NickDaniel wrote:
Can anyone suggest a quick and dirty guide to titles and ranks?
Like what's the difference between a baron, earl, duke, etc. Reeve, bailiff, etc.
And for the church; an abbot, bishop, bishop-prince, father etc. also abbey, monastry, church...
I don't want a thesis on the subject just something I can use that makes sense!
I have studied nobility pretty extensively, connected with my interest in Heraldry and I've used it to create a model for my own games - primarily for Albion. It's not entirely true to history for various reasons that made sense in my games.
In Albion, I have three classes of Nobles. Barons, Earls, and Dukes, ranking in order from lowest to highest.
Baron is technically the lowest rank of noble - but it's also the oldest existing in Albion, and some of the oldest Barons (Aldred among them) are very powerful and over the centuries their families have acquired a lot of lands, so they can be more powerful than some Earls. There are about sixty barons spread across Albion, a dozen of whom are 'old Barons' descended from families whose rulership predates the modern Kingdom (founded by Vallandar) and the rest being 'new Barons'
Earl is a newer title generally given by the King to somebody he wanted to serve as an overlord to try and control some of his Barons. Earl Montombre is one such - his grandfather was installed to try and create an Overlord for the Northern Baronies. Some of the northern Barons do swear fealty to Montombre, but a couple - Aldred and Grissaile - are strong enough that they have refused to do so, and Montombre can't force them to. There are eight Earls at the moment. Earls are also allowed to maintain standing armies - Barons are not (although the most powerful Barons will do so if they want to - generally it's not financially a good idea).
There are only a couple of Dukes in Albion at present. They are nobles whose power challenges that of the King (or whose ancestors did) and who were given dominion over particular areas in exchange for accepting the King's authority over Albion as a whole. Within their own domains, they can appoint their own Barons and more or less function as independent rulers as long as they ensure the Crown gets its revenues. They tend to pass on as little as possible. Dukes also have the right to maintain a standing army and both of them do maintain a small one for prestige. Interestingly, at the moment, the King is not able to maintain a standing army - a dispute and near rebellion by the citizens of the capital of Ongus was ended only by him agreeing not to do so - but normally he could (and he can always issue a call to arms, which all nobles are required to answer with men and other resources).
(Aldred, Montombre, and Grissaile almost have this type of power in their own lands as well - but officially they don't).
Most Barons put the towns and villages in their lands under the authority of a Knight (whose title is not officially hereditary or inherited but in the case of powerful Knights, it may be routine for their son to be Knighted as well, and the responsibility passed on almost routinely). A Reeve is appointed by a Baron, or a Knight to act as their Deputy in the lands they are given authority over. A Steward is similar but is normally appointed to do it in the absence of their superior (let's call them the Lord for simplicity - which could mean 'Lord of the Manor' or noble) while a Reeve does it as an assistant while the superior is present and may also be doing it. A Bailiff is selected (or occasionally elected - sometimes in quite an odd way) from among the free peasantry of a Manor to represent the peasantry to the Lord. In some cases, if he or she is considered capable, the Lord may appoint the Bailiff as their steward or reeve as well, combining the offices.
In terms of Church office, a Priest runs a Parish Church - typically each village has one. An Abbott is in charge of an Abbey or Monastery. Some Monasteries control considerable amount of land, meaning an Abbott may well function as a noble would, holding secular authority over that land. A Bishop has control over a Diocese made up of many Parishes, and is ranked equal to a Baron (and is referred to as 'My Lord'). An Archbishop (there are two in Albion) are similar, but ranks as a Duke (and is referred to as 'Your Grace' as a Duke is)
(For completeness, an Earl is also 'My Lord' or very formally 'My Lord Earl').
Abbey and Monastery are often used interchangeably and to a great extent, they are in Albion but Abbeys tend to be more involved in secular works of the Church, and Monasteries more in spiritual contemplation. But there's a lot of overlap. Monks are expected to be celibate. Priests are not, and may marry.
A few cities and towns are 'free cities' or towns. They elect their own councils and swear fealty to the King and no lower Lord. They are generally ruled by a Mayor or Lord Mayor elected each year (some cities allow reelected, some don't) and while they hold office are afforded the equivalent honour and prestige of a Baron.