Great Nortend

The Kingdom of Nortend, Cardoby and Hambria
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: Magnus Dominus mecum sit · Quoniam filii sactorum sumus
Capital	Lendert-with-Cadell
Largest city	Greater Lendert
Official languages	English (de facto)
Government	Unitary Parliamentary Monarchy
• Sovereign	Alexander II
• Prime Minister	The 8th Duke of Limmes
Legislature	The Royal High Court of Parliament
• Upper house	House of Lords
• Lower house	Houses of Commonsa
Area
• Total	190,542 km2 (73,569 sq mi)
Population
• 2017 estimate	32,102,002
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	£1,600,000,000
• Per capita	£50
Currency	Pound marten (EPM)
Time zone	GNP
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+37
Internet TLD	.gn
Formed of the House of Burgesses and House of Knights.

The Kingdom of Nortend, Cardoby and Hambria, commonly known as Great Nortend or only Nortend, is an island nation in Astyria comprising of the three civil provinces of Nortend, Hambria and Cardoby. The main landmass of the Kingdom is formed of the islands of Greater and Lesser Erbonia. It has a population of around 32 million and is a predominantly pastoral country though with large swathes of forest, woodland, grassland, moor and heath. The Kingdom is mostly self-sustaining in terms of food production with exports of corn, wool and textiles also with a sizeable domestic industrial and manufacturing sector as well. The largest island in the Kingdom excluding the two main islands, is Cardoby, located off the coast of north-eastern Nortend.

Names and Gentilics

The formal name for the country is the Kingdom of Nortend, Cardoby and Hambria. Whilst the Kingdom's short name for diplomatic and poetic purposes is Erbonia, from the Latin name of the isles, Insulæ Erboniæ, Great Nortend is the common term for the entire country, encompassing the entire kingdom and inclusive of all islands and isles.

Nortend is derived from the Old English name, Nordenland, meaning 'land of the Nords'. The name Hoebrideland derives from the local name for the land, Hoembride, which means literally, 'The land of the Hœs'. Thus, the name Hoebrideland effectively means, 'Hoe land land', a tautological construction. The more modern name for the province, Hambria, comes from the Latinised form of Hoembride. The name Cardoby is derived from Anglo-Saxon as well, meaning the 'island of the Cardes', as the island was the location of a Gardolian kingdom of the Cardes. Nortend is often used to refer to what is really Great Nortend in error and should be avoided.

A person from the province of Nortend is known as a Norchman. Nortan is used as an adjective relating to Nortend. The gentilics of Hambria are Hambrian as an adjective and Hoebridman as a noun referring to persons. The adjectival form of Cardoby is Gardolian whilst a person from Cardoby is known as a Cardman. The gentilic of Great Nortend is informally Nortan to refer to people as well as used as the adjective; however, the formal gentilic for both persons and the adjective is Erbonian, as seen in the King's formal diplomatic title, His Erbonian Majesty.

History

Main article: History of Great Nortend

Antiquity

The country has been settled since antiquity by the Hoes which were a group of Ethlorek tribes spread throughout the island. The population fluctuated greatly, however by 500 BC, a distinctive mix of Erbonian culture had emerged, speaking mostly a variety of Middle Erebbonic, a variety of the North Ethlorek language.

The lands below the Monmorians that are now the civil province of Nortend was invaded by the XXX Empire and subsequently became the province of Erbonia, with the capital the prosperous riverine city of Lendartus. This led to around three centuries of Imperial rule. The wild lands of Hambria in the northern region of the islands, were until around 87 AD, left unconquered by the Imperial Army who were not able to pass through the rugged and desolate Monmorians, a large mountain range. In AD 88, the Empire bypassed the mountains with the discovery of the Aparian Pass but after establishing only a few minor forts in Hambria, the military withdrew back to Nortend.

Middle Ages

The Imperial military withdrew from Nortend in the late fourth century. By this time, Barardian and other Erbo-Latinate languages had begun to develop within the country, though not fully ousting the Ethlorek Hoebrian tongues. Without the deterrent of the Imperial armies, the Lorecian tribes of the Nords, Sexers and Cardes from what is now Noordenstaat landed on the shores of Lesser Erbonia and settled. Originally, there were only sparse settlements however in the late 3rd century, an increasing number of Norts and Cardes arrived. By the late 4th century, the Lorecian invaders had settled in various areas, mainly with the northern regions by the Sexers, north-eastern and western by the Cardes and the southern and central by the Nords, with the establishment of imported Lorecian social structures.

Around ten major kingdoms were formed in the country by this time, which were, roughly from north to south: Bissex; Norsax; Cardoby; Barardia; Iscardes; Lanorts; Suthnorts; Dunricia. Smaller kingdoms included Almede around modern-day Heymeadshire and Almeshire, and Wennord in the west of Lesser Erbonia. Whilst the Cardes and Sexers settled in what is now the Nortan portion of Greater Erbonia, the Nords, later known as the Norts, almost completely took over the entirety of Lesser Erbonia. Over the next few centuries, owing to poor military tactics on the part of others, the Kingdom of the Norts, comprising the Lanots, Suthnorts and Dunricia, managed to take control of nearly the entire country excepting a few small kingdoms which stood fast their ground.

The Christian missionary, St Laurence, arrived on the shores of Nortenland in 744 during the reign of Egbert, by order of the Pope Zachary I, in a quest to convert the Kingdom. Though Christianity had first been introduced during the Exponential Empire, the old pagan religions still held sway over the invading tribes. St Laurence founded Sulthey Cathedral on the Isle of Sulthey in 749, the year which is now generally considered the start of the Roman Christian Church in Great Nortend, and served for over thirty years as the Apostle to All Nortend.

During the late 8th century, the Hambrian people of the Wignod and Tunel tribes had grew to recognise the King of the Cothens as suzerain, and the King of Cothens began to style himself as King of the Hoes. Under the rule of the Christian Edmund the Good, who styled himself with the more modern King of Nortend and Lord of Cardoby, the Nortan Kingdom progressively conquered the remaining kingdoms of Iscardes and Norsax, until the entire country south of the Monmorians was united in one single Christian Kingdom of Nortend and Cardoby. Edmund the Good died in the Battles of the Monmorians, in 894, fighting the Cothens of Hoebrideland, and was recognised almost immediately as a martyr of the church.

By the twelfth century, new trade laws and statutes had opened up the economy and meant the country prospered financially. Lendert became a large port for the trade of especially Nortan wool, but also of corn, linen and dyestuffs. The House of Barmast took the throne in 973 under King Gerulf the Peaceful. The House of Dester claimed the throne with the coronation of Ecgbald. The radical changes brought to the country during the Dester period included the establishment of the doctrine of brevis auctoritas. This established the Curia Regis, who were an assembly of the King's barons, courtiers and favourites. Its function was to advise the King in the matters pertaining to the operations of the Kingdom. Most importantly, this role permitted to propose new statutes to the King, who would either assent or place it aside. The legislative proposal functions of the Curia Regis later evolved into the present Parliament whilst the Privy Council to-day serves as the advisory body to and executive body of the Crown.

The Destern period was marked by the Battle of Travlesea in 1455, when two factions of the House of Dester, lead by Abern and David respectively, claimed the throne after the passing of King Charles II in a hunting accident. Though Abern's forces vanquished David's, Abern being crowned in 1456, the reign of the House of Dester ended when King Albert died in 1518 without any heirs. The title of king thence passed to King Edmund V, of the House of Anthord, crowned in 1519. The House of Anthord remains to this day the ruling house of the Kingdom. Beginning in the 16th century, Nortend increased in size her army and navy in principle, developing stronger merchant shipping fleets with the newly discovered New World. Research into history and the sciences increased with the founding of the King's Circle, the King's Society and the Royal College.

In 1571, the future Charles III married the queen regnant of Hambria, Clenancy of Rhise, of the House of Cothens, which had ruled effectively the entirety of Hambria since the 8th century. After Charles III's death in 1599, Clenancy became Queen Dowager of Nortend and Cardoby, whilst remaining Queen of Hambria. Clenancy died in 1623 and her son, the then Alexander I of Nortend and Cardoby, became King of Nortend, Cardoby and Hambria.

In 1614, Alexander I rejected the supremacy of the Pope and established the Church of Nortend as an independent national church. The King appointed himself as the Supreme Governour of the Church Mundane. It was an incredibly controversial decision amongst the clergy and pious, but relatively popular amongst the nobility and common man who had long resented the siphoning of money away to Rome.

After eighteen years of personal union, the Kingdom of Nortend and Cardoby, and the now established Kingdom of Hoebrideland were joined in the Acts of Cleaving of 1642. Rebellion in Hambria ensued after the excessive taxes of 5 per cent on tithable revenues were levied by Lendert. The so-called Hambrian Rebellion culminated in the Battle of Borlockton in 1646; however, the Nortan Army subdued the peasants, and the rebellion ended with the signing of the Treaty of Rhise granting power to the old Hambrian Curage of Rhise, still operating from Lendert, for the setting of taxes and other matters.

Early Modern period

The Early Modern period beginning in the 18th century saw the influence of the Kingdom expand in its region. The tiny islands of St. Parth and Hastica were colonised by Great Nortend as well, to this day remaining the only colonies of the Kingdom.

The industrial revolution spread across Great Nortend slowly during the end of the 18th century and throughout the 19th, initially with the rapid building of canals and digging of coal mines with railways in the mid-19th century. The various Combination Acts ended the historical system of feudal open strip-farming for much of Great Nortend by establishing conterminous fields under the control of a single tenant, thereby increasing efficiency and yields significantly, as well as reducing the number of people required for agricultural purposes from nearly 90 per cent of the population to less than two-thirds.

Though trade grew increasingly domestic, coal became a dominant export, although wool and grains still remained important. Nortend's plentiful anthracite, however, was prohibited for export and instead was and is still to-day kept for domestic use. The continuation of the legal doctrine of no-fault liability severely hambered further economic and industrial growth in the increasingly dangerous workplace. Hence, steam power never fully supplanted wind and water power in factories, however became widespread in use the collieries and mines for draining water more effectively, replacing the windmills used thitherto. Water power continued to power the village blacksmiths' trip hammers, though mass production of iron and steel stock developed strongly in centralised smelters.

Modern day

Great Nortend remains lethargic in technological development since the early 20th century, hampered by the continuation of the doctrine of no-fault liability in tort and the general lack of societal desire for change. The economy of Great Nortend went into a serious decline after its hey-day in the early 19th century, and has only regained some of its losses in the last few decades. Electricity is slowly gaining ground in the country, being widely generated by specialised generator mills or as a side product of traditional water and wind mills. The majority of electrical use in the cities and towns is for lighting, the telephone, and the wireless, with electric appliances qutie rare. Villagers often still rely on oil lamps and even candles and rushlights in the remotest regions.

Compared with modern, highly-industrialised countries, Great Nortend is very traditionalist. It uses the Carolinian system of weights and measures rather than the metric SI system, as well as a non-decimal currency, with twelve pennies to a shilling and twenty shillings to a pound, along with numerous other denominations, as well as 'wetch' as well. With no national electrical grid, access to the Internet is restricted and so the telegram, telephone and postal networks remain heavily used and contribute significantly to the economy.

Geography

Climate

Great Nortend has a cool-temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), influenced by its geography as a collection of islands. There is a significant temperature difference between the seasons, and snowfall is very common during winter, especially in Hambria. Much of Great Nortend is known for its habitual 'sun-showers', wherein light rain falls during an otherwise sunny day. There is an average monthly precipitation level of around 2 inches.

Administrative divisions

Great Nortend is split into three parts, being Nortend, Hambria and the Lordship of Cardoby, which are collectively known as civil provinces. These are administrative regions and should not to be confused with the ecclesiastical Province of Limmes.

Each province is divided up into a varying number of counties, which are known as duchies in Cardoby and as marches on the border between Nortend and Hambria, owing to their status as counties palatine where a duke and marquess hold power. Other current counties palatine include Sulthey and County Yeartey wherein the Archbishop of Sulthey and the Bishop of St Cleaves hold certain powers.

Counties and divisions are divided into hundreds, also known as wards or hathings. A hundred is a grouping of a number of parishes, usually around 10, and owned by the same person, and corresponds to a deanery in the ecclesiastical sense. Most hundreds in Great Nortend have passed into private ownership of earls and viscounts, however there remain a number owned outright by the Crown. Hundreds are subdivided into parishes. Parishes, which are also known as manors, are controlled by the parish vestry which has a large remit of adminstrative responsibility. They are often further subdivided locally into tithings, also known as borows, boroughs and borgows, which is a grouping of around ten households.

Politics

Great Nortend is a unitary Parliamentary democratic monarchy. The state is embodied in the Crown, which is represented by the Sovereign, who is currently Alexander II, King of Nortend and Hambria and Lord of Cardoby. The Sovereign by convention takes a back-seat in the day-to-day operations of the country, the government whereof being headed by the Lord High Treasurer, who is appointed by the King from his peers. The position is commonly known as the Prime Minister, being the minister with the most effective power and primus inter pares amongst the Cabinet.

Government

The functioning government of Great Nortend consists of the King and the Cabinet, headed by the Lord High Treasurer. The Privy Council, consisting of the King and his Privy Counsellours, is the formal executive body of the Kingdom, but in practice, this executive power is delegated to the Cabinet except for certain serious matters and ceremonial purposes.

The most important officers of state in Great Nortend are the seven Great Officers of State. These form the core of the Privy Council and are either hereditary, indicated with an asterisk, or appointments for life. They are, in order of precedence, the:

• Lord High Steuard*: The speaker of the House of Lords and the senior-most judge under the King, deputising for the King in the Court of the King-in-Council, as well as presiding in impeachment cases in the Court of the Noble Lords. Held by The Earl of Barminster.
• Lord High Chancellour*: The deputy speaker of the House of Lords and head of the Court of Chancellery and the Court of the Noble Lords. Administratour of church lands and funds and Keeper of the Great Seal of the Realm, and responsible for administrating the courts. Held by the Bishops of Chepingstow, who appoints a Vicar-General to manage his ecclesiastical and religious duties.
• Lord High Chamberlain*: The head of the Royal Household, and in charge of the Royal palaces and castles, as well as organising ceremonial occasions such as state visits and weddings, and also serves as the King's representative in the House of Lords. Also serves as the Chief Justice of the Court of the Ermine Office. Held by The Earl of Godsucham.
• Lord High Treasurer: The controller and official head of the King's Treasury and Exchequer, and Prime Minister of the Government. Held by The Duke of Limmes.
• Lord High Admiral: Political and professional head of the Navy Royal. Held by The Duke of Derham
• Lord High Constable and the King's Marischal*: Originally the commander of the royal armies. Nowadays, the Chief Justice of the King's Marischal and Constable's Court, and Field Marshal of the Royal Army. Held by The Marquess of Lasmere
• Lord Master of the Horse: Responsible for the running of the Royal Mews, hound kennels, stud farm, coaches, carriages and all other equine matters. His remit has expanded into the realm of trade and transport infrastructure in general, and is also ex officio the Lord Master of Trade. Held by The Baron de Stanfield. He appoints a deputy, the Gentleman of the Horse, to manage the day-to-day running of the Royal Mews.

All eight are cabinet level positions and holders are always Privy Counsellours and peers. Other senior political Government cabinet-level positions are listed below.

• Comptroller of the Exchequer: Deputy to the Lord High Treasurer, he is in charge of the Exchequer, that is, of collecting taxation, duties and levies, raising revenue for the Treasury. Nowadays, he also controls the fiscal policy of the Government. Held by the Rt. Hon. Peter Hofton.
• King's Clerk: Minister in charge of home affairs, policing, national security, fire brigades, the constabularies and other domestic matters, who heads the Clerk's Department. Held by the Rt. Hon. Sir Aaron Billings.
• Attorney General: Chief law advisor to the Crown, and also has control over most prosecutions by the Crown, and heads the Attorney General's Office. Held by the Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Finch.
• Foreign Secretary: Minister in charge of foreign affairs and foreign diplomacy, who heads the Foreign Office. Held by the Rt. Hon. Sir George Drachington.
• Secretary at War: Minister in charge of the administration and organisation of the Royal Army, who heads the War Office. Held by the Rt. Hon. Frederic Hondel.
• Postmaster General: Minister in charge of the running of and the head of the General Post Office. Held by the Rt. Hon. Sir Lachlan James.
• Master of the Board of Education: Responsible for schools, universities, educational standards and colleges who heads the Board of Education. Held by the Rt. Hon. Dr Thomas Wolfuller.
• Lord Master of the Board of Agriculture: Responsible for management of agricultural practice, enclosure and surveys parishes by productivity. Held by the Rt. Hon. The Lord Baker.
• Master of the Board of Railways: Responsible for the railways, and Second Lord of Trade. Held by the Rt. Hon. Sir William Gouldon.
• Master of the Board of Health: Responsible for health services, hospitals, nursing and social care. Held by the Rt. Hon. James Kinson.
• Surveyour General of Forests and Woods: Responsible for the administration of Crown land and the Royal Forests who heads the Surveyour General's Office. Held by the Rt. Hon. Jonathan Hall.

Legislature

Parliament, known formally as the Royal High Court of the Parliament, is the common law-making body and most supreme court in Great Nortend. It is theoretically a tetracameral legislature, including the King and four houses: the House of Knights, comprising the knights-of-the-shire sent from each county or county equivalent district; the House of Burgesses, comprising burgesses sent from certain chartered borough towns and cities; the House of Clergy, comprising of clergymen elected by their peers to represent their diocese; and the House of Lords, comprising the peers of the realm, archbishops, bishops and senior abbots. Additional members include the Scholars of Commons, attached to the House of Burgesses, and the two MPs representing the Armed Forces. The House of Clergy only has jurisdiction over theological issues relating to the canon law.

The Parliament sits at the Castle of the Lerdenstone, located between the Calbend, the River Hame, South Street and the Little Ditch Street within the Inner Ward of Cadell. The current structures mostly date from the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions from the 16th and 19th centuries as the modern Government evolved into one similar to the Westminster system.

The two Houses of Commons sits in the Common Hall, a large chamber which dates from the 13th century and was originally the library of the Royal Council, which became the present Library of Commons. It is distinctive having a blue ceiling, blue carpet and deeply coloured wooden panelling and cabinetry with ornate plasterwork. The chamber still retains shelving on the walls of the hall which currently hold copies of most acts currently in force. Each chamber, in addition, has its own chambers though these are no longer used except during the Opening of the Court. The presiding member of the House of Burgesses and the speaker of the combined Houses of Commons is known as the Speaker (addressed as Mr Speaker). The deputy speaker is known as the Knight-Lieutenant (addressed as Mr Lieutenant), and is also the speaker of the House of Knights.

The House of Lords meets in the Great Chapel, a larger, more decorative chamber officially named the Chapel of St Giles, with a scarlet or sanguine and gold colour tone with rich mahogany panelling and woodwork. The chamber is still a royal collegiate chapel however the daily offices are dispensed with normally. The speaker is the Lord High Steuard, except when the King sits in, which since the 17th century have been the Earls Steuard of Barminster, in fact raised to the dukedom in 1833.

The House of Clergy meet in the Chapter House of St Giles, a semi-circular stone room. It is also the location of where the chapter of the College of St Giles meet. The speaker for the House of Clergy is the Dean of St Giles, the Very Rev'd John Wenland.

Bills are presented to both houses for debate and voting, and must be assented to by a majority in the combined Houses of Commons and by a majority in the House of Lords before they may be presented to and then assented to by Sovereign in order to become law. The ceremony of Royal Assent is held in the House of Lords' chamber and occurs eight times a year.

Law and criminal justice

Great Nortend has a legal system founded upon Nortan customary law, Hambrian customary law, court law and Anglo-Saxon law. The system is split into customary and court law, canon law and martial and admiralty law which is administered by a group of twenty types of court. Historically, justice was dealt by hundreds of courts convened by feudal lords, the remnants of which still remain today in the form of the manor courts and the courts of the Gardolian duchies. Courts nowadays are established according to statute law, including the Royal Courts Act as well as numerous charters for local courts.

The normal system of law as practised in the criminal and civil courts is a form of the adversarial system where barristers, advocates and sergeants-at-law present arguments which is then decided by a jury or in the case of appeals courts or senior courts, by the bench. The judge's main role is to sentence and to control the court's proceedings.

Criminal cases are prosecuted by the Crown or a private subject against a defendant, known as the accused or prisoner (when in court or in custody). The prosecutor, normally the Attorney General on behalf of the Crown, will deliver either a bill of presentment or a bill of indictment to the petty sessions in the former case and to the quarter sessions in the latter case. A private subject would instead make an appeal of felony to a justice of the King's Chamber in court. A private subject may not prosecute a misdemeanour.

For all temporal criminal cases, there can be one of five outcomes. The main verdicts are that the defendant is found to be filed convict, filed acquit, clean acquit, and judged by God alone. There may also be a no verdict at all. All but 'filed convict' are acquittals. In ecclesiastical and admiralty cases, the verdicts used are pronounced by the judge, and are either 'guilty' or 'not guilty'. In the coroner's court, there are many verdicts as to the cause of death, including death by unlawful death, lawful death, suicide, act of God, old age, misadventure or neglect. Coroners may also declare verdicts open. In cases of treasure, or deaths of royal animals, the coroner may return verdicts as pertinent.

For a civil case, no case can begin without the King's writ except in the manor courts. A plaintiff in personal cases or a demandant in real cases must obtain a writ from the Chancery to begin an action against the defendant or tenant. The result of a civil trial, is typically either that the defendant has good cause and reason or no good cause or reason, in response to the writ of action which all require that the defendant either do some act or attend court to show good cause and reason why he has not done so.

Military

The Armed Forces of Great Nortend is comprised of two services, being the Navy Royal and the Royal Army. The Navy Royal is considered to be the superior service, owing to its history, however the Royal Army is by far the largest in size. The main bulk of the armed forces is supplied by compulsory male conscription.

Navy Royal

The Navy Royal is the senior service of the two. It comprises of two divisions, being the Sea division and the Air division. The latter serves as the Nortan equivalent of an air force.

The Sea Division has 10,234 ordinary ratings and officers, and a 13,234 Naval Reservists, most of whom are seamen and officers in the Nortan Merchant Navy. The Air Division has 1,563 ordinary airmen and officers and 134 Air Reservists. The Navy has 40 commissioned ships and 36 aircraft.

The Royal Army

The Royal Army is by far the largest service of two. It boasts 23,388 regular serving soldiers, 10,482 officers, and 620,140 active national servicemen and yeomen and 2,760 reserve officers on half pay. There are 111 regiments of foot, 18 artillery batteries, 23 cavalry and yeomanry regiments.

National Service

There is compulsory national service for most Erbonian male subjects over the age of 17 for a minimum period of eighteen months. National Service involves four months of initial training and then posting within the country or abroad for twelve months, with two one month breaks every four months. Conscripts typically undertake land service in the Army however sailors and seafarers often choose naval service in the Navy Royal.

Regular conscripts enter National Service as a private, however those persons who excelled in the General Examinations, or have otherwise purchased a commission, are able to attend the Royal Army College at Marse Dartson or the Royal Naval College at Canesea.

There are some exemptions from National Service. People who are exempted from it include:

• Clergymen of the Church of Nortend
• The blind, deaf, mute or dumb
• Any person who has applied for and received special exemption
• National Service can be deferred until the man's 26th birthday. This is common for those undertaking an apprenticeship or studying a degree at university. After their active service, national servicemen are required to remain on the militia or naval reserve lists for ten years, being recalled yearly for an exercise.

Economy

The economy of Great Nortend is heavily agrarian, which provides the livelihood for around half of the population, and localised, with a domestic semi-regulated market economy favouring isolationist mercantilism. Agriculture is well-developed to early-modern levels, with the highly fertile soil, temperate climate and plentiful rainfall providing excellent cropping for numerous small mixed farms. Great Nortend grows a wide variety of produce, and is effectively entirely self-sufficient in terms of food.

The local economies in Great Nortend are mostly centred around the county and hundred, especially the market towns established under charter. Weekly or fortnightly markets held in these towns form the backbone of local agricultural economies along with the commercial sector of tradesmen and merchants. More locally, parochial rates raised from the populace are used to further the parish's infrastructure, services and development.

Greater mobility through cheap railway travel have been tempered by complicated feudal and tenure restrictions on the transfer and conveyancing of property leading to less of the rise of cities and large towns than in other countries. This is further controlled by the national policy of advocating for a replacement rate of births, with two children recommended per family, in an attempt to control overpopulation of the country.

Economic growth in the commercial and trade sectors is slow, owing to isolationist policies and low levels of imports. The Government's policy is to levy high tariffs on incoming goods whilst levying lower tariffs on exported goods, which are mainly raw materials in the form of wool, linen, cloth and some grain and meat, which is well-regarded by many. Imports are mainly of iron ore, steel, copper and sand, as well as petroleum fuels and pharmaceuticals. Another growing focus is on tourism, which is becoming increasingly popular owing to the scenic natural landscapes the Erbonian countryside offers, as well as historical cities, towns and villages. As a result, the Nortan economy has been most self contained, with injections of foreign currency from exports and tourists, and with a constant outflow of money to pay for those goods which Great Nortend is unable to produce by itself.

The nominal gross domestic product in the 2017-2018 tax year (same as the civil year) was around £1,600,000,000, though the PPP GDP is considered to be somewhat greater. The nominal GDP is broken down into £1,025 million in private household consumption, £158 million in private investment, £300 million in government spending, £231 million in exports and minus £108 million in imports. The GDP per capita for the 32 million subjects is around £50 or approximately 6,000 US dollars however does not reflect that general unemployment of married women in Great Nortend, and of non-monetary compensation for many domestic servants.

Unemployment of working-age able-bodied men of the lower and middle classes is low, at around 1·04 per cent. Average annual income of the lower and middle classes is in the region of £200 in the lower end and £400 in the higher end. Around 31 per cent of the population live in large towns and cities, with a majority of people residing in agrarian communities and around 40 per cent directly involved in the agricultural industry.

Demographics

As of the census survey taken in 2018, the estimated population of Great Nortend is 32,102,002, a mere 0·3 per cent increase from 2015. This is a result of the official Government policy as to generational replacement, taken in the 1980s to ensure the continued viability of the Erbonian way of life. The vast majority of the population, over 65 per cent thereof, live outside of borough towns or cities, and over 40 per cent are engaged directly in the agricultural industry. The largest city is Lendert, along with its surrounding urbanised region, having a population of 4·33 million people.

Language

The predominent language spoken in Great Nortend is English, which is the de facto national language. Over 95 per cent of the population list English as their mother tongue, with less than 5 per cent claiming the native languages of Murish or Barardian which are still spoken by the rural peasantry around Mure and Barard respectively.

Latin is another important language in Great Nortend, being the official language used by the Church. Around 42 per cent of people claim some ability to understand the language, the skill being higher in males than in women. Over the years, the use of Latin in the official church liturgy has declined drastically, but in more recent years there has been a shift back to the greater use of liturgical Latin.