Typed hurridly, not a great deal of attention paid to grammar, sentence structure, etc.  There may even be spelling errors.  It reads as if directed to CE, but of course CL should look over to ensure we're all on the same page and point out significant errors in my understanding of the setting, etc.  Looking it over now, it's much longer than I intended, I guess sometimes I tend to be chatty.  In real life, people often ask me for the<em>short answer</em>to a question.  Now we know why.<br/><br/><div align="center">************************************</div><br/>Okay, this is not necessarily doctrine, and anyone who knows anything about this stuff could pick it apart and make me look like a blithering idiot who knows nothing of history and nobility and stuff.  However, it might help you understand a little of what's going on anyway.<br/><br/>To get some idea of the world we're playing in, consider this.  Most "medieval" settings conjure up images of knights in shining armor jousting each other, etc.  We're going back a little farther in time.  To understand the period, think of the Roman Empire (Gladiators and Julius Ceasar and all that.)<br/><br/>The Roman Empire got so big and corrupt (after several hundred years) that it began to break apart.  In "northern" Europe (Germany, France, etc) there were barbarian tribes who began to defeat Roman armies.  In Italy, major cities and their surrounding areas started becoming their own little kingdoms.  Things like this don't happen overnight, but through long drawn out transitions.<br/><br/>Look at the big map ChaosLord posted the link to.  Miragliano (and all those other places on the map with names) were like Italy, the cultural center of the Empire.  Think of the Reikmarches as similar to France, Germany, Austria, etc (but smaller) .. barbarian tribes who evolved into their own kingdoms.  So in my characters minds, Miragliano (and its neighboring kingdoms - ignore the words<em>principality</em>and<em>republic</em>) never descended into barbarism like the Reikmarches did when "The Empire" was breaking up.  Sure, they had lots and lots of problems, as might be expected by the end of the world, but they maintained a higher standard of living .. (wearing clothes from flax and wool instead of animal skins, perhaps?) and are therefore more civilized than the more recently created principalities that joined together to make the Reikmar Protectorate (which I think I or someone also referred to as the Reikmar Compact?  or maybe I'm imagining it.)<br/><br/>Keep in mind this happened over at least a couple hundred years, maybe more.  So your character was never a barbarian, she was born in a nice house and wore real clothes and had servants and obviously learned to read.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Pertaining to Royalty, Nobility, and Knights</span>:<br/><br/>Keep in mind that we're also talking about a very broad subject, over a broad area, over a broad time period.<br/>Royalty refers to a king (or emperor, or a prince) and his immediate family, and sometimes a bit beyond the immediate family (inlaws, cousins).   The oldest son of the king, who is planned to become king when the old king dies, is referred to as the Crown Prince.  (I don't always use that term with Gilberto since he's an only child.)  In some kingdoms, only a man can be the ruler, so a "queen" is simply the wife of the king.  In others, a king's daughter can inherit the throne and become Queen.  (Usually this is only if the king doesn't have a son.)   It would be highly unusual for someone who became queen only because she married the king to remain queen after his death.  (Unless she married the new king, wink wink)  Otherwise, she becomes "Queen Mum" or "Dowager Queen" or something along those lines.<em>Queen Emeritus</em>?  Anyway, to be the queen simply because she married the king doesn't mean she gets any formal ruling powers like signing decrees or even knighting someone.  (Katelyn can't make Manfred a Duke.)  She does have influence by virtue of who her husband is, of course, but the king is the guy in charge.  I suppose she could further a political agenda by withholding sex from the king, but that would be on a case by case basis.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Nobility</span>refers to someone who has been elevated to some special status to set him or her apart from the general population and even knights.  It also means they owe the king a lot of favors, and their descendents owe the king's descendents a lot of favors.  These are dukes, earls, counts, barons, and other titles that may have existed from time to time.  The order I gave is sort of their order of rank, but this is in no way carved in stone.  A baron could be richer, own more property, and have more influence with his king than an earl, but that isn't usually the case.<br/><br/>These titles usually carry with them control over some land and everyone who lives on it.  Titles are usually passed from father to the eldest son.  A wife of a nobleman can assume the feminine version of the same title (Duke, Dutchess).  Again, depending on the time and place, a woman might also have a title in her own right.  It is possible to hold more than one title, but usually they all pass to the eldest son.  Again, and again and again, I say there are numerous exceptions depending on time and place (Over all of Europe and then some, over the space of a thousand years, things change).<br/><br/>In some places, if a duke has several sons and the oldest becomes duke when the father dies, the next son might become an earl, while the next son is a count, etc ... again, depending.  This does not apply to the Royal Family of the UK, for instance, where all the Queen's kids are made a duke or dutchess - or in one case, he said he'd rather be an earl than a duke, though I don't know if he had a reason.  As for the regular nobility, since the eldest son inherits the title (and all the land and people on it) then there's the problem of what to do with the younger brothers.  For most, that meant the military.  (NOTE CL's reference to families buying second and third sons admission into the elite winged lancers - that didn't mean there was an application fee - though there may have been one, or maybe some bribes -- but that it would be incredibly expensive to equip him in all the armor- including the fancy hat- and weapons and horses and servants to keep it all shiny for him.)<br/><br/>In more recent times in England, the eldest son inherited the property, the next went into the military, and the third went into the church.  Land = money and influence.  That applied to the landed gentry, not just the nobles.  The reason only one son (or if no sons, the next male relative) inherited the estate?  Imagine a man with 99 acres of land.  He has three sons, each of whom inherits 33 acres each. Each of these sons has three sons, who inherit 11 acres each.  Then, each of them has three sons, who inherit not quite 3.7 acres.  The next generation gets a little over an acre of land each.  Not much land, not much influence, not much room to live, play, grow crops and livestock.  That was the reason behind the dilemma of the daughters in<em>Pride and Prejudice</em>... no son to inherit the estate, five unmarried girls, their cousin could kick them all out when he inherited the place and how would they get by?<br/><br/>But I digress.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Knights</span>, you already know -- someone did something special so the king rewards them with a knighhood.  It may or may not be inherited by one or more sons, depending.  Knighthood is different than having a noble title, though a nobleman might also be knighted.  A knight is simply in that social class between a commonor and a nobleman.<br/><br/>A knight can be just a general knight (knight bachelor) and not own any land or get anything out of it but an obligation to pay for expensive armor and weapons and horses and die for the king -- or he could be knighted into a particular order of chivalry (Order of the Bath, Order of the Thistle, etc.)  then learn the secret handshake and go to meetings where they discuss things like what the order stands for and maybe pick a charity to support.  With each order, there are classes of knighthood.  Technically, not everyone who is made a member of the order can call himself "Sir" or "Dame".  See, it's complicated.  And it got complicated over time.<br/><br/>For the time period that inspired our roleplay, it would have been much more simple.  You get knighted, you stick a "Sir" in front of your name - if you're a guy.  Still, as CL said, we've strayed some from the historical example, and part of that straying involved me making Gilberto a member of every order of knighthood in the kingdom (there were five of them) plus a couple more that were from someplace else - The Crown Prince being a member of every order is a pretty common thing.<br/><br/>Of course nowadays people are knighted for writing poems or being movie stars, but historically it was a reward for kicking ass in battle or making some real contribution, like discovering penecillin.  Or being born, if your father was a knight or nobleman.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Font of honour</span>- the place the honor comes from - the head honcho of the country.  It could be an Emperor, a king, or even a prince or a duke, if the country itself is a principality or a duchy and not just a subdivision of a kingdom. Generally, unlike what happens in some movies, a knight can't make someone else a knight.  Neither can a baron or a duke.  That honor can only come from THE person in charge of a whole "country" - such as the king.  The same applies to making someone a nobleman -- meaning creating a new title, not inheriting one.   Only an Emperor or King can do that, and it usually involves consultation with the Privy Council or something.  Again, depending on time and place.<br/><br/>By the way,<em>several kingdoms</em>ruled by one person is an Empire.  Because Great Britain once ruled over other places that kept their own rulers (India for instance) Victoria - who was usually referred to as "Queen Victoria" was, technically, also "Empress of India" while India still maintained various potentates and allowed them to rule over their own little heridetary kingdoms. (I think, my history's a little rusty.)  So, when Gilberto talks about Katelyn deserving to be an Empress, he would do this by conquering other kingdoms and creating an Empire for her.<br/><br/>Another historical note you might not care about, Napolean overran pretty much all of Europe, much of the time fighting for "republicanism" -- we're all equal, we don't need a king, we don't need the noblility.  Then he changed his mind.  Since he'd taken over several kingdoms, he decided to proclaim himself Emperor.  Then he made select family members and favorite generals kings over the kingdoms he captured.<br/><br/>=======<br/><br/>Now, a bit more about the setting.  When the ancient "romanish" Empire was driven out of the Reikmarches, the barbarians took over, and as I said, they wore animal skins, didn't bathe, didn't listen to classical music, and feasted on raw meat.  In the more civilized part of the world, like Miragliano, they maintained a bit of class.  They had a "head start" on rebuilding civilization because they didn't sink as far when the Empire fell -- they continued farming, weaving, etc.  They were building ships and engaging in international trade while Von Holstein's ancesters were still picking lice out of each others hair.  So that's why there's a thriving middle class (wealthy merchants, craftsmen who make quality stuff, big ships, etc) in Miragliano and those other kingdoms that formed the basis of the old empire.  Those in the Reikmarches are doing those things too, but they're a few years behind.  (Remember CL talking about the luxurious palace and all the modern comforts making the king and prince weak, or something to that effect?)<br/><br/>You mentioned Katelyn being related to Gilberto's mother and therefore the only woman eligible to marry the king, or something like that.  (I type this while signed off, so I can't refer to the posts now)  This could fit in nicely, as the marriage was a political one, and when one wife died, another from the same family might be required in order to maintain the alliance that had been made?  I can see that being written into the treaty.<br/>In order to even be considered for marriage to a king, Gilberto's mother, and later Katelyn, would probably be at least the daughters of noblemen, if not a members of a royal family.  (Daughters would also be entitled to some version of their father's title.. if only "Lady" so-and-so in some form.)  Again, time and place would determine the applicable rules.<br/><br/>As per what CL said when I was asking about Gilberto having some title associated with another land, it's likely both women might have been required to relinquish whatever claims they had to family lands and titles in order to become the wife of a foreign king.  However, a lot of the time a person who was the subject of one king might also hold titles in other kingdoms.  Even the king himself.<br/><br/>The King of England might also be the Duke of Normandy (in France).  In that case, a guy who was already Duke of Normandy invaded England and became King there.  His decendents, who inherited the throne of England AND the Duchy of Normandy, would then have some justification for sending an army into France, so long as the part of France the army was in was Normandy, right?  But things could get even more complicated with various families intermarrying, etc, so that at one time both the King of England and the King of France had reasons to claim the French throne.  (I'm not really all that cultured, but I think in Shakespear's Henry the Fifth this is an issue, and there's this really long passage where some herald is explaining to England's King Henry why he should be King of France, too .. then to inject a bit of humor, he says "see, it's really quite simple" or words to that effect.  Or maybe I have that all mixed up, but you get the idea.<br/><br/>Clear as mud?  Glad I could help.<br/><br/>So, why do I mention the idea that Gilberto might hold some foreign title (and obligation?) ... because it could cause some interesting plot twist?  Probably not, for him it would just be another badge to wear.  As baron of some little barony in some foreign land, he wouldn't really be expected to send troops to fight for that king, if that king declared war on Miragliano.  (The Duke of Normandy wouldn't send troops to fight for France against England, since he was also King of England, right?)  However, it might provide opportunity for him to get involved in some other war -- justification if he wanted to, while nobody would expect him to feel obligated.<br/><br/>I also bring up the idea of a person holding these various titles because Manfred seems an ambitious young man, and Katelyn has a bit of influence with a king she happens to sleep with occasionally.<br/><br/>(wink wink)