Ferelden

Ferelden is a relatively young kingdom located in southeastern Thedas. It was formed by King Calenhad nearly four hundred years before the start of Dragon Age: Origins by uniting Alamarri clans. The nation was conquered by Orlais a century before, and was under Orlesian occupation for 84 years of its 400 years history. It was freed through the efforts of King Maric Theirin and Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir. Maric's son, King Cailan Theirin, and Loghain's daughter, Queen Anora Mac Tir are the rulers as of the start of Dragon Age: Origins.

The climate of Ferelden appears to be temperate, and Ferelden along with Thedas itself is located in the southern hemisphere.

Geography
Dividing Ferelden from Orlais to the west are the Frostback Mountains. The southeast holds the Brecilian Forest, where in 9:30 Dragon a clan the Dalish elves can be found. To the far south are the forbidding forests, swamps and eventually tundra of the Korcari Wilds. To the north of the Wilds lie the Southron Hills and the Hinterlands, and the Free Marches across the sea. The central region of Ferelden contains Lake Calenhad and The Bannorn. In the far northern region are The Coastlands, which include more swamps and forests.

Known Cities, towns and villages

 * Alamar
 * Amaranthine
 * Dales End
 * Denerim
 * Gwaren
 * Harper's Ford
 * Haven
 * Highever
 * Honnleath
 * Killarney
 * Lothering
 * Redcliffe
 * South Reach
 * West Hill

Regions

 * Amaranthine
 * Blackmarsh
 * Dragonbone Wastes
 * Knotwood Hills
 * Wending Wood
 * Bann Loren's Lands
 * Blightlands
 * Brandel's Reach
 * Brecilian Forest
 * Dragon's Peak
 * Frostback Mountains
 * Gherlen's Pass
 * Sulcher's Pass
 * The Hinterlands
 * Korcari Wilds
 * Ostagar
 * Lake Calenhad
 * Soldier's Peak
 * Southron Hills

Culture and society
Ferelden is a relatively temperate nation in the far southeast of Thedas, historically populated by a simple militaristic culture that has only begun to "civilize" in the last few centuries. The Chantry now claims the hearts and minds of 90% of the population. Fereldan cities are considered virtually anarchic by the standards of most outsiders. The Fereldan desire for freedom has engendered a cultural mistrust of law enforcement, and 'laissez-faire' attitudes in general. While the worst offenses are quickly put down, many others are ignored and citizens are often left to make their own justice. Petty theft is common, as guardsmen will only go out of their way to deal with serious disruptions. Commerce is given little official scrutiny as long as taxes are paid; businesses such as brothels and gambling halls are not only tolerated, but expected.

Surnames
In Ferelden, nobles have proper last names, such as the Howes or the Couslands. Sometimes commoners will have last names that stem from noble lines, foreign origins, land ownership or titles granted to family members in the past. Otherwise, most Fereldan commoners introduce themselves with a reference to the area they come from or to their trade, e.g. Gareth of Oswin or Jannelle the Baker.

Alienage culture
Like many countries in Thedas, Ferelden has a large population of elves who are segregated from the rest of society and live in walled-off alienages. Those who do not find positions of service outside of the alienage are unable to achieve high-paying jobs, but most seem to feel that they are at least among family who look out for each other.

Slavery
Slavery is illegal in Ferelden, but criminals still practice it in secret.

Importance of dogs
Visitors and travelers to Ferelden are often curious about local attitudes toward dogs. Throughout Thedas dogs are employed in hunting game, keeping barns and storehouses free of vermin, herding livestock and guarding homes; in the mountains they may even be used as beasts of burden. Fereldans, however, show a particular appreciation for canine companions. The origin of this is tangled up in mythology.

Dogs are common in Ferelden, both amongst the nobles as well as the common folk and mercenaries such as the Ash Warriors. Keeping dogs is a tradition kept since the times before Ferelden, started by the Alamarri tribes. The barbarians were introduced to mabari by the Magisters, who brought the dogs with them during their invasion of the land; many of the dogs decided to stay in the occupied lands after their original masters were defeated.

Hafter, the first Fereldan to be named teyrn, was the hero who united the Alamarri to drive back the darkspawn of the Second Blight, and the Chasind Wilders. He was also reputed to be the son of a werewolf. Whether this reputation was merely a comment on his temperament, or perhaps making a legend larger than life, is unknown - but more than half the noble families of Ferelden claim to be his descendants. Thus many Fereldans believe a wolf's blood still runs in their veins, and it is, after all, only good manners to be polite to one's cousins.

Politics
To its neighbors, Ferelden seems utterly chaotic. Unlike other monarchies, power does not reside exclusively with the throne. Rather, it arises from the support of the freeholders.

Ferelden still harbors widespread antipathy toward Orlesians due to the treatment of native Fereldans during the only-recently-ended occupation.

The Landsmeet
The Landsmeet is a council of the Fereldan noble class which has been held annually for three millennia (only occasionally interrupted by war, occupation, or Blight). It functions as an official legislative body for Ferelden, and can override the king on any matter of law (although its members tend not to exercise this privilege if the king is particularly popular or powerful). During the Landsmeet the current monarch is expected to mingle with and curry favor from her/his vassals. An important milestone in the history of the Landsmeet, and of Ferelden itself, was that of the 33rd year of the Exalted Age. After mysteriously gaining the support of the Circle of Magi, Calenhad Theirin marched on and seized Redcliffe, thus forcing a Landsmeet at which the nobles unanimously submitted to his kingship. This marked the birth of modern-day Ferelden and began the Theirin dynasty that was uninterrupted until the Orlesian invasion.

Titles
All nobility may be referred to as 'lordship/ladyship' or 'my lord/lady' when not using their official title.

Freeholder
The term for any land-owner in Ferelden. A few commoners are freeholders.

Ser
A male or female knight of the realm. Also commonly used as a polite term of address to and by those of equal or greater status than oneself.

Bann
Each freehold chooses the bann or arl to whom it pays allegiance. Typically, this choice is made based on proximity of the freehold to the lord's castle (as it's rarely worthwhile to pay for the upkeep of soldiers who will arrive at one's lands too late to defend them). For the most part, each generation of freeholders casts its lot with the same bann as the previous generation did, but things can and do change. No formal oaths are sworn, and it is not unheard of, especially in the prickly central Bannorn, for banns to court freeholders away from their neighbors - a practice tending to ignite feuds that can last for ages.

The eleven bannorns named thus far in Dragon Age canon are Amaranthine City, Dragon's Peak, Oswin, Lothering, Rainesfere, Winter's Breath, River Dane, Waking Sea, West Hill, White River and Honnleath.

As of the Battle of Ostagar, the ruling banns are:
 * Amaranthine City - Bann Esmerelle
 * Dragon's Peak - Bann Sighard
 * Oswin
 * Rainesfere - Bann Teagan
 * River Dane -
 * Waking Sea - Bann Alfstanna
 * West Hill - Bann Franderel
 * White River - Bann Reginalda
 * Honnleath
 * Winter's Breath - Bann Farhen

Banns whose exact lands are not yet known:
 * Bann Ceorlic
 * Bann Loren
 * Bann Perrin
 * Bann Rodolf
 * Bann Darby

Arl/Arlessa
The teyrns at some point established arlings, giving them command of strategic fortresses that the teyrns could not oversee directly. They are more prestigious than banns, but (with the known exceptions of Amaranthine and South Reach) they traditionally have no banns sworn to them.

Before the Battle of Ostagar, the five known arlings in Ferelden and their lords are:
 * Amaranthine - Arl Howe (succeeded by Ferelden's Commander of the Grey)
 * Denerim - Arl Urien (killed at Ostagar, succeeded by Vaughan)
 * Redcliffe - Arl Eamon
 * South Reach - Arl Bryland
 * West Hills - Arl Wulff

Teyrn/Teyrna
In antiquity, teyrns arose from among the banns, having grown powerful enough to move lesser banns to swear fealty to them. There were more than a few teyrns throughout Ferelden in the days before King Calenhad, but he whittled them down to only two: Gwaren in the south and Highever in the north. These teyrns are still owed fealty by arl and bann vassals, whom they may call upon in the event of war or disaster, but to whom they are also responsible for lending aid when needed.

The proper address is "your Grace," a form imported by the Orlesians.

As Dragon Age: Origins begins, Loghain Mac Tir is Teyrn of Gwaren, and Bryce and Eleanor Cousland are Teyrn and Teyrna of Highever.

The title is likely analogous to the 'real-world' Anglo-Saxon "earl" and Scandinavian "jarl".

King/Queen
The king is the most powerful of the teyrns. Although Denerim was originally the official "teyrnir of the king", it has since been changed to a separate noble's arling, as the king's domain is all of Ferelden. However, even the monarch's power must derive from support throughout the Bannorn.

This is especially evident during the Landsmeet, an annual council for which the nobles of Ferelden gather. It has been held for almost three thousand years, with only a few interruptions for Blights and invasions. The sight of a king asking for, and working to win the support of, "lesser" nobles is a source of constant wonder to foreign ambassadors.

A king or queen is referred to as "your Majesty", while a prince or princess (designated heir(s) of the monarch) is called "your Highness."

Origin of titles
The titles ser, bann, and teyrn originate in Ferelden. Calenhad, the first teyrn to unite the Clayne tribes into a single nation, borrowed arl and king from neighboring states.

Inheritance
There's no firm rule that dictates who rules the household. Fereldans are willful and their families tend to be managed by whoever can. Usually, the oldest child inherits the majority of the property regardless of gender, but there are some cases where a younger brother or sister is named the heir simply because he or she seems more capable. The Human Noble, for instance, is rumored to be a strong contender to be the next Teyrn of Highever, despite the presence of an elder male sibling.

Notable people with Fereldan origins

 * Alistair
 * Anora
 * Aveline Vallen
 * Cailan Theirin
 * Cauthrien
 * Cullen
 * Eamon Guerrin
 * Ferdinand Genitivi
 * Greagoir
 * Hawke
 * Irving
 * Loghain Mac Tir
 * Maric Theirin
 * Morrigan
 * Nathaniel Howe
 * The Warden
 * Uldred
 * Varel

Trivia

 * Ferelden is loosely based on medieval England. Human characters from Ferelden often speak with a distinctive English accent. More specifically, Ferelden seems to be heavily based on the culture of the [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons Anglo-Saxons] and Norsemen. Ferelden's occupation by the Orlesian Empire furthers the historical comparison, in that the Duke of ("French") Normandy conquered England in 1066. Ferelden is essentially what England would have been like if the English had expelled their Norman conquerors a few generations after conquest, as Ferelden did to the Orlesians. The developers have specifically compared Ferelden to "England in AD 1200" for this reason{citation needed}.
 * Another Anglo-Saxon parallel is that Dragon Age Fereldans are descendants of Germanic-inspired Alammari and Avvar, just as historical Anglo-Saxons were descendants of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Northumbrian influences are also evident in Fereldan names, (E.g.: Urien, Oswald).
 * Additionally, the Landsmeet is almost certainly based upon the Witenagemot, or Witan, of the Anglo-Saxons. In the German version of Origins, the term is Landthing: Thing was the Germanic predecessor of the Witenagemot.
 * The Teyrnir of Highever seems to be loosely inspired by a combination of Ireland and Scotland. Both Ireland and Highever were forced into submission via military conquest. Also, several inhabitants of Highever have Scots-Gaelic names, such as Gilmore and Fergus; the default name for a male Human Noble, Aedan, is Irish.
 * Visiting foreigners (notably Sten and Marjolaine) have claimed that "Ferelden smells like wet dog".
 * Many of Ferelden's titles have real-world analogues:


 * "Ser" is likely based on the real-world English honorific "Sir," which is bestowed upon male British knights. On Earth, it is still used politely to address men regardless of their actual station; in-game the official title is used for both sexes (necessitating one less piece of voice-recording for the actors and less circumstantial programming), but informally only for men (compared with the entirely ordinary "milady"). It is used identically in the land of Westeros of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.


 * "Bann" is likely based on the real-world title "Ban," meaning "lord" or "master" in medieval Hungary and Croatia; it is similarly not unlike "Baron".


 * "Arl" is most likely based on the Anglo-Saxon "Earl" or the Scandinavian equivalent "Jarl".
 * "Teyrn" is an actual real-world title - Welsh for "Sovereign" or "Monarch".


 * Fereldans bear similarities to the Celts of the British Isles. The Prophetess Andraste draws vague parallels with Boudica, who led a rebellion against the Romans (Imperium equivalent) in and around Londinium. Fereldans use mabari to take down armored knights, just as the Irish did with their wolfhounds when invaded in the 9th and 10th centuries. Additionally, there are strong Gaelic/Irish influences in the naming of Ferelden characters (Loghain Mac Tir, Cailan).
 * The Feastday Pranks DLC includes the book Compleat Geneaology of the Kyngs of Ferelden as a gift. The spellings are presumably a parallel of historical changes in English.