Lehner Wars

General

The Lehner Wars were a major conflict in the modern Mahr. It took place between 6980 A.I.D. and 6991 A.I.D..

Events

In the spring of 6931 A.I.D., the peasants of the then still free city of Lavis urged the local nobility to send a complaint to King Eduard III. demanding relief from taxes that were felt to be too high.

In response to this request, Eduard had three peasants executed in the town.

The peasants, who had previously been concerned only with taxes, and the townspeople were in an uproar over this. The peasants called a public gathering on their own, at which it was finally decided that the royal house should be overthrown. In the summer of the same year, the peasants of the city of Lavis - with the support of the local nobility - began a rebellion against the Royal House of Sereuth in Steinmeer. Especially the Duke of Lavis, Matthäus, as a popular personality, supported the enterprise.

As an unforeseen consequence, the idea of deposing the king by the people quickly spread to the free city of Dannis. The Dannisers - when the local nobility sided with the king - stormed the castle and executed the ruling ones. Dannis then stood behind Lavis.

The next eleven years saw numerous battles between the two sides, devastating the Mahr economically and causing thousands of deaths. Eduard finally gained the upper hand when he called for help from neighboring estates.

Historical Relevance

It was the first time that a popular uprising in the Mahr expressed an organized will of the people, which even placed itself above the king. However, in the end, the war strengthened the rule of the royal house of Sereuth over the Mahr. The city of Lavislehn, which led the rebellion, fell into massive disrepute during this time and became unfree, given away as a fief.

King Eduard had previously been a moderate monarch. However, his policies became far more severe and brutal after the war. As a direct consequence of the war, he brought up his son, Richard, with great harshness, believing that he could thus ensure the continuity of his house.

Moreover, burial in the ground instead of cremation was widely used for the first time as a result of this war.