An update from the Imperial Court Master of Conduces, Lord Augustin Reinard, Viscount of Baarlowe, Baron-Consort of Keval After some weeks of trial, discussion, and thought, I am making the first set of bulk additions and changes to the Noble Etiquette Codes. They primarily are what I would call "quality-of-life" alterations, and aim at little more than clarifying what is likely the intended nature of the original set of codes. There are, however, a few cases in which I have made alterations based on my own interpretation of what Conduces should be. I will take this chance, therefore, to briefly outline my thoughts below. The purpose of the Master of Conduces, and indeed Noble Etiquette itself, is double-fold. The first is to ensure that the Nobility remains as it should be; the collection of the Empire's finest, most virtuous, most suited for leadership. In essence, that the nobility remains noble-in-truth. Put another way, the Conduces' purpose is to maintain moral excellence among the nobility as it pertains to the social realm. The second is to ensure that the Nobility remains visibly and notably separated from the broader populace; refined and graceful, even beyond the simple demands of moral excellence. These goals shall be two fundamental guides for the current Master of Conduces' decisions. Additions to the Houses With new houses and entities entering the noble sphere, the Master of Conduces recognizes the following additions to the classification of Houses: de Acoizissia: Souvereine de Ortiz: Souvereine Goretaan: Core Peirgarten du Vicieux: Core In the case of the fourth; while not strictly an independent house in its own right, the Master of Conduces recognizes its political independence from the rest of House Peirgarten, and its rulership over a unique Feudal Realm. Due to some uncertainty regarding the political affiliation of Peirgarten du Vicieux, as well as the cultural course they will take, the Master of Conduces has defaulted them to Core rather than Souvereine as one might expect due to the culture of their subjects. However, Peirgarten du Vicieux's future decisions will be a particular focus of the Master of Conduces in order to determine if another Code is more appropriate. Alterations to the Etiquette To list every alteration would be bulky, and indeed unnecessary. There are twenty or so alterations, most rather minor, and therefore the Master of Conduces expects the Peerage to be able to simply read the new list in its entirety. They will note those alterations which are more than simple "quality-of-life" additions. Nevertheless, the three additional rules, which apply the same to all Codes, are as below: Section 31: Nobles should refrain from the overuse of vulgarity. While not entirely prohibited, swearing may be sparingly used to effectively punctuate an important point, and not frivolously. Section 32: Nobles should not hire or fire Palests/Junkers frivolously. After a grace period of two weeks, removing one without proof of valid reasoning (dishonour, severe neglect, or technical incompatibilities) is prohibited. Such reasoning should be made public to the entire nobility. Their leaving the post voluntarily is dishonour and neglect. Section 33: Nobles may only incite or engage in violence within their noble right, occupational duties, official duels, or when presently threatened with bodily harm. Furthermore, special note is made that in conjunction with the new Section 32, an exception has been made for Palests and Junkers in all sections related to familiarity with servants, for all codes. All alterations are contained within the comprehensive updated list below. The Master of Conduces highly encourages all members of the Peerage to fully read their respective Code. Spoiler: Comprehensive Noble Etiquette List
