Government and Politics in the Kingdom of Mawon

1. The Establishment of the Kingdom of Mawon

The Kingdom of Mawon was a federal elective constitutional monarchy, formed from the unification of the Kingdoms of Arlonn, Yaranweg, and Fedhalonn in 249.

On 18/08/248, Endelo I, King of Arlonn, defeated Thyomalo III, King of Yaranweg, and Eydrego, King of Fedhalonn, at the Battle of Thlossyog in Fenamak. Despite his victory, Endelo’s kingship remained tentative, and the following negotiations culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Owffek on 01/02/249 by six principal signatories:

• Endelo I Annaronnan, King of Arlonn;
  • Freyo Magnagannan, the Royal Chancellor;
  • Offeygo Ottaronnan, Earl of Wolnewne;
  • Wonnyoa Leyngweonnan, Earl of Soyna;
• Thyomalo III Eyrannan, King of Yaranweg;
• Eydrego Thyodregonnan, King of Fedhalonn.

This treaty served as the constitution of the new kingdom. It was comprised of two sections:

1. The Order of the Kingdom, which established the office of king, formally acknowledging Endelo as its first incumbent; laid out the king’s powers and jurisdiction, the division of the laws, and the role of the royal council and the chancellor; and established the five original shires (Tronyo, Lagovol, Fenamak, Syoglonn, and Genyamak).
2. The Matter of the Lords, which established the Rede of the Lords and the five original lordships (Syorbak, Wolam, Owffek, Pearmol, and Syornes), and which laid out the role of the lawmoot and the lords’ rights, privileges and obligations within the broader kingdom.

2. The Kingship

The king was the head of state and the head of government of the Kingdom of Mawon. The domains of the kingship included the king’s lordship, governed by the king directly, and the shires, governed by reeves appointed by the king. The reeves held no legislative power.

The royal council was a legislative body which determined the king’s law, although some councillors also had certain executive functions within the king’s domains. Most members of the council were appointed by the king, with the remainder being appointed by the holders of the greater lordships. The council was chaired by the royal chancellor, who was also appointed by the king.

The kingship was an elected position, and the king ruled for life. Upon the incumbent king’s death, their powers were automatically transferred to a caretaker until a successor could be formally elected. This duty was originally fulfilled by the king-in-stead appointed by the late king, traditionally (although not exclusively) one of their children. In 295, the position of the king-in-stead was abolished, and their duties were subsequently passed to the chancellery.

The only eligible candidates for royal elections were the children of any previously elected king. They did not necessarily need to be the child of their immediate predecessor. This rule was changed amid a constitutional crisis following the death of Endelo II in 399. As there were no eligible candidates for the kingship at the time of his death, the scope of eligible candidates was widened to include the grandchildren of any previous king.

In order to be elected, candidates would first need to be approved by the royal council. The king would then be elected from the approved candidates by the Rede of the Lords at a lawmoot convened approximately two months after the late king’s death. The winner of the election was the candidate who received a plurality of the votes. Candidates could not vote, even if they held a lordship and sat on the Rede, however the chancellor would cast a vote on behalf of the royal council. In the event of a tie, the chancellor chose a winner from the tied candidates, even if they had voted for another candidate. If only one candidate was approved, as was the case in 263 following the death of Eymono, a vote was still expected to be held as the lords held the right to abstain.

3. Lordships

The lordships of Mawon were domains over which the kingship had limited constitutional authority. The lordships had four primary obligations to the broader kingdom:

• Electing the king.
• Deliberating the common law.
• Advising the king on matters of common concern.
• Ensuring the peace and security of the kingdom.

The lordships were otherwise independent of the kingship, but in practice, the exact extent of the king’s authority varied between lordships and over time.

Many lordships were historically subordinate to the kingship, particularly those created by the king’s right of appointment. The specific relationship they had with the kingship was usually negotiated as part of the process by which the lordship was created, however they often functioned very similarly to shires, except that they provided the king an extra seat in the Rede of the Lords.

Most other lordships formed similar leagues or blocs with their allies, some via formal agreements or treaties, and some more informally. The exact number and composition of these leagues varied over time, but the Rede of the Lords could always be divided into a handful of opposing factions, particularly as the number of seats increased.

There were originally only five lordships (Syorbak, Wolam, Owffek, Pearmol, and Syornes), however the number grew quickly, peaking at twenty-six in the kingdom’s latter days. The original five were established by the Treaty of Owffek, as mentioned above. The holders of these lordships were considered ‘great lords,’ and they were entitled to appoint members of the royal council (the lords of Reykam, Awslad, Bealnew, Kyalannes, and Glannas, were later granted this right upon their creation).

Thereafter, the lordships of Reykam, Knessyar, and Awslad were each created via ad hoc agreements which laid the groundwork for the establishment of the king’s ‘right of appointment’, known colloquially as the king’s whim. This allowed the king to create a new lordship at each full lawmoot without the need for a vote, only the agreement of the royal council.

Only two lordships were created under the right of appointment, Arbak and Awlteyr, before it was abolished in 283. In its place, a new framework for the admission of new lordships was adopted, which remained in place until the dissolution of the Kingdom of Mawon:

• Prerequisites: The prospective lord would need a hall to act as the seat of their lordship, and an existing lord to act as their sponsor.
• Presentation: The prospective lord visited the king’s hall with their sponsor, bringing gifts and their retinue. The king then visited the prospective lord’s hall to ensure they could effectively manage the lordship.
• Standing writ: If the king was satisfied, they granted the prospective lord a standing writ, permitting them to petition the lords for admission to the Rede.
• Admission: The Rede of the Lords voted at the lawmoot. If a simple majority voted in favour of the new lordship, the prospective lord was admitted to the Rede. In the case of a tie, the king’s vote determined the outcome.
• Charter: The king oversaw the drafting of a charter to establish the lordship and any specific rights, privileges, and obligations that had been agreed. This was signed by the king, the chancellor, the new lord, their sponsor, and the governors of any other domains whose boundaries were affected by the creation of the new lordship.

The nature of this process resulted in the vast majority of lordships being created from existing stewardships, which had an established seat and an existing relationship with one of the lords.

Lordships could be abolished, and their holders removed from the Rede of the Lords, however there was no established process for this until 355, when the Lordship of Reygnawl was the first to be abolished. This required a satisfactory cause to be identified by an assessment of the lordship by the king. This assessment was ratified by the royal council, and would then require a two-thirds majority vote by the Rede of the Lords.

The succession of lordships varied between domains, however they were typically inherited according to the local laws regarding the transfer of movable property. As such, a surviving spouse would usually be first in line to inherit, although it was common for lordships to be inherited by children, siblings, parents, or any other relative, depending on the late lord’s wishes and the will of the household. Succession was sometimes also subject to the agreement of other lords, particularly for those lordships which were subordinate to the kingship.

Upon the death of the king, the succession of their lordship was considered separate to the succession of the kingship, however the individual who inherited the lordship often also succeeded to the kingship.

4. Legislature

Mawkan law was divided into two levels, the common law and the local laws.

Common law

The common law was effective across the entirety of the kingdom and was determined by the Rede of the Lords at the lawmoots.

A lawmoot would be summoned at the seat of the king’s lordship every five years, or approximately two months after the king’s death. These were highly important social and political events for the magnacy, where the lords to wrote, reviewed, and voted on the common law and other matters of concern, elected the king, admitted new lordships, and socialised with one another.

In practice, the common law only received significant review upon the accession of a new king—subsequent lawmoots usually focussed more heavily on the social aspects. A full lawmoot would always be followed by the law games, a sporting competition contested by the lords’ retinues.

The king reserved the power to summon the Rede early for what was called a petty moot. These were usually held to address a specific, time-sensitive issue for which the king needed the Rede’s approval. They were generally shorter with less feasting and no law games, and lordships could neither be added nor removed from the Rede at a petty moot.

Local laws

The local laws were those determined within and which applied to specific domains only. These could be further subdivided as below:

• Solitary law, which applied only within a single domain. This was determined by an open legislative assembly (law of the assembly), an appointed council (law of the council), or by the lord alone (law of the lord).
• Confederal law, also called law of like domains, which applied to a group of domains. This was usually determined either jointly by a league of lordships, or by a single lord to whom others were subordinate. A notable example was the king’s law, which was determined by the king and the royal council, and applied to the king’s lordship, the shires, and certain other lordships which were subordinate to the kingship.

5. Judiciary

The Mawkan judicial system was of limited scope and accountability. As such, most disputes were settled privately by the interested parties without judicial involvement. Any disputes that could not be resolved privately could become judicial by bringing the matter to a judge to instigate a lawsuit. The judge could be any official with judicial authority, depending on the nature of the dispute, such as sheriffs, stewards, reeves, earls, lords, or the king themself.

In most domains, the judge’s word was final, and they could do as much investigation and take as much counsel as they saw fit in order to come to a decision. In practice, however, they often favoured swift and decisive resolutions. The interested parties would often be given the chance to argue their cases, although this was generally a courtesy, rather than a right, and one which was readily withdrawn.

No domains had any formal scope for appeals, so parties who were dissatisfied with a ruling had no recourse but to seek a new settlement privately, appeal to the local governor’s goodwill, or instigate a lawsuit against the judge, usually at the risk of being countersued for wanton litigation.

Occasionally, some disputes were settled with common courts, in which a judge presided over an assembly that would hear the interested parties’ cases and collectively vote on the ruling, usually requiring only a simple majority. This practice was most common in matters concerning local communities and in smaller lordships, rather than larger domains.

6. Earldoms

In addition to shires and lordships, earldoms constituted a third category of primary domains within the Kingdom of Mawon. However, despite using the same name, there were a number of differences in the governance of different earldoms, beyond being ruled by an earl.

Upon the establishment of the Kingdom of Mawon, there were no provisions set out for the constitution of earldoms, and none were founded within the kingdom until the conquest of Norlonn in 297–300. Norlonn had previously been governed by a confederation of eight sovereign earldoms, and their borders were maintained upon their incorporation into the Kingdom of Mawon. The earldoms of Norlonn were subject to the king’s law, and a reeve was appointed to represent the king’s interests in each earldom. However, the earls retained executive and, especially, judicial power within their domains, which they shared with the local reeve. The earls were elected by the local magnates, and as such, they often commanded more power and respect than the reeves to whom they were technically subordinate.

From 322, a high-reeve was elected from among the reeves to represent them and the earls at the lawmoot. This position remained in place until the then incumbent Owvo Ewbonnan died in 329, having been residing in exile in Mawon since 325. The vacancy was not filled, and the position was formally abolished by the Treaty of Ordenn in 335.

Only three other earldoms were established within the Kingdom of Mawon, the Earldoms of Soyna (326, abolished and re-established 330), Wolnewne (380), and Tyerew (418). Unlike the earldoms of Norlonn, these earldoms were neither beholden to the king’s law, nor overseen by a reeve. As such, they were functionally akin to lordships, in that they were beholden to the common law, but otherwise separate from the kingship. However, the earldoms did not confer the holders the right to sit in the Rede of the Lords.

7. Local Government

Within individual domains, local government was divided into three types:

• Shrieval jurisdictions
• Stewardships
• Freesteads

Shrieval jurisdictions were the most common, being areas under the oversight of a sheriff appointed by the governor of the domain. The sheriff had two main responsibilities: tax collection, and the settlement of local disputes. More serious legal disputes would be brought before the local governor for judgement.

Shrieval jurisdictions included both rural shrievalties, in which the sheriff oversaw a certain number of local farms in formal bondage with the governor, and shrieval towns, in which the sheriff oversaw a single town. Shrieval towns were formerly very common, however most were converted to stewardships following the provisions set out in the Laws of Endelo, agreed at the first lawmoot in 249.

Stewardships were towns which were granted a charter of stewardship. In most lordships and some earldoms, such charters were granted at the will of the local governor. In shires and other lordships and earldoms, they were granted by the local governor with the king’s approval. Most stewardships were former shrieval towns which were granted a charter of stewardship upon becoming part of the Kingdom of Mawon, although a handful were also created later on where new towns rose to particular prominence.

Stewardships were held by stewards appointed by the local governor. They were granted certain rights above those of shrieval jurisdictions, usually a reduction in the town’s tax burden in exchange for increased military and infrastructure obligations.

Freesteads were settlements that were not in formal bondage with the local governor, and thus had no obligations to the domain. They were only granted legal protections provided under the common law, but could still be penalised under local laws in certain instances. Most freesteads were individual free farms, although a small number of free towns in Reyka and Norlonn retained this status.