Records of an Inquiry Into Unlawful Conduct in Angband Division C-134-B by kimikocha  

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Trial & Disposition of Assupilik, lately Captain, Division C-134-B

—First Audience—

In the Hall of Bears, on the fifty-second day of Ulubhân and the five-hundred and nineteenth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience, before any prisoner was brought, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; present also Mírlach, secretary, first rank, and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters.

The Lieutenant ordered that the Instructions given on the fiftieth day of this month be read aloud in full, which was done. He then ordered the assessors named in his commissions to come forward and be sworn.

Urukišha, lately Arbiter of the Clans, elder of the clan of Zíšelardi, was carried forward in her chair by two of her kin. The Lieutenant gave her leave to swear seated, which she did, swearing first by the Lord of All, and secondly by her ancestors and the ancestors of her clan, in the following form:

That she would attend the audiences of this inquiry and hear all that passed in them; that she would give her opinion before any sentence, and give it truly, by what she knew and what she judged, and not by fear or favor, nor for any debt, nor for any hatred; that she would say to the Lieutenant what she judged to be true, whether or not he wished to hear it; and that she would keep secret all that passed.

Asked whether she had any bond with any person accused, any witness, or any person offended against, she stated that she did not, save that she had known many captains in her time and had liked few of them. The Lieutenant directed that this be written.

Šunilukkái, warden of the late Prince’s Guard, came forward in a form fitting the hall. He swore first by the Lord of All, and secondly by the Prince whom he had served, in the same form.

Asked whether he had any bond with any person accused, he stated that he had fought in the same campaigns as the Lady Thuringwethil and had seen her work in the field, but that he owed her no debt of life or service, and that she owed him none. The Lieutenant accepted this.

Lakjašalli, Chief Investigator, internal matters, swore first by the Lord of All, and secondly by the Codes, in the same form.

Asked whether she had any bond with any person accused, she stated that she did not. She stated further that the evidence in this inquiry was gathered by investigators under her command, and that she declared this so that it might be weighed. Urukišha then asked, with the Lieutenant’s leave, whether the Chief Investigator would be judging her own people’s work. Lakjašalli answered that she would be judging the evidence, as she always did, and that if she found any fault in it she would say so first. The Lieutenant directed that both the question and the answer be written.

The Lieutenant then admitted as observer Hašmetarai, Arbiter of the Clans, provisional, at the request of the assessor Urukišha. She was sworn to secrecy and to silence unless asked, and took her place behind the assessor’s chair.

The Lieutenant then declared the assessors seated, and ordered that the accused Assupilik be brought from the holding cells. This being done, the accused was sworn, first by the Lord of All and secondly by his ancestors, to tell the truth promptly and entire, concealing nothing, and to keep secret all that he should see, hear, or learn in these proceedings and all that should befall him.

He was told that he would be asked to give an account in his own words, that he would not be interrupted while giving it, and that he should take what time he needed. He was given leave to sit.

Asked his name, clan, position, and service, he answered that he is Assupilik, son of Madharkiš, of the clan of Gundešha; that he was captain of division C-134-B for sixteen years, and before that a stitcher in the same section for thirty-one; and that in all that time he conducted himself with honor.

Asked his disciplinary history, he answered that he was given five strokes in his first year as captain, for a count misreported, which he reported himself; and that he has received no other punishment.

Asked whether he knows the Codes, he answered that he does, having kept them sixteen years as captain. He was then asked to recite the provisions concerning punishment given by an officer on his own authority, the duty to report offenses, the taking of favors, and the giving of subordinates; and he recited them as follows:

That the offense shall be named to the offender before any punishment is given; that the punishment shall be entered in the division’s register, with the offense, the degree, and the name of the officer who gave it; that the degree shall fit the offense; and that no officer shall give more than twelve strokes on his own authority without a healer present who has declared the offender fit.

That any person who knows of an offense against the Codes shall report it; and that an officer who receives such a report shall carry it to his superior without delay.

That no officer shall take any gift or favor for permitting an offense, nor for failing to report one.

That no officer shall give, lend, or suffer any person under his command to be taken by another for the use of their body, or for any other purpose against their honor, in return for any benefit to himself; and that this offense shall not be judged by any officer, but shall be brought before the Lieutenant’s court.

He recited these correctly and in full. The Chief Investigator, being asked by the Lieutenant, confirmed that he had.

He was then admonished to recollect himself and to confess freely and in full whatever he had done, said, or seen which might be offensive to the Lord of All, concealing nothing either concerning himself or any other person, and bearing false witness against no one; submitting himself entirely to the Giver of Freedom, under whose hand he and all things are held. He was told that one who confesses freely completes the cycle of offense and expiation, and goes out from it with a clean slate, and that one who does not cannot.

Asked whether he knows or conjectures why he is held, he answered that he does not know, but supposes it is because of lies told by his subordinates, who dislike him because he holds them to their counts.

Asked to give a full account of his division and its work, from the time the seamstress Nárelótë was assigned to it until the present, he stated as follows:

That the seamstress came to the division in the winter after the elves were brought from Gondolin, with many others. That from the first she would not work, and wept at her station, and would not eat with the others, and spoke to them in her own tongue in a manner he understood to be contemptuous. That he was soft with her, because she was new to the ways of Angband, and did not report her for refusing her count, but let her go without rations as the custom is.

That after some time she began to work a little, but then took to telling the other workers outlandish stories of her life before Angband, of fountains and gardens and towers of white stone, and of lying about all day doing nothing; and that this made the others discontented and slow, and that the division has been worse ever since she came.

That she stole food, and induced others to steal for her, chiefly the sempster Ozûtalai, who has stolen from the hall on several occasions for her sake.

That Draumâkil often takes breaks without leave, for which he has disciplined her.

That after some time the seamstress took to abandoning her station for more than a day at a time, without leave and without report. That he bore this for a long time out of pity. That at last he felt he had no choice but to lash her for abandoning her post. That even then he was merciful, giving the strokes himself and as lightly as he could, and not entering them in the register, so that it should not count against her.

Asked whether he knew where the seamstress went when she left her station, he answered that he did not, and supposed she went to sulk, or to the infirmary, where she was often to be found complaining of one thing and another.

Asked what he knew of the seamstress being brought to the infirmary, he answered that he supposed she had lately met with some accident and been in custody of the infirmary for some weeks, but knew nothing further.

Asked what he knew of the sempster Ozûtalai being brought to the infirmary bleeding, he answered that he was not in the workroom that day, being at the stores on the division’s business. That when he returned, the sempster was on the floor and the others about him. That he sent him at once to the infirmary. That he did not know how the sempster came to be hurt, and supposed he had quarreled with someone over food.

Asked what he knew of the seamstress Draumâkil being lashed in the workroom, he answered that she was disciplined for lying to an officer, and that he gave the strokes himself.

Asked by what officer’s order, he answered that it was his own order.

Asked how many strokes, he answered: forty.

Asked whether lying is an offense of the highest degree, he answered that it was a grave lie, and that he judged it so.

Asked to give a full account of his acquaintance with the Lady Thuringwethil, he stated as follows:

That he knows the Lady as everyone does, as the Lieutenant’s herald, and has seen her at the great feasts. That she came to the division on occasion, as officers of rank sometimes do, and took an interest in the quality of its work, and spoke with him about the sewing. That she was always gracious to him. That he did not know her well, and could not say more.

Asked when he first spoke with her, he answered that he could not remember exactly, but that it was some years ago, perhaps in the winter the elves came from Gondolin.

Asked how often she came to the division, he answered: not often. Asked how often was not often, he answered: some few times in a season. Asked whom she spoke to when she came, he answered that she spoke to him, and sometimes looked at the workers’ stitching.

Asked whether she had ever given him anything, he answered that she had not.

Asked whether he had ever asked any person to carry word to her on his behalf, he answered that he had not.

Asked where the fine cloth drawn by the division from the stores was used, he answered that it went to the orders it was drawn against, as all cloth does.

The Lieutenant then directed that the accused be asked again, from the beginning, how the seamstress came to be absent from her station. He answered that she would go off for a day or two at a time, without leave, and that he did not know where. Asked how long the longest absence was, he answered that it might have been three days. Asked again whether he had lashed her for it, he answered that he had. Asked how many strokes, he answered: ten, or perhaps twelve. Asked where this was done, he answered: in the workroom, before the division. Asked again who was present, he answered that he could not now remember who was at their stations that day.

The account was then read back to the accused in full, and he affirmed it to be true and correctly recorded.

The Lieutenant then gave the assessors leave to question the accused upon his account.

The assessor Urukišha asked whether the seamstress Nárelótë would eat with the others of the division. The accused answered that she would not, as he had said.

Asked whether the sempster Ozûtalai stole food for her sake, he answered that he did, as he had said.

Asked for whom the sempster stole food, if the seamstress would not eat it, he answered that she ate it later, by herself.

Asked whether the sempster stole the food, or gave the seamstress his own, he answered that he did not know which.

Asked whether a worker who gives his own food to one who is slow, among the people of the clans, is called a thief, the accused did not answer.

Urukišha asked whether the workers of his division dislike him. He answered that some do, because he holds them to their counts.

Asked whether he is soft with them, he answered that he is, as he had said.

Asked whether workers commonly dislike a captain who is soft with them, he answered that workers will dislike any captain.

The assessor Lakjašalli asked whether the seamstress abandoned her station without leave on many occasions. He answered that she did.

Asked whether he reported this, he answered that he did not, out of pity.

Asked whether he had recited, at the opening of this audience, that any person who knows of an offense against the Codes shall report it, he answered that he had.

Asked whether abandoning one’s station without leave is an offense against the Codes, he answered that it is.

Lakjašalli asked how many strokes he gave the seamstress. He answered: ten, or twelve.

Asked whether twelve is the greatest number an officer may give on his own authority without a healer present, he answered that it is.

Asked whether, by his own recitation, a punishment given must be entered in the register with the offense, the degree, and the name of the officer who gave it, he answered that it must.

Asked whether he entered it, he answered that he did not, as he had said, out of mercy.

Asked why he would consider this to be mercy, he answered that he has heard it said that some captains hold the disciplinary records of their subordinates against them, and that if she were reassigned he would not wish her to have so many offenses on her record, as it might prejudice other captains against her.

Asked who was present when the strokes were given, he answered that the division was present, but that he could not remember which workers were at their stations.

Asked whether, in a division of eleven, any one of them was absent that day, he answered that he could not remember.

Lakjašalli asked whether the sempster Ozûtalai was found on the floor of the workroom, bleeding. He answered that he was, as he had said.

Asked whether the accused believed the sempster had been hurt in a quarrel, he answered that he did.

Asked whether a quarrel in which one worker is left bleeding on the floor is an offense contrary to the Codes, he answered that it is.

Asked to whom he reported it, he answered that he did not report it, since he did not know who had done it.

Asked whether the Codes require that an offense be reported only when the offender is known, he answered that they do not.

Lakjašalli asked whether his register has ever been faulted. He answered that it has not.

Asked whether his division has been worse since the seamstress came, as he had said, he answered that it has.

Asked whether the counts of the division recorded in his register have been worse since she came, he did not answer at once. Then he said that his workers had made up the count between them.

The Lieutenant then questioned the accused himself.

Asked whether he is a compassionate captain, the accused answered that he tries to be.

Asked whether he knows his workers and their troubles, he answered that he does.

Asked whether he makes efforts to learn when his workers meet with troubles that are not known to him, he answered that he does.

Asked whether he takes their troubles into account, he answered that he does, as far as the Codes allow, and stated that the lieutenant was very gracious.

Asked to recount how long the seamstress Nárelótë has been in the infirmary, he answered that she has been there for some weeks, as he said.

Asked if there has been another occasion where one of his workers has been in the infirmary for such a length of time, he answered that there has not.

Asked the longest length of time he has had a worker absent in the infirmary, he answered that he did not know, but apart from Nárelótë’s absence, perhaps one or two weeks.

Asked if he would contest if told that twelve days had been the longest, he answered that he would not.

Asked if he would contest that the seamstress Nárelótë entered custody of the infirmary on the sixty-eighth day of Grazhân, he answered that he would not.

Asked if he agrees that fifty-six days have passed since the sixty-eighth day of Grazhân, he answered that he could not make this figure in his head, but would take it on belief.

Asked if he agrees that fifty-six days is longer than twelve days, he answered that it was.

Asked if during any of those fifty-six days he had made efforts to visit his worker in the infirmary, he answered that he had not.

Asked if during any of those days he had sent food to her, he answered that he had not.

Asked if during any of those days he had sent blankets to her, he answered that he had not.

Asked if during any of those days he had sent broth to her, he answered that he had not.

Asked what accident the seamstress Nárelótë had met with, which has kept her some weeks in the infirmary, he answered that he did not know.

Asked whether he had asked, he answered that he had not, his duties not allowing it.

The Lieutenant directed that the accused’s last answer be read back to him, which was done. He affirmed it. The accused then said, without being asked, that the seamstress was always in and out of the infirmary, and that he had supposed it was the same as the other times; and that he had a division to keep.

Asked whether he keeps the Codes as carefully as he recited them, he answered that he does.

Asked how many strokes the seamstress Draumâkil was given, he answered: forty.

Asked for what offense, he answered: for lying to an officer.

Asked whether she lied to him, he answered that she lied to an officer.

Asked to which officer, he answered that he could not remember.

Asked on whose order she was lashed, he answered: on his own.

Asked whether he ordered forty strokes for a lie told to an officer whose name he could not remember, he did not answer.

Asked whether forty is more than the twelve he recited, he answered that it is.

Asked whether a healer was present who had declared her fit, he answered that there was not.

The assessor Šunilukkái then asked, with the Lieutenant’s leave, why an officer of the Lady Thuringwethil’s rank, whose work is in the field, would come some few times in a season, for some years, to look at the stitching of a sewing division. The accused answered that he did not know; that she took an interest.

Asked whether he knows well an officer who has come to his workroom some few times each season for some years, and spoken with him every time, he answered that he did not know her well, as he had said.

The Lieutenant then asked the accused to consider the following, and to answer as he judged.

Asked what the Codes would require if a captain gave forty strokes without a healer present, for an offense he could not name, he answered that such a captain should be brought before his superior, and that if the captain were proven to have done what was accused, by his guilt he would be owed the same forty strokes; or twice that if the worker were aged or young, or suffered permanent harm by his conduct.

Asked what he would conclude of a captain who recited the Codes correctly and in full, and then, by his own account, failed to report what he was bound to report, gave strokes he did not enter, and gave more strokes than he might lawfully give, he answered that such a captain had been careless.

Asked whether he would believe such a captain if he said he had done no wrong, he did not answer.

He was then admonished to recollect himself and to confess freely and in full, concealing nothing either concerning himself or any other person; submitting himself entirely to the Giver of Freedom, so that his offenses might be paid for and the stain of them taken from him, and he go out with a clean slate. He answered that he had nothing more to say.

The assessor Urukišha then asked the Lieutenant’s leave to tell the accused a thing from the old days. Leave being given, the Lieutenant directed that it be written as she spoke it. She said:

“In the year of the long winter, there was a captain of the eastern dyeworks who had in his charge a young worker with no clan. A guest of rank came to the dyeworks, and took a liking to the worker. The guest brought the captain gifts, and the captain took them. When the guest sent for the worker, the captain sent her, and when he saw the guest coming, he found that he had business elsewhere. The others of the dyeworks came to him and said what was being done, and he told them it was nothing, and gave them more work so they would have no breath to say it again. The worker grew thin. The others sang her home at night. The captain said she was slow.”

She asked the accused what that captain deserved.

The accused answered that such a captain was without honor, and that his clan ought to turn their faces from him; that he was dead in their sight.

Urukišha said that she would remember that he had said so.

He was again admonished to recollect himself and to declare the truth, and was returned to the holding cells.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

—Second Audience—

In the Hall of Bears, on the fifty-third day of Ulubhân and the five-hundred and nineteenth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; the assessors Urukišha, Šunilukkái, and Lakjašalli being seated; present also the observer Hašmetarai; Mírlach, secretary, first rank; and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters.

The Lieutenant ordered that the accused Assupilik be brought from the holding cells, which being done, he was reminded of the oath he had sworn.

Asked whether he remembered anything relating to his affair which he was bound by that oath to declare, he answered that he had nothing more to say at present.

He was then reminded that in the previous audience he had been admonished to recollect himself and to confess freely and in full, concealing nothing either concerning himself or any other person, and bearing false witness against no one; submitting himself entirely to the Giver of Freedom, under whose hand he and all things are held, so that his offenses might be paid for and the stain of them taken from him, and he go out with a clean slate; and that one who does not confess cannot. He was admonished again in the same form.

He answered that he had nothing more to say.

He then asked, without being asked, what accident the seamstress Nárelótë had met with.

He was told that he would be answered in due course.

He was again admonished to recollect himself and to declare the truth, and was returned to the holding cells.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

—Third Audience—

In the Hall of Bears, on the fifty-fourth day of Ulubhân and the five-hundred and nineteenth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; the assessors Urukišha, Šunilukkái, and Lakjašalli being seated; present also the observer Hašmetarai; Mírlach, secretary, first rank; and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters.

The Lieutenant ordered that the accused Assupilik be brought from the holding cells, which being done, he was reminded of the oath he had sworn.

Asked whether he remembered anything relating to his affair which he was bound by that oath to declare, he answered that he had nothing more to say.

He was then reminded that in the two previous audiences he had been admonished to recollect himself and to confess freely and in full, submitting himself entirely to the Giver of Freedom, so that his offenses might be paid for and the stain of them taken from him. He was informed that Uzhumâghan, investigator of internal matters, first rank, had an accusation to bring against him; that he would do well to declare the whole truth before it was brought, since one who confesses before the accusation finds more mercy than one who confesses after it; and that otherwise the accusation would be brought, and justice done.

The accused was silent for some time. Then he stated as follows:

That the seamstress Draumâkil was given forty strokes by the order of the Lady Thuringwethil, and not by his own; that the Lady said Draumâkil had lied to her servant; that he does not know what the lie was, nor what any of it concerned; that he believed then, and believes now, that the Lady would not have given such an order without just cause; that he did wrong in giving forty strokes without a healer present, and in not entering the punishment as he ought; that he deserves forty strokes for it, or twice that, or three times that, as the Lieutenant may judge; and that he knows nothing of any other matter, and had no part in any other matter.

The assessor Lakjašalli asked, with the Lieutenant’s leave, whether in the first audience he had sworn twice that the strokes were given by his own order. He answered that he had.

Asked whether that answer was true, he answered that it was not.

Asked whether he was present in the workroom when the Lady came on that day, he answered that he was, since he gave the strokes.

Asked whether the Lady named the offense before the strokes were given, he answered that she did.

Asked what she named it, he answered: lying to her servant.

Asked whether, in the first audience, he had said that he could not remember to which officer the seamstress had lied, he answered that he had.

Asked whether the division was present when the offense was named, he answered that they were standing along the wall.

Asked whether all of them were present, he answered that he believed so.

Asked whether he protested the order, he answered that he did not.

Asked whether he was threatened, he answered that he was not; that the Lady is gracious, and that he would not wish it written that she threatened him.

Asked whether he reported the punishment afterward to his superior, he answered that he did not.

Asked under whose name it was entered in his register, he answered: his own.

The assessor Šunilukkái then asked, with the Lieutenant’s leave, whom the Lady’s servant had come to the workroom looking for. The accused answered that he did not know.

The assessor Urukišha then asked the Lieutenant’s leave to speak, which being given, the Lieutenant directed that it be written as she spoke it. She said:

“When I sat as Arbiter, I learned that those who offer to pay three times over for a small debt are always the ones who owe a large one. A worker who has stolen a crust offers a crust. It is the one who has stolen a vault of gold who offers to pay three times for the crust.”

The Lieutenant then asked the accused whether what he had now declared was all that he had to confess. He answered that it was.

Asked whether it was the whole truth, he answered that it was.

He was then admonished that a confession which hides any part of the truth completes nothing, and that the stain of an offense not confessed cannot be taken from one who conceals it; and that he would do well, even now, to declare the whole.

He answered that he had nothing more to say.

Straightway appeared Uzhumâghan, investigator of internal matters, first rank, who presented the accusation, signed in his own hand, and swore that he did not bring it out of malice, but solely that justice might be done. The accusation was as follows:

ACCUSATION.

I, Uzhumâghan, investigator of internal matters, first rank, appear before the Lieutenant of the Lord of All, and accuse Assupilik, son of Madharkiš, of the clan of Gundešha, lately captain of division C-134-B, held in the holding cells of the lower ward and now present; in that the said Assupilik, being an officer sworn to keep the Codes, and enjoying the trust which his office bestows, has committed offenses against the Codes and against those under his command, in the following manner:

  1. That he took gifts and favors from the Lady Thuringwethil, herald of the Lieutenant, for permitting offenses and for failing to report them.
  2. That he gave the seamstress Nárelótë, a worker under his command, to the said Lady, for the use of her body, in return for the benefits aforesaid.
  3. That he arranged to be absent from his workroom when the said Lady came to it, and was so absent on the day the sempster Ozûtalai was injured there.
  4. That he failed to report offenses known to him, as the Codes require.
  5. That he received the complaints of the workers of his division and did not carry them to his superior, as the Codes require.
  6. That he gave the seamstress Draumâkil forty strokes, upon an order he knew to be unlawful, without a healer present and without a true entry in his register; and that he afterward doubled the count of his division, the workers having complained to him about this and about the Lady’s use of the seamstress.
  7. That, being sworn, he lied in the first audience before the Lieutenant’s court.
  8. That it is to be presumed he has committed further offenses of the same kind, and knows of offenses committed by others, all of which he has concealed; and that, having been admonished three times to declare the truth, he has not done so.

For these reasons I ask that the Lieutenant receive this accusation as true, or so much of it as shall suffice for justice; that he declare the said Assupilik guilty of the offenses aforesaid, and impose upon him the gravest punishment the Codes allow, for an expiation to himself and an example to others; and that, if it be found necessary, he be put to the question, until he declare the whole truth of himself and of others.

And I swear that I do not bring this accusation out of malice, but solely that justice may be done.

Uzhumâghan, investigator of internal matters, first rank

The accusation having been read, the accused was sworn to answer it truly, article by article. It was read again, article by article, and he answered as follows:

To the heading, he answered that he is the Assupilik accused.

To the first article, he answered that it is not true; that the Lady never gave him anything.

To the second article, he asked that it be read again. It was read again. He answered that it is not true, and that he did not know of any such thing.

To the third article, he answered that it is not true; that he was at the stores on the division’s business, as he had said.

To the fourth article, he answered that he failed to report the absences of the seamstress out of pity, as he had said, and knew of no other offense.

To the fifth article, he answered that it is not true; that he received no such complaints.

To the sixth article, he answered that it is true that he gave the forty strokes, upon the Lady’s order, as he had now declared; and he asked again to be punished for it as the Lieutenant should judge, forty strokes, or twice, or three times that. To the doubling of the count, he answered that the division was behind.

To the seventh article, he answered that he had already confessed it.

To the eighth article, he answered that it is not true, and that even if he were put to the question he could say nothing more.

The above being read back to him, he affirmed it to be true and correctly recorded.

The Lieutenant ordered that the investigator’s request concerning the question be reserved.

The Lieutenant then ordered that the accused be given a copy of the accusation, and informed him that, under the Instructions governing this inquiry, he might choose one of two advocates named by the Lieutenant’s Office, to defend him so far as the Codes allow: namely, Tarhunzaš, advocate of internal matters, second rank; and Garmešha, lately captain of division D-41-A, now elder of the clan of Harraši.

The accused asked whether he might have both. He was told that he might have one.

He chose Garmešha. The Lieutenant ordered that he be summoned.

The accused was admonished to recollect himself and to declare the truth, and was returned to the holding cells.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

—Fourth Audience—

In the Hall of Bears, on the first day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; the assessors Urukišha, Šunilukkái, and Lakjašalli being seated; present also the observer Hašmetarai; Mírlach, secretary, first rank; and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters.

The Lieutenant ordered that the accused Assupilik be brought from the holding cells, which being done, he was reminded of the oath he had sworn.

Asked whether he remembered anything relating to his affair which he was bound by that oath to declare, he answered that he had nothing more to say.

The accused was then informed that Garmešha, lately captain of division D-41-A, now elder of the clan of Harraši, whom he had chosen for his advocate, was present, and that he might confer with him and arrange his defense.

Garmešha was then sworn, first by the Lord of All and secondly by his ancestors and the ancestors of his clan: to defend the accused faithfully and well, so far as the Codes allow; to tell him plainly if his cause could not be defended; to do all that a good advocate is bound to do; and to keep secret all that should pass.

Asked whether he had any bond with the accused, he stated that he had known him slightly when both were captains, and had drunk with him once or twice at the feasts, but no more than that, and owed him nothing.

The record of the three previous audiences was then read to the advocate in full: the account of the accused, his answers to the questions put to him, his declaration in the third audience, the accusation, and his answers to it.

The advocate then conferred with the accused in the presence of the recorder, as the Instructions require, and the substance of what passed was entered as follows:

The advocate told the accused that the articles he had confessed would be punished, namely the forty strokes given without a healer, the false entry in his register, and the lie he had told under oath in the first audience; and that the lie in particular would make it harder for the court to believe him in other things. He told him further that the gravest articles of the accusation, namely the gifts, the giving of the seamstress, and the arranging of his absences, rested on proof that neither of them had yet seen, and that nothing in the record read to him proved them.

He told the accused that if he was guilty of more than he had confessed, it would go better with him to confess it now than to have it proven against him later; that a man who confesses and submits to his punishment may be taken back by his clan, and that a man proven guilty while he denies it may not.

The accused answered that he had confessed all that he had done, and was guilty of nothing else.

The advocate then asked him which persons bore him ill will, and might have spoken against him out of malice. The accused named first the seamstress Nárelótë, who he said had borne him ill will ever since he lashed her for abandoning her post. Asked by the advocate whether this was the same seamstress to whom he had been soft, out of pity, he answered that it was, and that she was ungrateful. He named also the seamstress Draumâkil, the sempster Ozûtalai, and the cutter Hithriel, all of his division; and an accountant of the stores who had come to him some months ago asking questions about the division’s cloth, and had been insolent to him.

The advocate then asked him which persons would speak to his character. The accused named the elders of his clan, Gundešha; and two captains of his section, Namlukkái of division C-134-D and Murijan of division C-134-F.

The accused named also the Lady Thuringwethil, who he said had always been gracious to him and would speak well of him. The advocate told him that the Lady was named in the accusation, and that to call her might do him more harm than good. The accused answered that she would speak for him.

The advocate then stated to the court, on behalf of the accused:

That the accused denies the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and eighth articles of the accusation, and asks to be acquitted of them;

That as to the sixth article, the accused does not deny that he knew the Codes forbade the strokes, having recited them himself; but he asks the court to consider that the order was given by an officer of far higher rank than his own, namely the herald of the Lieutenant; that a captain so ordered has no true choice, whether any threat is spoken or not; and that the advocate, in all his years as captain, never knew a captain who would think to refuse such an officer;

That he asks that the testimony against the accused be published, so that the defense may answer it;

That he asks leave, when the testimony is published, to present the names of those who bear the accused ill will, and of those who will speak to his character, and to have the latter examined upon questions he will put in writing;

And that he asks, at the accused’s wish, that the Lady Thuringwethil be examined as to the character of the accused.

The Lieutenant granted the publication of the testimony, and leave to present the names of enemies and of witnesses to character at that time. As to the examination of the Lady Thuringwethil, he ordered that the request be noted and reserved.

Straightway appeared Uzhumâghan, investigator of internal matters, first rank, who stated that he held to his accusation and to the declarations of the accused, and asked that the testimony already taken in this inquiry be ratified in form by the witnesses who gave it, and afterward published.

The Lieutenant ordered that the cause proceed to proof, and that each party bring its proofs.

The accused was admonished to recollect himself and to declare the truth, and was returned to the holding cells.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

—

[A small sheet bearing the seal of the division of internal matters.]

RATIFICATION.

In the infirmary CL-23, on the second day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, before Ilûkhobh, investigator, third rank, by commission of the Lieutenant, appeared at her bedside Nárelótë, secretary, ninth rank, junior, lately seamstress of division C-134-B, and swore by the Lord of All and by those powers her own people hold sacred, to declare the truth; in the presence of Yarûkh, healer, fourth rank, of CL-23, and Namešha, secretary, sixth rank, senior, of division S-2, honest persons, who swore to observe secrecy. She was given leave to remain in her bed.

Asked whether she remembered having made depositions against any persons, she answered that she did, and that they were taken from her in this place, by the same investigator.

She was then informed that the investigator Uzhumâghan presents her as a witness in the cause he has brought against Assupilik, lately captain of division C-134-B. She was ordered to attend while her deposition was read, and if she found anything in it to alter or add, to say so, so that the whole truth might be declared.

Her deposition was then read to her word for word, and rendered into her own tongue where she asked it by the secretary Namešha, who has the speech of her people.

Having heard and understood it, she declared that it was her testimony and was correctly recorded, and that she had nothing to alter or add.

She declared further that she did not give it out of malice. She asked that it be written also that this was not the same as saying she bore him none.

She was again enjoined to secrecy, which she promised, and signed in the letters of her own people, which the investigator could not read; the secretary Namešha attested that it was her name.

Ilûkhobh, investigator, third rank

In the presence of—

Yarûkh, healer, fourth rank

Namešha, secretary, sixth rank, senior

[Note — The deposition this ratifies is not in the bundle. It is the statement listed in what I can reconstruct of the index as taken “of the secretary, junior, formerly of C-134-B,” which I have not been able to find. Thus far only its ratification survives. —E.]

—Fifth Audience—

In the Hall of Bears, on the sixth day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; the assessors Urukišha, Šunilukkái, and Lakjašalli being seated; present also the observer Hašmetarai; Garmešha, advocate for the accused; Mírlach, secretary, first rank; and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters.

The Lieutenant ordered that the accused Assupilik be brought from the holding cells, which being done, he was reminded of the oath he had sworn.

Asked whether he remembered anything relating to his affair which he was bound by that oath to declare, he answered that he had nothing more to say.

He was informed that the investigator Uzhumâghan had asked that the testimony against him be published; that before it was published he would do well to declare the whole truth, since it would go better with him to confess it than to have it shown to him; and that otherwise the publication would be made.

He answered that he had nothing more to say.

Straightaway appeared Uzhumâghan, investigator of internal matters, first rank, who stated that the witnesses in this cause had ratified their testimony in form, and asked that it be published. The Lieutenant ordered the publication to be made, the names of the witnesses and all other circumstances by which they might be known being withheld, according to the Instructions governing this inquiry; and that the accused answer each part, being sworn to answer truly. This was done as follows:

PUBLICATION OF THE TESTIMONY.

I. A certain witness, sworn and qualified in the proper time and manner, declares that the pendant of the seamstress Nárelótë drew no rations at the hall for runs of days, of three days, of five, and once of eleven; and that on every one of those days on which she came to her station, the count of her station was met.

He answered that the seamstress was fed by others of the division, as he had said.

II. The same witness declares that the custody register of the infirmary serving the division accounts for fewer than one in three of those days.

He answered that he did not know where she ate on the other days.

III. The same witness declares that the division drew fine cloth from the stores three times in two years against no order, which went to no store in this mountain; and that the division’s own cloth-book shows each length given to the station of the seamstress Nárelótë, and marked for the Lady. It was further published that two lengths of fine blue silk were found in a box beneath the bed of the accused at his arrest.

He answered that the cloth-book was kept by the cutter, whom he had named as one who bears him ill will. To the silk, he answered that it was a remnant, and that he did not remember how he came by it.

IV. It was further published that there were found in the quarters of the accused at his arrest a ring of gold set with a garnet, a flask of the wine of the south, and seven tallies for rations of division C-134-B, not issued to him.

To the ring, he answered that it was his mother’s. To the wine, that he had won it at dice. To the tallies, that he did not know how they came there.

V. A certain witness of the stores declares that the accused, being called to the counting-house to explain the discrepancies of his division, and being served food and wine, said that the cloth and the other irregularities were by the command of the Lady Thuringwethil; that any report against him would be known to her as soon as it was made, and she would redress it; and that by her graces he would remain secure in his position for as long as she favored the charms of this woman Nárelótë, and that the Lady’s interest in that matter had not waned for several years.

He answered that he had been drinking, and that he did not remember saying it; and that if he had said it, it was a boast and meant nothing. The advocate asked that it be noted that the accused had named an accountant of the stores among those who bear him ill will. The Lieutenant directed that it be noted.

VI. A certain witness of the division declares that the accused would leave the workroom a short time before the Lady came to it, and return a short time after she had gone; that this was so on the day the sempster Ozûtalai was bitten and left bleeding on the floor of the workroom; that the Lady’s attendants came often to the workroom to fetch the seamstress Nárelótë; and that the witness believes the seamstress went with them, the first time, so that they would stop.

He answered that he was at the stores on the division’s business, as he had said, and knew nothing of any attendants.

VII. Another witness of the division declares that on the day the seamstress Draumâkil was lashed, the Lady named the offense before the whole division standing along the wall: that Draumâkil had lied to her servant, the servant having come looking for the seamstress Nárelótë, who was then in the infirmary. The same witness declares that the whole division came to the accused and told him what was being done to the seamstress, and used the word for it; that he said he would carry it up; and that the count of the division was doubled for ten days after.

With this testimony was entered a length of grey cord, closely knotted, tied by the witness one knot for each time the seamstress was fetched, beginning on the night the seamstress asked the division to keep silent. It was counted before the accused, and found to bear nine hundred and four knots.

He answered that he did not know what the servant had come for. To the complaint, he answered that it was not true. To the cord, he did not answer.

VIII. Another witness declares that the accused never lashed her, nor gave her any punishment with his own hand, nor ordered her to report to the officers of enforcement to be lashed by them, at any time while she was of his division.

He was asked whether he had named, among those who bear him ill will, a seamstress who had borne it ever since he lashed her for abandoning her post.

He answered that he had.

He was asked whether he still says that he lashed her.

He did not answer. The advocate asked leave to confer with the accused, which was given, and they conferred in the presence of the recorder; the accused afterward answered that he had nothing to say to it.

The same witness declares further that whenever the Lady or her attendants came to the workroom to fetch her, the accused greeted them, and ordered her to go with them; that at times he told her she was permitted to leave her station, but grew angry if she attempted to refuse, and ordered her in a strong voice; and that at times he told her that she was fortunate to be so summoned.

He answered that when an officer of rank sends for a worker, a captain sends the worker.

Asked whether he had told her that she was fortunate, he did not answer.

IX. The case reports of a certain healer, forwarded under seal and ratified in form, were then read in their order, from the first, of Ulubhân in the five-hundred and fifteenth year, to the last, of Grazhân in the five-hundred and nineteenth. The last was read in full, the names of persons being withheld; the substance of it is entered here as follows:

Brought by her division, carrying her. Unconscious. Found in the corridor outside the workroom before the first bell. A whole bite at the innermost thigh, over the pulse and not the vein. Bright blood, rising with each beat of her heart. Venom heavier than in any prior report. Pressure by hand through the night, three healers in turn. Toward morning the bleeding at the wound slowed, but bruising has risen at the flank and the small of the back, where no hand can press. She is bleeding where I cannot reach. She would not survive another like it.

The Lieutenant then said to the accused: “In the second audience you asked what accident the seamstress Nárelótë had met with. You were told that you would be answered in due course. That is your answer.”

The accused did not answer.

The Lieutenant continued to question the accused.

Asked if he recalls stating in the first audience that he tries to be compassionate, the accused did not answer.

Asked if he recalls agreeing in the first audience that he knows his workers and their troubles, the accused did not answer.

Asked if he recalls agreeing that he makes efforts to learn when his workers meet with trouble not already known to him, the accused did not answer.

Asked if he recalls agreeing that he takes his workers’ troubles into account, as far as the Codes allow, the accused did not answer.

Asked if he recalls agreeing that he keeps the Codes as carefully as he recited them, the accused did not answer.

The advocate then asked whether the court had yet determined the request, made at the wish of the accused, that the Lady Thuringwethil be examined as to his character.

The Lieutenant answered that the Lady Thuringwethil has been held in confinement by his order since the night the accused himself was arrested, and that she will not be examined on his behalf.

The accused asked that this be said again. It was said again.

The assessor Šunilukkái then asked, with the Lieutenant’s leave, a single question: whether the accused had known.

The accused did not answer.

The Lieutenant ordered that the accused and his advocate be given a copy of the publication, that they might prepare the defense, and present the names of those who bear the accused ill will and of the witnesses to his character, as leave had been given.

The accused was admonished to recollect himself and to declare the truth, and was returned to the holding cells.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

—

[A copied page from a bound register.]

Register of the holding cells, lower ward.

On the sixth day of Zaghân, at the third bell of the night, the prisoner Assupilik, in cell nine, asked that word be carried to the Lieutenant’s court that he wished to be heard. He asked nothing else.

Hokhešha, keeper of the lower ward

—Sixth Audience, at the Request of the Accused—

In the Hall of Bears, on the seventh day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; the assessors Urukišha, Šunilukkái, and Lakjašalli being seated; present also the observer Hašmetarai; Garmešha, advocate for the accused; Mírlach, secretary, first rank; and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters.

The Lieutenant ordered that the accused Assupilik be brought from the holding cells, he having asked to be heard. This being done, he was reminded of the oath he had sworn.

Asked why he had asked to be heard, he answered that he wished to declare the truth.

He was admonished to declare it whole, concealing nothing either concerning himself or any other person, and bearing false witness against no one; submitting himself entirely to the Giver of Freedom, so that his offenses might be paid for and the stain of them taken from him. He stated as follows:

That in the winter after the elves were brought from Gondolin, the Lady Thuringwethil came to his workroom, and looked at the new workers, and asked him the name of the seamstress Nárelótë, and whether she had a clan, and whether she had been married. That he told her the seamstress had no clan.

That the Lady came again, and spoke to the seamstress, and afterward told him that she would be grateful to a captain who did not stand in her way. That the next day she sent him a flask of the wine of the south.

That on the day the sempster Ozûtalai was bitten, the Lady sent word in the morning that he should have business elsewhere when she came; and that he went to the stores, though he had no business there; and that when he came back, the sempster was on the floor. That he knew then what the Lady was, and what she wanted, and that the seamstress had gone with her.

That after that, whenever the Lady or her attendants came for the seamstress, he sent her; and that when she tried to refuse, he ordered her; and that he told her she was fortunate, because he wished her to go quietly.

That he knew what was being done to the seamstress. That he knew it from the first, and that the division told him, and used the word for it, which is rape.

That he did not carry the division’s complaint to his superior, but told the Lady of it; and that the Lady told him to double the count, so that they would have no breath to say it again; and he did so.

That the Lady gave him, over these years, wine of the south many times; the ring set with a garnet; the silk; and ration tallies of his own division, which he used to draw extra for himself and his kin. That the ring was not his mother’s, and he did not win the wine at dice.

That the Lady told him that as long as he served her in this, no report against him would reach anyone who could act upon it, and that he would keep his place. That he believed her, because it was so.

That he gave the seamstress Draumâkil forty strokes on the Lady’s order, knowing it unlawful; that the lie for which they were given was that Draumâkil had told the Lady’s servant that she did not know where the seamstress was, when the seamstress was in the infirmary; and that he knew this when he gave them, and when he said in the third audience that he did not.

That he never lashed the seamstress Nárelótë; that he said so in the first audience so that, if she spoke against him, she might be thought to speak from malice.

That he lied under oath in every audience until this one.

The assessor Šunilukkái then asked, with the Lieutenant’s leave, the question he had asked in the previous audience: whether the accused had known.

The accused answered that he had known.

The assessor Lakjašalli asked whether he knew of the Lady doing the like to any other worker, in his division or any other. He answered that in his own division there was no other. He stated further that, some years before the seamstress came, he had heard talk among the captains of his section that the Lady had taken a liking to a worker in another section, and that the worker did not last; and that he did not ask what was meant, and did not wish to know. He stated further that he had likewise heard talk from some who had served in the army about the Lady being possessed of strange appetites, but that he did not know at the time or now whether this referred to

[Note — More water damage — E.]

Asked who else knew of what was done to the seamstress, he answered that the captains Namlukkái and Murijan knew that he had a patron of rank, and drank her wine with him, but that he did not tell them what she was paid for, and he did not believe they knew.

The assessor Urukišha asked whether he remembered what he had said, in the first audience, that the captain of the dyeworks deserved.

He answered that he remembered.

She said nothing further.

The Lieutenant then asked the accused whether what he had now declared was the whole truth, concealing nothing either of himself or of any other person.

He answered that it was.

Asked whether he had anything further to declare, he answered that he asked to be punished for all of it, and that he submitted himself to the Giver of Freedom.

The above being read back to him in full, he affirmed it to be true and correctly recorded.

He was returned to the holding cells.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

—

[A parchment bearing the Grand Seal of the Lieutenant’s Office.]

In the city of Angband, on the seventh day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, hereby orders on his own authority:

That every captain now serving in division C, and every elder who has retired from a captaincy in that division within the last thirty years, be questioned as to their knowledge of the affairs of Thuringwethil, lately herald, especially as they pertain to workers she has taken notice of, sent for, or taken from their stations, by herself or by her attendants;

That the accused Assupilik be asked to name those who served in the armies from whom he heard talk of the said Thuringwethil’s appetites, and that each so named be questioned;

That the rolls of the armies be searched, for the campaigns in which the said Thuringwethil served within the same thirty years, for any prisoner or captive given into her keeping, and what became of them; and that the officers recorded as having given such persons into her keeping, or received them from it, be questioned as to her conduct toward them, and toward any other person in her keeping or in her power;

That, besides these, twelve officers who served in the same campaigns be chosen by lot from the rolls and questioned likewise, so that it may be known whether the search has missed anything;

That each person questioned be asked in particular whether they know, or have heard spoken of, any person who was sent for by her or taken by her, and who afterward died, was hurt, was taken into the custody of an infirmary, was reassigned at her request, or was no longer seen; and what they know of any such person’s name, division or unit, and fate;

That each be asked from whom they heard what they report, so that the speaker may be questioned in turn;

That those questioned not be told the cause of their questioning, nor the name of any person accused, and that each be sworn to secrecy, upon the same terms as witnesses;

That the rolls of division C, and the custody registers of the infirmaries serving it, be searched for the same thirty years, for any worker recorded as dead without a healer’s report, reassigned at the request of an officer outside the division’s chain, or struck from the rolls without cause entered;

That the case reports of every infirmary of this mountain, and of the field infirmaries of the campaigns aforesaid, be searched for the same thirty years for any wound of the same character as those described in the case report of infirmary CL-23 dated the fifty-first day of Grazhân in the five-hundred and fifteenth year of the Jewels: namely, punctures of one size and one spacing, bleeding that would not stop, blood that stayed red and wet past its time, and an acrid scent; and that every healer who wrote such a report, if living, be questioned as to the patient, and what became of them;

That the assessors sitting in the present inquiry be exempt from this questioning, according to the Instructions governing it;

That if what is found warrants it, the Lieutenant will order the questioning widened;

And that the findings be brought to the Lieutenant, and to no other.

In my presence—

Halkiran, Secretary, First Rank

—

[A small sheet bearing the seal of the division of internal matters.]

EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES TO CHARACTER, PRODUCED BY THE DEFENSE.

On the ninth day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, before Ilûkhobh, investigator, third rank, by commission of the Lieutenant; in the presence of Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, and Uzhunahhan, secretary, fourth rank, of division S-2, honest persons, who swore to observe secrecy. The witnesses were examined upon the questions put in writing by Garmešha, advocate for the accused, and upon such further questions as the investigator saw fit to put. None was told the matters of which the accused stands accused.

Ushmarai, eldest mother of the clan of Gundešha, being sworn first by the Lord of All and secondly by her ancestors, and being carried in her chair:

To the first question, how long she has known the accused: all his life, since she held him at his naming.

To the second, whether he is honest and keeps his word: that he has always kept his word to his kin, and that she has never known him to break it.

To the third, how he deals with those in his charge: that he has been a captain for sixteen years and the clan has heard no complaint of him, and that captains are complained of more than most.

To the fourth, whether he has dealt generously with his kin: that he has always done so, and more than ever in these last years; that he has brought wine of the south to the clan’s feasts, which they had never tasted before he brought it; and that the clan honors him for it.

To the fifth, whether he has ever been accused of any wrong before: that he has not, save the misreported count in his first year as captain, which he reported himself, and which the clan remembers to his credit.

Asked by the investigator since when the accused has brought such wine: that it was some years ago now; that she remembers it was first served at the feast of the winter after the elves were brought from Gondolin, because the clan spoke of it all that season.

Asked whether she had anything to add, she answered that she did not know what her kinsman is held for, and asked whether she might be told. She was told that she might not. She said that the clan of Gundešha waits.

The above being read to her, she affirmed it, and the investigator signed for her, she not writing.

Namlukkái, captain of division C-134-D, being sworn first by the Lord of All and secondly by his ancestors:

To the first question, how long he has known the accused: some twenty years, as a fellow captain of the section.

To the second, whether the accused is honest and keeps his word: that he is a fair captain and keeps his word, so far as he knows.

To the third, whether he has ever known the accused to take what was not his: that he never saw him do so, nor heard that he did.

To the fourth, whether the accused is generous with his fellows: that he is; that he has often shared his drink with the captains of the section at dice.

Asked by the investigator what they drank: wine of the south, mostly, which the accused provided.

Asked by the investigator whether he knew how the accused came by it: that the accused said he had a friend of rank, and that he did not ask further, since it is not courteous to ask a man where his luck comes from.

The above being read to him, he affirmed it and signed.

Murijan, captain of division C-134-F, being sworn first by the Lord of All and secondly by his ancestors:

To the first question, how long he has known the accused: some twelve years.

To the second, whether the accused is honest: that he has never known him to lie at dice, which is more than he can say of most captains.

To the third, how the accused keeps his division: that his division always met its count, even when others in the section did not, and that he envied him for it.

To the fourth, whether the accused is generous with his fellows: that he is, as the captain Namlukkái has said.

Asked by the investigator whether the accused ever spoke of the friend of rank: that he did, once, when he had drunk a good deal; that he said the Lady Thuringwethil favored him, and that while she did, no one could touch him; and that the witness took it for a boast, and laughed.

Asked by the investigator whether the accused said why the Lady favored him: that he did not; that he only smiled and said it was a matter of sewing.

The above being read to him, he affirmed it and signed.

Ilûkhobh, investigator, third rank

In the presence of—

Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank

Uzhunahhan, secretary, second rank

—Hearing of Those Offended Against—

In the Hall of Bears, on the tenth day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; the assessors Urukišha, Šunilukkái, and Lakjašalli being seated; present also the observer Hašmetarai; Garmešha, advocate for the accused; Mírlach, secretary, first rank; and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters.

The Lieutenant ordered that the accused Assupilik be brought from the holding cells, which being done, he was informed that under the Instructions governing this inquiry, those offended against, and the elders of their clans, had asked to be heard before sentence, and would now be heard.

The statement of Nárelótë, secretary, ninth rank, junior, of division S-2, formerly seamstress of division C-134-B, written in her own hand in the letters of her people and rendered by the secretary Namešha, who has the speech of her people, was read aloud before the court.

[Note — The statement itself is not with this record. Significant water damage over what I assume was the rendering read before the court —E.]

…t… ai… ord…

…th [?]… o…

…Thuringw…

[continued on the next sheet]

…And he told me I was fortunate. Ask him if he still thinks it now.

The accused was asked whether he had anything to say to it. He said that he did not think that she was fortunate, nor did he truly believe it when he said it; but that he said it because he wished for her to go quietly, so that he would continue to benefit from the Lady’s favor.

Draumâkil, seamstress, of division C-134-B, came forward and was sworn first by the Lord of All and secondly by her ancestors. She stated that she had nothing to add to her testimony, save this: that she had said, in her testimony, that the captain’s hand was not steady when he gave her the forty strokes, and that she had given him that; and that she gives him nothing else.

She asked further that when the court has done with the cord she tied, it be given to the seamstress; that it is the seamstress’s, and not hers.

The Lieutenant directed that the request be entered.

Ozûtalai, sempster, of division C-134-B, came forward and was sworn first by the Lord of All and secondly by his ancestors. He stated that he asks nothing of the court for himself. He asked that it be written that the seamstress kept him from going to his ancestors before his time; that he owes her his life, and his clan owes it with him; and that his mother and his mother’s brothers have agreed that it is so.

The Lieutenant directed that it be written.

Zuwapiya, eldest mother of the clan of Draumâkil, came forward, being carried in her chair, and was sworn first by the Lord of All and secondly by her ancestors. She stated that her granddaughter was lashed for a lie told to keep one who had no clan from harm, and that her clan asks the restitution that is due for it, as the Codes and the custom of the clans allow.

The Lieutenant directed that the request be entered, and laid before the assessors.

The accused was admonished to recollect himself, and was returned to the holding cells.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

—Opinions of the Assessors, Given Before Sentence—

In the Hall of Bears, on the eleventh day of Zaghân and the five-hundred and twentieth year of the Jewels, at the morning audience for the determination of causes, Lord Mairon, Lieutenant of the Lord of All, presiding sole; the assessors Urukišha, Šunilukkái, and Lakjašalli being seated; present also the observer Hašmetarai; Mírlach, secretary, first rank; and Nênšelardi, recorder, first rank, internal matters; the accused not being present.

The Lieutenant, having caused the record of the cause against Assupilik, lately captain of division C-134-B, to be read in full, asked each assessor for an opinion before sentence, according to the Instructions governing this inquiry. The opinions were given as follows, and entered in the words of each.

The opinion of Lakjašalli, Chief Investigator, internal matters:

That the accused is guilty, by the evidence and by his own confession, of every article of the accusation.

That he gave punishment without entering it, and entered falsely the punishment he did give, against the provision he himself recited.

That he gave forty strokes to the seamstress Draumâkil on an order he knew to be unlawful, without a healer present; and that the mitigation argued by his advocate, that he was ordered by an officer far above him, is a true mitigation, and may lessen what is owed for it.

That he failed to report what he was bound to report, and carried the complaints of his division not to his superior but to the one complained of.

That he took gifts and favors for permitting offenses and for failing to report them.

That he gave the seamstress Nárelótë, then under his command, to another for the use of her body, in return for benefit to himself; that this offense is reserved by the Codes to the Lieutenant’s court; and that the Codes permit for it the gravest penalty, it having continued for some years, and the one harmed having been brought near to death, and harmed lastingly.

That he lied under oath in every audience but the last.

That he confessed only after the testimony was published, and so has earned less mercy than one who confesses freely before; but that his confession, when it came, was whole and not diminished, so that the cycle of offense and expiation remains open to him.

That as to restitution, the Codes set amounts for harms that can be counted: for strokes unlawfully given, for days in the custody of an infirmary, for rations withheld; and that for lasting harm they leave the measure to the Lieutenant.

That the Codes permit the gravest penalty. What the Lieutenant chooses is the Lieutenant’s.

The opinion of Urukišha, lately Arbiter of the Clans:

“In the first audience I asked this man what a captain deserved who did what the captain of the dyeworks did. He told me. He said such a captain was without honor, and that his clan ought to turn their faces from him. I said I would remember it, and I have. But that is for Gundešha to say, not for this court, and I will not say it for them.

“He told this court something else in that audience, which the court may say. He said that a captain who gave forty strokes unlawfully was owed the same forty, or twice that if the one he harmed suffered lasting harm. The seamstress walks with a stick. He named his own measure. Let him be held to it.

“I would have him live. A dead man pays nothing. Let him live, and pay, and carry it, so that the clans he wronged can close their grievance and be done.

“As to restitution: the tables in the Codes were written for a crust stolen or a blow struck. They were not written for four years of a life, nor for a walk that will not come back. When I sat as Arbiter, we did not read such a debt from a table. We measured it by what was taken. I ask the Lieutenant to measure it so.

“Let it come from the share of Gundešha if they keep him, and from his own hands if they do not; and never so much that his kin go hungry for it, for that pays no one.

“The seamstress has no clan. In this matter, this court has stood where her clan would stand. Let what is owed to her be held in her name, until she says what is to be done with it.”

The opinion of Šunilukkái, warden of the late Prince’s Guard:

“A captain is the shield of those beneath him. He sold and betrayed those he was bound to protect. I have nothing else to say.”

The opinions being entered, the Lieutenant ordered that the accused be brought to hear his sentence.

—Sentence—

In the Hall of Bears, on the same day, at the same audience, the accused Assupilik being brought from the holding cells and present, and his advocate Garmešha present, the Lieutenant, having examined the proceedings of the cause, and having heard the opinions of the assessors, pronounced sentence as follows:

That the said Assupilik, son of Madharkiš, of the clan of Gundešha, lately captain of division C-134-B, is guilty of all the articles of the accusation.

That for the giving of Nárelótë, secretary, ninth rank, junior, of division S-2, formerly seamstress of division C-134-B, into the hands of another for the use of her body, he is owed one stroke for each time she was taken, as the record proves it: nine hundred and four, by the count of the cord, and two more, the first and the last; in all, nine hundred and six. The Lieutenant entered further that by his own reckoning, the true number was nearer a thousand, perhaps one thousand ten or one thousand forty; but that the court judges by what is proven.

That for the forty strokes given unlawfully to the seamstress Draumâkil, the mitigation argued by his advocate being accepted, he is owed ten.

In all, nine hundred and sixteen strokes.

That the accused having confessed fully, though late, and the assessor Urukišha having spoken for his life, the Lieutenant commutes the said sentence to three hundred and twelve strokes: one for every three times the said Nárelótë was taken, and the ten.

That these be given in portions of no more than forty; before each portion, a healer shall be present who has declared him fit, and who may halt it at any time; no portion shall be laid upon stripes not yet closed; and the strokes shall be laid by the officers of punishment, and by no other.

That the cord of his rank be cut before the assembled division of C-134-B, and burned; the secretary Nárelótë, formerly of that division, to be present if her healers allow it and she wishes it; and that the first portion of his stripes shall be given before this same assembly, that those he has offended may see that their offense is paid, and hold no debt of blood against his people or person.

That he be removed from all command, and never hold command again; and that he be assigned to the furnaces of the lower forges.

That he make restitution, as follows:

[Note — This part of the sheet is written in the format of some sort of table, tightly condensed, possibly written in some kind of clerical script or shorthand which I’ve seen in other documents but haven’t the faintest how to decipher. Can you ask around the elves and see if any of them are familiar with it, maybe? —E.]

[Following after the table:]

And that when the strokes are given and the restitution paid, his offense shall be expiated, and he shall go forth from it with the stain no longer upon him.

The sentence being pronounced, the accused was asked whether he had anything to say. He answered that he submitted himself to the Giver of Freedom, and asked whether his clan had been told what he had done. He was told that they would be. He asked nothing further.

He was then asked whether, while held, he had seen or heard anything done against the Codes by those who kept him; whether any prisoner had spoken with another, or carried word to any outside; and whether the keeper of the lower ward had done her duty. He answered that he had seen nothing done against the Codes; that he had spoken with no one; and that the keeper had done her duty.

He was commanded, by the oath he had sworn, to keep secret all that had befallen him in these proceedings, and all that he had seen and heard while held; which he promised. He was then delivered to the officers of punishment, to be held until the first portion of his sentence.

In my presence—

Mírlach, Secretary, First Rank

Recorded and attested—

Nênšelardi, Recorder, First Rank

Chapter End Notes

Trial forms borrowed from the Barcelona trials covered in White's Records of the Spanish Inquisition.

Borrowed, and not returned. Mairon owns the Spanish Inquisition now. Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci; ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris. Amen.

 

Rambling thoughts—

Angband's justice system is built heavily on the ethos of the Inquisition and the political system in which it flourished. Ostensibly, the law flows downward from Melkor, the Lord of All and the Giver of Freedom, but it does not bind him, as the laws of the Church bind the worshipers and not the worshiped. But logistically, Melkor is too easily bored to write a functional legal system. He leaves that to people who do have the patience to do that, and that leaves room for a lot of practical concerns to seep in. Like whether you'll make a habit of flogging productive workers to death.

Gothmog was the Crown Prince of Angband — literally Melkor's child from before Melkor met Mairon. Melkor had no others. Gothmog was Mairon's best friend, and is very much missed.

When Melkor came back from Valinor, he wasn't right in the head. That causes unique challenges in an absolute monarchy ruled by a god.

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