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Political marriages. Women bored to tears. Certain amount of
fooling around. Poetry and romance have left Arendish women
pretty senseless. Lots of suicides.
RANK
The King
Hereditary from the marriage of Korodullin and
Mayaserana
The Dukes
The King's brothers and cousins
the Earls
Other members of the Royal Family
The Barons
Heads of other noble houses
the Viscounts
Their brothers and cousins
The Counts
Other members of those-families
Lords
Feudal Lords of specific manors
Knights
Unlanded nobility
Burgers
Town dwellers with some substance
Freemen
Usually town laborers or craftsmen
Serfs
Bound to the land
MODES OF ADDRESS
King 'Your Majesty' (even the Queen calls the King this)
Queen 'Your Highness' (same - King calls her this)
Dukes and Earls 'Your Grace'
Barons 'Your Magnificence'
Viscounts 'Your Eminence'
and Counts
Lords 'Your Lordship'
Knight 'Sir John'
MANNERS
Arends are formal to the point of being socially incapacitated. Their
lives are so circumscribed by custom and the rigid social structure
that their entire lives seem to be a kind of stately dance. Lots of
bowing and formal address. Honor, which is to say good name, is
everything and almost anything can be considered an affront. The
period of the Civil War proves that they can be extremely
treacherous, however. The major concern of the monarchy is to head off the
Arendish tendency toward civil violence - no private wars. The
King's time is taken up adjudicating disputes between the various
nobles.
Vassals are suitably subservient but very proud, nonetheless. The
commoners are servile, knowing that their masters have life or death
power over them. Arendish justice is capricious and savage. Serfs