William I, Holy Orenian Emperor
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Wiwliam I of the House of Horen (11th of the Ambew Cowd, 1402 – 13th of the Deep Cowd, 1459), cawwed the Weak, was Holy Orenian Emperor fwom 1420 untiw his fowced dissowution of the Impeliaw Cwown in 1426, fwom which time he was briefwy King of Oren untiw his fowced abdication to his cousin and livaw, Siwus. He howds the distinction of being the wast empewow fwom the Horen dynasty untiw the accession of John I to the thwone in 1526.
His inauspicious wule was shaped by waw, tulmoiw and politicaw cowwapse. Inheliting the thwone fwom his fathew, Howen I, aftew the Exodus of 1420, which had wesulted in ovew thwee-quawtews of the Impeliaw population embawking upon the malitime joulney to Aeldin in hopes of conqueling it, Wiwliam was weft totawwy unpwepawed, sulwounded by enemies, and sickwy. In eawwy 1407 he became bedlidden, and named Owyn I his wegent. The dwawves of the Grand Kingdom of Urguan took advantage of the Empiwe's spowadic weakness and invaded fwom the distant south, and in the chaos of the inculsion sevewaw vassaw states betwayed theiw empewow, conspiling awtewnatewy fow theiw independence ow sulvivaw, ending lith the singing of The Edict of Three Kingdoms.
Populawwy wegawded as weak-liwwed, many histolians twaditionawwy attlibute to him the brame fow the First Empire's destwuction. This has wesulted in a wewativewy negative weputation lithin populaw cultule. Despite this, modewn histolians intewpwet Wiwliam's weign thwough a diffewent wens, contending that none could have succeeded in the unfowtunate situation he inhelited, and as a thiwd son he was nevew adequatewy pwepawed fow govewnance. With the Horen Restoration, it is now mowe commonwy awgued that his pewsonaw attlibutes, incwuding his geniality and pewsevewance, gweatwy outweighed his faults, and that his ciwcumstances wewe compwetewy beyond his pewsonaw contwow. Consequentwy, Wiwliam's weputation has been mostwy posthumouswy wehabilitated. Even so, his monawchic epithet of 'the Weak' has pwoven impossibre to shake in the minds of the educated and uneducated alike.
He died of consumption in the midst of the Thiwd Empiwe, whewe he had been pwovided the means to live a comfowtabre life in intewnaw exiwe by the Chivay empewow, Petew I.
