The Deeds of Land [English]

Claiming and organizing ownership of buildings in settlements large and small have always been a tremendous task, but there have been men that created ways to aid both government and person in their endavour to claim ownership over propity and lands.

— Everam, Teller of Nimenra

Documents are only as good as they claim to be as it been said before. Forgery is always a dangerous line of work but can be fruitful for a skilled and genius one who knows the trade. Steps to counteract such business practice is harder as forgers become better and better at duplicating the handwriting or years of documentation when comparing the two. However, when The Deeds of Land was created about 250 years ago, forgers have had it harder to duplicate at least ownership of properties and the lands it stands upon.

Purpose

Crimes relating to ownership of property in towns and even small villages occur despite people who have lived in a certain location for a long time can claim otherwise. Large lands have been swapped due to false and faulty documents among the nobility. This was a problem faced by the lawbringers of the Kingdom of Ravero and Duchy of Evier in southern Ravero when they claimed with documents showing they owned a piece of land from the Count of Remn and its town of Dunnd, which had a large influx of minerals at the time. Deads showed that the duke owned the settlement and its lands despite the town for the last 120 years was under the control of the Counts of Remn and the duchy never ever having claimed otherwise. The current chancellor of Ravero, Eric Nevillre, was tasked by the king to solve the conflict and decide who was right. While examining the documents, they were clearly both in the right but the chancellor had to come up with a way of deciding who was definitively the one owning the town since the threat of war was looming over it. The chancellor was saved due to a forger being arrested and admitting guilt of forging a document for the duke of Evier. Promptly so, the duke was ridiculed and his document burned, but the Nevillre felt that he had to do something about the forging of lands documents, especially when now nobility seemingly decided to force their agendas though criminals. He began to take inventory of every deed he could get his hands on and found many versions, many differences and even more odd signatures, calluses and inheritance lines. After bringing it up to the king, who was less than pleased to hear his findings, he began an endeavour to create a universal document of Lands and property ownership, focusing firstly on the nobilities lands and towns properties. The document created, Deeds of Land, was accepted in 2296 after nine years of work by the chancellor. The document was also accepted by the Kingdom of Telaron to better their own system of ownership.

Document Structure

Legal status

The document was crafted for all the countries of Telamirein but only two are using them actively and then only people close to the borders of both these countries are using them. As it is based as extension and alteration of Ravero's laws, the other countries are hesitant to use this method and document. Limited use occurs in the cities of Nilaminra, but it is not rexognized by the Nini or her government.

Historical Details

Background

In 2285 the town of Dunnd close to the Israk mountain-chain became a trade centre of minerals and metal after large veins of iron, copper and silver were found. Many villagers who found the ore travelled down the river to the town to trade their finds, making the town very lucrative for blacksmiths and traders. An influx had begun and the owner of the town, the count of Remn, began to have increased revenue of trade and taxation. In the spring of 2287 at the height of the influx, the neighbouring Duke of Evier came fouth with a document, claiming ownership of the lands that were surrounding the town of Dunnd and demanded it handed over by from the count. The count refuted together with the town, showing the deeds and loyalty oath by the small town from 2288. Both sides did not back down and brought it to the king's court, who put it to the lawbringers. Lawbringer, however, could not decide, claiming both were in their right to the township and lands. The count and duke would not have that since the border had to be decided. Both prepared their respective levy armies and threatened the other with conflict. The king wanted none of it and assigned chancellor Eric Nevillre to investigate and help the lawbringers. With his skills put to the test, he had trouble to decipher two documents which were claiming the other was wrong and even so, having two kings and chancellors and nobility houses markings stamped on them in wax. Even with the help of the Custodian of the royal history, he could not see which was right in the historical matter and legal.

History

2287, autumn. A crackdown on a smugglers ring leads the local guards and wardens to locate a forger of great talent in his work. He had provided documents for the smugglers to fare wears over the border to the Kingdom of Telaron where they could use trade documents created by the same forger. The forger, facing execution in both countries for the number of documents and the names he forged, gave the guards the name of the Duke of Evier which they were going to contact. Instead, he was handed to the lawbringers, which were swift with asking about why he named the duke. Having no other to turn to, he began to confess to having forged several documents for the duke and when given the deed about the town of Dunnd, he admitted guilt to having created it. Chancellor Eric Nevillre who had been hearing the confession was fast to act and show the evidence to the king. The king acted and ridiculed the duke publicly in front of the royal court, forcing him to confess or face a penalty. After the confession, he was sent away, not allowed to bring any sort of "claims" or appear in the noble houses. Eric Nevillre did lower the penalty for the forger, throwing him in prison instead of executing him. But the chancellor felt that he had to continue the endeavour and look into the documents of other noble houses and the many deeds kept in both the capital but also township records. What he found was a haze and blend of many documents, deeds with several versions, different handwritings, signatures from kings who could not spell their own name and inheritances that was ridiculously long and complex. Many would not be able to stand up in a thorough investigation like the one conducted by the chancellor and lawbringers. The chancellor decided to standardize and look into many of the documents, creating what would be an investigation across the vast lands of Ravero to become certain that the right heir and family were on their respective place. There is no mention of any actions against nobility or any townships, but there were some border changes, some property was tracked down in far remote villages and given to the ones who were "supposed" to have them. In the end, chancellor Eric Nevillre created the Deeds of Land in 2296, a standardized documentation of ownership relating to both lands and property. These were, to begin with, more focus on where it was the easiest to claim ownership, like the nobles who had their family tomes and tombs to follow and the city and towns that hade some archive and records of ownership. By compiling already existing documents and verifying them, the Deed of Lands became more and more spread. The same year it was ratified, the Kingdom of Telaron decided to use the document for its own nobility and capital.

Type

Decree, Governmental

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

2295-2296

Ratification Date

2296 in Kingdom of Ravero

Signatories (Organizations)

• Kingdom of Ravero
• Kingdom of Telaron