Peerage of the Artoonian Empire

The Emperor of Artoonia may and does grant titles and estate of nobility in recognition of service to the Empire. Hereditary estates carry with them incorporated estates through which the holder may derive financial profit, a seat in the parliamentary House of Noblesse (La Domo Nobleca), and the right to be hanged by a silken rope if found guilty of a capital crime (excepting treason, which forfeits the estate), but no other legal privileges. They also carry a duty of military service to the Empire if demanded; all presumptive heirs to hereditary estates are expected to obtain an officer's commission in the armed services (most usually do so as reserve officers; having other professions, it is rare for one to rise above Lieutenant ranks).

The Imperial family includes (legal titles in italics, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' preferred English translations of each in parentheses)

• L'Imperiestro - The Empress Sofia. She is addressed as Via/Ŝia Imperiamajesteco (Your/Her Imperial Majesty).

• La Patrino Reĝina - Lea, The Queen Mother, widow of Emperor Arturo I. She is addressed as Via/Ŝia Gracino (Your/Her Grace).

• La Duko d'Akra = Aŭgusto - The Empress's husband, who has no imperial title of his own (jure uxoris titles do not exist in Artoonian peerage), but was given the life peerage Duchy of Akra). Wives of sitting Emperors are generally given the title Reĝino or Imperiakonsortino.

• Princulo/Princulino - any children of a sitting Emperor/Empress, and any other descendents born during his/her life (to any number of generations), are styled "Prince" or "Princess" (however, if a prince has children after the Emperor dies, those future children are not princes in their own right). They are addressed as Via/Lia/Ŝia Majesteco (Your/His/Her Majesty) (Princesses may, like a Queen, also be addressed as Grace). There are currently 13 Princes/Princesses of Artoonia.

  • La Princulo de Vulpo - Arturo, The Prince of Vulpo, a title conferred on the heir-apparent to the Imperial throne. Vulpo is the name of the Emperor's clan and, within that clan, his dynastic house, which claims its own name as a princedom. (As a dynasty, there may thus be multiple princes and princesses el Vulpo, but only one Prince de Vulpo.) Prince Georgo was Princulo de Vulpo from birth until age 29; Princess Sofia was named Princulino de Vulpo for 4 hours, 39 minutes until their father, Emperor Arturo I, passed away, after which the title passed to its current holder, her eldest son Arturo II.

  • Empress Sofia's younger children: Princess Lea Maria Elizabed̂a, Princess Maria Safira Karolina, Princess Fiona Sara Patricia, Prince Rikardo Bonaventuro Andreo

  • Empress Sofia's siblings: Princes Georgo (former Prince of Vulpo), Benjameno, and Henrio; Princess Miela; Prince Tadeo

  • Empress Sofia's nieces and nephew: Princesses Lea and Beatrica, Prince Arturo

• L'Arĥduko de Muzino - The Archduke of Muzino, a title conferred upon the father of the Emperor's/Empress's spouse:

  • The Dowager Archduchess Maria Rebeka, widow of Jakobo, 1st Archduke of Muzino (maternal grandparents of Empress Sofia)

  • Rikardo, 2nd Archduke of Muzino and his wife Maria Safira (parents of Duke Aŭgusto)

The landed estates are, in descending order of precedence:

• Duko (Duke), estate Dukio (Duchy)

• Markizo (Marquess), estate Markizio (March)

• Jarlo (Earl), estate Jarlio (County)

• Grafo (Viscount), estate Grafio (Viscountcy)

• Barono (Baron), estate Baronio (Barony)

Wives of the noblemen may stile themselves with the female equivalents (Dukino, Markizino ...). However, the husband of a woman who holds an hereditary estates of her own right may not assume her title by jure uxoris; if he holds no legal title of his own, he is merely entitled to the formal address of Lordo (his name) el (wife's estate name). Children and presumptive-heir grandchildren may use the titles Dukido, Markizido, etc. Widows of deceased noblemen may continue to use their husbands' titles with the addition of Vidvina (i.e. Jarlino Vidvina, "Dowager Countess") for as long as they live (unless they remarry), even if their heirs predecease them, leaving multiple dowagers to the same estate.

N.b. Etymologically, Grafo is generally translated as "Count" or "Earl"; the Artoonian peerage, however, assigns it a lower rank than Jarlo, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thus recommends it be translated as "Viscount", as Vicgrafo is not a recognized position within the Imperial peerage. The preferred translation of Jarlino is "Countess".

In formal address, the above are all addressed as La Lordo (Estate) in writing or Lordo (Estate) or Mia Lordo directly, except Dukes, who are addressed as La Honorinda Lordo (Duchy) ("The Honourable Lord (Duchy)")* in writing (peers may also be referred to simply by the name of the estate as long as doing so would not create other confusion). Also, those who are close family members of the Emperor (including almost all Dukes and some Marquesses) may be addressed as Via/Lia/Ŝia Alteco (Your/His/Her Highness) -- there are no set rules for to whom precisely this honour applies, other than Imperial proclamation, but the general consensus is uncles/aunts, first cousins, and possibly some second cousins. (Currently, only Raĥela, the Empress's aunt, is an Alteco.)
* The Archduke of Muzino is La Plej Honorinda Lordo Muzino ("The Most Honourable ...")

Absent explicit arrangements to the contrary (a formal publicly-witnessed ceremony of livery of seisin is required), estates pass through primogeniture. If no male heirs exist, the estate passes to the first of the following who can be found: eldest surviving legitimate daughter, granddaughter, or other female heiress through senior cadency - eldest surviving brother - eldest surviving sister - widow - eldest surviving illegitimate heirs (if paternity can be established) - most senior established cadet (uncle, cousin, etc.). If no sanguine claims can be found (tracing the line back to the original peer, but stopping before his siblings or parents), the Emperor will nominate a new lineage to an estate or declare it extinct. Adopted children have all the same rights as heirs of the body, except that they may not inherit duchies or marches without the Emperor's consent; their cadetship seniority is determined, however, not by actual age, but by position at adoption (e.g. the Earl of Havio already had a two year-old son, Natan, at the time he adopted Jago, a three year-old orphan: both may potentially inherit the county, but the younger Natan and his own heirs have seniority).

Ranking below Barons are life peerages, of which the only title (excluding specialty life peerages created for family-in-law of the Emperor) is Kavaliro (Knight) or Damo (Dame). They are addressed as Sinjoro (Name) or Damo (Name), translated "Sir" or "Dame", which may be readily distinguished from a commoner, who also uses Sinjoro, translated "Mr.", by the fact that a Knight or Dame uses the given or baptismal name, whereas "Mr." is always followed by a family name. Knighthoods may also be indicated by post-nominal letters of individual orders or the generic post-nominal Eskviro or Esk.