The line probably does get quite fuzzy, especially as it has no real basis in law, being really just a matter of clan custom, codified to a greater or lesser extent. At its most formulised, it's still just "clan law", i.e., an excuse to argue with your relatives, which no-one outside the clan has any bearing on. To be picky, I don't think "stead property" exists as a legal concept at all, though it doubtless as often the de facto situation.
As others have implied, for a given sort of thing, there will be an "expected" state of ownership, e.g., land and cattle are odal property, chickens and swords are personal. Particular things will only vary from this pattern when there's an obvious reason for it to. Such as, this is my cow because it was a wedding gift from my mother-in-law, or this is the clan's cockerel because it's the one that wakes the whole valley up in the morning. This should account for most of the stead's "fixtures". Consumable produce is a woolier issue yet, but these probably aren't really classify as being either, but are mainly distrubuted according to custom and need.
> The
> steadholders use this clan property and put a lot of work into it and get some
> returns (grains, lambs, etc.). The fruits of the stead are stead property.
> The stead then gives a portion of that (whatever they feel is "right") to the
> clan.
I don't think this is right, as it would tend to lead to all "produce" (herds, seedcorn) ending up as personal property. Giving to the clan is a very abstract idea: what exactly happens to these donations? The members of a given stead do, though, have "first shout" at the produce of that stead (after the chieftain's cut), to meet there own needs.
> People who work hard
> but don't succeed are probably supported with the belief that some day they
> will also contribute. People who don't work hard (for no reason) and just live
> off the clan are probably muttered about.
Being supported is a right of clan membership, though naturally layabouts will be muttered about, threatened with a rapid succession of blows to the head and body, and ultimately booted out of the clan on the grounds of being a changeling, avatar of Eurmal, or similarly unworthy type.
> The fruits of the stead and their labor is also clan property. They use a
> portion of it to support and grow the stead, a portion of it to feed
> themselves, pay a portion of it to the church, and give the rest to the clan.
This seems to anticipate that there are large surpluses of produce, which is unlikely, I feel. The majority of the crops will be used to support the occupants of the stead, and in their duty to help feed the rest of the clan, before any consideration of the ownwership arises.
> Now, Grower Bahktian saw what the Scorpionmen did to his neighbors and wants to
> get a sword from the market. [...]
> Does he use the clan-owned grain to buy a sword which then belongs to the clan?
> And then, if the sword is clan-owned, how does anything ever become personal
> property?
Where there exists a genuine surplus, this will be disposed of according to the established rights of each steadholder to do so. For example, the principal pig-tenders of the clan are probably allowed to sell off any spare oinkers the clan has as odal property, and do whatever they wish with the proceeds. Additionally, a clan moot will be able to decide what to do with any surplus surplus; the above farmers has a right to defence, for example, so he has a reasonable expectation that the clan supply him with a sword, especially if he helped produce the surplus in question. Swords don't make a lot of sense as odal property (discussions of collective ownership and distribution according to need of Walkmans springs to mind), and will generally end up as _someone's_ personal property.
> Why would you need personal property?
The distinction only becomes important for things which could reasonably be either; say, herd animals are usually odal property, but you rustled some sheep by your own personal native cunning, and claim them as personal property. Or if most chickens are individual's property, but one coup is designated as the clan's.
Alex.
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