>a. Nobles: A hereditary nobility exists.
A hereditary nobility is a key feature of Seshnela.
>b. Seigneurs: Some people own permanent "seigneurial" interests
>in the land, which do not include the right to possess and use it.
>These seigneurs overlap substantially with the nobility, but many of
>them are commoners.
Seshnela also has a warrior/knightly caste who are distinct from the nobility in theory but there is substantial blurring in practice.
>c. The Church:
A church, Seshnela, tick.
>d. Taxes: The king imposes a bewildering array of taxes; as a
>whole, the system defies fairness.
Seshnela to a T.
>e. Farmers: Farmers resent all of the above, but do nothing about
>it. (Yet.)
In Seshnela, Farmers are divided between the free farmers and the serfs. The free farmers have the right to village councils, low justice etc. The serfs fo not.
>f. A Rising Gentry: There are agricultural entrepreneurs who are
>mostly of common origin and who do a combination of two things.
There is no prohibition on a free farmer moving to the cities and
becoming a townie. Likewise there is no
prohibition against a free farmer improving on a knight's
estates. The only social sanction is that he
acquires a rep as an oik with too much money.
>g. The Constrained King: The king, while notionally absolute, in
>fact is constrained by custom and the threat of revolt.
Less true in Seshnela. The King is warring against the nobility by
depriving them of their estates but he is
also engaging in wars of conquest and plunder in order to provide a
release for those people who are
angry about it.
>h. The Royal Court: The quality of the individual in the office
>of the kingship is wildly variable.
If a King of Seshnela didn't have a court, he wouldn't be much a king, would he?
>i. The Cities: There are few big cities. The population of the
>cities is a small minority -- 10% or so. Half of that is in the
>capital city, which is always a net importer of food and other
>things from the countryside.
There's only about three cities that I can think of and the royal
capital isn't significantly larger than
the others.
--Peter Metcalfe
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