What is a Wealdom?
Taking the first part of the word, a “weald” is an Old English term for “a heavily wooded area” (Merriam-Webster). When used as a proper noun, a Weald may refer to a specific weald, such as the “Weald of Kent” or the “Weald of Sussex,” which are specific wooded areas in England.
Wessingway has adopted the word Weald for its own purposes and defines a Weald as the owner, resident, and chief steward of a wealdom. A wealdom is a large, private parcel of heavily wooded land set aside mainly for wildlife conservation in perpetuity. For example, the Weald of Wessingham is the owner, resident, and chief steward of the Wealdom of Wessingham. In terms of conservation efforts, Wealds hold dominion over their respective wealdoms. But as with any private estate, each wealdom is subject to the local and national laws of the wealdom’s parent nation or territory. While every weald is a Wessinite, not all Wessinites become wealds.
“A wealdom is a large, private parcel of heavily wooded land set aside mainly for wildlife conservation in perpetuity.”
How much land is needed for an estate to be considered a Wealdom? As much as reasonably possible. Technically, there is no minimum acreage as long as the main purpose of the estate is wildlife conservation (both plant and animal wildlife). Every bit of land devoted to nature helps, but generally speaking, larger Wealdoms provide more wildlife habitat, and thus greater conservation impact, all else being equal.
Wealdoms also serve as the “home and hearth” of each weald and their families. They help bind Wessinite families in a common purpose and connect them with the nature and the land.
Wealdoms, and the responsibility for caring for them, are passed from one generation to the next. A Wealdom is usually left to one child of a Weald. The wealdom is not sold for profit, nor is it split into smaller units. Consequently, not only do wealds usually leave their wealdoms to one of their children, but they also leave the financial means to care for the wealdom in perpetuity. Upon the weald’s death, the inheritor becomes the weald of the wealdom in question. And the new weald acts as the wealdom’s chief steward, expanding the territory when possible, and leaving it, in turn, to the next generation.
The centrality of wealdoms in Wessingway cannot be overstated. Wessinites aspire to be Wealds based on their core values, which include, in addition to “wealdoms” themselves, “conservation,” “compassion,” “survival,” “love,” “intentionality,” “humility,” and “growth.” Wessinites, through their wealdoms, give priority to nature in an increasingly unnatural world. They bring balance to the world and space for nature to thrive. The more wealdoms there are, the greater the impact of Wessingway.
For greater context, in Wessingway, a “Wealdom” is one of nine core values of a Wessinite. The “Value of Wealdoms” leads to the “Vow of Estate,” the “Virtuous Circle of Rex,” and ultimately the Wessinite “Power of Purpose,” which is to rejuvenate ourselves, our families, and the natural ecosystems around us. Wessinite lifestyle choices—from values, vows, and virtuous circles (which culminate in our rejuvenating powers)— all combine to form Wessinite customs called Asterwinds. These Asterwinds are symbolized by leafs of the Asterose. Tramontana, the purple leaf, is the Northern Asterwind of the Asterose.
References
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Weald. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved September 4, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weald
