Westerland Laws

Westerland Laws are part of Westerland Society and Culture. Mind you, that laws in the Westerland naturally differ from region to region, so this article aims to explain a few more general concepts of rights and how the general legal system tends to function overall, rather than detailing specific laws.

Rights
Rights are usually specific permissions or guarantees that are secured by law, but may not apply equally to all members of society.

The right to bear arms
Since Roman Times, it has historically been largely prohibited for the common people to bear arms in both Europe and most of the Middle-East. The Romans controlled vast territories full of people who did not necessarily agree with their Roman rulers, and the last thing the Roman's needed was for these people to have an easy time forming uprisings - but having their legions be the only armed forces, also made both local Estate Owners and the commoners depend on the Romans for protection - hence making them subservient.
 * In the Westerlands, the situation is not much different. The right to bear arms is exclusive to Soldiers and to those of certain lineage or privilege.
 * Outside of the City Walls, the right to bear arms does usually not include the carrying of tools that could be used as weapons - hence the popularity of hunter's bow, Hunter Swords, Hunter Blades, Seaxes, short-spears and hatchets, but inside cities, carrying more than a knife was typically illegal without obtaining the privilege to do so - and even then, cities often had limitations on what kinds of weapons could be legally carried.
 * If living more than two hours on foot away from the nearest fortification, it was determined that one lived too far away to rely on the Lord's protection, so often in such places, restrictions were milder, allowing the general population to own some weaponry - typically daggers, crossbows, pole-arms and maces.
 * Inside City Walls, the Citizen Sword was something any Patrician of a Burgess Household could carry, if he was a Burgher of that city - and the Guilds had usually secured rights so that any Guild Associate who had passed their apprenticeship was permitted to carry a Citizen Sword as well - and later the Side Sword received similar status.
 * The Long Sword and the Rapier could be carried by anyone who had the title Esquire, but also anyone who had studied at a University, and could be carried by nobility who did not possess a Knighthood.
 * Inside Cities, men-at-arms (including former men-at-arms, namely Esquires) could carry weapons freely, but Reeves were subject to the Lord's decision on whether or not they had such permission. The City Watch could only carry arms when on duty, and had to retrieve both uniform, armor and weapons from an armory.
 * Militias, found exclusively outside of cities, could only carry weapons inside of cities if they were called to muster there - but they could carry their weapons freely outside of cities, and usually kept their equipment in their personal homes.

Foraging Rights
A lord had the right to retain the personal hunting permissions of a certain amount of woodland. In fact, he could restrict all foraging rights in all his lands, if he so desired - but it was uncommon to do so entirely.
 * Even when done out of principle, little to nothing was done about poaching in remote regions. It was of no interest to the Lords that someone hunted where they themselves did not hunt.
 * Foraging of deadwood, berries, fruits, nuts, roots and mushrooms was always permitted, except within 2 two-weeks of when the Lord would start his hunts - though this particular restriction applied only to areas where the Lord exerted his right to retain exclusive hunting rights.
 * A license to hunt professionally could be issued by the Forest Bailiff, and generally, all vassals of the Lord had full permission to hunt when they so desired - at least on their own lands, and in any woods not claimed as exclusive hunting grounds by the Lord.
 * Hunting Licenses came in different kinds - a farmer did not need a license to hunt on his own property, but if he did, the skin belonged to the Lord, but the farmer could pay a tax (usually a small and insignificant fee) to keep the skin. The lord would often keep some animals exempt from these skin-taxes - typically rabbits. In lands plagued by hordes fo deer, these were also exempt.
 * Foxes, wolves and other predators were not only exempt from the tax, but actually the opposite logic applied - farmers were rewarded for turning in such skins. Typically the prizes were not insignificant.
 * The hunting of Squirrels, rodents and other vermin was not subject to any taxes nor any rewards, except if competitions were held. This was common however, as such beings made a negative impact on taxes.
 * The local forester would mark a specific number of trees every season. These trees were permitted to be cut down during the Summer Vacation. Each household was permitted a number of "ranks" of wood - but cutting down the marked trees was usually a village activity.
 * Typically, the allotted ranks of wood was enough to see most people through the winter, but some businesses required more wood - and constantly. As such, the Forest Bailiff issued woodcutting licenses. These licenses were passed from father to son and being woodcutters was a family business - though the license had to be renewed each generation, they could not be revoked unless something illegal had occurred.

Courts of Law
In a feudal society, just like in a modern society, the courts of law were like an onion, with local courts of law that were surpassed in authority by higher courts of law.

The Lord's Justice
The lowest court of law was what was commonly known as "the Lord's justice" which generally just refers to the authority and deferment of the nearest feudal authority - and this was the best that a commoner or proletarian of society could ever hope for. Basically, such people were not judged by any actual laws, but were subject to what ever rules, policies and regulations that the local authority would pass upon them, though such rulings were typically kept in check by the actual law as well as by the Clergy who were the judges on what passed as good ethics and strong morals.

The Lord's Court
The Lord's Court was slightly different from the Lord's Justice, in that the actual Burgess, Gentry and lesser Lords could demand to stand trial by the actual law. The higher Courts did not recognize the rights of someone who wasn't affiliated with them, meaning that anyone below the rank of Freeholder was subject to the Lord's Court at best, unless they had familial ties that put them in a better position.

Proper Courts
Proper Courts could include the courts of the immediate Earl, or the King's Court. Typically, it would mean the County Court. These Courts were Courts of the King's Law, but there would also be a scholar with expertise in legal matters who would preside over this court and advise the Lord (or his appointed judge) on how to rule - and if the Judge did not rule in accordance to the recommendation, this would be noted down, in case of an appeal.

Knowing rights
If a person is unaware of their rights, just as in modern society, they can often find these rights completely and perfectly ignored. A local Lord is not responsible for keeping track of who is a Burgess and who is not, beyond knowing whom he can conscript as reeves and who he cannot.
 * If a Burgess fails to actually identify himself as such, he will be viewed as a commoner and can reasonably lose his status after years of negligence.
 * It isn't common knowledge how the Social Castes work for all members of society, and most commoner's and burgess are not really aware of the true distinctions, and ultimately, the difference between a commoner and a burgess is small enough that most individuals may simply not care.