Berahthram's Second Letter - The Normandy Tribunal

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Você recebe esta outra carta na visita seguinte dos Redcaps ao covenant, aproximadamente um mês depois da primeira. Novamente, a carta está endereçada a você.

Esta segunda carta, mais longa que a primeira, segue o padrão: pergaminho de boa qualidade, copiada por um escriba profissional, e termina com o mesmo selo.

O conteúdo é o prometido: uma descrição adequada do Tribunal da Normandia.

Há também uma breve nota, junto da carta em si, com algumas poucas informações sobre o potencial de fundação de um novo covenant. Berahthram menciona uma região na Bretanha, supostamente rica em vis, e com uma aura mágica de poder considerável. O único problema, diz ele, seria o lorde local.

Salvete, magi et magae

I hope the intervening time has been kind to you. This is the first of my letters regarding the tribunalia. In this letter, I shall describe Gallia. I sincerely hope you find the following both entertaining and informative. I ask that you read this and future letters with the utmost attention, so that we may make the best choice of tribunal for our conventum.  Without further ado, I give you Gallia.



De Territorio Galliae

From west to east, the Tribunal Galliae extends from the Oceanum Atlanticum over 400 miles to the edge of Lorraine and the Arar, marking the border with the Germaniae and Helvetiae tribunalia and the Imperium Romanum Sanctum. The border here is well defined depending on whether the land owes its fealty to the French king or the German emperor. From the Mare Britannicum to the north, the tribunal extends the same distance south, as far as the Duranius and the Tribunal Aquitaniae. The border between the Galliae and Aquitaniae tribunalia has moved over the years, but for over a century Gallia has accepted that its southern boundary is marked by the Duranius. This leaves an area of uncertainty in the Massís Central to the southeast, but there is currently no dispute amongst the conventa closest to that area.



De Historia et Res Politicae Galliae

The lands that today comprise the tribunal were once home to the savage galli who made pagan sacrifices to the powerful spirits and faeries of the land. But, in the first century Julius Caesar defeated Vercingentorix, subduing the galli and making the entire region a roman province. The galli never wholeheartedly adopted the Roman pantheon, so a mixed culture formed.

From the fifth century onwards, the region saw two groups of barbarians settle in its lands: the franci in the fifth century, and the Vikings in the ninth century. The franci eventually freed themselves from the Imperium, and formed an independent kingdom. The first line of kings is the Merovingian line, famed for their supernatural strength.

Both settled successfully, and the Viking northmen caused the northern region to be renamed Normandia. The settlement of the northern region was spearheaded by Rollo, and his line thenceforth held titles in those lands.

A muslim invasion from Iberia also occurred during the eighth century, but was successfully repelled. One of the hero’s in that war was Charles Martel, to whose line Carolus Magnus belongs. Carolus is definitely one of the most important rulers in the history of Europa, and there was a great surge in culture and education during the years of his reign. Be that as it may, the carolingian line eventually faltered and was replaced by the Capetian dynasty, the current rulers of Francia.

The current Rex Francorum is Philippus II. His rule has endured and overcome serious challenges over the years. When he rose to power in a.D. 1179, his domains were already in grave danger. Over the following decades Phillipus II fended off repeated attempts at his lands from the English kings. He also took part in the Tertia Expeditio Sacra.

Internally, Phillipus has also upset the aristocracy by consistently favoring low-born learned men over nobles in his court. He is slowly building a corps of bureaucrats, something very unusual in the eyes of the landed nobility so used to having important roles in the running of the State. Some fear the aristocracy might not stand to being brushed off for much longer.



De Res Politicae Magicae Galliae

Politically, Gallia is dominated by the older, more powerful conventa; these in turn keep lesser conventa as vassals. The five major major vassalage lines are headed by: Fudarus (Domus Magna Tytalis), Confluensis, Florum, Oleron and Montverte. Fudarus is rapidly waning in power, as both Tytalus primi fight for dominance of the Domus. Confluensis is a quaesitorial conventum, and as such tends to be a lawful and just liege. Florum is extremely wealthy, but tends to be politically inert. Oleron is a conventum of Domus Merinitae with strong ties to the faerie world; it is also very powerful militarily. Thankfully, Oleron doesn’t conduct any major raiding. Montverte is one of the most venerable conventa in Gallia. It is very militaristic, and was largely responsible for the creation of the raiding tradition in this tribunal. Most conventa not belonging to the Montverte line are extremely resentful of its practices.

In regards to the domus, Gallia is mostly populated by magi Tytali and magi Flambonis, with ordinary populations of other magi and magae from others. The Tytalus mindset was strongly impressed upon the hermetic population here, which can be seen in the traditions of raiding and of tourneys.



De Historia Magicae Galliae

The current borders of Gallia  are not those of the original Tribunal: initially it included Gascogne but not Britannia Minor or Flandria. But, with the independence of Britannia Minor the Tribunal Maximum was forced to declare it part of Tribunal Britanniae. The presence of the Celtic culture and Breton language also weighed in the decision. Finally, on the magical side, Britannia Minor also had strong ties to the druidic tradition.

The eastern part of Gallia was originally part of Tribunal Lotharingiae. However, the nation of Lotharingia quickly vanished, its land divided amongst the other French kings. Hermetic borders were more flexible then, and the Tribunal Maximum followed the mundane changes by dividing Tribunal Lotharingiae. Some conventa became part of Tribunal Germaniae, others of Tribunal Galliae.

The Schism War saw violence throughout the Tribunal, with some of the most terrible clashes occurring in the regions of Normandie and Bretagne. When Domus Diednis finally fell, their history and purported crimes were purged from Tribunal records. Immediately after the war Britannia Minor was returned to Gallia, a move intended to further suppress any lingering Diedne influence. Domus Tytali and Domus Flambonis benefitted immensely from this move, which they partially supported. Their strong presence in Gallia meant they were able to collect most of the spoils.

Great strife ensued as magi Tytali and magi Flambonis fought and raided each other, competing for the resources belonging to the (now extinct) Diedne. As the instabilities grew, the fear of another war spurred the Quaesitores into action. With their support, Pertheus Tytalis proposed a series of rulings that now bear his name (Compactum Perthei). This granted all of the contested vis sources to the Tribunal as a whole, and required magi to compete on a seven-year basis for the right to harvest from them. Some conventa were upset by this, and seceded to Aquitania. The Tribunal Maximum recognized the change, and with that Gallia finally got its current borders.



De Legi et Traditionibus Galliae

Gallia is an unusual tribunal in many ways: relations with the mundani, vis ownership, mundane property laws, and the hierarchy of magi and conventa. As you probably know, Normandie is heavily settled, with almost no allodial land left; this is particularly difficult in the central region, which is heavily populated due to the quality of the soil. The explicitly Code stipulates that no magus or maga may owe allegiance to a person outside the Ordo, which puts conventa in a difficult position. On the one hand, they must settle somewhere, on the other, they can’t enter into vassalage with local lords or with the Church. The sheer amount of settlements and people also makes heavy interaction with the mundani all but inevitable. As a result, rulings against “meddling with the mundane” are considerably relaxed in Gallia. Although there is no specific Tribunal ruling against it, most dealings with the mundani are acceptable, especially if there are no undesired consequences or damage to a magus or magae. This is, I assume, a strange arrangement for most of you, but it is nevertheless a necessity.

Because Gallia is so poor in vis, and because of the Flambeau-Tytalus conflicts following the Schism War, magi and magae in this tribunal must compete for it. Every Tribunal meeting is followed by a tourney, as I mentioned in my previous letter. The participants of this tourney are awarded rewards of their choice according to their performance. Chief amongst such rewards is the right to collect vis from certain sources.

The only vis sources which are not are won in this tourney are the ones within one day travel of conventa. Following a Tribunal decision in 1109 a. D., each conventum must designate the meeting chamber for its concilium; if a runner is able to get from the chamber to the vis source and back again, on his own two feet and unaided by magic, between sunrise and sunset on a day which is within a month of an equinox, then the vis source is a seisin of that conventum. Seisins belong to a conventum as long as it exists and meets in that same chamber, and need not be won or defended during the tourney. In order to extend their reach and take possession of more sources, many conventa use specialists called cursores, or “runners”. These athletic grogs’ sole purpose is to prove to the Quaesitores that the source lies within a day’s march of the conventum. Again, another unusual - and frankly quite bizarre - arrangement.

Through some clever political maneuvering by an infamous magus Tytali, raiding of other conventa is considered entirely legal in Gallia, as long as only mundane resources are damaged or taken. This makes fledgling conventa very vulnerable in this tribunal, as more powerful conventa can bully the upstarts by raiding its mundane resources, sometimes literally starving them. As a means to avoid or lessen this, some conventa have taken to sending a magus or maga to accompany caravans, increasing the risk for raiders, since there is greater chance that they might accidentally break the Code.

Finally, mirroring the vassalage relations of mundane lords, many conventa in Gallia have vassals. This tends to be beneficial to both the vassal and the suzerain. Young conventa gain protection from raids and some political support, while the suzerain is entitled to some sort of periodic payment or even a levy. Individual agreements and charters may vary considerably, but usually follow this model.




Dull as it may be to repeat myself after such short an interim, I shall again ask that you read the above carefully and attentively, for it is with this information that we will choose a tribunal for our conventum.

Finally, I humbly thank you for your attention and patience, and hope that you have found the above at least marginally informative.





May the light of the Lord be with you,
Berahthram von Worm

Carta em pdf no Google Drive
Texto da carta no Google Drive, com links