Nobleman blue blood 10. Titles and their hierarchy

With those ideas about female beauty that existed in that era. These ideas were fundamentally different from those that are now.

"Blue blood" of the Middle Ages

Modern fashionistas spend on the beach and even visit solariums to get the coveted "bronze tan". Such a desire would have surprised medieval noble ladies, and knights too. In those days, snow-white skin was considered the ideal of beauty, so beauties tried their skin from sunburn.

Of course, only noble ladies had such an opportunity. The peasant women were not up to beauty, they worked all day in the field, so that they were provided with a tan. This is especially true for countries with a hot climate - Spain, France. However, even in England, the climate until the XIV century was quite warm. The presence of a tan among peasant women even more made the representatives of the feudal class proud of their white skin, because this emphasized their belonging to the ruling class.

On pale and tanned skin, veins are different. In a tanned person, they are dark, and in a person with pale skin, they really look blue, as if blue blood flows in them (after all, the people of the Middle Ages knew nothing about the laws of optics). Thus, the aristocrats, with their snow-white skin and "blue" blood vessels showing through it, opposed themselves to the commoners.

The Spanish nobility had another reason for such a confrontation. Dark skin, on which the veins cannot look blue, was the hallmark of the Moors, against whose dominion the Spaniards fought for seven centuries. Of course, the Spaniards put themselves above the Moors, because they were conquerors and infidels. For the Spanish nobleman, it was a matter of pride that none of his ancestors intermarried with the Moors, did not mix their "blue" blood with Moorish.

Blue blood exists

And yet, the owners of blue and even dark blue blood exist on planet Earth. Of course, these are not descendants of ancient noble families. They don't belong to the human race at all. We are talking about molluscs and some classes of arthropods.

The blood of these animals contains a special substance - hemocyanin. It performs the same function as hemoglobin in other animals, including humans - the transport of oxygen. Both substances have the same property: they easily combine with oxygen when there is a lot of it, and easily give it away when there is little oxygen. But the hemoglobin molecule contains iron, which makes the blood red, and the hemocyanin molecule contains copper, which makes the blood blue.

And yet, the ability to saturate with oxygen in hemoglobin is three times higher than that of hemocyanin, so red blood, not blue, won the "evolutionary race".

"Ladder" of titles

At the very top is the royal family (with its own hierarchy).

Princes - Your Highness, Your Grace

The Dukes - Your Grace The Duke/Duchess

Marquises - Milord / Milady, Marquis / Marquise (mention in conversation - lord / lady)

Elder sons of dukes

Dukes' daughters

Counts - My Lord / Milady, Your Excellency (mention in conversation - Lord / Lady)

Elder sons of marquesses

Daughters of marquesses

Younger sons of dukes

Viscounts - My Lord / Milady, Your Grace (mention in conversation - Lord / Lady)

The eldest sons of the counts

Younger sons of marquesses

Barons - My Lord / Milady, Your Grace (mention in conversation - Lord / Lady)

The eldest sons of the viscounts

Younger sons of counts

Elder sons of the barons

Younger sons of viscounts

Younger sons of barons

Baronets - Sir

Elder sons of younger sons of peers

Elder sons of baronets

Younger sons of baronets

sons

The eldest son of the holder of the title is his direct heir.

The eldest son of a duke, marquis or earl receives a "courtesy title" - the eldest from the list of titles held by the father (usually the road to the title passed through several lower titles, which "remained in the family" further). Usually this is the next most senior title (for example, the heir to the duke - marquis), but not necessarily. In the general hierarchy, the place of the sons of the holder of the title was determined by the title of their father, and not by their "title of courtesy".

The eldest son of a duke, marquis, earl or viscount comes immediately after the holder of the title next in seniority to that of his father. (see "Ladder of titles")

Thus, the heir to a duke is always immediately next to the marquis, even if his "courtesy title" is only an earl.

The younger sons of dukes and marquesses are lords.

Women

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the title holder was a man. In exceptional cases, a title could be held by a woman if that title could be passed down through the female line. This was the exception to the rule. Mostly female titles - all these countesses, marquises, etc. - are courtesy titles and do not give the holder the right to the privileges due to the holder of the title. A woman became a countess by marrying a count; a marquise by marrying a marquis; etc.

In the general hierarchy, the wife occupies a place determined by the title of her husband. We can say that she is standing on the same rung of the stairs as her husband, right behind him.

Note: You should pay attention to the following nuance: For example, there are marquises, wives of marquises and marquises, wives of the eldest sons of dukes (who have the "courtesy title" marquis, see section Sons). Now, the former always occupy a higher position than the latter (again, the position of the wife is determined by the position of the husband, and the marquis, the son of the duke, is always inferior to the marquis as such).

Women are title holders "by right".

In some cases, the title could be inherited through the female line. There could be two options here.

1. The woman became, as it were, the keeper of the title, then passing it on to her eldest son. If there was no son, the title, under the same conditions, passed to the next female heiress for transfer then to her son ... At the birth of a male heir, the title passed to him.

2. A woman received the title "by right" ("in her own right"). In this case, she became the owner of the title. However, unlike male holders of the title, a woman did not receive, along with this title, the right to sit in the House of Lords, as well as to hold positions associated with this title.

If a woman got married, then her husband did not receive a title (both in the first and in the second case).

Note: Who occupies a higher position, the baroness "in her own right" or the wife of the baron? After all, the title of the first belongs directly to her, and the second enjoys the "title of courtesy."

According to Debrett, a woman's position is entirely determined by the position of her father or husband, except when the woman has the title "in her own right". In this case, her position is determined by the title itself. Thus, of the two baronesses, the one whose barony is older is higher in position. (two title holders are compared).

widows

In the literature, in relation to the widows of titled aristocrats, one can often find a kind of prefix to the title - Dowager, i.e. Dowager. Can every widow be called a "Widowmaker"? No.

Example. The widow of the fifth Earl of Chatham may be called the Dowager Countess of Chatham if the following conditions are simultaneously met:

1. The next Earl of Chatham was the direct heir of her late husband (i.e. his son, grandson, etc.)

2. If there is no other Dowager Countess of Chatham alive (for example, the widow of the fourth Earl, the father of her late husband).

In all other cases, she is Mary, Countess of Chatham (Mary, Countess of Chatham, that is, the name + title of her late husband). For example, if she is the widow of a count, but the widow of her husband's father is still alive. Or if, after the death of her husband, his nephew became a count.

If the current title holder is not yet married, then the previous title holder's widow continues to be called the Countess of Chatham (for example), and becomes "Dowager" (if eligible) after the current title holder marries and a new Countess of Chatham appears.

How is the position of a widow in society determined? “By her late husband's title. Thus, the widow of the 4th Earl of Chatham is higher in position than the wife of the 5th Earl of Chatham. Moreover, the age of women does not play any role here.

If a widow marries again, her position is determined by the position of her new husband.

daughters

The daughters of dukes, marquises and counts occupy the next step in the hierarchy after the eldest of the sons in the family (if any) and his wife (if any). They stand above all other sons in the family.

The daughter of a duke, marquis or earl is given the courtesy title "Lady". She retains this title even if she marries an untitled person. But, by marrying a titled person, she receives the title of her husband.

Ruler titles
Inherited:

Prince

Tsar heir Tsarevich (not always)

King heir Dauphin, Prince or Infante

Emperor

Maharaja

Elected:

Caliph of the Kharijites

Noble titles:

boyar

Chevalier

Kazoku - Japanese title system

Monarchs

Emperor(lat. imperator - sovereign) - the title of the monarch, head of state (empire). From the time of the Roman emperor Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) and his successors, the title of emperor acquired a monarchical character. From the time of Emperor Diocletian (284-305), the Roman Empire was almost always headed by two emperors with the titles of Augustus (their co-rulers bore the title of Caesars).

It is also used to designate the rulers of a number of eastern monarchies (China, Korea, Mongolia, Ethiopia, Japan, the pre-Columbian states of America), despite the fact that the name of the title in the official languages ​​of these countries does not come from the Latin imperator.
To date, only the Emperor of Japan has this title in the world.

King(lat. rex, fr. roi, eng. king, germ. Konig) - the title of the monarch, usually hereditary, but sometimes elective, the head of the kingdom.

Queen?va - the female ruler of the kingdom or the wife of the king.

Tsar(from tssar, ts?sar, lat. caesar, Greek k????? - one of the Slavic titles of the monarch, usually associated with the highest dignity of the emperor. In allegorical speech to denote primacy, dominance: "the lion is the king of beasts."

A queen is a queen or the wife of a king.

Tsarevich - the son of a king or queen (in pre-Petrine times). In addition, the title of prince was given to some descendants of independent Tatar khans, for example, the descendants of Kuchum Khan of Siberia had the title of princes of Siberia.

Tsesarevich is a male heir, the full title is Heir Tsesarevich, informally abbreviated in Russia to Heir (with a capital letter) and rarely to Tsesarevich.

Tsesarevna is the wife of the Tsarevich.

A princess is the daughter of a king or queen.

Titled nobility:

Prince(German Prinz, English and French prince, Spanish principe, from Latin princeps - first) - one of the highest titles of representatives of the aristocracy. The Russian word "prince" means direct descendants of monarchs, as well as, by special decree, other members royal family

Duke (Duc) — Duchess (Duchess)

The duke (German Herzog, French duc, English duke, Italian duca) among the ancient Germans is a military leader elected by the tribal nobility; in Western Europe, in the early Middle Ages, it was a tribal prince, and in the period of feudal fragmentation, it was a major territorial ruler, occupying first place after the king in the military hierarchy.

Marquis (Marquess) - Marquise (Marchioness)

Marquis - (French marquis, novolat. marchisus or marchio, from German Markgraf, in Italy marchese) - a Western European noble title, standing in the middle between count and duke; in England, except for M. in the proper sense, this title (Marquess) is given to the eldest sons of dukes.

Count (Earl) — Countess (Countess)

Count (from German Graf; Latin comes (literally: "companion"), French comte, English earl or count) is a royal official in the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe. The title arose in the 4th century in the Roman Empire and was originally assigned to the highest dignitaries (for example, comes sacrarum largitionum - chief treasurer). In the Frankish state, from the second half of the 6th century, the count in his district-county had judicial, administrative and military power. By decree of Charles II the Bald (Capitulary of Kersey, 877), the position and possessions of the count became hereditary.

The English earl (OE eorl) originally denoted the highest official, but from the time of the Norman kings it turned into an honorary title.

During the period of feudal fragmentation - the feudal lord of the county, then (with the elimination of feudal fragmentation) the title of the highest nobility (a woman - a countess). As a title, it formally continues to be preserved in most European countries with a monarchical form of government.

Viscount (Viscount) - Viscountess (Viscountess)

Viscount - (fr. Vicornte, English Viscount, Italian. Visconte, Spanish. Vicecomte) - this was the name of the governor in some possession of the count in the Middle Ages (from vice comes). Subsequently, individual V. became so intensified that they became independent and owned certain destinies (Beaumont, Poitiers, etc.) began to be combined with the title of V. At present, this title in France and England occupies a middle place between a count and a baron. The eldest son of the count usually bears the title of V.

Baron (Baron) - Baroness (Baroness)

Baron (from late Latin baro - a word of Germanic origin with the original meaning - a man, a man), in Western Europe a direct vassal of the king, later a title of nobility (a woman - a baroness). The title of B. in England (where it remains to this day) is lower than the title of viscount, occupying the last place in the hierarchy of titles of the highest nobility (in a broader sense, all English high nobility, hereditary members of the House of Lords belong to B.); in France and Germany, this title was lower than that of a count. In the Russian Empire, the title of B. was introduced by Peter I for the German higher nobility of the Baltic states.

Baronet (Baronet) - (there is no female version of the title) - although this is a hereditary title, in fact, baronets do not belong to peers (titled aristocracy) and do not have seats in the House of Lords.

Note: All others fall under the definition of "commoner", i.e. not titled (including Knight, Esquire, Gentleman)

Comment: In the vast majority of cases, the title belongs to a man. In rare cases, a woman may herself hold the title. Thus, duchess, marquise, countess, viscountess, baroness - in the vast majority of cases, these are "courtesy titles"

There is a hierarchy within a title based on when the title was created and whether the title is English, Scottish or Irish.

English titles are higher than Scottish titles, and Scottish titles are higher than Irish titles. For all that, at a higher level are more "old" titles.

Comment: of English, Scottish and Irish titles.

At various times in England, titles were created:

before 1707 - peers of England, Scotland and Ireland

1701-1801 - Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland

after 1801 - peers of the United Kingdom (and Ireland).

Thus an Irish earl with a title created before 1707 is lower in the hierarchy than an English earl with a title of the same time; but higher than the Earl of Great Britain with a title created after 1707

Lord(Eng. Lord - lord, master, lord) - a title of nobility in Great Britain.

Initially, this title was used to refer to all those belonging to the class of feudal landowners. In this sense, the lord (fr. seigneur ("seigneur")) opposed the peasants who lived on his lands and owed him loyalty and feudal duties. Later, a narrower meaning appeared - the holder of lands directly from the king, in contrast to the knights (gentry in England, lairds in Scotland), who owned lands belonging to other nobles. Thus the title of lordship became collective for the five ranks of the peerage (duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron).

With the emergence of parliaments in England and Scotland in the 13th century, the lords received the right to directly participate in parliament, and in England a separate, upper house of lords of parliament was formed. Nobles with the title of lord sat in the House of Lords by birthright, while other feudal lords had to elect their representatives to the House of Commons by county.

In a narrower sense, the title of lord was usually used as equivalent to the title of baron, the lowest in the peerage system. This is especially true in Scotland, where the title of baron was not common. The granting of the title of lord by the Scottish kings to the nobles gave them the opportunity to take a direct part in the country's parliament, and often was not associated with the appearance of land holdings by such persons on the right of holding from the king. Thus the title of Lords of Parliament arose in Scotland.

Only the king had the right to assign the title of lord to a nobleman. This title was inherited through the male line and in accordance with the principle of primogeniture. However, the title of lord was also used by the children of nobles of higher ranks (dukes, marquis, viscounts). In this sense, the wearing of this title did not require special sanction from the monarch.

Lord, this is not a title - this is an appeal to the nobility, eg Lord Stone.

Lord (lord, in the original meaning - the owner, the head of the house, family, from the Anglo-Saxon. hlaford, literally - the keeper, the protector of bread), 1) originally in medieval England in the general sense - the feudal landowner (lord of the manor, landlord) and seigneur his vassals, in a more special sense - a large feudal lord, the direct holder of the king - a baron. Gradually, the title of L. became the collective title of the English high nobility (dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, barons), which was received (since the 14th century) by the peers of the kingdom, who constituted the upper house of the British Parliament—the House of Lords. The title of L. is transmitted through the male line and seniority, but can also be granted by the crown (on the recommendation of the prime minister). Since the 19th century complains (“for special merits”) not only to large landowners, as was customary earlier, but also to representatives of big capital, as well as to some figures in science, culture, and others. Since 1958, the appointment by the monarch of a part of the members of the L. chamber has been introduced, and the appointed L. sit in the chamber for life, their title is not inherited. In 1963, hereditary L. received the right to abdicate the title. 2) An integral part of the official title of some of the highest and local officials of Great Britain, for example, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mayor and others. The Lord Chancellor, Supreme L. of Great Britain, is one of the oldest public offices (established in the 11th century); in modern Great Britain, the L. Chancellor is a member of the government and a representative of the House of Lords. Performs mainly the functions of the Minister of Justice: appoints judges in the counties, heads the Supreme Court, is the keeper of the great state seal. The Lord Mayor is the title of the head of local government in London (in the City area) and a number of other large cities (Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and others) that has been preserved from the Middle Ages. 3) In the 15th-17th centuries, an integral part of the title of L. protector, which was assigned to some high-ranking statesmen of England, for example, regents under a minor king. From 1653 to 1658 O. Cromwell also held the title of L. Protector.

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Emperor

Kaiser | King | King | King | Basileus

Grand Duke | Grand Duke | Duke | Elector | Archduke | Prince

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Titled nobility

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Infant | Prince | Jarl/Earl | Count Palatinate

Marquis | Margrave | Count | Landgrave| Despot | Ban

Viscount | Burggraf | Vidam

Baron | Baronet

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untitled nobility.

Names of titles are chosen from France. Why from there? Because among the peoples it is the French names that are used most often. Except for some used in Russia. And on this page we will tell you who is into what.

As a rule, they are presented in order: from the highest to the simplest. Titles going from Emperors to Chevaliers (Knights) are usually called nobility. For reference: The nobleman is one of the upper classes of the feudal society (along with the clergy), which was in the service of the monarch and carried out state activities. In other words, a nobleman is a person in the service of a court, usually a prince or tsar.

Emperor- the title of a monarch or several monarchs at once, the head of an empire. The emperor is usually the owner of several countries or peoples at once. As a rule, he takes lands of his own free will. The highest title in existence. Feminine - Empress.

Caesar (Russian – Tsar) - an autocratic sovereign, the owner of a kingdom or a large state. A king is a person chosen by God, the people, etc. Usually associated with the highest dignity of the emperor. In Russia, by the way, the current "tsar" is currently called the president, but in fact this is not so. The king, as a rule, takes over the whole country, and the president leads the country through others. Feminine - Queen.

King- the title of a monarch, usually hereditary, but sometimes elective, the head of a kingdom or a small state. Feminine - Queen.

Prince- who it? It seems that everyone knows, but I’ll tell you anyway: this is the son of a monarch (king, king or emperor). And when the king dies, the prince takes his place, being the new king. Feminine - Princess.

duke (Russian – Prince) - the leader of the army and the ruler of the region. The head of a feudal monarchical state or a separate political entity, a representative of the feudal aristocracy. The highest title of nobility. Feminine - Duchess or Princess.

marquis (Russian – Zemsky Boyar) - a title of nobility above the count, but below the duke. The marquis usually became the counts who had served the king and received permission to rule the border mark (administrative unit). Hence, by the way, the name of the title. Feminine - Marquise or Boyarynya.

Graph (Russian – Prince Boyar) is a title of nobility in Western Europe and pre-revolutionary Russia. Initially, it denoted the highest official, but since the time of the Norman kings it has turned into an honorary title. As a rule, above the baron and viscount, but below the marquis and duke. Feminine - Countess.

Viscount- a member of the European nobility, middle between a baron and a count. As a rule, the eldest son of a count (during his father's lifetime) bears the title of viscount. In the Russian nobility, the title of viscount is absent. Feminine - Viscountess.

Baron (Russian – Barin or boyar) - a title of nobility, standing below the count and viscount. A noble person, in the narrow sense, the highest stratum of feudal society. In medieval feudal Western Europe - a large sovereign nobleman and feudal seigneur, later - an honorary title of nobility. Feminine - Baroness or Boyar.

Chevalier (Russian – Knight) - he is also a Knight as well. The most junior title of nobility that had land. Formally, they were not considered nobles and were not included in high society, but at the same time they were blue-blooded persons and still were nobles.

Gentleman- originally the word "gentleman" meant a man of noble birth, this was the basic definition of an aristocrat, the next title was Esquire. But then they began to call an educated and well-mannered man, respectable and balanced. Gentleman, as a rule, does not apply to the title of nobility. And there is no female counterpart to the word "Gentleman". They are called Lady.

Lord- this is not a title, but a common name for representatives of the upper class. Lord off English means "ruler". They can be called any ruler, regardless of rank. Although, if we talk about Great Britain, then Lord is still a title, but in other nations, dukes, marquises, earls, etc. are also called lords.