Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Heirs to
Heirs to Merlin: The
Stonehenge Tribunal details
Mythic Europes England and Wales. This
Merlin
essential work surveys a fascinating land ripe for
adventures, from tales of King Arthur to the death of
Thomas Becket, from the coming of the Order of Hermes
to the ascendance of Blackthorn covenant, from the druids
stone
A Mythic Lineage
Chart
circles to tales of the English saints.
Ars Magica storyguides will come away from Heirs to Merlin
with the background knowledge and inspiration to run truly
epic sagas set in the Stonehenge Tribunal. And due to
the multitude of saga options presented, even play-
ers of Stonehenge sagas can read Heirs to Merlin
every single page without worry that an
adventures secrets will be spoiled. An
ISBN 1-887801-79-0
$22.95 (US) AG0262 The Stonehenge Tribunal
by David Chart
AG 262
7 00040 00262 9
Dedication
I'd like to dedicate this book to my parents,
Alison Chart and Ian Chart, and my sister, Tana
Silverland. Saint Paul, Minnesota
info@atlas-games.com www.atlas-games.com
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
VI. The Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
The Seculars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
The Regulars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
The Sacraments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Ecclesiastical Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Chapter 1
Introduction
ngland: a generation ago, at the
4
INTRODUCTION
medieval England, and you can generally characters would know, after all. Do not try to
assume that, if something is not a problem for introduce everything in a single story; you
you, it wont be for them. will only overwhelm the players, and proba-
If you are not to worry about anachro- bly lose track yourself. Instead, bring things in
nisms, how do you create the necessary sense one at a time, and have them recur later as
that the game takes place nearly eight hun- background incidents. After the covenant
dred years ago? If you have found a way that fights a writ of novel disseisin the players will
works for you, then stick with it. Otherwise, know what it means when a visiting mer-
here are some suggestions. chant complains that such a writ has been
First, make your positive descriptions as presented against him. A number of story
true to the time as you can manage. The fol- ideas are scattered through the text to help
lowing pages provide outline information on you do this.
the appearance of clothes, buildings, and the Third, have the players create characters
countryside: use it when describing travel. with backgrounds drawn from medieval cul-
Remind the players that roads are unpaved, ture. Encourage them to read the relevant
that men have skirts, and that a single coin is parts of this book, and to work one or two ele-
a days wages for a laborer and can be bent ments in as important parts of their history.
between your fingers. Dont worry about The book is split into thematic chapters to
describing everything just pick a couple of make this as easy as possible a character
things at a time, to point up the differences who wishes to portray a peasant need only
from modern society. read the chapter on peasants, for example.
Second, base stories on features of Finally, dont worry about it. Everyone
medieval society. Pick one, such as tithes, or wants to think that they are playing in the
noble hunts, or lawsuits, and build a story middle ages, so they wont be trying to pick
that relies on its details. If the players have holes in your descriptions. A covenant
read this book (which is recommended), they maneuvering for a borough charter while try-
will realize what is going on, but otherwise ing to convince the local priest not to claim
you may have to explain to them their tithes on its vis sources and fighting a writ of
5
HEIRS TO MERLIN: THE STONEHENGE TRIBUNAL
novel disseisin from another covenant is bibliography lists all the books used in the
solidly enmeshed in high medieval culture, immediate preparation of the sourcebook,
and the fact that the current story involves a and can serve as a guide to even deeper
faerie tournament which could have come research.
from Malory (who wrote in the 1400s) wont Powicke, Sir Maurice, The Thirteenth
spoil the effect. Century: Part of the Oxford History of
Ars Magica also draws on the legends of England, this book actually starts from the
the Middle Ages. Summaries of a number of accession of Henry III in 1216. It is an excel-
these legends, taken from texts current in lent political history, but it has little informa-
England around 1220, are scattered through tion on culture and society.
the book. These can be used as inspiration for Harding, Alan, England in the Thirteenth
your own stories, or simply as background Century: A Cambridge Medieval Textbook.
color. The final chapter contains more leg- This is a good complement to the Powicke, as
ends, and descriptions of places that certainly it concentrates on social history.
ought to have some mystical features. Just as Dyer, Christopher, Standards of Living in
all the legends are genuine, so are all the the later Middle Ages: Another Cambridge
places, although the legends about the places Medieval Textbook. This is an excellent
may not be medieval. The only made-up source of details on the physical side of daily
information in this book is that related to the life. The subtitle is Social Change in
Order of Hermes. England c. 1200 1520.
Of course, this all assumes that you want Lynch, Joseph H. The Medieval Church:
to play in a world which is a good approxima- The Church was central to medieval life, and
tion to medieval Europe. If you dont, this this book provides a good introduction to it.
book will be of limited use to you, as its pri- It is not focused particularly on England,
mary aim is to provide, accessibly, informa- however.
tion about Mythic England. Map, Walter, De Nugis Curialium: The
oldest Ars Magica sourcebook, written about
eight hundred years before the games first
edition came out. This book is a wonderful
6
Chapter 2
History
Bladud, who founded the city of Bath and
7
HEIRS TO MERLIN
Brutus
Aeneas of Troy fled the fall of the city, finally arriv- leave the country, taking Pandrasuss daughter as his
ing in Italy where he became king, marrying Lavinia, wife, and gold to support the Trojans on their journey.
the daughter of King Latinus. After Aeneas died, his son Their travels took them to a deserted island where
Ascanius became king. Ascaniuss son Silvius had a there was a statue of Diana which offered prophecies to
secret affair with one of Lavinias nieces, marrying her anyone who asked. Brutus asked her where he should
and making her pregnant. When Ascanius found out, live, and was told to travel to an island beyond the set-
he consulted soothsayers about the child, and they said ting sun which was once inhabited by giants. The
that he would be a boy who would cause the death of his Trojans set out, and first landed in Aquitaine, where
father and mother, and, after wandering in exile, rise to they fought Goffar the Pict, sacking the region before
the highest honor. withdrawing and sailing for Albion.
Brutuss mother died in childbirth, and when he When they arrived, the Trojans quickly drove out
was fifteen he killed his father in a hunting accident. the remaining giants, and Brutus named the island
His relations exiled him from Italy for this crime, and he Britain after himself. He chose a spot on the River
went to Greece, where he found a number of Trojans Thames for his capital, and built a city which he called
enslaved by King Pandrasus. He so impressed everyone New Troy. This was in the time when Eli was judge of
with his might and wisdom that he was made leader of the Israelites, and the Ark of the Covenant was cap-
the Trojans, and demanded that Pandrasus free them. tured by the Philistines.
The king refused, and attacked Brutus and the Trojans. From Geoffrey of Monmouth
Brutus was victorious, and demanded the freedom to History of the Kings of Britain, Part One
8
HISTORY
the country. He found refuge with the king of A hundred years later the British king,
the Allobroges, who married him to his Guiderius, tried to throw off the Roman yoke,
daughter and made him his heir. Once and Claudius invaded to bring him to heel.
Brennius was king there, he led his subjects Claudius won the first battle, killing
back to Britain, determined to take the king- Guiderius by treachery, but Arvirargus took
dom from his brother. As the armies gathered over the leadership of the Britons, and finally
for battle, his mother came to him and begged forced Claudius to sue for peace. Arvirargus
him to make peace with his brother, remind- married Claudiuss daughter, and continued
ing him that he had now become a king in his paying tribute to the Romans.
own right, and that he had rebelled in the One hundred years after Arvirargus,
first place. He was convinced, and the broth- Lucius was the king of the Britons. He heard
ers made peace. They combined their armies, of the Christian faith, and wrote to Pope
and harried Gaul, before continuing south to Eleutherius, asking that missionaries be sent
sack Rome. Brennius remained in Italy, treat- to Britain. The Pope was happy to agree, and
ing the people savagely, but Belinus returned sent Faganus and Duvianus, who converted
to Britain, where he presided over an age of the whole country within a few years, estab-
immense wealth, the like of which was never lishing archbishops at London, York, and
seen again. Caerleon-on-Usk.
After the death of Lucius, the pirate
Carausius convinced Rome to give him some
ships, and mercilessly plundered the coasts.
9
HEIRS TO MERLIN
Carausius, but after he had done so he Britain. He fathered three sons, Constans,
oppressed the Britons, so that they rallied to Aurelius Ambrosius, and Uther Pendragon.
Asclepiodotus, Duke of Cornwall, and drove Constantine reigned for ten years, and then
him out. At this time Diocletian persecuted was treacherously murdered by a Pict.
the Christians, killing Albanus at St. Albans, After Constantines death, Vortigern
and Julius and Aaron at Caerleon. A few seized the throne by treachery. Aurelius
years later Constantius of Rome married Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon were mere
Helen, the daughter of a British king, and boys, and fled to their relatives in Brittany,
their son Constantine went on to defeat but other Britons fought against Vortigern. In
Maxentius and become emperor of Rome, order to enforce his rule, he invited the
bringing the whole Empire to the Christian Saxons, under Hengist and Horsa, into the
faith. country. Vortigern fell in love with Hengists
From this time on, barbarian raids began beautiful daughter Renwein, and Hengist
to trouble the Britons, until finally Rome said allowed Vortigern to marry her, using this to
that it could no longer spare the troops to gain further control over the king and invite
help such worthless folk, and left the Britons more Saxons into the country. The Britons
to their own devices. rebelled under Vortimer, Vortigerns son, and
drove the Saxons out for a time. After
Vortimers death, Vortigern returned to the
throne and recalled the Saxons, who then
10
HISTORY
from the top of Mount Killaraus in Ireland. too well known to be recounted here. He
Aurelius sent Uther Pendragon with an army, reigned gloriously for many years, finally
which defeated the Irish but was unable to falling in battle at Camblam, after which he
move the stones. Merlin, by his art, easily was buried at Glastonbury Abbey. His tomb
brought them to Britain, and erected them was found in 1190, and was seen by Gerald of
around the tomb of those slain by treachery. Wales, among others, before he was reburied
Many of the Saxons hated Aurelius for in a fine marble sepulcher behind the high
what he had done, and he was slain by treach- altar.
ery. A Saxon, disguised as a British monk,
gave him poison, pretending that it was med-
icine. As he died, Uther Pendragon was
defeating the Saxon army, and he returned
from his victory to hear the news and become
king. After driving the last of the Saxons
The Saxons
back, Uther fell in love with Ygerna, the wife After the death of Arthur, the Angles
of Gorlois of Cornwall, and the realm was and Saxons swept across the country, driving
split by civil war. Merlins magic allowed the Britons back into Wales and Cornwall.
Uther to disguise himself as Gorlois, and lie This process was not complete until the sev-
with Ygerna before the duke was defeated. enth century, when the British kingdom of
They had a son, who was called Arthur. Elmet, in the Pennines, finally fell about 620.
The tales of Arthur are too numerous and The Anglo-Saxons were pagans, and in
11
HEIRS TO MERLIN
597 Pope Gregory the Great sent St. Bede, a Northumbrian monk, could write a
Augustine to Kent, which was an indepen- history of the English church and people
dent kingdom at that time, to convert the which took them to be the same.
people. The conversion progressed slowly but In the late eighth century Offa, king of
steadily, and in 601 Augustine was made Mercia, became overlord of the English. All
archbishop. He had already established his the kingdoms south of the Humber acknowl-
church at Canterbury, the capital of Kent, edged his authority, and he had influence in
and the town became fixed as the metropoli- Northumbria. He built a great earthwork,
tan see. Aethelberht, the king of Kent, was Offas Dyke, to mark the boundary between
converted, but Christianity made little fur- England and Wales, and he minted the first
ther progress in Augustines lifetime, and for pennies, coins which were copied throughout
some time afterwards. Indeed, when Europe. Offa was one of the great lords of
Aethelberht died, Kent almost reverted to Europe, the only king able to deal with
heathenism. The British were still Christian, Charlemagne on equal terms, and a signifi-
but hostile to the new customs brought in by cant figure even to the distant Pope in Rome.
the Romans. He died in 796, at the height of his power.
Nevertheless, progress was made, and in
663, at the synod of Whitby, the Roman cus-
toms were adopted by the whole of the
English church. The last major heathen ruler
was Penda of Mercia, who was killed by
Oswiu of Northumbria in 654, and in 731
Vikings and Magi
The Vikings began raiding Britain in the
early 790s, and continued over the following
Offas Dyke decades. While wars broke out between
Wessex and Mercia in the southwest, the
Offas Dyke stretches for more then seventy miles, and is clearly a Danes moved in from the north-east, first
work beyond the capacity of unaided mortals. It was completed in raiding, and then settling and conquering. By
787 with the assistance of Huarwar, a Welsh faerie who was bribed 870, the Danes had conquered all of the
with 10,000 cattle. The bargain involved his being provided with Saxon kingdoms, apart from the southwest-
100 cattle every fourteen years thereafter, and recently the locals ern kingdom of Wessex.
have neglected this. As a result, he has started to eat the northern In this period, the Order of Hermes came
parts of the dyke, and occasional villages. to Britain. The immediate cause was Pralixs
war against Davnalleous, which is described
in Lion of the North. In 815, Pralix established
Magi in Britain Before Pralix the Ordo Miscellanea at Cad Gadu, in North
Wales, and in 817 it was accepted into the
Order as House Ex Miscellanea. The
While Pralix was the first Hermetic maga to settle in Britain, she
Stonehenge Tribunal was born.
was not the first to visit the island. In the eighth century England
The first covenant in the new tribunal
was a major center of scholarship, and Jerbiton himself visited the
was Cad Gadu itself, founded by Pralix in 815
Northumbrian monks. House Dedne had close links with the
on the site of the final battle with
Welsh druids, although they did not join the Order. The main
Davnalleous. When the Stonehenge
problem was the large number of indigenous, non-Hermetic tradi-
Tribunal was formed in 817, the Dedne
tions in the island. The Order was too small to enforce a join or
incorporated an ancient druidic shrine on
die policy, and so responded by largely ignoring the problem. The
Anglesey as a covenant. This is now known
war against Davnalleous provided a focus for the various British
as the Nameless Covenant, as the quaesitores
traditions, and House Ex Miscellanea a way for them to join the
ordered its name, location, and much of its
Order without giving up their history. The tribunal was thus incor-
history stricken from the records after the
porated more easily than the founders had dared to hope.
Schism War. In 818 House Tremere founded
12
HISTORY
the covenant of Blackthorn in the Black death. Flavia tried to negotiate a peace, but
Mountains of South Wales, intending to use with her death in 890 the last truce fell apart,
it as a base for the domination of the tribunal. and the war escalated. In 899 all the members
In 820 Flavia of Jerbiton (see insert) founded of Blackthorn declared Wizards War on all
the covenant of Rosalba in the Yorkshire the members of Rosalba. The magi of Rosalba
Dales. were all killed, but magical defenses on the
Cad Gadu has never kept very good covenant killed several Blackthorn grogs and
records (one reason why the precise date of one magus, and the weakened victors with-
Pralixs death or Twilight, or, indeed, its drew to regroup. Later expeditions revealed
nature, is unknown), but one from 837 that the defenses were still in place, and
records the visit of a group of wandering magi. eventually the ruins of the covenant were
Such a group was recorded from time to time simply abandoned. No current members of
over the next three centuries, but never the tribunal know precisely where they are.
described in any great detail. Meanwhile, the tribunal was growing
After the Sundering of Tremere, with the foundation of several new
Blackthorns power in the tribunal was covenants. (See page 16 for a full list, includ-
reduced, and the younger members of Rosalba ing those which did not survive for any sig-
sought to weaken it further, increasing their nificant length of time.) Castrum Antiquum
own influence. The relationship between the was founded in 852 in the ruins of a Roman
two covenants became actively hostile, with fort on Hadrians Wall, Sursum in 875 on the
frequent confrontations at tribunal. A north coast of Cornwall, London Covenant
Wizards War in 873 between Diana of in 896, and Lux Draconis in 915, in the
Tremere, from Blackthorn, and William of Pennines.
Jerbiton, from Rosalba marked the beginning Alfred the Great became king of Wessex
of near-constant skirmishing after Williams in 871, and set out to drive the Danes back.
Flavia of Jerbiton
Flavia was trained by Jerbiton himself, and spent her thought wise. The eruption of hostilities with
first years as a maga in Rome and Constantinople. She Blackthorn confirmed her fears, and she was distracted
was present at Charlemagnes coronation, and is said to in her last years by repeated attempts to negotiate
have encouraged Irene in her assumption of the peace. Her reputation served her well, but on her disap-
Byzantine throne. Perhaps she was dismayed by Irenes pearance in 890 the final truce between the two
fate: at any rate, she vanished from Europe in 803. By covenants broke down.
810, Jerbiton and the other magi of his house assumed Flavias end is rather mysterious. Almost all the evi-
that she had died. In 819 she reappeared, refusing to say dence suggests that she went into Final Twilight, a nor-
where she had been, and immediately began searching mal end for a maga who has lived for more than a cen-
for somewhere to found a covenant. She astonished tury. However, she prepared quite carefully for her end,
everyone by choosing a remote area of the Stonehenge finishing her final tractatus the day before she vanished,
Tribunal, where she established Rosalba in 820. and telling the covenant servants in advance not to
There, while she gathered a number of magi around bother bringing her food the following day. Her passage
her, she devoted her time to studying, and writing into Twilight was as spectacular as might be expected,
about, the philosophical underpinnings of Hermetic but the fact that it seems it was expected has puzzled
magic. More lucid than the Criamon, but less con- more thoughtful magi. They wonder if her philosophical
cerned with the details of theory than the Bonisagus, researches revealed greater secrets to her than anyone
her writings garnered a great deal of respect, but few realized.
magi felt that they could spare the time to read them. Flavias texts are mostly tractatus on Magic Theory
Even the other magi of her covenant began to margin- or Philosophiae. The storyguide should decide whether
alize her, taking a much more aggressive role than she she did make any major theoretical breakthroughs.
13
HEIRS TO MERLIN
By 886 Alfred had struck back, regaining work, conquering the kingdom of York in
control of London and the fealty of all the 927, accepting the tribute of the Welsh kings
English in the south and west of the country. from 931, and finally pacifying Cornwall in
Alfred established a number of defensive set- the same year. In 937 he was attacked by the
tlements, called burhs, throughout England, Irish and Scots, in a grand alliance intended
and saved English culture from disappearing to break his power. He annihilated them at
beneath the Viking tide. He was also one of the battle of Brunanburh.
the more learned kings of the period, respon- Sursum fell during Athelstans cam-
sible for several translations from Latin to paigns. It was closely involved with the
English, including one of Boethiuss Cornish nobility, and was connected with
Consolation of Philosophy. He died in 899. their revolt in 931. Athelstans response
Alfreds son Edward took on the task of involved the destruction of the covenant,
conquering the Danes and bringing the land and when the quaesitores investigated the
back under English control. He was helped by ruins they found evidence that the Tytalus at
his sister Aethelflaed, and by the time of his the covenant had been involved in dia-
death in 924 he had brought all of England bolism. This was one of the first pieces of evi-
south of the Humber under his direct control. dence leading up to the disgrace of House
The Welsh had acknowledged him as over- Tytalus in 961.
lord, but the Vikings had established a king- Although the southeast was at peace in
dom centered on York in the North, and this these years, London covenant had trouble
did not recognize his authority at all. His son establishing itself in the city. It was constant-
Athelstan continued and completed Edwards ly changing its lodgings, and as it was never
14
HISTORY
keen on telling the rest of the Order about its covenant had ever existed. Some magi were
activities Redcaps occasionally had trouble worried that this was the first sign of a Dedne
tracking it down to deliver messages. Finally, counter-attack, but nothing further happened
in 942, their best efforts failed to discover the for many years.
covenant, and it was presumed to have been When Athelstan died in 939, his brother
dispersed or destroyed. A group of tradition- Edmund was unable to hold the kingdom
alist Latin magi founded the covenant of together, and it quickly collapsed under the
Roma Nova in Kent in 946, and quickly pressure of Viking raids. The descendants of
made themselves unpopular with the Alfred maintained their hold on the king-
Bjornaer, Dedne, and Ex Miscellanea. In ship, but the various parts of the country
952, they were challenged at one of their vis slipped away from them, until in 1016 Cnut,
sources by magi claiming to be from London. the younger brother of the king of Denmark,
The challengers were defeated, but investiga-
tions by the Redcaps found no other trace of
the urban magi. The Forgotten Covenant
In 984 a group of Flambeau magi founded
Ungulus, The Claw, in the Lake District. The magi acquire a collection of old Redcap letters. Many of them
Less than two decades later its purpose, as a have been mutilated, with passages cut out, but one of the frag-
forward post in the Schism War, was revealed. ments remains in the bottom of the bag. It mentions the two
The Stonehenge Tribunal suffered badly in Dedne covenants of Stonehenge. This suggests that the obliter-
that war. Roma Nova was destroyed by the ation of the Nameless Covenant was a cover story, used to explain
Dedne in 1008, and many other covenants the mutilations necessary for the total obliteration of a second
were damaged and lost members. The covenant. Why were the quaesitores so eager to wipe it from
destruction of the Nameless Covenant in memory?
1011 was the last major engagement of the
war, and the things the quaesitores found in
the ruins led them to have the site razed com-
pletely, and most records of the covenant
Alfred and the Cakes
destroyed. In 878 Alfreds war against the Danes was going badly, and he was
In 1014 Blackthorn sponsored a group of forced to flee, alone, into the Somerset marshes, hiding from the
magi, including many apprentices trained at enemy until he could rejoin his forces. Wandering the swamps, he
the covenant, to found the covenant of saw a lonely cottage, and approached it, seeking refuge. The
Tagelyn in some caves fairly close to swineherd who lived there took pity on a man who was, apparent-
Blackthorns site. Their stated aim was to ly, nothing but a poor victim of the battles, and gave him shelter.
begin repairing the damage wrought by the Alfred remained there for several days, content with the bare
Schism War. necessities of life.
In 1025 a small group of Criamon magi One day, while the swineherd was out with his pigs, Alfred
founded the covenant of Stellasper, in the was meditating on his plight, and waiting for Gods mercy, which
Scilly Isles southwest of Cornwall. The St. Neot had promised to him. The swineherds wife had prepared
covenant never took an active part in tri- some bread, and set the loaves in the hearth to cook. She then
bunal business, and the Redcaps only visited busied herself with other chores, and looked across the room to see
once every seven years. the loaves burning while Alfred sat beside them. Annoyed, she
Sometime in 1030 or 1031, Castrum shouted at him:
Antiquum vanished. The Redcap traveled to Youre unwilling to turn the loaves while they are burning,
the site, as she had done only a year before, but perfectly happy to eat them when theyre cooked!
and found nothing but the ruins of a Roman Chastened, the king turned the loaves, and then watched
fort. There was no trace of the covenant, not them carefully until they were done, accepting the humble situa-
even ruins of the additional structures they tion in which God had chosen to place him for the moment.
had built. Other magi of the tribunal investi- From The Life of St. Neot
gated, but could find no evidence that the
15
HEIRS TO MERLIN
invaded and was able to take control of the Wessex opposed this. In 1051, Godwine
whole of England. By 1020 he was firmly in rebelled, but his army would not fight against
control of England, and also king of the king in person, at least when the other
Denmark. Cnut attempted to conquer earls joined the royal side, and he had to
Norway, but was less successful, and had lost make peace. In 1052, Godwines estates were
control there before his death in 1035. He restored to him, and his son Harold succeed-
was succeeded in England by his illegitimate ed him as earl in 1053.
son Harold, although Harolds mother In 1058 Gruffyd ap Llewelyn of Wales
Aelfgifu seems to have been the true ruler. attacked England, and Harold was engaged in
Harold died in 1040, and was succeeded, defeating him and driving him out. Gruffyds
almost peacefully, by Cnuts legitimate son forces laid siege to Blackthorn, and invested
Harthacnut, who was already king of the covenant until Harold relieved it in 1061,
Denmark. Harthacnut died at the age of while in 1060 a detachment of his army
twenty four in 1042 and was succeeded by sacked Cad Gadu, burning the ancient
Edward the Confessor. covenant to the ground. Harold finally
King Edward was celibate, which meant defeated Gruffyd in 1062, giving him a strong
that there could be no blood heir to the and respected position in England.
throne. He favored William of Normandy All magi of the tribunal were sure that
from early in his reign, but Earl Godwine of Gruffyd was a Dedne magus, returned to
Covenants of Stonehenge
This is a list of all the covenants that have been found- Roma Nova (9461008)
ed in Stonehenge, together with some information Ungulus (984present)
about those not mentioned in the main text. Lumen (9981003): A foundation which was an early
victim of the Schism War, lacking the resources to
Cad Gadu (815present) repel a Dedne assault.
Semitae (?present) Tagelyn (1014-1062)
Nameless Covenant (8171011) Stellasper (10251163)
Blackthorn (818present) Harolds Vengeance (10661068): Founded in the East
Rosalba (820899) Anglian fens by magi who wanted to drive William
Concordia (821823): An attempt to weld the various the Conqueror from England, it broke the Code so
traditions in Ex Miscellanea together, it fell apart blatantly and repeatedly that it was Marched as a
due to internal tension. It was in the Lake District. whole and destroyed.
Castrum Antiquum (8521030/1) Voluntas (1083present)
Rector Maris (866): Founded on the Isle of Man, and Blackrose (11041107)
destroyed within six months. Magnantrum (11111187)
Sursum (875931) Natura Antiqua (11331143): Founded in the East
Occulta (893897): Founded in the East Anglian fens Anglian fens by a group of nature magi, Natura was
by a group of newly gauntleted magi, Occulta failed destroyed by Geoffrey de Mandeville during the
to establish suitable resources, and collapsed. The Civil War.
magi all joined other covenants. Burnham (1141present)
London (896952?) Servus Maris (1160): Another attempt to found a
Lux Draconis (9151100): An undistinguished Manx covenant, destroyed by a dragon within six
covenant, it never achieved much in the way of a months. One magus was allowed to return to the
Summer, and died a natural death as it was unable Tribunal with the message Dont come back.
to recruit new magi. Schola Pythagoranis (1182present)
Rector Novus (938): Founded on the Isle of Man, and Nigrasaxa (1201present)
destroyed within a year. Libellus (1210present)
16
HISTORY
wreak vengeance. The fact that he attacked were founded by Saxon magi determined to
two covenants would, most likely, have led to oppose the Normans. They used Mentem
such a conclusion in the paranoid atmosphere magic to cover their tracks, but it could never
of the time, but as his name meant Son of be perfect. Williams suspicions were aroused,
Llewelyn, and the last primus of Dedne was and this contributed to his decision to com-
called Llewelyn, everyone was sure. However, mission Domesday Book to investigate the
the magi never saw any sign of magical abili- whole land. Fortunately, the Domesday asses-
ty on Gruffyds part, and most magi now sors were easy to deceive, and the lack of evi-
think that his name and actions were merely dence convinced William that there was
coincidence. nothing to his worries.
In 1062, Blackthorn drove the magi of The tribunal had survived, and even
Tagelyn out of the caves, moving their own grown slightly. Some magi from the
covenant to the safer location, and the sur- Normandy Tribunal had followed the
vivors of Tagelyn founded the covenant of Conqueror to England, and founded the
Ashenrise in the Hibernian Tribunal. Cad covenant of Voluntas in the north. William
Gadu was refounded on its old site, but in the Rufus became king of England in 1087, but
higher levels of the regio, in 1065, but the tri- his elder brother, Robert Curthose, was made
bunal was weak, with only four active duke of Normandy. William wanted control
covenants, two of which (Cad Gadu and Lux of the duchy, and in 1096 his brother pawned
Draconis) were barely clinging to survival. it to him to raise money so that he could go
on Crusade. William Rufus did not, however,
make himself popular, particularly with the
church. He was vain and ill-tempered, homo-
17
HEIRS TO MERLIN
Blackthorn sent out a small group of magi to and by April all the major nobles of the coun-
found a new covenant, Blackrose, on the try had submitted to him. In 1137 he was able
North York Moors, not far from Voluntas, in to travel to Normandy, where Matilda had
an obvious attempt to weaken the covenant. been making claims to the duchy. By the end
Blackrose suffered persistent mundane prob- of the year he had lost the confidence of the
lems, such as crop failures, troubles with the Normans through wrangling, and returned to
local nobility, and defecting servants, and England, where he stayed for the remainder
Blackthorn recalled the magi in 1107. While of his reign.
they strongly suspected Voluntas of being Meanwhile, the Angevins were pushing
involved, Blackthorn had no proof, and Matildas claim to the throne. She appealed
didnt have the strength to directly attack the to the Pope, who confirmed Stephens posi-
other covenant. A few years later, tion in 1139, and in 1138 Robert of
Magnantrum was founded in a cave under Gloucester renounced his fealty to Stephen
Salisbury Plain. to become the most important champion of
In 1101 Robert Curthose returned from the queens cause. In 1139, Stephen made a
Crusade, and tried to reclaim his duchy and serious tactical error. He arrested the bishop
acquire the throne of England. Henry resist- of Salisbury and his son, both of whom had
ed, and although Robert was captured and held great power at court. The Church, while
imprisoned in 1106 (remaining captive until it might not approve of the victims lives,
his death in 1134), the result was nearly could not countenance the violent arrest of
twenty years of war, which ended with Henry ecclesiastics. Stephen lost its support at a crit-
firmly established in England and Normandy, ical moment; shortly afterwards Matilda
with a legitimate heir and an apparently solid invaded.
position. On 25 November 1120, the White The next two years saw the burning of
Ship set sail for England and sank, drowning many towns and cities, until the battle of
everyone on board but a butcher from Rouen. Lincoln, in early 1141, when Stephen was
Those on board included William, Henrys defeated and imprisoned. Matilda immediate-
heir, two of the kings bastard children, sever- ly began arranging for her coronation, but
al earls and barons, and most of the royal acted so arrogantly that she alienated most of
household. the nobility. In June she entered London, and
Henry also had a daughter, Matilda, who quickly so offended the citizens that they
was married to the German Emperor. When expelled her. Acting quickly, Stephens queen
the emperor died in 1125, she became a (also called Matilda) began gathering allies,
potential heir to the English throne, and and managed to get Stephen released in
Henry induced his barons to accept her as exchange for Robert of Gloucester, whom she
such. She married Geoffrey Plantagenet of had captured. At this time, some magi
Anjou, and in 1133 bore him a son, Henry obtained a royal charter of immunity from
Plantagenet. Henry I died in December 1135, Stephen, and established the covenant of
but the succession did not go smoothly. Burnham in the northeast of the tribunal.
While questions were asked about their
involvement in the events of that year, noth-
ing was ever proved, and no quorate tribunal
18
HISTORY
London, Mandeville traveled to East Anglia ed by 1155, treating the warring nobles gen-
rather than face hanging and proceeded to erously, but demolishing their castles so that
ravage the fens. Whenever he was attacked, they were no longer able to resist him.
he withdrew into the marshes, where Wales was more troublesome: Owain
Stephen could not reach him. He was finally Gwynedd in the north and Rhys ap Gruffydd
killed, almost accidentally, in 1144. in the south were in open revolt. Owain
Such anarchy dragged on for several Gwynedd came to terms in 1157 after Henry
years, until Robert of Gloucester died in invaded Wales. The invasion was not going
1147. Matildas party was badly weakened, well, but Henry had a large enough army for
and Stephen was still in control of the coun- Owain to be nervous. Rhys was more trouble-
try. Between 1148 and 1153 things were rela- some, swearing allegiance and then rebelling
tively peaceful. On the continent, Matildas repeatedly over the following years.
son Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine in With this task completed, he turned his
1152, giving him control of all of western attention to the continent, where he sought
France. In 1153 Henry invaded England, and to consolidate the borders of his realm. Here,
won a number of victories. The peace treaty he was very successful, gaining control of
confirmed Stephen as king for his lifetime, Brittany and of the Norman Vexin in north-
with Henry as his heir. Stephen died in 1154, ern France, and laying the groundwork for
and Henry Plantagenet became Henry II of control of Toulouse.
England. In 1163 the covenant of Stellasper was
A group of traveling magi, calling them- destroyed in a great storm which raged over
selves Semitae, appeared at the 1151 tribunal the Scilly Isles, and touched the coast of
and asked the quaesitores to record their exis- Cornwall. Redcaps sent to investigate the
tence. The covenant was obviously not newly covenant site found ruins, but no bodies.
formed, but the leader, a member of House While they could have been washed out to
Criamon, refused to discuss the covenants sea, this was suspicious, and magical investi-
age. Magi speculate that it is the same group gation revealed nothing but that there had
as has appeared in Cad Gadus records since been an extravagant use of magic there at the
the foundation of the tribunal, making it one time of the storm. It is not known whether
of the oldest covenants in Stonehenge, but the covenant was attacked, attacked some-
there is no conclusive evidence. thing else, or if an experiment went wrong.
In 1162 the archbishop of Canterbury,
Theobald, died, and Henry ensured that his
chancellor, Thomas Becket, was elected to
Henry II
Henry II was one of the great figures in
The Disinherited
European politics. His domains stretched
Stephens younger son, William, survived him, and retained con-
from Scotland to the Pyrenees, and among
trol of substantial estates. His children or grandchildren could well
these the greatest importance of England was
be alive in 1220 (although William himself died in 1159), and
that this country made him a king. As a
interested in regaining the throne taken from their ancestor. They
result, his reign was much occupied with his
might be willing to offer substantial concessions, in the event of
continental dominions. When he ascended
victory, to anyone who supported them, and might still be in con-
to the throne in 1154, his first task was to
trol of enough land to offer bribes right away.
restore order to the country. This he complet-
19
HEIRS TO MERLIN
defender of the liberties of the Church, and OConor, the high king. Eventually, many of
Henry and Thomas quarreled seriously in the Norman lords of South Wales traveled to
1164 over the question of clergy who com- Ireland to help him, carving out lordships
mitted crimes. Henry held that the secular there, and allowing Rhys to consolidate his
courts should be allowed to punish them after position in Wales.
the Church courts stripped them of their In 1170 the king and Becket were recon-
rank, Thomas disagreed. ciled, and Becket returned to England. He at
Thomas was forced to flee England, and once suspended and excommunicated those
the quarrel dragged on for six years. The bishops who had acted against him, and on
Pope, who needed Henrys support against Christmas Day he publicly excommunicated
the Imperial antipope, could not give Becket those of the kings officers who had spoken
his full support, and neither Henry nor against him. The excommunicated bishops
Becket were eager for the quarrel to end. went to Henry in France, and he, in a rage,
Meanwhile, in 1165 Wales rebelled exclaimed, Will no one rid me of this turbu-
again. This time Henrys campaign failed, lent priest! Four knights took him at his
defeated by bad weather and the shortage of word, and set off for England. On 29
supplies. Henry came to terms with Rhys, and December 1170 Thomas Becket was mur-
ultimately gave him considerable power in dered in his cathedral.
Wales, with the promise of Henrys support. The death of Becket had a great impact
Owain died in 1170, allowing the Lord Rhys throughout Europe. He was immediately ven-
to extend his influence to the north. erated as a martyr, and the Pope officially
In 1166 Dermot McMurrough, the king canonized him in 1173. His cult spread quick-
of Leinster in Ireland, came to England to ask ly throughout the continent, and his tomb at
for Henrys help in a dispute with Rory Canterbury soon became the fourth main pil-
20
HISTORY
21
HEIRS TO MERLIN
grimage site in Europe, behind Jerusalem, In 1182 a group of Jerbiton magi founded
Rome, and Santiago. More immediately, the covenant of Schola Pythagoranis at
Henry had to do penance for indirectly caus- Cambridge, on the southern edge of the fens,
ing the death, and to concede most of the and devoted themselves as much to mundane
points for which Becket had fought. study as to magical work. In 1187 the
One consequence of the murder was the covenant of Magnantrum finally disintegrat-
rebellion of Henrys eldest son, Henry the ed, falling prey to internal disputes. The magi
Young King (so called because his father had scattered to different covenants, taking
already had him crowned, in an attempt to everything movable of value with them.
ensure a peaceful succession). He was arro- In 1183 Henry the Young King and
gant, and felt that his father was now weak. Geoffrey, the first and third sons of the king,
Henrys other sons joined in the revolt, and made war on their brother Richard, and dis-
the kings of France and Scotland assisted aster was averted only by the young Henrys
them, but the elder Henry was victorious, and death from dysentery. Richard was now the
the rebels had to come to terms in 1175. heir apparent, but Henry II seemed to favor
Henrys wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, had been his youngest son John. Henry refused to guar-
active in supporting the rebellion, and she antee Richard the succession, and he rebelled
was now imprisoned. The rebellious sons again in 1188. The war ended in defeat for
were granted independent incomes and for- Henry, who died soon after on 6 July 1189.
mal titles, but no real power.
22
HISTORY
23
HEIRS TO MERLIN
Money was constantly collected and sent to After the loss of Normandy, John
Normandy to pay for the fighting, and it is a returned to England and immediately put the
testament to the wealth of England that it whole country on alert. Every male over
could be paid. The Lord Rhys, in Wales, had twelve was required to swear to bear arms
rebelled at the start of the reign, and Wales against invaders, and anyone who failed to do
was still independent. In 1199, while besieg- so was to lose his lands, if he had any, or be
ing one of his own French barons in a dispute reduced to servitude if he did not. Everyone
over treasure trove, Richard was struck in the expected Philip to invade, but he did not,
shoulder by an arrow. The wound became choosing instead to try to retake the rest of
infected, and he died on 6 April. Johns French lands. John tried to turn the
assembled army to offense, and invade France
in turn, but the barons refused to participate,
and the scheme had to be abandoned.
John In 1205 Hubert Walter, archbishop of
Canterbury and the kings chancellor, died.
Johns succession to the throne was dis- The election to the see was disputed, and the
puted. His nephew, Arthur of Brittany, was king and monks of Christ Church,
the son of his older brother Geoffrey, duke of Canterbury, appealed to the Pope. In 1207
Brittany, and thus, by strict primogeniture, the Pope Innocent III set aside both their candi-
next in line to the throne. Further, Arthur was dates and had Stephen Langton elected to
only twelve years old, and it suited the pur- the post. John refused to confirm the election
poses of some lords to have a child as their or let Langton into the country, and on 23
leader. While England was, on the whole, March 1208 England was placed under inter-
loyal to John, the same could not be said of his dict. No religious services were performed,
continental domains, where Philip of France and the sacraments were denied to all. The
still sought to dismantle the Angevin Empire. dispute was hard to resolve, and in 1209 John
The first couple of years saw fitful fighting, was excommunicated. Those bishops who
and the making and breaking of alliances. had remained part of the government were
In 1200, Blackthorn called the scheduled immediately forced to abandon him, with the
tribunal of Stonehenge, but no one attended. exception of the bishop of Winchester, and
In 1201, Maximianus founded the covenant John began seizing the property of the church
of Nigrasaxa, and, together with Voluntas, on a grand scale.
Schola Pythagoranis, and Ungulus, called a In 1210 Llywelyn ab Iorweth of Wales
second tribunal. This gathering was quorate, rebelled against John, but in 1211 the king
and Blackthorn, worried that it would lose managed to drive him back, and the Welsh
control, agreed to host it. Blackthorn thus prince was forced to accept terms. He
maintained its dominance, but politics were rebelled again in 1212, and Philip of France
active in the tribunal once again, and it also was preparing a campaign against the excom-
began meeting one year behind the other tri- municated king. In 1213 John reached an
bunals of the Order. At this tribunal the agreement with the Pope, and Langton
Redcap network was reorganized, to ensure entered the country. King John also surren-
that lack of communication did not lead to dered his kingdom to the Pope and received it
more inquorate meetings. back as a fief. Soon afterwards, the interdict
In 1202 John managed to capture Arthur was lifted.
of Brittany, along with a number of his sup- Freed from ecclesiastical disapproval,
porters. Arthur vanished shortly after, killed, John gathered his army and prepared to take
it was rumored, at Johns own hands. Philip, as the war to Philip. The barons of the north
overlord of Brittany, used this as an excuse to refused to send their aid, and demanded the
reignite the war, and, thanks to Johns laxness, restoration of ancient liberties. An agreement
he overran Normandy by the end of 1204. was reached, mainly through Langtons inter-
24
HISTORY
cession, and John left for France. The cam- municated by the Pope, and with this defeat
paign started well, with the complete destruc- his English followers began abandoning him
tion of the French fleet, but at the battle of en masse. Reinforcements from the continent
Bouvines, in 1214, Johns Flemish and were defeated in a sea battle off Sandwich,
German allies were defeated and lost their and Louis was forced to come to capitulate
chance to recover Normandy. and surrender his claim in the treaty of
After Johns return, the northern barons Kingston.
continued to make demands, and in April Over the next couple of years the effects
1215 they renounced their homage and rose of the war were resolved, and government re-
in open revolt. In May they were admitted to established. William Marshal, the regent,
London, which they made their headquarters. died in 1219, but Henry was fairly secure on
By mid-May the king was ready to come to an the throne, and the realm officially at peace.
agreement with them, and on 19 June 1215
the king and the barons set their seals to
Magna Carta. The Lost Treasure
While John seems to have made a serious
effort to keep at least the letter of the agree- The royal regalia would certainly count as an arcane connection
ment, the northern barons did not, and soon to the king, and are likely to be magically linked to the entire
rose in revolt once more. The Pope quashed kingdom. The troubles following their loss might suggest that they
the charter, declaring it illegal. In response have been used in some kind of curse, possibly by a member of the
Louis, Philips son, was invited over by the Order of Hermes.
rebels and offered the throne of England. John
traveled round the country, seeking to control
the rebels, but the war caused great destruc-
tion, the like of which had not been seen
since the anarchy of King Stephens reign.
In October 1216 King John, ill, was trav-
eling south, and ordered his baggage train to
cross the Wash, the estuary at the northern
end of East Anglia. The tides changed, and
much of his treasury was lost. The news wors-
ened the kings fever, and on 18 October he
died.
Henry III
Henry was nine years old when he was
crowned at Gloucester. Louis of France held
much of the south and east of the country. It
seemed a recipe for disaster. William Marshal
was appointed regent, with the assistance of
Guala, the papal legate, Peter des Roches,
bishop of Winchester, and a council of about
a dozen other magnates. Their first task was
to get Louis out of the country.
In 1217 Louis allowed his forces to be
split, and the royalists routed half of them at
the battle of Lincoln. Louis had been excom-
25
Chapter 3
The Peasants
26
THE PEASANTS
for the richest, slates. The houses are about were prosperous, a plough, spades, and such-
twice as long as they are wide, between twen- like. Poorer peasants would not own a cart,
ty and thirty feet wide and forty to sixty feet and probably not their own plough, but
long. A separate barn, of similar size, is often spades are owned at all levels but the lowest.
built at right angles to the house, forming an Cast bronze cooking pots are the most valu-
open yard. Both buildings are single story, able household items, with poorer folk mak-
with doors in the long sides and two or three ing do with pans of riveted copper. Ceramic
small, unglazed windows. Poorer peasants plates, jugs, cups, and bowls are starting to
have smaller houses, twelve to fifteen feet replace wooden ones. Wooden furniture usu-
wide, and half is given over to the accommo- ally includes a table, one chair for the head of
dation of animals. The stone course is omit- the household, benches, and a chest or two
ted, which means that the wooden posts rot for storage. Beds rarely have wooden frames,
and have to be replaced. consisting simply of mattresses with pillows,
Virtually all peasant possessions are utili- linen sheets, and blankets.
tarian. They own one set of undyed clothes,
which comprises an undergarment, shoes, and
a tunic, possibly with an additional over-
tunic and woolen hose. Tunics often reached Farming
the ankles for men as well as women. This set
needs replacing every year, although the rich- Most peasants make their main living
est might have as many as a dozen sets. from farming, and the main source of waged
Farmers own a cart, with iron tires if they income for the poorer classes is helping other
27
HEIRS TO MERLIN
farmers, especially the lord of the manor and Most of the field work is done by men,
the rector of the parish. Few areas in England although everyone helps at harvest time. The
rely entirely on raising animals in farming, women are responsible for looking after the
although families often do. South and east of house, preparing meals, washing clothes, and
the line joining the Bristol Channel to the caring for children and the elderly. Every cot-
Wash the emphasis is on growing crops, while tage has its own garden, and the right to use
to the north and west crops and livestock are a certain amount of land in the shared fields.
of similar importance. These are generally cropped on a two-field
Since most peasants eat what they grow, rotation: half the land is sown while the other
the notes on diet above also indicate the half is left to lie fallow, to recover its fertility.
trends in farming. Cows are kept mainly for Animals are pastured on the fallow land, to
milk, and oxen are the main draft animals, manure it. There are also woods, from which
although the use of horses is increasing. firewood and building materials can be gath-
Sheep are kept mainly for their wool, ered, and in which pigs feed.
although also for their milk in some areas,
such as Wales, and poultry for their eggs. The
only animals kept primarily for meat are pigs.
The richer peasants might own half a dozen Rural Crafts
cows and a couple of dozen sheep, along with
half a dozen pigs, while the poorest have no Most rural crafts are practiced as supple-
animals at all. ments to farming. This is particularly true of
spinning, which is a standard occupation for
women it is possible to spin with a distaff
and spindle while doing other things. The
Agricola of Tytalus distaff is a stick with a cleft end which holds
the unspun wool or flax, while the spindle is
Agricola was of peasant stock, and was taken for apprenticeship a weighted rod which is spun to draw the
late, when he had already begun helping on the farm. Throughout thread out, winding it around the spindle.
his apprenticeship he said that the struggles were as nothing com- Weaving is also done by rural workers, who
pared to the struggles involved in getting food from unwilling soil. are paid for every cloth that they complete,
He successfully completed his gauntlet at the first attempt, and and the rest of the textile industry (fulling
joined the covenant of Castrum Antiquum, in the far north of the and dyeing) can also be found in the villages.
tribunal. Baking and brewing have already been men-
There, he immediately turned his attention to the farmland tioned above, and shoemakers are also found
around the covenant. It was poor, with weak soils and a bad cli- in rural areas. Millers are essential every-
mate, but Agricola was determined to take great amounts of food where, and the mills are generally owned by
from it. At first, he spent as much effort on improving the mun- the lord, who receives a share (about a twen-
dane techniques and equipment used as on magical assistance, but ty fourth), and thus requires his tenants to
it was always clear that he would not be able to achieve his main grind their grain there. Peasants are usually
ends without resort to magic. forbidden to own querns (hand mills), and
He studied Herbam and Auram magic, and delved into the this rule is a particular source of friction.
mysteries of Animl. He devised rituals to increase the yield of Many rural crafts are devoted to the mainte-
land, spells which created breeds of wheat which bore six ears on nance of farming equipment. The blacksmith
each stalk, and items which brought the right weather for all stages is common, as are carpenters and thatchers.
of the year. Not content with growing wheat in the north, he Potters tended to be concentrated near clay
researched greater magics and planted vineyards and olive groves, deposits, and miners near the minerals. Tin
which thrived under his direction. mining was particularly important in
In his last years he was rumored to be researching magic to Cornwall.
grow gold from the earth, and plants that bore rubies as flowers.
Alas, he and all his works disappeared when his covenant vanished.
28
THE PEASANTS
to hold on to villeins.
The Market Tenants are also amerced (fined) for var-
ious offenses against the lord of the manor, or
All peasants live within seven miles of a their neighbors. These include trespassing on
market, to which they can go and return in a his fields at night, failing to perform services
single day. There they can sell the surplus of due, encroaching on someone elses land, pol-
their harvest, and buy meat, household uten- luting the village water supply, brawling with-
sils, and anything else they cannot make. out weapons, theft, calling a free man a
Meat is often bought because you must villein or a woman a whore, and so on.
slaughter a whole animal, but the meat will Although the court is technically the lords, it
not last as long as it would take to eat it all. is, to a great extent, run by the community of
While many transactions within the village the village. They bring offenses before it, and
take place by barter, and most likely many at the accused can only be convicted if a signif-
market as well, all peasants use cash, since icant number of villagers thought he did it.
many manorial dues have to be paid that way. The lord could abuse his court, but freemen
Some even build up substantial reserves: as can appeal to the kings justice, and do. Serfs
much as 3. cannot do this, but they can try to get their
status changed.
The role of the villagers is enhanced by
the fact that the manorial courts are governed
29
HEIRS TO MERLIN
30
THE PEASANTS
Pastimes
Peasants do not work all the time.
Between harvest and planting there is little to
do, and this season is filled with the church
holidays (holy days), on which Christians
are not supposed to work. Most villages pos-
sess a tavern, where the residents can gather
to drink and play games, although inns,
which also provide accommodation for
guests, are very rare in 1220. Dicing is popu-
lar, as are several boardgames, including
chess, tables (similar to backgammon), and
merrills (little like anything around today).
Dancing is also popular, especially round-
dances called carols. Clergy often condemn
these as leading to lewd behavior, which may
be why they are popular.
A very popular outdoor sport is camp-
ball. This is played with a leather ball about
the size of a cricket ball or baseball. There are
two teams, and two goals. Points are scored
for getting the ball into the opponents goal,
and for trapping them with the ball, so that
they cannot take it anywhere, even if you
cannot get it off them. The teams can be of
any size, and the goals could be miles apart each village. The game is often violent, and
for example, one in each of two villages, the deaths sometimes ensue.
teams then consisting of the inhabitants of
31
Chapter 4
The Town
he towns of medieval England are
32
THE TOWN
Those less well off might have only two will last and provide a good return on the
parallel ranges, often about fifty feet long. investment.
These ranges may be separate, or share a wall, Most houses are crowded together on the
so that the rear wall of the street range is the street side, with about fifteen feet of frontage,
front wall of the back range. This would but have a garden behind the house. This can
depend on available space, and the desires of be used for keeping pigs and poultry, and for
the builder. The street range contains shops, growing vegetables, but isnt big enough to
which are rented out. A typical craftsman support even one person by farming. While
might have a three-story house, about fifteen most towns seem crowded with houses as you
feet by fifty. The ground floor would contain walk around the streets, only about half of the
his shop and workshop, with living quarters area within the walls is built on in most cases.
above. This might well be wooden, and have Further, your wealth does not determine
a thatched roof. A poor craftsman might have where in town you live. The most palatial
a cottage, still with three stories, but only fif- courtyard houses are often found next to rows
teen feet square. A laborer might have a of tiny cottages, especially when the owner of
house of similar size, but with only two sto- the large house is the landlord for the small
ries, as he wouldnt need space for a work- ones.
shop. (Remember that these houses have to The other possessions of townsfolk are
accommodate the laborers whole family generally similar to those of people who live
about five people.) in the country, except that farming equip-
Many houses in a town are rented, even ment is replaced by whatever they need for
the richest on occasion. It is common for a their trade. The prices given in this book are
burgess to divide his plot into a number of so approximate that they may be taken to
houses, live in one, and rent the rest out. apply to the town as well, although at any
Even houses built for rent by the poorest particular time food should be more expen-
townsfolk tend to be well built, so that they sive and crafted goods cheaper in the towns.
The Nightingale
Two knights dwelt in a town, each in a fortified house. stood at the window. Ah, she said, it is the song of
These houses were next to each other, separated by a the nightingale. It is so beautiful that I cannot sleep
common wall. One knight had a wise and elegant wife, when I could be listening to it. At this, her husband
and the other was a young man, renowned for prowess determined to catch the bird, and had his servants set
and bravery. The young knight fell in love with the snares all over the garden. Soon, they caught the crea-
others wife, and paid court to her for so long that, won ture, and the ladys husband held it in his hands.
over by his persistence and fine qualities, she fell in love He went to his wife and said, See, I have captured
with him in return. the nightingale. Now it will not disturb you, and you
The two lovers concealed their love, while taking can sleep. The lady was grief-stricken at this, and asked
advantage of their adjoining houses to speak to each her husband for the bird, but he wrung its neck out of
other. When she stood at her bedroom window, and he spite, and threw the corpse at her, bloodying her breast.
at his, they could see each other, talk, and even throw The lady cursed those who had trapped the bird,
gifts across the gap. Alas, they could not meet and con- and mourned that she would no longer be able to go to
summate their love, because the ladys husband the window and look at her lover. Lest her lover should
remained in the house. Thus, they made their best think that she no longer cared for him, she wrapped the
efforts to seize what they could. Every night, the lady nightingale in gold-embroidered samite and sent her
would rise from her bed, and the knight from his, and servant to take it, with a message, to the knight. He was
wrapped in their mantles they would stand at the win- greatly upset, and prepared a casket of gold and precious
dows, gazing upon each other for most of the night. stones, in which he sealed the body of the nightingale,
At length, the ladys husband became annoyed that so that he could carry it with him at all times.
she spent so long from his bed, and asked her why she From Lastic, a lay of Marie de France
33
HEIRS TO MERLIN
34
THE TOWN
crafters. Their crafts are divided by the kind nothing more than their room and board for
of clothing they made. The remaining 10% their work.
are split among a miscellany of crafts, such as
potters, shipbuilders, coopers (barrel-makers),
and bowyers.
Of those who provide services, about a Professions
third are involved in transport, as sailors or
porters, and another third in building. A In the early thirteenth century a profes-
quarter are professionals, and the remaining sional class, distinct from both the church
10% are barbers and the like. In addition to and the nobility, is just beginning to emerge.
these are the casual, unskilled laborers from People are trained by serving another profes-
the lower levels of society, and those members sional as an apprentice, and qualify once they
of the criminal classes who provide such ser- can do the job. Most professionals are man-
vices as prostitution and robbery. This group agers and lawyers. That is, they are responsi-
might make up a third of the population of a ble for collecting the revenues from some-
town, and unskilled laborers can easily ones estates or businesses, and pursuing mat-
become criminals if there is no honest work. ters through the courts if necessary. While
A significant number of people work as there are degrees of specialization, there is no
domestic servants, but they are treated as part clear class of lawyers yet the legal repre-
of the household in which they work, and so sentative of a monastery is referred to in one
are invisible to the civic authorities. Many of court record of the period as Groaning and
these people are women, and often they get Sighing.
35
HEIRS TO MERLIN
While there are no clear distinctions, however, and the lord of the town, who was
there are noticeably different areas of work. often, but not always, the king, can always
Bailiffs are responsible for administering an take its administration back into his hands.
estate for its lord, and are still sometimes the Those towns which do have special freedoms
more trusted peasants of the village, although paid heavily for them.
professionals are becoming more common.
The sheriff of a county has his staff of clerks
and bailiffs, and the kings court and exche-
quer also employ a number of literate workers. Town Charters
Legal representation is the final area of profes-
sional work, and a tendency to select judges Those towns which have gained special
from among those who make their living rights did so by means of a charter. This is
pleading cases is gathering force around 1220. often issued by the king, who charges heavily
The members of professions are not often for the privilege, although lesser lords do issue
very rich, and are often accused of extorting them, generally in the hope of increasing
money from the poor, or bringing false suits to their revenue by producing a town on their
court for their own advantage. Since, on the estates. Many charters were issued between
whole, they are employed to do someone 1190 and 1220, as Richard and John both
elses dirty work, whether collecting rents or needed money and raised it by selling rights.
taking someone to court, it is not surprising The details of the charters vary from town to
that they are not terribly popular. town, but there are six main points.
Burgage Tenure: Land held within a town
can be bought or sold without seeking per-
mission from anyone else. Elsewhere, the
36
THE TOWN
law, and reporting to the king. If they fail in although most are dominated by men.
their duties, the king will take the town back The gild merchant is often the only gild
under his control. The election is rarely truly in a town, and its members usually have a
democratic, with a few of the richer towns- monopoly on buying wholesale and selling
folk choosing the officers from amongst within the town. Peasants who wish to sell in
themselves. town have to either sell to a merchant who is
Towns are not always granted all of these a member of the gild, or become members
freedoms, but many were. If a town does have themselves. It is not unusual for some of the
all of these rights, then any villein who lives members of a towns gild merchant to live
in it as a burgess for a year and a day is con- outside the town. If a town does not have a
sidered to be free. However, simply sleeping borough charter, it might still have a gild
within the walls does not count as residence merchant, in which case the officers of the
as a burgess. Renting a property held by bur- gild would serve as town leaders.
gage tenure often qualifies, but some towns Craft gilds are not common at this point,
also charge for the freedom of the city. This mainly due to the small size of many towns.
generally costs a shilling or so initially, and As a large town, London has many craft gilds,
then one or two pence per year to maintain it. but in smaller towns there may be only one or
two practitioners of a particular craft, making
a gild rather pointless. Gilds for the larger
crafts, such as weaving, are common else-
The Gilds where. Craft gilds have a monopoly on their
craft within the town, and set standards of
The gilds (spelled with no u) are central
to town life, and were formed spontaneously
by the townsfolk. Royal charters either con-
firm an already existing gild, or, just as often,
The Borough Covenant
order that one be disbanded. There are three A charter of borough rights would give a covenant a secure place
main types of gild: the gild merchant, the craft in the feudal hierarchy. The magi would inevitably be the mayor
gilds, and religious gilds. The first two will be and aldermen, and would be placed beyond the normal reach of
considered below, and religious gilds in the local mundane justice. Of course, they would have to pay an annu-
section on the church (see page 82). All of al sum to the king, and find the resources to gain the charter in the
these are local to an area, centered on a single first place, and convince the tribunal that their actions did not
town. For example, the Lincoln weavers gild violate the Code. Even after the charter had been gained, the king
could be suppressed without affecting the might demand large sums of money to renew it, on almost any
London weavers gild, and the two gilds might excuse, local magnates might challenge its validity, and if someone
be in fierce competition. Further, they are not appealed to the king against the magi, they would have to defend
generally exclusive in their membership; a their rights in the royal courts.
man could belong to as many as he chose, and
could afford to pay the dues for. Applicants
have to be approved by the gilds officers, and
pay an entry fee. This is sometimes set very
The Gild of St. George
high, to keep the gild small, but not always.
The grogs decide to form their own gild, naming it after a warrior
There are also annual dues, which provided
saint. The gild leaders (not necessarily the grog sergeants) set rules
the gild with its income.
for rates of pay, and for who can be employed. At first, this
All gilds have a social function. This
doesnt interfere with the plans of the magi, and the organization
results in feasts, some charitable support for
becomes established. Then the grogs refuse to accept certain new
members and members families in difficulty,
recruits, or to go on certain expeditions. Maybe the magi want to
and funeral arrangements, ensuring that the
take grogs away from the covenant during the annual gild feast,
members are respectably buried and prayed for.
and they refuse to go.
Most gilds are open to both men and women,
37
HEIRS TO MERLIN
The Jews
The Jewish community in England is small, and not of against the Jews is expressly prohibited, and royal officers
particular importance in European Jewry. The largest have particular orders to ensure that the prohibition is
Jewish community, in London, has maybe 300 members, enforced. In those towns where there is a large Jewish
and in many places the entire Jewish population consists community, twenty four (Christian) burgesses were select-
of a single family. Nevertheless, the Jews have consider- ed, who will be held responsible if any violence is com-
able importance within England. They are under the mitted against the Jews. Thus far, this has worked, and
direct protection of the king, and serve as an important there have been no serious outbreaks of anti-Semitic vio-
source of revenue. This chapter can only give a brief lence since the death of King John. Indeed, the Jews have
overview of features of Jewish life in England; for more been explicitly granted the right to live in Hereford,
detail on Jewish life in general see Kabbalah: Mythic Worcester, York, Lincoln, Stamford, Gloucester, Bristol,
Judaism. Northampton, and Winchester. The local officials in
Due to restrictions on other trades, many Jews make these places are enjoined not to molest the Jews, nor to
their living by moneylending. When they die, all their allow them to be molested.
goods, including the authority to collect their debts, go to There are two royal officers, the Justices of the Jews,
the king. In some cases, this can be an important source of with special responsibility for Jewish matters. They are to
income. In addition, the king can impose arbitrary fines make copies of all records of loans made by Jews, so that
on the Jewish community, demanding that they pay thou- the king will not be deprived of the money if the Jew is
sands of marks. Since they have no other protection, they murdered and his records burned, as happened in York.
have to pay. These justices are in charge of a separate exchequer, the
Anti-Jewish riots disturb the peace, and the justiciar Exchequer of the Jews, which is responsible for registering
is eager to restore order in England. Thus, violent action these loans, and receiving the goods of Jews who have
died. The crown also appoints a Jew as representa-
tive of his coreligionists. This person is called the
archpresbyter, and the office is currently held by
Josce fil Isaac of London, an important usurer.
There are few professional rabbis in England, as
most communities are not large enough to support
one. London is the main exception, and at present
the community there is taught by Rabbi Menahem,
a noted Talmudic scholar whose glosses are received
with respect by the continental community.
There are other large Jewish communities in
Norwich and Oxford. In Oxford, Rabbi Yom-Tob
(also known as Simeon), the author of the Sepher
haTenaim (Book of Conditions) is an important
teacher, and wealthy businessman. His son Moses is
also a promising scholar and moneylender, and has
plans to move to London. In Norwich Rabbi Meir is
the leading Talmudist, while Isaac of Norwich is a
very wealthy moneylender, currently paying off a
fine of 10,000 marks to the king. The community in
Lincoln is also important, and is led by Rabbi Joseph
(or Josce), while Elias of Lincoln is the most impor-
tant usurer. Chera Pinche of Winchester is notable
for being an independent female usurer.
38
THE TOWN
workmanship and employment. They are usu- steady audience. Musicians, dancers, acro-
ally controlled by the employers, and thus fix bats, and actors are known, although none of
wages at low levels. these professions are respectable. Violent
The monopolistic privileges of the gilds sports, such as cock fighting and bear baiting,
only apply within the town, in most cases, are also popular in towns, with all classes of
and that generally means within the walls. society. The clergy tend to disapprove, but
Thus, settlements have grown up just outside they tend to disapprove of most entertain-
the towns where ungilded merchants and ment.
craftsmen can practice. This is not popular
with the gildsmen, who often tried to drive
them away.
The Towns
Pastimes London
There are taverns in all towns, often in London is by far the largest and most
the basements of other buildings, and many important city in England. Its mayor signed
of the entertainments popular in the country Magna Carta, and the citizens have claimed
are also popular in town. Even London was the right to choose the king. However, it is
surrounded by fields, so lack of space for not the capital. The court is wherever the
recreation was not a problem. The gilds of a king is, and while some functions, such as the
town (see page 37) organize feasts for their Exchequer, have begun staying in one place,
members, and sometimes parades or other that place is Westminster, some distance to
public displays, although these are still rare in the west of London.
the thirteenth century. The city stands on the north bank of the
Towns see more professional entertainers Thames, at the lowest point where the river
than villages do, as they can be sure of a can be bridged. London Bridge is maintained
39
HEIRS TO MERLIN
L There are many things for sale every day of the week, not
just on Friday and Saturday, the market days, and every
Friday there is a great horse fair on the smooth field outside the
generally named after the current alderman.
The aldermen are elected for life, and it is not
uncommon for a son to follow his father in
the post, although it is more usual for this not
city to the northwest, attended by earls, barons, and knights. If the
to happen. The ward of Portsoken is a special
crowds of the city become hungry or thirsty, food can always be
case. The prior of Holy Trinity, Aldgate, is ex
purchased, ready to eat, from the cookshops by the river.
officio alderman, although he can delegate his
The city is very pious, keeping all the church festivals and
authority to a citizen of London. Within his
respecting its laws. There are many holy plays, depicting miracles
ward, the alderman is the ultimate judicial
or the torments of martyrs. Many of the great lords, abbots, and
authority, and insulting him is a serious
bishops of the country have splendid houses in London, where
offense. Below the aldermen come the citi-
they come and spend their money. The only faults of the city are
zens of London, the group with the right to
the immoderate drinking of fools, and the frequency of fires.
vote. This is restricted to men, and to only
Around Easter, mock battles are fought upon the Thames. A
the burgesses, maybe a sixth of the population
shield is fixed on a pole in the middle of the stream, and a young
in total. The citizens of London call them-
man stands in a boat without oars, which is carried towards the
selves the barons of London, and claim equal
shield by the current. He carries a lance, and tries to strike the
status with the kings tenants-in-chief.
shield and break his lance, so that he does not fall. If he succeeds,
London has around a hundred and twen-
he is held to have achieved something great, but if the lance does
ty parish churches, most very small, and with
not break, he will fall in the river. However, there are two boats
very small parishes. Many are dedicated to the
filled with young men by the side of the shield, and they rescue
same saints, and distinguished either by their
anyone who falls in as quickly as they can.
location or by the name of one of their rectors.
William FitzStephen, in the late twelfth century,
Thus there are churches of St. Michael
praising his home city (heavily abridged)
Queenhithe and St. Michael Wood Street,
from the endowment of the chapel of Bridge and churches of St. Mary Mounthaw, St. Mary
House, and is a little east of the mid-point of Somerset, and St. Mary Woolnoth. There are
the city. London is split almost exactly in half also churches outside the gates, serving travel-
by the river Walbrook, and, very roughly, the ers and the inhabitants of the suburbs: four of
east end is commercial, while the west end these are dedicated to St. Botolph (at
contains St. Pauls Cathedral and the resi- Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Billingsgate and
dences of the nobility. Aldgate). Many of these churches are con-
The city is walled in stone, and the old trolled by the monastic foundations within or
Roman fortifications still form the basis of the near the city. Because the parishes are small
defenses. At the east end, by the river, stands and urban, the churches cannot draw on the
the Tower of London, William the normal tithe. Instead, they customarily
Conquerors great white keep. The west end receive a farthing on every ten shillings rent
used to be defended by Montfitchet and for property in the parish, paid every Sunday
Baynards Castle, but they were demolished a and on the feast day of every apostle.
few years ago, after their holders rebelled The most important monastery is at St.
against King John. Pauls Cathedral, where the chapter is made
The city is ruled by a mayor, elected up of monks. The bishop of Londons status
every year from among the aldermen of the does not match that of his city: the two arch-
city. In 1220 Serlo le Mercer holds the post, bishops and the bishop of Winchester clearly
and thus has all judicial and fiscal authority surpass him in importance, although his is
within the city. There are two sheriffs, who still an important bishopric. St. Pauls is also
serve as the mayors officers. The aldermen the home of a school, which is particularly
are each in charge of one of the wards of the renowned for its legal teaching. There are
city, and there are twenty four of them: twen- also important schools at St. Mary le Bow and
ty three for the wards within the walls, and the monastery of St. Martin le Grand. Other
40
THE TOWN
Churches of London
The saints to whom these churches are dedicated are also found elsewhere in the country, and thus may be drawn on
for church names. In most places, a church is uniquely identified by its dedication.
All Hallows Barking St. Dunstan in the East St. Mary le Bow
All Hallows Staining St. Dunstan in the West St. Mary at Hill
All Hallows the Less St. Edmund the King St. Mary Woolnoth
St. Albans, Wood Street St. Ethelburga at Bishopsgate St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street
St. Alphage St. George St. Michael Bassishaw
St. Andrew by the Wardrobe St. Giles at Cripplegate St. Mildred Poultry
St. Anne and St. Agnes St. Helen, Bishopsgate St. Nicholas (formerly St. Olave)
St. Anthony St. John the Baptist, Walbrook St. Owen
St. Augustine St. John Zachery St. Pancras
St. Bennet Fink St. Katherine Colemanchurch St. Peters Cheap
St. Botolph, Aldersgate St. Magnus the Martyr St. Peter Cornhill
St. Botolph, Aldgate St. Margaret Lothbury St. Sepulchre, Newgate
;;;;;;;
St. Botolph, Billingsgate St. Martin, Candlewick Street St. Stephens, Walbrook
St. Botolph, Bishopsgate St. Martin Vintry St. Swithin
St. Clement St. Mary Aldermanbury
;;;;;;;
St. Dionis Backchurch St. Mary Aldermary
;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;
;;;;;;; 41
HEIRS TO MERLIN
monasteries within the city include the prio- lost influence in the chaos at the end of
ry of Holy Trinity, formerly Holy Cross, and Johns reign. It is said that he is likely to
St. Bartholomews monastery, just outside the become the next mayor.
walls. The Knights Templar also have a house The important families, as well as their
in the city. mercantile interests, hold much land within
Londons economy is based on trade, and the city, and gain important income from the
most importantly on the supply of wine to the rents. They also hold lands in the counties
Royal Household. The wine is imported from around London, and it is not uncommon for
Gascony, and all the most important families later generations to become knights, holding
of the city engage in the trade to some extent. rural manors by feudal tenure. The main con-
Other important commodities include wool, cerns of the citys ruling class are, first, to
cloth, and spices (imported by pepperers), but increase their own wealth and status and, sec-
everything traded anywhere in England is also ond, to maintain, and if possible improve, the
traded in London. There are two main mar- freedoms of the city. The first draft of Magna
kets in the city: West Cheap and East Cheap. Carta included a clause giving London special
There is no Gild Merchant in London. rights, but it was deleted from the final version.
Instead, there are five mercantile gilds: the The aldermen have not given up yet, though.
drapers (cloth), mercers (also cloth, especially
silks), vintners (wine), goldsmiths, and pep-
perers. There is little conflict between these
gilds, as the ruling class divides along family Bristol
lines, and the drapers and mercers have so far
managed to agree on divisions on business. Bristol became important as a sea port in
There are a number of important families Saxon time, and its trade has been growing
in London. One of the most important is the ever since. This has been helped recently by
Fitz Ailwins, who supplied the first mayor, the wool production of the Cotswolds in
Henry Fitz Ailwin, elected in 1192. Its impor- Gloucestershire. Its current population is
tant members at the moment include around 5000 people, and the city proper is
William, Peter, and Roger Fitz Alan, all of abutted by extensive suburbs to the south,
whom are aldermen, and the sons of Alan Fitz which may be incorporated within the walls
Ailwin, Henrys brother. (Note that Fitz in the near future. To the north are a number
means son of in Norman French.) The Fitz of religious houses, preventing the expansion
Alulfs include William and Ernulf (married of the city in that direction.
to Dionisia Viel), both aldermen, and The city is very well defended. Excluding
Constantine. Constantine is known as some- the suburbs, it is almost surrounded by the
thing of a hothead and rabble-rouser, despite rivers Frome and Avon, and the gap in the
being respectably middle-aged. He also fer- east is blocked by the large royal castle. There
vently supported Louis of France at the end of are also city walls, surrounding the city prop-
Johns reign. er, which are pierced by a number of gates.
The Viels are represented by John and Many of these gates contain parish churches.
William Viel, both aldermen and brothers. The town is built on a hill, so many of the
Dionisia is Williams daughter, and his eldest streets are quite steep.
son, also called William, is married to anoth- The High Cross, which stands at the
er Dionisia, the daughter of Stephen Eswy. junction of the four main roads, marks the
The Eswys are another important family, civic center of the city. Bristol is governed by
Stephen and his elder brother Richard both a mayor, having obtained a borough charter
being aldermen. Richard Renger is the alder- in the last few years. Trade with Ireland is the
man of the Bridge ward, a sheriff, and one of mainstay of the citys prosperity, although
the richest merchants in the city. His family Bristol merchants do sail to other parts of
has been in the city since the Conquest, but Europe.
42
THE TOWN
.
St
Benedictine Nunnery
of St. Radegund
university has a chancellor, and negotiates St.
C le
with the townsfolk as a body, but it is not m ents
much more organized than Oxford. Ho
s St
.H
St. pital oly
A notable feature of the university is its Joh of
n Seph
ulc h r e
relatively high number of natural magicians S t. A l l S a i n t s i n J e w r
y
St.
Pe
Boto Domestic
lp h
t er
43
HEIRS TO MERLIN
holds some land in the town, and all the Norman Conquest. He also founded St. Johns
aldermen are members of it. Hospital, which provides for thirty old men
There are three important religious hous- and thirty old women.
es in or around the town. The most important In the southwest of the city stands a royal
is Christ Church, the cathedral priory and castle, from which the king can maintain his
seat of the archbishop. The cathedral was authority. It has a stone keep and walls, and is
largely destroyed in a fire in 1174, but has the main base of the sheriff of Kent.
been rebuilt more splendidly than before. A Canterbury contains another royal office: the
new shrine for the remains of St. Thomas has second largest mint in the kingdom, produc-
almost been completed, and plans are being ing perhaps half as many coins as London.
made for the translation of his relics. Christ The moneyer is now based some distance
Church follows the Benedictine rule (see from the cathedral, as sparks from his furnace
page 61). were blamed for the cathedral fire. In addi-
St. Augustines Abbey is also tion to all the trades that would be expected
Benedictine, and older than Christ Church. in an important center, the town also has an
This is the abbey founded by St. Augustine on unusual number of goldsmiths, due to the
his arrival in England, and it holds his relics. demand from the religious houses.
It is a notable seat of learning, although some-
what in decline, and has an ongoing rivalry
with the cathedral. St. Gregorys Priory is a
house of Augustinian canons, and was found- Chester
ed by Archbishop Lanfranc shortly after the
Chester was founded by the Romans, as
one of their legionary fortresses, and is now
24
the capital of the palatine county of
26
2
23 Cheshire. This means that the king has very
25
little influence here: for almost all purposes,
1 the earl of Chester is the highest authority.
9
30 11 The city is quite small, with a population of
8 31
around 2000. For daily purposes, the town is
28
17 12 3
10 run by a mayor and corporation. The mayor is
27
River a new institution, introduced to replace the
32
20 18
19
16 old governance by two sheriffs when the earl
4
14 13 left on Crusade. There is a gild merchant,
15
5
which holds the usual monopoly on trade.
21
22 The city is surrounded by walls, which for
29 much of their length are built on the old
Stonewall Royal
and Towers
T 7
Castle
6 Roman fortifications. The East, North, and
Road Bridgegates are marked by towers and turrets,
33 while the others are just arches piercing the
Scale in Meters
C
CAAN
NTTEERRBBU
URY
RY 0 100 200 300
walls. In the southwest corner of the city
MAP KEY stands the castle, the headquarters of the earl-
1 . We s t g a t e
2. North Gate
15. St.John's Church 27. Eastbridge Hospital
28. All Saints Church
dom. The inner bailey and tower are built of
16. St.Mary Magdalen's
3. Queningate
4. Burgate
Church
17. Guild Hall
29. St.Mary de Castro
Church stone, and have just been provided with a
5. St.George's Gate 30.Archbishop's Palace
6. Riding Gate
18. St.Margaret's
Church 31.St.Alphege's Church new gate. The old one has been blocked up,
7. Postern 32. St.Andrew's Church
8. St.Peters Church
19. St.Mary Bredman
Church 33. St.Sepulchre's but its tower still contains the castle chapel.
9. Holy Cross Church 20. Poor Priests Nunnerey
10. St.Augustine Abbe Hospital Building The outer bailey is defended by a ditch and
11. Christ Church 21. Maynard's Hospital
Priory
12. Cathederal Church
22. St.Mildred's Church Approximate
location of
wooden wall.
23. St.Thomas Chapel
f o r H o l y Tr i n i t y
13. St.Pauls
24. St.John's Hospital
building
Chester has eight parish churches, of
25. St.Gregory & Priory Ditch/Earth
14. St.George's Church 26. St.Dunstan's Church Wo r k s which by far the largest and most important is
44
THE TOWN
St. Johns, which is just outside the city walls. is a high hill, surrounded on three sides by the
Indeed, this church was the seat of a bishopric river Wear. It is only vulnerable on one side,
for a short time in the late eleventh century. and that a narrow neck, so it was easy to build
There are also a few religious houses. The quick defenses. The cathedral is an important
most important is the Benedictine abbey of center of pilgrimage in the north of England,
St. Werburg, which is also the parish church and this, combined with its defensibility,
of St. Oswald. It was founded in 1092 by the made it a center of resistance to the Normans.
earl, and owns the whole northeastern quar- Williams first two earls of Northumbria were
ter of the city. There is also a small murdered, and the third rebelled. The con-
Benedictine nunnery, founded around 1150. queror sent an army north under Robert
Finally, the hospital of Little St. John was Cumin, which took Durham for one night
founded in 1190 just outside the Northgate, before the English overran it, killing Cumin
and houses thirteen poor inmates. by burning his house down around him. The
Chester is a port city, although it has lost bishop, Walcher, was murdered in 1080, pro-
out to Bristol (see page 42) in the competi- voking the harrying of the north, which final-
tion for western trade, partly because the ly created a desolation and called it peace.
river Dee silts up very quickly and a lot of The palatinate had its origin in the reign
effort is required to keep it navigable. The of St. Calais, bishop from 1080 to 1096. He
leather trade is particularly important within concluded a pact with the earl of
the city, partly because Cheshire is excellent Northumbria which gave him great powers
for raising cattle, if not for growing crops. over County Durham, which were later con-
Just across the river to the south of the firmed by the king.
city, near the road and to the right as you are The main buildings in Durham are the
leaving the city, a shrine of the pagan goddess castle and the cathedral. The great Norman
Minerva, consisting of an image in high cathedral dominates the view and the life of
relief, is carved into the rock. Despite its the city, housing the shrine of St. Cuthbert.
prominence, it has survived largely unmolest- The castle guards the neck of the peninsula,
ed, and continues to watch over the city. and is the main residence of the bishops of
Durham. The hill is almost entirely devoted
to the priory and bishop, and the civic build-
Durham
Durham is the site of the cathedral of St.
St. Werburg and the Geese
Cuthbert, and the town grew up around the
A large flock of wild geese were feeding on St. Werburgs wheat,
religious community. St. Cuthbert was bishop
destroying the harvest. She called her servants, and had the birds
of Lindisfarne in the late seventh century,
confined in a shed, as if they were domestic animals. The next
and the bishopric remained on the island
morning she went to let them out, and noticed that one of them
until 875, when increasing Viking raids drove
was missing. She asked the servants what had happened, and they
the monks away. They moved first to
told her that they had eaten it.
Chester-le-Street, where they stayed until
Bring me, she said, the feathers and bones of the bird that
further raids forced them to move again in
was eaten. The remains were brought to her, and the saint took
995. Cuthberts coffin, which had been faith-
them, and commanded that they should be whole and live again.
fully carried with them through their wander-
And it was done. St. Werburg turned to the geese, who were
ings, was on a cart, and when it reached
cheering at the return of their lost companion, that their kind
Durham it stopped, and refused to move. No
were forbidden to enter that field, for all eternity. The geese
matter how hard the monks pushed, it would
departed safely, but the saints command is still observed, so that
not go further, so they decided to heed the
no geese enter that field to this day.
saint and found a new monastery there.
From Henry of Huntingdons Historia Anglorum.
Cuthbert had chosen wisely, as Durham
45
HEIRS TO MERLIN
ings are all on the plain, across the river. The founded by the Romans, and is still bounded
town is divided into four boroughs and a by the Roman walls. It is dominated by the
barony. Three boroughs are controlled by the Norman cathedral and castle, both built of
priory and one, Bishops Borough, by the stone. The castle is usually controlled by the
bishop. None of them have a mayor or any sheriff of Devon, on behalf of the king, and
other form of self-government, although the bishop jealously guards his rights in the
there are separate borough courts, and cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Peter.
Bishops Borough is the only one with a mar- The city is governed by a mayor, current-
ket. The barony of Elvet predates the arrival ly William Derling, whose authority ends at
of the monks, but is now thoroughly under the city walls. The land between the wall and
their control. Only the peninsula is walled, so the river used to be a marsh, but has been
most of the buildings would count as suburbs drained and the leats, or drainage ditches, are
in many towns. used to power mills, turning this into the main
industrial area of the city. However, it falls
under the authority of the earls of Devon, not
of the city. As the docks are also in this area,
Exeter this weakens the hand of the civic authorities
in any negotiations with the earl. The river is
Exeter is the seat of a bishop, and by far crossed by a large stone bridge, which is not
the most important town in the southwest of yet complete. A chapel dedicated to St.
England. It is a sea-port, as the river Exe is Edmund has been completed at the center, as
navigable as far as the city. The town was have a number of the arches to either side, but
large gaps are still bridged with wood. Many
people have contributed to the bridge, but
D
DUURRH
HAAM
M 0 100 200 300
Scale in Meters
500
19 most of the cost has been borne by the
Gervase family, important Exeter merchants.
22 Exeter contains 18 churches (including
St. Mary Minor, St. Mary Major, St. Petrock,
ate 20
Sideg River St. Kerryan, and St. Pancras), but no parish-
es. Ecclesiastically, the town is a single parish,
Road and most of the clergy live together in
Framwellgate
BISHOP'S BOROUGH
BOROUGH OF ST.
ST. GILES Preston Street. This situation is generally
regarded as unsatisfactory, and discussions
ypa
th Gilesgate 16 over the drawing of parish boundaries are
15 Cla
Stone underway, complete with bitter disagree-
2 Wall MAP KEY
3 ments over apparently minor points.
1 BORO STREETS:
Exeters main source of income is trade,
4 9 UGH 1. Millburngate
8 OF E 2. Market Place
14
Old E
lvet
LVET
3. Silver Street particularly the wine trade with Gascony. It is
New Elv
4. Saddler Street
also an important center of the cloth industry,
Street
5. North Bailey
CASTLE 6. South Bailey
7 5 Court Lane 7. Palace Green and, as a regional center, almost all trades are
South
et
CHURCHES
18 21 12. Cathedral & Priory through large underground passages, which
13
lgar
46
THE TOWN
47
HEIRS TO MERLIN
trols the castle and has a royal writ making is the university, which consists of several
her the sheriff of the county, but William hundred students and several dozen masters.
Longespee is still sheriff. He is also trying The university was not founded; instead, it
every means at his disposal to take control of arose from the scholars in the town, and from
the castle, and there is a danger of a private lawyers attending the courts of the bishop of
war breaking out. Lincoln, some of which were held in the
town. By the early years of the thirteenth
century it was somewhat organized, with one
master taking the title of magister scholarum
Oxford (master of schools).
In 1209, however, things changed. A stu-
Oxford is a fairly important town, sitting dent killed his mistress in an argument, and
on an important crossing point of the fled the town. The civic authorities descend-
Thames. It hosts a royal residence, and occa- ed on his lodgings, seized two other students
sional council meetings, but most important- who were living there, and hanged them on
ly it is once again the home of a university. the spot. This violated the masters claim to
The town is walled and guarded by a cas- jurisdiction over their students, and they
tle at its west end. There are two important therefore suspended lectures in the town. The
monastic houses: St. Frideswides Priory and masters scattered, some going to Paris, others
Oseney Abbey, both of which are home to to London, and others, in part attracted by an
Augustinian canons (see page 63). There is invitation from Schola Pythagoranis, to
also a collegiate church of secular clergy cen- Cambridge.
tered on the chapel of St. George in the castle. It was five years before the matter was
The most important feature of the town resolved. The masters were all clerks, and
48
THE TOWN
Nicola de Hay
Nicola is the hereditary constable of Lincoln castle, and William, on the other hand, has no intention of
sheriff of the shire. Her father had no sons, and as his waiting for her to finally die, and is using his greater sec-
eldest daughter she inherited the English portion of his ular power in an attempt to take the position from her.
lands and authority. She married Gerard de Camville, Nicola has pursued the conflict with the earl
who died early in the thirteenth century, and had one through the courts, where she has won a regrant of her
son. This son, Richard, had a single daughter, Idonea, position, and by alliance with Falkes de Braut, who is
who married William Longespee, the current earl of providing military support. She would be willing to ally
Salisbury and uncle of the king. Both Richard and with anyone else willing to support her, and thus the
Gerard were dead by 1217, and William would then king, and is not too bothered about the details of the
inherit Lincoln in right of his wife, once Nicola was type of support.
dead. Nicola is an old woman, in her early sixties, but she
Nicola has no intention of dying, or of surrendering has not been bowed down too heavily by her years. Her
her position while she lives and is capable of maintain- hair is white and her face is lined, but she is still ener-
ing it. She offered to surrender the position to King getic and in full command of her faculties. She is used to
John in 1216, on the grounds that she was an old giving orders, and to being obeyed without question, and
woman, but he asked her to retain the position until he most of her followers have a great deal of respect for her.
ordered otherwise. Having successfully held the castle After all, she brought them, successfully, through a siege.
against Louiss besiegers for many months, she has great She dresses as befits her rank, in fine clothes, and is
confidence in her ability to retain it now. never without servants or, in the current climate, guards.
49
HEIRS TO MERLIN
which are of more obscure origin. God-begot is outside the city to the north and used to
is controlled by the cathedral priory, not the house relics of a number of English monarchs,
bishop, but Chapmans Hall is independent. including Canute and William Rufus, but it
The city is walled, and has two castles. was burned in 1141. St. Marys Abbey is a
One is the royal castle and the other, nunnery within the city, near Oldminster.
Wolvesey Castle, belongs to the bishop of These houses were all founded in Saxon
Winchester. Both have been rebuilt in stone times, the latter two by King Alfred. There are
since their foundation. The river Itchen flows also a number of hospitals, the most important
through the town, and there are many streets of which is the hospital of St. John, which was
in the eastern part that have open streams founded in the early tenth century. It is a very
flowing through them, so that some blocks of rich foundation, and is also used as a meeting
houses are effectively islands. hall by the mayor and city corporation.
As might be expected, there is a heavy The church forms a major element of the
ecclesiastical presence. There are many parish towns economy, but it also engages in gener-
churches, including three set over the gates of al trade. Much of its international trade pass-
the city. The churches over Eastgate and es through Southampton, and there is an
Northgate are dedicated to St. Mary, while ongoing rivalry between the two places.
that over Kingsgate is dedicated to St. Many goods are transported by road, although
Swithun. There are three Benedictine houses. the Itchen is used to bring some materials,
Oldminster is the cathedral priory, and is ded- particularly building stone. Wool dominates
icated to St. Swithun, St. Peter, St. Paul, and the citys industry, with weaving, fulling, and
the Holy Trinity. Newminster, or Hyde Abbey, dyeing being important businesses. Trade is
centered around St. Giless Fair, which is con-
trolled by the bishop, and draws traders from
St.Andrew W
WIIN
NCCH
HEESST
TEERR much of western Europe.
ROYAL A The towns Jews are unusually well inte-
WK
HAWK St.Saviour
MEWS St.Michael St.John
grated into the community. They suffered
St.Leonard St.Mary
B
very little in the nationwide pogroms of 1190,
St.Michael
St.Martin
and some Christian merchants are even in
St.Mary St.Paul
favor of admitting those of them who qualify
St.Pancras
a rtin
St.Peter
Whitbread
St.Martin
St.Swithun St.Mary
to the gild merchant. They engage in busi-
S t .M artin F 1 6 Tannerstreet
annerstreet
S t .M 3 2 4 8 9 nesses other than money-lending, but Chera
5 St.John
7
St.Georges All Saints Pinche and her husband Isaac are the richest
LE
St.Mary's
St.Boniface Abbey
St.Peter
York
E Colebrook
Cath
edra St.Peter
l
Priory of
St.Swithun
St.Peter Wolvesey
esey
D Palace
York is the largest town of the north of
St.Martin
by the wall
w England in 1220, with a population of around
Scale in Meters
8000. It is a port, as the River Ouse is naviga-
0 50 200 300
ble, and indeed tidal, as far as the city, and
MAP KEY also the seat of the second English archbish-
A. North Gate with chapel of St.Mary
B. Denerata Building op. The walls of the town are of wood on an
C. East Gate with chapel
D. Chingeta with chapel of Swithun Approximate location of
building
earth embankment, with only the gates built
(King's Gate)
E. South Gate
F. We s t G a t e D i t c h / E a r t h Wo r k s in stone. There is a long gap around the
1. St.Margaret 5. St.Nicholas
6. St.Peter in Macellis
Road Kings Fishpond, because the water is itself
2. St.Clement
3. St.Andrew 7. St.Lawrence
8. St.Mary Kalendar
S t o n e Wa l l sufficient barrier. The kings castle, on the
4. St.Mary
9. St.Rauld
east bank of the Ouse and surrounded by the
50
THE TOWN
dammed Fosse, is also of wood, although The most important recent event was the
there is talk of rebuilding it in stone. massacre of the Jews of York in 1190. After
There are a handful of stone houses in Richards coronation anti-Jewish riots broke
the town, owned by the richer merchants, out, and the Jews, who were under the kings
and the churches and religious houses are of
ext I visited the city founded by Ebrauk, with its
N
stone. The largest church in the town is the
minster, the cathedral church of the arch- cathedral minster of St. Peter. It has often been emp-
bishop. Work has just started on rebuilding its tied, and then repopulated, and its walls have often
transepts. The cathedral chapter is made up been destroyed. But now, it enjoys peace, and might be truly
of secular canons, rather than of monks. St. happy, were its ruler not so greedy.
Marys Abbey is a Benedictine monastery, Alexander Neckam, c. 1210
founded in 1080, and is one of the largest in
the north. The abbot in 1220 is Robert of protection, fled to the castle to avoid a mob
Longchamp, brother of King Richards reviled led by a fanatical monk and those who owed
chancellor. The Cistercian house of the Jews money. Trapped in the castle, with
Fountains Abbey (see page 83) was founded the royal sheriff refusing to act, the Jews all
by monks of St. Marys who were dissatisfied committed suicide or were slaughtered by the
with the laxity of its life. Holy Trinity Priory mob. Afterwards the sheriff was deprived of
is also Benedictine, and is controlled by the office, and many citizens of the town fined for
abbey of Marmoutier, near Tours in France. their parts in the riot. Jews returned to the
Just within the town walls, between the city soon afterwards, and there is a Jewish
Minster and St. Marys, is St. Leonards community in 1220.
Hospital, which used to be St. Peters and is
still often referred to as such. The hospital is
18
under the control of the Chapter of the
21
Minster. St. Nicholass Hospital is specifically 19 Scale in Meters
Minster 20
for the treatment of lepers. The Benedictine 14 0 100 200
nunnery of St. Clement was established in St.Mary Abbey 22
13 30
1130, and in 1202 the Gilbertines founded
15 23
St. Andrews Priory to provide them with 25
27
York has had all the privileges of a bor- 12
28
29
26
ough since 1212, but its authority is limited by 10 11
5
several liberties within its walls. The Minster 32
O
8 33 34
is under the authority of the archbishop, as is Holy
U
Tr i n i t y7
part of the town adjoining it, and St. Marys Priory York
S
6 Castle
9 4
Abbey has its own court, which also covers
E
35
3
the adjacent houses. There is a mayor, and 2 36
bailiffs, but no gild merchant: this disappeared 1 37
during the late twelfth century, as civic MAP KEY
authorities and craft gilds took over its func- 1. All Saints Church
Fishergate
15.
16.
S t . Wi l f r i d ' s C h u r c h
St.Martin's Church
29. St. Anne's Chapel
30. Hospital of St.Loy
tions. There are numerous craft gilds in York. 2. St.George's Chapel
3. St.George's Church
17.
18.
St.Helen's Church
Wa n d e s f o r d H o s p i t a l
Dr Leonard
31. St.John's Church
4. St.Stephen's Church 19. Tr e a s u r e r ' s H o u s e 32. Percy Inn
The most important are the weavers (who are 5. St.Mary's Church 20. St. John Del Pire 33. St.Deny's Church
6. St.Mary Bishophill Church 34. St.Margaret's Church
also the oldest, receiving a royal charter in 7. St.Mary Bishophill 21. St.Maurice's Church 35. St.Peter in the
8 . H o l y Tr i n i t y 22. M e r c h a n t s Tay l o r ' s Wi l l o w s
1163), the glovers, saddlers, skinners, hosiers, Church Hall 36. St.Michael's Church
9. St.Thomas Hospital 23. St.Cuthbeht's 37. St.Lawrence's Church
butchers, drapers, and vintners. The Butchers 10. St. Gregory's
Church 24.
Church
St.Anthony's Hall Building
Gild is responsible for guarding the city jail at 11. St.John's Church
12. All Saints Church
25. St.Benedict's
Church Approximate
location of
night. The main fair is the Archbishops Fair, 13. St. Leonard's
Hospital
26.
27.
St.Michael's Church
St.Peter's Church
building
14. St.Olave's Church 28. All Staints Pavement Stonewall &
held between 31 July and 2 August. & Chapel To w e r
51
Chapter 5
Travel, Trade,
and Industry
next page), and skilled craftsmen may find it
Travel profitable to take a sample to a noble court.
The nobility themselves travel a great deal: the
higher nobility still tend to go from one estate
It is not unusual for people to travel, no to another, living off each of them in turn (see
matter what their level in society. Even the the Nobility chapter, page 87). Bishops are
poorest peasants go to market or to local fairs, supposed to visit all parts of their dioceses,
and the richer or more pious often journey checking on the monasteries and parish
over thirty miles on pilgrimage. Longer pil- churches and investigating the morals of the
grimages are also common, from Durham to clergy. The royal justices are required to move
the shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury, or from place to place, holding courts in different
even overseas, to Rome, Santiago de towns. When these courts are held, many resi-
Compostella, and Jerusalem. (See dents of the surrounding area are required to
Pilgrimage, page 78.) attend, thus requiring more journeys.
The wealthy and powerful range even fur- Travel is not safe, however. Bandits are
ther afield. Many merchants obviously must common, and it is normal for travelers to form
travel to buy and sell their goods (see Trade, groups for self-defense. Roads are only guard-
ed when a fair is in progress, and not always
then. The roads are usually good enough to
Crossing the Neath take a cart loaded with stone, but after pro-
longed rain they turn into mud. Bridges
We hurried along the coast road to the Neath, with Morgan as our should be maintained by the communities liv-
guide. This river has the most dangerous approach of those in ing nearby, but this is not always done. Even
South Wales, on account of its quicksands, and as we approached when the bridge is intact, tolls are almost
one of our pack horses, with all my baggage on it, was almost always charged to cross them. These are gen-
sucked under. It had taken the lower road with some of the other erally low, but the collectors may charge what-
animals, and was jogging along in the middle of the group. In the ever they think they can get away with.
end it was saved by our servants, at the risk of their own lives, and Rivers play an important role in inland
not without some damage to my books. Against Morgans advice, travel, especially in the transport of goods.
we hurried across the quicksands in fear, because Terror gave us However, they are often blocked with fish
wings. Before we made it through, we had realized the wisdom of weirs and nets, despite royal commands to
his counsel. We crossed the river itself by boat, rather than a ford, keep them clear. Indeed, the clearing of the
because the passages change with every tide, and cannot be found Thames and the Medway was required by one
at all after heavy rain. of the clauses of Magna Carta. Tolls were also
From Gerald of Wales, The Journey Through Wales charged on rivers, generally at bridges, where
the passage of boats could be controlled.
52
TRAVEL, TRADE, AND INDUSTRY
Trade Fairs
Fairs are an important part of English
Internal and international trade both trade, both internal and international. There
play an important part in the English econo- are hundreds of fairs held throughout the
my. The most important item of internal country, but only a few are of more than local
trade is grain, which has to be moved from importance: these are listed in the insert
the villages to the towns and the estates of above. A fair is held at a particular time and
the great lords. This cannot be taken very far, place, and merchants may come from any-
unless there is great scarcity, because the price
of transport soon raises the cost beyond what
people will pay. It costs roughly 1d to trans-
port one ton one mile by land, and 1d to take
the same weight six miles by water. Livestock
and wool are also important commodities
within the kingdom.
International trade is more visible, and it
is here that the great fortunes are to be made.
In broad outline, England exports wool and
cloth to Flanders, and imports cloth from
Flanders and wine from Gascony. (One tun of
wine (252 gallons) costs about 50s, one sack
of wool (364lbs, about 260 fleeces) costs
about 60s. The price of cloth varies wildly
depending on the quality.) Of course, many
other goods, particularly luxuries such as
spices, jewels, and silk, are also traded inter-
nationally. Merchants from Flanders and
Cologne play an important part in the trade,
and a few Italians, particularly from Genoa,
also do business in England. Most of the
international trade takes place in the south
and east of the country, in the area of the
great fairs.
53
HEIRS TO MERLIN
where to buy and sell. On the whole, you do wood or canvas, fire is a constant risk. For
not need to be a burgess of any town to trade example, the Winchester Fair site, and part of
at a fair, and this is one of their advantages. the town, were devastated by fire in 1191.
Everything is traded at fairs, but the most The lord of the fair is responsible for
important commodities are cloth and wool. security and law enforcement for its duration.
Wine and luxuries are also important. You He usually hires a couple of dozen guards, pos-
can buy spices, hunting falcons, jewelry, and sibly including some mounted soldiers, who
cloth of gold. English and Flemish merchants are responsible for keeping order at the fair
are the most important traders, but Gascons itself and sometimes on the routes leading to
and Italians are attending in increasing num- it. There is a special fair court which has juris-
bers. The lord of the fair arranges the stalls by diction over any offenses, other than pleas of
the commodity sold, with livestock and the crown (see page 102) committed at the
butchers generally kept at a distance for fair. The lord receives income from fees for
health and safety reasons. Within each com- the right to trade, taxes on trade goods, and
modity area, the merchants usually organize the profits of justice. The major fairs can eas-
themselves by town, with the merchants from ily be worth 60 per year to their lords, and
one place sticking together. are thus jealously guarded assets.
While many traders work from tents or
other temporary shelters, many fair sites have
some permanent buildings. At St. Ives the fair
takes over the front rooms of many houses in
the town, while at Winchester the bishop has
built an enclosure for the fair outside the
Industry
town, with some permanent wooden stalls. Industrial production is not important in
Since most structures are light and made of medieval England, but that does not mean
that it is non-existent. All craft work can be
seen as small scale industry, but most crafts
Free Redcaps never get beyond the stage of single craftsmen
undertaking every stage of a piece of work;
Redcaps are subject to all the tolls on travel, and to assault and there is little or no specialization. London is
detention by local lords. While the Order discourages interference starting to be an exception, as the high con-
with them, it is difficult to strike the balance between intimidat- centration of craftsmen allows specialists to
ing nobles and provoking a response. If the Order could obtain a make a living. There are also three industries
royal charter, granting the Redcaps freedom from toll and the pro- which depart from the general rule: mining,
tection of the kings peace, things would be much easier. Of course, building, and the textile industry.
it could be argued that the solution does more violence to the
Code than the problem.
Mining
A Miner Covenant Mining is a rural industry, because it must
The special rights granted to miners allow them a lot of freedom take place where the deposits are found.
from interference from mundane authorities, and they are expect- Important localities are Devon and Cornwall
ed to excavate large underground areas and sell metal for their for tin, where around 500 tons is mined every
income. A covenant could set up as a mine, providing laboratories year; Derbyshire, the Pennine Dales in
for the magi in the tunnels (which are dangerous for mundane vis- Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland, the
itors, of course) and even producing metal by magic. While initial Mendips, and Shropshire for lead; and the
permission would be needed, the lord would require nothing more Forest of Dean for iron, although there are
than a regular payment, and would be unlikely to suspect the many lesser iron mines throughout the coun-
covenants true nature. try. Coal mining, especially around Tyneside
54
TRAVEL, TRADE, AND INDUSTRY
and Newcastle, is just beginning to take off, stone which can be cut in any direction with-
as supplies of firewood are reduced by the out cracking, and so the freemasons are often
expansion of agricultural land. in charge of projects.
Most mines are small scale, employing no
more than a dozen miners, and open cast
mines are most common. However, some
shaft mines are known, especially in lead Textiles
mining, which is hard to do any other way.
Tin is often mined by using water to separate The textile industry allows more special-
the ore from loose debris, but this produces ization than most for two reasons. First,
large amounts of polluted water, and can everyone needs clothes, so there is a universal
damage farmland. and steady market for their products. Second,
Since the profitability of mines depends the process breaks up into several steps, pro-
on the supply of miners, lords often devise viding natural areas of specialization.
measures to encourage people to become First, the wool must be sorted, cleaned,
miners. The most extensive encouragement is combed, and then spun into thread. This is
given to the tin miners in Devon and usually done by women, working by hand.
Cornwall. They may dig turves (bits of peat, Spinning is carried out with a distaff and
used as fuel) and mine tin on anyones land, spindle, not a spinning wheel. Next, the
divert streams at will, and cannot be claimed thread must be woven. Much of this is done
as villeins. They are subject only to the on vertical looms, but horizontal looms allow
Warden of the Stannaries, and not to the better cloth and are becoming more popular.
local lords. Nevertheless, mining is an inse- The horizontal looms are also more expensive
cure and dangerous life, and there is always a and take up more space, and thus push
shortage of workmen. weavers into becoming professionals. The
woven cloth is then fulled. This involves
bathing it in an alkaline detergent while hit-
ting it hard. This can be done by trampling
Building on it, or with sticks, or, increasingly, by wood-
en hammers driven by a water mill.
Building work must be done on site, and Obviously, a mill is an expensive piece of
once a structure is finished there will be no equipment, and as the fulling mill becomes
further employment there for most of the more common, that part of the process
workers. Thus the craftsmen involved in becomes more industrial. The final stage is
building are more mobile than most. The often dyeing, which requires specialized
unskilled laborers are usually hired from the knowledge of the dye stuffs, and so is usually
surrounding district, but the skilled crafts- a specialized profession.
men, masons and carpenters, travel from one The cloth merchant often controls every
project to another. stage of this process, buying raw wool and
Increasingly, the administration of a pro- then paying craftsmen and women piecework
ject is in the hands of a single master mason. rates to spin, weave, and dye it. A major mer-
He is responsible for handling the budget, chant might also be able to afford his own
hiring and firing workers, and ensuring sup- fulling mill, although often these are built by
plies of material. He is usually paid a large the landed nobility and hired out to the drap-
sum of money, particularly if he is well ers. The merchants are thus interested in
known. Indeed, masons tend to be among the keeping the prices they pay for weaving, in
richest of craftsmen. The skills needed to particular, down, and are generally opposed to
build a gothic vault or a castle are not well weavers gilds. The growth of such gilds in
codified, and are passed on from master to towns has encouraged the merchants to hire
apprentice among the masons. The most weavers who live in the countryside.
valuable skill is the ability to work free stone,
55
Chapter 6
The Church
he Church is absolutely central to about 9,500 parishes in the provinces of
56
THE CHURCH
57
HEIRS TO MERLIN
The church tries to enforce a minimum of becomes unsafe. In addition, if the chalice or
five marks per year, but lower pay is common. paten is broken and not replaced, mass
Out of this money, the vicar is expected to becomes impossible. If the resident cleric is
pay a deacon and a clerk to assist him, and to not a priest, mass is impossible anyway, so the
maintain the church and perform acts of church furniture may be more poorly cared
charity in the village. This is not possible, for. Those parish churches which are in good
and thus does not happen. Around 70% of condition are usually decorated with wall
vicars are ordained priests, enabling them to paintings on the inside, often depicting the
say mass, but in 30% of parishes there is no- last judgment a Doom. Stained glass is not
one qualified to carry out most of the sacra- common as yet.
ments. A parish, then, should have a resident
The resident priest of a parish is usually priest, assisted by at least one deacon and a
barely literate, and is sometimes incapable of clerk (who may be in minor orders). The
saying the mass. Their grasp of church doc- church should be in good condition, and the
trine is often little better than the peasants, priest should aid the poor of the village. This
and their lifestyles are very similar. While is the situation in at most 10% of parishes. A
men in holy orders cannot marry, many rural further 50% are functional with lapses (for
priests live with women as if they were mar- example, the priest lives with a woman),
ried, forming a stable family. Sometimes a son while the remaining 40% lack a priest or a
inherits his fathers parish. The hierarchy is usable church, and thus cannot function at
trying to stamp this out, but with little success all. The worst cases involve an absent rector,
as many of the priests and parishioners see a chaplain no one has seen for years, and a
nothing wrong with it. Some priests are church that is a positive hazard. The
promiscuous, and they are usually caught and Dominion in such parishes may well have
punished. vanished entirely.
The rector is responsible for maintaining
the church and supplying vestments and a
chalice and paten for the mass. Non-resident The Tithe
rectors usually do not bother, and the vic-
arage may be too poor to maintain the The tithe is a tenth of everything of
church, with the result that the building which God gives the increase, and people are
legally obliged to hand it over to their rector.
The rules surrounding it are quite elaborate,
The Life of Clerics covering all possible situations. The wealth of
parishes varies enormously, from over 100
per year to less than four marks. In general,
Clerks should all strive to live continently and chastely, avoiding
the richer parishes are in the north, because
the sin of lust completely.
they are larger. Further, urban parishes tend
Clerks shall abstain from gluttony, drunkenness, hunting, and
to be poor, because little farming takes place.
bird-catching.
Instead, a tithe is collected on building rents.
Clerks are not to practice business, watch actors, or frequent
The tithe is usually paid in kind (that is,
taverns. They are not to gamble, or be present at gambling. They
the tithe of grain consists of a tenth of the
are to have a suitable tonsure, and must wear closed outer gar-
grain, not its value in money, and similarly for
ments that are not in green or red cloth, or decorated. They must
the others), but if the rector is non-resident
not wear buckles or belts decorated with gold or silver.
much of it will be converted into cash for his
Clerks are utterly forbidden to sit up half the night in feasting
convenience. Parishioners devote a great deal
and forbidden conversation.
of effort to trying to cheat the tithe, and ser-
Clerks must not store their own or anyone elses furniture in
mons and penitentials promise grave penal-
the church.
ties for doing so.
From the decrees of the Fourth Lateran Council, 1215
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
inadequate to support so many, so there are person was probably not a bandit when he
many men with no secure source of income, was ordained.
but with immunity from prosecution by the
civil authorities (see Canon Law, page 71).
As might be expected, this causes problems.
Some clergy resort to begging, others to
crime, still others to confidence trickery and
spiritual blackmail which blurs the bound-
The Regulars
aries between the two. In London such clerks The regulars are those people who live a
are a major problem, but the same is true holy life according to a rule (Latin regulus,
everywhere to some extent. It would not be at rule). They are not all clergy, because some of
all surprising for a bandit to be ordained, pos- them are women, nor are they all monks or
sibly even to holy orders. Of course, such a nuns, although those classes of people do rep-
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resent most of them. This is supposed to be English climate. Although the monasteries
the holiest possible sort of life, and laymen were supposed to be separate from the world,
interested in the support of the prayers of many of them are now inside, or just on the
such holy people make generous donations to edge of, towns, and some actually have juris-
their houses. As a result, they have an influ- diction over that town. The monks all meet
ence beyond their numbers, although there daily in the chapter (so-called because a
are about 12,000 monks and canons and chapter of the rule is read to open the pro-
7,000 nuns in the Tribunal. ceedings), at which the business of the
monastery is dealt with.
The Benedictines arrived in England
with St. Augustine, a monk himself, in 597,
The Rules and established themselves wherever the
church went. In the tenth century St.
While all the regulars live under a rule, Dunstan led a reform of the English monas-
they do not all live under the same rule. teries, which gave them new vigor. At this
There are many rules, so many that Pope time a number of cathedral chapters adopted
Innocent III forbade the creation of new ones the Benedictine rule, a practice that is almost
at the fourth Lateran Council, in 1215. This unique to Britain. Important Benedictine
section describes the most important. abbeys in England include Glastonbury (see
page 84); Bury St. Edmunds (see page 82); St.
Albans, an important center of art and learn-
Benedictine ing; St. Augustines; Canterbury, founded by
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
St. Augustine in the early days of his mission; have a man living nearby to act as priest in
and Battle Abbey, which was founded by the Divine Office. This can cause problems,
William the Conqueror on the site of the and the vow of stability is taken more seri-
Battle of Hastings, with its high altar marking ously for nuns than for monks. Nevertheless,
the spot where Harold died. In total, there are abbesses are among the most influential
around 200 Benedictine monasteries in women in the country. Important nunneries
England, housing about 3,800 monks. include Godstow, near Oxford, which was
The Cluniacs are a group within the founded in the twelfth century and houses
Benedictines of houses that depend on the the tomb of fair Rosamund, the mistress of
abbey of Cluny in France. No other Cluniac Henry II; Shaftesbury, founded by Alfred the
house has an abbot, rather having a prior who Great; and Wilton, in Wiltshire, where the
is, in theory, the deputy of the abbot of widow of Edward the Confessor and the
Cluny. The Cluniacs place great emphasis on daughter of Harold Godwinson lived after the
the opus dei, to the extent that it is going on Norman Conquest. There are, in total, about
almost constantly, and there is certainly no 7,000 nuns in England.
time for manual labor. They are also prone to
building splendid churches for their monas-
teries. The Cluniacs only came to England in Cistercian
the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries,
and there are only about 30 houses, with 500 The Cistercians were founded by Robert
monks. Castle Acre and Thetford in Norfolk of Molesme at Cteaux, in 1098, but their
were founded directly from Cluny, while the extraordinary growth was due to Bernard of
French house of La Charit founded five pri- Clairvaux, the most influential churchman of
ories, including Bermondsey priory in the twelfth century. They follow the
London. Benedictine rule, and in origin did so more
Most convents of nuns follow the strictly than most other Benedictine monas-
Benedictine rule, which requires them to teries. They wear habits of undyed wool, and
thus became known as the white monks, and
build simple monasteries far from civilization.
The Enemy of My Enemy These areas have turned out to be excellent
for sheep farming, and the Cistercian monas-
If the covenant has chilly relations with the local church and teries of Yorkshire are among the largest sup-
nobility, have a band of robbers set up and start causing them real pliers of wool in Europe. From the beginning
trouble. It turns out that these robbers are all ordained. The local there were laymen, the conversi, associated
lord refuses to do anything, citing (correctly) benefit of clergy. The with the Cistercians, who were responsible
Church sends an official to preach to the bandits, but they ignore for helping the monks with the farming.
him. If the covenant dares to deal with them itself, all its members There are about 3,250 Cistercian monks in
are excommunicated. England and Wales.
The Cistercian monasteries are grouped
into a well-organized order. Every house is
The Coming of the Monks founded from an already-existing monastery
(with the obvious exception of Cteaux
The covenant has managed to keep its existence secret from every- itself); the founding house is the mother
one, pretending to be an ordinary village. Now, the lord of the house, the founded the daughter. The abbot
manor has given the village to the Cistercians, who have come to of the mother house is responsible for visiting
drive the villagers off their land. If the covenant is well hidden, the daughters and ensuring that they are well
the magi might simply lose their source of labor and food. Since run, and all the abbots meet every year in
covenants and Cistercians tend to seek out the same sorts of areas, September, at Cteaux, to discuss the issues
conflict between the two orders is likely to be common. facing the order.
By 1220 the Cistercians are less rigorous-
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Augustinian
The Military Orders
The rule of Augustinian canons is
derived from a letter written by St. Augustine The military orders are orders of monks
of Hippo (not the St. Augustine who con- who are also knights. The most famous are
verted the English), but has been much the Knights Templar, founded by Hugh de
expanded from those bare bones. The canons Payns and Godfrey of St. Omer in 1118, and
are not monks, because they are not supposed strongly supported by Bernard of Clairvaux,
to be sequestered from the world. They are and the Knights of the Hospital of St. John of
bound to poverty, chastity, and obedience, Jerusalem. They have rules which allow them
but they are expected to involve themselves to fight, primarily against the Moslems, but
in work with the laymen near their canonry. they hold land all over Christendom, and
The canons have a common life, but they are both orders have a number of houses in
attached to a cathedral, collegiate church, or England. These houses do not hold active
hospital, and thus have pastoral duties like a knights, although retired warriors may be
secular priest. accommodated; rather, they gather funds and
There are a number of orders relying on supplies and send them on to the Levant. The
the Rule of St. Augustine, including the Templars are also notable for their involve-
Gilbertines (below), the Premonstratensians, ment in banking, generally in lending money
and the Dominicans (page 64). These orders to help with Crusading, and for their tenden-
differ a great deal, and there are also many cy to build round churches, including one in
unaffiliated houses following the rule, some of London.
which contain women rather than men.
Thus, it is impossible to generalize about the
behavior of regular canons, of whom there are
about 3,500 in England and Wales.
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Virgin Mary. None ends the ninth hour, and frowned upon. Occasionally, these visits are
Vespers the eleventh. Compline marks the to women, or women are entertained within
close of the day and the beginning of the the cloister. However, actual violations of the
night. The monks are allowed to sleep vow of chastity seem to be rare, as it is rarely
between Compline and Matins, and Matins mentioned in the reports of visitations. This
and Lauds. The rest of the time is split particular vice seems to be more common
between labor and reading. The bells of the among nuns, although this may just be
monastery church are rung to summon the because it is easier to catch guilty women.
monks to the various services, and to wake
them up for the night office.
Most of the day is spent in silence, and
during meals the monks are supposed to listen
to a reader, rather than speak. This has led to
the development of fairly elaborate sign lan-
The Sacraments
guages in some monasteries, although in oth- The seven sacraments are the center-
ers they have not got beyond Please pass the piece of the Churchs work. Without them,
bread. The monks are usually allowed to no one can be saved, and everyone is damned
converse after chapter, and possibly in the to hellfire for eternity. Despite the warnings
evening as well. Of course, a monk engaged of priests, many people believe that you will
in managing the monasterys property will not be saved if you get the right sacraments at the
be able to maintain silence all day. Much right times, no matter how you live. The
time is spent in reading and copying manu- sacraments are effective if performed correct-
scripts, now that manual labor is discouraged, ly, irrespective of the intent or status of the
and the Benedictine monastery of St. Albans priest, and in some cases even if performed
is a notable artistic center, both in manu- incorrectly, provided that the intent was to
script illumination and in other arts: Walter perform the sacrament. This is because the
of Colchester, a monk of St. Albans, was sacrament is the display of Gods power
employed to design the new shrine for St. through the priest, not a display of the priests
Thomas at Canterbury. own power. However, it is generally believed
that a sacrament is more effective if the cele-
brant is virtuous.
Pastimes
As mentioned above, the monks have Baptism
many opportunities for reading, and this is
one of the few pastimes which is universally Baptism is the most important of the
approved. They also play chess, and occasion- sacraments, as far as the individual is con-
ally dice, although the stricter moralists dis- cerned. Anyone who has not been baptized
approve. Most monasteries have a pack of will go to hell, no matter how they live, as
hounds, and many abbots enjoy the hunt. they are tainted with Adams Original Sin.
Indeed, sometimes it is necessary to remind Accordingly, children are baptized as soon as
them that they are supposed to remain at the possible after birth. If the child is healthy, this
monastery. Minstrels and actors are also will take place within a couple of days. The
hired, on occasion, to entertain the monks, mother cannot go to the church, as she is rit-
and the obedientiaries sometimes keep their ually unclean after the birth, so the infant is
own tables, where their friends can enjoy taken by the midwife, godparents (tradition-
good food and wine. The monks also spend ally three, two of the same sex as the child),
much time outside the cloister, socializing in or father. The priest meets the group at the
the local town, although this is generally church door, and asks the babys name this
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is the point at which the child gains its true baptize, no matter when he is asked. Holy
name, which is normally the name of one of water is to be kept in the font at all times, and
the godparents. He then exorcises the child the font is supposed to be kept locked to
to drive off evil spirits, and makes it a cate- guard against desecration, although it often
chumen before leading the party to the font. isnt. If the baby is so sickly that it might not
The priest asks the child questions based on survive being carried to the church, the mid-
the creed, and the godparents answer I wife may baptize it by sprinkling water on it
believe on its behalf. The baby is then and repeating the formula. This is true even if
stripped naked and plunged into the water the midwife is not Christian (a Jew, for exam-
three times, while the priest says, I baptize ple), and even if she totally mangles the for-
you in the name of the Father, and of the mula, provided that her intent is right.
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Immediately Midwives and other women who attend at
afterwards the child receives its first commu- births are taught the formula, and encouraged
nion, in the form of a sip of wine, and if a to baptize in emergencies, or when they think
bishop is present (which is rare) it may be that there may be an emergency. It is even
confirmed. The religious ceremony is then permissible to baptize the child when it is
followed by celebrations. only half out of the mother, and if necessary
Because of the vital importance of bap- the midwife is to cut the child out of the
tism to the child many precautions are taken mother so that it can be baptized, even
to ensure that it can always be administered. though this will almost certainly result in the
The resident priest is always to be available, mothers death.
or have a deputy ready, and is not to refuse to It is believed to be unlucky to baptize a
child on Easter Eve or the Eve of Whitsunday,
and the clothes and vessels used in the process
are believed to have magical properties.
Confirmation
Confirmation can be administered only
by a bishop, and it involves drawing a cross in
oil on the forehead of the recipient while say-
ing, I sign you with the sign of the cross and
confirm you with the chrism of salvation, in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. Since there are few bishops
and many people, many people are never
confirmed. Some bishops, when on visitation,
make sure that they wear their vestments at
all times, so that they can confirm anyone
they meet who asks for it, and others confirm
whole crowds at once.
Penance
Although baptism wipes away the stain
of original sin, people are still capable of sin-
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ning on their own account, and confession, an ordained priest can perform the consecra-
penance, and absolution are required to tion itself, although those in lesser orders and
remove the stain of personal sin. Children are laymen assist at the service.
held to be incapable of personal sin until the The mass is performed entirely in Latin
age of twelve, because they cannot under- (and is named from the final words: Ite,
stand what they are doing. After that age, missa est Go, it is finished) and for most
however, all Christians are encouraged to of it the celebrant has his back to the congre-
confess and do penance at least once a year, as gation, and is largely hidden behind a screen.
specified by the fourth Lateran Council. This is not calculated to hold the congrega-
Confession, penance, and absolution are tions attention, and indeed it is normal for
all private matters, unless the crime for which people to talk through the mass, and for peo-
penance must be done is a public scandal. ple to go purely to meet their lovers.
Confession is not a simple affair, as the priest Immediately after consecration, however, the
is supposed to ask many questions, probing priest raises the Host above his head, so that
into every aspect of the penitents life, from the congregation can see it. This is the eleva-
Have you ever left the churchyard gate open tion of the Host, and is accorded great impor-
so that beasts got in? to Have you killed any tance: seeing the Host at this point is an
man in anger? and covering superstitious and assurance of salvation, and possibly mundane
magical practices in between. Priests were help. Some people wait outside the church,
provided with books of questions and suggest- talking and playing, and rush inside to see the
ed penances for sinners; these were called elevation before leaving again.
penitentials, and the laity were not allowed Very few of the laity take communion
to read them in case it gave them ideas. because it is necessary to have received abso-
Penances usually involve fasting, prayer, and lution beforehand, and to fast and abstain
the giving of alms, which are all things that from sexual relations for three days. Thus,
can be done without drawing attention. most laymen and women communicate once
Confession is clearly a substantial burden a year, or even less, although the Lateran
on the priest, even if only done once a year, Council in 1215 tried to set once per year as
especially as most people confess during Lent, the minimum. When they do take commu-
in preparation for taking communion at
Easter. However, laymen are required to con-
fess only to their parish priest, unless they are
travelers or soldiers about to go into battle.
The Mass of
St. Gregory the Great
The Eucharist A certain woman used to provide the bread for the altar at which
Pope Gregory said Mass, and one Sunday, when she was going to
receive communion, Gregory held out the Host to her, saying
The mass is the central feature of the May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ benefit you unto life ever-
churchs liturgy. It was first celebrated by lasting. The woman burst out laughing, as if he had told a joke,
Christ himself on the night before he was cru- and Gregory drew back the Host, laying it on the altar. In front of
cified, and it constitutes a reenactment of his the whole congregation he asked her why she was laughing. She
saving sacrifice. As the words of consecration said, Because you called this bread, which I made with my own
are spoken unleavened bread the Host hands, the Body of the Lord. Gregory was troubled by the
becomes the body of Christ, while the wine womans lack of faith, and lay before the altar in prayer. When he
becomes His blood. Although they remain stood, he found the Host transformed into a finger. When the
bread and wine in appearance, their sub- woman saw this, her faith was restored, and on Gregorys prayers it
stance is that of God Himself. (Thus, conse- was turned back into bread, which she received in true piety.
crated bread and wine are totally immune to From the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine.
magical, faerie, and demonic powers.) Only
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nion, they receive both the bread and the pensations to allow them to marry within the
wine, although there is a movement to give more distant incestuous degrees.
them the bread only, to avoid the possibility The church strongly encourages a more
of spilling the wine and thus showing disre- elaborate ceremony, and most people want
spect to the blood of Christ. one, so that it is clear that they are married.
The consecrated substances, particularly The couple declare their intentions at a
the Host, are credited with many powers. troth-plighting. They join hands in the pres-
Bleeding Hosts are commonly reported, and ence of their families, and other friends, give
many hedge wizards try to use the Host in and receive a ring, and declare their assent to
their rituals. Common report falsely attributes marriage. If the couple are old enough, they
the same thing to the Jews. (It is very easy to then retire and consummate the marriage.
obtain a consecrated Host: take communion, This ceremony, clearly, constitutes a canoni-
but dont swallow. The wine is harder to cal marriage. Some time later, generally when
obtain, and has fewer superstitions around it.) the bride is pregnant so that the groom knows
Peasants also use the Host in charms, crushing she can bear children, the couple go to
it and sprinkling over a field or burying it in church. The priest meets them at the door
the floor of a house to bring divine blessings. and inquires whether there is any impedi-
ment to the marriage. The groom states the
dower he is settling on his wife and gives her
a ring and a small gift of money on the spot.
Marriage They then declare their assent again, and the
priest leads them into the church for the nup-
Marriage is the sacrament which causes tial mass, which is followed by a feast. The
the Church most trouble, because the mater- elaboration of these ceremonies depends on
ial interests of great families are closely bound the wealth of the parties to the marriage, but
up with it, and marriages which were conve- some peasants do not marry formally because
nient to them might not fit with the Churchs they cannot afford the proper ceremonial.
regulations. The theological position is that if Despite the churchs emphasis on the
a man and a woman, alone in a room at a tav- consent of the people involved, marriages
ern, say something like I take you as my among the upper classes usually revolve
wife/husband to each other, then they are around political and territorial alliances, with
married as long as there is no legal impedi- young girls being married off to old men, and
ment. If they say I will take you as my boys to widows, and marriages being con-
wife/husband, then they are married as soon tracted between children of four and babies of
as they have sex. No priest is required, no wit- a few months. Many people regard such prac-
nesses, and no consent from parents. Legal tices with distaste, but there is no sign of
impediments can arise from a number of them ceasing.
sources. If one partner was already married,
then he or she cannot marry again. A man
ordained to holy orders cannot marry anyone,
and incestuous marriages cannot be contract- Ordination
ed. Incest is defined as a marriage to anyone
with whom you share an ancestor in the last The sacrament of ordination sets men
four generations (that is, back to great-great- apart for the service of God. It can only be
grandparents), or to someone who is a god- performed by a bishop, and a man can only be
parent. The incest taboos are carefully ordained to each degree once. There are two
observed by the peasantry, who, as a result, classes of ordination: minor orders and holy
generally know their ancestry at least four orders. The minor orders are doorkeeper, lec-
generations back. Nobles, who want advanta- tor, exorcist, and acolyte. Ordination to these
geous alliances, will often obtain Papal dis- orders requires little more than getting a hair-
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Wells both have two groups of electing cler- The bishops job is to support and oversee
gy; Coventry and Bath are monastic, while the clergy of his diocese. He has two main
Lichfield and Wells are secular. In practice, ways of doing this. The first is the diocesan
influence can be brought to bear by the king synod, which is supposed to be held every
or the Pope. Ultimately, the king can do year, usually in the autumn. All the clergy of
nothing about the election if the chapter the diocese are supposed to attend, although
resists him (although he can make life diffi- in the larger dioceses, such as Lincoln and
cult for the bishop), but the Pope can refuse York, the clergy of distant parishes rarely do.
to consecrate the elected bishop, and, if the At these synods decrees are issued which deal
election was disputed (which it must have with problems in the church; forbidding
been if the Pope is unhappy with the result), those in holy orders to keep women, for
he may set aside the chapters decision and example, or requiring all priests to obtain a
install his own man. mass book.
The bishop gains a substantial income The second, and more useful, episcopal
from his diocese, ranging from about 200 per power is the visitation. The bishop travels
year for Rochester to 3000 for Winchester. round his diocese, visiting the parish church-
Durham, Canterbury, and Ely are also partic- es and religious houses and examining their
ularly wealthy, with incomes over 2000. It is behavior. It is very rare for the bishop to
not unknown for favored clerics to be moved deprive someone of a benefice as the result of
from a poorer to a richer see. With such a visitation, but he will often require
incomes, bishops normally live like members improvements to be made. Three things limit
of the nobility, with large retinues, fine cloth- the effectiveness of visitations. First, the bish-
ing, and superb meals. op may well be part of the royal administra-
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Archdeacons ment on it, other than to praise the mercy of God, but the report
gave him great authority with the men of Bristol, and enabled him
to abolish the slave trade there.
The archdeacon is the most active of a (Wulfstan was the bishop of Worcester for many years both
bishops subordinates. He is responsible for before and after the Norman Conquest.)
enforcing canon law in a specified area of a From the Life of St. Wulfstan by William of Malmesbury
diocese, known as an archdeaconry, for col-
lecting fines, and for advising the bishop on
the appointment of rectors. Archdeacons are
not popular, as they are almost purely con-
The Visitation
cerned with discipline and taxation, and they
The bishop comes to carry out his visitation of the parish church
have a reputation for corruption that many of
near the covenant. If the covenant gets on well with the priest, the
them bear out. An archdeaconry is, however,
bishop is likely to find the mans preaching a little dubious. If they
an important step in an ecclesiastical career.
are hostile, the priest has the perfect opportunity to report the
The number of archdeaconries depends on
covenant to someone powerful enough to do something about it.
the size of the diocese. Chichester has two,
If they have done away with the priest altogether (visitations did
while the immense diocese of Lincoln has
sometimes discover that there had been no resident priest for
eight.
years), then the bishop is likely to be very annoyed. Add to this a
retinue of fifty people, and the situation could be very tricky
indeed. If the covenant is pretending to be a religious house, then
the bishop will come to visit them.
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St. Thomas Becket was martyred in the gest that subjects may violently resist a tyran-
course of a dispute over jurisdictions, showing nical ruler; indeed, some have suggested that
how important these issues can be. this is a duty.
At one level, canon law is having an The influence of canon law on daily life
important influence on the development of is more important to most people. Canon law,
political institutions. The notion of a corpo- as would be expected, controls the adminis-
rate body was first developed to handle tration of the sacraments. This does have a
monasteries and cathedral chapters, and is few wide-ranging consequences. First, anyone
now being applied, occasionally, in the secu- who has been ordained, even to minor orders,
lar world. Canon law also defines the duty of is entirely under the jurisdiction of the canon
a ruler to take counsel and gain the consent law. Any crime that he commits, even mur-
of the ruled, precedents which are influenc- der, must be judged by a church court. Since
ing the development of royal councils ordained judges are not allowed to spill blood,
throughout Europe. In particular, the idea the worst that is likely to happen is that the
that a corporate body consents when a major- criminous clerk will lose his ordained status
ity of its members do is well established, as is and be set a heavy penance, probably involv-
the idea that a small body, such as a cathedral ing a pilgrimage. He cannot be tried in civil
chapter, can represent a much larger one, courts for the same offense. (This privilege
such as all the Christians in a diocese. was won by Beckets martyrdom, and no lord
Recently, canon lawyers have begun to sug- or king would dare to ignore it.) This protec-
Stephen Langton
Archbishop of Canterbury, born 1165, archbishop since 1207
Stephen Langton was born in Langton, in office by the Pope. He traveled to Rome for the Lateran
Lincolnshire, the eldest son of a minor landowner. He Council, curing a demoniac on the way, and eventually
was an intelligent youth, and wished to enter the had the suspension lifted, although he was not allowed
church. In 1180 he traveled to Paris, to attend the uni- to return to Canterbury until 1218.
versity there. He remained until 1206, a canon at the In the last two years, Langton has played a minor
cathedral of Notre Dame, lecturing on theology. In that role. Pandulf, the papal legate, took over from William
time he became the most noted teacher of theology in Marshal as the regent for the young king, and the arch-
the university, and in 1206 he was made Cardinal Priest bishop has had little to do with politics. That may be
of St. Chysogonus. about to change. He has just completed an inquiry into
In 1207 the monks of Canterbury elected him arch- the sainthood of Hugh of Lincoln, and will be involved
bishop, and he was consecrated at Viterbo. However, he in the formal coronation of Henry III in May. He plans
could not at this time move to England, as King John to ask the Pope to remove the legates authority, thus
was hostile to the church, and the country was under leaving the archbishop of Canterbury as the highest
interdict. Instead he resided at the abbey of Pontigny, ecclesiastical authority in the land.
where St. Thomas Becket had taken refuge, making Langton is a tall and thin man, with a full head of
occasional journeys to England in an attempt to bring graying hair. His voice is powerful, and he is an excel-
the king to an agreement with the Pope. The dispute lent public speaker, his skills honed over years of lectur-
was over ecclesiastical elections, and at length King ing in Paris. His main aims are to see England at peace,
John came to terms, and Langton entered Canterbury in with the church ruled by canon law and the realm by
1213. common law, and to ensure that the reforming decrees
He arrived in a divided country, and immediately of the Lateran Council are implemented throughout his
set about trying to bring peace. He was influential in the province. A scholar himself, he is sympathetic to schol-
drafting and signing of Magna Carta, but when the Pope ars, and all too aware that good men can honestly differ
declared that agreement null and void, and civil war on important points. He is, however, of the highest
broke out, Langton left the country, suspended from morals, and will tolerate error, but not sin.
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THE CHURCH
tion also applies to layfolk closely associated Marriage, page 68). This can be important if
with the church, most notably nuns. one partner wants to marry someone else, or if
The second large area that the sacraments the couple have died and their children wish
bring under the churchs notice is marriage. to inherit as legitimate heirs. Church courts
Some issues related to marriage, including can also annul marriages, finding that the cou-
many of those relating to property, fall within ple were never really married in the first place,
the purview of the civil courts, but most are because they were too closely related, or one
church business. Thus, the church must partner did not give free consent. Canon law
decide whether a marriage is valid, which may also covers all sexual misdemeanors, from for-
be difficult if it was contracted secretly (see nication to sodomy.
Walter de Grey
Archbishop of York, elected 1215
Walter de Grey is the son of an important family, instead. The king objected, and the election eventually
and was educated at Oxford, although he is no scholar. found its way to the Pope, and the Lateran Council.
In 1205 he paid John 5000 marks for the office of chan- The monks laid their case before the pontiff, as did
cellor, and devoted himself to carrying out the kings Walters supporters. The Pope refused to install
will. While this did not make him generally popular, he Langton, probably in part because Stephen Langton was
was well rewarded. In 1210 he was elected bishop of still suspended and Simon was suspected of worse
Lichfield at Johns insistence, but the monks of crimes. He told the monks to hold a new election, and
Coventry elected Prior Josbert to the same post. In the they elected Walter. He was present for the council, so
end, both elections were quashed by Pandulf. In 1213 he was immediately invested as archbishop and present-
Walter temporarily resigned the chancellorship while ed with the pallium.
he was sent as an ambassador to Flanders, but he took it On his return to England, Walter supported the
up again in 1214. In the same year, he was elected bish- young king, and Henry likes him. He was seriously ill for
op of Worcester. much of 1219, and thus has not done much since taking
In early 1215 John tried to impose him as archbish- up his see. He has, however, got into a quarrel with
op of York, reputedly in fulfillment of a promise that he Stephen Langton over whether he has the right to have
should have the next available archbishopric. The his cross borne in front of him while he is in the south-
monks elected Simon Langton, Stephens brother, ern province.
Richard de Marsh
Bishop of Durham, elected 1217
Richards origins are obscure, and he is almost whol- that of the king within County Durham. Almost imme-
ly a creature of King John. In 1197 he was an officer of diately he became embroiled in a quarrel with the
the exchequer, and from 1207 he was in constant atten- monks of the cathedral priory. They accuse him of
dance on the king. From 1210 he advised the king on encroaching on their rights, and of other dreadful mis-
how he might extort the most money from the religious deeds. Reports of these vary, from fornication, through
houses in England, particularly the Cistercians, thus sodomy, to devil worship, depending in part on how far
making himself very unpopular with the church. John from Durham the story is being told.
was reputed to have said that Richard de Marsh was his Richard is greedy, authoritarian, and completely
god during one dispute with an abbey. In 1214 he unscrupulous. He is ordained, but has shown no sign of
became chancellor, and he still holds that office today. respect for any part of the church other than himself.
In 1217 he was, on Papal recommendation, elected He owes his bishopric entirely to the Popes effort to
bishop of Durham. This puts him at the head of one of ensure that Henry is supported by friendly bishops in
Englands two palatinates, giving him authority equal to the first part of his reign.
73
HEIRS TO MERLIN
The final such area is that of wills, where convict heretics in most cases.
the churchs responsibility for the dead brings Canon law also regulates a few rather less
then within its jurisdiction. The church obvious areas of life. Defamation falls within
encourages people to make wills, in part the purview of the church courts. If one per-
because the church cannot inherit by the son accuses another of criminal behavior
laws of intestate succession, and it is the job calling them a thief, whore, perjurer, or
of church courts to decide whether a will is sodomite, for example then a prosecution
valid. Canon lawyers hold that a person may can be brought in the church courts. If the
leave his property to whomever he wishes, insult is merely unpleasant bastard, liar, or
even if it seems unreasonable, but a will serf, for example then there is no ground
including a substantial donation to the for legal action. If the case is brought, truth is
church is, perhaps, more likely to be upheld. no defense, unless the accusation was made
Heresy is another area that falls under and sustained in court. That is, even if a
the church courts. However, this is not a woman has been convicted of being a whore,
major issue in England, which does not have you can still be successfully prosecuted for
a large heresy problem. The aim of the court defamation if you call her such outside a court
is not to find and burn all heretics, but to case.
bring people back into the fold of the church, Much of trade and industry also falls
so that repentant heretics will be let off with under canon law. It specifies days when peo-
a penance. Further, the rules of evidence (see ple may not work Sundays and Holy Days
below, pages 75-76) make it very difficult to (holidays). More generally, it covers the rules
of fair trade. The accumulation of wealth by
honest labor or trading is seen as perfectly
acceptable, and some canonists even encour-
age it. Once you have accumulated this
wealth, you may do whatever you want with
it. In particular, if the king tries to force you
to give it to him, he is acting as a tyrant, and
you may oppose him. This does not apply if
you have consented, and so taxation can only
be imposed with the consent of the realm.
The limits of honest labor are also set by
the church. First, there are three different
classes of occupation. Most respectable are
those suitable for clergy, the clerical jobs.
These are those jobs involving reading, writ-
ing, meditation and mental work. In the sec-
ond category fall manual jobs which do not
naturally tempt one towards sin, such as farm-
ing or most crafts. The third category con-
tains jobs which put you at severe risk of sin,
such as acting, tavernkeeping, and for-
tunetelling. The position of trading is some-
what ambiguous. While it does not involve
much manual labor, it does involve tempta-
tions to usury (see below), and thus could be
placed in the third category. Even such
respectable positions as estate management or
royal service are regarded as dubious, because
of the temptations towards corruption.
74
THE CHURCH
Within any business, canon law forbids a ing if the defendant does not turn up within a
number of unfair practices. First, it is illegal to year to answer the case. Thus, the defendant
charge interest on loans. This is usury, and is gets thirty days to prepare a defense.
regarded as a major sin. One saint refused to Once the defendant appears, the plaintiff
eat a particular dish of meat, because the calf must submit the libel, a formal, written
was descended in the seventh generation from account of the charges. The defendant then
a cow purchased with the profits of usury. The has the option of asking for twenty days in
law is enforced quite rigorously against small- which to decide what to do, and, if necessary,
scale pawnbrokers and the like, but rich mer- to plan his defense. In this period, he can also
chants can generally disguise the interest as raise exceptions against the libel.
something else a share in profits, or a Peremptory exceptions allege that there is
penalty for late repayment, for example. some fundamental error of fact or law, and if
It is also illegal to manipulate prices. The the judge rules for the defendant the case is
fair price is the market price: what the buyer dismissed. Dilatory exceptions allege some
is willing to offer and the seller, to accept. procedural error, such as that the judge cho-
Any attempt to manipulate this, by, for exam- sen by the plaintiff is biased. The exceptions
ple, cornering the wheat market in a particu- must be determined before the case can pro-
lar town, is illegal. There are terms for many ceed, and the defendant pays all costs if the
of these techniques. If suppliers withhold a decision goes against him. However, since the
product to drive the price up, that is fore- ruling on an exception can be appealed to the
stalling, while buying up all supplies and then Pope, these procedures can be used to delay
selling at a higher price is engrossing. cases almost indefinitely. Sometimes, cases
However, buying something cheaply in one are settled out of court while the exceptions
place, transporting it a substantial distance are being determined.
(not just from the market town to the vil- If the preliminaries are got through and
lage), and then selling it at a profit is regard- the case actually comes to trial, the plaintiff
ed as fair. The profit is the merchants recom- and defendant must both swear that they are
pense for the risk he has undertaken. undertaking the prosecution and defense
honestly, and not through malice. The plain-
tiff must then produce good evidence.
Canonical Procedure Essentially, this means either a confession
from the defendant (given in court), or two
In theory all canon law cases are judged witnesses who have both seen and heard the
by the bishop of the diocese, but in practice relevant event. Witness is interpreted very
most now appoint deputies, known as their strictly. If a priest is accused of concubinage,
officials or officials principal, to hear the cases the witnesses must have seen and heard him
for them in what is known as the consistory engaging in coitus with the woman. Seeing
court. The bishop may still hear cases in per-
son, and this is called the court of audience.
If someone wishes to bring an action in
the church courts, they must convince the
An Engrossing Problem
judge, or more likely his clerk, that the case
If a covenant is living off stores of anything but cash, they could
falls within that courts competence, and that
be brought before the church courts on a charge of engrossing. As
there is a case to answer. If he agrees, the
long as their contacts are happy with them, there is unlikely to be
court sends a summons to the defendant,
a problem, but if they annoy a merchant he would probably have
requiring him to appear in ten days time to
enough evidence to start proceedings against them. This could
answer the accusations. If he fails to turn up,
also apply if the covenant creates large quantities of some sub-
a second summons is sent, and a third, but if
stance (to save vis), and then sells it off slowly to avoid flooding
he fails to turn up a third time a summary
the market.
judgment will be given, which becomes bind-
75
HEIRS TO MERLIN
that they live together, and even seeing them widespread belief that a crime has been com-
naked in bed together, do not qualify. Thus, mitted, without waiting for an accuser or true
some crimes are very difficult to prosecute notoriety. The judge decides which charges to
successfully. bring, which witnesses to call, and how to
After a decision is taken, either side may rule on the case. The normal rules of evi-
appeal. They may always appeal directly to dence apply, in theory, and some judges think
the Pope, but that is very expensive. If the that confessions gained under torture are
presiding official is a bishop, they may appeal good evidence. Most disagree, however,
to his archbishop. This can stretch the case pointing out that people will confess to any-
out even further, because the same procedure thing while you are pulling out their toenails.
applies again. The accuser in a criminal proceeding,
Criminal charges must be brought by an and both plaintiff and defendant in a civil
accuser, who faces severe penalties if the case proceeding, may employ a proctor, or legal
is not proved. This discourages frivolous representative. These individuals need not
accusation, but also discourages genuine have formal training, but generally have
accusation of hidden crimes, such as heresy. extensive experience of the courts, and have
Accordingly, the church has instituted two full authority to make decisions on their
new procedures. clients behalf. The defendant in a criminal
The first is investigation through notori- proceeding may not employ a proctor, nor
ety. If everyone knew who the criminal was, may he or she receive legal advice.
then the judge could pronounce sentence
without going through the details of the pro-
cedure. However, it is obvious to everyone Punishment
that this procedure is wide open to abuse, and
thus it is not widely used. Indeed, some acad- The judge in a church court has wide dis-
emic lawyers claim that for an offense to be cretion over the punishment of convicted
truly notorious, it must be committed in criminals. The aim is to make the punish-
front of the judge, while he is sitting in court, ment fit the crime, and, if at all possible, to
with a large enough audience to constitute help with the reform of the criminal. There
most of the community. (So calling someone need be no correlation between the apparent
a perjured sodomite during a court case for severity of the crime, and that of the punish-
usury is probably a bad idea.) ment. For example, a rich engrosser might be
The second is the inquisitorial procedure, fined a very large sum of money and sent on a
and it has been introduced over the last twen- pilgrimage to Rome, because otherwise he
ty years. It is not much used in England, but would sin again, while a poor and repentant
is growing in popularity elsewhere. A judge heretic might be set to fast for two weeks and
may initiate an investigation on the basis of abstain from sex for a year, just to make sure
that his repentance is genuine.
Church courts may not invoke punish-
Notorious Heretics ments that involve the shedding of blood,
and imprisonment is not an option in most
cases. Thus, their punishments involve fines,
The local bishop sends an agent to the covenant, indicating that
imposed fasting or sexual abstinence, pilgrim-
many people accuse them of heresy, that, indeed, their heresy is
ages to distant places, enforced labor in some
almost notorious, and that they should think about proving their
good cause, confinement in a monastery (a
fidelity to the true church by undertaking some task for him. If the
good approximation to imprisonment), or, in
claim is even half convincing (for example, most magi never
extreme cases, excommunication. An excom-
attend mass) the magi would be well advised to comply, or they
municated individual cannot take the sacra-
may face summary judgment. Once the task is completed, they
ments, testify in trials, or, in theory, deal with
might want to work on their public image.
anyone who is still in communion with the
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Popular Religion
Most Christians do not express their
beliefs in the ways that learned theologians
would choose, and sometimes not even in
ways that their parish priest entirely agrees
with. The line between popular religion and
superstition is blurred, so that burying the
consecrated Host under a floor could count as
either, depending on whether the priest in
question approved of it.
77
HEIRS TO MERLIN
the saint will intervene in person, indicating to vow a penny, by bending it between the
where the body should be kept. This compe- fingers as the prayer is uttered, or to offer can-
tition may not end when the body is dles with a wick the same length as the body
installed, although then it becomes a case of of the person to be healed. If the saint is
Our saint is better than your saint. Some deprived of his due, he can become quite
recipients of miraculous cures testify that they vengeful, inflicting the disease again.
visited several shrines before finally coming Sometimes, the saint will do this if not
to the saint who succeeded in removing their offered the exact penny that was vowed.
affliction. This can lead to absurdity when The miracles, and behavior, attributed to
two places claim association with the same saints were varied see the legends in the
saint, such as claims that the Virgin of sidebars for examples. Their essential
Walsingham is more powerful than the Virgin attribute was their thaumaturgical power, and
of Ipswich. this could maintain a cult even when the
Prayers to saints usually take the form of church authorities did not fully approve. Of
bargains If you save me now, I will do course, such a cult would be discouraged, pos-
such and such for you. A common bargain is sibly even persecuted, and so would most
likely not last, but not all local saints were
ever canonized by the Pope. (Theologically,
A Miracle of this was not a problem, as canonization was
merely human acknowledgment of a divine
St. Thomas Becket decision, and it was widely admitted that
there were many saints who had not been
A bird that had learned human speech was being chased by a canonized.)
hawk. As it fled, it cried out a phrase it had been taught, Saint
Thomas, help me! At once, the hawk fell dead from the sky, and
the bird escaped. Pilgrimage
From the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine
Pilgrimage is an important part of devo-
tion to the saints. It usually involves a visit to
A Miracle of St. Erkenwald the saints tomb, but other holy sites also
attract pilgrims, such as sites of martyrdom, or
After a fire in London, a new reliquary was being constructed of important visions. It is common to vow to
for St. Erkenwald, whose relics had miraculously survived. A fool- visit a saints tomb if he helps you out of trou-
ish man named Eustace was in the habit of visiting the place where ble, particularly if the saint is local.
it was being built, and distracting the laborers with drunken jokes Pilgrimages are also imposed as penances for
and antics. serious sins. They may also be undertaken as
One day, he entered while the wooden sepulcher that was to a kind of holiday, especially by the well off,
hold the saints relics stood open and, seized by a greater madness although as pilgrims are seen as holy, they can
than usual, he lay down in the open shrine and began to call out, often live by begging. This is discouraged,
I am the most holy Erkenwald; bring me gifts; ask for my help; especially for women, as they can be driven to
make me a sepulcher of silver! prostitution if their money runs out.
As he was shouting these blasphemies, he was suddenly seized Many pilgrims travel simply for the spiri-
by a severe pain. His friends snatched him from the coffin and tual benefits, or for the break, but others go in
took him home, but he died within a few days, struck down by the hope of seeing, or receiving, a miracle. It
divine judgment. is believed that the closer you can get to the
From The Miracles of St. Erkenwald body of the saint, the greater your chances of
a miracle, so the tombs are designed with
(St. Erkenwald was bishop of London in the seventh century, holes into which a hand or head can be
and is the patron saint of the city.) thrust, to touch the inner coffin. Sometimes
people manage to climb inside the tomb, and
78
THE CHURCH
lie next to the coffin, although the tending celebrations start on or a little before
monks dont much like this. People will often Christmas Day, and continue for the full
wait for some time near the tomb, to give the twelve days of Christmas. Churches and
saint a decent chance to perform, before leav- houses are decorated with evergreen branch-
ing, possibly to visit another saint. es, particularly holly and ivy, and noble
The tombs themselves are quite ornate, households hold great feasts. The greatest
and pious visitors often leave offerings of feast is often held on Twelfth Night, rather
money on them. Candles and wax images of than Christmas Day, and the main dish is tra-
body parts that either have been healed or ditionally pork, with the boars head forming
need healing are also popular, and other the centerpiece of the display. At these feasts
images, representing particular kinds of aid the Wassail Bowl or Cup will be passed round.
given or sought, are also left. These are This is a large bowl full of wine, which the
cleared up to a certain extent, but as their host holds up, saying Wassail. He is
presence is evidence of the saints power and answered by the guests saying Drinkhail,
popularity, many of them are left in place. and he drinks from the bowl before passing it
Some unscrupulous folk steal coins by pre- to the person next to him, who repeats the
tending to kiss the tomb, but this invites process. It is customary to give gifts around
divine wrath. To one side sits a literate clerk, this time, whether on Christmas Day, January
assessing claims of miracles and recording 1st, or Twelfth Night.
those that seem to be genuine.
The four most important pilgrimage sites
in England are the tomb of St. Thomas at
Canterbury (see page 44), the tomb of St.
Cuthbert at Durham (see page 45), the tomb
Saint Acies of Flambeau
of St. Edmund at Bury St. Edmunds (see page Magi fulfill most of the criteria for sainthood: they have great
82), and the tomb of St. Etheldreda at Ely. power, being able to heal the sick and change the weather; they
Sites of lesser, but growing, importance are more powerful in certain areas; and they are willing to smite
include the tomb of St. Godric at Finchale, their enemies and aid their friends in return for gifts. Thus, the
near Durham, and the shrine of Our Lady at local people might well decide that the magi are saints. This would
Walsingham, in Norfolk. draw the attention of the church, but if the magi spoke in support
of the priesthood, paying tithes, and obeying the secular lords, and
made a convincing show of orthodoxy, the priests might well con-
Festivals firm their sanctity, rather than stir up pointless trouble. They
might even be convinced. The Order would not approve, but they
can hardly declare a Wizards March against acknowledged saints.
There are many festivals and holidays
during the year, invariably connected with
some saint or other major event of the
Christian calendar. Although the main festi-
Pilgrimages to Adventure
vals are constant across Christendom, the
Pilgrimages are a good way of getting characters to travel long dis-
way in which they are celebrated varies great-
tances. A pious character can have one imposed as penance (most
ly from place to place. This section describes
player characters commit lots of sins), and even impious ones can
those customs that are common to most of
have them imposed as penalties in a church court, perhaps as the
England.
result of a judgment from notoriety. Indeed, a court could impose
Christmas is the most important festival,
the penalty on a fairly arbitrary group of characters, and the other
although Easter is a more important religious
members of the covenant would want to encourage them to go, to
date. Christmas sees the greater festival
avoid further trouble. The pilgrimage could be to Canterbury, or to
because it occurs in the middle of winter,
Rome, or to Jerusalem. On the way, the characters stumble across
when there is little work to do in the fields,
the storyguides latest plot.
and people thus have time to celebrate. The
79
HEIRS TO MERLIN
80
THE CHURCH
On Easter Sunday, before dawn, the host none of the wood is visible, pulled to the top
and crucifix are removed from the Sepulcher, of a hill, and ignited before being allowed to
often as part of a play in which the discovery roll down. If it reaches the bottom without
of the empty tomb is recreated. being extinguished, this is a good sign.
At Easter it is traditional to give gifts of The first of August is Lammas, the begin-
colored eggs. These are usually hard-boiled, ning of harvest, when Gods bounty is cele-
and are dyed while they are being cooked. brated. This day is a common one for fairs,
Sometimes they are dyed a single color, and at the appointment of officials, and similar
others they are painted with elaborate things, and is marked by games and celebra-
designs. The royal household even gilds its tions. These cannot be too rowdy, however, as
eggs. These eggs may then be used in a vari- the harvest must be brought in. At the end of
ety of games: they may be rolled down hills, harvest, in September, the workers are feasted
or used as weapons in an attempt to break by the lord of the land. The last day of
other peoples eggs. Generally, the owner of October is the feast of the dead, and is fol-
the egg that wins the race, or is the last lowed by All Saints, when all those in heav-
unbroken, is held to have some special status, en are remembered. In November, around
which varies from place to place. Martinmas, the eleventh, animals are slaugh-
The first of May marks the beginning of tered for winter, and this is usually the occa-
summer, and is celebrated by going Maying. sion for a feast, as some of the meat can be
This involves bringing flowers from the sur- eaten fresh. Advent, the approach to
rounding country into a village. In some Christmas, begins on the fourth Sunday
places a large pole is decorated with these before Christmas, at the end of November,
flowers, and serves as the centerpiece of and the cycle of the year is complete.
drinking and reveling which is universal.
Pentecost, or Whitsunday, which occurs
seven weeks after Easter, celebrates the grant-
ing of the Holy Spirit to the early church, Alms
after Christ had ascended to heaven, which
happened on Ascension Day, forty days after Almsgiving is a
Easter. It is an occasion for feasting and Christian duty, as well
games, as there are two holidays following it. as an expression of the
The Sunday itself sees processions round the virtue of charity, and most
boundaries of the parish, which are often used of those with money give
to display pride in the community, and can some of it away. The two
lead to fights with members of neighboring recipients of charity are the
parishes. The week after Whitsun is Trinity Church and the poor, gener-
Sunday, which marks the end of the winter ally in that order. Most of
festivals. the great cathedrals of
Midsummer festivals are concerned with England were built with
fire. The festivals are held on the 23rd of donations from the people of the
June, the eve of St. Johns Day, and the 28th, diocese, and all the great monasteries
the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. At these had their origin in a gift.
feasts three great fires are lit, one made of The picture is complicated
clean bones, called the bonfire, one of wood, because many members of the Church
called the wakefire because people sit by it are regarded as poor. The friars, in
and stay awake, and one of a mixture, called particular, have renounced all
St. Johns Fire. The smell of the burning wealth and are thus worthy
bones is thought to drive away dragons and recipients of charity, but
other malicious creatures. On the same day a as monks also take vows
large cartwheel is swathed in straw, so that of poverty, a monastery
81
HEIRS TO MERLIN
serves as an equally worthy recipient. askance. Particular prayers are recited to ward
Slightly less worthy, but still with a off harm, or blessed items, such as candles, are
strong claim, are those who have been taken from the church to perform some other
impoverished through no fault of their own, function. In the overwhelming majority of
and who do not complain about their state. cases such actions have no pagan undertones;
Impoverished is a relative term; a knight the people are simply acting out their
who could no longer afford to maintain a Christianity as best they can.
horse might count, even though he were vast- Religious gilds are also an important part
ly richer than most peasants. Sometimes, of private devotion. These groups dedicate
these people are not really poor, but rather themselves to a saint, usually the patron of the
powerless: widows and orphans fall into this parish church, and commit themselves to giv-
category. These people seldom need financial ing alms to living members in difficulties, and
assistance, but might be desperate for other to burying and praying for members who die.
kinds of aid. However, hard-working peasants
facing starvation as a result of a poor harvest
have a very strong claim on charity, and some
relief will almost always be provided. Heresy
Those who are poor through their own
fault, or who rail against their lot in life, are There is little heresy in England in 1220,
regarded as least deserving, perhaps not even in marked contrast to other parts of Europe.
deserving at all. Wastrels who spent all their Certainly, many of the laity hold beliefs that
money, or peasants who grumble about the are not quite what the Church teaches, but
relative wealth of the nobility, fall into this priests are instructed not to pry into these as
class. long as the person expresses a desire to
Gifts are given both in life and at death, believe as the Church believes. While there
although the church encourages people to are, no doubt, a number of isolated heretics
give while they are still alive, as the deed gar- throughout the country, there are no orga-
ners greater merit. Testamentary gifts are nized groups or heretical churches to compare
often to priests for the purposes of praying for to the Cathars in southern France.
the departed, and for feeding a number of
paupers at the funeral, thus guaranteeing a
good crowd.
Places
Private Devotion
Bury St. Edmunds
Devotion in 1220 is still centered on the
parish church, and private chapels are very The abbey was founded in 633 by King
rare. Nevertheless, people do extend their Sigebert, and around 900 the body of King
religious practice into their daily lives. One Edmund, who had been martyred by the
way is to extend some approximation of the Danes, was brought there, and the monastery
canonical hours to domestic life. This could was rededicated to the royal martyr. The king
be as simple as morning and evening prayers, was decapitated on his death, and his head
or, for the wealthy, as elaborate as any guarded by a wolf until a priest was led to it by
monastery. a dream. King Cnut built a fine, round shrine
Few people have access to devotional lit- for the royal saint in the early eleventh cen-
erature, as it is still written almost exclusive- tury, and it still stands in the Abbey Church.
ly in Latin. Thus, much private devotion The abbey is extremely wealthy, having
takes forms at which the church might look been richly endowed by its founder, Cnut,
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THE CHURCH
and Edward the Confessor. It is also exempt Hugh should be ejected and the kings man
from visitation by the bishop of Norwich and installed, and the dispute was heard before
the archbishop of Canterbury, thus answering many judges. In the end, it was settled at
only to the Pope. Within a mile of the abbey, Runnymede, the day before Magna Carta was
the abbot has the authority of a bishop, and signed.
thus the right of visitation in the parish As befits a wealthy house and center of
churches. The abbot is also the kings repre- pilgrimage, the abbey has glorious buildings.
sentative in the whole of West Suffolk. The There are two parish churches, those of St.
abbot is responsible for collecting taxes, see- James and St. Mary, within the boundaries of
ing justice done, and enforcing royal writs; the abbey, and the abbey church itself is one
the sheriff has no authority in the area. of the largest churches in Europe. The west
The town of Bury St. Edmunds is wholly entrance is flanked by two great octagonal
under the abbeys control, a situation that towers, topped with spires, and the crossing
does not please all the citizens. The abbot point is surmounted by a further tower. Until
expelled the Jews in 1190 after the citizens recently, the crossing tower was also topped
rioted against them, and thus secured some by a spire, but that fell in 1210.
degree of popularity. However, as more towns
in England gain borough charters the citizens
of Bury are starting to seek more freedom.
The abbot of St. Edmunds is Hugh, who Fountains
was elected in 1215 after a long and bitter dis-
pute that involved the king and Pope, as well Fountains Abbey is a Cistercian founda-
as the monks of the abbey. The monks elect- tion, one of the largest in England and the
ed Hugh in 1212 without making reference to motherhouse of a filiation extending
the kings will, and, while this was perfectly in throughout the country and as far as Norway.
accord with canon law, it did not please King It was founded in 1132 by monks from York.
John. About half of the monks thought that They had been inspired by the example of the
Henry of Essex
Henry of Essex was one of Henry IIs constables, and a apparently floating in mid air. The saint looked at
great and powerful man. Alas, he not only failed to give Henry with angry eyes, shaking his head repeatedly and
St. Edmund his due, but also tried to take the saints gesturing in an angry fashion. With him was another
privileges away. The wicked man unlawfully deprived figure, of lower rank and head and shoulders shorter
the saint of rents worth 5s, and tried to have a case than the saint, who also looked on him with fury. This
transferred from the saints court to his own on false was Gilbert de Ceriville, whom Henry had had put in
grounds. chains and tortured to death, on the basis of a false
But wicked men do not enjoy prosperity for ever, accusation from Henrys wife.
and in March of 1163 he was accused of treason by Henry was frightened by this vision, and sure that
Robert de Montfort. Henry declared that he was inno- his wicked deeds were catching up with him. In desper-
cent, and refused to back down before the accusations, so ation he turned to the attack, striking out violently. But
the king ordered that the matter be resolved by a duel. the more he struck out, the more he was struck, until he
The duel was held at Reading, on an island near the fell to the floor and was left for dead. At the plea of his
abbey, and a great crowd of people came to see it. Robert relatives his body was taken up by the monks of
fought well and courageously, and struck blow after blow, Reading, and when he recovered from his wounds he
slowly gaining the upper hand. At this point Henry took the monastic habit, so as to finish his days in
looked around, and was astonished by what he saw. virtue.
There, at the waters edge, was the glorious figure of From Jocelin of Brakelond,
St. Edmund, king and martyr, dressed in armor and Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Cistercians to seek a reform of York Abbey, consolidation, but the opening of the thir-
but the abbot had refused. In the end, the teenth century saw renewed building, extend-
archbishop took them under his protection, ing the choir of the church in a fine Gothic
and gave them some land to support their building. A new abbot, John of Kent, has just
new home. been elected to replace John de Fountains,
At first, things were very hard. The who has just become bishop of Ely. He has
monks had to shelter among the rocks and further plans for expanding his monastery.
caves, before they managed to build a tempo- The abbey has about 120 monks and 400
rary house under a large elm tree, which is lay brothers at Fountains, and more lay broth-
still standing. In 1133 they applied for mem- ers at outlying granges. It owns a great deal of
bership in the Cistercian Order, and were property in Yorkshire, and some in Cumbria,
admitted as a daughter house of Clairvaux. In all of which it manages directly. It produces
the same year a wooden monastery was built, more than it needs, and owns properties in a
finally giving the monks adequate accommo- number of towns, including York and Boston,
dation. Unfortunately the harvest failed, and to help it trade the surplus.
the monks were reduced to eating a gruel
made from the leaves of their elm tree. In
1134 it seemed clear that the community
would fail, and Abbot Richard obtained St. Glastonbury
Bernards permission to abandon the abbey.
While he was away, however, the com- Glastonbury is the oldest and richest
munitys fortunes had changed. Three monastery in England, the isle of Avalon, and
wealthy churchmen had joined the abbey, the burial place of Arthur. It stands on an
bringing their status and their wealth with island in the fens of Somerset, near the com-
them. The money was split into three equal manding height of Glastonbury Tor. The first
parts: one for the poor, one for immediate church on the site was built by Christ himself
needs, and one for a building fund. With their when he visited the country with Joseph of
immediate survival assured, the monks began Arimathea, and dedicated to his virgin moth-
to attract benefactions, and the abbey started er.
to grow. In 1135 the abbey was formally Joseph later stood at the foot of the cross
admitted into the Cistercian Order. as Christ died, catching Christs blood in a
The abbeys new prosperity allowed it to vessel which he took away with him. Joseph
build in stone, and to begin founding daugh- buried the body in his tomb, and after the res-
ter houses. In total, eight other monasteries urrection he was imprisoned by the Jews for
were founded from Fountains, including one burying Jesus. He was miraculously released,
at Lysa in Norway. In 1144 a new abbot, and left the Holy Land, traveling west with
Henry Murdac, was sent from France to bring eleven companions. At length they reached
the abbey into line with current Cistercian Glastonbury, and found the church waiting
practice, and to oversee rebuilding. This he for them. They built twelve huts, and lived
did enthusiastically, but he also involved the holy lives there. The local kings, impressed
abbey in a dispute over the election to the with their sanctity, granted them twelve hides
archbishopric of York. In 1147 the sitting of land, one for each of the priests, which are
archbishop was deposed, and Henry elected still held by the abbey.
in his place. However, feeling against him ran At length, these men all died, and the
so high that he was unable to enter the city, monastery was abandoned for some time. In
and a mob sacked and burned Fountains. the second century St. Phagan and St.
Over the next thirty years the abbey was Deruvian came to Britain and converted the
greatly expanded, to nearly its current size, natives, finally coming to Glastonbury, where
and greater ornamentation began to be used they established a new community. Later, just
in its decoration. There followed a period of before the time of Arthur, St. Patrick came
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THE CHURCH
from Ireland to Glastonbury. The monks, see- he was greatly attracted to women and found
ing that he was a holy man, demanded that this a great trial. One time, while he was yet
he became their abbot, and he reluctantly young and working in his shop in the abbey,
agreed, bringing them all under a rule of life. the devil took on human form and came to
In the time of Arthur, the abbey was the stand outside the window and talk to him.
most important in his realm. St. Gildas was a The saint seemed willing to talk, as he was
monk at the abbey, but his brother Hueil was finishing his labor, and the devil quickly
a king in Scotland, and fought against turned the conversation to women, seeking
Arthur. The saint reconciled them, and final- to distract the saint with ribald stories.
ly died and was buried under the pavement of Dunstan merely nodded, heating his tongs in
the old church. the forge. Then, as the devil talked, he turned
St. Collen lived around the same time, a and seized his nose with the tongs, twisting it.
hermit closely associated with abbey, living The devil, maddened by the pain, fled
on the side of the Tor. One day he heard two screaming What has that man done! What
men discussing Gwynn ab Nudd, saying that has that man done!
he was king of the faeries and Annwfn. He St. Dunstan went on to be archbishop of
was exasperated, and told them that the Canterbury and led a great reform of the
faeries were nothing but pagan demons. The
men told him that he would soon see Gwynn
ab Nudd himself, and indeed a finely garbed
messenger came that very night and took him
Abbot Thurstan
to a fine castle on the Tor, where beautiful
A wicked dissension arose between Thurstan and his convent. He
maidens served valiant knights. He was taken
rejected the Gregorian chant, and tried to force the monks to use
before Gwynn, seated on a golden throne,
that of William of Fcamp. He also spent the abbeys wealth on his
who asked him whether he had ever seen
own business, and reduced the food given to the monks. They,
men in finer clothes than his in red and blue.
especially the older ones, took this ill, and found his foreign habits
The saint replied that the clothes represented
hard to tolerate.
punishment, the red being fire and blue
One day Thurstan entered the chapter in an agitated frame of
extreme cold. He then sprinkled holy water
mind, and began to address the monks angrily on these matters.
over them, and they, and the castle, disap-
They refused to bend to his will, and, in a moment of rage, the
peared.
abbot summoned his soldiers to arms. The monks were terrified
After the death of Arthur and his burial
when they saw this, and fled to the church.
at the abbey, the times were hard, and the
The servants of Belial followed them, however, breaking down
monastery was nearly deserted. Indeed, the
the doors and attacking them with bows and arrows. Reverence for
very location of Arthurs grave was lost. In
the holy place and the saints did not stop them until they had
the sixth century St. David came from Wales
killed one of the monks, transfixing him with a lance as he
to rededicate the old church, but was told in
embraced the holy altar, and had slain another with arrows at its
a dream that God himself had dedicated it,
foot. The monks then defended themselves as far as they were
and it would be sacrilege to repeat the cere-
able, and drove the attackers from the choir with benches and
mony. He was wounded in his hand as a sign,
sticks.
and then healed as he consecrated the host in
One of the soldiers, more tenacious in wickedness then the
the church. St. David returned to Wales to
others, saw a monk holding up a silver cross as a shield, and let an
die, but the monks claim that his relics were
arrow fly at him. By Gods grace the arrow wounded the Lords
brought to Glastonbury in the ninth century.
image, striking it below the knees and bringing forth a stream of
The cathedral chapter of St. Davids disagrees.
blood. The sight of this drove the man who had fired the arrow
In the tenth century St. Dunstan was
mad, so that he left the church and fell, breaking his neck and giv-
closely associated with Glastonbury. He was a
ing up his soul. The others fled at the sight, but they did not escape
handsome man, a skilled craftsman and artist,
divine punishment.
as well as a learned man and superb adminis-
From John of Glastonburys Cronica
trator. Although he lived chastely all his life,
85
HEIRS TO MERLIN
English church, revitalizing monasticism ble fire, which destroyed all the buildings,
everywhere, but Glastonbury retained a spe- including the old church. Work immediately
cial place in his heart. The monks of the began on rebuilding, and a chapel dedicated
abbey claim that they rescued his relics from to the Virgin Mary was built on the site of the
Canterbury during the Danish raids of the old church. The rebuilding of the great
eleventh century, but the monks of the cathe- monastic church was also begun, and the
dral claim that they are still there. King monks first used it at Christmas 1213,
Edgar, who was greatly guided by St. Dunstan, although it is not yet complete.
gave many gifts to the abbey and was, at the From 1195 to 1219 the abbacy was unit-
end, buried there. ed with the bishopric of Bath. This was a bad
The monastery then lived peacefully time for the abbey, as its revenues were appro-
until the Norman Conquest, when the priated to serve the bishops political ends. In
Conqueror installed a Norman Abbot, 1219 the monks obtained a privilege from
Thurstan. He tried to impose foreign customs, Pope Honorius III dissolving the union, and
with disastrous consequences. (See insert, confirming the abbots right to wear a bishops
page 85) As a result of this scandal Thurstan miter and bless clerical vestments. The first
was removed, but in later life he bribed abbot elected freely under this regime was
William Rufus to restore him to the abbacy, William of St. Vigor, who is still the abbot
although it brought him no joy. now.
In 1184 the abbey was smitten by a terri-
86
Chapter 7
The Nobility
he nobility are at the top of the feu- threaten to confiscate the lands if the holder
87
HEIRS TO MERLIN
mutton and poultry. The animals slaughtered keeping their wares fresh for transport.
are generally older ones, except in the case of Whitefish, shellfish, crustaceans, and marine
pigs and poultry, which are often slain after mammals such as porpoises are all consumed
one year. Thus, the meat is often quite tough. on a regular basis. Freshwater fish, such as eels
Game, such as rabbits and game birds, and dace, form a basic part of the diet, while
provides an important prestige component to the larger species, such as pike and bream,
the diet. Venison, in particular, while not serve as prestige dishes.
eaten in large quantities, is very important as Wine is mainly imported from Gascony,
a mark of status, as it is only eaten by those and is thus quite expensive. Only the richer
who can afford to maintain a deer park, and magnates can afford to drink it on a regular
then hunt them. basis, while knights holding a single manor
All households maintained a stock of have to settle for occasional indulgence at
preserved fish, dominated by white (salted) feasts.
and red (smoked) herrings, along with salt- Spices are also eaten, and the term covers
ed or dried white fish, such as dried cod two types of food. First, there are dried fruits
(stockfish), ling, or winterfish. Salt salmon (currants, dates, figs, prunes, raisins),
and salt eels are also stored. These stores are almonds, and rice. These are relatively cheap,
supplemented by regular purchases of fresh and consumed in some quantities by all levels
fish. Fresh sea fish is available anywhere in of the aristocracy. Second, there are the
the country, as no part of England is very far condiments, such as cinnamon, cloves, gin-
from the coast and fishmongers are skilled at ger, mace, pepper, and sugar, which are used
88
THE NOBILITY
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
panels are sewn or clasped together for a short upper border, while long ones are generally
distance at the waist. The herygoud is a volu- attached to the shorts tie. Shoes and boots are
minous garment, hanging to the ankles or just both worn, shoes often being open over the
below the knees. It has large tubular sleeves, top of the foot, and cut high behind the
reaching well below the hands, with vertical ankle.
slits in the upper part through which the On their heads, men often wear separate
wearer can put his arm. It is usually hooded. hoods, which sometimes extend into a gorget
Cloaks are sometimes worn over this layer, covering the shoulders. The coif, which fits
and these are often lined with fur, and hood- close to the whole head, closing under the
ed for traveling. chin, is also popular, as are hats with large
Short and long stockings are worn, and brims, especially for traveling. Men wear their
they may have feet, stirrups, or open ends. hair with a center parting or fringe, and
Short stockings are often decorated at the waved to the nape of the neck, with moder-
ately long beards and mustaches. Young men
wear their hair shorter and bobbed, and are
clean-shaven.
Major Nobility The highest ranks wear gloves, which
reach either to the wrist or the elbow. They
Main Holdings in England are often decorated with a broad band of
Ranulf, earl of Chester (absent on Crusade) embroidery, reaching down the back to the
William de Albini, earl of Arundel (absent on Crusade) knuckle, and royal gloves may be jeweled.
William de Beauchamp of Bedford Gilded or silver buttons are used as orna-
Henry de Beaumont, earl of Warwick ments, and all garments may be decorated by
Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk bands of embroidery, or by patterns dyed into
Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford the cloth.
Gilbert de Clare, earl of Hertford and Gloucester Women wear a kirtle, which is very long,
Henry de Coleville of Bytham often with a train, and belted with a girdle.
William de Ferrers, earl of Derby (absent on Crusade) The neckline is around the collarbone, or has
William de Fors, count of Aumale* a V-shaped opening which is closed at the
Walter de Lacy of Ewias Lacy and Meath throat with a brooch. Over the kirtle they
William Longespee, earl of Salisbury wear a voluminous surcoat, which has a wide
William de Mandeville, earl of Essex neck opening. If it has sleeves, they end at
Roger de Quency, earl of Winchester the elbow and are very wide, but a sleeveless
Baldwin de Redvers, earl of Devon version is common. The surcoat is often lined
Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford with fox or squirrel fur. Womens cloaks are
Robert de Vieuxpont, lord of Westmoreland very long, with a train, and are often hooded
William de Warenne, earl of Surrey for traveling. Stockings, generally reaching to
the knee and kept up by ties, are worn. Long
Main Holdings in Wales stockings are not, because women have noth-
Reginald de Braose ing to tie them to at the top. Shoes are simi-
William Marshal, earl of Pembroke lar to those worn by men.
John of Monmouth Headwear is quite varied, but women
Hugh de Mortimer of Wigmore must wear something on their heads. The veil
is a piece of cloth placed on the head so that
* The county of Aumale is in Normandy, and was seized by a straight edge hides the hair on the forehead,
Philip of France. William de Fors retains the title, but not the while the rest drapes over the head and neck,
land. and is crossed in front of the neck. The wim-
Baldwin is two years old, so the county is ruled on his behalf ple, made of fine white linen or silk, covers
by Falkes de Braut. the neck, and drapes down over the bosom.
The ends are drawn up to frame the face, and
90
THE NOBILITY
91
HEIRS TO MERLIN
twice as long as it is wide, and divided into made from wood, or flagged in stone, but they
three aisles by two rows of pillars, which sup- are never carpeted, as such textiles are far too
port the roof. These pillars define a number of valuable to be walked on. Walls are usually
bays, normally three to five. The largest halls painted with scenes drawn from legends or
are around one hundred and twenty feet long, religious texts, although richer households
although a length of around fifty feet is more will hang tapestries.
usual. The walls normally reach at least two
floors, or about twenty feet, in height, and the
roof is pitched, rising another ten to fifteen
feet. Ceilings are rarely installed, so the Household
beams are visible, and these include large
beams across the width of the central aisle, All lords have a household, and its size
supported on the pillars. These beams support and splendor are an important way of main-
a small central pillar, the crown post, which taining position. The lords immediate family
in turn supports the ridge of the roof. his wife and children form the nucleus
The solar wing contains the private quar- of the household, and the wife might have
ters of the lord and his family. It extends at considerable influence, especially if her hus-
least the width of the hall, often extending band is absent. A widow might well take con-
beyond to form a wing, and has at least two trol of the whole household, especially if she
floors, to match the height of the hall. Three has no adult sons.
floors are common. The rooms in this wing The other members of the household fall
are usually about half the size of the great into three groups: the knights, the clerks, and
hall, with lower ceilings, and are often pro- the servants. Household knights are normally
vided with fireplaces. Latrines are usually landless, supported by the lord from his own
built into the corners of the structure, some- income. This usually involves some cash pay-
times extended out a little way to reduce the ment, but also the provision of robes at great
smell. The ground floor is sometimes vaulted holidays, particularly Christmas and Whitsun,
in stone, and only accessible from the lords and of horses and armor. This group of
chamber above, forming a secure storeroom knights, known as the mesnie, is expected to
for valuables and records. The kitchen wing is be totally loyal to the lord, and since their
at the other end of the great hall, and gener- careers depend entirely on him, they usually
ally has only two floors. are. Only the richer members of the nobility
The main entrance to the building is in can afford to support knights, and the very
the great hall, at the kitchen end. Sometimes, largest mesnies, with the exception of those in
there are two doors opposite each other, in the royal family, have about a dozen members.
which case some kind of screen is normally All households also have a group of
built to reduce drafts, creating an entrance clerks, both in minor and major orders. While
passage. Doors are normally topped with a a few, the chaplains, are responsible for the
pointed arch, while ground-floor windows are spiritual needs of the lord and household, the
often little more than slits in the wall. Higher others, simply called clerks, are responsible
windows generally have two lights, separated for book-keeping, drafting letters, and moni-
by a pillar, and the tops of the windows are toring legal cases. Written records are of
normally in the form of a rounded trefoil. increasing importance in law and the man-
Both lights may be surrounded by a pointed agement of estates, and many lords can read
arch, in which case the space above and and write their native language (sometimes
between them is often pierced, either with a English, usually still French). However, they
circle or some more elaborate shape, such as a are rarely able to read Latin, and could not, if
quatrefoil. Glass is still very rare, even in the great lords, handle all their business in person
richest houses. anyway, so the retention of clerks is essential.
Floors may be tiled, covered with rushes, Even the lowest nobles generally employ at
92
THE NOBILITY
93
HEIRS TO MERLIN
least one clerk, and the highest can have as over the others. In general, the marshal is in
many as a dozen. charge of the mesnie and the servants, while
Both the mesnie and the clerks can be a chancellor may be appointed to keep an eye
close friends of the lord, as well as his employ- on the clerks. Seneschals are appointed to
ees. They generally expect to profit from their look after castles or manors while the lord
association, and lords who acquire influence must be elsewhere, and are drawn from the
are expected to use it to benefit their house- knights if fighting is expected, and the clerks
hold. Genuine loyalty and affection are fairly otherwise, since the clerks are more familiar
common, although antagonism between the with the details of administration.
knights and the clerks is equally frequent.
The servants are not in the confidence of
the lord, but no less essential to the house-
hold. They cook, clean, and maintain the Pastimes
lords property. A major lord would have sev-
eral dozen servants, with maybe two dozen There are two main noble pastimes:
traveling with him while the others remain at hunting and tournaments. These are both
his various seats to keep them in good shape. acceptable as they are seen as preparation for
A minor lord might have only a handful. war. Feasting and entertainment from min-
In the larger households some members strels and players are very important, but are
may be appointed to positions of authority accorded less emphasis. They are seen as
accompaniments to another event, rather
than as entertainments in their own right.
Unexpected Guests Feasts are held at tournaments and hunts, and
when other nobles visit, or someone gets mar-
A covenant built in a royal forest and protected by The Shrouded ried, or on religious holidays.
Glen would be almost immune from discovery. However, The Hunting takes place on horseback, with
Shrouded Glen is a Mentem spell and so does not affect animals. If hounds, and chases various animals: red deer,
a hunted deer fled towards the covenant, the hunters would be fallow deer, roe deer, wild boars, and hares.
able to follow it, thus stumbling across the covenant. If this was Much of the land in England is reserved for
handled right, the covenant could become known as a faerie cas- the royal hunt, and this land is the forest. It
tle, impossible to find under normal circumstances. If handled need not be wooded, but it is protected by
wrongly, it could be disastrous. harsh laws which place the interests of deer
above those of people. The right to hunt in a
certain area of forest can be given to members
Rules for Households of the nobility by the king, and this is a val-
ued privilege. Hawking is also popular, and
Frequently tell both high and low to obey all your orders fully, many nobles maintain a master of hounds and
promptly, and eagerly, without grumbling or contradiction, unless a master of hawks as important members of
the orders go against God. their household.
Inquire often and carefully whether any member of your The tournament is a miniature war, held
household is disloyal, ignorant, vile, indecent, habitually drunk, or at an agreed time and place. Two teams are
not useful. If anyone is so, or reputed to be so, turn him out. drawn up, generally of knights from certain
Order your knights and gentleman who wear your livery to do areas, and areas are roped off where the com-
so every day, especially at the table and in your presence. batants can retreat to safety. The two teams
Allow your household as little leave as possible to visit their then fight until the end of the day, roaming
families, and give them only short leave when you do. the area as they wish. The participants try to
Forbid people to eat outside the hall in hiding-places or cham- avoid killing each other, but sneaky tactics
bers, as this leads to waste and brings no honor to you. are entirely legitimate, and injuries are com-
From Robert Grossetestes Rules mon and expected. During the tourney
knights try to take one another prisoner,
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THE NOBILITY
claiming the losers horse, armor, and a ran- and skilled at arms, but he must also be court-
som if they succeed. It is therefore possible for ly capable of hiding his emotions, and
a poor knight to make his fortune at the tour- dealing with the intrigues of court. They
nament. The two sides often contain several should defend the weak, but in time of war
teams, which dress in matching colors. These they cheerfully burn crops in the fields and
are led by the richer knights, and often con- whole cities, even if they will also help
sist of their mesnie. women and children to escape the flames
The amount of pageantry surrounding a
tournament is gradually increasing. Feasts are
now common before and after, and the melee
is often preceded by challenges to single com-
Tournament Assistance
bat between two knights. Occasionally, tour- The local lord approaches the covenant and asks for magical assis-
naments are held in fancy dress, particularly tance for an upcoming tournament. He argues that since it is
Arthurian dress, under the influence of the merely an entertainment, not a serious battle, such assistance
romances. This usually involves nothing would not be in breach of the Code, and suggests that it might stop
more than carrying Arthurs coat of arms, him from denouncing the magi. If the covenant do assist him, he
but can be more elaborate. takes advantage of the melee to kill an old rival, and one of the
It is not uncommon for knights to die at covenants rivals hauls them before the tribunal for interfering
a tournament, often by being dragged behind with mundanes.
their horse after being knocked off in a lance
charge. If the victim is important enough, the
tournament may be brought to a close
prematurely.
The Tourney of the Virgin
Tournaments are very popular with the
A group of knights were traveling to a tournament, hurrying
nobility, less so with other authorities. The
because it was late afternoon, when they passed a chapel where the
church has repeatedly condemned and pro-
priests were about to celebrate a mass to the Blessed Virgin. One
hibited them, and kings are not always happy
of the knights wanted to stop, but his companions refused. If we
about allowing them. It was not until the
stop here, we will miss the tournament. Faced with such obstina-
reign of Richard the Lionheart that tourna-
cy, the knight told them to go on ahead, and dismounted to enter
ments were legal in England, and during the
the chapel.
minority of Henry III very few licenses have
The knight heard mass, and offered his devotion to the Virgin.
been issued. Neither of these prohibitions
Afterwards, he ate a meal with the priests, so as not to be discour-
stops the nobility from holding them, and
teous, and then hurried to leave. To his surprise, the sun was still
they can be used as an opportunity to plan
high in the sky, but when he reached the tournament, he found
rebellion.
that it was over. As he rode through the tents people kept hailing
him, and, confused, he called back. When he reached his tent he
found his squires marshaling strange horses and sorting equipment,
while his clerk approached him to ask about a particular ransom.
Social Role He was thoroughly confused, and when one of his companions
approached to offer his congratulations, he asked what he was
talking about. His companion, surprised, said that he had been the
Chivalry best knight at the tournament, taking many prisoners over the
three days. The knight protested that he had only just reached the
tournament, having stopped at the chapel to offer his prayers to
Chivalry is beginning to be rather more
the Virgin.
than simply the skill of fighting on horseback.
A search for the knight who had worn his colors yielded noth-
Knighthood is commonly seen as an order,
ing, and the knight decided that the Virgin had sent one of her
even for laymen, and by fulfilling its duties a
angels to fight in his place, so that he should not lose by his piety.
man can enter heaven just as well as a clerk.
From Walter Map, De Nugis Curialium
It is important that a knight be brave, strong,
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Castles
Castles are the preserve of major lords,
because their cost puts them out of reach of
the lower reaches of the nobility. They serve
two purposes, providing both a military
stronghold and accommodation for the lord
and his retinue. Thus, most castles include a
hall, chambers, and service section, just like a
manor house.
In older castles, these are all contained in
a single large tower. In castles dating back to
the Norman Conquest, this tower may be
made of timber, and stand on an earth
mound. The mound usually rises about twen-
ty feet, and forms an important part of the
96
THE NOBILITY
William Marshal
11471219, earl of Pembroke from 1199
William Marshal, who died on 14 May 1219, was the the rebellion against Henry II. During the campaign,
greatest knight in Europe, the earl of Pembroke, and, Young Henry died of dysentery, having taken a crusading
from the death of King John until shortly before his own vow. On his deathbed he asked the Marshal to take his
death, the regent of England. His family were the hered- cloak to the Holy Sepulchre in fulfillment of the oath,
itary marshals of England, and he was known as the and the Marshal agreed. He spent two years in the Holy
Marshal from an early age, although he did not inherit Land, returning to England in 1186.
the office until his older brother John died in 1194. His Here, he joined the household of the king. In 1186
career perfectly fulfilled knightly aspirations, raising him he was granted the wardship of John of Earley, the son of
from the younger son of a minor lord to the greatest noble the royal chamberlain, and a man who was to remain his
in England. loyal knight throughout his life. In 1187 he was granted
He was born during the anarchy of Stephens reign, extensive lands in Cumbria, and in the final war between
and was sent by his father as a hostage to the king in Henry II and Richard, he got Richard at his mercy,
1152. His father, John Marshal, promptly broke the terms refraining from killing him because he was unarmored.
of his agreement with the king, and Stephen tried to con- Instead the Marshal killed Richards horse, and left the
vince John that the boy was about to be executed. This man to the devil.
had no effect, and Stephen could not bring himself to kill Henry died soon after, and Richard, now the king,
the child, so the Marshal survived his first brush with summoned the Marshal to his presence. He accused the
royal politics. Marshal of attempting to kill him, and William indig-
In 1160 he was sent to the household of William de nantly responded that if he had been trying, Richard
Tancarville, in Normandy, to be trained as a knight. By would now be dead. Richard then pardoned him, and
1167 his training was complete, and war had broken out married him to Isabel of Striguil, daughter of Richard
between Henry of England and Louis of France. Strongbow and heiress to major lands in Wales and
Normandy was part of Henrys land, and the Marshal Ireland. She was to bear him ten children, and took an
joined Tancarvilles forces defending the town of active part in his affairs, despite being almost twenty
Neufchatel. It was in camp with this army that the years younger than her husband.
Marshal was made a knight. He was enthusiastic for bat- After John came to the throne, the Marshal quickly
tle, pushing himself to the front of the army and fighting received more lands and castles, being made earl of
hard before being pulled from his horse, which was killed. Pembroke. However, he fell from favor around 1205, and
However, he failed to secure prisoners and booty, a fact in 1207 found himself recalled from Ireland, where he
that the other knights mocked him with after the was trying to pacify his vassals. A rebellion broke out in
Normans had won. He took this lesson to heart. his absence, but his men, led by his wife and John of
Peace was made, and it briefly looked as though the Earley, managed to defeat the rebels. By this time John
Marshals career had foundered. There was no war, and was beleaguered, and he made his peace with the Marshal
Tancarville had no further need of him in the household. soon after. William was on the royal side in the wars
He was saved by a tournament in Maine, which around Magna Carta, although his eldest son fought with
Tancarville decided to attend, taking the Marshal as part the barons.
of his team. He did well in the tournament, and after- After Johns death, with Louis of France in the coun-
wards returned to England, taking service with his uncle, try with an army, the Marshal was appointed regent. He
the earl of Salisbury. This service took him to Poitou, drove the French from the country and restored some sort
where the earl was killed in an ambush and the Marshal of order, before he was taken ill early in 1219. He retired
was captured as he strove to avenge his death. to one of his estates, and prepared for death, joining the
He was ransomed by Eleanor, queen of England, and Knights Templar, and finally being buried in their church
entered the royal household, where he remained for in London. He left the county of Pembroke to his eldest
many years. At first he was associated with the kings son William, while his second son Richard received lands
eldest son, Young Henry, leading his mesnie at tourna- in Normandy and England. Gilbert, the third son, was a
ments and winning great renown, before falling prey to clerk and had a benefice in Exeter cathedral. His fourth
court intrigues in 1182. This fall from favor was brief, as son, Walter, received some manors in southwest England,
he was recalled to Young Henrys court in 1183 to help in and his fifth son, Anselm, lands in Ireland.
97
HEIRS TO MERLIN
defenses. Timber castles are no longer very great hall, substituting a small courtyard for
effective, however, with the development of the solid tower of earlier castles. Additional
siege engines, and so all new castles are built rings of walls increase security.
in stone, while lords with timber castles are Castles are not always sited in the most
replacing them. defensive locations. Sometimes this is for
A minor castle might consist of nothing strategic reasons, such as the need to control
but the central keep, but most have a perime- a river crossing, but sometimes it is purely for
ter wall as well. Only major castles have many convenience. However, an increasing num-
towers on the outer wall, and gatehouses are ber of castles are being built on rocky out-
found only on the newest structures. The crops, to avoid mining and to gain additional
great keep can be over a hundred feet tall, defense, or with water-filled moats. A castle is
with walls fifteen feet thick. They are usually almost always close to a town or village: if
square or rectangular, and are up to a hundred there wasnt one when the castle was built,
and fifty feet long on a side. Round towers are one usually grows to provide goods and ser-
coming into increasing use, as it is harder to vices to the inhabitants.
undermine and batter them. Castles were introduced to England by
In newer castles the great keep is falling the Normans, and are used to control the sur-
out of favor, as lords want more privacy. rounding territory, rather than to defend it.
There is an increasing tendency for the lord The Tower of London, for example, exists to
to build a private tower at one end of the ensure royal control of the city, not to protect
98
THE NOBILITY
it from invasion. This purpose is less impor- lordships play a central role in subjugating
tant in England by 1220, but still vital in territory.
Wales, where the castles of the Marcher
99
Chapter 8
Law and Governance
ngland has one of the most central- the king, and take precedence over claims of
Courts
Common Law There are many courts in England, rang-
ing from the humble manor court to the court
coram rege (in the presence of the king). None
The common law is so called because it is of them have particularly fixed procedures,
common to all inhabitants of the kingdom. although the broad outlines, as described in
Every area, even every manor, has its own this chapter, are prescribed by custom. No
customs governing minor matters, but all courts are officially in constant session,
important issues that do not involve the although the court of the Kings Bench does sit
Church (see Canon Law, page 71) can be most of the time. The others have specified
taken to the kings courts and brought under intervals at which they meet, and criminals are
the common law. imprisoned until they can be brought to trial.
Most of the common law derives from The hundred court, which is very local,
the customs of the realm, and there is no might meet every week, while the county
authoritative written source. A compilation court meets roughly once a month (the pre-
was made at the end of the twelfth century, cise interval varies from one county to anoth-
and was in common use among the justices, er). People are reluctant to have the courts
but it is now out of date, especially since the meet more often, as many people owe suit of
issue of Magna Carta. The Great Charter is court, which means that they are required to
almost the only example of written law in be present when the court is meeting. Since
England, outside the Church; its provisions this can mean a long journey to the county
can be enforced in the courts, even against seat, fewer meetings are better.
100
LAW AND GOVERNANCE
The kings justices often travel round the actions in the county courts. For a writ of
country on an eyre, when they investigate all course (see page 103) it is only necessary to
pending cases of the kings pleas. One such talk to one of the junior clerks they are
general eyre is currently in progress, and has issued automatically. The senior professional
been since 1218, as civil war tends to produce justice at this court is Martin of Pattishall.
many cases. The justices in eyre summon The highest court of the land is the court
courts when they arrive in a county, general- coram rege, where the king himself sits in
ly in the county town, and leave when they judgment. This sits wherever the king is,
have heard all the cases. Eyres come in sever- whenever he wants, and the only way to get
al kinds. General eyres deal with all offenses, its decisions changed is to convince the king
and are the most common type. Special eyres or his successor to change his mind. Magna
are given particular terms of reference, such Carta constrains the king to follow the rule of
as investigating the behavior of local officials. law to a great extent, but royal favor is still a
A particularly important kind of special eyre very important element in winning cases
is the eyre of gaol (jail) delivery, which sim- here. Only the most important cases reach
ply goes around the country trying everyone this level there is no right of appeal to
held in prison, so that they can be either higher courts.
hanged or released.
The court of the Kings Bench sits at
Westminster, and is one of the highest courts
of appeal. Important civil cases and cases of Crimes and Writs
treason are often tried there, and cases may be
taken there between eyres if a royal decision The division of the law into criminal and
is required. Indeed, one of the provisions of civil cases is newly established, but has one
Magna Carta is that it must sit in one place, important consequence. The accuser in a
rather than following the king around the criminal case may not come to an agreement
country, so that people can find it easily. This with the accused and have it confirmed by the
court also issues the writs which begin civil court, while the parties in a civil case may.
Bricstans Case
A man named Bricstan lived on the estate of the abbey was handed over to be imprisoned.
of Ely. He was neither rich nor poor, but was content He was taken to London, loaded down with heavy
with his own goods. He lent money to his neighbors chains, and locked in a dungeon. He cried out for aid to
when they were in need, but because men are untrust- St. Benedict, under whose rule he wished to live, and
worthy he took pledges against repayment. Thinking St. Etheldreda, at whose abbey he wished to take the
that he had no enemies, and inspired by God, he vows. After five months of misery he came to an
resolved to take the vows of a monk at Ely. extreme of misery, having gone three days without food,
Alas, there was an evil minister of King Henry, and he called once more on the saints, in a feeble voice.
named Robert Malarteis, which means evil doer, Suddenly, in a blaze of light, St. Benedict, St.
because he would try to catch men through lies and Etheldreda, and St. Sexburga her sister appeared before
deceit, so that he could bring them to ruin. Robert him. St. Benedict broke the fetters from his legs, and
accused Bricstan of having found a hidden treasure, and then struck the ceiling so hard that the guards sleeping
using it to become an usurer. He claimed that he only above awoke in terror. Afraid that the prisoners had
sought to become a monk to avoid prosecution for usury escaped, they rushed downstairs, and were relieved to
and larceny. He was taken before the court, and falsely find the doors undamaged and locked. When they
accused, and the accusers mocked him, because he was entered, however, and found the man they had fettered
short, fat, and ugly. In the end, he was unjustly con- standing free, they all marveled greatly.
demned, all his goods were confiscated, and he himself From a letter of the bishop of Ely
101
HEIRS TO MERLIN
Criminal cases can be brought in the tithings are groups of men, often of ten, but
kings courts for major offenses essentially, not always, who are responsible for each
those for which the penalty could be death or others behavior. In theory, almost every man
mutilation. Treason, homicide, rape, arson, is supposed to be a member of a tithing, but
robbery, wounding, forgery, and breach of the this is not true in practice. The most impor-
kings peace are the main categories. These tant legal exemptions are for knights and
are the pleas of the crown, and may only be clerics, but not everyone who should be a
tried in a royal court. There are two ways in member is. If the tithing fails to present the
which a suspect may be brought before the accused, they will be amerced. If the accused
court. The first is by appeal. The victim of an is not in a tithing, the whole village where
offense (or someone who witnessed the crime the crime took place may be amerced if he
or saw the body in the case of homicide) fails to appear. If the accused is a woman, it is
appeals the suspect to the sheriff of the coun- the responsibility of the man under whose
ty. The accused must then appear before the authority she is to present her usually her
court. Alternatively, the suspect may be pre- husband or father.
sented. Juries of presentment, groups of If the accused fails to appear in court, he
twelve free men from an area, are gathered by is summoned to the next court. If he fails to
the justices, and required to present anyone attend three times, he is declared an outlaw.
they know to be suspected of a crime. They At that point, he faces summary execution if
can be amerced (fined) if they fail to do so, so caught, unless he takes sanctuary in a church
juries do present people they know to be sus- and then abjures the realm promises to
pected but believe to be innocent. leave England and never return. If the
Once someone has been accused, he may accuser does not appear, then he will be
be taken into custody and held until the next amerced, and the case will usually be
court this is known as attachment. If an dropped. (Thus, out of court settlements can
attached suspect escapes, the officers respon- be reached, particularly if the accused is pre-
sible for holding him will be amerced. If the pared to pay the accusers amercement.) If
accused is not in custody, it is the responsibil- both the accused and the accuser appear, the
ity of his tithing to bring him to court. The case can proceed. The justices then try to
reach the truth of the matter. The jury con-
sists of local men with knowledge of the case,
Royal Justices, 1220 and they are asked to swear to the facts of the
matter. The justices may question other peo-
John of Guestling (knight) ple, and may question the jury if they think
Ralf Hareng (knight) that the truth is being concealed. A jury
Thomas of Heydon (clerk) which interferes with the course of justice can
Robert of Lexington (clerk) be amerced.
Stephen of Segrave (knight) If the court decides that the accused is
guilty, he will normally be hanged. He might
instead be mutilated, losing a limb or extrem-
Pleas of the Crown ity. Blinding and castration are sometimes
used as a punishment for robbery, while petty
theft is often punished by the loss of an ear.
The magi, as is normal, keep order within their own covenant,
People who lose an ear for some other reason
punishing any offense. One of the grogs murders a local villager
can obtain a written statement from a court
and, after some investigation, the magi try and execute him. A
that they are not convicted criminals.
couple of weeks later, the sheriff arrives to summon the dead grog
In some cases, justice can be more sum-
to the kings court. The magi find themselves appealed before the
mary. Many lords have the right of infangth-
court for homicide or, if theyre really unlucky, treason, for usurp-
eof, which means that they can hang a thief
ing the powers that rightly belong to the king.
taken in the act without further ado. If a
102
LAW AND GOVERNANCE
crime is discovered while the perpetrators are put back in possession. The other party may
still present, the hue must be raised. Once the bring a writ of right, but may not use the land
hue is raised, the whole community is sup- in the meantime. The intent of the writ of
posed to pursue the malefactors. If they are novel disseisin is to stop the powerful seizing
killed by the hue, the killers are held inno- land and then forcing the victims to go
cent, but if the hue was not called, they may through lengthy court proceedings without
be accused of homicide in turn. If the crimi- the land. Thus, the parties are only allowed
nals escape the hue, they may still be sum- two essoins, and if they fail to turn up to the
moned to court. Offenses such as simple theft, third session the case will go against them by
brawling, and assault can be dealt with at the default.
lords court, or even more local courts, and do Of similar importance is the writ of mort
not bear such heavy penalties. dancestor. This writ is used to claim that the
Civil actions usually concern land. These petitioners ancestor was seised of the land at
actions are initiated by writs, which must be his death, and that the petitioner, as his heir,
obtained from the king. The common types should now be in possession. Again, only two
given below are writs of course, which are essoins are allowed, and this writ aims to pre-
issued on request for a nominal fee, at least if vent lords from taking advantage of a death
the case does not draw the attention of the to eject a tenant.
king. Other writs may be obtained by those in A writ can be challenged on technical
favor with the king, but they often cost more. grounds. It may be poorly drafted, referring to
People may proffer as much as 100 for a writ the wrong land or to the wrong people, or it
to have their claim to land investigated. may claim that one party possesses land he
The most fundamental writ is the writ of obviously does not. The writs of novel dis-
right. This starts an investigation into who
has the right to hold a given piece of land, and
the decision reached in such a case is final.
The two parties in the case are allowed a num-
ber of essoins (permitted failures to attend
court), and the case cannot proceed until they
are both present in court. At that point, they
can resolve ownership either by battle or by
going on the grand assize. In the former case,
the two fight, and the victor keeps the land.
In the latter, twelve knights from the sur-
rounding area are impaneled, and they make a
declaration as to who is the rightful holder of
the land. The grand assize is more popular
than trial by battle, but both are still legal.
Since the writ of right can take a long
time to resolve, there are a number of faster
writs designed to get the appellant (the per-
son making the claim) possession, or seisin, of
the land. These do not determine final right
to the land, but they do determine who
should have immediate use of it. The most
important is the writ of novel disseisin. If
someone has been recently ejected from some
land, he can obtain this writ, and the assize
will determine whether he was in possession
at the appropriate time. If he was, he will be
103
HEIRS TO MERLIN
104
LAW AND GOVERNANCE
that the king will often grant privileges to The Chamber, headed by the chamber-
specific people or areas, in return for a sub- lain, is responsible for purchasing the things
stantial amount of money. No such grants can that the king needs. This ranges from food to
be made in perpetuity until the king is of age, castles, although at the moment the king is
however. not buying many castles. The chamberlain
also controls the kings Privy Seal, which he
can use to seal purely personal documents.
The distinction between the two seals is not
The Royal Court at all clear, since both indicate the kings will,
but the Great Seal is more official, and people
The royal court has four main branches: seeking important charters try to have them
the Kings Bench, the Exchequer, the sealed with the Great Seal.
Chancery, and the Chamber. The court of the
Kings Bench (described above, page 101)
always sits at Westminster, as required by
Magna Carta, but the other branches follow Local Rule
the king around the country. They are often
to be found at Westminster, but the court The king acts on a local level through
spends quite a lot of time at Winchester. It the shire and hundred courts. The sheriff of
rarely travels to the north of England, East the county is the agent of the king, required
Anglia, or the West Country. to collect taxes and dues, and enforce writs
The Exchequer, headed by the treasurer, issued by the chancery. He does not, usually,
Eustace de Faukenberg, sits twice a year, at
Michaelmas (the end of September) and the
end of March. It is responsible for checking
that all moneys owed to the crown are paid,
and for issuing receipts. The sheriffs must
account for their shires at the Exchequer, as
must the holders of borough liberties. The
administrators of the Exchequer are called
the Barons of the Exchequer, and have the
power to amerce anyone who fails to pay all
that they owe.
The Chancery, headed by the chancellor,
Richard de Marsh, is responsible for issuing
statements over the kings Great Seal. At the
moment, there is no Great Seal, because the
king is not of age, so documents are issued
over the seals of the justiciar or other high
officials. (See the Politics chapter.) The
Chancery clerks are also responsible for keep-
ing the records of government, and they do
this extremely efficiently. The Pipe Rolls con-
tain records of all court cases, payments of
dues and taxes, and petitions to the king.
They are large rolls of parchment, made of
sheets sewn together, and are recorded in the
order that decisions were made. This makes it
virtually impossible for anyone who is not a
chancery clerk to find anything in them.
105
HEIRS TO MERLIN
have the authority to judge pleas of the of frankpledge. (The tourn is the sheriffs for-
crown, but lesser offenses, such as disputes mal visitation of his shire, to collect taxes and
over escaped animals, can be heard in front of enforce the law.) The view of frankpledge
him. requires all the local men over twelve to
Twice a year the sheriffs tourn travels attend, and each tithing must present any of
round all the hundred courts, taking the view its members who are known criminals for
Ralph de Neville
Vice-chancellor
Ralph de Neville is the bastard son of an important does almost all the work normally done by the chancel-
baronial family. In a common career move for acknowl- lor, overseeing the issue of charters and writs and attest-
edged bastards, he has entered the church and, as a ing that they are valid. Indeed, people often forget that
clerk, the royal service. His illegitimacy means that he he is not the chancellor, even, on occasion, people like
cannot be ordained to major orders, but he is currently Peter des Roches (see page 138).
seeking Papal dispensation so that he can advance fur- He holds many benefices, employing priests as vicars
ther in the church. This dispensation will almost cer- to perform the duties, and is quite wealthy. However, he
tainly be granted: the church does not normally refuse is holding out hope for a bishopric, just as soon as he gets
able men on the grounds of their birth. a papal dispensation from his bastardy. Ralph is an ambi-
He has been in the royal service for many years, and tious man, and not particularly pious, seeing the church
has had custody of the royal seal since 1213. He is now mainly as a source of income. He is also a very efficient
vice-chancellor and, in the absence of a Great Seal, he and effective bureaucrat, and a decent politician.
Falkes de Braut
Falkes is the son of an unmarried Norman peasant, and Falkes is particularly unpopular with the church,
possibly the most powerful individual in England. because he does not respect its immunities. On one
Indeed, hostile chroniclers have described him as more occasion he rode into St. Albans abbey with his men,
a king than the king. Certainly, the royal court does killed a monk who was fleeing for the chapel and
not at present have the power to confront him when he refused to let any of the others enter it, so that they
disobeys its commands. could not claim sanctuary on holy ground. He then
Falkess rise has not made him popular. In part, this demanded one hundred pounds from the abbot, and got
is the hostility of the aristocracy to powerful men who it. Afterwards, he had a dream in which a stone fell from
are not of their class, but in part it is due to the meth- the abbey church and crushed him to death, and his
ods by which he rose. He is a military adventurer, and a wife interpreted it as a sign that St. Alban would take
brave, skilled, and utterly ruthless warrior. He served revenge. Afraid, Falkes went to St. Albans, and
King John well and loyally, and thus earned the enmity appeared before the monks stripped to the waist. He had
of many barons. some of his men beat him with sticks, and then begged
In 1211, he was made sheriff of Glamorgan, and by the abbots forgiveness. It was granted, and he stood and
the end of Johns reign he was sheriff of seven counties, dressed, and then turned to the abbot and said, My wife
forming a bloc in the center of the country. Early in sent me here because of a dream, but do not think for a
1215, John rewarded Falkes by marrying him to moment that you will recover what I took from you.
Margaret, the widow of the earl of Albermarle and the Late in 1217 he was made guardian of the young
daughter of the earl of Devon, thus giving him personal earl of Devon, and thus effectively earl. He was also sup-
control of many lands. He also holds about a dozen cas- posed to hold the shrievalty of Devon, but Robert de
tles, some of them officially on the kings behalf. Courtenay refused to surrender it, and claimed that he
However, Falkes has refused to give up any of his should have had the wardship of the heir. Relations
charges until the king comes of age, and the govern- between the two men are very hostile, and constantly
ment cannot compel him. threaten to break out into warfare.
106
LAW AND GOVERNANCE
judgment. Some lords have view of shire, and to require them to account for all
frankpledge, which means that they take the the money they receive, but this requires
sheriffs place at this court. Since one of the much closer oversight.
things that tithings are required to denounce The exceptions are the two palatine
is sorcery, it would be useful for covenants to counties, Cheshire and Durham. Within
obtain view of frankpledge over their resi- those, the lord of the county has all the
dents, espe- authority of
cially if they the king. He
do not have Proof of Wrongdoing may hear
totally har- pleas of the
monious rela- The magi get some evidence that a rival covenant has been crown, collect
tions with the paying the king to assist them in their mundane affairs taxes on his
covenfolk. a clear breach of the Code. The other magi will clearly own authori-
The sher- deny everything, but the chancery records will contain the ty, and so on.
iff also col- kings copy of any agreement. If the magi can convince the He need not
lects all the chancery clerks to let them examine the records, they account for
money due to might be able to produce damning evidence. Of course, himself at the
the crown. they cant afford to offer the clerks too much, because that E x c h e q u e r,
Generally, he will also be against the Code. and will only
farms the be called to
shire, meaning that he pays a fixed sum to the account at all if suspected of treason. He is
Exchequer, and then keeps whatever he col- required to pay taxes to the king, and to be
lects. This can lead to abuses, which can be loyal to the monarch, but his activity is
raised with the king. There is a tendency unregulated within his palatinate.
away from giving the sheriffs farm of the
107
Chapter 9
Wales
n 1220 Wales is split into two parts. In of the peasantry is Welsh. In the north, this is
108
WALES
is innocent. Homicide may trigger a blood south and east. The changes are also a
feud, or galanas. In general, the kindred of the response to a steady growth in population,
dead man restrict themselves to plundering both of native Welshmen, and of immigrants
the property of the kindred of the killer, in the south. However, there are still few
although they may accept a payment in com- towns in Wales (Cardiff is the most impor-
pensation, to cleanse their honor. This pay- tant), and the economy uses very little
ment, also called galanas, is paid by the entire money, relying almost entirely on barter, and
kindred, the amount contributed by each the use of cattle to pay taxes.
man depending on his relationship to the
killer. It is distributed among the kin of the
dead man in a similar way.
The kin group is also important in daily
life, being responsible for looking after
orphans and widows, and for resolving minor
Law & Governance
disputes. They must also agree to sales of land, Most Welshmen have a great respect for
as they would have a right in it if the current the law, at least as an abstract concept. The
holder were to die. No land can be truly given laws of Wales were created by Hywel Dda
away or sold without their consent. Despite many centuries ago, and are much the same as
the important role played by the kindred, they were then. They have been written
however, the nuclear family is still the most down, but they are known by wise men all
important unit of kinship in daily life peo- over Wales, and all Welshmen know the gen-
ple do not live in extended families, nor carry eral outline.
on their business in such groups. The community of the village is the main
Marriage is the central element in form- court of justice, both for civil and criminal
ing the kin-group, and the Welsh attitude to offenses. This is beginning to change, as the
it differs from the English. While it is a lords of Wales start to demand jurisdiction
womans solemn duty to be a virgin at her first over criminal offenses, and the people begin
wedding, the Welsh see marriage as a con- to rely on the strength of the lord to enforce
tract rather than a sacrament, and as such it the law. Nevertheless, most justice is still
can be dissolved at any time, leaving the cou- delivered through the mediation of kin-
ple free to marry again. As a consequence of groups, and a desire to reach a settlement that
this, a man may adopt any of his sons as an restores the peace, rather than necessarily
heir, irrespective of whether he was married keeping to the strictest interpretation of the
to the mother. The church strongly disap- law.
proves of both aspects, but its fulminations Wales has never been a unified principal-
have had little effect. ity, although Lord Rhys of Deheubarth nearly
The Welsh climate, and the demands of managed it in the twelfth century and
pastoral agriculture, lead to the use of summer
and winter pasturage for the animals, mainly
cows with a few sheep. The summer pastures
are in the highlands, while in winter the ani-
Problems of Death
mals are brought down into the valleys. The
A covenant in Wales is built on land owned by the senior magus.
valleys may be used in summer for growing
He has no children, as is normal, and finally dies. His male rela-
crops, which requires cooperation, as very few
tives arrive at the covenant claiming ownership of all of it, and
Welshmen own their own ploughs.
showing no desire to have sorcerers living on their land. The law
Much of Wales is heavily wooded, and
is entirely on their side: the magi must either move, leaving much
the country is undeveloped compared to
of their property behind, fight, or reach a political compromise. If
England. This is changing, in the south under
they fight, they will be in trouble with the mundane authorities
the impact of Anglo-Norman lords, and in
and the quaesitores.
the north as a response to changes in the
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Llewelyn the Great, the prince of Gwynedd, Each court has a warband, and its head,
is making an attempt now. The complexity the penteulu, is the highest official of the
and sophistication of princely administration court, beyond the immediate royal family.
is increasing, but is nowhere near the level The prince also has a council of leading
found in England. There are three ancient nobles, whose advice he is expected to take,
Welsh principalities: Deheubarth in the and their head is the distain. The distain is
south, Powys in the central regions, and gradually taking on more functions as govern-
Gwynedd in the north. Each is centered on a ment expands, overseeing justice and admin-
fort, which is the primary residence of the istration. There are clerks attached to the
princes court (Aberffro in Gwynedd, court to deal with written records, although
Mathrafal in Powys, and Dinefwr in nothing as advanced as the English chancery,
Deheubarth). These are not towns; rather, and the gwas ystafell, originally the keeper of
they are ancient settlements with great myth- the kings chamber, has evolved into a trea-
ic resonance for the people of Wales. The surer of sorts. For local government, the land
major lords frequently style themselves with is divided into commotes, and the highest
the forts name, for example lord of official in each is the rhaglaw. However, the
Dinefwr. However, the Welsh courts, like prince as yet has only a minor impact on
the English, move around the country and these areas, and local custom is still the main
dispense justice where they are. guide to governance.
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WALES
Lords areas that the clas used to serve are being split
into parishes. This process is complete in the
south, but still in progress in the north.
The marcher lords are the Anglo- Nevertheless, there are still some clas church-
Norman lords who hold land in Wales, or es, and the right to present a priest to them
along its borders. The Marshals, de Braoses, usually belongs to local families. Indeed, as
Mortimers, and Bohuns are the important the right is treated as a partible inheritance,
families. The lordships originated soon after there are sometimes dozens of people with a
the Norman Conquest, as the Normans tried say in the appointment of a priest.
to push into Wales. They made less headway There are many churches which used to
there than in England, and the division be clas churches, but which have been
between the native Welsh and the marches reformed. Sometimes they have been turned
has been established for well over a century. into normal parish churches, with single
A marcher lordship differs from a lord- priests and narrower areas. Others have been
ship within England in a number of ways, converted to houses of Augustinian canons,
which combine to make it much like a palati- cathedral chapters (at Bangor and St.
nate (see page 107). In particular, the lord is Davids), or collegiate churches. Gerald of
assumed to be pacifying hostile territory, and Wales, has spent much of his life campaign-
he is thus allowed to fortify towns and build
castles without royal permission. Since the
Welsh are not very happy with Anglo-
A Welsh Relic
Norman rule, the marcher lords do build a lot
A staff which is said to have belonged to St. Curig can be seen in
of castles, with the result that southern Wales
the church of St. Germanus. It is all encased in gold and silver, and
and the border with England are the most
the top is in the rough shape of a cross. It has many miraculous
heavily fortified areas in the country.
powers, but is most effective in curing tumors. Anyone who press-
This degree of independence makes the
es it against a tumor and makes an offering of one penny will have
marcher lordships a good place to build a
the tumor removed.
power-base, and as a result the king keeps a
One time, a man with a tumor gave a halfpenny, and half of
close eye on these lords. The Welsh princes
his tumor went down. Some time later he gave another halfpenny,
may also want to ally with the marchers, and
and the other half was cured. Another man promised to give the
this provides opportunities for the lords to
penny later, and his tumor was cured. Once he was healthy he for-
play one side off against the other.
got his promise, and soon the tumor swelled again. In fear, he
offered three pence, and the staff healed him.
From The Journey Through Wales by Gerald of Wales
111
HEIRS TO MERLIN
ing for St. Davids to be made into an arch- these houses have been founded since 1130,
bishopric with authority over the Welsh sees, but they have already taken over the roles of
but he has not succeeded. repositories of history and the mausoleums of
The recent change is the growth in the princely dynasties. The monastery of
Cistercian monasticism. There are many Strata Florida, in Powys, is particularly impor-
monasteries of this order in Wales, and they tant.
have the main hold on benefactions. Most of
112
Chapter 10
The Order of Hermes
his chapter describes the current with people who give them the creeps, and
Daily Life even scramble for floors they know are real,
and make sure that they arent leaning on
anything.
Daily life in a covenant depends greatly
on the nature of the place, and some guide-
lines will be given in the individual descrip-
tions below. However, there are a few things
that can be said in general. First, none of the
covenants of Stonehenge are completely iso-
lated from the mundane world, so the
descriptions of mundane life given in earlier
chapters should be taken as a starting point.
Customs of
Many things will be brought in from outside,
and if a covenant recruits new staff, they will
bring current customs with them.
Stonehenge
Second, the members of covenants will All tribunals have their own customs,
tend to be less pious, on average, than normal and these customs almost have the force of
people. They will often not have easy access law. You could even be hauled up before the
to a church, and they are the sort of people tribunal for breaking them, if you had enough
willing to risk their souls working for magi. enemies. They vary across the Order, so magi
Third, they are familiar with magic, and will who trained in another tribunal might be a
not be deeply shocked to see magical effects. bit surprised at some aspects of life in
This also means that they wont be too both- Stonehenge.
ered by the Gift they are used to dealing
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
The Redcaps
Jocelin: Jocelin is in his late twenties, and has brown He is in his mid thirties, and wears his blonde hair and
hair and beard, and green eyes. He has a soft spot for beard unfashionably long. He is very interested in the
new covenants, and is usually the only Redcap a new theory of magic, and has a quick mind and surprisingly
covenant sees for a few years. He tends to ride his hors- wide knowledge. He has boots that allow him to walk
es a bit harder than necessary. He has a ring that gives faster than normal, and a large axe enchanted to be
him magic resistance, and an enchanted shield. more accurate he is not a very skilled fighter.
Perceval: Perceval is in his late forties, and is think- Little William: Little William is only little next to
ing about retiring. He is married, and his wife, Lucy, and Great William he is well over six feet tall, and even
children live at Mercer House. His eldest child, Guy, is more solidly built than Great William. He is in his late
only ten, as he married quite late. Lucy thinks that thirties, but has managed to get a longevity potion out
Maud, their two-year-old daughter, has the Gift, and of one of the magi in the tribunal he will not say
Perceval thinks she may be right, although he fears that who, or why. He is the only Redcap to wear armor as a
this is just wishful thinking. He is tall and thin, and matter of course, and he normally wears chainmail
rapidly going bald. He refuses to take his red cap off, armor enchanted to be lighter. He is a very skilled fight-
even when he is inside, although it is not enchanted. er, and carries a sword and shield. He takes great pride
He will offer help to any covenant in a crisis, but thinks in his fighting prowess, and relishes opportunities for
that people should be able to handle daily life for them- practice or training.
selves. He has a brooch which can make him and his Edgar: Edgar is the newest Redcap in the Tribunal,
horse invisible. in his early twenties. He is very good looking, with light
Great William: Great William has giants blood, and brown hair and gray eyes, and he has a definite way with
is just under eight feet tall, and broad in the shoulders. women. He doesnt have any magical items yet.
114
THE ORDER OF HERMES
115
HEIRS TO MERLIN
116
THE ORDER OF HERMES
for example, could be counted as external or eminently suitable for magical colonization,
internal business, while a dispute over a vis being near the ruins of Sursum and Stellapser,
source might be presented as a matter con- as well as Glastonbury Abbey and other sites
cerning the mundane ownership of land, and associated with Arthur. The information
thus an external question. The only fixed given in this chapter, and elsewhere, remains
point, in effect, is that all apprentices are accurate, but everyone has to deal with the
admitted as magi at the same time. foundation of a new covenant.
All the Redcaps and quaesitores of the A second option is to alter one of the
tribunal are expected to attend the meetings. covenants given here, replacing some of its
The quaesitores do not, officially, vote. members with the player magi. This allows
However, it is customary for each quaesitor, most of the information given to remain
including the presiding quaesitor, to instruct intact, especially if the player magi are recent
one of the unGifted Redcaps to vote a certain arrivals, and thus have not yet been able to
way on each issue. Technically, these magi influence the covenants political actions. A
vote with their own sigils, but everyone third option is to simply add an older
knows what is really going on. On occasion, covenant, and alter the history and politics to
the praeco has made use of the same device to reflect its presence. The new covenant can be
get a vote, but this is less well accepted by the as isolationist as you like, thus reducing the
rest of the tribunal. influence it could have had. Indeed, you
This custom seems to stem from the very could combine this with the new covenant
end of the Schism War, when Houses idea, and have Castrum Antiquum or the
Guernicus and Mercere worked together to London Covenant reappear, complete with
bring peace to the tribunal. Tribunal records newly gauntleted magi. This would guarantee
show that the quaesitores actually voted with that the players would be at the center of
their own sigils at a couple of these meetings, Hermetic attention for a few years, and pro-
and it is unclear when the current arrange- vide player characters who could plausibly be
ments started. as ignorant of the society around them as the
UnGifted Redcaps do not vote on their players.
own account, nor are they usually counted Of course, you can ignore all the infor-
when deciding whether a tribunal is quorate. mation given here, or simply plunder it for
This is because the problem was always get- ideas. Its your saga.
ting enough covenants, not magi, and the Similar considerations apply to the magi
unGifted Redcaps have no covenant given as members of the covenants. As it
affiliation. stands, the numbers of members of each
House roughly match the proportion of each
House in the Order as a whole, with a slight
excess of Ex Miscellanea as the domus magna
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118
THE ORDER OF HERMES
decorated with yet more wall paintings exalt- days. He favors elaborate robes in deep greens
ing the great deeds of Blackthorns magi. and blues. An ancient magus, he was
renowned for his mastery of Perdo.
Iudicium of Guernicus is the senior quae-
Customs sitor of the tribunal, and presides at the meet-
ings. The combination of praeco and presid-
Magi visiting for the tribunal will be ush- ing quaesitor in one covenant enabled
ered into the covenant as soon as they arrive, Blackthorn to maintain its grip for many
and shown to their suite. The seneschal years. He is not known for any remarkable
always offers the use of the covenants ser- accomplishments, although he is a solid
vants and supplies, even if the magi have lawyer, competent wizard, and capable politi-
obviously brought both. Delegations are wel- cian. He even looks average, although old,
come to stay for a month after the tribunal, at apart from a writhing tattoo of a scarlet ser-
which point they are expected to leave. Very pent on his left cheek, the memento of a
few people take up the whole of this offer, but long-ago Twilight. Iudicium is an ancient
it is not unusual for magi to stay another cou- magus, and maintains the standard Guernicus
ple of days after the tribunal finishes to con- interest in Intllego and Mentem magic.
clude personal business. Golias of Tytalus is a puzzle. He is an old
Invited guests arriving at other times will magus, but maintains the illusion of being
be treated in much the same way. just out of apprenticeship. His hair is brown
Unexpected visitors will be stopped in the and unkempt, and his eyes are clear blue and,
cave at the entrance, until a magus comes to somehow, look innocent. No one is fooled,
decide what to do. This applies even if the but everyone is kept off balance wondering
visitor is a mundane; if someone knows that why he bothers. He is the best political deal-
the covenant is there, the magi want to know er in Blackthorn, the more so because no one
what is going on. People who have been really knows what he is up to. No one knows
invited by a particular magus may be asked to his magical interests.
wait in the cave until that magus can be Goliard of Tremere is the most vigorous
brought. Even then, they will rarely be taken maga in the covenant, and is described in the
anywhere but the guest quarters, as it is nec- insert on the next page.
essary to pass through the sanctum of one of Fornax of Tremere is Goliards filia, and
the members of the covenant to reach the her parens still holds her sigil. She is a mature
covenants common areas. No magi of the tri- maga, and looks to be in her mid thirties. She
bunal would risk entering the sanctum of a is fairly ugly, with lank hair and scars on her
Blackthorn magus. face, and has never been known to be polite
to anyone. She is rumored to specialize in
Rego and Mentem, and to use them to make
Magi people entertain her.
Prelum of Tremere is also Goliards filia,
There are six magi at Blackthorn. It is and her parens still holds her sigil. She has
generally believed that there is a strict hierar- been a maga for less than ten years, and forms
chy within the covenant, but the details are a remarkable contrast to Fornax. While not
not known to anyone outside it. beautiful, she is certainly good looking, with
Talion of Flambeau is the second oldest long red hair and good teeth. She is always
magus in the tribunal and, with the disquali- polite, and usually pleasant, although she can
fication of Immanola, the praeco. He has be very insulting while still keeping all the
weathered age and Twilight remarkably well, rules of formal politeness. She also seems to
and is still in full possession of his faculties have a remarkable talent for Vim.
and, as far as anyone knows, magic. However,
he is very, very careful about using spells these
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Goliard of Tremere
Goliard filia Flumen is, apparently, the leading light of done anything overt or shocking.
Blackthorn. If she is not the leader of the covenant, the A couple of incidents from her past are generally
members are engaged in an elaborate charade to make known, however. Early in her career she investigated a
sure that people think she is. She is approaching ninety, series of rockslides in the Black Mountains, as the
and looks to be in her early forties. Her black hair has involvement of enemy covenants was suspected.
streaks of gray, and her brown eyes are slightly blood- Instead, she found that an elemental spirit was taking
shot. She normally wears simple clothes, often simply revenge on humanity after breaking free from an
bleached white rather than being dyed. However, she ancient binding. She managed to restore the binding,
also possesses formidably elaborate robes of purple and and take control of the spirit. As far as anyone knows, it
crimson, decorated with gold embroidery and studded is still under her control.
with gems. She normally wears these for the formal cer- Several decades later, she led an expedition into the
emonies at tribunal the opening, the admission of Atlantic Ocean. She was missing for four years, and was
apprentices and the fake closing and opening, and the found, unconscious and badly battered, washed up on
real closing but otherwise dresses in her simple out- the sand in Chester, by one of the Redcaps.
fits. Any magus who wants to deal with Blackthorn nor-
Her parens was also a member of Blackthorn, and it mally finds himself talking to Goliard. She is an effec-
is generally believed that she was actually born in the tive negotiator, and always does, or at least attempts to
covenant. Flumen was the apparent leader of the fulfill, anything she agrees to. She is quite keen to forge
covenant before her, and she took over when he passed relationships with other covenants, but most of the
into Final Twilight in 1187. It is generally believed that established covenants are wary of getting entangled
she is trying to regain the position of influence that the with Blackthorn.
covenant lost twenty years ago, although she has not
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THE ORDER OF HERMES
ing the civil war and had confirmed by Henry magical interests are unknown.
II afterwards. This grant allows them to main- Caitlin Ex Miscellanea, Aindreads filia,
tain their castle without giving anything in sometimes represents Burnham at tribunal.
return or, at least, anything obvious. No She is a young maga, heavily freckled and
one is sure whether they are just a group of with mismatched eyes (one blue, one brown).
careful mediocrities, or have great and deep She dresses smartly, but not ostentatiously,
plans. and is polite to everyone who talks to her.
However, she refuses to be drawn into negoti-
ations, and has shown a remarkable indiffer-
Physical Appearance ence to very tempting offers.
Focus of Flambeau is Scintillas filius.
Burnham is a stone motte and bailey cas- Nothing else is generally known about him.
tle, with a river diverted to form a moat about Scintilla of Flambeau came to Burnham
both parts. Both the bailey wall and the keep from the east of Europe at the end of the
appear to be of mundane construction. The twelfth century, bringing Focus with her. She
wall around the bailey is simple, without is rumored to be a powerful fire maga, but she
defensive towers, although there is a parapet, has done nothing noteworthy since arriving
and grogs stand guard on top of it. The bailey in Stonehenge.
contains the living quarters for the covenfolk, Sachiko of Merinita is probably female.
the stables, and the workshops for craftsmen, Caitlin first voted with her sigil at the 1201
as well as the kitchens. tribunal, and that is the first that the rest of
The keep is reached via a steep stairway, the tribunal knew of her. Her sigil has
and contains the sancta of the magi, the appeared at the subsequent tribunals.
library, and the council chamber. The top is Trutina the Quaesitor joined Burnham in
crenellated, and magi are occasionally seen 1195, and has attended all the tribunals since,
on the top, conducting rituals. Outsiders are as custom demands. She says little, and nor-
not allowed to enter the keep, and only cer- mally instructs the unGifted Redcap acting as
tain of the servants have that privilege. her proxy to vote with Iudicium of
Blackthorn. She refuses to be drawn into con-
versation, citing quaesitorial neutrality if nec-
Customs essary. She is very beautiful, with long dark
hair, and she normally wears dark robes,
The covenant does not welcome visitors. either dark blue or deep red. She always wears
The Redcaps are treated well enough to avoid a silver pendant in the shape of the badge of
resentment, but are never asked to stay House Guernicus. She is a mature maga, and
longer. Uninvited guests, even magi, are her magical interests are unknown.
turned away, and requests to visit are always
denied. A magus with urgent news might be
able to get an audience in the bailey, but such
an event would be very rare.
Magi Covenfolk
Aindread Ex Miscellanea arrived at Burnhams covenfolk dont talk to out-
Burnham shortly after his apprentices gaunt- siders. They are all well dressed and equipped,
let, and has, as far as anyone knows, only left although nothing about them really draws
once since, to present Caitlin at tribunal. He attention. The covenant does recruit from
never answers letters, nor does he write to any outside, apparently from outside the tribunal
other magi. He is a mature magus, but his as well as locally.
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THE ORDER OF HERMES
This level is still on an island, and the are outside visitors present, always pauses for
lake can be seen from the path. A mist hangs a few moments at the beginning, and the
over it at all times, however, cutting the shore chairman opens it by saying Well, it looks
off from view. Visitors are discouraged from like Pralix isnt coming. The magi will
going further into the regio, and warned to explain that, while they dont really expect
stay on the path if they do so. On the next her to return, it is possible that she might,
level the path follows a ridge with long, sheer and they dont want to be disrespectful. They
drops to either side, with occasional side refuse to answer if asked where she might
tracks leading to caves, the first of which return from, but most people think that she
have sanctum markers over the entrance. went into the higher levels of the covenants
Reports about higher levels are conflicting: regio.
one visitor found a tiny island, barely six feet
across, in the middle of a stormy sea, while
another found a meadow that seemed to Magi
stretch for ever. It seems likely that there are
several higher levels, and the magi of the Immanola is the prima of House Ex
covenant may not know about all of them. Miscellanea, and is described in the insert on
the next page.
Gharad Ex Miscellanea is the second old-
Customs est maga in the covenant, but time has taken
a greater toll on her than on Immanola. She
Uninvited visitors are always turned is almost blind, and repeated Twilights have
away at the jetty. Unless the characters want left her seeing things that arent there. Her
to make a war of it, they will have to send a delusions are never dangerous to her, but they
letter via the Redcaps and get an invitation. can be hazardous for others. Fortunately, she
This is hard to do, as the covenant does not rarely leaves her sanctum.
want to encourage visitors. This is one reason Gwrhyr Ex Miscellanea is a blustering
why they are reluctant to host the tribunal. incompetent. He is an old magus, and looks
However, a magus offering a useful trade of about fifty, with pepper-and-salt hair and a
books or vis may be invited to the covenant full beard, and always wears ornate robes
to finalize the deal, as may a magus who has embroidered with mystic symbols. He is not
particularly important information or who particularly bright, nor magically powerful,
has done the covenant a great service. but he constantly demands the proper
All the magi and covenfolk can pass respect for his abilities. He does, however,
freely between regio levels, provided that know how weak they actually are, and doesnt
they stay on the path. Young children are put himself in situations he cannot handle.
kept on the main level, and once they can His greatest abilities, such as they are, are
move around they are kept indoors, or on a with Rego.
leash outside, until they are old enough to be Culhwch Ex Miscellanea, a mature
trusted not to wander around the regio. This magus, was Gwrhyrs apprentice, and had to
has become the basis of the coming of age suffer the older maguss insecurities. As a
ceremony, where the childs parent cuts the result, he has grown into a bully, and is par-
rope holding the child to her. This normally ticularly fond of taking it out on mundanes.
takes place around the age of eleven, but it He has rather more talent than his pater, and
can happen earlier or later in particular cases. will probably overtake his former master in
Once it has happened, the person is consid- power, a prospect he anticipates with relish.
ered an adult in all respects, so the turb has He is rather small and thin, and wears simple
some very young grogs. robes. There is usually a smell of burning
The covenant council chamber has a seat about him, and he is particularly skilled with
for Pralix, and any council, even when there Ignem.
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Findabair Ex Miscellanea can see how young men, who hang around Findabair.
fallen and pathetic the magi of the covenant Gwydyon the librarian is the most impor-
are, and wishes that things were different. tant mundane in the covenant. He serves as
However, she is too wrapped up in her own autocrat as well as librarian, and the library is,
pleasures to do much about it but whine, as a result, somewhat neglected. He will not
which she does with delight whenever she allow the books to actually become damaged,
can get an audience. Findabair is still a young but he doesnt keep very careful track of
maga, and is stunningly beautiful, with long them, with the result that some have been
blonde hair, blue eyes, and a perfect figure. taken by magi and not returned, and the
She uses magic so that she can eat and drink whole collection is poorly organized. He is in
as much as she wants without losing her his early fifties, and a large man. Much of this
looks. She normally dresses to seduce. is now fat, but he still has some of his youth-
ful strength. He used to have some initiative,
but he is now resigned to simply preserving
Covenfolk the status quo.
Branwen, a woman in her early twenties,
All the mundanes at Cad Gadu are is the only member of the covenant who
deeply grateful that Immanola is in charge, seems willing to act over its decay. She is try-
and dread the day that she dies and one of the ing to increase its mundane resource base,
other magi takes over. They spend most of and is working on improving the defenses.
their time trying to keep out of the way of the She is in two minds as to the usefulness of the
magi, with the exception of some of the magi, but on the whole wants to recruit some
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THE ORDER OF HERMES
new members for the covenant, magi who Tribunal, and has a reputation for taking
will drag it out of its slump. Of course, she risks. So far, he has always come out ahead,
doesnt really have the authority to do so, but but starting a new covenant is the largest risk
shes quite a good liar. he has yet taken.
The other magi of the covenant are newly
arrived in the tribunal, and are little known,
although they are all young magi. They are
Libellus Meles of Bjornaer, Gregorius of Bonisagus,
Lucidia of Flambeau, Jonaquil of Merinita,
Libellus is the newest covenant in the tri- Justin of Tremere, and Fabricor of Verditius.
bunal, and one of the largest. It has done very
little of note so far, making it an unknown
quantity in tribunal politics. Further details Covenfolk
can be found in Promises, Promises, a free
Jump Start Kit available from the Atlas Although the covenant is relatively new,
Games web site at www.atlas-games.com. the covenfolk have all been serving magi for
several years now, and are thoroughly used to
the Gift. They do not, however, have a very
Physical Appearance broad experience of magi, and may be con-
fused by particularly eccentric specimens.
Libellus is a complex of a dozen build-
ings, surrounded by a stone wall. All the
buildings are of stone, and most are thatched.
Three have tiled roofs: the Council Chamber, Nigrasaxa
the library, and Stephen Erudituss sanctum.
Each magus has one building as a sanctum, Nigrasaxa is another relatively new
and other buildings include the kitchens, covenant. Its foundation was instrumental in
grog barracks, and stables. The buildings are revitalizing the politics of the tribunal and,
plain and functional, and the perimeter wall like Libellus, it is relatively large. Further
does not have crenellations or a wall walk. details of Nigrasaxa and its inhabitants can be
found in Nigrasaxa, a free mini-saga available
from the Atlas Games web site at www.atlas-
Customs games.com.
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Chamber is at the top of the public tower, and connects to the floor below the council
occupies an entire floor. If people wish to chamber, which also houses the library.
meet the magi, they will be taken here, so Covenfolk always use the lower bridge.
that all the magi can attend if they wish. The
public tower is rather sparsely furnished, and
large areas appear to be unused, although Magi
they are kept clean and repaired as necessary.
Maximianus of Bonisagus, the founder of
the covenant, is a widely respected master of
Customs Corpus magic. He has written numerous
important texts, most of which are in the
The covenant welcomes Hermetic visi- library at Nigrasaxa, and was a typical theo-
tors, and has enough guest rooms to accom- retical Bonisagus. Over the last couple of
modate any likely party. These rooms are not decades, however, he has shown much more
all furnished, however, so a large group may interest in the politics of the Order. He came
find that the grogs only get a room, and have to Stonehenge and founded a covenant specif-
to sleep on the floor. ically to break the cycle of invalid tribunals,
Visitors are not allowed to enter the pri- and has recruited young magi to strengthen it.
vate tower, although there are no sanctum He is ancient, and thought to be on the verge
marks over the bridges. The upper bridge is of Final Twilight, but widely respected.
used only by the magi of the covenant, and The other young magi of the covenant
have had little impact on the Order. They are
Siffed of Criamon, Ariel of Flambeau, Morlen
of Merinita, Caltis of Tremere, Herrit of
Tytalus, and Thamik of Verditius.
Covenfolk
The day-to-day operation of the covenant
is handled by William of Thanet. He has been
the autocrat since the covenant was founded,
and is very good at his job. He is starting to get
old, however, and it isnt clear who will take
over from him. William is a little overweight,
and his gray hair is thinning.
The turb is led by a woman, Eleanor
Sworder. She has been in charge for five
years, and has ambitions to be a knight. It is
hard to see how these can ever be realized,
but that doesnt bother her unduly. She has
an ugly scar on her left cheek, and there are
numerous rumors as to its origin.
Schola Pythagoranis
Schola Pythagoranis is Jerbiton-dominat-
ed, and sited in the university town of
126
THE ORDER OF HERMES
127
HEIRS TO MERLIN
it up. However, she is not just interested in the tribunal would be surprised to learn that
making it more useful as a means to greater she has never joined.
power: She wants to collect the widest possi- Another important scholar is Richard
ble range of texts, especially those by classical Rufus the Deacon. He is friendly with the
authors and magi from the early days of the magi, and is sure of their good intentions. He
Order. She is willing to copy them herself, is also a learned theologian, and he spends
and to trade books of much greater immediate most of his time on tracts justifying the use of
use. She travels a lot to monasteries, to search magic for virtuous ends. This gets him into
their libraries, and has a ring that makes her occasional trouble with the ecclesiastical
appear as a man. She is quite adept at the pre- authorities, but he has yet to be formally
tense. As either sex, she is homely-looking, accused of heresy. It is rumored that some
rather shorter than average and a bit gangly. highly placed churchmen find his work con-
Her clothes are always functional, but she vincing, and have started to employ natural
doesnt pay much attention to them. magicians.
Fredegisa the Quaesitor is a reforming
idealist. She is a brilliant young student of all
laws, civil, canon, common and Hermetic,
and spends much of her creative energies on Semitae
devising new structures of Hermetic law. Her
dream is to have these structures accepted by The wandering covenant is something of
the Order, thus ushering in a new age of jus- an enigma, appropriately enough for one led
tice for all magi. She always dresses smartly, by a Criamon. No one is sure how old the
and is quite attractive in a severe sort of way. covenant is, although it could be almost as
She tries to make a good impression on every- old as the tribunal. Equally, no one is sure
one she meets, but her conversation soon where it can be found: the Redcaps arrange
turns to her proposed reforms. their next meeting place anew every time.
The only effective ways to find the covenant
are to accompany a Redcap, or to send a mes-
Covenfolk sage and arrange a meeting.
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THE ORDER OF HERMES
also stay away from other covenants, mostly ality, and that if you do magic with malice in
out of courtesy. your heart, your experiences in Twilight will
be vicious, while good experiences flow from
good deeds. She freely admits that she has no
Customs idea of the Enigma, but she plans to live
magic until she does understand, and follow-
The covenant travels throughout the tri- ing Gerfallon around the country seems an
bunal, following a path mapped out by ideal way to do it.
Gerfallon. No one else can see any logic in it. Junius of Verditius is an old magus at the
For example, Semitae once spent two years height of his powers. He dresses simply, like a
circling London at a distance of fifteen miles, craftsman, and is clean-shaven. His face and
despite the inconvenience of needing to be hands are spotted with tiny burn scars. He
ferried across the water once per circuit. It has looks quite puny, so his blacksmithing work
never, as far as anyone else knows, stayed in surprises people he has enchanted tools.
one place for more than four nights. He makes the wagons for Semitae, but most of
The covenant is happy for travelers going his time is spent on another project, some-
in its direction to tag along, taking advantage thing he refuses to speak about, saying that
of its guards. It is also happy to arrange to people will see it when it is ready. He is known
meet magi who request a visit, although the to be a powerful magus, and a skilled crafter of
rendezvous point may not be easy to reach. items, so most of the tribunal and his house
Visitors must provide their own accommoda- are curious to see what he will produce.
tion and supplies, as the covenant cannot
afford to carry the extra.
Semitae breeds its own horses, which are
not frightened of magi. They will trade these
to other covenants, generally for books or vis,
but no one else has yet succeeded in getting
the line to breed true. These horses are of
widely varying appearance, because Gerfallon
usually gets sires from outside the covenants
stable.
The magi normally work at night and
sleep during the day. This is because it is eas-
ier to sleep in a moving wagon than to con-
duct magical experiments. The exception is if
they are studying from the library, in which
case they will work during the day.
Magi
Gerfallon of Criamon is described in the
insert on the next page.
Vanasalus of Criamon is a young maga.
She has no tattoos on her face or hands, and
she dresses in clothes typical of a mundane
noblewoman, embroidered with mystic sym-
bols. She is quite good-looking, and seems
more attractive because she is always friendly.
She believes that magic reflects your person-
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Edward the White of Jerbiton is officially magi. It was founded by members of House
a member of the covenant, but he has taken Flambeau, but for two hundred years the
himself off to explore distant lands, and no covenant was home to an eminent and pro-
one expects to see him again. He took his sigil ductive line of Verditius magi. Unfortunately,
with him, so Semitae does not have access to the last of those magi died several decades
his vote. (See The Mythic Seas for more infor- ago. Most members of the tribunal expect it
mation on Edward.) to fall in the near future, which will provoke
a feeding frenzy as magi try to claim the many
magical treasures it contains.
Covenfolk William Fireheart of Flambeau was the
covenants most infamous member at the end
The covenfolk of Semitae are all vagrants of the twelfth century. He caused a lot of
and vagabonds. They join the covenant for a trouble in northern France, and in 1220 lost
while, then drift off again later. While they a Wizards War to a magus of Fudarus. His
are with the covenant, they are completely death ended the line of Flambeau magi at the
loyal, although they may try to rob it after covenant, but that was met with little sad-
they leave. It is generally suspected that ness.
Gerfallon uses magic to ensure loyalty, and
releases people after a while so that their
minds are not warped. Despite the probable Physical Appearance
magical enforcement, the covenfolk are treat-
ed well, which means that they tend to leave Ungulus is housed in a single tower, sit-
on good terms with the magi. ting on a ridge in the Lake District. The
tower is round, and many floors high. Its
outer surface is covered with intricate carv-
ings, some of which clearly depict scenes,
Ungulus while others are snatches of Latin or other
languages. Some sections look like writing,
Ungulus is the classic Winter covenant, but have proved impossible to decipher, while
living on past glories while filled with insane still others seem to be entirely abstract. Many
Gerfallon of Criamon
Gerfallon is of indeterminate age and varying sex, so for covenant in 1151, and shows no signs of aging. He does
convenience I will use masculine pronouns. His skin leave the covenant from time to time, but no one knows
appears to be completely covered with elaborate tattoos, what he does on most of these occasions.
and all his hair is shaved to make more room for them. The only exception took place forty or so years ago.
He normally wears a robe with a deep hood and long Magi from Cad Gadu were hunting for vis in the
sleeves, to avoid shocking the people the covenant Snowdonian mountains when they came across
encounters. These tattoos are the only thing about his Gerfallon. He greeted them politely, and then ignored
appearance that remains constant. He sometimes them as he continued etching designs into a mountain-
changes appearance quite radically during a single con- side with magic. The magi watched him for a while,
versation, while at others he has remained the same for until he asked them whether they wanted anything, and
an entire tribunal. if not, to please leave him alone. They returned to the
Gerfallon will not be pressed on his past, or on his spot a few months later, and the designs were complete.
current purposes. He claims that it is not possible to They look like a map, although no one has been able to
understand what he is doing until you have at least work out what they are a map of they are not a map
glimpsed the Enigma. He may be right: He has been the of Semitaes travels, unless it is encoded in a particular-
leader of Semitae since the first definite record of the ly strange way.
130
THE ORDER OF HERMES
magi have suspected that the carvings have The servants have innumerable rituals
some overall meaning, but no one has ever which they follow at various points, such as
decided what it is. certain chants, or actions, which must be per-
Inside, the covenant is filled with wealth, formed before opening a door or walking
both magical and mundane. Visitors are kept down a flight of stairs. Some of these deacti-
to certain areas, mainly for their own protec- vate magical locks or traps, still more used to,
tion, and these are filled with gilded furni- while some, most likely, were simply added by
ture, rich tapestries, magical lighting and imaginative servants, and no one now wants
heating devices, and other magical items. to risk finding out which ones are really
There are more magical items in each guest useful.
bedroom than in most covenants. Those magi
who have seen other areas of the covenant
say that it is all like that. Magi
Flavius Ex Miscellanea is described in the
Customs insert below.
Aquila of Bjornaer spends most of her
Visitors to the covenant are welcomed by time in eagle form, riding the thermals
the covenfolk, and taken to the guest quarters around the Lake District. She rarely attends
while a message is sent to the magi. It can covenant council meetings, and Flavius holds
take several days for the magi to respond to her sigil on a permanent basis. She is an
these messages, and since the magical items ancient maga, and is likely to pass into Final
can take care of the guests it is not unusual for Twilight soon, thus remaining in her
the covenfolk to forget that people are there. Heartbeast. It isnt clear how the covenant
Magi who start wandering around looking for will know when that happens, or, indeed,
someone are likely to get in trouble with the whether it has happened already.
magical defenses around the covenant, so Sinead Ex Miscellanea was in love with
most visitors settle for hanging around in the Parsirus, the Verditius magus killed by the
corridors near the entrance to grab a servant. dragon, and burns for revenge against it. If
Flavius Ex Miscellanea
Flavius is a frustrated magus. He knows that he is a Blackthorn, which he found frustrating. He is a passable
member of a disintegrating covenant, and while he can- politician, but certainly not a great one, and he has
not bring himself to abandon it, he also realizes that he been marginalized in the current renaissance in the tri-
doesnt have the strength of purpose, or raw power, to bunal.
pull it out of its downward spiral. He is an old magus, of His main goal is to maintain the status quo, and sur-
average power for his age, and knows that he doesnt vive, long enough for the other magi of the covenant to
have long left before he passes into Final Twilight. die or pass into Twilight. He will then recruit young
Flavius was trained in Ungulus, back when it was in magi to build the covenant up again. He is already mak-
its glory days. He remembers the Verditius magi who ing overtures to the younger magi of the tribunal,
were responsible for so much of the covenant, and when because he does not want to recruit magi fresh from
the dragon killed the last young magus of the line. The apprenticeship.
other apprentices had been sent to distant tribunals, Flavius looks as though he is in late middle age, and
and had no interest in returning, so the old Verditius rather overweight. He is balding, but his hair is still
died alone, leaving the covenant without its heart. brown, and he wears a full beard. He normally dresses in
Flavius was always interested in Hermetic politics, robes of incredible magnificence, to remind people of
and attended most of the tribunal meetings. Often, he the great resources possessed by his covenant, and often
was the only representative of a covenant other than carries powerful enchanted items, for the same reason.
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
anyone wants something from the covenant, plete. Viator is weather-beaten, and appears
she will demand that they kill the dragon in to be quite old. He has lost nearly all his hair,
return. This includes requests for member- and what remains is white, but he makes sure
ship, which discourages prospective members. that he is well-dressed when meeting other
She herself tried to kill the dragon on two people. He doesnt wear robes as rich as
occasions, and barely escaped alive. The sec- Ungulus can provide, but they are still
ond time she passed into Twilight, and she opulent.
cannot now go near her enemy a magical Espera of Merinita badly offended a faerie
force pushes her away. She is an ancient lord many years ago. She thinks she barely
maga, and appears as an old woman, dressed managed to escape his vengeance at the time,
in rich robes which are somewhat the worse and has devoted herself to surviving ever
for wear. Her magic is strongly focused on since. She never leaves the covenants Aegis,
combat, especially with magical beasts. and is constantly pressing for it to be
Viator of Mercere is the only Gifted strengthened. She will not allow anyone else
Redcap in the tribunal. He is obsessed with to join the covenant, in case they prove to be
developing a magical means of communica- faeries in disguise, just seeking to be made
tion between covenants which will not com- part of the Aegis ritual. She wears a number
promise their magical defenses against each of iron items, all enchanted to defend against
other. He retired to Ungulus to get the faeries, and uses Muto Corpus to frequently
resources to work on his project, and he is change her appearance, to distract her enemy.
violently opposed to increasing the number of
magi in the covenant until his project is com-
Covenfolk
The human covenfolk at Ungulus were
all born within the covenant, from other
covenfolk. As a result of inbreeding in a
strong magic aura, all of them are a bit
strange, although most can interact with peo-
ple from outside without too many problems.
However, many of the servants are not
human.
Magical constructs perform much of the
menial work. Some of them are in human
form, but much of the cleaning is done by
animated brooms and brushes. There are
knives and pans which can prepare food by
themselves, and bells that sound their own
warnings if anyone enters the area they guard.
Other servants are bound spirits, mostly
invisible. They serve mainly as guards and
messengers, and seem to be obedient to any-
one inside the covenant who gives them an
order. No one alive admits to knowing who
bound them, or how, which makes some visi-
tors rather nervous. The quaesitores did
investigate, some time ago, and found no evi-
dence of diabolism.
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THE ORDER OF HERMES
Customs
Visiting magi are welcome at any time,
and will be accommodated in Wilton while
they want to stay. Julia handles most negotia-
tions, although Kirist and Phessallia will
involve themselves in discussions of some
topics. Visitors will not generally be admitted
to the main covenant, unless they need to
speak to the Council, or have negotiated for
use of the library.
133
HEIRS TO MERLIN
ed. The magi of Voluntas generally ask that Kirist of Flambeau is a young magus, and
the other covenant supply books which will in many ways typical of his house. He wears
improve Voluntass library as much as the red robes, has a fiery temper, and specializes
book they want to copy will improve their in Ignem magic. However, he is committed to
own. This is generally difficult, and most the greater good of the Order as a whole, and
covenants find it best to wait until Voluntas is well aware that this is not always best
wants something from them, and then to achieved by burning people. He will argue for
hold out for copying rights in return. a conciliatory approach if he thinks it is mer-
ited, unless someone makes him angry. Then
he simply wants to see them in flames.
Magi Julia of Jerbiton is described in the insert,
and in the introduction to Ars Magica 4th
Corvus of Bjornaer has a raven heart- Edition.
beast, and is a mature magus specializing in Phessallia of Merinita is disliked by most
Intllego magic. He always seems to know magi in the tribunal. She has a close connec-
things before he is told them, which has led tion with the faeries of winter, and is appro-
to suspicions that he scries on other members priately cold to everyone. She spends quite a
of the Order. Nothing has been proven, how- lot of time away from the covenant, traveling
ever, and he has claimed that, in many cases, in the north. She claims that she is simply
it is merely an act. In human form he has investigating the fay of the frozen regions, but
black hair and dark eyes, and has a tendency she possesses a number of faerie items, of the
to stare at people. He is also dismissive of cer- sort that can only be obtained as gifts. She
tain customs, and almost never bothers to always wears white, and all of her skin is cov-
clothe himself if he has just changed from his ered with an intricate network of scars. An
heartbeast. If he is dressed, he normally wears old maga, she is thought to be particularly
black. skilled in Perdo.
Julia of Jerbiton
Julia is the nearest thing to a leader that Voluntas has. the tribunal and trying to convince other magi to act
While internal matters are generally decided by negoti- with her. For years it seemed that nothing would hap-
ation and compromise, the covenant seems happy to let pen, and she avoided a number of tribunals, just to make
her determine its relationships with the outside world. sure that Blackthorn could not force issues through a
She is tall for a woman, with long black hair, pale skin, quorate meeting. In the end, this led to the fiasco of
and a fine, low speaking voice. She normally dresses in 1194, when the tribunal failed to meet in advance of
deep blue robes, often decorated with silver embroidery. the Grand Tribunal, and thus sent no representatives.
She is a mature maga, and specializes in Corpus and Julia sent letters to people she knew outside the tri-
Mentem. bunal, including Maximianus of Bonisagus, asking them
Julias parens was fascinated by politics, both to come and help. Maximianus answered.
Hermetic and mundane, and Julia has inherited that The tribunal of 1201 was her masterstroke. All at
fascination. She came to Stonehenge during the civil once, Blackthorn was off balance, the tribunals were
war, and at first was wrapped up in her study of the shift- quorate, and no one covenant had the ability to com-
ing alliances during that conflict. She gradually came to pletely dominate proceedings. She tried to press her
appreciate Blackthorns stranglehold on the tribunal, advantage, gathering support for moving the tribunal
and slowly her interest shifted. As Henry II brought meeting place out of Blackthorn and onto neutral terri-
peace to England, her attentions shifted entirely to the tory, but there she was out-maneuvered. She remains
politics of the Order, and she determined to break one of the best politicians in the tribunal, and is still all
Blackthorns hold. but obsessed with weakening Blackthorn.
She worked on this for many years, traveling round
134
THE ORDER OF HERMES
135
Chapter 11
Politics
his chapter describes the current briefly describes important points of tension,
T political situation in
Stonehenge Tribunal, both mun-
dane and Hermetic. The two domains are
the the things that could develop into major
conflicts.
136
POLITICS
scornful of Magna Carta, and his colleagues least without some compensation. The profits
often have to rein him in. of justice are reduced because, despite the
Hubert de Burgh, the justiciar, is respon- general eyre, many sheriffs and magnates are
sible for day-to-day administration: finance, obstructing the work of the kings justices, or
justice, and patronage. He has the weakest ignoring decisions that go against them.
personal base of the three, but he is an expert Compounding this problem is the
politician, and is rapidly coming to have the crowns need to give away some of its assets in
greatest practical power. order to reward the loyalty of those who
Royal authority is very weak at the fought for it in the civil war, and to ensure
moment. One reason is the kings minority: their continuing loyalty now. Wardships of
many officials, particularly castellans and minors, which normally produce a consider-
sheriffs, take the position that they cannot be able royal profit, are being given away to
dismissed until the king is of age. Another, nobles in return for their loyalty, as is the
related to the first, is lack of money. While right to marry heiresses. Demesne manors are
they cannot be removed, many of the sheriffs still passing out of royal control as a result of
are taking the opportunity to withhold the this process, despite the need to gather as
revenue from their shires. Without the many as possible.
money, the king cannot raise the troops nec- A second reason for the weakness is the
essary to force them to comply, so he is peace treaty that ended the war. Louis of
required to go along with the situation. France was promised 10,000 marks for leaving
Other sources of revenue are similarly England, and the king has yet to pay all of
affected. Many of the kings demesne manors this. More importantly, the treaty specifies
are held by local nobles, and they refuse to that all men shall recover the land that they
surrender them back to the king. Often, these held when the war began. Those who gained
manors were assigned to them temporarily by more land during the war are reluctant to give
John, and they take the same line as the sher- it up, and some of those who supported the
iffs. Other times, they simply took over them king were rewarded with land taken from
in the war, and now refuse to give them up, at those who opposed him. Now the treaty
Pandulf
Papal legate since 1218
Pandulf is an Italian, and the early part of his life was Cardinal Nicholas arrived as the papal legate, and
spent as a clerk in the Papal Curia, within which he was Pandulf became a negotiator, particularly between the
the Popes subdeacon. His association with England English and French courts. In 1214 he was elected bish-
began in 1211, when he was sent as an ambassador to op of Norwich, but he has not yet been installed
discuss the lifting of the interdict. King John met him because that would put him under the authority of the
and tried to intimidate him into removing the churchs archbishop of Canterbury.
ban, having criminals tortured and executed in his pres- He spent the first years of Henrys reign back at the
ence. Pandulf refused to back down, and even saved one Papal Curia, but returned to England as legate in 1218.
of the victims who, as a clerk, was not subject to royal He is loyal to the English throne, surprisingly so for a
justice. Despite the threats, Pandulf returned safely to foreigner, and is a very able diplomat. For example,
Rome. many of the reconciliations that have been made
He was back in England in 1213, this time to accept between the factions have been his doing. He is also
Johns surrender. He received the crown from the king, rather greedy, although more for his followers than for
and gave it back to him, installing him as a vassal of the himself, and has a tendency to act in a rather high-
Holy See. He also smoothed over relations with Philip handed manner. Still, it is very hard for him to actually
of France, who had expected to be able to invade exceed his authority in England, given how great that
England with Papal approval. Later in the same year authority is.
137
HEIRS TO MERLIN
requires the king to take land from his sup- Braut. All these men profess total loyalty to
porters and give it to his former enemies. the king, while disregarding any instructions
This redistribution simply isnt happen- from the central government that they do not
ing. The royal regency is trying to enforce it, like.
supporting former rebels as much as former The main bright point for the king is that
loyalists, but it doesnt have the power to the Church is absolutely on his side. The
make nobles give up possession of land. Men legate fully supports him, and the abbots and
on both sides are making heavy use of the bishops of the land are selected so as to be
legal system, but things frequently degenerate loyal to the crown.
into private war. If these domestic troubles arent enough,
A third problem arises from the kings Henry also faces international problems.
weakness. He needs strong local officers to Prince Llywelyn of Wales always acknowl-
enforce his will, but with the center being so edges that Henry is his lord, but he doesnt
weak, any agent strong enough to enforce jus- act like it. During the civil war he took con-
tice is too strong for the king to control. This trol of south Wales, with the exception of the
is particularly noticeable in the cases of the Marshal holdings in the extreme southwest
earl of Chester, even in his absence, the earls and southeast, and he now disposes affairs
of Salisbury and Derby, and Falkes de within the principality as he wishes. He is
138
POLITICS
engaged in constant low-level warfare with rebellion is unlikely, he may be trying to form
the Anglo-Norman Marcher barons, and a palatinate, within which he has vice-regal
refuses to accept royal judgment in the vari- authority.
ous points at issue. Finally, there are the kings French posses-
Alexander II, king of Scotland, fought on sions. Normandy was lost in 1204, but Poitou
Louiss side in the civil war, and is now push- and Gascony remain. Philip of France has
ing for a reconsideration of treaties signed made several attempts to conquer these, and a
between Scotland and England in 1209 and truce between the two countries is about to
1212. Neither side really wants these treaties expire. Negotiations are in progress to renew
enforced, but at present the English side is in it, but these have yet to succeed. Furthermore,
breach. Louis promised Alexander the three the kings administration in Poitou is current-
northern counties of England, and it is possi- ly without a head, as Geoffrey de Nevile, the
ble that, if Alexander is not satisfied, he will seneschal, has returned to England to resign
try to take them. his office, on the grounds that he has not been
The English lordships in Ireland support- given the resources necessary to carry out his
ed Henry during the civil war, but now the role. The counts of Marche, powerful vassals
justiciar of Ireland, Geoffrey de Marsh, is of the king in Poitou, have only just stopped
refusing to come to England and account for making threatening noises, but Queen
the revenues of his office. While outright Isabella, the kings mother and countess of
Hubert de Burgh
Justiciar since 1215
Hubert is the nephew of William FitzAldelm, who was effectively against assault. Louis sent messengers offer-
Henry IIs steward, and through him got an entry into ing to give him Norfolk and Suffolk in fee if he would
royal office. He was employed by Richard in minor surrender the castle, but he still refused. After the bat-
capacities, and then by John, first as an ambassador to tle of Lincoln the castle was under less pressure, and he
Portugal, and then as a chamberlain. In 1203 Hubert was able to meet with the other leaders. Louis was
was given custody of Arthur of Brittany, and a fairly expecting reinforcements from France, and they were
solid rumor has it that John sent an order that Arthur coming in a fleet of eighty ships, led by Eustace the
should be killed, which Hubert refused to obey, instead Monk. Hubert led a fleet of about thirty English ships
simply claiming that it had been carried out. When the out against them, and at first seemed to be sailing past
Bretons redoubled their attacks, Hubert revealed the them. The French fleet, sure that so few would not dare
deception, and John took Arthur into his own custody. to attack them, simply ignored them. Once the English
Arthur was not seen alive again. fleet had got behind the French, however, they turned
In 1204, after most of Poitou had fallen to the to run with the wind, and fell on the French ships from
French, Hubert was still holding the castle of Chinon, behind. The result was a total victory for the English,
without any support from John. After several months and Eustace was beheaded against the rail of his own
the assault had so damaged the fortifications that he had ship. With the loss of these forces, Louis had no choice
to leave the castle and offer battle. He was badly out- but to withdraw from England.
numbered and his army was defeated while he himself With the war over, Hubert turned his attentions to
was captured. His release took some time to negotiate, administration, which all fell under his control as justi-
but by 1214 he was serving John as the seneschal of ciar. Since the death of William Marshal, he has gained
Niore and Poitou. When the English barons rebelled, he almost complete control over royal machinery and he is
stayed on Johns side, and was one of his supporters at becoming more significant as time passes. He is a very
Runnymede. He was made justiciar in June 1215, a post astute politician, and a skilled and brave military leader.
that he still holds. He is also very loyal to the king, but is interested in
When Louis invaded England, Hubert was made building himself an independent base of wealth he
castellan of Dover, and he held the fortress bravely and remembers Johns volatility all too well.
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HEIRS TO MERLIN
Angoulme, and wife of Hugh de Lusignan, holder, who resents the intrusion of a com-
count of Marche, is threatening to withdraw moner into his sphere of influence.
her support and counsel if she doesnt receive Philip of Oldcoates, the sheriff of
more aid. Northumbria, holds Mitford castle. This has
been assigned to Roger Bertram by the king,
but Philip refuses to surrender it. He has been
summoned to court on several occasions, but
Flashpoints has often refused to come, and has generally
asserted that the king must compensate him
In this generally tense atmosphere there before he will give up the castle.
are a number of issues that might serve as the William Marshal the Younger, earl of
spark that ignites a conflagration. This sec- Pembroke, holds Fotheringhay castle, despite
tion lists them, in no particular order. royal orders that he surrender it to the king of
One that affects the whole country arises Scotland, who holds it as part of the honor of
from the Charter of the Forest. This charter Huntingdon. At the same time, the earl is
requires that all land which was afforested by suing Falkes de Braut for seisin of four
Henry II or his sons be disafforested. The manors, which the earl claims were merely
extent and dates of the royal forest is to be granted during his pleasure, but which Falkes
determined by perambulations in all the coun- claims were granted in perpetuity.
ties, the results being sent to the Exchequer. William de Fors, count of Aumale, holds
Most counties claim that all forest, other than Rockingham, a royal castle, despite demands
that on royal demesne, was afforested by from the government that he surrender it.
Henry II or his sons. The royal authorities
refuse to accept this (and are quite right, as it
is not true). They thus order further perambu-
lations, which return the same result.
Nicola de Hay, the constable of Lincoln
castle and, arguably, rightful sheriff of the
Hermetic Politics
county is engaged in a dispute with the earl of
Salisbury, who claims both posts. In 1219 Overview
Salisbury seized control of the castle, but
Nicola regained it with the help of Falkes de The Stonehenge Tribunal has only
Braut. Salisbury is still the sheriff of the recently acquired politics as such. In the past
county, and Nicola is applying all pressure few tribunals were quorate, and Blackthorn
that she can to regain the office. At the same dominated those which were. Covenants had
time, Salisbury is trying to regain Lincoln cas- little to do with one another, and most dis-
tle, by bribery or force as legal remedies have putes were settled by certmen and Wizards
failed him. War.
Henry fitz Count, the son of the old earl This is now changing, but it is too soon
of Cornwall and sheriff of that county, is to say what the new landscape will look like.
refusing to pay his receipts into the treasury, Voluntas was at the center of the anti-
and is sending judges through the county on Blackthorn party, and still pursues its vendet-
his own authority, thus usurping royal prerog- ta. To most other covenants, however, it
ative. He has not been created earl, but is try- looks like Blackthorn has been beaten, and
ing to take the title anyway. Voluntas seems rather obsessive. The kings
In Devon, Falkes de Braut has been minority has come at a good time for the
given custody of the lands of the earl of covenants, giving them breathing space to
Devon, whose father died in 1216. This is a get used to the new state of the tribunal
source of conflict with Robert de Courtenay, before the weight of royal authority begins to
the sheriff of the county and a major land- press upon them once again.
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POLITICS
There are a few features of Stonehenge the strong support of their house, and the fact
that may come to shape its political land- that both Voluntas and Libellus are repre-
scape. One is the omnipresence of official- sented by Jerbitons at tribunal has protected
dom at least in normal times. All estab- them from censure so far. It is not clear how
lished covenants have had to make some sort long this can last. The covenant, however,
of accommodation with the mundane author- has good relations with the mundanes, and
ities, and these agreements do not always might be able to fall back on them for protec-
have the sanction of the tribunal. It will be tion. It would not be easy to March a
essential for the covenants to work out a way covenant located in the middle of a city.
to live with the mundanes, while remaining Voluntas is trying to encroach on
within the Code. Unguluss territory, reacting to the older
The tension between Blackthorn and covenants perceived weakness. Ungulus is
Voluntas goes back over a century, and since not completely dead, however, and might
these are two of the most powerful covenants well be able to fight back.
in the tribunal, their feud is likely to have a Burnham is an object of suspicion to
significant impact on politics. One possibility other covenants. No one knows what it is
is that the tribunal will split into two blocs, doing, it refuses to explain, and everyone
while an alternative scenario would have comes up with his own hypotheses.
most covenants switching affiliation between Immanola still holds to her prediction of
the two for their own advantage. imminent disaster for the Order, and might
Finally, there is a serious danger of a well try to retake the praecos place in order
major resource shortage. Mundane agricul- to prepare the tribunal properly.
ture is spreading to more of the land, and Blackthorn has faced frequent accusa-
some sources of raw vis are disappearing tions of diabolism in the past, and these are
under the plough. At the same time, the tri- unlikely to stop. No conclusive evidence has
bunal is undergoing rapid growth. More opti- ever been found, but such accusations might
mistic magi suppose that the resources are well be used to distract attention from accu-
still there, just waiting to be found, but if they sations against another covenant. They
are wrong the shortage will add a major might even be true, which would cause major
source of tension. upheavals.
Voluntas still has hostile relations with
Horsingas covenant in Loch Leglean, ten-
sions which date back to the Norman
Flashpoints Conquest of England. These could easily flare
up again.
Schola Pythagoranis, Libellus, and Ashenrise covenant in Hibernia was
Nigrasaxa are all located within a small founded by the magi of Tagelyn when
region of the tribunal. Whether or not the tri- Blackthorn drove them out. They have not
bunal as a whole faces a shortage of magical forgotten, and Blackthorns current weakness
resources, these covenants definitely face a may provide an opportunity for them to take
local shortage. Conflict between them over action.
vis sources is increasing, especially as Schola
Pythagoranis seeks to establish outpost labo-
ratories in magical auras. As these covenants
were all part of the original anti-Blackthorn
bloc, they have not yet come into open con-
flict, but all the ingredients are there.
Schola Pythagoranis is deeply involved
in mundane affairs, to an extent that might
well be in violation of the Code. They have
141
Chapter 12
Myths and Legends
Arthurs rise to power, but had little to do
Merlin with Arthurs reign. His ultimate fate is
shrouded in mystery, as is his birth. There are
many legends about him: he raised
Merlin is the greatest mage in the history Stonehenge (see page 153), created the
of the tribunal, but a shadowy figure never- Wizards Well (see page150), prophesied
theless. He was closely connected with before Vortigern (see page 10), and enabled
the conception of Arthur (see page 11).
Merlins mother claimed that his father
was a spirit, rather than a human being, and
the Church interpreted this as a demon.
Hermetic opinion tends to the belief that he
was half fay, and some tales connect him to
Quendalon and the change of House
Merinita. It is notable that, so far as can now
be told, House Dedne never tried to claim
him, nor would his support of a Christian
monarch fit well with association with the
druids. Legends of his end mostly have him
trapped, sometimes by his apprentice, other
times by the fay; no one records his death.
Tales
Saint Oswald, King of
the Northumbrians
Oswald was king of the Northumbrians
from 633 to 642, and, unlike his predecessor,
was a most Christian king. Near the begin-
ning of his reign he fought against the pagans
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MYTHS AND LEGENDS
at a place north of Hadrians Wall. Before the onto that spot, however, it immediately
battle, he caused a wooden cross to be set up, became well again. The man rode on to an
supporting it with his own hands while his inn, where he found the niece of the
soldiers filled in the hole at its base with innkeeper suffering from paralysis. He told
earth. Then he summoned his army, crying, them of the miraculous spot, and they carried
Let us all kneel together, and pray that the girl there in a cart, laying her on the holy
God will protect us from the arrogant sav- ground. She fell asleep for a while, and when
agery of our enemies, for he knows that we she awoke she was fully restored to health,
fight in a just cause. The whole army prayed and walked back to the inn. People came to
with him, and when they advanced at dawn, the place and took dirt away, for the earth
they won the victory that their faith from that spot could also heal the sick, so that
deserved. Many miracles have taken place at now there is a pit that a man can stand in.
the spot where the king prayed, and splinters Oswalds bones were transferred to
from the cross have healing powers them- Bardney Abbey, and at first the monks were
selves. reluctant to let them in, for Oswald had been
One monk of Hexham, named Bothelm, a foreign king. However, as they waited in a
slipped while walking on ice and badly frac- cart outside the gates, a light shone down on
tured his arm. He suffered such pain that he them from heaven, illuminating them
could not even raise his hand, and he asked throughout the night, and showing that they
one of his brothers, who was going on a pil- should be welcomed with reverence.
grimage to the cross, to bring back a piece of Accordingly, they were taken in the next day
the wood, so that he could ask God for heal- and washed before being placed in a fine
ing. The monk fulfilled the request, bringing tomb. The water with which they had been
back a piece of the moss that grew on the side washed was poured away in a corner of the
of the cross. Bothelm placed it against his cemetery, and that dust gained the power to
arm, and was healed that very night. deliver those possessed by evil spirits.
Oswald died in battle in 642, and such Some time later there was a small boy
was the holiness of his life that the place who had a serious fever, and was anxiously
where he died became a site of miracles. awaiting the next attack. One of the monks
Shortly after his death, a man was riding his told him to go to Oswalds tomb and wait
horse near the place when it fell ill, rolling there until the fever left. He did as he was
about in agony on the ground. When it rolled told, and while he waited by the tomb the
143
HEIRS TO MERLIN
fever did not dare to touch him. Indeed, it ed from their mouths, and making to seize me
was so scared that it never returned to him, with glowing tongs. But, while they threat-
and he was completely healed. ened, they did not touch me. As I looked
From Bedes History of the around for salvation, I saw a light coming
English Church and People from the distance, which broke among the
spirits and scattered them: it was my guide,
returned to me.
He led me along a road to the right, tak-
A Vision of the Afterlife ing us southeast, and we soon came into an
atmosphere of clear light. In front of us was a
A handsome man in a shining robe was great wall, of infinite length and height, and
my guide, and we walked in silence towards as I could see no door I wondered why we
the northeast, until we reached a deep and were approaching it. But as soon as we
broad valley of infinite length. To our left it reached the base, we were somehow on the
was filled with raging flames, and to our right top. Within the wall was a pleasant meadow,
with hail and snow, blown about by an from which rose a wonderful scent of flowers.
unceasing wind. Both sides were filled with Scattered around were innumerable compa-
the souls of men, which seemed to be tossed nies of white-robed figures, sitting together in
from one side to another by the storms. For happy groups. As my guide led me through, I
when they could no longer withstand the wondered whether this was the kingdom of
heat, they leapt to the cold but, unable to heaven, but he answered my thoughts once
bear that either, they leapt back to the flames, again. No, this is not the kingdom of
and so on without respite. I could see a count- heaven.
less host of deformed spirits, and their unceas- As we went forward, I heard the most
ing torment led me to think that this might beautiful singing, smelled a fragrance more
be Hell, of which I had heard so much. But, wonderful than can be described, and saw a
as if answering my thoughts, my guide said, light so bright and beautiful that I longed to
Do not think that, for this is not Hell. enter it. But my guide turned and, without
As we proceeded, we reached the end of pausing, led me back the way we had come.
the valley and it began to grow darker. The As we passed through the meadow, he
darkness thickened until I could see nothing explained what I had seen.
but the outline of my guide. Frequent masses Those souls in the valley are those who
of dusky flame rose on either side of me, and repented only at the moment of death. As
then fell, as if they were coming from a great they did die in penitence, they will enter the
pit and returning to it. When he had brought kingdom of heaven on Judgment Day, but
me here, my guide suddenly vanished, leaving first they must suffer to purge their sins. The
me in the terrible place. I could now see that foul pit is the entrance to hell, and those souls
the masses of flame contained the souls of who fall into it will never leave, not in all
men, and a foul stench rose from the pit to fill eternity. This pleasant place is the abode of
the air. those souls who, while virtuous, were not
As I waited, I heard a terrible noise, and good enough to enter heaven immediately.
turned to see evil spirits laughing as they They will enter there on Judgment Day. The
drove forward a small group of lamenting bright place we did not enter was the king-
souls. These souls included a cleric, a layman, dom of heaven, and there dwell the souls of
and a woman. They dragged these souls down the saints. You must now return to the body,
with them into the darkness, and soon I could but if you weigh your actions carefully, you
not distinguish the laughter of the demons will join these happy souls when you die.
from the laments of the damned. Then some From Bedes History of the
dark spirits rose from the pit and surrounded English Church and People
me, threatening me with the flames that dart-
144
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
145
HEIRS TO MERLIN
ed, he went into the room to take leave of his Here lies our king, who was killed at
lady. She almost fainted when she saw the Caerwent for love of a lady. We have never
blood, but he comforted her, telling her that had a lord since, and seek for his son. When
she was carrying his son, before he changed she heard this, the lady took out the sword,
back to a hawk and flew from the window. and gave it to her son.
The grieving lady determined to follow Here lies your true father, betrayed and
him, and jumped from the window, naked killed by this old man! Now I give you his
apart from her shift, barely surviving the fall. sword: I have held it long enough. Then she
She followed the trail of blood over the fields, told them how the king had come to her, and
and to an opening in a hill. It went inside, so as she finished her tale she fell into a swoon
she followed it, and after a while the tunnel on his tomb, and died. Yonec took up the
opened out into a bright field. There was no sword and killed the old man, and then took
one about, but in front of her she could see a his fathers place as king of that country. As
walled city, in which all the houses seemed to for the lady, she was laid in the tomb beside
be made of silver, and through which flowed her lover.
a shining river bearing three hundred ships. From the Lais of Marie de France
Next to the city was a castle, and the
blood led in through an open gate. Following
the trail she passed through two fine bed-
chambers where knights were sleeping, before The Dragon and the Bear
coming into the presence of her lover. The
four posts of his bed were gold, and it was set And Arthur the king told his dream to
about with candles which filled the room the knights gathered there.
with light. When he saw her, he struggled to While I slept, I saw a marvelous beast
sit up. coming across the sky from the west, loath-
My love, you must leave, for soon the some to the sight, wrapped about with storms
people will wake, and realize that I have died and lightning. It was a bear so ugly as is seen
for your love. Take this tunic, to cover your- in no land. Then I saw, from the east, wound
self, and this ring. The ring will ensure that about with clouds, a great burning dragon,
your husband will remember none of this, and who swallowed entire cities and lit the whole
will not criticize you. Take also my sword, for land with his fire. Indeed, the very sea seemed
when our son is grown he will come to my to burn with the fire that he carried.
tomb. Then you must tell him the truth about And the dragon and the bear saw one
his father, and he will avenge me. You must another, and rushed on one another with furi-
call him Yonec. Now go. ous assaults, as flames like firebrands flew
Weeping, the lady left the city, and from their eyes! The dragon was now above,
before she had gone half a mile she heard the now below, but at the end he began to rise,
bells ringing, and the voices of the people ris- then stooped in a fierce assault, driving the
ing in lamentation. She almost fainted four bear down to the ground. Then he dived
times from grief, but returned to her hus- down and slew the bear, tearing him limb
bands castle. from limb. When the bear lay dead and scat-
It happened as the knight predicted: her tered, the dragon rose back into the air,
husband remembered nothing, and treated screaming his triumph, and returned to the
her well. Her son was born and named Yonec, east.
and grew up to be the most handsome and From Layamons Brut
skilled knight in the country, praised by all.
Soon after he was knighted, the family was
visiting an abbey, and the abbot showed them
a tomb covered in a fine cloth, and flanked by
twenty candles.
146
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
147
HEIRS TO MERLIN
ter. Where will I find you? page became separated from the rest of the
When you seek me, look towards India. party. Although they were alone in the forest,
She placed the stone in his hand, and van- they were not afraid, but began to make their
ished. way home. It grew dark, but they were still
Peredur rode on towards a river, its banks not out of the forest.
lined with trees and meadows. On one side Around midnight they saw a hall in a
was a flock of white sheep, on the other a clearing, and it was all lit up, while the
flock of black. When a white sheep bleated a sounds of music came from within. Eadric
black sheep would cross the river and turn went up to the window and looked inside.
white, and when a black sheep bleated a The hall was filled with women, taller and
white sheep would cross and turn black. On more beautiful than the daughters of men,
the bank of the river stood a tall tree, and and they danced slowly around one another,
from crown to roots one half of it was all the time singing a beautiful tune in low
wreathed in bright flames, while the other voices, so that Eadric could not make out any
half was in full green leaf. Beside the tree was words. One among them was more beautiful
a bridge, and Peredur crossed the river, fol- even than her sisters, and the lord immedi-
lowing the track until he saw the Mournful ately fell in love with her. Although he knew
Mound. the tales of pagan goddesses who tore apart
Then he took the stone in his left hand those who looked upon them, love drove the
and his spear in his right, and searched for the ideas far from his mind.
barrow. He found it, built on the top of the He went quietly round to the door, and
mound, with great stone pillars standing burst into the hall, springing upon the
beside its door. In the darkness he could see woman whom he loved and bearing her away.
the Black Serpent, hissing as it coiled about a At once her sisters set upon him, but he was
sheaf of stone spears, while shimmering poi- able to escape with the aid of his page,
son dripped from its fangs, and glittered on although he was wounded on the arms and
the points of its weapons. He approached legs with all the marks that the teeth and
carefully, but the lady had told the truth, and nails of women can inflict. Once outside he
the serpent did not see him. Taking courage, took the woman on his horse and rode back
he cast his spear and struck the serpent below to his house. There he kept her confined for
the head. As it writhed in agony he stepped three days and nights, using her as he would.
forward and cut off its head, killing it. He All that time, he could wring no word from
took the head out, and the three lads met her, and she quietly submitted to his will.
him, telling him that it was prophesied that On the morning of the fourth day, she
he would kill the creature. They offered him turned to him and spoke.
the hand of one of their sisters, and half their Hail, my dearest lord and master. I
wealth, but Peredur refused, taking only the promise to stay with you and love you dearly,
stone from the serpents tail. serving you in all things as a wife should, until
Adapted from the Mabinogion the day when you reproach me with my sis-
ters, or the wood, or the place where you
found me. In that day, I will leave, and your
life will fall into sorrow. Eadric promised to
The Wife of love her likewise, and they were married. The
lord with his faerie wife became famous, and
Eadric Wilde were even called to London by King William
Rufus, who wished to look on them.
Eadric Wilde was a lord renowned for his But, after many years, Eadric came home
bodily strength and vigorous activity, but still from hunting at the third hour, but his wife
more for the way in which he had got a wife. was nowhere to be found. Angry, he called for
He went out hunting one day, and he and his her, and finally sent servants to fetch her from
148
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
149
HEIRS TO MERLIN
stands Long Meg, a slender sandstone pillar falls by the wizards will. Nearby, a face is
twice the height of a man. Long Meg is carved into the rock, and this face is said to
carved with spirals and concentric circles, represent Merlin. Locals claim that Arthur
whose significance has been long forgotten. and his knights sleep under the Edge, and
There are two mounds in the center of the that the spring will serve to water their hors-
circle. es when they awaken. The inscription has
It seems to be impossible to count the always been in a slightly archaic version of
stones, with any result between 65 and 75 the local language, but there is no sign that it
turning up with some frequency. It is also very has been erased and recarved.
dangerous to attempt to harm them, as the
forces of nature are turned against those who
violate them. If Long Meg is, nevertheless,
chipped, the stone will bleed. The stones are Druids Circle
generally thought to be the petrified bodies of
a witch and her daughters, although the leg- These stones stand on a wind-swept moor
ends are silent as to whether the enchant- overlooking the Irish Sea. The circle is about
ment was voluntary or a curse, and on twenty five meters across, and the stones
whether it could, or should, be broken. stand on the outer edge of a raised bank of
earth. They can be seen for miles around,
stark against the sky. There is an entrance to
the circle, flanked by two stones, in the
The Black Horse southwest of the circle.
These stones are said to particularly sen-
of Busha sitive to oaths, moving nearer to anyone who
swears an oath in the circle, as if to listen.
High up in the Howgill Fells, between Tales issue dire warnings about the conse-
Swaledale and the Cumbrian mountains, quences of breaking such oaths. Still darker
there is an outcropping of black shale. Most of tales say that the druids practiced human sac-
the time, it appears as an ordinary mound of rifice among the stones.
rock, but at certain times, especially just after
storms, the figure of a proud black stallion can
be seen by those who know where to look.
Locals say that, at those times, the Black Bryn-Celli-Ddu
Horse is returning to its home, after traveling
the mundane world under cover of the storm. This mound, which stands on Anglesey,
They will not speak of its purposes, but clear- has a narrow passage leading to a small cham-
ly believe that it means them no good. ber. In the center of this space stands a
smooth stone pillar. On the top of the
mound, just behind the internal chamber,
there is a pit, and by the pit stands a carved
Merlins Well stone. The carvings on three sides depict an
intricate labyrinth, part of some sort of ward-
Alderley Edge is an escarpment in ing. Llewellyn, the last primus of House
Cheshire, rising quite abruptly from the plain. Dedne, was last seen here, and his parting
Water constantly runs from a point on the words are carved into the wall of the passage,
cliff face, falling into a stone trough below. protected from the elements. Hermetic magi
Above the spring an inscription is carved: tend to avoid the site.
Drink of this and take thy fill for the water
150
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
151
HEIRS TO MERLIN
will be calm and tractable. Legend credits large boulders. Within this is the village and
Wayland with forging magical weapons and church of Avebury, built around the cross-
armor for great heroes of the past, but he roads formed by the paths from the four
would surely require more than a penny in entrances. There are two features within the
compensation for such toil. circle: In the north there is a horseshoe-
shaped arrangement of large stones, while in
the south is a single standing stone, 20 feet
high and 10 in diameter.
Avebury Two avenues of stones lead away from the
circle, each following a twisting route. One of
The area around the village of Avebury these seems to lead nowhere, but the other,
contains many mysterious monuments, which going roughly southeast, leads to another,
local legend connects to the devil and the smaller stone circle. This circle is 120 feet
faeries in equal measure. The village itself lies across, and there is a smaller circle, 60 feet in
within the largest of these, a stone circle diameter, within it.
about a thousand feet across. The outer edge South of Avebury is Silbury Hill, an arti-
is marked by a ditch, 75 feet wide and thirty ficial mound 500 feet in diameter and 120
feet deep, crossed by four causeways. Within feet high. This is the burial place of King Sel,
the ditch is a bank which rises to a height of entombed on horseback with his treasury, and
about 50 feet, and is about 100 feet wide. it is protected by a curse, which strikes dead
Immediately within the bank stands a circle those who try to rob it. South of Silbury Hill
of stones, almost three hundred of them, all is a long barrow, 300 feet long and 75 feet
152
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
153
HEIRS TO MERLIN
two round barrows, one in the north of the staves appear as crosses and the figure gains
enclosure and one in the south. Two smaller features when the country is pious, but that as
stone pillars mark the points opposite each wickedness increases it fades away, to disap-
barrow, measured across the axis of symmetry. pear completely if the faith is banished from
The main stone structures are very complex. the land. Another says that the figure repre-
The outer circle consists of 30 upright stones, sents the keeper of the gates of dawn, and
linked at the top by horizontal lintels. These that, at the right petition, he will open his
stones have been carefully shaped, with joints gates and let travelers pass beyond.
between the lintels and the curve of the cir-
cle shaped in the stones. The uprights taper
slightly towards the top, making them seem
taller than they are. Within these is a circle of Wookey Hole Caves
60 smaller bluestones, without lintels.
Within that circle is a great horseshoe of Wookey Hole is a deep cave, much of
trilithons structures with two uprights and which is flooded, and there are thought to be
a lintel. There are five trilithons, and they are further caves, inaccessible beyond the water.
not connected to each other. The horseshoe The caves are hung with stalactites, and
is open towards the entrance of the enclosure, something lives in them, although local leg-
and the trilithons are smallest at the ends disagree about the details.
entrance, while the one at the back is the
largest, over 20 feet tall and made of stones
weighing over forty five tons. Within this is a
smaller horseshoe of bluestones, and right at The Cerne Giant
the center is a final upright.
If you stand at the entrance of the enclo- The Cerne Giant is carved on a hillside
sure, or in the avenue, then the midwinter near an Abbey in Dorset, and his power is
sun sets between the uprights of the great made clear by the fact that the monks have
trilithon, and the last light of the shortest day not destroyed or defaced so blatantly phallic
shines straight down the avenue. an image. Barren women who sleep on the
phallus become able to conceive, and chil-
dren may be conceived there with great ease.
The figure is said to be the lingering presence
The Long Man of of a giant who terrorized the local area, before
being pinned to the ground while he slept.
Wilmington He was apparently slain, and his body dis-
solved into nothingness, leaving the white
The Long Man is picked out by trenches outline behind.
dug into a smooth slope in a shallow depres-
sion on the side of a hill in Sussex. The figure
is about two hundred and forty feet tall, but
because of its position in the depression it is Maiden Castle
completely invisible from many angles. The
figure is easiest to see when the sun is low, or Maiden Castle is a set of earthworks sur-
when snow starts to melt, when the shadows rounding the top of a large hill south of
of its trenches are exaggerated. Sometimes Dorchester, in Dorset. The enclosure is more
features can be seen in its face, at others it than 2000 feet long and 1000 feet wide, and
appears as a simple outline. Its hands grasp can be entered through twisting passages
long vertical lines, which look a lot like between the embankments at the east and
staves, or the posts of a door. One legend west ends. The interior seems to be totally
holds that he represents St. Paul, and that the deserted, but local tales say that it is a faerie
154
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
stronghold, and that people going there on plateau is a small chapel dedicated to St.
the correct night may meet the fay. Juliot. Most of the time, there is no trace of
the earlier castle, and it may be somewhat
detached from the mundane world. If so, the
isolated church has a further purpose: that of
Down Tor keeping it from reappearing.
155
HEIRS TO MERLIN
danced on Sunday to the music of the Pipers, prosperous, with one hundred and forty
who were demons sent to tempt them. The parishes and a town, called Lyon, at the place
wrath of God turned them to stone, and the now called Lethoso. This is a dangerous part
demons, trying to flee, found that they could of the sea, where rocks come close to the sur-
not avoid justice either. face, but men fishing the area have drawn up
parts of windows and other evidence of the
houses.
When Lyonesse was drowned only one
Lyonesse man escaped to the east, the first Trevelyan.
He rode his white horse ahead of the flood,
Southwest of Lands End lie the Scilly and landed by St. Michaels Mount, where
Isles, the last, sinking remnants of the land of the water finally stopped. To the west, some
Lyonesse. This land once stretched from folk fled to the high ground that is now the
Cornwall to the Isles, and was Tristans place Scilly Isles, but they were from the poorer and
of birth. Even now, at exceptionally low tides, more remote regions of the land. The disaster
the remains of the forests and towns of this is thought to have been due to the anger of
land can be seen in areas now claimed by the the Fair Folk, but no one has spoken of the
ocean. In the time of Arthur, and the days of cause for over three hundred years, and it is
the early Saxons, the land of Lyonesse was forgotten.
156
Glossary
157
HEIRS TO MERLIN
same craft, live in the same town, or wor- Paten: The plate on which the host is placed
ship at the same church. (Also spelled at mass.
guild.) Pleas of the Crown: Criminal offenses that can
Grand Assize: Twelve knights serving to only be tried in royal or palatine courts.
decide who has the right to a piece of Priest: A clerk ordained to the priesthood,
land. able to consecrate the bread and wine at
Holy Orders: The four highest degrees of ordi- the eucharist.
nation: subdeacon, deacon, priest, and Proctor: A legal representative; an attorney.
bishop. Range: A continuous part of a building, par-
Host: The consecrated bread at a mass. ticularly one side of a courtyard.
Hue: The pursuit of a criminal observed in Rector: The clerk with a right to the tithes of
the act by the residents of a place. Those a parish. Responsible for the sacraments,
engaged in the hue may legally kill the but may appoint a deputy.
malefactor. Regular: A clerk who lives according to a rule.
Hundred: A subdivision of a county. Secular: A clerk who does not live according
Infangtheof: The right to hang a thief caught to a rule.
in the act. Seisin: Possession of land.
Interdict: An ecclesiastical penalty prohibit- Sheriff: The kings representative in a county,
ing the celebration of the sacraments in responsible for collecting taxes and dis-
an area. pensing justice. A very important officer.
Legate: A representative with the full power Suit of Court: The duty to attend a particular
of the person he represents. Normally a court whenever it sits.
Papal Legate. Tithe: A tenth of everything of which God
Leyrwite: A fine paid by villein women gives the increase, which belongs to the
caught in fornication. rector of the parish in which it is pro-
Libel: A written account of charges, submit- duced.
ted in a church court. Tithing: A group of men, nominally ten, legal-
Living: A benefice. ly responsible for one anothers behavior.
Marches: The Anglo-Norman possessions in Tonsure: A clerical hair cut, short and with a
Wales. shaved area on the scalp.
Merchet: A tax that must be paid by villeins Tourn: The sheriffs formal visitation of his
before they can marry. shire.
Mesnie: The household knights of a great Vicar: A clerk who does the rectors work in a
lord. parish. Ought to be a priest.
Minor Orders: The four lower degrees of ordi- View of Frankpledge: See page 106.
nation: doorkeeper, lector, exorcist, and Villein: An unfree peasant, bound to the land
acolyte. and requiring his or her lords permission
Mother House: A monastery which founds for many activities.
another monastery (the daughter), and Visitation: An official investigation by a bish-
retains some oversight. op of his diocese.
Novel Disseisin: Recent dispossession of a Wattle and Daub: A way of building walls
piece of land. Also the writ allowing you which involves weaving sticks together
to reclaim such land. and then covering the framework with
Obedientiary: An officer in a monastery. mud mixed with straw to keep the wind
Parish: The local unit of church administra- out.
tion, centered on a single church. Writ: A legal document initiating a civil case.
Palatinate: A lordship within which the lord Yardland: Thirty acres of land, enough to
has the powers of the king. These include make a peasant family prosperous.
the right to try pleas of the crown and the
right to build castles.
158
Bibliography
History Peasants
Geoffrey of Monmouth [1966] The History of Dyer, C. (1989) Standards of Living in the
the Kings of Britain (Harmondsworth: later Middle Ages (Cambridge:
Penguin) Cambridge University Press)
Gerald of Wales [1978] The Journey through Harding, A. (1993) England in the Thirteenth
Wales/The Description of Wales Century (Cambridge: Cambridge
(Harmondsworth: Penguin) University Press)
Walter FitzStephen Vita of St. Thomas Jewell, H. (1996) Women in Medieval
Becket [Extracts in Sidwell, K. (1995) England (Manchester: Manchester
Reading Medieval Latin (Cambridge: University Press)
Cambridge University Press)] Miller, E. & Hatcher, J. (1978) Medieval
Alfred the Great: Assers Life of King Alfred England: Rural Society and Economic
and other Contemporary Sources [1983] Change 10861348 (Harlow: Longman)
(Harmondsworth: Penguin) Reeves, C. (1995) Pleasures and Pastimes in
Gransden, A. (1996) Historical Writing in Medieval England (Stroud: Alan Sutton)
England I c. 550 c. 1307 (London:
Routledge)
Poole, A. L. (1955) Domesday Book to
Magna Carta (Oxford: Oxford
University Press)
Powicke, Sir Maurice (1962) The Thirteenth
The Town
Century (Oxford: Oxford University The Lais of Marie de France [1986]
Press) (Harmondsworth: Penguin)
Stenton, Sir Frank (1971) Anglo-Saxon Holt, R. & Rosser, G. (1990) The Medieval
England (Oxford: Oxford University Town (London & New York: Longman)
Press) Miller, E. & Hatcher, J. (1995) Medieval
England: Towns, Commerce and Crafts
Also Map [1983] (London & New York: Longman)
159
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London Durham
Cantor, N. F. (1994) The Medieval Reader [Colgrave, B. ed. and trans. (1940)] Two
(New York: Harper Perennial) Lives of Saint Cuthbert (1940)
Page, W. (1923) London: Its Origin and Early (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Development (London: Constable & Press)
Company Ltd) Roberts, M. (1994) Durham (London:
Williams, G. A. (1963) Medieval London: Batsford)
From Commune to Capital (London: The
Athlone Press)
Exeter
Bristol Hoskins, W. G. (1960) Two Thousand Years
in Exeter (Exeter: James Townsend and
Smith, B. S. & Ralph, E. (1972) A History of Sons Ltd.)
Bristol and Gloucestershire (Beaconsfield:
Darwen Finlayson)
Lincoln
Cambridge Adam of Eynsham [1985] Magna Vita Sancti
Hugonis (Oxford: Clarendon Press)
Leader, D. R. (1988) A History of the Hill, J. W. F. (1948) Medieval Lincoln
University of Cambridge Volume 1: The (Cambridge: Cambridge University
University to 1546 (Cambridge: Press)
Cambridge University Press)
Royal Commission on the Historical
Monuments of England (1959) City of
Cambridge (London: HMSO) Oxford
Catto, J. I. ed. (1984) The History of the
University of Oxford I: The Early Oxford
Canterbury Schools (Oxford: Clarendon Press)
Chester
Henry of Huntingdon [1996] Historia York
Anglorum (Oxford: Oxford University
Press) Hall, R. (1996) York (London: B. T.
Carrington, P. (1994) Chester (London: Batsford/English Heritage)
Batsford) Palliser, D. & Palliser, M. (1979) York as they
160
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161
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162
BIBLIOGRAPHY
163
Index
164
INDEX
165
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166
INDEX
167
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168
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Carles
Ave b u r y
Ti n t a g e l
24
of Busha
Lyo n e s s e
Daughters
D o w n To r
C ove n a n t
Belas Knap
M e n - a n - To l
Stonehedge
Great Fair
Main Road
Cerne Giant
of Uffington
The Longman
MAP KEY
Wo o k e y H o l e
Mythic Site
M e r l i n ' s We l l
G r i m e ' s G r ave
Druid's Circle
Maiden Castle
o f Wi l m i n g t o n
Merry Maidens
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R o ya l e C a s t l e
Tr e t h e v y Q u o i t
Roughting Linn
Bryn-Celli-Ddu
Private Castle
R o ay l e F o r e s t s
Rollright Stones
Way l a n d ' s S m i t h y
County Boundry
Long Meg and Her
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National Boundry
M Y T H I C L O C AT I O N S
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