Álengsk Revolutionary Crisis (The Kalmar Union)

The Álengsk Revolutionary Crisis, was a violent political struggle for the country in early 19th century Álengiamark by a wide-range of interests. It incorporates two main phases; the Houst Heykkand (Autumn Rising), the take-over of Kristjanaborg by a republican clique with the long-term aim of toppling the government and monarchy; and the Voríð Drottningr (Queen's Spring), a protracted political fight between the Crown and Althing to reform the country and how it was governed. Taken together the period had profound long-lasting consequences for the country and region.

Causes

From an outsider's perspective late 18th/early 19th century Álengiamark was a wealthy country. It had certainly outstripped its closest rivals Vinland and Aniyunwiya in terms of trading and military power and was beginning to make its presence felt abroad, especially in the Indian Ocean. But this view hid a great many ills; government and the justice system were rife with corruption, apparent prosperity masked growing poverty and a runaway stock bubble was becoming totally unsustainable. Under Queens Margrjet and Thorey V the monarchy had essentially absented itself from governing; the fantastically opulent court of Thorey V at Alexandría Höfðingustr was distant, not only from St. Hafdiss where the Althing sat, but also from Kristjanaborg, Álengiamark's largest city and cultural nexus.

Álengiamark's history as a decentralised set of virtually independent states had left it with a mostly local outlook. Queen Margrjet's first Speaker, Jón Arnarsson, remarked, "We built Álengiamark but we have failed to make any Álengsk to live in it". Whilst there were many who did look to the country as a whole, on the whole most of the political system was geared to a local level. And the press, such as it was, was very parochial too; most had their own newspapers or periodicals which barely mentioned events on a national level and certainly were not in the business of campaigning journalism. This was changing slowly however; the cities undergoing industrialisation were quickly growing in size with associated issues of sanitation and crime, usually woefully under-represented in the Althing and filled with émigrés from elsewhere in the country eager for news from their home fylke.

Mauguin Eríksson (1762-1818). A minor Mohegan-Sudervik noble, Mauguin Eríksson epitomised the corrupt and sclerotic nature of Álengsk politics in the early 19th century. He rose to power through patronage to the Moheganland earls and cemented his control over Álengsk politics by lavishing the aging Thorey V with attention and gifts. Eager to maintain his position he led witch-hunts against his enemies (essentially anyone who had any notions of political reform), colluded with criminal factions, and milked the system for all he could. When he lost the confidence of Queen Herridr II, his fall would be protracted and almost lead to civil war

With little oversight, either from the crown or the press, the Althing had no interest in reformist policies, and for the most part contented itself with making its own members rich. Entrepreneurs keen to join the slow growth industrial could be expected to pay substantial bribes to their local government for land, access and even to recompense rural land owners for the loss of farm labourers. Corruption extended to the judiciary too as the Althing controlled the appointment of judges hence either indulged in nepotism or took bribes from prospective candidates for appointments. These Althing-appointed judges then liberally took bribes to prosecute or let off victims and perpetrators alike.

And whilst Herridr I's reforms had united the country it left the regions with considerable powers over taxation which made coherent country-wide financial planning hard to achieve. The huge national debt racked up during the Second Mexic-Leifian War, and added to with foreign ventures such as the Ajuraan War of 1806-09, or the monarchy's building sprees, was essentially completely unservicable.

Pjetur Björnsson (1745-1826), the 'Bear'. The Björnssons had risen to prominence in Kristjanaborg the late 17th century. The family had long been 'fixers' along the Gullvega between Snjorjamark and Álengiamark. Pjetur's grandfather had sold his share in the business before the Second Mexic-Leifian War ruined the entire enterprise and moved into building tenement blocks in Kristjanaborg, perfectly timed to house the immigrants from Europe who arrived en masse after the Great Baltic War. Flush with money Pjetur Björnsson would build exponentially upon his grandfather and father's legacies and virtually ran Kristjanaborg as a personal fief, controlling its politicians and judiciary, as well as owning theatres, inns, brothels and gambling dens. He would control the rebuilding of the city after the Great Fire of 1776 but huge sums of money would disappear into his pockets in the process

The taxes levied were relatively fair but the actual collection of it was a haphazard nightmare of competing jurisdictions and inconsistency. The nobility and clergy could claim exemption in the Fylke, but were liable for Althing taxes, but as it was the Fylke who insisted they collect taxes the nobles and clergy tended not to pay anything. Instead of trying to make this system fairer the venal governments instead simply pursued policies which would make the most money and/or lined their own pockets in the process. The Upper House of the Althing, the 'Ráðs fírsta á annáhus Búsák', nominally filled with nobility and clergy, sat infrequently, and often solely for the purpose of ratifying subsidies to themselves or the crown whilst blocking any attempts to fix the budget.

In the cities and fylke local governments were often corrupt too. The power and wealth certain families had, plus a hold over the judiciary, gave them a certain untouchability when it came to elections meaning there was never any meaningful competition, and if there was it could be removed with threats of violence, law suits or simple bribery. Due to the nature of how the Althing evolved as an institution elections for the assembly only occurred on the death or retirement of an incumbent meaning entrenched interests were very hard to shift. The hold the Björnsson family had over Kristjanaborg for instance with its six Althing seats for nearly 500,000 people (compared to say with one seat for Ahaquasheyjar for 260 people) was near total. After the Great Fire of Kristjanaborg in 1776 which had levelled a great deal of the city, the Björnsson family had consolidated their power by controlling the funds for rebuilding, ensuring their friends got the most favourable contracts, business owners paid significant bribes to get their offices and warehouses rebuilt first, and a large percentage of the funds 'disappeared' into various pockets. In an effort to widen streets and rationalise the old tangle of medieval roads and alleyways a significant portion of the city immediately east of Werpos Sapáq, known as Kúgarðinn, was rebuilt, not with cheap housing for the lower classes, but new elegant townhouses for the city's well-to-do. The poorest were pushed into already crowded areas of Gamallstaðr, or the Manettemark district to the north increasing issues of sanitation, squallor and crime.

Map of Kristjanaborg, dated 1799. Although the map still shows the salt marshes on the the eastern edge of the island (with the Austrliðið fortress at their northern end) by the eve of the revolution these were being dried out. The large park-estate just to the north of the Earl's palace (once a marsh fed by the Werpos Sapáq, then polderised in the 15th century by the earls) was still private - it would only be made public in 1830 - and the main road crossing it was tolled. The northern streets of Manettemark were still being built, its roads petered out into fields and forest; the western section of the 14th century walls had been torn down in 1768-1773 to make way for the city's northward expansion but the great fire of 1776 had put back the plans. The 'Nývegr' walls only stretched from Austrliðið to Norðrgat. Most of the rest of the island was divided up into farms and pockets of woodland.

On the surface Álengiamark was wealthy but this wealth was concentrated almost totally in the nobility and merchant families. The population had doubled in the previous 50 years, not only from organic growth but also in welcoming immigrants from Europe who now filled the multiplying industry factories or moved to newly parcelled out farmlands. Much of the recent wealth had been generated by a rudimentary stock market called the 'Cheasapeake Company'. This was a creation of Kristjanaborg merchants eager to exploit the land now freed up in the relatively empty western parts of Margirhaedeyja, Unamiland and Nanticokeland. These regions had been farmed under serfdom but inefficently, leaving a great deal of land uncultivated. With serfdom now abolished, and land cheap, the Company bought up vast tracts of land and loaned to families, Álengsk or European, to start farms. This was initially fantastically successful; the new farmers paid their loans back handsomely making the initial investors rich and boosting Álengiamark's food production considerably. The process then repeated as farmlands pushed further along the valleys, fast flowing streams were captured for powering factory mills and mining towns appeared in the hills as coal seems were exploited.

The Cheasapeake Company's humble beginnings under the Sycamore tree on Eyrúnslóð. Company men wore a badge shaped like a sycamore leaf and many of the buildings built on the company's profits use the leaf as a motif in their decor.

By 1810 however the enterprise appeared to falter. Good farmland was all but taken and the original loans all paid back meaning latecomers were pushed onto marginal land but still expected to pay loans at the same rate. Many of the initial investors, the Crown included, had by this point cashed out, but the shares still circulated meaning many others could buy into the scheme. And as the public at large got a share of this potential wealth the stock price began to rise precipitously. It is quite possible that astute financiers could have managed to stabilise the price as the profits on the marginal land trickled in but then came 1816: 'the Year without Summer'.

The eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815 in distant Sunda wrecked agriculture around the world and Álengiamark was not spared. There was a 'dry fog' which persisted through much of the spring and summer of 1816, snow fell in June, and frost was frequent through the summer month. Crops rotted in the fields and 'wasn't even worthy of animal feed'. Overall crop yields were about half of what they should have been on a normal year. The farms on marginal lands defaulted on their loans and the Chesapeake Company collapsed, taking the savings of a large section of the public, and the wider economy with it. With shortages looming food prices rose dramatically. A typhus epidemic ran through the coastal cities in the winter, compounding the misery.

Portrait of Thorey V (r.1783-1817) by Philippe Claris. Thorey V's reign is defined by excess. She would spend her reign rebuilding and extending palaces she barely stayed in, all redecorated in extravagant ornamental designs. Toward the end of her reign her court became more sedentary at the vast palace-monastery complex of Alexandría Höfðingustr. Most nobles gravitated to her court with its endless round of feasts, balls and entertainment, as well distancing the court further from government process. But this decadence was expensive. Although the largest land-owner in Álengiamark the crown also sucked up huge amounts of money from the Althing's budget

To this the Althing and Crown had little response. Thorey V was adept at spending money, but on herself not on the populace, and at Alexandría Höfðingustr she and her 'merry' court of nobles were insulated from the issues afflicting the country. Indeed it is quite possible she simply did not grasp what was occurring, her health was in decline and was relying more and more on doctors to get her through the daily rituals of court life. Equally, with taxation devolved, the Althing had little power to raise any money for itself. Therefore what little relief was provided, if at all, came from local structures not from the government. Both the Althing and Crown were heavily critised for their perceived lack of care. So too did the church which, considering its power in the country, did not organise any centralised relief effort, instead relying on parishes to do the heavy lifting.

All this galvanised what had been a small but steadily growing reform agenda. Kristjanaborg, Nahigavik and the university town of Reyrvatnstadh in particular had long been bastions of liberal and reforming thought. Though the intellectuals had produced reams of articles their only real direct actions were to occasionally bend the ears of less-corrupt politicians at social gatherings, after all, most owed their education to family wealth and were not in the business of rocking the boat too much. Amongst the lower classes too there had been a sense of rising resentment with the status quo. But now the urgency of the situation meant ideas about what should be done was no longer just the realm of university graduates and intellectuals, and the well-meaning 'coffee house philosophers' were joined by a much larger coterie of destitute and desperate poor. And whilst some intellectuals attempted to steer the anger toward a peaceful outcome there were more who were willing to whip up the masses and use them as a battering ram.

Houst Heykkand

April 1817

Vilhjálmur Þórirsson (1782-1817) was the youngest son of a Kristjanaborg banker. Buoyed by wealth he would coast through school and attend University in Reyrvatnstadh to study law, unenthusiastically and 'almost out of duty'. His studies soon took a back seat as he spent most of his time in the city's coffee houses debating and absorbing the liberal ideas which circulated there. He would meet Jóhanna in 1803, swiftly falling in love, and the pair eloped to Kaninenmark. Eloping with a working class girl would have been bad enough but they were married in a Lutheran ceremony, causing a minor scandal, and as a result was disowned by his family. This seems in part to be the final straw which pushed him toward a radical political stance and a vehement wish to smash entrenched institutions.

Jóhanna Kallaste Marksdottír (1784-1817) (Portrait of Young Lady by David Kristinnsson c. 1804, positively identified as Marksdottír in 1984). Nicknamed 'the whore' by her detractors and later commentators, was the daughter of Estonian immigrants. The family were farm labourers displaced by the Great Baltic War and arrived in Álengiamark in 1776 with little money. Mark Kallaste found work as a docker in Kristjanaborg and worked his way up to foreman allowing him to buy a private apartment on Musqáyugat (rather than a tiny rented apartment on Skipagat) and send Jóhanna and her brother Mark to school. Jóhanna proved an excellent pupil, earning a scholarship to the Ladies College attached to the University of Reyrvatnstadh. Her beauty made her a favoured model for several artists in the town and she would be a fixture of artistic circles where she found the topic of most evenings' conversations turned eventually to 'the deplorable state of the nation'.

The small park at the corner of Sapáqgat and Wópisugat on the edge of Kristjanaborg's Gamallstaðr had long been a gathering place to hear news and gossip (probably as the Werpos Sapáq had been the medieval city's most important source of fresh water). A small knoll, the 'Ócimhæð' had been used for announcements official, and unofficial, for centuries and by the late 18th century it was a common past-time to come to the park and listen to political discourse or debate on the knoll. On 6th April two of Kristjanaborg's most outspoken reformists, Vilhjálmur Þórirsson and his wife Jóhanna Marksdottír, took turns to advocate a public uprising in Kristjanaborg. As the crowd grew larger the militia appeared and dispersed those in attendance. About 30 were arrested for public disorder, including Þórirsson and Marksdottír, but the pair were released after paying a fine. Like-minded individuals urged them to take a lower profile as other plans were under way.

July 1817

Spring had seen various food and wage-related riots up and down the country which were mostly dealt with quickly by either the army or local militias. Each of the Fylke, and some cities, maintained their own militia armies, separate from the Royal Army, as a holdover from the old personal armies of the earldoms. There was very little bloodshed when quashing these riots, usually it was enough just for armed men to arrive to calm the situation. Arrests were widespread though. After the 'Tile Riot' of 17th May in Akinnahborg 150 people were arrested. Each disturbance provoked discussion in the Althing but the swift breakup of each riot lulled many into a sense of false security. They noted for instance that food riots were more or less a yearly event in Fjallasay and were certain their own riots would soon die down as food production got back to normal.

It was in this atmosphere that Certain Papers Pertaining to a Fairer Country was published, to instant notoriety. The pamphlet contained 16 essays penned by an impressively diverse selection of Álengsk intellectuals and writers. Ísak Hlynursson, a lawyer, targeted the judicial system; arguing all citizens should have the right to trial by jury, not simple sentencing from a 'biased' judge. Tómas Oskarsson, one of the few politicians in Kristjanaborg outside of the Björnsson family's influence, used the platform to argue the current system of elections was not fit for purpose and needed urgent change to better serve the country. Þórirsson used his essay to call for the confiscation of all nobles' property, and abolition of the monarchy. Marksdottír's essay was targeted more to the marginalised poor, promising good jobs, homes (by appropriating it from the corrupt rich, by force if necessary).

Sophie Carlén (1782-1828), novelist and republican. Her six novels of the early 1800s are held up as classics and she is often regarded as one of Álengiamark's finest writers.

One of the authors was Sophie Carlén, a well-respected (and hugely popular author) whose novels had always spoken to social issues. Her novel Óko Edena (Beyond Eden), published only that February, was an elegy for a lost country as two young lovers fall head over heels in idyllic naive love in Kristjanaborg then, as the economic crisis bites and the hero loses his job, and the paid attempt to travel to a family farm in Unamiland, running into an array of personalities, good and bad, on their way. The novel was remarkable in advocating equality and social justice and was scathing with its satire on establishment figures, especially the church, and was badly reviewed as a result. Paper shortages meant the novel did not garner a wide audience like her previous novels but she was invited to pen an article for the pamphlet which distilled many of the novel's themes. Her advocacy of full democracy, impartial justice for all, and the removal of the church from temporal affairs, was quite tame compared to some of her fellow writers.

The authorities were slow to react to the pamphlet, possibly as again they assumed the rioting would be a temporary blip and normal politics would resume shortly, and it sold widely before any copies were seized. Several of the authors, including Carlén, were arrested, which only added to the pamphlet's notoriety. Most were refused the option of buying their way out of gaol. Þórirsson and Marksdottír and their close associates escaped arrest and went into hiding.

August 1817

Ísak Hlynursson (1767-1817). If Þórirsson and Marksdottír were the instigators then Hlynursson provided the intellectual heft, turning their idealistic demands into workable policy. He was a long-standing lawyer in Kristjanaborg but had become disillusioned by the corruption in the justice system.

Attempts by Sudervik to raise taxes in Nahigvik, Akinnahborg and St. Hafdiss during the summer were met with riots and violence. Several factories in Kristjanaborg had seen their workforces down tools and march on the streets. Each time the city's militia had arrived, arrested the workers. It seemed obvious to Kristjanaborg's revolutionaries that the revolt need more coherence and leadership. As a response Þórirsson, Marksdottír and Hlynursson wrote a complete manifesto; 'Articles of the Álengsk Republic', distilling the realistic points of Certain Papers... into a political programme.

Having proved wildly popular Certain Papers Pertaining to a Fairer Country was reissued in a 2nd edition. This version however included two new essays, both submitted anonymously, one of which openly called for the head of Queen Thorey V. This time the authorities reacted much more swiftly, shutting down several printworks. Carlén was arrested once again, even though she had no knowledge of the reprinting. It is unknown how many copies of the 2nd edition were actually sold as most of the run was seized and burnt but the text was condemned in the Althing and many newspapers.

On 27th August a clique of 28 intellectuals and industrial leaders signed the 'Articles of the Álengsk Republic', committing themselves to overthrowing the government and establishing a republic. As well as Þórirsson, Marksdottír and Hlynursson, they counted amongst their members Hákon Hákonsson, a decorated army captain, and nominally now in charge of organising an army to protect and spread the revolution; Hafsteinn Naushopsson, an accomplished lawyer and orator; and Haraldur Elfarsson, a well-regarded 'elder' from dockside Gamallstaðr.

With the stage set all the the leaders needed was a trigger.

September 1817

A Kristjanaborg factory owner provided it. Kristinn Kristófersson, one of Pjetur Björnsson's cronies, was an Althing member and owned a linen factory on Ullgat in the Gamallstaðr. He had given a speech on 3rd September to the assembly concerning the general decline in business profits. The solution he said, was to reduce employees' wages. This would have been a tough pill to swallow at the best of times but during a period of high food prices? It was enough to ignite a city.

The full speech was published three days later by several reformist Kristjanaborg papers, un-altered (presumably as the clique felt it was damning enough on its own). Even moderates were appalled by how out of touch the speech appeared to be. The workers at Kristoffersson's factory rioted, breaking the factory's machines and then took to the streets, marching to Kristófersson's opulent townhouse on Lágrigeitgasse with makeshift weapons. Kristófersson's wife and daughter were at home and they were dragged out onto the streets, though luckily were taken back inside before any real violence occurred. At some point later that day Kristófersson's warehouses were raided, emptied and torched.

The Kristjanaborg militia arrived at Lágrigeitgasse around 10pm to restore order but were pushed back by the rioters (now bolstered by other factory workers) who had hastily raised barricades at either end of the long, narrow street. Throughout the night the rioters' numbers increased on Lágrigeitgasse, and they soon had guns too, supplied via the rear of the Kristoffersson property; as luck would have it Sophie Carlén's house on Masqusitópgat backed on to Kristófersson's gardens and she 'turned a blind eye' to the men and arms being passed through a knocked-down section of wall.

Early next morning the exasperated authorities caught wind of the ploy, arrived and arrested Carlén and her household, but it was too late; the rioters stormed the militia's barricades at dawn, breaking out of the Lágrigeitgasse cordon. By midday they had most of Kúgarðinn district under control. By the end of the next day they had the arsenal and had taken Nýrturn prison, liberating many fellow rioters and sympathisers as well as providing a place to hold their own numerous prisoners.

Parading captured artillery in front of the Earl's Palace

With the streets more or less in their grasp it was time to take the three forts which commanded the city's shorefront. First to fall was St. Hallvardsborg on the southwestern tip which succumbed after only 4 hours of fighting. This was aging and had been earmarked for demolition and rebuilding in the near future anyway but the capture was celebrated widely. A 'flag of the Álengsk Republic' was raised above the fort, soon joined by an even larger one at Werpos Sapáq. The Vestrliðið fort facing the Kanienurass was taken by its own garrison who revolted and joined the general rebellion a week after the initial fighting on Lágrigeitgasse. The older but no less formidable Austrliðið on the Austorass held out for three weeks. As planned, Hákon Hákonsson had formed an army, from veterans and willing volunteers, but crucially in the initial flurry of activity much of the city's artillery pieces had been captured by a dockside gang. The gang's leader, Erík Reynirsson, was willing to hand the cannon over but demanded a seat at the clique's table. Þórirsson branded him a thug and criminal, but was pragmatic enough to allow him in and get the artillery needed to capture Austrliðið.

Álengsk Republican Flag. Citizens of the short-lived republic took to wearing rosettes of green, white and red to show their support for the revolution.

Whilst the revolutionary army dealt with securing the city's defences attention turned to implementing the principles of the revolution. Þórirsson was elected President of the Provisional Republican Council by a majority of the original signatories, and he appointed mayors to the city's wards tasked with keeping order, requisitioning what supplies could be gathered, and keeping a track on the comings and goings on the pourous waterways. The various farms to the north of the city were 'commandeered', with livestock and any food stores taken and moved into the city.

The council knew by now the city could probably last through the winter but would need to start bringing other territory under its control soon to properly feed the populace, and of course to spread the republic beyond the city. Plans therefore were drawn up to defend against the inevitable attack by the royal army, then to invade Langaeyjar.

Naushopsson and Hlynursson's tribunal hearing cases

However for some the situation was already spinning out of control. Many of the elites had already left the city during the typhus outbreak but many remained and were inevitably targeted. Those in charge had to work extremely hard to stop the mob simply lynching whomever they liked. Naushopsson and Hlynursson formed a tribunal to dish out swift but fair justice to those arrested by the mob. In this way actual numbers of executions in the city were limited and carried out only on murderers and the worst of the profiteering merchants. Innocent bystanders like Kristóffersson's family and household were freed. Those who were deemed innocent were allowed to leave the city with a few belongings.

October 1817

As the initial fervor died down the city fell back into old rhythms. Industry restarted but soon exhausted the raw materials available. The council made no attempt to seize the factories (they were not syndicalists), but did seize all warehouses, if only to ensure the city was fed and that merchants could not corner markets. On the whole the people enjoyed their free time, thronging to hear speeches and news at the 'Ócimhæð', tour previously private estates and marvel at the artwork hung in private collections. Patriotic citizens wore the republic's colours; green, white and red, as rosettes on their hats or coats. The Republican Council began plans for proper elections, planning to have a 40-strong Lýðveldithing elected by a much wider franchise (though still no votes for women) by 1st November. The earl's palace was requisitioned by the council and the palace's ballroom was ear-marked for the new assembly.

On 7th-8th there was a large fight between republicans and an 'anti-republican' gang who were fiercely defending several warehouses. They were later discovered to have been a Björnsson family-related gang and the size of this anti-republican gang worried the clique that perhaps the city was not as united as they hoped it would be.

The royal navy was sent to blockade the city but the patrols could not get too close to the fortresses (two cruisers were holed on 6th October by St. Hallvardsborg guns) and canny merchants became expert at avoiding the navy in the marshlands of the nearby Langaeyjar and Margirhaedeyja coasts. There was after all a city sat there willing to pay inflated prices for food, and with finished goods waiting for export. The republican council made sure the trade debt was paid out of items stripped from empty mansions, melting down gold and silver. They also organised the felling of trees within the city limits to provide firewood and collectivised the distribution of milk and beef. Þórirsson lamented the scarcity of coffee and wine but it appears though portions may have been smaller, no one went truly hungry.

Speaker Eríksson sent a strongly-worded declaration to smugglers on the 20th, demanding they stop trading with the city or face the death penalty 'like the treasonous populace'. It did nothing to stop the blockade runners (apart from perhaps emboldening them to raise their prices) and the knowledge that the city was now under 'a death penalty' galvanised the revolution both inside the city and outside of it elsewhere in the country. Far from intimidating the rebellion it only convinced them that they were right and the authorities were becoming desperate. The result was 'the Terror'. A large band of revolutionaries roamed Margirhaedeyja throughout November, lynching clergy and nobles, until routed by the royal army at Senamensinby. They also burnt down record offices, seeking to erase debts and help the locals seize land. Several record offices in Sudervik and Unamiland were also torched in a deliberate copy of the Terror's tactics.

November 1817

If the threat to their own (or their patrons') lives was not enough the Althing members were soon threatened closer to home. After mass on Sunday 9th November a large contingent of the workforce of Arammiystadt, the more industrial town across the river from St. Hafdiss, gathered on the town common and peacefully demanded the adoption of a relatively modest bill of workers' rights. The Sudervik militia crossed the bridge and scattered the assembled crowd with violent force: 30 people died. This was duly reported as 'Bloody Sunday' in a number of newspapers.

If Bloody Sunday was meant to scare towns into quiet compliance, it failed, as the next week the towns of Góðlandr and Friðrokkert in Unamiland had rioting and an army group stationed in Dýrlinpetjursborg, dangerously close to Kristjanaborg, refused to obey orders until they received back pay. Amongst the nobles and clergy, already reeling from 'the Terror', the massacre at Arammiystadt was lamented but condoned. The Althing was urged to step up their efforts to bring the country back under order.

Plans had been gathering for an offensive against Kristjanaborg but these were brought forward from March to December. Marshall Grétar Garðarsson received his orders to retake the city whilst still hunting the Terror, and he agreed to start plans for Kristjanaborg, but warned the Althing that his men had not been paid for three months and desertion was increasing. The Althing in response provided a month's worth of pay for 20,000 men. He doubted this was enough to take the city convincingly.

Kristjanaborg is the frostbitten hand which threatens to corrupt the whole body. The rot must be cauterised. The sooner the better. - Mauguin Eríksson, 12th November 1817

December 1817

As the city settled down to a snowy December, the Royal Army, 20,000 strong, crossed the Sjávurfjallun and on 3rd December camped near the village of Dýrlinhrefnaklaustúr. The army had crushed the Terror nine days earlier and then quick marched to take up position on Margirhaedeyja island. There he received envoys from the revolutionaries, Hafsteinn Naushopsson himself went with 3 others to listen to terms of surrender and arrange for the safe passage of women and children out of the city. Marshall Garðarsson gave two days for a response, partly to allow his men to rest. During which time about 5,000 people, mostly women, children and the sick, left the city. Most went northwards where they were arrested by the army and held at the convent complex at Dýrlinhrefnaklaustúr. Others fled by boat to the south, including Sophie Carlén and others who were likely to be severely punished for their involvement. The numbers involved delayed the planned offensive, much to Speaker Eríksson's chagrin, as would a urgent message from the new Queen.

Herridr II (r.1817-1844). At her apogee Herridr II was undoubtedly the most politically powerful queen of Álengiamark, at least since Atamaja. She was known by her many critics and detractors by the derogatory nickname Svínnhirðr (Swineherd), a reference to the model farm her mother had built for her 13th birthday on the Alexandría Höfðingustr estate where Herridr and her friends could 'play at being peasants'. Political cartoons of her reign would usually have a pig trotting behind her, or even just use a pig as shorthand for her. She was however much more intelligent than her critics gave her credit for. She found more pleasure in 'talking with learned men than the empty heads of court' and surrounded herself with the very cream of Álengsk politicians and reformers.

The same day the army pitched camp to the north of Kristjanaborg's walls Thorey V died. It was not unexpected and for much of the autumn it had been a matter not of if, but when. The court had in effect been in mourning for most of November as it was and all the usual excesses curbed. Her successor, Herridr II, was not as naïve as some of the revolutionaries initially painted her. Yes, she had spent almost her entire life at Alexandría Höfðingustr, was extremely wealthy in her own right and had been lavishly indulged by her mother to the best of her abilities but she was not totally incurious about the world outside Alexandría Höfðingustr's walls. And nor was she oblivious to the goings on in Kristjanaborg. Her husband Prince George August of Saxony was a general in the royal army and had already put down small uprisings in Unamiland relaying to the anxious Herridr that 'these rebels seek to undo the very nature of the state'. Yet Herridr had read Certain Papers Pertaining to a Fairer Country by this point (a copy of the 1st edition was circulating the court by at least October) and sympathised, in part, with many of the grievances the revolutionaries put forward.

Prince George August of Saxony (1779-1850)

Despite the court's mourning she gathered together the royal council on the 5th and patiently listened to the arrayed councellors' descriptions of the state of the country. She made note of those who told her plainly and those who tried to sugar-coat the current situation and held a second session later that day with those councellors she felt could be trusted not to spare her from the truth. Here she was told about the impending action against Kristjanaborg. She instinctively recoiled from the thought of bloodshed yet she understood very well the potential danger to herself and family, and friends, should the revolution in its current form spread outside of its current confines. It was too late to stop the planned military action but she tried to moderate it and sent an urgent message to Marshall Garðarsson: 'take food to the city, and give it liberally'.

By the time the message was delivered to the Marshall his artillery was already pounding the Vestrliðið fortress, which would give them unrestricted access to the city. Þórirsson had ripped up the surrender document without reading it but the republican council debated the terms given anyway. It took 45 minutes to unanimously reject the terms and the remainder of the 2 days to organise the defense. Meanwhile Garðarsson, having received Herridr's letter and considering intelligence garnered from the evacuees, paused the offensive to call for more supplies, not only to feed the city but also now the large number of evacuees now under his charge in the freezing winter. He called on the Althing to send the Margirhaedeyja militia to help guard the evacuees. This angered Eríksson who was aware of the mounting debt from keeping the army deployed as well as the promises he had made to many of his noble backers. Calling in favours from the Margirhaedeyja Fylkthing he secured the use of the militia and then ordered Garðarsson resume the operations. At the same time money arrived from Herridr, enough to secure proper supplies and even settle a week's worth of back pay. The army cheered the health of the new queen then on the 12th went back to bombarding Vestrliðið.

The Revolutionary army was not just sitting waiting for the Royal advance during this time. Hákonsson, now styled 'Marshall of the Republic', had forged an army 20,000 strong but they lacked weapons, experience and any cavalry. He knew on an open battlefield he would be outgunned and out manouevered and drawing the Royal army into the city was the Republic's best chance. He had begun small sharp raids, three or four a night, on the royal army's encampments. This achieved little material reward but kept morale up amongst the besieged.

Morale was firmly weakened when the navy commenced a bombardment of St. Hallvardsborg on the 13th, the second cannonball, fired by the frigate Áhsup, hit a gunpowder magazine and the fortress was half-destroyed in the ensuing blast. The loss of the fortress meant Gamallstaðr was now unprotected. On 15th December as Vestrliðið fell, the 3,000 strong Langaeyjar militia, paid out of the Langaeyjar Fylkthing's pockets, landed in Gamallstaðr forcing Hákonsson to divide his forces and what precious little guns he had. Even worse, the gang leader Erík Reynirsson, took stock of the situation and judging the Republic's time had run-out, surrendered himself, his men and his weapons to the Langaeyjar militia. The writing was now on the wall. The Royal army advanced beyond Vestrliðið, into Manettemark and, distributing food as they went, reached Kúgarðinn without meeting any serious resistance.

The Revolutionary army had raised barricades on Dýrlinmarksgat but were now trapped between the Royal army and the Langaeyjar militia. Squashed into this pocket the Republicans put up a fierce resistance, making liberal use of artillery to keep the opposing forces at bay, and levelling a fair amount of the area in the process. It took three days for the Republican army to run out of ammunition and then be overwhelmed by cavalry and infantry charges. The final shot was heard on the afternoon of 20th December.

Þórirsson died on the barricades on Dýrlinmarksgat. On hearing the news Marksdottír committed suicide by jumping off their apartment building's roof. Hlynursson shot himself in the stomach but lingered long enough to be arrested and hanged.

Marshall Grétar Garðarsson, had worked his way up the ranks of the Royal Army from Nanticokeland infantryman to Marshall of the entire army. Dismissed as a rural idiot during his early career he showed talent for organisation and drill, though perhaps not tactics. He was political only when it suited him and his true allegiance was to the army and its men. When drunk he would launch into detailed breakdowns of how the army was betrayed by politicians at home during the Second Mexic-Leifian War. After the crushing of the Houst Heykkand he would become a firm supporter of Herridr, seeing her efforts to reform the country as the best method of securing proper funding for the army.

The city was beaten. By the time Christmas mass was said in the city's churches almost all the republican flags had been removed from display. Garðarsson and his officers did well to prevent their men sacking the city, considering their lack of back pay, and most of the men were billeted in the empty earl's palace rather than amongst the already hard-pressed residents. Tensions were eased as food flowed unimpeded into the city once more. The army found a steady stream of informants too, eager to help round up the instigators and collaborators.

Voríð Drottningr

Winter

All remaining original signatories (6 had died in the fighting, 19 arrested, 2 had fled and were caught later, 1 was never captured) of the 'Articles of the Álengsk Republic' were executed for treason. Most of the original garrison of Vestrliðið were executed by the army for mutiny. Another 100 names faced trial and over the course of February the courtrooms of Langaeyjar and mainland Margirhaedeyja swiftly processed the prisoners. Most were executed, Reynirsson the gang leader was freed for his act of surrender (and, it was said, by large bribes paid to the judges). There were several hundred other arrests but their sentences were commuted by Herridr, which annoyed Eríksson, some nobles and a great many others. Our reign started in bloody terror, it shall not continue in it. For a time the elites held back from returning to the city, but as the mercantile business returned and industry restarted so too did those in charge. Pjetur Björnsson returned to the city on 18th February, making a stump speech on the Ócimhæð which triumphed the good 'old days'. In other words, nothing had changed.

Around this time Herridr and her retinue of loyal advisors moved from Alexandría Höfðingustr to the manor house outside Mamaronecby on the Margirhaedeyja/Sudervik border. She would visit the army camp just to the north of Kristjanaborg on a bitterly cold 23rd February where she distributed gifts to some of the soldiers and was introduced to Garðarsson in person. From there she entered the city, on horseback (as the army's movements and snow had turned the Norðrgat to mud meaning carriages could not pass) alongside a couple of hussars and attended prayers at St. Mark's cathedral. Word that the queen had arrived produced a flurry of excitement; bells were rung all over the city, Te Deum was sung. After a brief meeting with the Bishop of Kristjanaborg she left the cathedral and found a large crowd gathered to hear her speak. She would make a short speech, much less triumphant than Björnsson's, which acknowledged the hardships of the previous few years. She pulled short of promising reform.

It is debated whether she already had plans for the next steps laid out but it seems something was in motion by the 3rd March when the Queen, Prince George August, her brother Jóhann, Marshall Garðarsson and several advisors spent a week at the Mamaronecby manor. Eríksson supposedly sent spies. It was during this time Herridr was introduced to Mika Pyykönen (Oskarsson) a Finnish-born economist. Herridr had read Pyykönen's critique of the economic portions of Certain Papers... and was keen to hear his ideas on taxation and of how to manage the national debt.

Axel Eyþór Egillsson (1770-1826), lawyer and author of the Bill of Rights

Also amongst the party was; Axel Eyþór Egillsson, a lawyer who had written extensively on the 'Christian obligations of employers, for their workforces' and had been a member of the Unamiland Fylkthing three times; ...

Spring

On 14th March 1818 Herridr arrived in St. Hafdiss, escorted by an army group and took up residence at Hollenskahúsið. Eríksson and various other members of the government visited, showered her with gifts and flattery, and spoke endlessly about how the danger to the country was now over.

On 18th March she presided over a tense Althing session. The session was simply meant to ratify her succession and set a date for coronation but it soon became a debate about the state of the economy as Herridr asked increasingly probing questions about taxation and the debt and received increasingly patronising responses from Eríksson's allies. Eríksson himself stayed silent on these matters but eventually stood to make a planned speech gloating that the rebels were defeated and country could return to normality. Herridr replied that 'normality' was the reason the Houst Heykkand had been so well-supported by some members of society. Humiliated, Eríksson made his excuses and left the Althinghus. The session broke up in acrimony soon after.

The next day Althing members found themselves locked out of the Althinghus by the army. They were told the Queen had dissolved the Althing and new elections would be held 'when the country was at peace'. The actual legality of this move was quickly questioned; due to the historical weakness of both institutions neither the crown nor the Althing had presumed any innate rights over the other. Herridr and Axel Eyþór Egillsson would argue that the Althing had proven its inability to deal with mounting revolt and the mounting debt and therefore had no authority to govern any longer. Althing apologists could probably level the same accusation at Herridr, her mother and grand-mother had stepped away from government and left it to the professionals, what authority was there for this princess to weald? A standoff quickly emerged.

The Althing had no written rules of conduct, whatever rules it followed were 'by tradition'. In its first medieval incarnation the assembly was held for a few weeks every year in midsummer as that was generally all that was needed before its members would return home for the harvests. As the country rapidly de-centralised during the reign of Thorey II the Althing became devalued and thereafter sat erratically, mostly at the behest of the Mayors of the Palace who managed the Royal Domain and whose interests generally meant it sat in a continuous session. Elections were certainly held within the Royal Domain but representatives from elsewhere tended just to be appointed (if they attended at all). Herridr I's reforms spread elections for the Althing to all of Álengiamark but, as previously noted, elections tended to only occur on the death or retirement of an incumbent and as a result the Althing never dissolved itself for 'new elections' because it never had any reason to. So, on Easter Sunday, 22nd March, assured of the legal right to assemble, Eríksson reconvened the Althing at the Máluðháll in the old Royal Palace, and sought protection from the Sudervik militia. Debate swiftly moved to reining in Herridr II.

Unlike in Vinland the Álengsk Althing had never had election rights over the monarchy, this had always been in the hands of the nobles until Herridr I had secured hereditary succession. Whilst some decided the uncrowned queen could be removed and replaced with a more 'agreeable' relative others felt that simply withholding her coronation would deny her authority. So in effect both the monarchy and the Althing were now entering legal grey areas.

Mattabe Quosoquosson, Earl of Norðrquiripiland, (1751-1830). Quosoqusson would bring the issue of Herridr's dissolution of the Lower House to be put on trial in the Upper House. Though undoubtedly an Eríksson ally Quosoquosson was a noted stickler for protocol and insisted his motivation in bringing the suit was merely to clarify how the Upper House should react to Herridr's actions.

Garðarsson thought the army should go in and break up the assembly. Egillsson and others countered this saying 'the Queen needs to win this through ideas not by the bayonet'. We should starve them of support, not of food'. So a pseudo-siege began, the army and Sudervik militia setup opposing camps in St. Hafdiss, those in the Máluðháll were not barricaded-in exactly, though Eríksson and his inner circle made themselves at home in the palace. Both sides began a furious battle in the press (such as it was) and in the courts. The Althing got the better of this in the beginning; Herridr was branded a tyrant surrounded by untrustworthy republican advisors, who were atheist (or worse, Lutheran) and reliant on the army to carry out her whims. On the urging of Mattabe Quosoquosson, Earl of Norðrquiripiland, a trial began in the Upper House to determine the legality of Herridr's move but, because of the lack of written definitions of the various parties' actual limits of power, the arguments quickly turned from historical precedents to morals. Prince George August was heard to say 'Our fates are now in the hands of philosophers'. The trial lasted for three weeks between 2nd and 21st April and eventually a narrow majority came out in favour of the Queen, recognising her right to steer the country towards 'a true course, away from behaviours which will poison the country and provoke more unrest'. This was mostly due to votes from the clergy; Herridr and Egillson had filled their diaries with visits to most of the high-ranking clergy to curry favour.

But while the lawyers and politicians fought it out other parties were busy in their own ways. Pyykönen had gathered up the Althing's tax receipts and accounts on the first day of the lock-out and began pouring over them, gathering together a true picture of the country's financial position whilst teasing out blatant frauds. At the end of April he published the government accounts for 1810. The slim volume was immensely popular, the public had never had such an insight into the workings of government before. Some of the Queen's court tried to dissuade him, after all the huge payments to the crown were not exactly a great advertisement, but his carefully-worded preface put the blame on the Althing and Herridr's predecessors. Moreover it highlighted the inability of the Althing to raise taxes for itself and the huge debt the country was in. This move garnered the crown's position a lot of sympathy and by May many towns boasted their own 'Reformist Societies' demanding a free vote and usually quite modest reforms to the political process. Pyykönen promised to publish the accounts for 1811, and a list of those who had wangled exemption from taxation at some point in June. Several Althing members as well as judges, tax collectors and other public figures resigned in the fallout as corrupt practices became public, and more-independent judges began to look at complaints of fraud.

Meanwhile Egillsson had been preparing a Bill of Rights, initially to secure workers rights but this soon grew to encompass the whole of society. Herridr and her coterie of advisors interrogated the document and nominally agreed to all its articles, save for one: freedom of religion. A copy found its way to the Althing. Eríksson was apoplectic, telling the chamber the Queen does not intend to defeat the revolution, she intends to lead it!. But the writing was already on the wall. The proposed Bill of Rights was published in May to general acclaim. The Fylke were under pressure too and seeking to deflect from their own failings released taxes they had withheld, forced some officials into retirement and reiterated their allegiance to the crown and a reformed Althing.

• Preamble

Yfirlýsýgoy um réttákoy minnus

Samþykoy þingið e þingákoy, samþyk af drottnýgay

Fulltrúák Álengskay skitopáh, með það í huga ið fáfáði, gleymskáh eða minnréttákoy fyrirlitnýg sé onne orsuk almennrák óáfa a spýllýg stjórnvalda hafa ákveðið ið setja fram í yfirlýsýgoy hátíðlega, eðlilega, uyáyuleg a heilagáh rétták minnus: þayu ið yos yfirlýsýg sem stuðugt er lugð fyrir alla meðlimi félagslega líkamans minnu þá stuðugt e kuréttákoy a skyldáh, þayu að athafnir lugjafarvalday a af mihkámdavalday sem geta verið e hverj tíma miðað við markmið hvaða stjórnmálastofnunák sem er, ið njóta meiri virðingáh; þayu ið kvartanir skitopáh, sem héðan í frá eru byggðáh e einfuld a óumdeilanleg meginreg, qipí alltaf ið viðhaldoy stjórnerskrírinnáh a hamingju allrák. Niyáy af leiðáhay viðurkennáh Alþingoy a lýsir yfir, í nárveray a í skjóloy Guðs, ríkjanday réttákoy minnu a fólks.

Translation:

Declaration of Rights of Man

Decreed by Assembly and the Althing, decreed by the Queen

The representatives of the Álengsk people constituted as a national assembly, considering that ignorance, forgetfulness or contempt for human rights are the only causes of public misfortunes and of the corruption of governments have resolved to set forth in a solemn declaration, the natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man: so that this declaration constantly presented to all members of the social body, constantly reminds them of their rights and their duties, so that the acts of legislative power and those of executive power, which can be at any time compared with the goal of any political institution, are more respected; so that the reclamations of the people, now based on simple and indisputable principles, always turn to the maintenance of the constitution of the happiness of all. Consequently, the Althing recognizes and declares, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man.

• Article I - "Human Beings are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be founded only on the common good."
• Article II – "The goal of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, safety and resistance against oppression."
• Article III – "Liberty consists of doing anything which does not harm others: thus, the exercise of the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members of the society the fruition of these same rights. These borders can be determined only by the law."
• Article IV – "The law has the right to forbid only actions harmful to society. Anything which is not forbidden by the law cannot be impeded, and no one can be constrained to do what it does not order."
• Article V – "The law is the expression of the general will. All people have the right of contributing personally or through their representatives to its formation. It must be the same for all, either that it protects, or that it punishes. All people, being equal in its eyes, are equally admissible to all public dignities, places, and employments, according to their capacity and without distinction other than that of their virtues and of their talents."
• Article VI – "No person can be accused, arrested nor detained but in the cases determined by the law, and according to the forms which it has prescribed. Those who solicit, dispatch, carry out or cause to be carried out arbitrary orders, must be punished; but a person called or seized under the terms of the law must obey at once; he renders himself culpable by resistance."
• Article VII – "The law should establish only penalties that are strictly and evidently necessary, and no one can be punished but under a law established and promulgated before the offense and legally applied."
• Article VIII – "Any man being presumed innocent until he is declared culpable if it is judged indispensable to arrest him, any rigor which would not be necessary for the securing of his person must be severely reprimanded by the law."
• Article IX – "No one may be disquieted for his opinions, provided that their manifestation does not trouble the public order established by the law."
• Article X – "The free communication of thoughts and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of man: people thus may speak, write, print freely, except to respond to the abuse of this liberty, in the cases determined by the law."
• Article XI – "The guarantee of the rights of man and of people necessitates an Althing assembly: this assembly is thus instituted for the advantage of all and not for the particular utility of those in whom it is trusted. It should be elected by the people at regular intervals by a free and equal vote."
• Article XII – "For the maintenance of the Althing and for the expenditures of administration, a common contribution is indispensable; it must be equally distributed to all people, according to their ability to pay."
• Article XIII – "Each person has the right to ascertain, by himself or through his representatives, the need for a public tax, to consent to it freely, to know the uses to which it is put, and of determining the proportion, basis, collection, and duration."
• Article XIV – "The society has the right of requesting an account from any public agent of its administration."
• Article XV – "Any society in which the guarantee of rights is not assured, nor the separation of powers determined, has no Constitution."
• Article XVI – "Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one can be deprived of private usage, if it is not when the public necessity, legally noted, evidently requires it, and under the condition of a just and prior indemnity."

As the wave of resignations snowballed Pyykönen published a pamphlet on 1st June which set out a proposed new tax code, doing away with exemptions, making tax collectors appointable by the treasury rather than as cushy titles doled out by the Fylke. This again was received warmly by most, though drew complaints from nobles and the clergy. Eríksson issued a rebuttal but it looked reactionary and out of date.

Summer

Mika Pyykönen (Oskarsson) (1790-1846). Pyykönen had emigrated with his family to Álengiamark following Finnish independence in 1801 as the family was a little too closely associated with the ousted Svealandic governors. He studied economics at the University of Yrsakavelyk before becoming an advisor to the government of Nanticokeland Fylk. He wrote various 'modest reform' pamphlets regarding financial matters prior to the Houst Heykkand and had attracted the attention of one of the Royal Court's advisors Pjetur Reynirsson, leading to a meeting with the new Queen. His Lutheranism and closeness to Herridr II would provoke a great deal of hostility to his reforms, and he would eventually be forced to retire and emigrate to Abernakriga to deflect attention.

Whilst her court got on with the high-minded planning of a renewed Álengsk state Herridr had essentially got on with the day-to-day business of real government. As she had no elected government to fall back on this was dealt with by issuing royal proclamations which were meant to be ratified by the Upper house (nobles and clergy) which still sat. Support for her was rapidly ebbing from the Upper House however. Both the nobles and clergy took a dim view of losing their tax privileges and many felt threatened as whatever personal patronage leverages they had over Lower House members looked to be disappearing too. Pyykönen, as promised, published the accounts for 1811 at the end of June. Again, the public lapped up the chance to delve into the government's dealings but this time there was a staunch push-back from more established public figures. As a Lutheran, Pyykönen was technically banned from holding any state office but Herridr's continued support for him was a large point of contention. As the chamber dug its heels in more and more, often over trivial items, Herridr was forced more and more to simply issue laws without any oversight, a state of being which had never existed in Álengiamark before.

The majority of these laws were uncontroversial; updating medieval legislation concerning purity or standards of food and drink, or confirming inheritances of various individuals. Much of it was appointing crown representatives to maintain public roads, bridges and water courses rather than allowing them to be controlled by private individuals. A few laws would be long-lasting or influential, such as the Factories Act which established a base level of safety in mills and workshops and would be considerably built upon in future generations, or the Merimáká Pensions Chest Act which extended pensions to all sailors in the royal navy (rather than just those from Sudervik). There were laws concerning whaling in Greenland, updates on import duties on various items like cinnamon and rum, and laws tightening the requirements to become a judge or notary.

Despite her executive and legislative power Herridr never attempted to push through the Bill of Rights or Pyykönen's tax proposals. These she wanted to be embraced by the Althing: legitimising them and making them potentially harder to take away. And she steered firmly clear of any religious laws. She would hold long sessions in the Hollenskahúsið, usually flanked by one or more of her trusted advisors, which were open for anyone to attend and petition the Queen. As word of these personal hearings got out the numbers of ordinary folk making the pilgrimage to St. Hafdiss to see her grew larger and larger turning the originally short sessions into punishingly long ones. A modest office of civil servants were employed to track down the relevant legislation for each of these cases so they could be updated or rewritten there and then, or shelved for future debate. Of course it wasn't the content of her laws which many objected to, it was simply the fact she was writing these into law by herself. Even at the height of Aniyuwiyan dominance in the 13th century the noble council still sat and debated law. This of course opened her to even more accusations of tyranny and there were protests, most notably in Kristjanaborg and Nahigavik.

Political cartoon of nobles & clergy trampling on the peasantry

However the nobles and clergy were generally lumped together as anti-reform by more progressive elements and characterised as such in the press. On 6th June, with public opinion mostly behind her and her advisors, Herridr announced there would be elections for all Althing seats (even for those technically still filled by those refusing to budge from the Máluðháll) on Saturday 1st October. On the 7th she narrowly evaded an assassin's bullet, the first of numerous assassination attempts over the course of her reign. The culprit was Björn Davíðsson, a radical republican who had escaped from Kristjanaborg and, like many committed republicans, was aghast that the queen was attempting to co-opt the ideas and ideals of the revolution and make them compatible with the monarchy and aristocracy. Shaken, she now more than ever needed the democratic authority of the lower house behind to take up legislative power.

On 10th-12th June there was a conference of the Speakers of the various Fylkthings, including representatives from Álengsk Quisqueyanos, in Reyrvatnstadh. There Herridr secured written agreement that they would abide by laws set by a new Althing and that the chamber had authority over fiscal matters. At the same time she conceded that she would not attempt to change fylke rights (aside from taxation) for 7 years. This finally convinced Sudervik to withdraw the militia still protecting the outlawed Althing members. On 15th June an amnesty was extended to the 74 Althing members now unprotected but still refusing to vacate the Máluðháll: formally give up your seat or face the wrath of the courts. 40 took up the offer but the remainder had to be dragged out by the army. Garðarsson personally saw to the arrest of Eríksson. Trials for those arrested were planned for December. Eríksson would escape justice however. He died in Raeðrgleð prison on 7th November of natural causes.

Under the aegis of the crown local reformist groups began preparations for elections. There were no changes to county boundaries or who was eligible to vote however, seeing as these were articles in the Bill of Rights to be debated by the new Althing, and this raised the problem of the same old interested parties controlling the seats. However the knowledge that the Bill of Rights and the tax codes would be amongst the very first things debated in the 'new Althing' provoked a healthy amount of political discussion in the regions and the local reformist groups ensured that most seats would be contested by 'good upstanding members of society'.

Autumn

The elections were held on 1st October as planned. They came with a great deal of excitement and turnouts were high, at least amongst the narrow band who could actually vote. Yet despite the added scrutiny there were a high number of seats where the voting had been blatantly corrupt. Björnsson's candidates swept the Kristjanaborg seats for instance. Even where fair votes had happened the narrow franchise had returned mostly conservative members. When the full assembly met in the Althinghus it was clear the reformers only had a slight majority. Far from being able to step away from government as the new rights were universally proclaimed Herridr now had to remain in power to push through piecemeal the rights and reforms she and her advisors had been promising all year.

Legacy

Whilst the actions of the original revolution are largely condemned and rejected, the Houst Heykkand uprising is recognised as a much needed wake-up call to the complacency of early 19th century Álengiamark. Many of its leading members are now depicted as idealistic dreamers who got out of their depth, against say Eríksson and his cabal who are still vilified. Though politics may well have naturally come out of its period of kleptocracy the increasing demands on the state as industry grew as well as the general effects of the Leifian Crisis may have meant a more general and violent revolution would have occurred. As it was the Houst Heykkand and Voríð Drottningr ensured a clean break, sweeping much of the corruption away and restoring a sense of justice, democracy and prosperity to the country and its citizens. Through the course of Herridr's reign the principles of the Bill of Rights would be implemented, alongside a transparent tax code, and the ensuing sense of equality throughout society has largely prevented any further mass political upheaval.

Herridr II's reign is largely defined as a long transition period out of tyranny and into parliamentary democracy. At the same time Álengiamark as a whole was moving from a largely agrarian society into a modern industrial one. The competing strands of republicanism, absolutism, parliamentary democracy, industrialisation and nostalgia for 'the old agricultural way of life' would continue to play their parts in Álengsk society and provide. They would also provide multiple motives for assassination attempts on the queen. One of these bullets would eventually find its target. In 1844 she would be assassinated by a farm labourer protesting the abolition of regressive anti-Lutheran laws.

With its own revolution dealt with and absorbed Álengiamark was much better placed to be on hand to help its neighbours during their own political and revolutionary struggles. Many of Álengiamark's neighbours had been caught up in the general fallout from the collapse of the Chesapeake Company and by 1821 the renewed and fully funded Álengsk army was on the march to protect Susquehanockland from the radical republican Yesanland.

The Kristófersson mansion on Lágrigeitgasse now houses the Houst Heykkand museum. Regarded as one of Kristjanaborg's best museums, it displays the disparity in wealth between the Kristófersson family and that of a tenement dweller only a couple of streets away and, with that inequality established, proceeds to tell the story of the revolution.

Sophia Carlén, though undoubtedly one of Álengiamark's finest authors, was censured and her books fell out of print and became largely forgotten. She would die in relative poverty in exile in Svealand. Her earlier body of work, shorn of the later radical politics, is only now being re-appreciated for what it is.