The Second Estate

These two posts originally appeared on September 27 and 28, 2017.

The Second Estate, Part I

As Skerples has written over on Coins and Scrolls one fact consuming Medieval culture is that God put upon the Firmament three Estates of Men.  The First Estate, the Church, are charged with prayer for all.  The Second Estate, the nobility, are charged with the Defense of All.  And the Third Estate, the peasantry and other common folk, are charged with toiling for all.  A lot of this is just background nonsense in your vanilla D&D world but in the setting I'm working up here, it's very front-and-center.  I'm going to start with describing the Second Estate because that's what I was reading up on last night. I'll eventually do the First and Third Estate and the Outlaws.

 

The first part of this post is about the noble ranks and their import in the setting.  Then in Part II we will talk about the pros and cons of holding any particular rank. 

 

Noble Ranks of Peerage: Peers of the Realm include all the ranks of nobles. Each one of Gentleman rank and above has his own coat of arms and titles. Usually titles are derived from the names of the lands they hold but sometimes they are last names or colorful sobriquets given at Court.

 

King

 

The King is legally such a complicated mess that I may write a whole post just for him.

 

His Royal Majesty is the embodiment of the will of the Realm. He is the head of state and the head of the military. His pure is the Treasury and the budget, his expenditure. He calls upon the Legislature at times to counsel him and he himself is not above all Law.

 

In theory and legally, only the sovereign may endow any rank of peerage. However in practice, higher ranks endow lower ranks and the Crown usually just signs off on the endowment.  The sovereign himself has no noble rank.  As the King is superior to all nobles, he cannot also be a noble and be subordinate to himself. He sits outside of and above the Three Estates. A particular King may also be recognized as the Duke of This and the Prince of Thus-and-Such but such titles are those given to him by a previous monarch.

The ranks of Prince and Duke are just below the King and are essentially interchangeable. Prince in this setting refers to the King's heir and Dukes are other key leading nobles. The Prince and Duke may create any rank of Peerage. Marquesses (March Lords or Earl-Marche) may create Barons and below. 

 

Marquess: In the early 12th c., before pacifying all the lands of the Realm, the Norman kings of England set aside lands on the Welsh border for their most trusted allies.  These men were endowed with the title of Marquess or Marcher Lord. Marquesses were largely autonomous, and were charged with the defense of the Realm and further the pacification, rulership and incorporation of the Welsh tribes.  As you well know, Wales is still a cultural and semi-autonomous political entity today, so the real Marcher Lords were clearly not completely successful!

 

These Lords did owe tribute to the Crown but were otherwise a law unto themselves in their Realms. And while technically these lands were gifts (eg they reverted to the Crown at death) they became functionally hereditary over time.

 

Earls, Viscounts and Barons may create Lord Knights and below.

 

Viscount is a non-hereditary title granted to the heir-apparent to any of the higher ranks via primogeniture. Lands associated with these titles are Viscounties and sit outside the normal feudal order as the "purse privy" of these types. Sometimes a very wealthy noble with extensive lands will have two or even more Viscounties beneath him, the balance given to his other sons or even other relatives like daughters or brothers. The drawback of creating a Viscounty is that the Viscount creates no wealth for his Lord, which can be a very expensive proposition. They are known as Viscount [X] where the X is their land holding, last name, or nickname.  Edward Chatterton, an imaginary first son of Duke of Lancaster would then be called Viscount Chatterton or Viscount Lancaster.  Or maybe Viscount Poopypants if he smelled bad all the time because he pooped himself.

 

Viscounts do not have vassals, but rather a Household (Knights, etc) and tenants, the peasantry of his lands.

 

Lord Knights and Knights are the elite soldiers of the Realm. Lord Knight is a hereditary title. Knight would sometimes be hereditary. Over time, the Lord Knight would pay someone else to serve in his stead, but the Knight would always do his own fighting. Each is given enough land for himself and pay for his equipment, staff, and war expenses. Lord Knights receive a grant (permanent demesne) but Knights only receive a gift (use for life), but that was transferable to the first son if he was to be a Knight as well. Up to 80 peasants would be sworn to each Knight or Lord Knight.  These ranks are called Sir.

 

Gentlemen are ostensibly small landowners who receive their income from tenant laborers. In reality, it is fairly easy to buy a fraudulent coat of arms and on that strength gain access to the bottom rung Second Estate. Coats of Arms cost about 100-200 GP (CuS), a very tidy sum indeed! Some Gentlemen also serve as cavalry* and they are charged with the defense of their lands and tenants. the Gentleman has no vassals, but his tenants are tied to him financially. Squires would also fit into this rank, and the title for Gentlemen is given as Esquire. 

Bastards are men who come from royalty but have been reduced to working for a living. The category includes illegitimate noble issue. It also includes ennobled household help such as an exemplary butler or stable man. A Duke who lost his estate but still lived would be a bastard as well. Bastardy is not hereditary. A man could be the grandson of a king and still be a peasant mud farmer!

 

*Not all elite soldiers fought from horseback; some knights and gentlemen preferred to fight on foot.  But the large majority did fight from horseback.

 

 

The Second Estate, Part II

 

Last time, we talked about what the specific ranks of nobility are in this new setting.  I do use a name when I think about it, but I have not shared it because I don't think it's good enough for this setting.

 

A Note on Money: The monetary values listed here and elsewhere in this setting are based on the Copper Standard (CuS), where 1 cp = 1 XP, and every price and prize is adjusted to conform to that standard.

 

Duties and Obligations: The Treasure Hunters Prolix domain system includes much on the duties and obligations of running a demesne.  Below are some specific ones.

 

The Noble Squander: To be a noble, you have to spend like a noble.  There are a thousand little expenses to empty your treasury; and if there are not, you still have to spend like crazy to maintain your status.  While modern people respect savers and investors, and sniff at conspicuous consumption as an end unto itself, the opposite is true about Medieval people.  Misers and skinflints are reviled, while generous and ostentatious nobles are revered and upheld as exemplars. At the very minimum, on top of normal expenses, nobles of the following ranks must Squander at the following rates each month:

 

 

Revenue

Revenue is untaxed (but is tithed and you must pass through revenue).

We will use the Treasure Hunters Prolix domain system but update the numbers.  I’ll post it in full here when I rejigger everything to my satisfaction.

 

Justice

A Lord has the right of dispensing justice within his “soke” or jurisdiction. This is usually his own land, except when his overlord intercedes.

 

The Right of Thelony: A thelony is a toll or fee. It might be just or unjust. A just thelony was a toll considered to be compensation for what would now be considered a public service. An unjust thelony was a fee exacted contrary to custom or where no service was rendered to the person made to pay it. Often peasants were kept upon their land by the levy of a thelony to leave in amounts greater than they could pay.

 

The Right of Corvée: Corvée is a form of unfree, unpaid labor.  The Lord can demand of his peasants work for a certain number of days per year, not exceeding one in 36, to build and maintain public works.  Corvée greater than 1 in 36 (or about 10 days a year) was considered unjust and could result in uprisings among the peasantry. Furthermore, Corvée performed for the Lord direct upon his estate with no direct benefit derived for the Realm was considered unjust, but almost always tolerated.

 

The Right of Infangthief: Infangthief is the right to dispense summary justice against thieves or vandals within the Lord’s lands. For the purposes of this game, it includes the right of Outfangthief, which is to chase the miscreant to other jurisdictions and bring him back for justice – unless the thief is owed justice by some other jurisdiction!

 

The Right of Satisfaction: Among peasants, insolence or perceived lack of deference to a noble could be met with a fine of up to 1 gp or corporal punishment such as time in the stocks or a good beating.

 

Nobles of Baronial rank and higher may serve “high justice,” which includes the death penalty. Permissible methods of execution are limited to drowning and hanging. Other executions are a breach of etiquette and/or law. All nobles may serve “low justice.” Permissible punishments include: dunking, the pillory, bounty hunting, thelony, other fines, corvée, and executing summary justice.

 

Ennoblement

• Nobles can raise to nobility anyone of the Third Estate.
• Kings and Princes can create any rank or revoke any title.
• Dukes and above can make Earls (but not Marcher Lords), although they will probably need to get their monarch's permission.
• Viscounts and above can make Barons. 
• Lord Knights and above can make Knights and Courtiers.

 

Courtiers

Nobles will generate a household full of trusted helpers as necessary to discharge their duties. These freeloaders accrue to themselves no expense but have meager salaries owed to them by the Lord.

 

Companion: 3-8 gp / month

           This is a catch-all for any of your lowborn friends who you want on staff, but haven’t got an aristocratic bone in their bodies.  Lady-in-waiting, Court Doctor, Court Jester, Lord High Rat-catcher, Inspector of Privies, Lord of the Coneygarth, or any other ridiculous title you can think of.

 

Butler or Castellan: 4 gp / month and all the wine you can drink

           This is the head of household.  He handles discipline, order, hiring and hanging within the household.  He often serves as the right-hand man and confidante of the Lord within the house.

 

Herald: 3-6 gp / month

          Heralds are tasked with keeping up on news from nearby settlements, tracking opinions and gossip at court, reading or dispersing to be read important decrees, announcing a retinue as it approaches some other castle, and arranging entertainment for the household.  But the real benefit of a Herald is that he may maintain a spy network and get secret information or knowledge and contraband from very far away. Only Barons and above need maintain a Herald, but any noble may employ one. Some higher ranks maintain several or even dozens. 

 

Shire Reeve: 3 gp / month, plus 3-6 GP skimmed off the top of court costs, plus 3-6 GP of bribes per month.

           The Sheriff handles the courts system for both commoners and nobles (ecclesiastical law falls outside his jurisdiction.)  He is responsible for dispensing the justice pronounced by the Lord, running the court of arbitration, running a jail if one exists, hiring bounty hunters to track down escaped criminals and peasants, and so forth.  He does not perform these duties himself but delegates them to underlings who may or may not be of the Second Estate.

          Sheriffs are theoretically appointed by the King for a set term renewable, but in practice are chosen by the Lord or his advisors at Court.

 

Steward or Regent: 3 gp 5 sp plus 1-2% of revenue per month.

      The Steward is an estate manager appointed by the Lord to oversee a pocket of noncontiguous or troublesome land, or to run the main estate if the Lord is out on adventure. Far-flung holdings may require several Stewards.  They exercise power in the Lord’s name and serve at his pleasure. Stewards are usually given wide latitude as long as things go reasonably well, but face severe judgement if they do not perform adequately as agents of the Lord.

 

Squire: No direct pay

          Squire is a catch-all for the Lord’s adventuring Retainers: those who take a share of treasure and XP in lieu of payment.  They have a rank of zero and are only considered part of the Second Estate in their capacity of serving their Lord.