Themiclesian nobility: Difference between revisions
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The '''titular peer''' (倫侯) literally means "equal of barons". It was originally a categorical title applied to a variety of senior nobles during the [[Tsjinh]] kingdom that did not possess military forces (or at any rate not bound by vassalage in their use) but held the same dignity as one that did. It displaced older titles (viz. below) such as the manorial elder and settlement-lord. The fiefdoms of titular peers, as a characteristic, were all located near or within the sovereign's demesne land, so they could be protected by a centralized army. | The '''titular peer''' (倫侯) literally means "equal of barons". It was originally a categorical title applied to a variety of senior nobles during the [[Tsjinh]] kingdom that did not possess military forces (or at any rate not bound by vassalage in their use) but held the same dignity as one that did. It displaced older titles (viz. below) such as the manorial elder and settlement-lord. The fiefdoms of titular peers, as a characteristic, were all located near or within the sovereign's demesne land, so they could be protected by a centralized army. | ||
==Non- | ==Non-feudal nobility== | ||
===Counsel=== | |||
The title of '''counsel''' (卿) was held by senior members of the administration. It gave the holder a fairly large piece of land and housing land, even after leaving office. The title also provided the holder's successor with privileges to enter the civil service, but it was not truly heritable. | |||
==Other titles== | ==Other titles== | ||
Revision as of 06:42, 6 September 2020
The Themiclesian nobility (姓族) consists of multiple categories of individuals that enjoy varying degrees of social, political, and economic privilege.
Royalty
Palatine princes
The palatine princes (諸王) are the most senior titles recognized by the Themiclesian nobility system. On a symbolic level, the relationship between the sovereign and the palatine princes is one created by a treaty between equals, unlike that with his barons, which is created by vassalage, and with his children, created by descent. This symbolic equality is punctuated by political inequality, whereby the princes have surrendered part of their jurisdiction under the terms of the Treaty of Five Kings in the 3rd century; the independence of their states, from the Tsjinh suzerain, shrank during centuries of negotiations and conflict, but their rulers' nominal parity with the sovereign was retained. This situation persisted until the end of the 10th century, when the palatine princes, by now mascots of political conservatism, were finally deposed.
Though the palatine princes no longer existed as individuals, their titles and privileges remained a useful tool to satisfy several other traditions, such as marriage between social equals. The king, or emperor after 542, customarily took a palatine princess' hand in marriage, and after deposition a noblewoman was symbolitically raised to the rank of a palatine princess. The same was done for the sovereign's biological mother, if she was of a sufficient background and not the same person as his predecessor's consort. When Camia became officially independent in 1703, the Themiclesian government framed this as an elevation to the rank of a palatine prince, which ultimately meant Camia's ruler was an equal to the Themiclesian emperor.
Royal princes
The royal princes and princesses (諸公子), or in some translations the princes and princesses of the blood, are the descendants of the sovereign that do not inherit the throne. They can be divided into two classes, the inner princes, who have not received a title, and outer princes, who have. The untitled princes are legally part of the royal family, recognizing the sovereign as their paterfamilias, while the ones with titles are considered heads of their own households. Before the palatine princes were deposed, their descendants were too considered royal princes. In terms of rank, the royal princes are junior to both palatine princes and peers of the realm.
The title of an outer prince is substantive; it is officially granted or inherited rather than be borne as a courtesy title through kinship or marriage. Like other titles of this kind, it is passed on to the holder's legitimate male heir, with preference for age. Conversely, the title "royal prince" is better-described as courtesy titles for members of the royal family.
Peerage
Modern Themiclesian laws recognize the holders of two titles to be peers of the realm, in the Tyrannian sense—ordinary peer and titular peer.
Ordinary peer
The ordinary peer (徹侯) originated in antiquity as hereditary leaders of militarized colonies bound to a sovereign, and later it came to be applied to any hereditary nobleman with independent armed forces. In this regard, it is sometimes translated as "marquis" or "baron" in historical texts. The fiefdoms of these nobles were always on the peripheries of the lord's territories, where warfare was frequent, as a baron's defining duty was to defend his lord's territories.
Titular peer
The titular peer (倫侯) literally means "equal of barons". It was originally a categorical title applied to a variety of senior nobles during the Tsjinh kingdom that did not possess military forces (or at any rate not bound by vassalage in their use) but held the same dignity as one that did. It displaced older titles (viz. below) such as the manorial elder and settlement-lord. The fiefdoms of titular peers, as a characteristic, were all located near or within the sovereign's demesne land, so they could be protected by a centralized army.
Non-feudal nobility
Counsel
The title of counsel (卿) was held by senior members of the administration. It gave the holder a fairly large piece of land and housing land, even after leaving office. The title also provided the holder's successor with privileges to enter the civil service, but it was not truly heritable.