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

[Der Böse Wolf]

The army that is being attacked is the central point of the "box" that determines the reinforcement range. That's why Henry was part of both battles and your armies were not. Every "box" is 3 tiles on 3 tiles, I think.

Yep it makes sense.

[zender9]

Scotland up:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...cotland_69.sav


''Open the gates!'' Shouted the scouts returning to Chester from north. ''We got important news.''. Soon after he walked to King Tegonwy (my RP wise king as he has royal blood) and reported that English are attacking the siegeing Scottish army.
With all haste Welsh army once again ready for battle and marched to Lancaster. But it was too late. Our allies were defeated already. Despite the exhaustion, the king ordered his men to attack because English were wounded and they were drunk celebrating their victory. Battle didn't last long. Lord Henry locked him inside of his fortress and King Lewes fled to West.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...18159657/2.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...01533204/3.jpg

In the south, Welsh expansion continued. Shaftsbury conquered.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...38579200/1.jpg

An important fort captured.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...57723155/4.jpg

Naval battle:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...89499914/5.jpg

[Der Böse Wolf]

Sorry for the delay guys, I am on the road again (it's high season in my work).
I will post it shortly.

Thanks for your patience.

[Turkafinwë]

No worries Der Böse Wolf.

[Der Böse Wolf]

At the royal camp, at the border of Lancashire...
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"Prince Dougall is requested to attend the military trial, in the presence of the King!"
The court official announced the proceedings.

Prince Dougall, a broken man, entered the pavilion.

He had retreated in haste after the setback at Lancaster, before joining the royal army which was also retreating, both armies having lost many lives.

The king, with a straight face, locked eyes with Dougall who was trying to show some pride in his stride, but was clearly feeling his age.

"I mourn with you, friend. We have been together through many battles, victories and defeats. Your sons were like mine. I even made you my heir.
But orders are orders.
Your rash attack on Lancaster, leaving Skipton castle undefended was an unforgettable mistake. The strategic importance of this stronghold was paramount to the offensive on Henry as it was protecting our rear from English reinforcements.
Yet in your lust for revenge, you left the place undermanned, making it vulnerable. Worse, you obliged me to rush to reinforce you in haste which prevented us from coordinating our moves properly.
This enabled the Crown to strike back at us and snatch victory!"
Alexander stood up, raising his voice and angrily pointing his finger towards the Prince.

"Calm down Sire, we do not want to risk a civil war now...'
The councillor was trying to salvage the situation, whispering in the king's ear.

Alexander sat down. He then grabbed the councillor by the collar and told him:
"Don't you worry. No one will fight for Dougall, for his actions led to the loss of hundreds of lives to avenge two. All clans mourn a son, a brother or a father today... And even those who did not lose a loved one, they rue the lost chance at victory!"

The king let go of the minister. He stood up again, raised his sword and pronounced his verdict:

"Prince Dougall, for your loyalty and service to the Kingdom, you will retain your title under your death.
But for your ill actions and military insubordination you will be deprived from command and sent back to Scotland to see your days in retirement.
Dismissed!"

As the tent emptied, a messenger arrived announcing the great victory of the Welsh armies near Lancaster.
Alexander roared in joy.

"Henry is now surely finished and Lewes lost his big army. Those Welsh never disappoint. Scots and Welsh are true brothers!
This snake Henry dares to call the Welsh traitors. But they are far from that. They are loyal allies. The only traitor is Henry, siding with the Crown. Did he expect the Welsh to sit idle as he fights their Scottish brothers with the English? Welshmen have died fighting the Crown, only to see Henry give the English lands in Carlisle...Henry is the only traitor to the Celtic Alliance!"

With these words, the king left the tent to inspect the camp, flooding with injured men, but also growing in numbers as reinforcements join in from the North...


------

The news of terrible internal fighting in Newcastle spread like wildfire.
The Scottish, allied with the Goldwine, were nervous at the situation. The defeat at Lancaster, which meant the survival of Henry, put Goldwine in a delicate situation.
The Scots must help him somehow.

Spies infiltrated the city to assess the situation.
From the chaos, they singled Lord Cornwall as the leader of the opposing faction and enemy of Goldwine. He must be eliminated.

After weeks of careful planning, the men of the dark managed to find an opportunity to strike.

As the bolts were let loose, the cadaver fell to the ground.

The guards quickly turned and ran towards the bloodied corpse. They removed the helmet, only to reveal the face of a young woman!

It was Lady Cornwall!

"Damn it..." the spies, realising their mistake, left the city under the cover of darkness...

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Barons next: https://www.mediafire.com/file/00zdh...ns_69.sav/file

[paladinbob123]

Lancaster had been relieved abet temporarily until the welsh who first undermined the supporting english army at Chester , now marched north , declaring war on the Northern shires with a new battle at Lancaster against both the english and the northern shires, revealing their contempt for all englishmen , and ignoring the previous friendships and battles the northern shires had fought for them to regain their homeland. Looking to ireland, Henry was again disappointed as the irish attacked the english ships on the water, which was perhaps the only thing securing the lancastian coastline against welsh shipping which now would bring more troops to attack the northern shires position.

"Goddamn the godforsaken Welsh!" , exclaimed Henry , his incandescent rage at such betrayal from both welsh and irishmen showing their disregard and disrespect for northern shires efforts on their behalf. To make things even more contemptuous , the irish had sent a diplomat, asking for a trade links and a exchange of map information , a thing that further enraged Henry [if such a thing was possible as Henry's face turned purple] .

"*****! ****ing ****** Irish scum!" , heard the castellan of Lancaster, and these were perhaps the only words that he could translate from Henry. Meanwhile Henry began smashing things and items around the room in his rage, at such news as the irish wanted trade and map information.

Henry began to use the pommell and the blade of his sword, smashing precious ornaments , and even the table succumbed to multiple mighty blows, as his family trying to calm him down , fearing that his rage would fill him with ill humors, which perhaps would bring on his previous illnesses.

The castellan shut the door , shaking his head at his own lords performance and returned to the great hall where the irish diplomate awaited a reply to the irish offer , sitting on one of the chairs, looking up above him , at the sounds , of crashing and banging above.

"I am afraid that Henry is currently indisposed, and ask perhaps, that you visit him on another day" , the castellan stated to the irishmen , before asking him to stand and to leave the presence of Lancaster castle , although he was free to visit in the city, which he warned him , the people were little deposed to serve irishmen considering the irish reponses to the northern shires plight .



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Lord Paul Cornwall had been fighting in the streets for the last few months within and for Newcastle , and the civil war had finally reached a bloody stalemate. The was always those battles , where nobody was winning , and the people just tired of the struggle , withdrawing to their own estates , depression and anger fermenting , and regrouping their energies to try again. But their was new news about paul's youngest sister who had just turned sixteen , had been assassinated by a scottish murderer that drove Paul Cornwall to the very edge of his sanity.

It took his friends and family a week to pull him out his estates , where he had disappeared into , and he spoke to no-one in that time ,receiving his meals at the door and only a night. Only after a week , he emerged his face drew and thin, eyes sunken , with dark shades under his eyes, showing his lack of sleep, to command all his followers to announce his withdrawal of all his supporters to marchout of the city , as he had heard the scottish royalty had fled north of kendal castle , and it was here that Paul Cornwall would seek his revenge, Newcastle would have to wait . His friends and family alarmed at this , sent word to York , warning them of Paul's actions and that he would'nt be deflected from this course asked for support from the mighty city.

It was perhaps fortuitous that when Paul marched out , travelling west , that messagers met him , telling that Hugh had taken what men he could , and the two forces began to notice each other as they marched ever closer, conjoining on the camp of the Scottish King shown by his banner above his tent.

With the cries of "Isabella!", Paul Cornwall and his supporters fell upon the camp from the northeast, rage taken hold of them , as they charged into the edge of the scottish camp where they were met by the guards of the camp , which were supported from evermore scottish troops , as they armoured up , grabbed weapons and joined the fight.

"Fight me Alexander! Come and fight me ...you coward! .......Fight a man rather than striking down young girls!", Paul shouted across the battlefield , seeing the banner of the scottish king moving ever forwards to the ever growing battlefield on the side of the camp.

"Make way for the King! ", called out Alexander, who upon hearing the cry would'nt have his own courage questioned , as his clansmen , parted in the midst of the battle, leaving a small path empty of fighting troops between the two combatants.

But the combat did'nt take place however, as the it was at this time , that the fates inferred, with the forces of Hugh with his men from York struck the scottish camp from the southeast , and fearing a trap , the scottish bodyguard , surrounded the scottish king , and with the combination of bodies pushing him backwards, the bodyguard fearing the strong attack from the southeast could'nt be blocked with most of their strength bearing against the northeast, bundled the king , out of the camp , and to force him to retreat to the northwest.

"Come back ..you coward! ......Come back and fight!" , shouted Cornwall, his mouth frothing a little , with his rage , swinging his sword with multiple blows into the soft ground in rage , as the scottish king retreated.

The scottish king roared , swinging his arms left and right ,struggling to get back to the fight but to no prevail , as smothered by bodyguard and clan members he was dragged out of the battlefield.

The rest of the clans men , being surrounded by this new northern shires threat to the southeast, and seeing the scottish king departing began to break , and the fight went from a battle to a slaughter, as the enraged men of York and Newcastle took their own revenge as only they could , slaughtering all scottish they caught, leaving none alive. some forces managed to sneak away at the sacrifice of their own brethren, or to protection younger men of their own clan's, sacrificing themselfs to save family members but not many escaped the northmens wraith.



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

They found Paul cornwall after the battle still hacking into a dead scottish clansman , hitting him with blow after blow, tears streaking down his cheeks , with members of his family retainers, asking him to stop , and take rest, or at least some sleep , and after Hugh hmself arrived and clapped one mailed hand on the youngman's shoulder, told him the battle was over, where-in Paul dropped his sword, falling to his knee's, sobbing uncontrollably.
Panicking at his poor state , Pauls retainers gathered round him , but it was Hugh's words that perhaps bought him more comfort, asking him to sleep ..and when paul looked up at his face, Hugh responded.

"Take some sleep , lad!" , Hugh said, as he looked to the south, "For our agents , tell us of the army of the scottish prince lies to the south, and another chance of revenge still lays open!", at his words , Paul relaxed , stopped struggling with his retainers and with his head down, walked back to the northern shires camp which was beginning to be formed in the remains of the scottish kings camp whilst others proceeded to look and check for valuables in the now deserted scottish kings camp.

But Hugh did'nt sleepmuch that night much as he prepared the men he had to march upon the Scottish princes position , as he had to coordinate with some of the men of York that he had sent south to overlook the scottish princes camp, to stop them marching out to go to the aid of his father and it would take much coordination and preparation for now both northern shires forces to join up , to again fight another battle tommorow.

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The morning arrived , and the gaunt Paul Cornwall , was ever eager for killing scotsmen, and promised that he and his countrymen were equally willing to find and fight another battle, his statements were occupied by various cheers and positive murmurs of the cornwall supporters from newcastle, still eager for blood and revenge. This would be a revenge that Hugh had been planning for , and he would need their hate, as he explained to the men of newcastle his plans for the day.

It was just after noon when the marching troops of Hugh meet his second army group rejoining forces, and joined by men from the nearby castle , and they attacked the camp of the scottish prince from the northeast, but the scottish prince being notified about the battle the night before had his forces ready in one great battleline. The men of the northern shires mainly made from bill and spearmen militia and organised into large companies charged the tired and weakened Scottish forces, and met them on the outskirts of the scottish camp, in one giant line of melee. But it was twenty minutes later, when the fatigued but still fiery men of Newcastle with Paul Cornwall at their head arrived at the battlefield from the north.

"Kill these scottish scum! For Isabella! Leave none alive!" cried Paul as he charged without much planning against the side of the scottish line, sword raised about his head in his madness. His supporters perhaps bolstered by the madness of their leader , seeing in him a person ignoring all worries about his own safety for his need for scottish blood, gave equally loud blood curdling cries and likewise threw themselfs at a full run against the scottish line in a massive rush. The flank of the scottish force, lasted but five minutes chopped down, as the madness effected troops of Paul Cornwall hacked and slashed against the side of the formation without fear for their own lifes. One clanlord reported back to the Scottish prince , that the men from newcastle seemed possessed and reported that one warrior had been hacked from all sides, as he broke through the lines like a unholy demon , only to land a blow from his spear skewering a scotsmen right threw with his spear before succumbing to his wounds.

The battle embed and flowed , with the scottish having perhaps the slighter smaller force , but the scottish prince's troops were the better equipped, as opposed to the northern shires. , but the scotsmen were only fighting to get back to their own lines, where-as the northern shires were unleashing all the pentup anger of the last few years, that the scottish with their war had bought upon them, fighting for lost loved ones or friends and family.
At one point , even the princes bodyguard were challenged as the left side of the battlefield began to fold against the men of Cornwall renewed their attack with what seemed demonic energy, and three northern shires broke though the lines running at the princes command positon. His bodyguard blocked two of them , whilst the other hurled himself between the bodyguard as they blocked the others route , and hurled his spear like a javelin against the form of the scottish prince who parried the wooden spear away from his person. Drawing his dagger , the northern shiresman lunged forward his eyes wide , yelling what seemed a mad warcry , as the Scottish prince sidestepped and ran though the common man with his sword with a weird slurping sound, which penetrated the man , exiting his body in his back , as the scottish prince , then gripped the man tight with his other arm, and his other twisting the bladein his body and, holding him as he yelled in pain so he could'nt rework his dagger.

The man his eyes wild , his face red with pain , turned his face to look at the scottish prince , as their eyes met, before , the northern shiresman his face eched with pain , headbutted the prince , and the prince was stunned for a second that the clearly deadman still fought , his face moving backwards as the northernshireman leaned his face forward bitting into his ear with his teeth ,ripping a small portion of the scottish prince's ear away. The prince yelled in pain , and the rest of his bodyguard began to arrive, having dealt with the other two they pulled the northernshireman away , off the scottish princes sword and threw him to the ground.

The northern shiresman spat , a bloody mess of spittle , fulling short of hitting the princes, before his eyes rolled back and his muscles relaxed as his last breath left him as the other bodyguard looked for a cloth to bandage the princes wound.

But the battle was lost, and although punishing damage had been done to both scottish and the northernshire men , the scottish prince knew the line was close to breaking , so formed up his last highlander reserve to hold as a rearguard , called for the retreat. The scottish line broke, running for all they were worth to the northwest and Carlisle , where it was rumored the scottish king had likewise fled too, and only the shouts of the highlanders that held the last reserve kept the northernshiremen from destroying the last of the army, as they slowed the triumphant shiremen from their prey.




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With the welsh now officially the enemy of the northern shires, waylander found new opportunity for his own skill , in that he found a pair of known welsh spies holding up in the Peveril Castle .He kept himself busy , acting as a trader , and selling some of his goods to the english troops within the castle. He could have alerted the englishmen garrison of the castle to capture of try and kill the welsh agents , but he knew their skill and fearing they would avoid capture to disappear with the castle hidden away, only to perhaps advance the welsh advance in the next season , so he decided to take his own action and initiative on his own.

Observing the two welsh agents, he saw that one of them had a "thing" for one of the daughters of the nearby blacksmith , as both the welsh agent , Ruadri and she exchanged many smiles and glances together when the elderly blacksmith was'nt watching and it took little effort, for him to construct a false letter in rough script , asking the welshmen for a rendezvous with the young blacksmiths daughter, in the alleyway behind the smithy , that night, before later that afternoon leaving the note in the welshman's room at the inn.

Later that night , as the welshmen entered the ally , grinning at the prospect of a happy night, he felt a hand press close over his face, and a sharp painful thrust into his back with earth dropping pain before his conscience fell away , and the other man lowered him to the ground.

"This was far too easy" , the experienced assassin mummer-ed to himself as he dragged the body into the depths of the alleyway, covering it with some of the brickabrak , that all such alleysways always contained , keeping the body from easy view giving himself some time to make his escape in the morning posing as the trader.




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Jakemina moved ever southwards into english lands, now eagerly searching for a english lord or general to wed, to further the war effort , especially motivated after her own sister had been killed , even though , she had found a nice young gentleman just north of Nottingham , in one of the houses see had stayed in , whilst moving southward. Tore between her duty for her family , and the war effort, she stayed perhaps more than a few days over what she had planned to stay , but knew that her fate lay to the south , and after a tearful parting , continued to fulfill her duty , now torn with thoughts for her new found love to the north.




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Godwine had taken back control of Newcastle much to the amusement of himself , although he wondered where the young cornwall noble had departed, although it was no concern of his , and his now fully controlled garrison took command of the recked city , and although there was still some unrest and disruption , he was satisfied that his position was not threatened. With that in mind , and seeking to reassure the city , he sent a message to the scottish fleet still blockading the city to depart, to ease the suffering of the people , so that his control could be maintained.

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The northern shires ambassador , moved ever southwards eager to escape the war that raged to the north , but stopped just north of shrewsbury when he found the english city besieged with a large welsh force ,and decided to resume his duty to the east, making to move back into english crown lands, to escape the hardships and deprivations of war.





Turn to England
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ycghb6krmn...nd_70.sav?dl=0

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Shrewsbury


[coat of arms of shrewsbury]

Shrewsbury is an ancient borough. Its earliest surviving charter, granted by King John in 1199, refers to an even earlier one of Henry I, and before the time of James I it had been granted 32 charters conveying many rights and privileges to the town. Its Coat of Arms cannot be dated with certainty, but they appear on the Town Seal of 1425 and were confirmed by the Heralds during their Visitation of Shropshire in 1623. The arms also appear on the Market Hall in the Square, which was built in 1595.

The reason for the occurrence of leopards' heads on Shrewsbury's coat of arms is less readily explained. It has been suggested that they are really the three gold lions which have formed the English Royal Arms since the twelfth century. Possibly Shrewsbury was allowed to use the royal lions as their Arms by one of the medieval Kings, perhaps Edward I, who often made the town his headquarters during his conquest of Wales in the late thirteenth century and who substantially rebuilt the Castle. Certainly the three Royal leopards or lions formed the entire shield of Edward I, in whose time Shrewsbury, as a military centre of great importance, began to assume its medieval aspect of a semi-royal city.


The three leopards' faces been called locally as the three "loggerheads", a term which has puzzled many historians over time, as there is no logical linguistic explanation thereof. The term is still used widely and also used by a famous local pub.


[visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp9lXx1t1yg for more information and even more from this persons site ]


[The town was situated within a loop of the River Severn, a formidable natural defensive obstacle. The Norman castle was built on the north-east corner of the Saxon burh and would have been highly disruptive to the town. Not only were over 100 houses destroyed to make way for the castle but the main north/south road ran through the Outer Bailey. The town walls, which enclosed a vastly increased area from the Saxon burh, were built in the thirteenth century.]

Shrewsbury was first settled by refugees from the Roman town of Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum) in the late fifth or sixth century AD. The new site was chosen as it was located within a loop of the River Severn and surrounded by marshes, both of which afforded it strong natural defences , the importance of the Shrewsbury area in the Roman era was underlined with the discovery of the Shrewsbury Hoard in 2009.

The town was the early capital of the Kingdom of Powys, known to the ancient Britons as Pengwern, signifying "the alder hill"; and in Old English as Scrobbesburh (dative Scrobbesbyrig), which may mean either "Scrobb's fort" or "the fortified place in the bushes". This name gradually evolved in three directions, into Sciropscire, which became Shropshire; into Sloppesberie, which became Salop / Salopia (an alternative name for both town and county), and into Schrosberie, which eventually became the town's name, Shrewsbury. Its later Welsh name Amwythig means "fortified place".

Over the ages, the geographically important town has been the site of many conflicts, particularly between the English and Welsh. The Angles, under King Offa of Mercia, took possession in 778.

Shrewsbury's known history commences in the Early Middle Ages, having been founded c. 800 AD. It is believed that Anglo-Saxon Shrewsbury was most probably a settlement fortified through the use of earthworks comprising a ditch and rampart, which were then shored up with a wooden stockade. There is evidence to show that by the beginning of the 900s, Shrewsbury was home to a mint.

In the immediate aftermath of the Norman invasion, William I sought to secure the Anglo-Welsh border by creation of three Earldoms – Chester, Hereford and Shrewsbury - and assigning them to powerful magnates who had the resources to contain the Welsh. Shrewsbury was granted to Roger de Montgomery, one of William I's closest allies. In his Earldom, Roger had 'Marcher Lord' status - quasi-Regal powers which included the right to seize whatever land he could from the Welsh. He constructed Shrewsbury Castle to serve as the caput of his new domain and to provide a secure base from which to mount military operations. In the surrounding area, Roger granted many of the surrounding manors to his retainers but, whilst Shropshire was extensively fortified, the immediate hinterland around Shrewsbury was kept clear of castles to ensure the town was dominant.




Shrewsbury was attacked by Edric Silvaticus (Eric the Wild) in 1069. He had refused to submit to Norman domination and allied himself with the Welsh in 1067 and thereafter launched an unsuccessful attack on Hereford Castle. He was driven off but in 1069 launched an assault against Shrewsbury.

The Welsh besieged it[vague] in 1069, but were repelled by William the Conqueror. His forces burnt the town and besieged the castle but the latter held out and Edric once again retreated. He was defeated at Stafford later the same year.

Roger de Montgomery was given the town as a gift from William, and built Shrewsbury Castle in 1074, taking the title of Earl. He founded Shrewsbury Abbey as a Benedictine monastery in 1083. . The 3rd Earl, Robert of Bellême, was deposed in 1102 and the title forfeited, in consequence of rebelling against Henry I and joining the Duke of Normandy's invasion of England in 1101. In 1138, King Stephen successfully besieged the castle held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud during the period known as the Anarchy.

Roger de Montgomery died in 1094 and his English estates, as well as his title of Earl of Shrewsbury, passed to his son, Hugh. However, he died in 1098 and was followed by his elder brother, Robert of Bellême, who had previously inherited his father’s Normandy estates. Accordingly, when William II of England was killed in 1100, he sought the re-unification of England and Normandy. Despite Henry I taking the English throne, Robert opposed him and instead supported the claim of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. The latter invaded but ultimately his campaign failed enabling Henry to secure the throne and take revenge on those magnates who had supported his rival. Robert's estates - including Arundel, Tickhill and Shrewsbury - were besieged forcing him to capitulate. Robert was allowed to go into exile but his estates, including Shrewsbury, were forfeited to the Crown.

Henry I died in 1135 without leaving a male heir and the country slipped into civil war over the succession. Shrewsbury Castle was initially held for Stephen of Blois, who had assumed the role of King following the death of Henry. However, in 1138 Shrewsbury Castle was seized by William FitzAlan on behalf of the other claimant, Matilda. Royal forces rushed to the castle and besieged it ultimately forcing its surrender. Around 100 defenders were hanged from the battlements after its capture.

Shrewsbury was attacked by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth in 1215 and this prompted calls for enhanced town defences to replace the existing earthworks that had been founded in Saxon times. Murage, the right to raise taxes to fund fortification, was granted by Henry III in 1220 and this marked the start of a substantial rebuilding of the town walls. The new defences were constructed from a mix of coursed and squared red sandstone and enclosed a much larger area than the former town defences. In particular the perimeter of the wall was extended to enclose a D shaped area to the south and west of the original town. Welsh Bridge, on the northern side of the town, was fortified at this time with two gateways - Welsh Gate and Mardol Gate - constructed to control access. However, the defences were probably still incomplete in 1234 when the town was attacked and burnt by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. Murage continued to be levied to fund maintenance of the walls through to the late fourteenth century although the circuit had probably been completed no later than 1252.

Concurrently with the construction of the town walls, work also started on rebuilding Shrewsbury Castle. Royal records detail significant expenditure between 1222 and 1260. The Great Hall was rebuilt at this time into a two storey structure with storage on the lower level and the hall above whilst two polygonal towers were added at either end. The structure was sufficiently grand to warrant holding peace negotiations with Welsh leaders at the castle in 1241 and 1267. However, in 1271 a portion of the motte succumbed to subsidence caused by its proximity to the river. It took with it the timber complex on its summit. The rear of the motte was revetted with stone buttressing to prevent a further collapse and, between 1280 and 1300, a small watchtower was built on the summit.

Shrewsbury served as a major base of operations for Royal forces during the Wars of Welsh Independence. In both 1277 and 1283, the English launched three pronged attacks into Wales from Chester, Shrewsbury and Carmarthen castles. The conquest of Wales reduced the importance of the border fortress but in 1400 the outbreak of the Owain Glyndŵr rebellion against Henry IV restored its military purpose. This rebellion rumbled on for almost ten years but the situation became particularly serious when an important English magnate, Henry Percy, allied himself with the Welsh. Percy moved his forces towards Shrewsbury planning to pass through the town and enter into Wales to rendezvous with Glyndŵr but he found the town and castle in the custody of Henry, Prince of Wales (the future Henry V) who denied them entry. Percy withdrew and was intercepted and defeated by a Royal force at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403).


After the Glyndŵr rebellion Shrewsbury Castle was neglected and it played no significant role in the Wars of the Roses. In 1565 Elizabeth I regarded it as superfluous and it was leased as a private residence to Richard Onslow, a wealthy cloth merchant. The town walls had also fallen into disrepair by this time - Stone Gate, which controlled access across English Bridge, collapsed due to flooding in 1542. In 1575 the Mardol Gate, the defensive gateway built upon a pier of Welsh Bridge, was removed.





[Mansion circa 1900; at the eastern end of Shrewsbury High Street, the building was built in 1596 for wealthy wool trader Robert Ireland.]


It was in the late Middle Ages (14th and 15th centuries) when the town was at its height of commercial importance. This success was mainly due to wool production, a major industry at the time, and the wool trade with the rest of Britain and Europe, with the River Severn and Watling Street acting as trading routes. The Shrewsbury Drapers Company dominated the trade in Welsh wool for many years.

Despite its commercial success, Shrewbury was not immune from the effects of the Black Death. Records suggest the plague arrived in the spring of 1349, and was devastating. Examining the number of local church benefices falling vacant due to death, 1349 alone saw twice the vacancies as the previous ten years combined, suggesting a high death toll in Shrewsbury.

In 1403 the Battle of Shrewsbury was fought a few miles north of the town centre, at Battlefield; it was fought between King Henry IV and Henry Hotspur Percy, with the King emerging victorious, an event celebrated in William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Act 5.

Shrewsbury's monastic gathering was disbanded with the Dissolution of the Monasteries and as such the Abbey was closed in 1540. However, it is believed that Henry VIII thereafter intended to make Shrewsbury a cathedral city after the formation of the Church of England, but the citizens of the town declined the offer. Despite this, Shrewsbury thrived throughout the 16th and 17th centuries; largely due to the town's fortuitous location, which allowed it to control the Welsh wool trade. As a result, a number of grand edifices, including the Ireland's Mansion (built 1575) and Draper's Hall (1658), were constructed. It was also in this period that Edward VI gave permission for the foundation of a free school, which was later to become Shrewsbury School.


Sir Francis Ottley with his wife, Lucy, and children, Richard and Mary. Sir Francis was the royalist military governor of Shrewsbury at the beginning of the English Civil War.
During the English Civil War, the town was a Royalist stronghold and only fell to Parliament forces after they were let in by a parliamentarian sympathiser at the St Mary's Water Gate (now also known as Traitor's Gate). After Thomas Mytton captured Shrewsbury in February 1645; in following with the ordnance of no quarter; a dozen Irish prisoners were selected to be killed after picking lots. This prompted Prince Rupert to respond by executing Parliamentarian prisoners in Oswestry.


Shrewsbury Castle



Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed.

The castle was built by Roger de Montgomery in circa 1070 as a defensive fortification for the town, which was otherwise protected by the river. Town walls, of which little now remains, then radiated out from the castle and surrounded the town (although the area known now as Town Walls still has a small section of it and a tower known as Town Walls Tower which is in the care of the National Trust). In 1138, King Stephen successfully besieged the castle held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud during the period known as The Anarchy.

Shrewsbury Castle remained an earth and timber fortification until the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). At this time the Inner Bailey curtain wall was rebuilt in stone and the Great Hall was constructed (presumably replacing an earlier timber structure). The shell keep and tower on top of the motte were not rebuilt at this time probably as the earthwork was assessed as structurally unsound. It is unclear if the Outer Bailey was (fully) rebuilt in stone but, by the thirteenth century, this enclosure had been given up to the town.
Shrewsbury Castle was built in the north-eastern corner of the Saxon burh straddling the rampart and was undoubtedly a massive intrusion on the existing town. The Domesday survey of 1086 records that 51 houses were demolished to make space for the new fortification and a further 50 were made uninhabitable to provide clear views. Given that there were only around 300 houses in the town, this led to complaints from the populace that it was unfair to demand the same amount of tax as during the previous reign. The castle itself was an earth and timber motte-and-bailey fortress. The motte was built over the Saxon town rampart and directly overlooked the River Severn. The mound was topped with a wooden palisade and tower. Extending to the north-west was an Inner Bailey which enclosed an area of one acre and hosted the Great Hall and associated ancillary buildings. Projecting south and west of the motte was a large Outer Bailey that was built over the line of the Saxon town wall. Unusually this Outer Bailey also straddled the main north/south road into the town forcing traffic to enter or leave the town through the castle’s precincts. The Chapel of St Nicholas was located within the Outer Bailey.


The castle was briefly held by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales, in 1215. Little of the original physical structure remains. The castle was extensively repaired in 1643 during the Civil War before being acquired by Sir Francis Newport in 1663. Further repairs were carried out by Thomas Telford on behalf of Sir William Pulteney in 1780.

The Shropshire Horticultural Society purchased the castle from a private owner and gave it to the town in 1924. The castle was internally restructured to become the home of the Shropshire Regimental Museum when it moved from Copthorne Barracks in 1985. The museum was attacked by the IRA on 25 August 1992 and extensive damage to the collection and to some of the Castle resulted. The museum was officially re-opened by Princess Alexandra on 2 May 1995



Shrewsbury Abbey




The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Shrewsbury (commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey) is an ancient foundation in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.

The Abbey was founded in 1083 as a Benedictine monastery by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. It grew to be one of the most important and influential abbeys in England, and an important centre of pilgrimage. Although much of the Abbey was destroyed in the 16th century, the nave survived as a parish church, and today serves as the mother church for the Parish of Holy Cross.

Before the Norman conquest a small Saxon chapel dedicated to St Peter stood outside the east gate of Shrewsbury; it had been built by Siward, son of Ethelgar and a close relative of Edward the Confessor. There was still a landowner, known as Siward the Fat, in Shropshire at Domesday, although he had owned many more estates in 1066. He must have been the donor of the two estates the church is known from Domesday to have held in 1066: at Boreton near Condover and Lowe near Farley. However, the Abbey had lost Lowe by 1087.

When Roger de Montgomery received Shropshire from William the Conqueror in 1071, he gave the church to one of his clerks, Odelerius of Orléans, the father of the historian Orderic Vitalis, who is the main source for the foundation of the Abbey and probably an eye-witness. Orderic stresses his father's role in persuading Earl Roger to commit himself to building a monastery and stresses that Odelerius from the outset wanted it to be Benedictine. The specific purpose was to benefit Earl Roger's soul.





On 25 February 1083 Earl Roger summoned his senior officials, including Warin, the Sheriff of Shropshire and Picot de Say, and publicly pledged himself to found a new Abbey, laying his gloves on the altar of St. Peter and granting the whole suburb outside the east gate for the construction. Reginald and Frodo, two monks from the great Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Martin-de-Séez in Southern Normandy, formed the nucleus of the new community, and began to plan and build the monks' lodging, working with Ordelerius and Warin. Domesday Book found the abbey under construction: "In the City of SHREWSBURY Earl Roger is building an Abbey and has given to it the monastery of St Peter where the parish (church?) of the City was." This suggests that Siward's foundation was already a monastery before Earl Roger began building but it is fairly certain there was no more than a wooden parish church.

When sufficiently complete (probably late in 1087), regular life began under the first abbot, Fulchred of Sées. The Abbey of Saint-Martin-de-Sées was closely associated with Shrewsbury in the early years because Earl Roger was its founder and he and the House of Bellême, into which he had married, were also major benefactors there, as were Roger's knights. A notification lodged at Sées in 1086 by Robert of Bellême, Roger's son, who was later to become 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, shows that they used the monks as witnesses in their property deals and custodians of the documents. About the time he recruited Abbot Fulchred or Foucher, Earl Roger made a huge grant of estates in England to Sées, for the soul of recently deceased William the Conqueror, as well as of Queen Matilda and of Roger himself and his dead wife Mabel de Bellême. Some of these were estates he had originally intended for Mabel. It seems that Sées Abbey for a time harboured plans to claim jurisdiction over Shrewsbury and it also contested some properties granted by Earl Roger; however, Shrewsbury became independent.

Once it was safely under the leadership of Fulchred, Ordelirius placed Benedict, one of his sons, in Shrewsbury Abbey as an oblate, with a gift of 200 silver livres. Both Ordelirius himself and Earl Roger met their deaths as monks of the Abbey.

Earl Roger and his associates added several estates and other sources of income to Shrewsbury Abbey's endowment, which had been valued at £46 18s. in 1086, before the first abbot was appointed. As well as rural manors, the abbey had urban property, mills, and the tithes and advowsons of many churches. However, Orderic, a shrewd observer, tells us that Roger only "moderately endowed with lands and rents" Moreover, there was a long wait ahead before some of the endowments were to materialise.

The abbey's modest but sufficient wealth was threatened, before many of the grants were confirmed by royal charter, when Earl Roger's son, Robert of Bellême, revolted against Henry I in 1102. The king exiled and expropriated his unruly vassal and the patronage of the abbey escheated to the Crown. This deprived the abbey of powerful local protection and gave the descendants and successors of donors an opportunity to wriggle out of their obligations. For example, Siward had given up any claims he might have to the abbey site in return for a life-time grant from Earl Roger of the estate of Langafeld, now Cheney Longville, which would pass to the abbey on his death. Siward's son, Aldred, refused to surrender the estate to the abbey until Abbot Fulchred gave him £15. This arrangement was engineered by Richard de Belmeis I, later Bishop of London, whom the king had sent to exercise viceregal powers in Shropshire after Earl Robert's expropriation. However, Richard was not to be trusted. On his death bed in 1127 he admitted to his confessors that he had lied about his tenure of Betton in Berrington, which really belonged to Shrewsbury Abbey – probably a grant from Robert de Limesey, then Bishop of Chester His confessor tried to clear up the matter by stating the facts to the interested parties. Although Richard had directed that the estate be restored to Shrewsbury Abbey, its status was contested by his lay successors for decades. In 1127 Philip de Belmeis sued for the estate, although he quickly defaulted. His younger son, Ranulph, tried again a few decades later, but gave up in return for acceptance into the abbey's lay fraternity. As late as 1212 Roger de la Zouche launched a fresh suit, in which he persisted for years, unsuccessfully. These were only examples of a morass of complex litigation into which the abbey was drawn.




However, Henry I himself seems to have been supportive of Shrewsbury Abbey, especially when in the vicinity. He confirmed Robert's gift of land Baschurch to Fulchred, perhaps while actually campaigning against Robert in Shropshire and Staffordshire. He also took Fulchred's side in a variety of disputes with officials of the royal forests in Shropshire and reminded local officials and barons that the abbey was exempt from all customs, as in the time of Earl Roger.

After this initial support, however, there was a long delay before the king took further action on the monastery's behalf. It is unclear when Abbot Fulchred died, but it was certainly some years before 1121, when Henry at last came to the support of Godfrey, the second abbot, with a series of charters. Some of these, at least, were issued within Shropshire: at Bridgnorth, Condover and Shrewsbury itself. These included a general statement of principle that the new abbot was to enjoy the same estates and privileges as his predecessor. Note was taken that the abbey had exchanged Henry de Say's manor of Brompton, south of Shrewsbury, for Siward's former estate of Cheney Longville in an attempt to improve management and economise by concentrating resources. Two documents announced and confirmed Henry's own valuable gift of multure or mill-right to the abbey within Shrewsbury. As the monks were to receive the miller's fee for all grain ground in the town, they had a monopoly over milling and no-one else was allowed to grind corn without their permission. As it was related to the water power of the Severn and its tributaries, the king attached to the grant a monopoly over fisheries at both of the town's bridges. The newly appointed Bishop of Hereford, the ambitious royal administrator Richard de Capella, whose diocese included a large part of southern Shropshire, was specifically warned not to let the king hear of any complaints against himself in relation to the Abbey

In 1137/38 Robert of Shrewsbury, who was prior under the third and fourth abbots, Herbert and Ralph, negotiated and carried out the translation of the remains of St Winifred from Gwytherin in Wales. Robert is thought to have been a member of the Pennant family of Downing, a few miles north-west of Holywell, the main shrine and fountain of Saint Winifred. He wrote a life of the saint shortly after the translation, adding an account of his mission to Wales, which is the main source of information about the events. The body was disinterred and borne ceremoniously to Shrewsbury, a week's journey on foot and thus encumbered. There it was laid in the church of St Giles to await the blessing of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. Overnight a youth was enabled to walk again by the presence of the reliquary. It was taken in procession into the town. The expectation of an episcopal blessing ensured it was witnessed by "an incredible concourse of devout people" as it was taken to be placed on the altar of the Abbey church, where further miracles were reported. The relics were later enshrined in the abbey.


[saint winifred - central figure]


Robert is generally accepted as responsible for strengthening the cult of Winifred, who had hitherto been an obscure Welsh saint, so that she became the focus of pilgrimages from Shrewsbury and other centres from the 14th century to the present. Later he became the fifth abbot and, although little is known of his abbacy, he seems to have been zealous in pursuing the abbey's interests against local rivals. He was successful in recovering two portions of the tithes of Emstrey parish church which had been granted "against conscience and the consent of his convent" by Abbot Ralph to the church at Atcham. Emstrey was a large parish, which stretched from the western bank of the River Severn opposite Atcham to the Abbey Foregate. The Abbey cartulary contains an instrument by which the Archbishop, Theobald of Bec, orders Bishop Walter to restore the tithes to the abbey. The underlying rivalry was not between the Shrewsbury Abbey and the little church of St Eata, but between the Shrewsbury and its Augustinian rival, Lilleshall Abbey which was tightening its grip on Atcham manor and parish, apparently to expand it across the Severn. Its ownership of the ferry crossing at Atcham was an important source of income for Lilleshall. It had recently acquired the advowson of Atcham church, and was later allowed to appropriate the church by Thomas Becket.

By the beginning of the Plantagenet era Shrewsbury Abbey faced considerable competition for resources from major monasteries in the vicinity. As well as Lilleshall, technically a royal foundation, but effectively the creation of the brothers Philip and Richard de Belmeis II, there was Haughmond Abbey, another large Augustinian house closely connected with the FitzAlan family, and Buildwas Abbey, a large Cistercian house that received gifts from many of the local nobility, including the Belmeis and FitzAlans.

The quest for relics seems to have played an important part in the abbey's effort to maintain itself in the face of such competition. Abbot Adam, Robert's successor, is known to have visited Canterbury, probably with this aim, and it was probably he who brought back an entire rochet that had belonged to Becket, part of another which was stained with the blood of his martyrdom, another cloth stained with his blood and brains, and various items of his clothing, including his hair shirt, collar, girdle, cowl, shirt and glove. A document prepared in the reign of Henry II lists these relics along with those of many other saints. Second only to the relics of Winifred were those of St Elerius, St Winifred's spiritual director, then wrongly considered the author of a life of Winifred that is now thought to date from about 1100

[Der Böse Wolf]

Fantastic storytelling, this RP and the last one by Turki were absolutely phenomenal.

Just a small clarification: Ruadri, the murdered spy, is Scottish, not Welsh. Unless there are two Ruadris!

[paladinbob123]

Fantastic storytelling, this RP and the last one by Turki were absolutely phenomenal.

Just a small clarification: Ruadri, the murdered spy, is Scottish, not Welsh. Unless there are two Ruadris!

then let it be said , that waylander has trouble telling the difference between welsh and scottish dilects [winks]

[Turkafinwë]

England

Everyone was looking at him but he didn't see any of them, a glazy stare in his eyes. Lewes was no longer Lord Protector, his position had been stripped from him. A letter had arrived not many days ago telling Lewes he was being relieved of his position. Prince Geiles had finally gathered support to get rid of Lewes. The defeat at the hands of the Welsh at Chester had been the last straw. The Prince congratulated the now former Lord Protector with his victory against the Scots but also stated that by doing so he had brought destruction to the northern army and to England itself. Geiles also stated that it had been Lewes' personal vendetta against Alexander that had clouded his judgement and led to these circumstances and therefore the lords of England could no longer support him as Lord Protector. A lost war against the Irish and Welsh, a humiliating peace treaty, almost only defeats against the Scottish and now the betrayel by the Welsh by invading them, it had lasted longer than Lewes had thought.

Command of the northern army was transferred to Christopher of Pickering, the only prominent noble in the vicinity. Pickering was ordered to bring the troops back south, back to English soil. It seemed Geiles already wrote off the Northern Shires' as a sovereign state and wished to regroup his forces. Lewes did not get an order of the sort, well not explicitly. Lewes rose his reclined head and he looked to Christopher. Christopher had shown himself a very loyal man to him and was reluctant to leave his commander behind yet he could not ignore a direct order.

“Christopher make the men ready for the march south, they're going home.” Lewes said making it easy for his compatriot. Christopher nodded and signalled the officers to do their duty, who promptly left the room.

“I would like for you to ride beside me Lord Lewes when we ride south.” Christopher said.

“I won't be going south.” was all Lewes said. Pickering started to argue but was silenced by Lewes' raised hand.

“I am finished, Christopher. I have given my entire self to England's defense. In the south awaits me nothing but shame and decline.”

“Then, if I may ask, where do you intend to go?” Christopher asked though he thought he already knew it. He had learned to know the man very well in this short time. One of the positive effects of war and battle Pickering reflected.

“I intend to go where God has deemed it right for me to die. He has chosen my hill to die on a long time ago. Lancaster.” Lewes' eyes were not watering nor did they show any sign of his very well known anger, they just stood sad and defeated. The new commander of the army simply nodded in understanding.

“Farewell, My Lord.” Christopher said, bowing one last time for his commander, leader and friend before himself leaving the tent leaving Lewes alone with his servants. They were at least still his. They got him dressed in battle-gear after which he paid them and sent them over to Pickering. He wouldn't be needing them ever again. One of his retainers was holding his horse ready. He mounted and wanted to adress his retinue. He had intended to go alone but the sight of his men ready for battle sent a warm feeling through his body. How had they known? In the distance he saw Pickering looking his way. He smiled before turning away to attend to his new duties. Lewes said nothing merely turned his horse towards the west leading his men at the head of the column towards the end.

***

I laughed as he screamed in agony. No one would hear him down here, I had made sure of that. I never had been one to use torture but I quickly learned I was quite talented in it. I knew where to prod, push, slice or burn to deal maximum pain without killing the victim. I'd never really relished in it and yet a smile was on my face as he squirmed and twisted. We were in a small, moldy stoney chamber, moisture dripping from the ceiling. Two chairs and a table the only contents of the room apart from the three men inside, one bound to a chair, myself seated leasurly on the other and a burly man behind the bounded one. The large man has just pushed a nail into on of the man's fingertips. He was breathing hard trying to regain control of his senses.

“It was a mistake.” he said in his thick Scottish accent, his voice hoarse from the screaming. I tutted like mother would to her little boy who she caught lying.

“That is not what we heard now did we Aelingar?” I asked looking at the burly man who grinnely shook his head. I grinned as well.

“We heard something different entirely.” I rose starting pacing, looking away from the man letting the small room be filled with my words.

“Please” he pleaded in his agony. I ignored him and continued my story.

“Some little bird told us you had your fun with her, ravaging the young lady's body after which you murdered her to cover it up.” I said, the man screaming that it wasn't true, that it had been an accident, still I ignored him. Let him scream all he wants it won't help him.

“You must've thought yourself a strong man then, I don't doubt. Perhaps you'd like to know how it feels like on the other side as well?” I finally turned my gaze again on the man who had fallen silent and pale, though it was difficult to really know in the dim candle-light. From the man's eyes I looked up at Aelingar who had a twinkle in his'. Aelingar was a strange man with strange appetites. The Scottish agent figured out what was happening and started flinging himself against his bonds, to no avail. I walked over to my accomplice.

“After you had your fun, make sure you kill him.” I said.

“Don't worry, he won't survive what I have planned for him.” he said in a suprisingly high voice for such a big man.

I knew the stories weren't true of the rape or any brutality against the Lady Cornwall except her death but I didn't care nor if it had been accident or planned murder. Aelingar was a loyal servant who once in while required something to keep him that way. I had also received orders to make the death of this one very uncomfortable so someone must've been very angry with him. Perhaps at the behest of the Lord Cornwall himself? In the end it didn't really matter who had ordered it I concluded as the screams and sobs became more muffled as I moved further away from the dank room. I had no wish to be a witness to something like that.

Ireland up: http://www.mediafire.com/file/qwjyyh...nd_70.sav/file

[Der Böse Wolf]

Anthony is still ONLY 40? (...screams in panic..)

Ps: beautiful storytelling with this character, very sinister and evil. Same for Paladinbob's Waylander!

[Turkafinwë]

Anthony is still ONLY 40? (...screams in panic..)

Ps: beautiful storytelling with this character, very sinister and evil. Same for Paladinbob's Waylander!

Anthony was only 40, 5 turns ago so now he'll be a little bit older. (which is no reason to stop screaming though ).

Again thanks for your appreciation ! I'll be sad to see him go when he eventually goes.

[Der Böse Wolf]

I'll be sad to see him go when he eventually goes.

I am on it!

[PeaMan]

High King Griffin now known as 'the brave' departs Dublin with only his retinue to deal with rebels who have been terrorising the small-folk..

https://gyazo.com/851b28397b5abd35146dceafdfd0df97

Wales up - https://www.mediafire.com/file/ro4kq0499ui1pot/TIOC_Wales_70.sav/file

[zender9]

Although it isn't clear enough, I believe this rule tries to state the defeated armies cannot move for 1 turn.
5> If an army is defeated by an earlier player in the turn order, it cannot have any movement points used for one turn by the player that comes later in the turn order. Defeated forces in garrisons are exempt from this rule.
Basically because if an early faction, England lets say, since its the first in turn order, defeats any army, the armies cannot move because of the game mechanics. To justify this, in all hotseats defeated armies can't move for 1 turn regardless of what game says. So everyone becomes equal.

And my reason to bring this topic here is that England moved his defeated armies last turn.
I respect his RP but I want your opinions about if we should have a replay because there is a rule break, or let it go for once?

[Turkafinwë]

You are absolutely correct zender9 and I apologise, I completely forgot about the rule. If you want me to replay the turn then I shall. However if it is deemed too disturbing for the flow of the game then I shall not move those forces (the ones who shoudln't be able to move this turn) next turn as a penalty for my mistake.

[zender9]

I don't want to force you to come up with new RP and so on, and I can't decide what to ask from you. So I suggested other players to tell their opinions as well.

[paladinbob123]

happy with either here....

[Turkafinwë]

My RP would stay very much the same so it's not a huge deal for me to replay my turn nor would it take very long. If PeaMan is okay with replaying his turn as well then we could do it that way. I could send a PM to him if you like? We could also wait for the other players to see the thread and give their opinion on the matter.

It's your call.

[Der Böse Wolf]

I think Zender has to make the call especially if he intended to attack the English troops that were immediately moved.

The same happened to me with the barons and paladinbob didnt mind. So it depends on zenders intentions.

[zender9]

Much or less it has influence for the game, so I go with a replay. Thank you everyone.