Nobility of South Ottonia

The nobility of South Ottonia are the individuals and families, as recognized by the Storkeneg or Storkenegyn of Ottonia that enjoy hereditary privileges and duties that distinguish them from other persons within South Ottonia. Although as of 2022 this system is officially defunct, the nobility of South Ottonia was crucial to the functioning of the state between 1917 and 2022, and its echoes continue to have impact on the politics and governance of the United Kingdom of Ottonia even after it has been territorially-reduced to the Draakur Archipelago.

While the nobility of South Ottonia has its roots in the various class systems of the pre-Unification Ottonian states, and, further back, in the medieval Ottonian Empire, in practice the South Ottonian nobility was formed from a combination of traditionally-privileged families, ennobled members of the capitalist class, hereditary government and military officials, and commoners rewarded by the House of Sproek-Kristhulm upon the Restoration of the Ottonian monarchy. Crucially, much of the upper echelons of the aristocracy were constitutionally-delineated in their rights and duties in the Charter of the United Kingdom of Ottonia.

Noble Ranks

The constitutionally-delineated ranks of the South Ottonian nobility are as follows:

• Storkeneg/Storkenegyn - translated from Old Allamunnic roughly as "High King/Queen", this title is reserved for the sovereign of South Ottonia, since 1922 functionally-but-not-constitutionally-limited to the House of Sproek-Kristhulm.
• Keneg/Kenegyn - translated directly from Old Allamunnic as "King/Queen", the term is often rendered in International Anglic as "[Ruling] Prince/Princess". This rank is assigned to the hereditary constitutional monarchs of Onneria and Staalmark, ruled by the House of Heligsburg and House of Trynt respectively.
• Storfirs/Storfirsyn - translated directly as "High Prince/Princess", in practice this term is used for the heir-apparent of the reigning Storkeneg/Storkenegyn.
• Firs/Firsyn - translated to modern Allamunnic most-directly as "Prince" but in practice rendered as "Duke/Duchess", in practice this term is used for the highest-level of subordinate constitutional monarchs under the House of Sproek-Kristhulm and its cadet branches, serving as the constitutional monarch to a Province, as well as being the courtesy title/formal rank of the younger children of the reigning Storkeneg(yn) and the heirs-apparent of the Keneg(yn)s. It is typically translated to modern Allamunnic/International Anglic as "Duke/Duchess" for those with constitutional roles or the heir to a Keneg(yn), while it's rendered as "Prince(ss)" for the younger children or siblings of the reigning Storkeneg(yn).
• Markarl/Markarlyn - translated directly as "Margrave/Margravine", this rank is considered as equivalent to "Firs/Firsyn", but only applies to specific domains or to military or Royal Civil Service Bureau top-level officers.
• Arl/Arlyn - translated directly as "Earl/Count/Countess", this rank denotes those who are the constitutional monarch of a County-level domain.
• Burgarl/Burgarlyn - translated directly as "Burgrave/Burgravine", this rank indicates a constitutional monarch/hereditary executive of a municipality.
• Adalfrie - A "free noble", roughly equivalent to Baronial rank, this rank in modern parlance specifically refers to members of the peerage in government service of sufficient rank.

Beyond these, there are also the four "knightly" ranks, reserved for those with a royal commission. Relevant commmissions can be to a military commissioned officer role, a commissioned officer in the Royal Civil Service Bureau, lawyers and medical doctors in government service, or being named to the Ottonian Senate. In the modern day, knightly ranks tend to be non-hereditary, as they are generally a way to reward capable and useful commoners;

• Skarl/Usmair - the highest "knightly" rank, reserved mostly for military officers between the rank of Captain and Major, and civil service officers of sufficient (but less well-defined) ranks.
• Adal/Adalyn - meaning simply "noble", this rank is mostly for junior CO's in various services, and is also conferred upon anyone appointed or elected to the Ottonian Senate who is not already a noble of some kind.
• Horser/Horsdam - translating to "Horse Sir" or "Horse Dame", this is a relatively common "noble" rank. Historically denoting those with enough wealth to own their own horse, in the present it's typically given to accomplished NCO's, very junior CO's, some civil servants, lawyers, and medical doctors.
• Swarser/Swardam - translating directly to "Sword Sir" or "Sword Dame", this is the lowest "noble" rank and is typically used to ennoble those whose professions or familial history would not otherwise allow them to be.

Nobility As Government Officials

As has previously been indicated, to a large extent the government, social elite, and economic elite of South Ottonia have historically been one and the same, and this is reflected in the way the role of the nobility was codified in South Ottonia's Charter.

While South Ottonia was a constitutional monarchy at the national level, it was distinguished from many other constitutional monarchies in also replicating this structure at lower levels of government, where the Kingdom-level domains (Onneria & Staalmark), the provincial-level domains, county- and municipality-level domains almost all had their own hereditary executives.

Similarly, earning a royal commission into the Royal Civil Service Bureau, Royal Armed Forces, or being elected or appointed to the Ottonian Senate comes with enrollment into, at minimum, the knightly ranks of the nobility. Socially, this provided the function of coopting talented, promising, or influential individuals into the fixed power structure of South Ottonia, although there were still some notable exceptions (significantly, the rate of ennobling among those in the RCSB on Draakur was much lower than on the mainland, with perhaps predictable consequences.