Thursday, December 31, 2015

Weekly Geek! Domenico & Matthew

As a bit of background, Hugh de Clermont was killed along with the leadership of the Templars - it is unclear what name Hugh was operating under, but the connection can be made from the entries in the KoL ledgers.

On the evening of March 18, 1314 Jacques de Molay the Grand Master and Geoffrey de Charnay, the Preceptor of Normandy, were burned to death on an island in the Seine. Both had recanted their previous confessions, which had been obtained under torture. Before he succumbed to the flames,  de Molay is alleged to have sworn a curse on both Philip and the Pope (Clement V). Within a year, both were dead.   These daemons think the "curse" was named de Clermont.


The reason Gallowglass  won't set foot in France is because he blames the French king (Philip IV) and the Avignon papacy for his father's death.  The next pope wasn't much better...

 Now that the background is out of the way, onto Matthew and Domenico.  They were involved in the war which broke out in Ferrara in 1321 following the death of Azzo VIII d’Este which ultimately determined succession.   Azzo VIII was reputed be a piece of work - assassinating his father to gain the throne and buying his bride - Beatrice, the daughter of Charles II.  Dante did not hold a high opinion of him as reflected by the less that complimentary references in the Divine Comedy.



There were competing interests supporting different claims to the throne. Matthew was affiliated with the Ghibellines who opposed the temporal power (the political and secular governmental activity of the popes of the Roman Catholic Church) of the pope (Pope Clement V slaughtered of the Templars at the behest of the French king six years earlier).  It would serve the interests of the deClermonts and the KoL to limit the Church's influence in secular politics - keep in mind that the wealth and power of the Templars drew the attention of the Pope and was a factor in their downfall.   Domenico and the Venetians supported the claims of the illegitimate sons of Azzo -which would line the Venetians' pockets (you know Domenico - always the opportunist).  Meanwhile, the Pope (John XXII), who initially supported the claims of the legitimate sons, ultimately seized Ferrara for the Holy See and installed Robert d’Anjou as vicar general, who was essentially Pope's right hand.

Castle Este at Ferrara by Nycholas Ewstas
Feed your daemons:

The demise of the Templars:  http://www.templarhistory.com/
Italy in the Middle Ages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy_in_the_Middle_Ages
Avignon papacy: http://www.britannica.com/event/Avignon-papacy



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