Capital: Cyngeledan (15K)

Population: approx  700,000

King: Æthelred Lodric

Westerland is situated in the south-central area of Brighland. It is a country of rich and fertile land, interspersed with forests, lakes and rivers.  It is the strongest of the Erlundish kingdoms; Of Brighland’s human kingdoms, only Anjervas rivals it in power. 

Language

The language of the common people is the Westerlundish dialect of Erlundish, and is spoken in most day-to-day business.  Since the average person rarely travels beyond his local community, it is relatively easy to tell where a man was raised based on his accent.

Ecclesiastical texts are usually written in Brikan-ri, the high language of the Empire; Dominist services are typically performed in this tongue, although many priests use more Erlundish than the Imperial rite would stand for. Brikan-oh (Low Imperial) is the lingua fraca of Danun, and is used for most international correspondence.

 Writing likewise takes several forms.  The angular runic Aulderlundish alphabet is common in engravings of all sorts, while the more rounded alphabet (in the formal (Brintic) and more flowing (Demosic) varieties), spread first by the Brikani and later by priests, is used in letters and recordkeeping.

One more script is worth mentioning, though it is only rarely seen, and then only  carved on ancient artifacts and ruins.  Called Dracancræft because the symbols looked like twisting dragons (or alternately, because legend has it dragons crafted the symbols), it is actually more of a logographic system than an actual alphabet.  Even the wisest of sages are unable to properly translate the Dracancræft.

 Most churchman can read, and many nobles pride themselves on some degree of education.  Some ceorls can recognize relevant words, but the vast majority of common folk are illiterate.  

 Erlundish society is structured with a basic social contract: those higher lead and protect the lower, who in turn feed and serve the higher.  Society is tied to the land; who has more land has more rights and often more power. Most members of society fall into one of the following categories.

 Thrall – The lowest of the low, the thrall is owned by an individual.  Without even the ties of land a haffree enjoys, a thrall may be sold and taken far away at the discretion of his owner.  While many thralls are foreign born, captured in raids or wars, most are enslaved as punishment by a court. Thralls or bondsmen technically have minimal rights (such as the right not to be starved to death) but enforcing those rights may be problematic.  Thralls are usually recognized by their close-cropped hair.  Dominists tend to look down on such slavery, but that doesn’t stop the trade or the fact that most lords have bondsmen of this sort; indeed, it is considered an economic necessity by many.  In desperate times a ceorl can submit himself to a lord’s protection and become a thrall, hoping to buy his way out of thralldom in better times. Bondsmen are legally allowed to own property and even make money on the side (eventually buying their freedom), but again the law doesn’t always come through. A lucky slave may be freed by his owner, but most die as slaves.

 Haffree – The lowly peasant laborer. Not technically a slave, but an unfree person, bound to the land and to the control of the lord.  The life of the haffree revolves around labor duties to his lord. Haffree do not have military obligations (though they may accompany supply trains), but spend most of their time working their lord’s lands.  As with thralldom, a ceorl may become haffree by giving his lands to a lord, who then allows the haffree to work the land for the lord. Conversely, a haffree may buy his way to freedom (with his lord’s permission).  The haffree are the backbone of the agricultural economy.

 Ceorl – A free man. A ceorl is seldom truly free, for he still has obligations to a noble or the king, but compared to the thrall he is a man of means. Ceorls may bear arms and are may participate in community meetings (making them moot-worthy in popular parlance); they are more likely to pay rent for farmland than provide labor, although many do certain services as required. Ceorls usually own one or more hides of land, and can buy, sell, or rent land.  A ceorl who manages to acquire five hides of land is entitled to the rights accorded a thegn (such as increased bloodprice) although he wouldn’t have the title without fealty to a lord.

Thegn –  A landed noble.  Not a hereditary position; it must be earned, although frequently a lord will award a dead thegn’s child the title and land if the heriot (death price) is paid (usually a set amount of horses, weapons and armor).  If the thegn dies in battle for his lord, the heriot is usually waived.

  The position of thegn takes up a large spectrum of nobility; in terms of the much more stratified hierarchy found in Anjervas, a  thegn can run the gamut from knight to baron.  A thegn’s importance is largely tied to the importance of his lord; the king’s thegns (who make up the majority of this class) tend to be wealthier and may hold positions of authority in the court.   Thegns may be granted rights of justice on their lands.  A particularly well-off thegn can have thegns of his own. The wealthiest of the nobles (those with lands worth 40 pounds or more) are known as greater thegns (or miclethegns), and are roughly analogous to barons.

Ealderman– The political, legal and military representative of the king in a shire.  The ealderman have substantial power and freedom.  Some ealdormen have amassed power enough to be de facto kings themselves, although by royal charter a shire’s displeasure (i.e. revolt) allows the king to depose a tyrannical ealdorman.  Ealdormen are still government officials appointed by the king, so the title is not hereditary.

  Ætheling  – Æthelings are adult male members of the royal line. They have the best shot at kingship, and usually are quite wealthy.

  King – While the king is technically the master of all the realm, he directly controls only a small portion of the land; the rest is divvied up various nobles in return for support.  Though the king is usually succeeded by his eldest son, this isn’t certain; the Witan gathers to decide the who is bet suited to rule. Although in theory anyone could be chosen as king, no one not of the royal family has ever been so honored.

Shire-reeve (Sheriff) –  The financial representative of the king in a shire.  When the ealdorman was away, the sheriff assumes his judicial and sometimes even  military duties.  The shire-reeve usually has deputy reeves to assist him in meeting with hundredmen, collecting taxes and hearing cases in hundred courts.

  Witan – The council of the wise, drawn from bishops and ealdermen, merchants and wysards – ideally, the most learned and most powerful people in the land. 

Heorthwiga (Hearth Warrior) – A powerful warrior in the pay of the king or ealdorman.  They are quite well armed and armored, a small but very disciplined standing army of their lord’s household.  Unlike the regular nobility, the Heorthwigas  have no ties to the land; they receive all provisions from their lord, along with gifts bestowed for good service.  Although any nobles may conceivably have men-at-arms who work for pay, only the richest can afford to train and equip a considerable number of men to the level necessary to call them Heorthwiga.  A heorthwiga is sometimes known as a husceorl.

Unlike a pure feudal society, power in Westerlund is less centralized; a tenant owes fealty to the owner of the land, of course, but the hierarchy varies.  A ceorl may be beholden to a thegn, who is beholden to an earl, who is beholden to the king. . . or a ceorl may only be beholden to the king.  Erlundish law gives more rights to the lesser classes than those in Anjervas enjoy. 

  Technically a king owns all the land; however, once given away to supporters it is often difficult to get back. When the landholder dies, the king may give the land to someone else, although it is customary for the landholder’s heir to pay a sum to keep the land. There are exceptions to this. Some land has been given to a landowner and heirs in perpetuity by royal charter. A charter may be given to a great hero, but more often is land given to the church as a secure support for a church or monastery. Chartered land is commonly known as “bookland”, i.e., land recorded in the book of charters.

Westerlundish women have substantial rights compared to those in Anjervas.  Women may inherit and hold land on their own, and are as free as men to marry or divorce.  Although warriors, leaders and priests are mostly male, women are not necessarily barred from such positions of authority.  Indeed, there are abbesses and an earlina among the Great Council. 

Administration

The basic unit of territory is the hide, the amount of land necessary to support a single family – which varies greatly in size but averages 120 acres.  Next is the hundred, an administrative and judicial unit made up of a hundred hides.  The hundred court, where all the free landholders met to consider civil and criminal cases, and handle local government administration, in convened every four weeks.

 The largest administrative unit is the shire, which is administered by an earl (political and military) and a sheriff (fiscal and sometimes judicially).  Shires always have at least one burh (a fortified place such as a fort or a strongly-walled village), and most have several. Town-sized burhs with attendant civilian populations are called boroughs or burras – depending on regional accent.  Burhs may be controlled by an individual lord, while a borough is usually under direct jurisdiction of the crown; moneyers reside at the more important boroughs, and trade and military value make these fortified towns very useful to the king.

  The king’s chief councilors are the earls, bishops, and abbots, as well as the largest non-titled landowners.  Two or more times each year they gather into a great Council to discuss the state of the kingdom.  While the king is not bound to follow their advice, only a rank fool would ignore their counsel.

   The Law

The Erlundish have a well-developed set of laws covering all aspects of life and society.  The King and his council enact laws, which are periodically sent out to reeves, earls and bishops – the ones responsible for administrating the laws. In addition to the code of laws, there is a body of customary laws.  The common law – “folk-right” – is largely oral, created by precedent, and can vary from region to region.  There can be considerable tension between the royal law codes and folk-right, with the latter prevailing more often than not.

 There is no standing police force as such.  When a crime has been committed, it is usually up to the victim or the victim’s family to bring the offender to justice.  However, there is a force drawn from the populace to protect “the king’s peace;” one man is appointed from every hundred (the hundredman) to lead ten others (tithingmen) in pursuing the king’s will (as dictated by the shire-reeve).  Usually this entails periodic patrols or posses directed against highwaymen and cattle-thieves.  It isn’t a paid position, but most consider it both a duty of a landowner and an honor to serve when requested.  In some localities, the populace will pay for full-time mercenaries to serve as guardians of the peace.  Most armed men will have some token identifying who they work for – often as simple as a colored cloth around one arm – so as not to be mistaken for brigands or raiders.

  There are several avenues for justice and order to be served. A lord typically adjudicates disputes on his own lands, usually holding court every Lawday.  Officially, a thegn cannot handle criminal cases, although there have been a few limited exceptions. As mentioned previously, local civil and criminal cased are handled at the monthly  hundred court.  A king’s reeve (the shire reeve or one of his deputies) presides along with the hundredman and the tithingmen.  For cases beyond the scope of the hundred, or cases within the hundred which the court cannot resolve, there is the shire court.  Meeting twice a year, the shire court is presided over by the earl, the shire reeve, and the bishop.  Cases of a religious nature, such as accusations of wrongdoing against a priest, are tried in ecclesiastical court, beyond the king’s rule if not his influence. Finally, appeals for justice may be set directly before the king as he progresses through his kingdom; this is typically a last resort, and if he rules on a case the king’s is almost invariably the final word.

  In court, the plaintiff makes an accusation, while the defendant swears an oath denying the charge (if he in fact denies it).  Both sides may bring “oath-helpers” who likewise swear for or against the charge.  The head of the court then decides the matter based on the oaths.  If the oaths are not sufficient, or when the accused is not considered oathworthy, the defendant can then ask to have a trial by ordeal.  The ordeal may be combat, but more typically it is a dangerous and often painful test to see if Dominus will take a side.

  There being no long-term jails in Westerlund, penalties for guilt are fines, slavery, mutilation, or death.  Fines are the most common penalty, with compensation going to the victim or victim’s family (in the case of death, the ‘bloodprice’ of the victim) plus an additional fine to the reeve.  The guilty party’s family can step in and pay the fine if he cannot or will not do so.  If the fine goes unpaid for whatever reason, the man may be declared outlaw; all who aid him must pay dearly, and any who kill him receive no punishment.

  Sometimes, if the accused is unable to pay his fines, he may be sentenced to slavery.  Slavery as punishment, while a lengthy sentence, is not permanent, and the convicted is deemed innocent at the end of his servitude.

  Some crimes, known as “bootless crimes,” are automatically capital. Arson, obvious murder, and treachery to one’s lord are examples of bootless crimes, though there are others.  Even in these cases, a reprieve is sometimes allowed provided the kith and kin of the condemned can raise the money amounting to his bloodprice. Most die by hanging, although beheading is common for nobles and both burning and drowning have been used on occasion.  

If the aggrieved or the family feels justice hasn’t been served, they may conduct a feud against the accused.  This is tricky, for the members of the court must be convinced in the rightness of the feud, which is often hard to do. 

Westerlund’s most famous export is wool, both raw and in fine woolen cloth. Tin, copper, and iron are mined to some extent, although their best sources are in the northern reaches of the kingdom, and thus heavily fortified to protect against Hordish raiders. Some very skilled weaponsmiths work here, but unfortunately the best iron must sometimes be imported.  Some of the finest sources of iron ore in Brighland lie in the mountains of the Great Ring, deep in Hordish territory – another reason the Erlundish are so keen on reclaiming Norlund .

  Within the borders of the realm trade is fairly healthy, at least where roads or river allow access.  Many villages are known for a particular industry – pottery or weaving being two examples – that give a definite advantage in trading. The bulk of trade is by barter; among the haffree taxes tend to be paid in produce instead of coin, and even ceorls pay rents in a mixture of coin and kind.  Most freemen have at least a few pennies to their name, but these they hoard, bartering what they can.  Every borough and many villages have markets which run every week or sometimes every tennight.  The largest market towns are along the main roads (particularly King’s Road) and near the largest rivers. 

   Coins

Westerlund shares the same coinage system as Midlund and Anjervas, which is based on the silver penny.  The penny is thin enough to be bent (with effort) by hand, and can be divided into 2 half pennies or (if quartered) 4 farthings.  Pennies can be gathered into units of account: twelve pennies are called a shilling and 20 shillings are a pound (that's 240 pennies, which literally equals a pound of silver).  Another common coin is the bronze sceat, which is generally worth 1/20^th of a penny; it is a currency for common transactions among the lowest tiers of society.  There is also an exceeding rare gold coin called a gold mark, worth 100 pennies.  It is seldom seen out of the hands of high nobles or wealthy merchants – people for whom the encumbrance of money actually becomes an issue.

  Coins are minted by royal license.  Most mints are run by the church, since they have a good deal of money anyway and in theory are not corruptible.  Whether merchant, noble, or clergy, all license holders must allow the shire reeve access to storerooms and records at any time.  Mints and their products are always well-guarded.  A penny’s stamp never varies from mint to mint except for a tiny maker’s mark signifying the mint of origin. The vast majority of mints are located in market towns.

Over time, coins lose weight due to wear and illegal "shaving".  To ensure uniformity of currency, the previous king, Wulfred, decreed that all coins must be turned in every five years to be reminted.  The fees for this (generally 5% for native coins and 10% for foreign coins, minimum 1 farthing) are split between minter and king.  This is typically enforced only with pennies; sceats do get reminted but their value is so slight that sceats may continue circulating even when worn faceless.  

Most foreign coins are devalued by 20% or more.  In towns with a powerful moneyer, it is actually illegal to pass coins from other nations, even Midlund.

Religion

The dominant religion of Westerlund is Dominism, predominantly Northern or Brighland Rite.  Southern Rite is tolerated but by no means encouraged.  The Westerlund Communa has more of a secular role than the Southern Rite would allow.  Bishops are appointed by a combination of Community election and royal appointment; furthermore, bishops have power by virtue of being wealthy landowners in their own right.

 Unlike the recent trend in Imperial architecture, Northern Dominist churches tend to be relatively small and lacking in outside adornments.  They stand tall – even two-storied – with rounded arches in the windows and door frame.

 Many priests perform services before large stone spires located in village centers, groves or crossroads.

 The older polytheistic faith of the Erlundish tribes is discouraged but not actively persecuted; its adherents practice in out-of-the-way villages or quietly in more metropolitan areas.  Druidry (a form of nature-worship) is also tolerated, and in the case of the Cynanite Order actively embraced. 

 For reference, the breakdown of active Dominist religious houses in Westerlund:

 Northern Rite:  

Edorans: 35 

Osward Canons: 28

Cynanites: 14

 Magic exists; so do people who can bend the world to their will by supernatural power.  Everyone believes in magic; furthermore, most (especially the low-born) know a charm or rhyme to (they hope) bring good luck.  Quite a few warriors carry a talisman or “lucky” item, and mothers place woven charms on their children as protection from faeries and evil spirits.

It seems like every village has its “wise woman”who practices what can be termed low magic.  Often called wiscræft or wise craft, it consists of minor charms, herb lore, and a touch of Aulderlundish and even Dominist religion.  Besides distributing curses and love potions, such women (and very occasionally men) also perform basic medicine on man and beast alike.  In strongly Dominist lands the priesthood discourage this competition, while in Aulderlundish lands such folk may be consider a kind of layclergy.

 High magic, called wyrdcræft (fate or doom craft) requires literacy and a great deal of study and will.   Their spells can harm or heal, strengthen or weaken, create fire, control the wind or delve into the thoughts of another. Weapons and armor which have spells woven into their making are rare and prized.  The practitioners, called Wyrdcræftega (Doomcrafters) or wysards (wise ones), are rare (numbering in the dozens in Westerlund) and secretive, living alone in isolated towers or in fortified abbey-like communities. 

Doomcrafters are feared by ceorl and lord alike, for by not showing the full extent of their power, rumor makes their seem far more dangerous than they are.  Their learning goes beyond the arcane, and Doomcrafters are learned beyond the average clergy. One of the king’s chief councilors  (and his father’s before him) is the ancient wysard Vormigard. Again, the Dominists distrust the wysards, but find them too formidable to actively persecute.

 Military Organization

 Ceorl –  The commoners have three “burdens” of service: maintain fortifications, work on bridges, and army service.  Except for the men selected as ordmen, ceorls are rarely found on the shield line.  Instead, they act as bearers of equipment and the wounded and build or take down fortifications, cook, etc. In times of crisis, however, even these are pressed into battle, often armed with clubs and knives.

 Ordman –  Every 4 hides must equip and supply a warrior for regular service.  This often includes thegns, although a number are ceorls.  Typically, the common ordman wears leather or a chain shirt, a helm or leather cap, and roundshield, and carries a seax, spear or ax, and sometimes a sword.  One in ten or so will have a long or shortbow as well.  Units of ordmen tend to be formed based on affiliation – that is, members of a given locality stay together – and take their orders from their immediate lord or his representative.  Ordmen typically gather to train every month or tennight.  

Heorthwiga – Heorthwigas, or husceorls, are the highly-trained elite warriors, generally making up the center of a battle line, or standing guard around the king.  While fighting thegns have other duties and occupations, a husceorl has no obligations save fighting, training to fight, and defending his lord; huscarls are the closest thing to a permanent, professional army.  Up to a third of them carry broadaxes or battle swords, adding to their lethal reputation.  

Werod or “warband” – A unit of warriors. Also a group of adventurers, be they rich or landless. Such freebooters are welcomed when trouble is near, but less so in peaceful lands, for hungry defenders may become troublemakers themselves.

 Weapons and Armor

The husceorls and wealthy nobles are usually the only ones who can afford a good suit of armor. The typical well-dressed warrior sports chain mail and a large shield. Other heavier armors are seen, but the preference is mail.  Of course lesser men must make due with leather or even quilted armor. In a full muster many ceorls have only their shirts to defend them, although most can scrounge a small shield.

 Swords are prized possessions, handed down through generations. The style of sword is distinct from the fashion in Anjervas in that the blade is wider at the base and has a distinctive fuller (or sometimes two) running almost the whole length of the blade. The pommel is large, and often a large three-cornered counterweight.  The other distinctive weapon is the broad axe (also known as the Erlundish or huscarl axe), featuring a heavy head with a 15 inch crescent blade atop a 4-6 foot haft. It is a terror weapon, for a strong warrior can shear a horse’s head off at the neck, or cut an armored man in half.

 Still, the most common weapon on the field is the spear. It is more generally useful than a sword, and far cheaper to own (though a noble will have very fine spears). Most nobles and many ceorls carry a seax (a distinctive Erlundish knife) The poorest in the levy will likely be armed with converted farm implements or stout clubs.

 Many ordmen carry a throwing spear or brace of javelins for an opening volley, but otherwise Westerlundish armies aren’t well-endowed with missile weapons (though this is beginning to change). Slingers are usually the young and the poorer ceorls, while most bowmen have a few hides of land. Archers are used primarily to guard the supplies, harassing and skirmishing, and as snipers. In battle, archers usually gang up on the enemy’s leaders; thus kings have a number of thegns armed only with large shields to defend their liege.

 Tactics

The Westerlundish military fight almost universally as infantry. All nobles and many ordsmen ride horses or ponies to battle, but dismount to form battle lines. Many can swing a sword without falling out of the saddle, but few are comfortable in the role of cavalry.  Standard tactics involve lines of massed men three to six deep; the best-equipped, best-regarded warriors are in the front ranks, with younger and poorer fighters behind.  Ealdermen and royalty generally direct the battle from just behind the main line, surrounded by an elite guard which includes shield men. As mentioned previously, the Erlundish military has not learned to use massed archery to best effect.  Battle strategy at its best is limited to choice of ground and when to charge.

 Internal Relations

King Æthelred is fairly well-respected in his kingdom, with a reputation of even-handedness.  During his nine-year reign the country has not warred with either of his neighbors, nor has the Horde succeeded in any deep incursions.  Warbands have raided northward, but thus far have made no significant territorial gains.  Æthelred is currently undertaking a massive engineering feat: a dyke 30’ high with a 10’ fronting ditch running the 40 mile span between the rivers Nyst and Avry.  A quarter of this project has been completed, and towers and burhs have been built to defend the line.

At the moment there are no serious political threats to the King. The king’s younger brother, Ealdorman Æthelstan – the only serious rival to the throne – seems content with his lot, and loyal to the king. Those who itch for glory, wealth and power go north to fight across the border, a very good situation for Æthelred.

 While Æthelred  isn’t threatened by his noble subjects, they aren’t necessarily under his control, either.  Ealdermen and even thegns still conduct raids and carry on blood feuds, often without the king’s leave or even knowledge.  The House of Gorwin, in particular, is powerful enough that they can do what they like.  The Gorwins have traded the kingship with the Lodrics for some 170 years, and would likely seize a real opportunity to rule once more.  The king’s supporters should keep their eyes open when in shires dominated by friends of the Gorwins. 

 Religious

The Brighland Communa is the dominant sect in Westerlund.  A few houses of the Southern Rite exist in the kingdom, but in generally there is no real trouble so long as they don’t rock the boat.  Problems arise when the Southern houses follow Syrillia’s orders to meddle and convert the nation to the “proper” way of worshiping. 

 The Church has quibbled with Æthelred in the past; while he has sponsored a few church projects, he hasn’t given nearly as much land to the church as, say, the king of Midlund has.  Neither is he as pious as his eastern neighbor.  Still, while Æthelred is hardly biased in the church’s favor, they admit he is just and fair, and charitable to the poor and sick (Pendalricians have especially prospered under his reign).  The persistence of Aulderlundish religion in some parts of the country is causing fits among the bishops of both sects, but Æthelred has no intention of instigating another bloody war over worship.

 External Relations

 Relations are generally amiable with Midlund, although periodic raids take place on both sides of the border (such skirmishes are more likely to be ongoing grudges between nobles than war-acts endorsed by kings).  It is no secret, and small wonder, that Æthelred hopes to join the two kingdoms by any legal means, although the king of Midlund has thus far produced no issue to wed or rule.  Æthelred’s lineage is not close enough to make him a serious contender by blood. Should Argrid II die without issue, Æthelred will either lobby Midlund’s Great Council or outright invade in order to keep the Anjervans from seizing power themselves.

 Westerlund gets along with the Sylvan Confederacy, provided no Erlundish crosses the border.  Animosity with Anjervas is fairly low at the moment, despite some agitation in the Imperial church for reform of the religious houses in Westerlund.

 There have been no great disturbances from the Hordish lands in several years, but small-scale raids and incursions occur often enough to keep the local thegns watchful.

 Last updated June 28, 2003