Caste and clan system of Ultima Borealia

Although in modern times Ultima Borealia is a largely egalitarian society with high rates of social mobility and less distinctions between social classes than in other countries, Ultima Borealia historically had an extensive and complex caste system that technically remains in place today, even if the various legal distinctions between castes have largely disappeared in accordance with the principle of equality before the law. Strict legal distinctions existed between the members of the Borealian castes during the Middle Ages, as in other medieval nations as the legal rights and responsibilities of each caste were meticulously detailed by statute, but the Borealian caste systems is nevertheless believed by scholars to be amongst the more looser and egalitarian social hierarchies of that historical period, particularly amongst nations that utilised a clan system, as Ultima Borealia did.

Perhaps more important to daily life than the caste system was the closely-related system of clans believed to have originated in the practice of Norse clans. During the Middle Ages, clans remained the primary social bond between individuals and the chief institution that provided security for individuals. Clans also carry enormous religious importance in the Borealian religion of Sannandism. Although this clan system has likewise been weakened in modern times due to liberalisation and perhaps more importantly urbanisation, scholars believe that this clan system and its unparalleled strength well into the 19th century has led to Borealian culture being markedly less individualistic and more collectivistic than other Nordanian nations.

Castes

The traditional caste system of Ultima Borealia had some similarities to the Nordanian and Nevanic estates of the realm, but contained its own caste of Druids (believed to have originated from Lyonese thralls), scholar officials (believed to have originated from Tuthina) and developed its own unique castes of herders and Frjalsmenn. Castes were in turn categorised into three major overarching caste groups, which were almost entirely endogamous, in accordance with other caste system and ancient Germanic traditions; marrying outside of one's caste group was strictly illegal, although marrying outside one's caste (but within one's caste group) remained legal. In accordance with ancient Germanic law, separate weregilds were applied to members of individual castes, and the rights and duties of the members of each caste were strictly defined. Although Borealian society was highly stratified, as in most other nations in the Middle Ages, there existed limited opportunities for social mobility, as the Þegn of one's Hundred and the Jarl of one's Region could, by decree, uplift the caste of an individual and his/her spouse and children. Scholar-officials, Frjalsmenn and warriors, by virtue of being independent castes not belonging to any caste category, could marry an individual belonging to any caste and vice versa. In the few cases where marriage between caste categories was permitted, Borealian law specified hyperdescent; for marriage between caste categories, Borealian law specified patrilineality.

Nobles

The Borealian nobility remained, throughout the period when the caste system was in place, the highest caste group in Borealian society. Borealian nobles were, as in other feudal nations, martial leaders and the chief ruling class of Borealian society. Despite the status of Borealian nobles as the most powerful class throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, their power and prominence gradually declined throughout these periods in comparison to Scholar-officials and Druids, but the power of Þegns, their kin and nobles lower in status than the Þegns grew in comparison to the Jarls and their kin throughout this period. The power of Borealian nobility was inherently tied to their role as martial leaders, and the increasing prominence of bureaucratic administrators (who were generally scholar-officials) as well as the increasing standardisation of law, an increasingly urbanised Borealian society and increasing rates of literacy amongst the commoners all had deleterious effects on the Borealian nobility.

The Little Ice Age is also believed by historians to have heavily weakened the Borealian nobility; many farmers in the Borealian interior were no longer able to raise crops and were forced to turn to Pastoralism to survive. The Borealian nobility's control over herders was always tenuous at best and nonexistent at worst, as herders tended to be loyal to their clan first; with an increasingly high population of herders, the proportion of Borealians under the control of the nobility was getting weaker. Many Borealians also fled to the cities, where the Borealian nobility likewise exercised little control. However, nobles that were not Jarls had their powers and rights gradually increase throughout the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, culminating in the enactment of the liberum veto in 1601 in exchange for the passage of a law proposed by the High Jarl increasing the power of the Magistrates and Lawspeakers. However, the power of the nobility in comparison to the Jarls was weakened throughout the late 17th century and 18th century due to support for the High Jarl from the Vjaarlandic Empire; in 1680 the liberum veto was repealed and by 1795 (the year in which the caste system was greatly weakened due to the Constitution of 1795) many of the pacta conventa had been repealed. By the 1880s, the powers and privileges of the nobility had been reduced to a purely ceremonial role.

Jarls and kin

The overarching monarch and political leader of Ultima Borealia under the caste system was the High Jarl of Ultima Borealia, who was elected amongst the five Jarls of the five Regions (and the Free City of Stórkostlegborg) by the Borealian Althing, which was theoretically a gathering representing all Borealians but was in actuality dominated by nobles, Druids, scholar-officials and burghers; later the High Jarl was specifically elected by the Chamber of the Higher Castes, a body much more limited in the castes that it represented. The regional Jarls were (and are) elected by their vassals via tanistry, a key Celtic influence on Borealian succession law and the caste system. These practices of elective succession led to a weaker monarchy in comparison to other feudal states, and the role of the Jarls was systematically reduced in comparison to their vassals due to various noble privileges, pacta conventa and eventually the liberum veto.

The status of Jarls is generally believed to have been derived from the powers of various Nordanian petty kings during the Esquarian Viking Age, whose traditions were in turn a subset of the practices of Germanic kingship. The prominence and ability to influence policy of the Jarls declined with the pacta conventa and increase in noble privileges, but the Jarls and more particularly the High Jarl still retained their status as the chief driver of Borealian legal policies and diplomatic relationships with other nations. Family members of the Jarls (which included most extended family; membership in this caste was defined as membership in the Jarl's dynasty) enjoyed the highest precedence in the realm behind only the Jarls themselves and were typically viewed as an extension of the nobility rather than as their own distinct caste separate from the nobility, partially due to inherited Germanic traditions without kings exercising centralised power and partially due to the comparatively similar powers of individual Þegns and Jarls.

Þegns and kin

Below the rank of Jarl was (and technically still is) the rank of Þegn, which would be most accurately correlated with the title of Count in other feudal hierarchies. The position of Þegn was inherently tied to the military of the Þegn's Hundred and Þegns were, like other feudal lords, a caste of warrior-aristocrats. However, the connection of Þegns to their armies was higher than even feudal lords in other states; Þegns were expected to lead their armies in combat and to do so otherwise was considered cowardice and signs of a Þegn being unworthy to rule and cursed by the gods. In accordance with this belief that Þegns that do not lead their armies are unfit to rule, it was believed that the warriors of a Hundred had not the right but the sacred duty to overthrow their Þegn and install their stallari (or marshal) as the new Þegn of the Hundred. In order to prevent this usurpation of power, the sons of Þegns were customarily trained in the ways of war amongst the children of warriors first and teachings of feudal administration were concerned to be a secondary concern. Administration of justice was rarely considered to be a concern for Þegns as well, because that task was largely handled by Magisterial and Lawspeaking Druids; only cases of treason against the Þegn themselves were handled by the Þegn, with counsel from Druids. As a result of this, powers of administration were increasingly delegated to scholar-officials and to a lesser extent the various Druidic castes, who in turn used the opportunities to gradually increase their own power over the centuries. These traditions were perhaps infinitely more significant in the decreasing power of the nobility compared to the various reforms enacted by the Jarls, even if the reforms of the High Jarls did significantly reduce the powers of the nobles, including the Þegns.

The warrior-based nature of the Þegns was certainly rooted not only in Norse traditions, but also in what caused a landed, feudal Borealian nobility to develop over the Þegns in the first place. The establishment of a feudal nobility was deeply-rooted in various bloody and brutal blood feuds between clans that plagued Ultima Borealia for most of the Early Middle Ages. As clans (who were typically governed by a group of elders and, above all, by a clan's Goði and Lawspeaker) engaged in these blood feuds (which could frequently result in the complete extinction of a clan, and perhaps the near-extinction of the other clan), a powerful class of mercenaries (who were typically outlaws or adventurers) began to emerge, offering their services to any clan for a price. However, although these mercenaries initially made lucrative profits, the proliferation of mercenary groups as well as clans having less and less to pay mercenaries resulted in mercenaries, and consequently their mercenary leaders, to look for other ways to enrich themselves. Although these practices typically meant piracy, brigandage and other forms of pillage, many mercenary captains declared themselves petty Jarls and rank-and-file mercenaries were bestowed with various special privileges in return for their loyalty; the descendants of these mercenaries later formed the bulk of the Warrior caste. The clans that were now ruled by the mercenary-Jarls usually did not rebel, generally due to a combination of a desire to keep the Jarl's peace (as the petty Jarls generally prohibited feuds) and the promises by Jarls to keep the rights of the clan to autonomy (provided that the clans fulfilled their feudal obligations) and participation in the thing of their region. Petty Jarls were often able to bribe clan representatives of the Things to support their agendas, with the rulers of the wealthiest areas (towns located in strategic areas) were able to gradually take control over their Regional Thing and eventually establish themselves as the overarching liege of all in their specific Region. These petty Jarls simply became Jarls, and forbid their subjects from calling themselves Jarls in turn, instead requiring them to call themselves Þegns. It should be noted, however, that this trend of centralisation took centuries, only barely ending by Tuthinan contact in the early 12th century.