Ash Sea Islands/Government
| http://wiki.battlemaster.org/images/ASI_small.png Government of the Ash Sea Islands | ||
Contents
By Royal Commission, this pamphlet has been produced to make Ashlantean government less opaque and to provide an insight into how exactly the Kingdom is governed. Information about former government institutions has also been gathered, for posterity.
Positions
Monarch
High Marshal
Arch Priest
Royal Treasurer
Lord Steward
The Lord Steward is an important official of the Royal Household. Although generally the Lord Steward does not normally get involved in politics, the influence of the Lord Steward can be great; as demonstrated recently when the Lord Steward acted as both the King's voice and gatekeeper during his incapacitation. The current Lord Steward is Wolfram Gunnar, Earl of Abingdon.
Government Bodies
Current
The Witenagemot
The successor body to the Senate, members of the Witenagemot are entitled 'Witan' and help advise the reigning monarch on a variety of matters. It's powers of influence are reduced on those of the Senate but the Witan still perform a vital role in the governance of the kingdom, giving valuable input on both domestic and foreign policy. The reigning monarch has no compulsion to enact the majority opinion of the Witenagemot, however such demonstration of opinion can arguably greatly influence the way a policy is tackled. Despite the reduced power of the Witenagemot, Witan have been known to receive individual Ministries on occasion, such as when the Duke of Ash'rily became overseer of the renovation of the Islands.
The composition of the Witenagemot has changed dramatically since it's creation with a much broader section of the Ashlantean nobility represented than previously on the Senate. The presence of a handful of young nobles sitting as Witan is notable. Membership has been known to balloon to 16 Witan in the past but recently has remained stable at around 10-12 Witan. Permanent members of the Witenagemot include former monarchs, the King's Council and at least two representatives of Magna Serpaensism.
King's Council
The King's private council consists of the formal members of government of the Ash Sea Islands (High Marshal, Arch Priest and the Royal Treasurer). In recent times it's advisory role has been eroded drastically by both the Senate and subsequently the Witenagemot. The King's Council still provides an important forum for the King in the day-to-day running of the realm however and also for each council member to liaise with one another individually. To-date no member of the King's Council has been denied a seat on the Witenagemot.
Irregular
Feudarch
A body that has long been a part of Ashlantean governance, the Feudarch consists of the reigning monarch and all landed nobles of the realm. Although a permanent body in the reign of King Doc's Revenge, in the reign of King Malice the Feudarch is more or less convened at the King's convenience. Although the Feudarch has no formal decision making role, it provides a vital link between the King and his Lords and ensures vital regional matters are dealt with quickly.
Defunct
The Senate
Founded during the reign of King Doc's Revenge, the Senate was a council of realm elders who helped the King both govern the realm and decide foreign policy. The Senate did not remain a feature of Ashlantean governance much beyond the abdication of King Doc's Revenge and was disbanded shortly after the coronation of King Malice.
The Senate largely had a much greater role than it's successor body, the Witenagemot, in influencing realm affairs with reports of votes even being taken to help the monarch decide what to do. In spite of this though it remains difficult to make any fair comparison between the role and usage of the Senate with the Witan as both bodies have only been used under one monarch each.
The most notable difference between the Senate and the Witenagemot was it's composition. There were only ever up to ten senators who were largely drawn from the old guard, consisting of largely former monarchs and long lived Ashlantean nobles. This is in stark contrast to composition of the Witenagemot which is much more diverse and is indeed a larger body.
Republic
In ancient times, the Ash Sea Islands was originally governed as a republic. Although the specifics of governance in that era are lost to the mists of times, it is likely that the ruler took on the title of Prime Minister like in modern day Republics and governed with the consensus of the various Duke's of the realm and other government ministers. It is believed that the Republic was eventually reformed into a Monarchy in a rebellion started by King Silver Stone, who had recently been defeated in an election. Sadly, the circumstances of the time remain lost to history.
