I believe this is so.
A plow team is actually 8 oxen, which mean (I think) 4 for the morning
and 4 for the afternoon (oxen don't eat and work at the same time, and
so are only good for a half day of work).
To have 8 working oxen each year requires a herd of of 20-30 cattle.
This is a LARGE enterprise, and a sign of considerable wealth.
NOW, I know in Domesday Book (our best resource for pre-industrial
farming statistics) that many farmers had partial teams, or one owned a
plow and others parts of the team.
Among the Orlanthi you get land doled out to you that you can plow, so
owning half a team gets you half as much plowland as someone with a
whole team.
Somewhere between the family that owns an entire team and plow and no
team or plow is the line that separates carls from cottars.
I'd suggest that a standard would be half a team.
Cottars live mainly be vegetables. "Less bread, more cabbage."
> > My view is that a few specialists in each clan are enough to
> > provide all the magic required in normal circumstances.
>
> This makes some sense, and would explain why the default Orlanth cult
> Durev deals mostly with family life and managing a household, not
> exercising an occupation. It doesn't align with the definition of carl
> just above, but that might not really apply to Sartar; it could just
> be a sterotype.
Yes, Durev is the more basic "general farmer" type. Yes, he invented the first plow, but he also invented the first cabin to live in, the first family, etc.
> > Even if Barntar were a subcult of Orlanth in Sartar it doesn't
> > mean he can't be a separate cult elsewhere.
>
> Good point.
Or even, as others have pointed out, a separate existence. Barntar is not dependent upon his parents to exist.
-- Sincerely, Greg Stafford Issaries, Inc. 1942 Channing Way, #204 Berkeley, CA 94704
Powered by hypermail