Eyfinna I | |
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Eyfinna I | |
Queen of Vinland | |
Reign | 18th June, 1712 - 16th February, 1733 |
Predecessor | Thorey VII |
Successor | Greta II |
Born | 18th November, 1681 Fjallasay, Nor-Hafsvaedaland Fylk, Vinland |
Died | 16th February, 1733 Fjallasay, Nor-Hafsvaedaland Fylk, Vinland |
Spouse | Alexander of Scotland Kári, Lord of Vestrgrenískógr |
Issue | Greta II Kristjana |
Full name | |
Eyfinna Jobstsdottír | |
House | Eiriksdottír |
Father | Jobst of Meerzisch |
Mother | Thorey VI |
Eyfinna I was queen of Vinland in the early 1700s. Her twenty-year reign is regarded as the pinnacle of the 'Vinlandic Golden Age'; a period of unparalleled prosperity in the country's history.
The second daughter of Greta I and Jobst of Meerzisch, she had been partly tutored by her half-sister Eleanor Lúxemburg. Until her marriage to Prince Alexander of Scotland she had closely followed her mother's and sister's courts and had learned a great deal of statecraft, as well as the necessary tact to deal with the competing interests of such a varied and spread-out country. Whilst Thorey's interests stayed mainly on material matters Eyfinna displayed a flair for the dramatic; she danced, and wrote plays for the amusement of the court. She played the clavicytheria 'with gusto, though perhaps not with finesse'. As queen these interests filled her court and she was regarded as a 'merry' monarch whose beauty and interests chimed well with the 'Golden Age'. As well as Vinlandic she spoke Abernakrigan, Neshabeki and Czech, which she spoke to her father and siblings.
Her elder sister Thorey died, childless, of tuberculosis in 1712. Eyfinna had been married a year, and had only just given birth to her daughter, and eventual successor, Greta.
Wealth and Charity[]
Though she enjoyed touring her realm, and made a point of attending the opening and closing of the Althing season (an Althing season lasted roughly 1st April to 1st October though could be extended if business demanded it) Eyfinna could most often be found at the Ononglegakest in Fjallsay. Called 'the axle on which Vinland turns' by Dagur Hafsteinnsson, Eyfinna made extensive additions to the modest castle-manor house turning into more of a palace rather than just a functional building. The royal estate formally took over 'the fjall' that gave the island and city its name (its more formal name of Ononglefjall dates from this period). This extended parkland was partially redesigned as a garden landscape filled with water features, follies and summer houses. Though from the outside it was perhaps modest compared to European palaces being built at the same time inside the Ononglegakest the wealth of Vinland and broadening was apparent. Fine silks and cotton from the East, hardwood furniture from Tawantinland, ivory and gold from West Africa competed with Leifian furs, tapestries, fine art and furniture produced nearer to home. A Javanese style tea house sat half-way up Ononglefjall.
This monument to opulent wealth sat overlooking the ever-growing city of Fjallasay with its bustling port bringing goods in from the far reaches of the globe. A fire in 1711 had led to much of the inner city to be rebuilt. Grand merchant houses filled the port area and along the freshly dug Merríhattr Havn whilst the displaced slum inhabitants were given royal land to the north (soon dubbed 'the castle') to build upon. The city had already spilled out over the old medieval city walls as the previous generation's food security allowed a population boom but the new buildings and clear division between 'the port' and 'the castle' would start to make its mark on politics, and corruption, in the city.
Eyfinna had been at the Ononglegakest during the fire and the conflagration had made a deep impression on her. The grant of royal land for its displaced citizens was one of her first acts as queen. Later grants setup charitable schools around the country to educate the 'deserving poor' (now ironically some of the more prestigious private schools in Vinland). With more of a mixed reaction came the Poor Laws, aimed at reducing vagrancy, these literally transplanted the urban poor to rural areas to help exploit the untapped mineral wealth of the country. Many of these new communities were by their very nature dysfunctional but some flourished and helped extend authority to Vinland's nominal borders which could be woolly at times.
Eyfinna commissioned a new survey of Vinland in 1728. As well as a census this resulted in new maps of the country and some of the surrounding lands. Much of what would become Lower Keewatin was mapped (which helped its settlement by Icelanders in the coming years) and many of Vinland's satellite states on the plains were accurately mapped for the first time as well. Attempts to properly map the Arctic coasts of Leifia and Greenland led to several disasters and lost expeditions (see Helgi Hilmarsson) but also the nominal annexation of the 'Norrland'. Interest in the North came at the same time as a new print version of the Vinlandnamabok appeared, kindling a desire and rivalry amongst the nobility and merchants to honour their ancestral homes, often travelling to long-abandoned farmsteads in northern Vinlandeyjar or Greenland, bestowing their wealth on the locals. Indeed this helped the desperately poor Greenlander communities the most, helping ensure they stayed viable.
Government[]
Whilst Eyfinna championed the cause of the poor, whilst entertaining the nobility at her court, she largely let the merchant class get on with their own agendas unencumbered. This appears to have driven an ideological wedge between her and her half sister Eleanore who was interested in the ideas surrounding the power of the crown and saw it as the monarch's business to have oversight of all sections of society. Eleanore would retire from politics, taking over the running of her brother's estate in 1724.
In her place Eyfinna would rely on the advice of two prominent politicians; Benedict Jónsson, a career politician from a old and distinguished Logáyfir family; and Sévar Alexandersson, a successful merchant turned land-owner of Dutch parentage. Both men would vie for control of the Althing, and Eyfinna's ear. Her reign saw the rise of two political factions in the Althing which would slowly solidify into recognisable parties (with gloriously derogatory nicknames); the mercantile Kindrheli ('sheep brains') and the farmer-backed Skóllóttum ('baldies'). It is assumed Alexandersson was Eyfinna's lover from around 1730 and some historians suggest her final child, Mattías, was Alexandersson's.
Eyfinna also has the distinction of being the only queen elected† to the Althing. During the Althing elections of 1719 the sole candidate for Njórdrá County in Ingolfursey died on the morning of the vote. The three eligible voters of the county (one of the worst examples of what would become known as a 'rotten county') had to vote for someone (following a scandalous election of a dead candidate in 1693) and in lieu of any other candidates Eyfinna was voted in. She apparently took the news of her election with 'bemused good cheer', and in a pre-arranged display of pageantry duly took a postion on the Lower House pews on the first day of the new house's session dressed in the modest clothes of an Althing member. Invited to make the maiden speech of the session she used it to urge for greater representation of the thriving cities in the Althing rather than by 'empty' rural counties such as the one she nominally represented. She then finished her speech by resigning, reappearing after a short delay in full royal regalia whereupon she announced the first order of business was to arrange a new election for her just vacated seat. The whole event was quickly turned into a short play by several playwrights, satirised by several more, and started the ball rolling on the long process of electoral reform.
†The early 'queens' of Vinland were elected to the position of Speaker by the Althing host itself rather by any kind of public vote. Moreover there has never been any law against electing female representatives (though prior to Eyfinna's election the last female member in her own right was Jónína Bjarnisdottír in 1356) and women had frequently taken over their husbands' or fathers' seats on their deaths or incapacitation.
Relationship with Herridr I[]
Vinland's dominance on the Fraeburt Votnum, almost an inevitability given the country's breakneck shipbuilding pace, had been rubbing its neighbours the wrong way. For Abernakriga the right to levy tolls on Vinlandic ships sheltering in their ports was reasserted and a large back-payment for unpaid debts was settled when Thorey VII married Prince Tokamah of Abernakriga in late 1711. For Álengiamark its fishermen complained of their craft being rammed and sunk by the Vinlanders. Though not entirely blameless themselves the complaints to the Álengsk Althing could no longer be ignored by 1715.
Eager to avert a descent into all-out war Eyfinna requested a meeting with Herridr, the new Álengsk queen. Many in the Althing saw an opportunity to overawe 'another toothless Álengsk queen' pointing to the general uselessness of her predecessors. Eyfinna, and Eleanor, were not so easily swayed and had no desire to simply embarrass another nation. Even so, the deliberately modest array of Vinlandic tents which were setup on the island of Bjóryjar for the meeting did put the Álengsk delegation to shame.
The meeting of the two queens, the first since 1501, significantly reduced the tension between the two states, setup a commission to maintain law on the lakes and lay a foundation to cooperation in future.
It was Herridr's own journey to the meeting, which, despite being through her own country, was long and arduous, that galvanised her into ploughing royal funds into improving Álengiamark's creaking infrastructure. This movement would begin turning the fragmented collection of essentially independent states into a more cohesive whole. By the end of Eyfinna's reign Álengiamark was shaping up to be a real challenger to Vinland's pre-eminence in Leifia.
War of Luxembourg Succession[]
Extremely proud of her lineage (with ties to an impressive amount of European dynasties) she impaled the Vinlandic lion with its Luxembourg contemporary and Hordalandic sword on her personal heraldry. She was in regular correspondence with Henry XI and often urged him to plan a reconquest of Bohemia from Austria. This drew criticism, 'If Eyfinna thought half as much for Vinland as she does Holland and Bohemia then it would be twice the country it is now' said one noted Althing member.
But this obsession with her father's homeland would prove intoxicating in 1723 when Henry XI died childless. Her elder half-brother Sigismund was technically next in line and Eyfinna threw herself behind his claim sweeping the dove-ish mercantile-leaning Althing along with her, as they grasped the potential to get full access to the Flemish and Dutch ports. When William of Nassau appeared to usurp Sigismund's rightful claim war was declared without much dissent.
Vinland's navy had soon chased the Luxemburger fleet out of the Taino and Carib seas and several of their islands fell to Vinlandic forces and sanctioned piracy. The cooperative merchants supplied their huge cargo fleet to transport an army to France where Sigismund, (and Jóhannes, now heir apparent following Sigismund's death in December 1723) had built an alliance. With Denmark invading from the north and the threat of Anglia's forces across the channel, Jóhannes and French allies invaded Luxembourg from the south.
Several fortresses fell to the French-Vinlandic force whilst the Vinlandic forces scored one brilliant solo victory at Han-Nålene, but ultimately the alliance could not hold against William's army. Jóhannes' succession looked increasingly unlikely and peace was sought. Whilst it brought little material gain, Vinland's reputation was burnished. Its well-drilled forces had conducted themselves with honour and courage, besting a larger Luxembourg army. Europe took notice of Leifian potential once more and Vinland's generals saw the future in a small but impeccably trained army supported by an ever growing naval force.
Family[]
Eyfinna married six times and had as many children. However only Greta survived to adulthood.
- Prince Alexander of Scotland (died 1715)
- Greta (1712-)
- Kristjana (1713-1720)
- Kári, Lord of Vestrgrenískógr (died 1718)
- Jón, Earl of Markland (died 1720)
- Thorsteinn (1720-1722)
- Carl of Svealand (died 1725)
- Eiríkr (1723-1735)
- Jónas, Earl of Gudridseyjar (divorced 1730, following allegations of adultery)
- unnamed son, stillborn (1729)
- David, Lord of Bláafjalli
- Mattías (1732)
Eyfinna died in 1733, possibly of a brain hemorrhage. Greta's coronation was a muted affair; there was already a feeling in the air that Vinland had passed its peak.
Though Eyfinna's direct lineage would end with Greta, her reign remained a touchstone for future monarchs. Greta's successor; the Anglia-raised Skalott, chose Eyfinna as her regnal name to suggest some continuation of the 'good old days'.
16. John of Limburg | ||||||||||||||||
8. Henry VIII of Luxembourg | ||||||||||||||||
17. Joanna of Luxembourg | ||||||||||||||||
4. Charles III of Luxembourg | ||||||||||||||||
18. Joost Van der Eycken | ||||||||||||||||
9. Jakobea Van der Eycken | ||||||||||||||||
19. Maria Van Mol | ||||||||||||||||
2. Jobst of Meerzisch | ||||||||||||||||
20. Francesco III of Milan | ||||||||||||||||
10. Giovanni III of Milan | ||||||||||||||||
21. Beatrice Gonzaga | ||||||||||||||||
5. Isabella of Turin | ||||||||||||||||
22. Charles I of Austria | ||||||||||||||||
11. Catherine of Austria | ||||||||||||||||
23. Artemisia d'Este | ||||||||||||||||
1. Eyfinna I | ||||||||||||||||
24. Eric IX of Hordaland | ||||||||||||||||
12. Christian II of Hordaland | ||||||||||||||||
25. Leonora Katrine of Denmark | ||||||||||||||||
6. Valdemar of Hordaland | ||||||||||||||||
26. Eric VI of Gothenland | ||||||||||||||||
13. Christina of Gothenland | ||||||||||||||||
27. Anna-Sofia af Lindeberg | ||||||||||||||||
3. Thorey VI of Vinland | ||||||||||||||||
28. Kristinn, Margrave of Fyrir-Mishigamíland | ||||||||||||||||
14. Pjetur Kristinnsson | ||||||||||||||||
29. Snaedis Halfdansdottír, of Lilkernoeyjar | ||||||||||||||||
7. Greta I of Vinland | ||||||||||||||||
30. Eythor Hjaltisson, Lord of Málrakkhrepháll | ||||||||||||||||
15. Freydis III of Vinland | ||||||||||||||||
31. Maídis of Vinland | ||||||||||||||||
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