King's Progress

Logres has no capitol, neither city nor castle. The king's itinerant court is always on the move from one food source to another in a grand tour called the King’s Progress (so-called because he progresses from one site to another). At each stop, usually a castle or grand estate, all of the barons within a day’s ride come to offer advice, to witness, and, sometimes, to be investigated by royal officials. A team of royal stewards and dapifers travel ahead of the king to prepare his next stop a month in advance, also making sure that courtiers and petitioners will be on hand to meet him.

The king’s route is different each year; he simply goes where the need is greatest. He chooses to stay at the places which are most convenient to his needs and which have enough food to feed everyone. The itinerary includes all royal castles, including officers’ and county castles; all royal hunting lodges; the capita majora of the great warlords; the baronial castles; the great bishoprics; and the major cities (civitates). Each of these have enough food for a week at the most, or a few days in the case of the lesser barons. However, if the king suspects a baron’s loyalty he will prolong his stay, deliberately eating everything and thus leaving the hapless lord impoverished and diminished.

## Retinue on the March

Moving 450 people is a huge effort. The knights take care of themselves, taking up positions before, behind, and among the caravan. Most commoners walk, although some few ride donkeys or hitch a ride on carts pulled by oxen. A dozen two-wheeled carts carry personal trunks and baggage, important records, instruments, and accoutrements for each department. Women ride on palfreys or in wagons that are outfitted for as much luxury as is possible on the rutted roads, which are always either muddy or dusty. Everything else is loaded on thirty to forty pack horses.

Of particular interest are the royal “long carts,” which are huge six-wheeled affairs each capable of carrying what three carts can bear. One of these carries the king’s wardrobe, another carries the entire kitchen, and the third carries coin and treasures which the king dispenses.

In winter, the king typically stays longer at his own estates, thoroughly stocked with food and comforts.

## Locating the Royal Progress

The King’s Progress does not follow the same route each year. It wanders hither and yon depending on available food, political need, and the king’s whim. Most barons owe one or more days of lodging. The stewards know exactly who owes how much and plan out the travel accordingly. In general, the larger and richer the vassal is, the longer the king will stay. One-day places are used to pass on through to multiple-day castles where the royal business is conducted. The places that owe more than three days may be visited twice per year instead of being stayed at for all of the days in a single visit, unless the king chooses to keep Christmas or Easter Court there. Naturally, these events are planned to be at the larger sites.

Two types of places are not free for the king. The first are the many small holdings that were never assigned the obligation. The second is where the king has voluntarily withdrawn or held back his privilege. This is rare, and a sure sign of favoritism. The holdings of Duke Ulfius and Duke Eldol are thus relieved of this expense. The lord may keep the money he would otherwise have spent. If the king visits one of these privileged locations he compensates the vassal for any expenses accrued. Thus the king doesn’t have the right to willfully impose himself and his staff upon the barons. He does have the right to withdraw any days owed.

Compensation is done by the chancellor or chamberlain giving a note (essentially an IOU) to the lord of the castle, who must then procure the funds from the keeper of the coin who is with the king, or one of the royal treasuries. The former is rare ~ the keeper will state that there is no extra coinage at the moment ~ and collecting from a treasury can take years. The treasury authorities will cite a shortage of coin, absence of key personnel, a busy schedule, or any other plausible or implausible reason for the delay. The process is always expedited for the king’s favorites. Appropriate graft also gets the job done, of course.

The speed of the Progress varies, depending on the need. In general it is about ten miles per day. Fifteen miles can be covered by pushing everyone onward. If no place is available within a day’s march the progress is perfectly capable of camping out, though this is not favored.

The king sometimes travels without his entire train. He will go by horseback with a few chosen councilors and a bodyguard. A vigorous king often travels twenty or thirty miles per day, changing horses wherever necessary.

### Chasing Him Down

The mobility of the king’s train causes problems for anyone who wants to meet him outside of his normally scheduled visit.

Normally any news concerning the king’s whereabouts is several days old when it reaches a visitor.

The travelers can thus go to the king’s last known location and get news of his heading. Since small groups usually move faster than the train, they continue this process until they catch up to the king. That doesn’t end problems. The king moves from place to place on business and has a schedule that is kept packed by his ministers. A visitor has to get fitted in where possible, which might take days, even weeks. Of course, favorites and messengers bearing important news are shown right to the front of the line, while less-favored people wait.

### Exceptions

Hunting lodges are part of the demesne of the king. He may stay at any lodge as long as he likes. However, he knows overhunting is costly. Since these lodges also supply food for the other royal castles, they are nearly always visited for fewer than their maximum days ~ sometimes left for years to recover their game from a big hunting season.

Tintagel is completely absent, and Ascalon mostly absent. The lands in Cornwall are sparsely populated and the terrain generally difficult to cross easily. Giants live there as well, necessitating a larger-than-usual escort. These make visits very difficult for the entire train. Visits to Cornwall are specially planned and always out of the ordinary.

### Winter Court

The king and his household generally winter at one of the larger royal castles.

## A Note on Math

The total number of days owed totals 394, more days than are in a year. This is because the king annually favors some lords and does not visit them. However, outside of his own holdings the king collects upkeep for 252 days, leaving the king with almost a third of the year (113 days) to feed himself. Any days that he does not use will provide him extra funds, so he is motivated to go to his vassals.