Charles Blois,
Charles III de la Tête
d'Or,
King of Bretonnia, age:27
Pulcrezzia Colonna, daughter of the Duke of Remas in
Tilea, 2nd Wife of Charles III, Queen of Bretonnia, age:16
Government members
The State Council :
- Prime Minister : Cardinal of Shallya, Henri Armagnac
Dumourieux (Dumourieux Faction), age:48
- Minister of Finance : Pierre Granvelle,
son of Bernard Granvelle,
Comte de Perrac (Granvelle Faction), age:29
- Minister of the Army and the Navy : young Louis Villeroi,
Charles
III's best friend (Blois Faction), age:21
- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs : Hubert de la Motte,
Marquis de Frejus, the King's cousin (Amboise faction), age:30
- Secretary of State at Dispatches : Nicholas Fouquet,
Comte de
Sarlat (De Semblancy faction), age:38
Noble Factions at court
The King's court at the great
Oisillon Palace is a
huge and diverse mix of nobles and favour-seekers assembled from across
the kingdom and beyond. To try and help make some sense of the complex
situation and summarise the information above, here is a brief list of
the factions to be found at the court in order of size and influence;
The King's own clients and extended relatives; a very large faction who
openly interfere and get dragged into the machinations of other groups,
with little group dynamic of their own and several leaders with
conflicting interests. Few if any would, however, desert the King's
patronage. They include the King's brothers,
Guillaume and
Tancred; his
uncle Blaize (though he is rarely at court); the King's favourite,
Louis Villeroi; and the Viscomte de Brossard, Governor of Guisoreux, as
well as numerous other officials and nobles dotted around the land.
The King's Prime Minister, his friends and his dependants; many are
attracted to the Cardinal by his current level of influence, and were
this to be diminished so would his faction decline in numbers. The
Cardinal is generally opposed to the De Semblancy, and anyone else who
gets too big for their boots can expect him to oppose them.
François de Semblancy, Duc de Lyonnais and Marshal of Bretonnia,
together with his own clients and relatives, including his wife,
Annette, sister to King Charles; and Nicholas Fouquet, Comte de Sarlat
and Secretary of State at Despatches. They are bitterly opposed to the
Cardinal, 'noblesse de robe' and the Capucinet family; in general they
are arch-conservatives who distrust any new measure that could
compromise their position.
Led at court by Pierre Granvelle, Minister of Finance and son of
Bernard Granvelle, Comte de Perrac (who is based in l’Anguille);
supported by his brothers and clients, most of whom are comparatively
new into the aristocracy and politics. They have a good working
relationship with the Cardinal and the King, but encounter varying
levels of hostility from other, more established nobles, in particular
the De Semblancy. The Granvelle are open rivals with the Loiseau
family, and the de Cabourg family and the Knights of the Holy Blood
detest them.
Dynamically led at court by Hubert de la Motte, Marquis de Frejus,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the King's cousin; also many
nobles from Gascogne. The official head of the family is Jules Blois,
Duc de Gascogne and uncle to Charles III; he is not active in politics
and remains in Bordeleaux with his wife Blanche. The Amboise faction
get on fairly well with all the other factions and have many allies in
the Blois family thanks to Hubert's royal blood.
As the family head, the Duc of Navarre, is reluctant to leave his own
lands, the faction at court is led by his brother Alphonse Capucinet,
who is accompanied by a number of fellow Navarrese aristocrats; they
bring an unsavoury reputation and an ancestral feud with the De
Semblancy to the Oisillon Palace. Other factions are still trying to
determine exactly what the Capucinet want at court and if the Duc of
Navarre's wishes are compatible with their own.
The Religious Faction
Not really a faction in itself; comprises all the great clerics in the
land, who are obliged by tradition to sit together when the King is
present. At varying times all seven Cardinals (of the cults of Shallya,
Myrmidia, Verena, Taal, Morr, Manann and Ulric) and the kingdom's
Archeveques and Eveques (archbishops and bishops) attend. Nearly all
who regularly come to court are affiliated with one of the other
factions, whose interests they support. Most of the Cardinals are
involved with one of the courtly factions, and many have blood ties
with the nobility.
Below are listed the seven Cardinals, where they are based and the
factions they support:
- Cardinal of Shallya, Henri Armagnac Dumourieux (Couronne) -
DUMOURIEUX FACTION
- Cardinal of Myrmidia, Claude de Vendome dit "Le gros" (Quenelles)
- DE
SEMBLANCY FAMILY
- Cardinal of Verena, Gibaud
De Rennes (Guisoreux) - BLOIS FAMILY
- Cardinal of Morr, Cicere
Marsallas (Guisoreux) - BLOIS FAMILY
(but only by instinct; generally stays out of politics)
- Cardinal of Taal, Quentin Eurtre (Parravon) - DUMOURIEUX FACTION
(again, rarely attends court and normally not concerned with
government)
- Cardinal of Manann, Toine Rohan-Rochefort (Bordeleaux) - AMBOISE
FAMILY
- Cardinal of Ulric, Alf-André
de Negrepelisse (l'Anguille) -
KNIGHTS OF THE HOLY BLOOD/DE CABOURG FAMILY
Minor Factions
Small but vociferous group of old-fashioned knights and impoverished
aristocrats, mostly from Armorique led by Leoncoeur, the King's
champion. Advocate war and very conservative ideals, especially on
religion.
Old military family from eastern Flandres who refuse to bow down to the
advances of Cardinal Dumourieux. Led by Paul d'Artois, who is slowly
winning the allegiance of other Flandres nobles opposed to the
Cardinal. Quietly allied with the De Semblancy faction.
Represent the staunch, proud and independent section of Armorique's
old-style aristocracy. Descended from the Norse settlers of northern
Armorique with some links to the Ulrican faith and led by the soldier
Guillaume de Cabourg. Most of the time Alf-André de Negrepelisse
associates
with them. Support the De Semblancy by default, but are
reluctant to enter into any firm alliance. Hate the Granvelle and the
Loiseau families.
A landed family from Armorique who have taken on the Granvelle and the
noblesse de robe at their own game. Seen as traitors by some nobles.
Led by Henri Loiseau, Duc de l'Anguille, whose clients include Xavier
Gevaudan, the Governor of l'Anguille, and admiral Marouanec. He is in
direct competition with the Granvelle family and has closest relations
with the Blois family. Generally more concerned with advancing his own
power than forging alliances.
Others
There are many other individuals and groups at court
who are not linked with any of the major factions. These include nobles
who simply have no ties to the great families, foreigners (including
ambassadors) and some individuals who are asked by the King to attend
the court; military officers, lawyers, clerks, doctors, wizards,
academics and others can all be found at various time.