On Merseia, the Supreme Roidhun must be of the landless Vach Urdiolch.
Among the Glacier Folk, the Jinral is:
"'...first-born to the line o' Injun Samal, in the Rover kin who belong to no troop.'"
-Poul Anderson, There Will Be Time (New York, 1973), VIII, p. 81.
Thus, in three contexts, the one who wields the greatest power must belong to a group that wields less power.
The Jinral presides in the Congers at Lake Pendoray which is peace-holy.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Altho the Tamarin Grand Dukes of Hermes and the Urdiolch Roidhuns of Merseia had to come from families which had less power than the other domains or vachs, that did not mean they were poverty stricken! The Tamarins seemed to have had a good deal of private or personal wealth, plus some estates were entailed to the Grand Ducal crown. And a similar situation prevailed among the Urdiolchs--where mention was made of that clan anciently possessing lands held on leasehold from other owners.
I'm sure everyone agreed the Grand Dukes and later the Roidhuns had to possess some wealth and estates to carry out their functions with dignity!
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I just thought of this, but the title of the chief of state of the Glacier People, the "Jinral," makes me wonder if it was originally "general." Maybe Injun Samuel or Samal was an American or Canadian general? And came to be held by his descendants as "Jinral."
Sean
In a clan-based society, you need a central authority figure who's neutral in the obsessive jockeying and feuding that are prevalent in those types of set-ups.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
I agree! Altho Hermes and Merseia (after the rise of the Roidhunate) seemed to have put some restraints on that feuding and jockeying.
Sean
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