Nobles of Gilneas

For other uses, see Noble (disambiguation).

King Genn and his nobles in Greymane Manor.

The nobles of Gilneas are the ruling class of the kingdom of Gilneas. Some were slain during the civil war, while many were turned into worgen or Forsaken during the invasion of Gilneas.

Background

During the Noblegarden, which is meant to bring communities together to share the joy of life and friendship as the major spring celebration in Lordaeron, it was customary for the nobles and lords of Gilneas to hide coins, candy, and the occasional treasures within special eggs painted to look like wildflowers. These eggs were then scattered in the capital and towns of Gilneas for the citizenry to find.

Following the First War, King Genn Greymane and several of the most influential Gilnean nobles made the trip to Capital City to answer King Terenas Menethil II's emergency summoning. After they'd learned about the orcish Horde's conquering of the kingdom of Stormwind, King Genn retired to his quarters to consult with his fellow countrymen. During the consultation, Lord Darius Crowley advised to help their sister nations against the orcish threat, but King Genn refused and he could see the nobles imagining the first reports back from the front lines, actually weighing the cost in life that King Terenas and Anduin Lothar's request would bear. However, Lord Vincent Godfrey agreed with Crowley, but only to stay in the good graces of their allies for the benefit of trade and tariffs, and that they should only send a small token force instead of the whole Gilnean Army. The other nobles echoed Godfrey's sentiment, and Greymane stated that he would consider it, leading him to join the Alliance of Lordaeron.

Following the Northgate Rebellion, to counter the threat of the worgen in Gilneas, King Greymane and his nobles secretly held hunting parties during the full moons into the Blackwald, where they tracked down and shoot any feral worgen they came across. During one of these trips, King Genn was infected by the worgen curse, and knew that the nobles would shoot him as well if they saw the bite, something he would do himself and would expect no less of them. Nevertheless, he was able to hide his injury.

During the summit to bring back the kingdom of Gilneas into the Alliance, Malfurion Stormrage proposed a hunting challenge to settle the conflict between King Genn Greymane and King Varian Wrynn about who was the better hunter. Those who accompanied King Genn included other surviving members of the nobility, male and female, in their worgen form.

Following the invasion of Gilneas, a black drakonid disguised as an affluent Gilnean noble named Lord Hiram Creed, and manipulated a group of Gilnean named the Blackhowl to control Gilneas City. He secretly infected them with his draconic blood, which made them stronger but also unwittingly slowly turned them into his unwilling servants. Prior to the death of Deathwing, Wrathion sent his rogue champion to assassinate Creed in his crusade to eliminate all corrupted black dragons on Azeroth.

Holdings

Map of Gilneas before the Cataclysm.

The Greymane family rules over all of Gilneas. Their home of Greymane Manor overlooked the southern region of Duskmist Shore and Duskhaven, and it is located behind the Queen's Gate and King's Gate. This area of Gilneas has since sunk outside of the manor, but once held cottages for the Crowley and the Walden families. Gilneas City also appears to be explicitly ruled by the royal family.

The Crowley family ruled over the lands that constituted both Pyrewood Village, Shadowfang Keep, and Ambermill, making Baron Silverlaine a vassal of theirs as a result. Lord Mayor Morrison was also the mayor of Pyrewood, placing him implicitly under Crowley's service. Lord Harford was also noted as a servant of Arugal and from beyond the wall, meaning he was likely one of Crowley's vassals as well. The Marley family ruled over an unspecified province near Gilneas' borders, which at the time stretched to about the proximity of the Deep Elem Mine. His lands were deemed ill-suited as they lacked natural boundaries to assist with the wall. Given that his lands would not have drawn issue with the Crowleys, his territories were likely near Deep Elem Mine; perhaps Ambermill itself and the surrounding land, which would have made him subservient to Crowley himself. Marley notably remained behind the Greymane Wall in spite of this.

The Godfreys ruled over a region just south of the Greymane Wall, within proximity to the Northgate lands. Given that Godfrey specifies the wall would cut into 'some' of Crowley's lands, and the Northgate rebellion was named for the region that supported Crowley the most; it is unlikely that Godfrey's lands were the Northgate Woods. This leaves Emberstone Village, which would potentially give him ties to the eastern lords that he later convinces to betray King Genn, or the Northern Headlands.

Ashbury and Walden are referred to as the "eastern lords", which would constitute areas such as Emberstone Village and Tempest's Reach. It is not specified where either of these two lords actually rule over beside this, though the Walden family is noted to have homes outside of the east and Lord Walden himself is killed in a house in Tempest's Reach; meaning they may have been 'unlanded' nobility. Lord Hewell is also present at the meeting and spoke against turning over Greymane to the Forsaken. Given the context, Hewell may also be an eastern lord, as the quest specifies that only two lords joined Godfrey's plot; alternatively he may have also been from the neighboring Stormglen Village.

The lands of the Tulvans and Candrens are entirely unknown with no allusions to any potential regions, though the Tulvans are stated to be 'earls'. Given that Lord Hiram Creed was a drakonid in disguise, it is unknown if there is an actual Creed family with holdings that he infiltrated / impersonated into, or if he was the only member. Baron Longshore states that he was once a legitimate baron of Gilneas; though where his lands would have been, or if someone else was given jurisdiction over them, is unknown.

The dog Woofington was given the title of lord of Havenswood after the rest of the denizens of the island succumbed to madness.

Noble families

Greymane clan

Name	Status	Occupation
King Archibald Greymane	Deceased	King of Gilneas. Father of Genn.
King Genn Greymane	Alive	King of Gilneas, abdicated the throne to Tess.
Queen Mia Greymane	Alive	Queen-mother of Gilneas. Wife of Genn.
Prince Liam Greymane	Deceased	Prince and former heir to the throne. Killed by Sylvanas.
Queen Tess Greymane	Alive	Reigning Queen since the Reclamation of Gilneas.

Ashbury

Name	Status	Occupation
Lord Ashbury the 1st	Deceased	Councilor of King Archibald Greymane. Father of Baron Ashbury.
Baron Ashbury	Deceased	Son of Lord Ashbury the 1st. Former councilor of King Genn, traitor alongside Godfrey and Walden. Raised as Forsaken, he later followed Godfrey within Shadowfang Keep. Killed on the orders of both factions.

Crowley

Name	Status	Occupation
Lord Darius Crowley	Alive	Leader of the Gilneas Liberation Front and Champion of the Valarjar. Once leader of the Northgate rebels during the civil war.
Lorna Crowley	Alive	Daughter of Darius Crowley. Commander of the Gilneas Liberation Front and the Gilneas Brigade.

Other nobles

Name	Status	Occupation
Lord Candren	Alive	Gilneas quartermaster at the Stormwind Embassy, formerly in Darnassus's Temple Gardens.
Lord Geoffery Tulvan	Killable	Fighter in the Crucible of Carnage, he sought to become the greatest warrior in the world.
Lord Harford	Deceased	A former worgen servant of Arugal in Shadowfang Keep who escaped and joined the Argent Dawn. Captured by the Scarlet Crusade and executed by the death knights of Acherus.
Lord Hewell	Alive	Nobleman who refused to betray King Genn Greymane during Lord Vincent Godfrey's treason at Tempest's Reach.
Lord Marley	Unknown	Councilor of King Genn Greymane.
Royston P. Crutchley III	Alive	Gilnean found wounded on the expedition isles, he was later saved by the Alliance adventurers.
Lord Vincent Godfrey	Deceased	Former councilor of King Genn Greymane, traitor alongside Ashbury and Walden. Raised as Forsaken, he later betrayed Sylvanas and became the master of Shadowfang Keep. Killed on the orders of both factions.
Lord Walden	Deceased	Former councilor of King Genn Greymane, traitor alongside Ashbury and Godfrey. Raised as Forsaken, he later followed Godfrey within Shadowfang Keep. Killed on the orders of both factions.
Lord Mayor Morrison	Deceased	Leader of Pyrewood Council and Arugal's puppet. Killed during an ambush by the Deathstalkers.
Baron Silverlaine	Undead	Former lord of Shadowfang Keep. Slain by Arugal and his worgen and cursed to defend the keep as a ghost. Even after Arugal was slain, the baron's spirit continues to defend his former home.
Lord Hiram Creed	Deceased	Black drakonid under the guise of a noble of Gilneas. He manipulated Gilnean group named the Blackhowl who occupied Gilneas City.
Baron Longshore	Killable	Captain of the pirate ship Heedless. Locked out of Gilneas by the Greymane Wall. Imprisoned by the forces of Theramore on the Merchant Coast.
Lord Woofington	Alive	Lord of Havenswood after the rest of the denizens succumbed to madness.

Speculated nobles

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Name	Status	Occupation
Aderic	Deceased	Referred to as a "patriarch", and has the Royal Aderic Banquet named in his honor. Possibly a long-dead king or nobleman.

Trivia

• Gilneas appears to use nobility conventions of the United Kingdom, which is fitting given their inspiration from England.
  • The title of "Lord Mayor" is an actual title used in the United Kingdom, which is granted to the mayors of major cities.
  • Lord Geoffery Tulvan is referred to as the "Earl of Evisceration". Earl is a title only used within the United Kingdom and is the counterpart to the more commonly seen "Count", used by other countries.
  • The title used by Alys Finnsson, a Gilnean member of the Twilight's Hammer, of Dame is a part of the British honors system, as a female counterpart to the honorific of 'sir' bestowed upon knights.

See also

• [Ensemble: Gilnean Noble's Suit]