Re: Where in Glorantha is this?

From: donald_at_W5sRa58eYif8hrLWzfGXsPGHG9tkqlyRg-a7TwJfpiQ2Oj_zhX7Hfc-yUI2tpeJZ-1tQK
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:05:11 GMT

In message <70F9A511F09F47A8AD6B4FECEB924187_at_Camelot> "Roderick and Ellen Robertson" writes:
>> I don't see the DH emperor being as constrained as a feudal monarch.
>> He is the semi-divine ruler in the tradition of ancient Egypt rather
>> than the descendent of the warlord who gathered enough support to
>> take the throne. The theory of the divine right of kings was a
>> renaissance import from the fall of Byzantium and lasted until
>> parliament decided to execute Charles I for treason.
>
>The millenia of "tradition" surrounding the DH Emperor make him, if
>anything, much more constrained than any medieval or Renaissance king.
>Every league and every city will have its own exemptions to decrees
>and laws, dating back to before the fall of the sun in some cases. The
>Emperor is surrounded by a *serious* Bureaucracy, *and* a Hierarchy,
>*and* Divine Laws which he may not break - the poor guy can't even
>touch the ground with his bare skin, fer cryin' out loud! Sure, some
>lucky emperors get to go out and slaughter the paynim, but they'd
>better not touch their own subjects!

Perhaps differently constrained is a better way of putting it. A DH Emperor is constrained by traditions and rules, a feudal monarch is constrained by the nobles he relies on for support.

>> Nor do I see land ownership in DH being anything like as complicated
>> as feudal Europe. Some will be owned by free peasants who work it
>> themselves while most will be owned by Leagues who use slaves. 4th
>> Century Roman practice if you want an analogy.
>
>There's a lot of to complications that can build up in 110,000+ years, .
>Plus all the kerfluffle of all the various invasions, rebellions, False
>Emperors, etc..

Legal rights for something as important as land ownership change incredibly slowly. There's a lot of English land law which has been there since Anglo-Saxon times. And that's after significant simplification in the 20th Century. It's so bad that parliament daren't try and consolidate the legislation into a series of acts. They just repeal bits and pieces when a particular issue gets sufficently problematical.

The current issue is certain farmland which has a duty to maintain the local parish church. In one case major repair work is going to cost more than the farmland is worth.

>The Dara Happan empire may seem simple, but *nothing* can last that
>long and *not* have serious issues.

Sure.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/