And the possible one exception to this rule is merchant law. Merchants, although not considered of a high caste, enjoy considerable influence in most Gorean cities and have a clear advantage over many castes in that they are able to directly affect the life of Goreans and the decisions of Gorean government. Whereas Gorean law is essentially a matter of local power, the Caste of Merchants has managed to build a set of rules pertaining to trade which are used throughout all of Gor.
. . . There is a saying on Gor, “Gold has no caste.” It is a saying of which the merchants are fond. Indeed, secretly among themselves, I have heard, they regard themselves as the highest caste on Gor, though they would not say so for fear of rousing the indignation of other castes. There would be something, of course, to be said for such a claim, for the merchants are often indeed in their way, brave, shrewd, skilled men, making long journeys, venturing their goods, risking caravans, negotiating commercial agreements, among themselves developing and enforcing a body of Merchant Law, the only common legal arrangements existing among the Gorean cities. Merchants also, in effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place each year near the Sardar Mountains. I say “in effect” because the fairs are nominally under the direction of a committee of the Caste of Initiates, which, however, largely contents itself with its ceremonies and sacrifices, and is only too happy to delegate the complex management of those vast, commercial phenomena, the Sardar Fairs, to members of the lowly, much-despised Caste of Merchants, without which, incidentally, the fairs most likely could not exist, certainly not at any rate in their current form. Nomads of Gor
. . . The fairs, too, however, have many other functions. . . . It is here that Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized. Beasts of Gor
Merchant law, although a law system in and of itself, is used to regulate all aspects of trade throughout the Gorean civilized world. Indeed, though the author refers to a number of cities, towns and isles as free ports, being specifically under merchant law, he also mentions that this system is used throughout Gor when it comes to trade and selling of goods. This could signify that, for example, merchant law goes as far as being a law system which includes all aspects of the law and hence can be and is used as the only law system in cities where sales are the main source of income to a majority of the population (trade islands for example). It is also the only law which commonly binds all cities, with probable exceptions (as with most things). Merchant law is drafted and stabilized at the fairs which are held four times a year at the foot of the Sardar Mountains. It covers as many aspects of trade and selling of merchandise as one can think of, including, of course, the market of human property.
“The fairs incidentally are governed by Merchant Law and supported by booth rents and taxes levied on the items exchanged. The commercial facilities of these fairs, from money changing to general banking, are the finest I know of on Gor, save those in Ar’s Street of Coins, and letters of credit are accepted and loans negotiated, though often at usurious rates, with what seems reckless indifference. Yet perhaps this is not so puzzling, for the Gorean cities will, within their own walls, enforce the Merchant Law when pertinent, even against their own citizens. If they did not, of course, the fairs would be closed to the citizens of that city.” Priest-Kings of Gor
It is important to understand the separation of jurisdiction when it comes to areas which may have matters of civil law from matters of merchant law. In the case of slaves for example, the laws by which one may be enslaved, the laws which determine what a slave may or may not do in public places will be a matter of civil law. The laws which pertain to the classification, training, certification and selling of slaves as market items, however, are clearly under merchant law.
On slave trade, it is said that most of the elements of merchant law which cover this specialty were born of the slave wars, a series of wars which occurred among various cities in the middle latitudes of Gor, off and on, over a period of approximately a generation. These wars, although more than likely involving more than the taking of women, did result in mass slaving operations and so it is written, that out of these wars grew much of the merchant law pertaining to slaves as well as some of the criteria for the standardization of the female slave as a commodity. Laws pertaining to the rights for certification and the standardization of criteria for such certification are matters of merchant law. Slave trade, however, is but one market in a sea of markets, all of which are subject to the regulations of merchant law.
The scales used by merchants, for example, are calibrated by using a stone which is standardized and calibrated by using the official 'Stone' kept at the Sardar. A similar rule exists for all 'official' measurements used in trade.
The Weight and the Stone, incidentally, are standardized throughout the Gorean cities by Merchant Law, the only common body of law existing among the cities. The official"Stone," actually a solid metal cylinder, is kept, by the way, near the Sardar. Four times a year, on a given day in each of the four great fairs held annually near the Sardar, it is brought forth with scales, that merchants from whatever city may test their own standard "Stone" against it.
As in the case of the official "Stone", so, too, at the Sardar is a metal rod, which determines the Merchant Foot, or Gorean foot, as I have called it. Raiders of Gor
Merchant law has managed, then, to stabilize a number of aspects of merchanting and trade and to be sure the reader finds that this progresses as the series moves forward. Items which are likely to be found in markets all over Gor such as cattle, precious metals, stones and slaves, will of course be easier to legislate than items more specific to a small area or specific culture. And of course bartering and trade remain methods by which many chose to -shop-, making the markets difficult to level, depending on the demand for a particular item and the availibility of said particular item within a specific area. As for most markets, the cost of things will fluctuate with demand as well as the difficulties encountered in aquiring said item.
Merchant law has been unsuccessful, as yet, in introducing such things as patents and copyrights on Gor. Such things do exist in municipal law on Gor but the jurisdictions involved are, of course, local. Magicians of Gor
Merchant law provides the rules by which certification and pedigrees will be produced, the registering of breeds and lineage information for cattle, domestic animals as well as slaves. The breeding of slaves is subject to a number of conditions as is the manner in which the children of slaves are treated and/or handled. In most cities a child born to a slave is also slave even if the child was conceinved by a free man. Free men wishing to have free chidren born of their slave girls, are said to temporarily free them for the time of childbirth. There are exceptions of course as with most rules, the city of Tharna for example, in post-revolt era, modified its laws so that slave girls may give birth to free persons so long as they were free at the time of conception. This of course makes the temporary freedom much shorter.
The youth of Tharna is usually bred from women temporarily freed for purposes of their conception, then reenslaved. In Tharnan law a person conceived by a free person on a free person is considered to be a free person, even if they are later carried and borne by a slave. In many other cities this is different, the usual case being that the offspring of a slave is a slave, and belongs to the mother's owner. Vagabonds of Gor
For the most part, though, slaves are bred in order to produce more slaves, to perpetuate a certain trait, or quality, much the same as other cattle.
Slavers are considered a sub-caste of the merchants although there is mention that the slavers themselves rather consider themselves to be an independant caste. The fact is though, that the rules and laws which pertain to the trade of human property are clearly stated as part of merchant law. It is interesting to note that although most cities have their own enslavement laws, merchant law seems to have established a number of criteria that would be met before a slave is legally a slave by this law.
It is my understanding, following merchant law, and Tahari custom,” I said,“that I am not a slave, for though I am a prisoner, I have been neither branded nor collared, nor have I performed a gesture of submission. Tribesmen of Gor
“You understand further, of course,” said he, “that under Gorean merchant law, which is the only law commonly acknowledged binding between cities, that you stand under separate permissions of enslavement. First, were you of Ar, it would be my right, could I be successful, to make of you a slave, for we share no Home Stone. Secondly, though you speak of yourself as the Lady Elicia of Ar, of Six Towers, you are, in actuality, Miss Elicia Nevins of the planet Earth. You are an Earth girl and thus stand within a general permission of enslavement, fair beauty quarry to any Gorean male whatsoever. Slave Girl of Gor
“The legal point, I think, is interesting. Sometimes, in the fall of a city, girls who have been enslaved, girls formerly of the now victorious city, will be freed. Technically, according to Merchant Law, which serves as the arbiter in such intermunicipal matters, the girls become briefly the property of their rescuers, else how could they be freed? Further, according to Merchant Law, the rescuer has no obligation to free the girl. In having been enslaved she has lost all claim to her former Home Stone. Explorers of Gor
Girls such as I must expect to be marked,” she said. “It is in accord with the recommendations of merchant law. Kajira of Gor
You’re going to be branded,” he said, “and put in a collar.” I regarded him with disbelief
“But so too, will the other girls,” he said. “You will all have your brands and collars.
I could not speak.
“Such things are prescribed by merchant law,” he said. Dancer of Gor
“Some fellows do not brand their slaves,” I said.
“That is stupid!” she said.
“It is also contrary to the laws of most cities,” I said, “and to merchant law, as well. Vagabonds of Gor
But her left thigh worn no brand. Her right thigh, too, as I soon noted, did not wear the slave mark, nor did her lower left abdomen. These are the three standard marking places, following the recommendations of Merchant Law, for the marking of Kajirae, with the left thigh being, in practice, the overwhelmingly favored brand site.” Fighting Slave of Gor
Merchant magistrates, officers of the law, are given the duties of law enforcement as well as the power to prosecute those who are caught breaking the law and applying whatever sentence is deemed appropriate depending on the nature of the offense. Permits and the rights to trade or earn a living by offering entertainment sometimes require the paiement of a fee such as is seen in festivals, fair and and such.
The representative of the Merchants, to whom I reported my business, and to whom I paid for wharfage, asked no questions. He did not even demand the proof of registration of the Tesephone in Tabor. The Merchants, who control Lydius, under merchant law, for it is a free port, like Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, are more interested in having their port heavily trafficked than strictly policed. Hunters of Gor
Essentially, merchant law is guided by the codes of the caste and serves as a consumer protection system as well as a means to maintain the credibility of the members of the caste of merchants. By policing their own, merchants manage to establish and preserve the trust of the customer population.
One would not wish to buy a girl thinking she was auburn, a rare and muchly prized hair color on Gor, for example, and then discover later that she was, say, blond. Against such fraud, needless to say, the law provides redress. Slavers will take pains in checking out new catches, or acquisitions, to ascertain the natural color of their hair, one of the items one expects to find, along with fingerprints and measurements, and such, on carefully prepared slave papers. Vagabonds of Gor
Merchant law also allows for a form of neutral ground in times of conflict, offering goods and services under an even opportunity system and without having to be on one or the other side of a conflict.
Various cities, through their own Merchant Castes, lease land for these stockades and, for their fees, keep their garrisons, usually men of their own cities, supplied. The stockades are governed under Merchant Law, legislated and revised, and upheld, at the Sardar Fairs. Captive of Gor
He himself resided, I understood, in Telnus, the capital of Cos, where his company had its headquarters. His work chains, however, were politically neutral, understood under merchant law as hirable instruments. They might, accordingly, and sometimes did, work for both sides in given conflicts. Dancer of Gor
1) Merchant Law is
the only common legal arrangements existing among the Gorean cities.
“The fairs incidentally are governed by Merchant
Law and supported by booth rents and taxes levied on the items exchanged. The
commercial facilities of these fairs, from money changing to general banking,
are the finest I know of on Gor, save those in Ar’s Street of Coins, and
letters of credit are accepted and loans negotiated, though often at usurious
rates, with what seems reckless indifference. Yet perhaps this is not so
puzzling, for the Gorean cities will, within their own walls, enforce the
Merchant Law when pertinent, even against their own citizens. If they did not,
of course, the fairs would be closed to the citizens of that city.” Priest-Kings
of Gor
2) Merchants also, in
effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place each year
near the Sardar Mountains.
“There is a saying on Gor, “Gold has no caste.” It
is a saying of which the merchants are fond. Indeed, secretly among themselves,
I have heard, they regard themselves as the highest caste on Gor, though they
would not say so for fear of rousing the indignation of other castes. There
would be something, of course, to be said for such a claim, for the merchants
are often indeed in their way, brave, shrewd, skilled men, making long
journeys, venturing their goods, risking caravans, negotiating commercial
agreements, among themselves developing and enforcing a body of Merchant Law, the
only common legal arrangements existing among the Gorean cities. Merchants
also, in effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place
each year near the Sardar Mountains. I say “in effect” because the fairs are
nominally under the direction of a committee of the Caste of Initiates, which,
however, largely contents itself with its ceremonies and sacrifices, and is
only too happy to delegate the complex management of those vast, commercial
phenomena, the Sardar Fairs, to members of the lowly, much-despised Caste of
Merchants, without which, incidentally, the fairs most likely could not exist,
certainly not at any rate in their current form.” Nomads of Gor
3) It is here that
Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized.
“The fairs, too, however, have many other
functions. … It is here that Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized.” Beasts
of Gor
4) Weights and
measures are standardized throughout the Gorean cities by Merchant Law.
“The Weight and the Stone, incidentally, are
standardized throughout the Gorean cities by Merchant Law, the only common body
of law existing among the cities. The official “Stone,” actually a solid metal
cylinder, is kept, by the way, near the Sardar. Four times a year, on a given
day in each of the four great fairs held annually near the Sardar, it is
brought forth with scales, that merchants from whatever city may test their own
standard “Stone” against it. … As in the case of the official “Stone”, so, too,
at the Sardar is a metal rod, which determines the Merchant Foot, or Gorean
foot, as I have called it.”
Raiders of Gor
5) Certain defensible
stockades on main trade routes are governed under Merchant Law, legislated and
revised, and upheld, at the Sardar Fairs.
“The Merchants have, in the last few years, on
certain trade routes, between Ar and Ko-ro-ba, and between Tor and Ar,
established palisaded compounds, defensible stockades.
… Various cities, through their own Merchant Castes, lease land for these
stockades and, for their fees, keep their garrisons, usually men of their own
cities, supplied. The stockades are governed under Merchant Law, legislated and
revised, and upheld, at the Sardar Fairs.” Captive of Gor
6) Some free port
cities like Lydius, Helmutsport, Schendi and Bazi also subscribe to Merchant
Law which controls things like wharfage and proof of registration.
“The representative of the Merchants, to whom I
reported my business, and to whom I paid for wharfage, asked no questions. He
did not even demand the proof of registration of the Tesephone in Tabor. The Merchants,
who control Lydius, under merchant law, for it is a free port, like
Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, are more interested in having their port
heavily trafficked than strictly policed.” Hunters of Gor
7) Businesses, too,
complying with Merchant Law are aided in acquiring contracts, even with both
sides of a conflict at the same time.
“He himself resided, I understood, in Telnus, the
capital of Cos, where his company had its headquarters. His work chains,
however, were politically neutral, understood under merchant law as hirable
instruments. They might, accordingly, and sometimes did, work for both sides in
given conflicts.” Dancer of Gor
8)And yet, Merchant
law has been unsuccessful, in introducing such things as patents and copyrights
between cities.
“Merchant law has been unsuccessful, as yet, in
introducing such things as patents and copyrights on Gor. Such things do exist
in municipal law on Gor but the jurisdictions involved are, of course, local.” Magicians
of Gor
What receives the
most attention throughout the books, though, is how Merchant Law pertains to
slaves.
9) Long before Tarl coming to Gor and for about a generation, a series of wars,
loosely referred to as the Slave Wars had occurred. Out of these wars grew much
of the Merchant Law pertaining to slaves.
“She was referring to a series of wars, loosely
referred to as the Slave Wars, which occurred among various cities in the
middle latitudes of Gor, off and on, over a period of approximately a
generation. They had occurred long before my coming to Gor. Although
large-scale slaving was involved in these wars, and was doubtless a sufficient
condition for them, hence the name, other considerations, as would be expected,
were often involved, as well, such as the levying of tribute and the control of
trade routes. Out of the Slave Wars grew much of the merchant law pertaining to
slaves.” Vagabonds of Gor
10) Probably foremost
among these has to do with the brand and collar. A prisoner is not the same as
being a slave.
“It is my understanding, following merchant law,
and Tahari custom,” I said, “that I am not a slave, for though I am a prisoner,
I have been neither branded nor collared, nor have I performed a gesture of
submission.” Tribesmen of Gor
11) Merchant Law
upholds the self-pronouncement that one is slave, after which it is binding.
“In the case of the girl, Rowena, of course, as she
was already a self-pronounced slave, the brand and collar were little more than
identificatory formalities. Nonetheless she would wear them. They would be fixed
visibly and clearly upon her. This is in accord with the prescriptions of
merchant law.” Players of Gor
12) Merchant Law
defines permissions of enslavement, at least two of which are making one a
slave when not sharing a Home Stone and any Earth girl.
“You understand further, of course,” said he, “that
under Gorean merchant law, which is the only law commonly acknowledged binding
between cities, that you stand under separate permissions of enslavement. First,
were you of Ar, it would be my right, could I be successful, to make of you a
slave, for we share no Home Stone. Secondly, though you speak of yourself as
the Lady Elicia of Ar, of Six Towers, you are, in actuality, Miss Elicia Nevins
of the planet Earth. You are an Earth girl and thus stand within a general
permission of enslavement, fair beauty quarry to any Gorean male whatsoever.” Slave
Girl of Gor
13) Merchant Law also
dictates that sometimes, in the fall of a city, girls who have been enslaved,
girls formerly of the now victorious city, will be freed. The rescuer has no
obligation to free the girl. In having been enslaved she has lost all claim to
her former Home Stone.
“The legal point, I think, is interesting.
Sometimes, in the fall of a city, girls who have been enslaved, girls formerly
of the now victorious city, will be freed. Technically, according to Merchant
Law, which serves as the arbiter in such intermunicipal matters, the girls
become briefly the property of their rescuers, else how could they be freed?
Further, according to Merchant Law, the rescuer has no obligation to free the
girl. In having been enslaved she has lost all claim to her former Home Stone.”
Explorers of Gor
14) Merchant Law
prescribes the collar.
“Girls such as I must expect to be marked,” she
said. “It is in accord with the recommendations of merchant law.” Kajira of
Gor
15) Merchant Law
prescribed the brand
“You’re going to be branded,” he said, “and put in
a collar.” I regarded him with disbelief.
“But so too, will the other girls,” he said. “You
will all have your brands and collars.”
I could not speak.
“Such things are prescribed by merchant law,” he said. Dancer of Gor
16) And, while some
men do not do so this, it is contrary to the laws of most cities and to
Merchant Law, as well.
“Some fellows do not brand their slaves,” I said.
“That is stupid!” she said.
“It is also contrary to the laws of most cities,” I said, “and to merchant law,
as well.”
Vagabonds of Gor
17) Following the
recommendations of Merchant Law, the three standard marking places for the
brand are the thighs and the lower left abdomen.
“But her left thigh
worn no brand. Her right thigh, too, as I soon noted, did not wear the slave
mark, nor did her lower left abdomen. These are the three standard marking
places, following the recommendations of Merchant Law, for the marking of
Kajirae, with the left thigh being, in practice, the overwhelmingly favored
brand site.” Fighting Slave of Gor
“The thighs and the lower left abdomen are the brand sites recommended by
Merchant Law.” Fighting Slave of Gor
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