Noble Houses of Weidany

Originally, Weidany was ruled by many Kings, whose kingdoms warred with one another, until the weaker kingdoms were absorbed into the stronger, and the current state of a single Kingdom was reached.

The blood lines of these old royal families still exist, and many have a great deal of political power within the Kingdom. As before, there are rivalries, alliances and outright hatred between these lines. Today, they are known as the Noble Houses. Any ealdorman (a noble with a thousand hides or more of hereditary lands) can consider himself to be part of a noble House. Any noble related to such a person within six generations can also consider themselves to be part of that House.

The Houses

The Houses are considered to be either major or minor in power. Though in reality the actual strength of each house is far from black and white, the respect House members are given, and hence the influence they can have, tends to be greatly influenced by this division.

There are five major Houses - Aethlfryth, Caewlin, Eanwulf, Erwin and Oswald. They all have large amounts of land, are rich and have a long history. The other eight Houses can still be influential, though tend to side with one of the major Houses when they want something doing.

House of Aeddan. An old House with mystical roots. Now a minor house.

House of Aethlfryth. The House of the current royal family, confident, powerful and the most dominent of the major Houses.

House of Caewlin. A major house that constantly schemes to further its power.

House of Cenic. The youngest of the Houses, it was created to protect the border with Nailand. A minor House.

House of Eanwulf. A powerful House that controls much of the southern and eastern lands. It is considered a major House.

House of Erwin. A rich and powerful House, which is very conservative in it's outlook. It is a major house.

House of Gwern. This House is the remanents of the Kingdom of Aidan. The House has fallen into despair and corruption. It is a minor House.

House of Hrulgar. A relatively young House, that was created at the whim of a Queen who showed too much favourtism. They are brash and crude, out to prove themselves. It is a minor House.

House of Merin. A minor House that is trying desperately to stay alive, surrounded by much larger rivals.

House of Oswald. A secretive House whose assets are magic and riches. This House is one of the major Houses.

House of Peada. An old minor House, that mostly dwells on the eastern borders of the Kingdom.

House of Wihtgar. A minor House that fell from power many generations ago.

Feuding

Feuds between various houses are quite common, though most of the time relationships are kept to the odd border skirmish or political manouevering at court. It is not unheard of for one House to send a small band of warriors half way across the Kingdom to cause trouble on the lands of another however.

Bloodline

A House consists of its Ealdorman, plus his relatives. Quite how close a relative has to be tends to vary, and a favoured distant cousin can sometimes be given higher status than a sibling or child. Generally, anyone within two generations (descended from the ealdorman's grandfather) will be considered a proper member of the House, and anyone within four generations can be almost certain to claim membership. Geneaology is measured always through the male side of the family.