Precedence. Each person in the empire belongs to a
social class all of which are arranged in a definite order from Emperor at the
top to slave at the bottom. In social
situations, the person highest in precedence is expected to speak first, sit
first, and sit closest to the host etc.
The order of precedence is as follows:
Emperor
Prelate of the Church of Bor
Prince-Elector
Duke
Archbishop
Grand Master
Count
Archimandrite
Bishop
Baron
Knight Commander, Order of St. Hugo
Iron Knight
Knight of St. Hugo
Landed Knight
Household Knight
Knight Errant
Landed Squire
Priest
Squire-at-Arms
Gentle Livery
High Livery
Unordained Clerics
Monks
Burger
Sergeant
Yeoman
Low Livery
Churl
Bondsmen
Serfs
Slaves
THE
NOBILITY: nobles are those who have land holdings
sufficient to support significant numbers of armed knights. All land in the empire is “owned” by the
Emperor or the Prince-Electors. These
great sovereigns grant parcels of land as fiefs to lesser nobles, knights,
freemen and chartered towns, in exchange for set duties or services. The Prince Electors, Counts, and Barons
have all become hereditary. A Prince or
Emperor is required to grant the fief of a dead man to his heir, although he is
entitled to fee on the transfer. All
nobles have the right to administer justice on their lands and have the right
to be tried by a jury of nobles
There are three classes of subordinate nobles: Duke, Count, and Baron. A Count is a
nobleman who holds his lands directly from the Emperor. A Baron is a noble who holds his land from a
Prince-Elector. The rank of Duke is not hereditary and is given to the five
great Generals who command the Northern, Western, and Southern Marches, the
Imperial Army in the capital, and the Imperial Fleet. The Emperor chooses these generals and they serve at his
pleasure, but usually retain the title Duke for their lifetimes.
The Prelate
is the head of the Church of Bor and is also one of the 7 Prince-Electors. The Arch Bishops and Bishops are other
important Churchmen and fit into the noble hierarchy. There are three men with the title of Grand Master, two of the
monastic orders and one of the paladins of St Hugo. There are several Archimandrites, who oversee groups of
monasteries. Abbots are the heads of
individual monasteries. The
Knight-Commanders of St Hugo oversee chapter houses of the order of paladins,
answering to the Grand Master.
THE
GENTRY: The Iron Knights are the fearsome household
knights of the Emperor and have broad respect everywhere they go. The paladins of the Order of St. Hugo are
loved and respected by much of the population.
Landed Knights are those who possess at least a small manor (about 2
square miles of land, 25 peasant families and a manor house) and hold that land
in exchange for 60 days of military service as a heavy cavalryman per
year. A household knight is a man of
gentle birth who serves as a soldier full time in the household of a noble in
exchange for upkeep, gifts and rewards. Knight Errant is a polite term for a
knight “without a gig”. Some make their
livings from tournaments, some as mercenaries, some turn to brigandage or
adventuring.
A landed squire is a gentleman who owns at least a
small manor, but pays “scutage”, i.e., a yearly sum of money, instead of
military service for the fief. Landed
squire out number knights by far in the interior, but landed knights prevail on
the frontier. A squire-at-arms is
someone from a gentle family who is in the service of arms, but has not yet
been dubbed a knight. Most squires-at-arms
are knights in training, but others are younger sons of landed squires who
serve as captains of foot companies or in other military capacities, or cannot
afford the equipment and upkeep to become a knight.
Village priests and chapel priests are all
considered gentlemen. The Gentle
Livery are gentlemen who serve as skilled servants to high nobles: stewards, falcon-masters, sword masters
etc. Some of these are even knighted,
but then count as “household knights”.
In many respects it is the Gentry who are the heart of the Empire. Only gentlemen are trusted with officer’s ranks in the army, with delicate situations in court, to serve as local judges, etc. Only gentlemen have the right to duels of honor. The word of a gentleman is always of more legal weight than any three of humble birth. Certain weapons are restricted to only the nobles and gentry: the long sword, two-handed sword, lance and bastard sword among a few others. A gentleman would never use a pole arm or crossbow in battle, simply not done.
THE
FREEMEN:
make up the bulk of the population of the empire, although in centuries past
there had been a larger proportion of serfs than now. The mark of the free man is the right to quit his employ and
travel as he pleases, and all freemen have this right.
High Livery men are those who serve
in the employ of a noble or wealthy gentleman in a highly trusted or highly
skilled position: craftsmen, stewards,
butlers, hunt masters, court minstrels and so forth. Most nobles like to get gentlemen for some of these positions
(Gentle Livery), but that is often difficult and expensive. Men of the High Livery are often influential
and powerful, but it is a quiet power.
They have high status among other free men, and are granted due respect
by the gentry. This sort of position,
however, rarely leads to the accumulation of any wealth.
Functionaries
of the Church of Bor: clerks, deacons,
acolytes, priests in training are all considered among the higher ranks of free
men. Monks of either order are also
all ranked as respectable free men, as are soldiers employed by the Order of
St. Hugo.
Burgers are free inhabitants of
chartered towns. While there are
gradations among them (Guild Masters vs. apprentices) in legal terms and to the
eyes of the rural population they all have the same status. Each town must keep an official roll of
citizens, and all of these gain the rights and exemptions of the burger
status. Most of these rights have to do
with burgers being exempt from the exactions of the local nobility.
A sergeant is a man who holds a farm
of 25 acres or more, rent free, in exchange for 60 days of military service to
his lord. The 60 days is not paid
service, but sergeants are often called up for additional service, which must
be paid. The term sergeant also
includes men who have become professional soldiers in the employ of a lord
(usually involving the token granting of the farm which is really given to a
peasant who pays rent). The 25-acre
grant will support a footman or archer, but light horsemen must be granted 75
acres to provide for the horse and re-mount.
The Yeomanry are the free peasants
and the backbone of the nation. A
yeoman holds a piece of land from a noble or gentleman in exchange for a fixed
money rent. Rural craftsmen,
innkeepers, blacksmiths etc., are also counted among the yeomen. Those who make
a successful living as fishermen, millers, and tanners are also yeomen. Yeomen are often formed into militias on the
frontiers, but these militias can only be used for defensive purposes. Many yeoman archer and spearman units can
get quite good, but many others are just unruly mobs. Militias used for offensive operations must be paid and fed by
the leader.
The Low Livery are the menials and
lackeys serving in the households of gentlemen and nobles. Their positions are often secure, but
neither respected nor profitable.
Churls are peasants without land who
work as day laborers or peasants who hold only a small piece of land (10 acres
or less). Many shepherds, hunters,
fishermen are counted as churls. Churls
are often distrusted since most bandits and thieves appear “churlish” in their
everyday activities.
THE
UNFREE: While in the past a significant portion of
the people was made up of serfs, serfdom has declined dramatically in the last
two centuries. Due to the stabilization of trade and coinage, money rents have
replaced personal service in kind as price for land use. As time passed, more and more peasants
purchased their freedom and commuted service into rent. Lords now pay churls and lackeys for work
they once forced the farmers to do as part of their feudal dues.
Serfs are men who are bound to the
land that they farm. They have no
freedom of movement, and they are forced to work a certain number of days on a
lord’s fields and building projects (usually 100 days per year). While the physical labor duties are onerous,
some serfs live a life style superior to some yeomen, and most serfs consider
themselves to be luckier than churls. A
serf can obtain freedom by purchase, if agreed to by the master, or by
renunciation. A serf who renounces his
lord must publicly give up all his property and goods to the lord, this
includes every stitch of clothing, and walk off the estate naked, once beyond
the borders of the estate he is legally a churl..
Bondsmen are indentured
servants. They give up their freedom
for a certain fixed amount of time (never more than 7 years) in exchange for
either a fixed payment, training or to discharge a debt. The Church of Bor will sometimes take on an
indigent person as a bondsmen in exchange for curing leprosy, resurrection or
some other miraculous favor (although Lawful Good clerics try to avoid this).
No human, halfling, elf, dwarf or
gnome can be a slave in the Empire. In
practice the only slaves are goblins, orcs, hobgoblins etc., who have been
captured in warfare. Rather than being
executed wholesale, these humanoids are kept as state prisoners and are used as
slave labor to support their upkeep.
Typically they are employed in mines and quarries. Humanoids who have served a time are
sometimes released in medium sized groups on “Monster Island” or other far off
places. These releases are well
publicized in the slave camps and along the imperial borders.
ELVES: When the king of the High Elf clans of
Duriak joined with 5 human lords and the Prelate of Bor to form the Empire of
Seven Swords, it was on condition of real autonomy. The king became a Prince-Elector and still dwells with many of
his folk in the heavily forested Duriak region of the south-east. Various other High Elf fiefdoms are
scattered all across the Empire. These
are usually segregated and exclusive lands centered on ancient towers and
castles dating back to the elf empire of the past. When the High Elves leave these fiefs they are usually
recognized as nobles or gentlemen by all of the humans they meet. The Wood Elf communities of the empire are
handled slightly differently. They are
not necessarily vassals of the Elf Prince, but only to their own clan chiefs,
who are treated as knights or noblemen, depending on the size of the clan. Unless a wood elf leaves his clan, he is
treated as a yeoman vassal of his chief.
There
are a few elves of either sort who have moved into the chartered towns, these
lose the protection of their chiefs or prince and become burgers.
HALFLINGS: halflings are fully integrated into the imperial social
system. They hold every rank from serf
to count. Usually halflings prefer
living in halfling villages, held from halfling squires or nobles, but they are
also found in the cities, on the lands of human nobles, in mixed villages. There are, however, very few halfling
knights, due to their inability to fight effectively with lance from a
warhorse.
FOREIGNERS: most foreigners will be treated as churls in the Empire, i.e., as free men of no substance or respectability. Wealthy merchants and prosperous dwarves are treated as burgers, foreign knights and nobles are treated according to their stations. Foreign Elves are treated the same as native elves. Foreign warriors are treated as either sergeants, churls or knights depending on their perceived wealth, manners and company.