Holy Kingdom of Jalle
Sainct Reaume de Jalle - Hallig Jalles Cyningdom
The Kingdom of Jalle is a theocratic elective monarchy in central Sartaldia. All races can be found in Jalle but the peripheral regions of eastern Vaucas (Bastlam), Canecgóin (Ulkin), Tersland and Westhring (Kerite) are culturally distinct from the Lyrish-speaking regions in the centre.
Jalle was founded by the prophet Lausat and his twelve companions: the Paladins. Lausat preached a new form of Nasceism with a stronger emphasis on government and orthopraxis. He carved himself an empire centered on the castle of Jalle and stretching from the Achruas to the Claebanca but died without an heir, leaving the choice of his successor to the Paladins.
Structure
The Heir-King
The head of state is formally called the Heir-King (Roy-Heritier), elected by the Council of Paladins. The only prerequisite for an king is to be a paladin himself but over time kings have been almost exclusively from several families claiming a blood relation to Lausat. The king is the supreme political and religious authority within Jalle and the supreme religious one outside of Jalle.
The Council of Paladins
The Council of Paladins (Conseil des Paladins) are usually descendants of the original companions but in theory anyone in the clergy can rise the ranks to become a paladin. The only prerequisite to become one is to be a member of the clergy. The Paladins are all equals and help the king in running the Kingdom. Some of them are in charge of larger bureaucratic institutions that help to govern the kingdom more efficiently.
- High Commander (Hault Commandant): king's deputy. Controls the Board of Correspondence
- Grand Treasurer (Granz Tresorer): in charge of minting coins, the state treasury and the Board of Revenue
- Grand Marshal (Granz Maréscal): in charge of the Military Board
- General Procurator (Procurateur General): chief ambassador
- High Inquisitor (Hault Inquisiteur): in charge of the Board of Justice
- Great Paragon (Granz Parangon): advises the king on religious matters and shares responsibility of the State Library with the Arch-Scholar
- High Master Hospitaller (Arcimaistre Hospitallier): in charge of hospitals and sanitation
- Grand Chancellor (Granz Chancelier): acts as recording clerk and is in charge of keys and the Board of the Signet
- High Commissioner (Hault Commissaire): in charge of dressing, armament and the Board of Post
- Royal Market Inspector (Inspecteur Roiale des Marchiés): coordinates market inspectors, sets customs and helps establish trade agreements
- Arch-scholar (Arcsérudit): in charge of building and supplying temples and the coordination of the various dioceses and free cities, shares responsibility of the State Library with the Grand Paragon
Central Boards of the State
- The Board of Correspondence: issues state missives and circulars to the commandries. It co-ordinates the work of all Boards and deals with all correspondence.
- The Board of Revenue: administers the entire finances of the kingdom. It also imposes and collects taxes and disburses revenue.
- The Military Board: Jalle's military
- The Board of Justice: in the early period, justice was administered by Lausat and the Paladins in person. After the expansion of the Kingdom, it became necessary to separate judiciary from the general administration and regular cases were taken up by the parliament and the local courts. Special cases that are deemed a threat to the kingdom, such as religious dissidence, fall under the jurisdiction of the High Inquisitor. A judge may ask the Board of Justice to call for an inquisition although when said inquisition is directed against a member of the upper class the judge needs to obtain permission from a magistrate first. Inquisitions can theoretically be carried out outside the borders of Jalle at the request of foreign rulers. Although this rarely happens and almost never against a person of high rank it still incites resentment from surrounding nations.
- The Board of the Signet: makes and preserves a copy of each official document before sealing and dispatching the original to its destination. This was originally done to check for forgeries.
- The Board of the Post: was originally designed to facilitate troop movements and orders from the central government. The Board is responsible for maintaining roads transport fleets on the main rivers as well as ensuring the safety of travelers. Relays of horses are used for the conveyance of dispatches between the king and his agents and officials posted in the commandries. The main highways are divided into stages of 12 miles (19 km) each and each stage has horses, donkeys or mules ready to carry the post.
The Treaty of Abonisle
Under the command of the Grand Marshal Justian d'Aricy, Jalle's northern neighbour, the Kingdom of Taersland, was annexed into Jalle and divided into the provinces of Terslande, Ouestrine and the Norring Marches.
Taersland's government bore many similarities to Jalle's. Prior to the annexation, the King of Taersland was elected by eight prince-electors (Kirefyrstas) and decisions would have to be debated in Royal Diet (Ricsdaeg). This Royal Diet was made up of three electoral colleges: the College of Prince-Electors (Kirefyrstasraed), the College of Princes (Ricsfyrstasraed) and the College of Free Cities (Freostedasraed).
Despite the fact that Taersland would cease to be an independent country, under the terms of the Treaty of Abonisle the prince-electors were allowed to become paladins and to keep their High Offices of the Realm (Ricsaercambiht). This decision was not without resistance but allowing such an honour to former enemies allowed Jalle to easily pacify the north. The former prince-electors and their new high offices are:
- Lord of Gloston - Arch-cupbearer (Aercmuthscenc)
- Duke of Shirgreen - Arch-steward (Aercstigweard)
- Duke of Bridgewaeter - Arch-stable-master (Aercheafodgroma)
- Prince of Semsburie - Arch-banner-bearer (Aercflagberer)
- Lord of Alfrest - Arch-chamberlain (Aerccamerling)
- Marcher Lord of Swinweart - Arch-marcher-lord (Aercmearcweard)
- Prince-bishop of Northminster - Arch-bishop of Terslande and Ouestrine (Taersland ond Westhringes Aercbiscop)
- Grand Duke of Holmburg - Arch-harbourmaster (Aerchaefenmaegster)
Most of these high offices are purely symbolic and are meant to reinforce the King of Jalle's authority in the north. For example the Arch-Bishop's sole function is to crown the King of Jalle with the crown of Tersland.
Parlements
The Parlements are provincial appellate courts. They are the court of final appeal of the judicial system, and typically wield much power over a wide range of subject matter, particularly taxation. While they don<t act as legislative bodies, laws and edicts issued by the king are not official in their respective jurisdictions until the parlements give their assent by publishing them. If a new law promulgated by the king isn't in accordance with local laws and customs or infringes on the traditional rights of freeborn subjects, the parlements may send a remonstrance to the king, explaining which aspects of the new law need to be changed or redacted. This in effect means that parlements act as a check on the king's power.
The members are aristocrats called nobles of the quill who had bought or inherited their offices, and were independent of the King
Territories
There are two levels of administration in the Kingdom of Jalle and each administrative division is ruled by a military and a religious authority. The military division is the commandry and the barony. The religious one is the diocese and the parish. Each commandry and barony corresponds to a diocese and a parish.
Duchies or commandries are ruled by dukes who receive their orders from the Great Commander through the Board of Correspondence. Each duchy is divided up into baronies ruled by barons. Occasionally certain larger duchies will be classified at principalities and be ruled by princes and large baronies will be classified as counties ruled by counts. Military leaders tend to be drawn from the local nobility which predates the founding of the kingdom; however all of them were educated as children by the clergy and rigorously enforce clergy’s rules. The lords of the former kingdom of Taersland were allowed to keep their titles and will often translate Lyrish titles into Taersish; thus prince become fyrst, duke become heretoga, count become landgraf and baron becomes earl. Collectively these local rulers are called nobility of the sword.
A diocese is ruled by a magistrate and is divided up into parishes each ruled by a judge. Magistrates receive their orders from the High Scholar. Magistrates and judges (collectively known as nobles of the quill) were educated for much longer than military leaders and have precedence over them in times of peace. Unlike the nobility of the sword, nobility of the quill may, in theory, be drawn from the common people although in practice their ranks are dominated by the second sons of noble houses, rich landowners, urban patricians and merchants since they are the only ones able to provide an education for their children.
At the kingdom’s inception each barony/parish was ruled jointly by a local noble and a judge sent from the capital but after the Wars of Swords and Quills, a conflict pitting the interests of the capital against the interests of the provincial nobility, the restrictions placed on nobles were softened and it isn't uncommon nowadays for the rulers of a barony/parish having both barons and judges among their kin or even to hold both titles simultaneously. A local ruler’s choice of title is a good indication of their political leaning.
An important innovation imported from Taersland was the concept of free cities. Cities not ruled by feudal nobles already existed in the Durancian League and in Metaxia but they were outside the normal framework of Jalle’s government. Granting cities a charter and royal immediacy put them directly under the control of the central government and created a counterweight to the provincial nobility.
Jalle's provinces and major cities are:- Leyroise – Jalle
- Leyroise – Voltaye
- Leyroise – Cernay
- Leyroise – Vreil
- Leyroise – Abesne
- Royal Free city of Taul
- Éleuthie – Mainat
- Éleuthie – Courbevoy
- Éleuthie – Saivreux
- Éleuthie – Plecy
- Éleuthie – Aricy
- Éleuthie – Tolereuil
- Vaucas – Atteau
- Vaucas – Racques
- Vaucas – Cressay
- Vaucas – Fortreuil
- Royal Free city of Nauberge
- Canecgóin (Cangogne) – Scéthán
- Canecgóin (Cangogne) – Conáth
- Canecgóin (Cangogne) – Dunbrí
- Canecgóin (Cangogne) – Sannbedh
- Canecgóin (Cangogne) – Caurgaleth
- Canecgóin (Cangogne) – Arghutur
- Royal Free city of Dunden
- Médanie – Sumerton
- Médanie – Ine
- Médanie – Quivelle
- Médanie – Denstère
- Médanie – Ryemoor
- Médanie – Fareham
- Médanie – Hangeton
- Tersland (Terselande) – Abonysle
- Tersland (Terselande) – Gloston
- Tersland (Terselande) – Mundham
- Tersland (Terselande) – Gullford
- Tersland (Terselande) – Stroudham
- Tersland (Terselande) – Ysford
- Tersland (Terselande) – Fogburh
- Tersland (Terselande) – Semsburie
- Free Clerical city of Northminster
- Royal Free city of Wilton
- Free Royal city of Sulisbath
- Westhring (Ouestrine) – Holmburg
- Westhring (Ouestrine) – Newcastle
- Westhring (Ouestrine) – Shirgreen
- Westhring (Ouestrine) – Lodwaith
- Westhring (Ouestrine) – Seoles
- Westhring (Ouestrine) – Bridgwaeter
- Westhring (Ouestrine) – Alfrest
- Free Royal city of Langport
- Free Royal city of Wealden
- Norring Mearc (Marche Norrine) – Swinweart
- Norring Mearc (Marche Norrine) – Northelm
- Norring Mearc (Marche Norrine) – Knefton
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