The Feudal System
Control of the lands is derived through the feudal government system, this means that the King hands out control of regions of the lands to nobles who have pleased him, and they in turn sub-divide their lands further by appointing sub-ordinate rulers in conjunction with the King. The growth of commerce and city-based businesses across the lands has lead to a breakdown of feudal farming and regular peasantry, yet there are still many small holding farmers who provide the food and other naturally-acquired goods for the growing markets of the main cities of the lands.
All Peerages are supposedly handed out by the monarch, but in practice, those ranks below Earl/Count are handled locally 'in the name of the King', usually with no intervention from the crown. Those titles above this rank may be given or taken freely by the monarch – although the crown relies on stability in the feudal ranks, and prefers not to make lots of changes in the lineage of the lords, otherwise anarchy can ensue.
Feudal Titles
The feudal ranks used in human political circles are consistent over the whole of Arthea, although there are naming differences in some places. Some of the positions are hereditary, while others are handed out as gifts of the monarchy, or by other high ranking peers in the name of the monarch.
The ranks are as follows; the female titles are usually bestowed automatically on the spouse of the main title holder, but frequently women are appointed into positions on their own merit. Each rank determines the size of the land under its control, and management of that land is usually delegated to lower ranked nobles.
King/Queen. Ruler of the whole nation. Normally the title of 'Emperor' would have outranked this title, but the precedent in ["Arthea"] is for the King of Arthea to outrank the Emperor of ["The Carrodian Empire"]. This precedent was set when ["Ticetia"] and ["Caldonacia"] were not brought into the Empire in 1341, but instead the Kingdom of Arthea was created which included the Empire.
Prince/Princess. When the lands were united by ["King Thomas"] in 1344, the political divisions of ["Arthea"] were reviewed. In 1346, he abolished the two kingdoms and the empire, establishing ["Arthea"] in their place; the two nations of the north and the six of the south then became principalities under the crown. In 1412 the Prince of Caldonacia, the Prince of ["Jorlinum"], the Prince of ["Cerlain"], the Prince of ["Tholain"], and the Prince of ["Hebria"] have all been appointed. These positions are not hereditary, and are often handed to close relatives of the monarch, the principality of Ticetia was established as the title for the heir to the throne by ["King Siegfried"], who handed the title to his son, [:King James:James]. These positions are usually filled by figureheads, with no real control of the principality (the real executive is handled by the dukes); it is known that ["King James"] is expecting to fill the roles of Prince of Limia as a reward for some great deed. He has reserved the seat of the Prince of Amastus in honour for the heir of the great house of Amastus who lead ["The Amastus Empire"] for many generations. This heir has yet to be traced.
Duke/Duchess. Controls several counties of a principality. Usually the Duke answers directly to the King, not to a prince. Each principality is split into four or more duchies in this manner.
Marquis/Marquess. The Marquis is ruler of one of the larger counties in the lands; other county rulers are Earls, who supposedly look after smaller counties. The split between counties is arbitrary in some cases, however. When the monarchy changed in 1384, many of the newly appointed peers were granted their position based on their performance during the civil war and for the perceived importance of the lands that went with the position, rather than the size or population of the areas involved.
Earl/Countess (in the North) or Count/Countess (in the former Empire). Controls a smaller county in a duchy, see Marquis, above.
Viscount/Viscountess (in ["Ticetia"] and [:The Carrodian Empire:the former Empire]) or Reeve (in parts of ["Caldonacia"]). Usually granted the control of one of the city regions of a county. Most counties contain three or four such cities, but there is usually no Viscountcy for the county city, unless the Earl or Marquis has made a special appointment.
Baron/Baroness. Usually controls a feudal district, normally outside a city, and reporting to the Viscount or Earl/Marquis in control of that closest city. Occasionally the title is handed out with no lands as a reward for heroic service or as a favour.
Knight. Not strictly a feudal control rank as it carries no lands, but this position of competence puts the holder above the common people in the feudal structure. Knights are usually appointed by Marquises or Earls, or by the Duke or even (occasionally) by the King. The rank of Knight confers military control responsibility, this means that if an army were needed, and were to be raised from the people, the Knights would be expected to marshal the ranks of the peasants.
Freeman or Esquire. Usually the title of Esquire has a military purpose marking an assistant to a Knight, while a Freeman is a civilian role with duties for a district of a town or city, or a subdivision within a barony. Administration reporting is usually to a baron or (occasionally) to a Viscount. Sometimes the title is handed out as a reward for heroic deeds. Both the civil and military versions of this rank are considered equal in status.
Yeoman or Page. Yeomen are civil officers, usually tied to a barony or an assistant to a Freeman. Similarly a Page (often a young soldier trainee) is an assistant to an Esquire. Throughout Arthea, many of the leaders of the Militia are given the title Yeoman.
Servant. A title that marks a commoner as in service to their feudal master. While granting limited privilege, it is often the first foot onto the social ladder for most ordinary folk. It is also a title that is granted temporarily to those commoners while they serve their feudal lords in place of taxation.
Commoner. Virtually everyone else, even the serfs who have inherited farm holdings.
Bondsman. A now defunct title in the south, there are still a few Bondsmen in the north. This used to be a title bestowed on slaves that had been granted their freedom, or on Commoners who had committed crimes or run up debts which meant they were stripped of status. With the demise of slavery, and the rise of swift justice under the Kings Guard this title has become unnecessary.
Slave. This title is no longer used. While slavery isn't actually illegal in Arthea, the enslavement of any subject or citizen of Arthea is a crime. It is not believed to exist in any part of the lands, even where other races or any of the people who were not born in the established Arthean Kingdoms live.
While the ranks of Knight and lower are not formally part of the feudal nobility, they are included as this shows the social order from the lowest ranked to the highest. Ranks of Baron and below are not considered Peers of the Realm.