Peerage

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A Peerage is an award bestowed on members of The Royal Manticoran Navy: The Official Honor Harrington Fan Association, Inc. for exceptional service and dedication to the organization, making them a "peer," or titled noble within the context of the club. "The Peerage" refers collectively to all members who are peers.

Peerage in the Star Kingdom of Manticore

In the Honorverse canon, the Manticore Colony established in 1416 P.D. lost almost 60 percent of original colonists to a plague several decades after landing. Realizing that they would need to attract additional homesteaders, but wanting to maintain control of their colony, they adopted a new constitution, creating the Star Kingdom of Manticore in 1471 P.D.

In addition to crowning their Planetary Administrator Roger Winton as King Roger I, the surviving "First Shareholders" (who already had vast landholdings) were given patents of nobility, making them titled peers of the Star Kingdom and creating a hereditary aristocracy.

Peerage as a TRMN award

TRMN policy is that no more than one percent of members may be granted peerages. This award affords the member to roleplay as a member of the nobility of Manticoran society. Peers are given privileges including a seat in the House of Lords, the right to bear a coat of arms approved by the College of Arms, and special forms of address. These rights are hereditary; any peer who dies passes the title to their eldest offspring, if the offspring is a TRMN member.

Peers are granted titles named after their "peerage lands," fictitious territories on the worlds of Manticore, Gryphon, Sphinx. Additionally, a TRMN peer's spouse and children (if they are TRMN members) are given appropriate honorifics.

Peerage titles may exist on other worlds from the Honor Harrington series of novels and related books, the most notable being the Grand Duke of New Montana, an honorary award bestowed on the author David Weber by the organization in appreciation of him creating the series.

Peerages come in several levels, based on the Manticoran Peerage System and those of other Honorverse star nations. In ascending order of precedence, the Manticoran peerages are:

• A Barony, is a peerage awarded to a Baron or Baroness. The word barony refers both to the peerage title itself and to the "land" granted to the peer.

• An Earldom is the peerage awarded to an Earl or a Countess. The land granted to an earl or countess is called a county.

• A Dukedom is the peerage awarded to a Duke or Duchess. The land granted to a duke or duchess is called a duchy.

• A Grand Dukedom is the peerage awarded to a Grand Duke or Grand Duchess. The territory associated with a grand duchy is an entire planet. Presently there are only two grand duchies in existence within The Royal Manticoran Navy:
  • New Montana (originally Montana, but changed by the author), an Honorary Peerage granted to David Weber
  • Lynx, granted to Martin Lessem, the founder of TRMN.

Obsolete ranks

David Weber modeled the SKM on historical British society, the peerage of which includes marquesses and viscounts in addition to dukes, earls and barons mentioned above. However, marquesses and viscounts are not used in the Manticoran system and thus are not utilized by TRMN. Although there was one marquess mentioned in the canon, the author considers this an oversight which he has retconned to an earl. In the earliest days of TRMN, some founding members were created viscounts, but these titles are no longer recognized in the organization.

Peers from Allied Star Nations

Some foreign peerages are awarded in TRMN to members who have non-manticoran personae:

• The Andermani Empire has equivalent noble ranks, including freiherrs (barons), grafs (earls), and herzogs (dukes).

• The Protectorate of Grayson has one level of peer, that of steadholder, which is considered equivalent rank to that of duke or duchess in the SKM, although steadholders exercise "head of state" sovereignty withing their territories, while dukes/duchesses hold their lands in fief from the crown.

• The Republic of Haven does not have titled nobles so TRMN awards Havenite members with the designation of "Senator for Life."

Cadet peers

The heir of a peerage title (usually the eldest offspring of the title holder) is referred to as a cadet peer and is addressed as "my lord" (for males) or "my lady" (for females) and referred to in the third person as (for example) "Lord John Doe" or Lady Jane Doe."

Additional younger offspring of the title holder are referred to as, for example, "The Honorable John Doe" or "The Honorable Jane Doe" (abbrev: "Hon. John Doe"). There is no special form of address for them.

Star Empire of Manticore Hereditary Peers

Rank	Title	Name	Baron/Baroness	Earl/Countess	Duke/Duchess	Grand Duke/Grand Duchess	Planet
Grand Duke	Lynx	Martin Lessem				29 February 2020	Lynx
Duke	New Scania	Martin Lessem					Manticore
Duke	Red Cliff	Jan Kotouč		06 May 2008	01 November 2014		Manticore
Duke	New Ulyanovsk	Sean Niemeyer			27 May 2015		Sphinx
Duke	Mountain View	Robert Bulkeley	16 April 2011	27 May 2015	27 May 2017		Manticore
Duke	Karstadt Sea	Robert Jackson	01 February 2012	27 May 2015	01 January 2017		Sphinx
Duchess	Split Rock	Laura Lochen	27 May 2015	27 May 2017	25 May 2020		Manticore
Duke	Westmarch	John Neitz	03 May 2013		30 December 2020		Manticore
Duke	Neu Odenwaldkries	James Friedline	03 August 2013		31 December 2021		Manticore
Countess	Luna Hill	Marcela Vávrová		01 November 2014			Manticore
Countess	New Cumbria	Elisa Randall		27 May 2015			Manticore
Countess	Fontana Flats	Chrissy Killian		28 May 2016			Manticore
Countess	Nya Östergötland	Brandi Hinson		29 October 2016			Manticore
Earl	Cumberland Moor	Peter Gordon		26 May 2018			Manticore
Earl	Mars-Evans	Daniel Walker		26 May 2018			Manticore
Countess	Miyake Jima	Jill McTavish		26 May 2018			Manticore
Earl	White Lion	William Knight		28 May 2016			Manticore
Earl	Camera Stellata	Matthew Parker	27 May 2017	01 January 2020			Manticore
Countess	New Dover	Christa Brolley		01 January 2020			Manticore
Earl	Bahia Cadiz	Kim Niemeyer		25 May 2020			Manticore
Countess	New Essex	Diane Bulkeley	28 October 2017	30 December 2020			Manticore
Earl	Cappanarrow	Wayne Bruns	28 October 2017	31 December 2021			Manticore
Baron	Nový Prerov	Ivo Heger	27 May 2015				Manticore
Baron	Tesseyman	Greg Marchand	27 May 2015				Manticore
Baron	New Mimas	Timothy Zahn	27 May 2015				Manticore
Baron	Glencairn	Drew Drentlaw	27 May 2015				Manticore
Baroness	White Rose	Allison Gahrmann	31 October 2015				Manticore
Baron	New Victoria	Justin Grays	31 October 2015				Manticore
Baroness	Cape Fear	Cindy Epard	31 October 2015				Manticore
Baron	Piedmont	John Stump	31 October 2015				Manticore
Baroness	Havelok	Stephanie Taylor	31 October 2015				Manticore
Baroness	Blacksburg	Heather Selbe	29 October 2016				Manticore
Baron	Serpent Head Point	David Weiner	29 October 2016				Manticore
Baroness	New Talinn	Kveta Tonová	01 March 2017				Gryphon
Baroness	Redstone	Heidi Nelson	27 May 2017				Manticore
Baroness	New Adelaide	Nicola Hawke	27 May 2017				Gryphon
Baron	Clipper Island	Mark Gledhill	26 May 2018				Sphinx
Baron	Silver Lake	Garret Bitker	26 May 2018				Manticore
Baroness	New Florence	Pamela Cole	26 May 2018				Manticore
Baron	New Caladan	Jeffrey Webb	26 May 2018				Manticore
Baron	New Halifax	Rob Marshall	26 May 2018				Manticore
Baron	McCovey Cove	Michael Garcia	26 May 2018				Manticore
Baroness	Long Beach	Cindy Van Wyhe	26 May 2018				Sphinx
Baron	La Mancha	Bill Lochen	28 October 2017				Manticore
Baroness	Alnwick Estates	Lauren Niemeyer	03 November 2018				Manticore
Baron	Cooper's Lake	Joseph Grieco	03 November 2018				Manticore
Baron	Eboracum	Benjamin Wagner	03 November 2018				Sphinx
Baron	New Greyhawke	Doss Buckalew	03 November 2018				Manticore
Baron	Whidbey Basin	James Jones	03 November 2018				Gryphon
Baroness	New Troy	Jackie Snedden	03 November 2018				Sphinx
Baron	West Columbia	Brad Lee	03 November 2018				Manticore
Baroness	New Hastings	Cheryl Krause	03 November 2018				Manticore
Baron	Calabasas	Chris Thompson	03 November 2018				Manticore
Baron	New Ayers	Colin Lloyd	03 November 2018				Manticore
Baron	Black Thunder	Rob Folden	5 July 2019				Sphinx
Baron	Grays Harbor	AJ Olsen	5 July 2019				Manticore
Baron	Sutherland	Michael Houghtaling	5 July 2019				Sphinx
Baron	New Byzantium	Dan Brandow	25 May 2020				Manticore
Baron	Dundonald	Joseph Harney	25 May 2020				Manticore
Baron	New Williamsburg	Mike Romero	25 May 2020				Manticore
Baron	Jutland	John Stout	25 May 2020				Manticore
Baroness	Black Wood	Ludmila Kovárová	25 May 2020				Sphinx
Baron	Tchoupitoulas	Ashley Nichols	30 December 2020				Sphinx
Baron	Oak Forest	Geoffrey Strayer	30 December 2020				Sphinx
Baroness	Kings River	Sonja Thiede	30 December 2020				Sphinx
Baron	Gilwell	Zachary White	31 December 2021				Manticore
Baroness	Fair Isle	Lori Bonilla	31 December 2021				Manticore
Baroness	Longsdale	Amanda Barrow	31 December 2021				Gryphon

Star Empire of Manticore Life Peers

Rank	Title	Name	Baron/Baroness	Earl/Countess	Duke/Duchess	Grand Duke/Grand Duchess	Planet
Grand Duke	New Montana	David Weber			01 February 2011	27 May 2015	New Montana
Countess	Wilson	Sharon Rice-Weber		26 May 2018			Manticore
Baroness	Silver Heath	Gena Robbinson	01 February 2011				Manticore
Baron	Leutzen Vale	Eric Flint	27 May 2015				Manticore
Baron	Allegheney-Mellon	Thomas Pope	27 May 2015				Manticore
Baron	New Arlington	Chris Wueve	27 May 2015				Manticore
Baron	New Kasserine	Andrew Knipe	31 October 2015				Manticore
Baron	Brentwood-upon-Tweed	Scott Bell	25 May 2020				Manticore

Protectorate of Grayson Steadholders

Rank	Title	Name	Steadholder	Planet
Steadholder	Pittman	Martyn Griffiths	01 November 2014	Grayson
Steadholder	Henesy	Tom Saidak	27 May 2015	Grayson
Steadholder	Maelstromm	David Melsome	28 May 2016	Grayson
Steadholder	Fitzgerald	Philip Clayton	03 November 2018	Grayson
Steadholder	Chẽrnakova	Kathy Rau	25 May 2020	Grayson
In Abeyance	Blackbird	Kirylyn Dreamer		Grayson

Andermani Empire Peers

Rank	Title	Name	Freiherr/Freifrau	Graf/Gräfin	Herzog/Herzogin	Planet
Freifrau (Baroness)	Neu Sachsen	Laura Lüschen	27 May 2015			New Berlin
Freiherr (Baron)	Baudenvost	Philip Wohlrab	26 May 2018			New Berlin

Republic of Haven Senators for Life

Rank	Title	Name	Senator for Life	Planet
Senator	Duquesne Tower	James Sena	26 May 2018	Haven

Defunct Peerages

Rank	Title	Name	Baron/Baroness	Earl/Countess	Duke/Duchess	Grand Duke/Grand Duchess	Planet
Lands Dissolved	New Arkhanglesk	Scott Akers	12 July 2008	01 February 2010	27 May 2015	01 January 2017
Lands Returned to the Crown	New Kasserine	Bruce Zimmerman			pre-2010
Lands Dissolved	New Cornwall	Jonathan Simmons	17 April 2010
Lands Dissolved	New Mecklenburg	John Roberts	16 April 2011	27 May 2015
Lands Dissolved	Chinook	Jason Gurule	26 May 2018

See Also

• House of Lords Manual
• Forms of Address
• Admiralty Order 1102-14 - defining peerage awards

External Links

• The Wall of Peerage Gallery of peers' coats of arms at the TRMN website.

References

Awards of The Royal Manticoran Navy and Marine Corps
Honors:	Peerage - HMS Unconquered - HMS Valhalla
Orders:	Star Kingdom - King Roger - Golden Lion - Queen Elizabeth - Merit
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Unit Citations:	LHC - RUC - RMU - FEA
Qualifications of The Royal Manticoran Navy
OSWP - ESWP - NRM - NPM - Hyper Command Star - OAW - EAW - FMF
Other Service branch awards
RMA - RMMM - RMACS - SFC - GSN - CIV
Awards Portal