Part IV: The Unification of the British Isles

1160 (13145 florins) With reluctance, King Rufus postpones indefinitely his planned invasion of Iberia. His invasion army disembarks at Dover and begins the march north to the besieged city of York. Davy Stanley musters the available men at Nottingham and arrives at York in time to see the Scots begin their assault.



1162 (10750 florins) The Scottish Prince Edmund has been lurking around Caen for some years. Prince Roger captures him in hand-to-hand combat (b32) but the callous Scottish king refuses the ransom.



The Scottish Prince David, successor to the unfortunate Edmund, tries to storm York, but is driven off when Davy Stanley arrives with reinforcements (b33). Scotland is excommunicated for this aggression.

Portugal pays 2240 florin for a ceasefire.

1164 (7852 florins) The Merchants Guild offers a mission to establish trader rights with Portugal. This is accomplished next term, for a miserly reward of 100 florins.

After a miscalculation deprives Damascus of its governor, Augustine, the city riots. Augustine returns but half the population are openly disloyal to England. The city rebels, expelling the English and forming a powerful rebel Arab garrison.

Prince Roger destroys a regiment of Spanish knights near Caen (b34), while Robert sees off a rebel army near Jerusalem (b35).

1166 (10793 florins) Pope Gregory dies and Pope Froderigus is elected his successor. Augusting defeats some rebels near Acre (b36).

1168 (7203 florins) King Rufus arrives near Edinburgh, smashing one Scottish army guarding the approach (b37) and then laying siege to the capital. England accepts an alliance with Poland.

1170 (6582 florins) King Rufus storm Edinburgh (b38), sacking the city for the gain of 17010 florins. Antony comes of age in the city. Spain pays 2000 florins for a ceasefire, as Portugal renews hostilities with a blockade of Antwerp. The HRE returns to lay siege to the city.

1172 (15033 florins) The Pope demands a seven turn ceasefire with Scotland. However, this does not stop King Rufus sallying against the two Scottish armies besieging Edinburgh. By attacking at night, Rufus is able to change the odds from being even to being greatly in England’s favour (b41).

Prince Roger drives off the HRE army besieging Antwerp (b39) and reinforcements are despatched for France from Nottingham. However, the landing of a large Portuguese army at Caernarvon implies this movement was short-sighted.

In Outremer, Robert destroys a rebel army, but not before discovering that desert cavalry field javelins that can reek havoc on knights (b40). King Rufus wonders about launching a second crusade against Egypt.

A large Spanish army, complete with siege engines, is spotted outside Rennes.

1174 (13460 florins) Reinforcements are scrabbled towards Caernarvon, which is brought under Portuguese siege.

1176 (4542 florins) The Pope calls a crusade on Tunis. Fighting multiple opponents in the British Isles and France, it is not clear that England can spare the men for a crusade. Consquently, Rufus decides to send the army of Outremer on crusade westward across the North African coastal road. This will leave Jerusalem, Acre and Gaza with only token garrisons. However, Egypt has so far been strangely passive and accepting of the loss of these settlements, so it is a risk Rufus is willing to take. A crusade is launched at Gaza – unfortunately, this Muslim province can provide no regiments of Christian volunteers for the crusade. Rufus regrets not launching the crusade from Jerusalem, now well on the way to conversion to Christianity. Still, the crusade is able to make good time, smashing a band of rebels who try to block a crossing over the Nile (b42).

King Laurencius of Portugal storms Caernarvon (b43). Davy Stanley attempts to bring a relief army to save the city, but dies in the battle. Portugal is excommunicated.

Battle Story: The Death of Davy Stanley and the Fall of Caernarvon, 1176 AD

Captain Tobias and his men had marched hard from Nottingham to Wales, their boots becoming ragged and their feet bloody. General Davy Stanley had urged them on:

“Lads, do not make me a liar to my King! We must reach Caernarvon before it falls!”

Well, the General had kept to his word and his column, the first of several converging on Caernarvon, had gained sight of the city just as the Portugese were deploying for their assault.



From afar, Captain Tobias watched as the enemy marched towards the settlement walls. The Portuguese were deployed in well serried ranks - these were disciplined, professional fighters; mainly mercenaries, Tobias was to find out later.



In their haste to get into the town, the Portuguese had built only one ram and a set of ladders. But Captain Tobias was doubtful the Caernarvon garrison could repel them; the Welsh militia had to buy time for General Stanley’s men to reinforce them.



As Captain Tobias’s men marched along the east road heading to the town, the sound of battle grew louder. General Stanley approached the Tobias:

“Captain, it is taking too long - the town will fall before we arrive. I will run my knights ahead to try to hold the town centre. The infantry is useless to us exhausted - you continue your march and join us when you can.”

Tobias saluted, as the English knights kicked up dust racing to the centre of Caernarvon.



Inside Caernarvon, it was chaos. As the Portuguese battering ram hammered the gate, the Welsh garrison commander, Captain Francis, had seen the hopelessness of situation and tried to pull his own regiment of town militia off the walls and back into the town centre. But he had left it too late - the Portuguese cavalry were through the gates well before the English infantry could make it to the town centre. Captain Francis stopped his men under a wall tower.

“You few men, there, get up in that tower and prepare to fire arrows. The rest of you - brace yourself for cavalry!”



As Captain Tobias reached the eastern gate of Caernarvon, he heard a lookout shout -

“Cavalry! Enemy cavalry!”

Tobias saw with surprise that a regiment of jinettes had worked their way round the town to skirmish with his infantry. At first, Tobias tried to hustle his men towards the gate - desperate to join General Stanley in his defence of the town centre, but the jinettes were aggressive and eventually Tobias could not resist ordering his men to turn and engage.



Inside Caernarvon, General Stanley’s bodyguard had gradually been worn down in combat with the Frankish knights hired by the Portuguese; the arrival of the mercenary spearmen from the walls, had tipped Stanley’s defence of the square from being heroic to hopeless. Reluctantly, with only two knights left at his side, Stanley tried to make a break for it and return to Captain Tobias’s infantry.



By the time Captain Tobias had fought his way into Caernarvon, it was all over. All of the garrison under Captain Francis and General Stanley were slain or captured by the Portuguese. All that greeted the brave English spearmen working their way up the eastern road was a massed charge by the Portuguese knights, led by King Laurencius himself.



When Laurencius offered to accept Tobias’s surrender, the Captain bowed to the inevitable and conceded. In a magnanimous gesture, the Portuguese released the Captain and the 63 survivors of his company. Caernarvon had fallen, but other English relief armies were already converging on the town. Tobias would return to the town to fight another day and neither he nor Laurencius would ever leave it again. The chivalrous Portuguese King fell defending his prize in 1182, while Tobias would die eighteen years later when the King’s son reclaimed it in 1200 AD.

Far away in Gaza, Augustine of Wellington grieved when he heard of the death of his adopted son, Davy Stanley. By a morbid coincidence, Augustine's first adopted son, Robin Lambert, had also fallen at Caernarvon, many years ealier in 1138. Some say Augustine never recovered from this second tragedy and that on, in his delirium on his deathbed, the old man would repeat over and over the name of the town that had brought so much grief to his family.

Prince Roger and the defence of Antwerp, 1178

While King Rufus set about the conquest of Scotland and England wrestled with Portugal for control of Caernarvon, Prince Roger was left to defend his father’s continental territories. Since King Rufus had emptied France of all England’s professional fighters, Roger was left to fight with a scratch force composed mainly of mercenary spearmen.

The battle Roger fought against the Danes in 1178 is in some ways characteristic of several engagements the Prince fought to protect England’s territories in Flandes. However, the battle was also one of the largest and most evenly balanced of the contests.



The Danes were besieging Antwerp with an army of over a thousand men - including many dismounted feudal knights. Combined with the local garrison, Roger had rough parity in numbers but his infantry were inferior to the Danes - only one regiment of longbowmen and one of billmen stood out from the mass of spearmen. His main advantage was in his mounted knights - his own escort and half a regiment of mailed knights. The Danes were led by a mere captain and there only cavalry was a regiment of scouts.

The battle was fought in winter. The English approached gingerly, hoping to use their solitary unit of longbows to wear down the Danes before closing. However, a regiment of Danish peasant archers started to duel the longbows so Prince Roger used his escort in an effort to drive them off.



The aggressive action of the English general seemed to spur the Danes into action and all along the enemy line, their heavy infantry advanced on the English spears.



The Danish scouts are the first to hit the English lines, but Prince Roger’s men with their ample spears do not fear the light cavalry. It is the heavy infantry coming close behind that will provide the challenge.


The battle went well for the English on their south flank, where Prince Rufus was positioned and where the Antwerp garrison was arriving to add weight. The English started to break the Danes and Rufus urged his militia on in pursuit, to prevent the Danes rallying. However, in centre north, the Danish dismounted feudal knights were carving their way through militia and even the sole English regiment of billmen. Only the intervention of the mounted English knights prevented a collapse.



After close calls like this, Prince Roger was keen to upgrade his army to put it on a more professional level. However, when it came to recruitment, the continent always took third place after England and Outremer, so improvements were slow in coming.

1178 (5478 florins) Prince Roger drives off a Danish army besieging Antwerp (b44). England’s losses are great, convincing the Prince of the need to recruit a professional army in France.

A captain besieges Caernarvon while King Rufus leaves Edinburgh, heading south towards the Portuguese held city. The Scots besiege Edinburgh, becoming excommunicated for their pains.

1180 (6289 florins) In York, Maria marries Gelies Mars and Arthur comes of age – both generals are marched west to assist in the siege of Caernarvon. King Rufus doubles back north to drive off the Scots besieging Edinburgh (b45). The Spanish besiege Rennes.

1182 (6328 florins) The crusade drives through another rebel army blocking its progress (b46). Gelies Mars retakes Caernarvon, although the Portuguese King dies hard (b47). Spain storms Rennes (b48).




1184 (10169 florins) King Rufus decides to send Gieles Mars’s army from Caernarvon to Scottish held Dublin. A fleet is summoned to transport the army.

1186 (5403 florins) Egypt besieges Gaza. The Council of Nobles sets a mission to blockade the Spanish port of Toledo.

1188 (6048 florins) Egypt tries to storm Gaza, but a relief force from Jerusalem arrives behind the attackers, eliminating them to a man (b59).



1190 (5163 florins) Gieles Mars assaults Dublin, killing the Scots King Edward (b50). The city is sacked, giving 7056 welcome florins). The crusade reaches Tunis.

1192 (7906 florins). Pope Froderigus dies and Pope Martinus is elected. Martinus is a young man – his excommunications are likely to endure for a long time. Edward Curtice routs a rebel army in Caen (b51).

1194 (7366 florins) England's second crusade sacks Tunis (b52), earning 11354 florins.



1196 (6822 florins) Gieles Mors, returning from Ireland, defeats a rebel army in Inverness (b53). Geoffrey destroys a large rebel army in Jerusalem (b54). King Rufus plans to create two small armies in France, one to retake Rennes – the other to protect Antwerp.

1198 (6708 florins) England’s sustained naval blockade of Toledo is rewarded by three regiments of Knights Hospitaller.

An enormous Portuguese army lands at Caernarvon. King Rufus resolves that in future, any garrison of England should be based at that settlement, given its Portugal’s seeming obsession with taking it. Yet again reinforcements are scrambled to race to Caernarvon, to be led by Edward Curtice who leaves Caen for the Wales. Three batteries of trebuchets are hired from Edinburgh to constitute the beginnings of England’s siege train.

Prince roger defeats a Danish army besieging Antwerp, although his militia and billmen are roughly handled by the Danish huscarls.

1200 (3703 florins) King Rufus is mortified by the low state of England’s finances. The Scottish Prince Gilles offers 5000 for the assassination of his own father. Rufus is tempted, but Inverness is about to fall, deliver both Gilles and his father to the English justice.



The Scots sally from Inverness and are wiped out by the English in a bloody struggle (b58). Scotland is no more.



Geiles Mars defeats a rebel army in Edinburgh (b56), while Geoffrey battles rebels near Cairo (b57).

These English victories are overshadowed, however, by the loss of Caernarvon to the Portuguese (b59), leading to Portugal’s excommunication.



1202 (11647 florins) A massive HRE army – perhaps the legacy of a crusade – is spotted embarked on a fleet outside off Caen. English ships hurriedly move to intercept before the army can debark.



A Milanese army lands at Tunis.

1204 (4873 florins) The English navy sinks the HRE fleet, drowning its powerful army. A large Egyptian army is spotted approaching Gaza, so a plan to retake Damascus is placed on hold. Morris of Bedford engages a Spanish force in Rennes that had been devastating the economy of Caen (b60).

1206 (4565 florins) Geoffrey engages the first of two Egyptian armies seen menacing Gaza (b61).



The veteran crusader Augustine of Wellington dies of old age. Milan is excommunicated.

1208 (5184 florins) Europe is warned of the approach of the Mongols.



The Council of Nobles gives England a mission to assassinate Salam, an Egyptian general near Cairo. Prince Roger defeats a small Danish army near Antwerp (b62). Milan besieges Tunis.

1210 (6381 florins) Samuel sallies out of Tunis, routing the Milanese army – although the Italians crossbows make the victory costly (b64). The Pope demands England cease hostilities against Spain for seven turns. Antony defeats a rebel army in Edinburgh (b63)

1212 (6494 florins) A Portuguese army of seven regiments, mainly jinettes, arrives to provide support to besieged Caernarvon.

1214 (5389 florins) News arrives of the Mongols invading from Baghdad. Egypt besieges Gaza and Acre.

The recapture of Caernarvon, 1214

With Portuguese held Caernarvon about to succumb to starvation and surrender, Captain Jorge attempted to relieve it with his four regiments of jinettes and two batteries of ballista.



Although technically on the defensive, English General Edward Curtice knew that he had to strike aggressively to prevent the Portuguese relief and garrison forces retiring to Caernarvon with fresh supplies. He ordered his longbowmen to target the jinettes, pushing forward his heavy infantry to provide a protective screen for his archers.



The jinettes were elusive enemies and General Curtice realised too late that a regiment of his armoured swordsmen had advanced too far from his line. In less than a minute, the jinettes had concentrated their fire on the unfortunate swordsmen. Curtice hurriedly pulled them back, but they had already suffered more than 50% casualties.



Gradually, however, the English longbows prevailed over the Portuguese javelins.



As the Portuguese jinettes weakened, the Curtice committed the cavalry of his right flank to see them off.



Just as the action against the relief army was concluding, Prince Rui and the Caernarvon garrison came into contact with the English line. The Portuguese army included four regiments of mercenary crossbows. Curtice still had the cavalry on his left available, so he ordered them to charge the crossbowmen screening Prnce Rui’s advance. Three regiments of English cavalry approached in column, but the attack was a failure. Only the first regiment could perform a charge - it obstructed those in behind it. Worse still, the crossbowmen held it long enough that it became tied up with the one regiment of Portuguese spearmen in Prince Rui’s army.



There was symmetry to the battle, as on the right of the English line, Prince Rui himself led a charge into the massed ranks of English longbowmen - their protective screen of infantry had become detached during the skirmishes with the jinettes.



Order was gradually restored to the English line as their heavy infantry - hitherto dealing with the jinettes - came puffing up to support the archers and cavalry facing Prince Rui’s garrison.



On the right of the English line, spear militia surrounded Prince Rui as the longbowmen belatedly extracted themselves from the melee. The English trebuchets - which had kept up an impressive but largely ineffectual fiery barrage throughout the battle - finally made a significant contribution, as a lucky shot caught the unfortunate Prince Rui.



With the jinettes having been routed off the field, the full might of the English army could converge on the Portuguese foot, left leaderless thanks to the trebuchets. The Portuguese army dissolved, although the English were left to lick their wounds.

After the battle, General Curtice gathered information about the casualties inflicted on the Portuguese by the various arms under his command. The three trebuchets were found to have accounted for only fifteen Portuguese dead, although that did include the unfortunate Prince Rui. The many knights accounted for only 83 dead while the arrows were found to have killed 184. The largest contribution, however, was made by the melee infantry, who claimed 223 dead.