[WIP TL] The Eagle of the World (Feedback needed!)

----------------------------------------------
This is my second ever attempt at writing any alternate history, thus feedback is desperately needed!
This is only the first chapter.

My main concerns with the timeline is how to write about political history from a medieval viewpoint. After all, states didn't really exist back then, so I'm not sure if I am writing this correctly or not. Feedback on that would be great!
----------------------------------------------

==============
Revision Log:
==============

  • (February 21st) Part 1 posted.
  • (February 22nd) Part 2 and 3 Posted.
  • (February 23rd) Revision Log Created.
  • (February 23rd) Table of Contents Created.



==============
Table of Contents:
==============


=========================
PART I: THE P.O.D and AUTHOR'S NOTE
=========================

1.1

If you are reading this book, you most likely are aware of the recent invention of the Chronoscope last year, in July 2154. This fascinating device, harnessing the newfound computational power of Quantum Computing and also using Gravitational Well Interdimensional Travel Reactors [GWITR’s for short], we can virtually explore timelines. Although scientists have known that time “Branches” upon any decision, with one branch being created for all possible outcomes, we have never explored these infinite alternate timelines. The mechanical and technical details on the chronoscope are irrelevant to this work, however the knowledge that can be gleaned from it is the basis for this book. In this book, we will be looking at the differences between our timeline and that of another “Prime” timeline [One which seems to be where all others branch from].

Note that the usage of the phrase “Our Timeline” references the alternate timeline in which we, the authors of this book reside in, as opposed to the Prime Timeline.

Also Note that all maps and tables in this book reflect our alternate timeline. All references to the Prime timeline will be explicitly stated as such.


1.2


In the year MCXCV [1195], our timeline took a turn away from all others, shaping our history into something completely different from the Prime Timeline. It is only now, with the invention of the Chronoscope that we are able to see that our path through history was not the only one. Now we can see all the time ways that humanity has gone through, the infinite amount of worlds that we have created in the multiverse. This book will only cover the history that diverged from the Prime Time way, starting in the year 1195.

The event that shifted our time way away from the Prime Timeline can be found in the Holy Roman City of Aachen in the summer of 1195, in a swelteringly hot room full of overdressed dukes, along with the Holy Roman Emperor himself, Henry VI von Hohenstaufen. It was here, in this room, that the Holy Roman Empire would be saved from the fate it saw in the Prime Timeline.[1] Henry VI, in return for releasing Sicily from the Empire, granting minor rights to the princes, and making vows to the Archbishops of the Empire, would pass a royal edict that would make the Imperial Throne Hereditary to Henry VI’s family. Although this may seem like a very insignificant political change, the Decree of Aachen (as it would later be called) would be the most important political event to happen to the Holy Roman Empire in the middle ages: By making the Imperial throne hereditary to the Staufen Dynasty, Henry VI not only secured the Imperial Throne but also paved the way for future emperors to begin centralizing the Holy Roman Empire.

Before the Decree of Aachen, the position of Holy Roman Emperor was elective, which caused low legitimacy and made the emperors unable to centralize their realm, as they would always have to focus on getting their heirs elected. [2]

Although the edict was approved by the majority of the dukes present at the Diet of Aachen, one prominent figure inside the empire rejected the deed: The Archbishop of Cologne, who was second only to the Archbishop in Frankfurt in religious authority. Rallying behind the Archbishop, the dukes of Northern Italy almost immediately rebelled against the now tightening grasp of the Emperor.

Marching across the Alps with an army of ten thousand five hundred Swabian Knights, the Emperor rendezvoused with pro-imperial supporters in the city of Legnano. With reinforcements from the local imperial supporters added to his army, the Emperor began his campaign.

This rebellion dragged on for a grueling five years, with cities changing hands between the Pro-Imperial Factions and the Pro-Ducal factions constantly.

Though initially successful in the campaign, as the civil war raged on, local support for the Emperor waned, eventually leading to the Imperial defeat at Milan in 1200 and the following treaty of Lombardia, in which the Emperor gave nearly complete local autonomy to the dukes south of the Alps, thus allowing them to self-govern and allow the Emperor to focus on rebuilding his power in Germany. Although this seems like a huge defeat for the emperor, it would eventually pay off, as the emperor would no longer need to worry about Italian power plays. [3] The Kingdom of Italy would still remain inside the Empire de-jure, but de-facto it became nothing less than a separate entity.

1.3

Following the release of Italy in 1201 AD, Pope Innocent III [r. 1198-1216] found himself in a prime position to take advantage of the lack of Imperial Protection in northern Italy. After the Italian Civil War, the once united Lombard league began to fall apart, with two factions beginning to form, one led by Venice and one led by Milan. The pope saw this as an opportunity: If he could rally the two factions behind him, he could create a much larger powerbase for the Papacy. With the recent reclamation of the Holy Land by the Arabs, Pope Innocent III called for a crusade against the Muslim attackers In Jerusalem.

In 1204, the crusade was called during a speech in Rome. To the pope’s delight, representatives from both Italian Factions showed signs of supporting the Crusade. In addition to the Italians, the German Dukes also agreed to send troops and supplies for a crusade, and Henry VI himself vowed to send royal soldiers from Germany. Crusaders from all around the Catholic world started to gather in major port cities such as Genoa and Venice. Around twenty three thousand crusaders, consisting of thirteen thousand Italians, five thousand Germans, and four thousand soldiers from various locations joined the crusade for Egypt. Doge Enrico Dandolo and Pope Innocent III sealed a vow to not attack any Christian states. In June the ships in Venice and Genoa were planned to sail for the Ayyubid Capital: Cairo. However, while Venice had fulfilled their part of the agreement by providing the required amount of soldiers and ships (Despite the great strain it put on the port city’s economy), the other crusading states were not able to pay the required toll agreed upon. This was disastrous to the Venetians, as they had halted almost all of their commerce in order to provide for the crusade, and without the toll their economy would be permanently devastated.

The venetians spent many days pondering what to do with the crusade: Disbanding it due to financial reasons would harm Venetian prestige, and cause significant trading and financial loss. Doge Enrico Dandolo, who was faced with no other option, proposed a controversial and grim plan: Using the crusading armies, the Venetians would loot cities along the way to Cairo, even if those cities happened to be Christian. Many of the crusaders, however, were reluctant or even refused to carry out this crazy plan. Doing so would be violating the agreement between the Crusaders and the Pope, and would also harm their kingdom’s reputation. Many soldiers left the crusade when the plan was announced, but despite this setback, the fleet set sail on the Seventeenth of June 1204, their first target being the Hungarian port city of Zara.[4]

The city was sacked on the twenty fourth of November, 1204. With the winter quickly approaching, the Crusaders took refuge in the captured city.

Meanwhile, Boniface of Montferrat (The leader of the crusaders who had opposed the plan to attack Zara), had fled to Swabia to conference with Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. To his surprise, the recently deposed Byzantine Emperor Alexios IV was taking refuge in the Imperial Court in Swabia. When the Emperor was informed of the sacking of Zara, he was struck with disbelief and zeal fueled anger at the traitorous Doge. We have records that some sort of deal was struck between the deposed Byzantine Emperor and the German King Henry VI. This deal created a military alliance between Alexios’ faction of Byzantine nobles, the Holy Roman Emperor, and the Pope himself, all against the audacity of the Venetian crusaders and the current Byzantine Emperor. The Emperor and the Pope sent letters to the Crusading Armies, ordering their immediate retreat from the Fourth Crusade.

Upon receiving the letter from the Emperor, Doge Enrico Dandolo hid the letter from even his closest advisors, fearing that his soldiers would comply or lose morale. When spring arrived, the Crusaders departed from Zara, unaware of the opposition from the Byzantine Rebels, Papacy, and from the Holy Roman Emperor himself. Boarding their ships, they departed for the City of the World’s Desire: Constantinople. With the Byzantine ships unaware of the oncoming danger, they were caught completely unprepared for the sudden aggression of the Venetians and the Crusaders with them.

When word got to the Holy Roman Emperor and Alexios, they immediately attempted to rally as many soldiers from both of their realms, and to stop the Venetians. Both of them saw key incentives to aid the Pope and stop the Venetian fleet: Henry VI saw the need to improve the Empire’s relations with the pope, and doing this would also give him a new ally in Alexios. Alexios saw this as an opportunity to reclaim the Byzantine Throne: If he could humiliate the current Byzantine Emperor, and show his weakness, then Alexios could attempt a coup and reclaim the throne. Despite their efforts however, the Germans and Alexios’ followers were not able to reach the City of Constantinople before the Crusaders finished sacking it. The Crusaders established a new Emperor in the place, founding a so called “Latin Empire” in the ruins of the old Byzantine Empire. This new Latin empire was significantly weaker than the Byzantine Empire, and had very low legitimacy among the nobility of the region.

Alexios and his supporters found refuge in the last remaining pockets of the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia, plotting his revenge on the Venetians and the Latin Empire. With the Latin Empire founded and the Venetians in a much stronger position, the Pope now had a vast area of influence around the Mediterranean, much stronger than in the Prime Timeline. Another side effect of the 4th crusade was the potential for a German-Byzantine Alliance. After the war, Heinrich returned to Germany to begin preparations for his son, Frederick II, to take the throne.

1.4

While Central and Eastern Europe was engaged in the 4th Crusade, the French and the English were busy with their own wars. During the 1100’s, the English crown inherited most of Western France, while the French Kings had struggled with a lack of legitimacy and thus a lack of Centralization. The king was seen as a “First among equals” by the rest of the French dukes. Despite this, the French Capetian Dynasty had secured the throne, and their dynasty was uninterrupted since the days of Hugh Capet (Who reigned as king of France in the early 900’s). This series of uninterrupted rulers established a hereditary monarchy in France, allowing it to begin to centralize.

However, after Henry II of England inherited multiple lands along the western coast of France During the 1100’s (Territories such as Anjou, Aquitaine, Normandy and Brittany), the French crown controlled less than half of the regions now known as France. Despite being hemmed in between the English and the Germans, Philippe II was able to manipulate the brother of Richard the Lionheart, John the Pious, into giving up lands in Anjou and Brittany in exchange for the French supporting John’s claim to the English crown. By doing this, Phillippe II placated his rival, albeit temporarily: by the end of the 12th century, the uneasy peace between English and French had all but evaporated, with John the Pious, who was now king of England, attempting to reclaim the English position in France. Battles were fought in Normandy, with the English ultimately losing most of them, and having to retreat to a nearby castle. The French established a siege around it, one which would last five years until King Phillippe ordered his men to climb the toilet chutes, capturing the soldiers inside and winning the first war.[5]

Despite this resounding defeat in 1204, the English soon found a new ally against the threat of France. The papacy had long been wary of the growing power of the French Kings, but now with the astounding defeat of the English, the Pope saw it was time to “Cut them down to size”, and put out a call to all catholic nations to join a coalition against the French in 1213. Unfortunately for the Pope, Emperor Heinrich VI was unwilling to turn against the French, leaving only the Venetians, Papacy, England and Aragon willing to join. Though this force was much weaker than if the H.R.E joined, it was still able to muster up around twelve thousand troops for an invasion of Flanders, in Northern France. The French King Phillippe II was alarmed at this development, and started to rally as many levies as possible from his kingdom, and rushing up to meet the coalition forces in Flanders.

The English and French armies met at Bouvines in northern Flanders, engaging in a battle which would shape the western world forever. The English and Venetian forces were comprised of primarily infantry forces, with only two thousand knights joining on horseback. In comparison, the French were able to rally up around seven thousand mounted knights and another eight thousand infantry, enough to outnumber and out maneuver the English in battle. By the evening of the 27th of July 1214, the coalition forces had been decimated, and John II was fleeing back to England.

From what the Chronoscope can see, in the Prime timeline the Holy Roman Empire (under the rule of an anti-king named Otto IV) joined the coalition. Surprisingly, even with the Holy Roman Empire assisting, the coalition forces failed to beat the French at Bouvines.

With the English royal armies in disarray, and John II weakened and fleeing back to England without an army, the earls of England saw this as a great opportunity to rise up in rebellion, starting a yearlong civil war which would lead to John II being forced to sign a legal document known as the Magna Charta. This royal document would force the king to give up many royal rights to the earls, and also allow the local leaders to convene in a so called “Parliament”.

1.5

In Germany, the German Emperor Heinrich VI was finishing up his preparations for his son Friedrich II to take the throne. Knowing old age was approaching quickly, in 1225 Heinrich VI resigned to his palace in Regensburg, Bavaria, to take his place among the ancient kings of old. When winter passed, the Emperor was no more.

A grand funeral procession proceeded from Regensburg to Cologne, where his body would be put to rest at long last. In April 1225 Heinrich’s son, Friedrich took up the royal crown and received the blessing of Pope Innocent III, thus becoming the first Emperor to assume the Imperial Crown hereditarily. The future would hold many struggles for Friedrich, though because of the struggles of his father, the succession would not be one of them.

FOOTNOTES for CHAPTER 1

[1] In the Prime Timeline, the empire would fail as a political institution due to its inability to centralize. This trend of decentralization started after the 50 year conflict with the pope known as the Investiture Controversy, and centralization was further hindered by the lack of a hereditary monarchy or Capital city. De-centralization was made into law by Frederick II in the Prime Timeline in 1232 with the Statutum in Favorem Principum (A legal decree which gave all remaining imperial power to the local dukes). The 30 year long anarchy after his death ensured that the Emperor would never regain imperial power.

[2] In the Prime Timeline, the Decree of Aachen was never passed, thus keeping the HRE elective, and forcing almost every future emperor to give more and more autonomy to the local leaders. By 1250 in the Prime Timeline, the Holy Roman Emperor had almost no remaining power.

[3] In the Prime Timeline, Italy would distract many emperors, and prevent them from Centralizing the Holy Roman Empire

[4] In the Prime Timeline, the 4th crusade was almost identical to ours, with the exception of the German Emperor’s intervention.

[5] This amusing event seems to have also occurred in the Prime Timeline, as did the war between English and French kings.

-----------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading! More will be posted soon!
-----------------------------------------------------
 
Last edited:
================
PART II and III
================

[2.1]
When Friedrich assumed the Imperial Regalia in Cologne and was blessed by Pope Innocent III, the Holy Roman Empire, for the first time since the reign of Henry III (1046-1056), was stable. During Heinrich VI’s reign most of the German dukes had begun to accept imperial rule, but still many territorial lords remained rebellious, first among them the Duke of Saxony, Otto IV von Welf. The Welf family had rivaled and hindered the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, the origins of their conflict almost as old as the dynasties themselves. Frederick II’s rule was challenged by Otto IV almost immediately, who raised his flag in rebellion in 1231. The rebellion was quickly squashed by Frederick II and his allies from across Germany, yet as before Frederick II’s rule outside his personal domain was still tenuous and feudal.

With Germany secure, Friedrich looked outside of his realm for alliances to protect the delicate stability inside the Empire. His father had taken a few steps towards improving relations with the Byzantine Emperor, though there was never a solid alliance struck between the two emperors. In 1229 the Byzantine Rebels in Anatolia finally retook the City of the World's Desire: Constantinople, and the Latin Empire was soon dissolved. Although Byzantium was restored, it was considerably weaker than it was before the Crusade. Friedrich, seeing an opportunity, betrothed his sister to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios, thus formalizing an Alliance. This was a shock to the rest of the Western World, as never before had the H.R.E and Byzantium been allied, in fact most of the time they were competing for religious legitimacy. Although the religious schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches was far from mended, this alliance was a significant first step.

Returning from Constantinople in 1230, Emperor Friedrich II called the dukes of Germany together at Regensburg, which at the time was one of the most populated cities in the Holy Roman Empire. At this meeting, Friedrich II reaffirmed the Decree of Aachen, thereby ensuring the Princes continued compliance with the new laws of Imperial Succession. Although Friedrich II dreamed of a unified empire, he found the powers of the feudal lords incredibly hard to curtail. At the Diet of Regensburg, Friedrich II was unable to gain any new powers over the dukes, even as Friedrich II enumerated Imperial Regalia for the first time in the history of the Holy Roman Empire.

The kings and emperors of the middle ages found it impossible to truly exercise absolute rule for a number of reasons. They were able to bend and twist laws in their favor, yet were never strong enough to truly exercise absolute power (Unlike kings in China and the Middle East, who were able to). The rule of Law was incredibly well rooted in both Feudal and Roman times, arising from a mixture of church and Roman law.

Another major change would happen inside the Empire during the late twelve hundreds. The Emperor Frederick II began the practice of confiscating local dukes’ holdings when the rebelled, thus weakening his rivals and strengthening himself. The first act of confiscation came at the expense of the duke of Baden, who by refusing to attend court gave Emperor Friedrich II the legal ability to confiscate his holdings. This would be the pattern which most following emperors would follow: Call a duke to court, and if he refuses, then confiscate his lands.

In Italy, Pope Innocent III continued to build up his influence among the diverse city states of Northern Italy, such as Pisa, Tuscany, Venice, Milan, and Genoa. In 1232, Pope Innocent III passed a papal decree that brought allowed papal intervention in military affairs among the north Italian city states. Although they would retain almost complete autonomy, the Doges and Dukes of northern Italy were now essentially protectorates of the Pope. Though Italy was far from unified, this web of alliances and protectorates would defend the weak Italian states for centuries to come.


[2.2]

In the years 1230 through 1300, very few significant events occurred in Europe. Centralization continued inside the nations of Europe, with a fragile peace between France and England being established in Paris during the mid-1240s. The Magna Carta established a proto-constitution in England, which put the kingdom on the track towards creating a parliamentary government. In France, the Capetian Kings continued to expand the crown lands into Anjou and Normandy, creating a much larger power base inside France.

The Emperor Friedrich II continued confiscating rebellious lands, eventually gaining the right of hereditary succession inside the Duchy of Swabia in 1246 AD. By the time of his death in 1250 AD, Frederick II owned around 75% of the duchy of Swabia, and also held significant amounts of territory along the Rhine.

Frederick II’s son, Conrad II, reigned until 1284, his reign focused on consolidation of Hohenstaufen power in Swabia. Conrad II granted around a hundred charters for new cities, all of which were granted imperial immediacy. Imperial immediacy meant that the vassal would be the direct vassal of the emperor, and would be granted special exemptions from taxes and tariffs. These cities took land out of the hands of the nobility, thus weakening the nobility.

[2] The Italian City States in the Prime Timeline remained part of the Empire until the mid-1400, although most emperors after 1250 didn’t make any efforts to centralize Italy.

[3] The Mongol Invasions in our timeline and the Prime Timeline appear to be identical, as our point of divergence would have no effect on the happenings in the east.

[3.1]

Italy had always been a thorn in the Holy Roman Emperor’s side, as it was almost impossible to manage from his seat in Germany, thus resulting in multiple campaigns throughout history, almost all of which would ultimately fail. The Empire in Germany by this point had grown quite strong, with four generations of hereditary rulers all making an effort to expand the power of the Emperor. Italy however remained decentralized, with the Treaty of Lombardia still granting almost complete autonomy to the dukes in Italy.

When Conrad died in 1284, he left two twins as his heirs, which caused quite the dilemma: The Decree of Aachen said the eldest would inherit, however it never gave any mention to the case of twins, which at the time were seen as a divine act. The bishops of Mainz and Cologne and Hohenstaufen relatives gathered in Regensburg to decide on the coronation, eventually settling on the following arrangement: The Imperial throne would be given to the eldest son Adolf I, along with the Kingdom of Germany, and the Kingdom of Italy and Burgundy would be granted to the younger of the twins, Frederick III.

The dual Imperial coronation took place on Christmas day, 1285, with the two brothers kneeling before the pope outside of St. Johns Basilica, Rome.

This coronation symbolizes the definitive splitting of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty into two branches: The Frederician and the Adolfen branches, with the former reigning over Italy and the latter reigning over Germany. This split is now known as “die Teilung der Erbschaft” (The division of the succession in German).

Returning to Regensburg in Germany, Adolf began work on making his rule recognized throughout the Kingdom. Unlike previous German kings however, Adolf did not set out on foot to visit the dukes himself. He instead opted to send out delegates to do his work for him, in the way that the French Kings had been doing for centuries. By using bureaucrats directly loyal to the Emperor (Rather than vassals with their own personal disloyalties and ambitions for power), Adolf had set the groundwork for a more reliable form of administration, and thus took a very important step to centralizing the Holy Roman Empire.

It should be noted that this usage of a literate middle class can be attributed to the phenomena of urbanization that took place during this century, which in turn can be traced back to the effects of the Black Death.

Even after the Teilung der Erbschaft, the Kingdom of Italy remained extremely fragmented, even more so than Germany, and had not benefited from the centralization that took place north of the Alps. In Italy, Frederick III wasn’t as lucky: The Dukes and Doges of northern Italy did not take kindly to the resurgence of Imperial power in Italy, and rose up in rebellion. Frederick quickly realized that he did not have enough power alone to counter this rebellion, and looked elsewhere for allies. He found two: The Emperor of Byzantium and the Pope.

Although the Teilung der Erbschaft gave more royal authority to the King of Italy, the Pope was still arguably more influential in Italy than the Emperor. Between the end of the 4th crusade and the Teilung der Erbschaft the Pope had been building relations with the city states of northern Italy and consolidating his political authority over them. However, by the time of the Teilung der Erbschaft the Pope had become dependent on the Italian City states for legitimacy and support.

The War between the King and the Dukes raged on from 1285 – 1293, exhausting both sides. Although Frederick III would ultimately defeat the Lombard League at the battle of Milan, the peace deal that followed was ambiguous in stating a victor. Both sides were exhausted from war, their manpower depleted and their treasury nearly empty. Italy would never truly recover from the war, and the King of Italy would rule only in name.

By the end of the Lombard War, Emperor Adolf I of Germany had solidified his title north of the Alps and had begun to refine the process of administering Germany. On July 14th 1303 Adolf called together the most powerful dukes of Germany, The Pope, and Frederick III to Regensburg. At the Imperial Diet which followed Adolf I redrew the internal borders of the German Kingdom in order consolidate the complexity of administering the Empire. Adolf, with approval from most of the Dukes, divided the duchies of the empire into 11 imperial circles, each one acting as an administrative region inside the Kingdom of Germany. These would later be cut down to 6 circles at the diet of Nuremberg (1422 AD). Minor concessions were forced out of the Emperor at the conference, most important among them was the establishment of an Imperial Diet, by which the princes of the Empire would have a say in Imperial politics.

It is very important to note that despite all the Emperor had accomplished inside Germany, the realm remained heavily feudal in its administration, and the King was still heavily reliant on the Dukes for manpower, tribute and administration. Despite all the advancements in administration in the 13th century, the Holy Roman Empire cannot be compared to a modern state in terms of political and economic institutions. Although the Holy Roman Emperor was de-jure more powerful than the dukes and counts of the realm, de-facto his power outside his personal domain was limited. Signs of modernity were showing, however; Adolf I had begun to use paid, middle class, councilors for the usage of administration, beginning the shift away from reliance on a landed nobility.

Adolf next looked to advance his power outside of the borders of Germany. To the east sat Hungary and Poland, both of which were also consolidating their administration, albeit with a lesser degree of success than Germany. To the Northeast lied the Pagan lands of Lithuania, Prussia, and Livonia.

Due to their lack of a true government, the Pagans of the Baltic coastline seemed like a perfect target to Adolf. Despite having sat out on most of the Crusades for the Holy Land (Especially after the disaster of the 4th Crusade) the crusading zeal still burnt inside of the Emperor of Germany. Adolf I petitioned the pope for his blessing, and as the snow started to melt in the early spring of 1308, Adolf and an army of around ten thousand Teutonic Knights set off for the untamed east.

The “blitzkrieg” of Teutonic Knights was initially successful, by 1325 they had conquered Danzig, Konigsberg, and almost all of modern day Prussia. When the Knights started to push into Livonia, they soon encountered much fiercer resistance. The war dragged on for another half-century, eventually culminating in the creation of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Adolf I died in 1339 in battle, and after his death, the Holy Roman Empire entered a period known as the “Zwischenzeitraum” (The Interlude Period). During this time, the Holy Roman Empire’s government was stuck somewhere between medieval and modern administration. Feudal lords still owned around 65% of the kingdom (With another 17% owned by the church, and the rest part of the Hohenstaufen demesne), and their influence in politics was still major. However, the rise of towns (especially along the Rhine) and the subsequent advent of the middle class led to the creation of early bureaucracies and the decline of the nobility. Kings started to grant land, which previously belonged the nobility, to cities, accelerating the decline of feudalism.

The following two emperors, Conrad III (r. 1339 - 64) and Friedrich III (r. 1364 – 1422), personified the struggle between old and new ideas. Their reigns saw the encouragement of German settlements in the east, which created a new region past the Oder River directly loyal to the Emperor. Cities were founded by the dozen in these new areas of the Empire, displacing the old Slavic nobility with German-speaking merchants and bureaucrats. The Emperors didn’t grant much land to nobility, fearing that it would entrench their power even more.

[3.2]

The end of the Pax Europa was heralded by the first Scottish War of Independence. Taking advantage of the weakened royalty in England, the people of Scotland rose up in arms to separate the two kingdoms. The English would lose the war after the decisive battles of Stirling Bridge (Where William Wallace emerged as the unofficial leader of the Scottish Rebellion), and then was finally decided at the battle of Bannockburn, when the English King recognized the Scottish kingdom as independent in 1314.

Although the Scottish War of Independence was costly to the English, the balance of power in Europe remained stable for the next thirty years.

To the east, the Golden Horde (A splinter of Genghis Khan’s Empire, rule by one of his many sons) was in decline, reducing the influence of the Mongols on the Russian city-states. Due to this decline in influence, Russian culture began to flourish once more, especially in the largest of the states, Novgorod.

This fragile golden age in Europe would come to an end in the year 1328, when the king of France, Charles IV, died without a son, thus triggering a dispute about the next heir. Charles’ Sister, Isabella of England, claimed the French throne for her son, King Edward of England. However, the French were appalled by the notion of an English King ruling France, and thus proposed that Phillip VI should take the throne instead. Although a temporary compromise would be achieved, war inevitably broke out in the year 1337 between King Edward III and King Phillip VI.

Despite having a much weaker monarchy and a much smaller army, the Kingdom of England was astonishingly successful in the first phase of the war, which lasted from the outbreak of the war all the way into the fourteen hundreds. The war was waged all over France, devastating the countryside and many key cities. Although the English captured Paris early on in the war, they were never able to get the French to submit. The legendary Joan of Arc traveled through central France, causing havoc for the English armies, though she would ultimately be defeated later in the war.

As stalemate grew more and more inevitable, and as both sides began to exhaust their resources and manpower, the war dragged on. Both sides made large gains in attempt to break the stalemate (Such as the French landing in England, or the English capture of Paris), neither side was able to deliver the killing blow. Truces would be signed on and off, but the conflict inevitably broke out again after each truce.

As both sides exhausted their manpower and became increasingly exhausted from war, a peace deal was drawn up. France would gain Normandy, Britany, and Anjou. England would renounce their claims to the French throne, but retain their holdings in southern France.

[3.3]

All across Europe, the middle ages were coming to a close as feudalism gave way to the growth of towns from Spain to Poland. By allying with the king rather than dukes, towns strengthened the King’s hold over his kingdom. Aside from their obvious administrative uses, Towns also reintroduced the concept of capitalism to the west, a force unseen since the fall of the Roman Empire. A new merchant class appeared with the rise of towns, upsetting the traditional feudal order. This new social class didn’t fit in the traditional order; they didn’t own land, nor did they owe loyalty to any specific lord. The middle class became directly loyal to the Emperor or King of their lands, rather than dukes. This provided a key advantage for the leaders of kingdoms against the nobility.

As the middle ages drew to a close in the mid-14th century, the face of Europe looked only slightly different than the Europe of the Prime Timeline:

Germany stood as a united force under the House von Hohenstaufen after the reign of Henry VI, Frederick II, Conrad IV, and Adolf I; it was due to these four emperors that the Empire was saved from the fate it suffered in the Prime Timeline. A hereditary monarchy and a royal capital had been established, and with them came an imperial bureaucracy and legal code. The seeds that Henry VI had laid were now sprouting.

Italy remained as fiercely independent as always; the city states of the region serving as a thorn in many a ruler’s side. Although some semblance of order was established by Frederick III of Italy, there remained a long ways to go before Italy would be unified.

France and England remained entangled in a mess of dynastic conflicts, just as happened in the Prime timeline. France pulled ahead of England in terms of centralization, even rivaling Germany in that respect. A royal bureaucracy and capital was established very early on in France, far before Germany.
 
Thanks for the support! I will have another chapter up today, though subsequent updates may be much slower, as I only have chapters 1-4 already written. :)
 
=====================
Chapter 4 (Part 0-1)
=====================

4.0

After the close of the Hundred Years war, peace once again dawned on Europe: The Holy Roman Empire was busy building a centralized government, France and England were recovering from a hundred years of war, and Byzantium was becoming more and more closed off to the world.

When Byzantium closed its ports off to almost all western traders (in an attempt to close off from outsiders and maintain their own cultural heritage), a new problem faced the trading nations of Iberia and Italy: Previously spice trade could flow from the eastern reaches of the world into Europe through Byzantium, however now that route was closed off, and thus the wealth that it brought with it vanished nearly overnight.

Leaders all over Western Europe turned to explorers of all class and nationality in an attempt to find a new route to the East. Castile, Portugal, and Lombardia were the first three nations to send out exploration fleets to the uncharted waters of the world. While Castile and Lombardia looked for a westward route to India, Portugal attempted to navigate around Africa in order to find India. Their colonization efforts would shape the future of the world.

But before we delve into the waters of the Atlantic, let us first examine the wonder of the world: Adolf II von Hohenstaufen.

4.1

It is sometimes debated whether or not one man can singlehandedly change history. Adolf II seems to be a key piece of evidence that they can. He knew seven languages, expanded the bureaucracy of the empire threefold, and resided in one of the most lavish palaces in Europe.

Adolf II was crowned King of Germany in the year 1420, and subsequently named Holy Roman Emperor in 1422. Dissatisfied with the still weak position of the Holy Roman Emperor, The young energetic king set out to pick up where his father Adolf I had left off. Unshaken by the threat of excommunication, Adolf II almost immediately sent an ultimatum to the Papacy, demanding support in gathering together a diet at Nuremberg. The pope, whose position had been weakened over the centuries, complied. As the sweltering heat inside the stone castle of Nuremberg at the height of summer beamed down upon the attendees, a new constitution was drawn up for the Holy Roman Empire. The “Diet of Nuremberg”, as it was called, laid out the following points (Among others):

- The Kingdom of Germany would be consolidated into 6 Imperial Circles for administrative purposes, each one having its own (limited) courts. A new Imperial Court system was established inside the Empire. Trial by Ordeal and Battle were banned inside the Empire. The Judiciaries of cities were made subject to that of the Emperor himself. Several cities were marked as “Free Cities”, which gave them far greater autonomy in exchange for a major tax on all trade goods passing through the city.

- State monopolies on silk, iron, and grain were established, and Tariffs inside the empire were lifted. Tolls were established on major roads. Weights and Measures were standardized throughout the empire. The constitution also established a common currency inside the Empire.

- A common peace was established inside the empire, banning internal wars. To counter revolts, a standing army of Sicilian mercenaries was created, who were loyal only to the Emperor.

- The constitution of a new imperial government (Reichsregiment) was demanded by the Princes of the empire to replace the old, slow, and ineffective Imperial Diet. This new government would be serve as the legislature for the Holy Roman Empire. The Reichsregiment was intended to control the foreign and economic policy of the Emperor. In return for representation, the emperor demanded a yearly concession of landsknecht troops.

The internal borders of the Empire were redrawn at the conference, favoring the smaller territorial lords. This outraged many of the large territorial lords of the empire, and almost all of them raised their flags in rebellion, and refused to ratify the constitution of Nuremberg. The dukes of Northern Germany all cemented their allegiance to one another, forming the “Westphalian Confederation”. Thus began the Barons War.

Although he had lost the support of most of the greater nobility, The Emperor still maintained powerful allies who would assist him during the conflict. Chief among these were the Pope (who was appeased by the concessions made to the pope at the Diet of Nuremberg), and the King of Bohemia (Who was granted major exemptions in the constitution due to his power in the east). The King of France, who was terrified by the thought of a unified Empire, declared his support for the newly formed “Westphalian Confederation”. The Hohenstaufen King of Sicily, Friedrich IV, stayed out of the war, fearing rebellion among his own vassals in Lombardy.

The first major battle of the war took place outside the fortified Westphalian city of Koln (cologne). Emperor Adolf II personally led his army (which consisted of primarily Sicilian and Swabian Mercenaries) north, looting and pillaging Westphalian cities along the way. The Archbishop of Koln rallied the feudal levies of the surrounding towns. The siege of Koln lasted nearly six months, only falling with the deployment of a new type of weapon: the canon. The blast was louder than anything ever heard before, and when the smoke cleared, the “impenetrable” walls of Koln had been shattered and lay in ruins.

Canons had been first used by the Byzantine Empire against the Turks during the brief Turkish Wars (1387 – 1401), which had nearly wiped out all Arabic influence in Turkey. Their appearance in Western Europe was sped up by the continued alliance between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Byzantine Emperor (which had been cemented by multiple royal marriages during the 1300’s).

The initial string of victories in northern Germany wouldn’t last. In the years after the siege of Koln, the Westphalian Confederation made considerable gains in Bohemia, which eventually was forced to sign a separate peace with the Confederation. Without the aid of Bohemia, the Holy Roman Emperor started to lose territory after territory in Franconia.

The second phase of the war was much more favorable to the pro-imperial faction; multiple cities were reclaimed along the Rhine, and the King of France was forced to withdraw following the Burgundian campaign.

The conflict in the Holy Roman Empire at the time can be seen as the direct equivalent of the Thirty Years War in the Prime Timeline. Although the Barons War is traditionally stated to have lasted forty three years, the fighting wasn’t continuous, and it wasn’t a single war either. The Barons war should be seen more as a violent transitionary era rather than a single war. Many foreign states took a stake in the conflict, including England, the Kalmar Union (Comprising of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), and even the Polish Lithuanian commonwealth, each participating for selfish or political reasons.

By the time Adolf II died in 1457, the war was nearly complete. His heir Adolf III led a string of Imperial Victories in Poland (1459 – 1464), where the last armies of the rebellion were destroyed. The Barons War ended with the Second Diet of Nuremberg in 1465, where the constitution put forth forty three years ago was finally ratified. Both factions were incredibly shaken by the thirty two years of warfare. By this point, the land was pillaged and burned during the war, and plague had wreaked havoc on both sides. It would take a century for Germany to fully recover its grandeur. The church had become a shell of its former self, now nothing more than a puppet for various political leaders to manipulate.

The Holy Roman Empire became (quite reasonably) reluctant to join outside conflicts for the next hundred years. Most of the resources of the Emperor went into rebuilding efforts. The war created an opportunity for the Emperor to expand his influence: He alone possessed the resources to start rebuilding. Almost everyone acknowledged that the war (which had killed 1/3rd of Germany’s population) was caused by the lack of stability inside the government of the Empire. From 1468 to 1480, the exhausted princes of the Holy Roman Empire finally succumbed to the will of the Emperor and passed a series of reforms aimed at speeding up the recovery of the Holy Roman Empire by giving more and more power to the Emperor. Although the nobility retained most of their land, their role in government was now at an all-time low. The rediscovery of Roman law during the renaissance also influenced these reforms.

By this point, it would appear that the Holy Roman Empire had finally surpassed even France in terms of Centralization; a hereditary monarchy had been established, the royal domain stretched from Koln to Geneva, imperial courts had been established across the Empire, and the last great rebellion had just ended. As Adolf III ascended the throne (as seen in the famous paintings by Friedrich Ziek), his stoic face gazed on to a stable and absolute future.
 
This looks intriguing. The only jarring note that I can see is the references to "the Prime timeline". From their perspective, why wouldn't the chronoscope users consider themselves to be the prime timeline and OTL to be an alternate. If you want to preserve the comparison, perhaps OTL is the most most easily viewed through the chronoscope and the attention paid to it is due to the users trying to figure out why it seems to be the most prominent alternate TL?
 
Thank you, and I will definitely look into the whole chronoscope business, and try to make the analogy uniform.
 
Top