Mundane Politics
The kingdom of England is a state of turmoil. Decades of upheaval and war have caused many shifts in the kingdom's fortunes. Most recently, the King of France's invasion and withdrawal and King John's death have left the kingdom in the hands of a minor, King Henry III (b. 1207). As a result, many barons refuse to heed to the Regency in place, leaving England, Wales, and parts of Ireland without a strong leader and many headstrong local nobility.
The Covenant's Overlord
England (and by extension, Wales and Ireland) does not have a custom of allodial land. Every square inch ruled by the king of England answers to an overlord, who ultimately answers to the King of England. This includes the covenant of Nova Semitae. Due to their position on the 'Marches', and the historic conflict between England and Wales, the covenant has managed to avoid paying taxes for many years. The lack of strong leaders in the adjacent shire (England) or principality (Wales) has played into the covenant's advantage.
Despite this tumultuous situation, the question still hangs overhead as to whom the covenant owes its taxes to. At some point, this question will need to be answered before the answer comes to the covenant demanding taxes. There are several options available to the magi. All of these, of course, open the magi up to charges at Tribunal for 'interference with mundanes', but such is the life of a magus in England.
Given the size of the covenant (400 people and growing!) it is now roughly township-sized, if spread out more than other towns of its population-size. This population size makes it possible to argue for a town charter from one of the following powers:
Countess of Shrewsbury
The de Belleme family are the current inhabitants in Shrewsbury Castle, having driven out the Welsh in the recent past. However, the earldom had been intended for another noble. This was never finalized, as King John died before getting around to it. With King Henry III, the child-king, on the throne, there is little to be done as any Acts he may do require his majority. As such, the de Belleme family will hold the Earldom until Henry III decides to take up the issue in the future. At present, the county is officially under control of the High Sherriff of Staffordshire, presently Ranulf de Blondeville, Earl of Chester.
Possibilities: Leverage the de Belleme family's precarious position, either for or against them. Ally with the rival family who was originally promised the Earldom. Ally with either family, or with the King in order to gain greater independence via a town charter.
Prince of Powys Wenwynwyn, Llewlwyn
The current Prince of Powys Wenwynwyn is Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn. Strictly speaking, the covenant is on the west side of the Severn, and therefore within the boundaries of the principality. However with the Prince being forced to conceded to Llywelyn the Great after his father's defeat, he is hungry to regain power, his land, and revenge. He is seeking allies on both sides of the border that could help him. Of course, the magi could always just... move the river and be on the east of the Severn, too.
Llywelyn, on the other hand, holds the principality by the skin of his teeth. While he won a decisive victory, he has rebellious populations to deal with in all his conquered lands, other Princes who still oppose his ascension as the chief Prince of Wales, and the English king to whom he owes nominal fealty. A stable town within an unstable province may be just what he needs to help secure his borders.
Possibilities: Leverage Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn's position vis-a-vis Llewelyn the Great, for or against him. Ally with either Prince in order to gain greater independence via town charter.
King Henry III
Although King Henry III is still a minor, a Royal Council does hold his power for him, though they are quite weakened by their inability to force the independent-minded barons into their will as only the king can compel them through their vows of fealty. With the recent withdrawal of French forces, who had occupied half the country for several years, the King's power is precarious and he needs all the allies he can get.
During historic periods of instability, rich towns have often managed to win a Town Charter granted by the King. In exchange for a large payment, or regular payments directly to the king, a town may be granted a Town Charter which frees a town from any local nobles' demands for taxes. Towns may run themselves with their own government and answers directly to the king. At least one other covenant, Burnham, has done this though not without controversy among the other covenants. Charges of interference with mundanes is almost certain at Tribunal, but such arrangements are highly sought-after and extremely lucrative to those covenants that manage to navigate the political terrain.
If they follow this route, they will almost certainly have to deal with the King's current regent, Hubert de Burgh, a powerful man in the kingdom with both powerful allies and enemies.
Possibilities: Gain a town charter from the King while avoiding the ire of the local nobles.
The Church
Over the years, the Church has been granted land through the wills of many nobles. In many parts of Europe, the local bishop, or abbot, are not merely leaders in the Church but are also feudal overlords. This is also true in England. A local monastery with considerable land-holdings on both sides of the English-Welsh border is not too far away and it's conceivable that the land the covenant sits on has been willed to the Church. (Or such a will could be forged.) This could remove the covenant from the nobles' wars as the covenant's lands would be owed to the Church, giving them an ally in dealing with the local nobles. Due to the monastery's rule of keeping their brothers (or sisters) within their communities, interference is lower. Of course, they may wish to concern themselves with the souls of their tenants and send missionaries to preach.
Alternatively, a local chapterhouse of the Knights Templar could serve the same function as many nobles willed land to the Knights who subsequently achieved land-holding status much like monasteries.
Possibilities: Arrange a relationship with the Church whereby the covenant owes its fealty and taxes to a nearby monastery or Knights Templar chapterhouse. Alternatively, gain a town charter from either a lord bishop, lord abbot, or the Knights Templar.
The Covenant's Bishop
Much like how the covenant sits at the border of two temporal lords, it also sits at the conjunction of three bishoprics: two English, one Welsh. To the west is the Welsh bishopric of St. Asaph's; to the northeast is the Bishopric of Chester; to the southwest is the bishopric of Hereford. The bishoprics of St. Asaph's and Hereford fall under the archdiocese of Canterbury, while the bishopric of Chester falls under the archdiocese of York.
Exactly who the covenant will answer to will depend on which way they decide to go with their feudal lord and how they decide their politics with the local clergy. While it may be possible to choose, say, a Welsh lord and an English diocese, it would introduce additional complications in their mundane relationships.
The Landless Knights
The covenant is home to several landless knights who have followed various magi to Conventus Muri. Of the four, two are already part of the Anglo-Norman system of knighthood, Sir William and Sir Daniele. There are two foreign knights, Ritter Sigmund and Sir Jusef, from Germany and Poland, respectively. Sir William was an heir to his father's holdings, but he passed away while William was on Crusade. The baron has since dispossessed William of the manors due to no heirs stepping up. Sir William is the most likely to succeed in a claim for a manor, though he has not yet had any luck contacting the baron.
Sir Daniele was ostensibly sent from Normandy to serve a distant relation to the baron who knighted him, but said relation had since died out and been dispossessed of his manors as well. Since he is not welcome back home, he is a knight-errant in search of a lord to serve.
Ritter Sigmund and Sir Jusef are effectively knight-errants, as their knighting was not done through the Anglo-Norman system so it is unlikely that they would receive manors short of exceptional service to a local lord.
Sir William
Sir William, being a veteran of the Crusades, could possibly approach the Church for a manor. Both nearby monasteries and Templar Knights have manors willed to them by lords wishing to hasten their time in Purgatory. They might be willing to grant one or more of them to a pious Crusader who has returned.
Sir Jusef
Sir Jusef, being a foreigner, has little chance of gaining a manor, unless he does something very mighty for the Church or a temporal Lord. His primary intention is to protect and "make a Lady" of his cousin Veloxia.
Timeline of the British Isles
While the PCs do not know this, the following are expected to follow real-world events. Included are Jewish-population events due to the covenant's population.
- 1219-1272 - 49 separate levies on Jews are imposed, raising some 200,000 marks for the Crown, and exorbitant amount of money
- 1228-1229 - The Sixth Crusade begins
- 1231 - Simon de Montfort expels all Jews from Leicester and annuls all debts owed to Jews by his subjects
- 1235 - Famine strikes England resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths through starvation. London alone suffers 20,000 dead
- 1237 - Border between Scotland and England established by the Treaty of York
- 1240 - Death of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), prince of Wales; Dafydd ap Llywelyn accedes to the throne of Gwynedd
- 1246 - Death of Dafydd ap Llywelyn; Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (Llywelyn the Last) accedes to the throne of Gwynedd (he does not claim the title of prince of Wales until 1258)
- 1248-1254 - The Seventh Crusade begins
- 1252-1253 - The driest back-to-back years ever. London and the south of England are particularly hard-hit with heat and drought, resulting in many deaths due to starvation and heat stroke.
- 1253 - Jews are forbidden from settling in towns where a jewish community does not already exist
- 1255 - King Henry III sells the Jewish community to his brother, Richard of Cornwall, for 5,000 marks and loses control of them for one year.
- 1261 - The University of Northampton is founded, only to be shut down in 1265 after bishops and magnates petitioned the King, believing it threatened Oxford and Cambridge.
- 1264-1267 - Simon de Montfort leads rebel English barons to defeat Henry III at the Battle of Lewes; start of the Second Barons' War
- 1267 - Henry III of England recognizes the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Wales
- 1270-1272 - The Eighth and Ninth Crusades begin
- 20 November 1272 - Edward I (Edward Longshanks) assumes the throne of England
- 1275 - Statue of the Jewery is passed, outlawing usury and giving Jews 15 years to adjust from one of the few ways they could make money.
- 1275-1307 - Edward I calls together knights, clergy, and burghers to advise him, forming the first parliaments
- 1275 - An informal parliament passes the First Statute of Westminster
- 1277 - England annexes Wales, a state of affairs which lasted until 1283
- 1279 - Statute of Mortmain
- 1282 - Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales; Dafydd ap Gruffudd accedes to the throne of Gwynedd
- 1283 - Death of Dafydd ap Gruffudd; English conquest of Wales
- 1285 - An informal parliament passes the Second Statute of Westminster
- 1287 - Revolt of Rhys ap Maredudd in Wales
- 1290 - An informal parliament passes the Quia Emptores, or Third Statute of Westminster
- 18 July 1290 - Edict of Explusion - All Jews are banished from England, Wales, and English-controlled Ireland. Many Jews emigrate to France and the Netherlands, and to countries such as Poland, which at that time protected them (see Statute of Kalisz).
- 1294 - Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn in Wales
- 1295 - Scotland and France sign a mutual self-defense pact against England (Auld Alliance)
- 1295 - Edward I calls together what will become known as the Model Parliament
- 1297 - William Wallace and the Scots defeat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge