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And now, for a little side-project. This starts, as most of my work does, in media res of a long TL. However, it lacks the multicultural focus of my other work (see sig) and will not jump forward to the modern era. The era corresponds with our European religious wars.

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British Protestantism had started as Christ had- humbly, from the common folk. It did not start in the high halls of the Catholic hierarchy, nor in the private chapels of the great lords. It was independent of Europe, as Britain itself was. And it did not come initially from a man of the cloth.

The man known as Black Leroy Broadus (named so because he was a bastard of a local woman and one of the King's curious African servants bought from Portugal) or "The Snooping Dog" had, as a young man, learned letters and reading, unlike many of his peers. He had been a rogue, with many of them, engaging in the banditry that helped the rural poor get by occasionally. But The Snooping Dog was more than just a common rogue. He could read not only English, but Latin. He was also more spiritually inclined- he often thought of God as a young man, even in the midst of his sinful youth. He had a gift for lyricism, a disregard for the Church hierarchy and the local sheriff, and several interesting theological points.

Snooping Dog living in the small, poor village of Compton, which had become the center of its parish due to a royal cathedral being built there in the 1200s. Snooping Dog wrote a series of poems and spoken hymns, all criticizing the Church, and nailed them to the Cathedral. These poems would start a firestorm.

But Broadus was not alone in his efforts. A common priest, a Matthew Mathers, met up with Broadus in the city of York, and discussed theology with him. Their initial debates would be recorded by an aide of Mathers.

The two became theological partners. Both of them were poets at heart, but Mathers had a more varied lyricism, vocabulary and ability to rhyme. Mathers also brought serious spiritual credentials. And so, the shared theology of Mathers and Broadus began to develop.

At Mathers' suggestion, the two toured the country, preaching to the common folk and avoiding the local law enforcement. Oral memory of their popular hymns, both bawdy and serious, disseminated amongst the people. The English Church was particularly corrupt, and the people were poor. The new theology played in to populist resentments at a corrupt church. The message of the new Protestant theology also appealed to the people- focus on virtuous gains and material success on Earth, combined with a faith through scripture alone, would get people to Heaven. A Protestant work ethic developed early in the English Protestant movement.

But the faith was not limited solely to the commoners. The Archbishop of York proved to be an early ally, and soon petty lords and their lieges were listening to the message. There was money and land to be gained from the monasteries and from the retention of the tithes once sent to Rome. And so, Mammon motivated where Christ could not.

The King eventually tried to crack down on the surging movement, arresting Protestant lords and executing the Archbishop of York. This only provided martyrs. The Protestants continue to grow under Mathers. Snooping Dog continued to write both religious and non-religious common songs, and his nickname was shortened to the Snoop Dog we know today. Mathers, who also wrote using a pseudonym, became The Slim Shade.

Eventually, however, the duo broke apart. Mathers had, after an tempestuous and stormy first marriage, found a more stable relationship with another woman. Broadus, on the other hand, transitioned back to writing poetry, fables and more common song. The two remained amicable, but it was Mathers who was now the face of the Protestants.

The King ordered both captured and executed. Broadus, a rogue by original trade, went to the Continent to enjoy women and travel. Mathers hid out with his followers, eventually finding a temporary home near Holyhead in Wales.

Some Protestants rose up in rebellion, and were crushed brutally. This inflamed their fellows, and many of the burghers and lords tired of a corrupt Church and the arrogant king. A new rebellion caught steam, and soon a mass army of Protestants was marching on London.

Even worse, some of the royal soldiers had themselves converted to the mass appeal of the English Protestants. And so, the capital ended up being besieged. A Catholic force of lords and faithful peasants attempted to dislodge the siege, but were defeated after a Catholic traitor revealed their plans for gold.

And so, the capital remained under siege. The King appealed for foreign help, from the Pope or his Spanish sister-in-law. This appeal failed- they were busy with the more developed continental Protestantism that had engulfed all of Europe west of Russia and north of the Komnenoi Sultans (descended from the Greco-Turkish Muslim branch of the family).

Eventually, a servant who had been converted to Protestantism kidnapped the King with some like-minded guards. In exchange for the life of him and his kin, the capital was opened. The claimant, the famous Robert III "the Quiet", was descendant of a bastard branch of the first English dynasty, and grandson of the sister of the deposed King's great-grandfather. In 1534, Robert III Nixon became King. Although his rule was comparatively tolerant (he only purged traitorous lords), the long rule of his paranoid son King Richard I "the Clever" would see the Catholic presence in England basically destroyed.

And so Protestantism had been imposed on England. Mathers was made the first Ecclesiarch of the new Church. St. Albans replaced St. George as a national saint, and the purging of the defeated Catholic lords began in earnest

Protestantism had come to England.
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