Dark Albion Campaign; Middlesex Expanded
The city of London is the capital of Albion, and has been for most of its history, certainly since the unification of Albion under William the Bastard. The city's history is much older than that; it was a Cymri village originally, and was later chosen by the Arcadians as their capital in the time when Albion was a province of Arcadia; at that time the city was called "londinium".
It is the largest city of Albion, with a population of nearly 30000 people. The only other city that even compares in size to this is York, which has a bit over 20000. All of the other major cities of Albion: Newcastle, Coventry, Norwich, Bristol, and Salisbury, have over 10000 but under 20000 people.
London is a vile large sprawling filthy den of infamy, for the most part. Filled with cut-throats, disease, mobs, fanatical movements of all stripes (political and religious), and dark cults; it is also where one must go to gain influence and power, or to find knowledge, rare artifacts, valuables in trade of all kind, training, or rich patrons. The ruler of London is, in theory, the Lord Mayor. This is a relatively minor title from the point of view of the kingdom as a whole, but it is one that the lower gentry will sometimes kill each other over the chance of obtaining it. The current Lord Mayor of London is Stephen Forster. Since the time of King John Lackland, the mayor has been chosen not by royal appointment but by election, held by the powerful Livery Companies (or trade guilds) of the city. By law, the Lord Mayor must have previously served at least one term as city sheriff, and be a present or past Alderman of the city (member of the city council). Elections are held every year on the day of the Saint-Celestial Mikael (29th of September). Voting is by show of hands, but any liveryman present may demand that a second vote, by ballot, be held a fortnight later. This often ends up happening as a political maneuver. There is a great deal of scheming and occasional violence that takes place in the struggle to win the mayoralty. The day after the election is finally ratified, the Lord Mayor proceeds in a parade to the royal courts of justice to swear allegiance to the King; this is known as the "Lord Mayor's Show", and is a great procession and feast with much pomp; mayors often try to outdo the prior holders of the office in terms of how much is spent on pomp and pageantry for the event.
In spite of the grandeur of the office, there are at least two groups that hold more power than the Mayor in the city: the Livery Companies, and the London Mob.
The Livery companies are the trade guilds of the city, they control monopolies on the trade relevant to their company. Anyone wishing to participate in a given trade must first join the company as a "freeman" of the company; you can attain to that position by virtue of inheritance (if your father or grandfather were members), or by servitude (after serving a period of 7 years as an apprentice to the company). Some companies also allow one to enter by "redemption", which is the paying of a substantial fee to skip the period of apprenticeship. Companies often grant honorary membership to people of note, usually those people have no training in the trade involved and are not expected to work in that trade. After serving for a certain minimum period of time as freemen (usually either 3, 5, or 7 years), a freeman can ascend to the rank of "liveryman" by vote of the company liverymen. Each livery company has its own "livery hall", where the members meet regularly to conduct business. The liverymen of all the different companies unite in a Common Hall, in order to exercise their traditional right to elect the sheriffs and mayor of London.
There are 48 officially warranted Livery Companies (that is, companies that have a charter and a right therefore to exclude any others from practicing their trade) in London, more than in any other city, though most cities have a good number of equivalent trade guilds. The first 12 companies are known as the "great twelve" and are the most powerful companies of the city:
1 The Worshipful Company of Mercers (General merchants)
2 The Worshipful Company of Grocers
3 The Worshipful Company of Drapers (Wool and cloth merchants)
4 The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers
5 The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths
6 The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
7 The Worshipful Company of Skinners (Fur traders)
8 The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
9 The Worshipful Company of Salters
10 The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers
11 The Worshipful Company of Vintners (Wine merchants)
12 The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers
After the great 12, in order of antiquity, you have: The Worshipful Companies of Dyers, Brewers, Leathersellers, Pewterers, Barbers (Barbers, surgeons, and dentists), Cutlers, Bakers, Wax Chandlers, Tallow Chandlers, Armourers and Brasiers (Armour makers and brass workers), Girdlers (Sword-belt and dress-belt makers), Butchers, Saddlers, Carpenters, Cordwainers (Fine leather workers), Painter-Stainers, Curriers (Tanned leather dressers), Masons, Plumbers, Innholders, Founders (Metalworkers), Poulters, Cooks, Coopers (Barrel makers), Tylers and Bricklayers, Bowyers (Longbow makers), Fletchers (Arrow makers), Blacksmiths, Joiners and Ceilers (Wood craftsmen), Weavers, Woolmen, Scriveners (Court document writers and notaries public), Fruiterers, Plaisterers (Plasterers), Stationers (paper makers) and Broderers (Embroiders).
There is considerable dispute between the Company of Taylors and Skinners as to which is the older company, to the point that the members of the two companies will often engage in violent brawls against each other, and that they have over the years maneuvered at one time or another to have their order of precedence switched. The feud has no sign of abating.
All of these powerful guilds have to a considerable extent defined the city of London as it currently exists, many of them have entire neighbourhoods of the city dedicated to their trade, giving origin to street names like "cordwainer street", "old fish street" (where the Fishmongers are based), "Bread street", "goldsmith's row", etc.
But perhaps even more powerful than the Livery Companies is the Mob. London's underclass survives largely by begging or by crime (as well as the occasional day-labour). The livery companies have a stake in all three pursuits, and street gangs are often financed on the sly by the local company, to provide security of sorts to the neighbourhood and its business, and sometimes to act as strongmen in conflicts with other companies or rival groups in the city. These street gangs, often associated to the Livery Companies, accordingly tend to operate in similar ways to the companies themselves, and refer to themselves in fanciful titles like "The Worshipful Company of Free-gentlemen of London" or "The Antient Company of Stranglers". Of course, these various "thieves' guilds" have no official recognition whatsoever.
But oftentimes, charismatic gang leaders can end up becoming powerful agitators of the population of the city as a whole, and the famous "mob" forms, a mass of city folk barely controlled that seems to act with a mind of its own to commit violence or destruction in the name of some cause or another. Most recently, the mob has been raised on three occasions: first, in a series of riots in protest against the corrupt chancellors of the Mad King. Second, ironically, to fight off the revolt raised in the countryside by the rebel leader known as Jack Cade (also known as "Jack Make-Amends"). Despite the fact that Make-Amends sought much the same goals as the mob itself had in their earlier riots, when Jack and his ragtag army of rebels entered into the city, the mob of London turned against him. He had managed to raise up an important part of the south in rebellion, murdered the Lord High Treasurer of the time, and several allies of the Queen's faction, but when Jack entered London and began acting too lordly for his own good, the London Mob's leaders took umbrage at this country bumpkin coming in and trying to usurp their authority, and ended up slaughtering Jack and his men on the London Bridge. The third time and most recent time the mob rose up of late was to declare itself in support of Richard of York, committing violence against a number of Lancastrian supporters and plunging the city into lawlessness until the Star Chamber was forced to submit to the mob's will and call Parliament; the Parliament, where the Yorkists have greater influence, was only too glad to order Richard of York's return to Albion from Eire.
Important landmarks in London include the Tower of London, the London Bridge, St.Apollonius' Cathedral, and the Cleric Charterhouse Priory. The Tower of London was once a royal castle (first built by the Cymric king Lud, though wholly rebuilt several times after that) and is now used as a prison for the most important (usually noble) prisoners awaiting trial. The courtyard of the Tower is used to behead those prisoners sentenced to death. The garden of the tower is filled with ravens, and it is said that if the ravens ever leave the tower completely, then Albion will fall to conquest.
The Bridge is a mighty construction which crosses the Thames, out of London and into the town of Southwark, on the southern shore of the river. The heads of executed traitors are traditionally stuck on pikes on the bridge. The southern side of the Thames is more swampy, and has a reputation as a place where criminals go to hide out or have secret meetings.
The Cathedral of St.Apollonius is the largest of several temples of the Unconquered Sun in the city; several kings have been crowned here, and more than a few are buried here as well. The Cleric Charterhouse Priory is found outside the city wall, and some of the surrounding farmland belongs to the Clerical Order for their benefit; the Charterhouse has 25 clerics stationed there permanently (though there could be room for up to 200 clerics staying there at any given time). The Priory features an impressive Clerical Temple, as well as a Hospital first built 100 years ago in the time of the Black Death; the Clerics here treat those suffering from maladies or injuries that they find worthy of their care.
Also outside the city walls is the Savoy, a private palace belonging not to the crown but to the house of Lancaster. It is where the Mad King and the royal family usually reside when they are in the London area. The grounds of the Savoy feature a village and a small hospital which is run as a charity from the queen's personal treasury.
Both the Charterhouse and the Savoy are outside the legal authority of the Mayoralty of London; thus the forces of the London Sheriff may not enter there. This has occasionally led to criminals wanted by the Sheriff's office escaping the city walls and hiding or taking sanctuary in either the Charterhouse or the Savoy, though of course there they would be subject to the justice of the Clerical Order or the house of Lancaster.
London is located on the Thames river, and the region immediately surrounding the city is known as Middlesex. It is the land's major center of commerce and agriculture, an important region to control if you want to rule the country. The area of Middlesex is littered with small towns and villages that are satellites to the city of London, making it by far the most urbanized area of the whole land.
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