Pip the Gallant
| Pip the Gallant | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pip invading Luradia in 972 (detail of a 13th century miniature). Sani Bursil University. | |
| King of Staynes | |
| Reign | c. 972 - 7 October 981 |
| Successor | Slek |
| King of Staynnica | |
| Reign | c. 970 - 972 |
| Predecessor | Rædulf |
| Spouse | Kælwith |
| Issue | Slek Mahald Emmota Brisghar |
| House | Makuh |
| Father | Rædulf, King of Staynnica |
| Mother | Kæla |
| Born | 935 - 936 Jubeeria, Jubliak |
| Died | 7 October 981 (aged 45 or 46) |
| Burial | c. 1030 Syllester Abbey, Redrugus |
Pip the Gallant (Old Staynish Þipæ; between 935 and 936 – 7 October 981) was King of Staynnica from 970 to c. 972 and King of Staynes from c. 972 to 981. He was the youngest son of King Rædulf of Staynnica. His father was assassinated when he was a late teenager and three of Pip's brothers, Ræulf, Rænnulf and Rænouart, reigned in turn.
After acceding to the throne, Pip spent two years fighting Leuradic invasions. He won a decisive victory in the Battle of Tuskinay in 971 and made an agreement with the Luradans, creating what was known as the Tusk in the South of Staynnica. A year later he led an invasion against the Kingdom of Luradia, becoming the dominant ruler. He became the King of the Staynish in 972. Details of his life are described in a work by 9th-century Jubliak scholar and bishop Amader.
Pip had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in Staynish rather than Laulian and improving the legal system, military structure and his people's quality of life. He was given the epithet "the Gallant" during and after the Reformation in the sixteenth century.
Early life
Pip was the forth son of Rædulf and Mahald of Donomere. Pip was born between 935 and 936 in Jubeeria (now Fort Jubrayn). In charters he was always listed behind his older half-brothers, showing that he ranked behind them.
Either at 18 or 19 years old, Pip married princess Kælwith of Dogrugia. During his stay he was informed of his fathers death. Pip returned to Jubeeria within the same month and he was told by his oldest brother and now king Ræulf that King Botulf of Luradia had devised a plot to be ruler of the Staynish by killing Rædulf and his heirs. Pip joined the war effort.
Botulf led an invasion towards Jubeeria in 959 but was met by the king and his three younger brothers at the small town of Kretan, 105 miles north-west of Edrudus Rock, Lake Lamberta. Pip saw Rædulf die in battle and retreated to Fort Athgart with his other brothers where Rænnulf was crowned king.
The second son Rænnulf reigned in turn, but was defeated by King Botulf's third siege six years later at the battle of Dog Lake. Pip killed Botulf's son and heir prince Bardolf in battle, later receiving blows to the left arm and thigh. As the new king, Rænouart retreated his forces beyond the Black Hills, ceding large swathes of territory to Botulf.
Traumatised by his sons' death, Botulf retreated back to Hissingard. With no heir to the throne and an infertile wife he remarried and had 3 children which were all girls. After Rænouart's sudden death in 970 and ascending the throne, Pip found out about Botulf's ill-success. He repelled an invasion led by Botulf's younger brother Begald, killing him in the process, and a year later orchestrated an invasion against King Botulf on the outskirts of the Hissingard, becoming King of the Staynish after the defeat of King Botulf at the battle of Kasilly Rock in 972.
