Hey ya’ll. Old post, but I just finished the latest DLC and was wondering about Henry’s position in the Bohemian society.
From what I can understand of the condition of Sir Radzig Kobyla’s service to King Wenceslas, he was a Yeoman and then Hetman to the crown. As such he was raised from the commons to the Minsteralis class (which is a Knight in service directly to the King, and not in Leige to any lord.)
This class was fairly unique in medieval times and formed as a response to the Nobility’s increasing power and ability to field men-at-arms and subservient Knights. Thus the Emperor (King) would raise serfs from their class due to their ability and entitle them as Knights (and rarely to higher positions as required). They were not entitled to the same legal status as the nobility, yet were close enough to them that in social terms (especially for small country lords) it was occaisonally of benefit to treat them as nobility due to their proximity to the Royal house.
Thus Sir Radzig is a commoner with a Ministeralis rank of Knight and Lord of Skalitz, he is not a Noble, yet also not of the Commons.
As Henry is his Illigitimate son, and has proven himself time-and-again, it is very likely that the Nobility have recognized the favor with which Sir Radzig views Henry and are thus amenable to treating him with a greater degree of respect than his non-noble and bastard rank entiail.
Effectively Henry is able to progress somewhat up the social ladder as a result of this, but any improvement of his rank would be entirely dependent on the actions of Sir Radzig.
While Henry is ostensibly in service to Sir Divish as well, this term of service is only for five years, and could be voided if Henry’s Leige and Father (Radzig) requires his services.
TL:DR. Henry is not a noble, nor could he become so. He could however become a legitimate heir to Sir Radzig’s title and property if he was formally recognized by Sir Radzig and the Bishophric (On behalf of the Cardinal, King or Pope).
His current status is that of a highly skilled bastard of a Highly ranked Ministeralis. Not a Noble.
Edit: He does however have access to a pathway into the Ministeralis class as the title was heritable. This class seemingly entitled the individual within it to certain priviliges and rights usual to the nobility, yet not to the League of Lords or any voting rights. There are also some discussions about the extent of influence the rank held, with notable ministeralis being (as is the case with Radzig) apparently ennobled by the Crown at a later date, both with land grants and through political titles such as the Burgrave of Vyšehrad (a contemporarily recently restored Palatial Castle on the then outskirts of Prague).
While I’m not sure of the position he held at Skalitz, when in his role as Hetman, he would have been referred to as “Lord Radzig” (non-heritable title), and potentially as Lord Radzig of Skalitz while he held tenure over the land there on behalf of the king.
Despite that, it was not a permanent elevation nor an ennoblement of his position, rather an indication of his value to the king and the command he held that allowed him the respect of a Lord.
Apparently this is all extremely complicated, as is shown by the position of Sir Hanush holding Rattay in supremacy over Lord Capon. In simple terms this would be a social faux-pas, having a mere knight above a Landed Noble, however due to familial politics and legal rulings, this was actually not too uncommon, as Nobility was based first upon the material power of the noble, and then upon their proximity to the throne (or leige), only after this was it based upon the “Rank” of nobility (however it was often the case that the titles were stripped from one noble and given to another when practical considerations like who has more swords was taken into account).
