House D'Hautville

House D'Hautville is one of 5 major noble houses that make up the Parliament of Agrippa. House sovereignty includes several habitable worlds in what is known as the Dummonian system of planets in the southern most region of the Blodsburg subsector.
== Latecomers to Agrippa ==
There is debate around the origins of the name D'Hautville, but it is widely believed that the House has it's origins on Sacred Terra itself. Indeed the name is so ancient that none of the current bloodlines that make-up the house actually carry this name in anything other than a title.
Regardless of origins, there is some evidence to support the theory that the House went through an extensive period of migration throughout the galaxy before settling in the Agrippa Sector.
Unlike most of the Great Houses of Agrippa, House D'Hautville's arrival can be traced to after the period of St. Aspen Agrippa's conversion of the sector.
== Politics of House D'Hautville ==
To the outsider, House D'Hautville is often seen as one single absolutist dynasty that operates as a single family entity. However, this model is far from reality and the House is actually made up of several leading royal bloodlines that constantly compete for power. While most paint a grim picture of the House as being a haughty and somewhat unorthodox, the truth is its policies fluctuate based on which bloodline holds power.
Of these bloodlines the two dominant dynasties are the Condé faction from the Planet of Aurex, in direct opposition to the Brettoni faction from Dummonia proper. Supporting these two main factions are a number of "prince" family sects who have also in the past achieved the title of "Regent" ruler of the House. Some of these bloodlines include the DeBourgogne, Vaubanne, Frontenacke, Montagu and the infamous Schwarzchilde families.
=== The Regency ===
Every House in Agrippa has its own unique method of governance and House D'Hautville is no different.
Essentially, House D'Hautville runs within the confines of a baroque political system akin to a parliamentary monarchy. The title "Regent" is simply a nod to the authority of the Emperor, in that the Regent rules on behalf of the true "King" of the House, the Emperor himself! Regardless of this formality, the Regent has considerable power and answers to no other Governing body outside the Governor Consul and Parliament.
In the wider politics of the sector, the Regent's primary duty in ruling the House is to appoint a proxy delegation to Parliament, or in some cases to represent the House in person. It is tradition to select a senior member of the Parliamentary delegation from the opposing bloodline as a gesture of House unity despite the factional differences within the House.
== Culture of House D'Hautville ==
House D'Hautville takes great pride in the natural beauty of the Dummonian system of planets. Dummonia, Aurex and the moon Bourgogne are pastoral agrarian havens famous for their wine exports. Such an environment has bred a House that takes protocol and class distinction very seriously. In conjunction to the House's near obsession with the arts, House D'Hautville is seen, (even by its critics) as the sector's premiere patrons of good taste.
The national pastime of House D'Hautville is hunting wild hippines and with vast stretches of wild alpine forests, many of the entire sector's elites make for Dummonia during the holiday season. In fact, at the most famous of the planet's hunting resorts of Parselles, many of the other Great Houses keep permanent cottages.
Dummonia rivals Corsca as a popular in-sector holiday destination.
House D'Hautville is known for "beating its own drum" and their policies and decisions in Parliament often go against the grain of current trends, marking them as a stubborn House with selfish interests. While the "stubborn" may be true, the "selfish" is often unwarranted and despite being all too often in the position of "official opposition" in Parliament, D'Hautville sticks to its beliefs.
Many associate this behaviour with treachery and defiance, but in truth, no one can accuse House D'Hautville for folding to diplomatic pressures they are patently against. In addition House D'Hautville is fiercely traditional when it comes to the Imperial faith and has been among the ecclesiarches most staunch supporters even if some of their interpertations of Imperial faith are questionable to outsiders.
== Controversial Past ==
Sadly for the House, they are dogged by the dark reputation of taint. Although no one to date has been able to actually produce evidence of past taint, or can anyone agree the form of the alleged taint. House D'Hautville's arrival to Agrippa was under the shadow of an Imperial order of penitence. As such the shame has been gleefully carried through the ages by their enemies and they are never permitted to forget it. As a result, the name D'Hautville is often associated with sedition, despite centuries of Imperial loyalty.
It is all too easy to make the mistake as the House's tendency to make unconventional policy decisions is well known. In late M41 the House was caught in the middle of the Thrackos Scandal and despite fighting on the side of the Emperor, their traditional loyalty to the Cardinal Duke was seen as further proof of their treachery.
Also considered a mark against them is one of their more infamous exports. Facilitated by a D'Hautville Orders Militant known as the Sisters of the Midnight Watch, D'Hautville is the sectors source of conditioned sanctioned and bound psykers.
Rival Houses often use this reputation to incriminate the House's Imperial credibility. This tends to fuel D'Hautville's stubborn sense of exclusive individuality.
Category:Great Houses of Agrippa