Kardian Lord

The appellation 'Lord' and 'Lady' is given to any unlanded noble as a courtesy title. While nobility is hereditary, being titled is not--the title comes only with a land grant. Even the heir to a Barony is accorded no higher title than 'Lord' until he inherits full control of the Barony. Lords and Ladies have the lowest social and political distinction among Kardian nobility, unless they have managed to amass a great deal of personal wealth and influence. The majority of positions in the Kardian Court are held by Lords and Ladies--the theory being that since they have no lands of their own, they will be able to focus more completely on the tasks assigned by their King. However, the King almost always chooses his Court and Cabinet from the ranks of his own family; Lords and Ladies who belong to lesser families do not entertain such lofty hopes.

These Lords and Ladies make up much of Kardia's middle class. They are used as bargaining chips by their more powerful and landed family members, often married off to wealthy commoners, such as merchants and army officials. Generally, this is considered a good match on both sides; the noble gets material security and the wealthy commoner gets prestige. Those who do not have the good fortune to be married to a merchant end up going into business for themselves: owning shops, becoming governesses, investing in companies and trade goods. After two or so generations in Trade, the noble appellation is dropped, and that branch of the family become little more than well to do commoners.

A bastard who has been acknowledged by his high-ranking parent will usually receive the title of Lord, though will not receive a land grant unless that parent is either very wealthy or very well-connected. Acknowledged bastard offspring of Barons and very wealthy Counts may receive an Estate, acknowledged bastards of a royal may receive a Shire. Bastard children born to two noble parents and acknowledged can be considered for noble marital prospects without much of a social stigma, though usually only among the lower social strata, though the child's highest ranking parent may increase their prospects. A King's bastard is still a power to be reckoned with. Bastards with one common parent has no social standing at all, and only rarely receives an elevation to Lord or Lady status, though a conscientious parent may set aside funds for the child to inherit.

One small benefit of being landless noblility is that they may petition to claim the name of any other family they can legitimately prove kinship to. Thus, many younger sons and daughters of off-shoot families will petition their Baron or a Count to take on the name of the main family; Renata to Remillard, Daelani to Lyros. Though the patriarch of the clan has a right to deny any such request he chooses, on any grounds, many of them often allow for the name-change to be given. This allows them to use lesser cousins and nephews whenever they wish to have the family represented but do not want to sacrifice any of their own children. This happens most frequently when lower-ranking nobles or wealthy commoners approach the family for a spouse, or when someone is needed outside of the Baronial boundaries as an ambassador, diplomat, or other such emissary.