Early Middle Ages, Founding and Fall

Norman invasions 842-963

With the arrival of the Vikings and Normans, Vanguardia, which had been situated off the beaten track after the First Migration Period, was once again confronted with foreign forces. The idyllic rural life was severely disrupted by the plundering Norsemen throughout Vanguardia. The seafarers, who landed as they did in Normandy, were quickly assimilated and only initially contributed to the founding of the Atlantic duchies of Betahnia, Merania, and Neustria.

High Kingdom of Midgard and Burgundy (888-1100)

In 888, Burgundy in the Rhône Valley rose to the status of a kingdom through the coronation of the East Guardsman King Ruthewulf I, thus establishing the fruitful coexistence of the two realms. With the founding of the Benedictine monastery of Cluny , the spiritual life of Latin Europe subsequently became influenced by Burgundy (Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians). The monks from these monasteries, who also journeyed to Midgard in central Vanguardia, are considered the fathers of the present-day Grand Mastership of Vanguardia. They began the rapid development of the Midgardian order. Monastic estates around the monasteries in Templemere, Gran Creus and present-day Marechal.

The founding of the Grand Mastership

Burgundy, as Arelat, passed to the Holy Roman Empire by inheritance in 1033. Midgard remained a kingdom until 1035, when it was solemnly established on March 2, 1039, in the presence of Pope Benedict IX, as the Christian Grand Mastership of Vanguardia, the world's first elective monarchy. Thiomme I, from Bourges, who hailed from Burgundy, became its first Grand Master.

The Sudden Downfall of Atlantica - 1072

On April 3, 1072, the coastline on the western cliff of the island of Campaul collapsed over a length of approximately 1,500 meters, causing a tsunami that reached the low-lying coastal regions of Bethany and along the narrow Florens Strait within minutes. The harbor and the city of Atlantica were overwhelmed and completely destroyed by the floodwaters. The wooden houses were simply swept away by the wave. Tens of thousands of people lost their lives that night. There were almost no survivors, as the city gates were locked at night, preventing escape. Atlantis died in a single night. Horrified by this news and the high death toll, it was decided at the High Council in the summer of 1072 that Atlantis should never be rebuilt for fear of God's wrath. In the following centuries, the remaining ruins were gradually dismantled, so that today only a few foundations bear witness to Atlantica's former grandeur.