Lasanar/Mentor Lessons/Feudalism and Nobility

Feudalism and Nobility

Feudalism is the over-arching social and political system that shapes almost everything in our characters' lives from their birth to their responsibilities to their attitudes and beliefs. A noble's place in the feudal hierarchy determines his or her station both politically and socially. One of the first considerations you have as a new player is where you want to start climbing the feudal ladder; to do that, you need to pick a liege lord.

The Feudal Hierarchy

In a traditional feudal hierarchy, knights are beholden to lords who are beholden either to greater lords (such as dukes) or directly to the monarch, who reigns as suzerain over everyone beneath him or her in the feudal pyramid. As a 'Feudal Republic', Lasanar works a little differently. Here is Lasanar's feudal hierarchy from the bottom up:

• Noble (also sometimes called Freemen)
• Knight (a noble who has sworn an oath of fealty to a liege lord)
• Baron (Lord of a Badlands or Mountainous region)
• Count (Lord of a Rural or Woodlands region)
• Marquis (Lord of a Townsland region)
• Duke (Lord of a City of Stronghold)
• The Grand Council of Lasanar

Note: Feudal authority is tied to location. While a Duke is above a Count, the Duke only has direct authority over the counts in his or her Duchy. A Duke from one Duchy might still "outrank" a Count from another Duchy, but that is more of a social consideration than a practical one. The basic rule of thumb is that everybody takes orders from their liege lord and gives orders to their vassal(s).

Lasanar is ruled by the Grand Council, which is comprised of the four ministerial positions in the government (Minister of Defense, Minister of Finances, Grand Justiciar, and Prime Minister) and the five Dukes of the realm (Ozrat, Akanos, Sasrhas, Ossaet, and Colasan). The Prime Minister is the elected 'ruler' of the land, but doesn't have his or her own vassals as a King would.

Lasanar has some things in common with the Ancient Roman Republic, in that power is spread out among many individuals (our Dukes and Ministers are as their Senators, or perhaps Consuls and Proconsuls were; our Prime Minister is similar in some ways to the Roman Praetor). Unlike Ancient Rome, however, the feudal hierarchy is still the centerpiece of day-to-day life.

Choosing your character's liege lord is one of the most important decisions you make. The lord to whom your swear fealty is responsible for you, and you represent them and their interests. Every action you take reflects on them, and vice versa. Some considerations in selecting your liege:

• You should select a liege. Being a 'freeman', or an independent noble with no fealty to anyone, can result in you being out of the loop without anyone around looking out for you. Plus, being a part of the political and social hierarchy, or the 'noble food chain,' is half the fun!
• Your oath of fealty is responsible for the majority of your income as a knight; you are paid directly out of your lord's coffers. (OOC note: At the moment, income is not actually tied to your oath as they are still working on the oaths system -- but it could be turned on any day now and so we try to act like it's on already.)
• Your family pays for your first week in Lasanar, so you don't need an oath right away. Take your time to talk to different lords.
• If you are unhappy with your liege (or your liege is unhappy with you), it is possible to dissolve an oath of fealty and acquire a new one. Depending on the circumstances, this may or may not be a big deal; so while you should choose carefully when first selecting your liege, it's not the end of the world if you want to change it later.
• An oath of fealty is a two-way street. While you have to select your liege, your liege has to choose you, too -- only a lord can initiate the offer of an oath of fealty.
• You should not just accept the first offer you get unless you are certain you want to accept it. Lords may have different reasons for seeking vassals; some can afford only one or two knights (depending on their region's wealth) while others, particularly Marquises and Dukes, can afford more but may only offer oaths to people they feel they know and trust. It's your job to become known and trusted!
• The closer you are to your liege, the more you have someone upstairs advancing your interests in what can be a very byzantine political world of the Republic.

So How Do I Swear Fealty?

Once you have an idea of who you want as your liege lord, it's a good idea to initiate a personal conversation with them (if you haven't already). Ask them something about themself or their family, and tell them something about yourself or your family (your character's, of course!). The lord may offer you an oath on the spot, or you may have to ask if the lord is actively looking for more knights -- it's perfectly OK to do so.

You will be notified by the game when a lord offers you an oath. The offer will include a link to the Oaths Overview page, which you can visit at any time by clicking first on the Information tab (Oaths overview is in the far right column on the bottom of the information page). Your lord will be notified once you accept or reject the oath.

If you like, you may roleplay formally accepting the oath with your lord (though that part is really up to you and your lord). Keep in mind that it's one of the most important events in your character's life!

What It Means To Be A Noble

An important consideration that is often overlooked is that our characters were born noble. To them, "regular" people (i.e. peasants) are an entirely different race, more akin to a talking animal than they are to nobles. This is hundreds of years before anybody ever thought of liberté, égalité, and fraternité -- all men are most certainly not created equal. Nobles have an almost universal interest in things like your pedigree (the family you come from and who your relatives are or what they've done) and your conduct. Acing 'ignoble' in any way can make life difficult on your character. Nobles might disagree on what it means to act "nobly", but it definitely means something to your character.

Recommended Viewing: Kenneth Branagh's Henry V & Dangerous Liaisons -- the former for an example of nobles in the military, the latter for an example of their social lives.