Powers of Europe
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Kingdom of England
Ruled by child-king, Henry III. England holds Gascony and Poitou but has recently lost Brittany and less recently Normandy. The major city is London, with a population of around 17,000 souls. The people of London are building a new cathedral, St. Paul's.
Kingdom of France
The King of France claims the overlordship of the ancient kingdom of the West Franks. The Royal family, the Capetians, in 1224 holds amongst others the counties of Tournai, Amiens, Orleans, Isle de France, Artois, Valois, Vermandois, Alencon, Evreux, Issoudon, Vexin, Touraine, Poitou, Saintonge and the Duchy of Normandy.
Until recently however France actually controlled just the area around Paris. Under Philip II, the area controlled by the King has expanded:
- In 1203, Philip took control of Anjou from its count, King John of England, and along with it Maine
- In 1204, Philip II took control of Normandy and made it into a royal duchy
- In 1205, Philip II regained Touraine and made it into a royal duchy
- Following the Treaty of Guînes in 1212, the King took control of Aire-sur-la-Lys, Saint-Omer and Guînes.
- In 1213, Philip engineered the marriage of a cousin to the sole (female) heir of Brittany and completed the realignment of Brittany from the Plantagenets to France
- 1214, after the Battle of Bouvines, France gained the remaining lands of the County of Artois that it had not taken control of in 1212.
France currently also has a strong position in Flanders, as since the Battle of Bouvines, France has held the husband of Jeanne Countess of Flanders incarcerated in France. The treaty after the battle also confirmed France in its recent conquests.
Philip II Augustus dies in July 1223. He has been succeeded by Louis VIII, who in 1216 had invaded England and had been proclaimed King by some barons, though he was never crowned. Louis VIII was defeated at land and sea and forced into a treaty on English terms which included a promise to never attack England again or claim to have ever been the English king.
(Holy) Roman Empire
Part of the legacy of Charlemagne, the Roman Empire consists of the eastern and southern parts of the Carolingian possessions, and now consists of the Kingdom of the Germans, the Duchy of Burgundy and the Kingdom of Sicily. The Empire is not a highly centralised state like England, for example. Instead, it is divided into dozens of individual entities governed by kings, dukes, counts, bishops, abbots and other rulers, collectively known as princes. There are also some areas ruled directly by the Emperor. According to the laws of Germany, the Emperor has no claims on the vassals of the other princes, only on those living within his family's territory. Rarely can the Emperor simply issue decrees and govern autonomously over the Empire. His power is severely restricted by the various local leaders.
There are no universities in the German-speaking world at this time.
County of Flanders
The county is semi-independent from the Holy Roman Empire, although it has lost territory to France in recent years.
In 1205, Flanders (and Hainaut) came under the rule of the infant Jeanne of Flanders, initially under the wardship of Philip of Namur and subsequently, went Philip of Namur became betrothed to one of his daughters, of King Philip II of France. She married Ferdinand, prince of Portugal in Paris in January 1212. Howver, the heir to the French throne captured the newly weds and extracted some Flemish territrory, including Artois, as the price of their release. In 1214, Flanders allied with England and Germany (Otto IV) and were defeated at the battle of Bouvines, after which Ferdinand became a prisoner of France and Jeanne rules alone.
Duchy of Toulouse
Semi-independent, theoretically the Duke owes fealty to the Kind of France. Recent events have seen France exert its power under the banner of putting down the Cathar heresy. Traditionally, Toulouse has been allied with Navarre.
Ruled by King Sancho VII.
Kingdom of Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark is ruled by King Valdemar II, who ascended to the throne in 1202 on the unexpected death of his elder and unmarried brother Knud.