Occult Dabbling

So having given independence, and getting the Pope back on my doorstep, I decided that it was time to try an anti-pope - and see if that might solve the issue of the interminable Italian wars.

First step, change the laws to free investiture....

I went with Papal investiture centuries ago, mainly because under free investiture I ran into problems repopulating the court. Not being a maths type player I can't give statistics on this - but imo an man and his fifties is more fertile with a 17 year old girl, than a younger man.

That and it was just easier to let the Pope do it, get the bonus in relations and take his money.

Then we took back Spoleto from the nearly independent Duchy of Modena.

But oh dear, the Bavarians have set up an anti-pope of their own.... thou shalt have no anti-pope but mine.

So it is off over the mountains....

The fighting was pretty fierce....

There were two large battles, one involving 35,000 on each side, and another with about 25,000 on each side. While ultimately we have the advantage of numbers - have employed every mercenary we could - the Bavarians were working on home territory, and were able to pull their neutral (in our war at least) allies out of the ongoing Holy War for Pest. Thus we ended up fighting and defeating the main armies of England and Aquitaine in the course of the fighting.

At last the King of Italy died, and his successor, the one time King of Croatia, started pushing to vassalise de-jure duchies. Which in turn led to Zeta going into to his realm, as it was held by the Duchy of Bosnia.

Which in my book means war!

Which we win, but then the newly independent duchies in Northern Italy decide they are not true Polkarios', and give up their independence...

Which on the face of it is a bad thing. But more annoying is that the Duchy of Croatia - which has been independent for centuries - decided they had had enough of deciding their own destiny.

Meh....

Oh I did have to laugh, when the newly independent Duke of Lombardy, got kicked off is land - that bloke has always been an idiot.

Oh and we got a new Duke...

Who is not great, but he will do.

I wonder who this happened....

Which leaves the Italians with an 8 year old in charge.

Other than that we have been filling the court with heretics, and looking for the idea candidate for anti-pope.

I'm not sure what will happen, but there are only 25 years left in the game, so it will be interesting to see the results of my religious dabbling.

I probably should have gone for one heresy rather than mixing Cathars and Waldensians...

Right time to reclaim Lombardy by pushing the numpty's claim.

peace:)