The Northern Kingdom
One of the first observations that went through my head when I first came to the Old Kingdom was “this is a kingdom in name only”.
In the northern, cold and snowy regions of the known world lies the oldest nation in the known world, the Northern Kingdom, where gods and monsters walk freely amongst men. My birth land is well known for the length of its winter and its inhabitants, proud, resilient and prone to use the aforementioned winters to raid the coasts of the Southern Countries.
Structure
Political
At the beginning of this part of the guide, I have quoted my of the main inspirations for this guide and one of the rare foreigners who left their mark on the Kingdom in a completely peaceful way. Al-Farzaneh’s remark of the Kingdom only being a Kingdom in name only1 stems from the functions of the High King or Queen.
I alluded in the Northern Kingdom’s timeline the formation of the Kingdom, which was a time where the clans who lived in what was the Kingdom at the time decided to elect amongst their jarls a leader to unite them against the foreign threat. That leader is the High King or Queen and with them was born the Northern Kingdom. In practise, it means that the High Ruler doesn’t so much govern the Northern Kingdom itself but rather conduct everything related to foreign policies2 on top of their responsibilities as a jarl.
Social
It is impossible to talk about the Kingdom without mentioning its social classes4.
At the top of the food chain are the clans and their clansmen. Think nobility and you have the Norse clans. The jarls, leaders of the most affluent and influent of these clans rule like kings over their hold. Clans are landowners and responsible for the care of their territories and the people living on them.
Then come the freemen, that is most of the Norsemenn.
Finally, at the foot of the societal pyramids are the bondsmen and thralls. The first often being indebted freemen who sold themselves to others in order to repay their debt, while the second are slaves collected in raids abroad or during military campaigns.
Territories
The ancestral lands of the Northern Kingdom lies in its heart, where the first clans lived, not far from the location of the bifröst. Over the millennia, it slowly has absorbed, either by alliances or wars, the surrounding territories until it now sprawls all over the northern parts until of the known world, taking one fifth of its lands.
By tradition, the capital hold changes to fit the High Ruler's, making the Kingdom's capital city the current capital hold's.
1 Compared to most Southerners’ experience of kings and queens anyway.
2 Including raids. For the past two years, the Roman empire has been devoid of any Norse raid. It isn’t luck, it’s because the High King and the Empress have an accord.
3 Make no mistake in thinking that holds never cooperate though. They do so it’s not unusual for jarls to contact each other and establish inter-hold policies. High-ranked criminals come to mind.
4 This is only a cursory glance and a very broad description of the social classes that I expand on in their proper parts of the guide.
Current High Ruler
Líkreifr Trimasson Current capital hold | city
Himinsfall | Thorhöll
Líkreifr Trimasson Current capital hold | city
Himinsfall | Thorhöll
Founding Date
The first day of our calendar is actually the founding date of the Kingdom
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Alternative Names
the Kingdom (casual) | Heimaríki (traditional Norse name meaning ‘home kingdom’; mostly used in literature and poetry) | the Norse Kingdom | the Old Kingdom
Demonym
Norsemadr (pl. Norsemenn)
Government System
Monarchy, Elective
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Peningr (pl. peningar)
Location
Official Languages
Related Ranks & Titles
Related Ethnicities
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments