Gawainan Government

RabidFox · Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:51 pm Post subject: Gawainan Government

READ THIS FIRST: The following is an extensive article detailing the many different aspects of Gawainan government. This article is NOT necessary information. Even if you are creating a Gawainan character, you do NOT need to read this article. This article is only for those of who are interested.

Gawainan Government

Gawain has a complex and considerably scattered government that is loosely tied together by feudalism. Although Gawain has a king and most Gawainians identify themselves with the nation as a whole, the real governmental power lies with the nobles. Gawain is divided into eight duchies and the capital district of Bayreuth.

The capital district is the only place where the king has direct power whereas the other districts of Gawain are overviewed by hereditary lines of dukes and duchesses. The king (or queen) is unique amongst the other monarchs of Feila as he is voted into his position by the aristocracy. Once elected, the monarch, usually chosen from one of the reining dukes, will often keep his position for life. However, by law, after ten years the king can be disposed from his position by a unanimous vote from the four duchies. Although in a relatively weak position a clever king can take considerable control over the country with the powers available to him. Foremost amongst these powers is control over commerce. All merchants must have a royal charter to conduct business in Gawain. This is also true of exported and imported goods. The king also has the power of population allotment, able to restrict the amount of peasants allowed to work the land in any one of the duchies. A king can literally financially devastate a duchy that is considered out of line. The catch to this, of course, is that if the targeted duchy is able to raise a large enough army before a king can act, enforcement would be difficult without starting a civil war.

The politics of Gawain is often a finely balanced web of agreements. Most of the power wielded by the dukes is enforced by granting land to the landowning class of knights and receiving the loyalty and protection of the armies attached to the knights. Lower on the social scale, peasants still comprise the majority of the population of Gawain and perform most of the labor. More recently, a newer class has risen to prominence due to the proliferation of trade charters being granted. This middle class is comprised of the merchants and artisans who make up the majority of the population in the larger cities.
_________________
"Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening." - Murphy's Law