Customs/Laws (Exile's Song reading notes)

A female who wears unbound hair in public is presumed to be a common streetwalker. (ES15)

Servants will unpack visitors baggage for them. (ES31)

People make the distinction between ladies and women as a social status. (ES55)

The game of Rock, Scissors, Leaves, is played [presumably the same game known as Rock, Paper, Scissors in this country] (ES54)

Midwinter festival mentioned. (ES56)

It is considered rude to look people in the eye. (This relates to eye contact supposedly making telepathy easier) (ES83)

Under Darkover law no one can relinquish claims to property for a minor child (per Rafe Scott) (ES86)

There is a law that the head of a domain must remain on Darkover. (ES236)

A "tenday" mentioned as a unit of time (ES27) [equivalent to a week? Are there weekends? Do the days have names?]

A song about the Sharra rebellion was proscribed. [Proscribed by who? Is there a formal censorship procedure or was this a special unique event?](ES42)

It is considered rude to look directly at members of the opposite sex. (ES170)

It is a common practice (at least among the Comyn) to foster one's children to another family. (ES171)

Dry towners are said to sell their children. (ES175)

Everyone at the table stood up when the Keeper/Leronis stood up. (ES191)

On Darkover an unmarried woman is considered to still be a child and under the authority of her guardian or parent. The lord of a domain can exercise this claim over his kinswomen. (ES229)

Marriage normally takes place at an early age. There is a high infant mortality rate and a low birthrate. (ES100) [It is not clear whether this applies just to the Comyn or to the population at large. In this context is odd that not only Michael Lanart but his two older brothers remain unmarried.] Arranged marriages are normal for members of the great families of the domains. It is not unusual for the bride and groom not to meet until the day of the wedding. (ES239) Women can be married as early as age fifteen. (ES239) Marriages among the Comyn are done in the form of DiCatenas and are for life. This is signified by bracelets worn on the arm by both husband and wife. (ES282) Cousins on Darkover can marry. [given the limited number of Comyn families marriage between Comyn cousins is virtually inevitable ] However Uncles do not generally marry nieces. This is due to uncertainty in the past as to the identity of the father of any given child. (ES266)[The old Terran expression "It's a wise child that knows its own father" must have really been appropriate on Darkover in the past.]Arranged marriages are also common among merchants and traders. (ES382)

Expression: "As rich as the Lord of Carthorn"

Expression: "When Zandru's Hells Melt" (ES227)

Contracts can carry a late penalty. (ES127)

It is an old saying that not everyone with red hair has Laran. (ES134)

It is bad manners to talk with one's mouth full. (ES300)

Kampfer tea is a medicine for colds. (ES331)

Children of the upper class have a nurses. (ES331)

source file (Last modification: Wed Apr 21 17:21:45 1999)