Thomas Fortescue
New member
Baron Thomas II Hawnby (age 32)
Baroness-Consort Johanna Greenwood (age 21)
Heir Apparent Willelm Hawnby (age 5)
Prince Henric Hawnby (age 3)
Prince Roger Hawnby (age 3)
Prince Waltrus Hawnby (age 2)
Princess Cristiana Hawnby (age 5)
Princess Idonia Hawnby (age 1)
Influential Families
House Hawnby
House Greenwood
House Firth
House Barraclough
House Thackrey
Knights and Merchants
Knight Laurencius Greenwood
Knight Philipp Thackrey
Knight Gerard Firth
Grand Merchant Thomas Thackrey
Merchant Clement Barraclough
History
The Barony of New Cumberland had humble beginnings. The ancestors of today's New Cumberlanders lived on the north side of Synveda before the eruption. Fleeing the eruption, they headed north and eventually landed near what is known today as Eastridge. They followed the river known to them as "Esk" north until they reached the border of the mountains. This puts them where New Cumberland is today.
Not very much is known about New Cumberland's early history, as much of it was oral and lost in time. It has only been two or three hundred years since writing was introduced to the Barony from the south. Most of what is remembered about the history of the Barony has now been transcribed. The most history has been retained in the Fable of Esk, a saga about the departure of Synveda and arrival in Cadia. It is from this legend that the name New Cumberland arises. According to the book, the original place where the New Cumberlanders lived was very rocky and full of obstructions, leading to the construction Cumber-land. When permanent settlement was established on the Esk, they chose the name New Cumberland to pay tribute to their lost home. New Cumberland is known in Arnhelm as the most northern extent of the Kingdom. Contact with other baronies is very slow and therefore rare. The main point of access is the River Esk, where it flows out to sea.
The farthest back the history books go about the rulers of New Cumberland go is about as far as writing does. The first ever known ruler of New Cumberland is Aegbert I Barraclough. Details are few and far between until we arrive at the current generations. Willelm Barraclough ruled the Barony with an iron fist, and soon unrest broke out. The Barracloughs' main rivals, the Hawnbys, soon took the opportunity and incited a rebellion which overthrew the Barracloughs and replaced them with Jacob Hawnby, the current Baron's father.
Jacob I Hawnby was a cunning, popular ruler. His rebellion to overthrow the Barracloughs proved beneficial for the people, giving them increased access to trade goods such as meat and clothing, and better education methods. Jacob Hawnby was meticulous in making sure that the Barracloughs were completely unseated from power, to make sure that they could never rise again. The Barracloughs, once rulers of the Barony, now held not a single position of power. All their merchants were dismissed, and the knights disbanded. The wool trade, from which the Barracloughs became wealthy, was taken over by the Baron himself.
Baron Jacob Hawnby was killed in a hunting accident only ten years after taking power, leaving a still fractured land to his relatively weak son. Baron Thomas II Hawnby is timid and careful; still learning how to effectively govern. His early mismanagement of the wool trade led to public outcry, causing the relinquishment by the Baron of the wool business. This allowed for the Barracloughs to regain some power, and they now again hold a position as a state merchant. Baron Thomas has been careful to keep the people happy, fearing another rebellion like the one that caused the Barracloughs' decline.
The head of the Barraclough family is Clement Barraclough, the merchant. He is as equally smart as Jacob Hawnby was; they were major rivals, though Jacob nearly always prevailed. With Jacob gone, and the Barracloughs once again gaining power, some smell the scent of a civil war. Some in New Cumberland support the Hawnbys, others support the Barracloughs. In an attempt to consolidate power, Thomas Hawnby married Johanna Greenwood, the heiress in another powerful family. The Barracloughs hope to gain support by marrying into the Thackrey family, another merchant family. Doing so would give them a virtual monopoly over the trade in New Cumberland, forcing the Baron to concede more power to them.
For now, tensions are just beginning to rise. The death of Jacob Hawnby left a large power vacuum that has yet to be filled. Without a strong leader, the Barony will surely crumble into pieces.
