[CKII AAR] The House of Threave

[Dirty Chai]

The House of Threave
A Scottish CKII AAR using the mod "The Prince and the Thane"


Introduction and Foreword


Prologue - The Foundling

Chapter I - The Early Years

[Dirty Chai]

Introduction and Foreword

Hello,

This is my first AAR ever actually, but I have been a huge fan of well written and creative AARs of both Creative Assembly games and Paradox games, and after much deliberation, have finally decided upon one idea to write about:

A house, much like the Stuarts in it's destiny (hopefully), that comes to hold land in Scotland during the reign of David I of the House of Dunkeld, known as a reformer of Scotland.

David I, by inviting Normans, Anglo-Normans, and otherwise Francophone noblemen into his lands, implemented feudal structure and Norman governmental law into Scotland, which was possibly facing a crisis of modernization at the time due to its backwards celtic society faced with a strong and feudalistic England on its borders.

First, I selected David I at the date January I, 1125.
Then I went through the various nobles of his own court and that of his vassals in the Lowlands, in an attempt to find a suitable and likable "house founder."
I settled on a fellow named "Fáelbe de Threave", a courtier in Galloway.
I have and will often take(n) the liberty of using "of Threave" rather than "de Threave", simply because, it fits more with the setting.
I then granted this one Fáelbe of Threave with the Earldom of Lothian and all its tenants and incomes.

I have not played out this man's future, nor the destiny of his progeny, and am playing this by year, IE playing a few rulers and then recording them.
Thus, not knowing what the future holds, I reserve the right to reload saves when necessary for the survival of the House of Threave.

Bastard Feudalism

[Dirty Chai]

Prologue
The Foundling

"Philip the Lion"
Fáelbe of Threave
b. 25 June 1090

A Strathclyde-Cumbrian noble of origin along the southern coast of Galloway, Fáelbe of Threave was one of many sons of the Thane of Threave.
Fáelbe was far from inheriting anything from his father, and thus, at the dawn of his manhood, set out from Galloway and from Alba around late 1105, seeking riches and adventure on the continent, in the lands of the Franks.

Once landed in France, he eventually found himself grouped into a small warband of Normans, Flems, Bretons, Saxons, and Frisians, and fought, most notably, in the Battle of Tenchebrai in Normandy, and later in the struggles between Normandy and Louis le Gros of France.

During his time in France, in Normandy, Vexin, the Île de France, and even Brittany, Fáelbe was known by his compatriots by the name Philip, and later by the epithet le Lion for his celtic ferocity and foreign background.
He became very familiar with Frankish feudalism and the ideas of knighthood that were still fermenting on the continent.
His family members reportedly remarked that he left Alba a youth of Galloway and returned as a Frank.

During his final years in France, Philip eventually met with a lady of the Breton House of Penthièvre, Mallt, granddaughter of Dux Eozen; they fell in love and eloped, leaving her kin for Alba.
She is said to have been an aggressive woman herself, making a perfect match for the wild Scot.

He seems to have reappeared in Alba around 1123 or 1124, right before the ascension of King David I, and became a retainer of Alexander I and then David I.

He was immediately popular with the new King David, who was enthusiastic about Norman law and custom and eager to invite Franks into Alba.
Believing Philip to be a man skilled and educated in the latest laws and customs from Paris and Germany, David appointed him as Thane and Earl of Lothian in 1125.
Now, Philip may have been knowledgeable and familiar with Frankish ways of life, but beyond the skill of his sword arm, he was not good for much.

Of more trivial note:
Fáelbe, or Philip (whichever one prefers), was known to be of dark humours, carrying a melancholy look with him everywhere: into battle, into supper, and into bed.

[Swaeft]

Hey, this is quite cool! Never seen or heard of this game before, but I don't really know much about games anyway. Thanks for starting an AAR about this, I'll be following it!

[Dirty Chai]

Hey, this is quite cool! Never seen or heard of this game before, but I don't really know much about games anyway. Thanks for starting an AAR about this, I'll be following it!

Thank you.

The game is Crusader Kings II by Paradox Interactive, using the enhancing modification The Prince and the Thane by idib816.

This is my first After Action Report with anything, and I thought I would go for something grand, epic, and time-spanning: the lineage of a great house of lords and (hopefully) kings!

[Lucius Malfoy]

Hey, this is quite cool! Never seen or heard of this game before, but I don't really know much about games anyway. Thanks for starting an AAR about this, I'll be following it!

I can vouch that it is a really good game. Medieval setting with a huge immersions of cultures, religion, intrigue and what not. Its addicting!!

[Dirty Chai]

First chapter coming soon!

[Dirty Chai]

Chapter I
The Early Years

"Philip the Lion"
Fáelbe of Threave
b. 25 June 1090
r. 1125 - 1147
d. 17 June 1147

Upon his entry into high ranking nobility of Alba, Philip created a distinct escutcheon for his kindred:

A light blue lion on a grey field:

The first years of Philip's reign in Lothian went unmolested.

His first child, a baby girl, Lillias, was born one the 17 March 1128.
His entry into parenthood appears to have lightened him up hence after.
On the 13 May 1132, Mallt gave birth to twin boys, Stephen and William.

In September of 1133, word came of a new Norse army coming from across the sea, the likes of which had not been seen since Magnus Barefoot nearly three decades prior.
This new king, Magnus' bastard son, Sigurd Magnusson, was reportedly coming across the North Sea at the behest of his wife, Queen of the Hebrideans, Ragnhild.

King David called the clans to arms and marched on Argyll immediately, and was able to cause significant damage and defeat upon the Men of Argyll and Hebrides, long before any Norse arrival, which did not land in Caithness until the Spring of 1134.

However, the Scottish force did not engage the Norse, and more fleets came across the sea, until the Norse host was much too large.
A battle was met in upper Argyll, the Scots routed, and northern Pictland lost to the Norse.
Seeing no other option, David paid homage to Sigurd in 1135 and the Norwegian sailed home with his new wife proudly.

Philip was not involved in this war, and rather was left in Lothian.

A mentally impaired daughter, Annabella, was born 13 December 1136.

In late 1138, unrest among the common folk of Lothian began to spark up into riots in Edinburgh, and Philip's wife Mallt was maimed by a mob in late 1139.
Fortunately, it seems to have subsided by late 1140.

On the 11th of July, 1140, King David succumbed to a heavy fever and passed to God.
His son and heir, the 26 year old Henry, was crowned King of the Scots.

Around this time, Philip has shown signs of further Metropolitan Frankish acculturation by adopting poetry through his Breton wife, although no enduring proof of this exists.

Growing up, Philip's sons show their colors:
Stephen a warrior like his father, William a priest and a scholar.

On the 2 July 1142, Lillias comes of age is wed to the Prince of Powys, Bleddyn II;
Rumored to be a dullard, but a strong marriage alliance nonetheless.
A betrothal agreement between Bleddyn's healthy sister Arianrhod and Philip's heir Stephen is made at the wedding.

The young King Henry, idealistic and enthusiastic about Norman customs like his father, comes to appreciate Philip the way David had after a feast in the fall of 1142.

In 1143, a squabble arises in Dunbar between the Bishop of Tyninghame and his liege, Earl Gospatrick,
and a similar situation arises in Fife in 1144, between the Bishop of St Andrew's and the Earl of Fife.
In both situations, Philip aided his neighboring Earls, leading levies into Dunbar and into Fife.

The years between 1144 and 1147 are relatively peaceful but constructive, with several tournaments and feasts throughout Alba; Philip also managed to construct several fortifications on Stirling, his seat, and by 1148, the castle of Stirling was a stone keep, something not in huge numbers in Scotland.

A betrothal between the Baroness Anne of Durham and Philip's son William is made in 1145.

In Spring 1146, Stephen and William came of age;
William immediately left to cement his marriage to the English Baroness in Durham, while a message was sent to Wales for the Powysian bride of Stephen; she arrived a few months later, with news of Philip's infant grandson, Lillias' son, the heir to Powys.

In the Summer of 1147, Philip's health deteriorated quickly, and on the 17th of June, at age 56, Philip passes away and ascends to heaven.

His son, Stephen, is declared the new Earl of Lothian, at age 15.

[Pinkerton]

MOAR, MOAR

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

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