Indeed. It's complete madness, triggered by the machinations of a few powerful people with ambitions to acquire just a little more of that power which they already have plenty of.
Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system! This dispute could have been avoided, or postponed at least, if the kingdom didn't follow Sallic law, and the Queen could rule as monarch.
True. But in this case, the queen has two strikes against her from the get go; she is a woman and she is an elf. Humans in this realm generally respect elves but are not comfortable with the idea of being ruled by one. Her adversary, the princess is at least human and from the bloodline of several generations of kings.
Poor Prince Modri and Sigmor...both lost to a watery grave. I do wonder if they threw Modri out with the bath water...I hear they do that with babies still.
There were many monarchs of foreign origin. And if people from a country were good enough to marry the monarch, they were good enough to rule. Some foreign-born monarchs were even women, such as Catherine the Great. But if this kingdom follows Sallic law, the Queen's origin is not a factor in preventing her from taking rule; her gender is. If this kingdom did not follow Sallic law, she could even marry Wulfric, and make Orvar, or whoever they beget, undisputed heir.
Since there are presumably no blood/DNA tests at this time, Borghildr's claim Orvar is not Halvar's child would have to be taken on faith. Unless there is some sort of magic proof. And if Orvar is not recognized as Halvar's child, under Sallic law I believe descent would revert to cousins or distant cousins. If no cousin qualifies, a new dynasty would be needed. Borghildr's child, in any event, would not qualify as heir to the throne, since, even if it were male, he would not have angatic (through a male line) descent from Halvar, or anyone Halvar had agnatic descent from. Unless, maybe, Wieland is the distant cousin who qualifies as heir, in lieu of Orvar.
I suspect Sigmor washed on shore of a tropical island, where he met a delightful native girl. Their child is, in fact, the rightful heir to the throne, under the unnecessarily complicated laws of this kingdom!
The laws regarding female inheritance in this land is similar to Sallic law in that male descendants and relatives take precedence. However, in the case of the king's sister, under the laws of this land, she actually has a pretty strong claim to the throne.
As for Prince Sigmor's fate... all will be revealed. Eventually. So there's really no need to talk about Sigmor, really. I mean, he probably actually did drown. "Lost at sea" sounds so romantic but really, come on. How many instances have you heard of people declared "lost at sea" actually surviving after all? Right, so no more talk of that Sigmor fellow. Jolly good.
"[Under] Chilperic I sometime around the year 570, the law was actually amended to permit inheritance of land by a daughter if a man had no surviving sons. ...if all agnates become extinct, then the closest heiress (such as a daughter) of the last male holder of the property inherits, and after her, her own male heirs according to the Salic order.... succession is allowed also through female lines, but excludes the females themselves in favour of their sons.... This can be called a Quasi-Salic system of succession...." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salic_law#Female_inheritance
Borghildr's male heir might have a claim to the throne, provided Orvar could somehow be proven not to be Halvar's son, and assuming this kingdom has Quasi-Sallic laws of succession. In this case, however, since neither Burghildr's nor Ereuweth's male heir would have an agnatic line from Halvar, neither would have clear claim to the succession. A good set-up for a civil war.
(Quasi-)Sallic law would prevent Ereuweth from being queen, but would also prevent Burghildr from doing so. If Burghildr wins this war, she would need to produce that mystery son quick if she wants to reign as his regent.
Under a system of succession such as found in England, Ereuweth could be queen, and a child through Wulfric could be her male heir. And Burghildr could be queen, and her son through Wieland could be her male her. But England doesn't follow Sallic law. And if this kingdom, like England, didn't follow some form of Sallic law, Ereuweth could be queen.
If some form of racism prevents Elves from reigning in this kingdom, it would have to be of an implausibly specific form, one which nonetheless allows Half-Elves to rule. And allows full-blooded Elves to marry ruling monarchs.
I bet Sigmor has hooked up with Miss Uncharted Island, and spends most of his time on sandy beaches sipping drinks from glasses with little umbrellas. It may be necessary to drag him back to his native kingdom.
Since King Uhloff, of "The Village" (#32), is in power 30 years later, I'm guessing he is Borghildr's and Wieland's male heir. Orvar may still be around somewhere, but not sitting on the throne. This flashback may be meant to explain why Elfgirl's party later joins forces with Orvar in exile, possibly under Wulfric's protection in Wideham. So maybe Wulfric retreated to defend Wideham's borders, and effectively secede from Uhloff's rule. (Though it appears there would have been an interim regency under Burhildr, pending Uhloff's graduation from grade school). Maybe. When this flashback is over, I hope we get to see the Chia Golem outside Mebora, especially if someone reanimates it.
Or just straight into democracy, if the monarchy is feeling especially radical.
Since there are presumably no blood/DNA tests at this time, Borghildr's claim Orvar is not Halvar's child would have to be taken on faith. Unless there is some sort of magic proof. And if Orvar is not recognized as Halvar's child, under Sallic law I believe descent would revert to cousins or distant cousins. If no cousin qualifies, a new dynasty would be needed. Borghildr's child, in any event, would not qualify as heir to the throne, since, even if it were male, he would not have angatic (through a male line) descent from Halvar, or anyone Halvar had agnatic descent from. Unless, maybe, Wieland is the distant cousin who qualifies as heir, in lieu of Orvar.
I suspect Sigmor washed on shore of a tropical island, where he met a delightful native girl. Their child is, in fact, the rightful heir to the throne, under the unnecessarily complicated laws of this kingdom!
As for Prince Sigmor's fate... all will be revealed. Eventually. So there's really no need to talk about Sigmor, really. I mean, he probably actually did drown. "Lost at sea" sounds so romantic but really, come on. How many instances have you heard of people declared "lost at sea" actually surviving after all? Right, so no more talk of that Sigmor fellow. Jolly good.
Borghildr's male heir might have a claim to the throne, provided Orvar could somehow be proven not to be Halvar's son, and assuming this kingdom has Quasi-Sallic laws of succession. In this case, however, since neither Burghildr's nor Ereuweth's male heir would have an agnatic line from Halvar, neither would have clear claim to the succession. A good set-up for a civil war.
(Quasi-)Sallic law would prevent Ereuweth from being queen, but would also prevent Burghildr from doing so. If Burghildr wins this war, she would need to produce that mystery son quick if she wants to reign as his regent.
Under a system of succession such as found in England, Ereuweth could be queen, and a child through Wulfric could be her male heir. And Burghildr could be queen, and her son through Wieland could be her male her. But England doesn't follow Sallic law. And if this kingdom, like England, didn't follow some form of Sallic law, Ereuweth could be queen.
If some form of racism prevents Elves from reigning in this kingdom, it would have to be of an implausibly specific form, one which nonetheless allows Half-Elves to rule. And allows full-blooded Elves to marry ruling monarchs.
I bet Sigmor has hooked up with Miss Uncharted Island, and spends most of his time on sandy beaches sipping drinks from glasses with little umbrellas. It may be necessary to drag him back to his native kingdom.