"Elf Counsel" by Lyra

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: "The Vikings invade Britain" on the Maglor in History BINGO card (an uncalled number, G47), and the 2009 prompt for March 22, the principle of Roman law.

Format: Short Story (1165 words)

Genre: none in particular

Rating: General

Warnings: n/a

Characters: Maglor, Alfred the Great

Pairings: n/a

Creators' Notes (optional):
"According to the Romans, the basic principle of the law is that agreements should be respected under all circumstances. Do you agree with this? Is there a time in your life when you had to break this principle? When someone broke an agreement with you? Now write a story, poem or create an artwork where characters are forced to break this principle."

As a matter of principle, I disagree with absolute principles. ;) "Under all circumstances" is always a recipe for trouble. Which is why I have made a historical character, hm, not break but rethink this principle. Of course, "agreement" is a relatively weak translation...

Summary: Alfred of Wessex discusses his planned legal reform with his harp teacher.

Elf Counsel at the SWG Archive

Comments

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Mael has, of course, had to live with the consequences of a particularly bad oath for a VERY long time, and knows well that not all oaths are best carried out. Good to see Alfred learning from Mael's words without having to go through the same process!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

A good king knows when to listen to other people's advice. :) And yes, Maglor has certainly learned that lesson the hard way...

[zdenka]

I really liked this! Your depiction of Alfred is very charming, and I like the idea that Maglor would have subtly influenced the law to be more flexible on the matter of oaths.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I have a soft spot for Alfred of Wessex, I must admit! And when we translated the Laws of Alfred in Old English class, I knew I had to work Maglor into the backstory somehow. Shocking that it has taken me so many years!

Anyway, thank you for liking and commenting!

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Well, that certainly puts a whole new spin on 'elf counsel'! Well done! I love "Mael" interacting with Alfred, and the harp lessons especially!!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

It does, doesn't it? :D I'm glad to know that you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

This works so very well - he would fit well with Alfred's court, I feel, and who better to gently teach the problems that can sometimes arise from oath-taking?

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

The hard thing about integrating Maglor into any setting is keeping him in the background, rather than in a position of power where it may be hard for him to leave before people notice that he doesn't age, I feel! ;)

And yes, if anyone's an expert on the risks of oath-taking, it's certainly Maglor. Maybe that's why the "rash boon" is such a staple in traditional storytelling? :D

Glad you liked it!

[hhimring]

I have a very soft spot for Alfred, too, in spite of all that sceptics have tried to do to spoil his image.
Making Maglor the one behind that passage in the Laws is pure genius!
I'm amused that you made Alfred quite so untalented with the harp. Clearly, you're having no truck with that story in which he's supposed to have done his own spying, disguised as a harper! But going on trying despite difficulties is so very Alfred.

[Very small nitpick: are you using "angelcynne" as a nominative? That would normally be "angelcynn", I think, "angelcynne" is the dative.]

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

[Ouch, you're right! Lalalala, that never happened. ;) *edits* Thanks for the catch!]

So glad you enjoyed this, especially if you have a soft spot for Alfred too!

I'm assuming that he could handle the harp well enough to fool drunken Danes. That probably doesn't require special proficiency. But Alfred's more ambitious than that! ;)

[nialoke]

Oh, I love this! It seems very fitting for Maglor to be the one who gave Alfred the idea for these changes - he has learned the hard way what devastation and tragedy adherence to an oath can cause in certain circumstances... I am glad Alfred was wise enough to listen.
(I also have to admit, I am basically clueless as far as the actual historical background is concerned, so reading about these changes in the law was quite interesting!)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Heeh, happy you enjoyed this! These law changes just jumped out on me in Old English class. It was all I could do not to jump up and down and cackle "So that's putting the 'Alf' in 'Alfred'" right then. ^^