Karno-Ruthenian Nobility

The Karno-Ruthenian nobility (Karniareichischer Adel) is a status group, part of Karno-Ruthenian society, but they do not retain any specific privileges. Any noble living in the Ruthenian-ruled lands, and who owed their allegiance to the dynasty and therefore to the Emperor-King, is also considered part of the aristocracy. This applied to any member of the Karno, Ruthenian, Libertian, Horvatian, Letzembourguish and other nobilities in the Imperial and Royal dominions. Attempting to differentiate them can be difficult: a noble from Libertia, for instance, such as the Duke of Libertia, could call himself a Libertian noble, but he also rightfully belonged to the Karno-Ruthenian nobility. Two categories among the nobility may be distinguished: the Hoher Adel, the historic nobility that owed allegiance to the head of the dynasty and hold the higher titles, and the Niederer Adel, the new aristocracy, ennobled at any point by the Emperor-King and which holds lower titles of nobility.

History
The Kingdom of Ruthenia, founded as a monarchy, admitted as a logical attitude to reward those who helped in its foundation with titles of nobility. Since the foundation of the kingdom, the King of Ruthenia - later Emperor of Karnia, had the right to bestow titles and ranks - and did it effusively. With the foundation of the Empire, it would be the prerogative of the Emperor-King to create and revoke titles of nobility, but only a few territorial rulers within the Empire also had this right. However, from the beginning, the aristocracy had great influence at the court and thus played an important role in politics and diplomacy. The practice of elevate individuals to nobility still remains, although less frequently. With the expansion of the Empire, nobles from previously sovereign states such as Cumagne or Horvatia were also recognized by the authorities and were allowed to keep their titles and rights.

Noblesse oblige
Outsiders observing the system of nobility are often puzzled by the "lack of use" of aristocrats. Nobles run the imperial bureaucracy, they oversee the Imperial and Royal Court, they command the Armed Forces and so on. All of these roles are certainly important. Yet it's true that talented commoners could manage all of these routines just as easily, without any need for inherited privilege or ceremony. Surely the Monarchy could dispense with its aristocracy altogether? The key to understanding the aristocratic system lies in observing the core virtues of the Imperial Aristocracy: loyalty and personal initiative. A noble may be hopeless as an administrator, soldier, diplomat or jurist, but in theory he has been trained or at least is prepared from birth to be staunchly loyal to the Emperor. He has also been taught to be comfortable acting on his own initiative, using whatever power is available to him. A noble who never performs any other function for the Empire is still expected to teach his children these virtues, for the day when they may be called to serve. The noble virtues are critical because the Imperial aristocracy's true function is not to meet the demands of day-to-day routine. Instead, the aristocracy exists to ensure that there is a pool of people capable of responding to emergencies. The Empire is too vast and too thinly spread to be controlled from the center. When a crisis erupts, the Monarchy needs to know that one of its trusted servants will be on the scene as soon as possible. That person must have the authority, initiative, and loyalty necessary to resolve the situation in accordance with Imperial interests. If the Empire can't rely on this, its very survival will soon be in danger. There may be many ways for a society to ensure that loyal, agressive people with authority will respond to every crisis, but the mechanism chosen by the Karno-Ruthenian Monarchy was a hereditary aristocracy. In the end, the noble's role is to prevent the Empire from flying into thousands of squabbling fragments.

Noble titles
The nobility is divided into two categories: the higher nobility (Hoher Adel), and the lower nobility (Niederer Adel):

Non-ruling members of the Imperial and Royal Family

 * The wife of the Emperor (Kaiser) bore the title of Empress (Kaiserin) and is styled “Her Imperial and Royal Majesty”.
 * The widow of the Emperor bore the title of Empress Dowager and is styled “Her Imperial Majesty”.
 * The children of the Emperor bore the title of Archduke of Karnia, Prince Royal of Ruthenia, Bessabia and Horvatia and is styled “His Imperial and Royal Highness”.
 * The eldest child of the Emperor, regardless of gender, will be the Heir to the Throne. The Heir to the Throne bore the title of Crown Prince of Karnia, Ruthenia, Bessabia and Horvatia and is styled “His Imperial and Royal Highness”.
 * Agnates of the Imperial Family and their authorized consorts bore the title of Archduke or Archduchess (Erzherzog or Erzherzogin) and styled “Imperial and Royal Highness” (Kaiserliche und Königliche Hoheit).
 * The children of Archdukes and their authorized consorts bore the title of Archduke or Archduchess (Erzherzog or Erzherzogin) and styled “Imperial and Royal Highness” (Kaiserliche und Königliche Hoheit).
 * Legitimate but morganatic descendants of the Imperial Family excluded from the line of succession might sometimes receive lesser titles with noble rather than royal prerogatives.

Titles of higher nobility
The titles considered as Higher Nobility, being able to use the suffixes “von”, “zu” or “von und zu”:
 * Duke/Duchess (Herzog/Herzogin), styled “Highness” (Hoheit).
 * Prince/Princess (Prinz/Prinzessin), styled “Serene Highness” (Durchlaucht).

Titles of lower nobility
Titles considered as Lower Nobility, being able to use the suffixes “von”, “zu” or “von und zu”:
 * Margrave/Margravine (Markgraf/Markgräfin), styled “Illustrious Highness” (Erlaucht).
 * Count/Countess (Graf/Gräfin), styled “Illustrious Highness” (Erlaucht).
 * Baron/Baroness (Freiherr/Freifrau), styled “Gracious Lord/Gracious Lady” (Gnädiger Herr/Gnädige Frau).