What's next?
More
Of course, not everyone loved my policy. I ruled in a time when the church ruled supreme, and their views on sex was very conservative, even then. While I generally was well-loved enough that the priests in my terriitory chose other parts of the faith to preach, there were always those who claimed that my rule of incest and rape was an abomination before God. When these complaints came from my peasants and serfs, I could abuse my power as their liege to have them removed, but the clergy was different. They were not mine to command, but were in a different power structure leading to the Pope. And, being as I was in modern-day Italy, my fief was close enough to the Pope that his rulings were way more than just a guideline.
Often, these problems could be solved by others acting for me. Having some loyal subjects threatening the priest taking a stance against me, beating him bloody, or, on one regretful occasion, murdering him. I was once forced to go to Rome, to be tried under the Holy See, but luckily the pope at the time was not the most upstanding character either, and a bit of blackmail about his several mistresses ensured that I would be declared not guilty. But mostly I tried to not involve myself with the church if I could avoid it. I, much like my father before me, kept to the politics of my own fief, not pushing for influence out of it. And thanks to my lifespan, there were no succession crises to invite others to gain influence in my domain either.
0 comments
No comments yet
The story has no discussion yet. Leave a note here when a branch gives you something to say.
No chapter comments yet
No one has commented on this branch yet. Add the first note above.