Social Hierarchy
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The villein is released at the moment he or she makes the oath of office in the Cathedral forum. They are afforded this privilege because of the work and services they provide to the government. Some, like heralds, will even make a little bit of money from charging a fee for services they provide, like commissioning arms. | The villein is released at the moment he or she makes the oath of office in the Cathedral forum. They are afforded this privilege because of the work and services they provide to the government. Some, like heralds, will even make a little bit of money from charging a fee for services they provide, like commissioning arms. | ||
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| + | ===Aldermanship=== | ||
| + | Becoming an alderman means getting elected to the town council of the Boroughs. Boroughs town councils are small, usually only a mayor and 1-2 aldermen. Along with the mayor, aldermen decide town policies and allocate town finances where they are needed. In the future one alderman and one mayor from every Boroughs will be the "two burgesses" sent to help make policy in a national legislature, and these will also be elected by the Boroughs. | ||
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| + | ===Mayoralty=== | ||
| + | Being elected mayor of the Boroughs by other burgesses is a great honor, and one that can attract attention. It is the mayor that I will deal with personally as representative of the Boroughs, and who will liaise with the Exchequer and his reeves in collecting the Boroughs' taxes. Serving a term as a mayor, especially of a large Boroughs like our capitol city, Win-caster (Ouentus-Castrum) will often earn one a squirage or even a baronetcy. | ||
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| + | ===Franklin=== | ||
| + | I expect that there may be some plots of buildable land in wayward places that are just too small to support a knight and his full complement of villeins. As a duke, I have two options with spaces of land like this. My first option is to grant this small land not as a knight's fief, but as a sergeant's fief or grand sergeanty to a small group of 1-5 villeins who are direct vassals of mine, with the main recipient taking the rank of sergeant. My second option is to allow an interested individual to purchase a building for that land, which a villein with saved money might do instead of buying space in a Boroughs or full town. Such a person purchasing a building for this place would not be considered a burgess, but would still be considered a freeman - the technical title would be franklin. The type of establishment they might run might, for example, be the typical wayside inn along a remote road. | ||
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| + | ===Sinecure Yeoman=== | ||
| + | The absolute masters in their field of craftsmanship may find themselves approached by noblemen with an offer to take up a sinecure yeoman position in a noble court such as "house weaponsmith", "house painter", etc. | ||
==Gentry== | ==Gentry== | ||
