Society of Stewards/Library/Politics Primer

Politics, A primer for the uninitiated

Every King, Duke, General and Religious Leader was once a fresh faced knight or dame, on their own and away from their family estate.

How did they get to where they are now, and how can you achieve the same success? Politics.

Most nobles desire power, and seek to move upwards through the ranks of their realm or religion. I do not seek to lay out incredibly specific instructions, as every realm and situation is different. Instead, this seeks to inform a young knight or dame, or even a region lord who seeks to advance, but is uncertain of how to do so.

There is no single answer, but there are some general precepts that you can look toward in being successful in politics. The first and perhaps most simple is to understand the structure. This information can easily be gathered from scribes once you have been present in a realm for just a few days. Yet this information gives only the names of the individuals who occupy those positions and titles. It tells nothing of the underlying politics, alliances and enmities amongst those nobles. This comes later.

Secondly, you must have a voice, but you must also be cautious. Though bold statements can certainly achieve success, there is somewhat more risk involved - risk of either offending someone who can work against you, or of simply coming across as uninformed or foolish. Having a voice in the realm is important to a career in politics. Other nobles must know your name, and begin to learn who you are, and how you operate.

This does not happen overnight, and you should be prepared for a long process. It is worth mentioning that advanced status in a realm generally does not come quickly. You should be prepared to be patient. Regarding caution, a wise young noble will speak carefully and thoughtfully. Though every realm may have a somewhat different culture and manner amongst their nobles, you would do well not to antagonize the realm council and the Dukes right away. To that end, while you do wish to slowly become known in the realm, you do not want to overdo it. Different realms will have different levels of communication amongst their nobles, some more busy and prolific than others. In either case, it will likely do you no good if half of the messages that the realm receives are from you. The other nobles are likely to simply begin to ignore you.

Your voice is the most important portion. To some extent, the rest can often come organically. Remember patience, and that it does not come overnight. You have likely already gained an estate in a province. If you seek landed title, then you will have your eyes toward the lordship of a region, and eventually perhaps a Duchy. When the time comes for one of these spots to be filled, the two most important factors are generally politics and competency. To explain further, competency is simple - in that the nobles who vote for the position, or the noble who appoints the position will look for candidates who are competent. The matter of politics of course touches upon the focus of this document. Lords will sometimes seek to have someone who they view as loyal to their cause or view elevated. This is how you can benefit from attempting to form a relationship with nobles in positions of power and authority. Such relationships cannot be forced though.

During this stage you will slowly come to understand more of the politics inside of your realm or organization. This is important later. Knowing how the various upper echelon nobles operate is important, knowing or having some understanding of the various alliances, friendships, and hostilities within the realm can help you to contribute wisely. It is possible that you may become caught up in schemes, disputes, arguments and such in the realm. Often various factions may exist, and you may find yourself drawn to one. Some realms are more divided than others. Some seem to hover on the verge of outright civil war, while others brook very little open argument or hostility. Gaining an understanding of this element and the nobles involved is important to your future.

It is important to be useful. As a Knight, you are useful when you effectively manage an estate, and lead a troop of soldiers, or perform other services for your realm, such as courtier work, diplomacy or infiltration. If you perform your work well, your superiors are likely to take notice. And if they do not, then it may speak to their lack of competency, and incompetent nobles rarely last for long in positions of authority.

A useful knight, and especially one who is well spoken and seems intelligent or wise, is likely to at some point be considered for leadership of a region.

At this stage, politics can become somewhat more complicated. Your aims may be a council position, or a duchy, or perhaps even purely military.

The most difficult part of this, and a subset of 'Voice', is wisdom. Any noble can send out volumes of messages to the realm and to his or her fellow nobles. Wisdom is knowing what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to. Though I believe that there are some who possess a greater degree of skill in this field than others, it is something which can be honed and refined in any noble.

Advancing among the elite of a realm or a religion or other group is a matter of gaining an understanding of how it operates, and then seeking to make a path for yourself, allying or making friends as necessary or as you desire.

Good luck to you, and remember Patience and Wisdom.

Penned by Maurus Barek of Arcaea