There are significant differences between Anglo-Saxon and Roman law which are the two separate foundations. The different perspectives here may be rooted in the importance of precedent in Anglo-Saxon law and the total lack of concern for precedent in Roman law. I think German law is largely based on Roman law and its derivatives (i.e. canon law). Roman law seems to have allowed an extreme amount of latitude on procedure, so established procedure is correspondingly less important.
Yup, that's right (about German law) - maybe that's why I'm not up to this discussion!
I think Loremaster is exactly right (as far as I understand the office so far) - the charter is our lore, and the idea of the office is someone who knows the charter inside out, i.e. a Loremaster.
(And I still think that sounds like exactly the description of the Mayor's office!
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