Louis R wrote:I would suppose it, if they hadn't had the example available.
That's not to say that they weren't original in their execution: I don't have the impression that the Ahrmahks _used_ the Commons against the aristocracy, so much as their ties to the Commons made their position unassailable and headed off that particular conflict. The Crown's authority has never been seriously challenged in Charis, but is voluntarily constrained. The situation in Chisholm wasn't and isn't the same. Therefore the Tayts had to come up with their own ways of dealing with it. What I would suggest they got from Charis was confidence that the ways they came up with could work.
JeffEngel wrote:You wouldn't suppose that it wasn't independently arrived at, to use the commons against the aristocracy? It seems so classic that it would plausibly occur to Chisholm's monarchy without having to have an example of it nearby.
My own impression is that the aristocracy in Charis blended with the merchant class in Charis due to a shared interest in business and trade. Although it is true that the lines weren't invisible, it is also true that they weren't as harsh and sharply defined as in someplace like Desnair or even Chisholm.
Merit was accorded a lot more weight and the path for commoners into the aristocracy was better established in Charis than most realms. For example Howsmyn married the daughter of an earl who was delighted with the match and it is assumed that Howsmyn will get his own title when he gets around to it. Or another example is Sir Dunkyn becomes Baron Sarmouth after the successful rescue of Daivyn and Irys, although, IIRC, he did have some aristocratic connections prior to that.
The point of this is that Charis benefited because the aristocracy did not stratify and received infusions of fresh talent and ability.
Don