Monarchs of the Tall Kingdom

"*Der Käse uber alles regeln"- Es ist ein Wunderbar Leben*

The monarchs of the Groß Königsreich (*Great Kingdom),* better known in Pem as the Tall Kingdom, ruled over the Greater Hanseatic region from the Singing of the Treaty of the Kingdom in 879, until the defeat of the kingdom in the Second Tall Kingdom War in 303BGE.

The kingdom's origins date back to the signing of the Treaty of the Kingdom, which established a union between the Kingdom of Bressa and the Hansea Staatenbund city-states of Wasmeinau, Amstrad and Malergrundisch. The monarchy ended with the reign of Alphonse IV von Käse, who was forced to abdicate following the defeat of the Great Kingdom in the Second Tall Kingdom War and the Treaty of Wasmeinau.

The official dating system of the Tall Kingdom is organised into eras that begin and end with the ascension of a new house to the throne.

## List of Kings Edit

### **House of Hoffen (von Hoffen) 879-689?**

***Bismund von Hoffen** was renowned for his martial prowess. Bismund inherited three major fiefdoms (Richten, Schottle and Hammar) in North-west Hansea that provided him the economic and industrial means to raise a significant army. Bismund fought a number of skirmishes against other ruling houses of the Hanseatic region and gradually gained their allegiance by threat of destruction. It was under his duress that the major Hanseatic fiefdoms unified as the Great Kingdom, with Bismund I as their king. The ruling families of the fiefdoms became the noble families of the Great Kingdom.*

*As well as an effective general,* *Bismund was an efficient, albeit apathetic, statesman. However, he was seen by many as a tyrant and he embodied their humiliation, rather than national unity. Furthermore, his political attitudes and policies towards the Great Kingdom's 'provinces' were often perceived as overly harsh. Bismund spent much of his reign in his home fiefdom in the far north-east reaches of the kingdom and by the time of his death significant decentralisation had already begun to plague the kingdom. Bismund I died of an unknown illness suddenly at the age of 55, with some contemporary observers and historians believing it to be an assassination, possibly by his advisors or son.*

***Bismund II** was a much more level headed, active statesmen when compared to his father. One of his first acts was to move the kingdom's capital from Richten to Amstrad, a well-established city on the Hanseatic land-bridge, the most prosperous area of the kingdom. Bismund II focused on building, carefully constructed and interwoven economic treaties and relations with the noble families, in order to win their loyalty and to make them reliant on his patronage. Concurrently, he centralised numerous elements of the kingdom's beauracracy and economy. Whilst his intention was to create a strong monarchy, he laid the eventual groundwork for the noble families to gain huge amounts of economic and political power in the coming decades. His reign was an exceptionally long one and this is often cited as the reason for the brevity of his three heir's short reigns, as each were already advanced in age upon taking the throne.*

***Wiscard** was aged 62 upon taking the throne and was not expected to live for long, as he had a history of poor health and illness. Most of his duties were split between his two brothers. Wiscard did not have any children and it is widely understood that he was homosexual. He spent most of his reign secluded in one of numerous residences recovering from illness in the company of his confidant and suspected lover, Muskrat Emmin.*

***Harpin** had been de facto ruler of the Great Kingdom since the start of his elder brother Wiscard's reign. He is considered to be a competent ruler by most historians, though his economic policies were largely devolved to his brother Leopold. Prior to his reign, Harpin was actually mistaken by a number of his subjects as his elder brother king Wiscard, owing to being 'nicknamed' "King Wiscard". Harpin's three sons were all killed in unusual circumstances, though their deaths were not considered to suspicious at the time.*

***Leopold I** was considered an 'economic genius' but a terrible king, albeit one with good, well-founded intentions. He was in control of the Kingdom's economic policy from 801BGE until his brother, Harpin, died in 787. In this time he established fledgling economic institutions and lay the framework for the expansion of private enterprise in the Great Kingdom. Upon ascending to the throne he attempted to strip the noble houses of significant economic and political rights and privileges, which he saw as major barriers to free market progress. This almost culminated in civil war until his uncle, Johan von Hoffen, convinced him to abdicate for the sake of the monarchy, peace and prosperity. As Leopold was heirless, Johan subsequently took the throne in his nephew's place. Leopold was killed three months after his abdication when the boat he was on sank during a trade mission to Archpolonia. Many contemporary historians recorded this a tragic accident in a storm in the Hanseatic sea, but it is now believed that this story may have been fabricated and the boat intentionally scuttled as an assassination plot against the former king.*

***Johan I** is considered the first "puppet" king of the Great Kingdom, a pattern that continued on and off until the abolition of the monarchy. Johan is considered to have been bribed and coerced by a number of noble houses to convince his nephew, Leopold that the threat to the monarchy and kingdom's stability was far greater than it actually was. Although the noble houses had a great amount of political and economic clout it was nowhere near as well established as it became later in the kingdom's history. Subsequently, Leopold I's policies posed a real and imminent threat to the power of the noble houses. Throughout Johan's reign the houses offered him significant support, but this was in return for major political and economic favours that placed them into a central position in the economic system established by Leopold I.*

***Johan II*** *respected his father as saviour of the kingdom and championed him as such, building a number of monuments to him. Following the destruction of Rubellium, he campaigned on a platform of national sovereignty to raise funds for fortifications in the south-west, and for an expansion of the Northern Sea navy.*

***Johan III** was king from a young age. He went against the wishes of the noble houses and prepared economic treaties with Paramacca which ensured peace within the kingdom.*

***Robert I** A weak king, the kingdom nevertheless endured a period of stability and prosperity under him as the noble houses were subdued owing to the threat of Paramacca. Robert went insane for unknown reasons in 726 and decreed his son could rule without a regent. Following the signing of this decree into law, he threw himself from the kase-schloss, leaving his six year old son, Arnold, as heir.*

***Arnold I*** *was legally king from aged six, due to his father's decree that he could rule without a regent. It was deemed that the young king would be locked up and denied knowledge of the decree, allowing his uncle Johannus to rule as regent. As Arnold grew older, the threat grew that he may uncover the legality of this state of affairs. Helena von Drachen, second daughter of the noble house of Drachen, was employed by her father to seduce the young king and gain his trust to convince him to stay locked in solitude in the tower. Whilst the cunning and beautiful Helena was successful at first, she grew increasingly concerned over the king's deteriorated mental state after his years locked away with little outside contact. On the insistence of the noble houses, her charade continued. After she was not heard from for several days, she was tragically found murdered in the king's chambers.*

*Following his murder of Helena, the kingdom was thrown into constitutional crisis. Lord Drachen demanded the king face retribution, but the other noble houses refused. The Drachen family were given huge land concessions and were granted valuable hunting rights in the lands north of Malergrundisch in return for their silence. Arnold I was found dead just two months later under bizarre circumstances. It was later concluded that his chambermaid had killed him in self-defense, herself succumbing to wounds he inflicted.*

***Johannus** **I** was brother of Robert I and ruled as regent for his nephew Arnold. He was considered a level-headed and intelligent statesman, who carefully balanced the power of the noble houses with his position as regent. Following Arnold's death he became king and sought to persue new international relations following the conclusion of the Northern War, as well as owing to the destruction of their major western trading partner, Alasorra.*

*Whilst officially neutral in the War of the Banners in the Centrelands, Johannus saw that various sides in the conflict were supplied with weaponry. He attended the marriage and coronation of Tentavius I.*

***Johan IV** was considered a strong king and in opposition to the far-reaching power of the noble houses, who he believed had long conspired against the monarchy. He was fascinated with his great-uncle Leopold I and what the country might be like had his plans of free-enterprise and diminished noble influence come to fruition.*

*He spent many years gaining the support of various minor nobles, who were opposed to the increasingly dominant influences of a handful of major noble houses. In 690 he decreed the abolition of a number of major laws and treaties that had underpinned the Great Kingdom's economic and political framework for the prior two centuries. This act would have stripped the major noble houses of franchises and legal powers that had under-pinned their defacto rule up until this point.*

*The abolition sparked a civil war, with the major houses rising up against the von Hoffen monarchy and the minor nobles.* *Ultimately, the major noble houses held key cities and lands; with these came military loyalties. The civil war ended in defeat for the incumbent Johan IV. Rather than be executed, which would set a bad precedent for the monarchy, he was banished, fleeing to Archpolonia.*

### **House of Washmain *689-540BGE***

*Johan I was already old when taking the throne and did not marry until three years after his coronation. Furthermore, as he was also considered to be homosexual it was largely believed he would not produce and heir. This understanding was only exacerbated when Johan became bedridden in his later years. His young cousin Frederic von Soleil-Brunnisch was heir to throne and summarily groomed by the great houses for several years to be a puppet-king after Johan, with Gunnard von Drachen becoming a close confidant to the would-be-king.*

*However, to the surprise of the kingdom and those further abroad, Johan's wife bore a child just three months before his passing.* *This created turmoil in the kingdom and among the great houses, particularly due to the numerous vested interested of the members of the noble houses. A secret and complex series of treaties were contrived to compensate and create an acceptable balance of powers, known as the edler königlicher-Kompromiss ("Noble Royal-Compromise"). As a result, Frederic was installed as regent and his teenage daughter Eloise von Soleil-Brunnisch was to be married to the infant king.*

***Johan II**  was an infant king for the first 16 years of his reign, having ascended to the throne aged three months. The regent, his cousin Frederic, had been groomed by the noble houses and served as a puppet-regent. The power of the noble houses only grew under the regency and specific noble houses began to grow in dominance. The houses of Drachen and Käse began to become the key regional players in Malergrundisch and Wasmeinau respectively, utilising their vast landholdings to control the kingdom's agriculture and peasant workforce. Furthermore, the kingdom grew new economic and political ties with Alleuria owing to the regent's half-Alleurian noble parentage. Amstrad saw an influx of trade with Alleuria during this period, following the discovery and navigation of the Ice Route in the Eastern Sea.*

The infamous Seven Nights of Marguerite regarded the indiscretions of Marguerite du Soleil-Brunnisch, in which she is understood to have slept with each of the eldest sons of the great houses. In some versions of the legend she bore a child with each.

### **House of ? *500-444 BGE***

 Tentavius IV
 Rubrick II
 Julian
 Margaret

### **House of ? *444-401 BGE* (Heart)**

 Esbern III
 Fabius VI
 Fabius VII