Originally posted by flykiller:
[QB] in CT the nobility seems to be imposed from above. this is inherently unstable. /QB]
I've always read this as noble _titles_ are _created_ from "above".
The recipients of such titles aren't specified in the essays dealing with the topic, but it's a pretty safe bet that being rich and powerful and "the Imperial nobility's kind of person" would increase your chances.
In other words, Citizen John Smith isn't likely to get a title, while Pope John the Impaler is a much more likely recipient. And John Smith, Subsector Manager of Tukera Lines is definitely in line for a barony, probably around the same time he marries Peggy-Sue Alkhalikoi, the Duke's third daughter.
You might get Knights or even Barons who receive their titles as rewards for "services rendered", but IMHO, anyone more senior would be someone who is already important.
This is entirely compatible with the statements in CT.
Of course, there _are_ other possible interpretations, including the IMHO truly ridiculous ideas some people seem to have about Nobles being some kind of Imperial bureaucrats or diplomats, imposed completely from outside. It's a silly idea in all kinds of ways.
An interesting analogy to this system would be for US ambassadors to be given titles like "Governor".
More importantly, the "external nobility" model makes little political or economic sense. It reduces "the Imperium" to being a bureaucracy, rather loosely connected to the member worlds and their economic ties. The "nobility" then become nothing more than a hereditary caste of bureaucrats. Now... that's actually not a bad idea to an extent, since it's a non-European model, with vague, limited, analogies with certain non-European models, but even these models tended to be more deeply rooted than this rather caricatured and trivial system.
Edit: Of course, the Imperial system will have evolved over time, and will vary from place to place.
It's quite likely during the early decades of the Imperium, or any of it's other periods of expansion, that "imposed" nobles would be quite common, but even then they would be mixed with coopted local leaders.
The reconquest of a lot of Solomani territory during and after the Solomani Rim War would have seen the "restoration" of the nobility in this territory. This would have been quite an interesting process. A lot of the previous nobility would have become the Solomani leadership, and would be considered unsuitable for their ancestors' previous positions, unless, of course, they had defected in a timely manner. So it's probable that new blood had to be introduced.
In turn, a lot of these "new" nobles would have faced difficult situations when their territory was overrun by the Solomani in the Rebellion. Some would have turned, while others would have been exiled. And exiled nobles are always a source of interesting plotlines...
Alan B
