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FEUDALISM
The prevailing form of government in civilized Hârn is feudalism. Under this system, all land is
(theoretically) owned by the king, who grants heritable fiefs to trusted magnates (tenants-in-chief) who provide for local government and defense. The great nobles, in turn, grant portions of their fiefs to lesser
nobles, a process known as subinfeudation.
FEUDAL NOBILITY
The distinction between gentle (noble) and simple (common) birth is the most significant in Hârnic society. The exclusive rights and privileges of the
gentry include the right to bear arms, ride war horses, organize military forces, hold fortifi-cations, and dispense justice at feudal courts. Any simple man who trespasses on these rights can expect harsh
punishment.
Gentlefolk receive better treatment before the law which protects the privilege of rank. In a dispute between a noble and a simple person, there is rarely doubt as to the outcome.
A person whose
parents are gentle has gentle status. Few commoners are admitted to this exclusive group, but it is possible by adoption or marriage, generally only when one parent is gentle, or by a grant of knighthood, the most
likely advancement. Gentle birth has somewhat more status than obtaining gentility by marriage or knighthood, although the grantor lends some of his own status to the grant - a man knighted by the king has more
status than one knighted by an impoverished knight bachelor.
FEUDAL TITLES
Earls and Barons have heritable titles. These remain with the family unless formally stripped by higher authority. Loss of a heritable
title is an extreme punishment reserved for grave crimes against the crown, such as treason or sedition, and which is generally accompanied by a death sentence or at least banishment.
EARLS
The highest feudal
noble (on Hârn). An earl's seat will usually be a castle, sometimes a keep, and he will (typically) owe the king the military services of 60-120 knights depending on the size of his holding. Roughly 80% of the
earldom will be subinfeudated to vassal barons and knights. The rest will be held directly by the Earl, managed by appointed constables or bailiffs.
BARONS
The word baron is a generic term on Hârn for any
major land holding noble with less status than an earl. A barony usually contains a keep and anywhere from 10-30 manors, but in smaller kingdoms, notably Chybisa, a baron may not hold a keep. Regardless of the size
of a barony, a few manors will be held directly by the baron, managed by his bailiffs, but most will be held by vassal knights. Some barons are vassals of an earl; some are tenants-in-chief, holding directly from
the king.
KNIGHTHOOD
Knighthood is not a feudal title. All barons and earls, and even the king are knights. Anyone may theoretically be knighted, most often for exemplary military service to the crown, but
most knights are born to the station.
The training for knighthood (apprentice knights are called squires) is undertaken when the young son of a knight is invited to foster at the household of another knight. Boys
begin training at twelve, leaming the "knightly virtues", skill at arms, heraldry, and horsemanship. If all goes well, the squire can expect to be knighted around the age of twenty-one. Knighthood is an
honor conferred on a person for his life only, and is not heritable. The son of a knight is gentle, but the status will lapse in the next generation, unless another knighthood is conferred. There are some female
knights, but not many.
Chivalry
The knight is expected to adhere to certain standards of behavior and morality and these standards are called chivalry. The chivalric virtues are prowess, generosity, courtesy,
loyalty to one's lord and one's clan, and service to church and society. Because knights are human, it is accepted that most will fall short of the ideal. Sometimes the virtues conflict with each other or, with the
nature of society; loyalty to clan, lord, and church may blur in the political games played in most states. In some regions, chivalry has been replaced by religious and political imperatives, but everywhere, lip
service is paid to the ideal.
Courtly Love
The practice of Courtly Love is far from uniform on Hârn. Ideally, it is a pure form of sexless love between a man and a woman of gentle birth; the chaste respect
given by a vassal to the wife of his lord is one example. In practice, Courtly Love often leads to illicit intimacies, but is acknowledged as
the virtue from which all others flow, the true source of nobility and morality.
Poetry and music are the language of Courtly Love. There are elaborate schemes of meter and rhyme for each mood and season. Courtly
Love is an art form beloved of bards and minstrels; their songs describe virtue and harmony, conflict and tragedy.
Knights Bachelor
The number of knights on Hârn far exceeds the number that can be granted
fiefs. While some knights will inherit or marry into land, most are landless Knights Bachelor. Some will realize their burning ambition of obtaining a fief, but most spend their lives as the retainers of great
nobles, or within the ranks of fighting orders, or (gods forbid) by adventuring.
FEUDAL OBLIGATIONS
When a noble accepts a fief, he becomes a vassal of the person (liege) who bestowed it. He pays homage to his
liege, and swears an oath of fealty pledging absolute loyalty. Each individual contract between liege and vassal depends on the personalities involved, local custom, and the current situation, but some generalities
may be made concerning their mutual obligations.
JUSTICE
All feudal lords are responsible for justice in their fiefs, administered by holding informal and irregular feudal courts. Feudal justice is a complex
mosaic of local custom, the king's law, and personal edict. Justice can be extremely arbitrary in that the lord is both judge, jury, and sometimes the prosecutor as well. Most lords, anxious to maintain the good
will of their tenants, administer justice in a fair and friendly way.
DEFENSE
A lord is obliged to protect his law abiding vassals and their tenants from external threat. Hence, the king must defend his
tenants-in-chief, who must defend their vassal barons, who must defend their vassal knights, who must defend their rural tenants. At the manorial level, the lord and his yeomen police the fief, and if some great
danger threatens the fief, they will organize and lead the peasant militia.
MILITARY SERVICE
Fiefs are usually granted in return for providing military service to the liege. An earl who is obligated to provide
one hundred knights to the king, ensures he can supply them by granting
manorial fiefs to a sufficient number of knights. Service will be in the army/household of the liege for 30-60 days each year, although
scutage (shield-money) may be substituted in years of peace.
MERCHET
The betrothals of tenants-in-chief are highly political and of vital concern to the king. Similarly, tenants-in-chief are very interested in
the nuptials of their own vassals, as are manorial lords with regard to their serfs. In addition to the basic right to forbid and/or arrange the marriages of his vassals, a liege is entitled to merchet when
permission is granted. This tax, payable by the bride's family, is typically 5-10% of the holding's annual revenue.
Aids
An aid is an incidental tax levied on vassals. They are traditionally levied when the
lord wishes to knight his eldest son, marry his eldest daughter, or ransom his person from enemies. Special aids, such as to finance a war or build a castle, may also be levied, but this practice is normally
reserved for kings.
Heriot
A death tax assessed on the estate of a deceased vassal. For a minor landholder, heriot is typically the candle's best animal or its equivalent in cash or kind. Larger estates are
assessed a one-time tax that usually equals their current annual net revenue, with payments generally spread over several years.
WARDS
Minors will often have their inherited estates placed in the trust of
their lord, while they themselves are made wards until they attain the age of twenty one. Widows may be treated similarly until they remarry. A liege will often overwork ward estates to the verge of impoverishment.
It is considered unseemly to then require payment of heriot.
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