Courts regnant


Domain and Regency » Government » Able Assistance » Courts regnant
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A regent's court is both the regent's household and his government. His court is build around the people who are dependent on him, those he trusts, and those most loyal to him. In an ideal court these three categories apply to everyone. But a regent's court is composed of friends, dependents, and certain kinds of rivals. Friends are probably trusted and loyal, but even if they aren't entirely so, the regent likes having them around. When friends get the regent into trouble its not out of malice, or a desire to harm the regent, but the regent is confronted by this problem none the less. Vassals are theoretically dependent, although some nobles are so powerful in their own right that the regent certainly hopes they are loyal. For example, nearly half of all Talinieans live in Lindholme. If the Earl of Lindholme seems to be getting too close to the Archduke of Boeruine, or either of the Guilders in the province, the Thane of Talinie might have reason to be concerned. Even if the Earl of Talinie is a rival, if he's not disloyal, the Thane of Talinie is obligated to deal with him, he is just to powerful to ignore, and the Thane can not be so unfriendly to the Earl that he becomes disloyal.
Further, some officials in court own their positions either through inheritance, or because the office itself is property. They may be part of the domain, loyal to the domain, at least in the abstract, but find fault with either some specific policy of the regent, or more, even including being a major rival of the regent. In medieval government, offices are regarded as property, and depriving a person of his office was no different than taking his land or confiscating his titles. It is only possible when the regent can make the claim that the vassal has broken their oath of fealty or their oath of office. The modern idea that an official serves at the pleasure of the regent is only just invented during the renaissance, and so while its something a regent might build toward, allowing a regent to simply dismiss inconvenient officials eliminates part of the internal conflict that is natural to a medieval court.

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