A BRIEF HISTORY
Pomerania began life as a small city state that shared a border with Gelre, the seat of the Church, and owed allegiance to Francia, the most powerful established kingdom in those early days. The usurping of the city's leadership by one Caspar Hasperan, however, changed the fate of Pomerania forever. He is considered a hero by the people of Pomerania, a military and political genius who, over the course of his forty year reign, expanded Pomeran territory until it encompassed the small state of Gelre entirely. His son and grandson, too, shared his genius, and by the end of two centuries, Pomerania had risen to become one of the largest and most secure countries in Meringia, their royal line established and acknowledged by others, most notably Gelre and Francia.
That military and diplomatic seems to be an inbred talent of the Hasperan line, though the line itself was almost broken during the first expansion of vassal states a little under four centuries ago. For sixty years, a cadet branch of the Royal House of Tournai (Francia's royal line) took power, but the Hasperan line was protected. When they had three generations fit for war, the throne of Pomerania was taken back, and Francia was forced to become the first true vassal state of Pomerania. With the support of the Dalai in Gelre, Pomerania proceeded to subjugate Alanic, Carantania, Epirus, Cicilia. Edessa, Valentia, and Lotharingia under the auspices of a treaty of perpetual peace. In recent years, Francia has broken away, and Valentia has nominally declared war on the mother state without much more than making noise.
Pomeran culture revolves around the Church and the Crown - they take their responsibility as the Defenders of the Faith very seriously indeed. As the renaissance sweeps in from Alanic and other countries, fashions are slowly changing; not just in clothing, but in music and the arts, even certain customs. The Pomeran court, however, is unlikely to change quickly - staunchly loyal and obedient to the Royal House of Hasperan, nonetheless there is always a plot or seven underway to shift the balance of power among the nobles.
An idiosyncrasy of Pomeran culture is that sexual affairs are conducted openly and without shame; there is no stigma attached to any man or woman who chooses to lie with someone other than their wedded partner, and indeed, some make their living from such affairs.