|
TOWNS & CITIES
No more than one in ten Hârnians live in towns. Hârn has eight walled towns: Coranan in Tharda; Tashal in Kaldor; Cherafir in Melderyn; Colotha
in Rethem; Azadmere in Azadmere; Aleath in Kanday; Thay in Melderyn; and Shiran in Tharda. Most castles and keeps have small unwalled towns or large villages next to them, where markets are held. Several of these,
notably Dyrisa, Kiban, Shostim, and Telen, are evolving into walled towns.
Town Charters
There are two different kinds of town on Hârn; freetowns and feudal towns. Aleath, Colotha, and Thay are
freetowns, enjoying a fairly high degree of independence from feudal authority. Azadmere, Cherafir, Coranan, Shiran and Tashal are feudal towns, held directly by the king or state. To the average citizen the
distinctions are minimal. All towns tax their citizens and pay aids/taxes to the king or state. However, freetowns tend to levy less onerous taxes and collect them with less enthusiasm.
A freetown's charter sets
out its unique rights, privileges and obligations. All charters grant the right to build and maintain a city wall, hire mercenaries for defense, hold markets/fairs as often as desired, and define freedom from feudal
obligations (except to the sovereign). Other clauses describe civic government, taxation, defense, and the administration of justice. Feudal town charters cover the same points, but reserve more power to the lord
whose towns they are.
GOVERNMENT OF TOWNS
There is a tendency for civic governments in both kinds of towns to be similar. Civic offices are mainly filled by guildsmen, and military offices by gentry of
military experience. The key officers in all Hârnic towns are:
Alderman
An alderman is a custodian and expounder of the law and member of the town court. Aldermen must be invested in their office by the
sovereign (or his representative), but the office is often inherited, since this is the way that knowledge of customary law is passed from one generation to the next. Most Hârnic cities have twelve aldermen, all
prominent guildsmen, often members of the Litigants' Guild.
To a runaway serf the distinction is crucial. Only freetowns allow the serf to clairn freedom after a year and a day
residence. Feudal towns offer no such protection.
Mayor
Only freetowns have mayors, as such, but all others have some official who is responsible for administering civil and financial affairs. Mayors
are usually appointed by the aldermen, often from a short list of candidates supplied by the crown. This official will run a sizable bureaucracy, including tax assessors and collectors.
Warden
The Warden is the officer commanding the city garrison and responsible for maintaining civic law and order. A major expense for any city is its military budget. In freetowns the
warden is appointed by the Mayor; in feudal towns by the crown, usually the constable of the citadel.
Harbormaster
The harbormaster is the officer in charge of the port (if any) appointed by the Mayor. He is
either a retired member of the Pilots' Guild or a political appointee who hires a master pilot as an assistant. Duties of a harbormaster include supervising port maintenance, providing pilotage services, and
collecting maritime taxes such as pilotage, wharfage, and vessel registration fees. Harbormasters have several assistants in the larger ports.
Bondmaster
The official responsible for the administration
of the city bonding house, and the collection of hawking taxes and import duties, is called the Bondmaster. Appointed by the mayor, the bondmaster is usually a member of an important guild and may have assistants.
Guards will be provided by the Warden.
created by Columbia Games Inc.
|
