The following contains a chronological list of major events within the Human kingdom of Bretonnia, as well as the corresponding Imperial date (978 years before Gilles le Breton's coronation).[1a]
Prehistory
- c.-2478 BC (c.-1500 IC) -- It is said that the Elves forsook the Old World and the insular Dwarfs retreated further into their mountain strongholds. The lands become overrun by all manner of evil creatures.[2b]
- c. -1978 (-1000) -- The Bretonni, proud and warlike horsemen, arrive to the lands west of the Grey Mountains and north of Tilea. They begin a centuries-long war against the roaming Greenskins.[2b]
- c. -1678 (-700) -- The Bretonni lands become dominated by twenty main tribes, who absorb or destroy the rest, and keep fighting among themselves for control over the territory - although they keep allying against the Orcs and Goblins. They build many great strongholds and castles.[2b]
- c.-1628 (c.-650) -- Attempts to penetrate the Forest of Loren leave only a handful of survivors, driven mad by the fey terrors, and the forest enters Bretonnian folklore as being a haunted, magical place.[2b]
- -993 (-15) -- The foreign hero Sigmar fights against the Orcs and Goblins and breaks their power in the lands to the east.[2a]
- -878 (100) -- History relates that fleets of Undead came and did evil in the lands of the Bretonni.[2a]
- -401 (577) -- An increase in the Greenskin raids see four of the major tribes destroyed - the other sixteen manage to claim their lands, establishing regions that would remain relatively stable to this day, although Glanborielle and Cuileux will later be destroyed and absorbed by others.[2b]
Dark Age of Bretonnia (900 to 977 IC)
- -48 (930) -- A massive horde of Orcs, led by the warlord Gragabad, pours out of the Massif Orcal and overruns the lands of Cuileux. The horsemen of Cuileux ride out in a last, desperate battle, and though the Greenskins fall like wheat before the scythe, there are too many, and the knights perish to the last man. In the wake of this disaster, the armies of Quenelles and Brionne ride forth and rout the weakened Orcs. The two Bretonni armies then face each other but refrain from warring over the lands of Cuileux. Instead, the two lords choose to duel, the winner taking Cuileux as part of his land. The Lord of Brionne is cut down, and Quenelles is expanded.[5b]
- -46 (932) -- Balduin, the young Lord of Brionne, leads his armies to victory, defeating the hordes of Gragabad and slaying the warlord in single combat. In the battle, Gragabad's great axe becomes lodged fast in Balduin's shield, and the lord fights the entire battle with the axe in place. Afterwards, the axe is adopted as the symbol of Brionne in memory of this event.[5b]
- -44 (934) -- Gilles d'Bastonne slays the Red Dragon Smearghus in the Forest of Châlons. Though sorely wounded, he manages to drag the beast's severed head back to Castle Bastonne, where it still hangs above Gilles Gate, named in his honour. Gilles takes to wearing the dragon's skin as a cloak and adopts the beast as his personal heraldry.[2b][5c]
- -31 (947) -- The northern lands are overrun by Greenskin tribes, as well as Beastmen pouring forth from the Forest of Arden. Around this time, the Norse begin to raid the northern coastal regions and the northern Bretonni tribes are isolated from each other and their lands ravaged.[2b]
- -28 (950) -- Bastonne strikes an alliance with Lyonesse through the wedding of Lord Thierulf and Rosalind, sister of Gilles d'Bastonne. The Lord of Lyonesse and the heir to Bastonne become close friends, and the ties between the two realms grow strong.[2b]
- -4 (974) -- Orcs pour from the mountains and forests in numbers never seen before or since. The Bretonni are unable to come to each other's aid, and the land of Glanborielle is utterly destroyed, and subsequently amalgamated into Carcassonne.[5c]
- -3 (975) -- The Lord of Bastonne is killed repelling the attack on his lands by Orcs, and is succeeded by Gilles d'Bastonne.[5c] Landuin d'Mousillon joins with Gilles and Thierulf d'Lyonesse to fight the Greenskins attacking Bastonne.[1a]
- -2 (976) -- Gilles is blessed by the Lady of the Lake while resting in the Forest of Châlons, becoming one of the first Grail Knights alongside Landuin and Thierulf, who in turn become the first of the Grail Companions.[1a]
- -1-0 (977-978 IC) -- The Twelve Great Battles.
Founding of a Kingdom (978 to 1448 IC)
- 0 (978) -- The Ninth Great Battle of Gilles the Uniter (also the Victory of Landuin). Gilles and his Companions ride upon a host of the Undead that invaded Mousillon. Landuin rides alone into the horde and slays the Necromancer who called the horde forth, whereupon the other Companions charge into the horde and destroy it.[1a]
- 1 (979) -- The lands of the Bretonni tribes are finally secured. A great meeting takes place in the home of Folgar d'Artois. Here the formal dukedoms are created, and the Bretonnian Calendar is introduced. With Gilles' unification of Bretonnia complete, each of the Grail Companions is made a Duke, and swears allegiance to the newfound kingdom.[1a] Fredemund, Duke of Aquitaine, the so-called 'Bird of Prey', weds Gilles' youngest sister, Annabel.[2b]
- 17 (995) -- Death of Gilles Le Breton.[1a] His son, Louis, becomes the first Questing Knight, earning the moniker Louis the Rash as he travels in search of the Holy Grail.[5d]
- 23 (1001) -- Louis returns to court, riding a purebred charger and shining with light. None can deny he has drunk from the Grail, and he is welcomed as King.[5d] After he is crowned by the Fay Enchantress, he draws up the basis of the Decrees of Chivalry, cementing the strict code of personal conduct that the Companions lived by.[2b]
- 25 (1003) -- Landuin and Thierulf fight a duel over a matter long since forgotten and the subject of much conjecture. Landuin wounds Thierulf and never again visits the courts of the Companions.[1a]
- 46 (1024) -- Agilgar of Parravon is slain. His pegasus, Glorfinial, is killed by a pair of wyverns above the Grey Mountains, and the Duke of Parravon falls to his death.[2b]
- 67 (1045) -- Death of Landuin.[1a] Bretonnia mourns for the finest of the Companions, found dead in his bed.[2b]
- 164 (1142) -- King Guillaume defeats a large Orc army at the Battle of Armandur and drives out the last of the Greenskins from northern Bretonnia. Thierulf d'Lyonesse, the last of the Grail Companions whose life was extended by the Lady, finally falls in battle.[2d]
- 197 (1175) -- Admiral Henri Lamorte of L'Anguille meets the fleets of the Tomb King Amenemhetum the Great, sent northwards by Settra, at Savage Point. The Undead fleets are repelled.[2d]
- 267 (1245) -- The dragon Mergaste is slain by King Baudoin.[2d]
- 297 (1275) -- Lamorte Grail Chapel is pillaged and the interred body of Henri Lamorte is stolen.[2d]
- 347 (1325) -- Tournament of la Damoiselle d'Artois. One hundred knights joust for her hand in marriage.[2d]
- 358 (1336) -- Duke Melmon of Quenelles disappears on the night of the Spring Equinox. Stories say he was caught up in the ghostly Great Hunt that is said to roam the skies on certain nights. Others say he wandered into the Forest of Loren, drawn by fey lights.[2d]
The Crusades (1448 to 1451 IC)
- 470-473 (1448-1451) -- Crusades against Araby.
- c.474 (c.1452) -- Duke Cheldric of Brionne is assassinated by Prince Apophas as the Bretonnians return from their victory against Sultan Jaffar of Araby, precipitating a century of retaliatory crusades against Nehekhara.[9a]
- 474 (1452) -- Knights Errant battle greenskins at the crossings of Blood River. Bretonnian knights build castles to hold back many tribes of Orcs travelling up from the Badlands. Thus are born the fiefdoms known as the Border Princes.[10b]
- 476 (1454) -- The Red Duke, of Abhorash's line, terrorises Aquitaine. He is defeated at the Battle of Ceren, pierced by King Louis the Righteous' own lance.[3a]
- 507 (1485) -- The Battle of Bogwurst.[4a]
- 600 (1578) -- The Tournament of Guyenne in which King Jules jousts with one of the fey folk of Athel Loren and is victorious.[2d]
- 615 (1593) -- Smell the Gauntlet - a game popular with the peasant children of Brionne - goes awry and instigates a revolt amongst the lower classes. It is crushed mercilessly.[2d]
- 619 (1597) -- Marienburg is seized by a large Bretonnian army under the Duke of L'Anguille. After five years of resistance from its inhabitants and with the Empire mustering its forces to aid the city, the Bretonnians are ultimately forced to retreat.
- 657 (1635) -- The Battle of Castellet. Raiders from beyond the sea attack L'Anguille and are slaughtered by King Philippe the Strong and an army of 10,000 knights.[2d]
- 703 (1681) -- On one eve, the dead rise from their graves and terrorise the lands. It is said that this occurred all across the Old World due to an ancient evil reawakening in the south.[2d]
- 737 (1715) -- Fugitives of the defeated Orc Warlord Gorbag's horde invade Bretonnia. They are all slain by Bretonnia's knights.[2d]
Of Pox and Rats (1786 to 1812 IC)
- 835 (1813) -- A great outbreak of the Red Pox ravages Bretonnia. In its wake, Ratmen emerge from beneath the ground and lay siege to Brionne and Quenelles. Mousillon suffers greatly from the plague, but Duke Merovech d'Mousillon and his knights are spared. They ride out and assist in driving the Skaven back below ground.[1a]
- 836 (1814) -- The Madness of Duke Merovech. At a victory feast, Duke Merovech loses his mind and challenges the king to a duel. Merovech slays the king and drinks his blood. In the wake of this atrocity, Mousillon is invaded, and the north of the duchy becomes a part of Lyonesse. It is even said that the invasion is triggered as much by Lyonesse's traditional rivalry with Mousillon as by Merovech's wickedness. Mousillon never truly recovers, and much of it falls into poverty in the following years.[1a]
- 954 (1932) -- The Red Duke rises again and kills the Duke Gilon d'Aquitaine at the Second Battle of Ceren. He is defeated once more and flees into the Forest of Châlons. None know if he dwells there still.[3a]
- 996 (1974) -- The Beastmaster Rakarth leads an attack on the city of Brionne. War Hydras tear down the gates and the city is sacked.[12a]
- 1016 (1994) -- In this year it is first recorded that the burial place of Duke Merovech has been lost. Questing Knights ride out to rediscover it, but none are successful.[1a]
- 1028 - 1029 (2006-2007) -- The Battle of Lamentations. A vast Plague Fleet, so foul that it leaves the sea black in its wake, makes anchor off Bretonnia. Led by the Chaos Lord Kharan the Blighted, the legions of Khorne and Nurgle lay siege to the city of Couronne, slaying King Louis the Brave and his knights as they charge out to meet the invaders. All seems lost until a woman bedecked in armour leads the charge and slays the Chaos Lord in single combat. In gratitude, King Louis the Young bestows Repanse de Lyonesse the title of both knight and Duchess of Lyonesse.[6][8a]
- 1113 (2091) -- The fabled Grand Sow of the Grismerie is born, the biggest pig ever to have graced Mousillon. Sow Night is still celebrated in many villages in commemoration of this event.[1a]
The Wars of Errantry (2201 to 2422 IC)
- 1223 (2201) -- King Louen Orc-Slayer amasses a grand army after declaring an Errantry War, with thousands of young knights joining the ranks of the more experienced retinues of the dukes. Together, this army smashes the growing Orc and Goblin tribes that have been amassing for many years on the borders of Bretonnia. The traditional frontiers of the dukedoms are expanded, and many Greenskin strongholds are conquered. New castles are built along these borders, and many of the young Knights Errant are granted these domains along with full knightly titles at the end of the war.[2c][5a][6a]
- 1319 (2297) -- The Affair of the False Grail. Duke Maldred d'Mousillon and his consort Malfleur imprison the Fay Enchantress, denounce the king, and claim to possess the true Grail. Mousillon is disgraced once more and the king, Gaston de Beau Geste, leads an army into Mousillon, besieging the city.[1a]
- 1322 (2300) -- The Red Pox strikes again, ravaging both armies in the siege of the city and killing the greater number of Mousillon's peasantry. The siege ends when all the defenders die and the King walks unopposed into the city. Maldred and Malfleur are found dead in the Ducal Palace, slain by unknown means among the debris of their revelling. Mousillon is declared lost, and the king does not appoint a new duke.[1a]
- 1342 (2320) -- Skaven make raids upon the western ports. The king orders the dukes' fleets to be strengthened and he grants them monies to aid the construction of better ships.[2d]
- 1358 (2336) -- A man emerges from the Forest of Loren, claiming to be Duke Melmon of Quenelles. Within hours he ages dramatically, and dies within the day.[2d]
- 1406 (2384) -- The Siege of Couronne.
- 1440 (2418) -- Having observed the realms of Ulthuan and Bretonnia making common cause on several occasions, the Witch King determines that the Human kingdom should be punished. Sending emissaries to the Beastmen of the Forest of Arden and the Greenskins of the Massif Orcal, Malekith stirs up such carnage that King Charlen is forced to leave many coastal fortresses undefended to quell the tumult in his heartlands. With the armies of Bretonnia distracted, the Dark Elves rampage across its northern coast. Towns and villages burn by the score, their defenders slaughtered, and their peasants shipped north to slave in Naggaroth. L'Anguille, greatest of Bretonnia's ports, is left in ruins, the mutilated dead splayed across its streets. The Witch King is pleased -- it will be some time before the knights of Bretonnia will give strength to spare in a cause not their own.[13a]
- 1442 (2420) -- The longest Errantry War ever fought is launched by King Charlen against the Greenskins overrunning the Border Princes.[2a]
- 1444 (2422) -- Retaliatory attacks from orc tribes ravage Carcassonne, while many of the knights of Bretonnia are away fighting in the south. The impoverished land suffers frequent attacks. many hovels are burnt, and the populace suffers greatly.[2d]
- 1472 (2450) -- The Grail Chapel at Pied a'Cochon, the largest remaining in Mousillon, is besieged by a prodigious horde of the Undead. None of the Grail Damsels remain when the horde disperses, and they are feared eaten by the shambling corpses. The chapel is never rebuilt.[1a]
- 1480 (2458) -- The Battle of the Tides. A large host of pirate ships is dragged by freak tides onto the coast of Mousillon, where it is trapped and sunk by the Bretonnian Navy. It is the largest sea battle ever seen off Mousillon.[1a]
- 1490 (2468) -- The Crusade of Blood.[13b]
- 1501 (2479) -- Nicolete d'Oisement is found guilty of Witchcraft and murder following the disappearance of a daughter of the Duke of Lyonesse. Nicolete is sentenced to be walled up in her home in eastern Mousillon.[1a]
- 1510 (2488) -- A mighty host of knights vanishes in the Death Pass, said to have been slain by the Black Orc warlord Morglum Necksnapper. King Phillippe V then declares the Errantry Wars at an end.[5e]
- 1513 (2491) -- The Abbey of La Maisontaal is sacked by the Necromancer Heinrich Kemmler and his army. The attackers are only repelled by the efforts of Tancred, Duke of Quenelles, and his knights. However, the walking dead remain a constant threat.[5e]
- 1522 (2500) -- Louen Leoncoeur is crowned King of Bretonnia. He is immediately concerned with the "Mousillon problem," strengthening the Cordon Sanitaire and assisting the dukes of Lyonesse and Bordeleaux in patrolling their borders.[1a]
- 1534 (2512) -- The spring festival of Bordeleaux is disrupted when four peasants dressed as a dragon accidentally slay the peasant playing the 'Grail Knight'. This quickly descends into a town-wide riot, as the peasantry run amok, some say addled by wine supplied by Duke Alberic. This lends weight to the Bretonnian phrase "as rare as the sober man of Bordeleaux".[2d]
- 1537 (2515) -- A peasant named Huebald is knighted after saving the Lady Ariadne from the beasts of the forest - only the third peasant born ever to have attained knighthood. He does not survive his first battle.[2d]
- 1539 (2517) -- The first sightings of the Black Knight, Mallobaude, said to have attended the court of the noble Aucassin.[1a]
- 1540 (2518) -- Prince Sigvald the Magnificent has the Bretonnian township of Chamburg razed because the wine it produced was not to his taste.[8b]
- 1541 (2519) -- Dead frogs rain from the sky across the eastern Grismerie valley. This is seen as a dire portent, and there is much agitation among the peasants.[1a] Also in this year, the bearer of the Standard of Bretonnia, Armand, becomes the Duke of Aquitaine at the king's order.[2d]
- 1542 (2520) -- The Year of Woe.
- 1543 (2521) -- A group of knights arrives unbidden at a battle against Norscan raiders near L'Anguille. Their standard bears the heraldry of a gold snake on a black field. The group leaves midway through the battle without explanation, and many brave knights die at the hands of Norscan berserkers as a result.[1a]
- 1544 (2522) -- King Louen Leoncoeur readies his armies, and many are certain that an Errantry War is to be declared against Mousillon and the Black Knight.[1a]
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd ED -- Barony of the Damned
- 1a: pg. 10
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia (6th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd ED -- Night's Dark Masters
- 3a: pg. 33
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Armies: Core (7th Edition)
- 4a: pg. 207
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd ED -- Knights of the Grail
- 6: Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia (5th Edition)
- 6a: pg. 10 - 16
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Orcs & Goblins (4th Edition)
- 8: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 9: Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings (8th Edition)
- 9a: pg. 21
- 10: Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (8th Edition)
- 12: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (7th Edition)
- 12a: pg. 33
- 13: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (8th Edition)