netzen wrote:
Prosper was satisfied with the answer. He finnished packing, picked up his spear with his good arm and walked outside the inn. I wonder how Eruantian's doing, he thought. He walked outside the gates, into the Duke's (or whoever he was) camp, and located Horrins tent. The boy walked inside to find Acedia helping Eruantian to walk. "Oh, hi," he said. "How're you doing Er?"
<GM's Note: You mean Lord Dunmoor? I never said exactly what feudal title he holds. But, yeah: Let's say he's a Duke.
For those of you who don't know how it goes, here's a list of the Feudal titles. Note that only the King (or a reigning sovereign Queen) has the power to elevate or demote someone from one title to another, or to Knight someone. The only way to become a Prince is to be born that way, but one can become a Princess by marrying a Prince.
Royalty refers exclusively to the immediate family of the Sovereign. Not his cousins or his aunts or his close personal friends; Just his mother (NOT his father: If his father is still alive, then his father
is the king), His wife (or her husband), and their children.
Royalty: Emperor (Empress), King (Queen), Crown Prince (Crown Princess), Prince (Princess). Note that the position of "Crown Prince" applies to the oldest male heir, even of their is an older sister of his. There is only ever a Crown Princess if the King and/or Queen have no male heirs.
Peers are simply Nobles who have attained feudal positions of authority and the title to go with it. Lower nobility (Gentry) do not have hereditary titles but are referred to as "Landed Gentry" if hey own sufficient land.
Peerage: Grand Duke (Grand Duchess)*, Duke (Duchess), Marquess (Marchioness), Earl (
no female equilivant), Viscount (Viscountess), Count (Countess), Baron (Baroness).
*Note that in Skare Brae and in Suldeneselar, there are currently no Grand Dukes or Grand Duchesses. Also, Suldeneselar is an Empire instead of a Kingdom (That is, there is no "Emperor of Skarae Brae" and there are no "Kings of Suldeneselar"). Skarae Brae is NOT part of the Empire Of Suldeneselar: It is simply allied with them.
Gentry: Grand Knight (Grand Dame), Knight (Dame), Knight Bannerete (Dame Bannerete), Knight Bachelor (Dame Bachelor), Squire (Squiress), Page (Knight's Maid), untitled gentry.
Please note that the titles listed for Gentry are NOT hereditary, but the titles listed for Peers are. Commoners do not have feudal titles, but they can earn elevation to the Gentry at the same time as they are awarded a title by a Royal or Feudal Lord (or Lady). However, only the Sovereign can Knight someone. Similarly, members of the Gentry may be elevated to the Peerage, but only if the Sovereign Lord orders it. Commoners are simply referred to by name (Miss Acedia, Mister Erutian) age (Young Master Prosper, Little Miss Muffet) or by job description (Sam The Bartender, Mike The Butcher, Pete The Blacksmith) or by their ethnicity or place of orign (Maxwell of Glanarbor, Tem the Squddyman, Marcus the Lizzardman, etc.).
Only Knights may add the word "Sir" in front of their names (As in: "Sir Thomas"), not Squires or Pages. However, a Squire can add the word "Esquire" after his or her name (As in: "Thomas Black, Equire") but this is seen as pretentious and unreasonably vain by most people if it's done in anything other than a formal circumstance. A Dame adds "Dame" in front of her name (as in "Dame Heather").
A Knight's name and his titles can become quite confusing. Here's the order in which one refers to them when mentioning the Knight by name:
"[highest military rank held, if any] Sir [personal name, including given name and family name] {of [name of the Knight's order(s), if he has one]}, [Abbreviation for the names of any royal or military decorations he has won]" i.e.: "Major General Sir William Stewart of The Order The Lion, DSO, KGM." Similar rules apply for Dames and Grand Dames.
The name of the knightly order(s) and decorations are omitted unless the Knight or Dame is being formally introduced, so in informal conversation such a person would normally be referred to as just "General Sir William Stweart" or just "Sir Steward."
No person may hold a millitary rank in one outfit while holding another military rank in another. A Sergeant of a Town Watch is a Seargeant of the Town Watch and NOT of the Militia or the Royal Armies, but he can transfer to another outfit with his rank (or it's equivalent) intact if the outfit he's transferring to has the same Commander In Cheif. This rule applies to everyone, commoner and noble alike (except the King, who is the Commander In Chief and thus is a member of every military outfit that swears loyalty to him). Mercenaries may or may not be able to transfer to a non-mercenary outfit with their rank intact, but well-trained Mercenaries can usually get what they want if the regular-force commander is in need of a particular skill-set.
Knights can be members of more than one Knightly Order so long as all the Orders he is a member of swear fealty to the one Sovereign. Thus, no Knight of Suldeneselar can be a member of a Knightly Order that owes it's loyalty to the King of Skarae Brae. However, there do exist Cavaliers: Knights that have abandoned their knightly vows and will sell their services to the highest bidder. These former knights are not formally considered part of the nobility (and thus are
not referred to as "Sir [name]"), but they usually have enough wealth and prestige that they live as if they were gentry anyways.
Most small towns have Mayors that are elected by the people, but Mayors really have very little power compared to the Feudal lords. The Larger cities are usually under the direct controll of either the King, a Prince, or a higher-ranking Peer. Most Peer also have a Castle or a Fort of some kind where they hold court to arbitrate disputes and conduct business.
There is no judiciary, per se. Rather, the law is whatever the Noble in charge says it is. All citizens do have the right to appeal directly to their feudal lord if the feel they have been wronged or dealt with unjustly, but there's no telling when (or even if) that the feudal lord will deign hear your appeal. It's not like there's much of a postal system in existance, so mailing your appeal to the king is kind of hard to do. (Besides, most people are illiterate, so they'd need to hire someone just to write the letter in the first place). The King does appoint Magistrates from time to time, but these men are more political appointees than arbiters of law and justice. The few Magistrates that do exist are there mostly to keep the Peerage in line, and don't concern themselves much with the Gentry or the Commoners.
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that's why she uses the rat form for sleeping - for some reason it doesn't keep the clothes.
