Conseil du Royaume

[_Tristan_]

A herald steps in front of the King's dais. He raises a parchment at the level of his head and slowly unrolls it. Waiting until the Conseil room is ushed, he then speaks in clear and loud voice.

"By the will of Philippe, King of the Franks,

En reconnaissance of his vassals' efforts in bringing down the enemies of France, His Majesty King Philippe hereby endows :

To the House of Bretagne, the castle of Angers, a poor compensation for the loss of Robert Bouchart;

To the House of Aquitaine, the castle of Bordeaux, again a poor compensation for the loss of a valiant vassal;

To the House of Bourgogne, the castle of Bern, for the support of the House in the wars;

To the House of Lorraine, the castle of Staufen, as reward to Senechal Hugues de Champagne, for the tremendous work done during his term;

After consultation with the Royal lawyers, His Majesty announces that the castles of Pamplona and Valencia and the city of London do not meet the legal requirements to be considered ratified and will need to be in the coming Session of the Conseil.

His Majesty further announces that the castle of Nottingham and the cities of York and Nuremburg are to remain in the King's Demesne. His Majesty wishes to thank the Senechal for his efforts in taking the latter but feels it may be essential in negotiating a truce with our Imperial neighbours.

L'an de Grâce 1110,

Sealed with the King's Seal

Par la Grâce de Dieu,

Philippe
Roi des Francs

[Ramses II CP]

I thank you Mon Roi for granting Bordeaux to my House. We will have the vineyards in shape again in no time.

In my state I somehow overlooked the loss of Sir Robert Bouchart. I grieve at his death, and will drink to his memory after I pray for his speedy passage into heaven. Good men are few and far between these days it would seem, and we have lost more than one of late.

I have spent many hours in thought of late, and I have some proposals for our next session that I believe may bridge gaps within the Frankish people and perhaps even find peace for us, peace I think our weary nation must need. I have also, unfortunately, been hearing hideous rumors spread about my own good person through the city streets. I ask that they be disregarded, such are not a fit topic of discussion for this Council.

Our nation is whole! Our bitter foes are driven back, our oldest grudge repaid, and our noble goal in God's name accomplished. Much has been done, but heavy has become the price of it.

Eat, drink, and be merry men, for soon we council.

[Braden]

*Henri returns from the siege of Hamburg, he is clean and calm in demeanour*

My lords,

I ask the Seneschal clarify some aspects of his latest report. Firstly my assumption is that we have been rejected again by both the English and the Germans. Whilst the Germans are certainly still a very great threat the English have been dealt with..completely.

Whilst I applaud the Seneschal’s efforts to attain a formal peace..can we not just abandon Albion to its native peoples? Let us keep the channel as our buffer and allow time and space become our peace…I believe that we should now walk out of York, Nottingham and London and recall our men of arms completely (OOC: empty the settlements, up the tax and let them go “rebel”). Leave the English and their new King to stabilise his kingdom as he see’s fit.

As to the Germans…again, I applaud the Seneschal’s efforts towards peace but I baulk at the sums being offered here! We complain we lack coin and yet 8,000 florins are offered? I ask that the Seneschal await further consolidation of our position in the East and we may yet be able to offer a better deal in land than being offered now.

Again though, should the Germans wish to remain formally at war then why do we have to remain so? If we offer multiple lands to them…and coin..and trade rights and other incentives and they are still rejected again I say we build our borders, patrol them often and build peace though passive action.

The Germans do not have the stomach to fight me at Hamburg even though they outnumber me still 2:1…I do not believe they will have the will to continue the fight when it becomes clear we have no more aggressive intent.

[deguerra]

I find myself in complete agreement with everything young Prince Henri has said. Well spoken.