English/Mastery

Civilization

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Mastery

Civilization

Technology tree

Mastery

After the invasion of William the Conqueror England would never be the same. It entered an era of accelerated progress, seeing the formation of modern-style governance, the construction of enduring castles, and the battlefield domination of its key weapon for centuries to come: the longbow.

Nice Try, Spy

Kill an enemy Scout or Khan in the Dark Age (I).

Rewards

• English Farmer Portrait
• Fun Fact: Scorched Earth

Fun Fact: Scorched Earth

After his conquest of England, William the Conqueror used brutal methods to gain the obedience of his new subjects. His men burned the farmlands of northern England, and then salted the soil to stunt the growth of future crops. The population was decimated, and those left alive are said to have resorted to cannibalism.

Assize of Arms

Produce 30 Longbowmen from the Council hall in the Feudal Age (II).

Rewards

• Royal Lion Sigil
• Fun Fact: Build and Control

Fun Fact: Build and Control

The Normans needed castles to secure their lands, and so built them in great numbers. Using earth and wood, an imposing structure could be built in a matter of weeks. But wood could easily succumb to the elements, so the Normans later replaced these with the stone castles that still survive today.

English Novice

Win a game as the English.

Rewards

• Stone Tools Portrait
• Fun Fact: Falconry For Status

Fun Fact: Falconry For Status

Originally a means of hunting, medieval falconry became a craze. The nobility would gather for lavish parties to compare their magnificent birds of prey. Soon enough, birds became a status symbol and laws prohibited the ownership of a bird considered above one's social standing. The penalty for owning the wrong bird: to lose your hands.

Rally the People

Build the King's Palace and produce 10 Villagers from it in the Castle Age (III).

Rewards

• Deer Portrait
• Fun Fact: The Cost of Stone

Fun Fact: The Cost of Stone

Transporting stone in the Middle Ages was a costly business. In 1376 an alabaster table was hauled over 100 miles to Windsor Castle by 20 men, 10 carts and 80 horses over 17 days. The haulage alone cost a whopping £20 - roughly the annual salary of an army onstable.

Swift Harvest

Reach the Castle Age (III) with 16 farms influenced by Mills.

Rewards

• Double Stripe Banner Pattern
• Fun Fact: The Assize of Arms

Fun Fact: The Assize of Arms

By the time of Henry II, England had endured countless invasions and civil wars. To be ready for any further challenges to his rule, Henry proclaimed his "Assize of Arms", which obligated all able englishmen to take up arms in his name when commanded. He created, in essence, an enforced militia.

Gather Round

Setup 5 simultaneous camps, with at least one unit gaining benefit from each camp.

Rewards

• Fish Portrait
• Fun Fact: Boom and Bust

Fun Fact: Boom and Bust

Temperatures warmed across Europe in the Early Middle Ages and food production boomed. And with advances in agricultural technology, more and more wild lands were cleared for farming. But with rapid population growth came the rise of disease. The plague would soon resurface and spread freely through the breeding ground of a more dense population.

English Apprentice

Win 2 games as the English.

Rewards

• Lumberjack Monument
• Fun Fact: A Traitor's Fate

Fun Fact: A Traitor's Fate

In 1090 a traitor begged for mercy on the battlements of Rouen castle. Henry, son of William the Conqueror, gave no pause before delivering his sentence. Ignoring the traitor's pleas, Henry pushed him to his death. Ten years later, Henry became King of England and secured his rule by making gruesome examples of thieves and betrayers.

Keep Them Busy

Produce 20 units from Keeps.

Rewards

• Fire Arrow Portrait
• Fun Fact: The Marketplace

Fun Fact: The Marketplace

The medieval market was a vibrant gathering place for commerce and socialization. Tax records show that the 12,000-square-yard market at Stow-on-the-wold, which still operates today, had a telling trade at its top medieval money maker: the art of brewing.

Raise The Alarm

Defeat 50 enemies with units affected by the Network of Castles.

Rewards

• Stag's Head Sigil
• Fun Fact: A Death of Indulgence

Fun Fact: A Death of Indulgence

Henry I was fond of life's indulgences. A successful ruler, he often held gut-busting banquets in a lavishly adorned dining hall. But Henry's appetite would be his demise. While on campaign, he succumbed to food poisoning. Against the advice of his doctor, he is said to have consumed "a surfeit of lampreys" and died days later.

Hail of Arrows

Defeat 20 enemies with Longbowmen affected by the Arrow Volley upgrade.

Rewards

• Eleanor of Aquitaine Portrait
• Fun Fact: Projectile Horrors

Fun Fact: Projectile Horrors

Siege engines like catapults and trebuchets were terrifying sights for those under attack. In addition to wall-crushing boulders, some armies would hurt the equivalent of bioweapons, launching dead bodies and excrement into walled towns. In an age of rudimentary sanitation and before antibiotics, disease would run rife, softening the population and hastening their surrender.

English Adept

Win 5 games as the English.

Rewards

• Bowman Monument
• English Longbowman Portrait
• Fun Fact: Magna Carta

Fun Fact: Magna Carta

England's Magna Carta was created as a peace treaty to end a bitter civil war. Rebel barons had captured London, forcing King John to negotiate peace terms that would hold the monarch to the law of the land, It has since influenced founding and human rights charters throughout history, including the United States' Constitution

Reap What You Sow

Accrue 3000 Gold from Enclosures

Rewards

• Nicola de La Haie Portrait
• Shallow Tail & Tongue Banner Shape
• Fun Fact: The Longbows of Agincourt

Fun Fact: The Longbows of Agincourt

At Agincourt in northern France, Henry V's longbowmen faced the might of France's heavily armored knights. Although outnumbered, the archers would turn their prowess into a legendary victory. As the french cavalry charged through the mud-laden field, the English loosed a thousand arrows per second. The fallen clogged the field, and, stuck in the bog, the remaining knights were easy pickings for the English infantry.

For the Wyn

Produce 5 Wynguard Armies from the Wynguard Palace.

Rewards

• Jester Portrait
• Fun Fact: The 70-Year-Old Knight

Fun Fact: The 70-Year-Old Knight

At the Battle of Lincoln in 1217, the king's regent William Marshal led a desperate army into battle. He was 70 years old, and no stranger to poor odds. Charging headlong at the enemy and taking many soldiers for ransom, he ensured peace for the kingdom and secured his legendary status.

From the Skies

Destroy 20 enemy units with trebuchets affected by the Shattering Projectiles technology.

Rewards

• William the Conqueror Portrait
• Fun Fact: Coin Clipping

Fun Fact: Coin Clipping

13th Century coins were made of soft metals like silver. This made it easy to clip off small pieces and use them to make counterfeit coins. With the influx of coins, the currency value dropped, and the practice was outlawed on pain of death. Later coins were made of harder metals and bore anti-counterfeiting designs.

English Master

Win 10 games as the English.

Rewards

• Eleanor of Castile Monument
• Oak Tree Sigil
• Fun Fact: Trial by Ordeal

Fun Fact: Trial by Ordeal

To determine the guilt of a medieval criminal, the accused would endure a Trial by Ordeal. They could be bound and thrown into water, forced to hold a red-hot iron, or fight another to the death. Those who healed and survived were considered innocent in the eyes of God, and escaped an even more gruesome execution.