I seem to be continuing my rambling lecture on Orlanthi society and law.
Alex writes:
>Yup, that's what I thought. Basically each "level" of organisation
>(individual, (stead?), bloodline, clan, tribe, kingdom) deals with each
>"subordinate" unit as a collective entity, at least for the most part,
>not as individuals, or as sub-sub-parts -- that seems to be the general
>principle, right? To "pick out" a particular individual for some
>sanction or other requires going through the representatives of each
>level (tribal king, clan chieftain), if you want to stick with legal
>protocol.
Yes, this is correct. Sticking with legal protocol is a pretty wise idea since it tends to reduce the potential ramifications of an action and makes reconciliation easier.
>Incidentally, I predict that the Lunars, having a quite different sort
>of social organisation override this often, greatly pissing clansfolk
>off, even without really meaning to. When they start breaking up
>existing clans, mind you, I think they mean to.
Let's divide the Lunars into two groups shall we? The actual Lunar Provincial Government, based in Orlanthi Saird, is run by Lunarized Orlanthi. Many, maybe most, officials within the LPG are quite familiar with the way the Sartarites organize their society since it is essentially the same system of social organization used by the Tarshites, etc. They know exactly what they are doing when they break up tribes, move clans, etc - - since this is essentially an extension of their own method of practicing politics.
Then, on the other hand, there are the "Pelorian" Lunars (of DH, Carmania, Rinliddi, etc.). They don't have a clue.
JR> Each Orlanthi clan is likely to have its own laws regulating marriage.
A
>> new clan may well relax the exogamous requirement - particularly when the
>> marriage involves people who recently joined the clan. More established
>> clans with a stronger sense of traditional idenity are likely to take the
>> exogamous requirement very literally and often have lists of prohibited
and
>> favored clans.
AF>I can see that, yes; in the extreme case of the latter, you get a
>triaty, and a list of bloodlines in the other clans yours may _not_
>marry, due to possible incest (I think KoS describes both these
>circumstances).
Yes, this is exactly right.
>I suppose that such variation occurs because Vingkot's and Heort's
>laws (I assume) will say something to the effect of "Don't be going
>and committing incest, now, y'hear", rather than specifying something
>as specific as "thy clans shalt be exgamous", or "thou shalt not
>sleep with thy auntie; thy first cousin, well maybe, especially
>if she's a looker". From the former, vague injunction more detailed
>tribal or clan law develops, based on accumulated 'legal precedent',
>or as it's more familiarly called, "this is the way the Knytha
>clan have _always_ done it!". A newly formed clan would be more
>free to discard much such baggage, and appeal to the original
>law and say "well, t'ain't incest, so there".
Again, Alex is completely correct here. Overlay this observation with the fact that the amount of accumulated legal precedent varies from a few generations in newly established clans to as much as fifteen hundred years in the case of one or two very ancient clans. Pity the poor lawspeakers who must advise the king of a large tribal confederation like Sartar!!!
JR>> As for sacred knowledge, especially initiatory secrets - these are NOT
>> written down, nor even communicated to non-initiates. They are secrets.
AF>I was thinking that such a prohibition might extend even to some
>'public' knowledge -- a myth is surely sacred, even it's commonplace
>enough that even a stranger or a foreigner might be permitted to hear
>it.
That might be the case depending on the tribe and the region.
Janes writes:
>Searching for something else, I just found a web site all about Brehon
>Law. Since Orlanthi Law is basically this with the unpronouceable
>Celtic bits turned into not much more pronounecable Norse, it may well
>be worth a look.
I'm familiar with the Brehon Law - although it is definitely worth a look, it is rather different from Orlanthi law. The best book I've found dealing with Brehon law and how it worked is "Clansmen and Cattle Lords" by Nerys Patterson. It's not available in the UK, although you can order it from Borders' Books.
As a practicing lawyer and as the duly appointed Orlanthi expert, Orlanthi
law is certainly something I've spent time on. Fundamentally, my sources on
Orlanthi law are:
"The Economics of Justice", Richard Posner (great section on how feud
operates and law without a state),
"Beyond Law", Richard Posner,
"Medieval Iceland: Sagas, Society and Power", Jesse Byock (the "dean" of a
way hipster school of jurisprudence examining medieval Icelandic law), and
"Clansmen and Cattle Lords: The Social Structure of Early Ireland", Nerys
Patterson.
Although the legal systems of early medieval Ireland and medieval Iceland are certainly drawn upon for the Orlanthi, Orlanthi law is not simply Viking law mixed with Celtic law. BTW, it is my understanding that there will be an article on gaming Orlanthi law in the next issue of Tales. Pick up a copy of Enclosure 2 for an Orlanthi saga involving much legal wrangling.
Jeff
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