Marriage and Consorts

This page pertains to how marriage and consortship are viewed in d'Angeline society. Please note, that views will differ in foreign cultures and countries. Please note that either of these arrangements requires full legal agency of the two parties involved.

Marriage

Marriages are unions declared before a Priest of Elua, and occasionally additional priests of Companions, in a ceremony at a Temple or shrine.

Among nobles and royals they are made for political gain, often to form or strengthen alliances, and also to ensure family lines being continued and combined. Sometimes the aim may even be to produce pure-blooded offspring by combining old noble lines that have refrained from mingling their blood with non-d'Angelines. Matches are not necessarily based on love, and most often remain without, a rational arrangement where those matched are serving the interests of their families. Thus, the marriage contract agreed upon prior to the wedding is of utmost importance, as it declares important details such as line(s) of succession.

Match Making Basics

To keep things simple, matches are usually made between a landed noble and an unlanded one. The unlanded noble marries into the House of the landed noble which will show in the change of name. Isadora Bretel will become Isadora Bretel d'Aiglemort, if her husband has title and holdings. Matches between titled nobles are rarer, but they occur. In this case, the question of lines of succession has be detailed in the marriage contract, and the lower titled noble will join the family of the higher titled noble.

Matches across provinces between two landed nobles usually need to be approved by both Sovereign Ducs/Duchesses of the provinces involved, as the question about maintainability of two holdings will have to be decided on a case by case basis.

For instance, Baron Justin Basilisque will marry into the House of Mereliot, if his wife is Vicomtesse or higher. His name will change to Justin Basilisque de Mereliot. Lineage could be handled, for instance, by declaring the first daughter heiress to the Mereliot-based Vicomté, while the first son will inherit the Basilisque-based barony. You see the problems that might arise, when a couple has only sons, or only daughters, in this particular arrangement.

Please note, that children born from a married match will usually have precedence over those born out of consortship (see below). This is due to the political nature of marriages.

Commoners

Things are much simpler among commoners. Here, other factors will decide, like, getting along with each other, the prospect of a fine little home, trade options and not so rarely, love as well.

Consortship

Where marriage matches are made for political reasons, consortships are made for love. A consortship is not pursued lightly, but usually is the natural consequence of a relationship that has had time to grow and thrive. In a country that celebrates the Love of Elua, this provides legal groundation for a close companion that can even coexist beside a spouse. Consorts can be of noble class or courtesans that have retired from service. Offspring from a consortship usually is included in the lineage of the noble parent and has similar rights in attaining titles down the line, if not noted otherwise in the contracts.

A consortship is declared before a Priest of Elua. It can also be resolved by one, should a couple have lost their love for each other.

Consorts are as highly respected as spouses (for idealistic reasons), and they can be either of differing or of the same gender.

Outside of Terre d'Ange, the concept of consortship is usually frowned upon.

How do we handle this in game?

Both marriage and consortship are legal arrangements, which means they need to get approved by staff. This is even more the case for marriages and betrothals, as these would involve negotiations between families, some of which would occasionally need to get played out, through correspondence or NPCing of the heads of families. So, in case the marriage road is something that you are planning for your character and another, it is important that you put in a +request before you RP about a betrothal having been arranged.

The match needs to make sense in a themely way, which is why we, staff, need to check and assist you, the players to make it happen.

Consortship usually has less restraints, but even here, certain limitations adhere.

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