Kingdom of Jorvik Timeline: The Once and Never Kings
OTL equivalent: Danelaw | |||||
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 Location of Jorvik (in green).
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| Capital | York (Jorvik) | ||||
| Official languages | East Anglian | ||||
| Regional languages | Scots Gaelic, Lowland Scots | ||||
| Demonym | Jorvikian | ||||
| Religion | Lutherism | ||||
| Government | Constitutional Monarchy | ||||
| - | King | Charles IV | |||
| - | Battle of Assandum | 1016 | |||
| - | Treaty of Lincoln | 1037 | |||
| Currency | Jorvikian Pound | ||||
The Kingdom of Jorvik, or simply Jorvik, or Jórvík in old East Anglian and the Scandinavian languages, is a medium-sized monarchy consisting of much of the north and northeast of the region of England. It borders Wessex to the south and southwest, Scotland to the north, and Dublin to the northwest.
History[]
Jorvik comprises of territory that belonged to the Kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia during the age of the Heptarchy. After those kingdoms collapsed during the viking age, they came under the control of Wessex, who united England under them in the Ninth Century. England remained unified until the Battle of Assandum in 1016, when King Edmund II was defeated by Cnut of Denmark. The peace agreed to by the two Kings divided England: Wessex to Edmund, the old Danelaw to Cnut, to be re-united upon the death of one of them.
The attempt to enforce this provision by Cnut after the death of Edmund proved to be a disaster, with his death and his realm in disarray. Cnuts son Harald made peace with Edmunds successor, Edward, effectively solidifying the split of the two countries.
Jórvík would be initially be ruled by a branch of the House of Denmark, until 1081, with the death of King Ælfwine. Ælfwine's son, Cnut, Jarl of Jórvík, became king, and thus took the name of his jarldom as his house name.
Jórvík, eager to act on its Viking heritage, initially moved to further its position in Albion. Alliances via marriage were made with fellow Viking-established states of Dublin and Man. And when the Scottish throne fell empty in the thirteenth century, Christopher the Longshanks invaded. In a war that would consume his reign, Christopher would come into conflict with not only the independent-minded Scots, but the expansionist Kingdom of Wessex as well. Faced with that opposition, and after a string of defeats, Christopher was forced to back down.
When the Reformation swept through Europe in the 1500s, a majority of the populace and nobility converted to Lutheranism. The Monarchs, however, and a sizable and zealous portion of the people refused it, beginning the Jorvikian phase of the Albionic Wars of Religion. The Catholic House of Jórvík would be ousted in the end, replaced by the Lutheran House of Bradford.
Jórvík joined the Protestant side of the Forty Years War, but ended up fighting mostly Wessexian and Scottish armies, as those state joined the Catholics to counter Jórvík. The Albionic front would bog down into a stalemate, and the status quo was affirmed in the Peace of Hamburg.
Jórvík would be inherited by Richard III of Wessex. Though he was a Catholic, he respected Protestants right to worship how they choose, and he was well respected in both kingdoms. After his death however, his son proved more zealous, and many were concerned about Jórvík falling into another Catholic house. So, the Jorvikian parliament asked the Luxembourgish King, John IV, and husband of the kings Lutheran sister, to take the throne. It was accepted, and in the following revolution, a Protestant dynasty was restored.
Jorviks sizable navy played a considerable role during the Napoleonic Wars, though in a secondary compacity to those of Wessex and Aragon. Jorvik was compensated with former Tuscan trading forts in India.
Into the modern age, Jorvik has maintained close relations with Luxembourg. Naval research is often conducted jointly, and the two navies hold regular war games in the North Sea.
Government[]
The role of the monarch has been much diminished since the Bloodless Revolution. The current monarch, King Charles IV, has proposed several laws (as his right remains) expanding his powers, and despite is relative popularity among the populace, seems unlikely to pass.
Flag and Coat of Arms[]
The flag of Jorvik is a red Scandinavian cross on a white background, with the Arms overlaid on the intersection of the cross. The red color of the cross is the same shade of the background of the Danish flag, representing Jorviks Danish origins and founding.
The coat of arms is three gold crowns on a blue background. The blue is believed to represent the sea, while each crown is believed to represent one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that controlled Jorviks modern territory: Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia.
Etymology[]
The name "Jorvik" derives from the word "Jórvík", the Norse word for the city of York. Until the seventeenth century, the name remained unchanged. But the East Anglian language became influenced by Wessex's West Saxon and Luxembourg's Dutch and Luxembourgish during the reign of kings from those countries, such as Richard I/III and John I/IV. As a result of this change of influence from the North Germanic Danish, to these West Germanic languages, many Norse features were dropped. Among them, the use of many accent marks, like those found in "Jórvík". The official change in name only came during the reign 1717-1738 of John III/VI.
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