"Nobility"
From the Encyclopaedia Gallia, 1936 Edition
Nobility in Gallia is a hereditary, privileged status granted by House Randgriz in a ceremony known as knighting. While the concept of nobility and of an upper class dates back to prehistory, much of what is known about nobility in the pre-Calamity period is unknown. The first nobles in the state of Gallia were of Valkyrian descent and united under the rule of House Randgriz. Legend has it that there were twenty noble families in the aftermath of the War of the Valkyrur, but their names and descendants have since been lost to history, save those of Signir and Retonne, the ill-fated father and son of legend.
Around EC 53, the victory of Gallia over the neighboring region of Britonnia prompted the first recorded mass knighting: Over two hundred and fifty families were given noble status for their support of King Gatticus the Pure. As of now, only three of these families are known to be extant in their original form, while most split into separate families, as the concept of primogeniture was not prominent in ancient and early medieval Gallia. This is where a sixth of today's noble families derive their ancestry from. Collectively they are known as the Epee Nobles, for the swords they carried into battle. After this battle, knighting was not done for almost five hundred years.
Around EC 500, knighting was resumed because of severe inbreeding and corruption among the noble stock. The reforms of Letham the Avenger created an efficient bureaucracy to deal with economic and political matters, consolidated power into the hands of the monarchy, and created a system of knighting that continues to be done to this day. Every Supplication Day, the third Sunday of November, a single family is knighted for their merit, a literal manifestation of the granting of petitions by the Valkyrur themselves. Nobles knighted in this way are known as the Lance Nobles, for the lance used in the knighting ceremony.
In 1211, the Revolt of the Nobles led to the deposition of Avar the Injust, the creation of the House of Lords, and a mass knighting of those in the bureaucracy, numbering some 133 individuals. These families and subsequent splits comprise the Robe Nobles, a half of the today's noble families.
Today, there are 326 noble families, all of whom are represented in the House of Lords. While their old, feudal powers have long been removed (practices such as jus primae noctis and sole land ownership, among others), others, such as the exclusive right to be an officer in the Gallian Army, have only been removed very recently. Some practices still persist, such as exemption from taxation and postage.
The hierarchy of nobility titles, from lowest to highest, is as follows: Baron, Viscount, Earl, Count, Marquis, and Duke. The female equivalents are Baroness, Viscountess, Countess (used for both Earl and Count equivalents), Marchioness, and Duchess. Of these, most nobles are Viscounts, Earls, and Counts. The title of Duke is conferred only to those of royal blood, with the reigning leader from House Randgriz known as the Archduke or Archduchess. Lance Nobles are knighted into Barons, but in very rare occasions of extraordinary merit, they may be knighted straight into Viscounts. Notably, the Militia leader Welkin Gunther was knighted as a Viscount.
Nobles, upon being knighted, choose the way in which they prefer to be known. They may choose to attach the title to their surname, as in Archduchess Cordelia Randgriz or Count Gilbert Gassernarl. The other choice is to attach their title to the area of their jurisdiction, e.g. Welkin Gunther, the Viscount Bruhl. Whatever the case, they will only be referred to by the method of their choosing.
The knighting ceremony is very simple. The knighted holds a small candle with a wick impregnated with ragnite, giving it a bright blue flame. As they kneel before the throne, they swear an oath of loyalty to Gallia and its people. The archduke or archduchess takes up the lance, touches the flame with the very tip of the lance, and taps their right shoulder, and then their left shoulder. They are then bidden to rise, and when they do they are given a sword with traditional Valkyrian motifs, the symbol of their nobility. The hilt of the sword is a glass receptacle where the burning candle is placed to melt. In every meeting of the House of Lords, another candle is placed in the receptacle. When the hilt is full of melted blue wax, the noble is promoted to the next title of nobility and given a slightly larger sword every time. The time it takes to become a Marquis from a Baron is two hundred years. It is possible for a noble to choose to keep their current title in perpetuity, in which case they are given a shield instead, a path recently taken by the Viscount Bruhl. When a family splits, the offbranch starts from the very beginning again as a baron, regardless of how high the family originally was.
The start of the 20th century has an internal conflict between younger, more liberal minded nobles against the older, staunchly conservative nobles. A few highly publicized cases of violence in meetings of the House of Lords have drawn attention to the increased instability within Gallia's higher ranks, and it appears that a conflict in the future may be imminent.