Kingdom of Farglow

The Kingdom of Farglow is a Breton kingdom on the northwest coast of High Rock.

The kingdom is famed for the great lighthouse in its eponymous capital city.

Government
An archetypal Breton realm, Farglow is a collection of fiefdoms united by fealty to the King of Farglow – belonging to the royal House of Gimond. The king, in turn, is a vassal of the distant Emperor of Tamriel. Despite paying lip service to the emperor, the monarch of Farglow enjoys de facto independence within his dominion.

Comprised of two duchies, {X} earldoms and a multitude of baronies, the kingdom is a convoluted patchwork of fiefdoms orbiting the great trading city of Farglow. The nobility who rule these territories by hereditary right are bound by oath to offer loyalty and service to their liege, the king. In return, they can expect to govern their lands with minimal royal interference.

The vassals and subjects of the king expect to be consulted on affairs of state; those matters affecting the commonweal of the realm. The advice and assent of the realm is articulated in parliaments – otherwise called great councils – attended by the kingdom's tenants-in-chief. Fundamentally, the acceptance of royal policy is procured in exchange for the redress of grievances.

In addition to parliaments, the king is advised and served by the Royal Council. Whereas attendance of parliament is determined by land tenure, appointment to the Royal Council is formally at the king's discretion. This body of advisers is composed of the most powerful, talented, loyal and favoured individuals in service to the king. The heart of the royal administration, its members are the great officers of the realm.

History - Summary
Jocelyn VII, King of Farglow, died in 3E 236 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Jocelyn VIII. After fifteen months on the throne, the childless Jocelyn VIII died in a hunting accident in the company of his brothers. His eldest brother succeeded to the throne as Bernard I. One of his first acts as king was to grant his younger brother, Prince Henri, the title of Duke of Rosea. One of the House of Gimond's traditional subsidiary titles, this grant included a generous portfolio of lands.

Despite persistent rumours of fratricide, Bernard I ruled peacefully for almost thirty years with the support of his pliant younger brother. The complacency and frugality of this long reign would, however, plague his son and successor Bernard II. Once a dominant force on the northern waters, the royal navy of Farglow had dwindled to a mere four ships upon Bernard II's accession in 3E 266. As a result, the early 3E 270s witnessed a marked increase in piracy in the region, with merchant vessels and their goods being seized with bold impunity.

Detrimental to the kingdom and the province, Bernard II bowed to increasing pressures from his subjects and the White-Gold Tower, and convened a parliament in 3E 275 to address the crisis. The king sought funds from his subjects to rebuild the royal navy, but the assembled lords, knights and burghers insisted on a more immediate solution. Reluctantly, Bernard II publicly appealed to his vassal Roger Vaux, earl of Galtor, who possessed a large private fleet capable of dislodging the pirates. Although the earl expressed his enthusiasm before parliament, in private the conditions of his cooperation were laid bare. Vaux insisted on the office of Lord Admiral; a reasonable concession. Less reasonably, he demanded the betrothal of his daughter (and heiress presumptive) to the royal heir, Prince Jocelyn. With signature reluctance, the king accepted these conditions. Within six months, the scourge of piracy was removed from Farglow's waters.

Bernard II died in 3E 281, being succeeded by his son Jocelyn IX. The accession of this young king consolidated the influence of his intended father-in-law, the earl of Galtor, at the royal court of Farglow. Though betrothed to Lady Sibylle Vaux, Jocelyn IX quickly achieved a reputation for womanising; maintaining a score of public mistresses. This did not, however, diminish the accord between the king and Galtor. In 3E 286, when Lady Sibylle turned twenty, the earl of Galtor threw an extravagant banquet at his city residence to celebrate her imminent royal nuptials and subsequent queenship. The king was conspicuously absent from this revelry. In the following weeks, the king avoided the subject of marriage until the awkwardness became unpalatable; Jocelyn IX was obliged to confess that he was already married. The daughter of the proud earl of Galtor had not been spurned for a prestigious foreign princess, but for the commoner Marie Falga.

As restitution for this breach of faith, Jocelyn IX arranged the marriage between the scorned Lady Sibylle Vaux and his younger brother, Prince Bernard. Before the royal court, the earl of Galtor graciously accepted this reparation and was publicly reconciled with the king and his wife. In private, however, Vaux raged; marriage to a younger prince (albeit the heir presumptive to the kingdom) was meagre compensation for his daughter's stolen queenship. Jocelyn IX, realising his error in cheating one of his leading noblemen, sought further reconciliation with the earl of Galtor by securing the appointment of his brother, Regis Vaux, to the bishopric of Farglow in 3E 288.

Reconciliation between the regime and Vaux was mooted with the death, in childbirth, of Lady Sibylle in 3E 289. Her son, named Roger, only lived for a week. Citing melancholy, the earl of Galtor withdrew from the royal court to his castle. Though remaining Lord Admiral, Vaux's ships were withdrawn from the capital following his departure. Two years late, in 2E 291, King Jocelyn IX died unexpectedly at the age of thirty-one. His widow was five months pregnant with the king's first child; for the remainder of her pregnancy the realm endured without a monarch. The late king's brother, Prince Bernard, assumed the title of Lord Protector and governed alongside the Royal Council. Jocelyn X – called the Posthumous – became King of Farglow upon his birth.

Following the birth of the king, the regency of Prince Bernard was immediately challenged. Henri, Duke of Rosea issued a proclamation that as the most senior nobleman and royal (as grandson of King Jocelyn VII) the protectorate of the realm was rightfully his. This assertion was precipitated by the duke's collusion with his brother-in-law, the earl of Galtor. Raising an army across his estates, Rosea demanded that Prince Bernard renounce the title of Lord Protector and yield the capital (along with the infant Jocelyn X) to him. The duke's forces assembled at {Place}, where it awaited promised reinforcements from the earl of Galtor.

Prince Bernard, having anticipated a challenge to his regency, had placed certain noblemen on alert to protect "the heir of the late king Jocelyn"; preempting the birth of Jocelyn X. Following the proclamation by the Duke of Rosea, these lords led their levies to {Place} where the prince had fortified himself. The prince's scouts reported the inferiority of Rosea's numbers; despite their collusion the earl of Galtor's reinforcements had yet to materialise. Judging an opportunity to strike, the army of Prince Bernard fell upon the Duke of Rosea's encampment under the cover of night. What followed was closer to a massacre than a battle. With no time to arm or armour themselves, knights were cut down in their undergarments. The most significant fatality of the so-called Battle of {Place} was Henri, Duke of Rosea. It was said that the duke, trapped inside his tent, was burned alive.

The horrifying death of the Duke of Rosea did not, decisively, end the threat to Prince Bernard's protectorate.

Timeline (WIP)
3E 236 — Jocelyn VIII becomes King of Farglow. 3E 237 — Bernard I becomes King of Farglow. 3E 266 — Bernard II becomes King of Farglow. 3E 281 — Jocelyn IX becomes King of Farglow. 3E 291 — The regency crisis begins. 3E 292 — Henri III becomes King of Farglow.
 * He succeeds his father, Jocelyn VII.
 * He succeeds his brother, Jocelyn VIII.
 * He succeeds his father, Bernard I.
 * He succeeds his father, Bernard II.
 * Jocelyn IX dies when his wife is five months pregnant. The late king's brother, Prince Bernard, is proclaimed regent.
 * After the posthumous birth of Jocelyn X, Henri, Duke of {Duchy} challenges the regency of Prince Bernard.
 * Conspiring with his brother-in-law Roger Vaux, Earl of Galtor, the duke of Rosea marches on the capital. Galtor and his levies do not materialise, and the duke is defeated and killed in battle by the prince-regent.
 * Prince Bernard marches to {Castle} to receive the submission of the late duke's son and heir, Henri. The new duke of Rosea defies the prince-regent and is subjected to a siege. The earl of Galtor arrives to relieve the siege, and Duke Henri leads a complementary sortie. The prince-regent is defeated, but escapes the ensuing slaughter.
 * Duke Henri marches on the capital, ostensibly to become the infant king's regent. Soon after his arrival, however, he claims the throne of Farglow for himself as King Henri III.
 * The supporters of the new king are showered with rewards; Roger Vaux is elevated to the ducal rank and is re-appointed Lord Admiral and Lord Steward.

Line of Succession - WIP
Assuming male-preference primogeniture.

Henrician Succession
Assuming the illegitimacy of Bernard I (3E 193–266) and his descendants.
 * Henri III, King of Farglow (b. 3E 265)
 * Prince Jocelyn (b. 3E 297)
 * Gaston, Duke of Rosea (b. 3E 269)
 * Isabeau, Countess of Velmouth (b. 3E 263)
 * Cecile (b. 3E 269)
 * Agnes, Queen of Goldenstar (b. 3E 272)
 * Louis, Prince of Goldenstar (b. 3E 296)
 * Henriette, Dowager Countess of Torrent Hill (b. 3E 243)
 * Edward, Earl of Torrent Hill (b. 3E 274)
 * Jocelyne Meral, Baroness of {Barony} (b. 3E 283)
 * Roger Vaux, Duke of Galtor (b. 241)
 * Roger Vaux, jure uxoris Baron of {Barony} (b. 3E 281)

Bernardine Succession
Assuming the legitimacy of Bernard I (3E 193–266) and his descendants.
 * Jocelyn X, King of Farglow
 * Bernard, Prince of Farglow (b. 3E 263)
 * Yolande, Princess of Farglow (b. 3E 221)
 * Louis VII, King of Goldenstar (b.3E 274)
 * Louis, Prince of Goldenstar (b. 3E 296)
 * Francois, Prince of Goldenstar (b. 278)
 * Henri, Duke of Rosea (b. 3E 265) (King Henri III)
 * Jocelyn Gimond (b. 3E 297) (Prince Jocelyn)
 * Gaston, Duke of Rosea (b. 3E 269)
 * Isabeau, Countess of Velmouth (b. 3E 263)
 * Cecile (b. 3E 269)
 * Agnes, Queen of {Kingdom} (b. 3E 272)
 * Henriette, Dowager Countess of Torrent Hill (b. 3E 243)
 * Edward, Earl of Torrent Hill (b. 3E 274)
 * Jocelyne Meral, Baroness of {Barony} (b. 3E 283)
 * Roger Vaux, Duke of Galtor (b. 241)
 * Roger Vaux, jure uxoris Baron of {Barony} (b. 3E 281)