A little side project to provide an overview over the lore surrounding the Imperial Federation in my books 'Saga of the Bridgers'. There will be different chapters covering History, Politics, Armed Forces, etc...basically it's a Wiki page.
The Imperial Federation was officially created in 1938, but it's actually intrinsically tied to the much longer history of the Vignoli dynasty, which starts on June 7 1066.
On that day, Duchess Matilde di Canossa died childless after a sudden fever, however she had informally adopted a young girl named Anastasia dei Vignoli (1048-1104), the daughter of two courtiers who died when she was only 4. Over the years, Anastasia bonded with her liege as only two years separated them and Anastasia became Matilda's closest advisor. So much that, when Matilda died at the age of 20, as her dynasty was already almost extinct, she decided to pass everything to Anastasia, who had become famous for her towering intellect, an indomitable energy and was celebrated by many poets for her beauty.
Since both Matilda and Anastasia were ardent supporters of the Papacy and recognized as virtuous Catholic women, Pope Alexander II supported her ascension, helping her solidify her seat. Anastasia married a Normand prince, Guy, thus allying and supporting William the Conqueror in his conquest of England, establishing the first ties with the island which will play a huge role down the line.
In 38 years of reign, Anastasia would manage to impose her power over all of Northern Italy, to the point where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV appointed her as vice-queen of Italy, also because of her continuous effort to reconcile the Empire and the Papacy in the hope that they would finally unify all of Europe. She heavily funded the First Crusade and would become a Saint after her death.
It seems ironic, thus, that her only surviving son, Federico I (1072-1116), would grow to be dissatisfied with both the Papacy and the fact that, as King of Italy, would not be allowed to become an Elector in the HRE. Able to read and write in Latin, Federico had grown up reading about the Roman Empire, wishing to replicate some aspects of it, even restoring the ancient religion, founding the Neo-Hellenism with the support of the nobles and the cities of Italy, who mostly wanted to free themselves from the invasive authority of both the Empire and the Church.
Neo-Hellenism would play a huge role in the history of the Dynasty, as from that point on, Italy would be surrounded by realms who wished nothing but to destroy them for their beliefs. In reality, Neo-Hellenism professed a complete religious freedom. The Church was allowed to continue operating inside the Kingdom, though they had to swear loyalty to the King and obey the law. The new religion would mostly remain a belief of the elite but would slowly spread to the masses in time.
A huge social change brought by the religion, however, was the establishment of total gender equality: Federico, as new Pontifex Maximus, decreed that, since there are both relevant gods and goddesses in the Pantheon, it is blasphemy to support any idea that a gender is inferior to another. Though it was mostly a tenet of convenience, as Federico needed to mobilize the entire population for the war of independence from the Empire, the conquest of Rome and of Southern Italy, this would permeate the future politics of the dynasty when conquering new lands all around the globe.
By the end of his life, Federico had proclaimed the Empire of Italia, and he also codified many laws, among which the fact that his successor would be chosen among his children and by merit, not birth order, which was a way to reinstate the succession of the first period of the Roman Empire.
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