"'...a reckoning will come. The Vachs will prepare one, if nobody else does.'" (p. 270)
-copied from here.
They will acknowledge the Hand of the landless Vach Urdiolch as Supreme Roidhun. Can there be a landless realm in a feudal system? In Western Christendom, did the Church exercise spiritual as opposed to economic power? No. It exercised both. Clergy were celibate so that any wealth donated to them remained in the institution. Monasteries and bishoprics were landholders. Hence:
the Investiture Contest between Emperors and Popes, both of whom wanted to invest bishops;
the conflict between Henry II and Thomas Becket when the latter wanted clergy to be tried by ecclesiastical courts, not by the King's courts;
the conflict between Henry VIII and Thomas More when the former wanted to become Head of the Church in England;
Henry VIII's enrichment of himself and his supporters by the dissolution of the monasteries.
Merseia parallels Hermes:
When Hermes declared independence from Terra, its new constitution recognized the Kindred as the Thousand Families controlling the "domains": either landed estates or corporations. The presidents of the domains elect the Duke or Duchess of Hermes from the Tamarin family which must not own a domain. Ancestors of Kindred and Tamarins were the first to arrive from Earth but, instead of founding a corporation, the Tamarins free lanced as scientists etc.
-copied from here.
The Church held land and the Tamarins had scientific expertise so what have the Urdiolchs got?
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I've read A CIRCUS OF HELLS multiple times, so I know what it is the landless Vach Urdiolch has, but I won't spoil it for you by telling right now! (Smiles)
Btw, I'm not sure the HANDS of the Vach Urdiolch were automatically elected supreme Roidhun by the other Hands or leaders of Merseian states. The impression I got was that any member of the Urdiolch in good standing were eligible for election to the Roidhunate.
Essentially, you are correct about why Church and State have so often quarreled in Western history. I would only add there WERE theological and religious aspects as well. The Catholic Church was called by her divine Founder to be free of domination by the state, any state.
Sean
Sean,
I have read A CIRCUS OF HELLS multiple times but don't remember - so you can remind me!
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
It's very late and I should go to bed soon. But I will look up my copy of A CIRCUS OF HELLS for the chapter discussing the Urdiolch clan and tell you after I wake up.
Sean
Sean,
Thank you. I am having a boiled egg, toast, rhubarb jam and coffee for breakfast.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I'm something of a night owl! (Smiles)
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
In some ways, albeit far more deliberately and consciously organized or set up as such, the Vach Urdiolch resembled the Tamarins of Hermes. This is what Ydwyr the Seeker said about his clan in Chapter XIV of A CIRCUS OF HELLS: "The Vach Urdiolch are the landless ones. So is the Law, that they may have time and impartiality to serve the Race. Our homes, where we have dwelt for centuries, we keep by leasehold. Our wealth comes less by ancient dues than from what we may win offplanet. This has put us in the forefront of the Race's outwardness; but it has also brought us closest to the unknowns of worlds never ours."
This text obviously ties in what you quoted from the same book about "Datholchs." Urdiolch aristocrats who concentrate on expanding the frontiers of the Race in all ways possible. Including scholarship, arts, philosophy, the sciences, etc.
Sean
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