Mainardo of Jelgava

Mainardo was the younger brother of King Mezentio of Algarve. When Algarve overran Jelgava during the Derlavaian War, Mezentio declared that Mainardo was the new king of that country, supplanting the exiled King Donalitu. As Donalitu was a harsh, unpopular king, Mezentio thought the Jelgavans would be glad to see him gone. And so they might have been, had Mezentio chosen one of their own kind to be their new king. Instead, the people rebelled against Mainardo's puppet rule and developed an ironic nostalgia for Donalitu. Mainardo's currency, which depicted his beaky profile, was less full of silver than was proper for legitimate currency, further alienating the people.

Mainardo was forced out of Jelgava when the Kuusamo-Lagoas alliance launched the Habakkuk invasion. Mainardo formally abdicated the Jelgavan crown, so that he could be reinstated in the royal line of succession in his native land. Back in Jelgava, Donalitu determined to erase all legacy of Mainardo's rule, proclaiming that all Mainardo coins would have to be exchanged at banks for Donalitu coins, under pain of imprisonment.

When Mezentio perished in the Battle of Trapani, the Kuusamans and Lagoans allowed Mainardo to become of the eastern part of Algarve under their occupation. He ruled under their guidance from Scansano, the capital of that part of Algarve.

Literary comment
The Jelgavan subplot diverges from the Darkness' series overall World War II metaphor, and seems to be based on the Napoleonic Wars. In that context, Mainardo fills the role of Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I of France. Napoleon appointed Joseph to be King of Spain in 1808. After a fierce resistance movement and British intervention, Joseph fled Spain in 1813, and was never again involved in any nation's politics.

Mainardo's accession as King of East Algarve, despite having been in the former ruler's inner circle, does not have an analog in either war.