Part 6: Crusader Kings: Chapter 6 - To the Victor...: 1102 - 1103
1102-1103: To the Victor...
As the victory celebrations die down, Waldemar begins to deal with the task of patching together Germany's wounds. Though the war is over, many problems remain. The royal demesne has grown beyond all proportions with confiscated land, and Waldemar cannot possibly manage it all, even with the help of his court. Besides, his vassals are beginning to complain loudly about the lack of spoils. To placate them and avert yet another series of revolts, Waldemar opens the coffers, filled to the brim with plunder, and awards each Count and Duke that remained loyal throughout the war a sum of 100 gold coins per province in their demesne. Though there is still some grumbling, this goes a long way to mollify the complainers.
Next, he begins the task of awarding out land. The tiny Duchy of Austria gets the province of Österreich, which it lost to Heinrich the Heretic during one of the many land seizures under his reign.
The title Duke of Tyrol is created and given to the Count of Chur, along with the provinces Trent and Brescia
The title Duke of Brabant is given to one of the loyal counts in the Northeast, along with the lands of Hainaut and Brabant.
The Count of Braunschweig is made Duke of Brunswick and given Lüneburg.
Oldenburg is returned to the Duchy of Saxony, now ruled by Waldemar's faithfully loyal ex-courtier.
Lower Lorraine is made into a bishopric, in a gesture of goodwill towards Rome.
Finally, Waldemar's infant son is given the titles Duke of Swabia and Baden, and Kempt is added to the Hohenzollern demesne.
Waldemar's bastard brother, Georg von Hohenzollern, has reached majority. He is a vengeful and suspicious young man, but a coward at heart, and prefers sitting at home crafting plots and schemes to the manly art of warfare.
He is married to the widow of his older brother, Steward Yolande, who had begun expressing doubts about her future at court. Her skills as a steward are irreplacable, and Waldemar hopes the marriage will give her reason to remain in its service.
Waldemar's younger sister Hedwiga has also reached majority, and is married away to the Chancellor of the Duke of Sardinia in the hopes of fostering closer relations.
Marshal Adolf feels that his efforts in the war were far too modestly rewarded, and threatens to take his skills elsewhere. Waldemar sees no choice but to give him a generous gift, though it drives the Kingdom into debt.
The general sentiment among Waldemar's vassals is that the rewards he handed out were fair, and giving away so much land is enough to completely restore Waldemar's reputation in their eyes. Peace settles at last in the war-torn Kingdom, but Waldemar does not feel that his work is complete. The lands of Genoa, Pisa, Ferrara, Treviso and Siena maintain their independence agaqinst the claims of the crown, some of them having remained independent ever since they broke away in 1076. In May of 1102, Waldemar draws together a force of ten thousand men from the royal demesne and surrounding lands, and declares war on the Duke of Genoa.
The Duke of Alsace, a bitter rival of Waldemar, uses this opportunity to declare independence and urge his fellow Dukes and Counts to revolt along with him. But Germany is tired of pretenders, and his rallying cries go unheard.
Waldemar awards half of Alsace's land to Upper Lorraine, and keeps the other half for his demesne.
Genoa barely puts up any resistance, their army of six thousand retreating after only a short skirmish.
The city of Genoa quickly falls, and the Duchy is made a German vassal.
The Count of Siena, perhaps sensing what is coming, offers his allegiance to Waldemar, who gladly accepts.
In January 1103, German troops sweep over Italy.
None of the independent rulers put up much of a fight, and soon enough, they all return to German rule.
Having stabilized and reunited all of Germany's provinces, in October of 1103 King Waldemar I of Germany is crowned Emperor of all Romans. Inside the stone walls of the Cathedral of Milano, the lords of Germany, victors and defeated alike, watch in reverence as the Archbishop of Lower Lorraine place the crown on the young Hohenzollern's head.
A new era in German history have begun.
Extent of the Holy Roman Empire, Anno Domini 1103
- German Royal Demesne marked in red
- Hohenzollern Duchy of Swabia-Baden marked in blue
- Hohenzollern County of Treviso marked in green