Part 27: Crusader Kings: Chapter 27 - Misfortunes: 1326 - 1347

1326 - 1347: Misfortunes

Augustin's first acts as King is to restore Austria to the son of the deceased Ortenburg King, and to give Swabia over to the care of his second son, Ernst. Leopold the Leper is still excommunicated, and Augustin realizes that an excommunicated Hohenzollern Duke would be too great an opportunity for his family's enemies, and Leopold's failing health makes him a poor candidate for the title regardless. Ernst von Hohenzollern is an unremarkable man with little talent in any field, who is best known for his generosity towards the common people and aversion to war.


Augustin's rule is largely peaceful, interrupted only by an incident on the north border. The Swedish King Helge has laid claim to the title of the Count of Holstein, who declared independence during Rupprecht's rule. An independent Holstein Augustin can live with, but for the old Swedish foe to regain the lands taken from them by his great ancestor is not.


He immediately makes his own claim, and sets about enforcing it.



King Helge, perhaps not wishing an open confrontation, does nothing, and soon enough Holstein is back under Germany's wing.


Augustin passes away quietly in his sleep in September of 1330, only four years after taking the throne.


He is succeeded by the Duke of Franconia, Ordulf Staden.


A modest, introvert and book-learned man, Ordulf is the puppet of his brother Rudolph, now the Chancellor of Germany a cruel despot that squeezes ever higher taxes out of the population, and claims the lands of all defeated revolters for the royal demesne, which begins to grow to proportions not seen since Heinrich the Heretic, incorporating Holstein, Brandenburg and large chunks of Burgundy.


By 1336, Ordulf's prestige has plummeted to an all-time low, and his vassals continue to rise in revolt. Chaos reigns in Germany.


The suffering of the people and the apparent dissolution of the realm sends Ernst into a deep depression, and in secret he begins to defer many of his decisions to Leopold the Leper, who by now has taken to the habit of wearing an iron mask to cover his hideously disfigured face.


The Inquisition continues to keep a watchful eye on the Hohenzollerns, and in July of 1338, Ernst's daughter-in-law Katherina is accused of witchcraft. He insists on holding a local trial, and she is acquitted.


By 1340 the revolters have been crushed, and an uneasy peace settles over Germany, kept in place by Chancellor Rudolph's many iron fisted measures.


One September morning the same year, Duke Ernst does not show up for his daily conference with Leopold. When Leopold sends a servant to fetch the Duke, the man finds Ernst dangling from the rafters of his chamber, having hung himself in the night, apparently no longer able to shoulder the weight of his deep depression.


His son Francisco, whose wife was the supposed 'witch' put on trial two years earlier, succeeds him. A cowardly and trusting man, he nonetheless has a fair grasp of military tactics, just so long as he can command his troops from a safe position.


When Francisco's wife Katharina takes herself a lover later in the same year, he suspects nothing until he finally catches the two in the act on a summer evening of 1342.


Caught red-handed and stripped of her position as Chancellor, Katharina responds through a campaign of manipulation and bad-mouthing, even managing to turn Francisco's uncle Leopold the Leper against him.


To continue the seemingly unbroken string of misfortunes suffered by the Hohenzollerns, Francisco falls ill with Pneumonia a few months later. He eventually recovers, but with a weakened state of health.


Another major revolt is sparked in April of 1346 by the news that Chancellor Rudolph has raised the scutage on German vassals to seventy-five percent of their income. Saxony, Mecklemburg, German Bohemia and several other dukes rise against Ordulf and his despotic brother in response.


After a year of fighting in North Germany, Ordulf falls ill in the field and dies shortly thereafter. When the news reach Mainz, Chancellor Rudolph quickly flees back to Franconia, and the electors that are still loyal to the crown convene in June of 1347, choosing Francisco as their King.