Book 4, Chapter 12: Alliances Of Honor And Interest
While it took most of a generation for formal political parties to develop in the Grand Thing, with the first such, Rättfärdig U Tzedak, dating its founding to AD 1076, the roots of the Grand Thing’s political structure predate the assembly itself. The event which most scholars point to, the Citizenship Conclave of AD 1043, saw the early development of voting blocs and informal alliances set for the achievement of one political goal or other. However, there were no formal political factions as of yet. Instead regional, social class, linguistic, religious, and ethnic factions dominated most of the proceedings, with most of the attendees working and voting for their own interests. While they produced a legal code that achieved the stated goals of King Stoick in offering a structure for the nation at large, it was still a work of compromise that directly contradicted the King's own stated desires on more than one point, a factor that oddly helped legitimize it in the eyes of many in the kingdom.
—Origins Of The Grand Thing, Edinburgh Press, 1631
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- The Alliance: Özhan of the Bayat offers Akdoğan of the Boru-Tolmač an alliance after the former defeats the latter. Akdoğan accepts since he would much rather follow a fellow Pecheneg than Drago.
- Auction: Some of Eret's assaulters try to sell their more valuable items at auction to raise money to pay of the heavy fines levied on them. The price they get is absurdly low for which Cami suspects conspiracy.
- Broken Pedestal: Ultán, an Eirish monk who arrived with Archbishop Octavianus as part of his entourage, is shocked by the lack of piety shown by Octavianus and the other Roman clergymen.
- Clarke's Third Law: In Wulfhild’s inner dialogue she mentions that some visitors to Berk think that the elevator is magic.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Özhan can admit to himself that he is not above committing atrocities, but Drago's massacre of Yılmaz's men after they had surrendered was a step too far for him.
- Irony: The Citizenship Conclave of AD 1043 producing a legal code for the entirety of Berk's holdings having several items that contradicted Stoick's own stated desires is noted as being oddly helpful in legitimizing the overall code for many of their citizens (presumably since it showed that the law wasn't solely what Stoick wanted, and he was willing to accept that).
- The Only Believer: Ultán is the only member of Octavianus' entourage who is genuinely pious, and he is upset that he has to fight his fellow priests into showing proper piety when they should be doing it without him trying to force the issue.
- Stranger in a Familiar Land: Ultán is from Eire to begin with and is shocked by how much his homeland has changed under pagan rule.
