Has Wesnoth Counts and Earls?

[Adamant14]

Wesnoth has a king.
But has Wesnoth lower nobles like Count, Earl or so?
The main-character of my campain is ruler of his own territory.
He is human, lives in the years of Haldric II, and I titled him "Lord".

Is this OK?

Any better suggestions?

[TheGreatRings]

There is Earl Lan'bech (I may have misspelled his name) in Son of the Black Eye, though I'm not sure he's Wesnothian.

Beyond that, I'm not sure.

[boru]

Offhand the first two "Lords" that come to mind are Lord Kalenz and Lich Lord Jevyan.

[TheGreatRings]

But neither are Wesnothian.

[A-Red]

Lanbech is probably the only mention of a feudal title. Judging by the content in the campaigns, Wesnoth distributes power through a more modern military system rather than a feudal one. I don't recall mention of a non-martial governing body for the kingdom as a whole unless you count the royal family.

[eliddell]

The history page in the Wiki suggests that the ruler of Elensefar may use the title "lord", but Elensefar's status is sufficiently peculiar that that may not generalize. My thought is that the following hierarchy may be workable and probably doesn't materially contradict anything:

1. The king (or queen) governs the entire realm.
2. Lords (and probably ladies) govern individual areas as subordinates of the monarch. These titles are hereditary. Not all areas necessarily have a lord.
3. Knights are a mixed bag of commoners promoted for service and younger sons (and occasional daughters) of lords. Some are professional soldiers and provide the military with most of its officers; others are assigned by the crown to govern areas that have no lord. Knighthood is not automatically hereditary, but the child of a knight or lord can normally expect to have that rank conferred upon him by the crown if he asks for it and is not obviously unsuitable.
4. Everyone else is a commoner.

[Simons Mith]

Probably not 'Lord' and 'Lady'; 'Lady' is not a noble title.

'Lord' and 'Countess'; or 'Earl' and 'Countess' or 'Count' and 'Countess'. 'Lord', 'Earl' and 'Count' are all equivalent ranks.

Fate of a Princess uses a Baron. Elves use 'High Lord' which I tend to think of as equivalent to a 'Duke'.

When addressing a noble, all ranks of noble from Baron(ess) up to Count(ess) are addressed as 'my Lord' or 'my Lady'; Duke and Duchesses (the highest rank of noble) are 'Your Grace'.

How many of these ranks will get used in the game is still to be determined, but I think Baron/Count/Duke is probably a reasonable spread (lowest-highest). If you want to insert Viscount and Marquis in the gaps, that gives five distinct ranks, which should be more than enough. We should probably stick with just the first three, I think.

Edit: To clarify, the above expands on section 2. (only) of the previous post.

[Adamant14]

Thanks for all answers.

I am still confused.

Maybe this question helps me decide:

What kind of relationship could exist between Haldric II and my maincharacter? (The "Lord" we are talking about)

[eliddell]

Probably not 'Lord' and 'Lady'; 'Lady' is not a noble title.

Actually, it is--it's precisely the female equivalent to "Lord". The fact that it also has other meanings doesn't seem to me to be relevant in this context. It's perfectly fine to use "Lord" for a duke under most circumstances, by the way (it's a word that can be used for any male noble), although the form you cited is also valid.

'Lord' and 'Countess'; or 'Earl' and 'Countess' or 'Count' and 'Countess'. 'Lord', 'Earl' and 'Count' are all equivalent ranks.

"Earl" (which is specifically a British title in the real world) and "Count" (non-British) are equivalent in terms of precedence. "Lord" is a term of address that can apply to nobles of multiple ranks, as you said yourself later in your post; I was trying to be inclusive.

Hrmph. It looks like Descent into Darkness refers to Malin Keshar's father specifically as the baron of the city of Parthyn, which means that the title "Baron" exists in Wesnoth. Adding "Duke" and "Count" or "Earl" (although the higher titles should probably be rare) to that is reasonable. I don't think we need more than that--the relationships would get too confusing for an average player whose knowledge of noble titles is formed by the popular media.

Elves would be a completely different kettle of fish, since their positions appear not to necessarily be hereditary--Kalenz becomes High Lord through merit (coupled with some form of acclaim or election?). The old Italian title of "Doge" is probably closest in meaning to what the elves mean by a "High Lord".

Here's another thing: I don't think we've seen a female knight in Wesnoth yet. When one eventually does turn up, should she be called "Sir Foo", or "Dame Foo"? (The latter is probably more correct, but may confuse some people.)

@Adamant14: Sorry for hijacking your thread. To answer your original question, Wesnoth definitely has barons and may have counts (or earls) and dukes. "Lord" is a generic title that can be used for a nobleman of almost any rank. So you're probably in the clear.

[A-Red]

Also, don't forget the timeline spans a thousand years, with room to expand. You can always *make* a time when Wesnoth uses a feudal system, because the backstory can be adjusted any number of ways. For instance, maybe it was feudal under Haldric, maintained some remnants of feudalism in Malin Keshar's time, and turned to a system of martial law with a modern military system under Asheviere...just for example.

If there is a feudal system and a modern military system (e.g. Sergeant>Lieutenant>General>Grand Marshall, which appears in TRoW and HttT but I don't think anywhere in between), the coexistence needs to be explained. Feudal titles essentially were military ranks, and if a modern army with non-hereditary ranks exists alongside counts and dukes, it probably means the feudal titles have lost most of their meaning.

[AI]

My guess is that the aristocracy, where it exists, controls the civilian government and is in command of local militia if needed. The military however, consists of the standing army, answers only to the king, and can absorb militia into its ranks whenever necessary.

[Midnight_Carnival]

Is far as I knew, "Lord" was a title, like "Mr.", a baron, earl, prince, duke... infact just about anyone with some title could be "Lord <whoever>" I don't think "Lord" is a rank.

As for the aristocracy... well about all we get to hear about civilan stuff in Wesnoth is that there are towns that somehow produce gold and there are peasants who can fight... sort of. As Wesnoth becomes bigger and more popular, I don't doubt someone will work out how the aristocracy works, but it won't change the way the game works. My advice is to call your character whatever you like. "Lord" is a safe option as far as I'm concerned.

[Toanphuc]

Consider this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count. I suggest we use Count to call,or may be we could use Doge for other race.