Brazen Law

The Brazen Law (Old Albic Vardas Ernin) is the constitution of the Commonwealth of the Elves. The Law was originally engraved in a gold-plated bronze stele at Attambara, the capital of the Commonwealth; this stele is not preserved, but the text of the Brazen Law has been found in the Tresco Library.

The Brazen Law, enacted in 671 BC, served to "end war and tyranny among the Elves" and established the political structure known as the Commonwealth of the Elves. The Law states that in order to fulfill their divine purpose of "preserving and enriching the world by creating new and beautiful things", people ought to live in freedom, and the purpose of the laws of society was to guarantee the freedom of all people. The Brazen Law is the oldest written democratic constitution known; it is almost a century older than the Solonian constitution of Athens, and unlike the latter, which recognized four different classes of free people with different political rights as well as slavery, it is an actual egalitarian democratic constitution granting equal rights to all adult Elves, male or female.