Political Regions: A Primer

[Shadekeep]

I've put together a resource that worldbuilding GMs might find useful. It's a guide to the ways in which territories are often defined in a medieval setting, with special emphasis on the Duchy-centric hierarchy as seen on Cidri.

https://shadekeep.com/files/Political_Regions.pdf

This is admittedly pretty dry reading and it is really targeting GMs who are into this kind of thing. I figured since I had already done the research I may as well write it up and share it in case anyone else finds it useful. I will make it public on Shadekeep.com if folks here think it has any merit.

Incidentally, are there any extant clues as to whether established Duchies like Dran are under a Kingdom, and if so who the King or Queen may be? I'd be curious if there's anything canon on that.

[hcobb]

ITL 172: "Elyntia and its neighboring kingdoms" is about all we get.

The Ardonirane book has a lot more details on that nearby setting, including mention of the Onyx Halls.

[Shadekeep]

Thanks, wasn't sure if I had overlooked something somewhere or not.

[Steve Plambeck]

Thank you. A marvelous piece of work - well done!

[Shadekeep]

Cheers, glad you like!

[JohnPaulB]

I love this post and find it very useful. I wish I had it before I started similar research two years ago.

I wanted to emphasize smaller communities, so I got a bit more detailed at the lower end.

Settlement.........................Population
• Hovel...............................1 or 2 inhabitants
• Roadhouse........................1 family
• Homestead........................1 family
• Thorp................................20 to 80 inhabitants
• Hamlet..............................4 to 8 families; under 100 inhabitants
• Village..............................6 to 30 families; 100 to 2000 inhabitants
• Towns...............................2000 to 5000 inhabitants
• Medieval City – Small...........5000 to 10000 inhabitants
• Medieval City – Large..........10000 to 25000 inhabitants
• Medieval Metropolis............25000 to 75000 inhabitants

The population boundaries (above) are a rough concept. Howard's data works just as well.

My assumption for family size - a medieval family consists of 10 members: Father, Mother, 6 offspring of various ages; one grandmother, one grandfather. There are variants that include uncles/aunts or ‘uncles.’

I expand Howard's settlement intro:

Hovel is a small building for one or two people to live in.
This would be the type of settlement one might see as they cross a barren land. Either desperately poor persons or a hermit. Or perhaps outposts for nomads.

A roadhouse is a building typically built on or near a major road in a sparsely populated area or an isolated desert region that services the passing travelers, providing food, drinks, accommodation, stables. It would be operated by the owner and house their family, usually between two and five family members. There may be a few other family dwellings that take advantage of the roadhouse’s draw.
This would be a remote inn quite a ways away from everything.

Homestead is a building (or a few buildings) for one family and perhaps a few others to live in. Usually it is a farm or fishing location. If the homestead expands to two + families and some more buildings, then it is becoming a Thorp.
This would be a well built, well defended farm house or ranch house. Built by a family intending to stay and flourish.

Thorp is a group of families coming together for communal support. Generally a maximum size of 20 to 80 people; consisting of a small kin group, no larger than an extended family or clan; 4 to 8 families.
It could be a tiny collections of buildings perched on a hill overlooking the vineyards or working fields of the area or fishing on the coast or even a small mine.

Expanding on what Howard says for Hamlet
Hamlets might be formed around a single source of economic activity such as a farm, mill, mine or harbor that employed its working population. There usually is no structural church (place of worship), town hall or pub.
It may be strung out along a major road/river or centered on a crossroad. It’s usually under 1 mile diameter. As Howard mentioned, business is probably done by itinerant peddlers and shop manufacturing is often located on isolated farmsteads.

[Shadekeep]

Good stuff John Paul! I especially like the inclusion of the Thorp. The same guidelines could be used for a Kibbutz or Commune, which are functionally similar, only the members are more typically from many families on the whole.