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The Thanes of the Anweald gathered at the Östur for the 2nd Thanesmoot of the year 515. The past few years of Thanesmoots had seen an increase in tensions between the Order and the Thanes, starting with the elimination of the Council of the Order by Anwealda Mark Accynnafon in 502. Many Thanes (in particular those whom are vassals of the Anwealda) felt threatened by the calls of the Masters of the Order of Sanct Creopbaina to make certain changes to the laws and foreign policies of the realm. During this spring Thanesmoot, tensions bubbled into the open.
Mark Accynnafon called the Thanesmoot to order, wasting no time with his first announcement:
“I would like to begin by first announcing the creation of a new ranks system within the realm of Östlaed. Thanes will remain in charge of villages, and in charge of their Farthings. However, where multiple villages, and thus multiple Thanes exist in a Farthing, the most powerful Thane of that Farthing shall have earned the title of Eorl. Where multiple Farthings exist, they shall be organized into a Shire. At this time, there will be no head of multiple Shires. The title of the leader of multiple Shires shall be called an Ealdorman. I will take that as my new title, to replace the term Anwealda. This also means that as I assign titles of Eorl, others will become their vassals.”
Many voices exploded from the table - “Who would be the Eorl of Acholm Farthing?” said one Thane. Another Thane asked “Who would be the Eorl of Firthengest?.”
“All in good time, my Thanes” said Mark, in a calm but loud voice.
“However, we have another issue at hand. With the creation of a new ranking system, and thus a new vassalage order, we upset the traditional balance of Östron society. So far, the legal traditions of our Östron ways have guided the system we had. Today, we discuss the creation of a formal document to govern Östlaed. It will establish Östron rights. It will govern titles and ranks. It will govern our tax code. Foreign relations and policies shall be codified. The military structure shall also be written into a formal law. This document shall be known as “The Domboc,” and copies shall be provided to every village in the realm”
This news was most welcomed by everyone, including the Masters of the Order.
Mark continued by saying “Everyone here shall have input, and as is typical of our proceedings, each section shall be voted on and decided with a simple majority. This process shall begin after today’s Thanesmoot”
Many matters suddenly became quite unimportant. The meeting was perhaps the quickest ever after that point. The Thanes and Masters knew they would be here for days, perhaps weeks discussing what would go in the Domboc.
~oOo~
Several weeks later, the work was finished. After many arguments, and even some fist-fights between the Masters and some Thanes, the work could be presented in full. The events during this time will have long lasting implications for the future of the realm. In the end, the pure numbers of the Thanes managed to reduce the power of the Order within the realm even further, just short of kicking them out of the Thanesmoots entirely.
Lines have been drawn within Östron society.
What shall happen in the future?
Will the fundamentalists now takeover the Order, as their concerns about greater integration within the Empire and a secular takeover of Östron society are proving correct?
Will the less extreme elements fall prey to their appeals to fear?
How will the Thanes react to an escalation?
How can Order, even in the event of a Fundamentalist takeover, possibly control the realm with the military firmly in the control of the Thanes?
What will the Östron people do?
The decisions of the teenagers of House Accynnafon over the next few years give us the best insight into the future of this conflict within Östron society.
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Ealdorman Cerdic Beoden Accynnafon of Östlond
Runner Up of the Glas Claddach Boat Building Competition
Minister of Justice
Last edited by Cerdic Accynnafon on September 8th, 2016, 12:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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