Lord/Lady

Lord is an appellation for a person who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a Master, a Chief, or a Ruler.
According to the Ancient scripts of Kelios, the etymology of the word can be traced back to the word hlaford which originated from hlafweard meaning "loaf-ward" or "bread-keeper", reflecting the tribal custom of a chieftain providing food for his followers. The appellation "lord" is primarily applied to men, while for women the appellation "lady" is used.

Feudalism

Under the feudal system, "lord" had a wide, loose and varied meaning. An overlord was a person from whom a landholding or a manor was held by a lord or vassal under various forms of feudal land tenure. A liege lord was a person to whom a vassal owed sworn allegiance. Neither of these terms are titular dignities, but rather factual appellations, which describe the relationship between two or more persons within the highly stratified feudal social system. For example, a man might be lord of the manor to his own tenants but also a vassal of his own overlord, who in turn was a vassal of the King. Where a knight was a lord of the manor, he was referred to in contemporary documents as "Jon (Surname), knight, lord of (manor name)". A feudal baron was a true titular dignity, with the right to attend The King's Moot (Court), but a feudal baron, Lord of the Manor of many manors, was a vassal of the King.

Manors

The substantive title of "lord of the manor" came into use in the Kelldorian system of feudalism after the early Amorian Conquests. The title "Lord of the Manor" was a titular feudal dignity which derived its force from the existence and operation of a manorial court or court baron at which he or his steward presided, thus he was the lord of the manorial court which determined the rules and laws which were to govern all the inhabitants and property covered by the jurisdiction of the court. The lord was a man who had the power of exercising capital punishment over them. The term invariably used in contemporary documents is simply "lord of X", X being the name of the manor. The term "Lord of the Manor" is a recent usage of historians to distinguish such lords from feudal barons and other powerful persons referred to in ancient documents variously as "Sire" (Pelosion, or Elosian), "Dominus" (Thentian), "Lord" etc.

Lady

Lady is used before the family name of a woman with a title of nobility or honorary title (in her own right), or the wife of a Lord, a Baronet, or a Knight, and also before the first name of the daughter of a Duke, or Earl.
As a title of nobility, the uses of "lady" in The Realms are parallel to those of "lord". It is thus a less formal alternative to the full title giving the specific rank, of Archduchess, Grandduchess, Duchess, Countess, or Baroness, whether as the title of the husband's rank by right or courtesy, or as the lady's title in her own right. A widow's title derived from her husband becomes the dowager, e.g. The Dowager Lady Elbetha Whiteswan.

Type

Nobility, Hereditary

Form of Address

My Lord/Lady

Reports directly to

Baron/Baroness