Kings of the French - Introduction

The Kings of the French - Introduction

Being the first Tonto Clan Medieval: Total War succession game, played by Tonto_Marechal and myself from May to July, 2003. We were the French, Hard, Early. These pages are adapted and corrected from the original reign thread, which can be found here.

Anno Domini 1292 - Monastery of St. Louis, Paris

The Archbishop of Paris stopped next to the scribe's table. "Well," he said, "have you finished it yet?"

"Yes, Archbishop," the scribe replied, "I was just putting the finishing touches on it now." He reached down, blotted the ink, and looked back up. "Now it's done."

"You've fixed the inaccuracies of the other documents?"

"Yes Archbishop, though it was somewhat difficult, and I can't be sure in all cases. Some of the sources were rather thin with information."

The Archbishop nodded. "Still, the Emperor wanted an accurate family tree, and he now has one. Good work, Erik (they were letting more and more Germans into the priesthood these days...). I'll be needing that and your notes, now. The Emperor's getting a bit impatient."

"Thank you, Archbishop. Here you are," said the scribe, handing over a parchment.

The Archbishop gazed down at the notes as he walked toward the Emperor's castle:

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Notes on the Family Tree of the Poitevin Kings and Emperors of France and the West, From Philippe I to Louis IX

Firstly, the last name of the dynasty seems to be Poitevin in MTW, though in reality they're all descended from Hugh Capet, first king of the Capetian dynasty. Why the change, I don't know.

Kings are denoted by capitalized names. The numbers before the names are the order in which they reigned. Odd numbers are Marechal's reigns, even numbers are my own reigns.

Note that many of the family members stay alive for surprisingly long amounts of time, or have no death dates and the line continues as "Poitevins". This is a rationalization where old princes don't actually die in game, they just turn into generals.

[1] - Philippe I is a historical figure. In reality, he was born in 1052, not 1057, and died closer to the turn of the century. Both his wives are historical figures, but his children are not. Also, his reign began in 1060 in reality, but MTW starts in 1087.

[2] - Details on the sons of Philippe I are sketchy, since few of the sources survive. The marriages existed, but the actual names of the princesses or even nationalities are just guesses. What's more, most of them died at some time during Philippe II's invasion of England, and they're all dead by 1137. Charles is the same Charles who killed the English King and then went down fighting. Not actually Philippe II's son.

[3] - Charles is the same Charles who marries the German princess in the reign of Louis VII (1172). Her name is actually, though this is a guess, Judith Karolinger, not Brunhilda. As Charles Poitevin, he commands the garrison in Champagne until some time around 1254, when he's killed in the counterattack against the Germans.

[4] - General in Poland and Pomerania. Still around in 1289.

[5] - General in Prussia. Still around in 1289.

[6] - Gets married in 1163, and is a general in Genoa as of 1289. Also as of 1289, Jean's line holds title to the Duchy of Burgundy.

[7] - Another Prussian/Pomeranian royal general. Still kicking in 1289.

[8] - Conrad Karolinger is one of the most colorful generals in France. Related to the German royal line, Conrad was a Earl of Denmark, who was then bribed over to the French side, and married to Adelaide in the reign of Louis VII. He was a garrison commander until Charles V's reign, when he started commanding troops all over the east (yes, we really needed that many generals out there). When Denmark was lost to an resurgent Holy Roman Empire, Conrad lost his title, but is still alive.

[9] - This is the Henri that goes down fighting the Almohad Caliph in 1213 at the Battle of Cordoba. Not actually Charles IV's son, but his brother.

[10] - The same Jean who barbarously kills the Holy Roman Emperor in 1251 in the story, then is killed by Charles V for treason in 1265. His "son" is now a general in Venice as of 1289.

[11] - Still alive in 1289, Henri is a general in Prussia.

[12] - As of 1289, Philippe is a general in Poland.

[13] - As of 1289, Jean is a general in Greece. Yes, all those Jeans are really hard to keep track of.

Maps of the Kingdom of France, 1087-1329

PHILIPPE I (1087-1121)