Centuries ago, drifting tribes of the Alamarri people ventured south in search of a new home.
After an arduous journey, they were rewarded with a lush and promising land which they
named Ferelden, or “fertile valley” in their tongue.
In the Dragon Age, the Kingdom of Ferelden stretches from the Frostback Mountains in
the west to the Amaranthine Ocean to the east.
Nationhood has undeniably tamed this once savage country but the coarse, wilful, and
fiercely independent nature of their Alamarri forefathers can still be recognized in the
Ferelden people.
The Kingdom of Ferelden exhibits many of the characteristics of a traditional feudal monarchy
including an anointed sovereign and a variety of royal and noble ranks.
Unlike its rival kingdoms across Thedas however, power in Ferelden derives from the consent
of the governed, a lingering remnant of Alamarri tribal culture that prized skill and ability
above bloodline and birthright.
It is the Freeholders, one of the Kingdom’s lowest social classes, who are responsible
for appointing their respective Bann or Arl to Ferelden’s noble structure and this appointment
is revisited each year.
While each Freehold tends to entrust the same family across generations to represent them
within the nobility, creating de facto noble dynasties, there remains the ever-present
possibility of change.
Freeholders dissatisfied with their local Bann or Arl might revoke their patronage and
instead support a nearby rival.
Even the power of the King is subject to the approval of those below, a custom demonstrated
in the yearly Landsmeet, in which all the nobles of Ferelden gather in the capital city
of Denerim to take part in a grand council.
The Landsmeet acts as Ferelden’s official legislative body and while a particularly
popular or powerful King can usually enjoy broad support from the nobility, the council
can override the King on any matter.
As such, the reigning monarch must continually work for the support of lesser nobles.
Dividing the Freemen and the Nobility lies the crafthouses, semi-formal groups of skilled
labourers and tradesmen who have come to exert a great deal of power over various industries.
While the crafthouses have no formal political authority, the control they have over local
economies allows them to extend their influence across the nobility and their words tend to
carry great weight.
Even the lowest levels of Ferelden society enjoy numerous privileges when compared to
neighboring Kingdoms.
Slavery and serfdom is forbidden and even the most menial of tasks is payed for in coin
or barter.
This right extends to the displaced Elven population living within the country who enjoy
a significantly better quality of life than elsewhere in Thedas.
The unusual style of governance practiced in Ferelden is widely seen as crude or barbaric
by outsiders and the Fereldan people as a whole are considered disorganized, dirty,
and obstinate, but also capable of great strength and determination.
Loyalty is prized above all by Fereldans even at the expense of wealth, power, or even reason.
This trait has, perhaps somewhat curiously, manifested in the unique relationship between
the Fereldan people and their dogs, who are routinely employed in hunting games, routing
out vermin, herding livestock, and guarding homes.
The Mabari, a unique breed of highly intelligent dog magically bred by members of the Circle
of Magi are highly regarded within Ferelden, their likeness even gracing the Kingdom’s
royal family’s crest.
This reverence for wildlife is a trait that predates the modern Kingdom, its roots in
the earliest Alamarri settlers who bonded with wolves and worshipped a wide variety
of deities based in nature.
Legend states that the first werewolves were created during this time, the result of a
broken pact between a wolf and his Alamarri master.
Regardless of the validity of these tales, the Alamarri were plagued by werewolves as
they spread across Ferelden, finally driving the beasts back into the darkest forests where
they are whispered to linger still.
Over time the Alamarri faced other foes, including a bloodthirsty rebel tribe known as the Avvar
and the mysterious Chasind who dwelt deep within the Korcari Wilds.
It was the Tevinter Imperium which presented the greatest threat however, and time and
time again attempted to exert its influence past the Frostback Mountains.
While the Imperium was able to build several fortresses and even extend the Imperial Highway
as far as Lake Calenhad, their tenuous hold on Ferelden was broken after a century of
constant raids and the far greater threat of the Darkspawn, which spread across the
Tevinter homeland during the First Blight.
In the aftermath of the First Blight and the destruction of much of the Imperium, the tribes
of the Alamarri truly united for the first time under the Prophet Andraste, who led her
people on an Exalted March to the realm of Tevinter itself.
The Imperial armies were shattered but Andraste was betrayed and killed, her martyrdom leading
to the formation of the Chantry, which grew to become the dominant religion in Thedas,
but reduced the Alamarri to a collection of warring tribes once more.
Ferelden had been united in purpose, if only for the briefest of moments.
Centuries of strife passed before Calenhad Theirin, known to history as Calenhad the
Great finally achieved what only Andraste had done before - united the Alamarri tribes
into a single nation and became the first Ferelden King.
His descendants would go on to lead Ferelden for centuries, enduring rebellion and hardship,
and even occupation by the Orlaisian Empire.
The liberation of Ferelden by King Maric Theirin is considered the beginning of the golden
age of the Kingdom, bringing with it renewed prosperity and power.
While faraway lands struggled to contain a series of Blights and the Darkspawn that spilled
forth, Ferelden was left in peace and able to reach the height of its power.
In the year 9:30 of the Dragon Age, the Grey Wardens returned to Ferelden after a prolonged
exile and brought with them a warning that the 5th Blight was slowly spreading from the
Korcari Wilds.
The Kingdom, now ruled by Cailan Theirin mustered its armies in the hopes of stopping the Blight
in its infancy, but were decimated in the Battle of Ostagar during which Cailan was
slain.
His death plunged Ferelden into a civil war as the opportunistic Loghain Mac Tir named
himself regent to the throne against the wishes of much of the nobility and freeholders.
With Darkspawn ravaging the country and the Blight spreading ever outward, Ferelden Loyalists,
together with a growing alliance led by the Grey Wardens, called for a Landsmeet.
The council ended with Longhain defeated in a duel against a champion of the Grey Wardens,
stopping the civil war and restoring the Kingdom.
In the final battle of the 5th Blight, the newly reunited Ferelden Army marched alongside
the dwarves of Orzammar, the nomadic Dalish, and the Circle of Magi to counter-attack the
Darkspawn as they plundered Denerim.
Amidst the fighting in the burning capital, the last two Ferelden Grey Wardens slew the
archdemon Urthemiel, ending the 5th Blight and saving the Kingdom.
Ferelden has never been a land of enduring peace and while the threat of the Darkspawn
has been broken, their influence remains across much of the land.
To neighbouring Orlais, the Kingdom is seen as weak and ready to be retaken while strange
and dangerous magic continues to leave its mark across the whole of Thedas.
The Kingdom of Ferelden faces an uncertain future as it enters the last half of the Dragon Age.
The Templin Institute investigates nations, organizations, and factions from alternate
worlds and realities.
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