Law of Acgberth and Offa

Legal Code of Rieweck

Keep writing! Every clean stroke on that parchment will bring renown to crown and wealth in your pockets!
— Master Scrivener Ecgladig
  The Law of Acgberth and Offa is a set of legal provisions in the Kingdom of Rieweck. First written down by King Acgberth Knitving and his cousin, Offa in the late 1st century AU, it quickly became renowned for its fairness and clarity. People across Lithmark and Rieweck began seeing a legal code of such quality as a sign of legitimacy and prestige, which then forced many of the other Ceired kingdoms to improve their own codes of law and at times they simply copied the Law of Acgberth.  

Copying and Distribution

Scribes in the courts of rulers or large royal scriptoriums work hard to copy the original text. Such documents are made as quickly as possible without any artistic decorations in the margins, but there is a certain required level of quality that the scribes must adhere to in order to make it easily readable.  

Lawspeakers

Village elders, mayors, lords, and other such vassals with an interest in the law of the land may request such documents from their liege or an independent scriptorium. As the rates of literacy are relatively low, the leader will lend them to a designated lawspeaker who will have to memorise all of the laws.   Wealthier patrons who employ multiple lawspeakers can ask them to specialise in a specific topic. That way, one lawspeaker might be an expert on the charters of freedom that the people enjoy, the other lawspeaker will be able to recite the peoples' responsibilities by heart.
Type
Text, Legislative
Medium
Vellum / Skin
Court Charterman
Rank/Title | Jul 3, 2020

Court chartermen are experts on local laws who are employed in the court of a noble



Comments

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Jul 2, 2020 19:08 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

I love the idea of a lawspeaker. What a great role :)

Emy x
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