INSPIRATION: THE TUDOR CHILDREN

When Henry VII of England married Elizabeth of York, they had eight children, but only four reached adulthood and only three had children of their own. Henry and Elizabeth’s firstborn son and heir was Prince Arthur Tudor, who married Catherine of Aragon before dying of an unknown disease shortly afterwards. Despite being the heir apparent before his death, Arthur is largely forgotten. In another life, Arthur would have been king and the Tudor Dynasty would have lasted longer under his rule. Henry VIII, who needs no introduction, was never meant to be king because Arthur was the heir and Henry was the spare. The daughters of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York had a brighter future than their brothers. Mary Tudor was married to the King of France and her descendants ruled France until the French Revolution. Margaret Tudor had the brightest future and legacy of all the Tudor children because she married the King of Scotland and her descendants eventually ruled both Scotland and England right up to the present day.

Because the Magnus Dynasty is my own fantasy reimagining of the Tudor Dynasty, I am thinking of basing the children of my new main character on these Tudor children. I also think it is more balanced in terms of gender: two sons and two daughters. I already have the descendants of these sons and daughters of Magnus planned out in a genealogical chart. Their story will be told in full in my upcoming third fantasy book.

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MYSTICAL MADNESS

Medieval Europe had its fair share of mad kings such as Charles VI of France and Henry VI of England. Their madness was often due to the fact that the European monarchs practiced incest with one another for centuries, which resulted in mental defects in their descendants. The monarchs of Europe had interbred with one another so frequently over the years, that they all eventually became blood relatives, which made mad kings increasingly more common. However, what if a monarch becomes mad not through any biological or mental defect but as a side effect of using forbidden magic? I always say that magic ALWAYS comes with a price. I am thinking of keeping with the tradition of mad monarchs in my fantasy series and their madness will be caused by a form of magic that grants them immense power at the expense of their minds. In their madness, my characters will be mostly catatonic with their hands and necks contorted, but when they are roused they would degenerate into mindless beasts that would attack anything that moved. In addition to believing he was made of glass, Charles VI would sometimes think he was a wolf so I thought of incorporating that into some of my crazy characters.

THE EMPEROR AND THE KING

In some of my earlier posts, I talked about how the monarchs of medieval Europe feuded against one another. Another example is the feud between Francis I, King of France, and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. These two royal titans were among the most powerful rulers of the Renaissance.

Their feud started because they both wanted to become the next Holy Roman Emperor. Being the Holy Roman Emperor was the most coveted title of medieval Europe because it not only came with immense wealth and vast lands, but it gave its wielders absolute power, which normal monarchies don’t allow. The only person who outranked the Holy Roman Emperor was the Pope.

Unlike other royal titles and positions, the role of Holy Roman Emperor was not inherited but awarded through elections. These elections were decided by a council of bishops and princes and their choices were often swayed by whichever candidate could provide the biggest bribes. Both Francis and Charles took sizable loans from the wealthiest banker in Europe, but Charles was the one who raised the biggest bribe, therefore securing his ascension as Holy Roman Emperor.

Embittered by his loss, Francis attempted to form an alliance with Henry VIII of England in an attempt to supplant Charles. The alliance broke down before it began after Francis humiliated Henry in a wrestling match. Out of spite, Henry formed an alliance with Charles, who happened to be his nephew through his first marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Outraged, Francis went to war with Charles. Charles siding with Henry also gave Francis a pretext to seize land Charles had that he desired, which included the Duchy of Milan and the Netherlands.

As enraged and ambitious as Francis was, he was up against the largest and most powerful empire in Europe and the odds were stacked against him from the start. Even though France was wealthy, fertile, and powerful in its own right, it was nothing compared to the Holy Roman Empire during this time. In addition to the usual lands that came with the Holy Roman Empire, Charles possessed so much more. Charles was originally King of Spain, but with the death of his grandfather, the previous Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian I, Charles’s empire exploded! Charles V ruled not only Spain and the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but he also inherited lands in Italy, the Netherlands, and all the conquered land of the Americas. It was a regime that came to be known as “the empire on which the sun never sets.” It was one of the largest post-Roman empires that ever existed. Compared to Francis, Charles was wealthier, more influential, and could summon much larger armies.

Francis tried to take the lands he desired from Charles, but he was defeated and captured. Charles eventually released Francis on the condition that Francis forfeit all claim to the lands he craved. To ensure Francis’s good behavior, Charles held Francis’s two sons hostage. Shortly after, Francis defied his pact with Charles and reignited his claim to his desired lands. In response, Charles stripped the captive princes of all forms of comfort. The conditions the princes were living in were so extreme that the younger prince forgot his native language. Eventually, Francis raised another army and tried to take his sons back by force, resulting in both France and the Empire reaching bankruptcy. Desperate for both money and peace, Charles offered a ransom for the release of the two French princes. After temporary taxes, Francis raised the money he needed to get his sons back and an accord was achieved between France and the Holy Roman Empire. Francis never got the lands he desired and his kingdom was bankrupt from war, but he secured the future of his dynasty when he got his sons back.

I like the rivalry between these two powerful monarchs. In my upcoming third fantasy book, the main character, who is the Emperor of Gradaia, goes to war with one of his vassal kings. The rebellious vassal king just happens to be one of the emperor’s cousins, which makes the feud all the more awkward.

ALTERNATE REALITY

We often think of the infinite possibilities of alternate timelines. With each new possibility, the multiverse grows. What if there was an alternate timeline where superhumans exist? For my new superhero series, I am thinking of creating an alternate reality. In our timeline, the first true superhero, Mandrake the Magician, was created in 1934. With this in mind, what if in this alternate reality, the first superhuman appeared in 1934? If such a thing happened, a lot of historical events would have turned out differently. First, the concept of the superhero wouldn’t be invented yet. Second, World War II, Cold War, Vietnam War, Korean War, and the Iraq War would have all turned out differently. Different regimes would rise to power, other regimes would become stronger, and other regimes would crumble into nothing with the rise of superhumans. With superhumans being the ultimate modern weapon, American imperialism will increase to a degree that hasn’t happened in our timeline. This will result in a completely different 2019, where the United States becomes the dominant superpower in the world with a dozen lesser regimes scattered across the globe. This will be similar to Watchmen in two aspects: First, the story will take place in an alternate timeline. Second, America will rely on superhumans to make their nation the most powerful on the planet just as America did with Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen. This provides me with lots of historical and political inspiration to work with and it makes me so giddy!

SUPERHUMAN OUTBREAK

I am a rather dark idea for my new superhero series. What if the rise of superhumans was the result of a global epidemic? Where would such a virus come from? How many normal humans would die to give rise to superhumans? I am thinking of drawing inspiration from the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, which resulted in the deaths of five percent of the world’s population.

BANKING FAMILIES

A couple days ago, I discovered something interesting about 15th Century Italy. The various cities of Italy from Florence to Rome were governed by a special class of noble families. These noble families ran the wealthiest banks in all of Europe and the wealthiest and most powerful of these families was the House of Medici. The Medicis started out as a family of humble bankers, but with each generation their wealth grew along with their power. After spending several generations as bankers, the Medicis swiftly rose through the medieval pecking order and became the undisputed rulers of Florence as Dukes of Florence. Their influence was so great that a few of their family members became Popes and Queens of France. At the zenith of their power, the Medicis ran the mightiest bank in all of Europe. With their wealth, the Medicis possessed the resources to influence events throughout Europe. However, the more their wealth and power grew, the more enemies they made, which included the Borgias of Rome. The Medicis are a prime example of how wealth can give you all the power and influence in the world if it is used and managed wisely.

CHARLES THE SIMPLE

I discovered a rather funny medieval figure known as Charles the Simple, who was a notoriously useless French king from the 9th to 10th century. His subjects overthrew him and locked him in a jail because he was such a bad general. “The Simple” is not a wise name for a king to earn. Three centuries later, Simon de Montfort said that Henry III should be locked up like Charles the Simple due to Henry’s own poor military record. Thinking about locking up your king is one thing, but saying it to his face like Simon did is flirting with treason.