Linrodeth City Governance

In Linrodeth the common citizens (householders) of each ward elect an Alderman and 12 Councillors to represent their city ward at the Court of Common Council. Their representatives must also be guildmembers as well as citizens. The Alderman in turn elect three officers who have a great deal of power: the two sheriffs and the Lord Chief Magistrate (normally known simply as the Lord of the City).

The Lord Chief Magistrate

The Lord is elected annually at the Springtide Festival by the Alderman from among the two Sheriffs and the current Lord. The Lord is the first citizen and overlord of the city corporation and the land that it holds. During his years in office he lives at the Witanmoot and is host to the hundreds of official envoys and foreigners that visit. None of the expenses of this office are meant to be borne by the citizens and indeed the Lord is expected to subsidise the city’s annual tax payment to the King. The King holds the Lord entirely responsible for the payment of this tax. As the title implies, the Lord is also Chief Magistrate of the city, presiding as judge in the most important court cases, He is answerable to the King for the peaceful and lawful running of his capital city as long as the taxes are paid in full and on time.

The Sheriffs

The two city Sheriffs are elected annually by the Alderman, from among the Aldermen and Sheriffs, on Midsummer Day. There is always one Sheriff in attendance at every session of the criminal courts, and they are responsible for ensuring that the directions of the judges are carried out. They are jointly responsible for the correct and efficient conduct of the city’s Standing Watches, and in less peaceful rimes they are responsible for raising and ordering the full Marching Watch (the turn-out of every able-bodied citizen). They are responsible for liaising with the Knight Marshall at the Citadel, and with his captains who run the prisons at the city gates.

The Court of Aldermen

The Court of Aldermen meets once a month and is presided over by the Lord, It forms an inner council which advises the Lord. It also appoints the Chairmen of the various committees, which are responsible for administering their respective areas and for submitting policy recommendations to the Court of Common Council.

The Alderman vote a Chairman into power, but the Chairman chooses the rest of his committee from among the common councillors. A Chairman is removed either at the discretion of the Lord, or by the Court if he fails to solve a political problem for three months running. Emissaries (and their spouses) reside in the city they are assigned to.

The Aldermen

There are twenty-one Aldermen, elected by their Ward voters at Midwinter. They are the Justice of the Peace for their Ward, and are answerable to the Sheriffs for the running of the Local Watch within their ward. Since guildmembers tend to concentrate within a particular area of the city, the Alderman is usually a senior officer of the most important local guild.

The Court of Common Council

This is the main policy-making body of Linrodeth. It is made up of the 252 Common Councillors, the 21 Aldermen, 2 Sheriffs and the Lord, and meets twice a month in the Witanmoot. The Court receives recommendations from the Committees and Envoys on the conduct of the city’s business. There are no official party affiliations, each councillor is meant to vote “in light of reason and conscience”. However groupings and alliances are noticeable.

Common Councillors

Elected annually by the citizens at Midwinter, they have to be citizens (householders) themselves, and must also be full guildmembers. Voting is recorded in confidence by a Hahnite priest. At sunset the person with the most votes becomes Alderman and the next twelve become the Common Councillors.