To grant the maximum flexibility, its best not to tie BR too closely to any
single historical precident, but to use a variety. For example, the Brecht
strike me as more Italian than German. Sure they are culturally
German-feeling, but there is valuable analogy in the Italian city states as
well that should not be ignored.

The issue of divine right in BR is just one of a cluster called the
legitimation of authority. We might look to Ma`at in Egypt, the Mandate of
Heaven in China, the Biblical example of God setting up monarchy in Israel,
the Roman experience of divine Emperors, Aztec concepts of divine
legitimation, and on and on.

The more models we use, the more we can vary theories between NPC`s, between
realms, between nations, between races. While all of these models involve
some divine sphere sanctioning authority on Earth, they all vary
sufficiently to be useful for fleshing out cultures. When combines with the
patron gods, as an ideoogical admixture, we can create an interesting and
Cerilian ideology to base the culture on.

Kenneth Gauck
kgauck@mchsi.com

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