A royal progress is a tour of their realm made by a monarch or a member of their family. These tours allowed monarchs to make themselves known, loved and respected by their subjects, or to be feared if necessary. The monarch was accompanied by their retinue, which greatly varied in size depending on the monarch. They guested beneath the roofs of the lords of Great Houses, those of many lesser lords, knights, and even common innkeepers.
Similarly, a lord's progress is a tour of their domains made by a Lord.
Ancient History
Royal Progresses
Alinor
House Arana
Xth Progress: Auridon
In 2E 582, Ayrenn I Arana made a progress through the Calambar, Iluvamir, and the Vafe on Auridon, the second largest of the islands on the Summerset Archipelago. The aim of the progress was twofold: to secure the loyalty of the many lords of the two regions, and to complete the cultural requirements of a newly-crowned monarch. Progressing through the many regions of mainland Summerset would have taken over a year, and with the Summerset Isles involved in the newly formed Aldmeri Dominion and the Three Banners War, Ayrenn could not concern herself with symbolic domestic affairs for too long.
The progress began in Vulkhel Guard, where she was joined by her younger brother, Naemon, and his wife, Lady Estre Errinorne of Skywatch, as well as their many courtiers and retainers. From there the progress continued at a snails pace northward, where Ayrenn visited the many holdings of her vassals, even of lesser lords. Visiting lesser lords in such a manner was a rarity, however, Ayrenn wanted to secure the loyalty of those lords, as they would be the ones facing the greatest uncertainty and instability due to being closer to mainland Tamriel; they would be the subject of great waves of migration from Valenwood and Elsweyr thanks to the Aldmeri Dominion, as well as the subsequent cultural clashes and instability, and they would also be the focus of assaults upon the archipelago by hostile forces during the war.
During the course of the progress, Ayrenn found herself at the centre of a turbulent civil war orchestrated by her sister-in-law, Estre Errinorne, who secretly led a group of resistance-fighters called the Veiled Heritance. The short-lived war eventually culimated with the siege of Firsthold and the death of Lady Estre.
Sapiarchs of the following centuries would recall Ayrenn I's progress as "the singularly most eventful royal progress of our history".