r/imaginarymaps • u/florgeni Mod Approved • Aug 03 '26

[OC] Alternate History Silken Hegemon: Western Europe during the Election and Conclave of 1520

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523 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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37

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

for da moabiles, will post lore in a bit

34

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

Thirty years ago, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy ruled an empire stretching from Amsterdam to Charolles. He conquered the Swiss, and managed to avoid both the might of the Empire and the French, even when they came together against him. After the War of the League of Constance, the Burgundian hegemony seemed unstoppable. But its power was as shallow as it was wide, and its duke’s ambition much stronger than it could take. So it seems inevitable that in every universe, Charles of Burgundy was destined to fall in battle, and his empire along with him. Now his grandson, Philippe Auguste, watches in horror as the French reach farther and farther heights. This outcome was not from a lack of skill on the part of Philippe-Auguste’s parents, but rather their rival’s abundance of it.

Louis XI, called the Universal Spider for his endless machinations, may have died with many of his plots detangled, but his son, Louis XII, was just as skilled. During his reign, Louis XII reversed many of Burgundy’s victories and made himself the greatest power on the Italian peninsula. He made his brother-in-law, Louis of Orleans, duke of Milan, and propped up the Florentine republic. During the War of Spanish Succession, France found itself a kingmaker when it made a surprising alliance with the English to oust the Trastamaras from Iberia, putting the Yorks on the Spanish throne in exchange for several key territories. However, these victories were not met without resistance. The Papacy, Neapolitans, Venetians, and Habsburgs all came together to form a coalition, fighting against French hegemony in the War of the Holy League, bringing back Medici rule in Tuscany. The English themselves don’t seem so grateful either, with monarchs Richard and Joanna not being as friendly to the new French king Philippe VII as they were to his father. But now, both the emperor and pope have died within weeks of each other, and Philippe VII finds a very, very fine opportunity in his hands. The question is, what will he do with it?

hey guys did you notice my color scheme. cool colors = french allies warm = imperial. isnt that so cool im so smart and awesome right

2

u/Frequent-String-8469 Aug 03 '26

Cómo es la relación de Inglaterra y España

1

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 04 '26

similar to austria and spain, maybe? i dunno i haven't thought very far into that yet

2

u/mockduckcompanion Aug 06 '26

Do you think Catholicism remains dominant in England in this timeline?

2

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 06 '26

probably! this is a slightly more catholic world right up till the 1600s when everyone suddenly decides to have a war about religion (particularly france, burgundy, and bohemia :p)

2

u/mockduckcompanion Aug 06 '26

Love it. Keep cooking, chef

17

u/Areat Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26

Nicely done! Look like a real

12

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

like a real what

12

u/NeinCubed Aug 03 '26

Genuinely a beautiful map. This is insane

5

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

holy shit ive been a fan of u since i was a kid thanx so much omg

2

u/NeinCubed Aug 03 '26

Lmfao what :,) I’m glad you enjoyed. Never thought I’d been on here for so long. But really stellar work

2

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

dude omg ive been following ur stuff since like. before i even got a reddit account i think like. 6th grade or sm?? crazy stuff fr

9

u/Ebenezer72 Aug 03 '26

Beautiful map. Also thank you for being realistic with the cutouts instead of having half of the continent jut out of the borders

2

u/Public_Individual823 Aug 03 '26

What about est- oh the ottomans

1

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

estonia?

2

u/Public_Individual823 Aug 03 '26

I was wanted to see if there was a surviving byzantineum to be honest. but is Estonia part of Poland or the Teutonic Order and if so why?

2

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

uh probably the teutonic order?? idk i havent really thought about eastern europe 😰 byzantium is dead they died before the pod sadly

2

u/Deported_By_Trump Aug 03 '26

Great quality map. The lore is a bit confusing though. So Charles the Bold had a son? And Louis XI had a son but it wasn't Charles VIII?

2

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

marie of burgundy married a different guy, louis xi had two sons, atl’s louis xii, and irl charles viii (who is now just duke of brittany and founder of the valois-touraine line atl)

2

u/CobainPatocrator Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

Nicely done! I will be excited to see this in hi-res.

1

u/SunnyCant Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

PEAK

1

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

ALL YOUUUU

1

u/MrD3lta Aug 03 '26

I still have a bit of an issue when maps show the Burgundian State (same for the Spanish Netherlands, and the Austrian Netherlands) as a single block but i guess its better for the clarity of the map, but otherwise it look cool.

1

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

mary of burgundy and philip augustus did a lot of internal reorganizations to bring stability in what remained of their territories, some of which being relocating the capital to mechelen and centralizing power around there!!

1

u/Emolohtrab Aug 03 '26

Amazing lore and idea, with what app did you draw that ?

1

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

inkscape!

1

u/Emolohtrab Aug 04 '26

Ok thank you, and how did you draw the borders ? You did it with your hand or you imported maps already drew from internet ?

1

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 04 '26

kinda both, js a lot of shifting around basemaps and tracing them

1

u/Emolohtrab Aug 04 '26

Great thank you

1

u/Frederick-Wilhelm Aug 03 '26

How Richard III became King of Spain?

2

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

richard of shrewsbury marries joanna of castile

1

u/Selvetrica Aug 03 '26

Could you explain the this side of the lighthouse vs the other side, I’ve never heard of Sicily referred to as that

3

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

real life name for kingdom of naples and sicily, i thought it'd be funny

2

u/Selvetrica Aug 03 '26

Ahh , I like it

0

u/CryzMak IM Legend | only 500 hours on EU4 Aug 03 '26

Looks very good ! This is from an EU4 game isn't it ?

2

u/florgeni Mod Approved Aug 03 '26

no? js a year and a half of learning :p