Part 13: Aggressive Expansion 1222 - 1236

Our wars in Norway and Scotland have depleted our levies, so we give ourselves a break from war for a few years to recover our fighting capacity.



Our marshal is set to research military technology in the mean time, and we get a lucky event giving us a small leap ahead.



King Colman finally passes away from the injuries he suffered during the Invasion of Norway. His son Fingen succeeds him.



A kinsman duke of ours is on the verge of rebellion against Fingen. He has claims on England and Scotland and it appears he's willing to make an attempt on them.



The Duke of the Isles wastes no time and demands that we hand over the crown of Scotland to him - or else. We're not going to hand over this crown without a fight, so we refuse his request and prepare for war. Either his co-conspirators were unreliable or he was bluffing, because he ends up standing alone against the rest of our realm.



His rebellion is quickly put down, and the the Duke is jailed.



Rather than seize his titles or leave in rotting in a cell, we opt to just release him. This magnanimous gesture won't go unnoticed by our other vassals and will make their opinions of our king rise.



During the years of recovery, King Fingen gains a positive trait: patience.



The lords of the realm are invited to feasts and a grand tournament, all done in order to strengthen their bonds with our King.



Fingen falls in love with his wife during the quiet years, as well.



Eventually though, or personal forces recover to a healthy number and we begin pressing our claims related to the crown of Scotland.



The independent countess of Buchan falls first.



While free investiture helps our relations with our own vassals, it makes our relations with the Pope strained. Fingen's cynical nature doesn't help matters either. The Pope requests for us to enact Papal Investiture for the succession of our bishops, but Fingen is capable of producing a convincing theological argument to politely decline.



The Duchess of Cornwall rises in revolt against her King of England, and we take the opportunity to attack her for our de jure claim on Ross, which was in her possession.



I decide to allow Fingen to act as his first son's guardian.



Being his guardian allows us to steer his development in a positive direction.



We go to war once more, this time against the rebellious English Duchess of Bedford to seize her Scottish county of Moray.



The remaining independent Scottish counts are conquered as well, and their lands added to our realm.



Across the world in Persia, the Ilkhanate invaders all but destroy the Seljuk Turks as they inch towards Arabia, The Levant, and Asia Minor.



The ambitions of Fingen lead him into conflict against the Welsh lords as well. The counties of Dyfed and Glamorgan are seized with claims fabricated by our chancellor.



Once we usurp his title, we turn our attention towards a former vassal of his: the count of Atholl. His land is seized with a de jure Scottish claim as well.



The duke of Gwynedd grows tired of our expansion and petitions for the Pope to have us excommunicated.



Fingen is a fine ruler. He is intelligent, just, and ambitious. His lack of traditional virtues as well as his cynical nature and support of Free Investiture gave the Pope just enough cause to accept the Duke of Gwynedd's request. This excommunication severely impacts our diplomatic capability and significantly lowers the opinion of our vassals towards us.



In an attempt to get back into the Pope's good graces, King Fingen re-enacts Papal Investiture in the Kingdom of Ireland.



The lords of Ireland support the change in bishopric succession law, but our excommunication remains in place.



Fingen's eldest son Colman comes of age. He developed a stuter at a young age, but he is otherwise a healthy and capable man in all areas. He is ambitious much like his father, but lacks his father's cynicism. He is charitable as well, which is a trait that vassals are pleased to have in a liege.



Fingen falls ill. During his illness, I seek to have him make peace with the Pope and have his excommunication revoked. We do this through a decision in the intrigue panel.



At great personal cost, we send the Pope all sorts of traditional Irish gifts such as kazoos, cupcakes, and a surprisingly large number of boats. The Pope is touched, even if maybe a little confused by this gesture. In return, he agrees to accept King Fingen back into the Catholic church.



By 1236, nearly all of Scotland is in the hands of King Fingen. Our next move will be to start chipping away at England until we own enough of its de jure land to usurp its crown.



A page from the journal showing all members of the Ua Briain dynasty who hold at least one holding.