In the mid 1400's, a new wave of idealism began sweeping through Europe. With the power of the church waning, people began looking around for a new figure of authority and identity. For many, they struck upon a sense of nationalism. Such was the case for Frisans in the 1440's, as a massive "Dutchification" movement spread. Towns and provinces were renamed with proper Dutch names, flags were flown high, and the King was looked upon as a symbol of ultimate earthly authority. Event changing province names to Dutch ones - From the "Colony Name Change" mod)However, proud though it was, Frisia stood on a precarious position. Surrounded by heretic, King Theodolf II led the last truly powerful Catholic nation in Central Europe. The remaining Catholic powers at this time were Frisa, England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Castille, Cordoba, Pest, and Ungvar. Of these, only the Isles, Frisia, and Sweden were likely to be able to hold back any unified heretical army. Luckily, the various heresies were too busy bickering among themselves, and worrying about the Tengri heathens breathing down their necks to worry about the remaining true disciples.Looking for friends, Theodolf quickly signed the Treaty of the Isles, allying Frisia with Ireland and Scotland (looking to check the growing power of England), and the Alliance of the Cross with Castille, securing a flank against heretic France. These relations were further secured with the marriages of Theodolf's nieces to Frisia's new allies in early 1445. Then, in 1446, Theodolf hosted the Swedish king at a grand tournament, announcing the alliance they had just signed, and the marriage of the Swedish king's cousin to one of Theodolf's nephews.As Frisia found new allies, it also embittered rivals. England had long clashed with the Dutch nation, having lost the Duchy of Flanders to Gilles van Renesse back in the 11th century. The French, having only recently reformed as a sovereign state, looked at Frisia as land they once held as well, and put no small measure of blame on the van Renesse dynasty for the collapse of their state. And Emperor Malinard Salin of Koln, latest of a line of heretical Emperors of the (not so) Holy Roman Empire, remained upset at the Frisian claim that the Empire held no sway over them. So it came as no surprise when, on March 28, 1447, Frisia and Koln went to war.The war was a relatively easy one for Frisia. Most of the empire was to involved in the Bavarian succession war to come to the Emperor's aid. Dutch historians consider the decisive point of the war have been on the 29th of April, 1447, then 72-year-old Theodolf led the Frisian 2nd army against the Imperial Army outside Luxembourg. Theodolf's men, bolstered by General Sacco Beatrix's 1st Army, utterly crushed the Imperial Army, killing or capturing all 15,000 men, while taking less than 4000 casualties in return. Shortly there after, Emperor Salin would die, and the Imperial Parliament would elect the King of Aragon as Emperor, the first non-German Emperor the Empire had seen in nearly 300 years.Though the war was decided at the Battle of Luxembourg, the Kolonian (?) nobles continued to resist. Surrender would not come until June of 1448, when Koln agreed to Frisian terms. The city of Limberg was ceded to Frisia, along with a preferential treatment agreement guaranteeing the dominance of Frisian trade goods in Kolonian markets. Finally, Koln was forced to cancel their alliance with England (who didn't come to their aid any way).Unfortunately, Theodolf would not see the Frisian victory, succumbing to battle wound and old age in September of 1447. He was laid to rest alongside his forefathers, and the crown was passed to his son, Bartolomeus on September 11, 1447.Bartolomeus' reign was relatively uneventful. In the early 1450's, several important Dutch works were written, one outlining the importance of trade on Dutch diplomacy, and one suggesting a new military doctrine, the "Pike Square" [Diplo 4 and Mil 4]. The Dutch pike square would see it's first use in 1454 when Norway, claiming they were Frisia's ally, asked for Dutch help repelling an invasion from Prussia. Historians have never been able to produce any evidence that Frisia had ever held diplomatic negotiations with Norway, let alone an alliance (perhaps they thought they were Sweden), but nonetheless, Bartolomeus honored the call. Dutch discipline and training proved to be overwhelming to the Prussian forces, who surrendered in 1457. Land was returned to Skane, and Prussia was forced to annul their treaties with England and Koln.During this war, the Dutch nobles began favoring the works of Jacco Hoort, who detailed a strategy of trading that greatly increased the strength of Frisia's foreign markets [Adm 4 and Trade Ideas 1].In 1459, the van Renesse dynasty celebrated the rise of Beatrice van Renesse in Ireland, after the death of the last d'Anjou queen. Unfortunately, in June, they would mourn the death of Bartolomeus, at the young age of 45. After a few months of regency, Ernst van Renesse (2/4/2) came of age, and was coronated in September 1459.A short time before Ernst was crowned, the country had come to the aid of Sweden, in their attempt to conquer Skane. This put the nation at odds once again with Koln, who held an alliance with the tiny Scandinavian nation. Not much came of this war, at least from the Dutch point of view, which ended with the Swedish conquest of most of Skane, and little else. The only real item of note is the practice, started by General Beatrix, of standardized pike lengths, increasing the efficiency of the Dutch forces. This also was the beginning of the formation of the Dutch National Army, as many of the soldiers raised for the war were kept as men-at-arms[Mil 5].After the Swedish conquest, several important papers and edicts were written, regarding free trade, the presence of constables and temples, the expansion of trade routes, the quality of production in Dutch industry, and the formalization of measurements and scales [Adm 5, Trade 2,3, German Idea 1].Thus far the 1460's had been a peaceful decade. However, this was soon to change. In February 1446, a Catholic monastery in the French province of Vermandois was burned down. In March, a primarily Dutch hamlet on the border was raided by the French military. In April, several Dutch supply caravans were taken by the French army, seized for their fight against Toledo. In May, the previously mentioned hamlet, as well as several others, were burned to the ground for refusing to provide volunteers for the military. These outrages would be taken lightly by the Dutch people, and so on May 28, 1466, Frisia went to war with France.