Conseil du Royaume

[Ituralde]

Good to know your priorities then. I hope I'll never have to rely on you while there are some b$#@!%# around.

[TinCow]

No need to worry, de Montpierre, I assure you I have no interest in your womenfolk.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Raynaud de Xaintrailles:

*The noble, unseen by most present until now, stands up and strides to the center of the room. People are muttering to each other about whether this man actually belongs or not. After all, nobody seems to remember him from the Tournament and almost everybody of note was there. Nevertheless, they begin to sit back and listen.*

Good day gentlemen, and I hope you all are well. I hereby once again swear fealty to my King Philippe as well as my Prince and Duc, Louis, and wish long days and pleasant nights upon them.

Now, some of you may not have seen me before. This is perfectly acceptable, as I was… unable… to attend the Tournament. The reason for this is unimportant compared to the matter I will address with you now.

Fellow nobles, I come from Toulouse, which is as you know, a very pleasant area in the South of France. Toulouse and its surrounding areas contain good folk, honest, hearty, God-fearing people. But recently, we have had more to fear than just the Lord. To our west, the English pose a minor threat by occupying the lands of Bordeaux. However, to the south lies a far more dangerous foe. Down on the Iberian Peninsula, the vile and heathen Moors occupy the southern half and threaten to pour through and hit the rest of Europe, just as they did centuries though.

Now, we could wait. Concern ourselves with other matters and hope the Moors go against their very savage nature and stop their conquest and killing, or that the various Christian factions on the Peninsula finally get their act together and hold them off or drive them back. Or, should that fail, we could always repeat the heroics of our ancestor, Charles the Hammer Martel, and turn the tide ourselves at Tours. But I ask you all: Do we really want to risk it getting that close?

No, my fellow children of God, we cannot. We as a people have accomplished too much since the last invasion to risk it all falling apart. We in the South of France have accomplished too much to risk it all being destroyed in the name of some heretical offering to a nonexistent deity. We owe it all, gentlemen, to the people that we watch over, not to let them fall to the threat of eternal damnation!

What the people of the lower Peninsula deserve is a chance at eternal paradise. What our own people deserve is the same, and this will never be allowed to happen with the wicked Mohammedans so nearby. Therefore, it is my intention to take the initiative to drive them back from the Strait of Gibraltar for all time.

Edict 1.5: The Seneschal is instructed to begin assembling generals and men necessary for a Crusade with a target of Cordoba (This is a declaration of war against the Moors). By the end of his term, the Crusade is to have officially set out for its target. The Seneschal is to work toward granting the Pope’s approval for this Holy mission, but the Crusade will begin with or without his blessing. The King is to endeavor to evenly distribute captured Moorish settlements among the Houses.

I hope you will all see the merit in what I am saying. We will all be rewarded in the afterlife should we take up this measure now.

I also second Edicts 1.1, 1.2, and heartily second 1.3.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

A boy, hidden from everyone, sits in the corner and thinks.

"Gah! And I thought that Germans were power hungry and land grabbing egomaniacs! I hope that things will change when I become of age!"

[ULC]

Gaetan raises an eyebrow at Raynaud's proposal.

"Although I would agree that House Aquitaine must drive south into the Kingdom's of Aragon and Navarre, I think you underestimate the prowess of the Portuguese and Spanish, whom you have forgotten my fellow, and whom have beaten back the Almoravids. Are you suggesting that in the entirety of Spain, that not one Spaniard is blessed by God enough that, if his will sees fit, the Muslims will be beaten back across the Gibraltar?"

"I also find it odd that your request would essentially strip bare the of any real armies and generals, when half of the Royaume is occupied by the English. Holy though your quest may be, and gladly would I join in it, but I would never do so to the utter determent of my fellow men."

"I ask that you please reconsider, and simply retake the Spanish March, while Lorraine secures the North. Once this is done, we can be free to remove the English, and then drive south into Islamic lands if god has not blessed the Spanish or Portuguese to do so."

[Vladimir]

*Gontran bolts up, indignant*

Gaeten you fool! How can you advocate we let God's favor fall to the Iberians? What has beautiful France done to you so that you would deny it God's favor?!

*A few deep breaths and the rouge fades from Gontran's face*

The crude Castilians and fish mongers can hardly stay away from each others throats for long enough to realize that the Moors are breathing down their necks. We should undertake this Crusade for the glory of God, the glory of France, and the favor of the Holy See.

While on Crusade our coffers will swell. If the Bastard and his minions do attack when we undertake this Most Holy Cause, where do you think God's favor will lay? The gold saved and experience gained can only aid our long-term goal of reuniting the petals of the flower of France.

I ask you to reconsider your objection and your forgiveness for my initial outburst.

[ULC]

Gaetan shakes his head. "I do not feel the least bit offended at your outburst, you were merely stating your belief. However, I do object with the very idea the Iberians are nothing more then fishmongers and heretics, or the idea that France somehow does not have Gods favor."

"Both we and the Iberians pray to God, and as such God would favor us both if we are true to him - God has infinite love, and infinite patience, and as such, he would look to all his children, and bless them, and not falter as a human would and give attention to only some of them."

"And do not think I am only specifically speaking of just the English praying upon the Royaume - the Germans would be quick to reclaim Charlemanges Empire, the Danes are always willing to plunder, and the very same Iberians we would ignore may prey upon us too. We must focus at home, bring our people back under one banner! Or would you deny an honest Frank his right to join in such a Holy Crusade because his lord does not answer to the King?"