Prince of Elwynn

The Prince of Elwynn was the elected ruler and head of state of the Elwynnese Union. The last prince of Elwynn, Thorstein Noah, subsequently declared himself King of Elwynn, removing the most visible between the absolutist present and the republican past.

History

The Principate (1567-1613) is the name given to the Republican institutions of Government in Elwynn in the period following Independence from Shireroth and continuing past its annexation by the Imperial Republic until the Communist Revolution of 1613.

The Principate was characterised by the rule of a Prince directly elected by the Elwynnese Congress. Prior to independence Elwynn had been ruled, in accordance with House System by the House of Kalir with Daniel Kalirion as ruling Patron. With Elwynn arising from the chaos of secession in 1567 and the destruction of the Elwynnese Congress building by Aurangzeb in 1568, Daniel Kalirion continued as Raes or President until a Congressional held in 1570 saw Lord Erion take his place. However this period is considered to be of fundamental importance in defining the republican character of the Principate as it saw the reconciliation of the trend towards democratisation and egalitarianism with the regal dignity of the Patron and a new vocabulary of Elwynnese statehood that culminated with Daniel Kalirion being elected Prince of Elwynn and Hurmu in 1574.

The title of Prince, in Elw Aran, is a cognate of Arandur or Steward, an Elw title, itself derived from the language of the Elfinishi, which predated the Conquest of Elwynn by the Kaisers in the 1400's. The arandurs of antiquity had served as stewards for the Elu Verion, or paramount war-leaders of the Elw, the last of whom went on to found the House of Verion. The taking of the title of Aran to mean a ruler in his own right by Daniel Kalirion was a direct and explicit acknowledgement of Elwynn's history, the continuity of Elw culture and the existence of an Elwynnese nationality, predicated in and derived from Elwdom, that predated Shirerithian rule.

Regalia

The Princes of Elwynn favoured quiet dignity over exaggerated ceremonies and ornamentation. It consisted therefore of a plain silver diadem worn on at the Prince's inaguration and on significant state occasions and of a a silver and gold lapel badge fashioned to resemble a stylised orchid.