The royal palace is situated in the Palace District of Corus, the capital city of Tortall.
Location and design[]
The palace is on top of a hill on the southern side of the Olorun River and thus marked the city's southermost area. Palace Way, a broad road with flat white cobbles, lead from the city to the palace.[1] On the other side lies the Royal Forest.[2]
It is built in the classic style of the Eastern Lands with many walls and ramparts to protect it from siege warfare. The style was mentioned briefly when referring to the Grey Palace, the residence of first the raka warrior queens and then the Rittevons.
The palace also holds rooms for foreign visitors and a servants' wing. Besides the throne room and council rooms there are also ballrooms, kitchens and libraries as well as a pages' wing.[3] The pages' wing is located near the training courts and Balor's Needle.
Rules and regulations[]
Although it is a noble family's right to hire as many men-at-arms and guards as they deem necessary, it is forbidden for them to accompany their charges into the palace. It is also forbidden for anyone to carry a sword within ten feet of the monarchs.[4]
Halls and wings[]
Pages' wing[]
There is a whole wing of the palace dedicated to the pages, which was situated on the west side of the palace, near the walls overlooking Corus.[5] They have special classrooms, training grounds and a separate dinging hall. A tower with a bell was situated over the pages' wing.[6] The bell tolled every hour and thus gave not only pages but the whole Court its time.
Customs[]
The Royal Court[]
The monarchs hold Court at the palace, although it is usually up to the monarchs in question about when and for how long they will hold Court. During the time of Jonathan IV of Conté and Thayet jian Wilima, Court was held during the winter months, when nobles could worry less about problems with their fiefs. During King Roald V's reign, Court was held for most months of the year, except for the summer. Nobles usually have their own reserved set of rooms, although the size of those rooms likely depend on the importance of the particular noble family.
During the summer, no Court would be held and the nobles could see to their own lands without risk of offending the monarchs. The royal family also own a Summer Palace located near Blue Harbor.[6]
Dining and parties[]
During the reign of King Roald V, the whole court dined together in the great dining hall in all other seasons except summer. Pages would wait on the nobles.[6]
That custom was abandoned during the reign of King Roald's successor, his son King Jonathan IV. He preferred to dine alone with his family mostly, except during Midwinter banquets and other such celebrations. During those banquets, the page would wait tables.
Presenting a young lady[]
If a noble family had a daughter they would want to present to the monarchs and to the Court, they would do so at the royal palace. When Alanna was younger, a young lady would learn deportment at a convent first and foremost, but it is unknown if that was kept up later on in the 400s, as it didn't seem to be the case with Keladry of Mindelan's family.
The young lady would make her curtsy to the monarchs, thus making her eligible for marriage with man of equal rank. Alanna never thought she would be presented officially to the monarchs, but was presented officially after retrieving the Dominion Jewel for King Jonathan IV.
Fashion and dress[]
Before Delia of Eldorne's arrival at Court, it was the fashion for young ladies to wear pastel colors that were not too bright nor daring. When she arrived, she wore deep solid colors, setting that trend. Other ladies of her time were also trendsetters, like the beautiful Cythera of Elden.
During the reign of Jonathan IV, his wife, Queen Thayet, set most of the trends for women at Court.
Page training[]
It became the custom for pages to receive training at the palace during the reign of King Gareth III.[7][8] Before King Gareth III's reign, it was the custom for a single knight to train a page, who would then go on to become the same knight's squire.[7]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Terrier, April 7, 246 (pg. 246; Random House paperback)
- ↑ First Test
- ↑ Alanna: The First Adventure, Ch. 2 (pg. 25; Random House paperback)
- ↑ Tortall: A Spy's Guide, pg. 218
- ↑ Alanna: The First Adventure, Ch. 2 (pg. 23/24; Random House paperback)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Alanna: The First Adventure, Ch. 2 (pg. 31; Random House paperback)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tortall: A Spy's Guide, pg. 250
- ↑ Roger III's son listed as Gareth III in Tortall: A Spy's Guide.