Chapter 22: Long Live the King
At King Guilherme’s death in 1244, the Kingdom of Portugal is in a state of flux. The likeliest usurper to the throne, Miguel de Portugal, has been defeated and executed by the new king, Marcio. While Miguel’s brother Gaspar remains nominally disloyal and Diogo blatantly so, the rebellion has been contained to the three northern cities of Burgos, Valencia, and Murcia.
The rebellion has also crippled the Portuguese economy, since the incomes of those northern cities have gone directly to Diogo and Gaspar. So far, it has been a fair trade, because Diogo and Gaspar have had to maintain huge, expensive garrisons that have had the added effect of deterring any Aragonese invasions.
The growth of the family tree has begun to slow in recent years, as young generals and princesses come of age to help fill the depleted ranks. Still, it is likely that the crown will eventually pass to a new dynasty unless King Marcio has several sons.
Because of the productive lines of his only children, Alexandre and Fernao, King Afonso’s branch of the royal family tree has easily been the largest of King Henrique’s children. With several Aragonese generals newly married into this branch, it is poised to once again expand.
Urraca’s branch of the family tree has been far less productive in terms of quantity, but it has included some of the most important non-royal men in Portuguese history in Gaston, Salvador, Gil the Elder, and Gil the Younger. And with some good fortune, this branch may be the future dynastic line of Portuguese kings.
Sancha’s branch has been a failure in terms of both quantity and quality. Though it has included some of the more important military leaders in Portugal’s history (Sebastiao, Miguel de Castelo, Diogo de Castelo), Diogo’s treachery has thrown the kingdom into chaos. It seems fitting, therefore, that the line is destined to die out in the next few years.
The late king’s three daughters have all married useful men who are also loyal, a trait somewhat lacking in recent times.
The eldest daughter, Filipa, and her Aragonese husband Velasco de Benavides have arrived in Oporto.
Velasco is a daring and courageous leader, having fought several major battles for Aragon before marrying into the Portuguese royal line. He is already a great victor, and he is well known for his willingness to fight in the thick of the battle. Though not old, he is going to be more useful in helping placate the western and southern cities (Oporto, Seville, Granada) than fighting.
Joana’s husband Andre Osorio has already become a major military leader. Under Marcio’s command, Andre helped defeat Miguel, and he helped rescue Silves (and Gil the Elder) from a Moorish attack.
Andre is still quite inexperienced, but he is rapidly coming into his own. He will likely be called upon to fight the Moors or the Aragonese sometime soon.
Diego de Penalosa is the most recent addition to the family tree, having just married Filipa and Joana’s younger sister, Raquel.
Diego, already the son of an important Portuguese nobleman, has great potential. Exceedingly loyal to Marcio, he will likely be called upon to fight the Moors or the Aragonese or both.
King Marcio has a difficult task ahead of him, but he is an extremely capable leader.
The new king is chivalrous and just, both to his people and to his enemies. Brave, smart, and charismatic, Marcio is also a good strategist. The only major concern is his health, which has never fully recovered from his bout of pneumonia in Lithuania. As the only Crusader in Portugal, he is well liked by the religious orders and the Catholic hierarchy in Portugal. The Pope, however, is an entirely different matter.
Celestino de Villalobos has spent the past 5 years in the wrong place at the wrong time. Trapped in English territory by Aragonese troops, Celestino has little hope of a speedy arrival in Portugal. It will take some luck and daring to finally make it to his new kingdom.
Celestino is bright and courageous, but the challenges facing him have slowly eroded his faith. Marcio would be wise to take care with him, as papal inquisitors have begun to fan out across Europe, eagerly searching for any signs of heresy.
The late Miguel’s brother Gaspar de Portugal remains holed up in Valencia. Though still officially designated a traitor, Gaspar has avoided any further challenges since Marcio returned.
Gaspar has become somewhat of a hoarder of florins, as he has felt the need to retain and account for every last coin in his city. He is also somewhat uninhibited as a result of his unique and awkward position.
Joaquim de Azevedo is another newer addition to the family tree, having married Gil and Pero’s sister, Madalena.
Joaquim is a bland and uninspiring man, suitable for governing but little else. He is unlikely to play a key role in the coming years.
Prince Gil, on the other hand, is very likely to be one of the most important Portuguese generals for decades to come.
Incredibly loyal to his cousin, Marcio, at the age of 22, Gil has a bright future ahead of him. He is intelligent and fearless, and though he is eager for battle, he also understands discretion.
His younger brother, Pero, however, is in many ways an extreme version of Gil.
Like Gil, Pero has great military potential. Only 17, he is an expert warrior and rider. He has a close cadre of companions who would lay down their life for him. That being said, Pero has a temper and often flies into a rage at any slight.
Their father, Gil the Elder, is quite literally the elder statesman of Portugal.
Having ruled Silves for nearly his entire adult life, Gil is a renowned hero in the city. His decision not to support Diogo and Miguel helped tip the balance of the war toward Marcio. He continues to abstain from alcohol because of his father’s own troubles with it. In his old age, Gil’s once-sharp mind has definitely begun to dull, but he is still a capable governor of his beloved city.
Diogo, the most conspicuous traitor in Portugal’s history, continues to control the northern city of Burgos.
At the age of 86, he is certainly nearing the end of his life. The only question is whether it will be a natural death or a violent one. Responsible for so much strife and disorder in the past decade, Diogo may yet live long enough to get his just desserts. He remains a cunning and deadly adversary, though, and Marcio would be foolish to take him lightly.
King Guilherme’s legacy is a mixed one. His official reign lasted from 1201 to 1244, spanning two ages: one in which heavier chain mail was a significant advance to one in which gunpowder is going to mitigate the resistance of most armor altogether. Before becoming king, Guilherme devastated the Moorish north African city of Fes, unintentionally setting up Aragonese expansion at the expense of the Moorish enemy. As King, he personally led the initial defense against Leonese attacks in the east, and led the war to destroy the Kingdom of León. He played the central role in sieging and assaulting the last Leonese castle at Toledo, though his cowardice there sowed the seeds of chaos later.
Guilherme helped cement the alliance with England, which used the backing of its southern ally to destroy the Kingdom of France and annex the Kingdom of Genoa as a vassal. The close alliance between the two regional powers has also placed Aragon in a difficult situation, squeezed between them in and around the Pyrenees Mountains.
For all his successes, though, King Guilherme will always be remembered as the ruler during the Portuguese War of Crosses. The King’s madness and senility, combined with the lack of a son, created tremendous pressure and tension throughout the kingdom. The former hero, Diogo, used that tension to break away and convince Estevao, Gaspar, and Miguel to break away as well. Only Gil Bandeira’s neutrality and Marcio’s triumphant return kept Portugal from splitting completely in two.
Because of the war, Portugal has been unable to make the leap from regional power to world power. Overshadowed by England to the north, forced to fight the Moors and Aragonese to the south, and continually stymied by the Pope, Portugal’s borders have not changed in almost 30 years.
Faction Rankings
Overall
1. Byzantine Empire.......525,000 (-12% since 1201)
2. Khwarezmian Empire...450,000 (-10%)
3. Kingdom of Norway....395,000 (+84%)
4. Fatimid Caliphate.......390,000
5. Golden Horde............360,000
6. Kingdom of England....310,000
10. Kingdom of Aragon....210,000 (+29%)
12. Kingdom of Portugal..195,000 (+50%)
18. Moorish Caliphate.....25,000
Military
1. Golden Horde............540,000
2. Byzantine Empire.......480,000
3. Kingdom of Norway....300,000
4. Kievan Rus...............240,000
5. Khwarezmian Empire...235,000 (-33%)
9. Kingdom of England....185,000
11. Kingdom of Aragon...180,000 (+80%)
13. Kingdom of Portugal..120,000 (+136%)
19. Moorish Caliphate.....20,000
Territorial
1. Byzantine Empire........23 (-12%)
2. Khwarezmian Empire....22 (-21%)
3. Kingdom of Norway.....21 (+62%)
4. Fatimid Caliphate........17
5. Kingdom of England.....14
6. Kingdom of Portugal....12 (33%)
9. Kingdom of Aragon.......9
21. Moorish Caliphate.......1
Population
1. Byzantine Empire.........485,000
2. Khwarezmian Empire.....480,000
3. Kingdom of Norway......455,000 (+102%)
4. Fatimid Caliphate.........410,000
5. Kingdom of England......320,000
9. Kingdom of Portugal......225,000 (+67%)
11. Kingdom of Aragon.....180,000
19. Moorish Caliphate........25,000
The Khwarezmian Empire has suffered substantially at the hands of the Mongols’ Golden Horde. After years of unfettered expansion, the empire has lost huge parts of their eastern lands to the new invaders. The Byzantines, meanwhile, have lost lands to the Fatimids, who have attempted to expand northward to make up for lands they lost to the Sicilians in Africa.
The Golden Horde continues to expand in the north against Novgorod:
in the west against the Khwarezmian Empire:
and in the southwest against the Khwarezmian Empire:
The area between the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean is increasingly chaotic, fought over by the Byzantines, the Fatimids, the Khwarezmians, and rebels. And the Golden Horde may soon push its way into this region as well.
In contrast, the Holy Lands are entirely at peace, controlled by the Muslim Fatimids.
England continues to slowly push back against the Scots and is close to overwhelming Edinburgh, having already taken Aberdeen.
England is also fighting with Norway over the contested border in the east.
And, finally, a massive war has erupted between England and Aragon for control of the regions north of the Pyrenees.
The Khwarezmians are fighting desperately against the Golden Horde, but show no signs of stopping the Mongols’ advance. Novgorod will likely suffer a similar fate. While Kievan Rus, the Byzantines, and the Fatimids control the eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas, they may also eventually face Mongol invasions.
Norway, England, and Venice control almost all of central Europe, with the Papal States owning most of northern Italy, and Sicily southern Italy. Portuguese expansion has been stunted in recent years as the kingdom is wracked by civil war.
The next few years will be crucial, as the Mongols continue to push westward. New innovations such as full plate and gunpowder are sure to have an impact on the continual wars in Europe.