"I leave the country to you."
In the Silver Hall of the Norman Principality, the Duke of Normandy sat on the high ducal throne. He stared at his ministers and nobles and suddenly said such a sentence.
Duke Norman's words stunned everyone present, including not only the nobles of the principality, but also the archbishop of the Norman diocese, the Duke's brother Robert. Only William, who knew the future, would know what Duke Norman was doing at this time. What a decision was made.
"I decided to lead my army to pay homage to the Roman Emperor, to participate in this great Crusade, and to make a pilgrimage to this holy place in Jerusalem."
The Duke of Normandy expressed his thoughts, and all the nobles were in shock at this time. Although the Crusades were in full swing at this time, in order to regain the Holy Land of Jerusalem, countless poor knights and vagabonds, under the call of the Pope, The great nobles in Europe all united and asked their second sons to establish meritorious service and establish a country on the way to the Crusades. Everyone believed that their beliefs and happiness could be realized on the way to the Crusades, but for the European monarchs For us, the Crusades had little other appeal besides their religious appeal.
The predecessor of the Principality of Normandy was actually the Vikings. Although they surrendered to the King of France and converted to God as a condition, everyone at the top and bottom became Christians, but this was just superficial. Faith and piety were very important to the Duke of Normandy. It's somewhat lacking.
"Your Highness, think twice!"
The nobles all admonished each other. Only Duke Norman, who was sitting on the throne, had a calm expression. He just said in a low voice and an unquestionable tone, "This is not a discussion, but a decision. Whether you agree or not does not matter. my decision."
"Your Highness, my respected brother, do you want to imitate Alexander?"
Bishop Robert said in a deep voice with a questioning tone. Although Duke Norman said that his words were his decision and no one could refute it, as the Duke's younger brother and archbishop, the weight of his words was always different.
"Maybe I am Philip, after all, my son is Alexander." Duke Norman smiled softly, showing no concern for his brother's worries.
"Your son, the only heir of the family, is only seven years old." The archbishop added immediately, and everyone looked at each other in shock before reacting.
Alexander the Great, the historical King of Macedonia, was called the Great because of his great achievements in history.
For example, William the Conqueror's greatest achievement in history was the Norman Conquest and the conquest of England. Then Alexander the Great's greatest achievement was the establishment of the Macedonian Empire across Asia, Europe and Africa through the Eastern Expedition.
It's just that the powerful Macedonian Empire was short-lived. Although Alexander's father, the former King Philip, died young, he left his son a well-organized powerful country, an invincible army, and capable ministers loyal to the king. Alexander successfully came of age and took over the throne.
When Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three, his only child was still in his wife's belly. So before the legal heir appeared, his generals fought, and civil strife broke out in the Macedonian Empire. Twenty years of war left Alexander's mother, brother, wife and posthumous son died unexpectedly. It can be said that the Kingdom of Macedonia, which had been inherited for hundreds of years, was destroyed.
Most of the nobles in the Norman Principality are knights. They are all illiterate and rough. When Bishop Robert said the names of the two foreigners, Alexander and Philip, everyone could only look at each other, not understanding what they were talking about. What is it? But when Bishop Robert said that the little prince was only seven years old, everyone present understood.
It is not a wise thing for a monarch of a country to leave his underage son and lead an army to participate in the Crusades with an uncertain future, especially since the distant east is far away from the Duke of Normandy. Even if there is a war, It may not be possible to establish effective rule.
"My dear brother, you are a servant of God, and I am a soldier of God. I believe that God will bless me and my country and family. While fighting for the glory of God, God will not let terrible things happen to me. Even if one day, my family is able to wear the ducal crown because of God's favor, but if it is lost, it will be God's intention. God gives, God takes back, and what I do is only add to God's It’s just glory.”
The Duke of Normandy said that when he raised the banner of God and faith, as the archbishop, he could no longer say anything against it. Righteousness was the political correctness that no king, priest, or noble could resist, even if No. The Man people are not devout in their belief in God, but this does not prevent them from always showing piety to the outside world.
"Alexander, your father, Philip, Duke of Normandy, is about to go on the Crusades. I will get you a kingdom from the Greek emperor, and maybe a princess in purple."
Duke Norman looked at his young son standing aside quietly without saying anything. Perhaps in the eyes of the young child, he did not understand what the adults' dispute meant, so he looked at him with more pity. , touched his head showing rare tenderness.
Princesses and princes are everywhere in the fairy tale world, just like the princes and princesses in the Spring and Autumn Period of China. But if you want to talk about which princess's identity is the most precious, then there is no doubt that it is the princess of the Zhou royal family.
Among the married women in the royal family, the surname Ji is the most expensive, so the surname Ji later extended to mean princess.
The woman with the most noble status and the noblest blood in the West is the daughter of the Roman emperor. In the Byzantine Empire, she was born in the purple palace as the purple princess.
"Brother, you can't brag without drafting like this!"
Bishop Robert said with a wry smile. The nobles present still didn't understand what the two were talking about. They just understood that the Duke's expedition was for the sake of the kingdom and the princess of Byzantium.
Whether it was the former Frankish Emperor Charlemagne or Emperor Otto of the Holy Roman Empire, it was so difficult to marry a Roman emperor's princess, not to mention the Normans who were regarded as barbarians.
In the eyes of the proud Byzantines, the Western European countries where Charlemagne lived were barbarians, and the Normans in France and Italy were even more barbarians. In the eyes of the barbarians, it was simply too much for a barbarian to marry the purple princess of Byzantium. It's like a dream.
Since Octavian established the head of state system and became Augustus, the supreme and holy emperor, the original republic has become an empire. As an empire, you must first consider the succession of the throne. Initially, it was a patrilineal family inheritance, and in the Roman Empire Christianity was made the state religion and the system of monogamy was established.
Under the monogamous marriage system, no matter how many lovers or illegitimate children the king has, in the formal political spectrum, illegitimate children do not exist. Only the wife, the queen, or the children born to the queen are each other's legal heirs. This As a result, if the queens, queens, emperors, and kings were not particularly gifted and fertile, then it would be reasonable for the royal family, especially the male royal family, to be rare.
Therefore, when the emperor had no sons, he would adopt the method of adoption from the same family. If there were no sons from the same family, adoption from the matrilineal family would take the place. For example, Caesar the Great adopted his nephew Octavian. In the middle and late period of the Roman Empire, the number of adoptions decreased. Daughters have the right to inherit according to Roman law, so choosing a male to inherit through marriage is also the way to inherit the throne.
Royal members born in purple palaces have higher inheritance rights. If it is a purple princess, there is no example of marrying outside. They are also the legal heirs to the throne. Historically, Emperor Otto the Great did not marry a purple princess, but the niece of the Roman emperor at that time. .
"Father, I want to go to Byzantium with you." William said suddenly.
If he remembered correctly, in the original history, Duke William's fiancée was Snow White, the daughter of the Duke of Hanover, one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Duke of Hanover is the elector of the Holy Roman Empire. According to convention, the future Holy Roman Emperor will be born from the electors. After excluding the three clergy electors, the remaining four electors are all contenders for the throne.
Therefore, if Duke William really marries Snow White, then it is inevitable that he will become the Holy Roman Emperor. Therefore, in order to compete with him, William must also marry a princess. If he can really marry a purple princess, then he will also Able to become Roman Emperor.
