Tymnean Law

Tymnean Law was a system of law practised in The Antymnes before its annexation into the Crotani Empire. Following annexation, the laws were superseded by the Imperial Common Law and numerous local statutes implemented by the Empire's provincial governor. Tymnean Law saw a resurgence in the isles during the early Sixth Era.

The law was largely passed down orally through generations of jurists and bards, with only scattered written records of the law surviving until the time of Ranon cob Cerin, when her court produced a detailed manuscript that was copied and distributed in the decades following its creation. There were still many regional differences noted across the Antymnes, but much of the same underlying structure is consistent.

Under Tymnean Law, a family -or House- is held to be collectively responsible the actions of its members. The laws also include the distinct rules for the system of matrilineal inheritance practiced by the houses of the Antymnes, as well as a system of punishment for violations of the law through a system based upon the status of both the criminals and the victims.

Laws of the Land
For the purposes of the law, Antymnean society was divided into several classes. The Eight Bloodlines make up the top, as the Houses that ruled over the eight  Claims. Some vassal houses were also included in this category, if their liege held enough influence and territory. Beneath the ruling noble houses of the eight were the free folk, comprised largely of the landed aristocracy. Most of these houses swore their allegiance to one of the eight. Below the aristocracy were the serfs. Foreigners living within a house's territory held some rights, but were largely unprotected as a matter of practice. The rights and obligations of an individual under the law varied by status within their class, which was largely determined by one's house, and one's personal position within that house.

The Lands
Within the Antymnes, the land was divided into many different territories, of which the noble houses held much. The ruling class was comprised of those most powerful ruling houses and their individual members. The land owned by a noble house was its Territory, and within its territory, it was responsible for enforcement of the law over its serfs. Each of the Eight Bloodlines -the most influential houses of the Antymnes- held its own territory, which was typically larger than that of the other houses surrounding them. In addition to this, the house's own lands, combined with the lands owned by their vassal houses, was known as a Claim. Within each Claim, the matriarch of the ruling house held the responsibility and power over the lands and those within them.

A larger grouping of lands, comprising two or more claims unified under a single matriarch, was called a Dominion. The matriarch at the head of a Dominion was known as a Queen.

Matrilineal Inheritance
From the outside, Tymnean law first led outsiders to believe that the society was patriarchal, with a male ruler presiding over a kingdom. In fact, the term "kingdom" is still sometimes used incorrectly to refer to various Territories, Claims, and Dominions of the Antymnes. As a matter of fact, the society was Matriarchal, in that a king or lord's power to rule was derived solely from the bloodline of his wife.

Rulership over a territory was passed from a mother to her eldest daughter. However, due to the nature of goblin reproductive biology, a house's matriarch would spend much time as a matter of necessity attempting to produce a healthy heiress to pass rulership on to. For her protection and the propagation of her bloodline, an Antymnean matriarch in the isles would entertain many potential suitors in her youth, before settling upon one (or more) that she would marry when she came of age. Her husband would act in her stead for most court functions, allowing her to stay safe and out of sight except for the most important functions, where she would be expected to appear. This tradition of a matriarch being largely kept out of the public eye resulted from the scarcity of goblin women, and the subsequent importance placed upon protecting them from danger.

An Antymnean lord might appear to operate with an incredible degree of autonomy, but if he should he anger the matriarch in some way, the law provided a clear provision for divorce. The divorce laws were fairly consistent across all social classes, with the wife keeping the majority of the common asset pool, and specific percentages varying on the prominence of the wife's house compared to that of the husband's. In the case of a queen, the divorced husband would receive almost none of the common pool, and he would return to his own house. In any case, for a husband to be divorced in this way was considered deeply shameful for the man in question.