SR - A Question Concern

[Timothy A. McDaniel]

Caradoc wrote:
> Now it may not be "period" to believe in free elections for the BoD,

There is this odd notion in the SCA (and in the populace at
large) that voting isn't period.  There are, however, plenty of
examples.

Elective monarchies: Holy Roman Empire, Poland, Lithuania, Bohemia (I
think), Sweden, Denmark (both at various periods).

There were plenty of town and city councils.  Italy has lots.
They were often elected.  (E.g., the Doge of Venice, among many
other examples.)

The papacy has always been elective.  That's because bishoprics were
elected.

*Decline* in elections is a late-period / post-period thing, I'd say.
E.g., monarchies rose and started suppressing municipal freedoms in
some areas.  Popes (and kings via concordats or power grabs) started
reserving more and more bishoprics to be appointive rather than
elective.  Poland crumbled, mostly because of too much noble liberty.

Now mind you, it wasn't *everyone* voting!  There was almost always a
limited or VERY limited electorate.  In the papacy, for example, it's
been a College of Cardinals.  For the HRE, it was eventually the seven
electors.  In cities, it was usually a limited set of rich people.
Ancient Rome was unusual in having all citizens able to vote, but not
everyone was a citizen, and the deck was stacked in favor of the rich
in the tribes.

Anyway, the SCA is a medieval organization AND a modern one.  In
medieval matters, I'm quite willing to have medieval attitudes.  When
it comes to real modern money, I get all democratic and modern inside.

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel.   Reply to tmcd at crl.com;
    if that fail, tmcd at austin.ibm.com is my work account.
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