The Council of York

The Treaty of York

The council of York was founded in 1820 as an advisory council to de Lascy. It was modelled on the medieval Great Council which consisted of the greatest nobles and prelates of the realm who advised the King. At first, all of the Kindred in the fief attended meetings, but as the fief grew this became limited to the Head of each Clan.

In 1843, Elisabeth Mallroye, Clan elder of the Nosferatu, was discovered to be behind in a plot to overthrow de Lascy and allow Prince Richard to become Prince in his place. Although a Blood Hunt was declared, she managed to escape the fief. Prince Richard was protected by de Lascy who refused to allow the Council to pass judgement on him and instead exiled him from the fief. After this, the Charter of the Council of York was written, which set out the composition of the Council and it's duties.

As can be seen from the text of the treaty, the original document gives very little power to the Council members, other than the right to an audience with the Prince and to present their advice without fear of retribution. However, over the decades, the Council has assumed more and more powers as the fief has expanded and it's management become more demanding. Any de facto changes are noted in brackets after the relevant paragraph. However, these changes have never been written into the Charter. The only actual changes to the document are contained in the Provisions of Wakefield, also given below.

Charter of the Council of York

1. The duty of the Council of York, set out in this Charter, is to perpetuate the peace and prosperity of the fief of York, under the lawful rule of its Prince, Ilbert de Lascy. This shall be done by the giving of good counsel to our Prince and by conveying to him knowledge of all that passes within his Domain. Any member of the Council found to be acting contrary to this end may be dismissed from the Council by the Prince [the phrase 'subject to his decision being supported by a majority of the whole Council.' was added to this paragraph in the Provisions of Wakefield]

2. The Council will in no way detract from the lawful and sovereign powers which our Prince holds over his Domain, or claim any such powers unto itself. The Prince may act without leave of the council, although insofar as they are his good and loyal councillors, he will heed their counsel and advice.

   These Traditions the Prince reserves to himself absolutely and without question: -

   • Power to invoke the Lextalionis upon those within his Domain.
   • Power to grant to others permission to Sire within his Domain. [Requests to Sire progeny are now usually presented to the Council as a whole, although the Prince still grants permission directly on occasion]
   • Power to question those who enter his Domain. [Presentation is now typically to the Council]

3. These are the rights of the Council, which the Prince should in no way interfere with:

   • The Council may at any time require an audience with their Prince to pass to him their good counsel and advice on matters concerning the fief of York. This audience the Prince must grant within reasonable time. If any evil should come to pass within the fief as consequence of the Prince delaying a meeting with his Council, then the Council shall be held blameless in the matter.

   • The Council may present their counsel to the Prince without fear or threat of retribution. If the Council choose to send a representative to the Prince to carry their advice, then that individual is to be protected as he were the Council.

4. If the Prince wishes the Council to act without him in a matter, then he will send word to the Council granting them leave to act without him in this one matter. If the Prince is prevented from attending the Council, and an urgent matter within the fief requires attention, the Council may act for the Prince, always considering his best interests, with the provision that the judgement may be set aside when the Prince returns. [In practice, the Council now frequently acts without the Prince in several matters, including permission to create Ghouls, judging disputes between Kindred which are brought before the council and overseeing and covering up breaches in the Masquerade. No judgement of the Council has been set aside in over a hundred years.]

5. The Council will comprise of the Clan Heads of all suitable Clans in the fief, these being: -
   • Clan Ventrue
   • Clan Toreador
   • Clan Tremere
   • Clan Brujah
   • Clan Gangrel

   Clan Malkavian does not sit in Council, as no representative of sound judgement can be found within the fief. Clan Nosferatu is hereby decreed to be unsuitable and unworthy to sit in Council by virtue of the treachery practiced by that Clan against our Prince.

   Should a Council seat become vacant, then the remaining members of the council will consider the merits of any who present themselves for the seat and it shall be decided by the Prince. [altered to 'by a majority of the Council' in the Provisions of Wakefield]

The Provisions of Wakefield

In 1876, the Charter was modified in the Provisions of Wakefield which added the junior council seats. The fact that both de Lascy and Prince Edward sat on the Council had created a block Ventrue vote, especially as Gilbert usually voted with them. In addition, the fact that there were only six seats created too many tied votes. De Lascy was unwilling to abandon the second Ventrue seat and equally unwilling to allow another Clan to hold two seats.

Finally, a compromise was reached, creating three additional seats. These were to be filled for periods of 17 years by elders and ancilla of the fief. No-one was permitted to hold the seats for consecutive terms, although it was permissable to hold them more than once. Candidates for the seats presented their names to the Prince and the junior seats were then filled by a vote of the whole council, excluding the Prince.

In theory, the votes of the junior members hold as much influence as those of the Elder members of the Council. In practice, of course, the Prince is likely to give more weight to the opinion of the Clan Heads. The junior members are often tied by prestation and status debts to one or more of the Elders.

The Provisions of Wakefield also modified the text of the Charter of the Council in a couple of other points, which are noted in the text of the Charter above. These alterations were actually inked into the original charter and the whole resigned and re-sealed by de Lascy.