[Custom Mod] Age of Crusades - 1105AD (Roleplay Hotseat)

[PeaMan]

Hungary up - https://www.mediafire.com/file/u5yhyytvxpaiw6i/AoC_Hungary_24.sav/file

[BerryKnight]

England up ~ http://www.mediafire.com/file/pke49x...nd_24.sav/file

[Mergor]

Last reminder sent to England.

[Mergor]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen..._Sicily_24.sav

Defeated some russian ships with OW (16:1) as Denmark

Due to ArBo being inactive while having one of the most important factions in the game RP wise too, he has been suspended from the HS, and will be kicked if he doesn't do his next turn. His armies were withdrawn from the hre border and the claim to Marseille was forfeited. Thus, there is finally peace.

[General Dragon.]

France up!
https://www.sendspace.com/file/v6uozc
Adana retaken and killed a spy:
https://imgur.com/VLBWRAz
https://imgur.com/UVNeEH5

[paladinbob123]

Summer was quite hot with year with the strenght of the sun hotter than usual this year , and the French King looked forward to a bumper crop this year , for their preparation for winter , and the only ill news came , when his agents reported the return of massive anglo-norman armies returning to the border, as the english king , had a illness and had lost command and control of his troops. In response to this illness , all of his retinue had retreated back into his own lands, so that they could resupply and refit their armies with weapons and ammunition , and replenish food stocks.

It had seemed that european powers seemed leaderless, and forlorn in its direction these days, with the pope preaching action , but none of the great powers looked towards his dictacts , more worried about their own local problems , and making the best advantage for themselfs over their neighbours , their neglect towards the Church's authority bearing towards one of condescension. In France , however the majority of the population stood firm in their catholic faith , so much so , that a preacher talking of a different religion was notified to the authorities , and a member of the church was depatched to arrest the said preacher, where he was condemned to die , a heretic.



It was in this vein that the King of France, urged the Pope to unleash his Inquistors to seek out the ungodly , and use them as a weapon , to bring all states , that had lost their faith and belief in the church to bear, for if the nobles only respected power, then unleash the hounds of God , to inflict God's justice on the unbeleivers, routing out all of those that had betrayed Gods laws, to be judged by him...then perhaps then would the church again regain the power that people might fear , and the Pope again could influence the mighty or inflict punishments of their nobles and agents that helped control their powers.



Turn to Holy Roman Empire
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u5hzjd8xysk6xcz/AoC_HolyRomanE_24.sav?dl=0

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

The Inquisition
The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy. The Inquisition started in 12th-century France to combat religious dissent, in particular the Cathars and the Waldensians. Other groups investigated later included the Spiritual Franciscans, the Hussites (followers of Jan Hus) and the Beguines. Beginning in the 1250s, inquisitors were generally chosen from members of the Dominican Order, replacing the earlier practice of using local clergy as judges. The term Medieval Inquisition covers these courts up to mid-15th century.

Before 1100, the Catholic Church suppressed what they believed to be heresy, usually through a system of ecclesiastical proscription or imprisonment, but without using torture, and seldom resorting to executions. Such punishments were opposed by a number of clergymen and theologians, although some countries punished heresy with the death penalty.

In the 12th century, to counter the spread of Catharism, prosecution of heretics became more frequent. The Church charged councils composed of bishops and archbishops with establishing inquisitions (the Episcopal Inquisition). The first Inquisition was temporarily established in Languedoc (south of France) in 1184. The murder of Pope Innocent's papal legate Pierre de Castelnau in 1208 sparked the Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229). The Inquisition was permanently established in 1229, run largely by the Dominicans in Rome and later at Carcassonne in Languedoc.

The term Inquisition comes from the Medieval Latin word "inquisitio", which referred to any court process that was based on Roman law, which had gradually come back into use during the late medieval period. Today, the English term "Inquisition" can apply to any one of several institutions that worked against heretics (or other offenders against canon law) within the judicial system of the Roman Catholic Church.

"The overwhelming majority of sentences seem to have consisted of penances like wearing a cross sewn on one's clothes, going on pilgrimage, etc." When a suspect was convicted of unrepentant heresy, the inquisitorial tribunal was required by law to hand the person over to the secular authorities for final sentencing, at which point a magistrate would determine the penalty, which was usually burning at the stake although the penalty varied based on local law. The laws were inclusive of proscriptions against certain religious crimes (heresy, etc.), and the punishments included death by burning, although usually the penalty was banishment or imprisonment for life, which was generally commuted after a few years. Thus the inquisitors generally knew what would be the fate of anyone so remanded, and cannot be considered to have divorced the means of determining guilt from its effects.

The 1578 edition of the Directorium Inquisitorum (a standard Inquisitorial manual) spelled out the purpose of inquisitorial penalties: ... quoniam punitio non refertur primo & per se in correctionem & bonum eius qui punitur, sed in bonum publicum ut alij terreantur, & a malis committendis avocentur (translation: "... for punishment does not take place primarily and per se for the correction and good of the person punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evils they would commit"



During the Late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, the concept and scope of the Inquisition significantly expanded in response to the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. It expanded to other European countries, resulting in the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition. The Spanish and Portuguese operated inquisitorial courts throughout their empires in Africa, Asia, and the Americas (resulting in the Peruvian Inquisition and Mexican Inquisition). The Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions focused particularly on the issue of Jewish anusim and Muslim converts to Catholicism, partly because these minority groups were more numerous in Spain and Portugal than in many other parts of Europe, and partly because they were often considered suspect due to the assumption that they had secretly reverted to their previous religions.

With the exception of the Papal States, the institution of the Inquisition was abolished in the early 19th century, after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and the Spanish American wars of independence in the Americas. The institution survived as part of the Roman Curia, but in 1908 it was renamed the "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office". In 1965 it became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Those persecuted:-


THE CATHARS

The Cathars were a religious sect which flourished in Southern France and Northern Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries. (They became very common after about 1140). The name Cathar comes from the Greek Kathori, meaning pure ones. In France, they were called Albigensians after the town of Albi.

The Cathars were dualists. They believed in two gods, one good and one evil. (Dualism is an ancient belief much older than Catharism). Cathars believed the good god created the spiritual world and the evil god created the material world. (In their eyes all matter including the human body was evil). They claimed the evil god trapped the human spirit in the human body. At death the spirit did not escape, it was simply reborn in a new body, human or animal.

Cathars believed that Jesus was a spirit without a human body. They believed his human body was merely an illusion. Cathars believed the only way to escape from the evil material world, was to receive the consolamentum in which people laid their hands on the recipient. Cathars believed the consolamentum gave the Holy Spirit to the recipient and when he died the recipient could leave this evil world of matter and enter the good spiritual world. Cathars claimed this spiritual baptism was started by Jesus and had been handed down through the generations by good men. They also said the Church had been duped and enslaved by the evil god and they had perverted Jesus' teachings. Needless to say, that did not go down well with the Church!

Cathars were divided into two groups. An elite called the Perfect had already received the consolamentum. They lived in poverty, were vegetarians, did not marry or swear oaths and often fasted. However, most people could not live up to these strict teachings. The great majority of Cathars were called believers and they did not receive the consolamentum until they were near death. At first, the Cathars or Albigensians in Southern France were protected by powerful anti-clerical nobles. However, in 1208 Pope Innocent III called for a crusade against them. Crusaders from Northern France obeyed his call. The Albigensians were finally defeated with the fall of their stronghold at Montsegur in 1244.

THE WALDENSIANS

The Waldensians are a Christian sect who began in the 12th century and continue to the present day. By the Middle Ages, the Church was rich and powerful and some people criticized its worldliness. About 1175 a merchant of Lyons called Peter Waldo gave away his wealth and began preaching. He soon gained many converts. His followers were called Waldenses after his name or sometimes the Poor Men of Lyons. They went out and preached and they translated the Bible into Provencal (the local language). In 1179 Pope Alexander III forbade them to preach without the permission of the bishops. Waldo replied that he must obey God rather than man So he was excommunicated by Pope Lucius III in 1184. The Waldensians came to be seen as heretics by the Catholic Church.

Waldensians denied the doctrine of purgatory (the idea that people are 'purified' of their sins after death before they enter Heaven) and prayers for the dead. They also forbade taking oaths and capital punishment. They also denied the authority of the Catholic Church.

In the 13th century the Waldensians spread to Italy, Germany, Austria, Bohemia (Czech Republic) Poland and Hungary. (In Bohemia they merged with the Hussites in the 14th century). They soon became a sect with its own clergy of bishops and priests. The Catholic Church responded with persecution. In 1488 a crusade was launched against the Waldensians but it failed to destroy them.

After the Reformation most of the Waldensians merged with the Protestants (although the Waldensian Church in Italy kept its name and remained separate). In the later 17th century waves of persecution were launched against the Waldensians but failed to destroy them. The 18th century brought relief and today there are Waldensian churches in Italy and the USA.



THE LOLLARDS

John Wycliffe was a famous preacher of the Middle Ages. He was born in the North of England but we do not know the exact year (it was around 1328). John Wycliffe was educated at Oxford University and he soon became famous there for his learning and his skill in debate.

In the Middle Ages the Church was wealthy and powerful. John Wycliffe was concerned by the situation and he taught that the state had the right to confiscate the property of corrupt clergymen. However many in the Church did not welcome his views. In 1377 the Pope condemned Wycliffe but he was never arrested or tried for heresy. (He was protected by powerful friends).

Later John Wycliffe attacked the doctrine of transubstantiation (the belief that during mass bread becomes the body of Christ). He taught that Christ is spiritually present. John Wycliffe also taught that the true Church consists of God's chosen people and they do not need a priest to mediate between them and God. John Wycliffe and his followers believed the Bible should be available in English so they translated it. John Wycliffe died of natural causes in 1384 but his movement lived on. His followers were called Lollards. The word Lollard may come from a Dutch word meaning 'mutterer' because they muttered long prayers. At first, Lollards were left alone but when Henry IV became king the situation changed. From 1401 Lollards could be burned for heresy. However, the Lollards continued and even increased in number and in the 16th century they merged with the Protestants.

THE HUSSITES

Jan Hus was a great preacher of the Middle Ages. Hus was born in Bohemia (what is now the Czech Republic) in about 1374 and he was educated at the university of Prague. In 1401 he was ordained a priest. Hus was heavily influenced by the English reformer John Wycliffe and he soon proved to be a popular preacher. Hus preached against forged miracles and avarice in the church. He also emphasized the importance of the Bible. However his strong preaching against abuses in the church alienated some of the clergy.

In 1414 Hus was ordered to attend the Council of Constance to defend his beliefs. As a result he was sentenced to death and burned in 1415. However his execution caused outrage in Bohemia and his followers carried on. (Although the Hussite movement was also a nationalist one. At that time many of the people who lived in Czech towns were Germans and nearly all the important posts in the Church were held by Germans).

In 1419 a long series of wars began when Czech Hussites refused to accept a man named Sigismund (who was an anti-Hussite) as king of Bohemia. In 1420 a crusade was launched against the Hussites but it was badly defeated in January 1422. The wars dragged on but the Catholic Church eventually gave up the attempt to destroy the Hussites by force. In 1436 the Hussites accepted a peace treaty with the Catholic powers. Jan Hus had an influence on later reformers such as Martin Luther. However in 1620 the Austrians conquered Bohemia (Czech Republic) and reimposed the Roman Catholic Church.

[Captainnorway]

I am happy to announce the happiness of the German people now that the conflict between major powers in Europe has settled. The forces of the Empire will now move to secure our foothold in the holy lands. May god lead their way and protect them from the foul heretics.

-Emperor Henry

Turks https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WstDR7i5ETjXznDtjxLC1ZAQD2qysSxt/view?usp=sharing

[zender9]

Byzantium up:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...zantium_24.sav


GOD IS GREAT! HOLY LANDS ARE OURS! WE ARE VICTORIOUS!
Those were the chantings of the Turk soldiers entering Antioch. All the settlements secured by muslim forces in the holy lands. And last of the Christians are in flight towards Anatolia. They can plunder where they go but there is no escape from them. The wrath of God is upon them. Soon our armies will crush them and march to Europe by God's will.

Battles:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...90535200/1.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...64848642/2.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...15188500/3.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...83805952/4.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...39332609/5.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...96428323/8.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...09879829/9.jpg
(These 2 keep giving heroic, admin can check):
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...58361897/6.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...74876965/7.jpg

[Mergor]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...oC_Pope_25.sav

Iasi took with overwhelming odds

[Dongerlordd]

Sorry for delay, rip england

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...cotland_25.sav

[Mergor]

Will be on hold for a short time till I get players on Denmark, England, and possibly Scotland. Shouldn't take more than a few days

[ScotlandIsBest]

Genoa up! https://www.mediafire.com/file/fsm2k4rlx7znhe0/AoC_Genova_25.sav/file

Stettin taken with OWO

[Potatoto]

Novgorod up
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12pB...ew?usp=sharing

[REDBOOSTY]

Waiting on some answers from admin, will have it up as fast as possible

[REDBOOSTY]

Poland: https://www.mediafire.com/file/widuo...d_255.sav/file

An important victory for the russian navy, now the new dominant naval force in the Baltic Sea:
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/vf7x1fiaogwq3/AoC_T25
As a note the RnG was on my side, and i got the danish result on my first try.

[PeaMan]

Hungary up - https://www.mediafire.com/file/rinvlnas5e38p15/AoC_Hungary_255.sav/file

[BerryKnight]

Requesting an extension until tomorrow. Meant to do it today, but it slipped my mind, and now I need to sleep.
I will complete on the morrow.

[Mergor]

Sure thing, I don't have a player for England yet anyway.

[BerryKnight]

England up ~ https://www.mediafire.com/file/kmdni...d_25_.sav/file
Sorry for the extra delay, had a longer day than expected. Thank you for the extension.

[paladinbob123]

[subbing england for the moment until a replacement can be found.....]



In his mid fifties , Henry II had conquered a mighty empire for himself, making allies out of rivals and bringing france down low, fully taking advantage of the robber barons that attacked the struggling kingdom , bringing them low and making them a vassal to his state. With this completed the way ahead looked less easy , for advantages were hard to find , with the rest of europe mainly allying themselfs with each of their neighbours, making no clear easy wins to advance his state available.


{although its actually 1117AD this excerpt from the great film "Lion of winter" shows the simulated plots from Henries wife and sons ]


The Holy land had fallen and many states looked to him to take command and make a bid to helpout , but the grizzled old english king , was only one motivated by gain , and he tried to maneuver himself to take advantage within europe but without any clear success, and the current war with Poland , looked to give no victories without paying a overly large amount of gold with no clear idea of whether any gains could be built upon. With his sons , equally maneuvering themselfs to take over his own kingdom , the old man wearied of war with poland ,his worries at his back about his own heirs and their own politcal dealings ,those within and without europe and he looked to secure his hard won holdings, and for this he would need the help of the church.

His own sins , were significant in the rise of his state, and such sins could be redeemed he told himself with a crusade, as he drafted a letter to the polish, the church and to the holy roman empire , calling for peace, and perhaps a joint effort to the holy lands , outwardly proclaiming his religious standing , but perhaps internally he knew it was because the byzantine empire had been laid low, and their was much opportunity to gain land, in such a area.

To this end, England he proclaimed would hold up its end of such a crusade , perhaps suggesting a jointly led, crusade by the English and the Holy Roman Empire, but equally he was not foolish enough to leave his kingdom weak in such a time without safeguards , and as such he would ask for france to send their first born son , the prince of france, to "visit" London , to be held as hostage , to secure their good behavior whilst he was away....

Turn to Denmark
https://www.dropbox.com/s/19w3flqwdh...rk_25.sav?dl=0