Noble (Lorica)

The Noble Class
In kingdoms fiefdom-structure kingdoms, hierarchies are rather uniform across the various kingdoms, usually in the below order (of increasing scale of territorial claims):


 * baronet/baron
 * count
 * earl
 * duke
 * royalty

As a general rule, one must possess land to be considered a noble, as it is the ability to extract an income off the land, and thereby secure the loyalty of vassals living on the land, that constitutes nobility.

(The baronet is a honorary title, unlike the baron which is a hereditary title. As such the baronet does not own the land that is attributed to him.)

Minor Nobles
Minor nobles (baronets, barons, etc. and their families) constitute approximately 25,000 among the various kingdoms of Lorica that operate under a feudal structure. The minor nobles only have enough assets to maintain a few dozen soldiers, encompassing a handful of villages.

Major Nobles
Major nobles (counts, earls, dukes, etc. and their families) are considerably rarer, at about 5000. Each tier has approximately 1/5 as many members as the tier before it; there are about 5000 counts and about 1000+ of earls and dukes and their families combined.

Royalty
With about 15-18 kingdoms at any one time, royalty combined across all the realms usually amount to roughly 100-150 people. Royalty in imperial-structure kingdoms - who have better control over the state - are far more powerful than royalty in the fiefdom-structure kingdoms, in which power is distributed across the various tiers of nobles.

Officials
Some realms that operate on an imperial structure, such as Saphrona, don't have nobles (except royalty) but instead have government officials. There are approximately 15,000 government officials in Saphrona alone. Of these, relatively few (only a few hundred) have the rank to order commoners around, and even fewer help write the laws (according to the direction of the royalty, of course).