Ken Barnes said;
"Your timeline entries for 300 and 670 implies that Counties are administrative entities that are able to be shuffled and redefined at the whims of Central Office.  Given the history of English counties, I would only expect this to be possible once the aristocracy has been utterly subjugated by institutional government and bureaucracy."

I pretty much agree with all of Ken's post, esp the extract above;
However, I do think there would be many gradations/variations, esp in the outlying sectors with, probably, IMO, some still present w/i Core Sector.
Remember there are those pesky Imperial Charters that are granted to individual worlds/systems.
Perhaps not all would have them but for the ones that do?

p.s. I saw a map once showing the old Holy Roman Empire, way-back-when & was surprised at the number of 'Free Cities' "directly under the emperor" that were present at one time. Heck the current city-state (lander) of Hamburg w/i the Federal Republic of Germany dates back to a medieval 'free city'.

From: Kenneth Barns <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
To: xxxxxx@simplelists.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 4, 2018 2:22 AM
Subject: Re: [TML] counties in Core

Dragging some data from the Timeline Supplement ...

On 4 July 2018 at 05:10, Timothy Collinson <xxxxxx@port.ac.uk> wrote:
 
-1600 Sylea made capital of Rule of Man

Per JTAS Online, 11 July 2000 ...

On the death of Emperor Eduardo of Hub/Ershur in -1574, Francis Repzinski, the 12th High Protector of Sylea, declares himself Emperor of the Rule of Man.  The Imperial capital moves to Sylea.  For the remaining 26 years of Emperor Francis' life, the Rule of Man sponsors new settlements and trade routes, but these gains are reversed under the reign of Francis' descendants.

Per MT Aliens 2: Solomani & Aslan ...

In -1526, the last governmental body claiming to be the "Rule of Man" ceased to exist on Sylea.  (This implies that the "Rule of Man" on Sylea was but one of a number of entities claiming that title after the death of Emperor Eduardo.)

-1000 seems to be the nadir of the Long Night in Sylea.  "T4: Anomalies" describes settlements in Core Sector still failing as late as this date, but by -600, multiworld corporations are starting to grow again.
 
-800 first construction on present site of Count Spirn's residence
-650 old fiefdoms and polities turned into counties of varying size (some 2-3 worlds, some 10-15 worlds) in Sylean Federation
-500ish Count Spirn chateau beginnings
0 Third Imperium founded - old counties absorbed into new Empire, more counties created; major extensions of Spirn chateau and gardens
300ish county reorganization (slightly shrinking many and creating more overall)
588 Terra incorporated into Imperium
670ish last county in Core Sector created
750 present size of Spirn chateau reached (a little larger than Versailles on Terra)
1105 present day

Or would you feel that the counties would be much, much older?

Playing Crusader Kings 2 to death has significantly changed my perspective on how feudalism and the various ranks of the nobility interact with each other, with the Imperial bureaucracy, and with the planetary governments.  I'd strongly recommend the experience to any Travellers whose campaigns involve the nobility.

Most of the counties in Core would probably be based upon either Long Night interstellar pocket empires, or else traditional groupings of worlds going back into Ziru Sirka periods (perhaps some being reserves or ghettos for minor races).  That said, the counties themselves, and their ongoing recognition as a distinct entities, would only date back the expansion of the Sylean Federation in the -500s or immediately prior (for multiword entities incorporated en toto into the Federation).

Your timeline entries for 300 and 670 implies that Counties are administrative entities that are able to be shuffled and redefined at the whims of Central Office.  Given the history of English counties, I would only expect this to be possible once the aristocracy has been utterly subjugated by institutional government and bureaucracy.


Cheers,
KB.
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