Great Council



The Great Council is the primary governing body of the Britannian government, after the kingdom's sovereign Lord British. Established shortly after the Stranger obtained Avatarhood, the council was an early attempt to move the realm toward a more representative political system, comparable to ones popular on the king's homeworld of Earth.

Age of Enlightenment
This experiment in constitutional monarchy was first attempted shortly after the events of Ultima IV, when Lord British first sought to establish a cabinet of eight councilors through personal appointment, hoping eventually to eventually fill such posts through popular elections in later years. This first Council labored to produce a constitutional document outlining the parameters of power for both the king and the assembly - requiring the monarch to attempt to work out disagreements with the representatives whenever they should occur, but still allowing the king definitive rule through the power of veto. With such agreements chartered, the councilors agreed to meet quarterly, on the natural equinoxes and solstices of the Britannian calendar.

In its infancy, the Great Council made a number of landmark decisions which would have lasting ramifications for Britannia, most notably the sealing of the eight dungeons and the raising of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the Abyss - resulting in the formation of the Underworld and eventually to the gargoyle wars. Before this latter eventuality, however, the disappearance of Lord British and the resultant reign of his regent Lord Blackthorn forced the Great Council into disbandment, with the tyrannical Dark Lord publicly persecuting all who served upon it - presumably for their knowledge of the Words of Power.

Age of Armageddon
With the kingdom disrupted by the years of the Oppression and after them, the gargoyle wars, the Great Council did not fully regain its standing until decades later - and the Avatar of legend did not see the assembly acting again until over two centuries had elapsed since British and Draxinusom's historic accord. In these days of the early Age of Armageddon, the Council was addressing issues of environmental protection in light of increased pollution due to mining, as well as attempting to tackle the difficult issue of institutional racism against the newly integrated gargish race - which now had two members of its people acting as councilors.

Immediately after the events of Ultima VII, the Great Council also took a leading role in the Reconstruction, as it came to light that the country had endured widespread political corruption, labor abuses, and other societal ills during the prominence of the Fellowship - a cultic organization headed by the invading Guardian.

While this movement toward reform enjoyed moderate successes within its first year, the eventual toll of the cosmic Imbalance and the red titan's continued assaults on the realm appear to have eventually taken their toll on the Council, and by the day of the Avatars final journeys in Ultima IX, the governmental body appeared to have been dismantled, leaving the country solely in the hands of its aging monarch.

Ultima V

 * Malifora, representing Moonglow
 * Annon, representing Britain
 * Goeth, representing Jhelom
 * Felespar, representing Yew
 * Fiona, representing Minoc
 * Sindar, representing Trinsic
 * Hassad, representing Skara Brae
 * Windemere, representing New Magincia (Ultima V: Lazarus only)

Ultima VII

 * Miranda, representing Britain
 * Inwisloklem, representing Terfin

Ultima Saga
In Lynn Abbey's Ultima Saga, the Great Council is known as the Great Council of Magicians, and is composed entirely of mages.