I'm pretty new to these boards, but I've been doing some preliminary work on a timeline which I find fairly plausible and at least mildly interesting. I'm looking for some feedback and good advice, especially on "what happens next".
The year is 1192.
Richard the Lionheart, crowned King of England three years past, leaves the Holy Land after his failure to retake the city of Jerusalem from the Moslem general Saladin. Despite his disappointment, he brings with him a newly-strengthened reputation as a skilled military commander, as well as a plethora of ideas for newer and better fortifications in his French holdings; Normandy, Aquitaine, Brittany, and the rest. Also on the way back to England (though travelling separately) is his recently-wedded wife, Berengaria of Navarre.
Richard is eager to return to England for good reason; his former companion on the Third Crusade, King Philip II of France, left the Holy Land over a year ago and Richard is certain that the backstabbing bastard has designs on Normandy. Richard has also been concerned by reports that his surviving brother, John Lackland, has been making plans to seize the English throne for himself.
However, getting back to England will be his first major hurdle. Richard has made himself quite a few enemies during the Crusade, and not all of them wear turbans and worship Allah. The Byzantine Emperor, Isaac II, is furious at Richard for conquering the island of Cyprus and turning it into a Crusader state. Meanwhile, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI is also annoyed at Richard for a number of reasons, including Richard's support of the rebellious Duke of Saxony (also named Henry). Unfortunately, Richard will need to cross the Empire at some point, unless he wants to sail to Toulouse and hope King Philip doesn't capture him.
Of course Richard (being the brilliant fellow that he is), hatches a plan. He and some of his loyal Crusaders will sail to the port of Genoa disguised as ordinary Templar Knights, and from there, strike out for Aquitaine. In doing so, they will hopefully bypass Emperor Isaac, and avoid as much of Emperor Henry's territory as they can.
True to form, Richard's plan works flawlessly. The weather remains favorable, and Richard returns safely to his holdings in western France. Cheering crowds mark his course as he passes northward, until on Christmas Day of 1192, he arrives in London. At Westminster Abbey, Richard reassumes rulership of the Kingdom and reunites with his new wife Berengaria (whose journey was somewhat more harrowing than his own, it is said). Richard reaffirms his nephew Arthur as heir to the throne, pending the birth of a son of his own.
Soon after Richard's arrival, his brother John Lackland flees to the court of Philip II. The two make a pact; if Philip can defeat Richard and place John on the English throne, then John will cede to him significant areas in the Plantagenet territories, including Gascony and eastern Aquitaine.
In early March of 1193, Philip's army lays siege to the fortress of Gisors in Normandy. Richard, meanwhile, has been riding up and down western France, raising an army to oppose him. Gisors holds out for only a month, before it is relieved by Richard's forces. In the Battle of Gisors on April 12th, Richard soundly thrashes the French army, who are caught between him and a well-timed sally from Gisors itself. Philip is neither killed nor captured, though, and he and the remainder of his army retreat.
After that, Richard spends the rest of the spring and summer of 1193 running rampant over northern France, trouncing the French army again and again, and capturing key castles along the way. By October, he has advanced even to the gates of Paris, where Philip has hastily and prematurely begun construction of a fortress called the Louvre. However, Richard is repulsed at the new city wall, and with winter fast approaching, he returns to his strongholds in Normandy to get ready for the spring campaign. He also begins to lay plans for a series of new castles in the north, ones based upon the designs he encountered during the Third Crusade.
Meanwhile, Berengaria back in London is expecting a child. Richard is engrossed in his war plans and decides not to return north for the child's birth, accentuating the fact that he is largely estranged from his bride. The birth does not go well. The child (a girl, christened Edolie) is born on December 5th, but the Queen dies a few days later. Sadly, her death goes largely unmourned by both the husband she hardly knew, and the kingdom that hardly knew her.
Unfortunately for Richard, springtime of 1194 brings a string of rebellions, beginning among the newly conquered lords in Picardy and and Flanders, and then spreading to some disgruntled nobles in Brittany. He is also forced to dispatch part of his army to Britain to quell the Welsh, who have been raiding into western England. Luckily for him, Philip chooses not to back up Richard's revolting nobles, and remains holed up in Paris desperately attempting to finish the city's fortifications.
By July, Richard feels ready to march on Paris again. His advance is harried by Philip's army, but by late August he has laid siege to the city. The city wall that Philip had originally commissioned the construction of in 1190 is almost entirely complete (thanks to Philip's hurried efforts in the winter and spring), though the Palais du Louvre is still in its formative stages. The left bank of the Seine has little fortification, and Richard's army sacks it. However, the rest of the city holds out for several months before Richard successfully takes it on the 3rd of November in a daring night assault. Philip escapes the city during the ensuing chaos disguised as a fleeing pilgrim, and manages to reach the city of Orleans. His protegee John Lackland, on the other hand, is captured and sent back to London in chains. With the snow beginning to fall again, Richard decides to winter in Paris. And he begins to have a plan, one that involves...
... Alys, Countess of the Vexin and half-sister to Philip II. Before he went gallivanting off to the Third Crusade and married Berengaria of Navarre, Richard had been betrothed to Alys since 1169. Alys spent most of her childhood as a ward of Richard's father Henry II, and it is rumored that she was Henry's mistress once she reached womanhood. However, Richard is willing to overlook these allegations in light of the fact that she is one of the daughters of the late King Louis VII of France, and that marrying her would give him a somewhat-tenuous-but-possibly-legitimate-with-a-big-enough-army claim to the rulership of France in the event of Philip's untimely death. Thus, he sends a letter to his mother Eleanor to start making the arrangements, whether Alys likes it or not.
In any case, Richard marries Alys in February of 1195 (at the half-completed Cathedral of Notre Dame, for conveniences sake), after 26 years of betrothal. The happy couple honeymoon in Champagne, where Richard has chosen to begin his spring campaign. His half-sister Marie, Countess of Champagne (who is also half-sister to both Philip and Alys, though all have slightly different sets of parents) , is being held captive in Troyes by nobles loyal to Philip due to her outspoken support of Richard. By June, Richard has reached Troyes and freed her. Leaving the Champagne countryside semi-subdued, Richard then marches on Orleans, where Philip is gathering the remnants of his army for a final desperate defense of the Kingdom of France.
Of course, Philip is unsuccessful. He dies gloriously in battle on the 23rd of September at the Battle of Sancerre, and the remainder of his army surrenders to Richard's tender mercies, leaving the County of Toulouse as the only part of France still holding out against Richard. And it too is swept away in 1197, leaving Richard as the relatively unopposed King of England and France.
That spring, joy comes to the House of Plantagenet in the form of the squirming, shrieking heir to the throne of a combined kingdom. His name, of course is Richard II.
____
tl;dr Richard I gets back to England without being captured by the Holy Roman Emperor. Then he conquers France and has some kids, and doesn't get killed by a lucky crossbowman.
____
And that's what I have so far; it's sort of a rough draft, so feel free to point out all the problems. Let me know if you find it plausible and/or interesting, and give me some advice on what should happen next. I think the next part may include Richard heading up a much more successful Fourth Crusade. Also maybe maps.
Cœur de Lion
The year is 1192.
Richard the Lionheart, crowned King of England three years past, leaves the Holy Land after his failure to retake the city of Jerusalem from the Moslem general Saladin. Despite his disappointment, he brings with him a newly-strengthened reputation as a skilled military commander, as well as a plethora of ideas for newer and better fortifications in his French holdings; Normandy, Aquitaine, Brittany, and the rest. Also on the way back to England (though travelling separately) is his recently-wedded wife, Berengaria of Navarre.
Richard is eager to return to England for good reason; his former companion on the Third Crusade, King Philip II of France, left the Holy Land over a year ago and Richard is certain that the backstabbing bastard has designs on Normandy. Richard has also been concerned by reports that his surviving brother, John Lackland, has been making plans to seize the English throne for himself.
However, getting back to England will be his first major hurdle. Richard has made himself quite a few enemies during the Crusade, and not all of them wear turbans and worship Allah. The Byzantine Emperor, Isaac II, is furious at Richard for conquering the island of Cyprus and turning it into a Crusader state. Meanwhile, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI is also annoyed at Richard for a number of reasons, including Richard's support of the rebellious Duke of Saxony (also named Henry). Unfortunately, Richard will need to cross the Empire at some point, unless he wants to sail to Toulouse and hope King Philip doesn't capture him.
Of course Richard (being the brilliant fellow that he is), hatches a plan. He and some of his loyal Crusaders will sail to the port of Genoa disguised as ordinary Templar Knights, and from there, strike out for Aquitaine. In doing so, they will hopefully bypass Emperor Isaac, and avoid as much of Emperor Henry's territory as they can.
True to form, Richard's plan works flawlessly. The weather remains favorable, and Richard returns safely to his holdings in western France. Cheering crowds mark his course as he passes northward, until on Christmas Day of 1192, he arrives in London. At Westminster Abbey, Richard reassumes rulership of the Kingdom and reunites with his new wife Berengaria (whose journey was somewhat more harrowing than his own, it is said). Richard reaffirms his nephew Arthur as heir to the throne, pending the birth of a son of his own.
Soon after Richard's arrival, his brother John Lackland flees to the court of Philip II. The two make a pact; if Philip can defeat Richard and place John on the English throne, then John will cede to him significant areas in the Plantagenet territories, including Gascony and eastern Aquitaine.
In early March of 1193, Philip's army lays siege to the fortress of Gisors in Normandy. Richard, meanwhile, has been riding up and down western France, raising an army to oppose him. Gisors holds out for only a month, before it is relieved by Richard's forces. In the Battle of Gisors on April 12th, Richard soundly thrashes the French army, who are caught between him and a well-timed sally from Gisors itself. Philip is neither killed nor captured, though, and he and the remainder of his army retreat.
After that, Richard spends the rest of the spring and summer of 1193 running rampant over northern France, trouncing the French army again and again, and capturing key castles along the way. By October, he has advanced even to the gates of Paris, where Philip has hastily and prematurely begun construction of a fortress called the Louvre. However, Richard is repulsed at the new city wall, and with winter fast approaching, he returns to his strongholds in Normandy to get ready for the spring campaign. He also begins to lay plans for a series of new castles in the north, ones based upon the designs he encountered during the Third Crusade.
Meanwhile, Berengaria back in London is expecting a child. Richard is engrossed in his war plans and decides not to return north for the child's birth, accentuating the fact that he is largely estranged from his bride. The birth does not go well. The child (a girl, christened Edolie) is born on December 5th, but the Queen dies a few days later. Sadly, her death goes largely unmourned by both the husband she hardly knew, and the kingdom that hardly knew her.
Unfortunately for Richard, springtime of 1194 brings a string of rebellions, beginning among the newly conquered lords in Picardy and and Flanders, and then spreading to some disgruntled nobles in Brittany. He is also forced to dispatch part of his army to Britain to quell the Welsh, who have been raiding into western England. Luckily for him, Philip chooses not to back up Richard's revolting nobles, and remains holed up in Paris desperately attempting to finish the city's fortifications.
By July, Richard feels ready to march on Paris again. His advance is harried by Philip's army, but by late August he has laid siege to the city. The city wall that Philip had originally commissioned the construction of in 1190 is almost entirely complete (thanks to Philip's hurried efforts in the winter and spring), though the Palais du Louvre is still in its formative stages. The left bank of the Seine has little fortification, and Richard's army sacks it. However, the rest of the city holds out for several months before Richard successfully takes it on the 3rd of November in a daring night assault. Philip escapes the city during the ensuing chaos disguised as a fleeing pilgrim, and manages to reach the city of Orleans. His protegee John Lackland, on the other hand, is captured and sent back to London in chains. With the snow beginning to fall again, Richard decides to winter in Paris. And he begins to have a plan, one that involves...
... Alys, Countess of the Vexin and half-sister to Philip II. Before he went gallivanting off to the Third Crusade and married Berengaria of Navarre, Richard had been betrothed to Alys since 1169. Alys spent most of her childhood as a ward of Richard's father Henry II, and it is rumored that she was Henry's mistress once she reached womanhood. However, Richard is willing to overlook these allegations in light of the fact that she is one of the daughters of the late King Louis VII of France, and that marrying her would give him a somewhat-tenuous-but-possibly-legitimate-with-a-big-enough-army claim to the rulership of France in the event of Philip's untimely death. Thus, he sends a letter to his mother Eleanor to start making the arrangements, whether Alys likes it or not.
In any case, Richard marries Alys in February of 1195 (at the half-completed Cathedral of Notre Dame, for conveniences sake), after 26 years of betrothal. The happy couple honeymoon in Champagne, where Richard has chosen to begin his spring campaign. His half-sister Marie, Countess of Champagne (who is also half-sister to both Philip and Alys, though all have slightly different sets of parents) , is being held captive in Troyes by nobles loyal to Philip due to her outspoken support of Richard. By June, Richard has reached Troyes and freed her. Leaving the Champagne countryside semi-subdued, Richard then marches on Orleans, where Philip is gathering the remnants of his army for a final desperate defense of the Kingdom of France.
Of course, Philip is unsuccessful. He dies gloriously in battle on the 23rd of September at the Battle of Sancerre, and the remainder of his army surrenders to Richard's tender mercies, leaving the County of Toulouse as the only part of France still holding out against Richard. And it too is swept away in 1197, leaving Richard as the relatively unopposed King of England and France.
That spring, joy comes to the House of Plantagenet in the form of the squirming, shrieking heir to the throne of a combined kingdom. His name, of course is Richard II.
____
tl;dr Richard I gets back to England without being captured by the Holy Roman Emperor. Then he conquers France and has some kids, and doesn't get killed by a lucky crossbowman.
____
And that's what I have so far; it's sort of a rough draft, so feel free to point out all the problems. Let me know if you find it plausible and/or interesting, and give me some advice on what should happen next. I think the next part may include Richard heading up a much more successful Fourth Crusade. Also maybe maps.
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