Landed Titles versus Court Titles

[Grandmaster]

In every kingdom, there's two kinds of nobility - those who hold titles with fiefs of land, and those who hold court, or courtesy titles. Both are granted by the ruler of the land, but there are significant differences between them and in how the holders are addressed.

Landed Titles:

Simply put, these noble titles carry with them a grant of land to be held in fief for the monarch. The ranks of Baron and higher may be accompanied with land granted if the monarch decrees it so.

Example: Ignacio Martín holds the title of Duke of Alhavry.

When addressing the person who holds that title, they may be referred to as the following:

Lord Ignacio Martín, Duke of Alhavry *or* Lord Alhavry.

Those who hold landed titles take the name of the lands associated with their grant as their title.

Landed titles may be passed down through inheritance from parent to child as dictated by the monarch dispensing the title.

Family Members of Landed Title Holders:

- The wife of a title holder is addressed as well by the title. Ignacio's wife is called Lady Alhavry.

- The mother of a title holder is referred to as the Dowager.

- If a woman holds the title and she marries an untitled man, she is still granted the use of Lady along with her husband's name. He does not take on her title unless the monarch allows it.

- Children of a landed title holder equal to the rank of earl or higher may be addressed as Lord or Lady as a courtesy.

- The eldest child and heir of a landed Baron or Viscount is referred to as The Honorable Mister or Miss, but the younger children are addressed as Mister or Miss.

Court Titles:

Court, or courtesy, titles are those granted by the monarch in recognition of outstanding services rendered to the crown, but do not come with a grant of land. They may, however, come with a monetary grant. Seldom are court titles granted, and even more rarely are they granted above the rank of baron.

These titles are not hereditary and revert to the monarch on the recipient's death.

A person holding a court title receives no special mode of address beyond Lord or Lady and their existing surname. For example, Ayla is granted the title of Court Baroness by Prince Gideon. She is addressed as Lady Ayla and acknowledged as Court Baroness, but nothing more.

Their spouse is not addressed as Lord/Lady and neither are their children.