 Civil Law |
 Merchant LawThis is a short narrative on Merchant Law, followed by supporting references. I make no pronouncements on these matters, but report them as I find them. Arrive at your own conclusions. I wish you well, Fogaban Merchant Law is the only common legal arrangements existing among the Gorean cities. [1] Merchants also, in effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place each year near the Sardar Mountains. [2] It is here that Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized. [3] Weights and measures are standardized throughout the Gorean cities by Merchant Law. [4]
Certain defensible stockades on main trade routes are governed under Merchant Law, legislated and revised, and upheld, at the Sardar Fairs. [5] Some free port cities like Lydius, Helmutsport, Schendi and Bazi also subscribe to Merchant Law which controls things like wharfage and proof of registration. [6] Down at the docks in Brundisium, in the warehouse, a Praetor has a curule chair where he might clarify the Merchant Law, interpret it, adjudicate disputes, and make rulings. [6a]
Businesses, too, complying with Merchant Law are aided in acquiring contracts, even with both sides of a conflict at the same time. [7] And yet, Merchant law has been unsuccessful, in introducing such things as patents and copyrights between cities. [8]
What receives the most attention throughout the books, though, is how Merchant Law pertains to slaves.
Long before Tarl coming to Gor and for about a generation, a series of wars, loosely referred to as the Slave Wars had occurred. Out of these wars grew much of the Merchant Law pertaining to slaves. [9] Probably foremost among these has to do with the brand and collar. A prisoner is not the same as being a slave. "I have been neither branded nor collared, nor have I performed a gesture of submission." [10] Merchant Law upholds the self-pronouncement that one is slave, after which it is binding. [11]
Merchant Law defines permissions of enslavement, at least two of which are making one a slave when not sharing a Home Stone and any Earth girl. [12] Merchant Law also dictates that sometimes, in the fall of a city, girls who have been enslaved, girls formerly of the now victorious city, will be freed. The rescuer has no obligation to free the girl. In having been enslaved she has lost all claim to her former Home Stone. [13]
Merchant Law prescribes the brand and collar. [14][15] And, while some men do not do so this, it is contrary to the laws of most cities and to Merchant Law, as well. [16] Following the recommendations of Merchant Law, the three standard marking places for the brand are the thighs and the lower left abdomen. [17][18]
The collar, as prescribed by Merchant Law, identifies a slave and, if the collar is engraved, often her master.[19]
Merchant law goes on to state that an unclaimed slave, who is legally subject to claimancy, may be then be claimed, and becomes the property of the claimant.[20]
[1] "The fairs incidentally are governed by Merchant Law and supported by booth rents and taxes levied on the items exchanged. The commercial facilities of these fairs, from money changing to general banking, are the finest I know of on Gor, save those in Ar's Street of Coins, and letters of credit are accepted and loans negotiated, though often at usurious rates, with what seems reckless indifference. Yet perhaps this is not so puzzling, for the Gorean cities will, within their own walls, enforce the Merchant Law when pertinent, even against their own citizens. If they did not, of course, the fairs would be closed to the citizens of that city." Priest-Kings of Gor Book 3 Page 11 [2] "There is a saying on Gor, "Gold has no caste." It is a saying of which the merchants are fond. Indeed, secretly among themselves, I have heard, they regard themselves as the highest caste on Gor, though they would not say so for fear of rousing the indignation of other castes. There would be something, of course, to be said for such a claim, for the merchants are often indeed in their way, brave, shrewd, skilled men, making long journeys, venturing their goods, risking caravans, negotiating commercial agreements, among themselves developing and enforcing a body of Merchant Law, the only common legal arrangements existing among the Gorean cities. Merchants also, in effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place each year near the Sardar Mountains. I say "in effect" because the fairs are nominally under the direction of a committee of the Caste of Initiates, which, however, largely contents itself with its ceremonies and sacrifices, and is only too happy to delegate the complex management of those vast, commercial phenomena, the Sardar Fairs, to members of the lowly, much-despised Caste of Merchants, without which, incidentally, the fairs most likely could not exist, certainly not at any rate in their current form." Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 84 [3] "The fairs, too, however, have many other functions. - It is here that Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized." Beasts of Gor Book 12 Page 44 [4] "The Weight and the Stone, incidentally, are standardized throughout the Gorean cities by Merchant Law, the only common body of law existing among the cities. The official "Stone," actually a solid metal cylinder, is kept, by the way, near the Sardar. Four times a year, on a given day in each of the four great fairs held annually near the Sardar, it is brought forth with scales, that merchants from whatever city may test their own standard "Stone" against it. . . . As in the case of the official "Stone", so, too, at the Sardar is a metal rod, which determines the Merchant Foot, or Gorean foot, as I have called it." Raiders of Gor Book 6 Pages 127 and 128 [5] "The Merchants have, in the last few years, on certain trade routes, between Ar and Ko-ro-ba, and between Tor and Ar, established palisaded compounds, defensible stockades. . . . Various cities, through their own Merchant Castes, lease land for these stockades and, for their fees, keep their garrisons, usually men of their own cities, supplied. The stockades are governed under Merchant Law, legislated and revised, and upheld, at the Sardar Fairs." Captive of Gor Book 7 Page 219 [6] "The representative of the Merchants, to whom I reported my business, and to whom I paid for wharfage, asked no questions. He did not even demand the proof of registration of the Tesephone in Tabor. The Merchants, who control Lydius, under merchant law, for it is a free port, like Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, are more interested in having their port heavily trafficked than strictly policed." Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 43 [6a] "In a couple of places on a platform, there was a harbor praetor, now indoors, in the warehouse, on his curule chair, as opposed to on the docks themselves, their usual station, who might clarify the Merchant Law, interpret it, adjudicate disputes, and make rulings. There were many caste colors in the crowd, but clearly predominating were the yellow and white, or white and gold, familiar to the Merchants. Mariners of Gor Book 30 Page 503 [7] "He himself resided, I understood, in Telnus, the capital of Cos, where his company had its headquarters. His work chains, however, were politically neutral, understood under merchant law as hirable instruments. They might, accordingly, and sometimes did, work for both sides in given conflicts." Dancer of Gor Book 22 Page 322 [8] "Merchant law has been unsuccessful, as yet, in introducing such things as patents and copyrights on Gor. Such things do exist in municipal law on Gor but the jurisdictions involved are, of course, local." Magicians of Gor Book 25 Page 394 [9] "She was referring to a series of wars, loosely referred to as the Slave Wars, which occurred among various cities in the middle latitudes of Gor, off and on, over a period of approximately a generation. They had occurred long before my coming to Gor. Although large-scale slaving was involved in these wars, and was doubtless a sufficient condition for them, hence the name, other considerations, as would be expected, were often involved, as well, such as the levying of tribute and the control of trade routes. Out of the Slave Wars grew much of the merchant law pertaining to slaves." Vagabonds of Gor Book 24 Page 272 [10] "It is my understanding, following merchant law, and Tahari custom," I said, "that I am not a slave, for though I am a prisoner, I have been neither branded nor collared, nor have I performed a gesture of submission." Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 196 "Now I surely acknowledge that the confiscation was within the letter of the law, given the current sorry state of Ar and the ordinances of the occupation; and I acknowledge further that she has been out of my hands for more than the number of days which, in Merchant Law, legitimate her seizure and claiming by another, and I recognize, further, of course, that she has passed through one or more hands in this time, as his or their slave, and that she was honestly purchased in open auction, in good faith, from her actual and completely legitimate owner, the state of Cos." Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 520 [11] "In the case of the girl, Rowena, of course, as she was already a self-pronounced slave, the brand and collar were little more than identificatory formalities. Nonetheless she would wear them. They would be fixed visibly and clearly upon her. This is in accord with the prescriptions of merchant law." Players of Gor Book 20 Page 36 There, in fear of her life, in the midst of a Kur raid, she had proclaimed herself slave. The slave, of course, cannot unsay such words, for she is then a slave. At that moment, whether she had understood it or not, she had become a slave. Later, on a far world, far beyond the Prison Moon, a Steel World, as there were slavers there, and her attractions warranted this, she had been simply taken in hand, and branded and collared, routinely so, they not even understanding at that time that she was already a slave, not that that would have spared her the brand and collar, for such details are in order, and prescribed by merchant law. Swordsmen of Gor Book 29 Page 592 [12] "You understand further, of course," said he, "that under Gorean merchant law, which is the only law commonly acknowledged binding between cities, that you stand under separate permissions of enslavement. First, were you of Ar, it would be my right, could I be successful, to make of you a slave, for we share no Home Stone. Secondly, though you speak of yourself as the Lady Elicia of Ar, of Six Towers, you are, in actuality, Miss Elicia Nevins of the planet Earth. You are an Earth girl and thus stand within a general permission of enslavement, fair beauty quarry to any Gorean male whatsoever." Slave Girl of Gor Book 11 Page 394 [13] "The legal point, I think, is interesting. Sometimes, in the fall of a city, girls who have been enslaved, girls formerly of the now victorious city, will be freed. Technically, according to Merchant Law, which serves as the arbiter in such intermunicipal matters, the girls become briefly the property of their rescuers, else how could they be freed? Further, according to Merchant Law, the rescuer has no obligation to free the girl. In having been enslaved she has lost all claim to her former Home Stone." Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 409 [14] "Girls such as I must expect to be marked," she said. "It is in accord with the recommendations of merchant law." Kajira of Gor Book 19 Page 46 [15] "You're going to be branded," he said, "and put in a collar." I regarded him with disbelief. "But so too, will the other girls," he said. "You will all have your brands and collars." I could not speak. "Such things are prescribed by merchant law," he said. Dancer of Gor Book 22 Page 62 In its way, the collar has some of the symbolic aspects of the marriage ring, except, of course, that that ring is a symbol worn by a free woman who is the putative equal of a man, whereas the collar is worn by a slave, and, aside from such things as its identificatory purposes, important in Merchant Law, is a symbol of the natural woman, the woman who is categorically owned by a man, her master. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 299 Surely Mirus seemed pleased with what he saw. Too, there was a collar on her neck. This, she knew, too, had its effect on men. Not only did it serve as an attractive adornment, rather like a necklace, contrasting with, and setting off, the slim, lovely, rounded softness of her throat, but she could not remove it. It was locked on her, publicly and obviously. It proclaimed her property, slave. Thus, on the symbolic level, where human sexuality luxuriates, thrives and flourishes, and aside from the obvious identificatory conveniences of Merchant Law, it was far more than a lovely piece of jewelry; it enhanced her beauty not only aesthetically but symbolically, overwhelmingly, devastatingly meaningfully. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 566 It is little wonder, he thought, that Merchant Law prescribes that the fair throats of female slaves will know the collar, that their fair throats be clasped within such lovely, indicatory, uncompromising, irremovable, possessive encirclements. Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 97 On Gor, of course, these collars, at least the simple ones, sell for a pittance, and even common slaves are routinely fastened in them. Indeed, this is required by Merchant Law. Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 65 What man, seeing a beautiful woman, does not imagine her in a collar, and want her? It is, accordingly, not surprising that Gorean masters keep their girls in collars. To be sure, Merchant Law, in any case, prescribes the collar, the brand, distinctive garmenture, and such. Kur of Gor Book 28 Pages 702 - 703 The throats of slaves, of course, are commonly bared, save, of course, for the collar. As they are slaves, they are expected to display the collar, obviously, and publicly, such a lovely badge of servitude. Indeed, as earlier noted, this display, as certain others, is prescribed by Merchant Law, which is a general, intermunicipal body of law regularly promulgated by the Merchant caste at the great fairs, and tending to be shared by disunited, often hostile, Gorean communities. Even were it not for such law, of course, practical considerations would dictate some obvious ways of marking the distinction between the female slave and the free woman. One might think in terms of a slave bracelet or a slave anklet, or such, but the collar is almost universally preferred, possibly because of the prominence of its mounting, its unmistakable visibility, its way of clarifying the nature of its wearer, as a collared animal, and its beauty. Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 703 "A slave should be branded," I said. "It is an explicit recommendation of Merchant Law." Swordsmen of Gor Book 29 Page 82 [16] "Some fellows do not brand their slaves," I said. "That is stupid!" she said. "It is also contrary to the laws of most cities," I said, "and to merchant law, as well." Vagabonds of Gor Book 24 Page 188 Not all masters brand and collar their slaves, but branding and collaring is strongly recommended in Merchant Law, and it would be a rare slave girl who was not both branded and collared. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 209 It is natural that not every property should be marked identically. But it is recommended that each property be marked. That is prescribed in Merchant Law. Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 9 [17] "But her left thigh worn no brand. Her right thigh, too, as I soon noted, did not wear the slave mark, nor did her lower left abdomen. These are the three standard marking places, following the recommendations of Merchant Law, for the marking of Kajirae, with the left thigh being, in practice, the overwhelmingly favored brand site." Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 312 [18] "The thighs and the lower left abdomen are the brand sites recommended by Merchant Law." Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 349 "I thought that slaves were branded," said the woman to Mirus. "Not all," said Mirus, "though it is recommended by Merchant Law. Turn your left thigh to our guest, Ellen. Look high, just under the hip. "She is branded!" said the woman. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 98 How the collar enhanced her beauty, in a thousand ways, aesthetically and psychologically, and how delicately, unmistakably, and beautifully, too, was her status, condition, and nature made clear, fixedly and absolutely, by the tiny, tasteful mark placed in her body, in her thigh, just beneath the hip, a site recommended by Merchant Law, a mark proclaiming her the most exciting and beautiful of women, kajira. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 101 She was then handled, and turned about, for he was looking for slave brands. The most common site for such, recommended in Merchant Law, is high on the left thigh, under the hip. But there are other sites, as well. Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 50 [19] The collar may be viewed as a simple contrivance, a device prescribed by Merchant Law, identifying a slave and, if the collar is engraved, often her master. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 41 [20] Whereas cities have laws, and most castes have caste codes, there is only one law which is generally respected, and held in common, amongst Gorean municipalities, and that is Merchant Law, largely established and codified at the great Sardar Fairs. According to Merchant law an unclaimed slave, one legally subject to claimancy, may be claimed, and then is the property of the claimant. Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 424 The fairs incidentally are governed by Merchant Law and supported by booth rents and taxes levied on the items exchanged. The commercial facilities of these fairs, from money changing to general banking, are the finest I know of on Gor, save those in Ar's Street of Coins, and letters of credit are accepted and loans negotiated, though often at usurious rates, with what seems reckless indifference. Yet perhaps this is not so puzzling, for the Gorean cities will, within their own walls, enforce the Merchant Law when pertinent, even against their own citizens. If they did not, of course, the fairs would be closed to the citizens of that city. Priest-Kings of Gor Book 3 Page 11 It might be mentioned, for those unaware of the fact, that the Caste of Merchants is not considered one of the traditional five High Castes of Gor the Initiates, Scribes, Physicians, Builders and Warriors. Most commonly, and doubtless unfortunately, it is only members of the five high castes who occupy positions on the High Councils of the cities. Nonetheless, as might be expected, the gold of merchants, in most cities, exercises its not imponderable influence, not always in so vulgar a form as bribery and gratuities, but more often in the delicate matters of extending or refusing to extend credit in connection with the projects, desires or needs of the High Councils. There is a saying on Gor, "Gold has no caste." It is a saying of which the merchants are fond. Indeed, secretly among themselves, I have heard, they regard themselves as the highest caste on Gor, though they would not say so for fear of rousing the indignation of other castes. There would be something, of course, to be said for such a claim, for the merchants are often indeed in their way, brave, shrewd, skilled men, making long journeys, venturing their goods, risking caravans, negotiating commercial agreements, among themselves developing and enforcing a body of Merchant Law, the only common legal arrangements existing among the Gorean cities. Merchants also, in effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place each year near the Sardar Mountains. I say "in effect" because the fairs are nominally under the direction of a committee of the Caste of Initiates, which, however, largely contents itself with its ceremonies and sacrifices, and is only too happy to delegate the complex management of those vast, commercial phenomena, the Sardar Fairs, to members of the lowly, much-despised Caste of Merchants, without which, incidentally, the fairs most likely could not exist, certainly not at any rate in their current form. Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 84 The Weight and the Stone, incidentally, are standardized throughout the Gorean cities by Merchant Law, the only common body of law existing among the cities. The official "Stone," actually a solid metal cylinder, is kept, by the way, near the Sardar. Four times a year, on a given day in each of the four great fairs held annually near the Sardar, it is brought forth with scales, that merchants from whatever city may test their own standard "Stone" against it. The "Stone" of Port Kar, tested against the official "Stone" at the Sardar, reposed in a special fortified building in the great arsenal, which complex was administered by agents of the Council of Captains. Raiders of Gor Book 6 Page 127 The Merchants have, in the last few years, on certain trade routes, between Ar and Ko-ro-ba, and between Tor and Ar, established palisaded compounds, defensible stockades. These, where they exist, tend to be placed approximately a day's caravan march apart. Sometimes, of course, and indeed, most often, the caravan must camp in the open. Still, these hostels, where they are to be found, are welcome, both to common merchants and to slavers, and even to travelers. Various cities, through their own Merchant Castes, lease land for these stockades and, for their fees, keep their garrisons, usually men of their own cities, supplied. The stockades are governed under Merchant Law, legislated and revised, and upheld, at the Sardar Fairs. The walls are double, the interior wall higher, and tarn wire is strung over the compound. These forts do not differ much, except in size, from the common border forts, which cities sometimes maintain at the peripheries of their claims. In the border forts, of course, there is little provision for the goods of merchants, their wagons, and such. There is usually room for little more than their garrisons, and their slaves. I hoped I would not be a slave girl in a distant border fort. I wanted to reside in a luxurious city, where there would be many goods, and sights and pleasures. I wanted to wear my collar in great Ar itself. Captive of Gor Book 7 Pages 219 - 220 The representative of the Merchants, to whom I reported my business, and to whom I paid for wharfage, asked no questions. He did not even demand the proof of registration of the Tesephone in Tabor. The Merchants, who control Lydius, under merchant law, for it is a free port, like Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, are more interested in having their port heavily trafficked than strictly policed. Indeed, at the wharves I had even seen two green ships. Green is the color common to pirates. I supposed, did they pay their wharfage and declare some sort of business, the captains of those ships were as little interrogated as I. The governance of Lydius, under the merchants, incidentally, is identical to that of the exchange islands, or free islands, in Thassa. Three with which I was familiar, from various voyages, were Tabor, Teletus and, to the north, offshore from Torvaldsland, Scagnar. Of these, to be honest, and to give the merchants their due, I will admit that Tabor and Teletus are rather strictly controlled. It is said, however, by some of the merchants there, that this manner of caution and restriction, has to some extent diminished their position in the spheres of trade. Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 43 "It is my understanding, following merchant law, and Tahari custom," I said, "that I am not a slave, for though I am a prisoner, I have been neither branded nor collared, nor have I performed a gesture of submission." Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 196 "Do you understand the document?" he asked. "Yes," she said. "It is an order of enslavement." "You understand further, of course," said he, "that under Gorean merchant law, which is the only law commonly acknowledged binding between cities, that you stand under separate permissions of enslavement. First, were you of Ar, it would be my right, could I be successful, to make of you a slave, for we share no Home Stone. Secondly, though you speak of yourself as the Lady Elicia of Ar, of Six Towers, you are, in actuality, Miss Elicia Nevins of the planet Earth. You are an Earth girl and thus stand within a general permission of enslavement, fair beauty quarry to any Gorean male whatsoever." To be sure, Merchant Law, in any case, prescribes the collar, the brand, distinctive garmenture, and such. Indeed, as earlier noted, this display, as certain others, is prescribed by Merchant Law, which is a general, intermunicipal body of law regularly promulgated by the Merchant caste at the great fairs, and tending to be shared by disunited, often hostile, Gorean communities. "As slavers see it," I said, "you were a slave from the moment your name was entered on an acquisition list." "I see," she said. "Branding and collaring," I said, "would then be rather in the nature of accompanying details, confirming the matter." "I see," she said. "Such things, identifications in their way, are in accord with Merchant Law," I said. "My claim is valid," I said. "I own her." "She fell into hands other than yours frequently," said Decius Albus, "for example, those of Seremides of Ar, of Lurius of Jad, of Myron of Cos, of Ruffio of Ar, and doubtless those of many others." "That changes nothing," I said. "One man cannot free the slave of another. If she fled away and was apprehended by guardsmen, that does not make her the slave of guardsmen." "Beware, dear Geoffrey," said Hemartius. "Things are not so simple." "Perhaps, esteemed deputy counselor," said Decius Albus, "you might ask your colleague, the noble, learned Hemartius, to quote relevant statutes to you." "I refrain," said Hemartius. "Permit me, then, to be of service," said Decius Albus. "The matter is complex and varies from polis to polis, but, happily, it is also covered more generally in Merchant Law, which, as you know, is promulgated at, and revised at, the Sardar Fairs, particularly that of En'kara. For obvious reasons, given the limitations of pomeriums, Merchant Law is commonly, in many matters, accorded a theoretical preeminence. The slave laws tend to be quite similar to those pertaining to chattels in general. Consider some representative cases. An owner disappears or perishes without having made provisions for the disposition of his property. One then considers kin, and closeness of kin. Suppose a slave is a fugitive and her owner is not known or cannot be found. She is then subject to claim. Suppose a slave is lost or has been washed overboard. Then, again, assuming her owner is not known or cannot be found, she is subject to claim. Suppose a woman, of her own free will, has renounced her freedom, declaring herself a slave, perhaps to avoid an undesirable companionship, say, to make herself unworthy of, or ineligible for, companionship, or perhaps to escape a city, or a difficult personal situation, or a simple yearning for a master. She may then be claimed by any free person. A female thief may be given by the state to her victim. A female debtor may be given by the state to her creditor. An unclaimed slave may be auctioned. In some cases, time limits may be imposed, for example, a slave not claimed within twenty days may be sold, and so on. These things are independent, of course, of recognized exceptions, such as attacks, raids, and war. The slave, like the free woman, is loot and loot belongs to the looter. The laws of Ar do not prevail in Treve, nor do those of Treve prevail in Ar. Let masters look after their own slaves, as best they can, as they would their own tarsks, verr, or kaiila." "In short," I said, "laws are complex, tangled, and often obscure." "And Merchant Law, dealing with this area, is usually ineffective," said Hemartius, "lacking a means of enforcement and being overruled whenever found by cities or individuals distasteful or inconvenient." "Cities and men do much as they please," I said. "Not within a city, of course," said Hemartius. "Within a city, laws can be quite stringent." "Fortunately," said Decius Albus, "the matter here is quite simple and straightforward. Geoffrey of Harfax little or never exercised the imperium of the mastership over the woman in question, over his alleged property. Indeed, she was on the throne of Ar! Did she, I wonder, often ponder that beneath her regalia, beneath her ornate robes of office, there was the naked body of a slave? Then at last, our beloved Marlenus, after his long and tragic absence, returned to our beloved Ar. Ar rose! The invaders were cast out! Talena disappeared. During the time of her disappearance, in one collar after another, she belonged to many masters. The original mastery then, if it existed at all, was superseded and nullified many times over." "You are clothed now, far more than the law decrees," said Seremides, "for what you are." "For what I am?" she said. "Kajira," he said. "Was it necessary to have me marked?" she asked. "It was not necessary," I said, "but it was appropriate. As you know, the marking of slaves, as certain other domestic animals, is recommended by Merchant Law." |       
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