Kai Beste wrote:
> Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I did not mean to say that the
> Brecht will openly criticise their regent. But I think there's a huge
> difference in how the commoners see their regents. In Anuire,
> commoners are probably properly awed when they catch a glimpse of
> their rightful lord. They will say "look, there's our good duke XXX,
> he will take care of our problems."
> In Brechtuer, things are a bit different. Peoply still respect their
> regent, but they are more pragmatic and more likely to take things
> into their own hands. They'll say "well, he's our lord, but he can't
> do everything, so we better look out for ourselves."<

Exactly - and herein lies my arguement! Maybe we're just saying the
same thing from different view points? :D The above argues it quite
nicely for me, in that: Anuirean commoners will judge their regent by
his reputation and his actions; brecht regents will be judged by how
much profit they make for everyone else. I don't think Anuirean
commoners are slavish unwashed, willing to scrape and boot-lick to any
blooded person - only those who have merit and prove themselves to be
righteous examples of Haelyn. Any other type of Anuirean lord will be
despised and treated not unlike English/French/western peasants thought
of their lord during the Middle Ages. Brecht rulers enjoy slightly more
leeway in terms of morality, but ask Bill Gates how to consistently turn
an ever-increasing profit and then you'll know the pressure Brecht
regents face with their underlings! :D

> Again, maybe my statement was a bit misleading. I was talking about
> the average level of education, regardless of class. In the Brecht
> lands, we find a much broader middle class than in Anuire, and I
> think the HOTGB supports my view.<

Absolutely. So, do you mean scholarly education (religion, literacy,
philosophy) or do you mean trade education (glass
blowing/metal-working/etc.)? I would say Anuirean the former, Brecht
the latter ... If so, then yes, we are talking about the same thing.

Cheers,
Darren