The atmosphere is slight sombre at the beginning of the evening meal but it passes and we have a nice meal. Tomorrow our royal guests will leave, and they thank us for some very educational and wonderful days here. The oil lamps were expensive, but will be worth it in the coming winter, and they all completely agree. Asta have already admitted that when she during the Auction discovered what the oil lamps were sold for, she almost lost her shit because I let the crew houses have one each, and Unn has two. The good news is that they are definitely careful with the oil lamps.
After supper, Asbjörn and I relax on the mezzanine sofa, and we talk about the future, the Academy and so on. Asbjörn really like the sofa's too and I explain how it's made and from whom. Asbjörn agree that it is better than benches or chairs with furs, and from hints I get there will probably be one made, plus chair cushions too. Everything here is just so... different. From the house layout with corridors and so many rooms, all the comforts and with warmth and light, to even new and special furniture. Asbjörn seems completely honest that he considers this mansion to have no equal. We have a short discussion about different styles on houses and that Midgård have a lot of interior decorating, and I can see a slight worry in Asbjörn. Haera and the princesses did stay here yesterday, and have spent a heck of a lot of time talking with Jane and the others.
We talk about future laws, and the law book I will create. I've only made notes so far. We get into how things are going with changing the slave laws. Asbjörn says it is a fight but should go through, and this spring at the Northmen Ting at the end of February, a vote will take place that should lead to a ban on forcing a slave to have sex. If a slave says no - man or woman - it must be respected just like a free person, and the owner won't be allowed to punish the slave if the slave says no to sex, even if nothing stops rewarding a slave who says yes. It will probably be a fine for forcing oneself on a slave. The exact Law will be decided and vote on during the Ting, so future will tell, but it will be better than before. Richer people might still deliberately rape a slave and chance that there won't be a fine, but can still pay if they are sentenced to do so. That happens with free persons too. However, should even a rich person repeatedly commit the same crime, they can be convicted of deliberately disrespecting the law, which is far more serious. Then the options are slave for life, niding, execution, torturing to death and blood extermination. Asbjörn likes my idea of making the fine variable according to the amount of mantal the perpetrators family has, in addition to a minimum fine. So it becomes expensive even for the rich. To help prevent false accusations to become wealthy, most of the fine will go to the Northmen Tings chests instead of the victim. That's how things are often done, like when Radgeirrson became a slave, he became the Ting's slave. The law here is hardly perfect, but it could be far worse. Like it seems to be basically everywhere else.
Asbjörn is the King, but he is an elected King and he can not force through laws. The king can decide a lot of things and declare war and so on, but if that decision is very unpopular, there will be a new king at the next Northmen Ting. They hold on to grudges and slights too. Laws are voted on by Ting's, but a higher order Ting has priority, and the highest is the Northmen Ting, so Asbjörn is working hard to get allies to show up at the Northmen Ting, and opponents are kept away from it, which Radgeirrson's case has greatly contributed to.
Asbjörn says that this is not something that might become generally known, but the worst of Radgeirrson's 'friends' have also gotten into trouble, and as his men made unexpected visits to several estates and farms, it turned out that Radgeirrson was not the worst. Unfortunately, a man Asbjörn has considered to be a close friend his whole life has been one of the Radgeirrson's friends, and the man has enjoyed sex with far too young slave girls and even slave boys, although he has treated them overall well. Asbjörn also needed to punish him to avoid being accused of being selective, and his friend understood that, and admitted to what he had done and that it was wrong. A good man in general and a loyal ally in most cases, but Asbjörn has realised that this man has also been the voice who together with Radgeirrson partly persuaded him away form ideas like the new law or making it better for slaves for more than a decade, and Asbjörn now knows why, which feels like a deep personal betrayal.
But there are more or less rich and powerful who have been punished, and alliances between families that are weakened or crumbling. Whipping. Forced castration. Slavery. Convicted of multiple murders and executed. These are some of the judgments that have been given. It will change the balance of power in coming Northmen Tings, and many will be afraid to vote against the new law proposed by the King and his allies. A couple of the convicted men and women will be present at the Northmen Ting as witnesses. They know that a proper public testimony of their shameful actions and those of others who were worse, is part of their punishment.
Asbjörn continues to talk, and say a deep wound in his soul is caused by a noble woman named Thekla. She was the driving force behind her pathetic husband, where the couple in addition to slave girls of all ages also abused their own daughters since they were children. The man began to admit everything, like he was relieved to end it. Asbjörn can not understand how a mother persuades and makes her husband have sex with their own daughters at least once every month from the age of nine, and it has been going on for six to seven years and there have been children. Thekla was proud that her weak husband finally made both of their daughters pregnant. They got two low-status neighboring sons drunk and claimed the sons forced themselves on their daughters. Both sons died in the following First Blood Duels by one of their guards and they took over their property as the children's inheritance. The children had been raised in the family as grandchildren and they planned to let their 'grandson' inherit everything. All to keep the blood 'pure' and increase their familys holdings and power. The man just kept talking and also admitted that he discreetly used drugs from a Völva to make him less fertile and for his daughters to have miscarriages the first two times they became pregnant, but was away on a long journey the last time and couldn't prevent it. That confession made Thekla absolutely furious for his utter betrayal. Thekla deserved something more than just being executed. Asbjörn says that he should have sentenced her to execution just like her husband - but he didn't.
He now regrets his decision because it blacken his soul as well, but in that case he unfortunately let his anger take over. Asbjörn sentenced her to be a slave, branded her chest, and took her away from the estate to the outskirts of the nearest village, where he chained her to the stone wall in a barn with some hay to sleep on. He ordered a slave to take care of her, wash her and force her to eat and drick if she refuses, and a guard to make sure that no one helps her or kills her. Anyone who wants can for a penning mock her, spit on her or give her a slap, and for five penningar rape her for a short time. The money goes to keeping her alive and well. A Völva removed Thekla's ability to have children, as she isn't worthy to spread her blood in this world.
Thekla had made so many enemies. Before Asbjörn left at the end of that first day, the pot to keep her alive had passed four ounces of silver. Most had been donated, but there was a queue outside and most of them were local women. Thekla had lost her voice from shouting, cursing and insulting everyone who visited her, and tried to kick, kneel, hit, scratch, bite, pee and shit on the men who raped her. A careless man had lost an eye.
If Thekla is still alive after the spring equinox, Asbjörn will visit her just before his new law hopefully comes into force. She knows that only death or that law will end her punishment, because he will then let her commit suicide.
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That is a hell of a story I would rather not have known, but this is the world I now live in, with its variant of Laws and Justice.
I need to write a new law here on the island, because as it is now, I am a dictator here, because the law is basically still a copy of the Kingdoms. So even though it is technically a Ting here, I am the only one who has any right to vote according to Northmen's law, because all land is mine and the islands are considered to be one large estate with several subdivision farms and extra buildings. Those who lease the land have no voting rights according to the old agreements, because then the lease would have cost much more, or not been given. In this region of the kingdom, as in most, the law is such that in order to have a vote, you must be a free adult weapons carrying landowner, and your voting right if there is a carefully counted vote, is your landownership in mantal. Generally that is no huge problem as a Ting covers a large amount of farms and small plots of land, but here there is just me, and I can demand to be judged by the Ting - which is myself.
While taking part in a Ting, the idea is that I should try to represent those who leases land on my property, but it is not a requirement and not expected. All free men and women who live within a Ting's area have the right to participate in a Ting and put forward proposals, discuss and contribute even if they have no voting power, and in many cases it is basically considered a duty to participate where you are a resident, to stay informed about decisions and events. Even slaves can stay in the back during a Ting, to learn how it works and see that it works, and if they become free necks, they too should have a more active part, and if they have land they get voting rights too. It is very common that slaves that have become landowning free necks participate in every Ting they can. To show that they are free and have a vote. They are usually very active in the smaller village Tings that deal with smaller disputes about animals, land borders and so on. Since people might chose to become slaves due to economic problems or from a failed harvest, and some slaves have a very good reputation, in most places there isn't a huge stigma against former slaves. It's assumed they earned their freedom, and once they're free, they're free. Being know as a dishonest lying asshole is worse than being a former slave. Especially if you have land.
If you are a Storman who has property under many Tings it becomes unreasonable to travel around and participate in every Ting, especially all the small local village Tings. But every landowner have the right to appoint someone to act and vote on the landowners behalf, but the person must be confirmed to have that right in front of witnesses in the Ting. You can not just show up and say that you have the owner's voting right. A wife/husband will automatically have her/his spouse voting right if the spouse isn't there to vote, unless publicly stated otherwise. Everyone will know there is bad blood and distrust in the marriage if that voting right transfer is stopped, but I sure understand why that is done, as that power also can be used to sell the land and properties. A concubine is a one way street, and for example I automatically get my concubine Kari's voting power from her land if she isn't available, while she doesn't for my land. Generally a concubine doesn't have any land properties or just very low amount, so it is no issue.
My property outside Skiringsalr gives me the right to vote at the local Ting in Skiringsalr, which also means in the Stor Ting for that whole region. Myrun would probably want me to show up at that Stor Ting, but Kari and more says I shouldn't, as I have very little voting power there and have to stand in the back. Considering how voting etc goes, it's better that I'm not there at least the first year, so I get known for my large estate and landownership elsewhere first.
The farms in the south and in Borgarsandr give me voting rights in several local Tings, which gives me the right to vote in Västmark Ting, which is the Stor Ting for the west coast, and is this spring. The location for the Västmark Ting is by a burial mound a day trip northeast of Borgarsandr. We passed it on the way to the Jarl Naeswulfs feast even though the location is not visible from the river. The Västmark Ting was moved there a generation ago according to Kari, and I have to participate there, just to show that I respect the Västmark Ting and the law, as well as make contacts and stay informed about news and what has happened in the Kingdom. It is basically a long day by road, but we can sail most of the way there. Its the end of February, and I assume the weather will be cold, wet and suck. It is also important that Kari shows up, since she have an enormous voting right due to her huge properties that are all in the same Stor Ting region. She has a large voting right at the local Tosra Tinget next time due to her property on Orusingen.
There are many regional Stor Tings within the Kingdom, which makes it a bit of a mess when it comes to laws and such because the law is not exactly the same everywhere, especially not in Skane region in the south with its Counts, but the law is slowly being made the same, year by year. A special Northmen Ting is held every year at the end of winter at the February-March shift that serves as the Stor Ting for the Kingdom, and it takes place at the Västmark Ting site. The Northmen Ting was moved for several important reason, and one is to be more centralized in the kingdom geographically and far easier to reach for the western parts of the kingdom via the sea. Kari has made me understand that it was also done to weaken the influence of the powerful eastern families and clans on the laws of the Kingdom. If it is too far and difficult to get to the Northmen Ting from 'Norway', many people were missing, and that gives locals more power over the Kingdom as who is the King is also vote on. Asbjörn's family who came from that region gained prestige, honor and acceptance by 'weakening themselves', even though they didn't actually weaken that much, and they still travel to the Northmen Ting with a lot of voting power. It takes a few days more to go to the Northmen Ting, but compared to all those who saved two or more weeks on their journey back and forth, it's nothing. Then the northern regions simply have fewer people and less total mantal, and it is still a long way and weeks of time for the common man to go each year. Importantly, the move have made the Kingdom more united and Northmen Ting to be more accepted and seen as fair, while Asbjörns grandfather and father solidified their bloodlines hold of the Kingdom. They have manage to keep it since.
The Northmen Ting location change, normal trade routes and Queen Haera's family is also why Borgarsandr has become the capital of the Kingdom, even though the royal family is mostly from the eastern parts of the kingdom. The Queens have been from larger families in the region, and the Royal castle in Borgarsandr was Asbjörn's mothers family home. Another important thing for the former and current king, is that they're centrally located. The king can be in Borgarsandr for most of the time, and he starts his journeys from the middle of the kingdom and can return there between journeys. According to Kari, there are generally three long journeys per year for the King, and Asbjörn confirmed this before, as it came up during Reiekrône discussions. North along the coast via ship, a loop south and a loop east-northeast. Large events like important weddings and such might change when a journeys takes place, or stop it from happening or be shortened.
Two important political features in the Kingdom are to acquire powerful alliances through relatives and marriages to vote unanimously in Tings, as well as to protect each other's property or to travel together to Tings to make everyone a harder target. An important political 'trick' is to try to prevent people from coming to Tings to vote. There can be a lot of dirty stuff going on behind the scenes on the way to Ting, where one faction tries to delay another. It does not even have to be an enemy faction, and can be an innocent third party, because if that third party does not show up, the balance in total voting power will shift. Legally, there is something called Tingsfrid, meaning Tings peace, and a participant on the way to Tings or at a Ting should be safe, but 'shit happens' in forests and out on the sea, and you are not a real honorable weapons carrying man if you cannot defend yourself and yours. If you cannot make your way to a Ting, you have been uncareful and the gods didn't think you deserved to exercised your voting power. Sabotaged or stolen boats are more of an issue on the sea routes, while forests have bandit attacks.