"You're going to have democracy whether you want it or not!"

Not long ago, Europe's last remaining feudal state, The Island of Sark (off the coast of France near the English Channel) was told by the EU that it had to change its system from a feudal monarchy to a democracy -- or else. But the residents did not want to change anything. They were just fine with having the Seigneur of Sark as their unelected lord, but the Labour Party and the EU didn't care.

The people of Sark were just fine owing fealty to a lord. It's tradition and they've done it for hundreds of years and had no gripes about it.

So why does the EU need to bully around a small island??? Don't they get enough joy bullying around larger states like Italy or Poland?

From Wikipedia: Sark

Medieval administrators

I love history, and lately, I've been quite interested in medieval administrative positions and titles. Originally these titles and positions were very functional and first appeared with the mass building of castles in medieval Europe. Some of these posts still exist in some way shape or form in modern times, though many of them are mostly ceremonial or have been renamed. Some are no longer in use.

The curiosity came from my researching of medieval royal and noble courts as well as their mighty strongholds.
Surely the day-to-day activities of the monarch's estates were not managed by the monarchs themselves. They are of course had their courtiers and I wanted to know more about them.

Here are some of those courtier positions in English:

Seneschal: This position was especially important and essentially was a medieval equivalent of a Prime Minister and a Vice Roy all in one. This was quite a powerful position, especially in France and smaller versions of this courtier title for the baronies and counties. This courtier was the monarch's right-hand man.

Chancellor: This position still exists as the top civil officer in Germany and many organizations, universities and courts of law still have Chancellors. They were responsible for daily functioning of the civil service and the government in general, essentially a top administrator or secretary. In the UK, for example, there are two chancellors. There is the Lord High Chancellor which is the highest ranking officer in the House of Lords and highest ranking next to Lord High Steward in the Privy Council. The Prime Minister's second in charge is also the Chancellor of the Exchequer (a treasurer).

Steward: Being a Steward meant the taking care of a lord's estate. This meant pretty much all internal affairs and on a national or Royal Court level, this position was the highest ranking in the British Crown, the Lord High Steward. On a smaller scale, this position usually was responsible for food preparation, cleaning, infrastructure, etc.

Chamberlain: The chamberlain was usually a subordinate of the steward, though sometimes this position ranked higher than the steward, as was the case in medieval France. The Chamberlain was responsible for the lord's chamber and often times controlled access to the lord. This usually translated into a particularly powerful post.

Marshal: This was perhaps the highest ranking military post in most medieval monarchies. Originally responsible for keeping of the lord's steeds, the post went on to command the lord's knights and later to command entire armies and navies. This position is equivalent to Constable by definition.

Constable: The word Constable is actually derived from two Latin words: comes stabuli which means Stable Companion. The position, like the Marshal, was responsible for the lord's steeds and later evolved into a commander-in-chief of the lord's military forces. This was the highest ranking military position in France and in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Lord Magistrate/Lord Justice: As the name implies, this man was the chief judge of the lord's law and usually commanded watchmen or guards to enforce the law.

Palatine/Count-Palatine: In some medieval kingdoms, this was THE highest ranking noble title was well as administrative position. Essentially, this Noble was both a Regent and a Viceroy, as in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and mostly a high-ranking noble and elector of the Holy Roman Empire. While acting as a Viceroy and Regent, the position was equivalent to a Seneschal.

Castellan: This post was usually the highest-ranking administrative position for a lord's castle and was usually charged with the castle's defenses as well. The French equivalent title is Châtelain and in Latin castellanus or comes castri.

I don't know much about Arabic or Asian medieval titles and such, but if anyone knows, please feel free to post a comment about them.

Nepal is now a republic

The Hindu : Front Page : Nepal is now a republic

Sad news today... the monarchy of Nepal has been dethroned, as I figured it would be. It's sad to another piece of tradition and stability go down the tubes. Now the people of Nepal can have their corrupt republican politicians that serve only themselves with no one to really stop them.

Another Tribune of the People has been unseated.

Very sad indeed.