Many different forms of legal and social unions exist in Tirneach; with different realms, communities, and social classes having their own peculiar forms and conventions. These unions are not considered a religious matter, although the church does encourage many forms as being useful to community and ambition, and cinnirí are often asked to preside over and witness the oaths of union. Family heads, local Tiarnaí, or other well respected figures are also sometimes asked to preside. Individual unions are defined by tradition with the details filled in by personal negotiation. Several characteristics of these unions are common across Tirneach:
They are concerned with the relative wealth and status of the participants.
It is common for quite different standards, expectations, and legal consequences to apply depending on whether the individuals concerned are considered to be of equal or disparate status. Individuals who enter into unions with a spouse far wealthier than them usually have their power over their joint /affairs seriously curtailed in comparison to a union of equal status.
They are not permanent.
Almost all marriages in Tirneach can be ended at-will be either member, with them taking away all property they brought into the marriage and equal share of all property that was gained during it. If someone believes their spouse has wronged them, they may take a legal claim against them to dissolve the union under more punitive terms. Some unions are explicitly time-limited to begin with, perhaps lasting for a year-and-a-day, or lasting until a particular goal has been reached, such as the birth of a child or the destruction of a common enemy.
They are not exclusive.
So long as the terms of the individual agreements do not fundamentally conflict, there is no prohibition or taboo against being involved in multiple different unions. In cases where conflict does arise between the rights and responsibilities conferred by different unions, pre-existing agreements are given priority.
They do not create a new family.
The members of the union are still considered to be part of their family of origin and are still answerable to the head of that family. Individuals who wish to join their spouse’s family must be adopted in. If children are expected to be produced by a union it should be agreed upon from the start which family they will belong to. It is not required that all children produced by a union belong to the same family.
Some particular examples include:
Union of Joint Purpose
This type of union requires both parties to commit their resources and act as a single entity towards the completion of a specified goal. The goal can be simple and personal (such as the production of an heir for one or other family), they can be distinctly impersonal (such as the establishment of new guild or trade-route), or they can be far-ranging and aspirational (such as the complete settlement of the Great Forest). These unions are dissolved upon completion of their goal.
Torchbearer’s Union
Many Torchbearers enter into a union with their partner that allows them to act on behalf of the other in matters of law and family. If not dissolved, the obligations of the union last past the death of one of its members and see the surviving member fulfilling the duties of their lost partner.
A Marriage of Contest
A form of union passed down from the days of the Amber Hall. Under the terms of contest the wealth of each partner is reckoned separately every five years, with the wealthier partner being given the privileges of higher status as if they had entered the union unequally. Usually the status of prospective partners is reckoned only approximately but in a Marriage of Contest every last pingin is counted. Currently unfashionable, some among the Teachers of Baol encourage this form of Union for its promotion of Ambition, Prosperity, and Perseverance.
Ruby Marriage
An unusual and restrictive form of legal union practised by the Ruby Families. Intended to act as a powerful symbolic gesture to end feuds between families, a Ruby Marriage defies many of the social conventions of Tirneach. The participants must be of equal status and the unions are permanent, insoluble, and exclusive.
Union of Dedication
Sometimes derisively called a “Peasant’s Wedding”, this form of union is most common amongst those who have no concerns of property, title or grand ambition. These unions are most concerned with personal and communal commitment and the celebration of particular relationships.