Sure. But also, every Corporation and Megacorporation in space has board members and executives who owe fealty to the Emperor as well; therefore, the Emperor can be considered the Sovereign/Supreme Executive Officer of each of them as well. Knights are not the only ones who owe fealty! Good thing for the Corps that the Imperial Family contents themselves with only the occasional meddling as 5% owners of each of the corporations. And, of course, as institutors of Imperium-wide economic policies...
Imperial Orders of Knighthood
- Thread starter AlHazred
- Start date
Oh certainly. I am just making the point for clarity that it sometimes gets obscured with all of the complexities as to what each of these terms means. It took me a while researching things back in the day to get a grasp on the subtle distinctions and details that often get overlooked and/or confused with one another (or that there even were specific terms for some of these things that made the distinctions easier to clarify and discuss).
The most important distinction to make is between the Sovereign of the Order (the "Owner") and the Grand Master of the Order (the Leader), as they are two entirely different things. And then Sovereigns go and become members of some of their own Orders and become the Grand Masters of said Orders (like a Ship's Captain who is "Owner-Aboard"), wearing both hats, and add to the confusion.
Also, something to note specific to Traveller's Orders of Chivalry:
In the Real World, many Orders (but not all) have multiple members holding the highest Rank within the Order (although there is still only a single Officer appointed as Grand Master from among those who are of that highest rank). So there may be a number of Knights Grand Commander (or Grand Cordon, or Grand Collar, or Grand Cross), but only one will be the appointed Grand Master. Most of the canonical Traveller Orders that I have seen seem to have only a single member of the highest Rank, who also happens to be the Grand Master.
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Good point. I should probably edit the file to include Grand Masters, since the Sovereign for each Order is the Emperor, except for the Order of Ashurgash and the Order of the Arrow where he's appointed someone else for political reasons (a Vilani and a Scout, respectively).
And for the Domain Orders, it is likely that the dignity of Sovereign of the Order has been invested in the respective Archdukes as a perquisite that pertains to their dignity, much as how in England during the High Middle Ages an Earl of a Palatine County (such as Chester) as opposed to a regular County had special Royal Privileges not extended to other Royal barons (such as the right to dispense Royal Justice (except for cases of Treason) within his domain, make and enforce his own laws, mint his own coinage, appoint his own feudal barons who owed fealty to him (who were in turn considered to be of lesser precedence when compared to Royal Barons, etc.). They were virtual sub-Kings within their territory, though still subject to the English Crown.
Imperial Archdukes are similar as compared to the Emperor of the Third Imperium. No other High Noble has the right to appoint his own Baronets (or in some cases Barons), who are in turn considered to rank with but behind those similarly entitled by the Emperor.
There are some Imperial Orders that the Emperor defers leadership of, namely the various Orders for members of specific races. The Emperor can name new members, but I imagine he usually defers that to a cultural attache group made up of members of that race.
Established in 642 by Empress Arbellatra, the Order of Gvadakoung was formed in order to honor loyal Vargr citizens of the Third Imperium such as Admiral Soegz, the ancestor of Archduke Brzk, the current Sovereign of the Order.
Membership of the order is indicated with the letter G.G. for Gratz Gvadakoung, which is Vuakedh for "Knight of Gvadakoung". There are no higher levels in the Order.
The emblem of the order is an inverted silver trefoil on a background of black. Its origin is unknown.
The order meets at its headquarters, a deep space station located in the Antares system, in geostationary orbit around the main world. The station contains a meeting hall, offices, recreational facilities, the archives (including both the official and private papers of Soegz and his descendants) and museum of the order, quarters for the entire membership of the order should the need arise, and docking facilities for starships.
This Order is considered equal in precedence to the Order of Hlyuea.
Headquarters: Antares (Antares 2421)
Leader: Archduke Brzk of Antares
Order of Gvadakoung
Tags: Institution, Nobility, Order of Knighthood, Third ImperiumEstablished in 642 by Empress Arbellatra, the Order of Gvadakoung was formed in order to honor loyal Vargr citizens of the Third Imperium such as Admiral Soegz, the ancestor of Archduke Brzk, the current Sovereign of the Order.
Membership of the order is indicated with the letter G.G. for Gratz Gvadakoung, which is Vuakedh for "Knight of Gvadakoung". There are no higher levels in the Order.
The emblem of the order is an inverted silver trefoil on a background of black. Its origin is unknown.
The order meets at its headquarters, a deep space station located in the Antares system, in geostationary orbit around the main world. The station contains a meeting hall, offices, recreational facilities, the archives (including both the official and private papers of Soegz and his descendants) and museum of the order, quarters for the entire membership of the order should the need arise, and docking facilities for starships.
This Order is considered equal in precedence to the Order of Hlyuea.
Headquarters: Antares (Antares 2421)
Leader: Archduke Brzk of Antares
Order of Hlyuea
Tags: Institution, Nobility, Order of Knighthood, Third ImperiumEstablished by the Empress Arbellatra in 642, the Order of Hlyuea honours Aslan citizens for exceptional service to the Imperium. The separation of the genders in Aslan society continues in Imperial Asian; this cultural quirk has necessitated the creation of separate branches of the Order of Hlyuea for male and female inductees. The male branch recognizes service in leadership or military roles, while the female branch recognizes bureaucratic or commercial success.
Regular membership in the order is indicated with the letters O.H. (Honoured Member of the Order of Hlyuea). This is used for both branches, since the knight's gender itself indicates the branch. Senior members may be made Honoured Companions of Hlyuea (C.H.). The leader of a branch of the Order is styled the Honoured Patriarch (or Matriarch) of Hlyuea (P.H./M.H.); the Patriarch and Matriarch are coequal in status, as each focuses on leading different activities of the Order. The current Honoured Patriarch is Brigadier General Feaftafelriy Ouesearl Eaelro' of the Unified Armies of the Imperium; the current Honoured Matriarch is Ambassador Yuui' Aearoih Tlaityoh.
Among themselves, Aslan of the Order use the title "Honoured-One" to refer to themselves, rather than Sir or Dame, and consider it a sign of great respect to be referred to as such by non-Aslan who are sophisticated enough to know to do so.
The emblem of the order is five four-pointed stars in gold against a background of red. This emblem is traditionally associated with Hlyuea, an Aslan folk hero commemorated in the clan name Hlyueawi. Historians argue over the accuracy of this contention; as with much of Aslan history, it is difficult to separate myth from reality.
The headquarters of the order is on Capital. It is the smallest of the headquarters buildings of the various major orders of Imperial knighthood in the Imperium, despite the fact that it contains two separate facilities — one for males and one for females.
This Order is considered equal in precedence to the Order of Guadakoung.
Headquarters: Capital (Core 2118)
Leader: Brigadier General Feaftafelriy Ouesearl Eaelro' of the Unified Armies of the Imperium / Ambassador Yuui' Aearoih Tlaityoh.
Order of Muan Gwi
Tags: Institution, Nobility, Order of Knighthood, Third ImperiumThe Order of Muan Gwi is one of the youngest of the chivalric orders, founded by Archduke Arielle Adair of Sol in 1005. It is intended to lend honor and prestige to Vegan citizens of the Imperium, especially members of the Guardian tuhuir within the Vegan Autonomous District.
The Duke of Muan Gwi is Sovereign and Grand Master of the Order, but other than this there are no ranks or other internal distinctions among members. The post-nominal suffix for members of the Order of Muan Gwi is M.T.U., standing for the name of the order in the Vegan language: Muanguir Tuhuir Uangua. Members of the Order are commonly referred to simply as Members or Member Knights.
The order has no emblem. On the rare occasions when a sigil is needed, the Order uses its title (translated from the Vegan) in red on a black background.
The Order has no separate headquarters building, but gets by using a few offices in the central headquarters of the Guardian tuhuir on Muan Gwi, the Vegan homeworld.
The order is considered equal in precedence to the Order of Wampallally.
Headquarters: Muan Gwi (Solomani Rim 1717).
Leader: Archduke Adair of the Domain of Sol.
Order of Wampallally
Tags: Institution, Nobility, Order of Knighthood, Third ImperiumEstablished by Emperor Cleon I in 53, membership is restricted to Bwaps who meet the requirements of outstanding loyalty, outstanding diligence and outstanding achievement as administrators, scientists, and merchants.
Members of the order are called Tapat-a-per-Wapekset ("Guardian of Honor", abbreviated T.W.), elder members of the order are styled Satha-a-per-Wapekset ("Elder Guardians of Honor", abbreviated S.W.), and the most senior member is the Wap-a-Web-a-per-Wapekset ("Great Source of Honor", W.W.W.). The current Wap-a-Web-a-per-Wapekset is Ambassador Tabaka Babkot.
The emblem of the order is a tree on a field of blue, with three coins hanging above.
The order maintains a complex of offices in Asa-wakaba-atewa, the capital of Marhaban, the Bwap home planet. The complex boasts living quarters for visiting members, communal dining, bathing, and entertainment facilities, and a massive hall of records, including the archives of the Order of Wampallally as well as significant records from across the Empty Quarter, brought in and deposited by wandering members.
The order is considered equal in precedence to the Order of Muan Gwi.
Headquarters: Marhaban (Empty Quater 0426).
Leader: Ambassador Tabaka Babkot.
Order of Eerynaaia
Tags: Institution, Nobility, Order of Knighthood, Third ImperiumThe Order of Eerynaaia is an Order of Knighthood created by Empress Porfiria in 317, specifically to honour Imperial citizens of Luriani descent.
Ordinary members are known as either an Aralul (male) or Arawa (female) y Eerynaaia (Ar.Ee.), effectively meaning "Companion of the Order". Ranking above these are the Giaralul (male) and Giarawa (female) y Eerynaaia (Gar.Ee.), the Knights of the Order. The order is commanded by the Iraralul (male) or Irarawa (female) y Eerynaaia (Iar.Ee.), the Knight Commander of the Order of Eerynaaia. The current Iraralul of the order is Emperor Strephon, though the order’s affairs are effectively run by its deputy commander, Brandon Archduke, the Archduke of Gateway, on Daramm.
The emblem of the Order is a series of five nested red swirls on a golden background. This is an emblem meant to symbolize voices raised in harmony toward a common goal.
The headquarters of the order are located on Daramm. A building of bold architectural form and striking colors, the houses three Museums and two fine dining establishments, but has only the most basic facilities for members to reside temporarily.
Headquarters: Daramm (Ley 0812)
Leader: Brandon Archduke, the Archduke of Gateway.
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