Pederasty in Etrand

Historically, the practice of pederasty was rather common in Etrand, especially among the nobility - however, as of the present (831 AEKE), pederasty is largely a thing of the past, and is considered a criminal activity.

Pagan Etrand
While homosexuality (at least, between two adult men or two adult women) was shunned among the general populace, pederasty was a common practice among the elite of Pagan Etrandish society: among tribal chieftains, celebrated warriors, pagan priests and the wealthiest of merchants - as a matter of fact, sexual relations between seasoned warriors and their juvenile apprentices were practically expected. The practice of pederasty was perpetrated generation by generation, as chieftains were all warriors, and they typically sent their sons away to serve as warriors and bodyguards under the chieftains of allied tribes.

Titanist Etrand
Even though the Church of Titanius clearly forbids both homosexuality and pedophilia, for seven and half centuries after the kingdom's foundation and official conversion to the new faith, pederasty - a holdover from the pagan times - remained a semi-common practice among the kingdom's nobility, declining only very slowly and gradually. While the new laws - which criminalize both homosexuality and pedophilia - technically criminalized pederasty, in reality, the law was only very selectively enforced among the nobility, if at all: only particularly pious kings enforced the ban on pederasty, such as King Corlagon (who and founded the kingdom and reigned between 0 and 17) and King Tondbert the Pious (who reigned from 146 to 182).

By the late 7th and early 8th century, pederasty was already frowned upon, it had a brief resurgence, one last renaissance during the rule of King Bryant the Just (who reigned between 718 and 744), with Bryant himself being a pederast.

Bryant's successor, the pious King Cairbré the Wise (who reigned between 744 and 789) finally stamped the practice out altogether, not only by enforcing the already existing laws that made it illegal, but specifically making new laws to further cement the criminal status of pederasty, dispossessing nobles who were caught practicing it. The Church - which was suspiciously quiet about the issue for seven and half centuries - celebrated, but many of the more cynical-minded saw this as nothing but an excuse for the king to purge his political opponents. Truth be told, when one disregards the brief renaissance of pederasty during Bryant's reign, pederasty was already on its way out, and would have died even without Cairbré's intervention.

While Cairbré's successor, King Calhoun the Sad (who reigned between 789 and 809) made many concessions to the nobility, a return to the pederasty was not among them, and in fact wasn't even requested: the practice of pederasty among the Etrandish nobility died its final death, largely replaced by the keeping of adult lovers (both male and female alike) and Dark Elven sex slaves. Rumours say, that in the remote and overlooked regions of Southern Etrand, some of the impoverished nobles (who are only separated from wealthier peasants by nothing but a title of nobility) still cling to the practice of pederasty and refer to themselves as "men of culture", but others dismiss these rumours as slander and urban legends.