Season 1 Introduction: House Thouars

The commune of Thouars is a municipality in western France dating from the early medieval period. Its first big claim to fame was that Charlemagne’s dad torched the place back in 762 AD.

A couple centuries later, the area was controlled by a family of viscounts named for the area—vassals to the count of Poitou and duke of Aquitaine, among others. The de Thouars dynasty never rose much above that station. Still, they manage to stay in power for over five hundred years before the line died out in 1397 AD.

Thouars itself continued to support visounts of other families all the way up to 1933, when the last, Louis Jean Marie de La Trémoille, died with no heirs.

As minor medieval nobles, members of House Thouars squabbled with their neighbors and each other, fought for this or that king, and went on a few crusades. The usual. None were super famous, though a few here and there become known for particular battles or actions.

For example, there was Guy de Thouars, technically duke of Brittany through marriage to the duchess. His main thing was “the siege of the Norman island fortress of Mont Saint-Michel. Because the abbey would not surrender, he set fire to the village and massacred the population.” He died in 1213 AD.

These days, le Ville de Thouars is a charming little town of about 15,000 people, with the main attraction being the château (this one replaced the last one which was razed in the 1600s).

In Crusader Kings, the Thouars dynasty is a very small fish in the extremely dangerous ocean of medieval Western Europe. They rule a full county but are beholden to a duke and king who hold more titles they can practically secure, guaranteeing instability. Of course, taking advantage of instability is one of the most fun parts of the game.

France is fractured into a few different kingdoms, Norse raiders are constantly looting and invading, various lords of Britain like to adventure on the continent with their armies, and there are certain to be threats from Spain, Germany, Italy, and the various Muslim Sultanates looking to establish a European foothold.

Though it’s possible to pick any ruler when you start the game—up to and including kings or emperors, if they’re around for your start date—I tend to begin with counts because it’s fun to claw your way up from the bottom. I’ve played most of the cultures in Crusader Kings at one time or another, but decided for simplicity’s sake to run the first Royal Dispatch playthrough with a conventional Western European family.

Let’s begin.