Westerland Peerage

The Westerland Peerage hierarchy is a staple of Westerland Society and Culture, especially in the post-imperial era, and is the core element of Westerland Feudal Traditions.

Rank and Order
The Peerage follows a somewhat dynamic hierarchy, and it is important to remember that power is a relative size, and just because a man holds a low rank formally, if he sits in the right office, his power might be much greater than that of many who technically rank above him.
 * Knights are automatically considered members of the Nobility, as are their immediate family members, though further removed family members are regarded as only Gentry.
 * Those related to a person of higher standing in the Peerage can often extend the status of Nobility and Gentry further than a Knight can.
 * Those in the peerage who rank of Governor or above, can safely be referred to as "Lords". It is considered to be "technical knowledge" how the different ranks fit together, and is not something a peasant or those unaffiliated with the Peerage need worry about.

Social Castes
The Westerland Social Castes are very wide and have a hierarchy of their own, made much more complex by the existence of the Westerland Peerage hierarchy. Ultimately, the peerage relies on the existence of the Gentry and Nobility to function - without people in key positions in society to ensure that their rule is supported, the peers of the Westerlands could never maintain their positions.
 * The Nobility and Gentry are part of the peerage by blood, but their power and influence typically comes from other endeavors, rather than actual appointed positions of status, though unlike those lower in the Social Castes, they are eligible for some positions of authority.

Knights
With potential to being lowest on the totem-pole, Knights, as defined by Westerland Chivalric Traditions, are the primary agents and enforces of the peerage, and are the typical leaders in Westerland Military, at least during the post-imperial era.

Officials
Officials were particularly important, and some could sit so high that their power and influence could rival even the highest members of the peerage. Naturally, Officials had to be at least of the Gentry to be considered for offices.
 * See Westerland Offices for more information on this subject.

Governors
Governors could easily be seen as lower ranking than a particularly influential Knight, and would typically be poorer than many members of the Nobility and even the Gentry, who perhaps ran successful businesses, but they did command authority and respect, being the most immediate authority that most people had to turn to.
 * See Westerland Governors for more information on this subject.

Landed Knights
A Landed Knight is a warrior who is given total dominion over a relatively small portion of land, in return for faithful service. Landed Knights have an obligation to train soldiers, and be able to rally a Banner in defense of the land they are sworn to protect, but also those who granted that land to them. The higher ranking Landed Knights are considered "Lesser Lords", as they have keeps and entire settlements under their command.
 * See Westerland Landed Knights for more information on this subject.

Earls
Earls are Lords who have been appointed to rule, on a permanent basis, with it being assume that their title is hereditary (for the most part), by someone else. A classic example, is that a Earl is appointed by a King to govern a portion of land for him, but it is understood that it is still the King's Land, and that the Earl remains the subject of the King. Earls, in the Imperial Era and in the Post-Imperial Era, typically had Landed Knights working under them, but this tradition vanished in the early days of the Colonial Era.
 * See Westerland Earls for more information on this subject.

Freeholders
Freeholders are independent rulers, who remain culturally and hereditary beholden to another Ruler, and thus cannot declare themselves Kings. To explain this in a more reasonable fashion, it is best to use an example - If an Orlesian forms a Barony, the King of Orlais remains that Baron's King, but the Barony is only the Baron's Land and those that dwell upon it are only the Baron's subjects, and while the Baron, because the Baron in this example is Orlesian, must still revere, defend and respect the King, he is not required to pay the King or do what the King says.
 * See Westerland Freeholders for more information on this subject.

Allodial Titular Nobility
Held in exemption, the Allodial Titular Nobility, are outside of the hierarchy of the peerage, and are second in status, only to the sovereign, but as indicated by their name, they are also free of Feudal Obligations and do not pay taxes or provide military services.
 * See Westerland Allodial Titular Nobility for more information on this subject.

Royalty
Royalty in the Source Lands is difficult to define, as the concept changes from era to era. In the Early Post-Imperial Era, the Kings are not at all rulers, but rather the direct descendants of the original Princes who ruled the Provinces that became the Kingdoms, and the various Freeholders can often trace their own lineage to the King, as it was the King's sons and those that married his daughters that originally became the lesser Princes of the expanding regions who later became Freeholders. As such, the Kings do not actually rule most of their "kingdoms", but the Freeholders, who rule parts of the Kingdom independently, rely on the King to be the authority that legitimizes their own rule, and remains a cultural figure of distant authority and justice, rather than an actual ruler - but also serves as the leader of a military alliance that does not serve to protect the members of said alliance from each other, but rather from outside forces. Later, the Kings obtained more direct power and became proper Monarchs.