It's hard to
find early period text, but some folks in our Society insist that anything with
four digits in the year is late period -- so what to do? My friend
Aelfwyn was being inducted into the Order of the Pelican, so I did some
digging, and found some snippets in the Laws of Ine, which date back to the 7th
century. To my surprise, some of the wording lends itself very well do
our Society sensibilities ...
I, Ine, by the grace of God King of the West Saxons, with
the advice and instruction of Cenred, my father, of Hedde, my Bishop, and of
Eorcenwold, my bishop, together with all my eaorldormen, the most distinguished
witan among my people, and also
a great assembly of God’s servants, have taken counsel concerning the welfare
of our souls and the state of our realm, in order that just laws and just royal
laws should be established and assured to all our people, and so that no
alderman or subject of ours should henceforth pervert these our dooms.
This is great stuff. I can use this altered slightly for the introduction of the scroll. We'll change 'instruction' to 'consultation', take out all the God stuff, insert the Order of the Pelican, and change 'aldermen' to 'persons', and change 'pervert these our dooms' to 'subvert these our dooms'. Great lines! Typically in early period texts, the King was not refered to as the ruler of a nation such as 'King of England', but the 'King of all the Englishmen', or the 'King of the Scots', so I've inserted that style of address.
If
any one demands justice before any shireman (scirman), or any other judge, and cannot obtain
it through default of a pledge [from the accused], he shall pay compensation
[to the plaintiff] and within seven nights do him proper justice.
If any one wreaks vengeance [on his enemy] before demanding
justice [in court], he shall give back anything he has seized together with as
much again [to the injured party], and shall pay 30s. compensation [to the
king]. . . .
If
a thief is captured [in the act of thieving], let him suffer death or redeem
his life through payment of his wergeld.
A Welsh horseman who rides in the king’s
service has a wergeld of 200s. . . .
If a ceorl has often been accused of
theft, and is finally proved guilty, either through the cauldron [i.e. the
ordeal of hot water] or through being caught in the act, he shall have his hand
or his foot cut off.
Penalties! Penalties are awesome, and entertaining to
the audience. So I took some of this and
put it in the scroll.
If a nobleman comes to an agreement with the king or with
the king’s alderman concerning the misdeeds of his dependents, or with his lord
concerning slave or free, he shall have no share of such fines as they may pay
through his own failure to restrain them from evil-doing at home.
These lines play well into Aelfwyn's
rights as a peer. We'll give her a weregeld of 300 shillings, making her
a little more valuable than a Welsh horseman, and put some of the fines and
penalties to her speculative proteges. We'll slide in the bit about yellow
belts without being too obvious (ochre sounds better, doesn't it?), and have
some fun about limiting her to 35 students or proteges, and give her a blank
cheque for any wrongdoing by her errant dependents. There's a lot of
maiming and penalties in the original laws, so we'll downplay a lot of that,
but we'll keep the bit about the 'ordeal of hot water' because it's awesome.
We need to put in a second paragraph
stating why she is getting her peerage, and we'll try to keep it in the same
style of verbiage as the rest, but it's constructed mostly from thin air rather
than copying existing text.
Finally, the legal verbiage for the
conclusion is based partly on Alfred's Asser on the Crucial Year, dated
870-871, but it's heavily bent towards Society expectations.
Below is the text of her scroll,
We, Quilliam and Tangwystl, by the grace of the Line
of the North, King and Queen of the Ealdormereans, with the advice and
consultation of our forebears Nigel and Adrielle, and together with all our
councillors of the Order of the Pelican, now in witness of a great assembly of
our nobles, take action concerning the welfare of our souls and the state of
our realm, in order that just acts should be established and assured to all our
people, and so that no person who serves this realm should henceforth subvert
these our dooms.
Forthright deeds have been performed by Aelfwynn Langewuda for nearly three decades, securing the gratitude and affection of the Crown for all her works. Aelfwynn’s service is accorded telling as long as the Line of the North can trace it’s path back to the Southron born Midrealm Kings. Aelfwynn has offered war counsel, served in hand and deed our barons and baronesses, has borne the great sword of state as Earl Marshal, and has always turned her hand to service of the Crown, and this has been witnessed and remarked on by bards, councillors, peers, and our councils.
Aelfwynn Langewuda shall now be named a Companion of the Order of the Pelican, and shall be accorded a weregeld accorded such rank of 300 shillings. Aelfynn Langewuda may demand justice before any shireman, seneschal or judge, and shall obtain it through pledge, trial or ordeal of hot water. Aelfwynn Langewude may come to agreement with no more than thirty five students or protégés in the matter of statecraft, adorn them with a belt of ochre or similar tincture, and if she should report to the Crown concerning the misdeeds of her dependents, she shall have no share of such fines as they may pay through their failures or receive reprimand from restraining them from evil-doing at home. Aelfwynn Langewuda shall sit in the Crown’s council, and such a band shall consider their counsel and service sufficient payment for the Crown’s peace and protection .
Done upon this X day of Y, in the fourth month of our reign, acting in the affairs of the kingdom. We the Crown exercise royal justice in the whole kingdom of Ealdormere, both in Aelfwynn’s part and for all Ealdormereans. Witnessed thereof with sign and seal,
Quilliam Tangwystl
(based on the Laws of Ine, 688-695, and the Treaty of Westminster, 1153)
Forthright deeds have been performed by Aelfwynn Langewuda for nearly three decades, securing the gratitude and affection of the Crown for all her works. Aelfwynn’s service is accorded telling as long as the Line of the North can trace it’s path back to the Southron born Midrealm Kings. Aelfwynn has offered war counsel, served in hand and deed our barons and baronesses, has borne the great sword of state as Earl Marshal, and has always turned her hand to service of the Crown, and this has been witnessed and remarked on by bards, councillors, peers, and our councils.
Aelfwynn Langewuda shall now be named a Companion of the Order of the Pelican, and shall be accorded a weregeld accorded such rank of 300 shillings. Aelfynn Langewuda may demand justice before any shireman, seneschal or judge, and shall obtain it through pledge, trial or ordeal of hot water. Aelfwynn Langewude may come to agreement with no more than thirty five students or protégés in the matter of statecraft, adorn them with a belt of ochre or similar tincture, and if she should report to the Crown concerning the misdeeds of her dependents, she shall have no share of such fines as they may pay through their failures or receive reprimand from restraining them from evil-doing at home. Aelfwynn Langewuda shall sit in the Crown’s council, and such a band shall consider their counsel and service sufficient payment for the Crown’s peace and protection .
Done upon this X day of Y, in the fourth month of our reign, acting in the affairs of the kingdom. We the Crown exercise royal justice in the whole kingdom of Ealdormere, both in Aelfwynn’s part and for all Ealdormereans. Witnessed thereof with sign and seal,
Quilliam Tangwystl
(based on the Laws of Ine, 688-695, and the Treaty of Westminster, 1153)