Anglasweorc: Difference between revisions

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Significant efforts were made to strengthen the weorc by the end of the next century. Due to the wealth and prestige the weorc afforded the Ænglish, the Ænglish realm was elevated to a [[Anglei#Kingdom_period|Kingdom]] in [[1278]]. The first King of the Ænglish, Wilfred I, greatly invested in the weorc. The Wilfredweorc for the first time built stone walls between fortified points, and other changes to the castles along the boundary were implemented. Additional walls and fortresses were constructed on potentially weak points behind natural features, and by around 1300 nearly all of the well known routes to bypass the weorc had been sealed. The new stone walls lining the weorc were polished, leading to the Ænglish realm gaining the name "weizrik" among [[Gothic people|Goths]] - "White Kingdom". The Wilfredsweorc was built upon and largely replaced with larger, sturdier walls which soldiers could stand upon and shoot down at oncoming Goths throughout the 1360s and 1370s during the reign of Wilfred II; these additions are traditionally grouped in as part of the Wilfredsweorc, partly due to 19th century misconceptions about which Wilfred built what part of the wall.

===Decline and end of the Anglasweorc===

The Anglasweorc would continue to receive upgrades through the mid 1400s until the [[Conquest of Joanusterra]] in the 1460s, which pushed the boundaries of militarized Christendom further west. While trade would still travel through the Anglasweorc, various economic concessions and agreements made with the new crusader state of [[Yonderre]] and mandated by the [[Pope]] lead to a sharp decline in toll revenue for the weorc. While it still provided some revenue, the weorc's raison d'etre was gone as Gothic raids had slowed significantly in past centuries and now ceased altogether due to the presence of the new state to the northwest. The lack of military necessity, decreasing revenue, and socio-religious turmoil in the Ænglish realm contributed to a lack of interest in furthering the weorc's role. By 1480, most of the garrisons and toll collection points were closed by the King of the Ænglish, and all work on the wall - be it new construction or maintenance - ceased after that point. Some tolls, mostly for local traders, were still being collected by the 1520s, but the weorc's relevance had long since declined.

The [[Nordmontaine War]] which destroyed the Kingdom of the Ænglish saw the final end of the weorc in its original conception. As the Ænglish lost field battles and major sieges and the forces of the [[Emperor of the Levantines]] continued to advance, some of the Ænglish nobility held out in the castles of the weorc at the conclusion of the war, many of which were dilapidated by the time of the 1540s. These castles and fortresses were demolished by a large scale cannonade of over five dozen large guns, one of the first massed artillery actions in Levantine history. At the end of the War, the Ænglish Kingdom was divided into the Kingdom's constituent duchies, and the weorc began to fade into historical memory. By the late 16th century, a century of war, natural decay, and vandalism left much of the once-mighty weorc as forgotten piles of rubble and mounds which served as a curiosity to locals and travelers.

====Vandalism by Yonderians====

During and after the [[Great Confessional War]], mercenaries from [[Yonderre]] traveling through the divided Ænglish duchies to other parts of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] would readily destroy or otherwise vandalize portions of the wall, greatly accelerating the natural decline of the structure of the preceding century. Many mercenaries returning home would also take bricks of the weorc as a souvenir where they would be carved into other objects once reaching [[Yonderre]], ranging from prized bowls and goblets to toys and other stone trinkets. The Weorcbrick Musèe in [[Collinebourg]] retains a large number of artifacts from this period related to this practice. [[Burgoignesc language]] graffiti stemming from the [[Great Confessional War]] are still visible on the Anglasweorc, having been etched into the brickwork. These graffitis range from simply names and greetings to rude slurs and depictions of penises.

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 Significant efforts were made to strengthen the weorc by the end of the next century. Due to the wealth and prestige the weorc afforded the Ænglish, the Ænglish realm was elevated to a [[Anglei#Kingdom_period|Kingdom]] in [[1278]]. The first King of the Ænglish, Wilfred I, greatly invested in the weorc. The Wilfredweorc for the first time built stone walls between fortified points, and other changes to the castles along the boundary were implemented. Additional walls and fortresses were constructed on potentially weak points behind natural features, and by around 1300 nearly all of the well known routes to bypass the weorc had been sealed. The new stone walls lining the weorc were polished, leading to the Ænglish realm gaining the name "weizrik" among [[Gothic people|Goths]] - "White Kingdom". The Wilfredsweorc was built upon and largely replaced with larger, sturdier walls which soldiers could stand upon and shoot down at oncoming Goths throughout the 1360s and 1370s during the reign of Wilfred II; these additions are traditionally grouped in as part of the Wilfredsweorc, partly due to 19th century misconceptions about which Wilfred built what part of the wall.
 ===Decline and end of the Anglasweorc===
+The Anglasweorc would continue to receive upgrades through the mid 1400s until the [[Conquest of Joanusterra]] in the 1460s, which pushed the boundaries of militarized Christendom further west. While trade would still travel through the Anglasweorc, various economic concessions and agreements made with the new crusader state of [[Yonderre]] and mandated by the [[Pope]] lead to a sharp decline in toll revenue for the weorc. While it still provided some revenue, the weorc's raison d'etre was gone as Gothic raids had slowed significantly in past centuries and now ceased altogether due to the presence of the new state to the northwest. The lack of military necessity, decreasing revenue, and socio-religious turmoil in the Ænglish realm contributed to a lack of interest in furthering the weorc's role. By 1480, most of the garrisons and toll collection points were closed by the King of the Ænglish, and all work on the wall - be it new construction or maintenance - ceased after that point. Some tolls, mostly for local traders, were still being collected by the 1520s, but the weorc's relevance had long since declined.
+The [[Nordmontaine War]] which destroyed the Kingdom of the Ænglish saw the final end of the weorc in its original conception. As the Ænglish lost field battles and major sieges and the forces of the [[Emperor of the Levantines]] continued to advance, some of the Ænglish nobility held out in the castles of the weorc at the conclusion of the war, many of which were dilapidated by the time of the 1540s. These castles and fortresses were demolished by a large scale cannonade of over five dozen large guns, one of the first massed artillery actions in Levantine history. At the end of the War, the Ænglish Kingdom was divided into the Kingdom's constituent duchies, and the weorc began to fade into historical memory. By the late 16th century, a century of war, natural decay, and vandalism left much of the once-mighty weorc as forgotten piles of rubble and mounds which served as a curiosity to locals and travelers.
 ====Vandalism by Yonderians====
 During and after the [[Great Confessional War]], mercenaries from [[Yonderre]] traveling through the divided Ænglish duchies to other parts of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] would readily destroy or otherwise vandalize portions of the wall, greatly accelerating the natural decline of the structure of the preceding century. Many mercenaries returning home would also take bricks of the weorc as a souvenir where they would be carved into other objects once reaching [[Yonderre]], ranging from prized bowls and goblets to toys and other stone trinkets. The Weorcbrick Musèe in [[Collinebourg]] retains a large number of artifacts from this period related to this practice. [[Burgoignesc language]] graffiti stemming from the [[Great Confessional War]] are still visible on the Anglasweorc, having been etched into the brickwork. These graffitis range from simply names and greetings to rude slurs and depictions of penises.

Anglasweorc: Difference between revisions

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