Suggestions on 12th century historical characters

[Fair Prince]

Dear fellow history lovers and experts here on TWC,

I'd like to ask for your help. I started making a historical mod for M2TW Stainless Steel not a long ago and I could use some historical advice.
My mod's gonna start in 1132 and will include plenty of historical characters of the time with my primary goal being to represent them in the game as accurately as possible by giving them authentic traits and ancillaries.

I've done a lot of research and have my own ideas already but unfortunately for me, the English sources I found on the web mostly describe their deeds instead of their personalities. So now I'm asking you to help me a bit if you can and if you wish. Maybe you've read or heard (either in school, library, tv, internet, etc.) something about them that could be useful for me and could share it in this thread.
Since there's no better place to discuss history around here, I thought it might worth a try.

Most of the factions' rosters are already completed, but there're also serious deficiencies at some Islamic factions. Therefore, not only character attributes are welcome, but more historical figures and even corrections as well. Any help is appreciated!

A link to the mod, called the Stainless Steel Historical Improvement Project (SSHIP) can be found in my signature.

Sincerely,
Fair Prince

[Odovacar]

Very good for Hungary. The whole list is superbly researched. Contact me if you need more info about Hungary. And please, if you can, include the historically correct character names project!

[Fair Prince]

Thanks for the compliments, I see you're also from Hungary - I'll contact you in pm about the Magyar characters (finally I won't have to write in English! ).

I'll give an example here to everyone who might be interested in helping me. I found this text about Sigurd I of Norway in The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway, and aside from being pretty interesting, it also proved very useful to me:

19. OF KING SIGURD.

King Sigurd was a stout and strong man, with brown hair; of a
manly appearance, but not handsome; well grown; of little speech,
and often not friendly, but good to his friends, and faithful;
not very eloquent, but moral and polite. King Sigurd was self-
willed, and severe in his revenge; strict in observing the law;
was generous; and withal an able, powerful king. His brother
Olaf was a tall, thin man; handsome in countenance; lively,
modest, and popular. When all these brothers, Eystein, Sigurd
and Olaf were kings of Norway, they did away with many burthens
which the Danes had laid upon the people in the time that Svein
Alfifason ruled Norway; and on this account they were much
beloved, both by the people and the great men of the country.

So, in view of this, we can state he was a great and respected king - and his personality can now be nicely implemented in the game.

Of course, nobody has to give a similarly detailed portrayal of a character, minor infos would also be appreciated, like 'Zengi was a dreaded general' or 'Stephen of Blois was a lenient and ultimately weak monarch' (these are just random examples). It's even better if the source is given, though that's not a must - the information is what really matters after all.

[Solrac]

About D. Afonso Henriques "the Conqueror", I would say as traits:

• very smart;
• wise;
• brave;
• great attacker;
• adopt the "surprise attack" tactics many times;
• "political fox";
• got fully support of the army in his decisions;
• loved by his people;
• not great feelings about is mother (he fought against his mother put her in prison);
• good relations with crusaders (english crusaders helped him in the siege of Lisbon);
• good relations with the jews;
• got respected by the moors (somehow, besides all the fights, the moors had great respect for him, as they called him "Ibn-Arrik" (son of Henrique) and "El-Bortukali" (the portuguese);

During the siege of Lisbon , he was very violent with the moors, however in 1170, he redeems himself by forbidding christians and jews to harm moors living in the city region.




As for retinue, I suggest:

• Mercenary Captain;
• Bula Manifestis Probatum (which is a document with the Pope's seal, that means the "divine" aproval of the independence of Portugal);
• Jewish financier (he actually had at leat one)

----------------------------------------------------------------
D. Sancho I (Dinastia de Borgonha) known as the “Settler”
So, this is the 4th son of D. Afonso Henriques, armed by his father as a knight right after his inccident at Badajoz.

Traits :

Very loyal to his father;
Lover of art and literature;
Educated;
Excelent governor;
Mediocre militarist;
Encourage population growth rate.

Retinue:

Aragonese wife;
Poet.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sancho Nunes de Celanova (or “de Barbosa”)

Traits:

Governor of Ponte de Lima;
Loyal to his king;
Noble;
Fair fighter;

Retinue:

Wife his the princess of Portugal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

D. Fernando Mendez "o Bravo" (the Brave)

Traits:

Brave;
Lord of Bragança;
Expirienced fighter;
Chivalrous father;
Followed his king to all battles;
Fine military education.

Retinue:

Fine horse

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unfortunatly, about Bermudo Perez de Traba i didn’t found anything relevant =/

[Fair Prince]

Thanks mate, that's some quite detailed and very useful info for me!
And also thanks in advance for your future suggestions.

+rep, of course

[konny]

HRE

You might use traits like "Welfian" and "Staufian" to define the two struggeling parties in Germany. Welfs should be disloyal to Staufian emperors but loyal to Welfian emperors, and vice versa.

Lothar III
"Welfian".
A rather bad commander: not completely incompetent, but with some serious defeats on his account (for example Chulmec).
A good adiministrator: he was able to re-establish ducal authority in Saxony after nearly two centuries of Billung mismanagement. good rating in Law.
Low rating in Authority: His powerbase was extremly limited. He wasn't even the strongest lord in Saxony, and as emperor much depending on Heinrich the Proud.

Konrad III
"Staufian"
Pious (an active pilgrim and crusader).
A good, but not outstanding, commander.
A good adiministrator.
Should be rather popular and chivalresque, but with rather low authority too.

Friedrich II (the one-eyed)
"Staufian"
A good commander, should have a high ranking in defence/siege defence.
Invalid (lost an eye at an unknown time around 1130).
An active builder of castles and abbeys
popular and chivalresque

Heinrich X. (the proud)
"Welfian"
Very ambitious (high authority and low loyalty).
A very powerfull lord - however this can be displayed in game - but also very unpopular.
High dread and unrest.
A neither good nor bad commander.
Not much to be said about his administrative abilities.


Leopold III von Babenberg (the Saint, the Mild)
"Staufian"
An experienced, but not execptional, commander.
Very pious and an extremly good administrator.

Leopold IV von Babenberg (the Generous)
"Staufian"
A good (not "very good") commander.
A good administrator, like his father.
Rather high law and high unrest than popularity.

Heinrich II von Babenberg
"Staufian"
Crusader
An active builder, but rather low ranking in law.
Very loyal, rather poor/unambitious politician

Dietrich (Dirk) VI von Holland
"Welfian"
A rather weak lord. unpopular, some unrest traits.
Experienced, but not realy good commander.

Wilhelm von Ballenstedt
"Welfian"
Not much is known about his character.

Walram III von Limburg Paganus"Welfian"
Very active in feuding. Experienced commander but rather poor politician/administrator

Simon I de Châtenois
"Welfian" (despite this House being traditional Salian/Staufian)
Very active in feuding (high dread, low law); but not really successfull.
Was excommunicated, but also built a couple of abbeys.
Low authority.

Konrad I. von Zähringen
"Welfian" (but willing to change sides)
good administrator
crusader
A very powerfull lord and experienced commander

Gottfried VI. (Löwen/Brabant)
"Staufian"
builder of abbeys.
good rating in law, experienced commander
somewhat active in feuding

Konrad von Wettin (the Great, the Pious)
"Welfian"
Very pious
crusader
good politian/diplomatic
good administrator

Albrecht von Ballenstedt (the Bear)
"Staufian"
high dread
healthy
good and experienced commander
good administrator

[Lord Mandelson]

It seems a shame that Stephen (England) gets no retinue, since he was so dependant on advisers throughout his reign. I would highly recommend throwing in some kind of tutor, or Baron if that's one of M2's retinue options.

[Fair Prince]

@konny
Man, you never disappoint. I always knew who to ask for some help with HRE.
Instant rep!

@Lord Mandelson
All faction leaders and heirs will start with at least one retinue, but the fact is that I'm still working on them.
I already gave Stephen two since I had uploaded the tables (will do an update soon):
The first is Henry of Blois, his younger brother, bishop of Winchester, who eventually became the second most powerful man in England during Stephen's reign. Most of the time he stood by brother's side, acting as an advisor, so his presence must surely give Stephen some authority and piety bonus.
His second retinue is an adultress, obviously.
Thanks for the suggestion, nevertheless! (+rep)

@Christian Goth
Excellent, thanks!
If you happen to find more, just paste them here, I'll appreciate that.
A rep goes to you as well.

[Christian Goth]

Right as promised alittle info on one of the five characters. More will follow, but the rest of my evening is spoken for I hope you can make out what traits would be fitting for the character. But just to mention a few you should take some that would reflect his teamwork with the Danish church, his pious belief, his excellent skills at organizing and his mild, sometimes too straight to the point character.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Niels Estridsen:

King in Denmark between 1104-1134. Born in 1065, dies in 1134. He's the last of Svend Estridsens sons to become king in Denmark. Most known for his and his son Magnus's revolt against the claim of Knud Lavard and Erik Emune(Erik the meorable). He was married with the swedish kings daughter Margrethe Fredkulla, with her he had the son Magnus, after her death he married Ulvhild, the daughter of a wealty Norwegian Stormand/Yeoman. After the death of Erik 1 of Denmark in 1103, Niels Estridsen was elected king, instead of Eriks son Harald Kesja.

Niels reigned together with his queen Margrethe, but evidence suggest that it was probably the queen that held the kingdom together, despite the intense rivalry. Niels was off a far too lax and forgiving nature. The chronicle of Roskilde depicts him as a mild character, straight to the point, but not suitable as a regent for an entire kingdom.

Niels had a rather splendid teamwork with the Danish church. He paid huge sums to the monastery of Skt. Knud in Odense, and it is rather important that Niels was the first Danish king to declare to be king of god's grace. For the first time in Danish history we hear of a king that lay claims on that property which no one owns - "Danefæ" - It was the property a man or woman would leave behind if no direct heirs was found, this would now go to the king directly. He also changed the look of the coins and depicted himself as the protector of commence and harbors in the kingdom.

Niels reestablished the royal authority in and around the kingdom. The whole royal administration was reorganized by his will. The use of officials was introduced, in every region or major city Niels would have officials that answered to him only. They would collect fees, taxes and other debts. He avoided internal disputes by granting important titles to family members around the entire kingdom, this helped to spread his authority too of course. To mention a few of these, his kin Erik would manage the defense of Lolland-Falster, his nephew Knud Lavard was granted the position of royal prefect in Schleswig where he would defend the southern border from attacks, this would later prove to be a fatal error on Niels's account as Knud became very popular in this region.

In foreign matters the struggle against the Danish enemies to the south was rather important. In 1120 he forged a military alliance with Poland in an attempt to defeat these enemies near the border. In Sweden his son Magnus gained the royal rights to Götaland because of his mother's family line.

At the end of Niels's reign the continued rivalries between family members intensified. His queen died around 1128/29 and because of Niels's age this led to the question of the succession. Niels's son Magnus was afraid that Knud Lavard would be preferred to succeed as king after the death of Niels. Knud Lavard had shown himself to be a rather successful leader in both wartime and peacetime, to add to this he was also the vassal of the German king. As Magnus decided that Knud had become too powerful, he lured him out in the forest of Haraldsted and killed him on the 7th of January 1131.

This led to a revolt from several powerful Stormænd/Yeomen in Denmark. The revolt was joined by Erik Emune, the half brother to the murdered Knud Lavard. In 1131 he was crowned to be the rightful king of Denmark and a succession war begun. He gained the support from the German king Lothar. Lothar advanced to the Danish border at Dannevirke, but here Niels was successful in bribing Lothar to stay out of the war. In 1134 Magnus made an "Lensed"/oath to Lothar, which was now emperor. For acknowledging the bishop in Hamburg-Bremsen as the head of the Danish chruch, Magnus was crowned as the rightful king of Denmark.

This resulted in the Danish church, at the head was Asser Lund, archbishop, supported Erik Emune in the conflict and in 1134 a battle was fought in Skåne between the two sides. Magnus was killed at the battle of Fodevig, and Niels fled to Schleswig. Here he was approached by locals from Schleswig at the 25th of June, and confronted with the murder of Knud Lavard, they took their revenge on Niels by killing him, and his reign was ended.

[Kjertesvein]

Sigurd the Crusader, now that's a chap I will depend on to get the job done. He was the first crusader king to set sail for the crusades in the Levant. Im confident that you have read his saga? Anyway, I would not help you, since it's SS and all, but since it's an historical mod then (it will probably not be implemented and) I will give what support is there.



Since you are creating a historical mod, it should be mentioned that this is the last king before the Norwegian Civil War (1130-1240). Such a large even which changed Norwegian history for the last 900 years should be brought in the game, one way or another.

Here is an extencive article made by the Norwegian Biographic Lexicon on the life of Sigurd Jorsalfare (Crusader): http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Sigurd_1...fare/utdypning You should be able to read it with ease with Google Translate.

Here are articles of the same caliber:
His son: http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Magnus_4...inde/utdypning
His daughter: http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Kristin_...tter/utdypning
Son-in-law, Baron(status) and the most importent Noble until King Sverre took the power and ended it in 1180s: http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Erling_O...akke/utdypning and Erling Skakke's King son which was the first king to be coronated by the concent of Rome: http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Magnus_5...sson/utdypning

Sigurds father: http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Magnus_3...B8tt/utdypning
Sigurds wife: http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Malmfrid/utdypning

~Wille

[Fair Prince]

Many thanks for your help!

Sigurd is indeed one of my favourite kings of the time, and yes, I've already read his saga.
I know this map well, Sigurd's journey was remarkable one for sure. He travelled on ship to the Holy Land where joined Baldwin I of Jerusalem to show the Muslim Turks how it's done. Allegedly he didn't even lose a single battle during his campaign, so no surprise Baldwin rewarded him and his soldiers lavishly - he was even given a splinter of the Holy Cross for his heroic efforts in the Levant. Sigurd then travelled home by horse and went to become king later.
His entire journey took about 6 years but brought glory to him and the people of Norway for hundreds of years. He was a true leader, both as a warrior and as a king - it's a real pity he died at the age of only 40...

As for the Civil War that followed his death, I'm afraid it can't be implemented in the game. My mod will aim to give the players a starting point in 1130, then what happens thereafter depends only on the player (and the AI of course ). I'll check your links, I'm sure they'll prove useful to me (I'm already a regular user of Google Translate, btw ).
Thanks again, I'll send you a well-deserved rep point immediately, and will credit you once the mod is finished.

[Christian Goth]

Knud Lavard

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Knud Lavard/Canute the lord 1096-1131

Knad was the only legitimate son of Erik Ejegod and Bodil. Half-Brother to Harald Kesja, Erik Emune and Ragnhild (Mother to Erik Lam). It wasn't long before he would be an orphan as his mother and father died on a pilgrimage to Palestine in 1103. He was then brought up by Skjalm Hvide, an yeoman to Erik Estridsen with large possessions of land on Zealand. In 1115 Knud was appointed as earl of the southern part of Jutland. He quickly used this position to wage a war of conquest on the people in today's Mecklenburg, which he won greatly. By destroying this source to civic unrest on the German border Knud was appointed Duke of Holstein and German vassal for his success by Lothair III, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. His earl title was removed and replaced with that of Duke of Schleswig also.

In 1131 he went on a family visit to Haraldsted, here he was murdered by his cousin Magnus , which probably saw him as a strong pretender to the Danish throne and was nervous of Knud being a vassal of the Emperor. This action resulted in a civil war in Denmark that would last until 1157 where Valdemar the great was crowned as king of Denmark.

Knud was married with Ingeborg of Novgorod. Their first born son was born just seven days after the murder of his father in Haraldsted, the boy was named Valdemar after the name Vladimir in Ingeborg of Novgorod's family.

Knud's last name Lavard was given to him as he became the duke of Holstein. Lavard means "lord" on Saxon and other Germania languages. His local title in Holstein was "Knjaz", equal to that of duke in Denmark. His son, Valdemar the great had his father canonized in 1170.

Much of the background information you're seeking is already available on wiki really. Well maybe not all the information, but most of the important stuff is written there aswell Guess the person that have noted them have been looking in the same books as I am currently.

[Fair Prince]

Thanks, mate!
Never mind the similarity with Wikipedia, what matters here is the usefulness of the information.
That's another rep for you, just keep up the good work!

[Christian Goth]

Erik Emune

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Erik Emune/Erik the memorable 1090-1137

King in Denmark 1134-1137. He was especially known for his hard methods against any enemy of his family and those he protected or fought for. Erik Emune was an illegitimate son of Erik Ejegod, his mother is unknown. In 1130 he was married with Malmfred of Kiev. Erik Emune first greats steps into internal politics were first made after the murder of Duke Knud Lavard by Magnus Nielsen/Magnus the strong in 1131. Here he joined many great families, nameing "Hviderne" and "Bodilsønnerne" and last Harald Kesja, they denied to recognize Niels Estridsen as the legitimate king of Denmark and a civil war was fought against king Niels and his son Magnus.

In April 1131 Erik Emune was elected to be the legitimate king of Denmark once the civil war had been won. This however led to Harald Kesja feeling he had been passed for what was rightfully his title and he joined King Niels and his son Magnus instead. In the beginning of the war things wasn't going the way Erik Emune wanted. In 1131 his forces was defeated at Jelling, and in the following year King Niels had gained full control over Jutland after defeating the kinsmen of the "Trund" Family. Erik Emune didn't lose his control over the regions in Scania/Skåne though, as his powerful navy defeated the navy of Magnus Nielsen in the battle of Sejrø. Zealand was lost soon after when the forces of Erik Emune was beaten in Værebro near Roskilde.

After the defeat Erik Emune fled to Scania, this brought him the nickname "Harefoot". From here he moved on to Norway to try and gain new supporters and gather an army, he didn't succeed though, and he returned to Scania to face King Niels. In the mean time the archbishop of Asser had joined Erik's side and with him a large contingent of forces, and Erik had been busy gathering troops from his contacts in Germany also. When the battle of Fodevig was fought in Scania Erik defeated the army of King Niels with his powerful cavalry. At the battle Magnus Nielsen was killed along with five bishops and a lot of strong yeomen belonging to King Niels. Niels fled to Zealand where he appointed Harald Kesja to be the new king of Denmark, he then quickly fled to Schleswig which did cost him his life in the end when he was killed by an angry mob taking revenge for the murder of their Duke, Knud Lavard. Harald Kesja was forced to abandon his claim and flee to Norway.

After the battle of Fodevig Erik Emune secured the loyalty of his yeomen by giving them the lands and estates of the dead followers of King Niels. He also proclaimed his victory had been granted him by god himself, and more than ever this Danish king used religion in his reign.

While Erik was gracious and awarded his friends with great wealth his enemies wasn't so lucky. When Harald Kesja returned home from Norway he was cheered as being king in the south of Jutland, Erik had his troops surround the town of Skibet in Vejle and kill Harald. Of Harald's many sons only Oluf escaped, the other eight sons was killed. Harald's last two sons had been drowned earlier by men serving Erik Emune. The same evil approach was used on a military campaign in Norway where his soldiers torched the city of Oslo, burning several inhabitants alive.

The chronicle of Roskilde describes Erik Emune as being a "Rex Tyrannus"- A tyrant king, he ruled his kingdom with hard judgment on every enemy. An overconfident, grim and ruthless ruler that spread terror everywhere he went. His yeomen was happy with his reign though, he reinstated nearly all of the old laws that had been almost forgotten under the reign of the last Danish king. In the cathedral of Lund Erik Emune was praised as a great benefactor of the Danish church, it was here he earned himself the last name "Emune" which means "the memorable". The Danish church spoke of him as "Rex Gloriosus"- A noble king.

It is clear that the opinion of this king was either very good or very bad. Which his final ending also suggests on a civic meeting in Ribe the 18th of July 1137, where he was run through by a spear in the chest by a man called Sorte Plov, a late supporter of the dead king Niels. Erik Emune was laid to rest in the cathedral of Ribe.

[Fair Prince]

Thanks! Seems to me that Erik was a truly dreaded king (the manner in which he dealt with his half-brother Harald really speaks for itself...), yet somehow he's still fondly remembered - now that's quite a feat to achieve!

[Christian Goth]

Yeah it depends on which side of the fence you're standing, because with Erik there was no middle way, you either supported him 100% or you were his enemy. Well if we look at the time most scribes were hired by mainly institutions owned by the church, in Denmark anyway, most of early Danish history is preserved thanks to the chúrch, so of course we will see far more material glorifying this king rather than speaking against him, as he donated so much wealth to the church. His apporach isn't so much different from other rulers we have seen in history, neither in modern times, like in Germany in the 1930's.

His traits should be something about being paranoid probably, a great intrest in religion, christianity. And maybe being able to hire mercenaries at a reduced cost, whitout those he would never have won the battle against King Niels. 300 excellent horsemen from Germany. It's so long since I've played MTWII that I can't remember the traits in the game

Regarding the last two persons I'm nearly done reading about them. I wouldn't give them too much power in your mod though, as they aren't that important really. Pretenders sure, but besides that not much worth saying about them. The information that is availible to you through wiki is really all you need to know about them. It's a rather short but good description of Harald here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Kesja

[Fair Prince]

All right, thanks for all your contribution.
Btw, it's no problem if you can't suggest M2TW-specific traits for the characters - I'll take care of that. As I said before, the info is what really matters here.

[Odovacar]

István Árpádházi king of Hungary
-of normann descent
-Lot of dread (he was very cruel and terrifying)
-Talented commander (+command)
-Very capricious (-management -command)
Retinue: pecheneg bodyguard (+authority +dread)

Béla Árpádházi, his successor
-of kievan descent (Rurikid mother)
Entirely blind (blinded in his childhood) -this deduces points from health and nearly nullifies command abilities
Depressed (later alcoholic)
Good hearted, pious (loved his family and donated to the church)
Retinue: Ilona, daughter of the serbian zupan (adds to dread and authority)

(Ilona and her dad influenced the actions of the blind king naturally. Ilona orchestrated the bloody parliament of Arad, when the enemies of the king were massacred.)

Ban Belos (ban=prince) (died in 1163, June 19th)
-of serbian descent (son of Uros I, brother of Ilona)
-good commander (led victorious armies in the battle of Sajo-valley and Fischa)
-great authority
-hates byzantians (+command when fighting against byzantians)
Retinue: serbian warrior

Saul (intended successor to the throne)
-Árpádházi descendant of maternal line (less authority)

Maybe for a byzantian character:

Prince Boris (Boris Kalmanovich, born in Kiev, 113-1154)
allegedly of Arpadian descent (son of King Kalman and a rurikid princess)
Unpopular
Bastard (- authority)
Retinue: byzantian soldier
or polish or german mercenary

[Ishoss]

Istvan should also have Istvaaaaaan! trait. +command and +morale

[Fair Prince]

@Odovacar
Thanks, these are more or less identical to my ideas.
István certainly wasn't the most pleasant monarch in the Hungarian history, but at least he knew a thing or two about warfare. Actually, he was quite similar to Alfonso I of Aragon in his lifestyle (albeit to a lesser extent...) by preferring a warrior-like life with neverending campaigns and battles, instead of just sitting at home peacefully.
Béla was a more friendly person for sure, but was seriously handicapped by his blindness. I already thought about giving him a 'stand-in' retinue that replaces him on the battlefield, as it'd be kinda weird to see a blind king fighting and shouting orders in a battle...
I'm still pretty undecided on how to put Belos into the game however, as there are good arguments to make him a general as well as make him Béla's retinue (he stood by him loyally during his reign, and basically acted as his right-hand man). I'll think about it, I guess.
Regarding Boris, as far as I know he never lived in Hungary, nor was he welcomed there at anytime (he always came with a foreign army to seize the throne) - so I reckon it's better to leave him out of the Hungarian roster.
Anyway, thanks again for your suggestions, I'll send you the rep right away.

@Ishoss
Good idea mate, but I think this Istvan isn't yet worthy of such a powerful trait!