King Charles II had far more than ten. A significant proportion of the English House of Lords used to be titles created by him for his illegitimate offspring in addition to his five or six legitimate children. There's a tendency to think of infant mortatility striking evenly - it doesn't. Some women produced ten healthy babies all who grew up to adults, others produced half a dozen sickly ones none of who survived. Princes tend to spread their seed around so produce more offspring than the average women making ten not an unreasonably high number. In the bit you snipped I did say that I thought the actual number would be a magnitude lower but it still gives a large pool of potential candidates.
After the Lunar invasion they hunt down Sartar's heirs so there won't be many left by 1605.
>> Several of the actual princes seem to have been selected at birth
>> so it's probably very similar to how the European monarchies
>> selected the next ruler in the medieval period - oldest politically
>> acceptable son then brothers etc. Politically unacceptable heirs
>> disappearing either voluntarily or compulsorily.
>
>I don't see how that fits with the general Heortling model at all, nor
>is that the feeling I get from reading KoS. Later, during the
>rebellion the key seems to be interacting with the Flame of Sartar.
>I'm pretty sure there is some consensus involved in selecting the
>prince. Propably he, or she, has to be somebody acceptable to both the
>tribal kings of Sartar and to Sartar's flame.
The Heortling model is roughly based on the Celtic/Viking/Anglo-Saxon model. That developed into the medieval European system by placing greater importance on legitimate heirs - i.e. church approval of the parents. It was still important for the individual to be acceptable to both the nobility and the church. Even a crowned king was in trouble if both the nobility and church opposed him.
Now how far along that route Sartar's princes are I'm not sure but we know they are all male and there's predjudice against women, even Vingans, becoming the prince. Eldest children are preferred because in a society with low life expectancy they are more likely to be mature, or at least of age.
The main differences I see are that a legitimate son would be able to not take the throne without being imprisoned or executed and that children of any wife, however temporary, would be eligible. Which has the potential for interesting squabbles over succession which aren't reflected in KoS - that's just the list of successful heirs.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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