Some illustrations of pike-and-shotte infantry and gunpowder-based, siege artillery that I have officially designed forĀ āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā or āHouse Biermann of The Margraviate of Brannenborg,ā the newest of the four secular, hereditary āKurfürsten Des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheitā orĀ āPrince-Electors of The Empire of Mankind Proper.ā Both these artworks and their associated āfaction iconographyā were officially designed for a low-fantasy setting of my original conception with technology and material culture roughly equivalent to European History during the compounded advents of The Italian Renaissance, The Protestant Reformation, and The Discovery of America. Where formations of heavily armoured and mounted, aristocratic and noble knights in either suits of full plate armour or heavy coats of chainmail fight alongside professional armies of pikemen and matchlock musketeers. Where medieval-style stone castles are gradually being outsourced in favour of both lavish country estates and devoted military fortifications, orĀ ābastions,ā due to the technological advancements being made in gunpowder-based, siege artillery. And Where fledgling nation-states in the form of both kingdoms and empires look beyond the great oceans and the frontiers ofĀ āThe Known Worldā in search of exotic riches and virgin lands.
In context to the canon lore of my āhomebrewā medieval fantasy world,Ā āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā or āHouse Biermann of The Margraviate of Brannenborgā is the newest of the four secular, hereditary āPrince-Electorsā orĀ āKurfürstenā within The Imperial College ofĀ āDas Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheitā orĀ āThe Empire of Mankind Secundus.āĀ āDie Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā orĀ āThe Margraviate of Brannenborgā is loosely inspired byĀ āThe Mark Brandenburgā orĀ āThe Electorate of Brandenburgā within āThe Holy Roman Empireā during the Medieval and the Early Modern periods of European history.Ā āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā is at once the newest, and the most reluctant, constituent member state of, and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Proper, orĀ āDas Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit.ā As well as the newest secular, hereditary āelectoral principalityā or āKurfürstentumā within The Empire of Mankind since the official appointment of Markgraf Friedrich II Von Biermann to The Imperial College during The Electoral Reforms of Emperor Vespasian VII as the 96th Emperor-Elect of The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Over 150 years prior to the contemporary events of my medieval fantasy setting, the lands of āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā was originally part of āThe Former Kingdom of The Midlandsā under āThe Late House Bartholemewā before the untimely extinction of the legitimate, male bloodline of their dynastic household and the subsequent collapse of their hereditary state. As the territorial part of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands most heavily afflicted by the wholesale peasant uprisings agitated by the religious indoctrination and the systematic, mass conversion of the local populace by the hut shamans hailing fromĀ āErdĆøk,ā orĀ āThe Great Forestā directly east of The Empire of Mankind Proper. The illegitimate son and the heir presumptive to the last King of The Midlands born to House Bartholemew originally pawned, and then permanently transferred the future lands ofĀ āDie Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā toĀ āThe Imperial Household,ā the direct descendants of Prinz Heinrich von Nymphenburg as The First Crowned Imperator of The Empire of Mankind Secundus, as well as the hereditary, dynastic, āgreat houseā ofĀ āImperial Princepsā or āImperial Magnatesā forĀ āDer Reichstaatā orĀ āThe Imperial Demesne,ā in order to fund his equally desperate and futile war effort against the recalcitrant great houses of feudal aristocracy and nobility in The Former Kingdom of The Midlands who had collectively and universally rejected his lawful and legitimate succession to The Former Kingdom of The Midlands due to his birth as an illegitimate issue to the last King of The Midlands from The Late House Bartholemew.
Due to itās polar, geographic distance and territorial dislocation fromĀ āDer Reichstaatā orĀ āThe Imperial Demesneā as the hereditary, dynastic lands of āThe Imperial Householdā orĀ āDer Kaiserliche Haushalt,ā as well as itās constant affliction by the wholesale peasant uprisings agitated by both the religious indoctrination and the systematic, mass conversion efforts of the local populace by the hut shamans indigenous to āErdĆøkā orĀ āThe Great Forest.ā Friedrich Biermann, one of the most seasoned, battle-hardened generals withinĀ āThe Imperial Armyā mostly levied, and later conscripted from the hereditary, dynastic lands ofĀ āThe Imperial Householdā seated at āNymphenburg.ā As well as one of the few commoners within the recorded history of The Imperial Army to be promoted to an office of military command by sheer virtue of merit, was officially awarded hereditary, dynastic enfeoffment overĀ āThe Southern Imperial Marchā orĀ āDie Sudetenmarkā for his years of meritorious service as a domestic, household general in service to The Imperial Army. As the local populace of The Southern Imperial March or āDie Sudetenmarkā were longtime apostates from The Conservative Church of The New Gods who would never acknowledge the newly enfeoffed and anointedĀ āFriedrich Von Biermannā as their liege lord and princeps. Friedrich Von Biermann as āDer Markgraf Der Sudetenmarkā officially petitioned to Archpatriarch Cassadorian XIV seated at The Holy Sept of Romulus to prosecute anĀ āerrantry warā or a āgreat crusadeā against the religious apostates of Die Sudetenmark, who were largely religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship ofĀ āErdĆøkā orĀ āThe Great Forest.ā Manfred Von Lichtenstein, Bishop-Prince of Garyalburg, one of the three ecclesiastical, invested, āprince-electorsā orĀ āKurfürstenā of The Empire of Mankind Proper and Archpatrichal Legate to Cassadorian XIV for this new āAlbic Crusade,ā officially preached and prosecutedĀ āThe Albic Crusadeā at a holy synod of Bishop-Princes and Grand Abbots at Die UniversitƤtĀ Wƶrtzburch in Das Herzogtum Solingen, one of the leading centres of church-sanctioned, academic research on both The Canon Theology of The New Gods, as well as Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Civil Law and Jurisprudence north of The Olympian Mountain Valley. In addition to the retinues of crusading, aristocratic and noble knights and the peasant levies hailing from the multitude, or the plethora of minorĀ āAustereā or āNorthern Imperialā states as well as the constituent states of āThe Borderlands Confederacyā directly south ofĀ āDer Reichstaatā orĀ āNymphenburg.ā This āAlbic Crusadeā was generally only heeded by a minority of the baronial magnates from Das Herzogtum Solingen as the native, electoral principality of Markgraf Friedrich Von Biermannās birth and origin before his formal enlistment into The Imperial Army based in āDer Reichstaatā or āNymphenburg,ā as well as their domestic, household retinues of aristocratic, noble knights and their feudal levies of men-at-arms. Knowing that the odds were still highly unfavourable towards Friedrich Von Biermann as the titular āMarkgraf Der Sudetenmarkā leading at the forefront of The Albic Crusade, despite itās formal and official preaching and prosecution by Manfred Von Lichtenstein at The Holy Synod of Die UniversitƤt Wƶrtzburch as Bishop-Prince of Garyalburg and Archpatriarchal Legate to Cassadorian XIV. Maximillian IV as the 94th Emperor-Elect of The Empire of Mankind Secundus and the hereditary, dynastic, āImperial Princepsā orĀ āImperial Magnateā for āDer Reichstaatā orĀ āThe Imperial Demesneā offered to permanently transfer to Friedrich Von Biermann fulltime command over a mighty host of professional, Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments and knightly retinues in return for acceding to an official āImperial Act of Incorporation.ā Where Friedrich Von Biermann and all his hereditary, dynastic successors as āDie Margrafen Der Sudetenmarkā would both acknowledge the feudal, hereditary, āImperial Princepsā or āImperial Magnateā of āDer Reichstaatā or āThe Imperial Demesneā and the dynastic patriarch of The Imperial Household as their liege lords and suzerains forĀ āDie Sudetenmark,ā unconditional to their formal election as the preferential candidates for the title of Emperor-Elect of Mankind. As well as subsequently incorporating Hohenbiermannās hereditary lands of Die Sudetenmark as the newest, and perhaps most reluctant, constituent member state of, and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Proper.
Bolstered with permanent, fulltime command over a mighty host of professional, Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments and knightly retinues hailing from āDer Reichstaatā orĀ āThe Imperial Demesneā in joint partnership with Bishop-Prince Manfred Von Lichtenstein as āArchpatriarchal Legate,ā or the pontifical representative to the person of Cassadorian XIV as āThe 269th Bishop of Romulusā and āThe Head of The Conservative Church of The New Godsā for this āAlbic Crusadeā formally preached and prosecuted against the apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship ofĀ āErdĆøk.ā The Albic Crusade had concluded in overwhelming triumph for both Markgraf Friedrich Von Biermann and the crusaders with the final conquest of the greatestĀ ErdĆøki cultist stronghold of āBrenna.ā With the stunning and the official conclusion of The Albic Crusade at The Siege of Brenna, The castletown of Brenna as the final and greatest site ofĀ ErdĆøki cultist resistance was formally consecrated by Bishop-Prince Manfred von Lichtenstein as The Archbishopric of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel. Where Manfred Von Lichtenstein was formally invested, with Archpatriarch Cassadorian XIVās explicit blessing, the awesome and prestigious ecclesiastical office of Bishop-Patriarch of Brannenborg in order to facilitate the systematic, mass conversion of the apostate, Albic tribes autochthonous to Die Sudetenmark back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated in The Holy Sept of Romulus as the civilizational kernel, historic capital, and titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and āThe Empire of Mankind Primus.ā Friedrich Von Biermann as the first and only āMarkgraf der Sudetenmarkā would thus subsequently rule from the newly consecrated Archbishopric of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel, or the former ErdĆøki castletown ofĀ āBrenna,ā as his official seat of power. formally restyling himself as āDer erster und herrshend Markgraf von Brannenborg und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermann.ā
With the next two and a half decades spent asĀ āDer erster und herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermann,ā Friedrich I Von Biermann would award hereditary, dynastic enfeoffment to the most arable lands, titles, and estates that had not been previously claimed as the official property of The Conservative Church of The New Gods first and foremost to the conquering, crusading knights directly involved in The Albic Crusade, and secondly to the regimental colonels of the former Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments who had distinguished themselves with meritorious service, valour, and skill at arms. This new class of landed, hereditary, feudal aristocracy and nobility, orĀ ājunkers,ā would come to ācharacterize,ā or otherwiseĀ āengenderā the entirety of the reign of Markgraf Friedrich I Von Biermann with a significant degree of military fortification in the form of stone castles and city walls in order to protect both themselves and their loyal subjects against the outrage and the predations of the apostate, Albic tribes, who had both stubbornly resisted, as well as deeply resented their forced, mass conversion back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods. These āgreat housesā of ājunkerā princeps and magnates, paying feudal homage to āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg,ā would collectively facilitate the gradual and effective resettlement of skilled, moneyed, and educated settlers and immigrants hailing from theĀ āAustereā orĀ āNorthern Imperialā cultural and linguistic hemisphere of The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Most notably into the newly established castles and fortified cities established directly by Friedrich I Von Biermann as Der erster und herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermann, as well as any castles and fortified cities constructed under the princely, āgreat housesā of ājunkerā aristocracy and nobility paying feudal homage to Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. The culturally and ethnically āAustereā orĀ āNorthern Imperialā settlers and immigrants settling within these newly established castles and fortified cities, as well as the most lucrative and arable rural estates of attached countryside, would form base of commercial, industrial, cultural, and scholastic life in the newĀ āMarkgrafschaft Brannenborgā in the form of the urbanĀ āburghersā or bourgeoisie, merchants, artisans, and professionals, as well as the ruralĀ ākollmersā or country gentlemen. The gradual and effective resettlement of culturally and ethnically āAustereā orĀ āNorthern Imperialā settlers and immigrants into the newly established castles and fortified cities of Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg and the rural estates of their attached countryside, as well as the systematic, mass conversion efforts that necessitated the practicality of the thorough cultural assimilation of the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes by a culturally and ethnically āAustereā or āNorthern Imperialā Conservative clergy with their traditional monopolies over knowledge, learning, and education in general, would characterize āThe Sudsiedlungā in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg as the last, and undoubtably the most reluctant, constituent member state and territorial addition to be officially incorporated into The Empire of Mankind Secundus. āDie Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā alongside the neighboring āKƶnigreich Middenlandā based uniquely beyond the southernmost frontiers of The Empire of Mankind Secundus well over a century after the stunning and final conclusion of The Albic Crusade at The Siege of Brenna, would collectively form āDie Sudkreuzritterstaaten,ā āDie Teutogenstaaten,ā or āDie Sudentscheidenstaaten.ā Essentially a āTeutogenā or a āSouthern Austereā cultural and linguistic bloc born of the complimentary events of āThe Southern Crusadesā and āThe Sudsiedlung.ā āThe Southern Crusades being the religious wars and the territorial conquests waged against the apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship or āErdĆøk,āĀ āThe Great Forest,ā orĀ āThe Great Bastionā geographically situated directly beyond the Eastern frontiers ofĀ āThe Empire of Mankind Secundus.ā āThe Sudsiedlung,ā by contrast, refers the gradual and effective mass migration and resettlement of culturally and ethnically āAustereā or the āNorthern Imperialā settlers and immigrants from The Empire of Mankind Secundus alongside the systematic, mass conversion of the indigenous, apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship ofĀ āErdĆøkā that necessitated the practical realities of their thorough cultural assimilation into theĀ āAustereā orĀ āNorthern Imperialā culture and language of their feudal and ecclesiastical lords and masters.
As implied by both itās historic and itās present strategic value as the last, and undoubtably the most reluctant, constituent member state of, and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Secundus through Emperor Maximillian IVāsĀ āImperial Act of Incorporationā officially brokered with Markgraf Friedrich I Von Biermann in return for his military contributions in manpower, resources, and finances against the apostate, Albic tribes indigenous to āDie Sudetenmarkā during The Albic Crusade. āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg,ā since the historic reforming of āDie Sudetenmarkā around the church-sanctioned consecration of The Basilica of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel over the site of the former ErdĆøki castletown of Brenna, has been deprecated by both nobles and plebeians alike throughout the entirety of The Empire of Mankind asĀ āThe Imperial Sandbox.ā Such an epithet implying the generally meagre, base economic and industrial yield and value that has come to characterize Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg ever since Markgraf Friedrich I Von Biermann had finally asserted his de jure rule over the region with The Albic Crusade and itās subsequent and complimentary āSudsiedlung.ā Long before the final collapse of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands beginning with the untimely extinction of the legitimate, male bloodline of The Late House Bartholemew. The lands of the future āMarkgrafschaft Brannenborgā were already characterized by an overabundance of swamps, marshes, and thick, wild, impenetrable forests. What little economy, industry, material culture, and infrastructure that had previously existed within the region had largely been ecologically āreclaimedā by the Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship ofĀ āErdĆøkā orĀ āThe Great Forest.ā With Markgraf Friedrich I Von Biermannās de jure assumption of power and authority over the region, any indigenous, apostate, Albic tribes who had both violently and openly resisted their systematic, mass conversion back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods by the culturally and ethnically āAustereā or āNorthern Imperialā Conservative clergy had faced systematic, mass genocide at the hands of both the fledgling, yet highly competent professional army in direct service to Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg, as well as the feudal, aristocratic levies of knightly retinues and men-at-arms regiments paying military service and direct homage to the princely, āgreat housesā of ājunkerā aristocracy and nobility. This equally stubborn and violent resistance put up by the Albic natives religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of ErdĆøk would subsequently and consequently result in a significant depopulation of their number in the region by either the professional, armed forces paying direct homage and military service to Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg, themselves, or the feudal, aristocratic levies of knightly retinues and men-at-arms regiments paying direct homage and military service to the princely, āgreat housesā of ājunkerā aristocrats and nobles in turn paying feudal homage to Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg as their liege lords and Imperial Princeps. Friedrich II Von Biermann as the second Markgraf von Brannenborg born to Hohenbiermann had only and finally achieved official appointment for Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg into The Imperial College as the newest of the four secular, hereditary āKurfürsten Des Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menscheitā orĀ āPrince-Electors of The Empire of Mankind Secundusā as a reward for acceding to the obligatory call to arms by his unconditional feudal overlord and suzerain Vespasian VII against the official partisans of his political and military opposition for his lawful and legitimate election as the 96th Emperor-Elect of Mankind.
Under the hereditary, dynastic rule of Albrecht Von Biermann asĀ āDer herrshend Markgraf von Bannenborg,āĀ āDer momentan Chef von Hohenbiermann,ā and secular, hereditary āKurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheitā has the fortunes of Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg changed exponentially for the better. With the advent of the theological reforms to the religious establishment of, and the institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus as the civilizational kernel, historic capital, and titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and āThe Empire of Mankind Primusā formally preached and published by Karl Von Luxembourg at DieĀ UniversitƤt Wƶrtzburch as one of the leading centers of church-sanctioned, academic research on The Canon Theology of The New Gods and Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Civil Law and Jurisprudence north of The Olympian Mountain Valley, as well as the original site of the church-sanctioned preaching and prosecution of The Albic Crusade by Bishop-Prince Manfred Von Lichtenstein at The Holy Synod ofĀ Wƶrtzburch. Has Albrecht Von Biermann taken the opportunity to confiscate the lands, property, and treasuries of any ecclesiastical and monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods who had both openly resisted and protested against the formal renunciation of his spiritual, cultural, and moral ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus in order to enrich both the state coffers of āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg,ā as well as any aristocratic, noble, āgreat housesā of ājunkerā princeps and magnates in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg personally sympathetic to the theological reforms officially preached and published by Karl Von Luxembourg. Albrecht Von Biermann asĀ āDer herrschend Markgraf von Brannnenborg,āĀ āDer momentan Chef von Hohenbiermann,ā and secular, hereditary āKurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheitā had formally decreed state legislation to officially renounce the old Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan rite and liturgy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods originally formalized and decreed under the religious reforms traditionally attributed to The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Imperator of Mankind āCassadorian the GreatāĀ in favour ofĀ āThe Luxembourgian Reformationā with itās theological tenets of āSola Fideā or āSalvation by Faith Alone,ā āSola Gratiaā or āSalvation by The Gods Alone,ā and āSola Scripturaā or āSalvation by Scripture Alone. With the essential and foundational tenets of The Luxembourgian Reformation emphasizing both the vernacular translations and the strict, universal interpretation of The Holy Canons of The New Gods by all social classes outside the ecclesiastical and the monastic clergy and the feudal aristocracy and nobility. With Albrecht Von Biermannās legislative decree to officially convert to The āReformedā Faith of The New Gods based on the theological reforms officially preached and published by Karl Von Luxembourg at Die UniversitƤt Wƶrtzburch on behalf of both his dynastic household and his hereditary subjects, has Albrecht Von Biermann officially become both the second hereditary, dynastic ruler in both the recorded histories and the geographic expanse of āThe Known Worldā after Friedrich I asĀ āDer erster und herrschendĀ Kƶnig von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbartā based uniquely beyond the southernmost frontiers of The Empire of Mankind Proper, as well as the first hereditary, dynastic, āImperial Princepsā or āImperial Magnateā to formally and officially annul his spiritual, cultural, and moral ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus as the historic capital, civilizational kernel, and titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and āThe Empire of Mankind Primus.ā With Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborgās spiritual ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus formally annulled, has Albrecht Von Biermann finally assumed supreme authority over matters of religion in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. And in the process making himself the effective and virtual āSupreme Head of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg.ā As a direct consequence of his formal assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion, as well as the formal renunciation of his spiritual, cultural, and moral ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus, has Albrecht Von Biermann effectively endowed himself with full control over the state investiture of new bishops and abbots for āThe Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg.ā Including state investiture over the venerable and prestigious ecclesiastical office of āBishop-Patriarch of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havelā since itās original establishment with the church-sanctioned consecration of The Basilica of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel over last and greatest ErdĆøki cultist stronghold of āBrennaā by Manfred Von Lichtenstein as itās Seminal Bishop-Patriarch.
In addition to his formal assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg, as well as his systematic confiscation of the lands, property, and treasuries of any ecclesiastical and monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods who had both openly protested against, as well as openly refused to submit before the formal renunciation of his spiritual, cultural, and moral ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus. Albrecht Von Biermann as āDer herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg,ā āDer momentan Chef von Hohenbiermann,ā and secular, hereditary āKurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheitā has actively pursued an extraimperial personal union with āHohenrotbart Des Kƶnigreich Middenlandā based uniquely beyond the southernmost frontiers of The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Using their common background as the earliest religious converts to The āReformedā Faith of The New Gods based on the theological reforms of Karl Von Luxembourg to the religious establishment of, and institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus as the historic capital, civilizational kernel, and titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and āThe Empire of Mankind Primus.ā As well as his paternal, dynastic ties to Friedrich I as āDer erster und herrschendĀ Kƶnig von Middenland und DerĀ Gründungschef von Hohenrotbartā originally established through the marriage of the younger sister of his late father and predecessor Markgraf Friedrich-Albrecht Von Biermann to āDer erster und herrschend Kƶnig von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbartā shortly after the stunning and official conclusion of The Midlands Crusade with the climactic āBattle of The Godswoodsā as āthe pretext,ā or otherwise āthe rationaleā for a prospective personal union. Has Albrecht Von Biermann actively pursued the diplomatic agenda of merging Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg with Das Kƶnigreich Middenland into an extraimperial composite state united by their shared heritage as āDie Sudkreuzritterstaaten,ā āDie Teutogenstaaten,ā or āDie Sudentscheidenstaaten,ā or the cultures and states born of the complimentary and subsequent events of āThe Southern Crusadesā and āThe Sudsiedlung.ā As well as their common background as the earliest religious converts to The āReformedā Faith of The New Gods based on the theological treatises of Karl Von Luxembourg questioning both the spiritual and cultural legitimacy and moral infallibility of āThe Bishop of Romulusā or āThe Archpatriarchā as the legitimate, universal, and acolytic head of The Faith of The New Gods, as well as his spiritual, cultural, and moral power and authority as āThe Last of The Classical Pontiffs,ā or the sole, anointed representative of The Entire Canon Pantheon of The New Gods within the known world. Within the subsequent āTreaties of Marienburg and Brannenborg-An-Der-Havelā officially brokered between the state-sanctioned, court representatives of āHohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā and āHohenrotbart DesĀ Kƶnigreich Middenland,ā respectively, has Albrecht Von Biermann as āDer herrschend Markgraf von Brannenborg,ā āDer momentan chef von Hohenbiermann,ā secular, hereditary āKurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheit,ā and nephew to Friedrich I offered to establish mutual heredity between Hohenbiermann and Hohenrotbart for both Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg and Das Kƶnigreich Middenland, should either dynastic house officially grow extinct through the male bloodline. Friedrich I as āDer erster und herrschend Kƶnig von Middenland,ā āDer Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart,ā and paternal uncle to Albrecht Von Biermann, in direct response to his nephewās introductory proposition, elaborated upon the opening proposition. Only agreeing to the outlined terms under the conditions that Das Kƶnigreich Middenland never be incorporated into The Empire of Mankind Proper as both a constituent, member state and a territorial addition. As Imperial law had officially ārestricted,ā or otherwise āexcludedā all constituent, member states outside āHohenluxembourg Des Kƶnigreich Schƶnbrunnā andĀ āthe hereditary stateā andĀ āthe dynastic houseā of the Emperor-Elect, himself, from endowing the current patriarch of their dynastic household with royal titles. That Albrecht Von Biermann and all of his prospective successors as āDie Markgrafen von Brannenborgā officially convert to The āReformedā Faith of The New Gods by the time of their formal inheritance to Das Kƶnigreich Middenland from the then extinct, male bloodline of Hohenrotbart. So as to simultaneously protect and preserve the religious liberties of all subscribers to The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Kƶnigreich Middenland, while also encouraging both the growth and the proliferation of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. And that Albrecht Von Biermann and all of his prospective successors as āDie Markgrafen von Brannenborgā officially serve as both regents and godfathers to Friedrich Iās infant son Kronprinz Friedrich-Albrecht Von Rotbart in the event and the occasion of his untimely demise. As Friedrich I as Der erster und herrschend Kƶnig von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart had only and finally succeeded in producing a surviving male heir by his late 70ā²s. Albrecht Von Biermann, in response to his paternal uncleās diplomatic elaborations, both sweetened and concluded the subsequent and complimentary āTreaties of Marienburg and Brannnenborg-An-Der-Havel.ā Outlining within his ultimatum the final condition that Friedrich I and all of his prospective successors as āDieĀ Kƶnige von Middenlandā officially hold the title of āDer Markgraf von Brannenborgā plurally with the title of āDer Kƶnig von Middenlandā upon inheriting Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg from the then extinct, male bloodline of Hohenbiermann. As opposed to incorporating Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg as a constituent province of Das Kƶnigreich Middenland uniquely situated within the southernmost frontiers of āDes Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menshhceit,ā so as to simultaneously preserve and retain the awesome power, authority, and privilege traditionally associated with the title of secular, hereditary āKurfürst des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menscheitā that had been both traditionally and synonymously tied with the hereditary, dynastic title of āDer Markgraf von Brannenborgā since The Electoral Reforms of Vespasian VII as the 96th and official Emperor-Elect of Mankind. With this diplomatic agenda of finally merging Das Kƶnigreich Middenland and Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg into an extraimperial composite state based on their shared heritage as āDie Sudkreuzritterstaaten,ā āDie Teutogenstaaten,ā or āDie Sudentscheidenstaatenā born of the subsequent and the complimentary events of āThe Southern Crusadesā and āThe Sudsiedlung,ā as well as their shared background as the earliest religious converts to the theological reforms of Karl Von Luxembourg to the religious establishment of, and institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods. Albrecht Von Biermann actively pursues the dynastic ambition of acquiring hereditary, dynastic control over lands, armies, and wealth for his dynastic household that is virtually and effectively beyond the power, authority, influence, and jurisdiction of āDer Kaiserliche Haushaltā or āThe Imperial Householdā officially seated in āDer Reichstaatā orĀ āThe Imperial Demesne,ā known colloquially as āNymphenburg.ā While also finally breaking away from his ancestral obligations of unconditional feudal homage to The Imperial Household seated at distant Nymphenburg in return for their historic military contributions in manpower, resources, and finances officially granted to Friedrich I Von Biermann as āDer erster und herrschend Markgraf Der Sudetenmark und Der Gründungschef von Hohenbiermannā for his church-sanctioned crusade officially prosecuted against the apostate, Albic tribes autochthonous to Die Sudetenmark that formed from the northernmost partition of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands under The Late House Bartholemew.
In terms of both the hereditary, dynastic military traditions of Hohenbiermann in particular, as well as the culturally ingrained, provincial military traditions of Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg in general. Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg under the hereditary, dynastic rule of Die Markgrafen von Hohenbiermann arguably possesses the single, most competent, professional military of any constituent, member state within The Empire of Mankind Secundus. Despite itās official status as the last, and arguably the most reluctant, constituent member state of, and territorial addition to The Empire of Mankind Proper. Linear descendants of the military traditions of the professional, Imperial Army men-at-arms regiments and knightly retinues permanently transferred to the fulltime military command and the direct supervision of Friedrich I Von Biermann in order to bolster his gradual and eventual pacification of the apostate, Albic tribes indigenous to āDie Sudetenmarkā during, and in the wake of āThe Albic Crusade.ā And steeled by many decades of quasi-perpetual warfare against the apostate, Albic tribes who had both violently resisted and openly protested against their systematic persecution and the legislative marginalization of their religious liberties in order to encourage their systematic, mass conversion back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept in Romulus, Cosmopoleis at the hands of a culturally and ethnically āAustereā or āNorthern Imperialā Conservative clergy. Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg under the hereditary, dynastic rule of Die Markgrafen von Hohenbiermann possesses a highly formidable, professional, disciplined, and skilled-at-arms corps of elite pike-and-shotte infantry regiments. One whose professional quality and numeric quantity are both significantly disproportionate to the meagre, base economic and industrial yield and value of Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. With the sudden, recalcitrant uprising of over half of the princely, āgreat housesā of ājunkerā aristocrats and nobles who had both openly resisted and violently protested against Albrecht Von Biermannās legislative decree for his official conversion to The Luxembourgian Reformation on behalf of both his dynastic household and his hereditary subjects, as well as the subsequential and consequential annulment of his spiritual, cultural, and moral ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus. Most notably the formidable, provincial power and authority of the junker princeps and magnates ofĀ āHohenlictensteinā as the hereditary, dynastic household of Bishop-Patriarch Manfred Von Lichtenstein as the church-sanctioned, āArchpatriarchal Legateā orĀ āPontifical Representativeā to the person of Archpatriarch Cassadorian XIV for The Albic Crusade, as well as The Seminal and Founding Bishop-Patriarch of Brannenborg-An-Der-Havel. Has Albrecht Von Biermann officially responded to the political, religious, and military opposition for his formal assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion as āThe Supreme Head of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborgā by investing a significant portion of his state treasury into the latest technological developments made in the novel design of gunpowder-based, siege artillery in order to effectively nullify the formal opposition of both the recalcitrant, princely, āgreat housesā of ājunkerā aristocracy and nobility, as well as any burgher and kollmer enclaves openly opposed and resistant to The Luxembourgian Reformation, by reducing their respective castles and fortified cities to ash and rubble.