[Theori]

Nobility in Barsburg

How is it granted and what does it give?

Nobility in Barsburg is granted under a handful of conditions. In most cases, Barsburgian nobility is not hereditary; the ‘pyr’ particle is commonly granted posthumously to an individual for exceptional service to the Empire, which grants the honored’s immediate family -wife/husband and children- access to the deceased’s pension for the rest of their lives. Occasionally it is granted to those still living for great contributions to the Empire’s security or progression; in this regard, it is more common than not for the ‘pyr’ particle to go to revolutionary inventors or high ranking military members. Additionally, descendants of a Basileus or Imperator are granted the ‘pyr’ particle for two generations of the ruler’s lineage. Only a ‘pyr’ may sit upon the Imperial Council without being a Provincial governor.

However, occasionally someone does something so spectacular that their whole family is made nobility. This most recently occurred when Imperator Walter pyr Docro secured the city of Osrona for Barsburg by handing it over voluntarily. For this service, the Docro family were made nobility in perpetuity, an honour shared by only a handful of others, including the Aertas and Volkova families. Perpetual nobility is reviewed every hundred and fifty years by the Imperial Compliance department; noble families who are not living up to the expected standards may lose the particle for subsequent generations, although this has occurred only once in Imperial history. Acts of treason, naturally, come with the immediate loss of noble status.

Why ‘pyr’? 

The particle for Barsburgian nobility is a reminder of the first Barsburgian noble. General Pyr Dobrev was an extremely capable warrior and strategist, who single handedly led the Empire to victory in the latter five of the Seven Wars during the era of the same name. Following the victory in the seventh war, which ensured Aen hostility would not resume for decades, the very elderly Basileus offered Dobrev a position as his designated successor, a position that the council of the Empire was extremely likely to honour. Instead, Dobrev politely refused, saying that his service in the Imperial Army was honour enough. The Basileus disagreed, naming Dobrev ‘a shining example of the nobility all citizens of the Empire should aspire to’. He was guaranteed a seat on the Imperial Council, and following his death the name ‘Pyr’ was officially decreed as the ‘name of nobility’, thus becoming the used particle.