The House of the Lords Advocate
For the castle, see the House of the Lords Advocate
The House of the Lords Advocate acts as a legislature for the Kingdom of Palingvyre. While in its initial conception it was merely as a further extension of the advisory council, ensuring that all nobility would be able to advise the monarch, over time, its role would increase to being a fully fledged legislative body. This increased the power of the nobility, (and the people), to govern themselves, while not degrading the power of the Crown.
The structure of the House categorises individuals into ‘seats’. These refer to the both the physical seats themselves and the votes that are associated with them. Each seat typically grants a single vote, although an individual can ‘sit’ in more than one seat at a time. This is shown in many paintings where a ‘full’ House, will still have empty seats. Typically, for multiple seat holders, they will sit in the highest ranking seat.
In addition, due to the logistical issues in travelling to or from the House, (which is situated in The Castle Duchy), it is typical that remote Lords will have permanent representatives, (Lord’s Herald), who act on their behalf, with the Lords only attending at the most pressing of times. The level of influence the Lords exercise varies, with some Lord’s Heralds acting almost entirely on their own volition.
Seats in the House of the Lords Advocate
The following are the 200 seats present in the house of the Lords Advocate. They are ordered in terms of precedence*, with the date of addition included in brackets and for singular seats the current holder is also listed. Seats are technically distinct titles, (with he exception of the Lords Aeturnum), with the letters patent granting a seat in the House instead of land.
*When in attendance at the House. The titles do confer precedence outside of it, but this will change to account for non-seated titles.
The Lord Rex (1150)
Queen Annabelle ‘the First Queen’ (Human)
The Lord Rex is the styling of the King or Queen when they sit in the House of Lords Advocate. This seat has existed since the creation of the House in 1150 and is de facto the most powerful seat within it. Unlike other situations, in which the gender of the monarch will change their title (King or Queen becoming Rex or Regina), The Lord Rex is an affixed title and does not change. The Lord Rex acts, (alongside the Lord Nobilis Judex), as the speaker of the house, regulating and managing the topics of conversation.
The Lord Rex’s seat commands 3 votes and additionally also commands the Crown Veto, whereby the Lord Rex may overturn a successful vote if it would infringe on the interests of the Crown. Although initially used frequently, as time has gone on the Crown Veto has been sparingly, to the point now that it would only be considered in extraordinary circumstance for it to be invoked.
The Lords of Office (1164)
The Lords of Office hold separate positions as Officers of the Royal Household. These are the Offices of, (in order of precedence): the Lord Steward, the Lord Marshal, the Lord Seneschal, the Lord Chamberlain, the Lord Altum Leges, and the Lord Arcana. These roles are traditionally filled by individuals already ennobled.
A seat of the Lords of Office commands 1 vote, unless voting on something within their competencies, (i.e. military affairs for the Lord Marshal), in which case they command 2. Furthermore, due the aforementioned rule that Officers must already be nobles, they will likely sit in another capacity in addition, (most likely as a Lord Aeturnum).
The Lord Nobilis Judex (1165)
Lord Alexander Cavary (Darmia)
The Lord Nobilis Judex is a perfunctory title as, although it holds a seat in the House of the Lords Advocate, it commands no votes. This is however, not say it has no influence, on the contrary, it has plenty. It was added one year after the Lords of Office seats, and it is the Lord Nobilis Judex’s job is to asses whether a matter falls within one the competencies the Lords of Office. This may appear seem symbolic, an extra vote is hardly a decisive swing, but convention is such that a Lord of Office’s word will be far more persuasive if deliberating upon their competency.
In addition, the Lord Nobilis Judex shares jurisdiction with the Lord Rex in regards to the role of a speaker. In practicality, the Lord Rex is typically acquiescent to the Lord Nobilis Judex in maintaining order within the House so as not to undermine their authority in the eyes of of the other Lords.
The Lords Aeturnum (1150)
The Lords Aeturnum where the first seats created in the House. They initially encompassed the head of all noble houses, as well as all peers from Barons to Dukes, but this caused various problems. Space was an issue, as was the perceived dissolution of influence among the most powerful, but the true nail in the coffin was a clear subversion of the system. Smaller Barons would often feel pressured to vote alongside their more powerful neighbours, given their distinct lessor powers. While this would not be an issue for the Darmia, (who where those predominantly taking advantage of this), many of the Human nobility protested. As such, in the modern day it is only landed heads with the title of Earl or Duke that sit in the House.
Each seat commands 1 vote and there are 104 seats for the Lords Aeturnum.
The Lord Black (1198)
Sir Julian Black (Human)
The Lord Black is an extremely odd seat within the House. The Lord Black is an appointed title, not a hereditary one, and further, is only granted to commoners. One may suggest, therefore, that it is a Ministerial seat, but this too is untrue as it ranks higher in precedence. Further adding to this is that the Lord Black styles themselves as a gentleman, using ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame’, the only seat in the House in which a sitter is not referred to as a Lord.
According to legend, this position originated as part of King Alfred’s entourage, where an extremely loyal soldier, known only as ‘Black’ was elevated above his peers as a Lord, despite hither too being a commoner. The position of the Lord Black has frequently been held by those who are expected to have the ear of the monarch, making it a very powerful position. Part of their duty is to find and groom a suitable successor to themselves. The Lord Black tends to the Black Estate, a modest and secluded county in the east of the country.
The Lord Black’s seat commands 1 vote.
The Lord of Armigers (1177)
Lady Jane Kettleby (Darmia)
The Lord of Armigers is responsible for dealing with matters of relating to heraldic and chivalric disputes, in other words, all Armiger law. Most commonly this applies for arms in abeyance, the theft or improper use of arms, or the actions and functioning of chivalric orders. These cases are brought directly to the House, bypassing the Ordinary Courts. After a debate has been held, it is convention that the Lords Advocate abstain with the exception of the Lord Rex and the Lord of Armigers to then pass a verdict, although occasionally the Lord Leges are also asked to input.
The Lord of Armigers seat commands 1 vote.
The Lords Imperial
The Lords Imperial are Lords and Ladies elevated to nobility due to their role administrating of the Corona Imperii, (Crown Dominions). The lands are those directly held by the Crown, these include the County of Pallon and the Duchy of Diveham, as well as any indomitable titles that lapse to the Crown. In addition this also includes any land remaining from extinct titles.
Each seat of a Lord Imperial commands 1 vote. There are only 17 seats for the Lords Imperial, but there are typically more of them than there are seats. This limit ensures that the Lord Rex, (to whom the Lords Imperial answer too), cannot subvert the House with overwhelming influence, which in turn would fetter the Crown Veto.
The Lords Ministerial (1204)
The title of Lord Ministerial is typically for those persons who are granted a non-hereditary title equivalent to an Earl or Duke, (typically these are titular, but not always, such as with the Lord Palatine of Scottingly). This includes various Guildmasters, (notably of the Arcana Guild), the Barons of Warrant, (Barons who surround the Palatine County of Scottingly), as well as the Lords Elected, those who are not already entitled to sit by nobility, but voted to do so by the House.
Each seat of a Lord Ministerial commands 1 vote, however those that are entitled to sit in their capacity as a Lord Aeturnum, (see Lord Arcana Lumneth), command no votes as a Lord Ministerial. Thusly, while there are 60 seats for the Lords Ministerial, they rarely command a full cadre of votes.