Feonian (Culture)

One of Longreech's oldest culture groups, The Feonian culture derives from the Planes of Nardethel. Their society is defined by their driving need to live a noble life as dictated by The Chivalliant - a noble code which has since evolved into a state church. Humans of Feonian decent are some of the most varied physically, as their trade hubs make for varied genetics as cultures and peoples mix. Like many of the Human tongues, the original language of Feonian has since been passed over for a more universal common. Each of the five Kingdoms of the Nardethel have developed cultural differences to the others as well, especially the Kingdom of Havaray which now aligns itself closer to the Scheltz culture.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Adela, Fredeuuara, Riberta, Geila, Balthildis, Blesinde, Aldguda, Addela, Baldechildis,  Herdin, Everelda, Gersuenda, Engelberge, Anselda, Alpaida, Gomatrudis, Fordola, Liodburga, Erkenrad, Emecin

Masculine names

Gozbert, Richomeres. Arnulf, Leger, Audoen, Childebert, Waleran, Liudolf, Birinus,   Maurifius, Martinus, Odulf, Sicleardus, Griffon, Vicelin, Theutgaud, Conrad, Thankmar, Helisacal, Sunno

Family names

De Villiers, Du Ravilles, de Abassier, De Vernille, Chauvès, Nofort, Vassellevé, Verninie, Châtichade, Lamallon, Albessard (Various De, Du, La, Le + placenames of noble houses)

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Feonian language has since been replaced with the widely spoken Common but the regional dialects and accents of the various versions of old Feonian has remained, as well as remaining the standard for naming within the five kingdoms.

Shared customary codes and values

Feonian society is heavily tied to the The Chivalliant, which is both the church of The Nardethellian Kingdoms and the name for the chivalric code of which the noble stock of Feonian society live by. The codified version of the Chivalliant are as follows:

1. Thou shall believe in and observe the teachings of The Chivalliant
2. Thou shall defend freedom akin to the Chainbreaker
3. Thou shall respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
4. Thou shall love the country in which thou wast born.
5. Thou shall not recoil before thine enemy.
6. Thou shall make war against the infidel without cessation and without mercy and follow the Chainbreakers path.
7. Thou shall perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to The Chivalliant.
8. Thou shall never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word.
9. Thou shall be generous, and give largesse to everyone.
10. Thou shall be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil, Much as the Chainbreaker did.

Average technological level

The Feonian people are renowned horseman and much of their military might and advancements has surrounded the the development of their heavy cavalry. As a whole the Feonian people are not nearly as industrially advanced as say the Scheltz, but where they do excel in agriculture. The vast network of natural waterways and rivers make for extremely fertile lands and the Feonian people have mastered crop growth. They are the biggest exporter of food world wide.

Common Etiquette rules

Feonian peoples are expected to live a pure and pious life, treating each other with charity where needed and kindness. Aspects of the tenants of The Chivalliant have trickled down through all walks of life. However it is harder for someone to devote themselves to the lifestyle, the less economically secure they are.

Art & Architecture

Art in the Feonian Kingdoms has gone through many different areas. Early Feonian works were mainly tapestries and large woven pieces however the culture made a shift towards pained works as inks and colours flowed into their many costal training hubs from the lands of the Far West. Furthermore, before printing became as wide a medium as it is today, illuminated manuscripts were widespread - often depicting tales that embodied the ideals of The Chivalliant.
Architecture varies throughout the Feonian Kingdoms, with each of the Kingdoms of the Nardethel embracing their own unique architectural style. Having said that, its is clear in all Feonian building at focuses on both defensive structure as well as use of natural light is apparent. House are less designed, more built to facilitate a need. Its only in the palaces of the elite and in religious sites that we see a distinctive difference in style.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

When a male child is born to a Feonian family, their father or the male who will be responsible for the "Knightly guidance" must cut the ambilocal cord with a sword that will become the child's blade at the age of sixteen. These blood blades or "Sanguilam" are normally sized between a dagger and a short sword and are normally carried into combat by Chivalliant Knights as a side arm. These blades are personal to the child and are buried with them when they die. If a Feonian male has committed a heinous crime or gone against the code of The Chivalliant in some dire way, this blade is stripped from them, melted down and poured onto their dominant hand - preventing them from wielding a blade again without earning it again with great effort. This supposedly prevents them from entry through the Gates of Ascension and reach their after life.
Female children when born are dipped into a ceremonial bowl or body of water filled with anointed oils and beautiful aromatic flowers which are said to enrich the beauty of the child and prepare them for a life of purity. A common turn of phrase for if a female Feonian does not conform to the cultural norms is that "Something's corrupted (their) purity pool" - an idea that comes from the old wives tale that if something impure entered the pool during the baptism, that the child is destined to be an "issue".

Coming of Age Rites

A male Feonian culture comes of age at Sixteen at which time a ceremony called "The Honoring" is held. At this ceremony the "honored" male is dressed in ceremonial robe and presented with their Sanguilam by their guardian who will first cut their own hand, and then the boys before binding them together on the blades edge with a white ribbon, bonding their blood in honor before the blade is given to the "honored" male. These wounds are not allowed to be healed by magic and are a respected status symbol of Feonian men. It is this cut that is covered by a melted blade when a Feonian male has done wrong. A "Honored" wound (The wound the child receives) is a large line down the center of the palm. A guardians line is a smaller cut across their own honored wound - symbolizing the sharing of honor when raising the boy. This is known as a "Savoir Cut". A man can have many Savoir cuts, depending on how many boys they have guardianed - having more of which is a high respected status symbol.
A Female Feonian's coming of age is not defined by linear age, but from when they first bleed - as it is deemed a sign that the gods have seen them fit to forgo their childish purity and take up the mantel of motherhood. When a girl of Feonian culture reaches this age it is known as "Sangmatrem". They are then subject to a highly honored feast known as the "Feast of Flowering" where they are treated like royalty and adorned with flowers and given many gifts. The feast will last an entire day and normally (but not always) ends with the betrothal of the lady to a worthy suiter.

Funerary and Memorial customs

As mentioned, Feonian males are buried with their Sanguilam so they can defend the tenants of The Chivalliant even in death. This also allows for the inertance of familial weapons and magical items to be unaffected leaving their family in strong stead without them.
When a female Feonian dies, she to be interned in a tomb built next to her husbands so she can be at his service even in death. If a woman died without marriage, she is interned in a burial site adjacent to her fathers. In the obscure case that neither are known or exist. They are buried in a tomb of the next closest male relative to protect them in the after life.

Common Myths and Legends

The Tale of Gulliam de Feonia

The Tale of Gulliam de Feonia is a Epic poem by Feonian scholar Heudebrand which tells the story of the formation of the Kingdoms of the Nardethel. It tells of a General under the Hero by the name of Gulliam de Feonia who survived The Battle of the Banishment and lived to see the first Green and Pleasant Day. Gulliam sailed across the straights of divinity to start a new life with his wife, Nardethell. They came to a beautiful and fertile land which Gulliam named for his wife's honor. He proceeded to have 6 sons, Five of which are the founders of the various Nardethellian Kingdoms and go on various quests in the Epic. The Sixth and youngest son of Gulliam and Nardethel, A Knight by the name of Gabrien, takes up the mantel of protagonist for the final third of the poem. He sets out to find the Heroes place of ascension to retrieve The Heroes broken blade [Rapture and bring it home for the glory of his family. Gabrien goes through multiple trials before finally reaching the place of ascension and beholding the broken blade. Other scholars have since disputed the ending in their own versions of the tale, but in the Heudebrand version of the epic Gabrien is cursed by a Fey Sorceress Alienor Le Pen and becomes the "Chevalier Argent" a spectral silver knight that roams the planes of the Nardethel upholding honor and nobility but forever unable to finish their quest - Thus never able to die. Other versions of the story have said Gabrien found Rapture and wielded it against Alienor Le Pen, becoming the Chevalier Argent in the process. Some have said that Gabrien found the blade and went into hiding to stop Alienor Le Pen from finding it and the Chevalier Argent is a servant of hers forever searching for the Swordbarers. Either way, Gabrien never returns to gain his Kingdom in the Nardethell, Leaving one seat empty. The story ends with Gulliam deciding that his remaining Sons and their Sons would hold this empty seat as an Elective position of High King - giving a mythological precedent for the semi-united Nardethel we see today.
See Chevalier Argent

The Yellow Yeoman

The Yellow Yeoman is a local legend along the Feonian Borderlands about a noble bandit known for the distribution of food and alms to the poor. In a majority of the tales, The Yellow Yoeman is a Noble who was unlanded by a tyrannical Duke who has taken to banditry to fight the “Dishonourable Honoured with Honourable Dishonour.” In most versions of the tales he fights with a quarterstaff in order to incapacitate rather than kill.
See The Yellow Yeoman   

The Maceman of Mor L’Caar

  The Maceman of Mor L’Caar is an urban legend from Havaray. One day a mysterious knight, towering 8ft heigh and wielding a two handed mace or maul stationed himself on a bridge on one of the major trade roads. He began to challenge every knight that passed the bridge, refusing them passage without accepting his challenge of a duel. One hundred knights tried to fight him, 100 knights failed. The Maceman became such a nuance to the nobility of Havaray that the king was called to deal with the knight. The King offered the knight a place in his court - which the Maceman refused simply replying “Challenge me or leave”. Infuriated the King challenged the knight and was wounded by him, his leg crushed. The king was only saved by his son who rushed in with a shield to deflect the killing blow. The prince then duelled the Maceman - finally defeating him.

Historical figures

• High King Guillaume II current high king of the Kingdoms of the Nardethel
• Gulliam de Feonia founding father of the Feonian people

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

In keeping with the religious ideals of the The Chivalliant, People of Feonian culture emphasize "purity and piety" in beauty. Women tend to refrain from cutting their hair, instead styling it in flowing plats or tying it up. Men are expected to be well groomed and physically fit. Most younger men are expected to keep clean shaven and also refrain from cutting their hair. You'll notice most of these ideals and "grooming standards" slip or are less cared for the older a Feonian male gets, But for the women the standards remain as they are heralded for their beauty.

Gender Ideals

Males in Feonian culture are considered the breadwinner and the most important person in the familial unit even though they are not expected to tend to the home or their children. The social status of a man is determined by his wealth and the amount of land he owns; life for peasant males are often difficult and they are often employed as servants of richer men. Peasants are also required to fight in times of war. Wealthier men often own vast amounts of land and employ peasants or women to look after it; most rich men do not work as such and rely on the money generated by their land or an inheritance from their ancestors to make up their income. Common jobs for poorer men included farming and working the land, while richer men are often employed in the Courts or as Knights.
As for women, Few women work in Feonian society however some have ventured into the realms of writing, nursing, baking, spinning and weaving or they worked alongside their husbands in the fields, although they did not gain any recognition for this work. The principal role of women in Feonian culture is to care for their children and husband and look after the home; their chores often included doing housework, cooking and looking after their children. The role of a wife was very important and women are expected to tend to their husband’s needs at all times.

Courtship Ideals

In the aspects of Love, There are two separations in Feonian life between Marriage and Courtly Love (mainly for the upper classes, however since the spread of fiction and novels, many middle and working class people have begun aspiring to these ideals). Marriage in Feonian culture is political, rather than signifying the bond of ones love, it signifies the joining of two houses and by effect their estates - whether that be for wealth, political capital, security or all of the above. Thats not to say that love does not exist in said marriages, as it can develop over time, but as marriages in Feonian culture tend to be arrange by parties not actually marrying it is unusual for love to exist prior to the arrangement.  Courtly love however is the ideal of love at first sight or pure romance. It normally has nothing to do with marriage and in most literary sources it is said that its impossible to feel courtly love with your spouse. This does not mean married people were excluded from courtly love; they just experienced it with someone 'outside' their marriage. All courtly love is erotic to some degree and not purely plutonic which isnt helped by the mixed ideals of living a life of perpetual desire channeling his energies to higher ends, or physically consummating the relationship. 

"It is the pure love which binds together the hearts of two lovers with every feeling of delight. This kind consists in the contemplation of the mind and the affection of the heart; it goes as far as the kiss and the embrace and the modest contact with the nude lover, omitting the final solace, for that is not permitted for those who wish to love purely.... That is called mixed love which gets its effect from every delight of the flesh and culminates in the final act of the gods" 
-  Lambert de Lovelace in his book  "The lady of the Sky"

The ideals remain in a state of flux especially as due to religious (and quite frankly succession rules) Bastardry is highly shunned in Feonian society.

Diverged ethnicities

• Scheltz

Related Organizations

• The Chivalliant
• The Kingdom of Othrae
• The Kingdoms of Nardethel

Related Locations

• The Planes of Nardethel