A Nord commoner; ©Bethesda Softworks
Commoners or lowborn are the common people of the known world. Most are peasants who have to obey their local Lord, even though they may never catch a glimpse of them during their life. The nobility of Tamriel have great power over their commoners, whom they are expected to protect.
About[]
Most commoners are poor, illiterate (though on the Summerset Archipelago many commoners have basic reading skills) people living provincial, humble, and simple lives. Most do not have surnames. They use roads which are crooked muddy tracks that do not appear on parchment maps. Instead of castle-forged steel or lances, they are more likely to use non-magical staves as weapons. They often name their daughters after flowers and herbs, and peasant girls bleed on wedding nights. They are far removed from the major players of the great political game, but are affected by those decisions, good or bad. Bastards with a lowborn parent can be called baseborn.
In most of Tamriel the commoners often dress in raw wool and dull brown roughspun, while nobles wear coloured velvets, silks, and samites. The opposite is true in most of Hammerfell, where nobles and commoners alike (particularly the wealthier commoners) dress in brightly coloured garb, especially in cities.
Some among the commoners may believe the world to be flat. Commoners are often superstitious; some may believe that if a woman eats rabbit while pregnant, her child will be born with long floppy ears. They often name daughters after flowers or herbs, like Violet or Tansy.
Advancement[]
Even though they are born in the lowest social status in Tamriel, it is possible for commoners to rise in social status.
- Hedge knights are usually born as commoners, but they may rise to higher positions. For example, if they prove themselves exceptional in battle.
- Successful merchants can sometimes be ennobled.
- It is possible for commoners to join city guards with the possibility of becoming a commander.
- On the Summerset Archipelago commoners are allowed to join the Order of Sapiarchs in Lillandril, where they study to become sapiarchs.
- The Faith of the Eight (and all other Altmeri-rooted religions) allows all to become priests.
People Popular with the Commoners[]
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People Unpopular with the Commoners[]
- Queen Alyssare I Arana
- Queen Ayrenn I Arana of the Summerset Isles (loved by some at the start of her reign, but feared by all by the end of it)
- Lord Eridion Aeldaris of House Aeldaris