Hu Society

SOCIETY IN THE KINGDOM OF HU

The Kingdom of Hu is a “late feudal” society

Ruling Clan: In addition to the royal family, i.e. close relatives of the king, the Varanus clan in all has 200-350 members. Nobles belonging to the ruling dynasty, including petty noblemen, can use certain honorifics and heraldic emblems and enjoy a privileged social position at court. Other clansmen may have no land, rank or fortune—these “poor relations” are often taken into service by the royal family or given positions such as steward or groundskeeper of various royal estates.

Greater Nobility: These are the Dukes and a handful of other high-ranking nobles and the members of their immediate family occasionally referred as the kingdoms’ “Upper One Thousand.” The Dukes themselves have the potential to wield substantial power and influence, especially if several dukes form an alliance. They exercise control over duchies or provinces, some of which are composed of one large island and the surrounding islets. As vassals or barons of the king they are expected to raise manpower when an army is to be mustered and to pay an annual tax or tribute to the crown. Taxes are normally paid in kind, in the form of the duchy’s most plentiful or valuable resources (e.g. grain from Ursidia, building materials and horses from Canidia). Despite widespread respect for the tradition that the ruling dynasty reigns with Heaven’s blessing, in practical terms the king must maintain a consensus among the dukes in order to effectively rule and retain the throne: a rebellion or even a refusal to pay their obligations as barons could topple a king whose personal/familial demesne is not sufficient to fight the barons.

Lesser Nobility: Families of noble status who only possess small landholdings or fortunes. They are often second-tier vassals beholden to upper nobles such as dukes. Some lesser noble families have a storied history while others have risen to their current level of prominence more recently. This class is more-or-less comprised of “provincial nobles”: many may be ill-refined or illiterate/semi-literate while others are social climbers who adopt the customs of their betters in hopes of winning a place at the table.

Younger Children of Nobility: In the modern era especially, Hu has embraced the principle of sole inheritance, normally primogeniture inheritance by the firstborn child or first born son. Occasionally another child is designated as heir. This institution is preferable to partible inheritance as it keeps the family’s estate and fortune united. This raises the issue of what is to be done with the non-inheriting younger children of nobles. One option is marriage: the possibility of marrying such a child to an heir or heiress and thus ensuring they and their progeny shall continue to enjoy the luxuries of the landed gentry. A large number of younger sons are employed in the Royal Military or Royal Administrative institutions. Unlike Long, which has a tradition of meritocratic civil service appointments, significant positions in the Hu government and military are awarded almost exclusively to aristocrats. This is necessary to appease the barons and to avoid a population of idle young noblemen capable of causing problems. Some argue Hu’s constant wars serve a socio-political function by justifying the employment of the landless sons of nobles in the military and royal administration as well as providing them opportunities to distinguish themselves and earn honors. These wars then lead to greater need for resources (especially grain) from the provinces, which require higher output by serfs and the continued cooperation of greater nobles. It is a vicious cycle.

Serfs: The vast majority of the population (85%+) of Hu is comprised of serfs, peasants tied to the land who owe an obligation to their lord in terms of agricultural labor and military duty. Serf communities connected to a particular baron work both in the fields belonging to their lord and fields which specifically provide sustenance for the community itself. The output of the community field is sometimes apportioned by the elders in response to the needs of individuals and households (touted as proto-socialism by some philosophers).

Quit Rent: Some serfs are able to leave their rural homes and in return pay “quit rent” to their feudal lord in lieu of fulfilling agricultural duties (some also return to participate in the harvest, especially those with family still living in the community). There are a number of low-yield estates whose lords’ receive most or all of their income from quit rent. These unbound serfs normally move to urban centers and take up occupations such as artisan, seaman or low-ranking civil servant/professional warrior.

Bastards: another position existing between nobles and serfs is that of the illegitimate progeny of nobles. Affairs between noblemen and women of lower status are accepted as a common occurrence (male royals and greater nobles are almost expected to sire children outside of marriage and failure to do so may lead some to question the man’s virility). Bastard children of nobles are not serfs: some are freeholders of small landed estates; others take up mercantile, military or artisanal professions (a number of fine artists and people involved in modern technology such as master shipwrights, printing press proprietors, and engineers (primarily engineers of war machines) were bastards. Female bastards are often arranged marriages or else become healers; proprietors of taverns, inns and brothels; or (both male and female bastards) spiritual renunciants.

Burghers: The merchant class which arose in Cetacia and Sirenia, these are free subjects—exempt from feudal agriculture obligations. They are city dwellers who participate in civic government and political factions and who contribute to the special tax in coin paid by the free cities to the crown. Some merchant families are proud to maintain their “crude” common roots while many others adopt a lifestyle similar to that of nobles/petty nobles. They speak Long and teach their children to read and write. Mathematics, however, is the key skill for merchants. Some burghers specialize in calculations and scribal activities. There are also members of the burgher class who take up artistic pursuits in lieu of the mercantile.