Miclian Arþura | Greater Arthuria

As with most of my projects, this fits somewhere between 'magnum opus' and 'bites-off-more-than-he-can-chew'. Since even I realise it would be practically impossible to SC4 an island this big, this is not going to be a CJ in your traditional sense. There will still be pictures of Sims going about their daily lives, but I'll also be opening the Chronicles to give you a sense of the history, heroism and horse-trading behind the events that made these five kingdoms into what they are today, as well as current events and what makes the modern countries tick.

Ynys Porthe (or Innisport) is the island that shields the Gloucester Basin from the sea, essentially creating the safe harbour in its lee. The low, marshy island served little use to the Æscings during the early and middle ages, as the wet, salty soils grew very little of value. It wasn't until the late nineteenth century that the rapid expansion of Gloucester and Bristol saw town planners looking towards Innisport as a solution to land shortages. However, ground conditions had the last say, with several projects abandoned due to severe subsidence.
Advances in soil technology allowed engineers to stabilise the soil sufficiently to build on by the mid 1920s, by which time the new technology of air travel was sweeping the world. Since it was already flat, and close to the centres of Margravia, Gloucester, and Bristol, the island was a natural choice for a new airport. The cornerstone of the original terminal building was laid down by King Edric in 1927, but the elderly King passed away the following year without seeing the completion of the airfield which would come to be named in his honour. The new King, Osric, officially opened the Eadric Anræd Airfield on March 12, 1930.
With the growth of air travel, the airfield has been upgraded numerous times, with the current terminal configuration and secondary 17/35 runway completed in 2004. The original cornerstone, laid down by King Edric, has also been preserved and incorporated into the main atrium of the new terminal building.

Across the harbour from Ynys Porthe and the Airport is the Port of Niwehythe, the main shipping docks for Gloucester and the Margravia metropolitan area. For centuries, the wharves only serviced the fishing fleet and other small vessels, as the relatively shallow harbour meant the larger ships of the line had trouble with grounding. With the increase in shipping through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the deeper, but smaller Margravia Harbour was increasingly unable to cope with the number of ships. A perfect solution was found in the early 1920s, when it was agreed that the huge requirement for fill material for the new airport at Ynys Porthe would come out of the harbour, creating the large, deep harbour the growing city desperately needed.

Although Margravia is the historical, cultural, and nominal centre of the Margravia metropolitan area, Glowanceaster (or Gloucester if you like) is the effective centre of the modern city, as it houses the main financial centres and many regional and national company headquarters.
Although the date of the first settlement of the Glowanceaster area is unknown, records tell of the coming of Bishop Allemius to the area in 604 to evangelise the Cimbric petty kingdom of Arconsæt. Establishing his bishopric in the next valley from the Arconsæting capital of Arworth, he spread the word of God there until being made Archbishop of Eanceaster in 631. The name Glowanceaster, meaning 'Gleaming City' is said to come from the 'holy light' that shone down upon the Church of St. Peter that Allemius founded.
By virtue of having more space than either Margravia or Arworth, and being the centre of the church in the area, Glowanceaster grew rapidly and has traditionally housed many more people than either of these 'more important' cities.
The city is dominated by the magnificent 14th century Cathedral of Saint Dunstan, successor to Allemius' church, despite the presence of modern high-rises. Occupying pride of place in the centre of Glowanceaster, the Cathedral and its manicured grounds are a focal point for all its citizens. The city is also the home of the majority of the areas professional sports teams, notably the NFL Gloucester Barbarians, SLB Gloucester Meteors, STHL Margravia Ravens, and NBA Margravia Wolves. Noone seems to be too bothered that half the teams are named for the Metro area instead of the city!

Margravia might be the biggest city in Æscgeard, but it is not the capital. It is not even the capital of its province, Ealdoresmearc. But it can claim to be a capital of sorts, even though it lost that status over 1100 years ago.
In the Cimbric invasions of the 5th century, the people of Earcon settled the coastal regions under the shadow of the Dæccan Mountains. As the Æscings extended their influence across much of what is now Ealdoresmearc, the Earconings made peace with them, and pledged to defend both peoples from western raiders. So it was that the Kingdom of Arconsæt survived, and Fréawald, the first king, established his fortress on the hill where the Citadel of Margravia currently stands. Little now remains of the early settlement, but an astounding number of historical artifacts and monuments have survived through de facto protection from the church.
The Earconingas (Sons of Earcon) National Historic Site, situated just across Lake Arcon from the Citadel hill, contains the ruins of several early Earconing churches, and the remarkably preserved Arconsæting royal burial grounds, within a traditional ditch-and-bank enclosure. All of this lay for centuries under the control of the Priory of Earcon, whose church and chapel occupied the site of a former meeting hall. The first church, a small wooden structure of which nothing now remains, was built by King Fréawulf around the year 640, and appears to have been periodically rebuilt over the next few centuries until King Fréabrand constructed a stone church in honour of St. Cehha on the site in 806, the ruins of which are clearly visible today.
Records tell us that as many as 15 kings of Arconsæt were buried in the church grounds, although just nine of the distinctive burial mounds remain. Of these, only four have been identified with any certainty as belonging to Kings Fréawine (reigned 696-704), Fréawald (809-814), Fréaric (836-840), and the last king, Fréastan (884-892). After the death of Fréastan, King Eadueard annexed Arconsæt into the Æscing kingdom.
The site and surrounding land and village of Arworth were vested in the church by royal proclamation in 931, and the Priory was well established there by 1000. The Priors held the land in the name of Earcon, St. Cehha, and the King for over 900 years, until the priory church and outbuildings burned down in 1959, at which point the priory elected to move to a new location, and the land was gifted to the Historic Monuments Office.
Although now administered as a Category I National Historic Site, the Priory retains guardianship of its spiritual home, and it is not uncommon to see Priors tending to the grounds to this day.