Post by Khalid ibn Walid on Sept 28, 2006 17:51:19 GMT -5
For the benefit of the curious, here's the mod map with some geographical names denoted (might come across some of them in the game):
MOUNTAIN RANGES (yellow)
The Alps - major mountain range across northern Italy
The Apennines - major mountain range to the south, down central Italy, separates Lombardia from Tuscany and Liguria.
Sub-Mountains & Hills (purple)
Berici - the hills just west of Vicenza.
Eugenean Hills - the hilly area just south of Padua & north of the Adige river. Covered in castles, like Este and Monselice.
Prealpi - the collective term for the hills & mounts in the top of the Veronese march, from Lake Garda to Friuli. In the map, I denote the rough location of the sub-ranges of Baldo, Lessini, Asiago (where the cheese comes from), Grappa (where the famous brandy comes from), and the larger range known as the Dolomites.
Major Regions (Red)
Burgundy - Not part of Italy, but an entirely separate kingdom (albeit part of the Holy Roman Empire). Included to show relative location. Relatively neglected by the Emperor, Burgundy was partitioned between large, powerful counts during this time - such as the Free Count of Burgundy, the Count of Provence, the Count of Savoy, etc. Another chunk of it (Duchy of Burgundy) was taken by France. Much of Piedmont was offically part of the dilapidated Kingdom of Burgundy. The borderlands of Burgundy were completely anarchic and lawless, e.g. Fraxinet ruled by Saracens, Piedmontese hills ruled by small feudal lords (e.g. Busca) and bandits, Hard-to-reach Helvetia (Switzerland) was officially part of Burgundy, but carved out an autonomous existence in the form of peasant republics.
Emilia - the region around the old Roman road, the Via Aemiliana, roughly the entire area southwest of the Po River (Tortona, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena).
Friuli - Once a massive March complex that encompassed the entire northeast of Italy and part of the Balkans. But by this time reduced to merely the region east of the Veronese March and ruled by the Patriarch of Aquileia.
Liguria - strip of coast around Genoa (south of Apennines).
Lombardia - several meanings. In the widest since, a reference to the Kingdom of Lombards (northern Italy + Tuscany + Spoleto + Benevento). More narrowly, a reference to northern Italy. Even more narrowly (as "Lombardy"), just the part of northern Italy north of the Po, west of the March and east of Piedmont (i.e. area encompassing Milan, Pavia, Cremona, Lodi, etc.)
March - In our context, 'the March' refers to the area known as the 'Veronese March', northeast of the Po (Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, etc.), but west of Friuli proper.
[Aside: Clarification on 'March': generically, a 'march' is a large, usually highly fortified region specially set out as a defensive bulwark against outside invaders and ruled by a March-count (Margrave, Marquis).
The name of this region originally stems from the 'March of Friuli', a massive complex that stretched into the Balkans, set up by the Franks as a bulwark against Avar, Croatian and Magyar incursions. The March of Friuli was later broken up & divided into sub-marches, of which the 'March of Verona' was one, and 'Friuli' another. There was later a third march, the 'Trevisan March', constructed in the region. Adding to the confusion, modern Italians don't call it 'March' anymore - rather 'Marche' is today a reference to a completely different region, the 'March of Ancona' (down below Ravenna!)
But back in the old days, "the March" was definitely the term for that northeastern region of the Veronese March, even going by the poetic names, like "the Marca Gioisa' (the 'Joyous March', a reference to the romantic troubadors & literary types that made those towns famous.)
Note #1: our 'March Fair' is named after this region, not the month.
Note #2: The reason there are so many 'marquis' titles in the west is because Piedmont & western Lombardia was itself part of a gigantic entity once known as the 'March of Ivrea', originally set up to defend against incursions from Saracen enclaves and Burgundian invaders. In the late 10th C., the gigantic Ivrea march was divided into four short-lived marches, a much-reduced "March of Ivrea" proper (Ivrea, Vercelli, Lomellino & the northern Val's), the 'Arduinic March' (western Piedmont), the 'Aleramic March' (eastern Piedmont & western Liguria) and the 'Obertenghi March' (eastern Liguria, Lunigiana and western Emilia). Although these Italian marches had disintegrated by now, most of our marquises claimed ancestry to these March-counts (and their old domains)
- The marquises of Montferrat and Busca are descended from the Aleramic marquises.
- The marquises d'Este, Pellavicini and Malaspina are all descended from the Obertenghi marquises.
Note #4: Many of our pretenders also claim descendence from defunct marquisate lines:
- LL pretender Arduin of Ivrea is descended from an old Marquis of Ivrea (and Italian king).
- LL pretender Berengar of Friuli claims descendence from an old Marquis of Friuli (and Italian king).
- LL pretender Hugolina of Canossa is descended from an old Marquis of Tuscany.
Note #5: Berthold von Zahringen, founder of the ruling dynasty of Baden (Germany), had once been put in charge of the Veronese March. The Emperor allowed him to keep the 'Marquis' title as an honorary courtesy. The rulers of Baden therafter styled themselves as "Margraves of Baden" for that reason (Baden itself was never a march.)
Pentapoli/March of Ancona - area south of Romagna. The 'Pentapoli' is the old Greek name for that area, and refers to the five major cities located there (Ancona, Rimini, Pesaro, Fano, Sinigaglia). Much fought over. The Pope claimed it was technically part of the Exarchate of Ravenna (and thus a Papal domain), the Emperor claimed it was part of the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto (and thus part of the imperial domains). For a while neither could claim it since the Byzantines invaded and held that area in defiance of both of them. Emperor finally got it back, and turned it into a marchland ('March of Ancona'), reorganizing its defenses against Byzantine & Saracen landings. But the Pope won out eventually and annexed it in the course of the Guelf-Ghibelline conflict, although it would turn out to be a real headache for him. The area of 'Marche' in modern Italy refers to this area. This region would also produce several of the freelance knights you might come across (e.g. Malatesta de Verrucchio, Guido de Montefeltro).
Piedmont - literally, 'foothills'. Far western region, around Ivrea, Asti, and beyond. Amorphous borderland between France & Italy.
Romagna - the region around the old Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna, roughly the area southeast of the Po River (Ravenna, Forli, Faenza).
Tuscany - a large march/duchy below the Apennines, formally part of the Lombard Kingdom, but de facto more autonomous. Major communes there include Lucca (the ducal capital), Pisa, Florence, Siena.
Tyrol - a large county (later a duchy) on the Alps. Nowadays divided between Austria and Italy.
Upper Adige - Higher reaches of the Adige river (in mod, river is not drawn up that far), into the valley around Trent. Roughly, 'upper Adige' refers to the area between Verona and Trent. An extremely important bottleneck in Medieval history, as it was through this narrow route that Imperial armies usually made their way from Germany to Italy. It is riddled with strong castles and fortifications, some built by the Emperor to ensure the passage stayed open, others built by the Italian communes to ensure the passage could be blocked.
Minor Regions (small red)
Bassa - Po river lowlands, informal name from the region around Mantua and Nonantola Abbey, just before the Po di Volano junction. As the borders of several communes made confluence there, it was much fought over and fortified with castles. The freelance knights Pico de Mirandola and Guastalla come from there.
Canavese - hilly area in Piedmont, surrounding Ivrea. Dominated by the feudal lords of Valperga.
Polesine - Po river delta & marshes, region around Rovigo.
Other Regions & Sub-regions (purple)
Chioggia - peninsula below the Venetian lagoon.
Lomellina - sub-region just west of Pavia. At one point, it was the stronghold of the Guelf-oriented feudal lords of Langusco (Counts of Lomello). But by the time of this mod, Pavia had taken control of it and the Langusci forced to live as city nobles in Pavia.
Lunigiana - narrow coastal region, between Liguria and Tuscany. Not very important for us, denoted simply because in the future it would where the Marquises Malaspina would relocate after they were pushed out of the Lombard valley.
Mathildine Lands - informal name for the region of Canossa, Reggio, Modena, etc. A reference to the fact these were once the allodial property of the Great Countess Mathilda of Tuscany and supposed to have been inherited by the Pope (the Emperor disagreed). It is not called that anymore, but back then it was.
Montferrat - castle-riddled hilly region around Casale Montferrat. Stronghold of the Marquis of Montferrat.
Padanian Plain - 'Padania' is an archaic term for the entire Lombard valley, i.e. the entire region between the Alps and Apennines. (what the Romans called "Cisalpine Gaul"). More narrowly, 'Padanian plain' was also used to refer to the vast flatlands between Pavia and Cremona. 'Padania' has recently become a politically-charged term in modern Italy, as neo-fascist northern separatist movements have appropriated that name for their putative new country.
Roero & Langhe - hilly sub-regions of southern Piedmont, on either side of the Tanaro river. They are denoted on the map simply because they are major wine regions and you might come across them. At the time, they were ruled by old-fashioned feudal lords, e.g. the Marquis of Busca.
Val d'Aosta & Val d'Ossola - western Alpine regions, part of modern Italy, but back to pretty much ignored (too far off and hard to reach). Included for the benefit of holiday-makers.
Valli di Commachio - the system of lagoons and salty marshes around the city of Comacchio. Very similar to Venice, and at one point Comacchio was a growing city and direct rival of Venice. But the Venetians pumelled and razed the place repeatedly to ensure it remained a backwater. Eventually, the battered region collapsed into the arms of the Ferrarese and was ignominuously annexed into the Papal States.
RIVERS
Adda - tributary that goes from southeast corner of Lake Como down to the Po (junction near Cremona)
Adige - river that runs from Trent, down through Verona, Rovigo then out to the Adriatic. 'Upper Adige' = region between Trent and Verona.
Brenta - river that runs down from Alps, passes east near Vicenza and Padua, down into the Venetian lagoon
Mincio - tributary river that streams from Lake Garda down to the Po (junction near Mantua). The Mincio (+ Garda) marks the unofficial boundary between Lombardy and the March.
Piave - river that runs down from the Dolomites, east of Treviso, down into the Adriatic east of Venice. Map border. Dividing line between the Veronese March & Friuli
Po - Major river running west-east across the breadth of Lombard plain. Navigable from around Montferrat on.
Po di Volano - Tributary of Po running below Ferrara
Reno - a river below the Valli di Commachio that is actually supposed to stretch westwards to Bologna. But in the mod map, I cut it short and curved it up to link to the Po di Volano (doesn't do so in reality). Did so to prevent NPC parties from getting stuck in the Comacchio lagoons. Might change it later.
Sesia - tributary river that streams down from the Alps, passes near Vercelli and makes junction with the Po around Monteferrat. Widely regarded as marking the boundary between Piedmont and Lombardy. Sesia floods is what makes the area a great rice-growing region (arborio & carnaroli rice, basis of risottos, is grown along here.)
Tanaro - tributary river that streams from the west up through Asti, Alessandria, making junction with the Po just before Tortona.
Note: the very southern river of Romagna I haven't named since it doesn't exist. Merely makes a boundary.
LAKES (green)
Lake Como - large three-fingered Alpine lake above Como city.
Lake Garda - huge lake north of Mantua, dividing line between Lombardy (in the narrowest sense) and the March.
Lake Iseo - medium-sized lake between Bergamo and Brescia.
Lake Maggiore - Alpine lake north of Novara (poorly drawn).
And now that we're on maps, here's an actual map of communal-era Lombardia:
with the actual borders of the communes.
MOUNTAIN RANGES (yellow)
The Alps - major mountain range across northern Italy
The Apennines - major mountain range to the south, down central Italy, separates Lombardia from Tuscany and Liguria.
Sub-Mountains & Hills (purple)
Berici - the hills just west of Vicenza.
Eugenean Hills - the hilly area just south of Padua & north of the Adige river. Covered in castles, like Este and Monselice.
Prealpi - the collective term for the hills & mounts in the top of the Veronese march, from Lake Garda to Friuli. In the map, I denote the rough location of the sub-ranges of Baldo, Lessini, Asiago (where the cheese comes from), Grappa (where the famous brandy comes from), and the larger range known as the Dolomites.
Major Regions (Red)
Burgundy - Not part of Italy, but an entirely separate kingdom (albeit part of the Holy Roman Empire). Included to show relative location. Relatively neglected by the Emperor, Burgundy was partitioned between large, powerful counts during this time - such as the Free Count of Burgundy, the Count of Provence, the Count of Savoy, etc. Another chunk of it (Duchy of Burgundy) was taken by France. Much of Piedmont was offically part of the dilapidated Kingdom of Burgundy. The borderlands of Burgundy were completely anarchic and lawless, e.g. Fraxinet ruled by Saracens, Piedmontese hills ruled by small feudal lords (e.g. Busca) and bandits, Hard-to-reach Helvetia (Switzerland) was officially part of Burgundy, but carved out an autonomous existence in the form of peasant republics.
Emilia - the region around the old Roman road, the Via Aemiliana, roughly the entire area southwest of the Po River (Tortona, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena).
Friuli - Once a massive March complex that encompassed the entire northeast of Italy and part of the Balkans. But by this time reduced to merely the region east of the Veronese March and ruled by the Patriarch of Aquileia.
Liguria - strip of coast around Genoa (south of Apennines).
Lombardia - several meanings. In the widest since, a reference to the Kingdom of Lombards (northern Italy + Tuscany + Spoleto + Benevento). More narrowly, a reference to northern Italy. Even more narrowly (as "Lombardy"), just the part of northern Italy north of the Po, west of the March and east of Piedmont (i.e. area encompassing Milan, Pavia, Cremona, Lodi, etc.)
March - In our context, 'the March' refers to the area known as the 'Veronese March', northeast of the Po (Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, etc.), but west of Friuli proper.
[Aside: Clarification on 'March': generically, a 'march' is a large, usually highly fortified region specially set out as a defensive bulwark against outside invaders and ruled by a March-count (Margrave, Marquis).
The name of this region originally stems from the 'March of Friuli', a massive complex that stretched into the Balkans, set up by the Franks as a bulwark against Avar, Croatian and Magyar incursions. The March of Friuli was later broken up & divided into sub-marches, of which the 'March of Verona' was one, and 'Friuli' another. There was later a third march, the 'Trevisan March', constructed in the region. Adding to the confusion, modern Italians don't call it 'March' anymore - rather 'Marche' is today a reference to a completely different region, the 'March of Ancona' (down below Ravenna!)
But back in the old days, "the March" was definitely the term for that northeastern region of the Veronese March, even going by the poetic names, like "the Marca Gioisa' (the 'Joyous March', a reference to the romantic troubadors & literary types that made those towns famous.)
Note #1: our 'March Fair' is named after this region, not the month.
Note #2: The reason there are so many 'marquis' titles in the west is because Piedmont & western Lombardia was itself part of a gigantic entity once known as the 'March of Ivrea', originally set up to defend against incursions from Saracen enclaves and Burgundian invaders. In the late 10th C., the gigantic Ivrea march was divided into four short-lived marches, a much-reduced "March of Ivrea" proper (Ivrea, Vercelli, Lomellino & the northern Val's), the 'Arduinic March' (western Piedmont), the 'Aleramic March' (eastern Piedmont & western Liguria) and the 'Obertenghi March' (eastern Liguria, Lunigiana and western Emilia). Although these Italian marches had disintegrated by now, most of our marquises claimed ancestry to these March-counts (and their old domains)
- The marquises of Montferrat and Busca are descended from the Aleramic marquises.
- The marquises d'Este, Pellavicini and Malaspina are all descended from the Obertenghi marquises.
Note #4: Many of our pretenders also claim descendence from defunct marquisate lines:
- LL pretender Arduin of Ivrea is descended from an old Marquis of Ivrea (and Italian king).
- LL pretender Berengar of Friuli claims descendence from an old Marquis of Friuli (and Italian king).
- LL pretender Hugolina of Canossa is descended from an old Marquis of Tuscany.
Note #5: Berthold von Zahringen, founder of the ruling dynasty of Baden (Germany), had once been put in charge of the Veronese March. The Emperor allowed him to keep the 'Marquis' title as an honorary courtesy. The rulers of Baden therafter styled themselves as "Margraves of Baden" for that reason (Baden itself was never a march.)
Pentapoli/March of Ancona - area south of Romagna. The 'Pentapoli' is the old Greek name for that area, and refers to the five major cities located there (Ancona, Rimini, Pesaro, Fano, Sinigaglia). Much fought over. The Pope claimed it was technically part of the Exarchate of Ravenna (and thus a Papal domain), the Emperor claimed it was part of the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto (and thus part of the imperial domains). For a while neither could claim it since the Byzantines invaded and held that area in defiance of both of them. Emperor finally got it back, and turned it into a marchland ('March of Ancona'), reorganizing its defenses against Byzantine & Saracen landings. But the Pope won out eventually and annexed it in the course of the Guelf-Ghibelline conflict, although it would turn out to be a real headache for him. The area of 'Marche' in modern Italy refers to this area. This region would also produce several of the freelance knights you might come across (e.g. Malatesta de Verrucchio, Guido de Montefeltro).
Piedmont - literally, 'foothills'. Far western region, around Ivrea, Asti, and beyond. Amorphous borderland between France & Italy.
Romagna - the region around the old Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna, roughly the area southeast of the Po River (Ravenna, Forli, Faenza).
Tuscany - a large march/duchy below the Apennines, formally part of the Lombard Kingdom, but de facto more autonomous. Major communes there include Lucca (the ducal capital), Pisa, Florence, Siena.
Tyrol - a large county (later a duchy) on the Alps. Nowadays divided between Austria and Italy.
Upper Adige - Higher reaches of the Adige river (in mod, river is not drawn up that far), into the valley around Trent. Roughly, 'upper Adige' refers to the area between Verona and Trent. An extremely important bottleneck in Medieval history, as it was through this narrow route that Imperial armies usually made their way from Germany to Italy. It is riddled with strong castles and fortifications, some built by the Emperor to ensure the passage stayed open, others built by the Italian communes to ensure the passage could be blocked.
Minor Regions (small red)
Bassa - Po river lowlands, informal name from the region around Mantua and Nonantola Abbey, just before the Po di Volano junction. As the borders of several communes made confluence there, it was much fought over and fortified with castles. The freelance knights Pico de Mirandola and Guastalla come from there.
Canavese - hilly area in Piedmont, surrounding Ivrea. Dominated by the feudal lords of Valperga.
Polesine - Po river delta & marshes, region around Rovigo.
Other Regions & Sub-regions (purple)
Chioggia - peninsula below the Venetian lagoon.
Lomellina - sub-region just west of Pavia. At one point, it was the stronghold of the Guelf-oriented feudal lords of Langusco (Counts of Lomello). But by the time of this mod, Pavia had taken control of it and the Langusci forced to live as city nobles in Pavia.
Lunigiana - narrow coastal region, between Liguria and Tuscany. Not very important for us, denoted simply because in the future it would where the Marquises Malaspina would relocate after they were pushed out of the Lombard valley.
Mathildine Lands - informal name for the region of Canossa, Reggio, Modena, etc. A reference to the fact these were once the allodial property of the Great Countess Mathilda of Tuscany and supposed to have been inherited by the Pope (the Emperor disagreed). It is not called that anymore, but back then it was.
Montferrat - castle-riddled hilly region around Casale Montferrat. Stronghold of the Marquis of Montferrat.
Padanian Plain - 'Padania' is an archaic term for the entire Lombard valley, i.e. the entire region between the Alps and Apennines. (what the Romans called "Cisalpine Gaul"). More narrowly, 'Padanian plain' was also used to refer to the vast flatlands between Pavia and Cremona. 'Padania' has recently become a politically-charged term in modern Italy, as neo-fascist northern separatist movements have appropriated that name for their putative new country.
Roero & Langhe - hilly sub-regions of southern Piedmont, on either side of the Tanaro river. They are denoted on the map simply because they are major wine regions and you might come across them. At the time, they were ruled by old-fashioned feudal lords, e.g. the Marquis of Busca.
Val d'Aosta & Val d'Ossola - western Alpine regions, part of modern Italy, but back to pretty much ignored (too far off and hard to reach). Included for the benefit of holiday-makers.
Valli di Commachio - the system of lagoons and salty marshes around the city of Comacchio. Very similar to Venice, and at one point Comacchio was a growing city and direct rival of Venice. But the Venetians pumelled and razed the place repeatedly to ensure it remained a backwater. Eventually, the battered region collapsed into the arms of the Ferrarese and was ignominuously annexed into the Papal States.
RIVERS
Adda - tributary that goes from southeast corner of Lake Como down to the Po (junction near Cremona)
Adige - river that runs from Trent, down through Verona, Rovigo then out to the Adriatic. 'Upper Adige' = region between Trent and Verona.
Brenta - river that runs down from Alps, passes east near Vicenza and Padua, down into the Venetian lagoon
Mincio - tributary river that streams from Lake Garda down to the Po (junction near Mantua). The Mincio (+ Garda) marks the unofficial boundary between Lombardy and the March.
Piave - river that runs down from the Dolomites, east of Treviso, down into the Adriatic east of Venice. Map border. Dividing line between the Veronese March & Friuli
Po - Major river running west-east across the breadth of Lombard plain. Navigable from around Montferrat on.
Po di Volano - Tributary of Po running below Ferrara
Reno - a river below the Valli di Commachio that is actually supposed to stretch westwards to Bologna. But in the mod map, I cut it short and curved it up to link to the Po di Volano (doesn't do so in reality). Did so to prevent NPC parties from getting stuck in the Comacchio lagoons. Might change it later.
Sesia - tributary river that streams down from the Alps, passes near Vercelli and makes junction with the Po around Monteferrat. Widely regarded as marking the boundary between Piedmont and Lombardy. Sesia floods is what makes the area a great rice-growing region (arborio & carnaroli rice, basis of risottos, is grown along here.)
Tanaro - tributary river that streams from the west up through Asti, Alessandria, making junction with the Po just before Tortona.
Note: the very southern river of Romagna I haven't named since it doesn't exist. Merely makes a boundary.
LAKES (green)
Lake Como - large three-fingered Alpine lake above Como city.
Lake Garda - huge lake north of Mantua, dividing line between Lombardy (in the narrowest sense) and the March.
Lake Iseo - medium-sized lake between Bergamo and Brescia.
Lake Maggiore - Alpine lake north of Novara (poorly drawn).
And now that we're on maps, here's an actual map of communal-era Lombardia:
with the actual borders of the communes.
I think i saw one that might have said something about intelligence further down but i just think that because it looks similiar 