"Once the jarls start killing each other, we're back to the bad old days." - Alvor
Why would he say bad old days? This implies terrible things have happened to Skyrim in the past as a result of this law. Considering one single duel was enough to engulf Skyrim in civil war this time, it's not hard to imagine that a prevalence of jarl-to-jarl duels would lead to a period of great civil unrest.
So, Ulfric using this 'ancient custom' to his own ends and starting a civil war in the process should be no surprise. If you found a legal technicality that let you, today, in any country in the world, arrest and burn a hundred people as witches, would you do it? What if you had really good reasons to suspect them of witchcraft?
Oh no, you didn't just make a deliberately provocative and controversial suggestion that doesn't actually compare to the topic at hand in any real way and get defensive when someone doesn't want to dignify it with a legitimate response, did you?
That's something this...uh, whatever I am...doesn't take kindly to.
Asks did bring up the point that not every duel is going to lead to a civil war, and I'd like to continue that train of thought. I never inferred or implied that every single one is going to have the exact same catastrophic effect as this literal act of open rebellion. However, the effect a single duel can have at its worst is an excellent example of why these duels are such a danger to political stability. Even the smaller effect of dethroning a jarl will have consequences on that hold's stability for a short time, and with enough instability, this could lead to a gradual decline of civilization akin to the Dark Ages. That's what I mean about the 'bad old days', and why I can't imagine establishing a precedent for these duels returning to be a positive thing for the people of Skyrim.
It's pleasantly surprising when people keep a level head about the Empire vs. Stormcloak thing.
Me, I've been taking a more long-term view about it recently due to lots of research into lore about the Towers. It's not about which is better for 'short term' things like surviving the Thalmor anymore, it's about the survival of Mundus. That has been shifting my perspective considerably, and takes most of the emotional investment out of the choice.
I guess my problem with that argument is that we're basically getting into ex post facto condemnation; that is, it's saying that the duel is illegitimate based on bad stuff that happened as a result of it rather than the rightness/wrongness of the act itself.
Ulfric obviously hoped that he'd be able to assume control quickly in the wake of Torygg's death. He knew it was risky, but I think it's pretty clear he was desperate by that point.
I think he's pretty stupid if he thinks all of Skyrim is gonna suddenly fall in line behind him just because he killed one person.
I won't disagree with the premise that, according to ancient Nord custom which we have every reason to believe is still valid, the duel was legal. What I'm questioning is whether the law only continued to exist because no one had a reason to challenge its existence. If Skyrim previously had 'bad old days' and moved on from them through cultural uplifting, it may be that duels simply fell out of favor and were more or less forgotten. We can't really say for sure, though, since there's so little information about the duels and their prevalence in Nord history. I'm just speculating based on the known effect of one duel, and comparing to real-world existence of legalized duels to the death and how they impacted society.
I think the Empire was pretty stupid if it thought all of Tamriel was going to suddenly fall in line behind them just because they signed a piece of paper.
When Alvor says that "jarls killing each other" is like the "bad old days," I don't think he's talking specifically about the cultural/legal practice of duels. I think he just means, "Hey, when things have gotten so chaotic that our leaders are murdering each other, it's a pretty bad sign!" Which...well, yeah.
But Skyrim's problems aren't all the result of just this one action. The White-Gold Concordat was already in place, and the unrest resulting from that was already going on. The Thalmor were already kidnapping/murdering people, and the Empire was already cracking down on those who threatened the peace. The duel is just another symptom of the "bad old days" returning; it's not the cause.