Gwendorian Matriarchy

"One must live as a Marchsnake might: with poise and patience before the kill. She must perform statecraft for the macabre waltz that it is- knowing each step, each routine and by whom they are performed. Finally, she must do more than master her own wiles: she must harness the dreams of others for the good of the family name. Then, and only then may she be a Volkmar." - Kerellia Volkmar I, mother of the tradition

Born in the latter half of the reign of Gelid Broadbane, the Matriarch tradition came about as a meeting of Gwendor's inheritance customs, the affluence of the Twelvellian Basin, and casualties of regional conflicts. The result was an informal oligarchy of stately women through whom much of the region's wealth flowed.
From the very earliest point of written history, Cairn Chiefs often left their wives in charge while they fought, sometimes going with their wives into battle side by side. This left a legacy of matrimonial powersharing that persisted into the era of Lordship wherein grand estates were created through conquest and family fueds. These grand estates were similarly assimilated into the vast portfollios of the widow matriarchs who- in many cases- made a life and career of powerbrokering alliances between clans and families. As time went on, the harsh process of natural selection weeded out those too poor to survive, and the families that were rich enough consolidated their territorial and financial claims- becoming the founding families of whichever major house to whom they owed lineage. This is the formational story of three of the four Great Houses, with Tokköhün being more chaotic, and younger than the other three.
So it was: the strategy of high politics became naturally dominated by holders of generational wealth, it just so happened that almost all of those who orchestrated this new theatre of war were women. As such, this phenemonenon effected the formation of all three traditional houses, but none did it intoxicate more than the founding families of House Gwerrith, specifically the Volkmar Family, the first formal matriarch of whom documented and pioneered what is now studiable as 'Widow's Economics'. In a modern context, this structure manifests in a female-dominated culture within many of the competing families within House Gwerrith, wherein the 'House Mothers' dictate who marries, who is accepted, and who is excommunicated and stripped bare of their wealth. A cutthroat game-world in which you are either a piece on the board, or a player; and to fully understand which you are is a high-priced luxury afforded to only the highest of society.
However, though this is observable to many now in retrospect, it was the Volkmar's of House Gwerrith who first recognised the power of these stately women, and subsequently went about teaching politics not only in an academic sense, but as a game of life or death to their daughters. This indoctrination aimed to prepare the future generations of Volkmar women for a gruesome court landscape for which they were the best equipped. Since this began during the reign of Girith Broadbane II, the teachings have evolved and codified into a fully fledged code kept hidden by the Volkmar House Mothers, the foremost among them being named Kerellia out of respect of the tradition's first pioneer.

""In days of war, the seeds of maternal dominance are sewn. In days of peace, they sprout. Men may hold the powers of state, but understand that it is women who truly conduct its affairs." - Esther Gerwin-Düngal, Matriarch of the Doomed Stewards