#tanistry

[scarybong]

I fixed everything and my game didn’t save 🙃

[moiraimyths]

Where would the line of succession go if Aífe/Flannán didn't have an heir? What are the succession laws for the other world?

This is a little situational! At the moment, if Flannán were to die suddenly, it is quite possible the "Unseelie" as a distinct nation state would quickly cease to be, as they would be vulnerable to the Seelie swooping in to reclaim the lost territory while they have the opportunity to do so. That said! In terms of the technical process of selecting a new monarch, it may surprise you to learn it would come down to a vote! Not from the "common" people, mind you, but among the regional lords of the Seelie/Unseelie sides. Eligible persons for the throne would make their cases for why they ought to rule instead, and the candidate with the most support would be the next monarch. Typically candidates consisted of other lords who could claim shared ancestry with the previous monarch, but in the Unseelie's case, since both Lugaid and Flannán were common born and their ancestries were not tracked, the election would be dubiously open to all lords, or close confidants like Maeve who command the people's respect. This is how Aífe became queen, actually! Of course, the fact she was chosen by Lia Fáil (the ancient coronation stone) also helped her case.

If you're wondering, this system does have a basis in Brehon law (ancient Irish law), specifically under a system called tanistry. The Tuatha Dé's current system is not quite the same as the historic system, though: After the Tuatha Dé were defeated by the Milesians, many of the ancient laws were revisited/revised to encourage stability (submission to a central state power) and thereby clamp down on territory grabs, cattle raids, etc. between lords (or, then, petty kings). In any case, one change to the law was establishing a line of succession based on age and the familial relation, with direct descendants preferred over brothers or sisters, etc. Voting in a new monarch is now more or less a "final resort".

[gawrkin]

King Lot in the Chronicle Traditions, pt. EX: Historia Scotorum

(Thanks to an anonymous person, who gave me a link to the Philological Museum, I was able to have a look at how King Lot presented in the Scottish narrative by Hector Boece. Kudos to him/her. Link is HERE)

Lot introduced. In Boece's work, Lot is a Pict, rather than a Northern Briton from Hen Ogledd/The Old North. Keep in mind this Chronicle has a Pro-Scottish bent, hence the appropriation of Lot and his family as Pictish. You may now imagine Gawain and co. being heavily tattooed.

The alliance of Lot, Conranus and Aurelius

After the triumph over the Saxons, Lot is wed to Anna, Aurelius' sister, and fathers Valvanus (Gawain), Mordred and Thametes (Teneu). Geoffrey of Monmouth himself flip flops on whether Anna was a sister of Arthur or a sister of Uther and Aurelius. Boece elected to go with "Sister of Aurelius and Uther" to frame the injustice Arthur and the Britons commit regarding Mordred's eligibility to the Throne.

Uther sires Arthur, in which Boece emphasizes it's illegitimacy. The treachery towards the Scots and Picts begins here.

Due to his sons being cheated out of succession, Lot allies with the Saxon King Occa (Octa/Osla Gyllelvawr, Hengist's son and Rowena's brother)

Lot breaks off with the Saxons and Occa retaliates as a result.

Lot pushes for him and his sons for succession, presumably under an old Celtic system similar to Tanistry. Sadly, Racism gets in the way.

Because of the Saxons, Arthur makes a deal with Lot: The next successor after him will be Mordred. Also, Mordred's marriage. Huh, that's weird. You'd think it would be Gawain, since he is usually portrayed as the eldest. Perhaps he's not in Boece, since Mordred is always mentioned first before Gawain?

Lot vs. Colgern

Years later, King Lot sadly dies offscreen. :( And the Mordred drama ensues because, again, racism. Arthur breaks the treaty and designates Constantine of Cornwall as heir to the throne, etc. etc. And that's it for King Lot in Boece's chronicle. The following three entries are some interesting tidbits Boece included as part of his narrative:

King Brude, one of Lot's nephews, succeeds the Pictish Throne. By which brother, unknown. It ought to be Auguselus, but Eugenius is King of the Scots and Urien and Ywain aren't part of this narrative, so...

The story of Thametes/Teneu and St. Kentigern/Mungo.

Lothian retains it's name to the present day, in memory of King Lot

King Lot got a peculiar sidegrade here compared to in Historia, still having lost the "King of Norway" element (as he is now a pict), as well not having a role in the endgame - unlike in Didot Percrval and AMA - having died early so that Mordred is King of the Picts when it all goes down.

In exchange, more emphasis is place on the political intrigue and struggles: Lot's role in both Aurelius and Arthur's wars against the Saxons, his fight to have his family maintain their rights to the throne despite Briton resistance to the idea, etc.

Personally, I do love the idea of Lot and the Orkney bros being Norse/Pictish/Briton mixed race (and maybe, Urien and Augusel as well). Also, the idea of Mordred having a hand in government long before the Revolt, being in-charge of Lothian, Orkney and the Picts. It gives him something cool to do since Mordred lacks a lot of noteworthy adventures, enhance the flaws (percieved or otherwise) about Arthur's rule and helps contrast him with Gawain, who I've complained before about how he should be a responsible King in the French narratives, rather than the adventurer-hero he, and his fellow Round Table Knights, have been pigeonholed into by the French writers.

Link to Part I: HERE

Link to Part II: HERE

Link to Part III: HERE

[inky-duchess]

Hello! Could you please give me advice about this?

In my story, the emperor does not want any of her children to inherit the throne, instead wanting to choose someone worthy of the position outside of her family.

Is this even possible? What would become of her children, then?

Thank you for your time writing all these resources and such, they have been helpful and interesting. ^^ I hope that you have a nice rest of your day!

Yes. There are many systems set up yo chose a successor, one of which is tanistry. This system is set up so that those within a set and agreed degree of relation to a previous monarch.

Her children would retain royal style and titles but would form lives outside the monarchy.

[skyscratch-wc]

Skyfall: Becoming Leader

In an effort to differentiate the clans more in Skyfall, each of the clans has a different way to become leader. Some are more similar than others. Below is a summary of each clan's process for selecting a deputy who will then become leader.

ThunderClan:

ThunderClan functions as the clans all do in canon. They are a meritocracy. The leader selects a deputy based on their merit rather than any kin ties to the leader. The deputy is usually a senior warrior who has proven themselves to be an exceptional warrior and leader. This is a decision made only by the leader with no official input from other clan members.

EX: Bluestorm selecting Lionheart as her second deputy since he was known to be an exceptional warrior with strong leadership qualities.

RiverClan:

In RiverClan, the deputy is selected by a council of Senior Warriors and the Cleric. This group of cats elects a new deputy through multiple voting rounds. Typically, they elect a new deputy from within the senior warriors, but sometimes an exceptional young warrior may be elected to deputy (EX: Stormstrike aka Crookedjaw). Each cat within the council presents their choice for leader, and after some deliberation the cats select one individual from the cats suggested. This process typically takes a full day or two. The longest election took a full week.

WindClan:

WindClan is the first of two clans that follow some form of monarchy. WindClan follows a divine-right tanistry-esque system. The only cats that can be considered for the deputyship are the close kin (out two generations in either direction) of the current leader. However, the leader does not select the cat who will be their deputy. The Priest selects the deputy from among the kin of the current leader with divine help. The decision of the Priest is considered the will of StarClan. Anecdotally, the kits or grandkits of the leader are most likely to be selected.

EX: Heathersong's last deputy is Talltail, her nephew. Talltail's first deputy, Smokefoot, was his cousin. His second deputy, Mudclaw, was a departure from tanistry caused by Ryestalk insisting to Barkface that he select her son. Talltail went back to tradition on his death by having Barkface proclaim that his great nephew, Peatwhisker, would be the next leader. (as you can see, this system can be very easily manipulated by cats who want power)

ShadowClan:

ShadowClan is the second clan to follow a monarchy system. ShadowClan follows classic primogeniture, where the eldest kit of the current leader is the heir apparent. Other cats may be deputy if the kit is not old enough, but once they are a warrior they are made the deputy. Sometimes, under chaotic circumstances, the clan abandons primogeniture for other cats they deem better for the position. A great example of this is the series of leaders between Brokentail's exile and Rowanclaw's ascension. Nightpelt, Tigerclaw, and Rookfoot (Blackfoot) were not in the line of primogeniture. However, the existing heirs were either too young, unwilling to be leader, or otherwise considered a bad choice by the clan who was still recovering from the tyranny of Brokentail. Rowanclaw's leadership marks the beginning of the reestablished ShadowClan monarchy.

EX: Rowanclaw is followed by his son, Goldenheart. Goldenheart's daughter, Lightleap, is considered the next in line to the leadership of ShadowClan.

Modern SkyClan:

Modern SkyClan, both at the gorge and at the lake, are full democracies. All warriors and elders are eligible to vote for a deputy. This typically takes a few rounds as cats are eliminated from the running, however, it is rare for a voting round to take any longer than a day.

EX: Leafdapple is elected by her clanmates as the first leader of Modern SkyClan. Her deputies afterwards are also elected by the clan.

Ancient SkyClan:

Ancient SkyClan merged the roles of Head Protector and Deputy. If a warrior became Head Protector then they were the Deputy. The leader selects the Senior Warriors, so in this case it is very similar to ThunderClan's system, just without the chance for non-protectors to become deputy and then leader.

EX: Cloudstorm had been head protector, and his deputy, Buzzardtail, was also head protector.

[write-r-die]

By Tomorrow - Part 11

Masterlist

A/n: Hopefully this isn't garbage. Part 5 of Man's World is also in progress.

Henry felt satisfied and guilty in equal measure. Guilty enough to apologize, something he avoided at all costs. Though he supposed he’d apologized about Sybil losing her brother when they met.

A woman’s first time was never pleasant; her husband had no choice about hurting her the first time he took her to bed. But Henry should have at least had more time to prepare her. 

Henry believed above all things that a man shouldn’t hurt his family, particularly his wife, under any circumstance, and it weighed on him. Now she’ll work herself up into a fine state and be frightened of me again.

He certainly shouldn’t have left her alone in their cottage with only her racing thoughts for company. He wished at least that he could send Catherine to care for her until he returned, just so she wouldn’t be alone, but Catherine was certainly barricaded in her room in the keep by now. 

There were half a dozen unfamiliar horses in the courtyard being guarded by two Macleans; the Cavill warriors watching them looked less angry than bored. None of them acknowledged Henry as he went past; they didn’t trust the Macleans enough to take their eyes off them, even for a moment.

Henry slipped through the massive doors into the keep. Everyone looked up. 

There were three young men gathered by the table where the Maclean boy - no doubt their younger brother - lay. 

All three wore their yellow hair pulled back and though Henry wasn’t close enough to see their eyes, he knew they were all blue.

Alexander was easy to pick out, since he was the largest and surliest of the three. He and Henry had never spoken directly to each other or even been introduced, but they knew each other well.  It’s always wise to know one’s enemy, especially if the enemy in question is the future laird of an enemy clan. 

Cameron and Donal, the second and third oldest in Maclean’s large brood, respectively, seemed innocuous in comparison to their older brother. 

Cameron was a decent fellow. He always sought out Arran when all the clans came together for the highland games and was sure to pay his respects. He made a point to hold shallow but pleasant conversations with Henry. It was clear that he wished to end the feud between their clans and let peace reign, though Alexander would certainly never reconcile with the Cavills, and Alexander was expected to take his father’s place as laird. But the practice of tanistry - the same practice that would make Henry laird someday instead of one of Arran’s sons - could technically see Cameron elected instead.

Donal was rude and rash but constantly smiling. Alexander at least had the decency to look nasty. Donal just had one of those ridiculous smirks on his face at all times, like he knew just how much he was frustrating those around him and absolutely delighted in it.

The fourth of Laird Maclean’s sons, Ramsey, the only one with dark hair, was nowhere to be seen. Most likely, he’d stayed behind at the keep while his other brothers came to attend their youngest brother, Maclean’s fifth son. 

Ramsey was as nasty as Alexander and smiled as much as Donal. Something was broken inside him; it was clear in his eyes. They say he used to kill dogs for sport. Henry was relieved to see he’d been left behind.

Maclean had two daughters, too, but one was married off to a clan faraway, and the second died in childhood.

It seemed another insult to the Cavills that Laird Maclean should remarry and have so many children when Helen died delivering her only one.

Henry crossed to his uncle. Donal, not smiling for once, was the first to look back down at his baby brother. Cameron nodded subtly in greeting. Alexander continued to glare for a long while, his eyes only leaving Henry’s face to look at the crumpled fabric in his hand.

“Is it done?” Arran murmured. 

Henry grunted. 

“And . . . do you have the necessary proof?”

Henry didn’t grunt so much as growl, and he didn’t hold the fabric out to his uncle for inspection as he might be expected to. Instead he kept it clenched in a white-knuckled grip. 

No one was going to see it. It was private. Checking bedlinens for blood was an absurd tradition on its own, and Henry wasn’t going to broadcast what he was sure had been an incredibly uncomfortable experience for Sybil.

Henry wondered for a split second about Maclean’s bedlinens after his wedding night with Henry’s mother. 

Arran lowered his voice further. “And the lass – how is she?”

Henry just grunted again. 

He didn’t want to tell his uncle that she was overwhelmed and confused and probably frightened. Henry was supposed to be able to remove her burdens and eliminate her fear because that’s what husbands did, or at least what they ought to do, and he couldn’t, and now she was alone, which Sybil, of all people, should never be, and he couldn’t even send her Catherine. Catherine would know just what to do, be able to bridge whatever gap that had just opened up between them.

Henry endeavored to sound casual when he asked, “Where is Uncle Patrick?” 

“Finn came out of Catherine’s room to see what all the fuss was about. Catherine stepped out after him.” Arran settled his eyes on the eldest Maclean. “I told him to go back with them.”

Henry could imagine the situation. The Maclean boys had probably looked up at Catherine, and while Cameron’s gaze was surely respectful . . . Alexander’s certainly wasn’t.

The way he looked at her a few years ago when he saw her at the Highland Games – he was practically licking her.

Henry and Alexander had sparred after that, but had to be forcibly stopped when what was meant to be a friendly match turned too violent. Neither man had inflicted enough damage on the other to be satisfied.

“And Patrick agreed to just leave?” Henry asked.

“I insisted.”

Henry grunted. “Will the boy die?”

“He will if they don’t sever the leg,” Arran said. And he might still die if they couldn’t control the bleeding or if the wound caught an infection.

Henry grunted again.

“Laird,” Cameron called, approaching with measured steps.

“Cameron,” Arran replied. They clasped forearms in a show of good faith. Cameron would have offered his arm to Henry, too, but he was intensely focused on glaring at Alexander and Donal as they spoke quietly to one another.

Cameron’s eyes flickered to the fabric balled in Henry’s fist but wisely did not mention it. “May we borrow a wagon from you?”

“A wagon?”

“To bring him home.”

“If you think it wise,” Arran said carefully.

“I would not like to be in a strange place were I in his condition. He belongs at home.”

“You can’t move him in this condition,” Henry said. Arran and Cameron both seemed taken aback that he had actually spoken.

“No, we can’t,” Cameron said. “We know the leg must be removed,” he said reluctantly. “But I don’t want my brother to die in a strange place.”

Henry couldn't help but imagine himself in Cameron’s place, imagine that Will was lying helpless among strangers, or Hamish or Alistair were. He smothered that train of thought before his mind could conjure an image of Finn in such a state.

He would do anything for any of his cousins, but Finn – Finn was different. He was the heart of their family. He was the only person Henry allowed himself to love without reservation.

Cameron and Arran agreed that the best course of action was to amputate the leg here and get the bleeding under control before taking the boy back home. Donal and Alexander were in agreement, too, though they mostly refrained from joining in the conversation.

Henry moved to the edge of the hall where a servant had set out food and drink. He stood by the table as he ate, keeping his eyes trained on the Macleans.

Across the hall, Donal met his eye. As with Cameron, Donal’s gaze flicked to the scrap of linen still balled in Henry’s fist, but he allowed his gaze to linger a moment before dragging it back up to meet Henry’s. 

And he smirked.

****

Henry’s knuckles were bleeding where they’d made contact with the glass pane.

Glass was rare and expensive and he was stupid to break it, but it was either the glass or Donal Maclean’s smirking fucking face.

Donal was a right little shit and he wanted to get a rise out of Henry and it bloody well worked, but at least Henry had sought some privacy before he started breaking things - relative privacy, at least. He’d gone belowstairs, and in the short corridor from the stairs that ran between the barracks and the rooms of food stores, he lashed out, breaking everything within reach, including the pane of glass that was to be installed in Catherine’s window as a welcome-home gift from the triplets.

Henry looked down at his bleeding hand and wiggled each of his fingers with varying degrees of success. When he looked up again, Jamison was standing before him, probably going from the barracks to the foodstores.

Jamison’s gaze flicked to Henry’s bleeding hand, the one that still held that scrap of linen. He may not have realized what it was, but if he did he was smart enough not to mention it. 

His dark eyes returned to Henry’s pale ones. “Do you want a drink?” 

They sat on cots near the door to the barracks. Other warriors were scattered about, murmuring to one another as they cleaned their weapons or played cards. None of them slept, and none of them would so long as Macleans were on their land. 

They drank in silence at first, Henry keeping his focus on his cup as he opened and closed his fist. The bleeding had stopped but it grew sorer by the minute.

After a long silence, Jamison cleared his throat and spoke up. “I know it’s never pleasant when the Macleans are near, but it must be especially difficult with your wife so close by.”

Henry grunted. He did not want to talk about what was happening, especially not with Jamison, but the other man wouldn’t be deterred. 

The two had always had a strange sort of rivalry growing up, their relationship tense at even the best of times. But Jamison had matured considerably the last few years, especially after his father died and he no longer felt the need to prove himself worthy of his love.

“I never thanked you for choosing me to accompany you to England,” Jamison said. “You had many good men to choose from.”

“I don’t want you to thank me,” Henry said flatly. If he were going to say something kind to the other man, now would be the time. He didn’t. 

“You don’t want any apology either, I’ll bet. And I’m not the one who should be giving it to you.”

“I don’t want anything from you. You don’t owe me anything. I don’t owe you anything, either.”

Jamison’s father owed Henry the apology – owed Henry’s mother the apology. But they were dead now, both of them, and death was as close to resolution as anything would ever come.

“I bet you do want something from me,” Jamison said after a long silence. He grinned. “I bet you want me to stop trying to have these conversations.”

Henry cracked a half-hearted smile. “Especially when there are Macleans upstairs.”

“Jamison!” Alistair trotted into the room. “They’re about to sever the boy’s leg. We need help to hold him still.” 

Jamison paled but he made no protest. His hands were steady as he set down his ale and rose to his feet. Henry rose too.

“Not you,” said Alistair. “Father wants you to go back to your wife.”

Henry nodded, swallowing his pride. Not being needed here made him feel useless, but he supposed Sybil needed him more. Being a husband was a different sort of usefulness.

It was for the best that he leave, anyway. Jamison’s almost-apology had him thinking of his mother.

***

It was a long time before Sybil was able to rise from bed. She was too uncomfortable to sleep, though crying had drained her of most of her energy. 

She dipped a rag in a pail of water and used it to wipe herself down before dressing. It was the middle of the night but a mere nightgown didn’t feel right, didn’t feel like enough. She had the urge to hide her body under every article of clothing she could find. 

The utter darkness outside made her anxious. She felt trapped. She was trapped - not just by the laird’s decree for everyone to remain in their homes, but by the highlands themselves. There was nothing and no one for miles. Her friend was out of reach, as was her husband. But Sybil wasn’t sure that she wanted him within reach.

She paced the cottage, braiding and unbraiding her hair over and over as she wished there was someone here she could speak to, because she refused to speak aloud to herself like some doddering old lady, and keeping her thoughts trapped inside her head was like trying to corral a thunderstorm. She’d rather be needlepointing than braiding but the light was far too low.

Had she behaved strangely during the bed? Had something about it felt strange to Henry? What were the chances that he would accept the awkward encounter the same way he accepted her other peculiarities? Would he ask her questions she could not answer?

How was she supposed to talk to him at all after what they’d done? She’d never been so embarrassed in her life - which was truly a feat, considering her propensity to talk without thinking. 

Thoughts of her father’s friend kept trying to sneak in. not thoughts of that awful hour in the bathing chamber, but thoughts of him today. Did he think about it at all when he was comfortable at home with his wife and his family? Did he even remember what he’d done to her? Were there other girls he’d hurt?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone at the door - Henry, no doubt.

She leapt into bed, turning her back to the door, and shut her eyes. There was no way he’d believe that she was asleep, not when she was fully dressed and out of breath, but she hoped he would at least be kind enough not to call her out on it. 

It was painfully obvious to Henry that his wife was awake. It was also obvious that she was terrified.

He’d ruined things by rushing her. And for what? So Donal fucking Maclean could smirk at him?

Alexander had barely looked in his direction tonight. His indifference was infuriating. Henry wanted him to be angry, so angry that he couldn’t see straight. That was why he’d married Sybil, after all. To take something from a Maclean. To wound one of them.

He wanted Alexander to look at him – maybe even see the bloody cloth in his hand, the proof that he’d stolen something – and be blind to everything else.

He wanted a reason to fight him and beat him and humiliate him and humiliate the whole Maclean clan and its dying laird.

That was why he married Sybil. To use her as a tool, to further his game. 

And he felt like shit for it. 

He’d been good to her – tried to be, at least. Whatever his motivation to marry her had been, he’d treated her as best as he possibly could. And it wasn’t just out of a sense of duty. At least not anymore. 

Henry moved very slowly to the bed and lay above the covers on his back, looking up at the dark ceiling. His wife was rigid beside him.

He had to speak, to tell her about his mother. It wasn’t that he needed someone to know – the whole clan knew; they just never spoke of it. He wanted to tell her because he needed someone to understand.

“My mother . . .” he started. That familiar, sore lump was already swelling in his throat and he swallowed it down. “No one knows exactly what happened when. . . she never told anyone who my – who he was –”

Sybil cautiously turned toward her husband. His eyes were closed, his jaw locked, and he looked frustrated with himself for being unable to speak. She didn’t understand what he was saying but she understood his tone. This was something painful to him. Something important.

He kept his eyes shut as he pieced together the story. “No one knew at the time, but . . . My mother was already with child when she wed Maclean. It was not his . . . I was not his.” He flicked his tongue over his lips. “He found out somehow.”

The story wasn’t complete by any means, but Henry knew that was all he would be able to say tonight without being overcome by emotion, at which point he would probably break something – again.

But that would upset Sybil to the point where she might run screaming from their little home. And he didn’t want to upset her. Not ever.

Sybil’s hand was on his cheek before she knew what she was doing. Henry tensed even further for a moment before relaxing into her touch the slightest bit. 

She wasn’t sure what to say to him to make him feel better. There probably wasn’t anything that anyone could say to do that.

Let me know if you'd like to be on the tag list!

[maevefinnartist]

hi yall I just wanted to spread the word about Dlúthpháirtíocht (Solidarity), a collection of art and poetry being put together by Seán An Seanchaí to raise funds for Palestinian Red Crescent, an org that gets humanitarian aid into Gaza as best as they can amid the blockade. you can pre-order now for 2€ per copy ♡

apart from myself, contributors include Andrew Clarke of Tanistry, artists Diabhall666 and Aoife Cawley (one of my absolute favorite artists ever), poets Mikey Cullen and Marwan Makhoul, and many many more talented individuals. these should be published around late December-early January iirc.

edit to add: Seán was and may still be looking for someone who speaks Arabic to help with this project, if you know any Arabic speakers please tag them!

[dailyanarchistposts]

Footnotes, 151 - 200

[151] See Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, Oldenburg, 1887. Münzinger, Ueber das Recht und Sitten der Bogos, Winterthur” 1859; Casalis, Les Bassoutos, Paris, 1859; Maclean, Kafir Laws and Customs, Mount Coke, 1858, etc.

[152] Waitz, iii. 423 seq.

[153] Post’s Studien zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des Familien Rechts Oldenburg, 1889, pp. 270 seq.

[154] Powell, Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnography, Washington, 1881, quoted in Post’s Studien, p. 290; Bastian’s Inselgruppen in Oceanien, 1883, p. 88.

[155] De Stuers, quoted by Waitz, v. 141.

[156] W. Arnold, in his Wanderungen und Ansiedelungen der deutschen Stämme, p. 431, even maintains that one-half of the now arable area in middle Germany must have been reclaimed from the sixth to the ninth century. Nitzsch (Geschichte des deutschen Volkes, Leipzig, 1883, vol. i.) shares the same opinion.

[157] Leo and Botta, Histoire d’Italie, French edition, 1844, t. i., p. 37.

[158] The composition for the stealing of a simple knife was 15 solidii and of the iron parts of a mill, 45 solidii (See on this subject Lamprecht’s Wirthschaft und Recht der Franken in Raumer’s Historisches Taschenbuch, 1883, p. 52.) According to the Riparian law, the sword, the spear, and the iron armor of a warrior attained the value of at least twenty-five cows, or two years of a freeman’s labor. A cuirass alone was valued in the Salic law (Desmichels, quoted by Michelet) at as much as thirty-six bushels of wheat.

[159] The chief wealth of the chieftains, for a long time, was in their personal domains peopled partly with prisoner slaves, but chiefly in the above way. On the origin of property see Inama Sternegg’s Die Ausbildung der grossen Grundherrschaften in Deutschland, in Schmoller’s Forschungen, Bd. I., 1878; F. Dahn’s Urgeschichte der germanischen und romanischen Völker, Berlin, 1881; Maurer’s Dorfverfassung; Guizot’s Essais sur l’histoire de France; Maine’s Village Community; Botta’s Histoire d’Italie; Seebohm, Vinogradov, J. R. Green, etc.

[160] See Sir Henry Maine’s International Law, London, 1888.

[161] Ancient Laws of Ireland, Introduction; E. Nys, Études de droit international, t. i., 1896, pp. 86 seq. Among the Ossetes the arbiters from three oldest villages enjoy a special reputation (M. Kovalevsky’s Modern Custom and Old Law, Moscow, 1886, ii. 217, Russian).

[162] It is permissible to think that this conception (related to the conception of tanistry) played an important part in the life of the period; but research has not yet been directed that way.

[163] It was distinctly stated in the charter of St. Quentin of the year 1002 that the ransom for houses which had to be demolished for crimes went for the city walls. The same destination was given to the Ungeld in German cities. At Pskov the cathedral was the bank for the fines, and from this fund money was taken for the wails.

[164] Sohm, Fränkische Rechts- und Gerichtsverfassung, p. 23; also Nitzsch, Geschechte des deutschen Volkes, i. 78.

[165] See the excellent remarks on this subject in Augustin Thierry’s Lettres sur l’histoire de France. 7th Letter. The barbarian translations of parts of the Bible are extremely instructive on this point.

[166] Thirty-six times more than a noble, according to the Anglo-Saxon law. In the code of Rothari the slaying of a king is, however, punished by death; but (apart from Roman influence) this new disposition was introduced (in 646) in the Lombardian law — as remarked by Leo and Botta — to cover the king from blood revenge. The king being at that time the executioner of his own sentences (as the tribe formerly was of its own sentences), he had to be protected by a special disposition, the more so as several Lombardian kings before Rothari had been slain in succession (Leo and Botta, l.c., i. 66–90).

[167] Kaufmann, Deutsche Geschichte, Bd. I. “Die Germanen der Urzeit,” p. 133.

[168] Dr. F. Dahn, Urgeschichte der germanischen und romanischen Völker, Berlin, 1881, Bd. I. 96.

[169] If I thus follow the views long since advocated by Maurer (Geschichte der Städteverfassung in Deutschland, Erlangen, 1869), it is because he has fully proved the uninterrupted evolution from the village community to the medieval city, and that his views alone can explain the universality of the communal movement. Savigny and Eichhorn and their followers have certainly proved that the traditions of the Roman municipia had never totally disappeared. But they took no account of the village community period which the barbarians lived through before they had any cities. The fact is, that whenever mankind made a new start in civilization, in Greece, Rome, or middle Europe, it passed through the same stages — the tribe, the village community, the free city, the state — each one naturally evolving out of the preceding stage. Of course, the experience of each preceding civilization was never lost. Greece (itself influenced by Eastern civilizations) influenced Rome, and Rome influenced our civilization; but each of them begin from the same beginning — the tribe. And just as we cannot say that our states are continuations of the Roman state, so also can we not say that the mediæval cities of Europe (including Scandinavia and Russia) were a continuation of the Roman cities. They were a continuation of the barbarian village community, influenced to a certain extent by the traditions of the Roman towns.

[170] M. Kovalevsky, Modern Customs and Ancient Laws of Russia (Ilchester Lectures, London, 1891, Lecture 4).

[171] A considerable amount of research had to be done before this character of the so-called udyelnyi period was properly established by the works of Byelaeff (Tales from Russian History), Kostomaroff (The Beginnings of Autocracy in Russia), and especially Professor Sergievich (The Vyeche and the Prince). The English reader may find some information about this period in the just-named work of M. Kovalevsky, in Rambaud’s History of Russia, and, in a short summary, in the article “Russia” of the last edition of Chambers’s Encyclopædia.

[172] Ferrari, Histoire des révolutions d’Italie, i. 257; Kallsen, Die deutschen Städte im Mittelalter, Bd. I. (Halle, 1891).

[173] See the excellent remarks of Mr. G.L. Gomme as regards the folkmote of London (The Literature of Local Institutions, London, 1886, p. 76). It must, however, be remarked that in royal cities the folkmote never attained the independence which it assumed elsewhere. It is even certain that Moscow and Paris were chosen by the kings and the Church as the cradles of the future royal authority in the State, because they did not possess the tradition of folkmotes accustomed to act as sovereign in all matters.

[174] A. Luchaire, Les Communes françaises; also Kluckohn, Geschichte des Gottesfrieden, 1857. L. Sémichon (La paix et la trève de Dieu, 2 vols., Paris, 1869) has tried to represent the communal movement as issued from that institution. In reality, the treuga Dei, like the league started under Louis le Gros for the defense against both the robberies of the nobles and the Norman invasions, was a thoroughly popular movement. The only historian who mentions this last league — that is, Vitalis — describes it as a “popular community” (“Considérations sur l’histoire de France,” in vol. iv. of Aug. Thierry’s Œuvres, Paris, 1868, p. 191 and note).

[175] Ferrari, i. 152, 263, etc.

[176] Perrens, Histoire de Florence, i. 188; Ferrari, l.c., i. 283.

[177] Aug. Thierry, Essai sur l’histoire du Tiers État, Paris, 1875, p. 414, note.

[178] F. Rocquain, “La Renaissance au XIIe siècle,” in Études sur l’histoire de France, Paris, 1875, pp. 55–117.

[179] N. Kostomaroff, “The Rationalists of the Twelfth Century,” in his Monographies and Researches (Russian).

[180] Very interesting facts relative to the universality of guilds will be found in “Two Thousand Years of Guild Life,” by Rev. J. M. Lambert, Hull, 1891. On the Georgian amkari, see S. Eghiazarov, Gorodskiye Tsekhi (“Organization of Transcaucasian Amkari”), in Memoirs of the Caucasian Geographical Society, xiv. 2, 1891.

[181] J.D. Wunderer’s “Reisebericht” in Fichard’s Frankfurter Archiv, ii. 245; quoted by Janssen, Geschichte des deutschen Volkes, i. 355.

[182] Dr. Leonard Ennen, Der Dom zu Köln, Historische Einleitung, Köln, 1871, pp. 46, 50.

[183] See previous chapter.

[184] Kofod Ancher, Om gamle Danske Gilder og deres Undergâng, Copenhagen, 1785. Statutes of a Knu guild.

[185] Upon the position of women in guilds, see Miss Toulmin Smith’s introductory remarks to the English Guilds of her father. One of the Cambridge statutes (p. 281) of the year 1503 is quite positive in the following sentence: “Thys statute is made by the comyne assent of all the bretherne and sisterne of alhallowe yelde.”

[186] In mediæval times, only secret aggression was treated as a murder. Blood-revenge in broad daylight was justice; and slaying in a quarrel was not murder, once the aggressor showed his willingness to repent and to repair the wrong he had done. Deep traces of this distinction still exist in modern criminal law, especially in Russia.

[187] Kofod Ancher, l.c. This old booklet contains much that has been lost sight of by later explorers.

[188] They played an important part in the revolts of the serfs, and were therefore prohibited several times in succession in the second half of the ninth century. Of course, the king’s prohibitions remained a dead letter.

[189] The mediæval Italian painters were also organized in guilds, which became at a later epoch Academies of art. If the Italian art of those times is impressed with so much individuality that we distinguish, even now, between the different schools of Padua, Bassano, Treviso, Verona, and so on, although all these cities were under the sway of Venice, this was due — J. Paul Richter remarks — to the fact that the painters of each city belonged to a separate guild, friendly with the guilds of other towns, but leading a separate existence. The oldest guild-statute known is that of Verona, dating from 1303, but evidently copied from some much older statute. “Fraternal assistance in necessity of whatever kind,” “hospitality towards strangers, when passing through the town, as thus information may be obtained about matters which one may like to learn,” and “obligation of offering comfort in case of debility” are among the obligations of the members (Nineteenth Century, Nov. 1890, and Aug. 1892).

[190] The chief works on the artels are named in the article “Russia” of the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th edition, p. 84.

[191] See, for instance, the texts of the Cambridge guilds given by Toulmin Smith (English Guilds, London, 1870, pp. 274–276), from which it appears that the “generall and principall day” was the “eleccioun day;” or, Ch. M. Clode’s The Early History of the Guild of the Merchant Taylors, London, 1888, i. 45; and so on. For the renewal of allegiance, see the Jómsviking saga, mentioned in Pappenheim’s Altdänische Schutzgilden, Breslau, 1885, p. 67. It appears very probable that when the guilds began to be prosecuted, many of them inscribed in their statutes the meal day only, or their pious duties, and only alluded to the judicial function of the guild in vague words; but this function did not disappear till a very much later time. The question, “Who will be my judge?” has no meaning now, since the State has appropriated for its bureaucracy the organization of justice; but it was of primordial importance in mediæval times, the more so as self-jurisdiction meant self-administration. It must also be remarked that the translation of the Saxon and Danish “guild-bretheren,” or “brodre,” by the Latin convivii must also have contributed to the above confusion.

[192] See the excellent remarks upon the frith guild by J.R. Green and Mrs. Green in The Conquest of England, London, 1883, pp. 229–230.

[193] See Appendix X.

[194] Recueil des ordonnances des rois de France, t. xii. 562; quoted by Aug. Thierry in Considérations sur l’histoire de France, p. 196, ed. 12mo.

[195] A. Luchaire, Les Communes françaises, pp, 45–46.

[196] Guilbert de Nogent, De vita sua, quoted by Luchaire, l.c., p. 14.

[197] Lebret, Histoire de Venise, i. 393; also Marin, quoted by Leo and Botta in Histoire de l’Italie, French edition, 1844, t. i 500.

[198] Dr. W. Arnold, Verfassungsgeschichte der deutschen Freistädte, 1854, Bd. ii. 227 seq.; Ennen, Geschichte der Stadt Koeln, Bd. i. 228–229; also the documents published by Ennen and Eckert.

[199] Conquest of England, 1883, p. 453.

[200] Byelaeff, Russian History, vols. ii. and iii.

[scotianostra]

On March 25th in the year 1005 King Kenneth III was killed by his cousin Malcolm at the battle of Monzievaird.

Kenneth was the son of King Duff, and 4th cousin of the man he succeeded, Constantine III. He was the last King of Alba to be appointed under the law of tanistry, a system that involved the extended family in a vote on the succession. This had produced a system in which the crown had alternated between two increasingly distant strands of the House of Alpin, and directly contributed to overwhelming proportion of Kings of Alba who met their end violently.

But it would be hard to describe the end of tanistry as itself a peaceful process. On 25 March 1005 the Battle of Monzievaird, took place just north of Crieff, close to the location of today's Glenturret Distillery. Kenneth II's son, the future Malcolm II defeated King Kenneth III in the battle, killing both Kenneth and his son Giric. Malcolm later arranged the death of Kenneth III's grandson, so ensuring (he thought) that secession would in future rest with his own branch of the family and there was no need for tanistry.

Malcolm II took the throne and reigned for almost 30 years.

[troutfur]

Oh I ended up missing the first window! The preference for female characters has made me realize how the (permanent) members of Thunderclan's Augur den in Augur!Frostfour AU is a no boys zone between Frostflower, Yellowfang, Brightheart and Cinderstream LOL. Moth Flight must be rooting for them somewhere in Starclan.

So the prompt: A light-hearted scene where Brightpaw tells her mom Cloudpaw will be her future husband. Frostflower's frustrated while Brightpaw is in her rebellious 'no one understands me MOM' phase. Set pre-dog attack.

Hope that fits the bill as a recursive AU of To Aaron and his sons! I've also been trying to put together a prompt for the Tanistry AU but canon WC leadership is so male dominated this guy is struggling.

Hi, hi, hi! Glad to see you back!

Oooh, I love this. This is gonna be good. I don't have much prologue today so let's jump right in!

(I still very much am in need of prompts, so if you wanna help me get to November 30th, read my guidelines and give me one.)

“Brightpaw,” Frostflower said with a heavy sigh as she turned away from the piles Cinderpaw and her had been hunched over sorting and towards her other daughter.

Time had seemed oportune to discuss her daughters’ future when during the middle of an herb sorting session Brightpaw had come in complaining about sore pads. With Thornpaw and Brackenpaw taking care of ThunderClan’s foreign relations and a deputy old enough to have been Cinderpaw’s mentor, the rare opportunity had been presented for them to take a tom as a mate just because they fancied them. But having heard the name that’d just come out of her warrior apprentice daughter’s mouth she was now more than ever understanding why matriarchs and patriarchs often had to be the ones arranging the matches.

“I urge you to reconsider,” she continued. “I really want to believe you can be trusted with the priviledge to choose your own mate instead of leaving me to arrange it for you. It would be a shame that you let this opportunity go to waste due to a fleeting attraction to a troublemaker.”

“It’s not like that,” Brightpaw insisted. “Cloudpaw is not just a troublemaker. What’s your problem with him anyway? Weren’t you on Fireheart’s side when he brought him into the Clan?”

“That was before he gave me a reason to regret it,” she replied. “He’s rude, barely shows the bare minimum of piety, speaks out of turn all the time, he even betrayed the Clan once already! I really would think that whatever you find charming of him would be greatly eclipsed. He’s not even got an attractive pelt for you to be so set on him.”

“He came back to us,” Brightheart countered. “He’s hard working, he’s talented, he’s brave, and the deputy’s son. So what if he is not afraid to speak his mind? If you listened to him you’d know he’s right sometimes. And with an attitude like that he would make a great deputy to Firestar.”

“There is such a thing as impertinence, Brightpaw,” Frostflower said. “And from the looks of it, it’s rubbing off on you. For all their virtues Fireheart and Cloudpaw share this flaw. And it’d be a shame for you to embarass our great lineage by emulating that kind of kittypet behavior.”

“Why do you have to be so hard on them all the time?” Brightpaw said. “Don’t you see how much work Fireheart puts into running the Clan? He’s more of a leader than Bluestar at this point!”

Frostflower looked down at Cinderpaw’s twisted leg. Although her anger with Fireheart had mostly subsided it was still hard to accept how quickly her trust in him had resulted in this. Cinderpaw gave a glare at her mother as she caught her staring. Ever since that argument moons ago that even Bluestar had to get involved in she really couldn’t voice her thoughts on the situation without her daughter turning defensive of her former mentor.

“I need to be a harsh critic of them if they’re going to overcome their natural tendencies and become great ThunderClan warriors,” Frostflower settled on as her response. “I’m not asking that you stop being Cloudpaw’s friend or that you stop being fond of him. Only StarClan knows when Bluestar will allow you and your sister to swap positions again so you will likely end up being denmates for a while longer. I just ask you to consider your choice of mate better.”

“Cloudpaw is my choice,” Brightpaw insisted.

“Why don’t you try and get closer to Ashpaw instead?” she suggested. “I know he can be a little reserved and quiet but surely that just means he’d be more amenable to listening to you. Don’t you think that would be a better quality to look in the father of the next generation of patricians?”

“If you’re not going to listen to me I’m leaving,” Brightpaw declared as she turned around back into camp.

Frostflower gave a deep and prolonged sigh before turning towards Cinderpaw. It was a cold comfort, but at least with Brightpaw set on taking Cloudpaw as a mate she was sure her other daughter could not pick anyone worse. And with the tense atmosphere in the air still hanging between them they set out to continue their work.

[cryptidclaw]

Succession by tanistry is interesting aspect.

We already have Tigerclaw down as Bluestar’s nephew.

Maybe Lionheart could be her cousin by making Smallear and Stormtail brothers (seen it a couple times).

I do like the idea that mentors are basically the third parent of their apprentice. They are kin now.

For Redtail, we could go with this route and have him and Bluestar be former mentor and apprentice which is why she chose him.

Same could be said for Firestar with this idea.

Ok wait, I love the idea that apprentices are considered kin. Mentors are really like a third parent to their apprentices and sooo many leaders make their prev apprentices their deputies!

This could also be fun because that makes being made a leader's apprentice even bigger of a deal! Gosh think about the drama around Bluestar making a random kittypet her kin and a possible successor!!!

Damn I'm gonna have to rework the fam tree again ... it probably won't be too bad tho...

Maybe Stormtail being everyone's great grandfather will come in handy for once

[synchodai]

what’s the order of succession for westerosi nobles and the throne?

hello, anon! I'm assuming you're asking because of my post on agnatic primogeniture? There are a lot of Westerosi nobles and they all follow different succession laws depending on their culture and traditions. More info under the cut:

FIRST MEN [Agnatic-Salic w/ Tanistry]

Concentrated in the North

Primarily defined by their worship of the Old Gods

There has never been a Lady of Winterfell (which is why I think they primarily practice agnatic-salic/male-only inheritance)

Ironborn, descended from the First Men, have a practice of elective succession as demonstrated by the Kingsmoot

Research Gaelic and Norse succession laws of you wanna get a gist of how the First Men approached inheritance

ANDALS [Agnatic-Cognatic]

Majority of the south are Andals

Primarily defined by their worship of the Seven and their code of knightly chivalry

Succession is most likely modeled after Anglo-saxon and English succession laws

RHOYNAR [Absolute/Cognatic]

Only Dorne has Rhoynish culture

Absolute primogeniture wasn't really practiced in the European middle ages, but for a general cultural model Dorne may resemble al-Andalus

VALYRIAN [???]

Not much known since the Targs, the only living family that practices Valyrian traditions, assimilated into Andal succession law

But since Valyria was a Freehold, I'm leaning towards having an elective system similar to the Roman consulate

This all comes with the caveats, of course, that what determines succession is not set in stone and mutable based on the who has the most will to power.

Succession laws are basically warlords agreeing beforehand who would be the next warlord-in-chief so they wouldn't need to have bloody battle every time the current chief keeled over. Elective feudal systems, like Irish Tanistry, were ultimately replaced by primogeniture as the more stable method of transfer of power because calling for an election between chiefs was more likely to end in conflict than just deciding on something largely immutable like birth order.

However, at the end of the day, what determines who the lands and crown passes to is whoever can make the most people agree to letting them be feudal lord. Most feudal lords do this by having the biggest army and using good ol violent subjugation, some because they are related (either by blood or marriage) to someone with the biggest army, while others who don't necessarily have a big stick remain in power because they have convinced their vassals that they have a magic/divine stick (aka I must be lord because my ancestral line is divinely chosen and/or magically endowed and bad things will happen to this land if I am deposed).

Never forget that laws of succession are ultimately made to benefit the ruling dynasty and are only as binding as the power of said dynasty. A lord with a huge standing army can pick whichever heir he wants without fear of retribution from his vassals, but a lord with no army or alliances or support from the church/militia must give more concessions and cannot enforce decisions that go against collectively decided laws.

And that's feudal politics in a nutshell.

[dramatic-dolphin]

honestly authors that do agnatic primogeniture as their fantasy kingdom's order of succession are so boring, there are so many more interesting options

any matrilineal option: much cooler than boring old patrilinieal succession

ultimogeniture: spicy! every child can experience the sensation of being the heir and having that taken away from them by the new baby

partible inheritance: incredibly badly adapted to being a mode of succession for a kingdom, plenty of opportunities for drama with the kingdom fracturing and/or the siblings turning on each other

seniority and the rota system: who says only children of the monarch are eligible to rule? let's get their siblings and cousins involved too

tanistry: nominate a heir apparent from a different branch of the family! more or less nullifies the chances of the king's idiot son getting an entire country to rule

you can go even wilder, history will probably support it. mix and match stuff. the next in line for the throne is the king's youngest sister's youngest son. or the queen's daughter-in-law. or their eldest parallel cousin. sky's the limit.

[theoakleafpancake]

The O'Carrick Family/Hibernia Spiel

(just a few things I looked up and kind of correlated to RA because I'm lowkey obsessed with the entire family as a whole and I don't know what else to do with this knowledge so you, dear reader, are now imbued with it)

"Carrick is ancient Scottish and Irish name that is derived from teh Gaelic word 'carraig' meaning 'rock.'" Dunno if this was Flanagan's intentions or not, but it actually does fit what we know of the family on a metaphorical sense.

Back centuries, people from Ireland were said to have dark skin (and blue eyes). I rest my case.

The name Caitlyn (of Irish origin) means "pure." We know next to nothing about Caitlyn, but it fits her.

Alternatively, the name "Ferris" (also of Irish origin) means "strong man or ironworker." I find that hilariously ironic.

Also alternatively, and someone has probably pointed this out already, Halt's name is from "England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture...comes from when the family lived near a grove or woods." However, unlike Ferris's name, it does fit.

How royal succession worked in medieval Ireland is actually highly debated and uncertain. There's a whole article here on how this could have worked but my brain says no to summing it up. But something in there mentions that brother to brother succession was usually avoided, so if Halt had become King and let's say he produced one or several heirs, the likeliehood of Ferris having to kill the entire royal family would be pretty high.

Another basic point is that seniority rules, but that seems obvious.

There's an irish myth/legend of "the message of the butterflies...They move between worlds and bring messages and warnings. They are said to be souls, waiting to be reborn on earth." Nothing too specific I found solely interesting—don't get me wrong, it is cool—but I mainly found it eye-catching cause of Will's given nickname in The Emperor of Nihon-Ja. Not that Will is Hibernian, but Halt might've known that.

Leprechauns. "Little People." That's it.

Back to royal families again. One of the popular ways of succession was tanistry, an early Irish law, where the "reigning chief" would choose which of the male relatives to succeed him. Said chosen one also had to be elected from certain people. An interesting idea if the twins' father had chosen Ferris. But this was also banned during the years of James I due to the violence and wars it caused.

Isidore of Seville is known to be "one of the earliest medieval writers [of] Ireland." Ireland is referred to in his notes as "Hibernia." Maybe that's common knowledge already, but I didn't know that. And after the Normal Invasion, it was known as "Dominus Hiberniae."

In another article, it was stated that Ireland was "a country divided into two 'nations.'" The Anglo-Normal settlers, and the older Gaelic Irish. Ferris's name is of Irish descent. But Halt's is Anglo-Saxon and while it's not Anglo-Norman, their namesakes were from different sides. Take with that what you will.

I find it funny that the harp is literally one of the symbols of Ireland and yet Halt is so utterly tone-deaf.

[inky-duchess]

Has there ever been a case of an elective monarchy working out long-term? If so, how is the system maintained for it to be stable enough to last so long, and if not, what causes it to fall?

Irish tanistry was successful for a long period of time. It was maintained because of the pool of candidates were all of a select group and power was awarded to the candidate who proved most formidable and wise. Falling apart requires jealously, tampering and possibly even some underhanded tactics such as murder

[fishingcatz]

When I have Tanistry succession in the kingdom of Ireland and all my vassals hate me because I tried to kill my nephew with a lisp because he was going to inherit the whole kingdom