Themiclesian royal family

The Themiclesian royal family (公家, kong-kra) consists of the male-line descendants of Themiclesian monarchs that do not have independent households. Those that are part of independent households are classified under the royal clans (公族, kong-tsok).

Etymology

The term kong-kra is written with two Mengja characters 公 and 家. The former originally meant a male ancestor, before the Hexarchy. Since the house of the senior ancestor acted as a government or intermediary between the junior houses within the clan, the term also evolved to mean "public".  Today, terms like kong-stjit-kugh "public suit" and kong-stjit-mjet "public property" evidence this mutated meaning. The latter word had the meaning of a household. In the 2nd c. BCE, the senior house took the title of "king" (王), but the term kong-kra was already enshrined in public use.

Definitions

Strictly speaking, the category which best encompasses the word "royal family" in the Casaterran sense is kong-kra. Yet due to stronger familial ties in Themiclesian culture, the kong-kra effectively functions as a unit of the kong-tsok, the extended clan of royal descent. The distinction of various kra (households) was once geographic, since each branch household was likely to be assigned to a new seat, and even remoter in history they could also have been assigned to specific productive tasks, such as horse-keeping or farming. There is also the term kong-stjit (公室), which is accepted to be synonymous with gwênh-kwal (縣官). This word is roughly comparable to the body politic of the crown in Casaterran political philosophy, using the royal house as a metaphor of public institutions. Compare the phrase kong-stjit-kugh (公室告), "suit at royal house", meaning offences in which public authority comes to bear; cp. Casaterran public law, versus private law.

Titles

By birth, all members of the royal family use the title tse′ (子), literally "child", followed by their personal names. For example, the older son of the current emperor is tse′ qmraq (子鄦). In the context of the entire royal family, to specify his status as a monarch's legitimate child, the term tiks (帝) is prefixed. In the event Sng′rja′ becomes emperor and has no male heir, his daughter would still be called têk-tsje′. The provenance of this system is ancient and has largely stayed unchanged throughout Themiclesian dynasties.  

Once a member of the royal family is ordered by Parliament to begin his own household, they become a têk-tsje′ relative to their own household. At this point, a name would be assigned to the new household, prefixed before tsje′. Thus, if Rjem were to become head of his own household, he might be called e.g. stjang-tsje′-rjem (商子林). Stjang is, in this example, the name of his household. If here were to interact with Sng′rja's line, he would either identify himself as krebh-tsje′-rjem, since relative to Sng′rja's more senior line his is a collateral one. Note that he becomes krebh-tsje′ as soon as he leaves the royal house. But if he were interacting with a less senior line, he would introduce himself as stjang-tsje′-rjem, using the title of his household. The House of Stjang would remain a member of the royal clans, or in Casaterran terms, a cadet branch to Sng′rja's house.

Amongst siblings, Sng′rja′ currently would be called dadh-tsje′ (大子), lit. "elder son". Rjem would be trjung-tsje′ (中子), lit. "middle son". If the emperor were to have more children, they would all be st′jaw′-tsje′ (小子), lit. "young son". Speaking to the emperor or empress, Sng′rja′ and Rjem would call themselves dadh-tsje′-sng′rja′ and trjung-tsje′-rjem respectively. If they had first cousins, the princes would be called tek-dadh-tsje′ (帝大子) and tek-trjung-tsje′ (帝中子) respectively, and the cousins would be krebh-dadh-tsje′ and so forth. If they had first cousins from more than one line, the different lines would be distinguished by their progenitors' names.

Translations

Because the title tsje′, when part of a cadet house, is hereditary to its head, there is a considerable quantity of individuals who bear it. In 1902, there were 454 tsje′. It is generally agreed that only the tsje′ of the kong-kra should be translated as "prince" or "princess".  As Themiclesians do not use styles in the third person, it is proper to write or speak of members of the royal family by their titles, exactly as it is proper to write "the current emperor" without "majesty" attached.

Royal styles

A deceased emperor is referred to by two main styles, the temple name and posthumous name, it being offensive to refer to him by his personal name. This is the same cultural taboo, only observed publicly, on mentioning a deceased family member's personal name.

Temple name

After an emperor is buried, a temple (宗, tsung) is built for his worship. While the royal tomb is invariably some distance away from populated areas, the temple is usually built in the capital city for convenience. Each temple is then given a name for disambiguation. These names could be geographic, such as the West Temple (西宗) or High Temple (高宗), or carry remarks about the life of the emperor venerated there, such as the Illustrious Temple (顯宗) or Shining Temple (昭宗). It could even be named after the county in which it is set up, if it is not in the capital city, such as the Dah Temple (杜宗).  Names could also be compound for further distinction, such as the West-Lower Temple (西下宗). These temple names are then used to refer to the emperor venerated there.  

Posthumous name

An emperor's posthumous name is an epithet applied by his successors and courtiers posthumously. According to ancient annalists, an epithet summarizes the sovereign's life in one or two words. Epithets could be laudatory or derogatory. For example, Emperor Gwidh-mjen has the epithet "generous-complex", which is deemed laudatory, while Emperor Rjat's epithet means "harsh". Epithets could also be changed to reflect contemporary views about a deceased emperor's achievement, e.g. Emperor ′Ei's epithet was original r′jat, which was applied to rulers who meant well but failed to achieve, and courtiers changed it to ′ei, "sad" to spite his successor, who believed it was his courtiers' fault that he failed to achieve anything in his reign.

Peerage

No member of the royal family is automatically entitled to a peerage; however, grants are historically common. Female peers were, at one point, more common than male ones, since their titles could not be inherited by children through their non-royal husbands. Customarily, the eldest son of the monarch is granted a peerage, though exceptions have existed. Where a peerage is granted, the royal is assumed to have established his own household, and the peerage granted is typically a titular lordship, the lower of two grades of peers in Themiclesia. The name of the household usually, but not always, becomes the title of the peer. Hence, if Prince Rjem should become Prince Stjang and be created a peer, he would likely be titled Lord Stjang (商君, stjang-kljul).

Management

Administration

The ceremonial governor of the royal family is the Comptroller of the House (宗正, tsung-tjêngh), who is typically a close member of the household that holds an ordinary peerage. Since ordinary peerages are only granted for public service, the Comptroller tends to be a member of the royal family that is familiar to the government, or at least governance in general. Administratively, an official is appointed to manage each household under the broader royal family. A member of the extended royal family may only marry or divorce with the permission of the Comptroller. Indirectly, this gives the modern government considerable power over the family.

Finances

Historically, non-titled members of the royal house do not have statutory income. They reside at one of several palaces and have small staffs assigned to them, through the Privy Treasury.

Family tree

'Ei (1)

1 sibling

K.rang (2)

Ng′ars (3)

Prince Muk

House of M'ei

Prince Pran

1 sibling

Tang (5)

2 siblings

Men (6)

2 siblings

Prince Rjar

Lord of Brjêng

Muk (4)

1 daughter

Crown Prince Djeng

Goi (7)

2 siblings

Prince Kl′ang

House of Rjar

House of Ljegh

Crown Prince Kaw

2 children

Grui (8)

3 sisters

Prince Ngjon

Prince Snjang

Lord Ra

1 daughter

2 sisters

Sqin (9)

Prince Ngwadh

House of Sjing-djeng

House of m-Leng

Prince 'ebh

Princess Pjo

Princess Mak

Prince Pjang

Prince Rjeng

Prince Rak

Prince Pek

Prince C. Pjang

Lord of Nja-lang

Princess Srum-l′jun

Current emperor (10)

Princess Blim-tsi

Prince Ljagh

Prince J. Rak

Lord of Grap

Lord M. of Hat

Lord M. of Nja-lang

Prince Sng′rja′

Prince Rjem

See also

• Themiclesia