Corps of the Gentlemen-at-Cudgels
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| Active: | 1552–1613 & 1623– | ||
| Motto | Manners maketh Man and the Cudgel maketh Manners | ||
| Allegiance: | Elwynn | ||
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| Type: | Uniformed Police / Public Order Force | ||
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| Nicknames: | Cudgellers | ||
| Commander: | The Bludgeoner-General | ||
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The Corps of the Gentlemen-at-Cudgels (CGC), also known as the Gentlemen-at-Cudgels or simply as the Cudgellers is the national police service of the Elwynnese Union. It has jurisdiction to police anywhere in the Flower of the North, except for those cities that are policed by a City Watch as well as the Kingly City of Eliria, the Royal City of Avaldsnes, and the Royal City of Hyfrost which are policed by the Fleur de Lys-Longships Guard.
History
The Gentlemen-at-Cudgels were founded in the year 1552 as a public order force for the Barony of Eliria by means of an ordinance issued by Eliria's Baron, Ardashir Moqtada al-Osmani. The primary duty of the Gentlemen-at-Cudgels was to deliver and serve writs of cudgelling against individuals named by the Baron of Eliria. As such they were considered to be one of the more coercive manifestations of state power during this, becoming notorious for the degree to which arbitrary abuses became ingrained amongst the practitioners of cudgelling, until finally being curbed by Duke Nathan's various decrees against capital and corporal punishment.
During the era of Elwynnese independence the Gentlemen-at-Cudgels, having survived the expulsion of Aurangzeb by going underground as a series of unlicensed sporting associations, became a Non-Combatant Corps of the Union Defence Force and were made responsible for national level law enforcement and public order duties, causing the Cudgellers to dramatically expand in remit and, as a consequence, in size as well. The Corps was abolished after the Communist Revolution of 1613 and not replaced by any other formal body, leading to various ad hoc vigilante groups, and other (local) organizations acting in a law enforcement capacity (or in the pursuit of self-perceived justice) without legal authority, to step in.
Following the Kalirion Restoration the CGC was re-established in 1623 AN by the decree of the Steward of Elwynn, Hallbjörn Haraldsson, which provided the whole of the Elwynnese Union with police forces again.
Organization and Structure
The Corps is headed by the Bludgeoner-General, whose immediate subordinates are two Deputy Bludgeoners-General. Below them there are eighteen Quartermasters of Cudgels: one for each of the nine cardinal directions of the Jewel of the Many Facets, and the remainder dealing with various national support functions. At an equivalent or near-equivalent level to the Quartermasters of Cudgels are the positions of Seneschal, Treasurer, Surgeon-General, Justiciar, Alchemist-General, Grand Master of Wires. All of the aforesaid are members of the Council of Cudgellers, the management board of the Corps of the Gentlemen-at-Cudgels.
Directly subordinate to the Quartermasters of Cudgels are approximately 100 Superintendent Officers of Cudgels, about a quarter of whom supervise territorial divisions which are known as Palatinates. A Palatinate usually corresponds with a Princely Precinct, but there are numerous exceptions such as the Vale of Angularis - due to its sheer size - and Avaldsnes - because of its distance to the other Bailiwicks of the Seven Ports.
Every Palatinate contains a number of Commanderies. A Commandery is commanded by a Commander of Cudgels and, as a general rule, corresponds with a Bailiwick, but the more sizable Bailiwicks - in geographical area and/or in population - do happen to have multiple (ad hoc) commanderies within their borders.
Each Commandery is in turn composed of a number of Manors, which are usually commanded by Masters of Cudgels.
Ranks
- Bludgeoner-General;
- Deputy Bludgeoner-General;
- Quartermaster of Cudgels;
- Superintendent Officer of Cudgels;
- Commander of Cudgels;
- Master of Cudgels;
- Knight-Cudgeller;
- Proctor-Cudgeller;
- Serjeant-Cudgeller;
- Gentleman-Cudgeller;
- Beadle-Cudgeller;
- Cudgel-Carrier.
