Lords and knights
Mar. 19th, 2015 10:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marmota_bI've just found out that the hierarchy of aristocracy I'm sort of unconciously following in The Peridan Chronicles - i.e. Lords/Ladies on a higher level and Sirs/Dames (knights) on a lower level - is an old Czech medieval/early modern distinction. Later it got muddied up with the arrival of Habsburgs on the throne, especially during and after the Thirty Year War, when many foreign aristocratic families (Catholic) replaced the old Czech (Protestant) ones - bringing in all the foreign titles like Dukes and Princes and whatnot.
There are some old Czech aristocratic titles I'm aware of, possibly to do with one's function in some cases, but it was apparently a much simpler system than later, basically with only two levels in the hierarchy, excepting the ruler.
I followed it unconsciously, myself unaware that that was really a historical fact, but I like it very much for Narnian headcanon. A simple system during the Golden Age and following it, no one nominally better than others in their own rank except when fulfilling a function; and then completely muddied up with the Telmarine rule, where Caspian can go and name Lord Bern a Duke just because.
There are some old Czech aristocratic titles I'm aware of, possibly to do with one's function in some cases, but it was apparently a much simpler system than later, basically with only two levels in the hierarchy, excepting the ruler.
I followed it unconsciously, myself unaware that that was really a historical fact, but I like it very much for Narnian headcanon. A simple system during the Golden Age and following it, no one nominally better than others in their own rank except when fulfilling a function; and then completely muddied up with the Telmarine rule, where Caspian can go and name Lord Bern a Duke just because.
