Now known as “The Fortification Period,” some of the earliest surviving records from this era are housed in City Hall in Olde Platz. Windenbourg Castle was the largest and best fortified in the land and was comprised of three major fortifications built throughout the centuries.

The oldest, The Island Fortress, located on the Crumbling Isle, was the first line of defense from attack by sea and also served as a customs port for traders traveling to the mainland. All ships were required to stop at the Island Port (where the dock is currently located) for inspection and to pay duty on their goods. This port entry kept Windenburg secure for centuries, and a large merchant class prospered. In fact, many of the noble Windenburg families have their origins from the merchants of the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, the only extant records from this time are customs logs and merchant inventories. The few love letters that remain make for rather dull reading, as the copy below shows. The most famous document of the time, a love poem written by King Windenbourg to his fiancé, Lady Honeydew in about the Year 1432, has been translated below.

My love is like a gold, gold Simoleon,
She more precious than a thousand galleons,
More beautiful than the counting houses of Tredony.
I long for her as I long for the financial reports from the Island Custom Houses.

The most notable fortress of this period was the construction of the Wurzburg Castle, begun by King Windenbourg as a wedding gift to his bride. Originally known as Honey Meadows, the castle took over two hundred years to construct and was located near the current Olde Platz. The original walls still stand to this day. What remains of the once imposing fortress are now known simply as “The Ruins” or “The Ancient Ruins.” Unfortunately, most of the records were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1922, so we have little information about the fortress until the sixteenth century.

Continue with The Reign of the House of Henburshtam (16th-19th Centuries)