Heortling social structure and wergeld confusion

From: valkoharja <rintasaa_at_UaOA4yd4pdC8I0G-vkw9iHVkyyIrglkRD8RmTrFsC2Csh4xGv9zLvAwlcpeI5YoECq_>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:17:37 -0000

Hello again everybody.

After decades of roleplaying in Glorantha, and some excellent source books, I still find it hard to figure out how the social structure of the Heortlings is supposed to go.

The most clear inspiration seems to be the viking / saxon model.

In the saxon model a thegn (thane) is a warrior noble, like a knight in classic feodalism. He owns land a defends it with his warriors. The thegns own fealty to their lord.

"Saxons!" says
"...Each must own at least five hides (of land); enough land to support a fullö-time warrior. A tegn should have armor, helmet, sword, shield and several spears. He may know how to ride a horse, but he does his fighting on foot..."

The common class of free men is that of ceorl (carl). Craftsmen and farmers, who form the fyrd. In the heortling society this class if further divided into the wealthier carls and the poorer cottars. Othervice it's quite similar.

The HeroQuest material get's rather confusing with it's emphasis on clan ownership of land, and the way it doesn't really explain how the settlements are situated on a clan's tula.

My suggestion is this:

On a clan's tula, there are several fortified "villages". Each of these is the demesne of a thane. The thane keeps several huscarls in his hall, and is rides patrols on his/her lands. The thane and his huscarls usually have their personal warrior followers picked from among the carls. The greatest of these villages is the one ruled by the chieftain of the clan. The chieftains hall is the largest, and houses many huscarls and other companions.   The villages are defended with various levels of defensive works like palisades and picket fences, and the longhouses are arranged to provide more defense. The chieftains village is usually the most heavily defended, and usually houses the most important temples and shrines, as well as the central market. In addition to the villages, the demesnes of the thanes have many outlying farms and settlements.

The thanes tend to be the heads of bloodlines, and their villages are usually populated by their immediate kin.

***

In addition to thanes, chiefs and kings, the Glorantha source material makes references to "nobles". I guess one could use the term jarl, to go with cottar, carl and thane. The problem here is that I haven't been able to figure out what these nobles are supposed to be. Members of the clan ring are not necessarily thanes in the sense of being warrior landowners. What is their position, and what is their werged, and who is it to be payed to?

***

On the wergeld. What is the position of a child of a thane, or even the child of a chieftain. If the person is an adult, but hasn't really accomplished anything yet. Is that person a cottar, a carl or a thane when it comes to wergeld? How much do such things mean when one is far from home? If a thane get's captured, injured or killed when far from his home, how much does his/her social rank mean? Is the only effect that a rich person is more likely to be ransomed back to his/her own clan, where a poor person is just made into a thrall?

I have a few potential problems in my game. One character is a young esrolian goldentongue. The family is very rich, and the characters aunt is the dishthane of one of the queens of Nochet. What is the social status of such a goldentongue? He represents his bloodline and clan as a trader, but I guess he's not a thane himself. I guess the most important social aspect of him is being a godi of Issaries (since traders are not a respected profession as such).

Another character is a daughter of Yinkin, a young demigod. What is the status and wergeld of such a person when she accompanies the trader's caravan to see the world. Her clan is a hunter oriented one, high in the foothills of the stormwalk mountains. She is the adopted daughter of the chief of the clan. What is her status, and what is her wergeld?

  -Adept            

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