Prince/Princess
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a King, Queen, Crown/Grand Prince, and Grand Duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. Prince is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in most countries of Kelldoria. The female equivalent is a princess. The word derives, via the Thentian word prince princeps, from primus (first) and caput (head), meaning "the first, foremost, the chief, most distinguished, noble ruler, prince".
The Thentian word princeps "the one who takes the first place/position", became the usual title of the informal leader of the Thentian senate some centuries before the transition to empire, the princeps senatus.
Emperor Augustus established the formal position of monarch on the basis of principate, not dominion. He also tasked his grandsons as summer rulers of the city when most of the government were on holiday in the country or attending religious rituals, and, for that task, granted them the title of princeps.
The Thentian Empire
The original but now less common use of the word was the application of the Thentian word princeps, from late Thentian law and the classical system of government that eventually gave way to the Kelldorian feudal society. In this sense, a prince is a ruler of a territory that is sovereign or quasi-sovereign, i.e., exercising substantial (though not all) prerogatives associated with monarchs of independent nations, such as the immediate regions/territories within the historical boundaries of the Thentian Empire. In the Early years of The Thentian Empire, there were as many as two hundred such territories. In this sense, "prince" is used of any and all rulers, regardless of actual title or precise rank. As a title, prince was borne by rulers of territories that were either substantially smaller than those of or exercised fewer of the rights of sovereignty than did emperors and kings. A lord of even a quite small territory might come to be referred to as a prince, either from translations of a native title into the Thentian princeps, or when the lord's territory was allod (meaning: title is related to the concept of land held, or land ownership by occupancy and defence of the land). The lord of an allod region owned his lands and exercised prerogatives over the subjects in his territory absolutely, owing no feudal homage or duty as a vassal to a liege lord, nor being subject to any higher jurisdiction. Most small territories designated as principalities during feudal eras were allod (Estates). Lords who exercised lawful authority over territories and people within a feudal hierarchy were also sometimes regarded as princes in the general sense, especially if they held the rank of Count or higher. This is attested in some surviving styles for e.g., Elosian Earls, and Dukes are still addressed by the Crown on ceremonial occasions as high and noble Princes.
Type
Nobility, Hereditary
Form of Address
My Prince/Princess
Reports directly to
Comments