Peerage of Emerstari

Hasse Ragner Liljestrand, Duke of Blommaland (1902-1995) was the most recent non-royal to have been issued a Charter for Peerage by the Crown in 1964.

The Peerage of Emerstari comprises the extant titles created by the King of Emerstari after Emerstarian unification in 1047 as well as several extant titles that predate the Kingdom of Emerstari. The titles of the Emerstarian peerage are, in descending order of rank, duke (Emerstarian: hertog), grave (Emerstarian: gref), earl (Emerstarian: jarl), and baron (Emerstarian: friherre). Those who hold a life title, such as baronets and knights, are not considered peers to the hereditary nobility and are part of the gentry class. Contrarily, clergymen traditionally were seen as equals to the hereditary nobility but were not peers themselves as part of the Church. There are currently dukes, graves, earls, and barons.

Depending on the charter by which the holding was granted, some Peers may be able to pass their titles to female relatives or may be able to pass the title to a cognatic-line male relatives after a period of abeyance. In the case that there are no agnatic-line male relatives and the charter for that holding does not allow female or cognatic-line male inheritance, the holding reverts to the Crown. There are numerous occasions through Emerstarian history, though, where the would-have-been heir negotiated with the King to have the title recreated. The titles which predate the Kingdom of Emerstari, such as the Duchy of Whentii or the Duchy of Verni, are not subject to as much regulation by the Crown, their creation not having been subject to a charter. Across all charters, a person who was not legitimate at birth may only inherit if their father had recognized them as his own, their parents had wed at some point after their birth, and they were legitimized by the King or a Bishop.

Prior to the Constitution of 1756, all peers of Emerstari were automatically members of the Herrers Hus; however after its ratification, only five hundred peers were made members of the Herrers Hus, the upper house of the Emerstarian legislature. A seat in the Herrers Hus thereafter was able to be inherited by an agnatic- or a cognatic-line male relative of the previous holder, but a seat could be revoked from one peer and reappointed to another peer by the King at his leisure.

Origins

The Peerage of Emerstari, as well as the Emerstarian nobility in general, originated with the many jarls, or earls, who were the chieftains of their clan. As clans settled in one place and came into conflict with each other, certain members of the clan besides the jarl attained influence, holding their own manor with a fortified house; the jarl would began to delegate certain responsibilities to these landholders regarding the land over which they weiled influence: this is the origin of the friherre, or the baron, in Emerstari. By the AD 700s, some jarls began to gain even more amounts of land, bringing other jarls into vassalage, and they therefore required a greater title. These powerful jarls proclaimed themselves kings, though they are referred to as petty kings today, so when Erik the Victorious united as the King of Flodland, he had to replace other kingly titles with a new title, introducing the rank of hertog, or duke, to Emerstari. The title of gref, or grave, is the newest of the Emerstarian ranks of the nobility, having been introduced in the fifteenth century by Georg I Erik as a point between a duke and a jarl, ruling over several of the latter as vassals of the former. Gref, depending on the circumstances, may be prefixed with borg, land, or mark, but the derivative titles are all of equivalent rank.

Address

Per Emerstarian custom, dukes and duchesses are adressed as Your Grace in contexts where you may be directly communicating to the titleholder and are addressed as His/Her Grace, X, Duke/Duchess of Y where "X" represents their name and "Y" represents their territory in contexts where you may be making reference to them in communication with someone else. For example, the Duke of Ekkesburg would be referred to in this way as, "His Grace, Thomes Adulf Lorensssen–Eirikr, Duke of Ekkesburg." Similarly, graves, earls, gravesses, and countesses are adressed as Your Rightful in contexts where you may be directly communicating to them and are adressed as His/Her Rightful, X, Grave/Gravess/Earl/Countess of Y in contexts where you are making reference to them in communication to someone else. Barons and baronesses are respectively referred to as Your Honorable and His/Her Honorable, X, Baron/Baroness of Y, and finally, baronets and baronetesses are respectively referred to as My Sir/Lady and The Esteemed X of Y.

List of Duchies

This list only includes the most recent creations of currently extant duchies.

Title	Year of creation	Current holder	Age	Acceded	Notes
Duchy of Flodland	1039	Erik XII Georg	65	1994	Prior to creating his brother, Jakob Ingemjarsson, the Duke of Whentii, Erik I created himself the Duke of Flodland so as to not make Whentii more important than Flodland.
Duchy of Whentii	1039	Karl Lorens Leijonhuvud, Duke of Whentii	74	1992	Originally created for Erik I's brother, Jakob Ingemjarsson. In 1373, it passed to the House of Leijonhuvud by marriage. From 1444 until 1836, the Duke of Whentii exclusively held the title, Lord Marshal.
Duchy of Ekkesburg	1040	Thomes Adulf Lorenssen–Eirikr, Duke of Ekkesburg	58	2007	Originally created for another brother of Erik I, Bjarnvaldi of Ekkesburg. The current Duke is also claimant to the throne of the Green Union.
Duchy of Koburg	1040	Georg Elbrekt Eirikr, Duke of Koburg	71	2000	Originally created for Erik I's brother, Thjod Ingemjarsson.
Duchy of Fjordland	1043	Hans Tove Frormundung, Duke of Fjordland	61	2015	Originally created for Ragnvald Ice-Tongue upon his recognition of Erik I.
Duchy of Haller	1044	Ingemjar Per Oskarssen–Stek, Duke of Haller	55	2022	Originally created for Osvald of the Isles upon his recognition of Erik I.
Duchy of Marland	1100	Frederik Benkt Sverrer, Duke of Marland	73	2007	Originally created for Donner Kuingsson, a son of Jakob I. His only son begat only illegitimate offspring (who were legitimized), resulting in the House of Sverrer's creation and ascension.
Duchy of Malmø	1250	Hosse Ragnvald Malmø, Duke of Malmø	90	1987	The Earldom of Malmø and its neighboring earldoms had previously been part of the Duchy of Flodland. In 1250, the Earl of Malmø, Gustaf I Erik became King of Emerstari and he made himself Duke of Malmø, pressuring the Duke of Flodland into transferring the vassalage of the neighboring earldoms to him.
Duchy of Ljundmark	1308	Frederik Valter Ljundmark, Duke of Ljundmark	56	2033	Originally for Ljotte Manfredsson, Earl of Ljundmark.
Duchy of Uppland	1363	Olaf Theodor Ljundmark, Duke of Uppland and Queen Father	76	1998	Orriginally created for Bjorn Geirresson, a minor Marlandish nobleman who became a favorite commander of Olaf III Kristoffer.
Duchy of the Isles	1395	Harald Knudt Ljundmark, Duke of der Oarner	37	2030	Created as result of the partition of the Duchy of Haller between the two sons of Alderik Olufsson, Duke of Haller upon his death in 1395.
Duchy of Fjellborg	1449	Jakob Lorens Fjellborg, Duke of Fjellborg	62	2033	Created by Georg I Erik on a promise to Karl Tregge Fjellborg, Earl of Fjellborg for his service in the War of the Emerstarian Succession.
Duchy of Blommaland	1964	Ulrik Regenherdt Liljestrand, Duke of Blommaland	96	1995	Granted to Captain-general Hasse Ragner Liljestrand in 1964, despite being a cognatic-line heir to the last Duke, for his extensive military career, having served in the Scanian Ten Years' War, Augerland War, and the First Slovyan Insurgency as well as during peacetime.
Duchy of Osterflodland	1990	Karl Olaf Eirikr, Prince-Duke of Flodland	64	1990	Created by Erik XI Deitrik for his second son. The Duchy will merge with the Crown upon Karl's death per the charter, but his heir will be created the Landgref of Hvenmark.