E Sandbach
Part I. Book of the Adela-Followers
E. Laws
Sandbach 1876
[p.25 cont.] These are the Laws Established for the Government of the Citadels.
1. Whenever a citadel is built, the lamp belonging to it must be lighted at the original lamp in Texland, and that can only be done by the mother.
2. Every mother shall appoint her own maidens. She may even choose those who are mothers in other towns.
3. The mother of Texland may appoint her own successor, but should she die without having done so, the election shall take place at a general assembly of the whole nation.
4. The mother of Texland may have twenty-one maidens and seven assistants, so that there may always be seven to attend the lamp day and night. She may have the same number of maidens who are mothers in other towns.
5. If a maiden wishes to marry, she must announce it to the mother, and immediately resign her office, before her passion shall have polluted the light.
6. For the service of the mother and of each of the Burgtmaidens there shall be appointed twenty-one townsmen—seven civilians of mature years, seven warriors of mature years, and seven seamen of mature years.
[p.27] 7. Out of the seven three shall retire every year, and shall not be replaced by members of their own family nearer than the fourth degree.
8. Each may have three hundred young townsmen as defenders.
9. For this service they must study Frya's Tex and the laws. From the sages they must learn wisdom, from the warriors the art of war, and from the sea-kings the skill required for distant voyages.
10. Every year one hundred of the defenders shall return to their homes, and those that may have been wounded shall remain in the citadels.
11. At the election of the defenders no burgher or Grevetman, or other person of distinction, shall vote, but only the people.
12. The mother at Texland shall have three times seven active messengers, and three times twelve speedy horses. In the other citadels each maiden shall have three messengers and seven horses.
13. Every citadel shall have fifty agriculturists chosen by the people, but only those may be chosen who are not strong enough to go to war or to go to sea.
14. Every citadel must provide for its own sustenance, and must maintain its own defences, and look after its share of the general contributions.
15. If a man is chosen to fill any office and refuses to serve, he can never become a burgher, nor have any vote. And if he is already a burgher, he shall cease to be so.
16. If any man wishes to consult the mother or a Burgtmaid, he must apply to the secretary, who will take him to the Burgtmaster. He will then be examined by a surgeon to see if he is in good health. If he is passed, [p.29] he shall lay aside his arms, and seven warriors shall present him to the mother.
17. If the affair concerns only one district, he must bring forward not less than three witnesses; but if it affects the whole of Friesland, he must have twenty-one additional witnesses, in order to guard against any deceptions.
18. Under all circumstances the mother must take care that her children, that is, Frya's people, shall remain as temperate as possible. This is her most important duty, and it is the duty of all of us to help her in performing it.
19. If she is called upon to decide any judicial question between a Grevetman and the community, she must incline towards the side of the community in order to maintain peace, and because it is better that one man should suffer than many.
20. If any one comes to the mother for advice, and she is prepared to give it, she must do it immediately. If she does not know what to advise, he must remain waiting seven days; and if she then is unable to advise, he must go away without complaining, for it is better to have no advice at all than bad advice.
21. If a mother shall have given bad advice out of illwill, she must be killed or driven out of the land, deprived of everything.
22. If her Burgtheeren are accomplices, they are to be treated in a similar manner.
23. If her guilt is doubtful or only suspected, it must be considered and debated, if necessary, for twenty-one weeks. If half the votes are against her, she must be declared innocent. If two-thirds are against her, she must wait a whole year. If the votes are then the same, she must be considered guilty, but may not be put to death.
[p.31] 24. If any of the one-third who have voted for her wish to go away with her, they may depart with all their live and dead stock, and shall not be the less considered, since the majority maybe wrong as well as the minority.
Universal Law.
1. All free-born, men are equal, wherefore they must all have equal rights on sea and land, and on all that Wr-alda has given.
2. Every man may seek the wife of his choice, and every woman may bestow her hand on him whom she loves.
3. When a man takes a wife, a house and yard must be given to him, If there is none, one must be built for him.
4. If he has taken a wife in another village, and wishes to remain, they must give him a house there, and likewise the free use of the common.
5. To every man must be given a piece of land behind his house. No man shall have land in front of his house, still less an enclosure, unless he bas performed some public service. In such a case it may be given, and the youngest son may inherit it, but after him it returns to the community.
6. Every village shall possess a common for the general good, and the chief of the village shall take care that it is kept in good order, so that posterity shall find it uninjured.
7. Every village shall have a market-place. All the rest of the land shall be for tillage and forest. No one shall fell trees without the consent of the community, or without the knowledge of the forester; for the forests are general property, and no man can appropriate them.
[p.33] 8. The market charges shall not exceed one-twelfth of the value of the goods either to natives or strangers. The portion taken for the charges shall not be sold before the other goods.[1]
9. All the market receipts must be divided yearly into a hundred parts three days before the Juul-day.
10. The Grevetman and his council shall take twenty parts; the keeper of the market ten, and his assistants five; the Volksmoeder one, the midwife four, the village ten, and the poor and infirm shall have fifty parts.
11. There shall be no usurers in the market.
If any should come, it will be the duty of the maidens to make it known through the whole land, in order that such people may not be chosen for any office, because they are hard-hearted.
For the sake of money they would betray everybody—the people, the mother, their nearest relations, and even their own selves.
12. If any man should attempt to sell diseased cattle or damaged goods for sound, the market-keeper shall expel him, and the maidens shall proclaim him through the country.
In early times almost all the Finns lived together in their native land, which was called Aldland, and is now submerged. They were thus far away, and we had no wars. When they were driven hitherwards, and appeared as robbers, then arose the necessity of defending ourselves, and we had armies, kings, and wars.
For all this there were established regulations, and out of the regulations came fixed laws.
Here Follow the Laws which were thus Established.
1. Every Frisian must resist the assailants with such weapons as he can procure, invent, and use.
[p.35] 2. When a boy is twelve years old he must devote one day in seven to learning how to use his weapons.
3. As soon as he is perfect in the use of them they are to be given to him, and he is to be admitted as a warrior.
4. After serving as a warrior three years, he may become a citizen, and may have a vote in the election of the headman.
5. When he has been seven years a voter he then may have a vote for the chief or king, and may be himself elected.
6. Every year he must be re-elected.
7. Except the king, all other officials are re-eligible who act according to Frya's laws.
8. No king may be in office more than three years, in order that the office may not be permanent.
9. After an interval of seven years he may be elected again.
10. If the king is killed by the enemy, his nearest relative may be a candidate to succeed. him.
11. If he dies a natural death, or if his period of service has expired, he shall not be succeeded by any blood relation nearer than the fourth degree.
12. Those who fight with arms are not men of counsel, therefore no king must bear arms. His wisdom must be his weapon, and the love of his warriors his shield.
These are the Rights of the Mothers and the Kings.
1. If war breaks out, the mother sends her messengers to the king, who sends messengers to the Grevetmen to call the citizens to arms.
2. The Grevetmen call all the citizens together and decide how many men shall be sent. [p.37]
3. All the resolutions must immediately be sent to the mother by messengers and witnesses.
4. The mother considers all the resolutions and decides upon them, and with this the king as well as the people must be satisfied.
5. When in the field, the king consults only his superior officers, but three citizens of the mother must be present, without any voice. These citizens must send daily reports to the mother, that they may be sure nothing is done contrary to the counsels of Frya.
6. If the king wishes to do anything which his council opposes, he may not persist in it.
7. If an enemy appears unexpectedly, then the king's orders must be obeyed.
8. If the king is not present, the next to him takes command, and so on in succession according to rank.
9. If there is no leader present, one must be chosen.
10. If there is no time to choose, any one may come forward who feels himself capable of leading.
11. If a king has conquered a dangerous enemy, his successors may take his name after their own. The king may, if he wishes, choose an open piece of ground for a house and ground; the ground shall be enclosed, and may be so large that there shall be seven hundred steps to the boundary in all directions from the house.
12. His youngest son may inherit this, and that son's youngest son after him; then it shall return to the community.
Here are the Rules Established for the Security of all Frisians.
1. Whenever new laws are made or new regulations [p.39] established, they must be for the common good, and not for individual advantage.
2. Whenever in time of war either ships or houses are destroyed, either by the enemy or as a matter of precaution, a general levy shall be assessed on the people to make it good again, so that no one may neglect the general welfare to preserve his own interest.
3. At the conclusion of a war, if any men are so severely wounded as to be unable to work, they shall be maintained at the public expense, and shall have the best seats at festivals, in order that the young may learn to honour them.
4. If there are widows and orphans, they shall likewise be maintained at the public expense; and the sons may inscribe the names of their fathers on their shields for the honour of their families.
5. If any who have been taken prisoners should return, they must be kept separate from the camp, because they may have obtained their liberty by making treacherous promises, and thus they may avoid keeping their promises without forfeiting their honour.
6. If any enemies be taken prisoners, they must be sent to the interior of the country, that they may learn our free customs.
7. If they are afterwards set free, it must be done with kindness by the maidens, in order that we may make them comrades and friends, instead of haters and enemies.
Notes
- ↑ The market dues were paid in kind.
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