Joanus de Martigueux

Joanus de Martigueux (10 June 1436 – 20 March 1502) was the founder and first Grand Count of Yonderre from 1464 (de facto, 1494 de jure) until his death in 1502. Joanus was the third son of the Count de Martigueux of Estia. Joanus spent almost 26 years on campaign in East Gothica, from 1458 – 1474. In 1460 he married Ingrid of Dansberg (1441 – 1514), an East Gothic apprentice furrieress he met and became infatuated with while on campaign. Over a 25 year period, de Martigueux conquered by military might East Gothica, the lands making up modern day Yonderre. de Martigueux actively partook in the fighting, being wounded on several occasions but never severely so. Contemporary sources describe him as a sound tactician and a skilled warrior, especially noted for his finesse at swordfighting. de Martigueux's crusaders conquered East Gothica over eight periods, each time taking pieces of land roughly corresponding to the modern counties of Yonderre. de Martigueux's system of local administration was based on counties organized around keeps and fortified houses administered by Stewards, later Barons. He began the construction of his own keep and the future capital of Yonderre, Collinebourg, in 1464.

Apart from Collinebourg, de Martigueux established an archbishopric, three bishoprics and at least four monasteries. He encouraged the spread of Christianity in his new realm by prosecuting those who did not observe Christian traditions. On more than one occasion de Martigueux orchestrated the public mass executions of Gothic nobles in newly conquered territories who had refused conversion. Although controversial for his religious persecution de Martigueux was viewed generally as a fair and good ruler. He invited settlers from the Holy Levantine Empire and under his careful watch Yonderre prospered.

Contents

 * 1 Early life
 * 2 Conquest of Joanusterre
 * 2.1 Early conquests and push to the sea
 * 2.2 Conquest of Somua and Collinebourg established
 * 2.3 Southern Campaign
 * 2.4 Push to the Donne
 * 3 Reign
 * 3.1 Count de facto
 * 3.2 Count de jure
 * 3.3 Last years
 * 4 Death
 * 5 Legacy
 * 5.1 Founder of Yonderre
 * 5.2 Love letters
 * 5.3 In arts
 * 6 Issue

Early life
Joanus de Martigueux was born on June 10, 1436 as the third son of the Count de Martigueux of Estia. He was educated with a focus on war and management of estates. By 1450 de Martigueux had been betrothed to a Derian minor noble, but he had no personal interest in the bethrothal and formally broke it off in 1459, prior to marrying Ingrid of Dansberg instead, much to his father's dismay. By 1452 de Martigueux enlisted in the ranks of the Order of the Obisidan Sparrow, recieving his promotion to Knight Commander in 1456. By the Summer of 1457 he had begun preparations for an invasion of East Gothica, events that would go on to shape the rest of his life.

Conquest of Joanusterre
Main article: Conquest of Joanusterre

Early conquests and push to the sea
Main articles: Vollardie § Gothic Vollardie, and Vandarcôte § Gothic Vandarcôte

de Martigueux assembled 1,800 Knights of the Order of the Obsidian Sparrow for a Crusade to convert the East Goths from their East Gothic faith to the Levantine Catholic Church. In June of 1458 the Crusaders entered Vollardie, known at the time as Willland, and began their work of converting the local populace to Christianity. On the road to Willing, the largest settlement in the region, the Crusaders met with a Gothic host under Widukind of Weferlingen in the valley of Willersthal. In the following Battle of Willersthal the Crusaders struck the Goths of Eastern Gothica a fatal blow, killing or capturing much of the Gothic nobility including the de facto Grand Chief of East Gothica Widukind.

After the Battle of Willersthal, de Martigueux's Knights established control of Vollardie from the Southern to the Northern Vollards, meeting only token resistance. They wintered in Willing and de Martigueux oversaw the construction of several fortresses and fortified manors in the region. In the Spring of 1460, the Knights under de Martigueux, bolstered by reinforcements of volunteers from the Holy Levantine Empire, began their push to the sea. The Goths were unable to offer any real resistance to the invasion, and most of modern day Vandarcôte was conquered by de Martigueux's knight by the Autumn of 1462. It was in the opening phase of this campaign that de Martigueux met his future wife Ingrid of Dansberg in the village of Dansberg in the Northern foothills of the Vollards.

Conquest of Somua and Collinebourg established
Main articles: Somua § Gothic Somua, and Collinebourg

Various armours worn by de Martigueux during the Crusades

Southern Campaign
Main articles: Amarre § Amarre during the Crusader Invasion, Moncheval § Gothic Moncheval, and Montgebirre § Gothic Montgebirre

Woodcut of dismounted Knights of the Order of the Obsidian Sparrow

Push to the Donne
Main articles: Donne § Gothic Donne, and Kubagne § Gothic Kubagne

Woodcut of Knights of the Order of the Obsidian Sparrow fighting Gothic Knights at the Siege of Donnebourg

Count de facto
Woodcut of de Martigueux slaying a dragon

Death
Monumental brass of Joanus and his wife Ingrid of Dansberg

Love letters
de Martigueux was a prolific writer of poetry and love letters. He spent much of his adult life on campaign, and while his wife Ingrid of Dansberg did occasionally join him she would mostly spend long periods of time seperated from him, particularly after the construction of Collinebourg which she would rule in his place. In their times of seperation de Martigueux would write her letters, stanzas of poems and draw sketches. On his death in 1502 she published several of them as "Correspondence of the Count de Martigueux", later re-published as "Love letters of Joanus".