Working on the stead project, I have once again come across what I think is confusion in TR and other places regarding what a 'tula' actually is. It is supposed to be a stead or a clan's total lands (usually the former) but when say, the clan gen tells me the clan tula is 200 hides, this seems right for fields and cultivated lands, but hopelessly small for hunting and summer grazing lands. (Anyone care to define a hide? Traditionally it is the area enclosed by a string made entirely from the hide of a single ox, which I take to be about 150 metres square, so 200 hides is about 4.5 sq km.)
Because of the confusion, I'd like to propose the following terminology, much of which is implicit in my own work in TR.
HEARTH: 'home', the actual lodge or building where you dwell.
HARSTINGS: the cultivated lands of a stead - stead buildings, fields, meadows, yards and work areas.
TULA: the area enclosed within a stead's boundary stones, and set each year in the boundary walking ritual. Includes the harstings and some wilds.
WILDS: hunting and summer grazing lands largely outside the tula, nominally claimed by a clan or a bloodline, but largely unpatrolled and often used by more than one clan for at least part of the year.
CLANDS: a term first used by Mikael Raaterova, to denote the totality of a clan's land enclosed by boundary stones: the clan tula if you will. Depending on the placement of steads, this will not necessarily be a single contiguous area. It will almost certainly contain areas of wilds and even wastes, unless we adopt the 'alynx territorality' model.
WASTES: Marginal or wilderness lands unclaimed by any clan.
Thoughts? Objections? Comments?
John
nysalor_at_... John HughesQuestlines: http://home.iprimus.com.au/pipnjim/questlines/
>From tulas harsh-stripped
streamed the strong called to battle, Spears each held ready, shield-clash they sought. Fyrd-fierce and fearless, from hearth called and harstings Fashioned they feasting for Humakt's dark-swans.
My kinsmen, my comrades, they budged not in battle Brought courage to combat, feat-strong and fierce. Like berries in harvest, bright red their bounty they made shame of armies, caused red moon to flee.
KallyrKarla: The Song of the Betrayed.
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