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thebloodrose1 · 27 days ago

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The Duchies, Republics and other Political Entities of TBR

The Empire (as it happens with feudal societies) is split in many different smaller entities. I'll begin with the outermost edges of the Empire and move my way closer inwards. I do not have a coherent map yet, unfortunately, even though I have tried many times.

In the North, there are Norse Duchies of Rabenyck, Yoorenhal and Weserick. The Lords of these Duchies style themselves as Jarls, however, and pay lip service to the Emperors. Their lands are somewhat desolate and forested, and I imagine them to be like early medieval Denmark/Poland. Culturally, they are a mix of Slavic/Nordic, though there is a land further up north, beyond the sea, where more of their kin live. Kinsmen which many times come to them in the form of mercenaries. So pretty much just early medieval Denmark.

To the west, beyond the Karlsmountains (Alps) there are the Republics and Duchies of Halia and Haringen. Halia is akin to northern Italy in the High Medieval period, and Haringen like Burgundy. Halia is a mix of Cultures, every city with its own traditions and accents (just like irl lol). Further west we have the Pontificate of the Aegriscol, a.k.a, the Papacy. With Pope/P.M. shenanigans, of course. Further west, we finally have the Kingdom of Sicily whose in univserse name I have not yet decided on. It might play a role in the second part, though that is still up to imagination.

Further south, we have the Kingdom of Angiria (France) though they won't play too big of a role in the first part (maybe part two). Somewhere there is an equivalent of England. Now England is historically important, and its quite interresting to see their effect on German history in the period I draw inspiration from.

Quick history note (I might be wrong here on many accounts): When Richard the Lionheart returned to Europe after the Third Crusade, he was captured somewhere near Aquilea or Austria (i think) and was then incarcerated by Emperor Heinrich VI Hohenstaufen. He was only released after a ransom which bankrupted England. The House Plantagenet had also married into the House of Welf (rivals of the Hohenstaufen), so they had support from England during the interregnum following Heinrich's death.

Somewhere FURTHER south, there will be the equivalent of the Eastern Roman Empire/Arabic Caliphate but they will not be relevant to the plot lmao. Even though Frederick II did go on crusade lol. I WOULD like to write about a crusade but it just wouldn't be coherent with the story I wish to tell, so thats unfortunately not too possible.

Anyway, lets get back to the Empire. The Duchy of the Karlsvale is pretty much just a mix of Bavaria and Austria, so the early Bavaria of the H.R.E. They are ruled (traditionally) by the Lords of Bergthum, the House Bercken. They are really important, and I will very likely write a post about them some other day. Their lands are pretty mountainous/broken. Something cool i think I did was calling their forests "smallwoods" or something, as the trees in the region seem to grow in small clusters. Basically, think of the Reach in Skyrim.

Going south, we have the Duchy of Johansgrab. The Duchy's name will probably change, as its main city has the same name. Its to the East of Haringen and South of the Karlsvale. It's pretty much just the Duchy of Swabia from the High medieval period. Its smaller than Swabia (im pretty sure). In my first draft it was a holy city, however now i dont think it would make sense. They are ruled by the House Danstern (our equivalent to the Hohenstaufen), the current Emperors. Its a rather hilly land, especially to its north, though there is also the river Vithe flowing through and down to the sea.

Following the river and going south again, we have the equivalent of the Lowlands (Benelux). There are a bunch of smaller Lordships and stuff here that I don't have the mood to cover now.

Going north again, we have another mostly flatlandish land which are ruled by the House Keren (equivalent House Welf, though that status may change). So the lands are pretty much the medieval Duchy of Saxony, or in the modern terms the German State of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony). They're a bit different than historically, though. The house of Keren is actually wealthy due to trade, having two large ports by the sea and not rivers like in Germany. (The names of these ports are Portzburg and Kerhafen) (Surprisingly enough, the inspiration for the name Portzburg didn't come from Port but rather from the district of Cologne "Porz".).

Going north, we have the Helver. This is the equivalent of the Rhine, and its not really a single Duchy. There are multiple cities and castles at the river's side, with not one Lord superior to others. However, the capital of the Empire (Königsgrab), lays by the river. The city is bound directly to the ruling House of the Empire, which makes the Emperor the defacto Duke of the Helver. Other than that I'd just like to remark that the Helver is much shorter than the Rhine. This means that there is a large plain between the river and the Karlsvale, which I'll get to now.

Between the Helver and the Karlsvale lie two separate Duchies (or just enntities since the term Duchy doesn't fit to one). The Duchy of Ilrichsburg (name might change due to same reason as Johansgrab), and the (something) of Schoetten. Now, Ilrichsburg is pretty much as close to the territory of Franken as one can get, however Schoetten is where I took a bit more liberty from. The Schoetten are like the Cumans/Hungarians. They control far less territory than their irl counterparts, but their cultures are similar. Horse riding, horse archery, you get it. They kinda came over at some point (like the foederati in the late Roman Empire) and just settled in accordance to some Emperor. They chill.

To the north of Ilrichsburg and Schoetten and south of Yoorenhal andd Rabenyck, we have the Margriavate of the Ingram. The Ingram is this pretty big river (the Oder irl) and the Margriavate just kinda traditionally protects the realm. Proud border guards. They have a bunch of smaller Lordships nearby loyal to them, and they themselves are loyal to the Emperor.

Finally, we come to the final stretch of Land. North of the Helver and Southeast of the Ingram we have the Duchy of the Akin (Peninsula), ruled by the House Kahren. Its a very hilly peninsula, though they also have an area of flatland to the west, right next to the Margriavate. Yeah so the Kahren are pretty rich too, they got Iron and Gold mines, a port right where the Flatland begins called Kirtzen. You could compare them to the Lannisters of ASOIAF but they aren't as open as they are. No, the Kahren are REALLY discreet about their meddling. Anywho, they married into the royal line and shenanigans will ensue.

Those are all the big areas things. I don't have the energy to go further today. I'm just a bit drunk rn, and i need mcdonalds. If anyones reading this, thank you kindly.

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