Political Titles

There are many **political titles** throughout Pydwell. On this page, they're ordered from highest to lowest rank, though a few have exceptions in power.

## Emperor / Empress

> *See also: Emperor*
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An **Emperor** (male) or **Empress** (female) is the highest title in an empire, of which there have been three: Drakengard, Thalmonian and Norgardian. They're the owner of all the lands, which rules through counts and marquises, the tutor of the law and the commander of the Imperial Army, administered through a Field marshal.

## King / Queen

> *See also: Category:Monarchs*
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A **King** (male) or a **Queen** (female) is the ruler of a kingdom, where they have the highest authority. They are usually assisted by a royal council and by a mage advisor.

## Archduke / Archduchess

An **Archduke** (male) or **Archduchess** (female) is one of the highest positions a noble can hold, short of being king or queen. However, it's more of an honorary title than having any authority behind it.

## Prince / Princess

A **Prince** (male) or **Princess** (female) is generally a child of the currently ruling royal family. If they were the eldest child, they're usually the next in line to become king or queen.

## Duke / Duchess

A **Duke** (male) or a **Duchess** (female) is usually the ruler of a duchy.

## Marquess / Marchioness

A **Marquess** / **Marquis** (male) or **Marchioness** / **Marquise** (female) is a noble who has the task of ruling over lands.

## Margrave

A **Margrave** is a political title usually adopted by a military commander whose task is to defend the borders of a kingdom or of a state. In the saga though, this title is more akin to marquis in that it's given by rulers and is hereditary.

## Earl

An **Earl** is a male noble and generally a vassal of a king/queen or emperor. Usually the ruler gives them a land (an earldom or county) where they rule and keep the order in the ruler's place. In the real world, this title is akin to count and there is no female version (countess is used instead).

## Burgrave / Burgravine

A **Burgrave** (male) or **Burgravine** (female) is the owner of a castle and its surroundings, which is called a burgraviate. In the real world, this title can range from being the equivalent to a count, viscount, or a viceroy depending on the country.

## Viscount / Viscountess

A **Viscount** (male) or **Viscountess** (female) is a vassal of a king/queen or emperor. They usually have the task of keeping the juridical order in a province or colony.

## Baron / Baroness

A **Baron** (male) or **Baroness** (female) is a vassal of a king/queen or emperor. Generally they will administer a land (called a barony) of the ruler, where they must keep the order.

## Baronet / Baronetess

A **Baronet** (male) or **Baronetess** (female) is one of the lowest rankings, just above knights. They're considered commoners but referred to as "Sir".

## Knight / Dame

A **Knight** (male) or **Dame** (female) is one who usually holds the honorary title of knighthood granted to them by either a monarch or another political leader and act as vassals, fighting for their ruler. In exchange, some took payment in the form of a small estate.

## Lord

A **Lord** is usually the ruler of a settlement. While in the real world there was no female version of lord in the past (the wife of one was simply called "Lady") recent history has named some women as lords. The title of lord is also not so much as a ranking but one of several titles a noble who's a marquess/marquise or lower may be called. Therefore a duke may not be called lord but a baroness could.

## Viceroy

**Viceroy** (male or female) is a non-noble title given to an official who runs an area (whether it be a city or country) as the representative of a monarch.

## Governor

A **Governor** (male or female) is a non-noble title that is given to a public official to govern an area, usually a city.