King Tondbert I of Etrand

King Tondbert I the Pious was the ruler of Etrand between 146 and 182. Even though he wasn't technically the first monarch of the Tondbertid dynasty, the dynasty is named after him. Additionally, he was the only King of Etrand to date to abdicate the throne, rather than die reigning.

Early Life
Tondbert was born on, as the eldest son of Swidhelm.

Not much is known about his life before coming to throne, except that by the time he became King of Etrand, he was already married to Kynethrytha Dynn, and that he was an avid collector of old relics. Tondbert was also very fond of everthing about the Ancient Lizardman Empire, and took it upon himself to learn the Lizardman language and writing system to be able to personally decipher and translate ancient texts.

He may or may not have also personally took part in expeditions to old excavations, ruins and abandoned temples in order to recover ancient pieces of art, but there is no solid proof that a nobleman's eldest son would personally take part in such risky expeditions.

Ascension to power
On, King Swidhelm died after less than one full year of reign. Since Swidhelm himself was elected by the nobility to be the next king rather than inheriting on grounds of royal blood - even though his wife was the late King Sighard's niece - it was questionable if Tondbert would be able to inherit the throne by virtue of being Swidhelm's son rather than warranting another election.

After Swidhelm's funeral, the majority of the nobility supported the idea of Tondbert's succession, and only a minority called for the transformation of Etrand into an elective monarchy - Tondbert became the new king, and Etrand remained a hereditary monarchy.

Reign
After being crowned as King, Tondbert's early reign was relatively rocky - much of the years of Hengistid rule was spent by infighting within the royal family, and Swidhelm's one-year rule was spent struggling to keep Etrand together and prevent a civil war. Tondbert inherited a decadent royal court plagued by intrigue and infighting and it was his job to make order in all that chaos and nonsense.

The one-and-a-half century old kingdom's system of laws was inconsistent - under King Corlagon I of Etrand, Etrand nominally adopted the High Elven code of laws, but in practice, many of the more archaic tribal laws - such as blood-money - were in effect, despite being outlawed. The King had to subtract money from the royal treasury to commission the making of copies of the Etrandish translation of the High Elven code of laws, so that all courts would know what the laws are, rather than having to rely on archaic practices.

Just one year into his rule, and those nobles who previously demanded elective monarchy rather than voting for Swidhelm's descendants to rule Etrand rebelled, only to be put down brutally by Swidhelm, who had all the nobles involved executed, stripped their children from their titles and forced them to become monks and nuns.

Further in his rule, Tondbert supported the human colonization of Southern Etrand and negotiated with various Lizardman tribal leaders, allowing Etrandish settlers and nobles to buy land from the Lizardman tribes, leading to peaceful settlement rather than the not-so-peaceful colonization that was characteristic of the past.

Being known for his piety, he also supported the Church of Titanius, funding the establishment of monasteries and church schools, the building of chapels and churches. It was during Tondbert's reign that the Cathedral of Light was built in Grandfolk.

For his devout support of the Church, he received many gifts from the Hierophant, several of which were in fact old relics - the Hierophant was aware of the king's fondness for age-old relics, religious or not. Most of these gifts are still well-preserved and on display in the Cathedral of Light in Grandfolk.

In 169, there was peasant's revolt that shaked Etrand and threatened to break the kingdom apart - it was suppressed, but at the cost of high casualties.

Tondbert abdicated on, retiring to a monastery. His successor was King Aiden I the Merchant.

After abdication
Tondbert died on.