The Marches people
The Marches is a proud nation. The folk here are proud of their accomplishments, proud of their Households and history, and proud of their traditions and their mastery of their land. The Marches is the breadbasket of the Empire. No other land is as fertile and no other people work as hard as the Marcher folk, they say. The Marchers have no time for idle hands and idle tongues.
The archetypal Marcher is the yeoman, that Imperial subject famous for fiery pride and unyielding self-reliance. They are a hard people, well accustomed to a long day working the land. A single farm on this rich soil has the income to outfit its holder in plated steel. A yeoman men-at-arms of the Marches can be as heavily armoured as a knight from another nation.
Yeomen own most of the farmland. Yeomen may group into households, choosing one of their number to lead. The yeoman who leads a household is known as its Steward, and has authority over those who have entrusted them with leadership.
The territories of the Marchers are governed by the steward of the household which controls the most land. The steward who leads a territory is known as its Warden. The warden bears personal responsibility for the safety of their March.
Yeomen wear their Household livery with pride, viewing those in foreign colours as rivals at best. This leads to passionate and sometimes bitter rivalries. Marcher history is filled with accounts of bloody conflicts between once powerful Households, fortunes that wax and wane with victories on the battlefield. Marcher folk have long memories and feuds are nursed down the generations. In some cases they've become so ingrained that the truth behind them is no longer remembered, or even considered particularly relevant.
Marcher folk don’t stand around waiting for someone else to solve their problems. Self-reliance is a large part of their national character. While there is plenty of land for the ambitious to start new farms, it has to be cleared: of trees still, in places, of foes, of orcs perhaps. People of other nations talk endlessly about what it means to be heroic; Marchers don’t waste their breath, they just get on and do what needs to be done. Self-sacrifice underpins many elements of Marcher culture. It is found in the tenacious attitude of the people to hardship. It is found in the belief that hard work pays for good fortune. And it is found in the response of an warden to the loss of their territory. The ultimate sacrifice, death in a wicker man, for the ultimate responsibility.
Names in The Marches
Given names in the Marches are usually plain and simple.
Surnames often come in three flavours: where you're from, what you do, or a nickname.
Most often, they'll be for where you live, perhaps your home hamlet; "Of Stoke" for example. You might be named for a territory; usually if you live far from there. "Tom Of Upwold" might be a useful way of denote a particular Tom who lived in the Riding, not so for one in Upwold.
Less often, but stil frequently, Marchers are named for what they do. "Beater", "Landskeeper", "Friar", "Brewer", "Smith", "Tailor"m "Thatcher" etc.
However, a Marcher might also be named for a nickname: maybe a pet, or a description; "Wise", "Good", or something less complimentary.
Sample male forenames: John, William, Henry, Thomas, Walter, Fred, etc.
Sample female forenames: Alice, Agnes, Matilda, Margaret, Emma, etc.
"OOC inspiration: English names."