In the setting I created, they accepted same-sex marriage, but it’s still not encouraged when it comes to the nobility.
For nobles here, lineage is very important. Bloodlines provide a clear, undisputed path of succession, which helps prevent internal power struggles or civil wars. The idea of placing a common-born heir at the head of a noble house is seen as laughable by the other nobles, and a sign of that house’s decadence. They cling tightly to the idea that noble blood inherently makes them different from the commoners.
I feel like if they didn’t value this, the whole monarchy system would kind of fall apart eventually, and in turn, making them lose power.
There’s also a magical element at play. In this world, magical talents are often hereditary, with certain noble bloodlines renowned for strong magical affinities or specific abilities. Passing these powers to a biological heir ensures the family maintains its legacy, preventing a situation where someone lacking magical ability inherits leadership of the family. However, exceptions do exist, and I plan to explore those situations in the story.
Occasionally, even a biological heir may fail to inherit the family’s magic. Such cases often lead to significant problems, including suspicion of infidelity or illegitimacy. In extreme instances, the child without magical talent might even be bypassed in the line of succession. There aren’t any ways to definitively prove lineage through something like DNA testing, so families without distinctive magic tend to be less strict—but societal expectations still weigh heavily on them.
Thus, same-sex noble marriages aren’t forbidden, but there remains a duty to produce a legitimate heir for the sake of family lineage and tradition. While adopting a child and presenting them as a legitimate heir can happen, this practice is heavily frowned upon. If discovered, it could lead to severe succession disputes within the noble family.
Because of these reasons, political marriages tend to be arranged between partners capable of producing biological heirs, mainly to avoid the issues mentioned earlier. Nothing explicitly forbids same-sex political marriages, but they’re simply less frequent. While socially acceptable, many nobles would prefer not to deal with the logistics of heirs through concubines or surrogates, and most people aren’t comfortable with the idea of their spouse taking a concubine.
Thus, having blood heirs remains widely regarded as the most stable way to maintain a noble house’s power, prestige, and legacy.
Overall, I wanted to build a world that wouldn’t restrict romance based on gender while still keeping things kind of “realistically” aligned with the way a medieval monarchy would work. Hopefully my explanation makes sense haha
