Hereditary Homage
Hereditary Homage is an ancient tradition and custom held in Diadochia. The act of Hereditary Homage is performed along with the coronation rites of a new monarch.
The act of Hereditary Homage helped to foster the evolution of a kind of reciprocal consensus between the ruler and the land, which was represented by the Estates as the figureheads of the political and social ruling classes. The Estates of the Realm pay homage to the new sovereign lord and swore their oath of allegiance or fealty; in return, the ruler confirmed the ancient rights and privileges of the land and the Estates. In modern times the Members of Parliament perform the role occupied by the Estates. Traditionally the act of Hereditary homage was performed in every major kingdom and state ruled by the Emperor of Diadochia.
The act of Hereditary Homage itself commenced with the procession of homage through the city where the ceremony was being held, where the hierarchy of the Estates manifested itself to the general public through their positions in the procession. Place of honour are given to the prelates, the heads of the great religious houses and monastic foundations. The most influential Estate was that of the lords, to which the leading aristocratic landed families belonged. Of lesser significance were the knights who belonged to the lower-ranking nobility, and the representatives of the cities and market towns in the sovereign lands.
At the centre of the procession was the sovereign emperor, with the archducal coronet of Atlantida borne in front of him. He was accompanied by the dignitaries of the patrimonial land, members of old-established noble families who performed ritual acts during the ceremony symbolizing service to sovereign and land.
The procession made its way first to the city Cathedral, where High Mass was celebrated. From there it went to the Atlantis Imperial Palace, where the actual act of homage and the swearing of the oath of allegiance took place in the Knights’ Room of the ceremonial apartments. This was followed by a thanksgiving service in the Palace Chapel, and a Court banquet at which the archducal coronet was placed next to the ruler on a table of its own as the symbol of his office.
