@TheEdVerse I’ve been doing some research into the High Elves of FR and I’ve learned many fascinating things, but I’m having trouble locating details on some of the logistics of their societies. Namely, how does High Elven aristocracy function?
— Stuart Urquhart (@SirQuart) February 7, 2021
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Most elven societies are city-states, or realms that really encompass one or part of one forest with a number of settlements (often tree-dwelling, seldom with walls/fortifications or numerous built structures of stone, as…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021
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…opposed to living structures made from sculpted and “trained” still-alive trees), and they tend to be ruled by a coronal (a monarch) that is not always inherited (and in practise, thanks to warfare, is seldom inherited, … 4)
…these days) advised by a council of elders, usually family matriarchs and patriarchs (the females tend to wield the most influence if they care to).
Usually elf families “own” individual trees that they live in, and burial…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021
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…crypts that they make or inherit, and guard (sometimes with baelnorns). The rest of an elf realm is commonly owned (elves would likely view this as “owned by none, shared by all creatures, under the stewardship of we Fair… 6)
…Folk,” ‘stewardship’ in this case meaning partly gardening and partly guarding. A really proud family like the Starym might think of themselves as ruling and owning a demesne/estates (contiguous expanse of forest), but would…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021
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…only use the term “estates” if they were living in a human-dominated area (like the uplands of Sembia) in which they are legally owning (with deeds, etc.) a piece of land among the holdings of other (non-elven owners). And… 8)
…yes, elves are indeed far less materialistic than most races; the resources they most value are renewable living things, and what sustains them (water, rotting matter as fertilizer), that are part of the life cycles of the… #Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021
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…land.
There’s no formal feudal system, but elf families of standing in an elven realm are expected to contribute warriors and funds and resources (arrows, transport) to the defense of the realm (and in peacetime, do so daily… 10)
…in the form of patrols that often double as hunting parties). They are expected to master the bow and the sword (and in some elf societies, mounted combat) and to provide leadership within the elf community on matters of…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021
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…social policy and enterprises (businesses that emplpy and earn/enrich all), and the families as a whole are expected to provide food, shelter, care, and fuel to the elderly and infirm; “we are on this shared path together, … 12)
…but at the same time all of us are finding our own way.”
In practise, elf “nobles” provide social leadership in the form of setting fashions, making certain games and pursuits and interests popular or not by what they…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021
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…themselves take an interest in, or don’t.
The reason I put quotation marks around the word nobles is because the actual titles used by elves (beyond the vague spoken honorifics of “lord, lady, knight” [[and a knight or… 14)
…senior noble, or someone a speaker believes to be a knight or senior noble, is usually addressed as “honoured,” so “Honoured Saer” or “Honoured Lady” is safely polite if you’re human who’s talking to a stranger elf]]) vary…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021
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…so widely from place to place and over time. Many human writers just settle for lord, lady, and knight (and sometimes “lady knight”) and leave it at that.
As Vangerdahast once said, “If an elf is pompous enough to correct… 16)
…you by providing a specific title, use it. If you want to be polite.”#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) February 8, 2021