The Republic Reborn II: Reborn Again [Orders Due Jan 31]

[Steerpike]

[ic=A Letter to Roberto Basile]Consul,

I have entrusted this message to my nephew, Morus, to ensure its safe and discrete delivery.

It grieves me to hear that you will soon be stepping down from your position as Consul. Your wise counsel has been much appreciated, and seeing the orangery was a delight.

The people may be filled with rancour, but they simply cannot perceive the totality of things. They cry out for bread, so we feed them. When their bread is stolen by thieves they cry out once more, so we track down the thieves and put an end to them. And what thanks do we receive? But more complaints, riots, mindless rage, a corpse on the steps of a San Lorenzo. Such is the way of the world.

I am growing increasingly concerned about the growth of this "Arnoldism" that seems everywhere in evidence these days, and especially prominent amongst the lower classes. This new militia is especially worrying. I concur that the Senate's authority must be strengthened. But I also believe that this Arnold of Brescia must be dealt with, and soon. I am more tolerant than most men, have studied the texts of Jews and Saracens, have read of things that some in the church might even consider heretical. It is not this Arnold's religious beliefs, then, that disturb me, nor even his doctrines of poverty and its virtues. He is spreading rebellion, sedition, and disdain for Rome's lawful rulers. You have seen how on the Senate floor the Arnoldists chafe against the rightful rule of the Senate and refuse electoral governance.

It is clear that I am saying nothing new by noting such problems, but I confess myself shocked that this man has such a grip upon our citizens. He has them enthralled, ignoring wisdom, the rage in the hearts only growing. He is like a cancerous ulcer that must be excised and cauterized lest its taint spread, corrupting the whole body.

I am not suggesting we simply drag this man to the gallows tomorrow. But I am coming to believe that he must be dealt with soon, one way or another. If we ignore him he will only continue to fester, and he will be all the harder to root out when, at length, it becomes necessary to remove him.

Sanguineus Viviani[/ic]

[ic=Before the Senate]I stand in support of Senator de Vinti's bill. Our city has long been plagued by criminals, by rebels, by those who would see Rome corrupted and who prey on its people as the remora on the flanks of a shark. The restoration of judicial order will pluck these bloodsucking parasites from our midst. I welcome, also, the involvement of Pietro Deutesalvi and his militia in the pursuit of justice. So long as they acknowledge the will of the Senate and the righteousness of the courts, their aid in keeping the peace must not be refused. Those who disobey Rome's laws or seek to supplant those entrusted with its governance will be punished accordingly.[/ic]

[ooc=Orders]- Begin construction of a Storehouse (spices)* (8 WP)

- Support Francisco Guillelmi's desire to propose a new electoral scheme without denigrating Consul Basile's original proposal.

- Support the proposal of Senator de Vinti for judicial reform.

- Send an agent to Sicily to look for Avenazon in Palermo or Salerno.

- Dispatch household agents to launch an investigation under the authority of the Consul of the Interior into the murder of the monk at the Church of San Lorenzo. If any ring-leaders of the riot and subsequent looting can be located, they should be arrested immediately and turned over to the appropriate authorities for judgment.

- Have Morus begin an investigation for the missing silver under the authority of the Consul of the Interior, using any household agents he requires. He should particularly exploit any criminal contacts in the Arenule. Anyone found who is suspected to be withholding information should be reminded of the men hung for their crimes.

*Pending narrator permission[/ooc]

[TheMeanestGuest]

[ooc=Orders for Summer 1160] - Basile shall have Ricardo stay in Rome for a short time to continue his reacquaintance with matters of the family, the estate, and the city in general before he returns to Ardea and his own estate at the Torre San Lorenzo. Basile shall discuss with Ricardo the situation of the schism and local politics south of Rome and learn of his son's impression of the current Caetani position in the region, as well as Ricardo's own situation and if he requires any assistance from the family. Ricardo will likely wish to rejoin his wife and child before the Roman summer becomes too hot and malarial. Basile will maintain the ten man complement of pesceneri at the Torre San Lorenzo for now.

- Basile will, as promised, send [1 WP] of good silver to be delivered to the Archbishopric of Pisa directly as a donation to the construction of the Pisan Baptistry. He will additionally send a marble brick carved with the inscription - "Roberto Basile, Cos. de Roma 1160 AD, D D P S Deo" which he intends to be used in the construction of the Baptistry to recognize the donation.

- Basile will devote [1 WP] to continue construction on the Torre Basile.

- As per usual [2 WP] will be utilized to maintain Basile's company of pesceneri.

- Basile will await Pisa's response to his proposal. If it is accepted and grain delivered, Basile will have it distributed among the most needy Romans and will particularly ensure the security of any donation carried out in Arenule or Foro Piscium with a healthy complement of his masnada - though of course Basile's masnada will be on hand at any distribution of this dole regardless of its location. Basile will likewise make certain that the people and the Senate both know of the grain supply he has secured if the deal with Pisa is successful. Obviously if it isn't successful no attention should be brought to it.

- He will host the arranged delegation from Viterbo with good hospitality and cordiality at his estate, and shall provide for their needs for the duration of their stay in Rome. Basile will again express Rome's desire for friendship with Viterbo, saying that countless years of needless acrimony should be put firmly in the past, and that the interests of the Communes of Viterbo and Rome are not so different as it might at first appear. Basile will make sure of their security, having the party escorted in a typical and unalarming manner to his estate. The plan is that by the time anyone really hears about it the Viterbesi should already be comfortable ensconced at Basile's home. If Basile should learn that his proposal to Pope Victor is moving further forward and seems to be in the offing, he will let it be known to the Viterbesi casually and without assumption at some social function that he is aware Victor is considering the creation of Viterbo's own bishopric. Obviously if Victor doesn't end up going through with the creation of the diocese the matter won't be brought up. As per above spending Basile will ensure that he has at least 3 WP saved this season so that no opulence penalty will be suffered.

- As there is not enough initiative in the Senate behind any one proposal regarding Senatorial reform, Basile shall slowly back down from his position, saying of the matter that: "it is evident that as the Senate is not yet established in its mindfulness of the issues that the proposal should for now be tabled until the election of the new Consuls." Basile will of course let it be known that he is still in favour of reform and that he yet considers his hybrid solution the most able so far.

- Basile will put his full support behind de Vinti's proposed Judicial legislation.

- Basile will finish his allegorical tale His Many Guises, a story of the milite John's time in hell. Basile will produce two copies himself and have several further copies made from these. The book's contents will be as previously represented. He will give these to his literate friends to read, as well as to his colleagues the consiliarii. Any feedback will of course be considered intently.

- Pietro Deutesalvi will be consulted on the matter of the theatre of Marcellus, as Basile is still intent on securing tenants for the property in order to increase the Senate's revenue. Basile is not particularly alarmed by the issue of neighbourhood militia organizations as yet, so long as they should all recognize and defer to the supremacy of the Senate's authority in all matters. Basile will notably maintain a visible presence in Foro Piscium (as well as in Arenule) with his pesceneri, to ensure that the people do not forget the Senate's law.

- The pesceneri will continue to act as thieftakers and peacekeepers in Rome, delivering to the Senate's court any deserving offenders. Basile will additionally maintain a few of his men with the Senate's palatini in their watches at the Tabularium and the Courthouse.

- Agents will be sent to Viterbo and to the Alban Hills to determine current sentiment, events and politics in these locations, particularly concerning Rome.

- Basile shall organize a special training session for the militia in addition to the regular schedule. As Rome must rely primarily on its infantry, Basile shall have them drilled to better face the cavalry they will likely oppose. He shall have them practice the assemblage of and movement in the refused flank formation. Additionally, some number of the equites will be assembled in their panoply, and they shall make mock charges on the formation - coming up short at the last moment - in order to accustom the Roman infantry to standing before a cavalry charge.

- Basile will await reply from the Emperor and the Archchancellor on the messages he has dispatched to them, hoping that he should be able to deliver good news to the Senate. It would certainly be nice, he thinks, to procure a true Charter for the Romans as his final deed for his current Consulship.

- Pandolfo Cassi's response to the offer of patronage will be awaited. If he accepts Basile will put him to work with a task suited to the man`s talents - perhaps finding out the secrets of Senators or equites, or the furnishment of a report on the extent and proclivities of Arnoldists, and whether or not they pose a danger to the state.

- Alarmed by the advantage in cavalry possessed by the Frangipani, god forbidding Sicilian involvement on top of that, Basile shall consult the copy of De Re Militari possessed by Gerardo Calafatus to determine if the ancients had devised any means by which a force on foot could hinder or defeat a mounted opponent. He shall investigate if the littering of sharpened wood or nails before an infantry line could trip or hobble the horses of enemy knights. Additionally he shall consider the Battle of the Laurels and the impromptu barricades created in the centre via wagon, and if the deliberate placement and overturning of wagons could strengthen a Roman formation.

- Basile shall have his men at Gregoriopolis report to him on the situation of the community, regarding both its defensibility and its relative prosperity. He shall likewise know of popular sentiment, and how the Gregoripolitans should feel that they are now also Romans. A survey of the town's walls will be conducted, and an estimate given on the expense of the possible construction of a tower attached to the gatehouse. His agents will be on hand to receive any Pisan ship or representative if it should come by way of Ostia. [/ooc]

[Polycarp]

I've been working on other things lately, so please don't worry about orders being a little late.  I won't really be able to start the update until this weekend, so feel free to post/alter orders (or write letters) until then if you weren't able to get everything in by now.

[ic=Letter to Hugo de Vinti]Senator,

My students are still few, owing to the poverty of Roman education and learning in general.  The reputation of a great center of law like Bologna is not easily gained, and this city seems unlikely to attract the throngs of students from abroad that a more prosperous commune might.  I do not believe that my students will be able to provide fully for the needs of a court which presides over thirty thousand souls, at least not in the near future.

Nevertheless, you should not view my reply as disappointing; rather, you must be resigned to the fact that this will be a slow process.  Indeed, only when justice again reigns will there be a rising demand for legal knowledge.  As long as men are not held accountable to the law, they have no need to consult experts in it or pay them for their services, so only when a court is well established will there be a larger monetary incentive for those learned in its laws and procedures.

I have had little attendance from the clergy.  Naturally this is because I have, per your wishes, placed emphasis on the civil law rather than the canon law which clergymen focus their careers on, but even were this to change, the higher orders generally seek more renowned centers of learning.

I hope to hear more of your efforts to find suitable teachers of letter-writing.  While this is a base and inferior art to that of the judge and scholar, I believe that it may at least begin the creation of a pool of literates from whom future scholars may be drawn from.  I also urge you to consider my earlier request that the school be provided with some endowment in land, in order that it may support itself through industry and not be dependent on the generosity of the Senate or any particular senators.

Rector Rogerius Placentianus, Legum Magister[/ic]

[ic=Letter to Roberto Basile]Consul Basile,

His Holiness Victor IV commends the Roman people and their Senate for their faith, valor, and love for the Holy Church.  It is the duty of all faithful Christians to oppose the abominable schism which a conspiratorial party, in disregard for the sacred procedures and rituals of pontifical election, has caused within the fold, and the Romans have done their duty in a fashion that gives credit to their ancient race.

Let us alleviate your worries about the Tusculani.  The counts are vassals of His Imperial Majesty, and owe much to that allegiance.  They have withheld their open support for certain reasons of expediency, but you should have no doubt as to their obedience.

The obedience of Signore Colonna is far less certain, and we fear he has been made assurances by the schismatic Rolando that we cannot match.  If the Romans possess any influence with him that they may use to bring him to our righteous cause, or at the very least give him some pause in his present course towards the schismatics, it is surely their obligation to use it.

As for your request, surely it has been received with graciousness and will be considered among the weightiest of matters before us.  You must understand, however, that the creation of a new diocese is not a task lightly taken on, and is attended by much discussion and solemn prayer.

Giovanni Mercone, Cardinal-Priest of SS. Silvestro e Martino, Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church[/ic]

[TheMeanestGuest]

[ic=A Letter to Oddone Colonna]Signore,

I have heard this season of the many guests you have entertained, and I have heard that among them were representatives of His Eminence the Cardinal Rolando. Though we Romans have aided Bandinelli's opponents in some ways and instances, it is not our desire that this schism should persist. The Romans would love nothing more than the mending of this lamentable breach, and a return to wider prosperity in Latium. It is peace - not war - that is to the benefit of cities.

You are a Roman yourself, Signore, and through the years have maintained your familial estate in Rome - even when the Roman Senate had driven many others from the city. Your father is still widely respected in Rome, and certainly the city has not had so able a Prefect in living memory. Indeed, we have commemorated his service on our own coinage, that all might know of that respect and esteem. I think there is little that I can do to persuade you one way or the other, to adopt this position or that position. I can make no threat to your house, and I can likewise offer it no great title or sum. I can only remind you of the friendship of the Romans, whatever that may be worth to you. We treat well our friends, few as they are, and have never abandoned a single one even at great cost to ourselves. And so I implore you that in your weighty considerations you recall Roman friendship and Roman spirit.

In the end you will make the choice you determine to put your house upon the best and most worthy course, and I will not begrudge you this. In your position the Romans would do the same.

Consul Roberto Basile[/ic]

[Magnus Pym]

[ic=Letter to Rogerius Placentianus]Magisterius Placentianus,

Indeed this is a sound idea and I understand the underlying concern about individuals funding the operations of the school. It was my promise to you that you should be made as comfortable as possible and given the right tools to teach your noble art, and while I still endeavour to increase the quality of both, I feel I might be exhausting the patience of the senators in matters of justice. That is because I've woven the matters of the courthouse and the university together. It was a necessity to overcome the extreme miserliness of my colleagues, but should I shove further words of "noble deeds and Roman justice" down their throat I might lose the important unanimous support I've enjoyed since the beginning of this endeavour.

This does not mean I am discarding your request. Like learning, politics can be a slow – and sometimes dull – process. But you can still rejoice; my house feels strongly that the center of learning in Rome should never be wanting of the base necessities and those for more advanced uses. This is why we, De Vinti's, are going to provide the university with [20 WP]; [1 WP] per season for five years. This will help pay for the food, the blankets, the clothes, the candles, the feathers and ink, the books, copies of them books, the advice and the scribes.

I'm advancing the cause of Roman justice and learning in the Senate as we speak. If God answers my prayers, we will have reason to celebrate.

Senator Hugo de Vinti[/ic]

[Magnus Pym]

Hello everybody. Is the game still running? I haven't heard from anybody but TMG in quite some time.

[Polycarp]

Yes, I sort of had an emergency here at home and I haven't been able to wrap things up.  But an update will be posted soon.

[LD]

No worries. Best wishes in the resolution.

[Polycarp]

I was hoping to finish the update by today, but I didn't make it.  This was a date of importance because tomorrow, I have to fly to New Jersey.  I'll by coming back on the 9th (it's a short trip) and will hopefully wrap things up in the days thereafter.

As my gift to you, and as an apology for lapsing this long, I humbly offer you a preview of the update.

[spoiler=Preview: Summer 1160]News from Abroad

The Kingdom of Africa is no more.  News arrived from Sicily early in the season that Mahdia, the last city in Africa still subject to the Sicilians, fell to the army of Almohad Caliph Abd al-Mu'min after a year-long siege.  It is reported that all the Christians and Jews of Mahdia were given the choice of conversion to Islam or death.  With this final disaster, the Sicilian dominion in Africa which was founded 18 years ago under Roger II has now vanished completely.  It is left to the people of Italy to wonder if these fanatical Moors will now look overseas for new conquests.

Arnold von Selenhofen, Archbishop of Mainz and a key supporter of Emperor Friedrich "Barbarossa" von Hohenstaufen, has come to a violent end.  The Archbishop was in Lombardy to assist in furthering the recognition of the pro-Imperial Pope Victor IV when news came this past spring that the citizens of Mainz, the seat of his archdiocese, had rebelled against his strict rule.  He returned to the city in June only to be set upon by a mob of citizens at the Monastery of Saint Jakob, who set the archbishop on fire, burning him to death.  The response of the emperor and the German clergy to this vile sacrilege was swift – the leaders of the insurrection were banished and the whole population of Mainz was placed under excommunication.  Forced to capitulate, the city had its communal charter revoked, its civic government abolished, and its walls torn down.

King Valdemar of Denmark became the first ruler outside the Empire to affirm the election of Victor IV as Pope.  As Valdemar acknowledges the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor, this was no great surprise.  The chief prelate of his realm, however, defied him – Eskil, Archbishop of Lund, was forced to flee the country after he refused to recant his support for Pope Alexander III.  A similar situation developed subsequently in Hungary, where King Géza II acknowledged Victor over the objections of pro-Alexander Archbishop Lukács of Esztergom.  Lukács, at least, has not yet been forced into exile.

King Henry II of England and Louis VII of France agreed to a treaty of peace this past May, sealing a truce which had been enacted between them in November of last year.  The betrothal of Henry's son, also named Henry, to Louis's daughter Marguerite was confirmed, and the young Henry gave homage to his prospective future father-in-law.  It was agreed that the County of Vexin, long contested between the English and French crowns, will go with Marguerite as her dowry when the marriage takes place.

Niklot, chieftain of the pagan Obotrites who reside in Wendland on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, has been defeated and killed by a Christian alliance led by Valdemar, King of Denmark, and Heinrich "the Lion" Welf, Duke of Saxony and cousin of Emperor Friedrich.  Niklot successfully resisted Christian expansion for three decades – even an official crusade against him in 1147 failed to do more than compel him to pay tribute – but now his domain and his people have been divided amongst the victorious Saxons and Danes.

News of Italy

Although Emperor Friedrich "Barbarossa" von Hohenstaufen was forced to quit the field in Spring due to a lack of forces, the war continued throughout the summer season.  In June, the Milanese laid siege to Lodi, which since its founding had only been fortified with an earthen rampart rather than a stone wall.  The Milanese bombarded the city and at one point temporarily gained control of one of the gates, but were repulsed and ultimately forced to withdraw with the arrival of Imperial and Cremonesi reinforcements.  On August 3rd, with support from the emperor and Tinto Maso di Gatta, a Cremonesi architect , the Lodigliani began laying the foundations for new stone walls.

Thwarted at Lodi, the Milanese turned instead to the strategically important castle of Carcano, which held the road between Milan and its ally Brescia.  The anti-imperial Archbishop of Milan, Umberto da Pirovano, excommunicated the castle's garrison and personally accompanied a Milanese army which subsequently marched on Carcano and began preparations for a siege.  Reinforced by cavalry from Brescia and Piacenza as well as local villages, the total Milanese-led force numbered at least seven thousand.

The emperor made great haste to respond, and was eventually joined by knights of Pavia, horse and foot from Novara, Vercelli, and Como, volunteers from the local towns of Seprio and Martesana, and chivalry from Count Guido III of Biandrate and Margrave Guilhem V of Montferrat.  The total army consisted of less than four thousand men, but nevertheless the imperial force managed to reach the Milanese with surprising speed and cut off the Milanese camp from their supply route to Milan.  The Milanese were now forced to go on the offensive or risk starvation.

A large force of Milanese attacked the imperial camp on the 9th of August.  Emperor Friedrich, who had taken his cavalry up the heights towards Carcano, had left only Lombard infantry to guard the camp.  They soon fled, allowing the Milanese to begin plundering the imperial baggage.  Seeing his camp under attack, Friedrich turned around and counter-attacked.  After hard fighting, the Milanese force was defeated, and the emperor seized the Milanese carroccio, the wagon bearing a great cross with the Milanese banners.  The German knights slew the oxen and overturned the wagon, throwing it unceremoniously into a ditch, and the emperor seized his enemy's banners.

At the same time, however, the emperor's allied cavalry from Como and Novara who had also been working up the nearby mountain slopes blundered into the Milanese and Brescian cavalry, who outnumbered them heavily.  The imperial allies were routed, and the victorious Milanese-Brescian cavalrymen then turned towards the imperial camp where the emperor had just triumphed.  With much of his infantry having fled early in the day, the forces of Como and Novara driven off, and the remainder of his force sorely diminished from the heavy fighting, Friedrich had scarcely more than 200 men still in his party.  Outnumbered at least three to one by the enemy cavalry and with more Milanese reinforcements seeming likely, the emperor retreated and left his camp to the enemy.  Skirmishing continued in the area throughout the next few days.

Initially the battle was reported in Rome as an overwhelming imperial victory, but the details above followed soon after.  Both the emperor and the Milanese have now declared victory at Carcano.  The Milanese claim, with apparent truth, that they held the field of battle, put the emperor's forces to flight, and took a number of noble prisoners – but they also took heavy casualties and suffered the indignity of the loss of their standard.  The emperor has boasted that the Milanese returned to their city with "cartloads" of dead, but most of his own force was routed and his own baggage plundered.  Ultimately, the Milanese failed in their main objective, as Carcano remains in imperial hands – even if the battle was rather less than a total imperial victory, it appears to have bloodied the Milanese badly enough to force their withdrawal not long afterwards.

The latest news from the north is that the emperor has called for more reinforcements from his Lombard allies, and has also sent messengers north to Germany, whose knights and princes have been commanded to prepare for a new campaign into Italy in the coming spring.[/spoiler]

[TheMeanestGuest]

Looking forward to the update, PC!

[Polycarp]

Summer has passed into Autumn...
In autumn, laborers take to the farmlands to plow the fields and sow the winter wheat, while in the hills grapes and olives must be picked and pressed.  This is a busy time in Rome, for much work needs to be done between the withering summer and the onset of winter.  The wealthy return to the city from their country estates this season, and the Church prepares for the celebration of All Saints' Day.  On the water, merchants hurry to complete their routes before the winter storms make the sea treacherous, and citizens watch the Tiber warily, for floods come most often in autumn.

Our Consuls: Roberto Basile and Sanguineus Viviani
Our Pope:  Alexander III ("Sicilian") and Victor IV ("Imperial")
Our Prefect: None
Our Rage: Simmering [3]

[ooc=This Season's Top 5 Popular Issues]
1. "We fear for our safety in these times..."
2. "Down with Octavian!"  "No, down with Rolando!"
3. "Perhaps we should see to our own neighborhood's defense..."
4. "God bless Lord Annibaldo!"
5. "Let the senate submit to election!"[/ooc]

News from Abroad

The Kingdom of Africa is no more.  News arrived from Sicily early in the season that Mahdia, the last city in Africa still subject to the Sicilians, fell to the army of Almohad Caliph Abd al-Mu'min after a year-long siege.  It is reported that all the Christians and Jews of Mahdia were given the choice of conversion to Islam or death.  With this final disaster, the Sicilian dominion in Africa which was founded 18 years ago under Roger II has now vanished completely.  It is left to the people of Italy to wonder if these fanatical Moors will now look overseas for new conquests.

Arnold von Selenhofen, Archbishop of Mainz and a key supporter of Emperor Friedrich "Barbarossa" von Hohenstaufen, has come to a violent end.  The Archbishop was in Lombardy to assist in furthering the recognition of the pro-Imperial Pope Victor IV when news came this past spring that the citizens of Mainz, the seat of his archdiocese, had rebelled against his strict rule.  He returned to the city in June only to be set upon by a mob of citizens at the Monastery of Saint Jakob, who set the archbishop on fire, burning him to death.  The response of the emperor and the German clergy to this vile sacrilege was swift – the leaders of the insurrection were banished and the whole population of Mainz was placed under excommunication.  Forced to capitulate, the city had its communal charter revoked, its civic government abolished, and its walls torn down.

King Valdemar of Denmark became the first ruler outside the Empire to affirm the election of Victor IV as Pope.  As Valdemar acknowledges the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor, this was no great surprise.  The chief prelate of his realm, however, defied him – Eskil, Archbishop of Lund, was forced to flee the country after he refused to recant his support for Pope Alexander III.  A similar situation developed subsequently in Hungary, where King Géza II acknowledged Victor over the objections of pro-Alexander Archbishop Lukács of Esztergom.  Lukács, at least, has not yet been forced into exile.

King Henry II of England and Louis VII of France agreed to a treaty of peace this past May, sealing a truce which had been enacted between them in November of last year.  The betrothal of Henry's son, also named Henry, to Louis's daughter Marguerite was confirmed, and the young Henry gave homage to his prospective future father-in-law.  It was agreed that the County of Vexin, long contested between the English and French crowns, will go with Marguerite as her dowry when the marriage takes place.

Niklot, chieftain of the pagan Obotrites who reside in Wendland on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, has been defeated and killed by a Christian alliance led by Valdemar, King of Denmark, and Heinrich "the Lion" Welf, Duke of Saxony and cousin of Emperor Friedrich.  Niklot successfully resisted Christian expansion for three decades – even an official crusade against him in 1147 failed to do more than compel him to pay tribute – but now his domain and his people have been divided amongst the victorious Saxons and Danes.

News of Italy

Although Emperor Friedrich "Barbarossa" von Hohenstaufen was forced to quit the field in Spring due to a lack of forces, the war continued throughout the summer season.  In June, the Milanese laid siege to Lodi, which since its founding had only been fortified with an earthen rampart rather than a stone wall.  The Milanese bombarded the city and at one point temporarily gained control of one of the gates, but were repulsed and ultimately forced to withdraw with the arrival of Imperial and Cremonesi reinforcements.  On August 3rd, with support from the emperor and Tinto Maso di Gatta, a Cremonesi architect , the Lodigliani began laying the foundations for new stone walls.

Thwarted at Lodi, the Milanese turned instead to the strategically important castle of Carcano, which held the road between Milan and its ally Brescia.  The anti-imperial Archbishop of Milan, Umberto da Pirovano, excommunicated the castle's garrison and personally accompanied a Milanese army which subsequently marched on Carcano and began preparations for a siege.  Reinforced by cavalry from Brescia and Piacenza as well as local villages, the total Milanese-led force numbered at least seven thousand.

The emperor made great haste to respond, and was eventually joined by knights of Pavia, horse and foot from Novara, Vercelli, and Como, volunteers from the local towns of Seprio and Martesana, and chivalry from Count Guido III of Biandrate and Margrave Guilhem V of Montferrat.  The total army consisted of less than four thousand men, but nevertheless the imperial force managed to reach the Milanese with surprising speed and cut off the Milanese camp from their supply route to Milan.  The Milanese were now forced to go on the offensive or risk starvation.

A large force of Milanese attacked the imperial camp on the 9th of August.  Emperor Friedrich, who had taken his cavalry up the heights towards Carcano, had left only Lombard infantry to guard the camp.  They soon fled, allowing the Milanese to begin plundering the imperial baggage.  Seeing his camp under attack, Friedrich turned around and counter-attacked.  After hard fighting, the Milanese force was defeated, and the emperor seized the Milanese carroccio, the wagon bearing a great cross with the Milanese banners.  The German knights slew the oxen and overturned the wagon, throwing it unceremoniously into a ditch, and the emperor seized his enemy's banners.

At the same time, however, the emperor's allied cavalry from Como and Novara who had also been working up the nearby mountain slopes blundered into the Milanese and Brescian cavalry, who outnumbered them heavily.  The imperial allies were routed, and the victorious Milanese-Brescian cavalrymen then turned towards the imperial camp where the emperor had just triumphed.  With much of his infantry having fled early in the day, the forces of Como and Novara driven off, and the remainder of his force sorely diminished from the heavy fighting, Friedrich had scarcely more than 200 men still in his party.  Outnumbered at least three to one by the enemy cavalry and with more Milanese reinforcements seeming likely, the emperor retreated and left his camp to the enemy.  Skirmishing continued in the area throughout the next few days.

Initially the battle was reported in Rome as an overwhelming imperial victory, but the details above followed soon after.  Both the emperor and the Milanese have now declared victory at Carcano.  The Milanese claim, with apparent truth, that they held the field of battle, put the emperor's forces to flight, and took a number of noble prisoners – but they also took heavy casualties and suffered the indignity of the loss of their standard.  The emperor has boasted that the Milanese returned to their city with "cartloads" of dead, but most of his own force was routed and his own baggage plundered.  Ultimately, the Milanese failed in their main objective, as Carcano remains in imperial hands – even if the battle was rather less than a total imperial victory, it appears to have bloodied the Milanese badly enough to force their withdrawal not long afterwards.

The latest news from the north is that the emperor has called for more reinforcements from his Lombard allies, and has also sent messengers north to Germany, whose knights and princes have been commanded to prepare for a new campaign into Italy in the coming spring.

News of Latium

This summer, Imperial Marshal and Count Palatine Otto von Wittelsbach entered the patrimonium from Tuscany.  The marshal, dispatched to Latium by the emperor, had been held up for some time in Tuscany by the intransigence of the communes.  Evidently Count Otto had hoped for reinforcements from the cities which had only just sworn their allegiance to Margrave Welf VII, but the simmering hostilities there between the Pisan-Sienese and Lucchese-Florentine alliances foiled these efforts.

Nevertheless, by July the marshal had cobbled together a modest force of Tuscan cattani, cavalrymen from the powerful Aldobrandeschi family, and Lombard scutiferi out for plunder, around a small core of German milites.  They were soon reinforced by Perugian foot and horse sent by that city's imperial podesta, Signore Ludwig Otto von Veringen.  This army besieged the crucial border fortress of Radicofani, which marks the northern frontier of Latium and controls the entrance of the Via Cassia (and thus, the Via Francigena) into the patrimonium.

Radicofani, which had been strengthened by a new tower built under Pope Adrian IV, seemed unlikely to fall quickly.  Count Otto appealed to the Aquesiani, who sent militia northwards to assist him.  The Orvietani, made aware of the absence of the Aquesiani militia, raided the Aquesiani contado, but they failed to compel the marshal to lift his siege to the north.  Skirmishing continued well into August, but by the 14th of that month Radicofani had surrendered and received a new imperial garrison.  Count Otto proceeded south to Acquapendente, where he was welcomed with great celebration.

In the two weeks since then, the Count has mounted a vigorious campaign against Alexandrine possessions in northern Tuscia, storming Proceno (a fortified village two miles west of Acquapendente) and ravaging the lands around Bolsena.  His next moves are unclear, but he has evidently dismissed the idea of taking Orvieto, a city perched on a mesa of sheer cliffs widely considered impregnable.

News of Rome

The Romana Fraternitas ("Roman Brotherhood") is an organization created more than a century ago to provide internal governance to and represent the interests of the clergy of Rome.  The ordinary duties of the Brotherhood, which reports directly to the Pope, are the arbitration of disputes between Roman churches, the enforcement of clerical discipline within the city, and the execution of Papal rulings concerning the Roman clergy.  As its duties are strictly matters of internal ecclesiastical governance, it historically has played no role in broader Roman politics.

In recent years it has not even played much of a role in ecclesiastical politics.  There was a time when the Brotherhood had considerable influence in the governance of the Church, but recent popes have sought to curb the power of the Roman clergy by sharply reducing the number of Romans promoted either to the cardinalate or other important sees and posts.  Since the creation of the Roman Commune, the Curia has frequently been absent from the city, further limiting the Brotherhood's influence.  The Curia has also taken more direct steps over the years to reign in the Brotherhood's leaders - because most churches rely on patronage from the Curia, their priests could easily be influenced by the promise of more funding or the threat of its removal.  By this mechanism the Brotherhood has remained a fairly inoffensive entity despite the radical leanings of the Roman clergy – many of whom are disgruntled with the Curia's treatment of Rome and its priesthood, or are outright Arnoldists.  

The schism, however, has had a dramatic effect on the organization.  On the Vigil of Saints Peter and Paul (June 28th), the Brotherhood met at S. Tommaso Fraternitatis, a church near the Theater of Marcellus which functions as the organization's headquarters, and elected a new slate of rectors, nine priests chosen by their peers to lead the organization.  The result was a complete blowout – all nine of the newly elected rectors were Arnoldist sympathizers at the very least, and several of them are directly involved with the movement.  The organization in Rome that, at least historically, speaks for the Roman clergy is now openly pro-Arnold and pro-Victor, representing perhaps the most tangible political victory by the Arnoldists in years.

The most senior among the rectors is the Dean of the Canons of Saint Peter's Basilica, Pietro Cristiano, an old antagonist of the Papal Curia who supported the Pierleoni (anti-)pope Anacletus II in the schism of 1130-8.  While his Arnoldist sympathies are somewhat muted compared to those of his fellow rectors, Pietro's reputation is that of a die-hard Pierleonist and Imperialist partisan.  Some say he played an influential role in the disputed papal election which took place at Saint Peter's last year.

Late one August night, four men were discovered attempting to remove parts of the Column of Trajan, a famous monument of the ancients which stands in Trivii et Vie Late less than 100 yards from Trajan's Market.  A masterpiece of ancient engineering, the hollow spire has a spiral staircase within it, while the outside is covered in spiraling friezes depicting the victories of the emperor Trajan over the barbarians.  The thieves were accidentally interrupted by a group of local men and fled the scene.  Traditionally the Pope or his vicar in Rome (that is, an ecclesiastical authority rather than the prefect) has been in charge of Rome's ancient monuments and responsible for punishing their theft or defacement, but with the absence of ecclesiastical government in the city there is no longer even the pretense of security.

A week ago, a delegation arrived in Rome from the Commune of Viterbo.  Viterbo and Rome, the two most populous cities in Latium, have long been rivals – over the last century, the cities were frequently on opposite sides of the various papal schisms.  The last battle between the Romans and the Viterbesi was in 1135, during the Pierleoni-Frangipani schism; the Roman militia, led by pro-Pierleoni noblemen, attacked Viterbo but was defeated by the Viterbesi.  Despite no direct confrontations for the last quarter century, however, a hostile atmosphere has remained, demonstrated by Viterbo's membership in the Faliscan League.

The Viterbesi delegation was led by Signore Sergio Vittori and Consul Gionata Orticaio.  With an honor guard of twenty knights and several dozen servants and other functionaries, the legates entered the city and presented their letters of credence to the senate in council.  The Commune of Viterbo is led by two bodies of consuls, one representing "the people" and the other "the knights" (that is, the local and urban nobility).  Consul Gionata is on the former body; Signore Sergio is himself not a consul, but was chosen by the latter body to represent their half of the civic interest.

A small flotilla arrived from Pisa this season, including a nave full of grain which was turned over to the senate.  Pisan diplomats are said to have spoken briefly with the consiliarii before traveling inland, reportedly to gain an audience with Pope Victor, whom the city of Pisa recognizes as the lawful pontiff.

In general, the passage of Holy Week, the gradual easing of the bread crisis, and the apparent defusing of the conflict in Arenule and S. Angeli led to a summer that was much more peaceful than the turbulent spring.  The weather has been fairly congenial, only somewhat hotter than average; if the rains are good throughout the rest of the year and there are no disruptions of a military nature, the likelihood of a good crop and a final end to high bread prices and starvation fears seems quite possible.  Given recent happenings elsewhere, however, many fear that peaceful conditions will not last.

The Schism

While news from Hungary and Denmark have been mostly favorable to the "Victorian" cause, Victor's partisans have been dealt a heavy blow in Latium by news that Signore Oddone Colonna has given homage to Pope Alexander III.  He was swiftly followed by the di Poli house, which is a rather minor family but controls the strategically important Castel di Lunghezza east of Rome.  The allegiance of the Rocca di Papa - as its name implies, a Papal castle - was also clarified, with the garrison flying the gold banner of the Bandinelli and receiving pro-Alexander reinforcements to the garrison there.  The Alexandrine party, formerly constrained to the Latina Valley and scattered Frangipani territories, now controls much of the Alban Hills including the fortress of Tusculum itself, which rather ironically was put into Colonna hands following negotiation between the Tusculani and the Romans.  As the Tusculani themselves have not yet declared either way, only the relatively minor estates of the Annibaldi in the northern Alban foothills are in the hands of an openly pro-Victor party.  It has escaped no-one's notice that Rome alone now stands between the Alexandrine territories in the south and the Frangipani estates northwards along the coast.  On a map, at least, the Victorian, pro-Imperial salient from Rieti to Gregoriopolis that cuts Latium in half looks increasingly tenuous.

Further north, little Bolsena openly declared for Alexander, and the castellan of Rocca San Stefano, a castle acquired by Pope Adrian from the Lords of Calmaniare, declared for the Alexandrine party as well.

[spoiler=Declared for Pope Victor IV]The Pierleoni
The Crescenzi
The Annibaldi
The Savelli
The Capocci
The Templar Priory of Rome[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Declared for Pope Alexander III]The Frangipani
The Demetri
The Conti
The Colonna[/spoiler]

Finances

Treasury: 0 WP

Income: 1 WP

• Duty, Cencio Pierleone: 1 WP
• Toll, Holy Week Commerce: 1 WP (Spring Only)
• Rent, Colosseum: 2 WP (Spring Only)[/i]

Expenditures: 1 WP

• Upkeep, Senatorial Palatini (50): 1 WP
• Mint Fee: 1 WP (Spring Only)

State Projects:
None

State Properties:
Theater of Marcellus
Colosseum
Tabularium (Treasury)
Curia Julia (Senate House)
University
Market of Trajan (Courthouse)

[spoiler=Personal Finances]Arrigus Sismondii
Income: 20 (9/3/6/2)
Enterprises:
3 Wine Presses (+6 Autumn)
4 Pastures [Rented from Calafatus] (+4 Spring)
1 Fulling Mill (+1 Spring)
1 Weaving Hall – Wool (+4 Spring, +2 Winter)
1 Dyeworks (+3 Summer)

Savings: 9 WP
Costs: Palatini (-1 Every Season), Alum (1 WP in Spring), Rent to Calafatus (6 WP in Autumn)
Projects: Mole (4/?), Tiber Estate (5/5 WP, 1 season)
Assets: Rocca [3S/0O], 50 Palatini, 50 crossbows

Vittorio Manzinni
Income: 27 (12/4/6/5)
Enterprises:
1 Forge Mill (+1 Spring, +1 Winter)
1 Lumber Yard (+2 Winter)
1 Bakery (+2 Winter)
2 Storehouses – Glassware (+2 Spring, +2 Summer, +2 Autumn)
2 Storehouses – Linens (+2 Spring, +2 Summer, +2 Autumn)
2 Hospitia (+6 Spring)
1 Wine Press (+2 Autumn)
Pontis Rent [Non-enterprise] (+1 Spring)

Savings: 7 WP
Costs: Palatini (-1 Every Season)
Projects: None
Assets: Estate [1S/2O], Land in Ripe et Marmorate and S. Angeli in Foro Piscium, 50 Palatini

Roberto Basile
Income: 20 (8/4/2/6)
Enterprises:
2 Storehouses – Loot (+2 Spring, +2 Summer, +2 Autumn)
2 Orchards (+2 Winter)
1 Perfumery (+4 Spring)
2 Fisheries (+2 Spring, +4 Winter)
2 Salinae (+2 Summer)

Savings: 3 WP
Costs: Armored Masnada (-2 Every Season)
Projects: +1 Security (4/5 WP, 1 season)
Assets: Tower House [4S/2O], 100 Masnada (Armored)

Hugo de Vinti
Income: 28 (17/3/1/7)
Enterprises:
1 Storehouse – Marble (+1 Spring, +1 Summer, +1 Autumn)
1 Sculptors' Workshop (+1 Spring, +1 Summer, +1 Winter)
5 Flax Fields (+5 Spring)
1 Cropland (+1 Summer)
3 Weaving Halls – Linen (+10 Spring, +6 Winter)

Savings: 4 WP
Costs: Palatini (-1 Every Season), Labarum Rent (2 WP in Spring)
Projects: None
Assets: Palazzo [0S/3O], Obelisk, 50 Palatini, 50 crossbows

Sanguineus Viviani
Income: 20 (1/12/7/0)
Enterprises:
4 Croplands (+4 Summer)
3 Grist Mills (+7 Summer)
2 Vineyards (+2 Autumn)
1 Wine Press (+4 Autumn)
1 Storehouse [Spices] (+1 Spring, +1 Summer, +1 Autumn)

Savings: 5 WP
Costs: None
Projects: Laboratory [1/?]
Assets: Estate [0S/0O][/spoiler]

Senatorial Inquests

Senators that requested information or launched endeavors have the results of their efforts listed here.  This information is private, but you may certainly choose to share it with the Senate.

[spoiler=Roberto Basile]Ricado
Your son does not believe that Ardea and its environs is a theater of great importance in the current struggle.  The coast of southern Latium is not a place of great economic or strategic importance – in particular, because there is no crossing over the Tiber downriver from Rome, control over the Ardean region grants no access to the north.  Even if the Frangipani were to drive as far north as Tre Fontane they would gain no strategic advantage from it.

It is possible, however, that some opponents of the Caetani might use the excuse of the schism to take aggressive actions.  Whether they are brave enough probably depends quite a bit on where the Tusculani end up in the schism; if they side against Rome, stirring up hostility to the Romans and their allies in the region may be in their interest.

Viterbesi
The legates from Viterbo have arrived at your estate with their escorts.  Despite your efforts to retain enough amenities to please them, they were clearly not altogether satisfied with the accommodations - Consul Orticaio asked if your palace had perhaps been lost in the recent fire, which would explain why you had no option but to host them in a remote towered villa with lodgings more appropriate to a common merchant rather than Rome's well-known consul.  That conversation ended awkwardly.  Hopefully the insult they have taken from the rather underwhelming opulence of your estate will not greatly damage your diplomatic efforts.

Though the legates presumably have been given instructions for how to proceed in Rome, they have divulged very little about what their government wants or to what extent it believes Viterbo and Rome might be reconciled.  They seem to you to be confident that they are dealing from a position of strength – their city is wealthier and more secure – and they are waiting to see what the Romans have to offer them, not vice versa.

Publishing
Being an author in the 12th century is difficult – literacy is poor outside of the clergy, and as printing presses do not exist, every copy must be penned by hand.  If you want to make more than a handful of copies, it will take serious resources (that is, actual WP) to do so.

An allegorical work like this is something that would usually be produced by some literary monk for clerical consumption; for it to come from a merchant is unusual, something which your friends probably observed.  While the clerical class has a finely tuned sense of theology and an appreciation for allegory and even mysticism, the religious sensibilities of most people are far simpler – they are interested in what must be done to be saved, which is why the speeches on that topic by people like Arnold are so riveting.

Your (literate) friends surely appreciate the gift, unexpected though it is.  Your work is unlikely to go much further, though perhaps in a time of more stability the Roman clergy might take an interest.

In Foro Piscium
"Captain" Pietro Deutesalvi seemed quite content to stay out of the news this season after the initial announcement of the local militia that had the senate so wound up.  Having confronted the Senate, and no punitive action forthcoming, he seems satisfied with the victory and has been spending the hours he devotes to the local militia organizing patrols and dealing with mundane logistics.

Pietro seemed pleased to be consulted by a consul, and likely took this as evidence that the senate would not contest the legitimacy of their outfit.  He seemed to support a "civilian" use for the theater, though he couldn't say whether any tradesman would prefer to move there.  He opined that if rents were attractive enough, that would probably be sufficient.

Viterbo
Viterbo is a city under some strain.  While open turmoil has not yet showed its face, there are serious popular divisions along the lines of the schism.  In general, the knights tend to favor the imperial cause, but it is unclear which side is more powerful among the people at large.

There are also rumors of religious unrest.  While Arnoldism as such does not seem present in Viterbo, its essential argument – that the Church is worldly and corrupt – has a great deal of traction, particularly with the lower classes.  This discontent may be responsible for the growth another movement, borne to Viterbo by missionaries from the north who call themselves "good Christians" and lead admirable lives of simplicity.  It is rumored they are the same sect as the men known as popelicans or cathari, denounced as heretics by the Pope, who are far more radical in their teachings than even the Arnoldists.  Arnold, while controversial and officially censured, has never been denounced as a heretic.

The Viterbesi man on the street does not seem to give much thought to Rome.  Their eyes are fixed northwards on Orvieto and the imperial incursion in that area, as well as their nearby allies in the Faliscan League.  The League really only papered over the fact that its constituents have long been rivals with each other for power, wealth, and prestige, and with the "threat" of Rome superseded by other, more worrying developments, the consensus that made this cooperation possible may be in some danger.

Alban Hills
Velletri and Albano have civic governments, but neither is a free commune; they are technically fiefs of the Tusculani.  Of the two, Velletri is the more powerful of them owing to an episode nearly a century ago.  When the Norman Robert Guiscard attacked Rome in 1084, he passed by Velletri and sought to occupy it first.  The citizens there refused him entry and defied his attempts to take it, such that he and his army soon moved on to Rome (with devastating consequences for the Romans, whose resistance was not as effective and resulted in a three-day sack of the city).  The bravery of the people was rewarded by the Pope, who granted the city broad territorial concessions.  In terms of agricultural land under its administration, the city rivals Rome' present dominions, despite the fact that the urban population is under five thousand.

Albano is likewise a Tusculani dependency, but it is smaller than Velletri both in population and in controlled land.  It has also been favored by the papacy – four decades ago, Paschal II fled Rome for Velletri, and rewarded the town by making them exempt from milling taxes.  This exemption, along with the fact that the city sits in renowned winemaking country, has made Albano into a very prosperous agricultural town.  The city is dotted with noble and ecclesiastical palaces, favored by the Tusculani and many prelates as a refuge from the heat and tumult of Rome.  It is, perhaps, the closest thing to a "resort town" in Latium, and has served in that role since ancient times.

Velletri is fairly ambivalent about the Romans, but Albano has in the past fallen under Roman dominion and is wary of their much larger northern neighbor.  The Albanensi certainly remember when the Romans, siding with the Pierleoni antipope Anacletus II, attacked their city (unsuccessfully) during the 1130-8 schism.  Both cities are also wrestling with their own political divisions – they are each the titular seat of Cardinal-Bishops who are loyal to Alexander, and the ecclesiastical infrastructure in each city is strongly pro-Alexandrine.  Their temporal lords, however, are believed to lean to the imperial side, and the loyalties of the citizens are mixed.

Militia
The militia seems at least marginally more interested in training presently than they were several years ago; perhaps the present situation has sharpened concerns for Roman liberty.

Large-scale training was undertaken at the place of the old Circus Maximus, recently drained and reclaimed by Hugo de Vinti.  Your "mock charges" seemed useful and good for morale, with militiamen jeering at hooting at men who flinched and cheering when a knight's horse stopped short in front of the practice-lances.  The equites themselves were not burdened by the practice; it was a chance to display their horses and banners and to practice their own formations.

The movement drilling was somewhat less successful.  "Movement" is something rather alien to the pedites.  The common knowledge of the time is that the only reliable way for infantry to compete with cavalry in the field is for infantry to fight from a stationary, defensive position.  This ensures that the infantry will stay in formation (vital to stopping a cavalry charge) and allows the infantry to utilize a prepared position (with ditches, palisades, or even wagon-walls hurriedly thrown up before battle).

Thus, the usual training teaches infantrymen how to not move – to stand still in the face of a charge, never break formation, and never abandon defensive works.  Of course, infantry do move in battle, but attacking with infantry or maneuvering once battle is joined is widely considered foolish, for the infantry's strength is in its ranks and cohesion, not in its maneuverability or the force of its charge.

Certainly these "stationary tactics" have great disadvantages – like the fact that they cede all initiative to the mounted foe – but they are considered the best way for an inferior force (that is, infantry) to ward off what is agreed to be the most effective tactic of the day, the couched lance charge.  Stationary tactics are also much more accessible – it is simpler, relatively speaking, to teach a man to stand still than to create an organizational and communications structure that can enable men to execute maneuvers in concert.

With part-time soldiers possessing no formal command structure nor means of communication other than shouting down the line, whose training thus far has emphasized the necessity of never moving, the maneuvering practice you experimented with often took on the appearance of farce.  The line frequently fragmented when attempting any maneuver more complicated than "advance," turning carefully laid out ranks into rabble.

Military Advice
The De Re Militari deals extensively with the selection, drilling, and training of soldiers, logistics, morale, troop dispositions, and so on, but speaks little of what you would consider "tactics."  Its advice for a commander lacking in cavalry is unfortunately rather general, and somewhat obvious:

"If you depend on your foot against the enemy's horse, you must choose a rough, unequal and mountainous situation."

Alas, the terrain around Rome does not exactly accommodate that counsel.  Alternately, one could take this strange bit of advice:

"If your cavalry is not equal to the enemy's it is proper, after the ancient custom, to intermingle it with light infantry armed with small shields and trained to this kind of service. By observing this method, even though the flower of the enemy's cavalry should attack you, they will never be able to cope with this mixed disposition. This was the only resource of the old generals to supply the defects of their cavalry, and they intermingled the men, used to running and armed for this purpose with light shields, swords and darts, among the horse, placing one of them between two troopers."

How "light" infantry armed with "small shields," swords, and "darts" would do anything except impede your own cavalry, get left behind, or get trampled by the enemy's cavalry is not at all clear; it reads like nonsense.  This is one of many parts of the work which seems rather remote from the practice of war as you understand it, the practices of the "old generals" notwithstanding.

Spiked impediments – what Vegetius calls a tribulus, or caltrop – are mentioned in the work, but for use against "armed chariots."  Whether they are of any utility against cavalry in general is not mentioned.  Obviously, one would have to know the field of battle and prepare it ahead of time for this to be of any use.

You have heard that the Milanese have used wagons called plaustrella as movable fortifications, armed with scythe blades (whether these were attached to the wagons or held by men inside them is unknown to you).  This appears to be a separate thing from the carroccio, a much more substantial wagon which carries the communal standard, serves as an altar for mass before battle, and acts as a rallying point for the army.  The carroccio is not unique to the Milanese, as several other Lombard communes uses similar wagons; the plaustrella, in contrast, seem to be a Milanese stratagem of recent origin and unproved effectiveness.  In the one recent case in which the Milanese used these scythe-carts, the imperial army declined to engage and no battle took place.

The details of their usage of the plaustrella is unclear.  While such wagons might well be advantageous against cavalry, they would presumably slow the army down, require advance planning to set up before battle, and create some additional logistical demands as well (wagons must have oxen, and drivers, and food for the oxen and the drivers, and so on).

Cassi
Pandolfo Cassi has accepted your offer.  It seems fairly clear that, while he is no longer persona non grata in Rome, he is without many other resources – his properties and money taken, his former friends shunning him.  In such a state, patronage from one of the city's most powerful men must seem an attractive offer.

Cassi claims to know little about Arnoldists, and as an upwardly mobile burgher he had little interest in a religious movement dominated by the poor masses.  His expertise is greatest with those of his own type – the citizens and merchant equites.  He says that he will attempt to open some of his old contacts and relationships that had faltered during his time in exile.  He will, he says, do what he can, but any specific direction you may have for his activities will be helpful.

Gregoriopolis
The city in the marshes is little changed.  While they may be "Romans" in the most general sense, none of them could qualify for citizenship, so the benefits they derive from being Roman are few indeed.  The Pisan fleet, which hires some of the locals as stone-porters seasonally, adds some welcome additional income to the community but does not really constitute a pillar of the Gregoriopolitan economy.  It is a salt village, and as long as the sea remains salty, things are likely to continue as they are.  Fever is always a problem, of course, and there are deaths every year, but these people are not here for their health.  They are here because salt-making is a good way for a man unskilled with anything but a rake to make a reliable living for himself and his family.

The walls, constructed in the 9th century, are intended to dissuade lightly-equipped pirates from wasting time on the village; they have never been tested in a siege and would probably not be a serious obstacle to a true army.  A tower would presumably strengthen the fortifications, but it would have to be garrisoned as well.  If the main concern is not assault by land, but by sea, a tower might be better placed nearer the shore – while it could not contribute to the village's defense directly, it would (if at least lightly garrisoned) provide more advance warning to the villagers and the Romans.

[An actual fortified tower would be a security level of at least 3, which would cost 15 WP.  A tower less expensive than this, used only as a watchtower, would be possible, but it would have little defensive value.]

You spent 4 WP and earned 4 WP this season.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Sanguineus Viviani]Avenazon
Your agent sent to Salerno turned up empty-handed, but your other agent found success at Palermo.  The royal court of Sicily employs Greeks, Jews, and Muslims alongside Latins as administrators, ministers, servants, scholars, and other functionaries.  Palermo itself has a community of more than a thousand Jews, and while it took some investigating, the surgeon Melloul ibn Hazan al-Fazazi ("Avenazon") was eventually located.  While not employed at the royal court, he has established himself in Palermo and seems to have patronage from Hugh, the archbishop of the city.

Your agent obtained a meeting with him and the two discussed events in Rome briefly.  He seems not at all unhappy to be gone from Rome, saying that Palermo is a much finer city and the climate more hospitable.  He is likewise glad to be among "learned men" and Arabic-speakers, whom he said were all but unknown in Rome.  It may be difficult to entice him to return.

San Lorenzo
For the most part all your agents got from the locals was silence.  It seems very likely that the perpetrators of the attack on the monk are known – it was, after all, a riot in broad daylight in front of one of the city's main pilgrim attractions in the middle of Holy Week – but virtually nobody can be found who admits to seeing it or even being there.  It seems that sympathy with whoever did this is widespread in the district, and there is precious little sympathy for a cheating monk who most believe "got what he deserved."

Your men were able to identify the man who made the original accusation that the monk's candles were fraudulent, a Rhenish chandler there on pilgrimage, but the man evidently left the city soon after and there is no evidence that he participated in any violence (even if his accusation ended up instigating it).

Unless your men are willing to take stronger action to elicit information – either bribery or torture, most likely – the case seems to be cold.  There is no guarantee, however, that anyone who is paid off will provide good information, and putting people to the question over the matter would likely make you very unpopular here.

Silver
The handful of high-profile prosecutions of treasury thieves last season seems to have the result of pushing the rest underground – those who do have stolen lucre are now presumably much more careful about showing it around, if they haven't already swapped it in a neighboring city.  Your agents did manage to ferret out a few holders of illicit silver, but most claimed that they were not thieves – rather, the silver had come into their hands through the course of normal, legitimate business with others.  As some time has passed since then, it is probably impossible to prove them wrong, and many may be just as innocent as they claim.

Trade
You have acquired a new storehouse and bought controlling shares in a ship to enter into the somewhat risky – though highly lucrative – spice trade.  The key port for most spices is Alexandria in Egypt; the Kingdom of Jerusalem also exports such goods from the east, but the maritime republics of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa have a tight stranglehold on most profitable exports from that realm, whereas their domination of the Egyptian market is not so total.  Hopefully recent reports of instability in Egypt will not disrupt your new business too much.

You have earned 11 WP and spent 8 WP this season.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Vittorio Manzinni]Marriage
You have heard that the wedding of Consul Basile's son to Gerardo Calafatus, by no means a major noble, involved a dowry on the order of 5 or 6 WP – a marriage to a well-known house of the landed nobility, even one of the second tier like the Anguillara, will likely cost even more than this.  Such a family would normally be considering a noble match to cement an alliance with another house; if they settle for a match with a merchant family instead, it is primarily to bring capital into the family.

The Colonna and Pierleoni families are both rather short on marriageable men, aside from the heads of the families themselves (the Patrician and Signore Colonna are both unwed).  The Colonna family is a recently established cadet branch of the Tusculani that has few actual members; the Pierleoni family is a bit more robust, but Ruggero's two sons are both married already, and Oddone's only other remaining uncle, Huguizon, has not been seen in Italy for years.

Signore Anguillara's sons are as yet unmarried and the family controls some wine-growing land.  Signore Gregorio Corsi's youngest son is also unmarried, and he controls land fairly near Rome, including vineyards, but his family historically has been allied with the Frangipani and might be a risky bet (though they have yet to declare for either side).  Signore Attilio Crescentii has an unmarried cousin, Goffredo (who is thus also a cousin of Pope Victor).  It is not a sure thing, however, that any of these families are interested in a non-noble match, and even if they were they would certainly expect a large dowry.

Alternatively, a noble of less renown might be better for you – though it would give you no familial alliance of great value, it would be much cheaper, and still more prestigious than marrying a daughter off to another commoner.  There are many landed knights in Latium who find themselves a bit short on funds and do not have the same hopes for an alliance with a great house as the Anguillara, Corsi, and Crescentii may.  A knight of this station, however, probably does not have land to spare for much in the way of enterprise; they are sustained by their croplands and tend to be conservative with their fiefs.

You have earned 4 WP and spent 13 WP this season.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Hugo de Vinti]Wetzel
The monk Wetzel spent the season at various places, primarily in the western Campus Martius, preaching to the lesser folk.  His sermons center primarily around the ridiculing of clergy who own property – who, under Arnoldist doctrine, have no power to save souls nor to enact the sacraments.  Lately he has been using the "eel-fattened" monks of nearby Tre Fontane as a punching-bag; the wealthy monastery owns an enormous amount of land in Tuscany and elsewhere.

Wetzel remains a popular speaker, but the fiery attacks on the pope that made him famous have been muted since the schism – perhaps the presence of two popes and Rome's nebulous position in this conflict makes matters more complicated than the days when Romans had a clear antagonist to deride as a tyrant, like Eugene or Adrian.

Dictatores
You have received a message from your agent dispatched to Orleans.

Orleans is the second largest city (next to Paris itself) within the Kingdom of France.  It is part of the royal demesne, and thus a direct dependency of the crown, though it has possessed a communal charter since 1138.  Orleans is a center of the study of the great Latin authors – the works of Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, and Seneca, despite being pagans, are highly regarded here and their prose is emulated by the scholarly and literary class.

Your business, however, was with the writers of litters, the so-called dictatores.  The dictatores, or notaries, are not scholars, but a professional class who write letters for all sorts of illiterate and semi-literate people – merchants wishing to set down a contract on parchment, tradesmen who want a written will, and noblemen seeking to make a good impression with each other or with the literate clergy.  Most of them rely on model letters known as formulae, copying the same terms of address and phrasing over and over again; nevertheless they make a good living, and their skills are in much demand.  Your agent procured a few relevant texts – manuals on writing and various form letters used by these notaries – but he was also interested in finding men with more skill who would be capable of teaching such notaries, not merely copying letters.

Such a class of notaries is not unique to Orleans, but the Orleans style, based more on emulation than originality, is more practical for everyday business.  Unlike in Bologna, where composition is only taught as part of an education in law, notaries in Orleans are taught by grammarians.  In the Orleanist school, this sort of education is intended for a narrowly practical purpose – to train young men for positions in chanceries (that is, as bureaucrats and letter-writers in aristocratic courts), training which is just as suitable for serving the needs of the new mercantile classes.

Your agent has written that he was unable to entice any of the grammarians to come to Rome, even with the promise of better pay.  While serving in the chancery of the Pope might be prestigious enough for some men to make the journey, teaching in Rome in the midst of schism and bereft of either Pope makes the prospect all but hopeless.

He has sent back to you the manuals and forms he was able to procure, and has added in his message that he will be able to secure lodging and suitable education for any Romans sent to Orleans to learn the trade.  For now, he remains in Orleans, and awaits your further instructions.

Flax
Ancona, being closely allied to the Greeks, does little trade with the west – locked in a simmering struggle with Venice for Adriatic trade routes, it spares no attention for the western waters contested by Pisa and Genoa.  In any case, much of their flax now comes from coastal Apulia, recently retaken by the Greeks.  A land route to this city is rather impractical – the Roman roads across the mountainous spine of Italy are both steep and long-neglected, and it is faster and cheaper to send goods completely around the boot of Italy by water than to take them by ox-cart through the mountains.

Pisa imports flax from Lombardy and as far as Egypt, though their merchants are more interested in silk.  A land route to Pisa is more feasible than one to Ancona, but the road between Pisa and Rome is currently contested by a number of Tuscan cities, including Pisa, who seem on the brink of war.  In some places it is said that a merchant on the road has an even chance of being robbed before he makes it to the next town.

Rome's opportunities for trade seem rather limited so long as other powers dominate the sea and the surrounding territories are either hostile (Sicily) or unstable (Tuscany).

Your agent dispatched to Naples has returned empty-handed.  He says he was arrested by the royal garrison on arrival, accused of being an "imperial spy," interrogated, and marched onto the next ship to Civitavecchia with a sword at his back.  It is well known that the emperor desires the subjugation of Sicily and seeks the fleets of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa to aid him in its conquest; it is no great stretch of the imagination that he might send loyal Italians to survey such a great and strategic port city as Naples.

From what you already know about Naples, flax-growing lands are owned by Norman barons or ecclesiastical lords (abbots, bishops, etc.), as mainland Sicily is a well-feudalized country.  Lords, of course, do not engage directly in commerce; rather, they work through middlemen – Neapolitan, Pisan, or Genoese merchants – who buy their product in Naples and move it abroad for sale.  Specifics about these landowners are unknown to you, and given the reception your agent received they may remain unknown to you.

Nepi
The consuls of Nepi – unlike Sutri, the city is a free commune – saw fit to align themselves with their fellow Faliscans against the Roman threat, but the city has historically tended towards imperial sympathies.  It sided with the pro-imperial Cencio II Frangipani against Pier Leoni, but when Cencio was succeeded by his pro-Papal son Oddone (the present Signore Frangipani), Nepi switched sides and supported the Pierleoni clan.  It was the Pierleoni pope, Anacletus II (the brother of the late Giordano and uncle of Cencio Pierleoni), who gave Nepi its charter in 1132.  While Anacletus was condemned as an antipope after his death and his acts were declared annulled, the pro-Frangipani Pope Innocent II was unable to wrest Nepi's liberties from them and succeeding popes have essentially admitted the validity of their communal charter as a fait accompli.

Thus, the public sympathy tends to lie with the Pierleoni and the imperialist cause.  Sympathies do not always make policy – presumably the consuls of Nepi are, like many men of Latium, more interested in gaining advantage over others than honoring the memories of long-dead allies – but it may explain why the city has not been quick to follow Sutri's example.

You earned 3 WP and spent 1 WP this season.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Arrigus Sismondii](I feel bad about not writing anything here, but your patrols didn't encounter anything worth noting, and there weren't really any inquests to answer.  If you wanted some comment on the tiber estate - which is now funded and will be done in one more season - or something else, please let me know.)

You spent 3 WP and earned 3 WP this season.[/spoiler]

[Polycarp]

So, I've been having a difficult time lately because of family issues - I don't want to make this into my personal blog, but suffice it to say it's been difficult for me to find the motivation to do a lot of things recently, including write updates.  Nevertheless, I didn't give up on RR and still don't intend to, so for the foreseeable future as long as you're willing to deal with my occasional delays I'm willing to write this game.  I'm sorry for stringing you along this long, and I apologize.

It's super late right now, but maps and some letters will be up by the end of the day tomorrow.

[TheMeanestGuest]

No worries PC! I hope everything is alright. And I certainly understand where you're coming from - motivation to update can be hard to find sometimes. Your consistency and dedication are miles ahead of mine though, and I think we're all just glad that RR is still around.

And it was a quality update, as usual.

[Polycarp]

Maps have been updated.
A new unit, Scutiferi, has been added to the unit library.
Some letters are below; a senate summary and possibly other letters will follow later.

[ic=Message to the Lesser Council]Three Pisan ships, a nave and two sagitae, have arrived in Rome.  A diplomat on board has made his introductions and given a message in person to the Lesser Council.

My lords, the good men and consuls of Pisa, have received the recent missive sent by your consul, and thank him most graciously for his generous gift.

My masters welcome peaceable relations with the Roman Senate and desire no infringement on their liberties.  They feel obligated to note, however, that it is their present understanding that grant of the August Emperor to Rome comprised only the village of Gregoriopolis.  This is a gift they acknowledge and respect, but it is not a gift they believe extends to ruins outside its walls nor the product thereof.

As a gesture of goodwill, my masters have sent with me a ship bearing grain, which is yours to do with as you will.  They feel they must decline, however, the proposal that this should be an annual obligation for ten years or any amount of time, as they believe that would imply a recognition of Roman possession of the Ostian marbles which they cannot accept, as it has no basis in law which they can deduce.  They must humbly insist that this present gift must not imply any agreements or future obligations on their part.[/ic]

[ic=Letter to the Senate of Rome]In the Name of His August Majesty FREDERICUS, Imperator Augustus Romanorum, King of the Germans, King of Italy;

We have received and welcomed your most felicitous praise for the victories of our lord and emperor.  Let the Romans take heart in every triumph of His August Majesty, who throws down the enemies of law, faith, order, and fidelity.  The Emperor, the Sole Augustus of the World, shall ever confound the schemes of those who would divide Church and Empire, and in their vanity and greed defy the just and pious rule of Rome, caput mundi, over the world entire.

His August Majesty is now preparing to humble rebellious Milan, which has long plagued the cause of justice in Lombardy, and to this end has summoned his faithful soldiers to his side.  This is our principal object, and come spring it is this contumacious and rebellious foe which must be made to submit or trampled into the earth.

We are very pleased to advise you that our most faithful and valorous comrade, the Count Palatine and Imperial Marshal Otto von Wittelsbach, has been dispatched into Latium to prosecute our cause.  We charge you with rendering all assistance which is required by our marshal and aiding his purpose as the emperor's vicar in this region.

We consider it to be of the greatest importance that the perfidious rebel Rolando and his supporters be surrounded and cut off entirely, that the hateful flame of insurrection and schism be entirely snuffed out.  Already Rolando's court has been sending out delegates to the kings of Christendom, hoping by deception, flattery, and bribery to obtain foreign allegiances.  We command the Romans to hold fast in the name of the emperor the bridges and ferry-crossings over the Tiber which they possess the ability to control, and to root out any agents of the false father Rolando Bandinelli as to prevent them from proceeding north by land.  The damage that may be caused to our purpose by a single messenger from our foe to his sympathizers in the north may be as great as that incurred from any routed army or fallen citadel.

Regarding the governance of Rome, we are loath to establish new customs to overturn the old.  The restoration of the imperial dignity is a restoration of the privileges, laws, and customs enjoyed by citizens of the empire since the days of Justinian and Constantine, that peace, justice, and prosperity shall be renewed and the glory of Rome arise again.

It is our understanding that the city has been ruled, or perhaps more aptly misruled, by a prefect appointed by the Curia; we are aware that the appointment of a praefectus urbi was a privilege enjoyed by the august emperors of history, and we denounce as usurpation and innovation the conceit that the Bishop of Rome possesses the authority to make or confirm this appointment.  We command that the Romans acknowledge no such appointed prefect.

Rome is not any ordinary city within the empire, and we do not believe its status and governance may be disposed in an ordinary way.  The privileges of the Romans from time immemorial must be respected, as must the rule of the Augustus over his city.  The consuls of the Romans may be assured that we have heard their cries for liberation from tyranny and strive ever to uphold the lawful and just rule which is the charge, duty, and obligation of the Emperor of the Romans.

Rainald von Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne, Imperial Chancellor, Archchancellor of Italy[/ic]

[ic=Statement of the Clergy of Rome]We, the presbyterium of the Holy Roman Church of the city of Rome, caput mundi, seat of the Vicar of Christ;

Obedient to Christ Jesus, his Holy Mother, His apostles and their blessed successors, cognizant of our ministerial obligations and responsibilities to the flock of Christ, and possessed of a righteous duty to preserve the obedience of the faithful and defend the people from error and damnation;

Declare that VICTOR is the One and Apostolic Father of the Holy Roman Church, acclaimed by the clergy and people of Rome;
Declare that the Chancellor ROLANDO is an uncanonical aberration upon the Church, the author of wickedness and the first-born of Satan, imposed on the unwilling Roman people and their clergy by foreign conspiracy;
Petition the true Holy Father for redress of grievances perpetrated upon the Roman presbyterium, chief among these being:

• First, the purposeful withholding of funds necessary to maintain the churches and holy places of Rome as an instrument to coerce the Roman presbyterium into disunion with and disobedience against the lawful secular authority;
• Second, the appointment of foreigners to episcopal and cardinal sees which have by tradition been apportioned to Roman clergy, so as to suppress the city and its priesthood.

In the Faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

The Rectors of the Romana Fraternitas, for the Presbyterium of Rome assembled this day, the Vigil of Saints Peter and Paul, Anno Domini MCLX[/ic]

[Magnus Pym]

It is a nice update. As usual, confronting us with hard choices.

If I may ask; I included an order to put my giudici bill to a vote, and it seems support for the legislation was widespread. To me, it looked like something big, especially since the "The Senate is corrupt!" sentence was always in the top 5 issues of the updates since game one, but it received no mention in the "News from Rome" part of the update. Was this intended?