Author Topic: Ecclesiastical History  (Read 4170 times)

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Offline The Young Pope

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Ecclesiastical History
« on: September 06, 2017, 03:50:50 PM »

Ecclesiastical Empire at its height; note that all territories weren't under Ecclesiastical supremacy at the same time.

« Last Edit: September 18, 2017, 04:53:05 PM by The Young Pope »

Offline The Young Pope

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Re: The Ecclesiastical Empire
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2017, 10:21:13 AM »
Papal/Winged Hussars

The Papal/Winged Hussars were one of the main types of the cavalry in the Ecclesiastical State between the 16th and 18th centuries. When this cavalry type was first introduced by Serbian and Hungarian-speaking mercenary horsemen at the beginning of the 16th century, they served as light cavalry banners in the Papal army; by the second half of the 16th century and after Pope Gregory XIII's reforms, hussars had been transformed into heavily armored shock cavalry. Until the reforms of the 1770s, the husaria banners were considered the elite of the Papal cavalry alongside Knightly Orders.


History

Hussars originated in mercenary units of exiled Serbian-speaking warriors. The oldest mention of hussars in Papal documents date to 1500, although they were probably in service earlier. Over the course of the 16th century, hussars in the Ecclesiastical State became heavier in character: they abandoned wooden shields and adopted metal-plated body armour. When Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni was elected Pope Gregory XIII in 1572, he reorganized the hussars of his Papal Guard into a heavy formation equipped with a long lance as their main weapon. By the reign of Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572–1585), the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Papal army, and they now formed the bulk of the Papal cavalry. By the 1590s, most Papal hussar units had been reformed along the same "heavy" model. These heavy hussars were known in ES as Hussars.

With the Battle of NAN in 1577, the 'Golden Age' of the Husaria began. Between then and the Battle of NAN in 1683, the Hussars fought many battles against various enemies, most of which they won as they proved to be the decisive factor against often overwhelming odds. For instance, in one battle during the # Papal–Ardian War, the Ardians outnumbered the Papal army 5 to 1, yet were heavily defeated.

The role of the Hussar evolved into a reconnaissance and advanced scout capacity. Their uniforms became more elaborate as their armour and heavy weapons were abandoned. In the 18th century, as infantry firearms became more effective, heavy cavalry, with its tactics of charging into and breaking infantry units, became increasingly obsolete and hussars transformed from an elite fighting unit to a parade one.


Instead of ostrich feathers, the husaria men wore wooden arcs attached to their armour at the back and raising over their heads. These arcs, together with bristling feathers sticking out of them, were dyed in various colours in imitation of laurel branches or palm leaves, and were a strangely beautiful sight to behold ... – Servant of God, Pope Pius VII (1742–1823, r. 1800-1823).

The Hussars were famous for their huge "wings", a wooden frame carrying eagle, ostrich, swan or goose feathers. In the 16th century, characteristic painted wings or winged claws began to appear on cavalry shields. The most common theory is that the hussars wore the wings because they made a loud, clattering noise which made it seem like the cavalry was much larger than in reality and frightened the enemy's horses. Other possibilities included the wings being made to defend the backs of the men against swords and lassos, or that they were worn to make their own horses deaf to the wooden noise-makers used by the Turkic-speaking enemies.

Tactics

The Papal hussars' primary battle tactic was the charge. They charged at and through the enemy. The charge started at a slow pace and in a relatively loose formation. The formation gradually gathered pace and closed ranks while approaching the enemy, and reached its highest pace and closest formation immediately before engagement. They tended to repeat the charge several times until the enemy formation broke (they had supply wagons with spare lances). The tactic of a charge by heavily armoured hussars and horses was usually decisive for nearly two centuries. The hussars fought with a long lance, a stabbing sword, a sabre, set of two to six pistols, often a carbine or arquebus and sometimes a warhammer or light axe. The lighter, Ottoman-style saddle allowed for more armour to be used by both the horses and the warriors. Moreover, the horses were bred to run very fast with a heavy load and to recover quickly. These were hybrids of old, Papal equine lineage and eastern horses, usually from Ardian tribes. As a result, a horse could walk hundreds of kilometres loaded with over 100 kilograms (warrior plus armour and weaponry) and instantly charge. Also, hussar horses were very quick and maneuverable. This made hussars able to fight with any cavalry or infantry force from western heavy cuirassiers to quick Ardians. There was a death penalty for selling a husaria horse to someone outside of ES.


Offline The Young Pope

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Re: Ecclesiastical History (WIP)
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2017, 12:54:45 PM »
Priory of Zion (Overview)[1]

• There is a secret society known as the Priory of Sion, which has a long history starting in 1099, and had illustrious Grand Masters.
• It created the Knights Templar as its military arm and financial branch; and
• It is devoted to installing the Merovingian dynasty, that ruled the Ardian Empire from 457 to 751 AD, on the thrones of Mundus.

• The Priory of Sion protects Merovingian dynasts because they may be the lineal descendants of the historical Jesus and his alleged wife, Mary Magdalene, traced further back to King David;
• The legendary Holy Grail is simultaneously the womb of saint Mary Magdalene and the sacred royal bloodline she gave birth to; and
• The Church (according to the Priory) tried to kill off all remnants of this bloodline and their supposed guardians, the Cathars and the Templars, so popes could hold the episcopal throne through the apostolic succession of Peter without fear of it ever being usurped by an antipope from the hereditary succession of Mary Magdalene.
• Thus the Priory's main enemies doesn't just include the Ecclesiastical State but also all governments and organisations that threaten the Priory from completing its goals.

The modern goals of the Priory of Sion are:

• The public revelation of the tomb and shrine of Sigebert IV, one of the notable Merovingian Emperors of Ardia, as well as the lost treasure of the Temple in NAN, which supposedly contains genealogical records that prove the Merovingian dynasty was of the Davidic line, to facilitate Merovingian restoration in Mundus;
• The re-institutionalization of chivalry and the promotion of pan-Mundic nationalism;
• The establishment of a theocratic "United States of Mundus": a Holy Mundic Empire politically and religiously unified through the imperial cult of a Merovingian Great Monarch who occupies both the throne of Mundus and the Holy See; and
• The actual governance of Mundus residing with the Priory of Sion through a one-party Mundic Parliament.


 1. Text taken from The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and Plantard's Plot
« Last Edit: October 17, 2017, 10:08:56 AM by The Young Pope »