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| A guide on proper behaviour and ettiquette for the common man |
| Appearance and mannerisms 1) The common man dresses in commoners clothes. Fine silks are the garb of the nobles 2) The common man does not own more weapons and armour than the King of England. A sword costs more than a years wages, and a suit of armour almost as much as a smallholding 3) The common man is not a pig. A commonman with mud smeared all over his clothes and face is not a common sight 4) The common man does not wear heraldic devices as he is not a noble or knight, nor will he ever be one. Knights do not select their squires from the ranks of the peasantry 5) The common man does not speak with a West Country accent, unless he does in fact come from the West Countries 6) A common man does not walk around wearing clothing which bears arcane or Satanic symbols on them. To do so would cause an immense amount of interest in his activities 7) A common man would remove his armour before sitting down to a meal 8) A common man does not own white shoes 9) The common man has a normal name, commonly the name of his father or his trade. To be baptised a man would require to be given the name of a saint, so a parent would give their child a proper name to see that the priest would baptise them |
| Fighting 1) The common man avoids fighting. not only is it a dangerous affair, its commonly against the law. Brawling may gain you a fine or even a small spell in prison, whereas murder may bring the death penalty upon you 2) The common man believes in self preservation. If outnumbered or outmatched, they would seldom fight to the death. Even a condemned man would probably surrender and throw himself on the mercy of his captors or the justice of the King. 3) The common man does not know the martial arts of Cathay and the Far East, nor would he learn it from a book, nor would he have met anyone on his travels who had taught it to him 4) The common man is a hardy soul, but he is not impervious to pain. If struck a solid blow, especially one with a weapon, he will feel pain. Not only that he wil be in pain for some time, and should not be dancing a merry jig an hour after being severely wounded 5) The common man knows that medicine is somewhat haphazard and that even a smallest wound can become infected and lead to death. Self preservation should take precedence, unless the chances of victory are high 6) The common man is rarely fearless in the face of death. To be fearless is considered foolish 7) The common man would never fight someone from the noble classes, as even if the fight was won, the law would see him hanged for murder. To even attack a noble may bring the death penalty 8) Though the common man may have served in the Kings or a baronial army, they will never have acheived anything more than a moderate rank. The priveledge of command is reserved for the knights and nobility 9) A man accused of a crime will be brought before the Reeve at his next quarterly court. In cases where the crime is minor the local beadle or constable may adjudicate 10) The common man who is in the Militia is still bound by the law. The killing of an untried man is considered to be murder, unless in self defence. Only the Reeve or someone of higher rank can condemn a man to death |
| Superstition and Faith 1) The common man believes in God, the Devil, the Saints and Angels. He follows the teachings of the Bible and the commandments 2) The common man believes in the supernatural and fears it greatly. Those things that are not of Gods creation are the work of the devil and as such are a cause for concern. Not only could an encounter with the supernatural result in the loss of mortal life, but also their soul. In the face of the supernatural the common man will most commonly experience fear, if not absolute terror 3) The common man believes in the existence of magic in the form of witchcraft. Witches have never been known to cast fireballs from their fingertips, nor have they been known to cause demons to rise from the ground. 4) The common man knows that to make truck with the Devil will result in the loss of his immortal soul and no God fearing man would wish that. The knownledge of witchcraft cannot be learned from books, and asking others to teach these secrets to you will rouse suspicion 5) The common man knows that though God fearing men will swear on the Bible and tell the truth, those who have no concern for their immortal soul will happily lie 6) Though a priest is a man of knowledge he cannot tell whether a person or an item is a witch just by looking at them. Likewise they cannot detect the presence of evil in someone or something 7) A practitioner of witchcraft would be tried in a court and if found guilty would probably be fined or imprisoned. In severe cases a witch may be hung. We do not burn witches at the uneducated assume |
| Polite conversation 1) Whilst the average common man does not have a formal education they are by no means stupid. It is advisable that the common man takes some effort to ensure he is up to date with some of the main affairs of the country, so that should be asked about them in polite conversation he does not appear to be a buffoon 2) Exaggeration of events is considered impolite. Tales of travels to the Far East, how the king thanked them personally for their services, or how they circumnavigated the coast of Africa may be considered by some to be somewhat eccentric, but others may take offence at the insult to their intelligence 3) The common man cannot predict the future, and should not be making himself look like a fool by telling fanciful tales of what the world will be like 650 years in the future. Worse still are those that claim experience of life in the 21st century 4) The common man knows other topics of conversation than the weather and this years cabbage crop 5) When addressing others, the common man should use their names. Should you wish to call them by some other secret name, then the common man would take his conversation elsewhere, where others will not overhear |
| Manners and propriety 1) The common man knows his place and will respect those of a noble class. Likewise he will in most cases treat serfs with some respect. 2) When a guest in the house of another the common man will show courtesy and respect to his host and to his hosts household. Stewards and other household servants are often employees and not slaves. To be discourteous to a hosts employees is to insult the host 3) It is not necessary to address everyone as "m'lord" or "good sir" |