Pre-Equestrian Era. (A Middle Ages headcanon history) Part 3: Society and Culture. Nobility, Art, and Rulers.

During the Rising Middle Ages was when the societal structure started developing beyond the simple leader-followers structure present in the First Tribal Period. The idea of hereditary monarchies, having the leadership position passed down from a specific family line, was a product of this era. In most kingdoms the societal system was mostly the same and only beginning to evolve from the tribal leader-followers structure, however in the later Rising Middle Ages the first figures of nobility came up mainly in the Unicorn kingdoms. Societal structure in Early Pegasi kingdoms was beginning to develop the militaristic systems that would shape their future society, systems that would develop a complex rank system that would dictate a Pegasus' power on and off the battlefield. Earth pony societal order had little change from the tribal leader-followers system outside of the development of their own monarchy systems. With the old previous discovery of mining the first forms of currency were developed, mainly in the form of coins made of valuable materials. Gold would eventually become the very material that would be standard for currency, and with currency came new systems of acquiring nearly all forms of goods and would play a role in which social classes of many kingdoms ponies would fall into.

In the very late Rising Middle Ages and onto the High Middle Ages Unicorn Kingdoms in particular had systems of social classes developed which greatly effected laws and societal norms. Certain Unicorn families began to rise in wealth and would gain power to become the first Unicorns of nobility, the rise of nobility meant the rise of a new upper social class. Many families of nobility rose to power and with power gained a very high amount of influence over society to the point where they could own their own soldiers as guards and even have ownership over land granted by the monarchs themselves. Nobility also started to develop and have ownership over markets, mines, breweries, and other places with potential gain in currency. These activities led to the inevitable competition between noble families within the Unicorn kingdoms, unlike the competitions over power between monarchs however open violence wasn't present within the competitions between noble families. Later on in the High and especially in the Falling Middle Ages actions such as assassinations, poisoning, as well as sabotaging markets and other ventures of rival nobility were present in rivalries between noble families. Different levels of nobility came from which noble families were the most powerful. As for the families of Unicorns who mastered the arts of magic, mage families, would fall into a similar social class to nobility as far as level went. Some mages could be found in nobility and some mage families did take part in the activities that noble families took part in, however for the most part mage families lived as separate entities from nobility. Mage families were renown for their magical skills and made their living primarily though service to the monarch as well as providing service to nobility as well. Royal duties varied but serving in war was among the most notable services, and was where a lot of the fame Mage families gained was earned. Families of both mages and nobility did take the power they acquired to extremes particularly those with close ties to the royalty of the kingdom, utilizing their place to attempt to topple other rival families or in rare cases attempt to take over the royalty itself. A famous example comes from the later High Middle Ages when the Kingdom of Unihorn had its royalty violently removed from power by a powerful family of mages who ultimately took over the throne, their rule would last from then on until the collapse. A lower but nonetheless important type of nobility was the Unicorn Knighthood. The concept of knighthood has its origins from the late Rising Middle Ages and likely originated from Unicorn kingdoms. Knights of the Unicorn kingdoms started as high promotions for experienced soldiers however later knights were trained from very young children of noble birth. A soon to be knight would start their training at a young age, their training would be in both magic and physical weapons. Unicorn knights were particularly respected among their kingdoms and feared among their enemies for their highly versatile and formidable fighting capabilities. The weapons and armor for Unicorn knights' weapons and armor are famous for being by far the most decorative and aesthetically brilliant of all weapons to be crafted in the Middle Ages. Despite being technically lower in nobility many knights earned very high respect, often more respect than higher noble families due to their wartime fame.

The lower social classes within Unicorn kingdoms who were Unicorns consisted mostly of skilled craftsponies, laborers, artists, as well as Unicorns of other skill based occupations. They lived with far fewer luxuries than Unicorns of nobility and most had little interaction with ponies of higher class, even if they worked in occupations under noble family ownership. These Unicorns were generally thought less of by most higher class Unicorns and the idea of a lower class marrying any of high nobility was considered a far fetched idea however it was a popular subject of many storybook tales. Such tales were often written by and more popular with lower class authors. Other stories popular among all Unicorns were fictional stories of heroes from the early times fighting against dangerous and powerful creatures. The concept of ponies as antagonists was rather rare among literature of the Middle Ages up until the later High Middle Ages when stories involving villainous warriors and even villainous rulers became popular stories. Portrayal of Unicorns in antagonist roles, particularly of villainous rulers, was prohibited by the Kings and Queens due to the fact that it was viewed as potential negative portrayal of themselves. Art was also a flourishing part of culture within the lower classes as well as in nobility. Painting was very popular and many painting techniques and fundamentals were developed by Middle Ages unicorn painters. Portraits, landscapes, and war depictions are the most common subjects of paintings from the Middle Ages. Another particularly popular form of art from the unicorn kingdoms was stone carving. The creation of stone statues as well as the intricate decorative carvings on stone structures are prime examples of how the simple ability of telekinesis allowed unicorns to create such masterful and detailed art on normally hard to work with material. Often statues depicted highly famous figures such as Kings, Queens, Knights, and Mages and were a favorite decorative piece for nobleponies and royalty alike. Ironically many of these master stone carvers were of lower social class and some even brought their family to noble status via the riches gained from their statue making. The Earth Ponies within Unicorn kingdoms as mentioned in the previous chapter were of a lower class and were generally restricted to their role and purpose as farmers.

The Kingdom of Unihorn was known for having a very Matriarchal society, Mares generally were more dominant in lordship, arts, and other higher class activities while stallions were more often than not conscripted as soldiers and thus were more active in practice of sparring and archery.

The Pegasus kingdoms' social order was very different from that of the Unicorns. Rather than a social system that revolves heavily around nobility and royalty the Pegasi generally had militaristic social orders based on military ranking. The vast majority of all Pegasi within these kingdoms were soldiers and earned their place via service in their kingdom's army. Though leadership of kingdoms was hereditary, like in most other kingdoms, the leader was dubbed as "Commander" rather than "King" or "Queen". This was due to the fact that the one who led the kingdoms not only ran the kingdom itself but was also the main strategist and command over the army. Unlike Kings and Queens of Unicorn kingdoms the Commanders of Pegasi kingdoms typically had a far more direct role in battles, serving to make major tactical decisions and send commands to the armies they led. The first Pegasi kingdoms to establish Commandant Kingdoms likely came to be in the Rising Middle Ages. The Pegasi who lived under the rule of a Commander were divided by the ranking system, those who were the most common and least experienced in fighting were of the lowest status, from there various levels of soldiers existed within the ranks. The ranking of a Pegasus soldier dictated their authority level, emplacement in battles, and the quality of their weapons and armor. Only the best of each rank would be promoted to a higher rank and as such the higher ranks would have the fewest but best and most experienced fighters while the lower ranks would have the most but least skilled fighters. Naming for different ranks did vary between the Pegasi kingdoms though commonalities were present, the lowest rank Pegasi were usually referred to by titles ranging from "Common Soldier" "Recruit", "Firstblood", the later "Private", and even "Rankless" and were given the least quality armor and weapons. The number of ranks that came after this rank was also varied, around 7 to as many as 13 different ranks could be present within the system of a Pegasus kingdom. Common mid tier ranks would be of more common commanding roles such as "Unit Captain" or "Lieutenant" and they would receive better equipment in battle in accordance to their place. The most revered and elite Pegasi within the Pegasi kingdoms were the ones who were of the higher ranks not far from the ranks near that of the Commander. These soldiers were the Pegasi equivalent of knighthood however went by different titles such as "Steelwing", "Elite Captain", and "Veteran Wing". These were the ones who had the best equipment available and their high quality weapons and armor combined with their very high skill and experience made them formidable in combat and feared by the common enemy soldier. Unlike Unicorn knights these soldiers did not have greatly decorative weapons in armor, the quality of these was generally what visually distinguished these soldiers from ones of lower rank. The Pegasi of the closest ranks to the Commander were most commonly referred to as "Generals". Generals were the ones who retired from their careers as soldiers and took on the role of giving assistance to the Commander in tactical and governmental decisions. Their power was of a high place however they did swear loyalty to the Commander and like all of the kingdom were under the Commander's supreme rule. Takeovers of a kingdoms did exist however as many generals went to lengths to remove or even kill the Commander in order to take the position for themselves. These happenings have led to civil wars breaking out and have even resulted in the formation of splinter kingdoms being formed from the opposing general as well as his or her followers. Though most of these factions were crushed by the Commander's army some came to be growing kingdoms of their own and would form into strong independent nations.
Due to the strict, often brutal, and rank centered militaristic culture of the Pegasus Kingdoms cultural development was greatly limited and as such art and literature did not develop much let alone anywhere near the level it did in the Unicorn kingdoms. Nonfictional accounts of battles and other important events are the most common written text of the Pegasus kingdoms, limited examples of visual artwork are present and were likely made by the Earth Ponies who lived under Pegasus rule. Unlike in the Unicorn kingdoms Earth Ponies themselves were not only used for farming, rather there were also Earth Ponies who served as miners, craftsponies, as well as weapon smiths. Despite the more expanded roles Earth Ponies provided they were far from any eligibility within the Rank system, even for the lowest rank. Their social status was also generally the lowest in any Pegasus Kingdom's society, despite this Pegasus kingdoms have had by far the least Earth Pony rebellions of any kingdoms even during the Falling Middle Ages.

The Earth Pony kingdoms were by far the least changed and most traditionalist societies of the Middle Ages. The first hereditary monarchies would come to be in the Rising Middle Ages as a step up from the traditional leader-follower system present in earth pony tribes. The monarchs often started off as tribal leaders and would gain influence over other tribes to unite them under their rule. Nobility like in the Unicorn kingdoms never came to form as the society was generally more of a socialist structure. No real social classes of any kind developed within Earth Pony kingdoms and the general idea of social classes was generally despised. Societal status was entirely around perception and respect, as such the families that can be considered of the highest status would be the ones who have earned the most respect from the community. Everypony was obligated to contribute to the community however they could and though the majority of these ponies lived as farmers plenty also lived working as weapon smiths, traders, miners, and ponies of other occupations as well. This created a more prevalent sense of community within the cities and towns that lived under Earth Pony rule and this was even present in populations of earth ponies who lived under Unicorn or Pegasus rule. One particular occupation has it's roots from Earth Ponies of the Middle Ages, that occupation being bakery. Being the first to discover agriculture and being the sole race capable of farming Earth Ponies were the first to start developing and advancing the very food they ate, the cake is a prime example as it was developed during the High Middle Ages. Many other different advancements in food came to be during the Middle Ages and such advancements contributed to the desirability of Earth Ponies in any kingdom. The Kings and Queens who would rule over the Earth Pony kingdoms relied heavily on garnering and maintaining respect from their subjects in order to keep rule over their kingdoms. Tyrannical Earth Pony rulers did exist however history had shown time and time again that such a ruler's dynasty will be short lived. Rebellions against such rulers have nearly have successfully brought down such tyrants and resulted in a change in leadership. In the very late High Middle Ages and Falling Middle Ages the monarchy system of leadership was abolished in many Earth Pony kingdoms and replaced by more complex governmental systems. The most recurring example is a simple system of voting that would place a figure of a respected family into the role of leadership should they receive the highest number of votes within a kingdom. The leader of such vote based kingdoms would often be dubbed the title of "Chancellor". A less common system was a council based system where multiple figures were voted in and would act as the leadership, very rare systems would be the ones that combined Chancellors with a council. Throughout the Middle Ages just like with Pegasi an Unicorn kingdoms violent claims to the position of leadership did occur within Earth Pony kingdoms. Such kingdoms were also no less capable of war and did wage several with other kingdoms as well each other, and from these wartimes came the Earth Pony kingdom's interpretation of the knight.

The concept of the knight was similar within Earth Pony kingdoms as it was in Unicorn kingdoms, however there were many notable differences. In Earth Pony kingdoms the the knights were recruited from childhood and trained for their entire life to be the most highly skilled of all who served in an army, similar to Unicorn Knights. Unlike Unicorn Knights these knights would come from common though highly respected families. Though the decisions on what children were chosen were very selective many children both colts and fillies had been chosen to become knights. The most common name for early knights was "Mailclads" in reference to the armor they used, the term Knight being adapted from Unicorn Kingdoms in the High Middle Ages. Also unlike a Unicorn Knight who was respected for their position and gained a lower stance of nobility, Earth Pony Knights were considered elite and respected soldiers but not in any way superiors to others. The concept of honor was present for all the kingdom's Knight's and Knight equivalents, but the culture of Earth Ponies made it to where Knights were given far more obligation than entitlement, meaning they would not be granted luxuries and would typically live with their families when not at war. Knights in peacetime would normally live as commoners since their only upper status was at wartime, they would work assisting their families in their occupations provided the knights hadn't taken occupations of their own. From this lifestyle Knights not only gained respect for their capability and even heroics in wartime, but also from the humility the knights developed from their humbling lifestyle outside of war.

Art and literature existed though wasn't as major of a component in the Earth Pony kingdom society as in the Unicorn kingdom society, this was mainly because the community focused socialistic nature of the society was the dominating element of the culture. Nevertheless art, literature, and especially music were able to thrive within the Earth Pony Kingdoms. Craftsponies were the main contributors to the art of the middle ages, highly skilled painters were rare among Earth Pony kingdom societies so artistic expressions such as wood carving, textiles, and Ink drawings. Textiles were the most popular way art was developed, weaving dyed threads to make different patterns and images, paper drawings being a close second and wood carving being the oldest form of middle ages art. Literature also flourished with stories of heroes fighting evil, stories of romance, as well as myth and legend based literature being common and popular. Art forms from Unicorn Kingdoms were generally kept out of Earth Pony communities due to a general xenophobia that such communities garnered towards Unicorns and Pegasi in general. Such communities also tended to favor isolation from other non Earth pony or in some cases even Earth Pony kingdoms as well. Earth Ponies in kingdoms ruled by their own and other races the farming was expanded to the taming of other animals such as sheep, cows, and chickens to gain resources such as milk and eggs as well as non food materials such as wool.

The final types of kingdoms to be found in the Middle Ages of the Pre-Equestrian Era are those few that did not favor a particular race but rather had two or even all three races ponies within their kingdom and were without much racial favoritism or separation. The most known of these kingdoms are the Kingdom of Prance and Kingdom of Germaneigh. In the Kingdom of Prance all three races lived mostly as equals and were notably recruited as both soldiers and knights. In The Kingdom of Germaneigh all three races were also present and treated mostly as equals and could be found in nearly all positions within a society. A commonality to these kingdoms is a social system much like that of the Unicorn kingdoms with many noble families of various power as well as power struggles. Despite this cultural similarity elements of traditional Earth Pony culture could be found within Earth pony communities in all three of these kingdoms, however the Unicorn societal system was the main order of society and even Earth Pony and Pegasus families became families of the nobility. Both of these kingdoms grew to be some of the largest and most powerful kingdoms of the Middle Ages. Seeking of power was by no means absent within these kingdoms and from that came their own wars for conquest and territory. Internal conflict also existed resulting in multiple violent changes in leadership over the time these kingdoms existed.

In summary the three main types of kingdoms fall generally under a different "istic". Unicorn kingdoms' societies of the time were generally heavily Opportunistic which is evident with the rise of nobility and the competition that came between noble families. The Pegasus kingdoms were very Militaristic in the highly military centered culture that existed within such kingdoms. Finally the Earth Pony kingdoms were very Socialistic with the community focused culture as well as the later abolition of absolute monarchy and development of more voting based governmental systems.