William of Normandy earns his name
October 7, 1066: Duke Murchad's forces besiege Dunasead, the seat of County Desmond. Meanwhile, a marriage is arranged between Murchaid macConchobar (Murchad's half-nephew and spymaster) and Gwenllian ferch Bleddyn, daughter of the Welsh Duke Bleddyn of Gwynned.
Unmarried members of my house will almost always eventually ask me to find them a match. Since Murchaid is unlikely to ever inherit anything, I went with a mid-level noble's daughter. Gwynned is the strongest duchy of the Kingdom of Wales (which, like Ireland, doesn't currently have a High King), and fairly close by. Duke Bleddyn, if I ever need to call on him as an ally, could send me troops very quickly.
November, 1066: Word reaches Duke Murchad that the siege of Waterford is not going well, and the garrison is in danger of falling to the Desmondians. His army abandons Dunasead and turns to meet the traitors on the field at last. In the midst of it all, a marriage is arranged between Murchad's half-brother, Lorcán, and Duchess Alfhild's younger sister, Ingebjørg of Rogaland.
Toward the end of the month, as winter is setting in, Murchad's army arrives to find that Muiredach has fled north, to County Ossory, rather than meet the Munster forces in the field.
January, 1067: Word reaches Ireland that King Harold Godwinson of England has been deposed by William the Bastard, now being called William the Conqueror. The former Duke of Normandy has styled himself King of England, and his Norman armies clash with those of King Harald Hardrada of Norway.
This played out in almost exactly the timeframe as in real life. 1067 dawns with King William I, a Norman, defeating the ruling Anglo-Saxons and declaring himself King of England. There's a wrinkle, though. The turning point that this historical scenario was based on - the Battle of Stamford Bridge - went differently. While in real life, the Anglo-Saxons defeated Harald Hardrada's Norwegians at Stamford Bridge, it seems the Norsemen won in this alternate timeline. That has left them with a lot of troops and a very strong claim on the Northeast of England, and William's throne will not be secure until he evicts them.
While none of this has affected me directly yet, it surely will in the future. The Kingdom of Denmark, the royal line of which my son has married into, is backing Harald of Norway's claim. That means I may be called on to fight William in England, and soon. Additionally, whoever wins control of England is very likely to repeat history and try to unite the British Isles by conquering Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. One of my key goals is to keep Ireland fully independent, so obviously, this is a concern.
Lord Mayor Ragnvald of Ormond requests to be made Court Chaplain of Munster, replacing Bishop Fogartach of Killaloe. Duke Murchad approves this request.
There are two ways I can go about filling council positions: pick the person best for the job, or use the seats to appease relatives and vassals. I'm aiming for almost a total meritocracy, so I don't really care that much about pissing off Bishop Fogartach. Not only is Ragnvald a higher-ranking and more important vassal, his stats also make him a better Chaplain. Also, he doesn't have syphilis, an affliction that has had me doubting Fogartach's piety since I met him.
