SR - Principality Law

Timothy A. McDaniel tmcd at crl.com
Sat Jul 18 10:53:31 PDT 1998


On Fri, 17 Jul 1998, Rollie W. Reid wrote:
> Now, if you give me a little time I can come up with a really
> controversial proposal for a curia that will really stir the pot.

If you manage to devise a more controversial curia system than the
Middle Kingdom's, I'll bow to your genius.

The Middle was early on afflicted by a Rex Buttheadus
Incredibilissimus Veritatus, Michael of Boarshaven by name.  Folo
probably still sells histories of the early years of the Middle; if
you're interested, have someone check at Pennsic?  For example, the
oldest Midrealm crown has gaps in it, never to be repaired, where he
pried off some of the stones before returning it at his abdication.
(Michael returned it via his last SCA friend, and then Michael went to
the county police to try to get him arrested for theft.  Like I said,
Really Most Incredibly Buttheaded King.)  This caused some permanent
changes.

Middle Kingdom law looks like Ancient Egyptian from the viewpoint of
an Westy-Atenveldtish "king's word is law" place like Ansteorra.
Regrettably, in an echo of the Southforks problem,
http://www.midrealm.org now points to a web page for "Europamerican
Tile and Marble - Specializing in the sale, design, and installation
of ceramic tile and marble.".

The provisions I recall are that the Curia, the Great Officers of
State, must approve all law changes, and a warranted seneschal and a
warranted herald must be at all courts where anything official is
done.

Mind you, I was SCA-raised in the Middle.  "The King's Word Is Law" is
largely an alien notion to the medieval mindset, based on traditional
rights and limited (by money and men if nothing else) monarchy.
(Monarchical absolutism in the post-Roman West was first really tried
in the Renaissance and 17th C.)  I'd *like* to see limits on royalty.
I suspect it'll be about as successful as my hopes of avoiding a
Celtic or Norse name for the area.

Daniel "with apologies for the viciously mangled Latin" de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel (home); Reply-To: tmcd at crl.com; 
if that fail, tmcd at austin.ibm.com is my work address.
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