House Turenne

History of House Turenne
House Turenne claims its noble lineage through the descendants of various nobles and pseudo-nobles involved in heretical movements of ancient Terra. Particularly, the Dukes and Duchesses Turenne trace a strong line back to the Count of Toulouze and the Duke of Orlenes, along with several religious groups whose leaders were also secular powers. The descendants of these leaders eventually culminated in Henri de la Tour d'Avergne, Vicompte de Turenne and Warmaster of House Bourbon. Widely regarded as the finest Warmaster of the 14th Milennia BG.

Between the movement of the Imperial seat from Terra and the recovery of the treasures, House Turenned moved out of the Terra system, eventually settling on the cold and mountainous world of Moudon.

For the next few millenia, House Turenne kept quietly to itself, content in its security on Moudon.

When the Butlerian Jihad swept across human civilization in 780BG, having a similar effect upon the Neocathari as it did the rest of the galaxy. House Turenne emerged slowly from its carefully cultivated isolation to spread the word of the Jihad to seven nearby systems in its sector. It was in this manner that House Turenne carved out its future fiefholdings.

With their participation in the Jihad, and increased political and economic presence from increased fiefholdings, House Turenne fully joined the Landsraad, becoming a strong, but usually silent, political force. Since that time, House Turenne has been known for its always cautious and conservative political stance.

When the unfortunate Megarans met their fate at the hands of the Sardaukar and turned towards other Landsraad states, House Turenne, under the leadership of Count Claude Turenne, spoke in open session for an immediate response to this threat. A combined fleet of dozens of Houses was assembled to stop the Sardaukar in the Corrin nebula, and a large combined army, under the command of now Field-Marshal Turenne was formed as a final line of defense on the Sardaukar's next target - Glarus.

When word of the fleet's utter decimation at Corrin reached Glarus, Count Turenne realized that the Landsraad's only chance for victory was gone. Rather than to needlessly waste the lives of those under his command, when the Sardaukar Fleet arrived a few days later, Turenne had already ordered the army to stand down, and immediately offered the terms of his surrender to Count Sheuset Ecevit.

Since the Treaty of Corrin, House Turenne has enjoyed (for the most part) amiable and stable relations with House Corrino, and many times have various Lords Turenne married into the Imperial House, giving rise to familial relations as well.


Recent History
House Turenne's relationship with House Corrino became cemented with the House of Bagrat Corrino, when Count Henri Turenne married the elder sister of Emperor Teimuraz II. (5750) House Turenne was awarded a larger fief and Count Louis LXXXVII Turenne became the first Duke Turenne (Louis I) by decree of the Emperor Malcor Kenric IV of the House of Estil Corrino. The title and fief were granted upon the engagement of Count Louis to the Emperor's third daughter, the Princess Laure. (6700)

On a side note... one of the worlds placed in House Turenne's control at the elevation of Louis I to the position of Duke was Rossak, which at that time had just become the home of the Zensunni Wanderers. During the almost-two milennia that the Zensunni were on Rossak, they had only intermittent contact with the Cathari there. Though the two groups had much in common spiritually and philosophically, cultural differences prevented any real cooperation or influence upon oneanother. When the Zensunni finally left Rossak for Arrakis, the Cathari were left with a profound sense of pity for them, but viewed them as a people decieved by Satan.

Through the ensuing centuries, House Turenne's favor in the Imperial Court has waxed and waned, but never below the point of dislike on the part of the Imperial Throne. Most recently, House Turenne has once again become closely allied and aligned with the Imperial House, through the efforts of Duke Henri XII. (Duke Henri acted decisively to squash legislation in the Landsraad that would have resulted in increased profits via distribution monopolies for several of House Corrino's enemies.) Note: Henri XII was Jean-Francois' Great-Grandfather's uncle. The Emperor at that time was Emperor Ackbar II Avelard, Shaddam IV's Great(x3)-Uncle (10020).


Culture and Society of 'Les Moudon'
(inhabitants of Moudon)
The vast majority of the inhabitants of Moudon (and a significant portion of those on the other fiefholdings) share, in some form, a common religious and cultural heritage with the Ducal line, and this has had an important effect on the society of the Turenne Duchy. The stern caste system of the faufreluches is very much in evidence on Moudon, and it has been further stratified by religious discrimination and separatism between citizens. A certain elevated degree of status is gained by being a faithful Cathar (even a mere Credent), and admission to the ranks of the Perfecti is open to any of the Duke's subjects with adequate faith.

In brief, the class structure in the Duchy is broken into the following levels:


Pyon - Bound to the soil and the will of their Lord or Lady, and through those nobles to the Duke. Pyons are not permitted to leave their Province, save on the business of their Lord or the Duke.

Freeman - "Bound Citizen" of the Duchy. Allowed free travel within their Province and in neighboring ones. Typically held by skilled workers. Freemen are usually unable to travel more than a few hundred kilometers from their Lord's province, but require no one's permission to do so.

Citizen - "Free Citizen" of the Duchy. May travel without restriction on their world of residence. They are not permitted to leave the planet save on the business of the Duke or Duchy. Typically the status held by merchants.


Above these begin the ranks of the Minor Nobility and Upper Classes: Mayors, Knights of Moudon, Knights of the Tower, Baronets, Vicomptes, Lords and Ladies, planetary Governors. 'Knight of Moudon' is a title awarded to career military officers after 5 years of service. After 10 additional years (or a valorious career), they are usually awarded the title 'Knight of the Tower', the highest patent of nobility a person born a commoner can hold. Also, _ANY_ Pyon can elevate himself/herself to Freeman status by volunteering and serving in the Turenne Guard (Militia for women) for 8 years, at any age from 16 to 32. Any woman who gives birth to a son is given Freeman status once he reaches 16 years of age.

Freemen and Citizens (and even to some exten, Pyons) who belong to the Cathari faith have moderately greater privledges, such as several festival days without work each year, better positions in the military, etc. (No non-Cathari may hold a rank above Captain in the Turenne Guard or Militia.)

The religious castes of Moudonese society shall follow a brief discussion of the religion itself.

Catharism
It is both the 'state religion' and the religion of the people. Also, as a derivative of old, hard-line Catholicism (the people that brought you the Crusades) it's not a very tolerant religion.

Everyone within House Turenne is a Cathar. What does this mean RP-wise? We all go to services, we all have had a religious upbringing, and we all know the dogma. Oh the other hand, that does not mean that everyone must be a fanatic follower of the faith.

The Neocathari faith was based by our Jean-Francois upon the historical Cathars, or Albigensians. Catharism a heretical movement, centered primarily in western Europe, begun by Bogomil missionaries sometime around the middle 1100's. True to form, the first contact of Catharism with the eccesiastical authorities resulted in the execution of the Cathars. This precedent led, eventually to the end of Cathars at the hands of the Dominican inquisition.

Some of the tenets of Catharism are sketched out here, and a few of them (some of the abstinence things, etc.) tend to be quite severe, especially to a materialistic, class-based society, of which we're playing the upper crust.

Historically, the Cathars were persecuted, hunted, tortured, burned, etc. Their beliefs prohibited them from many things that would have given them better odds of survival, but, for a while, they did survive, and they did so by acquiring a sort of 'laity', people who would protect them, shelter them, and support them on their way to reuniting their soul with the Divinity. In exchange, they could provide the /consolamentum/, a sort of 'free pass' to Heaven. The ultimate 'deathbed conversion'.

In brief, the historical Cathars had the following beliefs and practices...



Human bodies are given life partly by evil spirits which have been created by the devil, and partly by souls which have fallen from heaven. The souls do penance in the bodies, and if they are not saved in one body, they enter another body and do penance in that. When penance is completed, the soul is reunited with the body and spirit which have remained in heaven.


The author of the catastrope, that split the world to this dualist view, was Lucifer, the steward of God corrupted by the four-faced monster 'which had no beginning and lived in chaos', or perhaps, the son of the evil principle who entered heaven by steal or force.


Body and soul belong to different orders of creation, are the work of different creators, wholly alien to each other. For example, the Cathar's view of creation is that Lucifer (not God) produced Adam and Eve from clay, and forced angels into the bodies to give them life. Then he infected Eve with his own lustfulness, then Adam, and allowed them to perpetuate the procreation that he had begun.


Cathars, in general, abstain from the act and fruits of procreation, but for different reasons than the rest of Christianity. Cathars believed that procreation was the work of Lucifer, and participating in it was to further his evil.


In general abstention included: No sex, no meat, no milk or eggs (any edible result of animal procreation). Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays were fast days, with no wine, oil, fish or shellfish.

Further, fasting three times a year, for 40 days apiece, and monthly group confessions, typically followed by 3 days or so of fasting.



In general, the Cathars (not the /perfecti/, but the vast body of the religion), can be seen as taking their own redemption from the examples of the /perfecti/. Provided that one was a sufficiently- faithful lay member, one could recieve the /consolamentum/ before death, and be assured of redemption.


The religious strata of the faufreluches on Moudon are:

Unbelievers - Non-Cathari of any sort. Socially, they are a bit below Cathari of the same social class. They are -not- subject to any persecution or punishment for their lack of faith. Unbelievers are accorded their own freedoms of practice and living as long as they do not violate any of the Duke's Law or commit mortal sins in public. Unbelievers who are not Ducal subjects (merchant crews, etc.) are treated politely, but a distance is always kept.

Credents - By far, the most common religious standing in the Duchy. Credents are adherents of the neo-Cathari movement, but as willing or able to devote themselves fully to the faith. Provided that they are productive and faithful, they can look forward to recieving the consolamentum at least once during their lifetime, and thus are assured of their redemption.


"Credents are those who love a secular life, and do not aim at imitating the life of the Perfect, although they hope to be saved by the same faith. They are different in their manner of faith and unfaith."

Praeses - The standing of faith held by the Ducal line (and to a lesser extent, all of the minor nobility of the Duchy). The Praeses are charged with the support, furthering, and protection of the faithful, especially the Perfecti. This is seen as a selfless task, as it requires these members of the faith to cultivate the trappings of a lifestyle that is damning in the eyes of God. However, the Perfecti teach that God understands that it is better for those of pure intention to use these tools of the Adversary, than for those of evil intent, and thus allows the Perfecti to administer the consolamentum to them.

Perfecti - The perfecti are the only truly devout practitioners of the Cathari faith, obeying all of its proscriptions and observances. Perfecti are drawn from the Credents at all levels of society and both sexes, with the only requirement for acceptance being sufficient faith and the acceptance of a single other Perfect. The Perfecti are supported by the community of Credents through the efforts of the Praeses.

Other Information
-Naming of the Troops-
- Black Musketeers: Sartine's command, and the brigade of troops charged with the defense of the Duke and his family, security of Carcassonne, etc. The most elite of the three brigades.

- Grey Musketeers: The most veteran of the other elite troops, from whose ranks are drawn all Turenne forces for special assignments (e.g., cross-training exercises with other Houses or the Imperial Sardaukar, covert action work for our mentat, assassins should we need to do some sort of military-strike against an enemy, etc.)

- Prince's Musketeers: Louis' command. The final third of the elite troops, traditionally used by the Turenne Dukes as the training tool for their eldest sons. These are also the troops that would be leased out should another House wish to hire elite Turenne mercenaries.

- Major's Guards: (Note: Major is the highest order of the Cathari religion, similar to 'Bishop' in scale). The best of the conscript brigades, assigned to the center of spiritual power on Moudon, more as ceremonial unit than anything else.

- Princess' Guards: The unit given to Sophie, and charged with protecting hers and neighboring Provinces (the name isn't handy right now). As she's the second-eldest child, she must be able to manage the affairs of the Duchy, were Louis and his father to die.

- Other units? Most of these would probably be garrison units of Guards, stationed at population centers and charged with maintaining order and defending the fiefholdings.

NOTE: The Prince's Musketeers and the Princess' Guards would -not- be the troops used as their bodyguards, the Black Musketeers would. Why? Well, two reasons: The Black Musketeers are supposed to be the 'more elite' unit (especially compared with the Princess' Guards), and, also, they would be the least likely to support any of the Duke's children in an assassination attempt. For Louis or Sophie (or any of the staff, really) to be seen with Guards NOT from the Black brigade ought to be taken as a sign that -something- is afoot.

-Coat of Arms-
Vert, a bend sinister azure in dexter base an epee argent, in sinister chief a fox passant sinister blanch. Sometimes the bend sinister is twined with a vine gules.

In English:
A green field with a blue stripe from the upper right to the lower left. At the bottom right, a silver sword, in the upper left, a white fox running to the left. Sometimes the stripe is twined with a red vine.

-Uniforms-
As most of us are something other than military folks, uniforms aren't (necessarily) the usual outfit for us, but most (if not all of us) have been given some form of military training, and could put on one of these if we had to.

The basic Turenne Guards uniform consists of a pair of heavy dark green (_not_ olive drab) johdpurs, a light undertunic, and a heavier (a light flannel, perhaps) matching green uniform shirt. The 'standard' (Spring and Autumn, Moudon, and year-round Kaitain) uniform also includes a short, stiff jacket typically in a _very_ dark green (almost black), but some brigades wear different colors as part of their special uniforms. The uniform is completed with a cap (similar to the French 'kepi') in the same color as the jacket, combat boots (black), and standard outfit based on assignment. 'Standard Outfit' for all units includes (at a minimum) a fighting blade and knife, sidearm or rifle, and communicator. Elite units include a shield. Additional equipment (packs, et cetera) are as required for assignment.

Rank insignia is placed at the left breast of the shirt and repeated on the collar of the jacket and on the facing of the cap. Unit insignia is placed next to the rank insignia on the shirtfront, and also at the shirt right shoulder and jacket left shoulder. Uniform Variants: The elite brigade charged with the protection of the Ducal family (the Black Musketeers), wears a black jacket and cap, and uses the current Duke's blazon as its unit insignia. (For Jean-Francois II, this is the fox's head).