3 replies to this topic

[Joanna]

Joanna opens the book "The Family Shrewsbury" and begins to read. On the first page there is an inscription on the first page, alone.

 

These are the historical chronicles of the Family of Shrewsbury. May they be remembered for the good they did and not the mistakes they made.

 

 

 

She turns the page.

 

The Family

 

The family Shrewsbury was founded in 1100 A.D. by Lord Gireg Shrewsbury. Lord Gireg (born 1038 A.D.) was well into his golden years at the ripe age of 62 when he founded his house, using a lifetime of experience and connections. to carve a place for the Shrewsburys in the already-crowded lands of England. His wife, the Lady Gladezig (born 1048), was a kind but homely woman, who could set fenceposts and herd pigs as well as any of the men. At the time of the founding of the Family Shrewsbury, her age numbered 52 years. 

 

Gireg and Gladezig had four children, three daughters and a son, as well as a ward from a neighboring family whom they raised as their own.

 

1. Mariana Shrewsbury (born 1074) was the eldest, a girl much like her mother, who worked hard and had little fear of getting her hands dirty. She married a man from the village nobility by the name of Meven. 
2. Enora Shrewsbury (born 1075) was little like her elder sister. She had a taste for fancy things and poetry, and married a charming and well-known bard named Riagad who passed through the area frequently. 
3. Salaun Shrewsbury (born 1077) was raised as heir to his fathers estates. A quiet, gentle man he lack his father's outgoing nature, but made up for it in a quiet steadiness that many found reassuring. Though they were raised together, Salaun fell in love with his fathers ward Alwena and the two were wed in 1100 A.D.
4. Morgana Shrewsbury (born 1078) was a fiery girl who grew into a beautiful woman with raven hair and green eyes. She was courted by many, and had many lovers among the local nobility.
5. Alwena Shrewsbury was a sweet-faced little girl when she came to live with the Shrewsburys. Mild in temperament and sweet of tongue, she devoted herself to the Shrewsbury family, and fell in love with Salaun. They were wed in 1100 A.D. 

 

In 1092, Mariana and Meven gave birth to their first child, a boy named Arzhul. Since his father did not come from a notable family, Arzhul was given the family name of Shrewsbury.

 

Not to be outdone, Enora and Riagad gave birth to a son the following year, another boy whom they named Rudalt. Though Riagad was well known and liked as a poet, he too did not come from noble stock, so Rudalt inherited the family name Shrewsbury.

 

A few months later, Mariana and Meven had their second son, a boy named Taran.

 

In 1094, Enora and Riagad gave birth to the firs grandaughter of the family, a bright-eyed sweetheart named Celerine. 

 

Thus the total persons in the family at the time of the creation of the noble House of Shrewsbury was 13. 

 

 

[Joanna]

Joanna turns to the chronicles of the years.

 

 

The Year of our Lord 1100

 

In early 1100 A.D., Gireg acquired control of a moderate area of land as reward for his services during a campaign in his youth. It was dubbed the Lordship of Shrewsbury, and was to be held in his family for all generations. 

 

Gireg and his family moved to the hamlet of Shrewsbury and began to develop the town. They constructed the Keep and several other small buildings, and began to build relationships with their neighbors. They made overtures of peace to all of the surrounding Lordships and fostered trade within the Lordship and beyond. 

 

They finished the year with a small economic gain and enough food to keep them through the winter. 

 

 

The Year of our Lord 1101

 

In 1101 A.D., the house of Shrewsbury signed peace treaties with the nearby houses of Denbigh and Nottingham, in hopes that these alliances would lead to greater prosperity for all houses in the future. They also discussed peace with the house of Birmingham.

 

Wary of becoming a vassal to one of his neighbors before completely understanding the politics of the region, Gireg did not offer any more than a peace treaty to any house. He began to weigh his options carefully and look toward the future of his house and his descendants. 

 

A mill was constructed, as were several other buildings. Gireg employed one of the local monks to complete begin research on a new technology he had heard of from distant lands. The first field owned and operated by the Lordship was planted, and a healthy crop of wheat was harvested in the early autumn. They headed into winter with healthy stores and good spirits.

 

[Joanna]

The Year of our Lord 1102

 

Tragedy struck the house of Shrewsbury in early 1102 A.D.. On the first of February, Mariana and Meven’s ten-year-old son Arzhul was thrown from his horse on rocky ground and died of his injuries. Distraught, Mariana retreated into the chapel and did not emerge for nine days. The entire house mourned the loss, not just because Arzul was a strapping young lad with a bright future, but also because their house was small, and still in danger of dwindling to nothing. Gireg began to research the children of local nobles in preparation for his grandchildren’s marriages. 

 

Morgana settled her heart on one of the local men and eloped with him in the spring, causing her parents much consternation. After careful consideration, Gireg agreed to allow the man to take on the name Shrewsbury, but neither he nor Morgana nor their children would ever be allow to inherit the titles and lands of Shrewsbury. Everyone cautiously welcomed him into the family. 

 

In the spring, Gireg oversaw the expansion of their small market into a larger Great Market, which he hoped would increase trade among their neighbors. 

 

The summer brought a glimmer of joy, when Salaun and Alwena gave birth to their first child in July, a girl named Gurvana. It was not to last, however, as Gurvana was born small and weak, and died less than a month later. Grief settled over the family once more.

 

But it was only to get worse. In early October, Morgana was murdered by a jealous suitor who did not appreciate her choice of man to wed. Gireg ordered that the murderer be found and hanged, but nothing could bring back his daughter. In grief he retreated to his study, deeply concerned about his own mortality and the fate of his family should he die. 

 

[Joanna]

The Year of Our Lord 1103

 

In the spring of 1103, Gireg offered vassalisation to some of his neighbors in return for part of the monetary gain created by the Great Market, in the hopes that he could expand his lands and titles before his death and create some sort of collaborative effort in the area. He slowly became more abrasive and paranoid, beginning to believe that the ancestral spirits and gods of the land surrounding Shrewsbury had it in for him. 

 

In March the House of Llangollen refused his vassalisation proposal, instead opting for a Peace Treaty. The House of Shrewsbury was then at peace with the Houses Llangollen, Denbigh, and Nottingham, with good relations towards Birmingham as well. The tension and paranoia seemed to ease for Gireg as the summer came. On the 2nd of August, as the harvests began to flow in, Enora and Riagad gave birth to another child, a girl they named Alwena after her aunt. Gireg’s heart became lighter again.

 

The Year of Our Lord 1104

 

Alwena survived the winter, and the entire family rejoiced. Mariana was pregnant again, and things were looking up. A granary was constructed in the spring, to store the summer harvests. 

 

But tragedy soon struck the house again. Mariana’s child lived only one short month. The first crop of pigs died in the heat of summer. The crops withered in the heat, and the granary remained mostly empty. 

 

Then the worst of all tragedies occurred. While prospecting for iron near the village, Saluan was hit in the head with a pickaxe. He died almost instantly. The enter lordship was thrown into grief at the lost of Gireg’s heir. Alwena wept day and night, and Gireg again retreated to his study, refusing even to play with his grandchildren. 

 

Thus the care of the estate fell to Mariana. Pulling herself from the grief at the lost of her baby and brother in the space of a few months, she became the leader of the house, overseeing the construction of a new mine and the expansion of Shrewsbury’s economy. Her husband Meven, always a soft-spoken man, was left in charge of the training and education of their remaining son, Taran.

 

In the late autumn, Mariana negotiated a peace with the Lord of Barnstaple, ensuring yet another ally in the English nobility. Her diplomatic tongue and sharp wit made her a powerful negotiator, though some lords refused to speak with her because she was a woman. Her strength and courage was encouraging the people of Shrewsbury, and they went into winter with tentative optimism.