Appendices Of Renatian Nobility

[Monomakhos 1849]

Appendices of Renatian Nobility

 

I. Defining nobility and titles

 

A. Definition of Nobility

A noble is stated as an individual who can claim and prove descent from one of the following bloodlines within Renatus current;

• Horen
• Briarwood
• Blackwell
• Valois
• Ashford Lines
• Stafyr

 

Or holds a landed title and has been granted higher status by the King of Renatus.

 

Note: Any man who can produce a patent of nobility concerning formerly landed noble houses in the Empire of Oren may petition to the First Seneschal to reattain their noble status.

 

B. Definition of Holdings

Landed titles in the Kingdom of Renatus are subject to the jurisdiction of the First Seneschal. A landed title is defined as a hold within the Kingdom of Renatus, held and maintained by a member of the gentry or nobility.

 

Titles of Peerage in their respective hierarchy are as follows;

 

• The King of Renatus
• Duke
• Count
• Baron
• Baronet

 

Note: Landowners in the realm, who do not hold noble titles, may be recognized as freeholders at the King’s jurisdiction.

 

II. Laws of Inheritance

 

A. Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture

If a father has a son/sons, the eldest shall inherit all of his possessions, including land holdings. If there is the absence of a male heir, a female shall inherit.

 

Note: If there is no legal heir, all titles pass on to the person’s direct liege.

 

B. Concerning illegitimate children

Illegitimate children, e.g bastards, cannot inherit the status of nobility, nor can they inherit any landed titles from their parents, unless they are legitimized by their father, with the permission of the king.

 

III. Claims and Claimants

 

A. Title Claims

A claim is the potential right to a land holding or title. Only individuals who meet certain criteria in regards to the title holder may have and press a claim.

 

B. Claimants

A claimant is defined as an individual who holds a claim on a title. Meeting any of the following criteria regarding a certain title gives the individual a lawful claim;

 

• Son, Grandson or Great Grandson of a title holder.
• Being granted a claim to the title by the title holder, or by the King himself.
• If the title was stripped from you by war or other means.

 

C. Concerning illegitimate children, and clergymen.

Illegitimate children do not have a claim to the title of their father, less legitimized, and cannot lawfully press any claim. Clergymen, upon entry into the Church, forfeit their claims on any titles.

 

IV. Holdings within the Realm

 

All holdings within the Kingdom of Renatus are regulated by the First Seneschal, and must meet the following standards based upon the noble status of the landholder;

 

• A Duchy may consist of a town and keep, held and managed by the holder of the respective Ducal title, alongside the area directly adjacent to the settlement and the various holdings of Counts and Barons whom swear beneath the Duke.

 

• A County may consist of a keep, held and managed by the respective Count, alongside a plot of farmland which is to hold a hamlet to house the serfs whom work the fields,hunting grounds, and the holdings of the Barons sworn beneath the Count.

 

• A Barony may consist of a keep, held and managed by the respective Baron, alongside a plot of farmland or hunting grounds.

 

• A Freehold is held to the same standards as a Barony.

 

Note: The City of Petrus is exempt from the restrictions of peerage law.

 

V. Bloodline Legitimacy

 

A. Patents of Nobility

A patent of nobility is a document(s) which is required, as a knight, for entry into tourneys, or for a member of a once-noble house prevalent in Oren to be ennobled. A patent of nobility should contain the following;

 

• A detailed record of bloodline and pedigree
• An accurate family tree, tracing back to a minimum of five generations
• The crest/coat of arms of the respective house
• A brief history of the respective house
• Records of notable members

 

B. Regarding Purity

Members of the Noble class of Renatus are held to a higher standard, and as such, must have an intact pedigree of human blood. Individuals of nobility whom meet the following criteria cannot be classified as noble, or even human, within the Kingdom of Renatus.

 

• Anything above one fourth of Elven blood
• Anything above one eighth of Dark Elven blood
• Anything above one twelfth of Dwarven blood
• Anything above one sixteenth of Orcish blood
• Any amount of Kharajyr blood evident in ancestry
• Any amount of Snow Elven blood evident in ancestry

 

 

 

 

Written by Lord Christopher Blackwell, with the approval of King Maric Varodyr, the First Seneschal Edmund Horen, and the First Justiciar Rendon Jrent

[Heero 4092]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.