| Prutons - from tribe to nation; Characteristics and History of the Prutons | |
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| Prut | Mar 24 2013, 02:15 AM Post #1 |
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Prutenia and the Prutons The definitive and official guide to the Pruton ethnolinguistic group of Kosmopol. Index: -Overview -Origin -History |
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| Prut | Mar 24 2013, 02:16 AM Post #2 |
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Overview: Prutons (Low Prut: Prutonen) are an ethnolinguistic group from a area of Nyktogeios called Prutenia, or members of any group descended from or associated with the ethnolinguistic or linguistic group(s) speaking the Low Prut and High Prut languages. This connection is usually based on ethnic and sometimes linguistic grounds, but can be on ancestral, cultural, and legal grounds as well. Historically and politically, the term Prutons refers to the indigenous populations of Mesonyktia and Neo Prutenia, and has historically referred to the inhabitants of the Prutonic Empire since the Meso-Protosian age. There are several hundred millions of Prutons in Kosmopol, of which a majority speaks either Low Prut or High Prut. The major population centres of Prutons are Prutenia (as part of the Prut Meritocracy) and Mesonyktia, in both of which over 200 million ethnic Prutons live. Prutons form substantial minorities in many parts of the Prut Meritocracy, neighbouring lands, and some former colonial Boreal nations. Prutons are also the namegivers of the Prutonic peoples, and are related to various other groups in Kosmopol. The traditional culture, art, and craftsmanship of Prutons encompass various forms of traditional music, cuisine, dance, literature, architectural styles, cinema, and clothing, some of which are globally recognisable. The dominant religion of Prutons is Heliandism (Silver Heliandism and Ragnaism being the majority Redactions), although other religions are not unheard of. Today, all Pruton nations have developed their own national identity and no longer consider themselves Prutons in the classical and historic sense. In modern contexts, Pruton groups usually identify with one of the major Pruton nationalities, e.g. Mesonyktian or Prut. Pretty pictures coming soon |
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| Prut | Mar 24 2013, 02:16 AM Post #3 |
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Origin: Prutenia (PROO-teh-nee-ah) is a geographic, political, and ethnolinguistic term that refers to certain area and its inhabitants on the Nyktogeios (Abendland in Low Prut) landmass in the Notalian hemisphere of Kosmopol. Specifically, the land bridge between Panonyktia in Nyktogeios’ north and Mesonyktia in the central part of the continent is the usual geographic extent of Prutenia, while the political and cultural definition encompass a larger area, depending on exact definitions used and other circumstances. The name is of Prutonic origin, and can be traced back to the third century since Heavenfall, where “Prutenia” became the universally recognised name for the area. Some inconclusive records from the area, mostly bilingual trade records in Old Prutonic and other languages, indicate that the region was called “Gefyria” previously, translating to bridge today, while the people were referred to as “Gefyrios”. Other sources suggest that the inhabitants were called “Thavmasios”, which appear to be translations from the original Old Prutonic term the inhabitants used for themselves. Current academic circles trace the name back to two the Old Prutonic words; prattuz and brahtaz. In Prutenia, general consensus is that both words, due to their morphological similarity and synonymity, are the etymological ancestor of the current terms “Prut” and “Pruton”, although popular opinion tends to favour the Prattuz-origin, since it is more in line with Pruton mentality, customs, and culture. The Prattuz-origin links the modern Low Prut term “Prut” over the Early Low Prut “Prat, Prot” and New Hanseatic Prut words “Prat/Pratt”, to Old Hanseatic Prut, all the way back to Old Prutonic “Prattuz”, interpreting it as the “tricky” and “cunning” ones. This is also related to the modern term “Protz(ig)”, meaning pretentious. The Brahtaz-origin recontructs it along the same linguistic principles, linking the modern “Prut” over the words “braht/praht” and “Pracht” and “prachtig/prächtig”, and the current etymologically related Low Prut term “prunk”, with brahtaz, roughly translating to “splendid, splendour / magnificent, magnificence”. This is supported by the “Thavmasios-translation”, as it means essentially the same. It is also etymologically related to the term “pretty”. A less common hypothesis is the “Gefyra/Brugjon-origin”, where the etymological origin lies in the Old Prutonic translation of Gefyra into Brugjon, hence “bridge”. This is however unlikely, as the word did not go through the same linguistic shifts like the terms “prattuz” and “brahtaz”, nor is it supported by any reliable records. Prutenia did not exist as a united polity until much later, and until the 7th century since Heavenfall it was a tribal federation of various Prutonic tribes. The premier unifying force of the tribal Prutons was the systematic introduction of Heliandism and the Vineta script, which replaced the previous runic writing system in favour of the system created by Wulfila the Enlightened. Over the course of several generations the secretive runes which were the portfolio of tribal shamans and priests soon lost importance and their magical, mysterious status, thus enabling an easier writing system to be utilised and spreading over the tribal boundaries, creating one linked culture and identity. During the same period the ethnogenesis of the Pruton peope happened, which identified itself with Wulfila’s enlightenment movement and conversion efforts, the city of Vineta (Wulfila’s home city and one of the larger settlements in the area), the Pranger tribe (first to embrace Heliandism) which lived in contemporary northeastern Neo Prutenia, and the tribal king Adalbehrt, who united the various Prutonic tribal groups, thus creating the Prutonic Empire. The Empire would fall in 2648 SH, after the Forty years war, and split into West Prutenia, called Mesonyktia, and East Prutenia, called Neo Prutenia. The name of the region however continued to be used. |
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| Prut | Mar 24 2013, 02:20 AM Post #4 |
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History: From the first century since Heavenfall to 2648 SH Pre-Protosian Age: Little is known about the Pre-Protosian Prutonic people. The only reliable records are the Ansger Chronicles, an incomplete collection of stories and heroic epics, which form the most extant source on Old Prutonic history, mythology and legends. The Ansger Chronicles were collected, written, and preserved by Ansger af Lioflik, a colleague of Wulfila the Enlightened. The segments about history are the best preserved, and mostly give details about the spread of Heliandism, Wulfila’s work, and the tribal wars which the conversions provoked. Only few of the old deities are mentioned by name or title, so the old pantheon could only be reconstructed partially. Legends have generally remained part of the oral folklore, and were subsequently written down and collected in the 29th century SH, providing a somewhat accurate picture of Old Prutons. Prior to Wulfila’s conversion and the spread of Heliandism, the Old Prutons prayed to many deities. The Chief deity in the pantheon was identified as Woed, associated with earthquakes, fire, volcanoes, wrath, and war. The strongest cult however was the cult around Pliht, the deity symbolising duty, honour, truth, loyalty, and peace. The Pranger tribe was chiefly associated with this divine figure. Other identified deities include Sunna, Fiur, Diop, Hunhraz, and major and minor spirits, as well as some heroes. According to the Ansger Chronicles, each tribe had a totemic deity which was the tribal “Urahn”, the original ancestor. Tribal Chieftains would be descended directly from such an ancestor. The blood link was proven with various quests, called “Lestian” where a potential future Chieftain or prominent member of the group would complete his quest and be considered in favour of the tribal Totem and original ancestor. Priests were their own caste and went through similar trials as potential Chieftains. Disputes between members were resolved by the groups elders, usually the collection of priests and if necessary the Chieftain. Infighting between members of the same group, especially drawing blood, was strictly forbidden and considered a grave taboo against the Totem and the Urahn. The usual punishment for breaking taboos was either death or exile. Such individuals were know as “Wirrwesan” and were shunned by all groups and avoided if possible. The “Wirrwesan” still play a role in Pruton folklore, often being depicted as fantastic creatures and spirits that are chthonic, daemonic, and generally mischievous in nature. On tribal culture, only general outlines are preserved. Old Pruton society wasn’t particularly stratified. In general, only three castes were recognised, all equal in “Wirdi” (worth/dignity). The priestly caste was the collection of all learned members of a group, which translates to everyone who was literate and passed the initiation quests and rites. The Old Prutonic Runic Script was complex and difficult to learn, mostly due to the secretive nature of the caste which preserved it. It was considered magical and the ability to learn, read, and interpret the runes was considered a sign of the favour of the deities, and only an exclusive group of individuals was granted this favour. Gender apparently didn’t play a role in this caste, as there is strong evidence that women were also members of the priestly caste, although there seems to be strong indicators that certain cults and deities were strictly gender-based. In example, all priests of Woed were men, and all priestesses of Sunna were female. The second caste was that of the “Leitari”, the leaders, or specifically those who lead. This group was composed of leading members whose accomplishments (Lestian) had elevated them and made them exemplar members of society. This group included accomplished hunters, warrior, craftsmen, and traders. While priests taught the group and were it’s memory and lore keepers, the Leitari lead the group and were day to day administrators. The third caste was the “Fulger”, those who follow, the followers. The Pranger book, a supplement to Ansger’s Chronicle, provides an interesting example of how an Old Prutonic tribe’s day to day activities looked like. The Pranger tribe was the first to convert to Heliandism and adopt Wulfila’s new script, hence this document is the oldest and mostly likely first native Pruton text written in the Wulfila script. The Pranger book indicates that tribes practised both agriculture and animal husbandry, but that herding and animals were more important than fields. Tribes lived in a semi-nomadic lifestyle, mostly as pastoralists, moving around their territories according to the seasons. Care was taken to avoid depleting local resources, hence they rarely settled somewhere for long. Permanent settlements were rare and usually small, a vast number of them having less than twenty households. Larger settlements only developed along very well travelled routes and acted as marketplaces, locations for intertribal games and festivals, pilgrimage sites, and as defensive positions and retreats in case of barbarian raids. Fish, veal, and beef were the chief trade goods which were exchanges in these settlements. Beef in particular was a desired commodity, and the size of a groups cattle herd was a strong indicator of a groups wealth. Resources and services were shared among the entire group, although not equally. Priests and Leaders could and would often claim more shares, frequently as sacrifices for the deities and spirits for the former, and as rewards for the later. Contact with other groups and tribes was frequent and regulated according to very specific customs. Contrary to usual relations between tribal societies, the Old Prutons did not live in a situation of endemic warfare. Warfare was the exception rather than the rule. Tribes often met in neutral grounds or designated settlements to exchange goods, stories, participate in games, and to find potential marriage partners. Marriage in Old Pruton tribal groups was strictly exogamic, and marriage between members of the same group was very rare and almost considered a taboo. Blood relatives of any kind never married. Usually women would chose their own husband, and both partners had to agree to the marriage and get the blessing of the other one’s parents before it was considered a legal bond according to tribal laws. Marriage was usually for life, although remarry in case of one partner’s death was acceptable. Men would prove themselves either in the games, through their accomplishments, or through their wealth. Women just had to be healthy and of age. Both partners were of roughly equal age, and according to the Pranger codex of law, the usual minimal age was twenty summers, i.e. twenty years. Remaining chaste until that age was considered important for both genders and a sign of maturity, as it was believed that it promoted character growth and health. Once a partner was chosen the tribal elders would negotiate which partner would be adopted into which tribe. Usually this was settled by quotas, and in a small majority of cases a man would move to the tribe of his new wife. A majority of tribes practised matrilineality, so mothers had special status in family units. All but the eldest daughter were considered “expendable”, as only the firstborn daughter would carry the family name and be able to inherit. Younger daughter had to create their own lineage or marry into other families. Old Pruton marriages were marriages of convenience and adultery wasn’t considered a taboo. Generally a man was allowed to keep a mistress, often one of the eponymous younger daughters of some family, but he had to finance her from his own wealth without damaging his legal wife or their children. Woman on the other had were not allowed to have a paramour until they produced a legal heir to their husband. Warfare between tribes was rare. Intertribal disputes were solved with games, or with a mediator. Often a third party would be sought out. If it came to irreconcilable differences, tribes would resort to a feud, called “Fehd”. This was a ritualised war which was fought until the conditions to end the feud were met. Breaking a feud was considered taboo and would jeopardise the long term survival of a tribe, as the entire group would be declared to be “Wirrwesen” and shunned by the rest of the tribes, or even actively hunted down and destroyed. Actual warfare was far more common with raiders, bandists, Wirrwesan groups, and outsiders. Horsemanship and bow were the most employed tactics, as the pastoralist Old Prutons were renown hunters and riders, and dangerous horse archers. The Pranger Book mentions various methods and strategies used beside these hit and run tactics, and recounts an impressive arsenal of iron and steel weaponry. Old Prutons fought in highly organised loose formations, preferring swarming tactics over decisive encounters. Battlefield communication was made possible with an intricate system of banners and music. Several tribes would often join together to form tribal unions for mutual defence and to destroy external threats, especially tribes at the periphery of the Old Pruton realms, or those close to the seas. One Chieftain would then be elected “Koning”, king, to lead the tribes until the threat has been eliminated. Such alliances were also only unions of convenience and rarely lasted longer than necessary, as they taxed a high amount of resources and time to maintain. In wars, Old Prutons did not keep prisoners indefinitely, but determined a certain period after which a prisoner could either decide to return to his home after paying a ransom or stay as a free man and friend in the tribe (usually the actual family) which captured him or her. Protosian Age: Pre-Albertine and Albertine era There exists a much more extensive documentation of Protosian Old Prutons, especially since the post-conversion period. A considerable plurality of texts details the conversion process, the tribal wars, unification of the Old Prutons, Wulfila’s travels, and the subsequent conquests of Adalberht, and there is some overlaps. While the start of the Protosian age is usually considered to be the Heavenfall event, Prutonic circles prefer to start their history from the introduction of the Wulfila script. By all accounts, the Wulfila script was widespread by the third century SH at the latest, while some evidence suggest that it might have been created in the first century SH. Traditional academic circles and conservative estimates place the creation of the Wulfila script in the second century SH, which produced the most reliable early texts written in this writing system and alphabet. The Wulfila script is considerably different from the Old Prutonic Rune Script, and was originally inspired by the Old Trade Tongue’s writing system and alphabet. A strong indicator of this link is the actual loanword “Alphabet” in the modern Low Prut language, which is evidently of Old Tongue origin. Wulfila was the first Enlightener of the Old Prutons and of the Heliandist faith. Before meeting the Heliand and becoming one of his disciples, Wulfila was a priest, philosopher, and judge from the Old Pruton coastal settlement of Vineta. When the Heliand was visiting Old Pruton lands, he was confronted by the “magos”. The three day long debate between the magos and the prophet was ended in the Heliand’s favour, who condemned Wulfila’s and his caste’s secrecy, magic, and exclusivity to knowledge and wisdom and pointed out their hypocrisy and sophism. This story is well-attested in both the Megali Hagiographia and the Pentaevangelion, and can be further referenced in related Heliandist texts. Wulfila translated the Heliand’s words, but found the Old Prutonic Rune Script to be unsuitable for the task. Hence a new script was created, and soon began spreading outside of Vineta. In order to increase the the number of translations and teach people to read the script, he founded the Vineta Archive and the School of Preceptors, which began copying his translation by hand and travelling from tribe to tribe, spreading the Gospels and denouncing the old Priest caste. Initial success was sporadic and slow, and came at considerable personal danger to Preceptors. Priests were not willing to let go of their power. When they couldn’t prevent the Wulfila script from spreading through the tribe and showing that everyone could eventually learn to read, they resorted to censorship and even violence. Preceptors have even been declared as “Wirrwesan” by their own tribal Priesthood as a retaliation to spreading the Wulfila script. Even those who learned the script could have been banished from the tribe as punishment. Within a generation, however, Vineta swelled from a coastal fishing village to a rather respectable town, which could command the awe of the local tribes. The first tribe to completely renounce the Old Deities and accept the Heliand were the Prangers, the keepers of the Cult of Pliht, which was a strong blow to the old order, and great victory for Wulfila’s conversion process. The Prangers soon became the core group of Heliandists and founded the first permanent Heliandist city with other converted tribes, calling it Koningsstain, in honour of the Koning of their tribal federation. Koningsstain would later become Königsstein. This conversion happened in the third century SH and according to preserved records, Wulfila died roughly at the same time. His students continued his work, supported by the unified Heliand Koningtom of the Prangers. This period is called the “Early Kingdom” by most Pruton historians. This span of time was characterised with near constant warfare between Old Order Tribes and Heliandist tribes, and it lasted up to the sixth century SH. The first cleansing marches and enlightened missions have their origin here, as Heliandism usually spread peacefully into new area only to be contested and attacked violently by the adherents of the Old Order. This lead to increased pressure on such groups from already converted tribes. Soon, actually permanent tribal federations were forming. The breaking point was the conversion of a powerful tribal koning in the centre of Old Pruton realms, Koning Adalberht. Adalberht was converted in a similar fashion to Wulfila; a Preceptor descendent from Wulfila’s original students, named Fardinand, debated him for three days without tiring and convinced the koning to support the Heliandist cause. With Fardinand at his side, Adalberht converted his entire koningtom within a year, banished all the false priests which had deceived the people and refused to repent, and lead a cleansing march to the northeast to help the Heliand Koningtom and Vineta. Adalberht’s forces decisively defeated all opposition and lifted the siege from Koningsstain. His military campaign was unprecedented in Old Pruton lands and has been the subject of much academic debate as to how long it lasted, where exactly it went, and how many were involved. His Heer was rumoured to have had over 100,000 combatants, half of them on horse. For the Old Pruton tribal kingdoms this was an incredible logistical feat, as organizing that many armed troops in a permanent fighting force for an extended period required considerable resources and clout among other tribal leaders. What is certain is that East Prutenia was now firmly in the Heliandist camp. Adalberht was crowned as the first “Basel”, the first true koning under Heliandist tradition and grace. During the first half of the fifth century SH, Basel Adalberht the First-Crowned (Albertos Protostephanos) mounted an enlightening expedition into West Prutenia, the area currently part of the modern nation of Mesonyktia, and defeated the loose tribal federations in the area, establishing a permanent Heliandist foothold there. This marks the start of the Albertine era in Pruton history. Adalberht’s son, Alarich continued his fathers work after he had passed away and pushed southeast, into Galmidden, the area corresponding to modern Garimidia, thus forming the core Pruton Empire. He founded the city of Baselburg, the first capital of the united Pruton Empire. By the sixth century SH, the vast majority of tribes had converted to Heliandism, the Wulfila script had spread of the entire territory of the Reichsbund, and the Empire was ruled from Baselburg. The Albertine dynasty continued to champion the Heliandist cause for several generations, until it was succeeded by the next dynasty, the Johannites at the start of the Pelagian Age. In the beginning of the eight century SH, Basel Baldarich officially became the protector of the faith and institutionalised the former custom of the Basel being in charge of the religious organisation, thus starting the tradition of caeseropapism, and forming the first Orders of the Faithful. With the stabilisation and unification of a large part of the Pruton area under one government and one religious identity, and with the ease of communication, spread of literacy, and free exchange of ideas and discoveries offered by the Wulfila script, the Pruton Empire began to flourish. Fire temples began to rise across the land, cementing the influence of the faith in the lands and acting as hubs for the founding of new settlements. The Pruton lands began to experience urbanisation and concentration of people and power into regional hubs. This coincided with the Great Notalian Exchange, which brought new cultures, discoveries, and species into Nyktogeios as a whole, and which were embraced and spread across all of Prutenia, Mesonyktia, and Lykosia by the educated Heliandist orders. What have been mostly fishing villages and whaling stations soon grew into international ports, as the Pruton Empire began establishing links with overseas societies. The first Pruton city-states began developing in this time as well, following the model of Vineta and Koningsstain. The sheer size of the realm and the increase in population encouraged by the stability and Great Notalian Exchange, soon created regional hubs of political and social activity. After several generations and a few centuries, at the dawn of the Pelagian Age, the once uniform Pruton Empire had become a decentralised and diverse collection of city-states and duchies competing with each other over resources and power, held only together by a common faith and culture, language, and the figure of the Basel, who still acted as a common unifying force and defender of the faith. Internal turmoil was brewing among the various native factions and regional power centres. The death of the last Albertine Basel, Emmerich in 981 SH, was the catalyst for a power struggle in the Empire. The Royal houses of the Empire, which were descended from the original tribal Konings who became Heliandist and joined Adalberht the First-Crowned began fighting for the throne and the position of Basel. This interregnum period is called the Zwischenherrschaft, and was characterised by gross political instability, slow growth, and internal warfare. Just in the year 996 SH, six candidates for Basel were murdered, only one of which actually died on the battlefield. The conflicts were usually sporadic and the fights between the nobles didn’t directly affect the populace. However, the allocation of resources and manpower in petty inter-dynastic fighting and rivalry lead to a sharp increase in banditry and piracy, which made everyday life perilous. The politicking in the larger cities also didn’t help resolving the issues. One ducal family from Hohenstein rose quickly to prominence by seizing the opportunity presented in the increase in criminality. Johann the Peacekeeper as he would be called later, used his fleet to hunt down and destroy various pirate havens in the Pruton sea. He intervened in several conflicts between the various central coastal cities and pirates and between each other, and managed to put them under his banner. By 1001 SH, Johann held authority over the entire Pruton sea and controlled the maritime access to and from the capital Baselburg. From this power base he asserted his dominance over the coastal urban centres and used his wealth and influence to take over Baselburg, crowning himself Basel in 1007 SH, thus beginning the Johannite dynasty. |
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| Prut | Mar 24 2013, 02:21 AM Post #5 |
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continued... Pelagian Age: Johannite era The Johannite rule of Prutenia saw the widespread use of that name for the Pruton Empire. As coastal city nobility, the Johannites entered the Pelagian age with distinctively pelagic policies. The pelagic trade centres and port cities became increasingly prosperous and were granted more power and say in the political matters of the empire. The Johannites also started all-encompassing public works, beginning the era of monumental building that would last for three centuries. Cities expanded considerably. As a gesture of good will between the various cities of the Empire, an intricate and sophisticated network of roads and highways, called the Steinweg (Stone way) was started as a project. It took two generation to build the expansive traffic nexus, but it ensured the military and political control of Baselburg in the interior, away from their coastal power base. Walled cities began to emerge as well, with rather advanced feats of engineering being displayed during the construction of the walls, forts, and harbours. The most enduring architecture of this period are the new model temples which started cropping up in settlements, the towers of light. Part temple, part lighthouse, the towers of light were erected all over the land functioning as communication relays and beacons. They were equipped with mirrors or extremely well-polished metal discs which reflected the sunlight during the day, and during clear nights the moonlight as well. Usually, a pyre would be lit during nights. With this beacon system, Prutenia had established a for its time advanced communication system and developed a signaling language which was kept a state secret. The system allowed the navy to move quickly to troubled spots and areas and effectively fight off foreign vessels and especially pirates. In the same manner, the Johannite Armies were marching along the highways north, west, and south, discouraging both attacks and rebellions. In the thirteenth century SH, Prutenia was an established force in the region, with extensive naval presence in the northern Pelagos. Trade and communication was mostly restricted to Ardania and Lykosia, with expeditions to Panonyktia and the south being only sporadic and the exception rather than the rule. The grand projects of the Johannites eventually created an Empire of stone on land and wood on water. Heliandism in Prutenia entered its blooming period. The first predecessor of the modern orders began rising in the area. In Prutenia proper monastic orders were founded, while the Mesonyktian and Garmiddian frontiers began creating military orders which defended the faithful and would later become the post-Pelagian knightly orders. In all cases, Orders ensured a systematic spread of knowledge and functioned as an informal education system for both the rural folk and the urban population. Pilgrimages to the large temple complexes all around the empire started being more frequent due to the better traffic conditions and internal stability of the Empire. This is also the first instance of a deliberate, systematic spreading of Heliandism outside the borders of the Pruton Empire. While academies were opened in the Empire, missions were created abroad to preach the virtues of the Heliand. Other proto-Heliandic groups were encountered abroad, as well as general Sotirist cults. They were soon introduced to the most iconic trait of Prutonic Heliandism, the Wulfila script. Soon, the writing along with the faith started gaining traction in other lands. An early conversion was the previously Caminoist Hesperia in Ardania, while its northern neighbour vehemently resisted conversion. Raion no kuni, likewise, wasn’t economically or politically important enough to bother converting it, after the initial resistance of the population. By the fourteenth century SH, Pruton and Heliandist influence was touching all the pelagic shores and spread as far as modern Veleslavia, although tangible results of this influence are disputable. In spite of the successes of the early Johannite era and the prudence shown my the dynasty’s monarch, the Empire suffered from a lot of inertia economically. The later generations and the last Johannites in particular inherited a vastly indebted Empire whose monumental construction efforts consumed a large amount of resources and manpower. The standing army of the Johannites competed endlessly with the standing fleet for funds and men, which depleted the coffers of the state even further. Continual maintenance of the roads and ports couldn’t be financed by trade alone, and a gradual increase in taxation, which started in the early Johannite era, turned in longterm overtaxation of many realms, especially the more developed urban centres. This lead often to rioting and clashes with the authorities in Baselburg. The extravagant lifestyle which the dynasty maintained didn’t help them with alleviating these budgetary deficits. The Basels were forced to take loans from regional nobles to sustain their projects. By the fifteenth century SH, the Johannite dynasty was forced to partially disband their army and fleet, as it could no longer sustain them, and replace them with the household forces of local nobility. The end of the Johannites came when they intermarried with a rich rural noble family from the west, when their only male heir, Rutger, succeeded to the throne and gained the title. Thus the Rudgerite era started in the sixteenth century SH. Rutgerite era The Rutgerites reformed the Pruton society according to their own experiences and ideals. The overpopulated and impoverished cities of the Johannites began experiencing at first a decline in growth but soon this ended in wide scale depopulation, as many families moved out of the cities to the open land. This social change was the start of feudalism and manorialism in Prutenia, and was legally cemented by the Grand Oath. This was an instrumental social and political contract which significantly changed the administrative units of Prutenia and created the large feudal stem duchies. Those who were on good terms with the Rutgerites became the heads of the stem duchies and the new ducal families of the realm. They swore the Grand Oath to the Basel and received the right to become liege lords themselves. Smaller noble families swore oaths to them, until all the land was divided among them for management. In return for managing the lands and providing men and coin to the state, the new feudal lords controlled their domains and had rights of taxation. The people of the realm became serfs on the new lands, obliged to make a binding oath to their local lord or move somewhere else. This concept became known as the “Chains that bind”, and would be challenged in the later eras. The Rutgerite reforms and subsequent feudalization of Prutenia saved the empire from collapse and strengthened it, enabling it to maintain its vast expanses and influence. The entire process took several generations to set in. By 1864 SH, only the Free Imperial Cities were excluded from the land reform, while the rest of society was firmly ordered into the new manorial system. The system was stable internally and presented a united front against external influences, but lead to another decentralization of the Empire and the rise of local power blocs. Interestingly, the social and political changes actually triggered a cultural revival of old Prutonic values and culture. With the moving of centres of learning from Johannites academies to rural monasteries and the majority of the population now living in smaller communities away from the convenience of cultural institutions in the cities, the cultural focus shifted on rural stories, customs, and events, while the new ducal courts nourished an environment of romantic and knightly literature. Music, theatre, circus, and performances could be experienced all over the lands, with famous troupes and artists vying for the attention of the audiences and local elites. Old Prutonic history and mythology began appearing again in both temple sermons, drawing parallels with the old conversion and strengthening the faith of the believers, as well as in knightly tales, where local heroes, legends, and even lords wit the coin to spare created epics in the style of the old stories as a matter of increasing personal prestige. The most lasting cultural achievement of the Rutgerites was the reintroduction of the ancient, Protosian tribal games, which were held annually in various places, and a large game festival was held every four years and hosted by the Basels themselves in Baselburg and the surrounding area. Roughly at the same time, the medieval version of modern association football began gaining in popularity in Prutenia, becoming the most dominant ball game in the lands. The Rutgerite era came to an abrupt ending in the nineteenth century SH, during the “Northern invasion”. Since the Rutgerite powerbase was in the interior and on land, they maintained the Johannite highway system and the army at the expense of the fleet. With the support of the other stem duchies, they could effectively raise a large army comparatively quickly for the time, without having to maintain a standing force for peacekeeping purposes. The lack of interest in trade and maritime development of Rutgerite Prutenia enabled an Ardanic group to move overseas en masse in the late nineteenth century and effectively conquer a large chunk of Galmidden unopposed, capturing the stem duchies of the area. The last Rutgerite Basel, Gautselin the Luckless, proclaimed a cleansing march against the invaders and gathered his ducal allies. After several months, the Pruton armies marched into the heart of Galmidden and after some initial success suffered catastrophic defeat at the hand of the opposing forces. Losing a cleansing march doomed the entire dynasty, as this decreased both their prestige and support among the people and nobility. Many of the stem duchies withdrew their support, and it came to intra-imperial warfare and conflicts. Gerbern, the heir of Gautselin was exiled from Baselburg and forced to flee by a mob. Baselburg itself was now threatened by the invaders, as the Empire couldn’t adequately protect it from seaborne attacks nor regain control of the Pruton sea. One of the eastern merchant princes, Leopold the Bold, managed to unite and organise the collective merchant fleet of Prutenia and arm it with the help of the regional guilds and city councils. Within two months, in the midsummer, Leopold’s fleet raided the entire Galmiddian coastline successfully surprising and threatening the invaders and contesting their naval supremacy. In a most audacious move, Leopold effectively campaigned from east following the sun’s movement all the way west into the Pruton sea and to Baselburg, restored hope and faith to the knights and rallied the forces saving the remaining Galmiddian coastline from enemy takeover. With the new threat from the sea and a far from depleted or weakened Prutenia on their doorstep, the invaders conceded to a peace treaty. Leopold became the hero of the war and the new Knight of the Heliand, entering Baselburg victoriously and ushering the Leopoldine era. Leopoldine era The Leopoldine rulers marked a return to the Johannite urbanisation and commercialisation policies. Leopold the Bold in particular was a crafty and clever ruler who managed to leverage his popularity with all strata of Pruton society not only to become the Basel but to guide the nation along his desired path. The frugal and decentralised policies of the Rutgerites were incorporated into the new Leopoldine model of governance. With a new threat in the immediate neighbourhood and the desire to protect Prutenia from another seaborne attack, the Leopoldine managed to break the feudal system by a grand political and administrative reform, thus implementing the [ur http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoia l=]Pronoiai system[/url] which would remain in place well into the later Frederician era. The stem duchies were converted into imperial circles, each circle having an appointed Imperial officer in command. Ownership of the entire land was invested in the person of the Sovereign, as the divinely blessed and appointed ruler and representative of the people. The nobility was organised formally into the monastic and knightly orders which grew out of previous similar groups. Orders then competed for the Basel’s favour to be granted one of the offices. The highest office, Kreismeister, effectively ruled an Imperial circle in the name of the Basel and had right to divide the circle among his order and delegate power, as well as right of collecting the Basel’s taxes and keeping a part of it as a salary. With orders always competing over political power, the most favoured Orders and Kreismeisters were those who collected and sent the most money back to Baselburg. The Leopoldines had thus created a system in which the most politically powerful groups would always be the poorest. Even internally, orders tended to be comparatively small, accepting only so many members at a time as needed to maintain the Imperial Circle and sub-circles, as to retain a higher share of the collected taxes. Even if an order managed to become powerful, the Basel could and often would replace the Kreismeister with another Ordenmeister or a member of his retinue and/or court. Those Orders which didn’t manage to gain a foothold in the temporal power arena switched became monastic orders and turned into spiritual and intellectual forces. Some of these monasteries became quite involved in their regions and had extensive influence. In a few decades entire political structures developed around them. Some of them became powerful schools, academies, and even the first universities, the eponymous Prut Polymatheions. Other became formalised Chivalric orders or Military orders, in particular in the frontier and rear areas of the Empire. In the coastal cities and other urban centres Orders were eschewed and preference was given to guilds and trans-city alliances, which would soon morph and turn into the one unitary Prut Hansa. After a few generations of Leopoldine rule, the Empire was finally a thriving centralised state again, with a vibrant economy and political stability. The new sociopolitical model and division influenced the way of life in many interesting ways. On one hand, the de facto disenfranchisement of the nobility led to a blooming of chivalric tradition in Prutenia, in particular in the west and centre. With the formation and institutionalisation of the Imperials orders a large number of knights and monks and even warrior-monks began roaming the land. This mobile, educated and often still rich sociopolitical group was legally a collection paid soldiers and officials of the Empire who got an annual stipend from the Basel as upkeep. In return they served as soldiers, administrators, and bureaucrats. As learned men, they also served various other purposes, reinstating the Preceptor tradition of Wulfila’s fame. Pruton knights and monks often beared a sword in one arm and a pen in the other, or a hammer, or lute, or a combination of those. The Chivalric code was the first secular Pruton system of values which served as an example for moral and social behaviour. The images of the warrior-poet, philosopher-knight, soldier-monk, fighter-bards, and similar figures became archetypes and stock characters of the High Pelagian Pruton poetry and literature, and they did indeed have a strong basis in contemporary reality and everyday life. On the other hand, the same legal changes in the status of nobility wasn’t followed by a change in a lot of the common people. Still bound to their lands and Grand Oaths of the Rutgerite era, the commoners were still largely in the same position. However, the new nobility soon began settling with and intermixing with the serf population due to many reasons, a majority of them economic in nature, or out of simple convenience. Their offspring however often inherited the legal and social position and persona of their noble parent, resulting in an increase is yeomen and freemen populations, in particular outside of the cities. By the 2300s SH, such segments of the population were numerous enough to threaten the entire social order and economy of the realm. This was further worsened and intensified by the newly powerful and united Hanseatic cities which were at the height of their power during the same time and which were quite keen on abolishing the vestiges of feudalism and manorialism in Prutenia in favour of a more liberal social system promoting mobility. The twenty-fourth century SH was largely characterised by these social unrests and conflicts caused by the legal and economic injustice inherent to the Pelagian government systems and sociopolitical organisation. The Leopoldine, however, were not capable of taming their diverse and newly awakened realm and were soon replaced by a new dynasty, the Fredericians, in 2394 SH. Frederician era In many regards the Fredericians were quite different from their predecessors. Unlike almost all previous groups, they didn’t not hail from a noble house or urban merchant upper class family, but from a monastic order of hesychasts turned school. Specifically, the Flamenfechter school of fencing, a martial arts school and centre of education rolled in one, whose headquarters had become the first officially sanctioned Pruton Polymatheon just three centuries earlier. The founder of the Fredericians won the throne and crown in a divine duel with the last Leopoldine, in the typical Heliandist tradition as performed and sanctioned by Wulfila himself. Friedrich von Licht (Frederick of Light), debated the last Leopoldine and won with wit and cunning all arguments, proving that the Basel had committed Wulfila’s sin and had to renounce his right on the crown. Friedrich then challenged him to a sword duel and triumphed both over the Basel, his Judicial Champion whom he had to fight first, and one of the Hochmeisters of the Orders who claimed that Friedrich wasn’t granted grace and God’s blessing to rule. He defeated all of them on the same day without a pause. Come next sunrise, he was crowned Basel. In addition to their rather unusual ascension to the throne, which caused quite a bit of controversy both domestically and abroad, they also largely ignored the previous policies of reforming the sociopolitical organisation of the realm, but concentrated mostly on legal, cultural, and socioeconomic equality and aspects of life. One of the strongest reforms taken by the Fredericians was the legal abolishment of feudalism, manorialism, and pronoianism in Prutenia. This effectively eliminated the legal and official sanction of serfdom, although the peasants were still de facto tied to their land and lords. The Fredericians also excluded political status and influence as a basis for attaining offices and position and introduced a merit-based system. This provoked very strong opposition from conservative and reactionary elements in society. In 2467 SH the “Steel rebellion” broke out, and a vast number of knights and orders marched on Baselburg to depose the Fredericians. While the Imperial capital was under siege, an effective civil war was harassing the realm. The Fredericians only barely managed to beat to rebels, but they had to compromise with them for the sake of peace and stability. Some of the reforms were rolled back, but by and large the reforms had already found traction in society. While legally everyone was enfranchised, the reality was quite different. Those who were already rich and educated already had all the necessary advantages to remain in power, while the commoners were hardly in a position to change their lot in life. Nevertheless, the new Frederician model loosened social, legal, and cultural restrictions on advancement within society and enabled badly need fresh blood to enter the scene, thus starting the end and decline of the chivalric age of Prutenia and the influence of knights. The later Fredericians would turn from idealists to shrewd machiavellists. They kept the orders in check by removing their political power and forcing the Hochmeisters to live in Baselburg in the court, hence cutting of the Orders’ leadership from their powerbase and making them compete for the Basel’s favour in petty court rivalries. The Hansa was kept in line by controlling their access to the market and by “adopting” their scions into the Imperial family, thus holding a large pool of political hostages from powerful Hanseats in the court. Universal conscription also became the norm, enticing young men from poorer and rural background into joining the army and staying there to build a career and escape their poverty and misery. They competed with the professional warriors of yore and mercenaries over work and pay, keeping everything balanced. If the Leopoldine Empire was centralised then the Frederician Empire was practically an absolute monarchy completely invested in the divine sovereign. Even in earlier ages Baselburg was the seat of power, one way or another, but the Fredericians were true autocrats who practically were the state with the entire political, economic, and cultural process revolving around the person of the monarch and sovereign, while any potential opposition was ruthlessly, yet subtly kept in line. It’s no small wonder that Frederician rulers had the highest rate of attempted assassinations on their heads out of any of the other dynasties. The Fredericians did however have a strong sense of duty and were capable and cunning rulers who furthered Prutenia’s interests abroad and strengthened it internally with various social and economic projects. Maritime explorations of the Notalian hemisphere, increased diplomatic activity in the Pelagic, and even expeditions to the Boreal hemisphere were on the agenda, all efforts to increase Prutenia’s prestige and power and by extension their own. Their interest in academic fields and promotion of merit-based sociopolitical organisation, economic liberties, and innovation directly and positively influenced the development of science and scientific thinking in Prutenia, leading to a formalisation of the scientific method and later embracing of the Enlightenment movement and scientific revolution. However, their tyrannical stranglehold on power and absolute authority was increasingly challenged by both exceptional individuals from various groups as well as the population as a whole. The promotion of absolutism, as enlightened as it was, didn’t found support among the Prutons. Their court also turned into a decadent institution of pettiness and nepotism, as in their struggle to increase their power they more and more relied on loyal cronies rather than capable individuals like their earlier members did. While the prutons were slowly awakening and started seeing the light, the Fredericians became more and more a shadow of their idealistic former selves. There was also still the issue of the vast difference between the urbanised, enlightened, hanseatic east, and the rural, traditional, chivalric west, which both resisted the central authority and increasing tyranny of Baselburg in their peculiar ways. The hypocrisy of the Fredericians and the beginning of the west-east conflict was exposed and started with the “Declaration of Tuisburg” in 2517 SH. A hesychast monk and scholar, Johann “Eleutheros” Leuther, declared in several theses that the Pruton Empire had become a mockery of a Heliandist state and realm, that the people were letting tyrants rule them and Orders define their faith, and that apostates and heretics were roaming free while the faithful covered in fear and complacency. This message sparked serious debate in Prutenia, and with the recent invention and introduction of printing press and the already established printing industry in the east, his message spread fast and wide in an unprecedentedly quick manner, with the theses being nailed on schools’, polymatheons’, and temples’ doors all over Prutenia. Leuther’s Exposure was known all over the realm within the same year and the people were debating its merits. This only aggravated both the Fredericians and their supporters as well as the opponents as it made perfectly clear that a large reformation of society was needed. The Fredericians saw the east as a lost cause, as it was the first to be hit by the Exposure and started revolting. Instead, the Basels tried to strengthen ties with the west and the Orders, facilitating and mediating between them and slowly building a united Church to support their claim to the throne. In 2526 SH, Johann Leuther was invited to Baselburg to justify his accusations. However, he arrested as soon as he arrived in the capital and tried as a heretic and apostate. He refused to yield to the Basel’s authority and admit his guilt and was subsequently burned at the stake. This sparked the Leutherite Wars, which lasted until 2540 SH, and were mostly fought between the supporters of Leuther and the opponents, while the entire religious issue was used as a distraction by the besieged Fredericians. By playing each side against each other, they managed to regain control of the realm. Sporadic violence and conflicts broke out every now and then, but no major campaigns were fought, as the movements began crystallising into the Ragnaist Church and the Hesychast Antinomists. The Basel’s effectively placed their faith into the new Church and accused the antinomists as being anti-social criminals and heretics wishing to wrestle power from the rightful authority for their own personal gain. A systematic persecution of Leutherites started all over the realm, with the larger urban centres and the northeast heavily resisting these campaigns. The Orders of Knights which were previously guarding the borders of Prutenia were now involved in internal cleansing marches. Mercenary bands and groups profited the most, as they were more and more used to fight proxy wars against the other group. Foreigners started getting involved as well, also mostly for the coin. While initially more numerous, the Antinomists lacked a central command structure and united front and couldn’t effectively withstand the Basels’ attempts to eradicate them. The breaking point was the Battle of Reutz in 2559 SH in which the largest concentration of Antinomist forces was broken and scattered. Skirmishes, raid, and guerilla warfare intensified after this event, and a sharp increase in crime, violence, and general profiteering was noticeable as well. In 2561 SH, the Peace of Treuburg was signed, allowing Antinomists freedom of religion in exchange for ceasing all hostilities and accepting the Basel as the protector of faith. Oaths were exchanged and peace returned to the lands, although the calm on the surface was just hiding a powder keg waiting to blow up. With the increased authority of both Church and Basel, Prutenia was heading in a more and more anti-Leutherite direction. The urban centres on the pelagic coast effectively decalred themselves independent republics, “Freistaaten”, and returned to their city state roots. Half-hearted campaigns against these new city states under antinomist influence were unsuccessful and stopped by 2587 SH, when it became evident that the antinomists would return to their guerilla activities. The next twenty years saw a rise in tensions, a strengthening of the Ragnaists, and a change in rulers, with the much more aggressive, religious, and militant Friedrich Emil the Dark replacing his peaceful father on the throne in 2598 SH. By 2604 SH the new Basel was sanctioning unofficial cleansing marches against antinomists strongholds and made an alliance with the Hesperians and their King, the archrivals of the Hansa and the new City States, hoping to force them to return to the fold. Two years later, Friedrich Emil announced that the Leutherite Heresy has been suffered long enough and that the divided Prutenia had to be reunited again under one rightful God and one rightful representative of the divine on earth. The “Ultimatium of Basel”, often called the Basel-Diktat was rejected by the antinomists and considered a breaking of the Peace of Treuburg. With the effective mobilisation of the Imperial Army over the next year, the intent of the Basel to violate the Peace of Treuburg was obvious. A official cleansing march was declared, calling all Heliandists to participate and eliminate the heretics. One last offer of surrender was made by the Basel, which the antinomists firmly rejected, and proclaimed that God will either vindicate their rebellion and return to Heliandist roots or punish them for their hubris, not a mere man. Friedrich Emil promptly declared the rebels to be moonstruck, an epithet which would come to haunt him later, as the lunar metal was adopted as a unifying symbol and colour of the newly formed Silver League. The War of Siblings With two sides clearly defined and mobilized for war, the conflict was inevitable. In 2608 SH the Imperial forces clashed with the Silver League and the two groups waged a war for forty years in which entire areas of the realm were utterly devastated and depopulated, the Pruton Empire ceased to exist, and a political tradition of two millennia was irreparably ended with the death of the last Basel and the final capture of Baselburg by the Silver league in 2646 SH. The war only ended in 2648 SH, with the Peace of Teutschberg, resulting in the official split of the Empire in West Prutenia, called Mesonyktia, and East Prutenia, called Neo Prutenia. This also formalised the split between Ragnaist Heliandism, championed by Mesonyktia, and Silver Heliandism, embraced by Neo Prutenia. Bothe parties were destroyed and it took decades to recover from the shock. The hundred years of extensive rivalry between the two sides did not help in the recovery process. The sheer effect of the damage, length of the conflict, and price of recovery cost Prutenia a colonial empire and a leading position in the world. With the enlightenment movement in full swing and the scientific revolution, the rivalry between the Pruton siblings caused the most brilliant minds of the nations’ and their resources to be spent on petty conflicts, revanchism, military matters, and pointless competition. It would take both nations another hundred years to finally put their differences aside and reassume their leading positions in the world again during the industrial revolutions and the following centuries, turning into the modern developed nations and regional powers. The aftershock of the Geschwisterkrieg, the War of Siblings, or the Forty years War as it’s sometimes called in academic circles, can still be observed in the cultural, political, and social differences between the Mesonyktians and Prut. Exact differences and a comprehensive overview and summary of the individual nations’ development after 2648 SH is found on the pages about their respective histories, here for Mesonyktia, and here for Neo Prutenia. |
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8:16 PM Jul 11