Peasant Society

Peasant Society The Cottles were peasants of the Great Irving Kingdom in the lower realm of Mandenling during the late mid 18th century. Here, like in many societies of its time, the king dined regularly on great feasts in the king's hall and ruled his land with great force and gave the aristocrats much power over the Cottles. The Cottles lived in small thatched roofed dwellings with dirt floors and open windows that were boarded up during the winter months.

Their tables were generally low to the ground and at meals, the Cottles sat on piles of evergreen twigs and moss. Meals consisted of cabbage and potatoes, and supplemented with meat when time could be taken from the fields to hunt. The Cottles brewed a spirit concoction called loten from potatoes and indigenous herbs. Although loten was drank throughout the year, it was generally saved for special occasions such as births, weddings and religious celebrations.

The Cottles also were known for their salt bread, which was a daily staple, although during celebrations it would be served with honey or sweet jams. Cottles were famous for their swords, an art they had perfected through the years. In fact their swords were known far and wide, and so became an important source of income for the artisans. The Cottles themselves though, regarded their personal swords as sacred, attaching names to them that reflected the sword's personality and decorating them with inlays of various stone and glass.

So sacred were their swords that they even talked to them and sought council through meditative rites. Because the king was always involved in numerous military campaigns, he and his armies kept the artisans busy. The Cottles were divided into family clans and each clan had a chief or leader who ruled over his individual clan, making decisions such as when and what to plant, giving his blessings for marriages and births, and making certain that widows and orphan children were taken care of through the whole clan's participation.

The clan chief, called a sether, would oversee every aspect of his clan, just as a father would his family. It was the sether's responsibility to make certain that the history of the clan was passed down to each generation through stories and songs. With no written language, these stories and songs were the only way to ensure that the Cottles' culture would live on through the decades.

Due to the continuous threat of disease, war, and other maladies, the stories and songs would be memorized by every clan member so as to ensure the Cottle culture. Cottle warriors initiated themselves before battle in a ceremony that involved branding their upper arms with the symbol of their clan. This symbol was also sewn onto their clothing and often was inlayed into their swords as well. The Cottles often warred with the tribal clans to the north, in the Kisser territories.

Although the Cottles shared common ancestors with the Kisser tribes, through the centuries they had become bitter enemies. Often the king's army would have to be dispatched to calm the feuding. The Cottle religion, known as Weltham, was rooted in the worship of nature and the deities associated with each element. Dyman was the goddess of air, Marlan was the god of fire, Scanta was the goddess of water, and earth was ruled by the god Hartic and the goddess Collia.

Since earth was where all creation took place, it was seen that both the male and female forms were important. Hartic was associated more with mountains and the ores, while Collia was associated with plant life. Each deity was worshipped according to the needs of the clan, whether fertility, crops, weather, or war. Dyman was associated with weather, Marlan with war, Scanta with crops and Hartic and Collia with fertility. Each Cottle home had images of these deities above their doors, both inside and out.

There was also another deity that was important to the Cottle religion, Jinca, the god of the underworld. His image was used to ward of hexes and curses and no Cottle home would be without Jinca hanging near their sleeping areas. Clothing of the Cottles was basically tunic type dress with cloak coats. Each clan had their own specific colors and patterns, such as plaids and stipes. Rich colors, such as reds and dark blues were used for ceremony dress and cloths.

Common colors for everyday dress was generally browns and greens. White was worn by the clan chiefs, and yellow was reserved for bridal attire. All cloth was spun by the Cottle women and dyed using roots and plants. The Cottles wore little jewelry which was usually made from brass with glass inlays. Although, gold and silver was mined by the Cottles, all such precious metals were reserved for the king, except for what was needed by the artisans for sword-making.

Shoes were fashioned from animal skins, as were winter over-cloaks and headwear. Warriors of each clan had their own headwear from a certain animal. One clan might use the rabbit as their headwear, while another might use the fox, and other the deer. Each animal was considered to possess certain powers and it was believed that the clan warriors would inherit the powers associated with their particular animal. Often the king would send his men out to capture Cottles to work as servants, such as housemaids and stable hands.

Seniority determined positions such as cooks and blacksmiths. More often than not, Cottles who were taken for the king's purposes were seldom sent back to their villages, but lived their lives out within the walls of his fortress. However, many escaped and returned home, however, they lived in fear of one day being found during routine searches. For by law, the king, as well as the noblemen, could send bands of soldiers to search the premises of any Cottle living in the territory, and.