I did some checking in Kos on this and got some useful grist for the mill in the myths of Orlanth te Justinc Bringer (p74) and King Heort. Laws existed at the time of the Vingkotlings, some created by Orlanth some more ancient. Orlanth brings justice. The Vingkotlings hold ArrowMound in the Skyreach mountains by right of possession. The Harandings are besieging it claiming right of Establishment. They both have legal claims but cannot decide who is right. Orlanth turns up and fetches the justice wans from the sky [I wonder if he got this from Elmal who left the Fire tribe with the Justice Stick]. The Justice stick is used to decide the claim [in a sort of ordeal by fire, they hold the stick, the Harandings king has his hand burned]. The Harandings resort to the law of violence to claim Arrowmound. Because Orlanth supports Justice however he aids the Vingkotlings [presumably why the Orlanthi legal code unlike the Norse law code has the jurors helping the aggreived party enforce a claim]. Jarani raises the Justice Stone and agrieves to give worthy candidates the Justice Wand.
Vingkot is occassionally referred to as a lawgiver, so there are laws, but they seem to get lost in the Darkness and the Hiden Kings period. Heort quests on the Lawstaff Path. He goes to the Jarani stones, defeats Gagarth the Wild Hunter and gains the Lawstaff [good heroquest material here] and returns justice to the people.
So Heort seems to be a bringer of Justice as much as law codes, presumably he is responsible for the establishment of judicial authority (represented by jurors and those adjudicating at the court?) and Orlanth is legislative authority (represented by godi?). Executive authority (which is what the Rex cult seems to represent on a tribal level) is the remaining question, presumably I need to look for this in Making of the Storm Tribe from KoDP or KoS, I'll let you know (of course it may not settle any of the questions).
So to get back to my original question I suspect that the Vingkotlins and Heortlings are not that different now, I get the impression the Heort restores the culture after it is nearly destroyed and falls from the right path in the Darkness more than changes its form.
As for the Harandings they are a non-Vingkotling Orlanthi people - any idea what happens to them do they dissappear in the Storm Age or Darkness or they antecedents of someone else?
Ian
PS Hopefully I am getting there.
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