The judicial system is separated into
the secular and church courts. The Mithrandic Church is empowered to try
and punish all its knights and officials. The Church tends to be harder
on its members than the equivalent secular courts.
Small towns have a very haphazard form of government. Formal organizationational hierarchies are not necessary; people generally know who to go to when they need something done.
Towns above a certain size are governed in one of two ways. In towns originally belonging to the Old Kingdom (Beltisheim), the town guilds elect the mayor or alderman of the town, who serves for life. Towns in the "new" kingdom chose their mayor by lot. The guilds nominate candidates, and then the candidates draw lots. The winner does not become the mayor -- rather, he picks which of the other candidates will be the new mayor. Mayors generally serve for three to five years.
The guilds govern themselves, although there are certain royal statutes concerning standard weights and measures. Each guild is isolated not only from other types of guilds, but from guilds of the same type in other towns. For example, the Weaver's Guild in Landsrue Town may have different customs from the Weaver's Guild in Norcastle -- a master weaver in Norcastle might be considered a journeyman in Landsrue Town.
Above the town level, there are the Councils. There are four petty councils (East, West, North, South) and the Great Council. The petty councils are composed of men above a certain level of wealth -- greater and lesser nobles, merchants, landowners, heads of guilds. This is not an optional appointment! A percentage of a petty councilor's income is turned over to the council to pay for various government expenditures. These include royal bailiffs, judges, tax collectors, sheriffs, roads, and so on. The council decides on how this money is spent, within certain broad limits handed down by the Great Council and the King.
The Great Council is made up of members nominated by the petty councils. It is a one-year appointment. The King calls the Great Council, and they generally sit for one month. They decide on issues such as taxation, expenditures, and royal appointments (Gilbert Fraubard's appointment as Marshal of Landsrue will have to be confirmed by the next Great Council). Members turn over an even larger percentage of their income, which they decide how to distribute. If the King decides to go to war, for instance, the Great Council votes on whether to supply him with funds. Naturally, the King has his own monies, but the support of the Great Council is always a plus. Certain Great Councils have been given names, according to what they have accomplished; the Do-Nothing Council and the Council of Mercy are two of these.
(In the Old Kingdom, before the time of the Great Council, each noble had one vote, and all decisions had to be unanimous. Not much was ever accomplished.)
The King has the power to call and dissolve the Great Council. If he feels that the Council is hostile to him, he may decide not to call it, or to call it in an inconvenient place (perhaps far away for some of the members, but not others), or to restrict the number of attendants that Council members can bring with them. If the Council passes a resolution, the King must sign it before it becomes law. When the Great Council meets, items on the King's agenda are done first. Conversely, the size of that year's taxes is always decided on last.
The King has the power to strip lands from disgraced nobles (such as Lord Ancaster). If a noble dies without a male heir, he can take that land and distribute it as he wishes. He also receives income from certain types of taxes, such as the royal tax.
The judicial system is separated into
the secular and church courts. The Mithrandic Church is empowered to try
and punish all its knights and officials. The Church tends to be harder
on its members than the equivalent secular courts.
In the secular arena, minor crimes (petty theft, minor assaults) can be heard by the lord of a town. Church knights are also empowered to deliver what is called "low justice" -- they can summarily judge non-capital offenses. The petty councils appoint judges and bailiffs to hear more serious crimes. These constitute a circuit court: they travel a set route and hear cases as necessary. Since there are very few prisons, most of the accused are free to go about their daily business until the circuit court comes to their area. Then the local sheriff or a Church knight will bring them before the judge. In the case of a more serious crime, a Church knight might be asked to transport the suspect to the court, or to keep them busy in the local monastery or abbey until the court arrives to hear the case. Larger towns do have prisons for major crimes like murder and treason.
Up to a certain point, a person found guilty of a crime can elect to pay a fine instead of whatever other punishment is decreed. Even murder can be paid for, if the person murdered is a commoner. It is very unusual, but not unknown, for a noble to kill a commoner in the square, have one of his men-at-arms drop a purse by the body, and leave -- a "walk-by stabbing", if you will.
Finally, all of the Councils are empowered to dispense justice. The Great Council can settle disputes between nobles, and the King can also hear (or choose not to hear) grievances.