The large and thinly populated
province of Navarre is the heartland of the Capucinet clan, who have a
deep and ancient control over the area rarely equalled elsewhere in
Bretonnia. Their
clients have a strong sense of loyalty ingrained by centuries of border
conflict with the Estalians, in which the Ducs of Navarre, the
Capucinet family, have always provided effective leadership for their
countrymen (the people of Navarre, that is; Bretonnians are to a large
extent seen as foreigners).The province was only attached to Bretonnia comparatively recently through the marriage of Enguerrand le Fier to Irene of Navarre in 1301 IC. Prior to that date, the people of Navarre - in particular the nobility - had just as much in common with the Estalians as with the Bretonnians, and their speech and customs are still markedly different from those of the north. Even the King and Cardinal Dumourieux tacitly recognise the fact that, if push came to shove, the nobles and people of Navarre would follow Richard Trenchant Capucinet rather than Charles III de la Tête d'Or.
Richard Trenchant Capucinet has inherited many of the worst features of his father, Cedrique Olivier Capucinet; he is devious and cunning, eager to seize any advantage or opportunity if it will advance his position. Although he is in fact a notably handsome man, fond of fencing and careful of his food, amongst the population outside mountainous Navarre he is seen as a fairy-tale villain, hunchbacked and hideously ugly. Most of this is due to natural mistrust of southerners (who are seen as too much like Estalians to be quite trusted) and to rumours put around by the De Semblancy family, with whom the Capucinet have an ancient and bitter feud. It is said to date back to a botched campaign in the passes to Tilea in eastern Navarre, in which the heir of a Duc de Lyonnais perished. The De Semblancy say this was due to the desertion of the Capucinet, the Capucinet claiming that the expedition simply vanished into the mists when nearing an abandoned dwarf settlement. The influence of the De Semblancy also goes to explain why the Capucinet have never been able to acquire lands outside Navarre, though this is more because both the Capucinet and their clients feel far more bound to the land of Navarre than others do to their homelands. Richard Trenchant shares this attitude to some extent, but is also keen to advance the power of his family, hopefully at the expense of the De Semblancy. To this end he is increasing the traditionally minor Capucinet presence at the royal court, and he is actively seeking heirs for his two young children; force and compulsion are well within his grasp, and he will stop at nothing in getting control over the areas on the border he has in mind. According to some sources, the recent troubles with Bilbali have not been entirely uninfluenced by the Duc of Navarre, and if the kingdom was suddenly threatened on its southern border, Richard Trenchant Capucinet could hold King Charles III and the security of Bretonnia to ransom.
A major potential point of contention is the lawless city of Brionne, where Charles III has installed Pierre de Jolensac, a famously lucky and grasping baron from Armorique, as governor. Jolensac's governorship has seen the situation in the city remain static; whereas before the Capucinet Ducs, acting as governors, commanded an innate respect if not obedience from the people, the King's agent wields authority thanks more to his blunt, sometimes brutal administration, far firmer and more efficient than most other governments. In the city, he has struck a balance with the various criminal gangs and semi-criminal guild associations, many of which are also subsidised by and linked with the Capucinet family. They carry on their feuds and fighting just as before, but for the moment Jolensac has no problem with letting them spend their energies on bickering with each other, so long as it is done privately. On the whole, Jolensac has managed to ingratiate himself with the existing Capucinet partisans, and has even won the grudging respect of Richard Trenchant Capucinet for remaining in power: prior to his term in office, which began six years ago, no governor save the Capucinet themselves, had lasted so long.
The people of Brionne, including even the most lowly and desperate criminal elements, have a natural sentimentality towards the Capucinet family, who have simply been in charge for so long that they cannot give countenance to any other possibility. One of the reasons they like the Capucinet so much is that they generally accepted that they couldn't exert their control over Brionne, and by and large left the town to run itself. They even tolerated the cult of Ranald; though an unofficial arrangement, it has been picked up upon by the De Semblancy, who spread the rumour at court to damage the reputation of the Capucinet.
Richard Trenchant Capucinet's younger brother Arnaud Alphonse Capucinet leads the deputation of swarthy Navarrese nobles at the Oisillon Palace, where he is winning a reputation as something of a ladies' man; the De Semblancy family, however, hate him just as much as they do the Dumourieux family, and Arnaud Alphonse has been involved in half a dozen duels; his steady hand and swift blade have maintained the honour of Navarre in the face of all challenges, but Richard Trenchant has told him not to endanger the family's presence at court by indulging in any more ribaldry. As this brother shares all the chivalric faculties of his elder sibling, the Capucinet are expected by those in the know to begin to make a comeback soon. It is rumoured that, in his earlier travels in Tilea, Arnaud Alphonse spent time at the University of Miragliano, gaining some very valuable skills and acquaintances that may be called into play sometime in the near future.