The Clans of Villmark

At a Glance

Villmark is a rough place to live with the clans always vying for dominance in a never-ending dance of skirmishes and raids. The only thing that keeps clans for annihilating each other is the threat from the Great Ice Barrier.

Language

The spoken tongue of the Villamark is called villish by outsiders, but simply "the tongue" by the locals.

Names

Villmarkian names sound a lot like medieval Norse names. For some ideas, you can consult the following site: FNG.

Society

Status & Role

Each member of a clan has a clear status and a role associated with it.

Leader. Elected by the clan. The title might be inherited, but it would still need to be confirmed by the clan. A clan only elects a leader who has the potential to strengthen the group and lead it to success. Might doesn't make right, success does.
Volva. Priestess or priest. Just as prestigious as the leader. Has to keep the clan healthy and in good terms with the deities. Must give counsel to those in need aimed at resolving the issue. Must warn the leader of bad omens and poor or risky decisions.
Warrior. Honor, protect and serve the leader in times of conflict. Keep the clan safe and protect its lands. During planting and harvesting, they must help the workers. Trained from a young age, around 10 years old, or whenever they start to show promise.
Worker. Produce and transform the resources of the clan to make it more prosperous.
Slave. Honor, protect and serve its owner to the best of its abilities. They cannot bear arms and must always show respect.

Titles

During its life a chieftain is expected to grow the clan's reach and might. If they do, they will acquire honors, possibly be acclaimed and bestowed a new title by their peers. In order of growing importance:

Hersir. The leader of a clan. Organizer of society and raids.
Maligr. Negotiator. Has negotiated a beneficial treaty, made favorable peace or traded-in valuable commodities.
Veurr. Protector. Has definitively eliminated a threat to the clan.
Farbjord. Destroyer. Has led many successful raids bringing back riches.
Vinnangr. Conqueror. Has grown the clan, most often by conquering and annexing lands.
Jarl. Head of several clans, either by alliance or conquest.
Konungr. Few have achieve this honor, which belongs to the chieftain who has dominion or leadership of all the clans of Villmark. Often elected when a major threat descends on the clans. Rarely achieved through conquest.

Slavery

The clans of Villmark have a very strict view of slavery. They do not buy or sell slaves, this is considered dishonorable.

However, during a raid, they will seize people as slaves, and release them a year later considering their duty fulfilled. During that time they will be well treated as long as they serve with honor. If not, they will be punished accordingly. Completing a year as a slave is considered honorable and the only way to balance the dishonor of being captured.

They only take slaves from other clans, they consider people from other nations to lack sufficient honor to fulfill the role of a slave.

Values

Blood & Clan. Whatever happens, you should always respect and honor your relatives and the members of your clan. Loyalty to individuals is not as important as loyalty to the group. Strong ties build strong people.

Honor & Status. Every status in society is considered honorable, even being a slave. What is dishonorable is to fail at the duties of your status. Rights according to your status are only granted to honorable members.

Laws

There are no written laws. Each chieftain is expected to enforce customary laws. Punishments are enforced by the clan, which can sometimes differ from the final decision of the chieftain, which is the main reason why a lot of chieftains leave that final decision to the assembled group. The possible punishments are:

Repair. You must do the utmost possible to redress the wrongs you have caused. This might be done with monetary compensations, but that is viewed an inferior redress and is accompanied by a loss of honor.
Physical. It might be physical punishment, but it might also be hard labor. Here are a few examples:
- Beating. Using fists. This is usually done to someone in dereliction of duty during combat, as a sentinel or a scout, and performed by the group of warriors the person failed.
- Branding. Once branded, the fault is forgiven. A branded person is expected to bear the mark without shame, but always remembering their fault. One might point it out to remind someone of their fault if they seem to forget.
- Caning. Tied to a post. Usually if the person failed its chief.
- Cutting. Surface of the skin with a clean blade. Usually for a minor transgression that requires to be resolved quickly. Often used when raiding.
- Lashing. Tied to a post. Usually reserved for runaway slaves. Considered humiliating.
- A single slap. In front of the whole clan. For minor transgressions where honor is central to the cause. The softer the slap, the more humiliating it is considered, as if the person was considered too weak to take more pain.
- Stoning. If a large group of people was offended and all of them want revenge.
Exile. Often the punishment for unprovoked murder, treason, poisoning or casting a curse in secret.
Death. A rare sentence, but might be enacted if exile could endanger the clan, like in certain cases of treason.

If the guilt is uncertain, or both parties are at fault, the chieftain would call for a trial by combat.

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