[Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)

[PeaMan]

Wales up - https://www.mediafire.com/file/0xj88a3xq1uq7si/TIOC_Wales_53.sav/file

[zender9]

Scotland up:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...cotland_53.sav

[Der Böse Wolf]

In The Scottish camp, in the siege of Wick...
-------------------------------------------------

"Has the killer been found yet?"
King Alexander is getting impatient.
He has received a letter from The Lord Protector of the Crown, saying that he did not send any assassins north.

"No Sire, it seems we are chasing ghosts. The killer certainly knows the area well. I reckon he is a Norse assassin, a follower of the dead Magnus"
The Master of Assassins gave his report.

"Could well be. I hope you find him quickly. I need to know if he is English or not. In case he is, the Crown must answer for this.
Now let's take this fortress.
The walls are strong but is it defended by pitiful militia. onwards!"
The King gave the order to assault Wick.

Wick had been a Norse stronghold for many years. Many Norse warriors remained there with their families after the death of Magnus and the abandonment of Britannia by the Norwegians.
If Alexander takes the settlement, he hopes to convince the proud Vikings to fight for him, if they re-embrace Christianity of course.

And that is what happened.

The fortress was stormed by a horde of Highlanders, and the local Vikings chieftains bent the knee and kissed the Cross.
(Scotland can now recruit the mighty Viking Raiders and Axemen)

Ps: as agreed with the admin, only siege equipment were used to assault, without artillery, since the settlement is rebel controlled.

"Glorious victory my King! Now only the Orkneys stand in our way before we unite the East.
In the West, our troops are on their way to the Shetlands as we speak. This time next year, all Scotland will be under one banner!"
The military advisor was joyous.

"Yes yes...Now the matter in the South is not to my liking.
The Norther Barons refuse us military access, eventhough it was a privilege granted to both parties in the last treaty.
I don't like this attitude.
Even the young Irish King advised us not to cross into their lands. I wonder why...especially that the plague has now receded.
Speaking of the Irish king, I heard that he is all but a puppet.
Someone else is probably pulling the strings on the Emerald Isle.
It's time to send some messengers..."
The King, having said this, went to the deck. In front of him lies the misty Orkneys.

-----------------------------

Barons next: https://www.mediafire.com/file/9coi9wd1qn18hqj/TIOC_Barons_53.sav/file

-------

PS: Ireland and Wales, it's been 3 turns now that you don't post any RP. It's a shame, because both factions have new leaders, they are fighting to retake Wales, the Irish King is young and has no influence..lots of room for interesting RP here. Besides, we have no idea what is happening there because you didn't post anything.

[zender9]

I don't want to excuse myself with the exam week I'm having right now since I don't write much in normal times too, but I will keep that in mind.

[paladinbob123]

It seems there was a general break out of peace thoughout the isles , as the fatigued sides began to negotiate new agreements , and the northern shires began their own processes , by sealing a peace deal with the crown of england.
Although Henry of Lancaster had little part in working out the peace deal developing between ireland , scotland and wales against england, there was however a exchange of stern words between scotland and the northern shires , as ireland wished to bring scottish armies into the northern shires which was rejected by the people of the northern england.




Turn to england

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c93osa5fk4...nd_54.sav?dl=0

[Turkafinwë]

England

Peace! The English people rejoiced peace with their brothers to the north after decades of war. Lord Protector Lewes and Henry, Duke of Lancaster and leader of the Northern Shires, had come to an agreement that would solidify the bonds between the two English realms. The spilling of English blood by English would stop and trade would once again flow through the wartorn country, starting the healing of the rift that had manifested itself between north and south. A peace made to wage more war. If the war with the Northern Shires had gone any longer Lord Protector Lewes would not have been in Cardiff in time to launch an offensive against the Welsh. It was time to take action instead of just taking a beating. The Lord Protector of the English Crown marched his forces towards the fort guarding the crossing of the river Loughor, blocking the way to Pembroke Castle. The fort itself was lightly defended and when Lewes came into view, the small garrison stared defiantly down on him. That was until the English cannon came into view. Lewes didn't smirk nor taunt the Welshmen, he took no pleasure in intimidating or defeating his foes, it was merely his duty to do so. The capture of the fort went fairly peaceful with only a small skirmish led by some disgruntled Welsh, leading in the demise of 12 Welshmen and 5 on the English side.

***

I was throwing some dice at the inn I was staying in the city of Perth. Being dimlitted and heavy with smoke it didn't hide the fact that it was a disgusting place to be. Not that I wasn't used to it. An assassin could hardly stay at quality establishments. For one, the work did not pay so handsomely and of course for the obvious reason not to stand out too much. A cardinal sin for any assassin the Master had taught, being incospicuous and a plain face was a man of the dark's best friend. Two sixes. I smirked. “I win again, sorry lads” My tableguests all grumbled as I pocketed their coins and rose. “I want a rematch!” a burly, redbearded Scotsman demanded, his face flushed red with alcohol. “Perhaps tomorrow I'll give you a chance to earn your money back, but I am tired and must get some rest.” The Scotsman did not like that one bit and he rose, knocking over the table, grabbing me by my black coat. “Ye are a thief, ye bastard Englishman. Give me back me money or I'll kick yer ass!” he roared. His face soon drained of all his blood and was white-faced as I pushed the point of my dagger into his gut. “Unhand me immediatly or you'll soon find out what my profession is.” I said, my voice no different had I been buying some fish at the market, perfectly calm with even a tad of boredom in it. I leaned closer and whispered into his ear. “I'll give you a hint, I don't steal gold from people.” The penny seemed to drop and the strong man put me back on my feet. I bid goodnight to the rest of the table and started my way to my room. As I entered I immediatly knew something was wrong and I spun round to find one of the spies with whom I had been working. He brought bad news. A new assassin had been sighted in Perth and there could only be one target he was after, me. I sighed as I straightened my crumpled jacket. “No rest for the wicked eh.” I said to my accomplice but he had already gone. I shook my head in wonderment and took out to the streets via the back door. Time to deal with another threat.

Assassination

Ireland: http://www.mediafire.com/file/lwuiu8...nd_54.sav/file

[PeaMan]

Wales up - https://www.mediafire.com/file/hw3549ii2kz7zod/TIOC_Wales_54.sav/file

[zender9]

Scotland up:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...cotland_54.sav


Wales is getting ready for battles to come! Soldiers are eager to shed English blood once again! Betrayal of Northern Shires won't be forgotten too.

[Der Böse Wolf]

"Are we in Scotland or in bloody Scandinavia??"

King Alexander was riding with his entourage in the wind-swept Orkney Islands.

This far away archipelago has nothing in common with Scottish customs.
It has been under Norse rule for so long that even the people don't speak Gaelic but Norse.

However, with the islands falling under Scottish rule, Alexander ordered a massive de-norsification.

He started by building an abbey, to bring the inhabitants back to the True Faith.

"I will remain here for the winter, then sail South. The border with the Northern Shires appears to be active again."
The King returned to Kirkwall, the main settlement on the island to winter there.

As he entered the throne room, a messenger was waiting for him.

"He was sent by the Crown indeed, Sire. He confessed after he "shook him up a little".
The messenger grinned as he showed the King the battered corpse of the English spy caught near Perth.

"Did he say where his accomplice is hiding?" The king asked.

"ehm, no Sire, that he didn't."

"Then why did you kill him before getting all the damn information??!!" Alexander was furious.

"We did not kill him, we sailed with him in captivity here so you can question him personally, but he succumbed to his wounds..."

"What wounds??"

"The torturing, I mean questioning wounds, Sire!"

"You idiots! Now we are still chasing ghosts...But ghosts without eyes nonetheless.
So, it is England's dirty work indeed, that snake Henry!
England will have to answer for this."
Alexander left the room, not before ordering the men to parade the corpse in the streets of the city, in order to show the Norse population what it means to challenge rightful Scottish rule.

---

Barons next: http://www.mediafire.com/file/r72kcb...ns_54.sav/file


PS: at what % can a princess marry a foreign character? and is it limited to generals or also family members and royalty? It is not stated in the rules.

[paladinbob123]

Henry of Lancaster was in his study in the winter of 1311AD , happy with the reports of the plague was beginning to pass, and trade began to flourish in the northern kingdom, revenue began to refill the bare and empty pouches of the northern lords, as tax revenue began to revitalize the small kingdom . Roadbuilding began , helping the trade , run smoother across the kingdoms borders and the northern people began to view the future , with more optimism after the great plague had killed off more than 30% of the kingdom. Jobs in the farms were short of workers, and many left cities to help out in the hardwork of the fields, gathering harvest for the winter ahead. Merchants began to retrade with wool , collected from the sheep that grazed on the hillsides of the northern kingdom , and excess raw wool was shipped into mainland europe for extra profits.

With the resumption of trade, new scripts and idea's began to flourish and new texts particularly the controversial text of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante , reached his notice as a early draft. A little known text , was had been written in latin , and was not well circulated except in notable noble circles. Interrupted in his rough interpretation of the text , Henry looked up at the messenger, moving forward with a handful of messages from the nearby kingdom's, frowning at the number of texts he put down the scroll he was reading , and sighing began to read the responses.



It seems to the peace that his people had signed with the english crown to the south , that all member of the celtic alliance , were angry at the protector of the northern shires. Wales had called it "Betrayal of Northern Shires won't be forgotten too.", the irish had called them "treacherous and craven" , railing against the new peace, and threatening action with the celtic alliance , and additionally with the scottish calling them "suspicious" and calling them out for reinforcing the border regions .

How short those leaders memories were , thought Henry , getting angry now , his norman ancestry calling out for violence , tempered with the northern sensibilities for patience . His people had fought the english once before, leading the charge ,at breaking the english monarch in the first conflict and their only reward from that was a scottish invasion which was blunted by Simon himself with great cost. Simon himself the great hero of the north, had been claimed as King in the north , and his words were honoured after his death , promising that the men of the north, would help the welsh regain some of there own lands, and this the men of the north had upheld at great cost.

Two battles had been fought at Cheshire [maybe more] and the men of York and Lancaster, had pay the bill in full , with every family of note , suffering loss, and hardship , as the flower of the northern shires gentry and baseborn had been fed into the grindstone of war for this cost. Again the men of the north , had sailed the sea's to Castletown to help secure that settlement from the norwegians to the irish [and later the welsh] and also across the sea's to help the irish with the majority of what was then his personal heavy cavalry of York helping the siege of Caernarfon . Then there was the ill gotten crusade the templers had launched at the Norwegians providing a much needed distraction to the scottish-norwegian frontline of battle as the norwegians built and kept a great fleet to ward it off, at great cost to their war effort in the north.

All of this had been at great cost to the shires, both financially , and in the loss of life , from this small power, as they then waged a guerrilla like war in the south and central parts of england, encouraging lords to rise up and tear down the english crown's lords, as the southern kingdoms , were soon aflame with there own civilwar.



Henry had expected the Celtic nations to at least be happy for his people , content in the knowledge they had done their bit , particularly against fellow englishmen , and for no reward , [other than the spoils of war , which was divided amongst the men on a successful victory] , but it seems that was far from so. Ireland had communicated of a peace to come ,and dictated terms of a discussion they had not been present in and had no say , and promoted scottish armies to move through their lands, unknowing of what the northern people would think of such a event, whilst a great irish fleet hovered over the coast of Lancaster in a threatening pose, with two full field armies aboard. Suddenly what was previously hints , seemed a little more threatening. Compiled that with the scottish victory in the north against the norwegians , the now overconfident ego of the mighty King Alexander, seemed to take great delight , in sending agents, daughters of his king , and shipping , spying on the northern frontier seemingly without clear purpose.

With the plague that had been eating away at the people , the northern shires , were suddenly in no mood to fight anymore , and who could blame them.....other than the celtic powers it seemed. Only England seemed responsive to their overtures for somesort of peace, to ease the passing of his poor people . The protector of the crown of england had proved more than eloquent with his words of peace, and had kept his word it seems, although he did give warning of the friendships of the celtic peoples , saying that they would turn on the northern shires, saying that they ultimately viewed them both as englishmen to be cutdown ......and it now seemed that perhaps the words of the protector had some weight to them considering the responses of the Celtic peoples to the ceasefire in the south apparently forgetting the sacrifices the men of the north had made, on their behalf. Henry drafted rough words in response to the ill messages he was receiving and warned that the men of the northern shires responded well to those that remembered their sacrifice , and would be embittered to those that took them for granted......



The last message was a dire warning of a threat still that was not finished with the northern shires as refugees which had departed the south , entered norwich , and it was only until the first few of those refugee's had died in the inn''s of the city , that norwich was again in the depth of plague , which revisted the City yet again , much to the dismay of the citizenry. Henry mused over the words of what he had read in the divine comedy ...

....they had their faces twisted toward their haunches
and found it necessary to walk backward,
because they could not see ahead of them.
... and since he wanted so to see ahead,
he looks behind and walks a backward path......

Henry looked up from the pages he had picked up and read aloud , wondering wether the wisdom of Dante , referred to the celtic nations walking backwards or himself?....

turn to England

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cej9rvfawu...nd_55.sav?dl=0


English Medieval Wool Trade



The medieval English wool trade was one of the most important factors in the medieval English economy. 'No form of manufacturing had a greater impact upon the economy and society of medieval Britain than did those industries producing cloths from various kinds of wool'. The trade's liveliest period, 1250–1350, was 'an era when trade in wool had been the backbone and driving force in the English medieval economy'.

The wool trade was a major driver of enclosure (the privatisation of common land) in English agriculture, which in turn had major social consequences, as part of the British Agricultural Revolution.
Among the lasting monuments to the success of the trade are the 'wool churches' of East Anglia and the Cotswolds; the London Worshipful Company of Clothworkers; and the fact that since the fourteenth century, the presiding officer of the House of Lords has sat on the Woolsack, a chair stuffed with wool.



Early Middle Ages


During the early Anglo-Saxon period (c. 450–650), archaeological evidence for subsistence-level wool production using warp-weighted looms is extensive. Tools and technologies of spinning and weaving were similar to those of the Roman period; it is likely that fine, white wool continued to be produced from sheep introduced from the Mediterranean region alongside coarser local wools. Dyes included woad for blue and less frequently madder and lichens for reds and purples. Some high-status woollen cloth is found, including gold brocade. New textile types appeared around the tenth century, prominently including diamond twills whose use continued into the thirteenth century.There is little evidence for long-distance trade, but there seems to have been some, presumably of especially rare wools or cloths: the silence of the sources is punctuated by a famous mention of the slipping standards of English cloaks exported to Frankia in a letter from Charlemagne to Offa of Mercia.




Later Middle Ages


Subsistence-level production of wool continued, but was overshadowed by the rise of wool as a commodity, which in turn encouraged demand for other raw materials such as dyestuffs; the rise of manufacturing; the financial sector; urbanisation; and (since wool and related raw materials had a high value-to-weight ratio and were easily transported) regional, international, and even intercontinental trade.

English wools, particularly from the Welsh Marches, the South West and Lincolnshire, were the most prized in medieval Europe. It was exported to the emergent urban centres of cloth production of the Low Countries, France, and Italy, where production was promoted by the adoption of the pedal-driven horizontal loom and spinning wheel, along with mechanised fulling and napping.

In 1280 about 25,000 sacks of wool were exported from England; trade in raw wool peaked around 40,000–45,000 sacks per year, falling to 33,000 in 1355 and 9,706 in 1476 as exports changed to finished cloth. As exports of raw wool fell, exports of cloths rose, from 10,000 cloths per year in 1349–50 to 60,000 in 1446–47, and c. 140,000 in 1539–40. 'By the end of the thirteenth century, the heavily industrialised areas of Europe could not have existed without the export of English wool.'

England's wool-trade was volatile, however, affected by diverse factors such as war, taxation policy, export/import duties or even bans, disease and famine, and the degree of competition among European merchants for English wool. For example, since Continental industry relied on English wool, and export embargoes could 'bring whole areas to the brink of starvation and economic ruin', the wool trade was a powerful political tool. Likewise, taxes on the wool trade financed Edward I's wars and enabled England to conduct the Hundred Years' War with better resources than France. These instabilities led to a boom-bust cycle in prices and exports.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the English wool trade was primarily with Flanders (where wool was made into cloth, primarily for sale via the Champagne fairs into the Mediterranean basin), and was dominated by Flemish merchants. But in 1264, the strife in England of the Second Barons' War brought Anglo-Flemish trade almost to a halt and by 1275, when Edward I of England negotiated an agreement with the domestic merchant community (and secured a permanent duty on wool), Italian merchants had begun to gain dominance in the trade. Extending their activities to finance, the Riccardi, a group of bankers from Lucca in Italy, became particularly prominent in English taxation and finance. Among the most famous merchants participating in the English wool trade were Jean Boinebroke of Douai (d. 1286) on the Continental side, and William de la Pole (d. 1366) on the English.

Guild organisations seem to have emerged in the textile industry earlier in England than elsewhere in Europe, being attested already in the 1130s in London, Winchester, Lincoln, Oxford, Nottingham, and Huntingdon.



Dante and the Divine Comedy


The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia ) is an Italian long narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered to be the preeminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written (also in most present-day Italian-market editions), as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.


The narrative describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise or Heaven, while allegorically the poem represents the soul's journey towards God. Dante draws on medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called "the Summa in verse". In Dante's work, Virgil is presented as human reason and Beatrice is presented as divine knowledge.


The work was originally simply titled Comedìa; so also in the first printed edition, published in 1472), Tuscan for "Comedy", later adjusted to the modern Italian Commedia. The adjective Divina was added by Giovanni Boccaccio, and the first edition to name the poem Divina Comedia in the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce, published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.


he Divine Comedy is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three cantiche . An initial canto, serving as an introduction to the poem and generally considered to be part of the first cantica, brings the total number of cantos to 100. It is generally accepted, however, that the first two cantos serve as a unitary prologue to the entire epic, and that the opening two cantos of each cantica serve as prologues to each of the three cantiche.


The number three is prominent in the work (alluding to the Trinity), represented in part by the number of cantiche and their lengths. Additionally, the verse scheme used, terza rima, is hendecasyllabic (lines of eleven syllables), with the lines composing tercets according to the rhyme scheme aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ....


Written in the first person, the poem tells of Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. Beatrice was a Florentine woman whom he had met in childhood and admired from afar in the mode of the then-fashionable courtly love tradition, which is highlighted in Dante's earlier work La Vita Nuova.


Dante


Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri ( Latin: Dantes), commonly known by his pen name Dante Alighieri or simply as Dante ; c. 1265 – 1321), was an Italian poet during the Late Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered the most important poem of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.

In the late Middle Ages, most poetry was written in Latin, making it accessible only to the most educated readers. In De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the Vernacular), however, Dante defended the use of the vernacular in literature. He would even write in the Tuscan dialect for works such as The New Life (1295) and the Divine Comedy; this highly unorthodox choice set a precedent that important later Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would follow.

Dante was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and his depictions of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven provided inspiration for the larger body of Western art. He is cited as an influence on John Milton, Geoffrey Chaucer and Alfred Tennyson, among many others. In addition, the first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme, or the terza rima, is attributed to him. In Italy, he is often referred to as il Sommo Poeta ("the Supreme Poet") and il Poeta; he, Petrarch, and Boccaccio are also called "the three fountains" or "the three crowns"

Dante was born in Florence, Republic of Florence, present-day Italy. The exact date of his birth is unknown, although it is generally believed to be around 1265. This can be deduced from autobiographic allusions in the Divine Comedy. Its first section, the Inferno, begins, "Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita" ("Midway upon the journey of our life"), implying that Dante was around 35 years old, since the average lifespan according to the Bible (Psalm 89:10, Vulgate) is 70 years; and since his imaginary travel to the netherworld took place in 1300, he was most probably born around 1265. Some verses of the Paradiso section of the Divine Comedy also provide a possible clue that he was born under the sign of Gemini: "As I revolved with the eternal twins, I saw revealed, from hills to river outlets, the threshing-floor that makes us so ferocious" (XXII 151–154). In 1265, the sun was in Gemini between approximately May 11 and June 11 (Julian calendar).

Giovanni Boccaccio described Dante's appearance and demeanor as follows: "the poet was of middle height, and in his later years he walked somewhat bent over, with a grave and gentle gait. He was clad always in most seemly attire, such as befitted his ripe years. His face was long, his nose aquiline, and his eyes big rather than small. His jaws were large, and his lower lip protruded. He had a brown complexion, his hair and beard were thick, black, and curly, and his countenance was always melancholy and thoughtful."

In central Italy's political struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines, Dante was part of the Guelphs, who in general favored the Papacy over the Holy Roman Emperor. Florence's Guelphs split into factions around 1300 – the White Guelphs and the Black Guelphs. Dante was among the White Guelphs who were exiled in 1302 by the Lord-Mayor Cante de' Gabrielli di Gubbio, after troops under Charles of Valois entered the city, at the request of Pope Boniface VIII, who supported the Black Guelphs. This exile, which lasted the rest of Dante's life, shows its influence in many parts of the Comedy, from prophecies of Dante's exile to Dante's views of politics, to the eternal damnation of some of his opponents.


[Statue of Dante Alighieri in Verona]



Dante claimed that his family descended from the ancient Romans (Inferno, XV, 76), but the earliest relative he could mention by name was Cacciaguida degli Elisei (Paradiso, XV, 135), born no earlier than about 1100. Dante's father, Alighiero or Alighiero di Bellincione, was a White Guelph who suffered no reprisals after the Ghibellines won the Battle of Montaperti in the middle of the 13th century. This suggests that Alighiero or his family may have enjoyed some protective prestige and status, although some suggest that the politically inactive Alighiero was of such low standing that he was not considered worth exiling.

Dante's family was loyal to the Guelphs, a political alliance that supported the Papacy and which was involved in complex opposition to the Ghibellines, who were backed by the Holy Roman Emperor. The poet's mother was Bella, likely a member of the Abati family. She died when Dante was not yet ten years old, and Alighiero soon married again, to Lapa di Chiarissimo Cialuffi. It is uncertain whether he really married her, since widowers were socially limited in such matters, but this woman definitely bore him two children, Dante's half-brother Francesco and half-sister Tana (Gaetana). When Dante was 12, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati, daughter of Manetto Donati, member of the powerful Donati family. Contracting marriages at this early age was quite common and involved a formal ceremony, including contracts signed before a notary. But by this time Dante had fallen in love with another, Beatrice Portinari (known also as Bice), whom he first met when he was only nine. Years after his marriage to Gemma he claims to have met Beatrice again; he wrote several sonnets to Beatrice but never mentioned Gemma in any of his poems. The exact date of his marriage is not known: the only certain information is that, before his exile in 1301, he had three children (Pietro, Jacopo and Antonia).

Dante fought with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289). This victory brought about a reformation of the Florentine constitution. To take any part in public life, one had to enroll in one of the city's many commercial or artisan guilds, so Dante entered the Physicians' and Apothecaries' Guild. In the following years, his name is occasionally recorded as speaking or voting in the various councils of the republic. A substantial portion of minutes from such meetings in the years 1298–1300 was lost, however, so the true extent of Dante's participation in the city's councils is uncertain.

Gemma bore Dante several children. Although several others subsequently claimed to be his offspring, it is likely that only Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni, and Antonia were his actual children. Antonia later became a nun, taking the name Sister Beatrice.

[Der Böse Wolf]

Outstanding man!

Beyond the beautiful and creative RP, I salute the wealth of info you provided and and the time and effort you put in this last post!

[Turkafinwë]

England

When my informant was murdered I had to flee Perth once more. It looked like there was another assassin sent by the Scots to eliminate him. Without eyes to aid me, I was blind and could not pursue my adversary. Thus I fled into the Scottish highlands where I, while on my way, met a Scottish merchant party. If I couldn't hurt the royalty of the Scots, I sure as hell were to hurt their cashflow. One night I crept into the merchant's cart and silently slit his throat. When the rest of the party noticed their comrade's demise I already was far away, unable to hear their screams of torment.

***

Robin arrived bruised and battered into the harbour of London. He had been engaged in combat with a stray Scottish holk that had wandered into the wrong part of the sea. Orders had come to intercept any ship flying the Scottish banner and if necessary sink them. Only recently these orders had come for the stance of England had been passive towards the northern barbarians as they had been busy in the far north and didn't meddle in southern affairs. It seemed Scotland was ready to play a more active part in the Celtic Alliance now that the honourable Norsemen had been thrown out of the British Isles. So Robin had set out to sink the holk, which was newly constructed, while his own fleet was battered and worn even when setting out. Funds for a navy on the east coast was non-existing. The war was being waged in Wales and all florins, and more, were needed to keep the Welsh and Irish threat at bay. Nevertheless, his two ships outnumbered the one and he had prevailed. He sighed as he made his way to the nearest pub. Time to get myself a drink.

Assassination chance

Ireland: http://www.mediafire.com/file/r66nia...nd_55.sav/file

[PeaMan]

Awaiting word from my ally then I'll have this up.

[PeaMan]

Wales up - https://www.mediafire.com/file/qz2m2to3idcwko8/TIOC_Ireland_55.sav/file

[zender9]

Scotland up:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...cotland_55.sav


It was the night time, 3 general Trahaearn of Brycheiniog, Maelgwn infamous with the peace treaty he signed with Norway when he was drunk, and Morwich O'Neill from Irish lands, were sitting and dicussing at the West coast of Welsh lands, when a soldier interrupted them.
''My lords! I bring important news from our spies. English Prince is marching to Pembroke with an elite army. We spotted Phillip Stratford's presence in the fort of east from here, with his army as well. England is going to attack us with full force.''
Trahaearn praised the soldier and sent him away.
3 men weren't sitting anymore, and were discussing a more important thing. Maelgwn seemed hopeless at first, but more he drank more faithful he became. Yet, it was Trahaearn who came up with the plan to defeat the English for good. And it was him taking the highest risk.

With the first light, Trahaearn gathered is army and went to the mountain passage to repel Prince Charles' army. Men took perfect positions and waited for English to march to their traps. English for sure wasn't expecting an offensive move from Wales. But they were in Welsh lands. And we are the Welsh.
Battle didn't take long. After losing more than half of his army, Charles ordered his men to retreat, hoping Welsh would follow and Phillip and his army can crush them.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...8-44-55-97.jpg

Trahaearn didn't chase the enemy. Because there was the second part of the plan. As defeated army got closer to the fort, Maelgwn engaged them. English army were out of formation once again, and was taking heavy blows. News of battle arrived to Phillip Stratford. He had no choice, but to leave the fort to save his Prince.
But Irish army consisting of mostly mercenaries, joined the battle in the right time. Charles fled to Montgomery with the few men left from his army. While Phillip managed to fall back to fort and lock the gates for good.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...8-49-30-44.jpg

[Der Böse Wolf]

In a small tavern, on the road to Perth...
----------------------------------------------

"How much does this weary travellerrr owe ye, innkeeperrr?"
The grizzled, sturdy Scotsman put his hand hand on the shoulder of the English guest as he asked his question.

"Nay, nothing, he is welcome to stay for frrree. As a matterrr of fact, the whole Inn is his". The innkeeper spoke as he gestured to his servant to lock the doors so no one gets in.

"Aye, let's show ourrr guest some Scottish hospitality" said the grizzled man as he shoved the Englishman to the floor.

"What is the meaning of this!" protested the traveller.

But he had barely finished uttering his words as the grizzled man poured acid on his head.
The poor fellow screeched in pain.

"Well now, frrriend, why do you squeal like a woman?, does it hurrrrt?" The Scotsman was clearly enjoying himself.
"We only get started ya know. And we have the whole night. That is if you do not reveal to us the whereabouts of your frrriend, ya know, the cloaked fellow with the swift daggerrr".

The Englishman, blinded by acid, with half his face melting, begged for mercy.

"Speak orrr I'll melt yr entirrrely English dog!"

Under extreme duress, the spy confessed.

"Verrry well, frriend, enjoy yer porridge!" And the grizzled assassin poured th rest if the acid on the poor man's body, melting him completely from the face of the earth.

"Oh silly me, I forrgot the King wanted to send his head as a gesture of frriendhsip to the English Crrown", the assassin grinned as he ordered his apprentice to track down the English assassin.

"And brrring his head, don't do like yer teacherrr" Laughter erupted from the Inn...

PS: Scotland can field 2 assassins as they have enough settlements for the rule to be applied.

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Barons next: https://www.mediafire.com/file/3i3xmgyapeitab9/TIOC_Barons_55.sav/file

[paladinbob123]

It was the summer of 1312AD and Henry of Lancaster was at last back to full health, his body was somewhat scarred due to the wars in the south , and perhaps his skin had a few little pox marked scars , from his near run against the plague that had ravaged the northern shires. The plague however had still not left, again ravaging York and Norwich , but to perhaps a lesser extent , those population having perhaps receiving antibodies to resist the effects of disease, although many in that time put it down to Gods grace, and those that had been spared being beloved of God . Changes were starting to spring up in the northern shires , with the population shortages , which particularly effected the social systems within the northern shires [and perhaps within england] as the serfs that had worked the land , over generation after generation , were particularly sought after , during these days of population shortage , and lords and landowners, now short of people to work the land [which provided them with their own profit].

People now began to move , after being firm fixtures to landholding for over two hundred years , moving to those landowners who gave them a better deal , using the population shortage to benefit themselfs, much to some land owners ire, as they would have to compete , to keep their own serfs from leaving. Suddenly the power for the serfs , had began to improve , in this labour shortage , and mainly lords, sought legal means to keep peasants chained to old estates, which the mainly the peasants scoffed at..as many changed names , or lied without recourse [as many did'nt have any real identity] , making such courtcases inefficient and useless. .

Power finally had come to the peasants , whose experienced labour was now in demand , for without there own effort's to farm and work the land , the gentry could'nt make any money out of any of there boundless farmland or grazing lands. For those peasants that had survived the disease thou, life was exponentially better, with more income in there own hands, more food and better living conditions , they began to purchase better cloths for themselfs , promoting a boost in wool and dye'ing trade, a fact , that those equally in Europe were eager to profit on, and a booming trade of wool and dies began to flourish. Guilds soon started up , with the current upsurge, and nobles found themselfs being squeezed of profit and uncomfortable , as powerful trade guilds now began to weld more and more influence , with their vast profits, and with the current upsurge of more powerful and influential peasants , trouble was brewing , currently put off for the moment , in the bliss of the trade, and social benefits , but it would reappear , when the enable downturn occurred, and all were unsatisfied at there livelihoods lot [see peasant revolt of 1381].





Henry sat at a feast he had set to entertain some of the new powerful merchants that were making a difference in the northern shires, with the money borrowed from jewish moneylenders, this new aspirational merchant class, had taken advantage of the rise of the labour market, and there new flexibility of the poor to move to advance themself's , restarting the once minor wold farming , for use in the dying of cloth , and for selling abroad. Cloth , wool , clothing and dye were now the new gold which the merchant class were quick to push to advance themsel'fs. From back in norman times , the nobles and the church were the main two powerbrokers , but Henry had come to see [with grudging annoyance] the importance of the new guilds and merchants for their wealth and the information their travels and connections bought them.


The ever peculate chef , he had hired from the french mainland , screamed in ear hurting french screams to his underlines about the importance of the appearance of the meal , and the cooking time of the meat, ever complaining of his english assistant's reliance on over cooking all the meat ,much to his exasperation. The main french cook had apparently been given of Henry's household special herbs and spices to complete his task , to make a meal of excellence , which was designed to show the superiority of his class, to his mercantile guests.


The merchants though , seemed unimpressed with Lancaster's fare, even at one point , looking down on the bland custard tarts offered at the end, much to the french chefs disgust, and there was crashing and banging of pots as the french chef , unleashed a torrent of abuse against his assistant's, annoucing there mindlessness and inadequacies of english cooking skills . The great doors to the kitchen were half closed, much to the relief of the noble of lancaster, and the merchants who were all distracted with the number of french curse words, unleashed and echoing into the mainhall, to the annoyance of the Henry , who nodded to the guardsmen to close the kitchen doors.


As the meal ended, the wine was opened, and the merchants tone became appreciatively softened, as they spoke of news abroad of the battle of popes from france ,and italy, with the imprisonment of the templars, which again , opened more financial opportunities within the European marketplace. More disturbing news came from scotland , where the merchants spoke of a massive scottish naval fleet , parked near the northern shires borders.
Henry tried to open negotiations about better taxation of the wool markets hoping to increase his taxation but the merchants plead that the markets was newly established and increases of taxation could stifle the marketplace and might result in loss of the business, as European wool was still lowering in price, making things ever more competitive.


Henry scowed at the merchants , his dismay about not being able to do much about his situation without causing problems evident on the tired nobles face. Gone were the days , were a noble could just jump up and "do something" , and where peasants were the downtrodden masses , who bowed to his every whim. In these new days, peasants changed areas, demanding ever better working conditions and rights, or they would leave, leaving nobles without people to farm the land , and holding nobles to account. He signed .....nobles being held to account to mere peasants?...His grandfather would have balked against such a thing , and would've had have any dissenters hanged, but if he now would do such a thing , then all of farm laborers would leave to perhaps serve York , leaving him certainly short of pocket to pay for his household and the guards of his house. The merchants left, to the guest rooms , retiring for the night , leaving the Henry still in his cups reviewing the seasons negotiations with the other powers.


England still waged war against the celtic allaince , perhaps suffering a little setback against the welsh and the irish complained to the northern shires, that the welsh had been put in peril by their actions [the northern shires] as ireland had apparently provided two massive fleets with two massive armies to blunt any english counterattack. Henry responded to the irish , that it seemed after the recent welsh victory , that they might be mistaken in there views, and that the northern shires, had'nt asked the irish to commit such forces to there defence anyways, and the positioned of irish forces, had been purely of there own direction and was perhaps unwarranted.
Scottish messages had been more heated , warning that the Scottish would take swift action if their princess of scotland was harmed in anyway in northern shires terrority and the english crown had told off reports via their spy network of a buildup of massive scottish naval forces, miltary garrisons and large armies on the scottish border, with the northern shires, which was rather worrying.


The scottish princess did'nt care however about the northern shires objections however , and heading southwards deeper into their lands , towards the plague ridden city of York where some of the cityfolk had turned to banditry to make a living on the road. The northern shires had already warned the Scottish of such problems and as such , had no liability if something happened to the Scottish royalty, for being in danger, where she should'nt be moving.

Turn to England
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3hnath5sj...nd_56.sav?dl=0

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Mid-medieval growth (1100-1290)
The 12th and 13th centuries were a period of huge economic growth in England. The population of England rose from around one and a half million in 1086 to around four or five million in 1300, stimulating increased agricultural outputs and the export of raw materials to Europe. In contrast to the previous two centuries, England was relatively secure from invasion. Except for the years of the Anarchy, most military conflicts either had only localised economic impact or proved only temporarily disruptive. English economic thinking remained conservative, seeing the economy as consisting of three groups: the ordines, those who fought, or the nobility; laboratores, those who worked, in particular the peasantry; and oratores, those who prayed, or the clerics.Trade and merchants played little part in this model and were frequently vilified at the start of the period, although increasingly tolerated towards the end of the 13th century.


Growth of English towns
After the end of the Anarchy, the number of small towns in England began to increase sharply. By 1297 a hundred and twenty new towns had established and in 1350, by when the expansion had effectively ceased, there were around 500 towns in England.Many of these new towns were centrally planned - Richard I created Portsmouth, John founded Liverpool, with Harwich, Stony Stratford, Dunstable, Royston, Baldock, Wokingham, Maidenhead and Reigate following under successive monarchs. The new towns were usually located with access to trade routes, rather than defence, in mind. The streets were laid out to make access to the town's market convenient. A growing percentage of England's population lived in urban areas; estimates suggest that this rose from around 5.5% in 1086 to up to 10% in 1377.

London held a special status within the English economy. The nobility purchased and consumed many luxury goods and services in the capital, and as early as the 1170s the London markets were providing exotic products such as spices, incense, palm oil, gems, silks, furs and foreign weapons. London was also an important hub for industrial activity; it had many blacksmiths making a wide range of goods, including decorative ironwork and early clocks.Pewter-working, using English tin and lead, was also widespread in London during the period.The provincial towns also had a substantial number of trades by the end of the 13th century - a large town like Coventry, for example, contained over three hundred different specialist occupations, and a smaller town such as Durham could support some sixty different professions. The increasing wealth of the nobility and the church was reflected in the widespread building of cathedrals and other prestigious buildings in the larger towns, in turn making use of lead from English mines for roofing.


Land transport remained much more expensive than river or sea transport during the period. Many towns in this period, including York, Exeter and Lincoln, were linked to the oceans by navigable rivers and could act as seaports, with Bristol's port coming to dominate the lucrative trade in wine with Gascony by the 13th century, but shipbuilding generally remained on a modest scale and economically unimportant to England at this time. Transport remained very costly in comparison to the overall price of products. By the 13th century, groups of common carriers ran carting businesses, with carting brokers existing in London to link traders and carters. These used the four major land routes crossing England: Ermine Street, the Fosse Way, Icknield Street and Watling Street. A large number of bridges were built during the 12th century to improve the trade network.

In the 13th century, England was still primarily supplying raw materials for export to Europe, rather than finished or processed goods. There were some exceptions, such as very high quality cloths from Stamford and Lincoln, including the famous "Lincoln Scarlet" dyed cloth. Despite royal efforts to encourage it, barely any English cloth was being exported by 1347.


Expansion of the money supply
There was a gradual reduction in the number of locations allowed to mint coins in England; under Henry II, only 30 boroughs were still able to use their own moneyers and the tightening of controls continued throughout the 13th century. By the reign of Edward I there were only nine mints outside London and the king created a new official called the Master of the Mint to oversee these and the thirty furnaces operating in London to meet the supply for new coins. The amount of money in circulation hugely increased in this period; before the Norman invasion there had been around £50,000 in circulation as coin, but by 1311 this had risen to more than £1m. The physical implication of this growth was that coins had to be manufactured in large numbers, being moved in barrels and sacks to be stored in local treasuries for royal use as the king travelled.


Rise of the guilds
The first English guilds emerged during the early 12th century. These guilds were fraternities of craftsmen that set out to manage their local affairs including "prices, workmanship, the welfare of its workers and the suppression of interlopers and sharp practices". Amongst these early guilds were the "guilds merchants", who ran the local markets in towns and represented the merchant community in discussions with the crown. Other early guilds included the "craft guilds", representing specific trades. By 1130 there were major weavers' guilds in six English towns, as well as a fullers guild in Winchester. Over the coming decades more guilds were created, often becoming increasingly involved in both local and national politics, although the guilds merchants were largely replaced by official groups established by new royal charters.


The craft guilds required relatively stable markets and a relative equality of income and opportunity amongst their members to function effectively. By the 14th century these conditions were increasingly uncommon. The first strains were seen in London, where the old guild system began to collapse - more trade was being conducted at a national level, making it hard for craftsmen to both manufacture goods and trade in them, and there were growing disparities in incomes between the richer and poor craftsmen. As a result, under Edward III many guilds became companies or livery companies, chartered companies focusing on trade and finance (the management of large amounts of money), leaving the guild structures to represent the interests of the smaller, poorer manufacturers.


[The market place at Bridgnorth, one of many medieval English towns to be granted the right to hold fairs, in this case annually on the feast of the Translation of St. Leonard.]


Merchants and the development of the charter fairs
The period also saw the development of charter fairs in England, which reached their heyday in the 13th century. From the 12th century onwards, many English towns acquired a charter from the Crown allowing them to hold an annual fair, usually serving a regional or local customer base and lasting for two or three days. The practice increased in the next century and over 2,200 charters were issued to markets and fairs by English kings between 1200 and 1270.Fairs grew in popularity as the international wool trade increased: the fairs allowed English wool producers and ports on the east coast to engage with visiting foreign merchants, circumnavigating those English merchants in London keen to make a profit as middlemen. At the same time, wealthy magnate consumers in England began to use the new fairs as a way to buy goods like spices, wax, preserved fish and foreign cloth in bulk from the international merchants at the fairs, again bypassing the usual London merchants.

Some fairs grew into major international events, falling into a set sequence during the economic year, with the Stamford fair in Lent, St Ives' in Easter, Boston's in July, Winchester's in September and Northampton's in November, with the many smaller fairs falling in-between. Although not as large as the famous Champagne fairs in France, these English "great fairs" were still huge events; St Ives' Great Fair, for example, drew merchants from Flanders, Brabant, Norway, Germany and France for a four-week event each year, turning the normally small town into "a major commercial emporium".

The structure of the fairs reflected the importance of foreign merchants in the English economy and by 1273 only one third of the English wool trade was actually controlled by English merchants. Between 1280-1320 the trade was primarily dominated by Italian merchants, but by the early 14th century German merchants had begun to present serious competition to the Italians. The Germans formed a self-governing alliance of merchants in London called the "Hanse of the Steelyard" - the eventual Hanseatic League - and their role was confirmed under the Great Charter of 1303, which exempted them from paying the customary tolls for foreign merchants. One response to this was the creation of the Company of the Staple, a group of merchants established in English-held Calais in 1314 with royal approval, who were granted a monopoly on wool sales to Europe.


Guild Dinner in the Middle Ages
The activities of the mediaeval guilds were not confined to professional matters, they also played a considerable part in the convivial life of the community. Under this head the guild dinners held at the Guildhalls are to be considered. On these occasions enormous quantities of food appear to have been eaten. In 1445 the Holy Rood Guild of Abingdon is reported to have consumed 6 calves, 16 lambs, 8o capons, 8o geese, goo eggs at fivepence per hundred, besides large quantities of marrow-bones, cream, and flour. Gradually these guild dinners began to take on the form of excesses, which were severely criticized by many writers. Especially in postmediaeval days we hear of the gluttony prevalant at the guild dinners, where the plainer fare of the Middle Ages was replaced by the more refined delicacies of modern culinary art. It was not until comparatively recent years that the Guildhall banquets lost their Falstaff touch.


Jewish contribution to the English economy
The Jewish community in England continued to provide essential money lending and banking services that were otherwise banned by the usury laws, and grew in the 12th century by Jewish immigrants fleeing the fighting around Rouen. The Jewish community spread beyond London to eleven major English cities, primarily the major trading hubs in the east of England with functioning mints, all with suitable castles for protection of the often persecuted Jewish minority. By the time of the Anarchy and the reign of Stephen, the communities were flourishing and providing financial loans to the king.

Under Henry II, the Jewish financial community continued to grow richer still.[54] All major towns had Jewish centres and even smaller towns, such as Windsor, saw visits travelling Jewish merchants. Henry II used the Jewish community as "instruments for the collection of money for the Crown", and placed them under royal protection. The Jewish community at York lent extensively to fund the Cistercian order's acquisition of land and prospered considerably. Some Jewish merchants grew extremely wealthy, Aaron of Lincoln so much that upon his death a special royal department had to be established to unpick his financial holdings and affairs.

By the end of Henry's reign the king ceased to borrow from the Jewish community and instead turned to an aggressive campaign of tallage taxation and fines. Financial and anti-Semite violence grew under Richard I. After the massacre of the York community in which numerous financial records were destroyed, seven towns were nominated to separately store Jewish bonds and money records and this arrangement ultimately evolved into the Exchequer of the Jews. After an initially peaceful start to John's reign, the king again began to extort money from the Jewish community, imprisoning the wealthier members, including Isaac of Norwich, until a huge, new taillage was paid. During the Baron's War of 1215-7, the Jews were subjected to fresh anti-Semitic attacks. Henry III restored some order and Jewish money-lending became sufficiently successful again to allow fresh taxation. The Jewish community became poorer towards the end of the century and was finally expelled from England in 1290 by Edward I, being largely replaced by foreign merchants.


Governance and taxation
During the 12th century the Norman kings attempted to formalise the feudal governance system initially created after the invasion. After the invasion the king had enjoyed combination of income from his own demesne lands, the Anglo-Saxon geld tax and fines. Successive kings found that they needed additional revenues, especially in order to pay for mercenary forces. One way of doing this was to exploit the feudal system, and kings adopted the French feudal aid model, a levy of money imposed on feudal subordinates when necessary; another method was to exploit the scutage system, in which feudal military service could be transmuted to a cash payment to the king.Taxation was also an option, although the old geld tax was increasingly ineffective due to an increasing number of exemptions. Instead a succession of kings created alternative land taxes, such as the tallage and carucage taxes. These were increasingly unpopular and, along with the feudal charges, were condemned and constrained in the Magna Carta of 1215. As part of the formalisation of the royal finances, Henry I created the Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post which would lead to the maintenance of the Pipe rolls, a set of royal financial records of lasting significance to historians in tracking both royal finances and medieval prices.

Royal revenue streams still proved insufficient and from the middle of the 13th century there was a shift away from the earlier land based tax system towards one based on a mixture of indirect and direct taxation. At the same time Henry III of England had introduced the practice of consulting with leading nobles on tax issues, leading to the system of the English parliament agreeing on new taxes when required. In 1275, the "Great and Ancient Custom" began to tax woollen products and hides, with the Great Charter of 1303 imposing additional levies on foreign merchants in England, with the poundage tax introduced in 1347. In 1340, the discredited tallage tax system was finally abolished by Edward III.

In the English towns the burgage tenure for urban properties was established early on in the medieval period, being based primarily on tenants paying cash rents rather than providing labour services. Further development of a set of taxes that could be raised by the towns, including murage for walls, pavage for streets or pontage, a temporary tax for the repair of bridges. Combined with the lex mercatoria, which was a set of codes and customary practices governing trading, provided a reasonable basis for the economic governance of the towns.

The 12th century also saw a concerted attempt to curtail the remaining rights of unfree peasant workers and to set out their labour rents more explicitly in the form of the English Common Law. This process resulted in the Magna Carta explicitly authorising feudal landowners to settle law cases concerning feudal labour and fines through their own manorial courts rather than through the royal courts.


Mid-medieval economic crisis - the Great Famine and the Black Death (1290-1350)



[The Black Death reached England in 1348 from Europe.]


Great Famine
The Great Famine of 1315 began a number of acute crises in the English agrarian economy. The famine centred on a sequence of harvest failures in 1315, 1316 and 1321, combined with an outbreak of the murrain sickness amongst sheep and oxen between 1319–21 and the fatal ergotism fungi amongst the remaining stocks of wheat. In the ensuing famine, many people died and the peasantry were said to have been forced to eat horses, dogs and cats as well to have conducted cannibalism against children, although these last reports are usually considered to be exaggerations. Poaching and encroachment on the royal forests surged, sometimes on a mass scale. Sheep and cattle numbers fell by up to a half, significantly reducing the availability of wool and meat, and food prices almost doubled, with grain prices particularly inflated. Food prices remained at similar levels for the next decade.Salt prices also increased sharply due to the wet weather.

Various factors exacerbated the crisis. Economic growth had already begun to slow significantly in the years prior to the crisis and the English rural population was increasingly under economic stress, with around half the peasantry estimated to possess insufficient land to provide them with a secure livelihood. Where additional land was being brought into cultivation, or existing land cultivated more intensively, the soil may have become exhausted and useless. Bad weather also played an important part in the disaster; 1315-6 and 1318 saw torrential rains and an incredibly cold winter, which in combination badly impacted on harvests and stored supplies. The rains of these years was followed by drought in the 1320s and another fierce winter in 1321, complicating recovery. Disease, independent of the famine, was also high during the period, striking at the wealthier as well as the poorer classes. The commencement of war with France in 1337 only added to the economic difficulties. The Great Famine firmly reversed the population growth of the 12th and 13th centuries and left a domestic economy that was "profoundly shaken, but not destroyed".


Black Death
The Black Death epidemic first arrived in England in 1348, re-occurring in waves during 1360-2, 1368-9, 1375 and more sporadically thereafter. The most immediate economic impact of this disaster was the widespread loss of life, between around 27% mortality amongst the upper classes, to 40-70% amongst the peasantry. Despite the very high loss of life, few settlements were abandoned during the epidemic itself, but many were badly affected or nearly eliminated altogether. The medieval authorities did their best to respond in an organised fashion, but the economic disruption was immense. Building work ceased and many mining operations paused. In the short term, efforts were taken by the authorities to control wages and enforce pre-epidemic working conditions. Coming on top of the previous years of famine, however, the longer term economic implications were profound. In contrast to the previous centuries of rapid growth, the English population would not begin to recover for over a century, despite the many positive reasons for a resurgence. The crisis would dramatically affect English agriculture, wages and prices for the remainder of the medieval period.


Late medieval economic recovery (1350–1509)
The events of the crisis between 1290 and 1348 and the subsequent epidemics produced many challenges for the English economy. In the decades after the disaster, the economic and social issues arising from the Black Death combined with the costs of the Hundred Years War to produce the Peasants Revolt of 1381. Although the revolt was suppressed, it undermined many of the vestiges of the feudal economic order and the countryside became dominated by estates organised as farms, frequently owned or rented by the new economic class of the gentry. The English agricultural economy remained depressed throughout the 15th century, with growth coming from the greatly increased English cloth trade and manufacturing. The economic consequences of this varied considerably from region to region, but generally London, the South and the West prospered at the expense of the Eastern and the older cities. The role of merchants and of trade became increasingly seen as important to the country and usury became increasingly accepted, with English economic thinking increasingly influenced by Renaissance humanist theories.


Governance and taxation
Even before the end of the first outbreak of the Black Death, there were efforts by the authorities to stem the upward pressure on wages and prices, with parliament passing the emergency Ordinance of Labourers in 1349 and the Statute of Labourers in 1351. The efforts to regulate the economy continued as wages and prices rose, putting pressure on the landed classes, and in 1363 parliament attempted unsuccessfully to centrally regulate craft production, trading and retailing. A rising amount of the royal courts' time was involved in enforcing the failing labour legislation - as much as 70% by the 1370s. Many land owners attempted to vigorously enforce rents payable through agricultural service rather than money through their local manor courts, leading to many village communities attempting to legally challenge local feudal practices using the Domesday Book as a legal basis for their claims. With the wages of the lower classes still rising, the government also attempted to regulate demand and consumption by reinstating the sumptuary laws in 1363. These laws banned the lower classes from consuming certain products or wearing high status clothes, and reflected the significance of the consumption of high quality breads, ales and fabrics as a way of signifying social class in the late medieval period.

The 1370s also saw the government facing difficulties in funding the war with France. The impact of the Hundred Years War on the English economy as a whole remains uncertain; one suggestion is that the high taxation required to pay for the conflict "shrunk and depleted" the English economy, whilst others have argued for the war having a more modest or even neutral economic impact. The English government clearly found it difficult to pay for its army and from 1377 turned to a new system of poll taxes, aiming to spread the costs of taxation across the entire of English society.


[ Richard II meets the rebels calling for economic and political reform during the Peasants Revolt of 1381.]



Peasants' Revolt of 1381
One result of the economic and political tensions was the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 in which widespread rural discontent was followed by invasion of London involving thousands of rebels. The rebels had many demands, including the effective end of the feudal institution of serfdom and a cap on the levels of rural rents. The ensuing violence took the political classes by surprise and the revolt was not fully put down until the autumn, with up to 7,000 rebels being executed in the aftermath. As a result of the revolt, parliament retreated from the poll tax and instead focused on a system of indirect taxes centring on foreign trade, with 80% of tax revenues drawn from the exports of wool. Parliament continued to collect direct tax levies at historically high levels up until 1422, although they reduced in later years. As a result, successive monarchs found that their tax revenues were uncertain, with Henry VI enjoying less than half the annual tax revenue of the late 14th century. England's monarchs became increasingly dependent on borrowing and forced loans to meet the gap between taxes and expenditure and even then faced later rebellions over levels of taxation, including the Yorkshire rebellion of 1489 and the Cornish rebellion of 1497 during the reign of Henry VII.


Shrinking towns
The percentage of England's population living in towns continued to grow but in absolute terms English towns shrunk significantly as a consequence of the Black Death, especially in the formerly prosperous east. The importance of England's Eastern ports declined over the period, as trade from London and the South-West increased in relative significance. Increasingly elaborate road networks were built across England, some involving the construction of up to thirty bridges to cross rivers and other obstacles. Nonetheless, it remained cheaper to move goods by water, and consequently timber was brought to London from as far away as the Baltic, and stone from Caen brought over the Channel to the South of England. Shipbuilding, particular in the South-West, became a major industry for the first time and investment in trading ships such as cogs was probably the single biggest form of late medieval investment in England.


[Cog ships were increasingly important to English trade as both exports and imports grew.]




Rise of the cloth trade
Cloth manufactured in England increasingly dominated European markets during the 15th and early 16th centuries. England exported almost no cloth at all in 1347, but by 1400 around 40,000 cloths a year were being exported – the trade reached its first peak in 1447 when exports reached 60,000. Trade fell slightly during the serious depression of the mid-15th century, but picked up again and reached 130,000 cloths a year by the 1540s. The centres of weaving in England shifted westwards towards the Stour Valley, the West Riding, the Cotswolds and Exeter, away from the former weaving centres in York, Coventry and Norwich.

The wool and cloth trade was primarily now being run by English merchants themselves rather than by foreigners. Increasingly, the trade was also passing through London and the ports of the South-West. By the 1360s, between 66 and 75% of the export trade was in English hands and by the 15th century this had risen to 80%, with London managing around 50% of these exports in 1400, and as much as 83% of wool and cloth exports by 1540. The growth in the numbers of chartered trading companies in London, such as the Worshipful Company of Drapers or the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London continued and English producers began to provide credit to European buyers, rather than the other way around. Usury grew during the period, with few cases being prosecuted by the authorities.

There were some reversals. The attempts of English merchants to break through the Hanseatic league directly into the Baltic markets failed in the domestic political chaos of the Wars of the Roses in the 1460s and 1470s. The wine trade with Gascony fell by half during the war with France, and the eventual loss of the province brought an end to the English domination of the business and temporary disruption to Bristol's prosperity until Spanish wines began to be imported through the city a few years later. Indeed, the disruption to both the Baltic and the Gascon trade contributed to a sharp reduction in the consumption of furs and wine by the English gentry and nobility during the 15th century.

There were advances in manufacturing, especially in the South and West. Despite some French attacks, the war created much coastal prosperity thanks to the huge expenditure on ship building during the war, with the South-West also becoming a centre for English piracy against foreign vessels. Metalworking continued to grow and in particular, pewter working which generated exports second only to cloth. By the 15th century pewter working in London was a large industry, with a hundred pewter workers recorded in London alone, and pewter working had also spread from London to eleven major cities across England. London goldsmithing remained significant but saw relatively little growth, with around 150 goldsmiths working in London during the period. Iron-working continued to expand and in 1509 the first cast iron cannon was made in England. This was reflected in the rapid growth in the number of iron-working guilds, from three in 1300 to fourteen by 1422.

The result was a substantial influx of money that in turn encouraged the import of manufactured luxury goods; by 1391 shipments from abroad routinely included "ivory, mirrors, paxes, armour, paper..., painted clothes, spectacles, tin images, razors, calamine, treacle, sugar-candy, marking irons, patens..., ox-horns and quantities of wainscot". Imported spices now formed a part of almost all noble and gentry diets, with the quantities being consumed varying according to the wealth of the household. The English government was also importing large quantities of raw materials, including copper, for manufacturing weapons. Many major landowners tended to focus their efforts on maintaining a single major castle or house rather than the dozens a century before, but these were usually decorated much more luxurious than previously. Major merchants' dwellings, too, were more lavish than in previous years


[The Stourbridge fair, authorised by King John I of England by royal charter in 1199, provided for the building of this leper chapel in Cambridge, and became the largest medieval fair in Europe.]



Rise of the chartered fair in England
In England, fairs began to develop in the early Norman period, reaching their heyday in the 13th century. During the 12th century, many English towns acquired the right from the Crown to hold an annual fair, usually serving a regional or local customer base and lasting for two or three days. By the end of the century, however, international trade with Europe in wool and cloth was increasing; London merchants were attempting to exert control over this process, acting as middlemen, but many of the English producers and ports on the east coast attempted to use the chartered fair system to circumnavigate them. Simultaneously, wealthy magnate consumers in England began to use the new fairs as a way to buy goods like spices, wax, preserved fish and cloth in bulk from the international merchants at the fairs, again bypassing the usual London merchants. Local nobles and churchmen could draw a considerable profit from hosting these events, and in turn the crown benefited from the payments given for the original charter. Over 2,200 charters were issued to markets and fairs by English kings between 1200 and 1270.


Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the number of markets and fairs across England burgeoned. Although the terms "fair" and "market" were often used synonymously, key differences distinguished them. Markets were held daily in the more populous towns and cities or weekly in rural districts, and sold fresh produce and necessities, while fairs operated on a periodic cycle, and were almost always associated with a religious festival. Fairs were associated with high value goods and non-perishables such as farm tools, homewares, furniture, rugs and ceramics. Although a fair's primary purpose was trade, it typically included some elements of entertainment, such as dance, music or tournaments. By 1516, England had some 2,464 markets and 2,767 fairs while Wales had 138 markets and 166 fairs. Both fairs and markets were important centres of social life in medieval society.



[Southwark Fair]


Towns such as Boston, Winchester, Stamford and St Ives acquired royal charters to hold huge, extended events focusing on the international markets. The major fairs had formed a set sequence by the mid-13th century, with the Stamford fair in Lent, St Ives at Easter, Boston in July, Winchester in September and Northampton in November. Secondary chartered fairs, such as those at Stourbridge, Bury St Edmunds, King's Lynn, Oxford and Westminster filled the gaps in between, although Stourbridge fair would grow to be the biggest fair in Europe towards the end of the medieval period. Many of these fairs would have been small in comparison to the largest European international fairs, but still involved international contracts and advance selling on a significant scale.

These "great fairs" could be huge events; St Ives' Great Fair drew merchants from Flanders, Brabant, Norway, Germany and France for a four-week event each year, turning the normally small town into "a major commercial emporium". Dozens of stalls would be established and hundreds of pounds of goods bought and sold. Special courts, called courts of piepowders would be established to govern the events and settle disputes; this would include establishing local law and order, imposing systems of weights and measures; monitoring legal contracts and other features of medieval trade.

[Turkafinwë]

ATTENTION! I put this on top so you surely would see it. I'll be going on holiday for two weeks starting from the 13th of July until the 28th of July. Regrettably I won't have access to my or any computer in that period so I won't be able to play any of my turns in the hotseat. I know we can't stop the hotseat just for me so I will have to be subbed until I return. I do intend to continue with this hotseat when I get back.

England

The Celtic alliance had struck and hard at that. In the north Prince Flinn of Ireland had layed siege to the Castle of Flint. The poor of Flint had been spared for awhile now but war marched once again on their homes. In the south the Welsh and Irish had split up their forces with the Welsh general Trahaearn of Brycheiniog marching to the mountain pass between the Cambrian mountains and the Brecon Beacons where he surprised and routed the forces of Charles Bourchier. With their tails betwen their legs, Charles brought the remnant of his troops to Fort Llanbrynmair where Philip Stratford had gathered a grand army. Charles hoped Trahaearn would follow and overextend himself but alas no Welsh banners were seen coming from the south. Not the south. To Charles dismay Welsh forces were waiting for him on his way to Philip. Not only the Welsh Dragon was present but the Irish Harp was brandished as well. Charles watched in horror as more and more enemies flowed in from the west. His men out of formation, he tried to assemble a frontline of the bravest to protect the fleeing soldiers. Charles prepared to meet his end when, hark, a voice spoke. English horns were sounding! Stratford had marched from Fort Llanbrynmair. This drew the attention of the Celtic armies giving him and his men the breathing room to flee towards Montgomery. The expedition had been a disaster. Charles' forces near destroyed and Stratford pushed back into the fort taking heavy losses.

When Lord Protector Lewes heard of this news, he locked himself into his abode and flung himself to the drink. Not often would Lewes be sober afterwards, the stress of the war driving him to alcoholism. Yet Lewes did not despair or sit still. He was the Lord Protector of the English Crown dammit and he would be damned eternally if he were to give in to a setback. News reached him that Trahaearn of Brycheiniog still held his camp in the mountain pass between the Cambrians and the Brecons and the Lord Protector grinned. A chance to crush one of their blasted armies. Next day Lewes marched his entire force out of the fort watching the river Loughor and crossed it. One winter evening fair, when the sun hung low in the west and shone in the enemies' eyes, the English fell on the feasting Welsh. Lewes took a sip from his wineskin something he always carried with him these days, while the Trahaearn marshalled his force into a battleline. Blinded by the sun, cut off from their supplyline and escape rout, the Welshmen fought with a fury and desperation unknown to man but the Dragon's fire soon was quenched when the English cannon spewed forth flames of their own. The fierce fighting had lasted for an hour or two when Trahaearn came forward under a flag of truce. Almost a thousand Welsh lay dead on the field and Trahaearn had seen enough battles to know where this was going should they continue. The Welsh general surrendered and pleaded for the safe passage of his troops which Lewes granted in exchange for the spoils of war taking from Charles' army and the equipment and supplies from the Welsh. This angered many English nobles who wanted nothing but the complete annihillation of the sheepshaggers but Lewes would not become the monster he had served many years ago. Thus Trahaearn's forces were spared and the Lord Protector hoped the general would not forget his mercy.

Lord above, my head ached The light hurt my eyes and I felt nauseous. If it weren't for that burly sergeant I would have been captured or perhaps even killed. I should promote him to my personal guard. I rose to a sitting position and my head seemed to tear itself apart, for a minute I saw nothing but a flurry of colours flashing before my eyes. My vision sharpenend and I saw I lay in my quarters in Fort Llanbrynmair. I let out a heavy sigh when a messenger entered. “M'lord Stratford! There's fighting beyond the walls!” the boy exlaimed who could not have been older than eight. Rubbing my sore eyes I rose from my bed. “Did you see any banners flying?” I asked. ”Oh yes M'lord Stratford! Lots of green ones but also red ones!” Red ones I thought, those could be the Welsh Dragon the boy saw from afar. ”Are you sure there's fighting boy? Or are the Celts just marching towards Montgomery?” The energetic kid shook his head fervently. ”No m'lord, I saw lions flying in the sky fighting the dragon! I creased my forehead. Could Charles have mustered an army and marched back that quickly? No, last time I saw him, he and his tattered army, if you could call it an army, were in full flight. This must be something else. I turned to the messenger boy. ”Find my squire and let the heralds sound the horns for assembly. We march in two hours!” Ugh I thought as I lowered myself to vomit some bile into a bucket.

The boy had been right, English were fighting Welsh and Irish alike. Seeing the shambles of an army arrive at Montgomery, a brave captain had marched all the forces in garrison to the Celtic Alliance's position for revenge. Captain Michell had ordered the construction of a large pole with on the top an English flag. His hope was to incite the forces in Fort Llanbrynmair to sally out and trap the Celts from the west. To his luck, Stratford was still alive and chose to come forth and crush the Irish and Welsh forces. Unfortunately his troops were too weary and thin-stretched to contain the Alliance's forces. His battle-line buckled under the pressure and many a Celt could escape back to sea. Yet England had won a great victory and the Irish had to leave one of their generals slain on the battleground. The Welsh King did get away fleeing west with his scaly tail between his legs. A great victory indeed.

Now it is told that the Irish Prince was laying siege to Castle Flint where Augustine of Hastings resided. Again because of the bravery of a Captain was he saved. A strong force of English heavily armoured knights were on their way to reinforce Chester where upon arrival they heard of Hastings' plight. Rest could wait while Englishmen remained in danger. Flint would not fall in Celtic hands. As in the south, so in the north were the Irish driven back to the sea. More so, Augustine did not sit safely in his castle but marched forth into Welsh territory. A little bird had told him that the grand fortress of Caernarvon was lightly defended and ready to fall. Hastings rushed to secure the fortress that had so long stood against the Celtic invaders. English loyalists openend the gates and Hastings slaughtered the small Welsh garrison. The three lions flew once more defiantly from Caernarvon.

***

Death is inevitable, it comes for everyone just the same, noble and peasant. I had been waiting a long time for it, no that is wrong, I didn't wait for it because I simply did not care when it came. I had had a long life filled with misery, loss and death. Still it turned out I had loved it now that I neared the end. My adversary had been clever and I, the old fool that I am, had let my guard down for one moment. One mistake was all it had taken but then again you only needed one to be fatal. I had been ill for two days now and knew the third would be my last. I couldn't stand let alone walk so I waited as my eyes grew dark. I had never wished for much in life but now I wished only to see my killer before the end. I knew better than to hope, the man was a professional, whoever he was, and a good one at that. I felt my head fall, it hit the ground yet I felt nothing. I knew I was dead.

Ireland: http://www.mediafire.com/file/y55ag1...nd_56.sav/file

In memoriam Aelfgar the Killer

[Der Böse Wolf]

Brilliant.

I suggest we wait for Turkafinwe to return from his holidays to resume the HS, it would be a shame for him to be subbed in these crucial battle times. It's just two weeks anyway, and by the time his next turn comes, at least one week would be gone already.

What do the others think?

[paladinbob123]

Brilliant.

I suggest we wait for Turkafinwe to return from his holidays to resume the HS, it would be a shame for him to be subbed in these crucial battle times. It's just two weeks anyway, and by the time his next turn comes, at least one week would be gone already.

What do the others think?

sounds reasonable to me