Halian Nobility

Out of the four estates of Halicourt the second, or noble estate, wields the majority of the kingdom's power. Courtly life is a dangerous game, and the High Lords of Halicourt play it well. Their subjects, the local lords and the peasants, are but pawns in the game to gather more power about themselves. Like it or not the nobility hold the reins, for even the king comes from amongst them, and it is they who have the power to depose him.

Nobles, with their flowery words often speak of their generosity and chivalry, but their detractors often find themselves muttering about oppression of the lower classes and sometimes even of open revolt. Royal reform has, in the past, been a topic the nobility has kept to themselves; only recently has it exploded into the ferver that is causing the Halian civil war.

How To Attain It
The most obvious way of becoming noble is to be born into it. Some even go so far as to say that it is the only practical method. The act of granting the lower classes knighthoods is rare enough that the standards of the nobility are not brought lower.

For the most part, knighthoods granted to the lower classes are only bestowed upon the yeomen, but there are instances where a lord has knighted one of the peasantry. Border wars with the other nations of Ascanthus are much a thing of the past, but when wars between the states were common the early nobility often found themselves knighting their common soldiers to boost loyalty in the face of desertion. Then and now, the nobles felt safe as they could always send the new knights on a suicide sortie or a tactical maneuver that was only formulated to gather time. Much to their patron's chagrin, however, the occasional peasant knight survives their assassination attempt and proudly display their armorial arms to those that are now, at least on paper, their social equals.

Privileges of Rank
There are essentially two types of nobility in Halicourt, the upper and lower. In addition to this, there are the landed and non-landed noble families. The families that are non-landed hold much less prestige than those that hold land, and are practically second class citizens despite whatever title they might hold. These houses may be wealthy, but they rely on their own service to another noble house for their welfare. With land comes great added prestige and the stability being landed brings for future generations.

The majority of nobles inherit their land from those that preceded them, but it is known that one could gain land through merit, or cunning, from another lord. Land grants are either, mostly in the past, granted as hereditary, or much more commonly as for one lifetime only. It goes without saying that the former is the most desired form, for a lord without hereditary land is transitory at best.

The granting of hereditary land is rare, however, as few lords wish to relinquish their immediate grasp on land that may be needed in the future. They are rewarded scarcely and most often act to keep the institution alive.

Oaths of Fealty
The lower nobility swears fealty to a lord higher up on the chain than themselves. A noble with no lord is seen as most shifty, and is by most definitions not really noble. Rank is granted by those lords who have the right to give it, lords that hold baronet and up, to those that have the right to receive it. These people are, generally the scion of a noble house, but can be those commoners who have performed great deeds for the noble house.

When a noble reaches the age of majority, get married, or upon the death of one's parents, the aspiring noble elects to swear fealty to a lord in exchange for protection, a title, and a host of expected responsibilites; although the lord also has responsibilites he is expected to conform to as well. If the noble is the last of his or her house, then they shall inherit the land and title of their parents. Until this time, an under aged member of a Noble House is still considered noble, but they hold no real responsibilities and only hold the authority to command their family's immediate servants. Most commonly, nobles swear fealty to a member of their family, either distant or immediate, who has risen high in the ranks of the upper class. Nobles in Halicourt are considered to owe three vows of fealty, although one is technically nominal. One to the lord they are sworn to, one to the head of their immediate family, and a theoretical one to the king. Oftentimes these oaths come into conflict, with no real indication on which vow the noble should uphold.

The highest ranked Noble House is that of the monarch, the House of Aylesbury. The various Arls of Halicourt are awarded their titles and land rights by the king. Arls in turn grant titles and fiefs to the Barons, who lay claim to the various local lords of the lower nobility. The Thanes are a title of nobility dating back to when Terrathe was becoming agressive in the past. These lords resided upon the Northern Marches of the Kingdom of Halicourt, and were the nation's first line of defense should the border crossings become a full scale invasion. King Avery II saw the importance the Marcher Lords possessed and relieved them of the responsibilites they were expected to fulfill for their Baron. The King then had the Marcher Lords swear an oath to him, and in return the monarch of Halicourt would call the Royal Carrant should the new Thanes become threatened by Terrathe.

Rising in Rank
Some nobles spend much of their time entertaining their thoughts on how they can gain more power. Actually attaining it is is usually done by impressing one's lord with one's loyalty, value, or by holding the lord by a debt of favor. Nobles can also inherit the title of a deceased family member should there not be a better heir, or attain more power by marrying into a powerful family.

This generally means getting to know the lord to whom you owe fealty to and discovering what the man or woman deems favorable and worthy of advancement. This could be something as simple as supporting your lord in a power grab or as difficult as exorcising the Fel Demon Balrogator from the man's father.

However, rank can be taken much faster than it can be attained. If the lord was to find out Balrogator had not actually possessed the man's father and was instead drugged by the savior, odds are the noble's new title would be stripped immediately.

Duties of a Lord
In return for the duties expected of a vassal, the lord also owes his vassal honorable treatment befitting the man's rank. Arms, armor, and upkeep are all examples of this.

Two things prevent a lord from granting knighthoods to everyone in his service. One: Noble tradition maintains that only blood creates a true noble. Two: The costs to upkeep a knight are often better spent elsewhere. Unless war threatens the land there is no need for a lord to hold many knights in his service.

A lord also has duties to his common vassals, but they are simpler: protection from enemy assault and fair rule.

Noble Mindset
In Halicourt, the High Lords are the biggest celebrities and the most powerful politicians in the land. Whether the nobleman has actually done anything worthy of respect, he expects to be treated as if the sun shines only because he deems it worthy of his presence.

Seeing the common man and lower nobles bow their heads in respect as she passes just does something to her. Having peasants almost wet themselves and stammer in a reply when she addresses them cannot help but affect her mind. She becomes sure of her superiority, and everything and everyone around her reinforces this belief. The best nobles use this to boost their parental feelings toward others and feel they must act to help the less fortunate. Others see these events as confirming their own unaccountability and their right to do whatever they want, no matter who it affects.

Ladies
Ladies in Halicourt, although noble, hold an odd place in society. In most families, they are treated as pawns in a power game. Who can I marry my daughter off to further my goals is a question on many fathers minds.

Although some see it as odd, many Halian ladies are given some training in the way of the sword. Whether it be for actual defense or just to appease their daughter is up to their guardian.

Ladies do not inherit their parents' lands unless they do not have any males siblings. There are many instances in Halian history of a lady's brother being killed in battle and finding herself in charge of his lands. Not being groomed for command, this has caused some houses to fall to ruin. However, there are other times where these women donned armor and led their vassals into battle against their fallen brother's enemy and triumphed.

An example of this is Baroness Adele of Leyburn, who took command of her brother's army after he was killed by rebellious vassals. In two weeks she had routed the carrants of her enemies, taken their holds, and restored peace to Leyburn. After the war, Baroness Adele, last of her family name, used her considerable influence to marry matrilineally, ensuring the continuance of her line. She established a precedence for the Barony of Leyburn, where female rulers were actually the norm as opposed to an odd inconvenience. The Leyburn line continues to the present day, where Her Ladyship Allison Hadley rules.