Society

[Sultan 3953]

Kingship:

Kingship asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God. The king is thus not subject to the will of his people, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the realm, including, the Church.

''The reign of kings is from Me, says Eternal Wisdom'' and from this we may conclude that not only the rights of royalty are established by His laws, but also the choice of individual [to occupy the throne] is a result of His providence.

In affirming that the king is answerable only to God, however, emphasize that God will hold the king's actions to special scrutiny, thus balancing an unchallengeable Divine Right with an inexorable Divine Responsibility.

rights and duties of kings to protect the Human Constitution of states, to defend and extend the boundaries of Children of Horen by lawful means only, to protect and defend the innocent, the weak, the poor and vulnerable, and to protect the Church with the king's own life, if necessary.

The Estates of the realm is a broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized. they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by medieval ranking of importance (as the hierarchy was ordained by God) as the First, Second, and Third Estates respectively. In the scheme, God ordained the ministry, which was necessary to ordain the royalty and nobility, who settled privileges on the more prestigious commoners, or burghers (bourgeoisie) ; hence the frequent references to the peasantry as the Fourth Estate

Nobles-Vassals:

You get two major types of vassal; Counts, the junior nobility who generally command single demesnes or maybe a (very) small number of them, and Dukes, who, in addition to their own demesnes, command loyalty from the counts who hold land within the bounds of their Duchy, and who answer only to the king. This chain of command goes from the minor vassals, the mayors, barons and bishops who command the cities, baronies and bishoprics within your counties, who are in turn commanded by the count or duke in charge of the county, with counts answering to a duke or, if there is no duke, answering directly to the king, and finally the king is who the duke takes orders from. Kings may also be under the command of an emperor. A word on minor vassals, these are the folks who command the holdings within your county. Mayors command cities, barons command baronies and the bishops command bishoprics. Mayors are odd in that they are elected and will be replaced periodically

Rights:

Noble privileges:

Nobles do not always derive their privileges from just being nobles, but usually privileges were granted with a specific title, office or estate. However, nobles were often treated better. Nobles often derived wealth from one or more estates, large or small, that might include fields, pasture, orchards, timberland, hunting grounds, streams, etc. It also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access. nobles typically commanded tribute in the form of entitlement to cash rents or usage taxes, labour and/or a portion of the annual crop yield from commoners or nobles of lower rank who lived or worked on the noble's fief or within his seigniorial domain. The local lord could impose restrictions on such a commoner's movements, religion or legal undertakings. The nobles enjoyed the privilege of hunting. Nobles are exempt from paying the taille, the major direct tax. The peasants are not only bound to the nobility by dues and services. The nobility also have the jurisdictions of the courts and the police over them. The right of private war. The right to wear a sword and have a coat of arms. the great families often claim a fundamental right to rebel against unacceptable royal abuse.

Duties:

However, the nobles also have responsibilities. Nobles are required to honor, serve, and counsel their king. They are often required to render military service .

The title of "noble" is not indelible: certain activities could cause disgrace loss of nobility. Most commercial and manual activities were strictly prohibited, although nobles could profit from their lands by operating mines and forges etc.

Noble rights:

Jure uxoris:

means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife".It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband.

Suo jure:

means "in her [or his] own right". It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage.

Clergy

Clergy is a generic term used to refer the formal religious leadership within some religions. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest,preacher, pastor, or other religious professional. Depending on the religion, clergy usually take care of the ritual aspects of the religious life, teach or otherwise help in spreading the religion's doctrine and practices.

current law prescribes that to be ordained a priest, an education is required of two years of scholastic philosophy study, and 4 years of theology; dogmatic and moral theology, the scriptures, and canon law have to be studied within a seminary or an ecclesiastical faculty at a Abby or College. This reflects the scholastic and intellectual traditions of the Church.

Promises of celibacy and obedience are required as a condition for ordination to the diaconate and priesthood in the Rite (celibacy is not required, however, for permanent deacons who are already married, but they are forbidden from remarrying should their wife die); this is a disciplinary and administrative rule rather than a dogmatic and doctrinal one.

Clergy have four classical rights:

Right of Canon: whoever commits real violence on the person of a clergyman, commits a sacrilege.

Right of Forum: by this right clergy may be judged by ecclesiastical tribunals.

Right of Immunity: clergy cannot be called for military service or for duties or charges not compatible with their role

Right of Competence: a certain part of the income of clergy, necessary for sustenance, cannot be sequestered by any action of creditors

Bourgeois:

The term bourgeois denote a social class that comprised the wealthier members of the Third Estate

Towns are granted self-governance by the Crown, at which point they become referred to as boroughs. The formal status of borough come to be conferred by Royal Charter. These boroughs are generally governed by a self-selecting corporation (i.e., when a member died or resigned his replacement would be by co-option). Sometimes boroughs are governed by bailiffs or headboroughs.

Peasants:

Serfs have a specific place in feudal society, as are barons and knights: in return for protection, a serf would reside upon and work a parcel of land within the manor of his lord. There is thus a degree of reciprocity in the manorial system.

One rationale was that a serf "worked for all," while a knight or baron "fought for all" and a churchman "prayed for all"; thus everyone has a place. The serf is the worst fed and paid, but at least he has his place and, unlike slaves, has certain rights in land and property.

A lord of the manor can not sell his serfs as a man might sell his slaves. On the other hand, if he chose to dispose of a parcel of land, the serf or serfs associated with that land went with it to serve their new lord, benefiting him from their long-acquired knowledge of practices suited to the land. Further, a serf can not abandon his lands without permission, nor did he possess a saleable title in them.

Becoming a serf:

A freeman, that is to say one whose feudal land tenure was freehold, becomes a serf usually through force or necessity. Sometimes freeholders or allodial owners are intimidated into dependency by the greater physical and legal force of a local magnate. Often a few years of crop failure, a war or brigandage might leave a person unable to make his own way. In such a case a bargain is struck with a lord of a manor. In exchange for protection, service was required, in cash, produce or with labour, or a combination of all. These bargains were formalized in a ceremony known as "bondage" in which a serf placed his head in the lord's hands, akin to the ceremony of homage where a vassal placed his hands between those of his overlord. These oaths bound the lord and his new serf in a feudal contract and defined the terms of their agreement. Often these bargains were severe. "Oath of Fealty" states:

"By the Lord before whom this sanctuary is holy, I will to N. be true and faithful, and love all which he loves and shun all which he shuns, according to the laws of God and the order of the world. Nor will I ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to him, on condition that he will hold to me as I shall deserve it, and that he will perform everything as it was in our agreement when I submitted myself to him and chose his will."

To become a serf is a commitment that encompassed all aspects of the serf’s life.

Moreover, the condition of serfdom is inherited at birth. By taking on the duties of serfdom, serfs bound not only themselves but all of their future progeny.

Serfdom's class system:

The social class of peasant is often broken down into smaller categories. These distinctions are often less clear than suggested by their different names. Most often, there is two types of peasants, freemen, whose tenure within the manor was freehold, and villeins. Lower classes of peasants, known as cottars, generally comprising the younger sons of villeins or bordars, and slaves, made up the lower class of workers.

Freemen:

Freemen, or free tenants held their land by one of a variety of contracts of feudal land tenure and are essentially rent-paying tenant farmers who owed little or no service to the lord, and had a good degree of security of tenure and independence.

Villeins:

A villein (or villain) is the most common type of serf in the Kingdom. Villeins have more rights and higher status than the lowest serf, but existed under a number of legal restrictions that differentiated them from freemen. Villeins generally rented small homes, with or without land. As part of the contract with the landlord, the lord of the manor, they were expected to spend some of their time working on the lord's fields. The requirement often is not greatly onerous, contrary to popular belief and is often only seasonal, for example the duty to help at harvest-time. The rest of their time was spent farming their own land for their own profit. Like other types of serfs, they are required to provide other services, possibly in addition to paying rent of money or produce. Villeins are tied to the land and could not move away without their lord's consent and the acceptance of the lord to whose manor they proposed to migrate to. Villeins are generally able to hold their own property, unlike slaves. A variety of kinds of villeinage existed Half-villeins received only half as many strips of land for their own use and owed a full complement of labor to the lord, often forcing them to rent out their services to other serfs to make up for this hardship. Villeinage is not, however, a purely uni-directional exploitative relationship. land within a lord's manor provided sustenance and survival, and being a villein guaranteed access to land, and crops secure from theft by marauding robbers. Landlords, even are legally entitled to do so, rarely evict villeins because of the value of their labor. Villeinage is much preferable to being a vagabond, a slave, or an unlanded laborer.

A villein could gain freedom by escaping from a manor to a city or borough and living there for more than a year; but this action involved the loss of land rights and agricultural livelihood, a prohibitive price unless the landlord is especially tyrannical or conditions in the village were unusually difficult.

Bordars and cottagers:

The status of bordar or cottager ranked below a serf in the social hierarchy of a manor, holding a cottage, garden and just enough land to feed a family. this is between about 1 and 5 acres (0.4 to 2 hectares).

Slaves:

The last type of serf is the slave. Slaves have the fewest rights and benefits from the manor. They owned no tenancy in land, worked for the lord exclusively and survived on donations from the landlord. It is always in the interest of the lord to prove that a servile arrangement existed, as this provided him with greater rights to fees and taxes. The status of a man was a primary issue in determining a person's rights and obligations in many of the manorial court cases . Also, runaway slaves could be beaten if caught.

The serf's duties:

The usual serf (not including slaves or cottars) pays his fees and taxes in the form of seasonally appropriate labor. Usually a portion of the week is devoted to ploughing his lord's fields held in demesne, harvesting crops, digging ditches, repairing fences, and often working in the manor house. The residue of the serf’s time was devoted to tending his own fields, crops and animals in order to provide for his family. Most manorial work was segregated by gender during the regular times of the year; however, during the harvest, the whole family was expected to work the fields. A major difficulty of a serf's life is that his work for his lord coincided with, and took precedence over, the work he had to perform on his own lands: when the lord's crops are ready to be harvested, so are his own. On the other hand, the serf of a benign lord could look forward to being well fed during his service it was a lord without foresight who did not provide a substantial meal for his serfs during the harvest and planting times. In exchange for this work on the lord's demesne, the serf had certain privileges and rights, including for example the right to gather deadwood from their lord’s forests, an essential fuel source. In addition to service, a serf is required to pay certain taxes and fees. Taxes are based on the assessed value of his lands and holdings. Fees are usually paid in the form of agricultural produce rather than cash. The best ration of wheat from the serf’s harvest often went to the landlord. Generally hunting and trapping of wild game by the serfs on the lord’s property was prohibited. When a family member died, extra taxes were paid to the lord as a form of feudal relief to enable the heir to keep the right to till what land he had. Any young woman who wished to marry a serf outside of her manor is forced to pay a fee for the right to leave her lord, and in compensation for her lost labor. Often there were arbitrary tests to judge the worthiness of their tax payments. A chicken, for example, might be required to be able to jump over a fence of a given height to be considered old enough or well enough to be valued for tax purposes. The restraints of serfdom on personal and economic choice were enforced through various forms of manorial customary law and the manorial administration and court baron. It is also a matter of discussion whether serfs could be required by law in times of war or conflict to fight for their lord's land and property. In the case of their lord's defeat, their own fate might be uncertain, so the serf certainly had an interest in supporting his lord. Rights of serfdom: Within his constraints, a serf had some freedoms. Though the common wisdom is that a serf owned "only his belly" - even his clothes were the property, in law, of his lord - a serf might still accumulate personal property and wealth, and some serfs can become wealthier than their free neighbors, although this is rare. A well-to-do serf might even be able to buy his freedom.

A serf can grow what crop he sees fit on his lands, although a serf's taxes often has to be paid in wheat. The surplus he can sell at market. The landlord can not disposes of his serfs without legal cause and is supposed to protect them from the depredations of robbers or other lords, and he was expected to support them by charity in times of famine. Many such rights are en-forcible by the serf in the manorial court. Variations:

Forms of serfdom varied greatly through time and region. In some places serfdom was merged with or exchanged for various forms of taxation. The amount of labor required varied. "Per household" means that every dwelling had to give a worker for the required number of days. For example, six people: a peasant, his wife, three children and a hired worker might be required to work for their lord one day a week, which would be counted as six days of labor.

Serfs served on occasion as soldiers in the event of conflict and could earn freedom or even ennoblement for valor in combat. Serfs could purchase their freedom, bemanumitted by their generous owners, or flee to towns or newly-settled land where few questions were asked. Laws varied from county to county for example a serf who made his way to a chartered town (i.e. a borough) and evaded recapture for a year and a day obtained his freedom and became a burgher of the town.

[Agnub 605]

((Celibacy?! What an odious policy!))

[deathmetus 152]

((Guess the you'll have to give up the Hightower "gift" to someone else. . . ;) , but this post is great, I just hope we will have enough people to emulate this, and people will follow this properly.))

[Agnub 605]

((Guess the you'll have to give up the Hightower "gift" to someone else. . . ;) , but this post is great, I just hope we will have enough people to emulate this, and people will follow this properly.))

((You're assuming I'll follow the law.))

[mylimo7 409]

((wait, we have slaves? But, all of this looks really good, thank you for doing this. ))

[Nico 121]

[[ Thanks for posting this. It will help a lot soon... ]]

[Scipp3r 451]

(( Mhm very good post. Must have took you awhile to write all this! But overall excellent post))

[Braehn Elendil An'Hiraeth 474]

((this is very good, but do you think the Serfs and such will hold to their roles? Most people don't want to be known as the lowly farmer.))

[ℓαтєяяє ~ 236]

((So, finally someone wishes to act Medieval. I liek.))

[｡◕‿‿◕｡ Hawk Whitestorm 715]

((this is very good, but do you think the Serfs and such will hold to their roles? Most people don't want to be known as the lowly farmer.))

Don't worry... Mog's here ;) []

[Stevie 1598]

Noble rights:

((Pretty disappointed Prima Nocta isn't included in Noble Rights. Surely with such a right, the barons will be certainly overjoyed and have little reason to revolt against such a righteous ruler.))

[Sultan 3953]

((Pretty disappointed Prima Nocta isn't included in Noble Rights. Surely with such a right, the barons will be certainly overjoyed and have little reason to revolt against such a righteous ruler.))

(Haha, I wanted to add Prima Nocta. But thought it would be silly to make it a active right, but the Nobles can request it :P)

[Agnub 605]

(Haha, I wanted to add Prima Nocta. But thought it would be silly to make it a active right, but the Nobles can request it :P)

((Pfft request. You're all assuming that I haven't already wooed the newly wed bride into my bedchamber.))

[HappyShackles 886]

((Pfft request. You're all assuming that I haven't already wooed the newly wed bride into my bedchamber.))

((Why put the effort into wooing anymore :P )))

[o_Ben_o 193]

Nice work]]