#cornwall capp

the capps and montys have indeed been feuding since the middle ages of italy. back then, they were known as the capuleti and montecchi families, but both eventually anglicized their names for separate reasons. their feud began over land ownership disputes.

patrizio actually comes from a distant branch of the montecchi that was based in sicily instead of verona. this branch took on the monty name in the late 18th/early 19th century to lessen italophobia from their english business associates (💔) and reap the most benefits possible. after the death of the last montecchi scion in verona, their olive oil business automatically went to their relatives, valentine's family, prompting their relocation.

contessa is an anglophile and insisted on nicknaming her daughters' husbands in honor of historical british dukedoms. cornelius became cornwall and alasdair became albany. caliban's nickname would have been clarence had cordelia allowed it.

contessa and consort were similarly born with different names—constance and lear respectively.

an arranged marriage between contessa and patrizio was planned to end the capp/capuleti-montecchi feud once and for all—though a distant relative, patrizio was still blood kin to the montecchi therefore it would theoretically unite the feuding families—but it all went terribly wrong, sparking the capp-monty feud as it's known in the present day…

in our genderbend au, only the 3rd (or 5th however you look at it) generation is actually genderswapped. also, consort is the one who died instead of contessa.

due to some curse or genetic anomaly, the capp clan struggles to produce male heirs with a >99% chance of any child born of a capp to be a daughter. it is for this reason that the family adopted a matriarchal structure many centuries ago, just to keep their legacy alive. in more recent centuries, sons began reappearing—though in many cases, such as tybalt's, they tend to fall somewhere on the intersex spectrum.

the monty family's restaurant is called Le Gatte. patrizio actually hates cats much to isabella's (and my) horror, however he allowed her the final say when it came to naming it. he'd wronged her many times in life—at least let her have this.