MotF 125: HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, BATMAN!

The Union of Lincoln



After much lurking here is my first entry.

The POD is 1066.
Harold Godwinson is defeated and killed by Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge. William of Normandy invades on schedule (i.e. when the winds allow). William rapidly establishes his control of southern England but comes to an arrangement with Hardrada. William keeps the south, Hardrada the north and they establish a rump England ruled by Edgar as a buffer state between them. Over the years, mainly due to the situation in Scandinavia taking most of Harald’s attention (and that of his sons) Anglian Northumberland breaks away to form its own Kingdom, leaving the Norse in charge of a renewed Jorvik.

Scotland is unable to keep control of the highlands and a Confederation of Clans, nominally ruled by a High Chief is formed which calls itself Alba. Wales is basically left alone and consolidates into 4 petty principalities.

By 1240 there are the High Chieftainship of Alba, the Kingdoms of Scotland and Northumberland (which have only recently settled a long dispute over Lothian and Cumberland), Jorvik which is ruled by an Althing (much like Iceland), England which is nominally ruled by a descendant of Edgar, Edmund IV, but is actually ruled by the Witenagemot, the petty principalities of Gwynedd, Dyffed, Powys and Morgannig and finally the Duchy of Greater Normandy a feudal state.

Due to the expansion of rule by the Capets in France, the Dukes have lost control of Normandy itself and the Capets are now casting avaricious eyes at Greater Normandy which is RICH. Knowing that they cannot defend their lands by themselves the Dukes by means of diplomacy have formed the Union of Lincoln with England, Jorvik, Northumberland and Scotland, all of which are very nervous about a possible French invasion. The head of the Union is Edmund IV as no one thinks that he will try and exert any real authority.

First attempt - I do apologise in advance if I have messed something up

However, This is the Frankish Empire.

POD is that Charlemagne only has a single legitimate heir. This allows for a more solidified Frankish Empire that eventually splinters sometime after only to reforms back into the Empire under similar situations as OTL Holy Roman Empire

In OTL, King of Alba Lulach was unceremoniously killed and succeeded by
Malcolm III. What if, instead of being murdered, he was captured and exiled
off to sea, without any of the original members of his family? With only a
slightly change of punishment, Lulach and his majorly English crew manage
to hold off on bread crumbs from the ship before landing on the coast of
Ednícarseld (New Home) in early 1060. Getting help from the natives, the
crew of 112 quickly formed a small settlement that was built from the
remains of their former vessel. Presenting themselves as peaceful helpers,
the people who lived on the coasts of OTL South Carolina helped and gave
aid whenever the British needed it. Before long, the settlement stabilized
itself. Even if it did lose contact with its former home, it was better than
Lulach ever expected to do. Most of the countries in Europe refused to accept
his refuge for seemingly baseless reasons, and the fact that he was sent with
no navigational equipment made it even more difficult. By the time of
Lulach’s death of old age in 1089, the population of “Lulachfrýgyld” (Lulach’s
Heaven) had already grown to nearly 190. However, the fact that there were
already two settlements by this time made it hard to govern. The two sons of
Lulach, Ælfgar and Lalor, fought over ownership of these towns, eventually
dividing the land up amongst themselves into two separate feudal systems.
They were named “Ælfgaríce” (Ælfgar’s Kingdom) and “Laloríce” (Lalor’s
Kingdom).

Ælfgaríce immediately had the larger amount of power, due to 70% of the
Englishmen living in the region. A population boom supposedly happened
around this time, probably instituted by Lalor to bring the amount of citizens
up. Throughout the twelfth century, various more towns were founded and
many more declared self-rule due to the distance of travel. The two original
kingdoms became one of many within a few more decades, all somewhat
unified under the name of Lulachfrýgyld. The House of Alpin stayed in power
for many years in the formative region, while other cadet braces continued
reign in the north. Some of the natives formed English-influenced states as
well, such as the Cætaba people. These new states gained a lot of power,
influencing the government and language of Frýgian culture. However, the
nations themselves remained purely English in name, due to old tradition. By
the end of the century, places were being named not after the people who
founded it, but after things like famous saints and figures of Christianity. The
religion had taken over Lulachfrýgyld, pushing out the various formed of
paganism for more of a native-influenced type.

The thirteenth century saw a major boom of exploration, with ship technology
taking a massive step forward. The resources of Ednícarseld provided good
for easy expansion, allowing settlement on the peninsula of Edscóníeg
(Florida) and a few minor trade posts on the Walganus River (Mississippi).
Influence on the natives this far in took effect, as the diseases had effected
them nearly a century before. Confederations of tribes began to form,
influenced by the language and 36-letter alphabet of Lulachfrýgyld. By 1300,
settlement took control, with farmland being sought out more than influence.
By this time, the kingdoms began to elect a presiding leader, to loosely rule
over the Frýgian realms. By 1450, the realms of Lulachfrýgyld were
expansive and wealthy, trading as far inland as OTL Utah. The population
grew at around a rate of 1.7% the entire time, meaning that the population
was nearly 77,000 citizens strong. Lulachfrýgyld was becoming centralized
and strong, but what will happen when the Scottish sailors come from the
west?

Alternate Australia 1971



A more culturally and linguistically divided Australia, fragmented by a boom in settlers.

I: An Ard-Ríogacht na Ériu. When Róimh (Rome) abandoned the province of Britannia in 235 CE, the former tribes had really no idea what to do. They’d been Rómhánach (Roman) for only seventy years but already they had forgotten how to become Briton again, or, at least, mostly. They turned into somewhat Rómhánach somewhat Briton tiny kingdoms that were constantly warring. The Irish used their expert shipbuilding technology (which defended their coasts against Rómhánach galleys in the last century) to build large fleets that would raid and colonize Pretani. For the next few centuries they would settle families of warriors on the larger island and raid the little statelets. In 431, the year that the Saxons finally broke through the gates of Róimh, the island of Ériu was united under Ard Rí Eamon Sluaghadhán, a man born in the small monastery of Corcaigh who ended his life battling the Ulaidh who rebelled against his rule. His son managed to keep the island together through ruthless suppression of revolting dynasties and the establishment of a (minor) bureaucracy (loosely based on Róimh’s) that would help keep Rí in check and ensure that people were being taxed for labor. Over the next century the island developed and grew in population, took over Dumnonii (which was, by now, mostly Gaelic), Demetia, Gwynedd, and Dál Riata, and connected to the Mediterranean trade network. By 530, when Riley Sluaghadhán came to power, the island was stable and powerful, while the still-warring statelets of Pretani and their ever-changing borders were too irresistible to not conquer! So Riley loaded a fleet of strongboats and currachs, along with thousands of men (plus reinforcements from Ériu after the initial landing), and proceeded to conquer anyone who wasn’t Irish.

II: Guendol, a small and recently depopulated kingdom that is governed by a tribal council.

III: Taken over soon after Ériu unification in order to control the tin trade from Pretani. Also allows Ériu to trade heavily with Gallia.

IV: Glywyssing, another tiny Welsh state that regularly gives tribute to the Ériu in exchange for not being raided.

V: Pengwern, in a similar situation to Glywyssing

VI: Powys, in a similar situation to Glywyssing

VII: Ebruac, rather powerful compared to the rest of the Pretanic Britons, was hardly touched during Rómhánach occupation, still mostly tribal.

VIII: Elmet, always warring the Ebrauc… supposedly for dominance and the right to own the letter “E”.

IX: Cynwidion, looks big on a map but still hasn’t fully recovered from the Rómhánach raping in the 230.

X: Carlerion, little to say, lots of Gearmáinis (German) raiders but has fought off most real attacks.

XI: Cwent, again, subject to Gearmáinis raids.

XII: Colun, a meh tribe.

XIII: Lundien, owns Londinium, and this makes it relatively powerful, but still a meh tribe.

XIV: The Baddan are interesting, because they have been caught between the Irish and hostile non-Gaelic/Briton tribes and have turned into a sort of fortress. Hillforts made of concrete dot their landscape, and every man gets some sort of training. Still, their tiny population made them no match for Riley.

XV: Gwinttic has substantial trade with the Gauls and Gearmánaigh (Germans).

XVI: Ceint is closest to Gallia, and has lots of good trade relations with them and the Hispanians, but is regularly raided by the Angles and Jutes.

XVII: The Glasstening were one of the first on Riley’s list of targets. Relatively fertile, and incredibly depopulated through a recent famine, they gave little resistance and were unable to stop Gaels from coming and colonizing.

XVIII: Bernaccia is a nice place. Relatively powerful, or at least enough so to ensure their people are safe, and a bit far from Danmhairg so they aren’t raided too often.

XIX: Rheged… Huh. Likely going to be conquered by Riley soon, but, as they’re already mostly Gaelic from centuries of colonization, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem...

XX: Alt Clut is a sparse region of semi-nomadic tribesmen. They trade heavily with the Ériu and their rugged terrain makes them not very welcoming to invaders.

XXI: Cat is effectively a vassal of Ériu, having been thoroughly Gaelicized during the 3rd Century, and is basically an extension of Dál Riata.

XXII: Ce is isolated from much of the world. They trade with the Fib and Fidach but nobody else really.

XXIII: The Fib Tribe mostly mind their own business, they’re big on a map but nobody really bothers them.

XXIV: Fotla actually does trade rather extensively with Ériu.

XXV: Fortriu is just there...

XXVI: The Fidach are usually at war with Cat and Fotla, always sending their blue painted warriors into battle and coming home with little but good stories about how they almost sacked that village or this trading post.

Following the defeat of the Ottomans at Belgrade, Serbia became a major power in the Balkans. However, this could not last forever - in 1680, groups of cities in Greece and Montenegro banded together to form the Balkan League. This league prospered, and stood in direct competition with the Venetians most of the time.

In 1880, to commemorate the Balkan League's independence, the British Society of Friends for the Balkans had this map made of the contemporary Balkans.

Not all is as peaceful as it seems. Wallachia and Moldavia are vying for control of all of Romania, Dobruja is starting motions for independence, and the issue of South Albania could explode at any moment...

Map of the South of England


A Map of the South of England from the Textbook 'Geography Now', ©Penguin Books.

The South Coast of England as it looked shorty after the end of the Fourth Civil War (1989-1998) to Present Day. Map shows the Free City of Portsea and the Crown Dependency of the Isle of Wight.

The States were formed in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, the Isle of Wight having been held by loyalist forces, and the FSP as an extra-judicial territory that came as a result of the Treaty of Hull (1999). The Isle of Wight is distinctive among the remains of the United Kingdom as it is autonomous from it's northern cousins, acting as it's own independent state, with the Governor-General acting as Head of State. However, the Isle of Wight is economically deprived, suffers high levels of corruption, and has been flooded with political refugees from mainland Britain, with many residing primarily in the shanty town of Yarmouth, and is in a constant threat of invasion by the Republic of Britain, who controversially fly drones and shell the Isle due to the risk of anti-Republican Terrorism. Portsea, which is formed out the cities of Portsmouth and Gosport, is considered to have become part of the Republic in all but name, retaining it's independence thanks only to the strong EU Force stationed in the City. Notably Portsea has a vibrant thriving literary and cinematic culture, much of which reflects the anxiety of the Cities Existence. Portsea is, however, overcrowded and economically deprived, with high level corruption in both the Political and Security sectors.

The United Provinces of South America (Spanish: Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica) was the original name of the state that emerged from the May Revolution and the early developments of the Argentine War of Independence.
Soon after independence the new nation found itself in a civil war; with Federals, Unitarians, and Separatists all vying for power. from 1810-1825 the civil war raged on.
Finally after many attempts by foreign powers and neighbours to intervene a Union of Provinces was created
with separate constitutions for each state; only bound by a council of elected officials from each state to represent themselves before the Parliament of Provinces.
The Union is a loose confederation of La Platan states, acting more as an alliance than a single nation. Currency appears to be the only binding factor of the provinces. Animosity between former enemy provinces still runs high.

Sorry I'm so late entering into the contest, hope this still counts.
Anyway, this is a map of the Shogunate of Nihon in 1739. Ever since the 1300s when Nanboku-cho war left the country split in half between the northern and southern Imperial courts, the unity of Nihon has gone downhill. Split between a puppet emperor firmly under the control of the Ashikaga Shogunate in Kyoto and a nationalist and xenophobic emperor in Yoshino, the country basically became two separate entities, despite the Shogun "ruling" over both emperors. As time went on, both sides became more and more feudal, with the Zen School of Buddhism in the North gaining vast swaths of territory thanks to Ashikaga patronage. Then in the 1500s the rise of the radical Ikko-shu sect and their peasant revolts resulted in their resettlement in Hokkaido as the Autonomous Ikko Republic. To this day the nation is plagued by frequent civil wars itself as everyone disagrees over the tiniest bits of policy and religious dogma. Then another autonomous region was established to the south, with the subjugation of the Kingdom of Ryukyu in the early 1600s. Finally, the last autonomous region was established in the mid 1600s, with the Archbishopric of Nagasaki being formed as a home for the new "Kirishitan Catholics." However, over time Kirishitan Catholicism has grown and grown in popularity among the lower classes tiring under the rule of brutal daimyos and autocratic emperors. Eventually, many daimyos themselves began to convert to the new religion as well, leaving the religion a dominant force in Southern Nihon. Thus, the xenophobic Yoshino Emperor, fearful of the growing influence of Christ's teachings declared Nihon closed off to all foreigners, and Kirishitan Catholics in particular. Thus the stage was set for the Sakoku War to begin, as the Emperor as his fanatical Shinto daimyos marched off against the Kirishitan daimyos, in an ill-fated and poorly thought out move that ultimately only served to further Christianity's spread throughout the Shogunate of Nihon.