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History of Urcea (1214-1402): Difference between revisions
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== Great Interregnum == | == Great Interregnum == | ||
Unlike the inconsistent dynastic feuding that characterized the first 125 years of the conflict, the Great Interregnum brought 63 years of civil war and national division. Not only did the Great Interregnum occur because of the relatively even power bases of the two halves of the Julian dynasty, but also due to succession laws. When there was a crowned [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], the holder of the Julian Crown was legally held to succeed to both the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and [[Grand Duchy of Yustona]], effectively overriding local succession laws. With the lack of a consensus King and power evenly divided, however, succession defaulted back to local laws which had not been used since before the [[Golden Bull of 1098]]. In the Archduchy, the Archducal title, when no clear heir was available, defaulted to whomever held the headship of the [[Estates of Urcea|Estate of the Julii]], but Yustona instead employed an absolute primogeniture tie based on kinship. With no King, the two titles diverged from another, granting a kind of political and legal legitimacy to the final stage of the Saint's War. | Unlike the inconsistent dynastic feuding that characterized the first 125 years of [[Saint's War|the conflict]], the Great Interregnum brought 63 years of civil war and national division. Not only did the Great Interregnum occur because of the relatively even power bases of the two halves of the [[Julian dynasty]], but also due to succession laws. When there was a crowned [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], the holder of the Julian Crown was legally held to succeed to both the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and [[Grand Duchy of Yustona]], effectively overriding local succession laws. With the lack of a consensus King and power evenly divided, however, succession defaulted back to local laws which had not been used since before the [[Golden Bull of 1098]]. In the Archduchy, the Archducal title, when no clear heir was available, defaulted to whomever held the headship of the [[Estates of Urcea|Estate of the Julii]], but Yustona instead employed an absolute primogeniture tie based on kinship. Accordingly, Cónn loyalists managed to have their line of claimants recognized in Yustona without incident, but tried and failed to seize the initiative in August 1339 in the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy]], as Aleckán loyalists killed potential threats and seized critical castles, forcing most local magnates to fall in line behind the Aleckáns. With no King, the two titles diverged from another, granting a kind of political and legal legitimacy to the final stage of the Saint's War. | ||
During the Great Interregnum, the Aleckán faction held the territory of the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and other western portions of the Kingdom, though not the city of [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] itself; the burghers and local landed nobility revolted and established the Pope as the temporal ruler of the city and the surrounding areas so as to prevent violence befalling the city as had happened previously during the Saint's War, an arrangement which was said would end upon the final conclusion of the conflict. The resulting rule of the [[Pope]] over the city lead to the high water mark of [[Papal State|political Papal authority]] and the last resurgence in power of the [[Duchy of Transurciana]]. The Cónn faction ruled over the [[Grand Duchy of Yustona]] and the [[Electorate of Canaery]]. The House of Cónn established its court north of the [[Magnag]] in the newly constructed castle of Ardricampus, which took its name (''"King's Fort"''), from the period. This castle grew into a major city with the same name, around which developed the modern province of Ardricampus. The Aleckán faction ruled from several castles near Urceopolis, but did not dare attempt to dislodge the Pope from the city. The [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]], tied to the [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], remained vacant, though in practice its duties continued to be exercised by a regent directly appointed by the [[Emperor of the Levantines]]. Apart from the Saint's War, the fate of the regency during this period was a source of fierce political disagreement between the Emperor and the [[Pope]] over who exercised control over [[Urcea]] during a crown vacancy, a question that was not clearly solved with the end of the war in the 15th century. | |||
The 1340s saw the brief reappearance of the [[Creagmer republics]] in reduced form. With tacit support from the [[Philaridon Republic]], prominent merchant families in western [[Urcea]] overthrew local garrisons and attempted to reassert the independence of the mercantile city-states, especially given the harmful influence the war had on trade in the region. In 1344, the Aleckán [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduke]] launched a campaign to try and reestablish dominance over the cities, but failed and soon made an agreement to tacitly recognize their independence within the [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]] in exchange for financing future Aleckán campaigns. This agreement brought the republics into an uneasy alliance with the Aleckán faction, and both factions in the [[Saint's War]] internally planned to quickly subjugate the area once they managed to defeat the other party. | |||
In [[1348]], the sitting [[Emperor of the Levantines]] decided to set aside his own regent and invade [[Urcea]], planning to install either himself or a relative - scholars disagree on this point - on the throne of the [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]]. Imperial forces advanced down the [[Urce river]] as far as [[Castle Welute]], but were defeated there by forces loyal to [[House de Welute]]. The Emperor signed a treaty pledging non-interference for the remainder of the conflict, a pledge that his successors honored. For their efforts, [[House de Weluta]] was rewarded with the daughter of the sitting Aleckán [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduke]], beginning the long association between the House and the [[Julian dynasty]]. | |||
The Great Interregnum saw a general realignment of the political loyalties of the [[Estates of Urcea]]. Through most of the Saint's War, Estates were divided internally for either claimant, especially including the Royal Estate of the Julii. The Aleckán dynasty had acquired the title of Custóir from King Seán I in 1159, and despite many attempts, the House of Cónn could not dislodge them from their headship of the Estate even as the [[Julian Throne]] alternated between the two houses. The Custóirship of the Julii was a source of great prestige and authority for the Aleckáns, giving them the loyalty of most of the heads of the Estates even if subsidiary families supported the Cónns. With the beginning of the Interregnum, though, many of the Estates came to blame the Aleckáns for the division of the nation. Specifically, the Gaelic Estates began to support the Cónns, which turned the final phase of the [[Saint's War]] into a series of battles between Estates. This, paradoxically, had the effect of strengthening the Aleckán cause, as it lead to the slightly more numerous Latinic Estates rallying around the House of Aleckán and contributing manpower and funding not seen up through this point of the conflict. | The Great Interregnum saw a general realignment of the political loyalties of the [[Estates of Urcea]]. Through most of the Saint's War, Estates were divided internally for either claimant, especially including the Royal Estate of the Julii. The Aleckán dynasty had acquired the title of Custóir from King Seán I in 1159, and despite many attempts, the House of Cónn could not dislodge them from their headship of the Estate even as the [[Julian Throne]] alternated between the two houses. The Custóirship of the Julii was a source of great prestige and authority for the Aleckáns, giving them the loyalty of most of the heads of the Estates even if subsidiary families supported the Cónns. With the beginning of the Interregnum, though, many of the Estates came to blame the Aleckáns for the division of the nation. Specifically, the Gaelic Estates began to support the Cónns, which turned the final phase of the [[Saint's War]] into a series of battles between Estates. This, paradoxically, had the effect of strengthening the Aleckán cause, as it lead to the slightly more numerous Latinic Estates rallying around the House of Aleckán and contributing manpower and funding not seen up through this point of the conflict. | ||
The death of the last direct male Julio-Aleckán heir in battle in 1392 seemed to indicate that the Cónn faction was about to emerge victorious. However, the supporters of the Aleckán cause produced one of their own generals - an indirect heir named Lucás from [[House de Weluta]], who descended from King Lucás I via the daughter of an Archduke married into the family followed its victory against the [[Emperor of the Levantines]] in [[1348]]. Lucás de Weluta, elevated to the rank of Archduke of Urceopolis and ruling from [[Castle Welute]], continued the fight against the Cónn faction. The de Welutas - also known as the Welutians or the Velucians - originally hailed from the [[Ionian Highlands]] and maintained considerable connections there, and as a house they were formed earlier in the century as part of an alliance between King Lucás I and some highland clans. Lucás de Weluta rallied the Aleckán faction and raised a large number of highlanders to his banner, rejuvenating the Aleckán cause. Within a decade, enlisting the support of forces from [[Angla]], Lucás de Weluta eventually issued a final defeat to the Cónn faction at the Battle of Glens Falls in 1401 and subsequent successfully besieged of the Castle of Ardricampus in early August 1402. Facing defeat, the Cónn claimant - the Archduke Aedanicus of Cónn - threw himself from the walls of the fortress, committing suicide. Rather than slaughter the remaining members of the family, Lucás de Weluta married Aedanicus's only daughter Eileen and sent the rest of the family into exile in [[Angla]], where per agreement some of them would marry into the Royal family there. The de Weluta army then marched on [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]], which opened its gates to him, and Lucás was crowned personally by the Pope on September 14 1402, ending the [[Saint's War]] and Great Interregnum definitively. | |||
The death of the last direct male Julio-Aleckán heir in battle in 1392 seemed to indicate that the Cónn faction was about to emerge victorious. However, the supporters of the Aleckán cause produced one of their own generals - an indirect heir named Lucás from [[House de Weluta]], who descended from King Lucás I via | |||
[[Category: Urcea]] | [[Category: Urcea]] | ||
[[Category: History of Urcea]] | [[Category: History of Urcea]] | ||
[[Category:IXWB]] | [[Category:IXWB]] | ||