Orlanthi thralls

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        HEORTLING THRALL-TAKING         Phil enquires:

>How many thralls could an Orlanthi clan of 1000 viably support?

        If you mean Heortling Orlanthi, you're talking an agriculture society where agricultural surpluses are usually around twenty to thirty percent: that is for every ten full time farmers, herders, hunters and fishers, enough food is produced for twelve or thirteen people. I'm factoring in magic here: medieval surpluses were typically around five to ten per cent. (Obviously, there is a range of variation across these values, but on of the prime bits of evidence is that Sartar has so few towns: life is rural and centred around the steads). While a clan does support some non-farming specialists (kings, some priests, crafters, thanes), basically everyone spends part of their time in food-producing activities. To quote the Orlanthi maxim, 'Everybody ploughs; even Orlanth ploughs'.

        In addition to the strong ideological impetus against thrall taking - - Orlanthi value freedom as a prime virtue, there isn't much economic incentive. Every thrall would need to work full time as a farm labourer, and would need to be guarded. In most circumstances, you'd need less than two full time guards for every ten thralls to be able to come out ahead economically.

        You could stretch this: keep your thralls half-starved, give them small plots of land and a few hours a day to grow their own food, but for economic reasons alone I'd see thrall-taking as a comparatively rare activity. Very few Orlanthi are born into thralldom, so they will not accept their lot, and generally will be more trouble than they are worth. The thralls that are kept will be mainly prisoners of war, feud hostages, captured raiders, or kidnapped stickpickers taken for special purposes like building a dam or a road or a temple.

        Some clans of course do have a tradition of thrall-taking, but would be isolated politically because of this. Lunar political meddling encourages thrall-taking as part of their strategy to change Orlanthi culture, and Lunar authorities will often lend support to thrall-taking clans.

        However, my answer to your basic question would be no more than twenty or thirty thralls per thousand adults, unless its some spectacular and short term game device like a crazed king, battle-mad war leader or planned mass human sacrifice..

        Thrall-taking has few rewards socially, economically or culturally.

        John