Ferelden is a kingdom located in the southeast area of Thedas. It was conquered by Orlais a century ago, when King Darlan ruled, but was freed through the efforts of King Maric Theirin, Darlan's grandchild. Maric's son, King Cailan Theirin, is the current ruler.
The climate of Ferelden appears to be temperate, and Ferelden along with Thedas itself is located in the southern hemisphere.
Geography
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- Ferelden has two coasts. It is bordered on the north by the Waking Sea and on the east by the Amaranthine Ocean.
- To the west are Lake Calenhad, Redcliffe, mountain passes, and the dwarven kingdom Orzammar at the northwest edge within the Frostback Mountains. Beyond the mountains is the Orlesian Empire.
- In the northern center is the Bannorn, a large area of fertile land where the banns compete for the right to rule.
- Highever and Amaranthine sits on Ferelden's northern coast.
- To the northeast is the capital Denerim, at the base of Dragon's Peak.
- The eastern part is dominated by the Brecilian Forest, with the coastal city Gwaren to the far southeast, connected by the Brecilian Passage.
- To the south are the Korcari Wilds and the Ostagar ruins. The areas beyond the Wilds are uncharted.
Culture and Society
"The Fereldans are a puzzle. As a people, they are one bad day away from reverting to barbarism. They repelled invasions from Tevinter during the height of the Imperium with nothing but dogs and their own obstinate disposition. They are the coarse, willful, dirty, disorganized people who somehow gave rise to our prophet, ushered in an era of enlightenment, and toppled the greatest empire in history."
"One can assume a few things in dealing with these people: First, they value loyalty above all things, beyond wealth, power, and reason. Second, although few things in their country are remarkable to outsiders, they are extremely proud of their accomplishments. Third, if one insults their dogs, they are likely to declare war. And finally, one has underestimated Fereldans when he thinks he has come to understand them."
Alienage Culture
Like many countries in Thedas, Ferelden has large population of elves who are segregated from the rest of society and live in walled off alienages. Most elves working there are unable to achieve high paying jobs, but many elves feel that, in alienages, they are at least among family who look out for each other.
Importance of Dogs
A Mabari War Dog
Often visitors, and travelers to Ferelden ask the residents, and scholars to explain the omnipresence of dogs in Ferelden. In every civilized corner of Thedas, astute observers note that dogs are employed in hunting game, keeping barns and storehouses free of vermin, herding livestock, guarding homes, and in the mountains they are even used as beasts of burden. It is simply that Fereldans show appreciation for the work that their dogs do. The reason for that is tangled up in mythology.
Hafter, the first Fereldan to be named teyrn, was the hero who united the Fereldans' ancestors, the Alamarri, to drive back the darkspawn of the Second Blight. He was also reputed to be the son of a werewolf. Now, perhaps this was meant to be some comment on his temperament, or simply a way of making a great man even larger than life, but more than half the noble families of Ferelden claim to be his descendants. Since so many of the Fereldan people believe they have some distant kinship with wolves, it is, after all, only good manners to be polite to one's kin.
Politics
Human Nobles
To its neighbors, Ferelden seems utterly chaotic. Unlike other monarchies, power does not descend from their throne. Rather, it arises from the support of the freeholders.
All nobility may be referred to as 'lordship/ladyship' or 'my lord/lady' when not using their title. This is also the correct term for their spouse.
Freeholder
The term for any land-owner in Ferelden. A few commoners are freeholders.
Ser
A male or female knight of the realm. Commonly used as a term of praise to regard someone higher than themselves. (For example, "No, ser,")
Banns
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 your land too late to defend it. For the most part, each generation of freeholders casts their lot with the same bann as their fathers 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 that inevitably begins feuds that can last for ages.
There are currently seven known bannorns in Ferelden: Amaranthine City, Dragon's Peak, Oswin, Lothering, Rainesfere, Waking Sea and White River.
Arls/Arlessa
The teyrns established the arls, giving them command of strategic fortresses that the teyrns could not oversee themselves. They are somewhat more prestigious than banns but they have no banns sworn to them.
There are currently five known arlings in Ferelden: Amaranthine, Denerim, Redcliffe, South Reach and West Hill.
Teyrns/Teyrna
Teyrns arose from among the banns, war leaders who, in antiquity, had grown powerful enough to move other banns to swear fealty to them. There were many of these in the days before King Calenhad, but he succeeded in whittling them down to only two: Gwaren in the south and Highever in the north. These teyrns still hold the oaths of banns and arls. They may call upon them in the event of war or disaster and they are responsible for defending those sworn to them.
Teyrns are referred to as "your Grace," a form imported by the Orlesians.
Human Nobles
King/Queen
The king is the most powerful of the teyrns. Although Denerim was originally the teyrnir of the king, it has since been reduced to an arling, as the king’s domain is now all of Ferelden. However, even the king’s power must come from the banns.
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" men is a source of constant wonder to foreign ambassadors.
A king or queen is referred to as "your Majesty", while a prince or princess 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
Fereldans are mostly patrilineal. There's no tradition 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.
Trivia
- Ferelden is loosely based on the real-world medieval England. Human characters from Ferelden speak with a distinctive English accent. More specifically, Ferelden seems to be based on the culture of the Anglo-Saxons, with some Norse influence as well. Like medieval England, Ferelden was conquered by a neighbor (namely Orlais), however they managed to thrust out the Orlesians after eighty years. Ferelden is essentially what England would have been like if the Saxons had ousted their Norman conquerors in around AD 1200, a few generations after conquest, like Ferelden repelled Orlais. The developers have specifically compared Ferelden to England in "AD 1200" for this reason.
- Most visiting foreigners claim that, "Ferelden smells like wet dog."
- Like medieval Europe, Ferelden is split into fiefdoms with lords known as arls (earls), and minor nobles known as banns (barons).
- Ferelden's people are described as being a surly, spirited lot that are a single bad day away from reverting to the barbaric ways of their forbearers.
- Ferelden's clothing focus on necessity rather than appearance - such as the majority of foot wear in Ferelden being rather sturdy, tough and ugly boots.
- Many of Ferelden's titles have real world analogues. The title "Ser" is likely based on the real life English honorific "Sir," which is bestowed upon British knights. The title "Bann" is likely based on the real world title "Ban," meaning "lord" or "master," which was used in Hungary and certain Slavic kingdoms during the Middle Ages. The title "Arl" is most likely based on the real world British title "Earl," from the orignal Anglo-Saxon title. "Teyrn" is also an actual real world title, being the Welsh for "petty king", or "tyrant."
- In terms of ranks of English nobility, it seems Ser = Sir, Bann = Baron, Arl = Earl, Teyrn = Duke, and King = King. A Baron would rule a Barony, an Earl would rule a Earldom, a Duke a Duchy, a King a Kingdom (and an Emperor an Empire).