Purposes of the Kingdom:
1. First and foremost, we are in place to guard Papal Jerusalem and the rest of Christianity from attacks by Muslims, Mongols, or similar-minded invaders who would seek to do Christianity harm.
2. We are to provide a safe haven for pilgrims who come to worship.
3. We are to protect the interests of the Holy Roman Empire and provide the Reich with goods to trade from the East.
The Charter of the Kingdom of Outremer
1. The Kingdom of Outremer will consist of Antioch, Acre, Adana, Aleppo, Edessa and Damascus.
2. The Kingdom of Outremer is an integral part of the Reich. It is not a fifth House.
3. The function of the Kingdom is defensive: to safeguard Jerusalem and protect the gateway to Christendom
4. The Kingdom will be overseen by a King of Outremer, who will be appointed by the Emperor at each full Diet session. The King will temporarily renounce all loyalties to his House for the duration of his appointment (e.g. if Duke, must appoint a Steward).
5. The King will command a Household Army, both acting according to Charter Amendment 5.2 (with the King assuming the role of “Duke”). He may delegate the day to day command of the Army (assign other generals to lead it in battle). However, contrary to CA5.1, to be in accordance with article (1), the Army may not be used to permanently conquer neighbouring provinces (recapturing Christian settlements taken by non-Christians and returning them to their original owners would be allowed).
6. Outremer’s provinces will be governed by Crusading Counts. These will also be appointed at every Diet, by the new King. The Dukes and the Emperor will set the build queue for any provinces without a Count which are allocated to their control.
7. Both the King and Crusading Counts must be physically located outside Europe for the duration of their appointments.
8. All four Houses of the Reich have a stake in the Kingdom. Damascus is assigned to Austria; Adana is assigned to Bavaria; Acre is assigned to Swabia; and Aleppo is assigned to Franconia. Antioch will be the capital of Outremer and an Imperial province governed by the King of Outremer. Edessa will also be an Imperial province, governed by a Count chosen by the King of Outremer. The Crusading Count for a settlement must come from the appropriate House. They will gain +1 influence, but only if they are not already a Count in their Duchy, and only for the Diet session that marks their appointment. The cap of 6 influence for all but the Emperor remains.
Charter Amendment 11.3: The King of Outremer is allowed to propose three Edicts (or Charter Amendments) per Diet Session. Prior to being tabled in the Diet, these must be seconded by two Crusader Counts in the Council of Crusaders.
Charter Amendment 11.6:The position of King of Outremer is appointed by the emperor. The King of Outremer is permitted to resign, if the emperor is willing to accept the resignation, upon which a new King is appointed by the emperor. If the King of Outremer is deemed incapable of the assignment, he may be impeached by the emperor and 2 Dukes.
King Jan adds: There are two Armies of Outremer. Where possible, army commands will rotate so as to make sure everyone has a turn at leading an army. The King still reserves the right to appoint/deny army commands as he sees fit and a crusader still reserves the right to ask for garrison duty.
King Jan adds: For now, the Prince has decided that his army will be stationed in Outremer. It is not a third AoO. The Prince is a guest and will be treated as such. He will be informed of the strategic situation and then he will decide how he wishes to help. The King will not interfere with this in any way and all Chancellors are urged to respect this while the Prince's army is in Outremer.
Current assignments:
Antioch - King Jan (Privateerkev)
Damascus - Karl Zirn (Northnovas)
Adana - Matthias Steffen (OverKnight)
Acre - Elberhard (econ21)
Aleppo - Dieter Bresch (Bob_the_Great)
Edessa - unassigned
Kings of Outremer:
Kaiser Henry (econ21) - 1200-1210 (informal)
Otto von Kassel (OverKnight) - 1210-1232 (1210-1220 informal)
Conrad Salier (GeneralHankerchief) - 1232-1276
Prince Elberhard (econ21) - 1276-1280 (steward)
Jan von Hamburg (Privateerkev) - 1280-???
Prinz Henry: At the risk of prejudging the final outcome of the First Emergency Diet polls, I believe now may be an opportune moment to begin planning our great Crusade to Jerusalem.
I propose all generals involved in the Crusade should gather together in this Council to plan and make decisions regarding the crusade.
The laws under which we must act are:
Edict E1.1:In an effort to make penance for whatever sins we have incurred upon our souls during the violent overthrow and death of Pope Greogry, the Reich will launch a Crusade to capture the Holy City of Jerusalem. After the city is captured, it will be given as a gift to the sitting Pope, to allow him to permanently reign over Christendom from the land of Christ. The Crusade will be governed as follows:
1: Every general who wishes to join the Crusade may do so.
2: For the duration of the Crusade, all limits on army composition will not apply to any Crusade armies.
3: The Crusade is authorized to declare war on any non-Catholic faction it encounters, if it deems such a declaration of war to be necessary.
4: All strategic decisions regarding the Crusade, such as choice of settlements to attack and commanders of the Crusading armies, will be made by the generals who participate in the Crusade. All decisions will be made by majority vote, without regard for earthly influence. We are all equal in the eyes of God on this Holy Mission.
5: All Edicts relating to the Crusade will remain in effect until the Papacy governs Jerusalem or until every last Crusader lies dead, whichever comes first.
and:
Edict E1.7:Should edict E1.1 pass for the duration of the Crusade, the Reich will refrain from conquering any Catholic settlement and instead focus on defending the borders from outside attack and developing our provinces. This Edict does not apply to Thorn, Venice, Marseille and Breslau, nor does it apply to any settlement of the Reich which is captured by our enemies. Additionally, should the HRE be attacked by any nations it is not at war with at the time of the attack, one (1) settlement may be annexed from that nation of the Chancellor's choice.
At the moment the Council of Crusaders comprises:
Maximillan Mandorf (TinCow) Prinz Henry (econ21) Dietrich von Saxony (Kagemusha) Otto Kassel (Overknight) Jonas von Mahren (Jalf)
Any other generals wishing to join the crusade should declare their intent here.
Dietrich Von Saxony
"If this crusade is to come. I think those of us who hold the title of Duke should name the next Dukes for their Duchy before leaving and setting him as the Steward, for the time of the Crusade and incase we dont come back, that person should be named as the Duke. Also i dont think we should try to send any notes about how the reich should be ruled to Diet,while we are in our Holy mission. Those left behind should handle the affairs and we should focus on our task to fight our way to the Holy land."
Duke von Saxony, I know you are not entirely pleased with the nature of this Crusade, yet you have still volunteered to leave your lands and join us. That is an immense sacrifice and it demonstrates more nobility and faith in God than any man I know. I am very pleased to have a man of your quality on what is sure to be a long and difficult journey. I look forward to drawing my sword with you in service to the Lord.
*Mandorf makes a long and respectful bow towards the Duke.*
There are several issues we can profitably discuss at this moment.
First, the composition of the crusade. We should bear in mind the normal composition of our armies:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
8. Historical armies
The following rules apply for field armies of 15+ or more units.
Generals - max 2 units
Knights - cavalry or foot, max 8 units inc. generals
[The class of knights is therefore: Dismtd Feudal knights; Dismtd Imperial knights; Dismtd Gothic knights; Mailed knights; Feudal knights; Imperial knights; Teutonic knights; General’s bodyguard; Gothic knights; plus any mercenary knights included those great dismounted knights you get in the Holy Land.)
Total cavalry - maximum 8 units, inc mounted knights and generals
[Non-knightly cavalry includes: Mounted crossbowmen ; Reiters; Merchant cavalry; Mounted sergeants]
Artillery - maximum 2 units (5 in a siege - if caught in a field battle immediately withdraw excess of over two)
Foot missiles - maximum 6 units including artillery
[Foot missiles include: Peasant archers; Peasant crossbowmen; Crossbow militia; Pavisse crossbowmen; Arquebusiers; Handgunners ]
Total elite heavy infantry - max 6
[Elite infantry comprises Zweihander; Forlorn Hope; Landsknechts; dismounted knights and equivalent mercs - e.g. Galllowglass?]
I propose we adhere to the above as much as possible, with the exception of our relative abundance of generals. The Chancellor will manage this, but I suggest we aim for a full army of 20 regiments comprising the best troops available to us. The crusade should have first call on the advanced troops recenlly available from Staufen and the Teutonic Order: those left behind can train such men when we are gone, but once we leave the Reich, we will be unable to do so:
Cavalry - 7
3 generals
2 Teutonic knights - these are the finest warriors available to us and would naturally be drawn to such a pious endeavour
1 Mailed knights - these are faster than the Teutons, but still formiddable in combat
1 Mounted sergeant
Missiles - 6
2 Pavisse crossbowmen - these are the best we can get, but we their number is limited
2 Other crossbows
2 Peasant archers - their flaming arrows may be useful
No artillery - they will slow us down too much.
Infantry - 7
2 Dismounted feudal knights - their number is limited by what Staufen can produce
5 Armoured sergeants
I recognise that logistics may prevent the above being feasible (and that there may be trade-off between quality and time of departure). We might also give thought to recruiting mercenaries further on in our campaign. However, I fear our excommunication and the prospect of our crusade will swell the coffers of our enemies, so relying on later recruitment of mercenaries may be unwise.
A second issue is the route of the crusade. I propose that we travel by land, via Zagreb and Byzantium but gather a Mediterranean fleet capable of reinforcing or extracting us if we get into serious trouble.
A third issue is the stance of crusade towards neutrals. I propose that we refrain from attacking third parties, except any rebels we encounter. For example, securing a rebel island near the Middle East might provide a useful staging point and supply base for our future Crusader kingdom.
A fourth issue is leadership of the crusade. I propose that Mandorf, as Chancellor, should have responsibility for day to day operations. We should give thought to one of us running for Chancellor at the next Diet, so as to facillitate our activities. Perhaps Duke Dietrich or a second term for Count Mandorf? In terms of any battles, I believe as Prince, I am the natural leader but propose we should alternate command - perhaps starting with me and then moving to other generals by their command rank.
A final issue is what to do when we arrive in the Holy Land. I propose that we aim for Jerusalem first and gift it to the Pope. However, after that we should aim to establish our own crusader kingdom so that we can protect Jerusalem. I suggest we aim to take at least four other provinces, one for each House in the Reich.
I agree with the recruitment policies outlined by Prinz Henry, but I admit I am unsure of the specifics. I will take a close look what forces can be assembled by the end of my term and report back when I have more information.
I also agree with Prinz Henry's proposed route. While going by sea could be faster, it is widely known that Venice controls Ragusa, Durazzo, Iraklion, and Rhodes. We would be constantly subjected to attacks by their fleets during our voyage and would run a great risk of total catastrophe. While the land route will be slower, I believe it will be safer.
I will order our diplomat in Byzantine territory to attempt to negotiate military access with the Orthodox Emperor. I doubt he will be successful, but it is worth asking. If one cannot be achieved, we might want to consider supporting an Edict in 1160 to donate a small amount of regular tribute to Byzantium, so that they do not become too outraged by the progress of our army.
I thank you Maximillien Mandorf from your kind words. I cant think better way for an old knight to go meet my creator,then taking this Holy task and maybe find salvation in the eyes of the Lord from it.
I agree with Prinz Henry on army composition and route. But i dont understand how it would be benefitial for a Crusader to be a Chancellor of Reich. Im sure that Mandorf can set things in motion during his last period of Chancellorship. And the next Chancellor will take things from there. But when we take that Holy cross and place it in our tunics to cover our hearts, we place our selves in the hands of the Lord and he will decide our faith.
I dont see how us, who are on our way to the Holy Land could govern Reich as a Chancellor. We will be first hundreds and later thousends of kilometers from Reich and communication back to Reich will be very slow and might at some point cut off completely,when we enter the enemy territory.
In those circumstances we should trust on those,who are actually in the Reich to handle the affairs of the Reich. We will not be aware of the latest affairs back home and thus should not interfere on them. Im sure that You Prinz Henry will come back one day to the Reich and will take over our mighty Empire,but during this crusade we should focus on it and nothing else.
Prinz Henry: Welcome, Duke Otto! Now there are four - that is a more of a proper Council!
Pray tell me, Duke, have you come to remind us that we have forgotten to mention the most important forces to bring on our crusade? Yes? Why priests, of course! How could I have forgotten to mention them when discussing the composition of our crusade! We must bring many - they may scout ahead of our forces but more importantly, they must spread the word among the population of the Holy Land. Islam has usurped the true faith among the locals and while the hearts of the people are against us, all the soldiers in the Empire will not win us a true peace.
I dare say the experience of converting the heathen will do wonders for our clergy as well. The renown they gain may well help us to restore our influence among the College of Cardinals.
Oh and on the subject of settlements on our way - if Rhodes happens to be held by rebels, we might consider a landing to secure a base there. In the longer run we must establish sea communications between North Italy and the Levant. Rhodes would be a good halfway point, where our ships could resupply and refit.
The Kingdom of Outremer
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