Volkheim

the United Confederation of Volkheimer States Die Vereinigte Konföderation der Volkheimer Staaten
The State flag of Volkheim Coat of arms
Motto: Gott, Volk und Land God, People and Land
Anthem: "Volkheimisch ist das Land"
Capital	Breslau
Largest city	Volkstadt am Feln
Official languages	Volkheimische
Recognised regional languages	Franconian, High Rhaetian
Ethnic groups (2020)	92.8%Human 7.2% Other
Government	Federal parliamentary Republic
• Staatspräsident	Joachim-Friedrich von Schildenfeld
• Chancellor	August Waldemar
Legislature	Landtag (Bundestag and Bundesrat)
Area
• Total	530,849.5 km2 (204,962.1 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 estimate	5,238,900
• 2020 census	5,087,640
• Density	9.5/km2 (24.6/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$426 Billion
• Per capita	$81,313.409
Currency	Thaler (TL)
Date format	MM/DD/YYYY and DD/MM/YYYY
Driving side	right
Calling code	+198
ISO 3166 code	VLH
Internet TLD	.VH

The United Confederation of Volkheimic States (Volkheimic: Die Vereinigte Konföderation der Volkheimer Staaten), also known as Volkheim, is a Federal Parliamentary Republic located in Novaris.

History

Early History

The ethnogenesis of the Volkheimic peoples is still debated amongst scholars. However, a majority of scholars (especially Volkheimic scholars) believe that the process of culture arriving in Volkheim took place between 2000 BCE – 1st century BCE. It is likely that such cultures as the Weserdorf culture arrived from Central and Northern Novaris, arriving to the island in around 2000 BCE, eventually expanding to the West by the 1st century BCE. Knowledge about the early Volkheimic people is rare. A majority of scholars are content with recording the few interactions they had with merchants in the first century BCE, linguistic conclusions, and archeological evidence. Further encounters occurred throughout the 1st to 3rd Century CE, until eventually contact fell off.

By the 6th century, Stem Duchies (Volkheimic: Stammesherzogtümer) would begin to emerge in Volkheim. Stem Dutchies refer to to the traditional territory of the various tribes. By the 9th century, the major Stem Dutchies were Rhaetia (Volkheimic: Rhaetien), Alamannia (Volkheimic: Alamannien), Ingvaeonica (same in Volkheimic), Franconia (Volkheimic: Franken), and Ostrogothia (Volkheimic: Ostrogothien). Alongside them, to a lesser extent, was the smaller island Stem Duchy of Lusatia (Volkheimic: Lausitz), however it is not generally included in the listing of Stem Duchies. Each of the Stem Duchies paid fielty to the King of the Teutons (Volkheimic: Der König der Germanen) from around 600s onward, who was elected for life and held a mostly ceremonial hold over the Stem Duchies.

The Reutlingen Emperors (910-1087) retained the Stem Duchies as major divisions for the country - then called Teutonia (Volkheimic: Teutonien) -, but they became increasingly obsolete during the High Middle ages; under the (2nd Reign of the) Ostrogothian Dynasty, Joachim III abolished them in 1191 in favour of territorial Duchies and Fiefdoms. Successive King of the Teutons would establish further territorial divisions, including the Duchy of Ausberg.

Middle Ages

The Teuton Empire

By the dawn of the 5th Century, the cultures which preceded the Stem Duchies would all but disappear beginning a period known as the Great Dark Age. It is unknown what caused the early Volkheimic cultures to disappear by the 5th Century; a wide range of theories exist, ranging from plague to a decline in population. It wasn't until the early 6th Century that some form of cultural revival began. After the cultural revival of the 6th Century, which saw the birth of the Stem Duchies, Alamannia, Franconia and Ostrogothian would form a Tribal Confederation - often considered the predecessor to Teutonia. This Tribal Confederation was dominated by the Franconians, lasting around a Century.

After the death of the Franconian King Clovis in 634, his eldest son Ansgar consolidated power over and expanded the Confederation. Ansgar ended nearly 300 years of independent rule in Ingvaeonica and installed himself as their King in 641. The next 20 years of his reign as King of the Franconians saw him crush the other Stem Duchies, conquering any Duchy which did not yield to his supremacy. By the 660s, Ansgar I had consolidated further holdings, ruled over all of the Stem Duchies and was proclaimed King of the Teutons from 662 onward. Ansgar, unlike other rulers of the period, was baptised as a member of the Holy Deus Church rather than the traditional Teutonic Religions which dominated the island hitherto. His successors would continue to worship and follow Deuisism, eventually branching off somewhat from the mainstream branch. After the death of Ansgar in 676, his son Ludwig I would be elected as King of the Teutons; all successive Kings of the Teutons would be elected.

In 823, Berengar II of the Ostrogothian Dynasty was crowned King of Teutonia by the Bishop of Ausberg. Prior to Berengar IIs reign the King of the Teutons was not crowned formally, the tradition of being crowned originated ultimately with him. As a result of this coronation, it was henceforth that the Teutons referred to themselves as the Holy Teutonic Empire (Volkheimic: Das Heilige Teutonische Reich), although it was not truly an empire, as the Duchies and Territories were not centralised. Around this same time the earliest use of Volkheim as the nation's name was recorded. The name Teutonia and Ansgaria would continue to identify the country well into the 19th Century, long after the Empire was dissolved. Berengar II strengthened Imperial Authority by asserting Ostrogothian rights over ecclesiastical appointments. His control over these appointments lead to what could be considered a national Church being established.

Upon the death of Ludwig IV, the Reutlingen Dynasty would take control of the Teutonic Throne. The Reutlingen Dynasty would continue the Ostrogothian Dynasty's seizing of Church control within the Duchies. Alongside that, Henry IV (r. 1006-1023) would take personal control of the appointing of all bishops, creating Fürstbischöfe (Prince-Bishops). Henry IV’s son, Ludwig V would use the Prince-Bishops less and less and by the time of the reign of Frederick I the practice was all but dead.

The Interregnum

In 1087, Henry V died childless, ending the Reutlingen Dynasty’s rule after 177 years. The successive diet summoned to elect a new King of the Teutons would not officially elect the next King until November of that year, selecting Joachim of Ostrogothia (x8 Great-Grandson of Ludwig IV) to become the new King of the Teutons. Joachim III would reign until 1091, leading a mostly mundane reign. He was succeeded by the Duke of Weserfranken, Lothair, who also did little of note during his reign. In 1105, Otto would be elected King of the Teutons, reigning until 1139.

Upon the death of Otto in 1139, an interregnum began. The Great Interregnum marked a period where claimants from the House of Hohenberg and claimants from the house of Wolfach both battled for the throne. In October 1140, Rudolph of Hohenberg (1104-1162) was elected in Harzburg as King of the Teutons. Then in March 1141, Charles of Wolfach (1110-1177) was also elected as King in Marz. Neither man would ever challenge the others claim for fear that acknowledgment would result in legitimising the other, this situation resulted in some nobles paying fealty to both men. In 1162, Rudolph was succeeded by his son Adelbert of Hohenberg (1125-1197). Charles of Wolfach would die in 1177, being succeeded by his son Alphonse (1134-1193).

When Adelbert of Hohenberg died in 1197, the first free elections amongst the Prince-Electors would take place in nearly half a Century. This election would last from June 1197 to March 1198.

In 1199, Rudolph II was elected from the House of Ausberg to become King of the Teutons, ending the interregnum. It was under the reign of Rudolph II that the term sacrum imperium was used, however it was never used by any other Monarch. The period of 1199-1420 saw the Crown change dynasties 12 times, often switching between 3-4 houses.

Ostsiedlung

The ostsiedlung (east settlement) is the term for a process of largely uncoordinated immigration by ethnic Volkheimers into areas occupied by Lusatians during the High Middle Ages (11th-14th Centuries). The primary purpose of early campaigns during the 10th and 11th century into Lusatia was to convert the local population and to extract tithes. Oftentimes conquered territories would be lost once troops withdrew, but later on would be incorporated into the Teutonic system as Marches. Contemporary sources do not support any such plans or policies for organised settlement of Lusatia. In fact, Lusatia would remain somewhat independent until the reign Otto.

Emperor Albert I re-established feudal supremacy over Lusatia and the eastern lands in 1253, appointing margraves to these areas to turn these borderlands into hereditary fiefdoms. There are no contemporary or post-contemporary chronologies of the process of eastern settlement due to it never being an organised effort and often occurring in stages, however many sources do cite some Lusatian Lords often encouraging this settlement. The total number of settlers were low and populations usually assimilated into one another. In fact, there are records of some communities travelling to mainland Novaris and establishing communities there, one example being Heinrichstadt in 1270. However, there is no modern archeological evidence to support this with only contemporary sources making this claim.

Church and State

Baldwin II, son of Baldwin I, who had overthrown his uncle to become Duke of Ausberg became the King of the Teutons in 1276. Hoping to gain further control of the state, Baldwin appointed Gustavus of Ganz to the position Bishop of Altstadt am Feln (now Volkstadt am Feln). Gustavus began to control the church in the realm. This would spark another chapter in the controversy between the church and the state. In 1280, the Electors turned to the House of Ansbach for the candidate Ludwig VI. Ludwig attempted to divert his rival, Count Adolf IV of Ausberg, of two inheritances which lead to war in Western Volkheim. The faction supporting Count Adolf IV became known as the Ausbergers and those supporting the Emperor Ansbachers. In 1300, the Ansbacher Electors elected Albert II of Lindenberg as the new King of the Teutons.

During the reign of Henry VII of Hohenberg (r. 1315-1334) a peace settlement was reached between the two factions which saw Count Rudolph III of Ausberg (1266-1325; r. 1303-1325) gain one of his inheritances, whilst the other was given to a local lord.

Between 1310s and 1350s, the Kings of the Teutons would set about establishing a more modernised state with several diets being held. Emperor Rudolph III would resume the conquest of Lusatia in 1345, conquering it completely by 1350. This brought an end to the last of the Stem Duchies. In 1351, he ended the tradition of the Church appointing electors by making them hereditary titles.

learning and Culture

TBA

Early Modern Volkheim

Social Changes

The early-Modern Volkheimic society gradually developed after the disasters of the 14th century as religious obedience and political loyalty declined in the wake of such events as the plague of 1350-1370. The rise of cities and the new burgher class eroded the societal, legal and economic order of feudalism.

The commercial enterprise of the mercantile elites in the quickly developing west generated unprecedented financial means. As financiers lent to both the ecclesiastical and the royal, these families increasingly influenced political affairs throughout the states of the empire during the 15th and 16th century. The increasingly money based economy also provoked social discontent among the ritter class.

From 1420 until the collapse of the Teuton state in 1728, the House of Ausberg would occupy the throne of King of the Teutons. Eventually making it a hereditary, rather than elected, position in 1548 with an edict by Frederick III.

It was during the reign of Frederick the third that many revolutions were made in governance: the establishment of the Postal System (managed by the Thurn family) and the inventing of a standardised printing press. Frederick's military reforms were also extensive on the country, including the modernisation and formal establishment of the Landsknechte, breaking the Ritter class of the empire, sending it to its death shortly afterwards.

Imperial Reform

During his reign from 1529 to 1551, Frederick III reformed the Teuton state, bringing it to its height of power and the closest it ever was to a true empire and centralised state. A dual system of Supreme Courts - the Reichskammergericht and the Reichshofrat - was established, together with a formalised reception of Teutonic law; the Reichstag became an all-important entity and political forum as the supreme legal and constitutional institution, which guaranteed the survival of the empire; the Landsknechte became the closest thing to an imperial army; the Imperial and Court Chanceries were combined to become the decisive government institution, and the Volkheimic language began to attain a unified form. The Political structure remained incomplete piecemeal however, due to the resistance of a common tax.

The change of title from Rex Teutomun to Imperator Teutonum cemented the reforms of Frederick III and the House of Ausberg permanently.

Reformation

The Emperor of the Teutons in the 15th and 16t- century increasingly sent the High-Cardinals larger and larger indulgences, expecting many in the lower class to finance this. In 1517, in the reign of Rudolph IV, a monk known as Hubertus of Florin would publish a thesis on the Holy Deus Church. The thesis argued his assertions on the corruptions and evils of the faith, including indulgences.

This reformation presented the first challenge within the empire for both the High-Cardinal and the King of the Teutons (later Emperor), beginning in 1521 when Hubertus was outlawed by Rudolph IV. The ideas of Reformation spread quickly due to the printing press. Whilst in hiding, Hubertus would translate several religious texts into Volkheimic, the first time they had been written outside of the traditional texts. In 1530, the Teutonic Reformed Church was officially formed.

A peasants revolt, beginning in Ausberg and the surrounding Duchies, was an economic and religious revolt of the rural lower classes, encouraged by rhetoric at the time against the nobility and the traditional social order. However, this revolt would be suppressed within a matter of years due to disorganisation.

In 1545, Emperor Leopold I would initiate the Counter-Reformation against the Reformed Teutonic Church. The Counter-Reformation was started with the intention of challenging and containing the reformation via apologetic and polemical writing and decrees, ecclesiastical reconfiguration, ears and Imperial political manoeuvrings. In 1547, Emperor Leopold would defeat the Reformist League. The Peace of Hallenberg in 1555 decreed the recognition of the Reformed Teutonic Church and the religious divisions within the empire. It also stipulated the principle of “his realm, his religion.”

Thirty Years' War

The 1618 to 1648 Thirty Years’ War which was the first major war within the Empire which has its origins, which remains widely contested, in the unsolved and recurring conflicts between the Holy Deus Church and the Reformed Teutonic Church factions. Emperor Ferdinand III, himself a member of the Holy Deus Church, attempted to achieve religious and political unity within the empire, whilst also opposing Reformist Union forces determined to fight for their religious rights.

The conflict was sparked by the revolt of Lusatian Nobles against policies put in place by Emperor Ferdinand III. After a triumph at the Battle of Weißenberg and a short-lived peace, the war would expand to encompass all the states of the Empire, rather than just the Archduchy of Lusatia. The conflict increasingly grew to be a struggle between the House of Ausberg and the older House of Lusatia for predominance over the empire.

The war is the deadliest in Volkheimic history and left much of the land and population devastated after three decades of constant war. The Landsknechte and other stately armies had increasingly pillaged the countryside throughout the war, seized and levied taxes on cities and indiscriminately plundered peasants' food stocks. Alongside that the country was ravaged by murderous outlaws, the sick, the homeless, disrupted people and invalid soldiers. Overall sock and economic disruption caused a dramatic decline in the population as a result of pandemic murder and sodomy and killings, diseases, crop failures, famine, declining birth rates, burglary, witch-hunts and the emigration of people. There is no agreed upon estimation of the population loss.

The Decline and Death of the Empire

The rise of Ermland

Hitherto the 18th century only two Archduchies existed within the Empire: the Archduchy of Lusatia and the Archduchy of Ausberg. The only King (or the closest thing to a king) was the Emperor of the Teutons. Duke William Frederick, Ruler of Ermland since 1640 and an Elector of the Empire, acquired the Duchy of Nimwegen at the end of the Thirty Years' War. The acquisition of Nimwegen would take a vast chunk out of the already in decline Archduchy of Lusatia. His acquisition of Nimwegen saw Emperor Joseph I elevate him, reluctantly, to the status of Grand Duke. In 1660, William Frederick would acquire the county of Dornlau; he was elevated again to Archduke.

The existence of three Archduchies offset the balance which had existed since the 1420s. Unlike the ancient Archduchy of Lusatia (which had existed as an Archduchy since the end of the Stem Duchies) and the Archduchy of Ausberg (which emerged in 1425 when Emperor Frederick II elevated himself to Archduke), the newly elevated Archduchy of Ermland was relatively unknown prior to William Frederick’s emergence on the stage. His son, Frederick, would take this power grab a step further when he would declare himself König im Ermland (King in Ermland) in 1701. It should be emphasised that he had not declared himself king OF Ermland, but the King in Ermland. Nevertheless this action was met with backlash by Emperor Francis II, himself the Archduke of Ausberg.

King Frederick of Ermland’s actions in 1701 undoubtedly set off the chain of events which would result in the collapse of the Empire in 1756. Ermland was also among the first nations in the Empire to have an existent and stable foreign policy and rapport with other nations.

Enlightened Absolutism

The ideals of enlightened absolutism emerged in Ermland with King Frederick Augustus. He was also one of the Greatest Volkheimic Generals and military strategist ever, cementing Ermland as a Great Power within Volkheim. Emperor Ferdinand IV succeeded in bringing about a favourable conclusion to the Ermic-Ausberg war of 1740 to 1748, although at a great cost of further dividing the dying Empire and loss of further land. In the resulting treaty the Archduchy of Luastia would finally dissolve as Ermland took further land from it, reducing her to the Luastian Island. The concept of enlightened absolutism, although rejected by most of the nobility and citizenry, was advocated for in Ermland and Ausberg. King Frederick Augustus defended the ideal in writing, arguing the benevolent monarch simply is the first servant of the state, who affects his absolute political power for the benefit of the population as a whole.