Krak de Mordred, Home of Edmund de Mordred and Capital of the Barony of Gwynedd

**Barbarian Nobility** · October 04, 2010, 06:16 AM

Krak de Mordred...

Citedelle de Mordred is the administrative capital of English Northern Wales, which encompasses the provinces of Gwynedd and Powys. A traveller will find no comforts here, for this is purely a military establishement, although the de Mordred family does reside here...

The House de Mordred, although only a recent arrival in England (1410) have a long affiliation with the English Realm. The family is Gascon nobility, having sided with the English in two campaigns in France. It was because of this association that the House of de Mordred was destroyed by the Dauphin of France in 1408. The sole survivors were the eldest son Cassius de Mordred, and the younger son Guilliam de Mordred. Cassius arrived in England in 1410 before becoming a squire to the Duke of Nottingham. He won repute during the Kingmaker tournament, fighting until the grand finale when he was finally bested by the current King Edmund Blackadder. He was subsequently knighted and has ascended the social stratus quickly, having been promoted to Earl of Gwynedd and Powys by the King in order to police the actions of the autonomous North Welsh state. The Police action was not to last, as the Prince of Wales Glyndwyr declared himself King of Gwynedd and launched an invasion of England, sacking Chester and Leicester on his way. The Earl de Mordred was the first to fall upon his rearguard with fury, and after a hard fought battle, (The battle of the Welsh Stroll 1414) the English were triumphant. The Earl de Mordred returned to his estates the undisputed master of all of Northern Wales. The Orkney campaign and subsequent battle of Kirkwall (1416) saw the isle unofficially added into the Earl's title of lands, as well as a memorial wall added to the Citadel in rememberence of the 120 men of Gwynedd who did not return from the campaign. In retalliation for the seizure of Orkney for the English Crown, Norway invaded England, besieging and sacking York. Cassius de Mordred led the men of Gwynedd during the English field armies confrontation with the Norsemen, the men of Gwynedd distinguishing themselves on the field of battle. In 1417, the Earl de Mordred commissioned the upgrade of the Citadelle, including the erection of curtain walls and barbicums. The work was finished at great personal expense to the Earl, dominating the Northern Welsh countryside.

In 1418 Cassius de Mordred was murdered by the lunatic Marcus Knightsbridge. His brother, Guilliam de Mordred, assumed Stewardship of the fief until Cassius's young son Sylas was old enough to assume the Earldom himself...It was not to be. In the winter of 1419, little Sylas was taken ill by the Scarlet Fever and his life force was snuffed out. Addienna Nimue, wife of the late Cassius and mother of little Sylas soon followed, many say she died from a broken Heart...

In 1419 Guilliam de Mordred was struck down with leprosy...becoming a reclusive, aboding in utmost seclusion in the Keep of Krak de Mordred, Guilliam follows the goings on of the Realm through his extensive network of spies and agents. Having learnt of the murder of his friend and ally Edward of York in 1420 at the hands of William Boghosian, Guilliam despatched his best assasin, having Boghosian assasinated in his own Castle which was undersiege...In 1421 Guilliam de Mordred was promoted to Duke of all Wales. Shortly there after his was miraculously cured of his leprosy by the priest Father Gregory Elpinstone. In 1422 Guilliam was promoted to the newly formed English Ministry, ascending the portfolio of Minister of Intellegence and Secret Police. 1422 also so the renewal of the Scottish Campaign, with the English field army occupying Coldstream and commencing the siege of Dunbar Castle. The Fortress fell in 1423 with a substantial loss to the Welsh levy. After the assasination of King Edmund II in 1424 and the ensuing fourth English civil war, the de Mordred family fled to safety in Ireland. The Usurper Prince of Wales, John Holiday took control of Wales, although the loyal servants of the Krak de Mordred refused to acknowledge his suzereignty...

The de Mordred family returned to Krak de Mordred in the winter of 1425 after the execution of all leading figures of the Rebellion during the fourth English Civil War. With Guilliam's son taking the throne as King Cassius I, the de Mordred family decided to keep a low profile and remain at Krak de Mordred whilst King Cassius I resided at the royal castle. In 1427, the Royal Court was relocated to Krak de Mordred by orders of King Cassius. The following year King Cassius departed on the Crusade against the Emirate of Granada; whilst Queen Emily Blackadder ruled as sovereign in the King's absence, Guilliam de Mordred retained leadership of his family's household.

In 1435 the French led by Jean D'Arc invaded Normandy, and Guilliam de Mordred was a member of the English army which fought her on the fields of St. James. There he was laid low with a Arbalest bolt...and thus leadership of the House de Mordred was passed on yet again, the role of Master of the House falling upon the shoulders of Guilliam's eldest son, King Cassius I.

Merely one year later King Cassius died of the sweating fever contracted during the siege of Capri. Management of the House de Mordred fell upon a most unwilling patron, Tancred de Mordred. In 1436 it was the dying King's wish that Tancred steward the lands of the young heir Edmund de Mordred. Tancred honoured his brother's wish, but spent very little time at Krak de Mordred, choosing instead the life of a wondering priest. He was taken into the tutelage of Axel Damgaard, Bishop of Rochester, and made a canon of the Parish - However Tancred dreamed of leaving Rochester to venture to the Capital and evangelise the iniquitous city. The great land redistribution of 1438 saw the House de Mordred loose much of its prestige and respect, losing over 2/3'rds the size of its levy, with the Proffessional Corp of the House de Mordred, the Knights of Cerberus shrinking from 500 men to a mere 180 full time knights. Many of the House de Mordreds vassals became more powerful then the patriarch House itself. However the family endured such humiliation 'mongst the noble peerage with its traditional stoicism. One day, the family would rise again.

Residents and Family Tree...