Quite right. The borders were intended to be rough, emphasising only that the majority -- rather than the totality -- of the freeholders within would have pledged themselves to Amaranthine. But I soon came to the conclusion that borders weren't too helpful, and started using transluscent "areas of influence" that overlapped for my purposes.
That's more of less accurate, by my understanding. You may be interested in the information on the nobility and commons from the DA traveller's guide:
Traveller's guide says...
*** The Nobility ***
~ King ~
Ferelden never had a concept of a king until the infamous warrior Calenhad finally managed to unite the lands, and rather than assuming the expected title of teyrn of Denerim, he took the title of king, borrowed from other lands and inheriting the singular importance that the title has in those lands. The concept of a single overlord is an unfamiliar one in Ferelden: Numerous times throughout its history, the nation has all but split apart in civil war (the rebelliousness of Fereldan nobility is infamous). In the days of Calenhad and his successors, civil war was more caused by those teyrns who wished to break away from the king’s rule. In modern times, it has come to be expected that there is a king and must be one for Ferelden to survive—a very significant shift in attitude—and civil wars are fought more to determine royal succession. One’s blood relation to the king is considered important in the issue of succession, but more because the ability to be a strong leader is considered to be passed down in the blood. If one is considered weak or unfit, however, blood relation to the king will not stop another noble from standing up and challenging one’s claim to the throne.
The current king of Ferelden is Cailan, the young son of Maric. Maric was a legendary figure who claimed his kingship by winning a bloody war of independence from Orlais, primarily with the assistance of his general and best friend, a commoner by the name of Loghain (who was awarded the teyrnir of Gwaren). Maric’s legend is considered classic by Fereldan standards, and Loghain himself seems to epitomize the ideal that any Ferelden can rise to great heights by the virtue of his ability. Young King Cailan, by comparison, has very big shoes to fill.
~ Teyrn ~
Plural: Teyrns
Female: Teyrna
“Teyrn” is the traditional title claimed by those warlords who had reached a level of power that they had other banns sworn to uphold them. Some teyrns did not keep their title for long, butsome families became powerful enough that the title was maintained and passed on to successive generations. The contention, then, as to which teyrn was dominant became the primary issue. Underneath the king, the teyrns of today are considered the most powerful nobles in the kingdom. They each have numerous banns sworn to uphold them and supply them with troops in times of war. The teyrn, in turn, is sworn to ride with his army to support the king when called. The title is comparable to the Orlesian duke. A teyrn’s land is called a “teyrnir.” There are currently two teyrns in Ferelden: Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir of Gwaren and Teyrn Bryce Cousland of Highever. Denerim itself is considered a teyrnir, but it is controlled by the king and his court. Most kings appoint a noble to the position of arl of Denerim. The arl is responsible for ruling the city, while the king is responsible for ruling the country.
~ Arl ~
Plural: Arls
Female: Arlessa
Originally this title was used by trusted commanders of a teyrn, usually his sons or a favored general. They were given command of a fortress or a piece of land that was of strategic importance but was too far away from the teyrn to administer personally, and they were given a title that placed them above that of a regular bann but without banns of his own to command. After King Calenhad assumed the throne and united Ferelden, those banns with lands near the borders or those who were of great importance (though not populated enough to be considered a teyrn) were elevated to the rank of arl and have held the rank ever since. This title is considered roughly equivalent to the Orlesian “count,” with an arling being the same as a “county.” There are currently five arls in Ferelden: Arl Eamon Guerrein of Redcliffe, Arl Rendon Howe of Amaranthine, Arl Gallagher Wulff of West Hills, Arl Leonas Bryland of South Reach, and Arl Urien Kendells of
Denerim.
~ Bann ~
Plural: Banns (or “Bannorn,” see below)
Female: Bann
This title has existed since the early barbaric days of the Alamarri people. The term originally referred to the chieftain of a particular tribe but has since grown into a title of respect roughly the equivalent of the Orlesian “baron.” There are a great many banns in the kingdom, and they have varying degrees of power: Some have very large holdings of land and are considered to be very influential, almost the equivalent of an arl or a teyrn on their own, while others are almost little more than glorified freeholders controlling a small village and a few farms. The central valley is filled with a great number of these small landholdings, each controlled by a bann who is characteristically not subject to a teyrn overlord and is considered stubbornly independent. As a region, this area is called “the Bannorn.” Seeing as it’s also a region where a great deal of Ferelden’s farming is done, the Bannorn wields a large amount of political influence, though this is only in times when they can agree on a common issue, which is not often. Their feuds sometimes even flare up into petty wars. Usually the banns are split in their support between the teyrns and the king on most issues. It should probably be noted that “bann” is gender-neutral—the wife or husband of a bann is given the “lady” or “lord” honorific but has no actual title of their own.
~ Knight ~
Plural: Knights
Female: Knight
The knight is the essential heavy fighting soldier, in this case serving directly to a bann, arl, teyrn, or even the king. In this case, the knight gains some of the prestige of the master he serves: A knight who serves the king is more prestigious than a knight who serves a bann with little land. They are a tough group who value fighting ability and leadership skills above all else. However, even the most prestigious knight is considered lower in rank than a bann and possesses little political voice. As a group, they tend to scoff at the Orlesian ideal of the courtier knight, and while many knights are indeed nobles (i.e., they own land that’s generally restricted to a single estate), there is no codified behavior that Fereldan knights follow. Another difference between the Fereldan knight and the Orlesian knight is that the former are considered foot soldiers. The only ones who ride horses (considered a mark of distinction) into battle are those sworn to the king. Fereldan knights can be men or women, but women are rarer and essentially are treated as men. Both share the honorific “ser” to denote knighthood.
*** The Commoner classes ***
~ The Crafting class ~
In the days of the barbarians, those in the tribe who were considered craftsmen—the smiths, woodcarvers, and builders—were given a great amount of deference and in the tribe were considered only second to the bann himself. Over time, the various crafts organized themselves into semiformalized “houses,” where information was traded between tribes, and (in the eyes of the craftsmen) their crafthouse was considered almost a tribe in and of itself. As the common wars between the tribes threatened this constant exchange of learning and apprentices, the crafthouses eventually created the mandate that the bonds to one’s house surpassed the bonds to one’s tribe. Naturally the banns fought this, but since any who did were denied the services of the crafthouse, they simply had no choice but to capitulate in the end. That sense of independence has continued: The major crafthouses of Ferelden are almost a law unto themselves insofar as their own bailiwick is concerned. While they hold no direct political voice, even a king would be fool to ignore them. Two other groups are considered to be a part of this social class as well, though neither of them actually “crafts” anything. The first is the Chantry. The priesthood in Ferelden is considered as honored a profession as a master craftsman, and socially the class holds the same kind of independence from local control and political deference when it comes to matters of religion. In other nations, however, the Chantry expects much more political influence than they are able to wield in Ferelden. Here, the common expectation is that they are not to influence issues not seen to directly concern them. It has been an issue of contention with the Chantry, and they are forever attempting to increase their influence in politics and social affairs, to varying degrees of success.
The second organization is the Traders’ Crafthouse. Merchants have traditionally been thought of in Ferelden as an untrustworthy bunch. Transactions are made with the crafters themselves and through agents of their crafthouse when necessary. The idea of buying goods and attempting to sell them at a profit is foreign, worthy of suspicion, and not much above thieving or fraud. The dwarves were the first true merchants in Ferelden; to most this was acceptable, as the dwarves were seen as the finest of craftsmen. It did not enter anyone’s mind that the dwarves probably did not make the items they brought up from Orzammar, and the dwarven merchants did nothing to dispel the idea.The dwarves eventually established various large trading posts in the cities at the behest of the banns (who wanted access to dwarven goods, naturally), and they offered their services to local crafthouses. For many crafthouses, the process of transporting and selling goods was considered more of a distraction to their true purpose, and they welcomed the arrangement. Fereldan smiths agreed only so long as the dwarves stopped their practice of selling superior dwarven goods at undercut prices, to which the dwarves readily agreed. So the dwarves became the masters of the Traders Crafthouse, which has expanded over the years to employ primarily Fereldan workers—as locals respond better to humans behind the counter—and to partner with guilds from the Free Marches to provide the shipping that Fereldan ports demand.
~ Freemen ~
Beneath the Crafting class lies the freemen, and while this social class can technically be split into “High Freemen” (freeholders, innkeepers, tavern owners, guardsmen, and other employed citizens) and “Low Freemen” (criminals, elves, prostitutes, and other ne’er-do-wells), they are really the same class. Unlike in other nations such as the Orlesian Empire, there is no class of serfs or slaves: One man is not permitted to own another, regardless of station, and all men are essentially free. Slaves are allowed to be transported across Ferelden on their way to Orlais or other places, but should any slave break free and demand their recognition as a freeman, they would not be denied. The Fereldan people would never allow the slave trade to take root, and this is indicative of Fereldan attitudes—since the earliest times of the Alamarri tribes, they have been difficult to subjugate (as the Imperium discovered for themselves).
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