[SS 6.1 AAR] "L'État c'est moi" The Monarchy of France"This AAR will be paused for the time being due to personal reasons""
L'État c'est moi I am the state, A French Monarchy
Greeting fellow readers, this is a French AAR narrated by fictional characters, historical accuracy is not to bee counted, all you will read is fiction and do not relate to real life history or person.
I am using Stainless Steel 6.1 with no added mods, this is my first official AAR. I am playing m/m difficulty, no cheats, no toggle fog of war, as legit as I can make it. The story is planned to last from 1080AD until 1500AD unless the dynasty end, I will also use special rules as followed, no adoption, princesses will only marry foreign princes. Let it begin.
Last edited by Karnage; February 05, 2011 at 06:44 PM.
My name is Isabelle De Calais, I am an historian, I have been tasked to study our past. A daunting task as almost no information prior to the revolution still exist. Although in old archives, those words comes often, "L'État c'est moi" which means I am the state, those very same words which brought the end to the monarchy of France, the same words which brought forth the revolution. But where those words comes from, who originally spoke those words.
This search for answer became my life goal, after searching through old archives from numerous countries around the worlds, I made quite a discovery, old journals, in the papal secret archives, journals, maps, reports, all sorts of valuable knowledges, but most importantly, information about France, from the late 11th century. I started reading, taking notes and learn as much as I can. This is how it started.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Year of our Lord, 1080AD, France is in turmoil, many lands rebelled against me, although I have protected them against foreign barbarians, rebels and heretics, they still believe I am unworthy of ruling, it all began with the Normans, they revolted and took to the sea to begin their own kingdom, shortly after, many more followed. Only 5 settlements remained loyal, Angers, Paris, Rheims, Bordeaux and Clermont. Those who remained loyal to the Capetian house, will be rewarded, and for those who rebelled, they will always remember that I am the State.
Philip I, King of France
After reading more reports, I discovered this was the earliest documents from a french monarch, so King Philip spoke those words, would be interesting to know how he managed this daunting task, but even in time past, rebellions were at hand. According to papal records, King Philip I was know to be an honorable man, although I have hard time to believe it since of all the rebellions, he was in his 40's at the time of this letter, he was married although the name of the queen does not seem to appear in records, lost in time I must presume. He had 4 child. Prince Louis who was 20 years old and heir to the crown, Princess Constance, 19 years old, she was known for her elegance, Prince Michel and Prince Henri, both 2 and 1 year old respectively. This composed the Capetian Royal family.
According to some old merchant logs, France was in a pitiful state in 1080AD, most cities were not conencted by roads and surrounded by forest, which made travelling quite dangerous, and it seems King Philip began work on this project. Also recovered from the archive was the following.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Summer, year of our lord 1080. I have left Paris as requested father and I am headed to meet the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, I believe our proposition to marry my Brother to his daughter will please him and an alliance with them will greatly help your plans to deal with the rebels. Although I miss the comfort of Paris, travelling has been fruitful, I have discovered yet another city which was burning the flags of France, another city rebelled I presume, I am sorry to say that it was too dangerous for me to approach without an armed escort, but I have marked it on this map, perhaps this will be of use. I will write back upon my return.
Constance
Another interesting development, from this letter and papal records, I have concluded that Philip planned to go on the offensive on the rebels, this will be interesting to follow I am sure. As I was about to continue reading through an old manuscript, papal archiver approached me and stated my time was up. I will return tomorrow and continue my research. How did papacy gathered such valuable information and pieces of history is beyond my comprehension, but it truly does not matter, as I have finally found a missing link to our history.
I have returned to my research, according to information gathered, the next documents dates from Summer 1083AD, according to this, a princess under the name of Teresa De Castilla approached the city of Bordeaux, she was a decent speaker and spoke for the Kingdom of Leon de Castille, according to research, this Kingdom was the former name of modern Spain, this lady approached with promise of trade, but King Philip would accept no less then an alliance. As mentioned in this document.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
winter, year of our lord 1083AD, Dear Lady of Castilla, I am deeply touch by a trade agreement with your Kingdom, however, I would require more in the name of peace and prosperity to both our land, let us mark this day not only for our trade rights, but also as brother in arms, let our people be joined by an alliance that will last for decades.
King Philip I of France
According to these letters, a trade agreement, exchange of tactical maps and an alliance was concluded between Spain and France. I would only guess King Philip used this opportunity to his southern border secure before engaging the rebels. Also, of note, there is a report of a lady of Aragon coming towards Bordeaux, perhaps the King will approach her as well. Of note, I have noticed many improvements to the Kingdom of France, lands were being cleared, roads were built and farms were being constructed, the King was not idle in the 3 years that followed his first letter. Another document picked my interest. It was from Prince Louis.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Winter, year of our lord 1083AD, Father, I am marching towards the rebels city of Rennes, I have brought with me some spear militia units, I will also meet with reinforcment from Bordeaux which consists of some light cavalry and more militia, I did ask the count of Bordeaux to spare all he could without weakening his position too much, although I still wonder what he was able to spare, in any case, if my travels goes well, I should be reaching the city walls in the next few months. I have heard news from a passing merchant, an alliance was made between ourselves and the Kingdom of Leon de Castille, this would prove useful in our future war against the Normans. May I ask, have you heard news from my sister, I would like to know how negotiation went with the emperor and I'm a little anxious to meet my soon to be wife.
Prince Louis
So Prince Louis was leading an army to war against the rebels, he must have been confident on his abilities to take on this rebel city in such a few short years. Also, I was anxious to find information on Lady Constance and her quest with the emperor, after some searching, I have found the letter in question with quite a twist I was not expecting.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Year of lord 1084AD, I have arrived to Frankfurt after a long trip, the Imperial Capital is magnificient. I met with the emperor, I am sorry to say that he was not willing to give his daughter hand to my brother, however, I have managed to secure trades, tactical maps and an alliance with him for 700 Florins per years for 4 years. I understand the need of our treasury to fund our war against the rebels and I only hope you see the wisdom in my decision as I believed an alliance with the Emperor would secure our eastern border. I will continue my journey south and secure us more treaties, I am aware that my duties to France requires me home, but I have confidence in my abilites to secure a better future for France if I am out there, beside, my failure to secure a wedlock for my brother is a shame I must correct. I am, again, sorry for my failure, I will not repeat such mistakes again.
Your daughter that loves you.
Constance
So she was able to secure an alliance with the Emperor, I can only imagine how she felt because she failed her father, but in my eyes, she should be ashamed, her mission was risky from day one, from papal records, The Holy Roman Empire had their eyes on a weaken France and intended to strike at the earliest opportunity, maybe this alliance at whatever cost was for the better after all. And last, I looked at a journal entry page that was written by King Philip himself.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Winter, year of our Lord 1084, I am still enraged with all the nobles that rebelled...Although they will know soon enough the cost for their treachery, I am more then anxious to get even with those treacherous Normans...Time is of the essence, but before I can strike at them, I need to take care of problems at home, many rebels to eradicate. I am very disapointed of the news my daughter brought, I expected better from her, but she did secure an alliance with the Emperor, I cannot judge her for such a success, altough I am tempted to ask her to return home, I know she will thrive in her travels to secure more for France, but my son needs a bride, perhaps the Crown of Aragon to secure even more our southern borders. I am happy to have secured an alliance with the Kingdom of Leon De Castille, with both alliances in hand, I can focus my attention with the rebels. I must admit, even if its been 4 years since the rebellions, I feel awful to not have seen those scheming worms forming up their plans, if only I would have known...
My son is getting close to Rennes, those rebels will feel the wrath of France, although I wish my son had time to build a proper army, he understands the urgency of the matter, for each months that passes, the Normans grow stronger. I only pray the lord that my son succeed.
I have received pleasing words from Pope Gregorious IX, he believes my effort to bring peace with my neighbours is worth of respect and honor, he wishes me well and blessed me for my good deeds. If only he knew these diplomatic tactics was for the greater purpose of bringing the Normans down, he wouldnt honor me so, but for now, I accept this blessing as a gift from the lord to proceed against the rebels and only good fortune will come out of it.
Philip I, King of France
I wonder if all French monarchs were like this Philip, the impressions he is giving me is of one who plots revenge. If those were the traits of French Kings, perhaps they truly deserved their fate in the revolution. Either way, King Philip I was considered honorable, perhaps there is more then meet the eye. Again, as I am about to open another manuscript, the Papal archiver tells me my time is up. I leave again, hopeing to learn more, can the Prince truly defeat the rebel army in Rennes? Where will Princess Contance go? Is the Emperor true to his word or is he scheming in King Philip back? The more I read, the more questions. Tomorrow, I will find out, I cannot wait.
Sounds like something fun! So I presume that the next chapter will include the actual game?
I know, its a slow start, but action is coming soon, right now, its mostly getting all my army made, getting some rebels cities and building up my economy.
I know, its a slow start, but action is coming soon, right now, its mostly getting all my army made, getting some rebels cities and building up my economy.
I see - so basically this is just a background story line so that when you are all ready and up you can just jump right in? Nice. I just started mine when i started the campaign. LOL. The links in my sig if you wanna check it out. Otherwise, I like the plot!
I see - so basically this is just a background story line so that when you are all ready and up you can just jump right in? Nice. I just started mine when i started the campaign. LOL. The links in my sig if you wanna check it out. Otherwise, I like the plot!
yes, with time, I will focus more on characters and their actions. I do intend to attack the normans at some point. Also, as I mentioned in title, if I ever master the art of screenshots, I will put some on Will look up at your AAR
Should have an update sometime this weekend, my weekend schedule is pretty crazy but I am sure I can fit an hour or 2 of Medieval 2
I would also like to give my thanks to the following. ALZU and Decimus Milo, your AAR's have been great inspiration and great read, also, ALZU, your AAR in particular brought me to the Medieval 2 family.
And a very special thanks to Skantarios, from which his masterpiece and his constant support brought me to make this AAR.
Too bad I also plan to do an AAR as France with one particular family being " Royal Historian "
I will stay tune to this as France is my favourite faction though
Too bad I also plan to do an AAR as France with one particular family being " Royal Historian "
I will stay tune to this as France is my favourite faction though
Thank you for watching, I am working on getting screenshots, will keep all updated.
I am excited today, as I have started to read reports, I managed to get my hands on interesting documents. My next documents takes us from 1086AD to 1089AD, a lot had happened throughout these years. First and foremost, an interesting letter from Prince Louis as he was but a few weeks shy to arrive in Rhennes. He had to hastily return to Paris as he was expected to meet his new wife, a grand wedding was arranged between himself and a lady of Aragon? I am sure he was surprised, but the letter says it all.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Year of our Lord 1086AD. Dear father, I have just returned to my army and have been briefed by my men on our current situation. Since I had to leave in a hurry, I didnt have time to express my confusion, I had expected to meet the Imperial Princess of the Holy roman Empire and yet my new wife is of the Crown of Aragon, I can only assume you had the best of intention in this decision. Our wedding was grand and my new wife is better then I had hoped, I am sure she will become a great queen. Although her name is Maria, I have decided to call her Marie, like the holy mother, she giggled at the idea but I believe she loved it.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
On a more serious matter, I have learned who is in charge of the rebel forces in Rhennes, Captain Pons leads the rebel forces in Rhennes, Captain Pons was a bodyguard of the Duke of Bretagne, your brother, my uncle, the man betrayed France and killed Capetian blood, he will not survive the day, for that I garantee you. I will be surrounding and sieging Rhennes within a few weeks.
Prince Louis
He must have been happy to meet his new wife and saddened to leave only a few days later, his mission to Rhennes could not wait. This Captain Pons only brings me rage, he was the trusted bodyguard of the King brother, how can such a man fall is beyond me. I also happened to find an interesting journal entry from King Philip, peace with the Normans????
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Year of our lord 1086, have I shamed my name or my kingdom? Today, the daughter of my Norman enemy approached me, although she spoke well, I could clearly see in her eyes that she despised my presence, and so did I, but although her eyes were full of anger, she mentioned her father wishes to trade with France as the Kingdom of England requires such trade. England, so thats the name the Normans chose, how can the pope even allow this is beyond comprehension, however, I am in no position to fight them yet. Because of my arrangements with the Empire, I can ill afford a war with the Normans, nor can I refuse a trade offer that could improve our coffer. I accepted, as she left my court, I can only summarize that this meeting of peace was but temporary, it will be a matter of time before we faced them. I will prepare, I dont have a choice, France reputation, my reputation depends on it.
Philip I, King of France
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
According to financial records, France was in financial ruins at the time of this trade proposal, to have refused this treaty may have put France in a position it could not afford. Losing so many cities to rebellions must have cost the king dearly. But I must admit, it did catch me by surprise that he would even negotiate with them considering he blames them for all the rebellions. The next report is an interesting one, Prince Louis is assaulting the rebel city of Rhennes.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Year of our Lord 1087AD, I have surrounded the city for a couple of months, hoping to bring their moral down, everynight, Pons and his man chants songs of victory and praise their success in overthrowing your brother, my uncle, this arrogance only fuels my rage against them. My scouts indicate he has 3 units of militia spears, 2 of crossbowmen and Pons cavalry. I had constructed 2 rams and reinforcement arrived to complete my army, I had 6 units of militia spears, 4 of spear sergant and 1 of mailed cavalry, not including myself and my bodyguard, we surpassed them in numbers by 2 to 1. I am sure he must be regretting all those victory chants now. I am to attack in early morning.
It was a cold morning with freezing rain, although the weather was awful, it would reduce the effectiveness of their arrows. I tasked one of my ram to move towards the city as I looked on.
As I predicted, the freezing rain reduced the effectiveness of their flaming arrows, I decided to move all my units in line as my ram was about to reach the city gates.. The enemy surprised me however as they attacked my men manning the rams before they could reach the gate, perhaps Pons tought he could kill them and hide behind his walls. So I took the opportunity and ordered my men to charge, his men were trembling to see the wall of spears coming towards them.
They soon broke formation and cowered back inside as my far superior army were overrunning them in all aspect.
They cowered to the city square, I decided to join my men with my own bodyguard and my cavalry, the battle in the town Square was a brutal one, there was no order, only chaos reigned.
I have heard one of the militia killed Pons, I hope he died a painful death as traitors to the true french monarch deserves no less.
I was able to confirm that he had died, a spear thrust to the neck. Even with Pons dead, the rebels never gave up but eventually were all slaughtered. And such is the fate of all rebels who chose to betray us. We had some losses, but they had no one to tell the tales of their ill fated glory songs.
The victory is ours father, Rhennes chose not to resist us and came back to our kingdom peacefully. I have left some militia behind and chose to move south and assault the fortified castle of Toulouse, I will muster all the reinforcement I can on my way.
Prince Louis
Also, of note and a touching one might I had.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Year of our Lord 1087AD, Dear Louis, I was told by your father that you are preparing for battle in Rhennes, I have news for you my dear husband, we are with child, a beautiful daughter, I have called her Clare, I hope you like it. Please husband, return to me and your daughter quickly and safely.
Princess Marie.
It must have been hard to be expecting a child while you know your husband his fighting a war and may not return. Ironic that Clare was born the same day Louis had his first victory. Also, I have learned that Louis has earned the nickname of Lazy, however, it doesnt specify where he got such a nickname but I find it funny. I have wondered if Princess Constance was able to reach Italy, I found a letter from her which explained her whereabouts and some disturbing news.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Year of our lord 1089AD, Father, I was unable to go to Italy as an imperial regiment was blocking the way, although I explained to the captain who I was and what I was doing here, he refused to let me pass, I will have to take the long way around Genoa to get to Italy, I am again sorry for such delay.
I have heard of Louis wedding, I wish I could have been there, give my regards to him. I have also learned from this Imperial captain that Jerusalem fell to the Muslim. I will have to confirm this upon my arrival to Italy. I will write back upon my arrival
your daughter.
Constance.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I find it rather unusual that an ally wouldnt allow an ally to pass, perhaps my suspicions on the emperor is proving right. Only time will tell. I can confirm what Constance was not able to do, according to Vatican papers, Jerusalem fell to the muslims in 1089AD. Now, as I am told my time is up, I can summarize that Prince Louis had a great victory, although I have doubts he can face this fortress of Toulouse that he speaks. Tomorrow, I will learn more, for now, I have a lot to report to my superiors. They will be pleased.
[SS 6.1 AAR] "L'État c'est moi" The Monarchy of France"This AAR will be paused for the time being due to personal reasons""
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Originally Posted by Isalith
Lol its cool. xD
