THLaird Colyne Stewart
Part I: Ardchreag
Canton Persona
February 16, AS 38 (2004)
Background:
There had been talk in Ardchreag of
crafting for the canton a ‘persona’ of its own, not unlike its neighbouring
Canton of Eoforwic. However, while Eoforwic called itself the Royal Citie, it
had been agreed that Ardchreag was more of a town, or village, in scope.
But what kind of village?
Let us begin with the name. Ardchreag
(Ard Creag) is Gaelic for ‘high cliffs’, which gives the canton an Irish or Highland Scotland
flavour. If we then assume that Ardchreag has such an ancestry, it would
explain the presence of all those Norse we see around today as well (for at
times both the Irish and the Scots had great contact with the Norse).
The founders of Ardchreag were known as
archers, and that fact is represented in the device of the canton: vert, four arrows in cross points to
center, on a chief indented argent a mountain couped gules between two laurel
wreaths vert.
Mundanely, Ardchreag is located along bluffs and cliffs, with large tracts of
forest and woodland. Both these facts give a frontier flavour to the canton. It
calls up images of rangers and woodsmen, of woodcutters and outlaws, of wise
women living deep in the thickets and prowling wolves close at hand.
So it was said that within our fine kingdom of Ealdormere, the Canton of Ardchreag,
which is spread over a great deal of land, was a series of forts and villages
and lone peasant huts. It sits atop a high series of cliffs, which descend to
Mare Ontarium at certain points in which ports have grown. It is a frontier, a
border town, for across the inland sea lies the Barony of Rhydderich Hael, a
territory of the Kingdom
of AEthelmarc. It was up
to the populace of Ardchreag to patrol this border, to ensure that the
waterways and paths throughout the thick forests were safe for merchants and
travelers, to protect it all in the name of His Majesty. They must stand on
their own, for the Sheriff of the Royal Citie, or the Guard of Petrea Thule,
lie many miles away. They must support themselves, in all ways.
Now, how does such a community conduct
itself? How does it work? In a Society context the canton has several officers
which help find meeting spaces, organize practices, schedule classes, and so
on. This is administration. What type of people really would have lived in such
a village in period?
The village positions:
Herein we will look at what occupations
would have been held in a similar village in period. For simplicity, we used a
village from Elton (circa 1300 CE) as our sample.
For Ardchreag’s canton persona, we made
village appointments that were actually made in our model period. We did not
assign occupations (miller, baker, etc), nor social position per say (such as
village idiot or hedge witch). We were looking at positions that villagers made
appointments to from amongst their own number. (Villagers did not elect the
blacksmith, not the town drunk.)
In period, only men held village
positions, except for ale tasters (who were mostly women). However, in our
experiment, any one could hold any position, regardless of sex. We decided to
select the canton appointments in the following manner: Everyone interested in
a position would place their name in a hat. A name would be pulled, and that
person would hold that position for a pre-determined period of time (at first
we thought for a year, but have now changed that to six months). Once someone
had a position they cold not put their name in for another.
If someone wished to apply for any
positions, but could not be present for the meeting at which they were being
chosen, they could, if they wished, send the seneschal a list of their
preferred positions, and they would be appointed by proxy. It was noted that if
anyone chose this option they may not get the exact position they may have
wanted, but they would definitely get a position.
The headman in the village would have
been the steward, or seneschal. As we use the term seneschal as the
‘president’ of our branches within the SCA, we would not be using this position
in our experiment. Rather, the actual group seneschal would automatically also
be the village seneschal. The village seneschal was the lord’s direct authority
within the village and was the only position not chosen by the villagers
themselves. If the group seneschal wants to obtain a canton appointment, s/he
should not be the bailiff, reeve or beadle.
The
bailiff was usually chosen at the seneschal’s recommendation (though
that would not come into play in our experiment) and acted as his deputy. He
was usually a member of the gentry or a well off peasant family and was
literate. The bailiff was in charge of maintaining the law, and also acted as a
business manager for the manor. For our purposes, the bailiff would be the head
of the Cliffguard and the Yeoman of the White Arrow. (Though s/he did not
actually have to be a fighter nor an archer it was encouraged that s/he be
both). The group seneschal would pull the name for the person to act as the
bailiff. The bailiff would pull the names for the rest of the positions.
One
of the bailiff’s deputies was the reeve, who ensured that villagers who
owed labour services showed up for work. He supervised the formation of plow
teams, mended his lord’s fences, saw to the penning and folding of the lord’s
livestock and had many other duties as well. For the canton persona, the
reeve’s ‘duties’ were originally undefined. They mostly came into play when the
manorial court was reenacted, as he was a most sought after pledge (witness).
The
beadle, also sometimes called a hayward,
was a deputy to the reeve. The beadle collected rents and fines levied in court
and oversaw the preservation of seed, the performance of plowmen and ensured
the villeins did their reaping and mowing. For Ardchreag’s experiment, the
beadle’s ‘duties’ were originally undefined. They mostly came into play when
the manorial court was reenacted, as he was a most sought after pledge
(witness) and also collected the fines.
The
woodward was the person who ensured that no one took from the lord’s
lands anything except what they were entitled to by custom or payment.
Ale
tasters assessed the
quality and monitored the price of ale sold to the public. People could be
fined for selling ale without first going through the ale tasters. For
Ardchreag’s experiment, ale tasters would likely (though not necessarily) be
brewers themselves, and would act as the canton’s authority on brewing. This is
one of the positions which more than one person can fill. One of the things the
Ale Tasters duties ended up being was to help plan the annual brewing contest
held at Ealdormere War Practice (done in the memory of Lord Ulrich von der
See).
In
manorial court, the jurors, chosen from amongst the villagers, collected
and presented evidence and laid out fines. In period a “jury of presentment”
would have six, nine or twelve jurors. In Ardchreag’s experiment, twice a year
the village would hold a manorial court, where the jurors would sit in judgment
upon those accused of crimes. (Originally it was to be held once a year, but
the response was overwhelmingly in favour of doing it twice a year.) These
crimes will all be facetious, and based upon real period crimes in a medieval
village. It was a good opportunity for some canton fund raising, and this is
explained in further detail later. This is one of the positions which more than
one person can fill (Ardchreag settled on three, to eliminate ties).
Within
a village, every man over the age of twelve was placed in a frankpledge (or
tithing) of ten or twelve members. Each member was responsible for the conduct
of his pledge-mates. Each year a review of the tithings was held, watched over
by the seneschal. The head of a frankpledge was called a Chief Pledge.
The chief pledges were deemed important men in the village. For Ardchreag’s
purposes the position would be mainly ceremonially, but those holding it would
be encouraged to carry themselves nobly in all walls, to inspire the rest of
the canton to do so as well. We settled on having two Chief Pledges, one
representing each of the major colours in the Ardchreag device. They were a
much sought after pledge in the manor courts (as will be described later).
So,
the positions Ardchreag would be filling were: bailiff, reeve, beadle,
woodward, ale taster (4), juror (3) and chief pledge (2). (If we had had more
than thirteen people who wished to participate, we would either have added more
ale tasters and jurors, or we would added some of the more minor village
appointments to the slate, such as the wardens of autumn and the claviger.)
We
also recognized the Cliffguard and the Yeoman of the White Arrow.
The
Yeomen encompassed archery and thrown weapons, the Cliffguard encompassed
armoured combat, scouting, equestrian and fencing. These two groups were to
‘keep the peace’ within our canton and be our protectors. Anyone could be a
member of either, and it would not impinge on any other duties they may have
militarily. (This was mostly just for fun. Duties to the kingdom, barony or
Peer took precedence.) The seneschal created belt favours for members of these
two groups to carry.
Nota Bene:
Please note that all these positions are
for fun. They hold no real power or responsibility within the canton, the
barony, the kingdom or in the SCA as a whole. The Officers of Ardchreag are our
duly elected representatives. These ‘village appointments’ are meant to enhance
our game, to add a lair of realism and role-playing, and to encourage people to
research the occupation they are granted.
The appointments:
Therefore, having found the canton to be
deficient in the matter of the aforementioned appointments, did Laird Colyne
Stewart, currently the Seneschal of the Canton of Ardchreag, in the name of our
liege, His Majesty Sir Rory Cennedi, grant the following appointments:
Gunnarr skald Thorvaldsson, Bailiff
Yosho, Reeve
Thomas, Beadle
Thorfinna gra’felder, Woodward
Colyne Stewart, Naja Kesali, Keelyn, Jurors
Tarian verch Gadarn, Berend van der Eych, Mahault van der
Eych, Sof’ia Bardeva, Ale Tasters
Robert deBray, Wat of Sarum, Chief Pledges
Also, Colyne Stewart and Thorfinna gra’feldr were recognized
as members of the Cliffguard, while Gunnarr Skald Thorvaldsson, Naja Kesali,
Iolanda de Albornoz, Colyne and Thorfinna were recognized as members of the
Yeoman of the White Arrow. (Further appointments to both branches of
Ardchreag’s armed might were made later.)
Further more, several members of the village were divided
into Robert and Wat’s tithings. At the beginning of the experiment, Wat's Green
Tithing contained Thorfinna, Gunnarr, Mahault, Thomas, Colyne and Naja, while
Robert's White Tithing had Berend, Keelyn, Yosho, Tarian and Sof'ia.
Part II: The Manorial Court System
May AS 39 (2004)
Courts in 14th Century England
There were at least three kinds of court systems existing in
England
in the 14th Century. The first was the Royal Court, where high level
crimes were heard (like murder, heresy against the Crown, etc), church courts
(judging over matters of the soul, such as adultery, validity of marriages,
etc) and manorial courts (where the common villager—hopefully— found justice.
The Trials
Trials were held at a hallmote, a gathering of the
villagers, generally held in the autumn and outdoors when weather allowed. This
was also the time when the reeve, beadle and wardens of autumn were elected.
The hallmote was presided over by the manor steward, but he did not act as
judge. He gave this authority to the jurati: twelve or six sworn men,
whose oaths extended between court sessions. They collected and presented
evidence, along with appropriate law, the custom of the manor and village
bylaws. If they did not bring a case to trial they could be charged with
“concealment”.
The charge would be laid, read by the clerk of the court,
who kept a careful record of the proceedings. The accused would then make
answer. The steward then told the accused to come to the next hallmote with
such and such a number of oath helpers (to come “six-handed” meant to come with
five oath helpers). These oath helpers were basically witnesses to the defense.
Both the defendant and plaintiff were then ordered to find pledges to guarantee
their appearance in court (if they did not come to the next hallmote, they and
their pledges would be fined). The higher status the pledge held in the village
the better (the most sought after being the beadle and reeve).
If a case was settled out of court, before the next
hallmote, both parties paid the lord for “license to agree”.
By the next hallmote, the jurors should have gathered
evidence on the case. The defendant and his pledge were called, and they pled
their case again. The jurors would then give their decision. If the plaintiff
or defendant “put themselves upon the consideration of the whole court” the
villagers gathered would (generally) back the jurors decision. (After all, it
was safe to back the jurors, as you would not want them angry with you if you
were called before them.)
Generally those found guilty were subject to a fine (it was
a great money making venture for the lord of the manor). Wordings of sentences
would often include the clause that the crime had been “to the damage of the
lord” or to “the village.” Occasionally, the condemned were sentenced to
punishment (such as a term in the stocks).
Review of the Frankpledge (Tithing)
A second type of manor court was the annual review of the
manor tithings (also known as frankpledges). A tithing was a group of twelve
men, each responsible for the behaviour of his fellows. (In fact, a man’s
tithing was responsible to ensure he showed up in court if he was to do so.)
Each tithing was headed by a chief pledge, who was held in esteem in the
village. The steward would review each pledge, hear complaints, and make sure
each man over the age of twelve was placed in a tithing. This was usually
conducted in the late winter or spring, and was generally the time when the ale
tasters were chosen. Eventually the matters of law conducted at the reviews
were done in the hallmote when all other crimes were tried.
Types of Crimes
The following is an incomplete listing of crimes that could
be committed upon a manor.
Defying the ban against baking bread: Villagers had
to buy their bread from the village baker.
Defying the ban against grinding grain: Villagers had
to take their grain to the village miller. It was illegal to own a hand mill.
Diversion of a water course
Not penning your sheep in the lord’s fold, or penning a
neighbour’s animal: Villagers had to pen their animals in the lord’s fold,
as the manure was collected for his fields.
Waif and stray: A villager’s animal wandering loose
on the lord’s land would be seized, and a fine paid before it would be
released.
Making a rescue: Taking back your strayed animal
before paying the fine.
Leirwite or legerwite: A fine paid by a father
when his daughter had sex out of wedlock.
Failure to pay heushire (house hire): The rent for
the house on a holding.
Failure to pay tallage: A yearly tax.
Failure to pay gersum: A tax paid upon inheriting
land.
Failure to pay heriot: A death tax. When a vellien
died the lord got his best beast, the rector got the second best.
Failure to pay merchet: A tax paid by a bride or her
father upon her marriage.
Failure to pay chevage: A tax allowing a vellien to
live outside the village.
Careless planting of seeds
Stealing hay, vegetables, seeds, etc
Harbouring strangers: Villagers (and the lord) were
often suspicious of strangers.
Beast committing trespass in the lord’s meadow or grain:
If a villager’s animal trod on the lord’s land.
Beasts treading on grain: If a villager’s animal trod
on another’s grain.
Assault
Hamsoken: Assaulting someone in their own house.
Stealing animals
Sued for debt
Libel
Coming late to reaping, or infringing on the reaping
Trespass
Being a fornicatrix: Being charged as a whore.
Murder: This was rarely judged in a manor court, it
was usually arbitrated in the royal courts.
Stealing a furrow: Letting your plow edge onto your
neighbour’s field.
Gleaning grain without permission
Weak ale/over priced ale/imprecise measurements: Ale
tasters took their job very seriously, and many of the crimes in manor court
roles had to do with brewing infractions. Brewers could be charged if their ale
was weak in flavour, if it was over priced, or if the quantity sold was not as
advertised.
Sold before the tasting: Selling ale before the ale
tasters have been at it
Making a disturbance in court
Cursing at jurors during court
Failure to pay for the right to raise chickens: The
cost was one hen.
Fishing in the village brook: Poaching.
Killing the lord’s deer: Poaching.
Hue and cry: To call for help to catch the
perpetrator of a crime. If you falsely raised the hue and cry, or did not
assist in one when called, you would be fined.
Failure to arrest: If the beadle, reeve or bailiff
failed to arrest someone after a hue and cry, they could be fined.
Corruption: Manor officials (reeves, beadles, etc)
could be accused of taking bribes, of lining their pockets and of
mismanagement.
The Village
of Ardchreag’s Manorial Court
As part of the Canton of Ardchreag’s village persona, a
manorial court was scheduled to be held.
Each person attending the court was asked to bring with them
a number of gold coins (loonies). Everyone would then be allowed to make period
accusations against others present. (Please note that for this reenactment, no
one could accuse the jurors, or those acting as the lord and/or lady of the
manor, of a crime.) Those accused had to then arrange for pledges to back their
case, while their accuser did the same. Money would likely change hands to
ensure pledges. The jurors would then hear all sides, and then laid their
verdict. Defendants found guilty of the crime would pay a fine. If the
defendant was found innocent, then the plaintiff would be fined. Fines were to
be collected by the village’s beadle (or a representative of him). Participants
were told \ to be sure to pace out how ever many coins they had brought with
them, for if they run out of money with which to pay fines, the jurors would be
forced to hand out punishments instead. (Unless of course the guilty knew of
the period defense of being poor. This allowed those found guilty to not have
to pay any fine nor face any punishment for most crimes.)
All money raised by the fines were to be used to off-set
costs related to Ealdormere War Practice.
Sources
Bishop, Morris, The Middle Ages. Boston: The
Houghton Mifflen Company, 1968.
Giles, Joseph and Frances, Life in a Medieval
Village. NY: Harper Perennial, 1990.
Part III: Ardchreag’s Re-enactment of a Manorial Court
June
8, AS 39 (2004)
On
June 7, Ardchreag acted out a manorial court. Each person wishing to
participate brought with them a certain number of gold coins (loonies). The
amount of money brought was up to each participant, and should not be any more
than they would be willing to have donated to the canton. (This exercise was,
in part, a fundraiser for the canton after all.)
In
attendance that night were:
Corwyn
Galbraith, Lord of the
Manor
Domhnail Galbraith, Lady of the Manor
Colyne Stewart, juror, member of the Green Tithing, Yeoman of the White
Arrow, member of the Cliffguard
Keelyn, juror, member of the White Tithing, member of the Cliffguard
Naja Kesali, juror, member of the Green Tithing, Yeoman of the White
Arrow
Yosho, reeve, member of the White Tithing, member of the Cliffguard
Thomas, beadle, member of the Green Tithing
Wulfgang Donnerfaust, Chief Pledge of the White Tithing, member of the
Cliffguard
Lina Carville, member of the White Tithing
Pierre, representative of the Royal Court
Thorfinna gra'feldr, woodward, member of the Green Tithing, Yeoman of
the White Arrow, member of the Cliffguard
Iolanda de Albornoz, Yeoman of the White Arrow
Wat of Sarum, Chief Pledge of the Green Tithing
Eirik Andersen, village alderman, member of the Green Tithing
Mahault van der Eych, ale taster, member of the Green Tithing, member of
the Cliffguard
Berend van der Eych, ale taster, member of the White Tithing, member of
the Cliffguard
Tarian verch Gadarn, ale taster, member of the White Tithing
Sof'ia Bardeva, ale taster, member of the White Tithing
Jean-Margaret
Donnerfaust, member of
the White Tithing
Siegfried
Brandbeorn, village
alderman
Their
Excellencies of Septentria, playing the lord and lady of the manor, sat at one
end of the room with the jurors representing the court. One of the jurors also
acted as the clerk, writing down the charges, the results of the case, and the
fines. All others in attendance sat about the other three sides, leaving the
centre of the room open. Someone wishing to lay a charge would respectfully
step before the court and state their accusation. The accused would then step
forward as well. Both would be instructed to gather pledges and between one and
two minutes were allowed for this. During this time much money changed hands as
pledges were bought, silences ensured and officials bribed. (Any bribe to a
juror went right into the beadle's money jar.)
Both
sides then presented their stories, and all pledges were allowed to speak.
Rebuttals were allowed, though the court could stop them at any time. The court
then discussed the testimony and settled on a verdict. Generally, if the
defendent was found guilty they—and all their pledges—were fined. As well,
generally, if the defendent was found innocent, the plaintiff and all their
pledges were fined. There were of course cases where both sides were fined, or
only certain people on both or either side.
Most
of the cases brought forth were entirely facestious (such as Berend's tryst
with Tarian) whilst others (like the wandering lamb) were based on fact. Anyone
thinking of running such a manorial court themselves may want to consider which
charges to allow and disallow before hand so as not to possibly upset someone
(some might not find the idea of being charged as a fornicatrix funny, not even
in jest).
The
charges and their results are below:
Wat
of Sarum, Chief Pledge of the Green Tithing, charged Berend van der Eych with
reeping some of his grain. As pledges, Wat presented Sof'ia Bardeva, an ale
taster, and Mahault, also an ale taster and 'the much abused wife' of Berend.
In his defence, Berend called on yet another ale taster, Tarian verch Gadarn.
Wat alleged that he arose late one morning, after a night spent at a tavern, to
find that Berend had reaped some of his grain. Berend, who said that while he
was being charged with stealing grain was obviuosly the victim of Wat stealing
his wife, successfully argued that Wat was a drunken sot, and by Tarian's
testimony proved this. Berend was found innocent, and Wat was fined one gold
piece for bringing a false charge before the court, plus another gold coin for
improper management of his field. He was fined a further gold coin for pointing
in a threatening manner at one of the jurors.
Iolanda
de Albornoz, a Yeoman of the White Arrow, claiming to be the village forester,
charged Eirik Andersen, a village alderman, with killing a deer. As pledges she
brought Lina Carville and Thomas the beadle. Eirik's pledges were Thorfinna,
the village woodward, and Wat of Sarum, Chief Pledge of the Green Tithing.
Iolanda claimed that she had found a dead deer in the woods, and believed that
Eirik had slain it, as Lina had seen Eirik walking near the area where the deer
was found, and Thomas had overheard him speaking of venison. However, Eirik
proved his innocence through Thorfinna, who was the real forester for the
village (being its woodward). The deer, she said, had died of natural causes,
and Eirik, acting as her deputy, was in the area as he was going to fetch a
cart to bring it to the lord's manorial officers. Upon his return however, the
deer was gone. The matter of the deer's whereabouts was not solved. When
Thorfinna was asked why she had not reported this dead deer to the reeve or
beadle, the reeve agreed with her that reports were due later that very
evening. Iolanda was fined one gold piece for bringing a false charge before
the court, and a further gold piece for usurping another's village appointment.
Mahault
van der Eych charged her husband, Berend van der Eych, with creating a
fornicatrix of the unmarried and pregnant Tarin verch Gadarn. As pledges
Mahault presented Wulfgang Donnerfaust, the Chief Pledge of the White Tithing,
Jean-Margaret Donnerfaust, Sof'ia Bardeva the ale taster and Wat of Sarum,
Chief Pledge of the Green Tithing. Tarian brought Eirik Andersen, village
alderman, whilst Berend brought forth Yosho the reeve. This case got very
convoluted as many accusations were thrown. In a surprise testimony, Yosho
revealed that Tarian's unborn child was his own, not Berend's (and he quickly
paid the beadle a marriage tax). Berend was therefore found innocent of
creating a fornicatrix of Tarian. However, many women present had apparently
been beset by him after having been in his cups, and he paid one gold piece for
every one present who so accused him. Also, Eirik Andersen was remanded to the Royal Court for
later trial for having—by his own admission—given Tarian cod liver oil, which
is an abortive.
Thorfinna
gra'feldr, the woodward, charged the Donnerfaust family with poaching a lamb,
and the van der Eych family for concealing it. As pledges Thorfinna presented
Tarian verch Gadarn, ale taster, Wat of Sarum, chief Pledge of the Green
Tithing, Eirik Andersen, village alderman, and Thomas the beadle. The
defendents presented Sof'ia Bardeva, ale taster, Iolanda de Albornoz, Yeoman of
the White Arrow, Lina Carville, and Siegfried Brandbeorn, village alderman. As
with the previous case, many extra charges were leveled by pledges against each
other, the plaintiff and the accused. In this case everyone was charged with
one gold coin. The defendents were charged as three seperate stories of how the
lamb came to be in their possession were presented by them as truth. However,
the plaintiff was also charged for not having already seized the lamb. (Plus,
charging both sides, with so many pledges, brought much extra revenue into the
lord's coffer.)
A
representative of the Royal Court,
Pierre, then announced that he
had been authorized on behalf of the Crown to prosecute a case of murder.
Sof'ia Bardeva, ale taster, charged Wulfgang Donnerfaust, Chief Pledge of the
White Tithing, with murder, having killed her husband, Francisco Deceasi.
Sof'ia's pledges were Mahault van der Eych, ale taster, and Lina Carville.
Wulfgang's pledges were Wat of Sarum, Chief Pledge of the Green Tithing,
Thorfinna gra'feldr, woodward, Yosho the reeve and Jean-Margaret Donnerfaust.
The court heard how Wulfgang had allegedly slain Francisco by stabbing him in
the back with a knife, and later bragging of the dead and of the strength of
his arm. His pledges countered that Francisco was indeed still alive, as he had
been seen recently, and that Sof'ia herself had been heard plotting his death.
The court asked if a death tax had been paid on Francisco and was told that it
had been paid. And, as Francisco was not present to prove that he was indeed
alive, Wulfgang was found guilty and sentanced to be hung by the neck until
dead. The Crown seized his land and goods (all his remaining gold coins) and in
its magnamity, donated them back to the lord and lady of the manor. Sof'ia then
had to pay an inheritance tax on her land. (This also meant that Wulfgang could
not participate as a pledge in the last case of the night, as his village
persona was now dead.)
Thomas
the beadle charged Eirik Andersen, village alderman, with not doing his share
of the reaping. As pledge Thomas presented Yosho the reeve. For his pledge,
Eirik presented Thorfinna gra'feldr, woodward. Thomas and Yosho alleged that
Eirik had not done his share of the reaping, and that he had attempted to bribe
Yosho to keep the matter out of court. Yosho presented the alleged bribe money
to the court and gave it into the care of the beadle. Thorfinna and Eirik
countered that as a Viking, Eirik lived on a boat in the lord's harbour, and
did not own land, and therefore could not reap. Instead, he paid a yearly tax
in lieu of that service. The money that the reeve alleged was a bribe was in
fact Eirik's tax money. The lord and lady of the manor, worried over apparent
corruption in their officers, stepped forward and said that Eirik was innocent,
and Thomas and Yosho had to pay a fine of one gold coin for corruption.
Before
the court could be closed, Pierre, on behalf of the Crown, after hearing so
much perjury that day, ordered everyone to pay further fines to the manor (in
effect, any gold coins they still had on their person).
The
canton then decided that the court was so much fun that it should be held twice
a year. To facilitate this, it was agreed that the canton appointments should
be shuffled so that those dynamics will change for next time. Likely Ardchreag
will continue with its manorial courts in late October and May (around the
times when the hallmote and frankpledge courts would have been held).
All
in all the experiment was a great success. Everyone had fun and over one
hundred dollars was raised to help defray canton event costs.
