armies of German Crusaders continued their push along the coasts to link up with the Polish Crusaders to the south and the Danish, now German, Crusaders in Estonia.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders defeated a gathering of Lithuanian tribes in their southern most territory. The remnants fled north across the Neman River into their holdings there. The Polish Crusaders would spend the rest of the year clearing out the few remaining villages and roaming bands of Lithuanians that crossed the Neman River in search of Polish blood. By the end of the year the Polish portion of the Baltic Crusade had come to a halt.
(August) [Aegean Sea] A Byzantine naval force attacked a small Venetian squadron in the waters near the Duchy of the Archipelago. The Venetians taken by surprise by the new discipline and the overwhelming numbers of the Byzantine navy were routed and fled west towards Venetian Ionia. The Byzantines proceeded to land a small army on the islands and subsequently defeated the Venetian garrisons.
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] A Byzantine fleet arrived at the coastal village of Barka in Banu Sulaym territory. The village was overrun by a Byzantine army that landed in the early morning and slaughtered the defenders (with most of the soldiers and young men off to war in Sicilian North Africa the place was poorly defended and offered little resistance to the battle hardened Byzantine troops).
[North Africa] A Banu assault on the fortresses to the east of Tripoli met with limited success as the two smallest (known as the Fists of the King) fell to the tribesmen, but the larger fortresses succeeded in driving off their attackers.
An army of Sicilians gathered in Carthage under the command of Peter of Messina Count of Bone, a loyal ally and friend of Simon of Sicily intent on driving the Banu tribes out of Sicilian North Africa.
[Tyrrhenian Sea – North of Sicily] Ships loyal to Simon rallied from their defeat at the Straits of Messina at Palermo. From there they set sail towards the Aeolian Islands that lie to the north of Sicily. Once past the Aeolian Islands they had planned to sweep south through the Straits of Messina in an attempt to cutoff Roger’s army that had laid siege to Messina. However to the southeast of the largest island, Lipari, in the Aeolian Island chain they clashed with a fleet from Naples carrying a small army intending to capture the strategic islands. The fleet loyal to Simon succeeded in driving off the invading fleet.
At the end of the month, around the 27th of August, a fleet from Naples again attempted to take the Aeolian Islands. The Sicilian fleet loyal to Simon absent from the second attempt led to the islands falling to Robert’s forces.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued as several large siege engines that were sent from Apulia arrived and began to pound the city’s walls.
Simon’s army from Cerami continued its march towards Messina ignoring the second smaller army besieging the town of Taormina; a mistake that would cost him dearly. On the morning of 6th of August the commander of Taormina’s garrison was killed when a section of wall hit by a catapult fell on him. In the resulting chaos one of his lieutenants surrendered a gate to the town to the besieging forces loyal to Roger.
[Many think the gate commander had been bribed but had been under the watch of the garrison commander and could not act until he had died, but no proof has ever been given to support this thesis.]
With the surrender of Taormina Simon’s flank and rear became dangerously exposed. The commander of the forces, one Robert of Bari, having left only a small garrison in the town marched at best speed north to assist his lord at Messina.
Simon’s army moving at a snail’s pace (Simon insisted upon bringing a vast baggage train filled with things like books against the advice of his more experienced military commanders) arrived after two weeks of travel from Cerami. The morning of the 9th of August saw Roger’s army itself besieged and surrounded by Simon’s. Outnumbered several of Roger’s supporters suggested surrendering, but Roger quickly dismissed the idea. Roger is said to have said, “Desperate times call for a bold strategy” in response to their pleas.
The following battle heavily favored Simon and even Roger’s ‘bold’ strategy achieved only a moderate success in seemingly staving off the inevitable. Roger II is said to have been unhorsed at least twice during the battle. When a sallying force from Messina joined Simon’s army the prospect for Roger’s rebellion was dim. It was at that moment that the force from Taormina arrived. The reinforcements charged into the rear of Simon’s army (according to historical documents it attacked at the point where the center and the right flank joined). The charge which caused only minimal casualties panicked a large number within Simon’s army and thousands began to rout (mainly poorly equipped levies). At the end of the day some two thousand were left dead on the battlefield and another three thousand were wounded. Roger’s army captured over a thousand of Simon’s soldiers and knights. The sallying force from Messina had been driven back into the city and the siege was resumed (several of Roger’s siege engines had been destroyed by the sallying force which weakened the siege until new ones could be constructed or shipped from southern Italy).
Simon was eventually able to regroup his army again near the town of Troina slightly to the southeast of Cerami. Even with his defeat near Messina Simon still commanded a field force of over ten thousand with another fifteen thousand garrisoning the rest of Sicily.
[County of Provence - Kingdom of Arles] Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, on orders from Boniface who had just returned to Italy from France, marched towards the town of Digne in Provence. A smaller force was sent to link up with forces from Savoy and Maurienne in Erubrun along the Durance River.
[County of Toulouse] William IX Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony attempted an invasion of Toulouse from the west in support of his ‘allies’ in Provence. The invasion was a disaster for the Aquitainians that had it not been for the valiant efforts of his personal guard might have seen William IX a prisoner of Betrand of Toulouse. William gathered his routed army and marched north east towards Autun where a royal army commanded by none other than Louis VI himself was being gathered.
[France] Louis VI in an effort to humble his reluctant vassal Bertrand of Toulouse for his ‘presumptions’ gathered a royal army and camped near the bishopric of Autun where he waited for his vassals to join him. The first to join was the Duke of Burgundy followed soon by soldiers from his wife’s duchy (Normandy).
[Emirate of Syria] An army of forces loyal to Lulu defeated a gathered army of rebel nobles outside of the mighty fortress city of Aleppo. Weakened the nobles sought help from their neighbor the Atabeg of Mosul, Kerbogha, who seemed sympathetic to their cause.
Godfrey’s army continued its march towards Damascus but met with continued resistance as bandits, nobles aligned against Lulu, and elements of Lulu’s forces routinely attacked his forces. Godfrey’s forces were able to destroy several hidden encampments that were pointed out by spies and Hashshashin (Assassins) that had lived in the area before they had fled to Tripolis years before.
[Livonia] German Crusaders defeated a gathering of pagan tribes south of Cold Bay [Bay of Riga] which brought a large chunk of Livonia under the control of Crusader’s.
[Denmark – The Sund] The Danish fleet loyal to Harald successfully landed troops on the isles in the Strait controlled by Niels which quickly fell to those forces. By the end of the month that fleet was either sunk or captured by a German fleet sailing out of Lübeck in what is known as the Battle of the Straits. This effectively cut Harald’s forces in two, those on the island of Syaland (and nearby islands) and that of his main force on Jutland.
[Denmark - Scania] With the entry of Henry V and the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, apparently on Erik II’s side, Niels was caught in a quandary. He did not have the resources to challenge the empire even with his sale of most of the Danish Crusading lands and the returning soldiers from there to Scania. After a night in prayer Niels came to a conclusion that he had no hope of becoming king of Denmark, but if providence was with him (and his allies in Gotland would support him) a king he could still remain.
On August 4th 1108 AD in the recently constructed cathedral in city of Lund Niels crowned himself Nicholas I King of Skånia. He wrote letters to his supporters in Denmark to make peace with emperor (and Erik II). He also wrote to Emperor Henry V of his intent to yield his claim to the throne of Denmark and pledged his support to Erik II in this endeavor if he recognized his claim (well political support at the most). He received the backing of the merchants of Gotland with the transfer of Dägo Island to the Gotlanders in support of his new kingdom.
[There are several theories on why Nicholas I (Niels) chose to claim the crown of Skånia instead on continuing his pursuit of the crown of Denmark. The first theory rests on the fact he was low on money, even after the sale of Danish Estonia and its claims to Papal legate Hartwig, and even with the support from the Gotlanders didn’t have the ships or men to challenge Erik II, let alone Harald, and certainly not Henry V. The second is that it was plot of the emperor’s to begin with. The plot supposedly was that the emperor used merchants within the Baltic Trade Company to seed the idea in Nicholas I’s head that a crown in Skånia was achievable.]
[Denmark - Jutland] Imperial forces engaged forces loyal to Harald near the town of Varvith. The much larger imperial host easily crushed Harald’s forces. Harald’s armies crossed the Varde Ă River and made it to the walls of the town before being completely routed by the imperial forces.
It was at this time that Henry V received the letter from Nicholas I (Niels) of Skånia. It is remarked by one of the clerics in Matilda of Canossa’s retinue (traveling with the Imperial Court):
After his imperial majesty read the letter he laughed out that if the petty king wished to rule a petty land then so be it, as long as he leaves my straits alone he can rot for all I care…
It is said Erik II was not pleased by the emperor’s words (he was already hot under the collar at Henry’s support of Niels (Nicholas I) sale of the Danish Crusader lands and the rights to them, but as he was a virtual prisoner of the emperor (to be honest more of a ‘honored’ guest that was well guarded) there was little he could do.
(September) [North Africa] Taking advantage of a bit of cool weather Peter of Messina marched his gathered army of Normans south towards the lands of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes. The Banu Jami tribe was the first to feel the blow of the Norman army. A small army of Banu Jami marching north ran headlong into Peter’s army. The Banu Jami suffered a very high number of casualties and stopped their drive north. Surprisingly a high portion of those casualties were inflicted by a small contingent of Aragónese knights sent by King Peter of Aragón in support of Simon. (Peter was smart enough to know that Simon could still lose against Roger II but neither could fault him for defending Christian lands against the Muslims. He also used this as evidence against previous charges of him being corrupted by the Moors in Iberia. As far as Peter of Aragón was concerned it was a win-win situation for him.)
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] The Byzantine army after ensuring its captured town was well protected began to expand its control into the nearby countryside.
The resistance was minimal as again most of the Banu’s warriors were off fighting the Normans.
[Venice] Doge Ordelafo Faliero was caught very much surprised by the Byzantine attack on the Duchy of the Archipelago. A minor setback he initially called it but when word arrived of their attack on Cyrenaica and the Banu tribes he grew very much worried (documents and letters from him and other prominent men of Venice at the time expressed concern that this might just threaten their plans for Egypt that were decades in the making). Doge Ordelafo quickly began to reorder ships and men bound for the fight in Sicily to instead reinforce Venetian Ionia.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued but with the siege engines replaced and more brought from across the straits the city’s walls were pounded mercilessly by Roger II’s forces. The blockade of the city’s harbor was tight but loosened up as by ones and twos Venetian ships slowly disappeared in the night. However enough Amalfitan ships remained on station to prevent ships loyal to Simon from entering. Roger II also secured the coastal road from Taormina to the siege lines around Messina.
Simon’s army based around Troina slowly rebuilt its strength. The demands of the fall harvest prevented him from drawing too many more forces and instead marched his army in the direction of Taormina in what he hoped was to be a reversal of his fortunes.
[Provence] The first battle for Provence occurred near an abandoned monastery near the Durance River (it had apparently burned down several years before and at the time had yet to be rebuilt). The battle was a short affair leaving Bertrand of Toulouse in command of the field and the forces loyal to Amadeus of Maurienne in full rout. However Bertrand was forced to retire back to Orange when scouts reported to him that the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice della Gherardesca had crossed into Provence and appeared to be heading towards Aix.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army finally reached the outskirts of Damascus. A small battle drove the city’s defenders back into the city leaving Godfrey’s army to encircle it. Lulu still in Aleppo overseeing the defenses there is said to have railed for three days at the interferences of the infidels. However he couldn’t do much about it as word was brought of a large gathering of rebellious nobles near the emirate’s lands on the west bank of the Euphrates River.
Godfrey began preparations for a long siege of the city. His army’s numbers swelled as over a thousand Knight Hospitaliers joined his ranks outside the city. Fortunately for him as this gave him enough men to actually encircle the city in a tight siege.
[Jutland - Denmark] The imperial army pressed its attack in Jutland leaving a large chunk of Harald’s forces under siege in Varvith. Former vassals of Niels, now nominal vassals of Erik (in reality their fear of Henry V’s power made them Henry’s vassals), stopped the remnant of Harald’s army from crossing over the Storá River which pushed Harald west into the County of Heingǽ and the small fortress at Rindum. Henry V pursued Harald there and on the 27th of September began to siege the small harbor fort.
[Livonia] The northernmost Crusader army finally made contact with those forces garrisoning the former Danish forts in Estonia. This army began a series of new forts in preparation for the winter, and as starting points for next spring’s assault upon the interior. The southernmost army crushed a small but fearsome tribe known as the Lettes. The army personally under Papal legate Hartwig rested for the rest of the year and began construction of several large fortifications along the Red River (conscripted local labor did much of the actual labor) to secure it against attacks from the north and from the schismatics from Polotsk.
[France] The royal French army finished gathering near Autun and after much bickering between the king and the greater nobles finally marched south towards Toulouse to teach Count Bertrand a lesson the French king hoped he would not soon forget.
(October) [Sicily] A scene from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with Sebastiano of Palermo, a captured priest, whose loyalties lied with Simon. Sebastiano is historically based on Simon’s personal priest, Sebastian, who was killed in the battle around Messina when Simon’s baggage train was overrun by Roger’s forces. The playwrights again took a bit of historical license but the scene accurately depicts Roger II’s way of dealing with those he considered traitors.
Act III, Scene IV
<Sebastiano held by the arms by two of Roger’s soldiers>
Sebastiano: Lord Roger, only you would be so bold.
Roger II: Where are my brother’s forces headed?
Sebastiano: I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m a simple priest on his way to Rome.
Roger II: You are rebel and traitor. Take him away. <Roger gestures to the nearby guards>
Simon’s army made much quicker progress than his last march. This time only the necessities were brought in the baggage train and the occupied town of Taormina was this time placed under siege by Simon’s forces with Roger’s forces trapped in the city. However the town could still be supplied by ship and refused to surrender. Simon’s fleet had yet to resurge in the area after several defeats aimed at the Straits of Messina.
When it was reported to Roger II that Venetian ships were disappearing and their promised army (supposedly to be numbered around four thousand) had yet to materialize he went into a rage. It is said that when he summoned the Venetian ambassador the man was in his night robe and roughly deposited in the mud outside Roger II’s tent.
Taken from the diary of Roger II’s personal priest:
Several burly soldiers, men from Bari I believe, roughly deposited poor Domenico in his night robe outside in the mud by Lord Roger’s tent. His lordship’s eyes seemed to smoke with a burning fire as he explained to Domenico that if those ships and men are not forthcoming he could forget their deal. And that if that was the case then every Venetian merchant in his kingdom would have their property seized and would be promptly hung. The poor man mumbled something about the schismatics to the east, but his lordship only roared that he didn’t care about some pathetic islands to the east only their bargain.
It is said Domenico was promptly placed on a fast ship and sent to Venice with Roger II’s words for Doge Ordelafo Faliero.
[Venice] The Venetian fleet and army destined for Sicily was rerouted to once again make an attempt on the Byzantine Adriatic port city of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Also the recently created Arsenal was working night and day on additional ships for the expected war with the Byzantines.
It is said that Doge Ordelafo was foaming at the mouth, describing the duplicity of the Greeks as "traitors to the church of Christ and to any decency, worse than Moors and heathens, backstabbers and sodomites", as he denounced them during an arengo in Venice the day before the fleet sailed for Dyrrachium (Durrës). Many astute observers remembered that Ordelafo had been quite disappointed with the results of the last bout in Crete and Morea.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued south in their punishment of the Banu tribesmen. A large battle took place near the besieged town of Gabes which left the Banu Jami tribe broken and in full retreat.
The Byzantine army continued its expansion along the coast and the nearby hinterland in Cyrenaica but was forced to limit its gains as their force was small and with increased Venetian naval activity almost cut off from resupply from the empire.
[Emirate of Syria] The siege of Damascus continued as additional reinforcements from the County of Beyrout arrived to assist in the siege (and of course gain some lands). The contingent was only a few hundred knights and soldiers but it further tightened the noose on the Syrian city. The rest of the available forces of that County were doing their own land grab near the borders of the county.
Lulu disputed emir of Syria left Aleppo with a large force intent on destroying the gathered rebel nobles near the Euphrates River. It is believed that he felt if he could destroy the nobles first he could swing down and relieve Damascus long before the city even came close to falling. However his plans as they had since he assassinated the boy heir went disastrously wrong. Lulu’s army engaged the army of rebellious nobles but to Lulu’s horror found not only their army but that of Kerbogha, lord of Mosul, had sent not just his army but had come in person. [The nobles disgusted by Lulu and with no ready heir offered Kerbogha lordship of Syria if he would help to destroy Lulu.] The battle went badly for Lulu with over a third of his numbers either dead or having switched sides during the battle. Lulu with as many of his men that he could rally made fast for his fortress in Aleppo and awaited Kerbogha’s next action.
[Livonia] An early ice storm in the Baltic put to rest any further campaigning. Several supply ships were lost in the storm. The Crusaders in reaction to lost supplies began seizing food and livestock from their conquered pagan subjects (and in many cases what they did not keep themselves they gave to their converted subjects) which added even more resentment and anger at the invaders and those natives who had already converted.
[Note: It is widely believed that this was done on the advice of several native leaders, those who had already converted to Christianity, in an effort to break the remaining pagans within the Crusader held territory. That and increase their own wealth and stature at the expense of their neighbors.]
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice continued its march into Provence. The legion after a brief stay in the bishopric of Fréjus, a quiet coastal Mediterranean town moved northwest towards the town of Forealquier where they were to meet up with the forces of Amadeus of Maurienne, but Ser Tedice was ignorant of his defeat only a few days ago at the end of September.
Bertrand of Toulouse with reinforcements from his lands marched forth from Orange in hopes of catching Ser Tedice’s forces as they either were crossing the Durance River or if they moved towards Aix then attack their rear or flank as the situation dictated.
[France] Louis VI’s royal army arrived in the town of Montbrán in the County of Forez.
[Denmark - Jutland] Guido Rossi after many months of traveling from Italy finally caught up to Henry V’s court outside the siege of Rindum. Boniface assigned him to primarily keep Henry V happy and looking away from Italy. He was also appointed another task to talk to Mathilda the Fair, daughter of Boniface and dowager queen of Denmark, and try to unravel what's happening in that far away kingdom. Her father was worried at the reports that came into Pavia from Goffredo Bonacolsi (who has been called to meet Guido at the Imperial court) about the situation in that far off kingdom. Guido was sent to find out what the young lady had in mind and was to advise her on future moves. Two of Magister Irnerius’ pets, Bulgarus and Martinus, accompanied him as assistants.
Henry V ordered a large portion of the Imperial Army under Duke Conrad Hohenstaufen of Saxony further into the Jutland with orders to “wipe out the nest of rats following this Piper”. Many a neutral Danish lord soon found Imperial envoys at their courts outlining why their support of the emperor (oh and of course Erik II) was important to ensure the safety of Denmark (and the Straits). [Note: The documents that survive from these envoys once past all the diplomatic jingo basically came out and said support the emperor or face the same fate as those following Harald are about to receive.] All the remaining neutral lords of Denmark wisely decided to support the emperor (and Erik II) and soon found imperial forces and naval assets reinforcing their positions.
The siege at Rindum continued as the siege engines were brought up from Schleswig but were delayed due to a heavy rain that muddied the roads.
Harald’s forces in the town of Varvith surrendered to the Count of Holstein, as he was left in charge of the siege there.
(November) [North Africa] Thirty-five Venetian galleys escorted an Egyptian transport fleet that landed five thousand troops near the Byzantine occupied town of Barka. The town was invested and placed under siege by land while the Venetian ships blockaded the harbor. A small naval battle took place two days later when ten Byzantine naval ships arrived near Barka. Neither side reported the loss of any ships but the Venetian blockade held and the Byzantine ships retreated back towards Crete.
This was the first open cooperation between the Fatimids and the Venetians who had up until this moment had hidden agreements between them. Much of the work done in influencing the Fatimid court goes to exiled minor Italian nobles who had left Italy after or during the Baron’s Revolt and then again fled Constantinople after their persecution there following the war in Crete. Ranieri, the former Marquis of Montferrat, is held as being the architect behind the Venetian-Fatimid cooperation.
Peter of Messina’s army continued its assault against the Banu tribes but was hampered by poor logistics. Also the Banu tribes in the region broke up into small raiding groups making it a difficult and long process of eradicating them from the kingdom’s territory.
[Denmark - Jutland] Duke Conrad’s army defeated the last gathering of nobles supporting Harald in central Jutland at the battle of Cold Springs [named for a small nearby fresh water spring]. It is estimated that well over ninety percent of Harald’s backers in Jutland were either killed during this battle or in the battles since the imperial forces became involved in the Danish civil war.
The imperial siege engines made short work of the fortifications of Rindum. With the walls breached the imperial army swamped the Danish defenders and during the fighting Harald Kesja (Harald the Spear) was killed defending the keep. With cries that their king was dead Harald’s soldiers surrendered to the imperial forces.
With Harald’s body not even cold his crown, incidentally the same one his father Eric I had worn, was removed by an unknown German knight who hand delivered it to Henry V who had personally overseen the fall of the fortress. With the death of Harald and the bulk of his supporters the Danish civil war had come to an end. However the Empire’s interference in Danish affairs was only beginning.
For rest of the month while imperial forces cleaned up the few remaining loyalists [supporters of Harald, those who refused to give up Niel’s cause, and a few independent minded nobles] Henry V and his court decided the fate of Denmark. While Erik II was nominally part of the council there are testimonials and documents that indicate that he was rarely consulted on the arrangements being made in Denmark.
From an excerpt from the writings of one Otto of Köln, a priest serving as a scribe in the court of Henry V:
As his imperial majesty and the assembled court began to rearrange Denmark into what hopefully will be by the grace of God a more peaceful arrangement to the benefit of the Empire and the people of Denmark. Many a second or third son of the noble houses of the empire have been awarded land in Denmark, taken from Harald’s now deceased or exiled supporters. Several of the larger native nobles who wisely chose to side with his Highness also saw their domains enlarged.
It was with an outburst from the young Erik II, Duke of Schleswig and Syaland and heir presumptive to the throne of Denmark, over the construction of several imperial fortifications in the straits [it presumed here that the priest meant not just fortifications built from the Emperor’s purse but also garrisoned by imperial troops] to protect trade, that silenced the court. Young Erik argued that Denmark was not part of the empire and there was no need to garrison imperial soldiers within his kingdom. Then his Highness reminded young Erik that “he was not king yet” and the court went back to the business at hand.
Denmark was reshaped by Henry V into new fiefdoms. The Duchy of Schleswig was removed from the Kingdom of Denmark and made a duchy of the Kingdom of Germany. Erik II was left as the Duke of Schleswig While Jutland was divided into the Duchies of North and South Jutland. The Duchy of North Jutland was given over to the Count of Horǽ, a neutral Danish lord who readily backed Henry V when his envoy arrived. The Duchy of South Jutland was given over to a cousin of the Welfs of Bavaria, Stephen of Innsbruck. The Duchy of Syaland was named an Imperial fief and the ducal title was given over to Erik II [Note: It is recorded that the counsel of Guido Rossi and Matilda of Canossa kept Erik II from flying into a rage and doing something rash when it was decreed that Syaland was named an imperial fief.] however only the few strategic locations destined to have imperial fortresses were kept in imperial hands the rest of Syaland was given over to Erik to do as he saw fit. The County of Fyun was given over to the Count of Holstein for his deeds during the Baltic Crusade and during the campaign in Denmark itself. The County of Laland and Falster was awarded to the House of Lorraine [the County was to go to Simon I’s young daughter Agatha, assuming she survived infancy, as it had been arranged that she would marry Henry V’s own son when they came of age.].
Another change to Denmark by Henry V’s decree allowed several cities and towns in Denmark, namely København, to sign the Imperial charter. In addition he ordered a fleet of imperial warships to be built and stationed in the city of København to protect the straits from piracy.
On November the 27th one of Henry V’s last acts in Denmark was to crown Erik II King of Denmark in a crowded Cathedral in København. It is remarked that most of the crowd was German nobles and those Danish nobles who had clearly sided with Henry V. Only a few were nobles loyal to Erik II.
[Ionian Sea] A small Venetian fleet engaged a slightly larger Byzantine fleet off the southwest coast of Peloponnesus. The Venetian fleet suffered the loss of two ships to the Byzantine one before they withdrew back to Venetian Ionia.
[Dyrrachium (Durrës) – Byzantine Empire] A large fleet of Venetian ships appeared on the morning of November 5th heading towards the Byzantine port town of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Unlike the previous Venetian attack on the city they were not fooled and were prepared for the Venetian attack (several fast riders were dispatched towards Constantinople at the sighting of the fleet). The Venetians in a battle that lasted most of the day failed to force their way into the town’s harbor. This required them to land their army slightly to the south.
The Venetian army successfully defeated a small Byzantine army sent to disrupt their landings however the bulk of the town’s garrison seemed content to remain behind the walls of the town.
The Venetian army settled in for what appeared to be a lengthy siege while a Byzantine army under General Taticius prepared their own forces near the town of Scopia for a winter quarters. [Note: It appears from historical documents that the Byzantines had expected the Venetians to come in the spring and not endure a winter siege of Dyrrachium (Durrës), but the Venetians decided a quick response was the best bet and had moved faster than the Byzantines had expected.]
While a large fleet blockaded the port of Dyrrachium (Durrës) and its army continued the siege a section of the Venetian fleet broke off with three thousand soldiers and made its way to Sicily to back Roger II, who had made it abundantly clear the consequences if they failed to comply with their contract.
[Sicily] Simon I of Sicily and his army continued their siege of Taormina but were dismayed when a Venetian fleet arrived in the town’s port with over three thousand reinforcements for the beleaguered army within. The army loyal to Roger trapped in the town was reduced to a mere thousand men after several direct assaults by Simon’s forces were repelled. Simon decided that a winter siege and perhaps a naval solution might present itself. He left the army under one William of Salerno and retired to his court in Palermo for the winter.
[Sicily - Messina] Months of hard siege had seen the once proud walls of Messina battered down by the large trebuchets and catapults of Roger II’s army. On the night of the 16th of November a fire broke out in the city. Deciding to take advantage of the situation Roger ordered a full night time assault on the city with the hope that the garrison might be distracted enough to allow his forces to gain the walls.
The battle for the walls lasted deep into the night and the early morning but as the garrison was split in trying to defend the walls and put out the fire Roger’s army successfully breached the walls in several locations. Roger II never one to lead too far behind led a small group of knights along the wall and into the city in an attempt to force open the gates. As his men forced open the gates a nearby building that was aflame collapsed near Roger II and had it not been for the quick and valiant efforts of his men Roger II would have died in the fire of the rubble that knocked him down. However Roger II still suffered excessive burns across his body and would be laid up for many months to come.
An excerpt from one of Roger II’s court doctors, an Arab by the name of Hassan al-Kalbi:
His Grace suffered burns to his upper body, but do not seem to have affected his range of motion too much. His face and head though are permanently scarred. I was forced to amputate the left ear as all that remained was sick blackened flesh. All of his lordship’s hair on his head is gone. Curiously his eyes suffered no damage and one can only thank Allah it is so.
Roger II’s injuries would plague him for the rest of his life. As he recovered over the winter in Messina he grew tired of the shocked looks at his appearance and donned an iron mask. Some reports say it was a skull and others a detailed replica of his own face before his injuries. [Note it is not exactly known which as Roger II forbid any writings on what his mask looked like and had ordered it destroyed upon his death. It is believed though that he may have had several and wore them according to his mood.]
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army continued its siege of Damascus but the limited amount of engineers and siege engines limited the effect until more siege equipment could be brought from Tripolis.
Kerbogha’s army consolidated control over the eastern portion of the Emirate of Syria and defeated several small armies loyal to Lulu as Kerbogha’s army crept closer to the fortress city of Aleppo.
[France] As the French army made its way to the border of Toulouse tensions arose between the French knights, several priests, and many of the French nobility over Constance’s use of over two hundred of Matilda’s Maidens in her ducal army. When Louis VI commanded her to send them back to Normandy she refused. Calmly she informed him that the Maidens come with her and the royal army or she and her vassals would leave and return to Normandy. It is said that Louis VI raged for a whole day at his wife’s impertinence. Knowing that his wife’s forces and her vassals made up over a quarter of his army he could not let her leave. Louis relented and allowed them to come, but many a French noble and knight lost a lot of faith in their king.
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice as it crossed the Durance River was attacked by Bertrand of Toulouse’s army. The new tactics and discipline of the legion even partially caught crossing the river thrashed Bertrand’s army. The Toulousian army composed of house troops, mercenaries, and levies broke after only a half an hour of battle and routed back towards Aix.
The Abbot of St. Denis, Suger, sent as an envoy from Louis VI to Boniface’s court was present at the battle and in his Vita Lodovici Regis wrote:
…The cold efficiency of the Tuscan army crushed Bertrand of Toulouse’s army in a manor I have never seen. Having accompanied his majesty Philip I, may he rest in peace, on his many campaigns in France I have never seen the like. Bertrand’s army had the Tuscans trapped and partially across the Durance but with quick efficiency and discipline Ser Tedice was able to order his army into the field in only a manner that Caesar’s armies might have accomplished. The brutal black tide [black and red being the colors of the legion] outnumbered swept the Count and his army from the field in less time than it takes this poor old priest to pray the Rosary…
[Principality of Kiev] Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich the supreme ruler of Kievan Rus and Chernigov agreed to the Byzantine emperor’s proposal to send an army to the coast of the Black Sea to further push the native Polovtsi and Cumans back to help establish further trade routes into and out of the empire.
[Rome] On the morning of November 22nd a letter arrived from Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa for Pope Paschal II. In it he first asks for his Holiness’ blessings for his campaign into the Emirate of Syria. The second portion of the letter asks his Holiness for to grant him divorce from his wife Adelisa of Sicily.
An excerpt from the letter (kept on record in the library of Rome to this day):
…these accusations against my wife can longer be ignored. My own investigations lead me to believe there may be some truthfulness to my wife’s corruption. I do not ask for this for my sake but I must protect my son and daughter from their mother’s crimes…
Pope Paschal II did not respond immediately to the letter, beyond a quick missive giving his blessings in defeating the Muslims in Syria, as there were many considerations to be had.
[Seres (China)] An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 72):
Today while traveling up the coast of Seres my ship encountered what I believe to be a ship that could rival Noah’s famed Ark. The oversized junk sailed passed with a speed I would not have attributed to such a large vessel. From that day on I vowed to learn as much about these large ships as I could and if possible captain one myself.
(December) [Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse gathered what remained of his army after the disaster at the Durance River and retreated back towards Aix. Leaving the city with a formidable garrison he returned to Toulouse when word reached him that Louis VI was camped only days away from the north of Toulouse.
Ser Tedice’s army after its victory at the Durance River made its way to Forealquier where they made winter quarters and awaited the arrival of Amadeus of Maurienne and his army.
[France] The Royal army camped in the two towns of Carlot and Murat just to the north of the territories under the control of the Count of Toulouse, Bertrand. A heavy snow stopped the army and Louis VI decided to camp for the winter. A decision he would later write that he would regret until the end of his days.
[Byzantine Empire – Dyrrachium (Durrës)] With the nearby swamps, winter, and their lessons from the last attempt to siege Dyrrachium (Durrës) the Venetian commander, one Vitale Dandolo, instituted a harsh sanitary regimen among his men during the siege. It is recorded that he established a camp for his sick and diseased soldiers well away from the siege lines and the regular army camp. From the writings of several monks whose care these sick (and in some cases wounded too) soldiers were given over to the camp was nothing more than a place for them to die away from the healthy.
[Emirate of Syria] Kerbogha’s army continued its sweep of northern Syria slowly descending upon Lulu’s stronghold of Aleppo. A small battle some fifteen miles from the walls of Aleppo yielded Lulu’s first victory. This victory by Lulu is attributed to Kerbogha’s absence from the battle whereas his supporters in the battle where mainly made up of local nobles who had backed Kerbogha. Kerbogha is estimated to have been in or around the town of Moumbidj at the time resupplying his large army.
The siege of Damascus continued with the addition of several large siege engines brought for Tripolis that saw the mighty city’s walls slowly pounded into rubble. News of Kerbogha’s host arrived and greatly worried Godfrey and his commanders. Kerbogha’s host in control of Syria could place all of Christendom’s position in the Holy Land at stake.
[Sicily] With Roger II injured and recuperating in the sacked city of Messina and his brother Simon having retired back to Palermo the civil war in the Kingdom of Sicily seemed to come to a close as winter set in. Only a few failed assaults by Simon’s forces laying siege to the occupied town of Taormina was the only combat recorded.
The city of Syracuse came under blockade by Venetian ships and ships loyal to Roger II. A Sicilian naval squadron under Admiral William of Reggio successfully maneuvered his fleet out of the blockaded city during a daring nighttime escape that also saw two Venetian galleys seized by the Sicilians with no losses to their own fleet.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued its drive to relieve beleaguered Sicilian towns and garrisons in North Africa. A gathering of Banu Hilal was defeated as Peter’s army marched towards Tripoli to relieve the beleaguered city. Peter was forced to leave several small armies and detached light cavalry along his supply chain back to Carthage in an effort to keep the Banu tribesmen from undoing what he and his army had accomplished over the past few months.
Curiously even with parts of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes thousands of Sicilians from Sicily made the journey across to North Africa fleeing the encroaching civil war.
The Fatimid army twice assaulted the Byzantine occupied Banu town of Barka but failed to take the town. Supplies however ran low in the town and as the siege began to take its toll a plague broke out among the Byzantine soldiers. The Byzantine leader struck down by the plague led his second in command to ask for and were granted terms.
An Almoravid army unexpectedly began a siege of Thyrrenian controlled Icosium (Algiers). The town had been under Thyrrenian control since 1105 AD. The last siege of the town had failed to retake it had attempted to raid, unsuccessfully, on several occasions since then. However this is the first real attempt to retake the town after the failed siege in 1105.
[Rome] Pope Paschal II began sending out feelers to both the courts of Boniface and the Kingdom of Sicily (a letter was also sent to Roger II but no openly as the Pope did with Simon) on achieving a final solution to Duke Godfrey’s marriage issue. With the Duke’s formal request for annulment the issue needed to be settled. daughter to Niccoloso (who to the chieftain appeared to be in charge; much to
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The map (at the end of 1108 AD):
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Again please post questions and comments in the comments thread(see sig.).
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1108 AD –
(January) [Chola Empire]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 56):
“The rumors throughout the city spoke of the return of an enormous trading venture from Seres have proven true. A well placed bribe to one of the officials gained me access to the records of the trading expedition. The records made mention that tens of thousands of copper coins were brought back for mere trinkets and spices. I have ordered my crew for a long voyage to the east to seek further riches there, but I will be sad to have to say goodbye to sweet Vanavan and her tender ways.”
Over the previous year of trading and pirating in the Indian Ocean John II had become the master of his own ship when Dorma had been killed by a stray arrow during an act of piracy. By the beginning of the year 1108 AD John II had three ships sailing for him when he began his trek to the Far East.
[Denmark - Schleswig] Eric II received a confirmation letter from Emperor Henry V allowing him a limited right to recruit knights within the Kingdom of Germany. (The letter, since lost, is believed to have mentioned a preference for recruitment of knights from the Duchy of Saxony and knights from Henry’s own Franconian duchies. It is believed Henry V was doing this as rewards for his favorites by helping second and third sons gain land in Denmark and to curry favor with his powerful ally Conrad Hohenstaufen, Duke of Saxony, who was looking to aid his own vassals. With much of the land in Pommerania destined for the Teutonic Order and Church lands [better to convert the pagans] not much remained to divvy out to vassals.)
Only a few took up his offer as the heavy winter snows had limited the spread of the news of the offer, but it would prove to be but the beginning of the German flood into Denmark.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels lord of Scania began a winter campaign to bring all of Scania* under his control. His first targets were the Counts of Lyrgmǽs and Thornǽ.
[*Scania included the lands of Blekyng and Halland.]
[Denmark – Syaland] Harald like his half-brother and uncle did not let the winter go completely by without some form of action no matter how limited. The heavy snows and lack of funds have curtailed any further conflict till the spring, but Harald in preparation for further actions seized or requisitioned any vessels moored in the harbors under his control. Several foreign merchants protested at the seizure of their vessels and were thrown in prison on charges of attempting to bribe harbor officials and other such ‘crimes’. (Some of those charges may even have been true.)
[Southern Italy – Kingdom of Sicily] King Simon I of Sicily who upon word that his sister, Adelisa, had fled to Roger’s estates in Apulia ordered her to return back to her husband’s estates in Spoleto less an unwanted war was brought upon them.
Repulsed at his brother’s continued weakness and the affront to his family’s name, Roger gave into the whispers of the nobles of southern Italy who proclaimed him Roger II the true heir to the crown of Sicily in Naples on the morning of January 17th. According to a court priest at his hasty coronation Roger II is said to have proclaimed words for his brother Simon.
“…and I accept this burden upon my shoulders. As for my brother Simon I do not wish harm on him, but he is unsuited to the duties and difficult decisions those who wear the crown must make. If he agrees to step down and offer no resistance I will petition his holiness the Pope to make him an archbishop if not a holy Cardinal.”
(February) [Kingdom of Sicily] The court of Simon I fell into chaos when Roger made his declaration and was crowned in Naples. According to a court scribe the pious Simon retreated to his private chapel and asked for God’s guidance. It is unknown what occurred in the silence of the chapel but the scholarly Simon came out a changed man who vowed to place his little brother and his supporters in their place.
With virtually all of southern Italy in rebellion and only a few scattered loyal vassals holding to their vows of fealty the situation looked bleak to Simon. However not all was stacked against him as all of Sicily and the territories in Africa were still in his hands. In addition the majority of the fleet remained loyal even if a sizeable portion of it now sailed for his brother.
[Southern Italy] Roger II waited not but a few hours after his coronation before he marched upon the few garrisons and strongholds loyal to his brother Simon (and his vassals in pre-planned attacks did so throughout southern Italy). Those garrisons that remained loyal were spread out and easily overcome by Roger’s forces. Several were caught unawares and put up little fight.
Roger’s biggest coup was when he gained the great trading city of Amalfi as an ally and backer, whose ruling elite had sided with Roger over Simon in exchange for promises of lower taxes (the city was providing the bulk of the fleet that sided with Roger).
[Rome] Pope Paschal II stunned by the explosion of violence to south in the Kingdom of Sicily called for peace and wrote the two brothers that it was against the laws of God for one to strike down his brother as Caine did unto Abel.
The Pope also sealed official accusations against Adelisa that were brought to light by various nobles from the Kingdom of Italy. (These documents which would not see the light of day until the 18th Century strongly hinted that Adelisa had indeed been in commerce with the powers of Darkness.)
[In this historian’s opinion it is nothing more than counter propaganda put out by Boniface’s spymaster to counter Sicilian accusations against his brother Godfrey. However it should be noted that the more lurid versions of Adelisa's sins were widely circulated within the Kingdom of Italy (and widely believed if writings from the time are to be believed), the papal lands and even the Norman kingdom (where possession of these lies was a capital offense).]
[County of Savoy] Douce, wife of Amadeus du Maurienne and Countess of Provence, died in childbirth. The girl child she gave birth to also died not long after the passing of her mother. This left the comital title empty and with no clear heir. Four contenders had the greatest claim but none were seen as clear successors. [Those with the strongest claims (in alphabetical order) being Atto Canossa [his elder brother having yielded the right to him] a distant cousin of Douce, Amadeus du Maurienne who claimed the county was his late wife’s dowry, Bertrand of Toulouse another distant cousin, and Duke Hugh II of Burgundy yet another distant cousin.] Only Atto Canossa did not immediately make claim to the title (it is said his father, Boniface, urged caution as he did not want to insult one of his family’s greatest allies, the du Mauriennes). The other three began preparations to make their claims stick.
(March) [Insulae Fortunatae (Blessed Isles)] Lancelotto Morcello and Niccoloso da Recco returned to San Giorgio dell'Oceano (Lanzarote Island) and established a small port there to attack Almoravid gold shipments. This port would later grow into the small town of Nova Recco named after Niccoloso’s home town of Recco. Their first few days on the island drew the attention of the native Guancis to the pirates. Surprisingly enough the first encounter between the pirates and the native Guancis was peaceful as it was apparent to the Captains Lancelotto and Niccoloso that the natives had no wealth and posed no threat.
Apparently in awe of the powerful outsiders the native Guanci leader offered up his Lancelotto’s chagrin) as a peace offering. [It is believed by some that she was forcibly taken as well as several other women but there is not much evidence for this as the relations between the pirates and the Guancis were apparently peaceful with no evidence for strife between the two. Most evidence shows that for several years the pirates and natives happily ignored each other and went about their own business keeping a respectful distance from each other.]
[Livonia] Papal legate Hartwig welcomed the first of several waves of German Crusaders to Livonia (several hundred knights and their retainers came in the first wave of reinforcements). They were the first wave of Crusaders who were no longer needed in Pommerania with its successful conquest and thus were sent to Livonia. [Many Crusaders did stay in Pommerania to ensure the conversion of the pagans and maintain their Order’s and the Church’s awarded lands.]
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began preparations for an attack into the Pruthenian villages with a series of raids.
[Estonia] With the civil war in Denmark reinforcements to the Danish Crusader fortresses in Estonia were virtually non-existent. Those forces there contented themselves with consolidating their hold over what they had already taken, but could not do any more until the situation in Denmark became resolved.
[Finland] Swedish Crusaders continued to expand their region of the coast of Finland and began to make inroads into the heavily forested interior.
[Denmark - Syaland] Harald began the spring with an attack on the Count of Syndrǽ thus all of Falstǽr Island was brought under his control. The Count was killed in the battle and one of Harald’s loyal barons was placed in his stead (the heir of the county mysteriously disappeared and is presumed to have been murdered by Harald or one of his cronies).
Not all was going well for Harald. His seizure of merchant ships to transport troops and act as his fleet had begun to hurt his treasury as money flowed out to pay for the war and to pay the foreign merchants to bring in the goods and trade that the native merchants were doing before they were conscripted (and thus paying taxes). Harald after much thought came to the conclusion that if these foreign merchants were getting rich off his difficulties then they could help pay. He ordered his fleet to enforce a tax (unimaginatively named the Sund tax) upon all ships carrying cargo through the Sund.
[It should be noted that several conscripted merchant vessels used this excuse to search foreign ships entering the Sund to enact revenge on rivals. Many a time they would seize the cargo and sink the ship declaring they had arrived too late to save the ship from pirates. The Sund tax and the attack on merchant vessels quickly drew the eye of Henry V north to Denmark.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] With spring returned to the world Erik II launched a few attacks on both his half-brother’s and uncle’s forces to the north. However he only met defeat there. His only successful effort was in having taken Langǽland from Harald using his few ships to land a second army on the island which attacked Harald’s forces there in the rear as it attacked forces loyal to Erik in the south of the island.
Erik’s recruitment of German knights continued and allowed him to rebound from his defeats to the north of Schleswig in his attempts, but they still fell far below what he needed to make any headway north.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels, lord of Scania, began his spring assaults on the counties of Barǽ and Vǽmuńhǿg. When the Count of Skǿz agreed to back Niels (in exchange for some of his former neighbor’s lands of course) the rest of Scania fell into Niels’ hands. Only a few minor nobles remained on that side of the Sund that opposed him.
[Sicily] Sicilian naval forces loyal to Simon defeated an attempt by those ships loyal to Roger to force their way through the Straits of Messina. Unfortunately for Simon the need to keep a large fleet on station to prevent his brother from landing troops in Sicily and increased attacks by the Banu tribes of North Africa prevented him from moving many troops from North Africa to Sicily.
[Southern Italy] With the naval defeat off the coast of Sicily Roger II was in a dire predicament as he could not reach his brother’s forces to defeat him if he could not gain naval superiority long enough to get his army to Sicily. Opportunity came to him when the Venetian ambassador, Pietro Flabanico (a distant relative of former Doge Domenico Flabanico), suggested that Venice may be able to help him…for a price.
[County of Provence] Count Bertrand of Toulouse was the first to act in the struggle for the title of Provence. He sent a thousand soldiers toward the capital of the County of Provence, Aix, in an effort to make his claim stick. From his personal writings that survive he hoped that his quick actions would give him an advantage over the other claimants.
[Land of the Rum Seljuk] Kilij Arslan II finally completed his late father’s dream of defeating the Danishmends. With their defeat the Rum Seljuks were finally on the rebound from their disastrous defeat at the hands of the Byzantines and the Crusaders a decade before. Several smaller Turkish tribes, former allies of the Danishmends, bent knee to Kilij Arslan II in an effort to prevent the same fate that befell the Danishmends at the hands of the Seljuks or their allies in Mosul.
(April) [County of Tripolis] Godfrey reviewed a regiment of soldiers that had arrived from Italy. Trained in the style his brother had pioneered they were far more professional than his other troops, but when added to his conventional and local troops new opportunities began to become possible.
An excerpt from The Life of Godfrey ‘the Tall’ of House Canossa:
(Page 87)
The disciplined Italian soldiers used in combination with the more mobile local troops gave Godfrey unheard of flexibility that harkened back to the days of the Roman legions. Combined they would give Godfrey the advantage used so well later in his conquests to the east.
[Denmark - Scania] Niels brought the remaining neutral lords in Scania onto his side with promises of land (either in Scania itself or in Jutland). However this took time to negotiate and preempted any thoughts of bringing his forces to fight elsewhere in Denmark.
Niels also desired to stop the constant pirate (i.e. naval forces of Harald) attacks on the island of Bornholm. Since Harald’s declaration a sizeable naval raid on Bornholm was conducted, however, the island’s garrison and fortresses withstood the attacks. With the disparage in naval forces Niels decided to hire ships from the free island of Götland to protect the island in exchange for trading rights on the island and throughout Scania. The deal was concluded when the Götlander representative, one Goffredo Bonacolsi (natively from Italy but was asked to lead the delegation for his skill at negotiation was well known), and Niels signed the agreement on April 11th.
[Denmark – Jutland] What had remained a quiet area of the civil war finally broke as neighbor turned upon neighbor and old friends soon became the bitterest of enemies. This fighting was a chaotic and mostly leaderless (as the three contenders were busy elsewhere) and consisted of minor nobles lashing out at those neighboring nobles who were not backing their favored contender.
[County of Provence] The small army that Bertrand of Toulouse had sent into Provence entered the city of Aix which had surrendered when several gate guards who had been bribed allowed them in.
[Italy - Pavia] Boniface quietly dispatches forces to both the border with the Norman kingdom to the south and to border areas near Provence. He also wrote several missives to his ally Amadeus of Maurienne trying to reach an agreement concerning the situation in Provence.
His son Atto, recently returned from the court of Philip I of France, was placed as the squire to Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, the Warden of the West, castellan and commander of the great fortress of San Cristoforo near Biandrate.
[Germany] Henry V attended a celebration in the city of Trier to commemorate their signing of the Imperial Charter. As this was the autonomy they had sought for years (the city was formerly an archbishopric whose archbishop had sided against Henry IV in the ‘Baron’s Revolt’) a grand celebration had been planned. In celebration and in an attempt to show off the Empire’s (and thus his) wealth and power Henry V ordered the rebuilding of the old (Roman) Imperial baths that had been uncovered during recent construction of some warehouses (which were subsequently moved). He even commissioned a bronze statue from Italy to be brought to the baths (the bronze statue of a water boy can still be seen today in the Trier museum).
It was at this time that a petitioner from Baltic Trade Company asked for an audience with the emperor where he presented evidence that Harald of Denmark had illegally seized (whether it was illegal or not is open to debate as there is some evidence the merchant had bribed port officials) a merchant ship belonging to the Baltic Trade Company out of Lübeck. While concerned about the trade through the Baltic the issue of one merchant vessel being seized was inconsequential to the emperor, however, when the petitioner gave evidence that Harald had levied a tax upon all trade traveling through the Sund. Further the canny petitioner pointed out how this was going to affect trade and more to the point how it was going to affect the tithes and taxes due to the Imperial coffers. Roused in anger the emperor vowed to show this upstart bastard who wished to be king what a real king was.
[Southern Italy] Roger II signed a deal with the Venetians that in exchange for ships and men the Venetians would gain some trade rights within the Kingdom of Sicily and would be allowed to have Venetian quarters in several port cities (such as in Bari). The agreement was surprisingly kept secret until the first Venetian fleet arrived later in the month. The news once it was release and spread did not please the kingdom’s greatest traders in Amalfi who had backed Roger II hoping for better deals and not having their rivals get stronger within the kingdom itself.
Several scenes from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with the representative of the city of Amalfi, Lenta (Lenta of Calabria is the fictional representative from Amalfi), shows what the early reign of Roger II was like (if not exactly historical and exaggerated a bit).
Act II Scene II
Roger II: Perhaps you think your city is being treated unfairly?
Lenta: No…but…
Roger II: Good, because it would be most unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here.
Lenta: [to himself] This deal is getting worse all the time.
Act II Scene IV
Roger II: The Venetian ships will be allowed unrestricted access to Amalfi.
Lenta: You said they'd be allowed in the city under my supervision.
Roger II: I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
[Note: Roger II did end up leaving a sizeable garrison in the city under one Robert of Capua, but it seemed more a defensive measure to protect the vital port city than an effort to renege on the deal as depicted in scenes from A Family’s Honor.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik’s planned campaign north into Jutland was ended before it began as he had to divert troops to his holdings and allies on the island of Fyun to contest one of Harald’s armies from overrunning the island.
[Denmark - Syaland] With only a month of collecting the Sund tax Harald had already began to reap its benefits. With his new found wealth he began a campaign on the island of Fyun (split between all three factions) and in the north of Jutland against isolated pockets of supporters of both Erik and Niels. Several nobles who had declared neutrality in the manner also felt the bite of Harald’s spear with the prominent Count of Horǽ ending his neutrality and sided with Niels (he also brought his fellow counts of Biarg and Harz with him).
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders began their spring campaign to bring the rest of the pagan lands designated by the Council of Frankfurt. Their first targets were the already weakened Pruthenians whose villages were quickly overrun by the superior Polish forces (in both equipment and manpower).
The Polish king also chartered a new town at the mouth of the Pregel River called Królewlec (Königsberg).
[Livonia] The German Crusaders much like their Polish counterparts began their spring campaign during this month. With the reinforcements from Germany Papal legate Hartwig was able to split his army and moved in two directions. One went along the Red River and the other continued along the coast to the west.
Hartwig also dispatched a hundred knights and their retainers to assist the Danish Crusaders to the north who were under constant threat from the Eths. He was credited with saying. “Not one stretch of Christian soil will fall to the pagans!”
[Which is ironic considering the soil he was talking about was just recently taken from those same pagans by sword and fire.]
[Egypt] The Serene Republic of Venice made another substantial loan to the Fatimid Caliph. This loan was used on much as the last two loans were used to bribe the nobility into following the rule of the Caliph.
[France - Paris] Philip I of France weakened by disease and old age dies. His son Louis VI is crowned king of France.
[Edessa] The Byzantine Empire and the County of Edessa began a ‘cold war’ with the occasional flair ups of violence over the weak Armenian statelets that were situated between them.
(May) [Denmark - Jutland] Harald’s army had begun several sieges throughout Jutland of opposing nobles’ castles. The most prominent being the fortress at Hǽlghǽnǽ held by forces loyal to Niels. Several attempts to storm the besieged fortress met with failure and Harald was forced to engage in a lengthy siege.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The forces of Erik defeated an army loyal to Niels in the County of Almundǽ (directly north of Schleswig) but were forced to abandon the siege of the town of Almundǽ when reinforcements loyal to Niels threatened his baggage train and supply line back into Schleswig.
[Germany] As Henry V’s progress began north he quietly sent orders to Imperial garrisons to send troops and supplies to a staging area north of Bardowlek near the Elbe River. Several letters were also sent to the nobility of Saxony including Duke Conrad II Hohenstaufen that informed him of imperial needs.
[Rome] Old Bonizo da Cremona, titular cardinal of Sutri and advisor to Boniface of Canossa, arrived in Rome as an envoy to the Pope on behalf of House Canossa. In consideration of his age he was be accompanied by the Count of Grazzano, Guiberto Cotta (whose influence on the order of the Patarene Knights is second only to Bonizo's one), and two of Magister Irnerius’ pupils, Ugus and Jacopus. They were also escorted by sixty Patarene knights. The envoy’s mission was to ensure that the Pope did not side with Simon by excommunicating his brother Roger.
While Simon was the anointed king there had been ugly rumors that have been accusing Simon of heresy and worse (the Saracen influence at the court of Palermo and in the territories of Carthage is said to be growing, well beyond what would be tolerable in a Christian kingdom). Oddly enough there were similar rumors spread from Septimania and the County of Barcelona allegedly involving unlawful deals with the Spanish Moors and the Almoravids to the detriment of Christendom. While Roger's assumption of the crown might be labeled as rebellion, Bonizo suggested that it was more likely a natural reaction of a good Christian knight who saw his faith threatened. The envoys tried to convince the Pope to summon both Simon and Roger to Rome, in order to have the former explain his actions which might be hold as contrary to the faith and to try and find a peaceful solution to the southern troubles.
[North Africa – County of Tripoli] With the onset of the civil war the Banu tribes, who had long been crushed under the Norman heel since Roger I’s and Roger Borsa’s invasion of decades past, sensed weakness in the Kingdom of Sicily and armed with weapons provided by the Venetians launched attacks throughout the kingdom’s North African territories.
The Banu tribes quickly encircled the city of Tripoli (the second largest city in Norman North Africa) and placed it under siege. The road to Carthage was also beset by many Banu raiders making it difficult for reinforcements to be gathered without traveling in large groups.
[Coast of Southern Italy] Venetian and Amalfitan ships clashed with the naval forces of the Kingdom of Sicily near the straits of Messina. The battle was inconclusive as neither side pressed the issue and when the Venetians and Amalfitans withdrew the Sicilians did not pursue them. Both sides lost only a handful of ships and the number of killed and wounded combined only totaled five hundred and twenty-three.
It was at this time that it is first noted in historical documents that Aragónese vessels made their first appearance on the side of Simon during the battle for the Straits. These first Aragónese vessels are believed to be ships hired by Simon but ships that arrived later in the month are suspected to have been sent by King Peter II of Aragón in aid to his nominal ally Simon.
[At this time there was no formal alliance between the kingdoms of Aragón and Sicily, but they shared a common rivalry with the Thyrrenians over trade and influence in the western Mediterranean.]
[Latvia] German Crusaders continued their campaign against the Livonian tribes along the Red River and the coast. The surge of the last German Crusaders coming from Pommerania swelled their numbers to the point where a third army was formed that marched northwards along the coast.
[Prussia] Polish Crusaders defeated the last free Pruthenians on the south side of the Nemmunas River. The Nemmunas River was the agreed upon boundary between Polish Crusader territory and that of the territory given over the Papal legate Hartwig in Livonia. They soon turned their eyes eastwards along the river and into the hills where several Lithuanian tribes resided.
[England] Henry II of England completed his subjugation of southern Wales when the gathered army of Deheubarth was defeated at the battle of The Stone Hill. This left only the proud Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd in the north free from English rule.
[Byzantium] Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius greeted by the first year of his reign where the war machine of the empire was not actively engaged in heavy conflict in Anatolia, dealing with Bulgar and Slav uprisings in the Balkans (Many a Bulgar or Slav was resettled in Anatolia after an uprising which in addition to the thousands of Greek settlers pouring into Anatolia were quickly repopulating the inner regions of Anatolia that had been devastated by the Seljuk Turks since the battle of Manzikert.), or fighting the pagans north of the Danube and in Crimea. The past few years had also seen an expanded navy rebound from the disasters that had happened during the conflicts with the Italians during their expeditions to Crete and the Peloponnesus.
It was at this time that an envoy from the court of Simon, King of Sicily, arrived at the court in Constantinople where he asked for assistance against his rebellious younger brother and his Venetian allies.
[Levant – Emirate of Syria] Lulu regent for Alp Arslan al-Akhras finally murdered the young heir to the emirate in a bid for his own power. Many of the nobles openly opposed him when word leaked out that the young Alp had in fact been murdered and had not died of a sickness as Lulu had proclaimed. However the two well defended cities of Aleppo and Damascus were firmly in his hands. Still the first battle between the opposing forces went in favor of the nobility.
[Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse marched an additional thousand men into Provence to reinforce his position in Aix and the surrounding area. He was careful to keep a wide berth around Arles lest he attract unwanted Imperial attention.
Amadeus of Maurienne before he left for Paris had ordered a thousand of his own soldiers to march into Provence towards the Archbishopric of Erubrum along the Durance River with orders to secure that city.
[Southern France - County of Toulouse] Forces loyal to William Duke of Aquitaine started to harass the Toulousan marches. The Duke having left for Philip I’s funeral in Paris left the harassment to several lieutenants.
[France] With the death of Philip I France spent the past month accustoming itself to the new rule of Louis VI. It was not more than a fortnight after his coronation that tension between him and his wife Constance, the Duchess of Normandy, became heated again. It was only the arrival of many of the powerful of Europe to the burial of Philip I in Paris which placed their arguments and marital discord to the side as politics and Philip I’s funeral took precedence.
As described by Suger, Abbot of St. Denis, in his Vita Lodovici Regis:
Since the death of Charlemagne, no king of France was buried in the presence of a more splendid and glorious assembly. It would be too long to mention all the nobles and sovereigns who attended. I will talk only of the most splendid ones: ...the duc de Bourgogne scion of the royal Capetiennes, Guillaume d'Aquitaine, all the great lords of Normandy, waiting upon our dearest queen, the Archbishops of Treviri and Mainz, representing the majesty of the emperor, Floris of Holland and his wife Beatrix.... However, the most splendid cortege was led by Boniface, Comes Palatinus Italiae, and his wife Isobel de Capetiennes de Bourgogne.
From the Vita Lodovici Regis by abbot Suger:
Count Bonifacio brought with him a retinue of one hundred knights and men-at-arms, which the Italians described as a ‘centuria militum’. They were all dressed in identical black armor; equally black were the accoutrements of their destriers, while their mantles were the red of fresh blood. I confess that seeing them for the first time I felt a shiver in my bones. Now looking back to the events that were to happen in the south of France, I feel that God allowed me a glimpse of the future...
Using this rare opportunity where many of Europe’s great nobles were gathered much politicking was done. The events in Provence were much in the forefront of the discussions that concerned the nobility. William Duke of Aquitaine was loudest in his opposition to Count Bertrand of Toulouse, who did not have the courtesy to go to his own liege’s funeral (many at the time believed William’s loud opposition was more in his interest in certain parts of Toulouse that he desired than what happened to Provence or the insults towards the dead king and his son, Louis VI.). The other voice calling for Bertrand’s head was that of Amadeus of Maurienne who claimed Provence through his deceased wife.
Boniface and his advisors conferred with family and attempted to come to some agreement with Amadeus of Maurienne over Provence, but the Count of Savoy had yet to come to a firm agreement.
Louis VI was also gravely concerned with the events to the south and in examinations of historical documents he began to see an opportunity in reigning in the greater lords of France as his father did to the lesser. It would become a delicate balance for the crown of France on whom to back and when.
An interesting outcome of the gathering for Philip’s funeral was the first meeting between Arnaldo da Brescia, a young cleric with known ‘progressive’ views and Pierre Abelard, the learned and quite famous protégé of the French queen.
[Italy] A thousand Flemish farmers and skilled craftsmen finally began to settle into Tuscany after they were brought there by Canossa promises of land after their own was devastated in a huge flood in Flanders the year before. (The bulk of the refugees settled in either Slavinia or Pommerania with roughly ten thousand heading to England, but the Canossas eager to use the Flemish farming techniques in Italy encouraged them to move to Italy with grants of land and coin.)
With the growing naval conflict along the coastlines of southern Italy and Sicily the Thyrrenian cities began to escort merchant ships with dedicated naval ships through the troubled waters. The situation in the south caused a great debate in the cities on whom to back and where and how to intervene were met with loud arguments from all the different points of view and the only directions coming from House Canossa were to not take any position, pending the diplomatic discussions in Rome, and the troubles in Provence. (Boniface who had left for the burial of Philip I of France was absent from Italy and while his son Gregory was left as Steward in his absence [in all practicality though ser Lutterio, the commander of the Legio Prima, was in charge in Boniface’s absence] they didn’t have the inclination to get involved in a conflict without Boniface’s approval.)
(June) [France] With the funeral of Philip I of France over the gathered nobility began to negotiate in earnest. The first deal was that between Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne. They agreed upon a split of the County of Provence at the Durance River until at a point due west of the town of Digne (basically the old County of Forcalouier). To the north it would go to Amadeus and to the south it would go to Boniface’s son Atto. The support of Dukes of Burgundy and Aquitaine against the Count of Toulouse further solidified Boniface’s and Amadeus’ position.
Louis VI meanwhile put forth all of his efforts to prevent William of Aquitaine (and Gascony) from annexing all of Toulouse.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders overran the first Lithuanian villages killing many. The Lithuanians, once vassals of Kiev, had several decades before thrown off the shackles of Kiev and had turned to raiding their neighbors. These experienced fighters caused great casualties among the Polish Crusaders who in turn showed little mercy to the captured pagan villages.
[Livonia] With three separate German Crusader armies Livonia fell much more rapidly than the Papal legate Hartwig had dreamed. However he was facing a shortage of priests to tend to the new flocks and wrote to both the court of Henry V and to Pope Paschal II for more clergy. It was at this time that the first clash between Crusaders and the soldiers of the eastern Principalities took place when a contingent of knights attacked a small raiding party operating out of the Principality of Polotsk near the Red River.
[Levant - Syria] On the pretext of a raid into his lands Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa, Duke of Spoleto and Count of Tripolis, gathered his forces and entered the torn Emirate of Syria in the direction of Damascus.
[Sicily] The second battle of the Straits of Messina culminated in a victory for the forces loyal and allied to Roger II. A good portion of those ships loyal to Simon were able to flee and make their way to Palermo but the way was opened for Roger II to land soldiers in Sicily.
[Rome] Under pressure from both the conservative faction of the Curia and the Canossa delegation Pope Paschal II sent letters to both Simon and Roger II that requested they come to Rome for mediation to their dispute.
[Byzantium] The court of Emperor Nicephorus Bryennius agreed to assist Simon as a rejuvenated and aggressive Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II might again have tried to invade the empire. In a move generated to keep this as secret as possible the Sicilian diplomats were ‘expelled’ by the Byzantines and were quietly removed to an imperial estate not far from Constantinople. Meanwhile Byzantine forces were being gathered for what was expected to be another attack on the Seljuks in central Anatolia.
[Seres (Sòng China)]
An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 60):
It had been a long journey from India fraught with much peril. One of my ships had been lost to a storm in the Malaccan Straits while the third was damaged beyond repair during a fight with pirates. Some of my crew I lost to natives on an island in the great island chain called the Golden Isles by the Serians [Chinese]. While it was tempting to explore these strange islands the wealth of Seres called to me and I pushed northwards towards where my guides told me it lie.
(Page 61)
…I was shocked at the wealth and size of the Serian [Chinese] city of Gwang [Guang] which was a center of trade, industry, and maritime commerce that I had rarely seen except for the busiest market days in Constantinople. Iron goods were mass produced for an indigenous mass market and for trade with the outside world. A curious invention of a machine that allowed the mass production of reading materials allowed a vast literate civil bureaucracy I am sure that has not been seen since the time of Augustus.
I was at first distressed to have been given paper in exchange for some silver coins after a purchase of a fine silk coat, but when my translator assured me that it was considered money I was perplexed. Who would rather have paper money than gold or silver?
(Page 63)
The more I explore this wondrous mystical land called Seres the more I feel that I do not know much about the world. I arrived in the port town of Fu where I encountered even stranger items, and was thankful that my wealth allowed me to purchase some of them*.
The first was a curious pair of glasses that were flat panes of smoky quartz that protected the wearer’s eyes from the glare of the sun. While interesting and certainly helpful when one was playing cards it was another device that I found to be much more interesting. It was a device described in the text Dream Pool Essay written by a native Serian scholar Shen Kua. The text contained a detailed description of how geomancers magnetized a needle by rubbing its tip with lodestone, and hung the magnetic needle with one single strain of silk with a bit of wax attached to the center of the needle. Shen Kua pointed out that a needle prepared this way sometimes pointed south, sometimes north. With such a device I will have a much easier time navigating in these foreign waters.
*[It is highly likely some of these goods were purchased on the black market.]
[Denmark - Schleswig] Erik II eagerly awaited news of a possible column of German knights heading north into Denmark. Erik II had during the winter and spring distributed many calls into Germany where he offered land and reward for any German knight who came to support his cause for the throne. Erik in desperate need for more soldiers as his half-brother Harald had launched several attacks on his holdings sent these knights an offering to stay at his castle in Reynoldsburgh. It came as much surprise when Erik greeted not just a small column of German knights that he had expected but an imperial field army led by none other than Henry V himself.
An excerpt written by a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
…and with great shock we were greeted not by several knights who were second or third sons as we were told to expect, but the very flower of German knighthood. Saxon heavy knights were the first to enter the town of Reynoldsburgh, but they were soon followed by the red clad* Imperial guard who were guarding none other than his Imperial Majesty Henry V. It was hard to mistaken him for anyone else as only the emperor would be clad in armor seemingly made of more gold than steel. It would take almost a full day for the Imperial army to pass through the town for their numbers were so great. So many that even many of the nobility had to share rooms in the castle, or find lodging in town, or if their rank was lesser than in the tents outside the town with the common soldiers.
*It was at this time that it was first recorder the imperial guard to be solely clad in crimson red. It is derived that it was in respect to their fallen leader Lethold der Blutgedeckt who died in a fluke riding accident in 1105 AD.
(July) [Blessed Islands] Times for the Italian pirates operating out of the Blessed Islands had been good. Several Moorish vessels full of gold had been seized and now crewed added to their already growing fleet (not surprisingly many of the crew manning them were the original crew who were lured over by the lust for gold). They even defeated a small Moorish fleet sent to end their escapades which further increased their strength with several captured warships added to their numbers. However the shipment of gold by ship had come to a rapid halt in favor of the land route through the Sahara that while slower was much more secure.
[North Africa] The Banu tribes launched several desperate assaults towards the fortifications of Tripoli and its outlying forts but were repulsed with heavy casualties. The Banu tribes lacking in heavy infantry and proper siege equipment were forced to settle into sieges of the towns and fortresses throughout the overrun areas of Sicilian North Africa.
An army of Banu Jami was defeated to the southwest of Karwan by forces loyal to King Simon of Sicily as they tried to launch raids deep into the Duchy of Carthage. It should be noted that not many Muslim subjects of the Kingdom of Sicily sided with the Banu tribes and fought them beside their Christian neighbors.
[Denmark - Schleswig] The meeting between Erik II and Henry V in the words of a cleric in Matilda of Canossa’s entourage:
The meeting between his Imperial Majesty Henry V and Erik of Schleswig was a brief one. Henry V informed Erik of his plans to rid Denmark and the Sund of the pirate Harald. Erik agreed to support Henry V as he was far outnumbered by the imperial host and the resources the empire could bring against Denmark. When pressed by Erik if he would support his claim to the throne the emperor kept his own counsel, but did not openly refute Erik’s claim…
The large imperial army spent only a minimal time in Schleswig and quickly made their way towards Jutland and the lands loyal to Harald.
Ships loyal to the empire based out of Lübeck surprised and smashed a Danish fleet loyal to Harald near the island of Thosland as they tried to interdict ships supporting Erik’s forces located on Fyun.
[Provence] The town of Orange opened its gates to the forces of Bertrand of Toulouse as the Bishop who nominally ruled the town was a distant relation. Bertrand quickly revoked the town’s agreement to the Lesser Pact and loaned the Bishop enough troops to enforce his rule upon the town. Several riots broke out among the townsmen and the garrison but they were brutally repressed by the garrison.
A trickle of pure gold was starting to reach Italian and Provencal ports. No one really knew from where the gold was coming and the wildest tales were abroad in all the ports. Still the merchants and moneylenders were paying a keen interest, and were ready to be very generous with the men who will disclose where the gold is coming from...
[Paris - France] The collected nobles and grand princes of Europe began to leave the capital of France in ones and twos towards their homes. Boniface of Canossa and Amadeus of Maurienne traveled together towards Savoy and made plans for dealing with Provence.
A famous, albeit young, teacher of the Sorbonne would attach himself to the train of Boniface on his way to Italy. He comes with the highest recommendations from the Queen of France, and is quite eager to see first hand the wealth of classic Greek and Roman books brought to Mantua after the conquest of Tripoli. On the trip, he becomes fast friend with a young cleric in the retinue of Boniface, Arnaldo da Brescia.
[Southern France - Toulouse] Aquitainian raids into Toulouse continued as Duke William of Aquitaine returned from Paris and began to gather his host near the town of Bergerac. The raids were poorly led disasters for the most part, but succeeded in diverting a good many of Count Bertrand’s forces from entering Provence.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey and his ‘Syrian Legion’ continued their march southeast towards Damascus. The first battle between them and forces loyal to the Lulu saw the forces of the Emirate crushed and routed. The mix of highly disciplined training of the Legion, the flexibility of the native levees, and a core of heavy European cavalry yielded Duke Godfrey a crushing victory. Still his forces were bogged down with raids from Syrian nobility (who themselves were at war with Lulu) upon his baggage and supply train and the need to reduce the few forts and towns upon his way to secure his supply lines back to Tripolis.
[Sicily] With the naval victory of the month before having opened the way Roger II landed over ten thousand soldiers in Sicily from Reggio at the southern tip of Italy to an area just north of Messina. A separate force numbered over four thousand landed further to the south near the town of Taormina which was quickly placed under siege.
Forces loyal to King Simon initially rallied from Messina in an attempt to break up the landings but failed to drive them from their beachhead. Unfortunately for Simon Roger’s forces were able to invest Messina and placed it under siege and blockaded the port. Fast riders from Messina reached Simon’s host gathered near Cerami before the city was completely cut off. Simon quickly marched forth to engage his brother.
[Livonia] An envoy from Niels of Scania arrived in St. Petersburg [Riga] to negotiate the sale of the Danish lands and agreed upon areas in Estonia, conquered in their portion of the Crusade, to the German led Crusade in Livonia. Niels desperate for coin and men (the Danish commander in Estonia swore fealty to Niels when it became apparent that they would be cutoff from supplies when the Gotlanders sided with Niels) sold everything but Dagö Island (the Gotlanders pressured Niels to keep it).
[Both Erik II and Harald protested this move by Niels arguing that he had no right to sell it as he was not king of Denmark, but the Church and Henry V let their protests fall upon deaf ears.]
Once the deal was done two thousand German Crusaders fresh from Pommerania arrived in Kronborg and the other Danish fortresses to replace the Danish soldiers leaving for Scania on Gotlander ships.
Elsewhere with the Red River valley secure the Papal legate Hartwig began a serious push into the Livonian heartland. After the battle of Foggy Glen the most powerful Latgalian chief converted to Christianity and brought their powerful warriors over to the Crusaders side. [The Latgalian chief, one Andryvs Jūrdžs, was a canny politician who saw an inevitable Crusader victory and sought to gain for his people the spoils such a victory would bring. While it wouldn’t be until his son’s rule that the conversion of the Latgalians would begin in earnest the Latgalians would fight on the Crusader’s side with much valor and the famed Latgalian Guard would go on to be a feared group who would not just be the protectors of the Grand Master of the Livonian Order, but would become the Livonian Order’s elite forces.]
The other two armies of German Crusaders continued their push along the coasts to link up with the Polish Crusaders to the south and the Danish, now German, Crusaders in Estonia.
[Prussia - Lithuania] Polish Crusaders defeated a gathering of Lithuanian tribes in their southern most territory. The remnants fled north across the Neman River into their holdings there. The Polish Crusaders would spend the rest of the year clearing out the few remaining villages and roaming bands of Lithuanians that crossed the Neman River in search of Polish blood. By the end of the year the Polish portion of the Baltic Crusade had come to a halt.
(August) [Aegean Sea] A Byzantine naval force attacked a small Venetian squadron in the waters near the Duchy of the Archipelago. The Venetians taken by surprise by the new discipline and the overwhelming numbers of the Byzantine navy were routed and fled west towards Venetian Ionia. The Byzantines proceeded to land a small army on the islands and subsequently defeated the Venetian garrisons.
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] A Byzantine fleet arrived at the coastal village of Barka in Banu Sulaym territory. The village was overrun by a Byzantine army that landed in the early morning and slaughtered the defenders (with most of the soldiers and young men off to war in Sicilian North Africa the place was poorly defended and offered little resistance to the battle hardened Byzantine troops).
[North Africa] A Banu assault on the fortresses to the east of Tripoli met with limited success as the two smallest (known as the Fists of the King) fell to the tribesmen, but the larger fortresses succeeded in driving off their attackers.
An army of Sicilians gathered in Carthage under the command of Peter of Messina Count of Bone, a loyal ally and friend of Simon of Sicily intent on driving the Banu tribes out of Sicilian North Africa.
[Tyrrhenian Sea – North of Sicily] Ships loyal to Simon rallied from their defeat at the Straits of Messina at Palermo. From there they set sail towards the Aeolian Islands that lie to the north of Sicily. Once past the Aeolian Islands they had planned to sweep south through the Straits of Messina in an attempt to cutoff Roger’s army that had laid siege to Messina. However to the southeast of the largest island, Lipari, in the Aeolian Island chain they clashed with a fleet from Naples carrying a small army intending to capture the strategic islands. The fleet loyal to Simon succeeded in driving off the invading fleet.
At the end of the month, around the 27th of August, a fleet from Naples again attempted to take the Aeolian Islands. The Sicilian fleet loyal to Simon absent from the second attempt led to the islands falling to Robert’s forces.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued as several large siege engines that were sent from Apulia arrived and began to pound the city’s walls.
Simon’s army from Cerami continued its march towards Messina ignoring the second smaller army besieging the town of Taormina; a mistake that would cost him dearly. On the morning of 6th of August the commander of Taormina’s garrison was killed when a section of wall hit by a catapult fell on him. In the resulting chaos one of his lieutenants surrendered a gate to the town to the besieging forces loyal to Roger.
[Many think the gate commander had been bribed but had been under the watch of the garrison commander and could not act until he had died, but no proof has ever been given to support this thesis.]
With the surrender of Taormina Simon’s flank and rear became dangerously exposed. The commander of the forces, one Robert of Bari, having left only a small garrison in the town marched at best speed north to assist his lord at Messina.
Simon’s army moving at a snail’s pace (Simon insisted upon bringing a vast baggage train filled with things like books against the advice of his more experienced military commanders) arrived after two weeks of travel from Cerami. The morning of the 9th of August saw Roger’s army itself besieged and surrounded by Simon’s. Outnumbered several of Roger’s supporters suggested surrendering, but Roger quickly dismissed the idea. Roger is said to have said, “Desperate times call for a bold strategy” in response to their pleas.
The following battle heavily favored Simon and even Roger’s ‘bold’ strategy achieved only a moderate success in seemingly staving off the inevitable. Roger II is said to have been unhorsed at least twice during the battle. When a sallying force from Messina joined Simon’s army the prospect for Roger’s rebellion was dim. It was at that moment that the force from Taormina arrived. The reinforcements charged into the rear of Simon’s army (according to historical documents it attacked at the point where the center and the right flank joined). The charge which caused only minimal casualties panicked a large number within Simon’s army and thousands began to rout (mainly poorly equipped levies). At the end of the day some two thousand were left dead on the battlefield and another three thousand were wounded. Roger’s army captured over a thousand of Simon’s soldiers and knights. The sallying force from Messina had been driven back into the city and the siege was resumed (several of Roger’s siege engines had been destroyed by the sallying force which weakened the siege until new ones could be constructed or shipped from southern Italy).
Simon was eventually able to regroup his army again near the town of Troina slightly to the southeast of Cerami. Even with his defeat near Messina Simon still commanded a field force of over ten thousand with another fifteen thousand garrisoning the rest of Sicily.
[County of Provence - Kingdom of Arles] Ser Tedice della Gherardesca, Count of Forcoli and Lord Commander of the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia, on orders from Boniface who had just returned to Italy from France, marched towards the town of Digne in Provence. A smaller force was sent to link up with forces from Savoy and Maurienne in Erubrun along the Durance River.
[County of Toulouse] William IX Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony attempted an invasion of Toulouse from the west in support of his ‘allies’ in Provence. The invasion was a disaster for the Aquitainians that had it not been for the valiant efforts of his personal guard might have seen William IX a prisoner of Betrand of Toulouse. William gathered his routed army and marched north east towards Autun where a royal army commanded by none other than Louis VI himself was being gathered.
[France] Louis VI in an effort to humble his reluctant vassal Bertrand of Toulouse for his ‘presumptions’ gathered a royal army and camped near the bishopric of Autun where he waited for his vassals to join him. The first to join was the Duke of Burgundy followed soon by soldiers from his wife’s duchy (Normandy).
[Emirate of Syria] An army of forces loyal to Lulu defeated a gathered army of rebel nobles outside of the mighty fortress city of Aleppo. Weakened the nobles sought help from their neighbor the Atabeg of Mosul, Kerbogha, who seemed sympathetic to their cause.
Godfrey’s army continued its march towards Damascus but met with continued resistance as bandits, nobles aligned against Lulu, and elements of Lulu’s forces routinely attacked his forces. Godfrey’s forces were able to destroy several hidden encampments that were pointed out by spies and Hashshashin (Assassins) that had lived in the area before they had fled to Tripolis years before.
[Livonia] German Crusaders defeated a gathering of pagan tribes south of Cold Bay [Bay of Riga] which brought a large chunk of Livonia under the control of Crusader’s.
[Denmark – The Sund] The Danish fleet loyal to Harald successfully landed troops on the isles in the Strait controlled by Niels which quickly fell to those forces. By the end of the month that fleet was either sunk or captured by a German fleet sailing out of Lübeck in what is known as the Battle of the Straits. This effectively cut Harald’s forces in two, those on the island of Syaland (and nearby islands) and that of his main force on Jutland.
[Denmark - Scania] With the entry of Henry V and the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, apparently on Erik II’s side, Niels was caught in a quandary. He did not have the resources to challenge the empire even with his sale of most of the Danish Crusading lands and the returning soldiers from there to Scania. After a night in prayer Niels came to a conclusion that he had no hope of becoming king of Denmark, but if providence was with him (and his allies in Gotland would support him) a king he could still remain.
On August 4th 1108 AD in the recently constructed cathedral in city of Lund Niels crowned himself Nicholas I King of Skånia. He wrote letters to his supporters in Denmark to make peace with emperor (and Erik II). He also wrote to Emperor Henry V of his intent to yield his claim to the throne of Denmark and pledged his support to Erik II in this endeavor if he recognized his claim (well political support at the most). He received the backing of the merchants of Gotland with the transfer of Dägo Island to the Gotlanders in support of his new kingdom.
[There are several theories on why Nicholas I (Niels) chose to claim the crown of Skånia instead on continuing his pursuit of the crown of Denmark. The first theory rests on the fact he was low on money, even after the sale of Danish Estonia and its claims to Papal legate Hartwig, and even with the support from the Gotlanders didn’t have the ships or men to challenge Erik II, let alone Harald, and certainly not Henry V. The second is that it was plot of the emperor’s to begin with. The plot supposedly was that the emperor used merchants within the Baltic Trade Company to seed the idea in Nicholas I’s head that a crown in Skånia was achievable.]
[Denmark - Jutland] Imperial forces engaged forces loyal to Harald near the town of Varvith. The much larger imperial host easily crushed Harald’s forces. Harald’s armies crossed the Varde Ă River and made it to the walls of the town before being completely routed by the imperial forces.
It was at this time that Henry V received the letter from Nicholas I (Niels) of Skånia. It is remarked by one of the clerics in Matilda of Canossa’s retinue (traveling with the Imperial Court):
After his imperial majesty read the letter he laughed out that if the petty king wished to rule a petty land then so be it, as long as he leaves my straits alone he can rot for all I care…
It is said Erik II was not pleased by the emperor’s words (he was already hot under the collar at Henry’s support of Niels (Nicholas I) sale of the Danish Crusader lands and the rights to them, but as he was a virtual prisoner of the emperor (to be honest more of a ‘honored’ guest that was well guarded) there was little he could do.
(September) [North Africa] Taking advantage of a bit of cool weather Peter of Messina marched his gathered army of Normans south towards the lands of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes. The Banu Jami tribe was the first to feel the blow of the Norman army. A small army of Banu Jami marching north ran headlong into Peter’s army. The Banu Jami suffered a very high number of casualties and stopped their drive north. Surprisingly a high portion of those casualties were inflicted by a small contingent of Aragónese knights sent by King Peter of Aragón in support of Simon. (Peter was smart enough to know that Simon could still lose against Roger II but neither could fault him for defending Christian lands against the Muslims. He also used this as evidence against previous charges of him being corrupted by the Moors in Iberia. As far as Peter of Aragón was concerned it was a win-win situation for him.)
[North Africa – Cyrenaica (Banu Sulaym)] The Byzantine army after ensuring its captured town was well protected began to expand its control into the nearby countryside.
The resistance was minimal as again most of the Banu’s warriors were off fighting the Normans.
[Venice] Doge Ordelafo Faliero was caught very much surprised by the Byzantine attack on the Duchy of the Archipelago. A minor setback he initially called it but when word arrived of their attack on Cyrenaica and the Banu tribes he grew very much worried (documents and letters from him and other prominent men of Venice at the time expressed concern that this might just threaten their plans for Egypt that were decades in the making). Doge Ordelafo quickly began to reorder ships and men bound for the fight in Sicily to instead reinforce Venetian Ionia.
[Sicily] The siege of Messina continued but with the siege engines replaced and more brought from across the straits the city’s walls were pounded mercilessly by Roger II’s forces. The blockade of the city’s harbor was tight but loosened up as by ones and twos Venetian ships slowly disappeared in the night. However enough Amalfitan ships remained on station to prevent ships loyal to Simon from entering. Roger II also secured the coastal road from Taormina to the siege lines around Messina.
Simon’s army based around Troina slowly rebuilt its strength. The demands of the fall harvest prevented him from drawing too many more forces and instead marched his army in the direction of Taormina in what he hoped was to be a reversal of his fortunes.
[Provence] The first battle for Provence occurred near an abandoned monastery near the Durance River (it had apparently burned down several years before and at the time had yet to be rebuilt). The battle was a short affair leaving Bertrand of Toulouse in command of the field and the forces loyal to Amadeus of Maurienne in full rout. However Bertrand was forced to retire back to Orange when scouts reported to him that the Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice della Gherardesca had crossed into Provence and appeared to be heading towards Aix.
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army finally reached the outskirts of Damascus. A small battle drove the city’s defenders back into the city leaving Godfrey’s army to encircle it. Lulu still in Aleppo overseeing the defenses there is said to have railed for three days at the interferences of the infidels. However he couldn’t do much about it as word was brought of a large gathering of rebellious nobles near the emirate’s lands on the west bank of the Euphrates River.
Godfrey began preparations for a long siege of the city. His army’s numbers swelled as over a thousand Knight Hospitaliers joined his ranks outside the city. Fortunately for him as this gave him enough men to actually encircle the city in a tight siege.
[Jutland - Denmark] The imperial army pressed its attack in Jutland leaving a large chunk of Harald’s forces under siege in Varvith. Former vassals of Niels, now nominal vassals of Erik (in reality their fear of Henry V’s power made them Henry’s vassals), stopped the remnant of Harald’s army from crossing over the Storá River which pushed Harald west into the County of Heingǽ and the small fortress at Rindum. Henry V pursued Harald there and on the 27th of September began to siege the small harbor fort.
[Livonia] The northernmost Crusader army finally made contact with those forces garrisoning the former Danish forts in Estonia. This army began a series of new forts in preparation for the winter, and as starting points for next spring’s assault upon the interior. The southernmost army crushed a small but fearsome tribe known as the Lettes. The army personally under Papal legate Hartwig rested for the rest of the year and began construction of several large fortifications along the Red River (conscripted local labor did much of the actual labor) to secure it against attacks from the north and from the schismatics from Polotsk.
[France] The royal French army finished gathering near Autun and after much bickering between the king and the greater nobles finally marched south towards Toulouse to teach Count Bertrand a lesson the French king hoped he would not soon forget.
(October) [Sicily] A scene from the play A Family’s Honor details Roger’s interaction with Sebastiano of Palermo, a captured priest, whose loyalties lied with Simon. Sebastiano is historically based on Simon’s personal priest, Sebastian, who was killed in the battle around Messina when Simon’s baggage train was overrun by Roger’s forces. The playwrights again took a bit of historical license but the scene accurately depicts Roger II’s way of dealing with those he considered traitors.
Act III, Scene IV
<Sebastiano held by the arms by two of Roger’s soldiers>
Sebastiano: Lord Roger, only you would be so bold.
Roger II: Where are my brother’s forces headed?
Sebastiano: I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m a simple priest on his way to Rome.
Roger II: You are rebel and traitor. Take him away. <Roger gestures to the nearby guards>
Simon’s army made much quicker progress than his last march. This time only the necessities were brought in the baggage train and the occupied town of Taormina was this time placed under siege by Simon’s forces with Roger’s forces trapped in the city. However the town could still be supplied by ship and refused to surrender. Simon’s fleet had yet to resurge in the area after several defeats aimed at the Straits of Messina.
When it was reported to Roger II that Venetian ships were disappearing and their promised army (supposedly to be numbered around four thousand) had yet to materialize he went into a rage. It is said that when he summoned the Venetian ambassador the man was in his night robe and roughly deposited in the mud outside Roger II’s tent.
Taken from the diary of Roger II’s personal priest:
Several burly soldiers, men from Bari I believe, roughly deposited poor Domenico in his night robe outside in the mud by Lord Roger’s tent. His lordship’s eyes seemed to smoke with a burning fire as he explained to Domenico that if those ships and men are not forthcoming he could forget their deal. And that if that was the case then every Venetian merchant in his kingdom would have their property seized and would be promptly hung. The poor man mumbled something about the schismatics to the east, but his lordship only roared that he didn’t care about some pathetic islands to the east only their bargain.
It is said Domenico was promptly placed on a fast ship and sent to Venice with Roger II’s words for Doge Ordelafo Faliero.
[Venice] The Venetian fleet and army destined for Sicily was rerouted to once again make an attempt on the Byzantine Adriatic port city of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Also the recently created Arsenal was working night and day on additional ships for the expected war with the Byzantines.
It is said that Doge Ordelafo was foaming at the mouth, describing the duplicity of the Greeks as "traitors to the church of Christ and to any decency, worse than Moors and heathens, backstabbers and sodomites", as he denounced them during an arengo in Venice the day before the fleet sailed for Dyrrachium (Durrës). Many astute observers remembered that Ordelafo had been quite disappointed with the results of the last bout in Crete and Morea.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued south in their punishment of the Banu tribesmen. A large battle took place near the besieged town of Gabes which left the Banu Jami tribe broken and in full retreat.
The Byzantine army continued its expansion along the coast and the nearby hinterland in Cyrenaica but was forced to limit its gains as their force was small and with increased Venetian naval activity almost cut off from resupply from the empire.
[Emirate of Syria] The siege of Damascus continued as additional reinforcements from the County of Beyrout arrived to assist in the siege (and of course gain some lands). The contingent was only a few hundred knights and soldiers but it further tightened the noose on the Syrian city. The rest of the available forces of that County were doing their own land grab near the borders of the county.
Lulu disputed emir of Syria left Aleppo with a large force intent on destroying the gathered rebel nobles near the Euphrates River. It is believed that he felt if he could destroy the nobles first he could swing down and relieve Damascus long before the city even came close to falling. However his plans as they had since he assassinated the boy heir went disastrously wrong. Lulu’s army engaged the army of rebellious nobles but to Lulu’s horror found not only their army but that of Kerbogha, lord of Mosul, had sent not just his army but had come in person. [The nobles disgusted by Lulu and with no ready heir offered Kerbogha lordship of Syria if he would help to destroy Lulu.] The battle went badly for Lulu with over a third of his numbers either dead or having switched sides during the battle. Lulu with as many of his men that he could rally made fast for his fortress in Aleppo and awaited Kerbogha’s next action.
[Livonia] An early ice storm in the Baltic put to rest any further campaigning. Several supply ships were lost in the storm. The Crusaders in reaction to lost supplies began seizing food and livestock from their conquered pagan subjects (and in many cases what they did not keep themselves they gave to their converted subjects) which added even more resentment and anger at the invaders and those natives who had already converted.
[Note: It is widely believed that this was done on the advice of several native leaders, those who had already converted to Christianity, in an effort to break the remaining pagans within the Crusader held territory. That and increase their own wealth and stature at the expense of their neighbors.]
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice continued its march into Provence. The legion after a brief stay in the bishopric of Fréjus, a quiet coastal Mediterranean town moved northwest towards the town of Forealquier where they were to meet up with the forces of Amadeus of Maurienne, but Ser Tedice was ignorant of his defeat only a few days ago at the end of September.
Bertrand of Toulouse with reinforcements from his lands marched forth from Orange in hopes of catching Ser Tedice’s forces as they either were crossing the Durance River or if they moved towards Aix then attack their rear or flank as the situation dictated.
[France] Louis VI’s royal army arrived in the town of Montbrán in the County of Forez.
[Denmark - Jutland] Guido Rossi after many months of traveling from Italy finally caught up to Henry V’s court outside the siege of Rindum. Boniface assigned him to primarily keep Henry V happy and looking away from Italy. He was also appointed another task to talk to Mathilda the Fair, daughter of Boniface and dowager queen of Denmark, and try to unravel what's happening in that far away kingdom. Her father was worried at the reports that came into Pavia from Goffredo Bonacolsi (who has been called to meet Guido at the Imperial court) about the situation in that far off kingdom. Guido was sent to find out what the young lady had in mind and was to advise her on future moves. Two of Magister Irnerius’ pets, Bulgarus and Martinus, accompanied him as assistants.
Henry V ordered a large portion of the Imperial Army under Duke Conrad Hohenstaufen of Saxony further into the Jutland with orders to “wipe out the nest of rats following this Piper”. Many a neutral Danish lord soon found Imperial envoys at their courts outlining why their support of the emperor (oh and of course Erik II) was important to ensure the safety of Denmark (and the Straits). [Note: The documents that survive from these envoys once past all the diplomatic jingo basically came out and said support the emperor or face the same fate as those following Harald are about to receive.] All the remaining neutral lords of Denmark wisely decided to support the emperor (and Erik II) and soon found imperial forces and naval assets reinforcing their positions.
The siege at Rindum continued as the siege engines were brought up from Schleswig but were delayed due to a heavy rain that muddied the roads.
Harald’s forces in the town of Varvith surrendered to the Count of Holstein, as he was left in charge of the siege there.
(November) [North Africa] Thirty-five Venetian galleys escorted an Egyptian transport fleet that landed five thousand troops near the Byzantine occupied town of Barka. The town was invested and placed under siege by land while the Venetian ships blockaded the harbor. A small naval battle took place two days later when ten Byzantine naval ships arrived near Barka. Neither side reported the loss of any ships but the Venetian blockade held and the Byzantine ships retreated back towards Crete.
This was the first open cooperation between the Fatimids and the Venetians who had up until this moment had hidden agreements between them. Much of the work done in influencing the Fatimid court goes to exiled minor Italian nobles who had left Italy after or during the Baron’s Revolt and then again fled Constantinople after their persecution there following the war in Crete. Ranieri, the former Marquis of Montferrat, is held as being the architect behind the Venetian-Fatimid cooperation.
Peter of Messina’s army continued its assault against the Banu tribes but was hampered by poor logistics. Also the Banu tribes in the region broke up into small raiding groups making it a difficult and long process of eradicating them from the kingdom’s territory.
[Denmark - Jutland] Duke Conrad’s army defeated the last gathering of nobles supporting Harald in central Jutland at the battle of Cold Springs [named for a small nearby fresh water spring]. It is estimated that well over ninety percent of Harald’s backers in Jutland were either killed during this battle or in the battles since the imperial forces became involved in the Danish civil war.
The imperial siege engines made short work of the fortifications of Rindum. With the walls breached the imperial army swamped the Danish defenders and during the fighting Harald Kesja (Harald the Spear) was killed defending the keep. With cries that their king was dead Harald’s soldiers surrendered to the imperial forces.
With Harald’s body not even cold his crown, incidentally the same one his father Eric I had worn, was removed by an unknown German knight who hand delivered it to Henry V who had personally overseen the fall of the fortress. With the death of Harald and the bulk of his supporters the Danish civil war had come to an end. However the Empire’s interference in Danish affairs was only beginning.
For rest of the month while imperial forces cleaned up the few remaining loyalists [supporters of Harald, those who refused to give up Niel’s cause, and a few independent minded nobles] Henry V and his court decided the fate of Denmark. While Erik II was nominally part of the council there are testimonials and documents that indicate that he was rarely consulted on the arrangements being made in Denmark.
From an excerpt from the writings of one Otto of Köln, a priest serving as a scribe in the court of Henry V:
As his imperial majesty and the assembled court began to rearrange Denmark into what hopefully will be by the grace of God a more peaceful arrangement to the benefit of the Empire and the people of Denmark. Many a second or third son of the noble houses of the empire have been awarded land in Denmark, taken from Harald’s now deceased or exiled supporters. Several of the larger native nobles who wisely chose to side with his Highness also saw their domains enlarged.
It was with an outburst from the young Erik II, Duke of Schleswig and Syaland and heir presumptive to the throne of Denmark, over the construction of several imperial fortifications in the straits [it presumed here that the priest meant not just fortifications built from the Emperor’s purse but also garrisoned by imperial troops] to protect trade, that silenced the court. Young Erik argued that Denmark was not part of the empire and there was no need to garrison imperial soldiers within his kingdom. Then his Highness reminded young Erik that “he was not king yet” and the court went back to the business at hand.
Denmark was reshaped by Henry V into new fiefdoms. The Duchy of Schleswig was removed from the Kingdom of Denmark and made a duchy of the Kingdom of Germany. Erik II was left as the Duke of Schleswig While Jutland was divided into the Duchies of North and South Jutland. The Duchy of North Jutland was given over to the Count of Horǽ, a neutral Danish lord who readily backed Henry V when his envoy arrived. The Duchy of South Jutland was given over to a cousin of the Welfs of Bavaria, Stephen of Innsbruck. The Duchy of Syaland was named an Imperial fief and the ducal title was given over to Erik II [Note: It is recorded that the counsel of Guido Rossi and Matilda of Canossa kept Erik II from flying into a rage and doing something rash when it was decreed that Syaland was named an imperial fief.] however only the few strategic locations destined to have imperial fortresses were kept in imperial hands the rest of Syaland was given over to Erik to do as he saw fit. The County of Fyun was given over to the Count of Holstein for his deeds during the Baltic Crusade and during the campaign in Denmark itself. The County of Laland and Falster was awarded to the House of Lorraine [the County was to go to Simon I’s young daughter Agatha, assuming she survived infancy, as it had been arranged that she would marry Henry V’s own son when they came of age.].
Another change to Denmark by Henry V’s decree allowed several cities and towns in Denmark, namely København, to sign the Imperial charter. In addition he ordered a fleet of imperial warships to be built and stationed in the city of København to protect the straits from piracy.
On November the 27th one of Henry V’s last acts in Denmark was to crown Erik II King of Denmark in a crowded Cathedral in København. It is remarked that most of the crowd was German nobles and those Danish nobles who had clearly sided with Henry V. Only a few were nobles loyal to Erik II.
[Ionian Sea] A small Venetian fleet engaged a slightly larger Byzantine fleet off the southwest coast of Peloponnesus. The Venetian fleet suffered the loss of two ships to the Byzantine one before they withdrew back to Venetian Ionia.
[Dyrrachium (Durrës) – Byzantine Empire] A large fleet of Venetian ships appeared on the morning of November 5th heading towards the Byzantine port town of Dyrrachium (Durrës). Unlike the previous Venetian attack on the city they were not fooled and were prepared for the Venetian attack (several fast riders were dispatched towards Constantinople at the sighting of the fleet). The Venetians in a battle that lasted most of the day failed to force their way into the town’s harbor. This required them to land their army slightly to the south.
The Venetian army successfully defeated a small Byzantine army sent to disrupt their landings however the bulk of the town’s garrison seemed content to remain behind the walls of the town.
The Venetian army settled in for what appeared to be a lengthy siege while a Byzantine army under General Taticius prepared their own forces near the town of Scopia for a winter quarters. [Note: It appears from historical documents that the Byzantines had expected the Venetians to come in the spring and not endure a winter siege of Dyrrachium (Durrës), but the Venetians decided a quick response was the best bet and had moved faster than the Byzantines had expected.]
While a large fleet blockaded the port of Dyrrachium (Durrës) and its army continued the siege a section of the Venetian fleet broke off with three thousand soldiers and made its way to Sicily to back Roger II, who had made it abundantly clear the consequences if they failed to comply with their contract.
[Sicily] Simon I of Sicily and his army continued their siege of Taormina but were dismayed when a Venetian fleet arrived in the town’s port with over three thousand reinforcements for the beleaguered army within. The army loyal to Roger trapped in the town was reduced to a mere thousand men after several direct assaults by Simon’s forces were repelled. Simon decided that a winter siege and perhaps a naval solution might present itself. He left the army under one William of Salerno and retired to his court in Palermo for the winter.
[Sicily - Messina] Months of hard siege had seen the once proud walls of Messina battered down by the large trebuchets and catapults of Roger II’s army. On the night of the 16th of November a fire broke out in the city. Deciding to take advantage of the situation Roger ordered a full night time assault on the city with the hope that the garrison might be distracted enough to allow his forces to gain the walls.
The battle for the walls lasted deep into the night and the early morning but as the garrison was split in trying to defend the walls and put out the fire Roger’s army successfully breached the walls in several locations. Roger II never one to lead too far behind led a small group of knights along the wall and into the city in an attempt to force open the gates. As his men forced open the gates a nearby building that was aflame collapsed near Roger II and had it not been for the quick and valiant efforts of his men Roger II would have died in the fire of the rubble that knocked him down. However Roger II still suffered excessive burns across his body and would be laid up for many months to come.
An excerpt from one of Roger II’s court doctors, an Arab by the name of Hassan al-Kalbi:
His Grace suffered burns to his upper body, but do not seem to have affected his range of motion too much. His face and head though are permanently scarred. I was forced to amputate the left ear as all that remained was sick blackened flesh. All of his lordship’s hair on his head is gone. Curiously his eyes suffered no damage and one can only thank Allah it is so.
Roger II’s injuries would plague him for the rest of his life. As he recovered over the winter in Messina he grew tired of the shocked looks at his appearance and donned an iron mask. Some reports say it was a skull and others a detailed replica of his own face before his injuries. [Note it is not exactly known which as Roger II forbid any writings on what his mask looked like and had ordered it destroyed upon his death. It is believed though that he may have had several and wore them according to his mood.]
[Emirate of Syria] Godfrey’s army continued its siege of Damascus but the limited amount of engineers and siege engines limited the effect until more siege equipment could be brought from Tripolis.
Kerbogha’s army consolidated control over the eastern portion of the Emirate of Syria and defeated several small armies loyal to Lulu as Kerbogha’s army crept closer to the fortress city of Aleppo.
[France] As the French army made its way to the border of Toulouse tensions arose between the French knights, several priests, and many of the French nobility over Constance’s use of over two hundred of Matilda’s Maidens in her ducal army. When Louis VI commanded her to send them back to Normandy she refused. Calmly she informed him that the Maidens come with her and the royal army or she and her vassals would leave and return to Normandy. It is said that Louis VI raged for a whole day at his wife’s impertinence. Knowing that his wife’s forces and her vassals made up over a quarter of his army he could not let her leave. Louis relented and allowed them to come, but many a French noble and knight lost a lot of faith in their king.
[Provence] The Legio Secunda Mathildica Tuscia under Ser Tedice as it crossed the Durance River was attacked by Bertrand of Toulouse’s army. The new tactics and discipline of the legion even partially caught crossing the river thrashed Bertrand’s army. The Toulousian army composed of house troops, mercenaries, and levies broke after only a half an hour of battle and routed back towards Aix.
The Abbot of St. Denis, Suger, sent as an envoy from Louis VI to Boniface’s court was present at the battle and in his Vita Lodovici Regis wrote:
…The cold efficiency of the Tuscan army crushed Bertrand of Toulouse’s army in a manor I have never seen. Having accompanied his majesty Philip I, may he rest in peace, on his many campaigns in France I have never seen the like. Bertrand’s army had the Tuscans trapped and partially across the Durance but with quick efficiency and discipline Ser Tedice was able to order his army into the field in only a manner that Caesar’s armies might have accomplished. The brutal black tide [black and red being the colors of the legion] outnumbered swept the Count and his army from the field in less time than it takes this poor old priest to pray the Rosary…
[Principality of Kiev] Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich the supreme ruler of Kievan Rus and Chernigov agreed to the Byzantine emperor’s proposal to send an army to the coast of the Black Sea to further push the native Polovtsi and Cumans back to help establish further trade routes into and out of the empire.
[Rome] On the morning of November 22nd a letter arrived from Godfrey ‘the Tall’ Canossa for Pope Paschal II. In it he first asks for his Holiness’ blessings for his campaign into the Emirate of Syria. The second portion of the letter asks his Holiness for to grant him divorce from his wife Adelisa of Sicily.
An excerpt from the letter (kept on record in the library of Rome to this day):
…these accusations against my wife can longer be ignored. My own investigations lead me to believe there may be some truthfulness to my wife’s corruption. I do not ask for this for my sake but I must protect my son and daughter from their mother’s crimes…
Pope Paschal II did not respond immediately to the letter, beyond a quick missive giving his blessings in defeating the Muslims in Syria, as there were many considerations to be had.
[Seres (China)] An excerpt from the Life of John II Comnenus (page 72):
Today while traveling up the coast of Seres my ship encountered what I believe to be a ship that could rival Noah’s famed Ark. The oversized junk sailed passed with a speed I would not have attributed to such a large vessel. From that day on I vowed to learn as much about these large ships as I could and if possible captain one myself.
(December) [Provence] Bertrand of Toulouse gathered what remained of his army after the disaster at the Durance River and retreated back towards Aix. Leaving the city with a formidable garrison he returned to Toulouse when word reached him that Louis VI was camped only days away from the north of Toulouse.
Ser Tedice’s army after its victory at the Durance River made its way to Forealquier where they made winter quarters and awaited the arrival of Amadeus of Maurienne and his army.
[France] The Royal army camped in the two towns of Carlot and Murat just to the north of the territories under the control of the Count of Toulouse, Bertrand. A heavy snow stopped the army and Louis VI decided to camp for the winter. A decision he would later write that he would regret until the end of his days.
[Byzantine Empire – Dyrrachium (Durrës)] With the nearby swamps, winter, and their lessons from the last attempt to siege Dyrrachium (Durrës) the Venetian commander, one Vitale Dandolo, instituted a harsh sanitary regimen among his men during the siege. It is recorded that he established a camp for his sick and diseased soldiers well away from the siege lines and the regular army camp. From the writings of several monks whose care these sick (and in some cases wounded too) soldiers were given over to the camp was nothing more than a place for them to die away from the healthy.
[Emirate of Syria] Kerbogha’s army continued its sweep of northern Syria slowly descending upon Lulu’s stronghold of Aleppo. A small battle some fifteen miles from the walls of Aleppo yielded Lulu’s first victory. This victory by Lulu is attributed to Kerbogha’s absence from the battle whereas his supporters in the battle where mainly made up of local nobles who had backed Kerbogha. Kerbogha is estimated to have been in or around the town of Moumbidj at the time resupplying his large army.
The siege of Damascus continued with the addition of several large siege engines brought for Tripolis that saw the mighty city’s walls slowly pounded into rubble. News of Kerbogha’s host arrived and greatly worried Godfrey and his commanders. Kerbogha’s host in control of Syria could place all of Christendom’s position in the Holy Land at stake.
[Sicily] With Roger II injured and recuperating in the sacked city of Messina and his brother Simon having retired back to Palermo the civil war in the Kingdom of Sicily seemed to come to a close as winter set in. Only a few failed assaults by Simon’s forces laying siege to the occupied town of Taormina was the only combat recorded.
The city of Syracuse came under blockade by Venetian ships and ships loyal to Roger II. A Sicilian naval squadron under Admiral William of Reggio successfully maneuvered his fleet out of the blockaded city during a daring nighttime escape that also saw two Venetian galleys seized by the Sicilians with no losses to their own fleet.
[North Africa] Peter of Messina’s army continued its drive to relieve beleaguered Sicilian towns and garrisons in North Africa. A gathering of Banu Hilal was defeated as Peter’s army marched towards Tripoli to relieve the beleaguered city. Peter was forced to leave several small armies and detached light cavalry along his supply chain back to Carthage in an effort to keep the Banu tribesmen from undoing what he and his army had accomplished over the past few months.
Curiously even with parts of Sicilian North Africa overrun by the Banu tribes thousands of Sicilians from Sicily made the journey across to North Africa fleeing the encroaching civil war.
The Fatimid army twice assaulted the Byzantine occupied Banu town of Barka but failed to take the town. Supplies however ran low in the town and as the siege began to take its toll a plague broke out among the Byzantine soldiers. The Byzantine leader struck down by the plague led his second in command to ask for and were granted terms.
An Almoravid army unexpectedly began a siege of Thyrrenian controlled Icosium (Algiers). The town had been under Thyrrenian control since 1105 AD. The last siege of the town had failed to retake it had attempted to raid, unsuccessfully, on several occasions since then. However this is the first real attempt to retake the town after the failed siege in 1105.
[Rome] Pope Paschal II began sending out feelers to both the courts of Boniface and the Kingdom of Sicily (a letter was also sent to Roger II but no openly as the Pope did with Simon) on achieving a final solution to Duke Godfrey’s marriage issue. With the Duke’s formal request for annulment the issue needed to be settled. daughter to Niccoloso (who to the chieftain appeared to be in charge; much to
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The map (at the end of 1108 AD):
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Again please post questions and comments in the comments thread(see sig.).