Land Court

In a land court, members of a barony's populace are granted (imaginary) lands to use for farming, manufacture, trade, housing, and other period purposes, and/or pay "taxes" on lands they've been granted in the past. The amount of land a gentle can receive is usually a function of her or his rank, though bold and creative petitions to the court are often well-rewarded. Sometimes guilds, fighting companies, and other groups can also request land for their collective purposes. It's an opportunity to indulge in high persona play, and a way to collect items that can be used as largesse, prizes, and/or donations to charity. It's a uniquely Ansteorran tradition.

land court in Bryn Gwlad

The first land court in the Barony of Bryn Gwlad was held by Baron Pendran Glamorgan and Baroness Jehanne d'Avignon in February of 1998 [1]. The "taxes" they collected were in the form of materials to be used as largesse. They held another land court at that year's Yule revel, announcing it as an annual event [2]. In 2003 their successor, Baron Thomas of Tenby, announced that he would continue the tradition, but that he would be collecting canned goods for the Capitol Area Food Bank instead of largesse [3]. His first land court was held at that year's Yule revel, but after that he scheduled them at irregular intervals, sometimes incorporating them into other events and sometimes holding them as independent revels. In 2007 he formalized the relationship between rank and land allotment by publishing a schedule of entitlements [4]:

non-armigerous baronial honors		200 acres each
award-level honors		300 acres each
grant-level honors		600 acres each
court barony		1000 acres
peerages		4000 acres each
royal nobility or past service as coronet of Bryn Gwlad		up to 7000 acres

His successors, Baron Avery Shaw and Baroness Gwenneth Bowynne of Glamorgan, have also elected to collect canned goods for charity as "taxes" and to hold land courts on no particular schedule.

Two maps are used in Bryn Gwlad's land courts--a map of the barony and a map of the city of Bryn Gwlad. Petitioners may request property on either or both. Guild halls, colleges, town houses, barracks, and the like are typically positioned inside the city walls, while larger or more pastoral concerns are spread out across the countryside.

land court in Bjornsborg

Land court was apparently already an established tradition in the Barony of Bjornsborg by December of 1999, when Baron Emrys Shaunnon and Baroness Brianna ny Oran held their first [5].