Well, thank you. I just woke up from a few extra hours kip and am on my next mug of char. Thank God for MLK Day. No 8 a.m. lectures to give.
The Invasion of 1812, A Northumbrian Survival Timeline
- Thread starter clem attlee
- Start date
Well, thank you. I just woke up from a few extra hours kip and am on my next mug of char. Thank God for MLK Day. No 8 a.m. lectures to give.
[FONT="]12th March 1782, Pontefract Castle, the gardens[/FONT][FONT="]:
Edward strode across the ornamental lawn towards Lady Edith. She was tending to the shrubberies. He reached her by a lavender bush, bowed and kissed her proferred hand. "Dear Lady Edith, they told me within where I might find you. Fruity remained behind in the blue drawing room."
"Your Majesty, you do the house great honour. May we offer you hospitality? Can you stay to luncheon?"
"I should like it of all things," replied the king and caught her hand as she turned to return to the castle. "But tarry a while, dear lady. I would speak with you."
Lady Edith smiled and schooled her features to a pleasant neutrality. Edward plucked a sprig of the lavender and gave it to her. The silence went on. She had never seen the king lost for words before. Then he smiled nervously, took a deep breath and said:
"Dear Lady Edith, I have come to value your character and good sense as much as your beauty. You are the fairest of my subjects and the truest. May I venture to hope that you will accept my hand as readily as you took this sweet-scented herb which perfumes the garden as wonderfully as you yourself adorn it? Will you accept my suit, dear lady, and take me as your husband."
Lady Edith looked at him gravely for a few moments while he perspired gently despite the cool air. Then she smiled, her face transformed.
"My lord and sovereign, I do accept. You are the worthiest man I know and I am honoured by your courtship. Father would have been so very pleased and proud."
The king beamed, jerked his chin up in sheer light-hearted joy and gently bent forward to kiss her hand.
15th July, Minster of St Peter:
The royal engagement had caused quite a stir throughout Northumbria. The bishops were delighted, the Jarls bemused and the populace entranced. Though by the extravagant standards of previous reigns, the wedding celebrations were modest, in all conscience they were lavish enough. The good burghers of York were delighted by Lady Edith, their own bonnie Yorkshire lass. The ceremony itself was long and stately, celebrated by the Archbishop himself. The triumphal procession to the Palace afterwards was cheered wildly by throngs of people. The people had embraced the dynasty as it had not since the previous century. They were a handsome young couple and the king was well-liked for his courage and moderation.
The elderly Earl of Richmond watched his hopes crumble during the course of the day. The king had outflanked them again. Marriage to confound the rumours and innuendo, popularity to bolster the support of the waverers. Even the black cadets of Nunthorpe were cheered more heartily than he. Decades of intrigue and careful planning were set at nought. His Jarls had lost their chance, at least for the time being.
New Year's Eve, Royal Palace:
The king took a glass of port to celebrate a most satisfying year. It was his first since July. Fortunately Queen Edith did not mind frugality and was running the household with great efficiency. He smiled affectionately thinking of her. It was a good match. They were well-suited temperamentally and enjoyed the challenges of their respective duties. Deep respect and esteem had only grown. How very fortunate he was that she made no great demands.
The budget, of course, was dented by the necessary expenditures, but it had quietened dissent and put the arrogant old Jarls in their place. He was no longer a joke to the hunting set though poor Fruity was still a butt for them. He had grown quite plump. Too many pork pies and toasted teacakes. Quite how he afforded tea at those prices though! The palace didn't serve it. Nonetheless, he had managed to pay two hundred thousand crowns off the debt to the Bishop of Salisbury. Not bad. He smiled again, finished his glass and walked quietly to the bedchamber to do his duty.[/FONT]
Edward strode across the ornamental lawn towards Lady Edith. She was tending to the shrubberies. He reached her by a lavender bush, bowed and kissed her proferred hand. "Dear Lady Edith, they told me within where I might find you. Fruity remained behind in the blue drawing room."
"Your Majesty, you do the house great honour. May we offer you hospitality? Can you stay to luncheon?"
"I should like it of all things," replied the king and caught her hand as she turned to return to the castle. "But tarry a while, dear lady. I would speak with you."
Lady Edith smiled and schooled her features to a pleasant neutrality. Edward plucked a sprig of the lavender and gave it to her. The silence went on. She had never seen the king lost for words before. Then he smiled nervously, took a deep breath and said:
"Dear Lady Edith, I have come to value your character and good sense as much as your beauty. You are the fairest of my subjects and the truest. May I venture to hope that you will accept my hand as readily as you took this sweet-scented herb which perfumes the garden as wonderfully as you yourself adorn it? Will you accept my suit, dear lady, and take me as your husband."
Lady Edith looked at him gravely for a few moments while he perspired gently despite the cool air. Then she smiled, her face transformed.
"My lord and sovereign, I do accept. You are the worthiest man I know and I am honoured by your courtship. Father would have been so very pleased and proud."
The king beamed, jerked his chin up in sheer light-hearted joy and gently bent forward to kiss her hand.
15th July, Minster of St Peter:
The royal engagement had caused quite a stir throughout Northumbria. The bishops were delighted, the Jarls bemused and the populace entranced. Though by the extravagant standards of previous reigns, the wedding celebrations were modest, in all conscience they were lavish enough. The good burghers of York were delighted by Lady Edith, their own bonnie Yorkshire lass. The ceremony itself was long and stately, celebrated by the Archbishop himself. The triumphal procession to the Palace afterwards was cheered wildly by throngs of people. The people had embraced the dynasty as it had not since the previous century. They were a handsome young couple and the king was well-liked for his courage and moderation.
The elderly Earl of Richmond watched his hopes crumble during the course of the day. The king had outflanked them again. Marriage to confound the rumours and innuendo, popularity to bolster the support of the waverers. Even the black cadets of Nunthorpe were cheered more heartily than he. Decades of intrigue and careful planning were set at nought. His Jarls had lost their chance, at least for the time being.
New Year's Eve, Royal Palace:
The king took a glass of port to celebrate a most satisfying year. It was his first since July. Fortunately Queen Edith did not mind frugality and was running the household with great efficiency. He smiled affectionately thinking of her. It was a good match. They were well-suited temperamentally and enjoyed the challenges of their respective duties. Deep respect and esteem had only grown. How very fortunate he was that she made no great demands.
The budget, of course, was dented by the necessary expenditures, but it had quietened dissent and put the arrogant old Jarls in their place. He was no longer a joke to the hunting set though poor Fruity was still a butt for them. He had grown quite plump. Too many pork pies and toasted teacakes. Quite how he afforded tea at those prices though! The palace didn't serve it. Nonetheless, he had managed to pay two hundred thousand crowns off the debt to the Bishop of Salisbury. Not bad. He smiled again, finished his glass and walked quietly to the bedchamber to do his duty.[/FONT]
1782 Budget
1782 Budget:
Government Income:
Head Tax: 830,000 crowns.
Customs Duties: 320,000 crowns.
Tolls: 40,000 crowns.
Total: 1,150,000 crowns.
Government Expenditure:
Interest on Loans: 327,000 crowns.
Administration: 250,000 crowns.
Principal paid off: 200,000 crowns.
Palaces (incl. Wedding): 180,000 crowns.
Military Expenditure: 85,000 crowns.
Naval Expenditure: 70,000 crowns.
Academy foundation: 25,000 crowns.
Total: 1,137,000 crowns.
Treasury Surplus: 62,000 crowns.
Principal of remaining debts: 7.3 million crowns.
1782 Budget:
Government Income:
Head Tax: 830,000 crowns.
Customs Duties: 320,000 crowns.
Tolls: 40,000 crowns.
Total: 1,150,000 crowns.
Government Expenditure:
Interest on Loans: 327,000 crowns.
Administration: 250,000 crowns.
Principal paid off: 200,000 crowns.
Palaces (incl. Wedding): 180,000 crowns.
Military Expenditure: 85,000 crowns.
Naval Expenditure: 70,000 crowns.
Academy foundation: 25,000 crowns.
Total: 1,137,000 crowns.
Treasury Surplus: 62,000 crowns.
Principal of remaining debts: 7.3 million crowns.
When I originally conceived this idea some years back, the idea was to write a short story about an invasion by the French in 1812. It was gradually to become clear that it wasn't Russia and it wasn't Napoleon and that the world was very different. At the time I drew up the game and planned Edward XIV's reign, I was fascinated by 18th century military history and a certain king in particular. That influenced the choice of time. Hope this answers the question without giving too much away.
RodentRevolution
Banned
Well I for one am enjoying it. It gives an understanding of the background of future events rather than waving your hands and saying "because I said so!"
Well, thank you. I was also trying to find ways to keep Northumbria afloat that weren't too implausible. Drowning Ivar's invasion and making Wessex implode seemed the best option.
[FONT="]June 1783: Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward XIV sat in his study reading the latest reports on the deteriorating state of the Frigates from “Fruity” at the Admiralty. It was quite worrying and quite ill-timed with the debt still high and no great shipbuilding capacity in the kingdom. His eye caught the name HMS Ampleforth, formerly of the North Sea Squadron and now at Liverpool in the Irish Sea Squadron. Well the old ship was still holding up at least. He remembered first boarding her as a teenaged Midshipman:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]1758, Hull, HMS Ampleforth[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The slender youth climbed up the manropes and reached the deck. He saluted the cross on the quarterdeck and approached the officer of the watch, a tall, thin, ascetic-looking man with sandy hair and pale blue eyes whom he recognised from court as Lieutenant the Viscount Hull, a stickler for form, duty and piety. He stood up straight, saluted Lord Hull and announced clearly,[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Midshipman Swale reporting for duty, sir.” [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Viscount inspected him closely and decided that he might pass muster. He turned to a darkly handsome youth in the uniform of a Master’s Mate (a senior Midshipman) and addressed him laconically “Lord Dalkeith, conduct the midshipman to his quarters and clear that dunnage away at once,” [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Dalkeith answered correctly, but with a twinkle in his dark eyes and led Swale below. After the first companion ladder, he grinned back at Edward and said, “Pay no heed to Sebastian Hull, he’s a dry stick, but straight enough. He wants everything just so and his father, the Earl, is ailing. My name is Frithuwald, but my friends called me “Fruity.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward replied, “Thank you, Fruity. I’m Edward. The Jarls at court call me Dark Edward because of my Irish looks and British blood. But you are no Angle pureblood either I see.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“No, my people are from Lothian and descended from chiefs of the Votadini and the lords of Manau Goddodin. The Yorkshire and Bernician Jarls can never quite forget it.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]They passed a beautiful sailor and Edward watched Fruity’s eyes follow him. He grinned. Yes, he and Fruity would get along quite well. Perhaps the Navy would be more interesting than he had supposed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The two became fast friends and were quickly given the good-natured nickname, the Brythonic Brothers, by the members of their berth. They served together for seven years. Fruity had a propensity for trouble, but Edward watched his back and saved his bacon with his ready intelligence and quick wit. Viscount Hull was promoted to Commander and then Captain in quick succession, leaving the ship after six months. Shortly after being made Post, his father died and he assumed his hereditary position as Earl of Hull and Lord High Admiral.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]June 1783: Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Captain Malcolm Murray, the king’s ADC, cleared his throat again, but Edward XIV was grinning at some recollection deep in thought. Then he suddenly became conscious of Murray, switched his grin to a pleasant smile and asked what was amiss. No one ever interrupted him in his study lightly.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Queen Edith has sent a Lady-in-waiting to request your presence, Sire.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]That had never happened before. He sprang up and followed the captain to Lady Bertha. She conveyed him to his wife, striding swiftly despite her stocky frame. When he arrived at his wife’s sitting room, Lady Bertha withdrew at once. He looked at Edith with concern, but she was smiling and indeed looked in blooming health. Her complexion just seemed to get finer. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Dear Edward,” she said. I have just seen the physician, Dr O’ Connor. We have good news. I am with child. The baby is due in January.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward swept over to his wife, kissed her and held her, very gently, in his arms. He said little, but his joyous manner was eloquent. An heir at last and not before time. He was forty now.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward XIV sat in his study reading the latest reports on the deteriorating state of the Frigates from “Fruity” at the Admiralty. It was quite worrying and quite ill-timed with the debt still high and no great shipbuilding capacity in the kingdom. His eye caught the name HMS Ampleforth, formerly of the North Sea Squadron and now at Liverpool in the Irish Sea Squadron. Well the old ship was still holding up at least. He remembered first boarding her as a teenaged Midshipman:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]1758, Hull, HMS Ampleforth[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The slender youth climbed up the manropes and reached the deck. He saluted the cross on the quarterdeck and approached the officer of the watch, a tall, thin, ascetic-looking man with sandy hair and pale blue eyes whom he recognised from court as Lieutenant the Viscount Hull, a stickler for form, duty and piety. He stood up straight, saluted Lord Hull and announced clearly,[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Midshipman Swale reporting for duty, sir.” [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Viscount inspected him closely and decided that he might pass muster. He turned to a darkly handsome youth in the uniform of a Master’s Mate (a senior Midshipman) and addressed him laconically “Lord Dalkeith, conduct the midshipman to his quarters and clear that dunnage away at once,” [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Dalkeith answered correctly, but with a twinkle in his dark eyes and led Swale below. After the first companion ladder, he grinned back at Edward and said, “Pay no heed to Sebastian Hull, he’s a dry stick, but straight enough. He wants everything just so and his father, the Earl, is ailing. My name is Frithuwald, but my friends called me “Fruity.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward replied, “Thank you, Fruity. I’m Edward. The Jarls at court call me Dark Edward because of my Irish looks and British blood. But you are no Angle pureblood either I see.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“No, my people are from Lothian and descended from chiefs of the Votadini and the lords of Manau Goddodin. The Yorkshire and Bernician Jarls can never quite forget it.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]They passed a beautiful sailor and Edward watched Fruity’s eyes follow him. He grinned. Yes, he and Fruity would get along quite well. Perhaps the Navy would be more interesting than he had supposed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The two became fast friends and were quickly given the good-natured nickname, the Brythonic Brothers, by the members of their berth. They served together for seven years. Fruity had a propensity for trouble, but Edward watched his back and saved his bacon with his ready intelligence and quick wit. Viscount Hull was promoted to Commander and then Captain in quick succession, leaving the ship after six months. Shortly after being made Post, his father died and he assumed his hereditary position as Earl of Hull and Lord High Admiral.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]June 1783: Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Captain Malcolm Murray, the king’s ADC, cleared his throat again, but Edward XIV was grinning at some recollection deep in thought. Then he suddenly became conscious of Murray, switched his grin to a pleasant smile and asked what was amiss. No one ever interrupted him in his study lightly.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Queen Edith has sent a Lady-in-waiting to request your presence, Sire.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]That had never happened before. He sprang up and followed the captain to Lady Bertha. She conveyed him to his wife, striding swiftly despite her stocky frame. When he arrived at his wife’s sitting room, Lady Bertha withdrew at once. He looked at Edith with concern, but she was smiling and indeed looked in blooming health. Her complexion just seemed to get finer. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Dear Edward,” she said. I have just seen the physician, Dr O’ Connor. We have good news. I am with child. The baby is due in January.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward swept over to his wife, kissed her and held her, very gently, in his arms. He said little, but his joyous manner was eloquent. An heir at last and not before time. He was forty now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Feast of St Stephen, 1783, King’s Study, Royal Palace[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward XIV was writing in his diary summing up the year in the lull after Christmastide:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“The Jarls are quiet these last months. The announcement of Edith’s pregnancy has only added to her popularity and strengthened our position. The people cheer her whenever she appears in her carriage. She is quite large now, but well. God willing, she’ll have an easier time than mother did. The Bishops seem quietly satisfied with the pregnancy. Doubtless now I am officially normal. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Doncaster now admits that he was quite wrong about abolishing the tolls. It took quite some time to persuade him, but we instituted the measure at the beginning of the year. Trade and industry has picked up notably within our borders. Nor has government income dropped, as the Treasury predicted. The increase in customs duties actually more than compensated for the shortfall. So, another good year. We have paid off the Salisbury loan now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]No clouds on the horizon really.[/FONT]"
[FONT="]July 1784, St Peter’s Minster[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]The King and Queen processed down the aisle solemnly. The great church was utterly silent except for the sound of footfalls. The casket of little Prince Ethelred preceded them on the way to its burial in the royal vault. The nave was filled with the black garb of mourners. Thousands attended the funeral and overflowed from the church. The whole city was cast in gloom. The Prince of York was dead.[/FONT]
[FONT="]December 1784, Treasury building, York[/FONT][FONT="]: [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bishop Collins sat up and straightened his back after completing the annual fiscal report. The king was still cast down with grief, but would meet with him shortly. Well, he worked hard and had a sense of duty. Perhaps the early rumours about his peccadilloes were wrong. There was no doubt that the people had responded to the grief of their monarchs with warm sympathy. They even liked Edward’s plunge into greater frugality in the palaces. Well, he was a likable man, but in far too much of a hurry. God knows what innovation he will be set on next. His Grace the Archbishop was most concerned at the repayment of the archdiocesan loan to the Treasury. It gave the king much greater leeway in his dealings with the Holy Mother Church. He was far too successful at unexpectedly outmanouevring them in Privy Council. He was pious enough, but one always wondered what was going on behind that sardonic eye. Why did he not understand and accept that the wisdom and tradition of a millennium was stronger and better than any one man’s views, however clever, however exalted his station? He always wanted to push further than Caesar’s due and that was dangerous. Since the time of St Ethelred, the church had shown again and again that its collective wisdom and strength was right and beneficial to all in these islands. Well, well! He had better take the carriage to the Royal Palace. The walk wasn’t so very far, but the ice was treacherous this evening and the streets dark.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward XIV was writing in his diary summing up the year in the lull after Christmastide:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“The Jarls are quiet these last months. The announcement of Edith’s pregnancy has only added to her popularity and strengthened our position. The people cheer her whenever she appears in her carriage. She is quite large now, but well. God willing, she’ll have an easier time than mother did. The Bishops seem quietly satisfied with the pregnancy. Doubtless now I am officially normal. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Doncaster now admits that he was quite wrong about abolishing the tolls. It took quite some time to persuade him, but we instituted the measure at the beginning of the year. Trade and industry has picked up notably within our borders. Nor has government income dropped, as the Treasury predicted. The increase in customs duties actually more than compensated for the shortfall. So, another good year. We have paid off the Salisbury loan now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]No clouds on the horizon really.[/FONT]"
[FONT="]July 1784, St Peter’s Minster[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]The King and Queen processed down the aisle solemnly. The great church was utterly silent except for the sound of footfalls. The casket of little Prince Ethelred preceded them on the way to its burial in the royal vault. The nave was filled with the black garb of mourners. Thousands attended the funeral and overflowed from the church. The whole city was cast in gloom. The Prince of York was dead.[/FONT]
[FONT="]December 1784, Treasury building, York[/FONT][FONT="]: [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bishop Collins sat up and straightened his back after completing the annual fiscal report. The king was still cast down with grief, but would meet with him shortly. Well, he worked hard and had a sense of duty. Perhaps the early rumours about his peccadilloes were wrong. There was no doubt that the people had responded to the grief of their monarchs with warm sympathy. They even liked Edward’s plunge into greater frugality in the palaces. Well, he was a likable man, but in far too much of a hurry. God knows what innovation he will be set on next. His Grace the Archbishop was most concerned at the repayment of the archdiocesan loan to the Treasury. It gave the king much greater leeway in his dealings with the Holy Mother Church. He was far too successful at unexpectedly outmanouevring them in Privy Council. He was pious enough, but one always wondered what was going on behind that sardonic eye. Why did he not understand and accept that the wisdom and tradition of a millennium was stronger and better than any one man’s views, however clever, however exalted his station? He always wanted to push further than Caesar’s due and that was dangerous. Since the time of St Ethelred, the church had shown again and again that its collective wisdom and strength was right and beneficial to all in these islands. Well, well! He had better take the carriage to the Royal Palace. The walk wasn’t so very far, but the ice was treacherous this evening and the streets dark.[/FONT]
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Edward triumphant
[FONT="]1785: The Great Year of Reform[/FONT][FONT="]:
[/FONT]
[FONT="]February: The Episcopal Palace, Doncaster[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]L[FONT="]eofric[/FONT] Collins felt some little disappointment at not being named Archbishop of York after the death of Alcuin Butterworth. He knew that he was an able man, but, in the end, God’s will be done. After all, Bamburgh was the senior see. It was a traditional choice in many ways though to appoint a former Royalist Prime Minister was quite unorthodox. It upset the balance of things. He shook his head sadly at the passing of so much that he treasured and valued. O tempora! O mores! As Tully had put it in a long-distant time of change. It was an honour though to have been named as leader of the Episcopal faction by his good colleagues. The faction was smaller now after years of royal patronage over episcopal appointments and the opportunistic defection of some ambitious weathercocks. The Deans and Canons were the faction’s backbone now, no longer the prelates. But perhaps God still had work for him. He would do his duty and advise the king as well as he could as the voice of sound common sense and long-established custom. He nodded determinedly. Duty was not easy, but it was a solace in difficult times. He rose from the chair in his study and walked to his prie-dieu for two hours of prayer and meditation.[/FONT]
[FONT="][Author’s note: Edward XIV appointed the Bishop of Bamburgh, a loyal Royalist and former Prime Minister (1778-80, as Bishop of Beverley), to fill the Archiepiscopal see. While he recognised Doncaster’s decency and worth, the king’s position was still not strong enough to put a vigorous, young bishop into the pulpit of St Peter’s Minster].[/FONT]
[FONT="]Late June: Richmond Castle[/FONT][FONT="]: [/FONT]
[FONT="]The sexagenarian Earl of Richmond laughed as he had not for years. He turned to Captain Wallace of the Yorkshires and said:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Are you quite sure of your witnesses. They will have to be unimpeachable.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“My lord,” replied the former Colonel, “We had two priests to hand, one the confessor of the Earl of Hull, as well as the officer of the watch. We had invited them for the traditional Midyear’s Day blessing.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Capital,” said the old earl, “We’ve got him at last. So, your pretty corporal batted his eyelashes at Dalkeith and lured him out to Pocklington. There he endured the unspeakable attentions of that portly poof and, when the priests drew near to investigate the rocking of the carriage, cried out for help. Dalkeith couldn’t disengage fast enough and was caught in the act. Well let’s see what the king has to say about “Fruity” this time.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]July: Privy Council Chamber, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]It was a very stormy meeting. Richmond had brought his witnesses and the corporal. The Earl of Hull had insisted on attending. He had always had his doubts about Captain the Lord Dalkeith, as he now was, and took a proprietorial interest as Lord High Admiral. The irrepressible Fruity was sombre and downcast for once. After [/FONT][FONT="][FONT="]Lord [/FONT]Hull had been satisfied by the dismissal of Dalkeith from the admiralty, [FONT="]he[/FONT] retired from the room, satisfied that the honour and immemorial customs of the Royal Navy had been rescued. Edward sent out the disgraced Dalkeith and faced his longstanding adversary the Earl alone. Richmond showed his old insolence, but Edward was older and more experienced now. He refused to show his anger and frustration and bought off the Earl’s scandal by promising him the Admiralty in the new cabinet about to be announced. The Earl swallowed his pride and took what power he could. The moral balance had shifted.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Afterword: Baron Dalkeith was sent to Copenhagen as ambassador where at last he learnt a little discretion. He was much admired for his charity aiding shipwrecked sailors. Corporal Dixon was dismissed from the Yorkshires and left for Mercia with a large chest of silver crowns as payment for his services. There he opened the [FONT="]Richmond[/FONT] Arms in Chester, not too far from the docks. [/FONT]
[FONT="]
Edward XIV maintained strong control over cabinet and Privy Council despite Richmond’s new position. The king announced a new cabinet. Since the realm prospered, the commoners were reasonably content.
The Third Cabinet of Edward XIV:
Prime Minister: Sir Charles Spennymoor (Royalist)
Foreign Secretary: Bishop of Doncaster (Episcopal)
War Secretary: Baron Selkirk (Royalist)
Admiralty Secretary: Earl of Richmond (Jarl)
Lord Chancellor: Baron Preston (Royalist)
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Sir Edward Barnoldswick (Royalist)
Home Secretary: Baron Leeds (Royalist)
Lord Privy Seal: Earl of Lothian (Royalist)
1785 was a significant year in the growth of Royal prestige within the realm, but it is remembered by historians as the year of military reform. The king was finally in a position to re-establish the Northumbrian Army as a modern fighting force. In January, the king opened a textiles factory for uniforms at Leeds and an armaments/small arms factory at Sheffield. He paid decent wages and provided decent stone cottages for the workers. Six months later, he promulgated a most startling edict: The Pocklington Declaration.
Edward XIV dissolved the army and abolished the county levies. Of the eight thousand men, seven hundred and eighty are dismissed the service for incompetence, ill-discipline or disloyalty, including the hapless Captain Wallace. The rest are reformulated under new colours. New recruits bring the numbers back up to eight thousand. The Nunthorpe cadets replace the old subalterns in their entirety. The best of the old subalterns become captains and majors. So on up the line. He retains only six generals, three of whom are French exiles, now given official rank. The others are former Lt Colonels and Colonels. The Royal Guard was expanded.
The New Army:
Royal Grenadiers (1,000)
Royal Lifeguards (600)
Royal Hussars (600)
1st Foot (1,000)
2nd Foot (1,000)
3rd Foot (1,000)
4th Foot (1,000)
5th Foot (1,000)
4 [FONT="]companies[/FONT] of artillery (320)
Corps of Engineers (300)
Staff (200)
The army rank and file is delighted with its fine new uniforms and equipment, now standardised and paid for by the king rather than the soldier.
The military reforms are expensive. Sir Edward Barnoldswick can pay off only 100,000 crowns from the debt to the merchants of London.[/FONT]
[FONT="]1785: The Great Year of Reform[/FONT][FONT="]:
[/FONT]
[FONT="]February: The Episcopal Palace, Doncaster[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]L[FONT="]eofric[/FONT] Collins felt some little disappointment at not being named Archbishop of York after the death of Alcuin Butterworth. He knew that he was an able man, but, in the end, God’s will be done. After all, Bamburgh was the senior see. It was a traditional choice in many ways though to appoint a former Royalist Prime Minister was quite unorthodox. It upset the balance of things. He shook his head sadly at the passing of so much that he treasured and valued. O tempora! O mores! As Tully had put it in a long-distant time of change. It was an honour though to have been named as leader of the Episcopal faction by his good colleagues. The faction was smaller now after years of royal patronage over episcopal appointments and the opportunistic defection of some ambitious weathercocks. The Deans and Canons were the faction’s backbone now, no longer the prelates. But perhaps God still had work for him. He would do his duty and advise the king as well as he could as the voice of sound common sense and long-established custom. He nodded determinedly. Duty was not easy, but it was a solace in difficult times. He rose from the chair in his study and walked to his prie-dieu for two hours of prayer and meditation.[/FONT]
[FONT="][Author’s note: Edward XIV appointed the Bishop of Bamburgh, a loyal Royalist and former Prime Minister (1778-80, as Bishop of Beverley), to fill the Archiepiscopal see. While he recognised Doncaster’s decency and worth, the king’s position was still not strong enough to put a vigorous, young bishop into the pulpit of St Peter’s Minster].[/FONT]
[FONT="]Late June: Richmond Castle[/FONT][FONT="]: [/FONT]
[FONT="]The sexagenarian Earl of Richmond laughed as he had not for years. He turned to Captain Wallace of the Yorkshires and said:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Are you quite sure of your witnesses. They will have to be unimpeachable.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“My lord,” replied the former Colonel, “We had two priests to hand, one the confessor of the Earl of Hull, as well as the officer of the watch. We had invited them for the traditional Midyear’s Day blessing.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Capital,” said the old earl, “We’ve got him at last. So, your pretty corporal batted his eyelashes at Dalkeith and lured him out to Pocklington. There he endured the unspeakable attentions of that portly poof and, when the priests drew near to investigate the rocking of the carriage, cried out for help. Dalkeith couldn’t disengage fast enough and was caught in the act. Well let’s see what the king has to say about “Fruity” this time.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]July: Privy Council Chamber, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]It was a very stormy meeting. Richmond had brought his witnesses and the corporal. The Earl of Hull had insisted on attending. He had always had his doubts about Captain the Lord Dalkeith, as he now was, and took a proprietorial interest as Lord High Admiral. The irrepressible Fruity was sombre and downcast for once. After [/FONT][FONT="][FONT="]Lord [/FONT]Hull had been satisfied by the dismissal of Dalkeith from the admiralty, [FONT="]he[/FONT] retired from the room, satisfied that the honour and immemorial customs of the Royal Navy had been rescued. Edward sent out the disgraced Dalkeith and faced his longstanding adversary the Earl alone. Richmond showed his old insolence, but Edward was older and more experienced now. He refused to show his anger and frustration and bought off the Earl’s scandal by promising him the Admiralty in the new cabinet about to be announced. The Earl swallowed his pride and took what power he could. The moral balance had shifted.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Afterword: Baron Dalkeith was sent to Copenhagen as ambassador where at last he learnt a little discretion. He was much admired for his charity aiding shipwrecked sailors. Corporal Dixon was dismissed from the Yorkshires and left for Mercia with a large chest of silver crowns as payment for his services. There he opened the [FONT="]Richmond[/FONT] Arms in Chester, not too far from the docks. [/FONT]
[FONT="]
Edward XIV maintained strong control over cabinet and Privy Council despite Richmond’s new position. The king announced a new cabinet. Since the realm prospered, the commoners were reasonably content.
The Third Cabinet of Edward XIV:
Prime Minister: Sir Charles Spennymoor (Royalist)
Foreign Secretary: Bishop of Doncaster (Episcopal)
War Secretary: Baron Selkirk (Royalist)
Admiralty Secretary: Earl of Richmond (Jarl)
Lord Chancellor: Baron Preston (Royalist)
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Sir Edward Barnoldswick (Royalist)
Home Secretary: Baron Leeds (Royalist)
Lord Privy Seal: Earl of Lothian (Royalist)
1785 was a significant year in the growth of Royal prestige within the realm, but it is remembered by historians as the year of military reform. The king was finally in a position to re-establish the Northumbrian Army as a modern fighting force. In January, the king opened a textiles factory for uniforms at Leeds and an armaments/small arms factory at Sheffield. He paid decent wages and provided decent stone cottages for the workers. Six months later, he promulgated a most startling edict: The Pocklington Declaration.
Edward XIV dissolved the army and abolished the county levies. Of the eight thousand men, seven hundred and eighty are dismissed the service for incompetence, ill-discipline or disloyalty, including the hapless Captain Wallace. The rest are reformulated under new colours. New recruits bring the numbers back up to eight thousand. The Nunthorpe cadets replace the old subalterns in their entirety. The best of the old subalterns become captains and majors. So on up the line. He retains only six generals, three of whom are French exiles, now given official rank. The others are former Lt Colonels and Colonels. The Royal Guard was expanded.
The New Army:
Royal Grenadiers (1,000)
Royal Lifeguards (600)
Royal Hussars (600)
1st Foot (1,000)
2nd Foot (1,000)
3rd Foot (1,000)
4th Foot (1,000)
5th Foot (1,000)
4 [FONT="]companies[/FONT] of artillery (320)
Corps of Engineers (300)
Staff (200)
The army rank and file is delighted with its fine new uniforms and equipment, now standardised and paid for by the king rather than the soldier.
The military reforms are expensive. Sir Edward Barnoldswick can pay off only 100,000 crowns from the debt to the merchants of London.[/FONT]
Last edited:
RodentRevolution
Banned
Shame about old Fruity quite liked him.
When you say battery do you mean an artillery company (the bit with the guns) and train (the ammunition wagons required for sustained combat) combined or just the guns and directly attached gunners?
Yes, I quite liked Fruity too. Sure, he's not dead yet.
Yes, I suppose company would be a better term than battery. I should have known that. Dad did his National Service with the RA in Hong Kong. I'll edit it.
RodentRevolution
Banned
Well it is simply more period correct...Royal Artillery nomenclature has changed so often that anyone keeping track probably deserves a medal just for that
[FONT="]1786, Knowsley Hall, outside Liverpool[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Behrtic, Lord Liverpool, watched the long, slow painful death of his father, Baron Liverpool. The hard-drinking, uncouth, squalid post captain had aged prematurely and was now departing this life in the uproarious manner he had lived it. It was hard to feel much love and respect for such a man whose very dogs snarled at him. Behrtic himself lived more soberly and more usefully. He had taken his father’s place on the Privy Council years before by royal command. The aristocratic selfishness and crassness of his father’s generation was starting to give way now to the ethos of service exemplified so nobly by the king. Jarl boorishness and prejudices were less self-assured than once they had been. At twenty-two, Behrtic still thought in terms of such absolutes, but he was proud of his captaincy in the Third Foot which he had earned by merit, not bought. He was a fine, intelligent, conscientious young man whose years in the Cadets had given him a sense of purpose and a focus for his energies. He knew his family duty though and, however much he longed for the discipline and camaraderie of the regiment, he would wait out this interminable, gutwretching and disturbing deathwatch.[/FONT]
[FONT="]1786, Nunthorpe Military Academy[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward XIV watched the precision of his cadet’s drill with great satisfaction. They took visible pride in their discipline and prowess. This was the generation that would transform the army from a rabble of drunken militia to a professional fighting force. The army was far, far below continental standards, but it was at last improving solidly under its loyal and committed officers. The blockheaded obstructiveness had at long last been banished with the purge of 1785 and the abolition of bought commissions. The Jarls could no longer use the levies as a political tool. There were burgher’s sons out there on the drill-ground by the woods. They worked harder than the rest. He had great hopes of them. Well, it was something to take his mind off the public unease at the continued absence of an heir. He performed his conjugal duties as often as he could, but nothing happened. He sighed and returned his attention to the drill.[/FONT]
[FONT="]January 1787, Treasury, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sir Edward Barnoldswick sent a memorandum to the king. He had just received confirmation that the shipment of half a million crowns had reached London and been received by the bankers there. Yes, 1786 had been another good year. Edward XIV had taken his good fortune and used it wisely. The royal debt was falling significantly again. There was still so much to do, so many enlightened reforms to accomplish, but at least the king had given Northumbria back some fiscal hope. An untimely accident could undo it all over night, but after nearly a decade on the throne, it was a good start.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Behrtic, Lord Liverpool, watched the long, slow painful death of his father, Baron Liverpool. The hard-drinking, uncouth, squalid post captain had aged prematurely and was now departing this life in the uproarious manner he had lived it. It was hard to feel much love and respect for such a man whose very dogs snarled at him. Behrtic himself lived more soberly and more usefully. He had taken his father’s place on the Privy Council years before by royal command. The aristocratic selfishness and crassness of his father’s generation was starting to give way now to the ethos of service exemplified so nobly by the king. Jarl boorishness and prejudices were less self-assured than once they had been. At twenty-two, Behrtic still thought in terms of such absolutes, but he was proud of his captaincy in the Third Foot which he had earned by merit, not bought. He was a fine, intelligent, conscientious young man whose years in the Cadets had given him a sense of purpose and a focus for his energies. He knew his family duty though and, however much he longed for the discipline and camaraderie of the regiment, he would wait out this interminable, gutwretching and disturbing deathwatch.[/FONT]
[FONT="]1786, Nunthorpe Military Academy[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward XIV watched the precision of his cadet’s drill with great satisfaction. They took visible pride in their discipline and prowess. This was the generation that would transform the army from a rabble of drunken militia to a professional fighting force. The army was far, far below continental standards, but it was at last improving solidly under its loyal and committed officers. The blockheaded obstructiveness had at long last been banished with the purge of 1785 and the abolition of bought commissions. The Jarls could no longer use the levies as a political tool. There were burgher’s sons out there on the drill-ground by the woods. They worked harder than the rest. He had great hopes of them. Well, it was something to take his mind off the public unease at the continued absence of an heir. He performed his conjugal duties as often as he could, but nothing happened. He sighed and returned his attention to the drill.[/FONT]
[FONT="]January 1787, Treasury, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sir Edward Barnoldswick sent a memorandum to the king. He had just received confirmation that the shipment of half a million crowns had reached London and been received by the bankers there. Yes, 1786 had been another good year. Edward XIV had taken his good fortune and used it wisely. The royal debt was falling significantly again. There was still so much to do, so many enlightened reforms to accomplish, but at least the king had given Northumbria back some fiscal hope. An untimely accident could undo it all over night, but after nearly a decade on the throne, it was a good start.[/FONT]
Last edited:
The Great Reawakening
[FONT="]Early Autumn 1787, King’s Study, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Edward XIV had just heard of his loyal Archbishop’s death. Nechtan Drostson had served him faithfully as Prime Minister and in the Sees of Beverley, Bamburgh and York. He sat in quiet contemplation for some time and then took to his prie-dieu for prayerful meditation. After several hours, a solution to the tangle of countervailing interests and factors secular and spiritual occurred to him. He smiled at its neatness, got up and paced rapidly for a while. Then he summoned Captain Murray, his ADC, and inquired after the presence of cabinet ministers in the city. Satisfied by the answer, he picked up his naval hat and strode out into the city in his habitual uniform of a full Admiral. It was a short walk to St Helen’s Square from the Royal Palace near St Peter’s Gate. He raised his hat politely to bowing burghers as he strode rapidly along. Once in St Helen’s Square, he passed the War Office by and ran up the steps to the Foreign Office. The porter saluted him and quickly sent a messenger to his Grace the Foreign Secretary. Edward arrived in the Bishop of Doncaster’s office barely three steps behind the young messenger announcing him. Leofric Collins looked up in surprise, but without perturbation.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“An unexpected pleasure, your Majesty. I have not yet had occasion to congratulate you on Queen Edith’s pregnancy. I trust that her Majesty is well”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Thank you, Doncaster, she is. We are quite hopeful this time.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“May I offer you tea, Sire?”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward assented eagerly. That was a rare delight, prices being what they were. Edith generally had to go to her cousin Hilda’s townhouse on Castle Street for the ritual fortnightly pot. The king and his Foreign Secretary sat rather companionably sipping their Assam in quiet appreciation. The Bishop showed admirable restraint in awaiting events. After Sister Betty had cleared away the tea tray, the king came to the point.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“My Lord Bishop, you cannot yet have heard, but Archbishop Nechtan is dead. I mourn him for he was a faithful servant.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Bishop bowed his head piously and crossed himself, intoning:”Requiem aeternam, dona, domine ei. Lux perpetua luceat ei.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The king crossed himself in response and paused in contemplation of the dead man before continuing.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I have come to you, Leofric, not as my minister nor even as a bishop, but in your capacity as a priest, a shepherd of souls.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bishop Collins smiled, pleased with the unprecedented use of his Christian name and the king’s pastoral request. “My son, I will help as I am able and as God gives me strength.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward went on: “How would you assess the spiritual state of the church and of the nation? I mean the church not as a human institution, but as the Body of Christ.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]He waited some minutes for a response as the bishop reflected and gathered his thoughts. It was an interesting and surprising question. He had had little time, given his official duties, to address his mind to it as much as he might have wished. Collins was torn between a desire to do justice to the institution he loved and had served all his life and the increasing concerns he had felt. After fully quarter of an hour he replied.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“There are many good and faithful servants in the church, but there are also many ambitious timeservers, as in any powerful institution. We are, as a whole, pious and devout. Masses are sung and spoken, confessions heard, but in the towns and cities congregations are falling as the burghers turn to lumiere thinking. It is said that we are no longer relevant to modern times, that our traditions are hidebound, that the church lacks compassion and is unenlightened.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward nodded and thanked Fr Leofric for his candour. “Yes, I too have heard such and I deplore it. Traditions must live and breathe and adapt, but we must not dispense with them wholly. That is myopically wasteful. The church, it seems to me, is on the verge of a crisis. As peoples’ lives improve, they feel remote from God. When the churches leaders are burdened with secular cares, they cannot respond as they might wish. Is it not time for a stronger spiritual response from the priesthood?”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Fr Leofric assessed the king closely. After some minutes, he decided that he was sincere. “Do you propose a spiritual reawakening,” he asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I do, Leofric. It is time once again for prelates to be prophets. It was St Ethelred’s holiness that led to the Great Deliverance, not worldly power. It was the prestige of piety that gave the bishops power to depose kings in the times of strife long centuries ago. Let all priests once again become holy men and beacons of light and compassion to the laity, as the Gospels intended. Let the fathers go forth to the slums of Knavesmire and of Walma Street and minister to the poor. Let the bishops become great spiritual leaders once again, not factionalists and ministers of power. I am not asking you to render unto Caesar, but rather to do justice to the vocation of our patron Saint, Peter, who like our Lord died on the Cross to show mankind the way through gentleness, restraint and suffering rather than seizing worldly power.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Leofric was trained in rhetoric and logic. He perceived the skill of the king’s response, but he also felt its truth and its emotional power. He asked simply, “How may I serve?”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward responded: “Fr Leofric, you are a man of great ability and conviction. You have spoken plainly when you have thought me wrong. Take this ability and serve God and his church by serving the people. Let all prelates lay down their secular offices and become Apostles of the Gospel once again, proclaiming its radical doctrines of love and acceptance and of the brotherhood of man.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Fr Leofric knelt at the king’s knee and replied, “My lord, I will resign as Foreign Secretary and also as Bishop of Doncaster to go forth to the poor, as you wish.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward gazed down at the churchman with open affection. “Yes, it was my wish that you should leave Doncaster, but the church needs your talents to guide this Crusade. I name you Archbishop of York and bid the Bishops consecrate you as such.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]So it was that the king and church were reconciled and that the Episcopal faction dissolved itself to devote itself to the Great Reawakening. Sir Leonard Hardy, Under Secretary at the Foreign Office, was summoned to the king to swear fealty as his new Foreign Secretary.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Fourth Cabinet of Edward XIV[/FONT][FONT="]:
Prime Minister: Sir Charles Spennymoor (Royalist)
Foreign Secretary: Sir Leonard Hardy (Royalist)[/FONT]
[FONT="]War Secretary: Baron Selkirk (Royalist)
Admiralty Secretary: Earl of Richmond (Jarl)
Lord Chancellor: Baron Preston (Royalist)
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Sir Edward Barnoldswick (Royalist)
Home Secretary: Baron Leeds (Royalist)
Lord Privy Seal: Earl of Lothian (Royalist)[/FONT]
[FONT="]Early Autumn 1787, King’s Study, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Edward XIV had just heard of his loyal Archbishop’s death. Nechtan Drostson had served him faithfully as Prime Minister and in the Sees of Beverley, Bamburgh and York. He sat in quiet contemplation for some time and then took to his prie-dieu for prayerful meditation. After several hours, a solution to the tangle of countervailing interests and factors secular and spiritual occurred to him. He smiled at its neatness, got up and paced rapidly for a while. Then he summoned Captain Murray, his ADC, and inquired after the presence of cabinet ministers in the city. Satisfied by the answer, he picked up his naval hat and strode out into the city in his habitual uniform of a full Admiral. It was a short walk to St Helen’s Square from the Royal Palace near St Peter’s Gate. He raised his hat politely to bowing burghers as he strode rapidly along. Once in St Helen’s Square, he passed the War Office by and ran up the steps to the Foreign Office. The porter saluted him and quickly sent a messenger to his Grace the Foreign Secretary. Edward arrived in the Bishop of Doncaster’s office barely three steps behind the young messenger announcing him. Leofric Collins looked up in surprise, but without perturbation.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“An unexpected pleasure, your Majesty. I have not yet had occasion to congratulate you on Queen Edith’s pregnancy. I trust that her Majesty is well”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Thank you, Doncaster, she is. We are quite hopeful this time.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“May I offer you tea, Sire?”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward assented eagerly. That was a rare delight, prices being what they were. Edith generally had to go to her cousin Hilda’s townhouse on Castle Street for the ritual fortnightly pot. The king and his Foreign Secretary sat rather companionably sipping their Assam in quiet appreciation. The Bishop showed admirable restraint in awaiting events. After Sister Betty had cleared away the tea tray, the king came to the point.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“My Lord Bishop, you cannot yet have heard, but Archbishop Nechtan is dead. I mourn him for he was a faithful servant.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Bishop bowed his head piously and crossed himself, intoning:”Requiem aeternam, dona, domine ei. Lux perpetua luceat ei.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The king crossed himself in response and paused in contemplation of the dead man before continuing.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I have come to you, Leofric, not as my minister nor even as a bishop, but in your capacity as a priest, a shepherd of souls.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bishop Collins smiled, pleased with the unprecedented use of his Christian name and the king’s pastoral request. “My son, I will help as I am able and as God gives me strength.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward went on: “How would you assess the spiritual state of the church and of the nation? I mean the church not as a human institution, but as the Body of Christ.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]He waited some minutes for a response as the bishop reflected and gathered his thoughts. It was an interesting and surprising question. He had had little time, given his official duties, to address his mind to it as much as he might have wished. Collins was torn between a desire to do justice to the institution he loved and had served all his life and the increasing concerns he had felt. After fully quarter of an hour he replied.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“There are many good and faithful servants in the church, but there are also many ambitious timeservers, as in any powerful institution. We are, as a whole, pious and devout. Masses are sung and spoken, confessions heard, but in the towns and cities congregations are falling as the burghers turn to lumiere thinking. It is said that we are no longer relevant to modern times, that our traditions are hidebound, that the church lacks compassion and is unenlightened.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward nodded and thanked Fr Leofric for his candour. “Yes, I too have heard such and I deplore it. Traditions must live and breathe and adapt, but we must not dispense with them wholly. That is myopically wasteful. The church, it seems to me, is on the verge of a crisis. As peoples’ lives improve, they feel remote from God. When the churches leaders are burdened with secular cares, they cannot respond as they might wish. Is it not time for a stronger spiritual response from the priesthood?”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Fr Leofric assessed the king closely. After some minutes, he decided that he was sincere. “Do you propose a spiritual reawakening,” he asked.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I do, Leofric. It is time once again for prelates to be prophets. It was St Ethelred’s holiness that led to the Great Deliverance, not worldly power. It was the prestige of piety that gave the bishops power to depose kings in the times of strife long centuries ago. Let all priests once again become holy men and beacons of light and compassion to the laity, as the Gospels intended. Let the fathers go forth to the slums of Knavesmire and of Walma Street and minister to the poor. Let the bishops become great spiritual leaders once again, not factionalists and ministers of power. I am not asking you to render unto Caesar, but rather to do justice to the vocation of our patron Saint, Peter, who like our Lord died on the Cross to show mankind the way through gentleness, restraint and suffering rather than seizing worldly power.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Leofric was trained in rhetoric and logic. He perceived the skill of the king’s response, but he also felt its truth and its emotional power. He asked simply, “How may I serve?”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward responded: “Fr Leofric, you are a man of great ability and conviction. You have spoken plainly when you have thought me wrong. Take this ability and serve God and his church by serving the people. Let all prelates lay down their secular offices and become Apostles of the Gospel once again, proclaiming its radical doctrines of love and acceptance and of the brotherhood of man.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Fr Leofric knelt at the king’s knee and replied, “My lord, I will resign as Foreign Secretary and also as Bishop of Doncaster to go forth to the poor, as you wish.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward gazed down at the churchman with open affection. “Yes, it was my wish that you should leave Doncaster, but the church needs your talents to guide this Crusade. I name you Archbishop of York and bid the Bishops consecrate you as such.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]So it was that the king and church were reconciled and that the Episcopal faction dissolved itself to devote itself to the Great Reawakening. Sir Leonard Hardy, Under Secretary at the Foreign Office, was summoned to the king to swear fealty as his new Foreign Secretary.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Fourth Cabinet of Edward XIV[/FONT][FONT="]:
Prime Minister: Sir Charles Spennymoor (Royalist)
Foreign Secretary: Sir Leonard Hardy (Royalist)[/FONT]
[FONT="]War Secretary: Baron Selkirk (Royalist)
Admiralty Secretary: Earl of Richmond (Jarl)
Lord Chancellor: Baron Preston (Royalist)
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Sir Edward Barnoldswick (Royalist)
Home Secretary: Baron Leeds (Royalist)
Lord Privy Seal: Earl of Lothian (Royalist)[/FONT]
Death and famine
[FONT="]Edward instructed the Home Secretary, Baron Leeds, to reduce censorship and permit criticism in the newspapers which were beginning to appear. Baron Selkirk reported that the stockpiling of equipment for the army was now complete. He proposed export of musket and cannons to governments within the British Isles to reduce the French monopoly. The army is improving steadily and has finally reached an acceptable quality. With a determined effort, the remainder of the loan to the merchants and bankers of London was paid off. The great influx of coins into East Anglia in 1786-87 permits the expansion of trade, including the foundation of a Royal North American Company, but causes inflation. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]May, 1788: Queen’s Bedchamber, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]A child was born and a son at that. The labour was long and difficult, but Edith was happy.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Dear Lady Bertha mopped her brow tenderly, looked around quickly, then leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. By the time the king arrived, the bleeding had started. It was simply uncontrollable and the Queen died in his arms as Lady Bertha sobbed bitterly and kissed her hand. Edward was overwhelmed by grief. He had loved his wife, not with Lady Bertha’s passion – he glanced over at her compassionately – but with a deep affection and camaraderie. Their understanding was complete. He would give her a lavish funeral and honour Bertha with a prominent place among the mourners. Grey was starting to pepper Edward’s hair and middle age crept upon him.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Christmastide 1788, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward sat in his black uniform in the cold study eating a late supper of bread and cheese. He gathered the cloak about him, drank some water, and continued with Barnoldswick’s fiscal report. Despite a solid economy, surpluses were dangerously low after repayment of the enormous Lichfield debt. The armaments order from Scotia had helped considerably. There would be famine next year though after the heavy rains of the late summer.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The king closed the folder and sat in bleak silence. Grief was still heavy upon him. He picked up the dried sprig of lavender from the leaves of Edith’s Bible. It was so touching that she had kept it. He sobbed for a while and then went alone to his chamber. Ignoring the luxurious bed, he climbed into a camp bed and covered himself with a thin blanket.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]June 1789, Bootham Market, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]The people were hungry, but king and church did their duty. Edward was selling much of the art and furniture of the Palace which his father had collected and using it to buy grain from the Baltic. The Archbishop had followed suit and was divesting the Archdiocese of a good portion of its wealth. Both men were reportedly eating Lenten fare out of solidarity with the starving. Fr Albert was concluding his open air mass after which bread and soup would be distributed. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Christmastide 1789, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward gathered the black cloak around his uniform and blew on his hands. It was bitterly cold. [/FONT][FONT="]After concluding his expressions of grief for dear Edith, he wrote on in dogged stoicism, about the state of the realm.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Many have died, especially in the provinces, but fewer than might have. Thank God for Fr Leofric. The church fed tens of thousands through the difficult months. The last remnants of the Jarls have blighted their names with their brutal indifference. The poor were worst hit around Richmond and Morpeth. The Earl of Morpeth’s funeral was practically deserted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Paying back the debt to the merchants of York did help a little, as did hanging a few profiteers. Well, the harvest was better this summer and we have survived the worst. May God grant a happier decade in the 1790s.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The king closed the book and went to his campbed allowing himself the luxury of a second blanket in the unheated chamber.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward instructed the Home Secretary, Baron Leeds, to reduce censorship and permit criticism in the newspapers which were beginning to appear. Baron Selkirk reported that the stockpiling of equipment for the army was now complete. He proposed export of musket and cannons to governments within the British Isles to reduce the French monopoly. The army is improving steadily and has finally reached an acceptable quality. With a determined effort, the remainder of the loan to the merchants and bankers of London was paid off. The great influx of coins into East Anglia in 1786-87 permits the expansion of trade, including the foundation of a Royal North American Company, but causes inflation. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]May, 1788: Queen’s Bedchamber, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]A child was born and a son at that. The labour was long and difficult, but Edith was happy.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Dear Lady Bertha mopped her brow tenderly, looked around quickly, then leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. By the time the king arrived, the bleeding had started. It was simply uncontrollable and the Queen died in his arms as Lady Bertha sobbed bitterly and kissed her hand. Edward was overwhelmed by grief. He had loved his wife, not with Lady Bertha’s passion – he glanced over at her compassionately – but with a deep affection and camaraderie. Their understanding was complete. He would give her a lavish funeral and honour Bertha with a prominent place among the mourners. Grey was starting to pepper Edward’s hair and middle age crept upon him.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Christmastide 1788, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward sat in his black uniform in the cold study eating a late supper of bread and cheese. He gathered the cloak about him, drank some water, and continued with Barnoldswick’s fiscal report. Despite a solid economy, surpluses were dangerously low after repayment of the enormous Lichfield debt. The armaments order from Scotia had helped considerably. There would be famine next year though after the heavy rains of the late summer.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The king closed the folder and sat in bleak silence. Grief was still heavy upon him. He picked up the dried sprig of lavender from the leaves of Edith’s Bible. It was so touching that she had kept it. He sobbed for a while and then went alone to his chamber. Ignoring the luxurious bed, he climbed into a camp bed and covered himself with a thin blanket.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]June 1789, Bootham Market, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]The people were hungry, but king and church did their duty. Edward was selling much of the art and furniture of the Palace which his father had collected and using it to buy grain from the Baltic. The Archbishop had followed suit and was divesting the Archdiocese of a good portion of its wealth. Both men were reportedly eating Lenten fare out of solidarity with the starving. Fr Albert was concluding his open air mass after which bread and soup would be distributed. [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Christmastide 1789, Royal Palace, York[/FONT][FONT="]:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Edward gathered the black cloak around his uniform and blew on his hands. It was bitterly cold. [/FONT][FONT="]After concluding his expressions of grief for dear Edith, he wrote on in dogged stoicism, about the state of the realm.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Many have died, especially in the provinces, but fewer than might have. Thank God for Fr Leofric. The church fed tens of thousands through the difficult months. The last remnants of the Jarls have blighted their names with their brutal indifference. The poor were worst hit around Richmond and Morpeth. The Earl of Morpeth’s funeral was practically deserted.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Paying back the debt to the merchants of York did help a little, as did hanging a few profiteers. Well, the harvest was better this summer and we have survived the worst. May God grant a happier decade in the 1790s.”[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The king closed the book and went to his campbed allowing himself the luxury of a second blanket in the unheated chamber.[/FONT]
Sorry. It was my 45th birthday to-day and I was otherwise engaged. More soon.
No need for you to apologise but I will. I can see how my comments could be interpreted as an order when they were actually meant as a general encouragement. Sorry.
BTW, Happy Birthday!
No need for you to apologise but I will. I can see how my comments could be interpreted as an order when they were actually meant as a general encouragement. Sorry.
BTW, Happy Birthday!
Never in life, sir. I took them as you meant them. Anyway, I'm pleased and glad that you're enjoying it.