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Chaosium Digest Volume 12 Number 01
Chaosium Digest Volume 12, Number 1
Date: Sunday, November 5, 1995
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
The Duchy of Normandie, Part Two (Frederic Moll) PENDRAGON
Editor's Note:
Welcome to a new issue of the Chaosium Digest. Within, you'll find the
second part of Frederic Moll's excellent article on the Duchy of
Normandie, for Pendragon.
For the most part, submissions have been light in the last month or
so. So, just as a reminder, I am always looking for articles for
future digests. If you've been meaning to write something down about
your favorite Chaosium game, send it my way!
Shannon
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Call of Cthulhu - _Cthulhu 2000_ (Arkham House, $24.95) is a new
Lovecraftian anthology, in the spirit of _Tales of the Cthulhu
Mythos_ and _New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos_. It contains a
collection of the finest Mythos stories from the last fifteen years,
drawn from _Lovecraft's Legacy_, _New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos_
and a wide variety of magazines. Authors include Michael Shea, Gahan
Wilson, James P. Blaylock, Gene Wolfe, Roger Zelazny and Lawrence
Watt-Evans.
--------------------
From: fm10@calvanet.calvacom.fr (Frederic Moll)
Subject: The Duchy of Normandie, Part Two
System: Pendragon
This is the second part of an article on the Duchy of Normandie (the
first part appeared in V11.11 of the Digest). The third part will
conclude this article with short adventures set in Normandie and
miscellaneous notes.
Frederic Moll
e-mail : 100350.1766@compuserve.com
fm10@calvanet.calvacom.fr
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE PLACES
This is not a complete index but i've try to include the most
interesting places. In some of the entries, the Roman or even old
Danish names are given as some people may recall the old names of the
places.
[The map given in V11.11 provides some information on the basic
landmarks in the Duchy of Normandie. A corrected version of it is
included below, as I inadvertantly text-wrapped the original, which
put Meresais, Paris and Vexin in the West rather than the East -SA]
Figure 1: schematic composition of the Duchy of Normandie
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| PAYS |
| DE |
| TALOU |
| PAYS DE CAUX |
| |
| C ROUMOIS |
| O |
| T x Rouen VEXIN |
| E |
| N BESSIN LIEUVIN |
| T x Bayeux |
| I |
| N |
| EXMES EVRECIN MERESAIS |
| |
| SEOIS |
| AVRANCHIN x Paris |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-- A --
Andelle river: a tributary of the Seine river, with a northeastern
direction. Lies a few miles south east of ROUEN.
AVRANCHIN: One of the last pagus that was added to the Duchy in 493.
The Count of Avranches is the ruler of this area, which includes the
city of COUTANCES and MOUNT SAINT MICHAEL. The Couesnon river is the
southwestern boundary of the duchy.
Avre river: a tributary of the Eure river and the southern boundary of
the inital territory granted to Hrolfr.
-- B --
BALTEIS: a subdivision of the northern pagus of COTENTIN.
BARLFLEUR: this port, protected by a common castle, was the place of
disbarkment of Agloval (Lamorak's brother) and his men in 525. During
the assault on the castle, Agloval fought against a norvegian warrior
who chopped his left foot with a great axe. Although victorious,
Agloval rested a few month in this city, waiting for the arrival of
all of Arthur's army in 526 (cf The Boy King supplement). The next
battle after that was against troops raised by the Dukes of Normandie,
Champagne and Burgundy.
BAYEUX: this city was a roman stronghold before the arrival of the
Franks and the Northmen. The bishop is the most influential man of the
Bessin pagus. Although destroyed by the Northmen attacks in 491, the
fortifications of the castle were quickly rebuilt. It was here that
Hrolfr, first duke of Normandy, was wounded in the throat by an arrow.
After a period of shock, the Northmen finally overran the defenders
and captured the city. This city was also one of the favoured
residences of the duke, with ROUEN and FECAMP.
BEAUMONT: home of the family of the counts of Meulan. The most famous
member of this family was Martin de Beaumont, who administrated
Normandy under Kay's rulership. His most notable action was the
expansion of the road system in Normandy to allow an easy circulation
of goods and merchandises.
BECHELLOUIN: a benedictine abbey, founded by Thomas de Lamort in 500,
near the bank of the Risle river. Famous for apple tree orchards.
According to some rumours, these were Devil apples that had the power
of oblivion (eaters sometimes forgot a week of their life after eating
one apple).
BESSIN: pagus that was added to the Duchy during the military campaign
of 491. The capitol is the city of BAYEUX.
Bethune river: At the mouth of this river is the port of DIEPPE.
BONSMOULIN: castle built in 495, near the ditch between Normandy and
Perche. This castle seems to be haunted, because every two months a
part of the southern wall goes to pieces during the night. When the
sun rises, the wall is again intact.
Brotonne Forest: A great wooded area, south of the Seine river, near
its mouth. A monastery was built in the heart of this area but
everybody who tries to enter this area seems to get lost for a day or
two before finding it. According to some travellers, the monastery was
constructed with the help of twin giants in less than a week.
Bresle river: the northern limit of PAYS DE TALOU pagus, and of the
Duchy.
BRIOVERA: Roman settlement where the bishop of COUTANCES accomplished
some miracles. Later, after his canonization, he will give his name to
the city who will become SAINT-LO.
-- C --
CAEN: near the Orne river, the dukes will build an imposing citadel to
protect the city during the rebellion of 524. The murder of the bishop
in this city, after a long speech about the moral behaviour of the
Duke was the origin of the agitation. Marc de Talon, his murderer, was
found later, ignoring everything concerning this event. Near him were
remains of apples from the BECHELLOUIN Abbey.
CARUSBERG: this scandinavian settlement is mainly a port, protected by
the castle of the Jarl CARUS, who gave his name to this settlement in
the extremity of the COTENTIN peninsula. Later, this city will be
named Cherbourg.
CASTLE GAILLARD: see GAILLARD
CHAMBOIS: a castle where live a group of dwarf knights. Although small
in size, they are among the most ferocious men that protect the
caravans that bring the ducal taxes to ROUEN.
Charentonne River: western limit of the initial territory of the Duke
of Normandie.
CORBON: salt marshes on the Dives River's mouth. One of the most
bloody battles of the 491 campaign was fought here. Now, the salt
marshes produce only pink salt (nothing can whiten it).
COTENTIN: pagus and peninsula. Initially under the control of
Norvegians who settled here in 470, this pagus was added to the Duchy
in 493, with the massive treasury given to the Jarl Carus by the Duke.
Although a vassal of the duke, the Jarl still has a lot of authority
in this pagus and maintains a double religious faith: catholic and
Wotanic. Each year, the Jarl send a couple of ships filled with young
adults to the land over the Channel to help the defense of Saxon
settlements or occasional raids.
COURCY: castle of the Yellow Lady. The Yellow Lady is an enchantress
that seems to attract only old knights. Only this kind of knights are
given hospitality in her castle. Why? Nobody is able to answer...
Couesnon river: southwestern most limit of the duchy and the AVRANCHIN
pagus.
COUTANCES: city in the COTENTIN pagus. The seat of Bishop Bernard
Kuls, who vainly tried to convert Jarl Carus to the catholic faith.
After the wedding of Laure, daughter of the Count of Coutances, this
city obtains a new fame, attracting a lot of travellers and a lot of
political agitators.
-- D --
Douve River: river in the COTENTIN pagus.
DIEPPE: fishing port in the PAYS DE TALOU, at the mouth of the Bethune
river.
Dives River: western boundary river of the LIEUVIN Pagus.
-- E --
Eaulne River: northern tributary of the Bethune river.
ELBEUF: cloth making town on the Seine river.
Epte River: eastern boundary river of the duchy. A tributary of the
Seine river. In SAINT-CLAIR-SUR-EPTE, at the junction with the Seine,
the treaty between King Claudas and Hrolfr was signed in 489. A small
castle was quickly built here after that, to protect the Normandy from
the Franks raids.
EU: town located in the PAYS DE TALOU. Castle of the Count of Eu.
Eure River: a southern tributary of the Seine river.
EVRECIN: pagus.
EVREUX: town, bishop, Count of Evreux.
EXMES: pagus.
-- F --
FALAISE: oldest castle in Normandie.
FECAMP: fishing port, coastal fortress and abbey. Capitol of the PAYS
DE CAUX. The abbey, founded in 496, was reputed for the liquor made by
the monks. This might be the reason why this little town was chosen as
one of the three official residences of the Duke.
-- G --
GAILLARD: impressive castle guarding the Seine Valley. Its capture by
men from the Ile de France, with the help of traitors, marked the end
of the Duchy as a nearly independant entity in 550.
GISORS: a castle.
HAGA: a sub division of the northern pagus of COTENTIN, under the
control of the norvegian Jarl Carus.
HAGA-DIKE: a 4 kilometers long fortification on the HAGA peninsula (a
little cousin of Hadrian's Wall). This fortification was built by
Celts circa 800BC and is made of superimposed layers of earth
maintained by stones. On top of this is a wooden palisade and a ditch
on the south side. The Haga Dike may rise up to 6 meter high in some
places.
HELGERIS: a sub division of the northern pagus of COTENTIN under the
control of Chief Helgi from Norway.
-- J --
JUMIEGES: a benedictine abbey founded in 503. This peaceful place
attracts a lot of riche nobles who come here for a period of calm and
meditation, or after great diseases. The monks and the abbot have a
great reputation as healers in all the Duchy. There are two churches:
one dedicated to St Peter and the other to the Virgin. The ducal
treasury is also stored here, under an heavy guard.
-- L --
L'AIGLE: a motte and bailey castle. The lord living in this castle is
a protector of eagles. He never use falcons for hunting, only eagles.
LE MELE: a castle.
LIEUVIN: a pagus added to the Duchy during the 491 campaign, after the
victorious siege of its capitol LISIEUX.
LILLEBONNE: Initially a roman military camp. A typical castle, with a
square central tower, was built on the remains of the camp that was
destroyed during the first raid of the Northmen.
LISIEUX: capitol of the LIEUVIN pagus on the Touques river.
LYONS LA FORET: a castle.
-- M --
MERESAIS: one of the initial pagii of the Duchy
MORTEMER: an abbey founded in 513. Robert, retired to this abbey in
515. Like a lot of the people who retired in this abbey, he died in
530 of indigestion, after eating fish. Near the abbey there is a pond
with very tasty fishes. After having a taste one of it, it is very
difficult to not try to catch another one and eat it.
MOUNT ST MICHAEL: Most famous abbey of the Lower Normandie. Due to the
tidal waters that surround the island, pilgrims must stay at least one
night in this abbey while waiting for the next low tide. See the
adventure of Mount St Michael for more details on this place (in Part
3 of this article).
-- O --
Orne River: a river that runs in the BESSIN, EXMES and SEOIS pagii.
-- P --
PASSAIS: the last pagus added to the Duchy in 503, next to the SEOIS
pagus. Althoungh contested by the Count of Anjou, the Duke of
Normandie was still the lord of this pagus.
PAYS DE CAUX: one of the initial pagii of the Normandie. FECAMP is the
capitol of this Pagus.
PAYS DE TALOU: one of the initial pagii of the Normandie. DIEPPE and
EU are the main cities of this pagus.
PRE DE LA BATAILLE: place near the Seine river where the 505 rebellion
was quelled by the troops of the Duke. During this furious day of
battle, at least 3 counts and 5 viscounts were counted among the dead.
Every body found on this battlefield was thrown in the Seine River.
The water remained red for one week after this battle.
-- R --
Risle River: western boundary river of the initial Duchy.
ROSTHELNENSIS: a sub division of the northern pagus of COTENTIN.
ROUEN: Capitol of the Duchy of Normandie and the Pagus of ROUMOIS, and
the second city of France and Gaul. Home of the Archbishop of
Normandie. This town on the Seine river is a great market place. The
conversion and the wedding of Duke Hrlofr and Poppa were celebrated in
the cathedral. Although sacked and burned at least 3 times during the
raids preceding the foundation of the Duchy, the city was quickly
rebuilt and is expanding outside the fortifications. The latin name of
Rouen was Rotomagus. A lot of Danes and Norvegians are found inside
Rouen, because they are always welcomed in this land, which they view
as a second homeland.
Duke Hrolfr was buried in a crypt under the cathedral after his death,
caused by a throat wound during the siege of BAYEUX. Sometimes, during
crises, Dukes go to the crypt to seek a wise advice, because,
according to rumours, the ghost of Hrolfr appears in front of them
when he is needed. According to other rumours, mostly spread by the
archbishop's men, the ghost sometimes also roam in the streets around
the cathedral. The archbishops want to get rid of this crypt and are
ready to try anything possible to do so...
ROUMOIS: a pagus whose capitol is the city of ROUEN.
-- S --
SAINT-CLAIR-SUR-EPTE: A castle was built on the island where the
treaty was signed between Hrolfr and King Claudas.
SAINT SAUVEUR: Castle of the Viscount of COTENTIN (who holds the
island of Guernsey).
SAINT-LO: future name of BRIOVERA. Name of a canonized bishop of
Coutances.
SEES: capitol of the pagus of SEOIS.
SEOIS : pagus added to the Duchy in 491.
Seine River: great river. Boating is very easy and a lot of goods are
transported by ships up to Paris, stopping at the market of Rouen.
During the initial Northmen invasions, before the foundation of the
Duchy, fortified bridges were also constructed by King Claudas to
protect Paris. Unfortunately, the Northmen were still able to capture
and destroy them and even raided Paris.
-- T --
Touques river: main river of the LIEUVIN pagus.
-- V --
Varenne river: southern tributary of the Bethune river.
VERNEUIL SUR AVRE: a castle.
VEXIN: a pagus.
Vire River: boundary river between the COTENTIN and BESSIN pagii.
--------------------
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