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127-406: Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary , in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness . Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight , but lower than a viscount or count . Often, barons hold their fief – their lands and income – directly from the monarch. Barons are less often

254-535: A barony were entitled to style themselves as a baron ( French : baron ) if they were nobles ; a roturier ( commoner ) could only be a seigneur de la baronnie (lord of the barony). French baronies could be sold freely until 1789, when the Constituent Assembly abolished feudal law. The title of baron was assumed as a titre de courtoisie by many nobles, whether members of the Nobles of

381-468: A fief , often land or office, under vassalage , i.e., in exchange for allegiance and various, mainly military, services to a suzerain , who might be a higher-ranking nobleman or a monarch. It rapidly became a hereditary caste , sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges. While noble status formerly conferred significant privileges in most jurisdictions, by

508-640: A nobility that is almost as old as the country itself. Throughout the history of the Ethiopian Empire most of the titles of nobility have been tribal or military in nature. However the Ethiopian nobility resembled its European counterparts in some respects; until 1855, when Tewodros II ended the Zemene Mesafint its aristocracy was organized similarly to the feudal system in Europe during

635-478: A rank in the nobility, without implication of allodial or feudal status. Since 1919, hereditary titles have had no legal status in Germany. In modern, republican Germany, Freiherr and Baron remain heritable only as part of the legal surname (and may thereby be transmitted to husbands, wives and children, without implication of nobility). In Austria, hereditary titles have been completely banned. Thus,

762-662: A tenant-in-chief of the early Norman kings who held his lands by the feudal tenure of " barony " (in Latin per barōniam ), and who was entitled to attend the Great Council ( Magnum Concilium ) which by the 13th century had developed into the Parliament of England . Feudal baronies (or "baronies by tenure ") are now obsolete in England and without any legal force, but any such historical titles are held in gross , that

889-527: A Russian baron. There were two main groups of nobility which held the baronial title. One was the Baltic German nobility, for which Russia merely recognized their pre-existing titles; the other was new barons created by the Emperors of Russia after 1721. Like in many other countries, new baronial titles were often created by ennoblement of rich bourgeoisie . The title of baron, along with the rest of

1016-438: A baron as Lord [Barony] and his wife as Lady [Barony] , and baronesses in their own right as Baroness [X] or Lady [X] . In direct address, barons and baronesses can also be referred to as My Lord , Your Lordship , or Your Ladyship or My Lady . The husband of a baroness in her own right gains no title or style from his wife. The Right Honourable is frequently abbreviated to The Rt Hon. or Rt Hon. When referred to by

1143-591: A baron is a nobile dei baroni and in informal usage might be called a baron, while certain baronies devolve to heirs male general. Since 1948 titles of nobility have not been recognised by the Italian state. In the absence of a nobiliary or heraldic authority in Italy there are, in fact, numerous persons who claim to be barons or counts without any basis for such claims. Baron and noble ( nobile ) are hereditary titles and, as such, could only be created or recognised by

1270-567: A barony, formerly a feudal superiority or prescriptive barony attached to land erected into a free barony by Crown Charter. The Court of the Lord Lyon will officially recognise those possessing the dignity of baron (and other titles that are but nobler titles of baron within the Baronage of Scotland lord/earl/marquis/duke see lordships in the Baronage of Scotland ) on petition who meet certain criteria, and will grant them baronial arms with

1397-413: A castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live "nobly", that is, from the proceeds of these possessions. Work involving manual labor or subordination to those of lower rank (with specific exceptions, such as in military or ecclesiastic service) was either forbidden (as derogation from noble status) or frowned upon socially. On

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1524-602: A century, ruling with the sanction of the Solomonic emperors. The last such Muslim noble to join the ranks of Ethiopian society was Mikael of Wollo who converted, was made Negus of Wollo, and later King of Zion, and even married into the Imperial family. He lived to see his son, Lij Iyasu , inherit the throne in 1913—only to be deposed in 1916 because of his conversion to Islam. The nobility in Madagascar are known as

1651-710: A de facto aristocracy continued to exist. This process was further deepened during the Three Kingdoms period with the introduction of the Nine-rank system . By the Sui dynasty , however, the institution of the Imperial examination system marked the transformation of a power shift towards a full bureaucracy, though the process would not be truly completed until the Song dynasty. Titles of nobility became symbolic along with

1778-551: A general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimized. In general, the present nobility present in the European monarchies has no more privileges than the citizens decorated in republics. In France, a seigneurie (lordship) might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a noble's prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold or mortgaged. If erected by

1905-580: A helmet befitting their degree. Scottish barons rank below Lords of Parliament and while noble have the status of minor baron, being a non- Peerage rank; as such it can be transferred by either inheritance or assignation. In showing that Scottish barons are titles of nobility, reference may be made, amongst others, to the Lyon Court in the Petition of Maclean of Ardgour for a Birthbrieve by Interlocutor dated 26 February 1943 which "Finds and Declares that

2032-412: A member of the formerly reigning House of Habsburg or members of the former nobility would in most cases simply be addressed as Herr/Frau (Habsburg) in an official/public context, for instance in the media. Still, in both countries, honorary styles like "His/Her (Imperial/Royal) Highness", "Serenity", etc. persist in social use as a form of courtesy. In Luxembourg and Liechtenstein (where German

2159-716: A nobleman. In this respect, the nobility as a class has always been much more extensive than the primogeniture -based titled nobility, which included peerages in France and in the United Kingdom , grandezas in Portugal and Spain, and some noble titles in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Prussia, and Scandinavia. In Russia, Scandinavia and non-Prussian Germany, titles usually descended to all male-line descendants of

2286-416: A peerage in the rank of baron is entitled to a coronet bearing six silver balls (called pearls) around the rim, equally spaced and all of equal size and height. The rim itself is neither jeweled nor " chased " (which is the case for the coronets of peers of higher degree). The actual coronet is worn only for the coronation of a new monarch, but a baron can bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms above

2413-642: A stipend while governance of the country shifted to scholar officials. In the Qing dynasty , titles of nobility were still granted by the emperor, but served merely as honorifics based on a loose system of favours to the Qing emperor. Under a centralized system, the empire's governance was the responsibility of the Confucian-educated scholar-officials and the local gentry, while the literati were accorded gentry status. For male citizens, advancement in status

2540-459: A third of British land is in the hands of aristocrats and traditional landed gentry . Nobility is a historical, social, and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is mainly based on pedigree, income, possessions, or lifestyle. Being wealthy or influential cannot ipso facto make one noble, nor are all nobles wealthy or influential (aristocratic families have lost their fortunes in various ways, and

2667-413: A three-pointed coronet. Families which had been ennobled at a definite point in time ( Briefadel or "nobility by patent ") had seven points on their coronet. These families held their fief in vassalage from a suzerain . The holder of an allodial (i.e. suzerain-free) barony was thus called a Free Lord , or Freiherr . Subsequently, sovereigns in Germany conferred the title of Freiherr as

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2794-748: A title of baron or count (cf. peerage ). Neither nobility nor titles could be transmitted through women. Some con artists sell fake titles of nobility , often with impressive-looking documentation. This may be illegal, depending on local law. They are more often illegal in countries that actually have nobilities, such as European monarchies. In the United States, such commerce may constitute actionable fraud rather than criminal usurpation of an exclusive right to use of any given title by an established class. "Aristocrat" and "aristocracy", in modern usage, refer colloquially and broadly to persons who inherit elevated social status, whether due to membership in

2921-482: A working class of the time. The latter consisted mainly of agricultural peasants who spent most of their time working outdoors and thus had tanned skin, through which superficial veins appear less prominently. Robert Lacey explains the genesis of the blue blood concept: It was the Spaniards who gave the world the notion that an aristocrat's blood is not red but blue. The Spanish nobility started taking shape around

3048-415: Is a Lord of Parliament . Scottish barons were entitled to a red cap of maintenance ( chapeau ) turned up ermine if petitioning for a grant or matriculation of a coat of arms between the 1930s and 2004. This chapeau is identical to the red cap worn by an English baron, but without the silver balls or gilt. This is sometimes depicted in armorial paintings between the shield and the helmet. Additionally, if

3175-546: Is a jewelled rim of gold surmounted by seven visible pearls , set upon the rim directly or upon stems; alternately, the French style coronet (entwined in a string of small pearls, with or without four bigger visible pearls set upon the rim) is used. In the medieval era, some allodial and enfeoffed lands held by nobles were created or recognized as baronies by the Holy Roman Emperors , within whose realm most of

3302-765: Is an exception. In a number of recent cases in Scotland the Lord Lyon King of Arms has controversially ( vis-à-vis Scotland's Salic law) granted the arms and allocated the chiefships of medieval noble families to female-line descendants of lords, even when they were not of noble lineage in the male line, while persons of legitimate male-line descent may still survive (e.g. the modern Chiefs of Clan MacLeod ). In some nations, hereditary titles , as distinct from noble rank, were not always recognised in law, e.g., Poland's Szlachta . European ranks of nobility lower than baron or its equivalent, are commonly referred to as

3429-400: Is derived from Sanskrit word Karyi which meant functionary. Other noble and aristocratic titles were Thakur , Sardar , Jagirdar , Mankari , Dewan , Pradhan, Kaji etc. In East Asia, the system was often modeled on imperial China, the leading culture. Emperors conferred titles of nobility . Imperial descendants formed the highest class of ancient Chinese nobility, their status based upon

3556-567: Is held by Kung Tsui-chang . There is also a "Sacrificial Official to Mencius" for a descendant of Mencius , a "Sacrificial Official to Zengzi" for a descendant of Zengzi , and a "Sacrificial Official to Yan Hui" for a descendant of Yan Hui . The bestowal of titles was abolished upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, as part of a larger effort to remove feudal influences and practises from Chinese society. Unlike China, Silla's bone nobles were much more aristocratic and had

3683-516: Is relevant when a baron or baroness's title is completely different from his or her personal surname (e.g. William Thomson, Lord Kelvin ) or includes a territorial designation in addition to his surname (e.g. Martin Rees, Lord Rees of Ludlow ). This also means that including a baron or baroness's forename before his or her title is incorrect and potentially misleading. For example, "Lady Margaret Thatcher" (as opposed to "Lady Thatcher") would imply that she

3810-452: Is the literal translation for "knight", and persons who held that title enjoyed a distinct, but lower, rank in Germany's nobility than barons ( Freiherren ). The wife of a Freiherr (Baron) is called a Freifrau or sometimes Baronin , his daughter Freiin or sometimes Baroness . Families which had always held this status were called Uradel ('primordial/ancient/original nobility'), and were heraldically entitled to

3937-454: Is the official language), barons remain members of the recognized nobility, and the sovereigns retain authority to confer the title ( morganatic cadets of the princely dynasty received the title Baron of Lanskron , using both Freiherr and Baron for different members of this branch.) Generally, all legitimate males of a German baronial family inherit the title Freiherr or Baron from birth, as all legitimate daughters inherit

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4064-583: Is to say are deemed to be enveloped within a more modern extant peerage title also held by the holder, sometimes along with vestigial manorial rights and tenures by grand serjeanty . After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman dynasty introduced an adaptation of the French feudal system to the Kingdom of England . Initially, the term "baron" on its own was not a title or rank, but the "barons of

4191-517: Is wrong if the lady in question does not hold a Scottish barony in her own right. Orally, Scottish barons may be addressed with the name of their barony, as in Edinburgh or else as Baron without anything else following, which if present would suggest a peerage barony. Informally, when referring to a Scots baron in the third person, the name Baron of [X] is used or simply [X] . Scottish Barons may record [surname] of [territorial designation] in

4318-489: The grandeza . The sovereign continues to grant baronial titles. Nobility Membership in the nobility has historically been granted by a monarch or government, and acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, ownerships, or royal favour has occasionally enabled commoners to ascend into the nobility. There are often a variety of ranks within the noble class. Legal recognition of nobility has been much more common in monarchies, but nobility also existed in such regimes as

4445-853: The Andriana . In much of Madagascar, before French colonization of the island, the Malagasy people were organised into a rigid social caste system, within which the Andriana exercised both spiritual and political leadership. The word "Andriana" has been used to denote nobility in various ethnicities in Madagascar: including the Merina , the Betsileo , the Betsimisaraka , the Tsimihety ,

4572-655: The Bezanozano , the Antambahoaka and the Antemoro . The word Andriana has often formed part of the names of Malagasy kings, princes and nobles. Linguistic evidence suggests that the origin of the title Andriana is traceable back to an ancient Javanese title of nobility. Before the colonization by France in the 1890s, the Andriana held various privileges, including land ownership, preferment for senior government posts, free labor from members of lower classes,

4699-570: The British model . Baron-peer was the lowest title, but the heirs to pre-1789 barons could remain barons, as could the elder sons of viscount -peers and the younger sons of count -peers. This peerage system was abolished in 1848. In pre-republican Germany all the knightly families of the Holy Roman Empire (sometimes distinguished by the prefix von or zu ) eventually were recognised as of baronial rank, although Ritter

4826-551: The British Raj , many members of the nobility were elevated to royalty as they became the monarchs of their princely states, but as many princely state rulers were reduced from royals to noble zamindars . Hence, many nobles in the subcontinent had royal titles of Raja, Rai, Rana, Rao, etc. In Nepal, Kaji ( Nepali : काजी ) was a title and position used by nobility of Gorkha Kingdom (1559–1768) and Kingdom of Nepal (1768–1846). Historian Mahesh Chandra Regmi suggests that Kaji

4953-590: The County Court presided over by the sheriff, who themselves formed the precursor of the House of Commons . Thus appeared a definite distinction, which eventually had the effect of restricting to the greater barons alone the privileges and duties of peerage. Later, the king started to create new baronies in one of two ways: by a writ of summons directing a chosen man to attend Parliament , and in an even later development by letters patent . Writs of summons became

5080-572: The Dutch kings. But such recognition was not automatic, having to be authenticated by the Supreme Council of Nobility and then approved by the sovereign. This ceased to be possible after the Dutch constitution was revised in 1983. More than one hundred Dutch baronial families have been recognized. The title is usually inherited by all males descended patrilineally from the original recipient of

5207-736: The Dutch Republic (1581–1795), the Republic of Genoa (1005–1815), the Republic of Venice (697–1797), and the Old Swiss Confederacy (1300–1798), and remains part of the legal social structure of some small non-hereditary regimes, e.g., San Marino , and the Vatican City in Europe. In Classical Antiquity , the nobiles (nobles) of the Roman Republic were families descended from persons who had achieved

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5334-658: The Emirate of Harar , and the Awsa sultanate . Ethiopian nobility were divided into two different categories: Mesafint ("prince"), the hereditary nobility that formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; and the Mekwanin ("governor") who were appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility ( cf. the Ministerialis of the Holy Roman Empire ). In Ethiopia there were titles of nobility among

5461-629: The King's Council , which evolved into the Parliament and later into the House of Lords , while as was stipulated in Magna Carta of 1215, the lesser barons of each county would receive a single summons as a group through the sheriff , and representatives only from their number would be elected to attend on behalf of the group. These representatives developed into the Knights of the Shire , elected by

5588-847: The Low Countries lay. Subsequently, the Habsburgs continued to confer the baronial title in the Southern Netherlands , first as kings of Spain and then, again, as emperors until abolition of the Holy Roman Empire, but these had become titular elevations rather than grants of new territory. In the Netherlands after 1815, titles of baron authorized by previous monarchs (except those of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland ) were usually recognized by

5715-459: The Mesafint borne by those at the apex of medieval Ethiopian society. The highest royal title (after that of emperor) was Negus ("king") which was held by hereditary governors of the provinces of Begemder , Shewa , Gojjam , and Wollo . The next highest seven titles were Ras , Dejazmach , Fit'awrari , Grazmach , Qenyazmach , Azmach and Balambaras . The title of Le'ul Ras

5842-685: The Norman conquest of England . It lasted until Stephen of the French House of Blois seized the Duchy of Normandy in 1135. The house emerged from the union between the Viking Rollo (first ruler of Normandy) and Poppa of Bayeux , a West Frankish noblewoman. William the Conqueror and his heirs down through 1135 were members of this dynasty. After that it was disputed between William's grandchildren, Matilda , whose husband Geoffrey

5969-574: The Old French baron , from a Late Latin barō "man; servant, soldier , mercenary " (so used in Salic law ; Alemannic law has barus in the same sense). The scholar Isidore of Seville in the 7th century thought the word was from Greek βᾰρῠ́ς "heavy" (because of the "heavy work" done by mercenaries), but the word is presumably of Old Frankish origin, cognate with Old English beorn meaning "warrior, nobleman". Cornutus in

6096-458: The Peerage of England , the Peerage of Great Britain , the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom (but not in the Peerage of Scotland ), barons form the lowest rank, placed immediately below viscounts . A woman of baronial rank has the title baroness . In the Kingdom of England , the medieval Latin word barō (genitive singular barōnis ) was used originally to denote

6223-514: The Riksdag of the Estates . In 1561, Sweden's King Eric XIV granted the hereditary titles of count and vapaaherra to some of these, but not all. Although their cadet family members were not entitled to vote or sit in the Riksdag , they were legally entitled to the same title as the head of the family, but in customary address they became Paroni or Paronitar . Theoretically, in

6350-587: The Song dynasty , and by its peak power shifted from nobility to bureaucrats. This development was gradual and generally only completed in full by the Song dynasty. In the Han dynasty , for example, even though noble titles were no longer given to those other than the emperor's relatives, the fact that the process of selecting officials was mostly based on a vouching system by current officials as officials usually vouched for their own sons or those of other officials meant that

6477-529: The Swedish nobility ( baron is used orally, while it is written as friherre ), and vapaaherra in the nobility of Finland . In the beginning, Finnish nobles were all without honorific titulature, and known simply as lords. Since the Middle Ages , each head of a noble family had been entitled to a vote in any of Finland's provincial diets whenever held, as in the realm's House of Nobility of

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6604-723: The consulship . Those who belonged to the hereditary patrician families were nobles, but plebeians whose ancestors were consuls were also considered nobiles . In the Roman Empire , the nobility were descendants of this Republican aristocracy. While ancestry of contemporary noble families from ancient Roman nobility might technically be possible, no well-researched, historically documented generation-by-generation genealogical descents from ancient Roman times are known to exist in Europe. Hereditary titles and styles added to names (such as "Prince", "Lord", or "Lady"), as well as honorifics , often distinguish nobles from non-nobles in conversation and written speech. In many nations, most of

6731-424: The peerage , which also carries nobility and formerly a seat in the House of Lords , but never came with automatic entail of land nor rights to the local peasants' output. Nobility might be either inherited or conferred by a fons honorum . It is usually an acknowledged preeminence that is hereditary, i.e. the status descends exclusively to some or all of the legitimate , and usually male-line , descendants of

6858-411: The petty nobility , although baronets of the British Isles are deemed titled gentry . Most nations traditionally had an untitled lower nobility in addition to titled nobles. An example is the landed gentry of the British Isles . Unlike England's gentry, the Junkers of Germany, the noblesse de robe of France, the hidalgos of Spain and the nobili of Italy were explicitly acknowledged by

6985-435: The vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a coronet . The term originates from the Latin term barō , via Old French . The use of the title baron came to England via the Norman Conquest of 1066, then the Normans brought the title to Scotland and Southern Italy . It later spread to Scandinavian and Slavic lands. The word baron comes from

7112-561: The (formerly) official nobility or the monied upper class. Blue blood is an English idiom recorded since 1811 in the Annual Register and in 1834 for noble birth or descent; it is also known as a translation of the Spanish phrase sangre azul , which described the Spanish royal family and high nobility who claimed to be of Visigothic descent, in contrast to the Moors . The idiom originates from ancient and medieval societies of Europe and distinguishes an upper class (whose superficial veins appeared blue through their untanned skin) from

7239-462: The 16th and 17th centuries, families elevated to vapaaherra status were granted a barony in fief , enjoying some rights of taxation and judicial authority. Subsequently, the "barony" was titular, usually attached to a family property, which was sometimes entailed . Their exemptions from taxes on landed properties continued into the 20th century, although in the 19th century tax reforms narrowed this privilege. Nobility creations continued until 1917,

7366-406: The 16th century by the House of Habsburg . Historically, once nobility was granted, if a nobleman served the monarch well he might obtain the title of baron, and might later be elevated to the rank of count. As in other countries of post-medieval central Europe, hereditary titles were not attached to a particular land or estate but to the noble family itself, so that all patrilineal descendants shared

7493-405: The 21st century it had become a largely honorary dignity in most societies, although a few, residual privileges may still be preserved legally (e.g. Spain, UK) and some Asian, Pacific and African cultures continue to attach considerable significance to formal hereditary rank or titles. (Compare the entrenched position and leadership expectations of the nobility of the Kingdom of Tonga .) More than

7620-518: The Americas such as Mexico and the United States , have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. This is distinct from countries that have not abolished the right to inherit titles, but which do not grant legal recognition or protection to them, such as Germany and Italy, although Germany recognizes their use as part of the legal surname. Still, other countries and authorities allow their use, but forbid attachment of any privilege thereto, e.g., Finland, Norway, and

7747-415: The Ethiopian nobility as part of their quest for aggrandizement during the 1800s. To do so they were generally obliged to abandon their faith and some are believed to have feigned conversion to Christianity for the sake of acceptance by the old Christian aristocratic families. One such family, the Wara Seh (more commonly called the "Yejju dynasty") converted to Christianity and eventually wielded power for over

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7874-496: The European Union, while French law also protects lawful titles against usurpation . Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status per se . Usually privileges were granted or recognized by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles' wealth derived from one or more estates , large or small, that might include fields, pasture, orchards, timberland, hunting grounds, streams, etc. It also included infrastructure such as

8001-441: The Feudal Tenure Act (1662), and the Fines and Recoveries Act of 1834, titles of feudal barony became obsolete and without legal force. The Abolition Act 1660 specifically states: baronies by tenure were converted into baronies by writ. The rest ceased to exist as feudal baronies by tenure, becoming baronies in free socage, that is to say under a "free" (hereditable) contract requiring payment of monetary rents. Alfred, Lord Tennyson

8128-442: The King" were the men of the king. Previously, in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England, the king's companions held the title of earl and in Scotland , the title of thane . All who held their feudal barony " in-chief of the king ", that is with the king as his immediate overlord , became alike barones regis ("barons of the king"), bound to perform a stipulated annual military service and obliged to attend his council. The greatest of

8255-402: The Middle Ages. For more than seven centuries, Ethiopia (or Abyssinia , as it was then known) was made up of many small kingdoms, principalities, emirates and imamates , which owed their allegiance to the nəgusä nägäst (literally "King of Kings"). Despite its being a Christian monarchy, various Muslim states paid tribute to the emperors of Ethiopia for centuries: including the Adal Sultanate ,

8382-425: The Minor Barons of Scotland are, and have both in this Nobiliary Court, and in the Court of Session, been recognised as 'titled' nobility, and that the estait of the Baronage (The Barones Minores) is of the ancient Feudal Nobility of Scotland". Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, in his Scots Heraldry (2nd Ed., p. 88, note 1), states that "The Act 1672, cap 47, specially qualifies the degrees thus: Nobles (i.e. peers,

8509-423: The Normans during the 11th century. Whereas originally a barony might consist of two or more manors, by 1700 we see what were formerly single manors erected into baronies, counties or even marquisates. Since the early 1800s, when feudalism was abolished in the various Italian states, it has often been granted as a simple hereditary title without any territorial designation or predicato . The untitled younger son of

8636-419: The Robe or cadets of Nobles of the Sword who held no title in their own right. Emperor Napoléon ( r.  1804–1815 ) created a new imperial nobility in which baron appeared from 1808 as the second-lowest title. The titles were inherited through a male-only line of descent and could not be purchased. In 1815, King Louis XVIII created a new peerage system and a Chamber of Peers , based on

8763-477: The Sovereign in public instruments, The Right Honourable is changed to Our right trusty and well-beloved , with Counsellor attached if they are a Privy Counsellor . Children of barons and baronesses in their own right, whether hereditary or for life, have the style The Honourable [Forename] [Surname] . After the death of the father or mother, the child may continue to use this style. Courtesy barons are styled Lord [Barony] , and their wives Lady [Barony] ;

8890-465: The advent of modern governance, their members retain precedence of a traditional nature and are especially prominent during festivals. Outside of this, many of the traditional nobles of Nigeria continue to serve as privy counsellors and viceroys in the service of their traditional sovereigns in a symbolic continuation of the way that their titled ancestors and predecessors did during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. Many of them are also members of

9017-432: The annual crop yield from commoners or nobles of lower rank who lived or worked on the noble's manor or within his seigneurial domain. In some countries, the local lord could impose restrictions on such a commoner's movements, religion or legal undertakings. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting. In France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille , the major direct tax. Peasants were not only bound to

9144-420: The article "The" is always absent. If the courtesy baron is not a Privy Counsellor, the style The Right Honourable will also be absent. It is very common for the surnames of barons and baronesses to be identical to or included in the formal title of their barony. However, when addressed as a peer, the title of Lord , Lady , or Baroness is followed by the name of his or her barony, not his personal name. This

9271-440: The baron is the head of a family, he may include a chiefly coronet which is similar to a ducal coronet, but with four strawberry leaves. Because the chapeau was a relatively recent innovation, a number of ancient arms of Scottish feudal barons do not display the chapeau. Now, Scottish barons are principally recognised by the baron's helm, which in Scotland is a steel helmet with grille of three grilles, garnished in gold. Occasionally,

9398-425: The concept of the 'poor nobleman' is almost as old as nobility itself). Although many societies have a privileged upper class with substantial wealth and power, the status is not necessarily hereditary and does not entail a distinct legal status , nor differentiated forms of address . Various republics, including European countries such as Greece, Turkey, and Austria, and former Iron Curtain countries and places in

9525-428: The continent. Most, such as those composed of the descendants of Shaka and those of Moshoeshoe of Southern Africa, belong to peoples that have been resident in the continent for millennia. Generally their royal or noble status is recognized by and derived from the authority of traditional custom. A number of them also enjoy either a constitutional or a statutory recognition of their high social positions. Ethiopia has

9652-418: The country's political elite due to their not being covered by the prohibition from involvement in politics that governs the activities of the traditional rulers. Holding a chieftaincy title, either of the traditional variety (which involves taking part in ritual re-enactments of your title's history during annual festivals, roughly akin to a British peerage ) or the honorary variety (which does not involve

9779-402: The crown into, e.g., a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled ("seigneur of Montagne" simply meant ownership of that lordship but not, if one was not otherwise noble, the right to use a title of nobility, as commoners often purchased lordships). Only a member of the nobility who owned a countship

9906-691: The dark-skinned enemy. Africa has a plethora of ancient lineages in its various constituent nations. Some, such as the numerous sharifian families of North Africa, the Keita dynasty of Mali , the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia , the De Souza family of Benin , the Abaza and Zulfikar families of Egypt and the Sherbro Tucker clan of Sierra Leone , claim descent from notables from outside of

10033-536: The end of Finland's grand ducal monarchy . Muscovite Russia had no traditional baronial titles of its own; they were introduced in early Imperial Russia by Peter the Great . In the hierarchy of nobility introduced by Peter the Great, barons ( барон ) ranked above untitled nobility and below counts ( граф , graf ). The styles "Your Well-born" ( Ваше благородие , Vashe blagorodiye ) and "Master Baron" ( Господин барон , Gospodin baron ) were used to address

10160-565: The family of Empress Menen Asfaw who ruled over the mountain fortress of Ambassel in Wollo; Wagshum , a title created for the descendants of the deposed Zagwe dynasty ; and Shum Agame , held by the descendants of Dejazmach Sabagadis , who ruled over the Agame district of Tigray. The vast majority of titles borne by nobles were not, however, hereditary. Despite being largely dominated by Christian elements, some Muslims obtained entrée into

10287-518: The family's coat of arms ) extending back five generations (all 16 great-great-grandparents). This illustrates the traditional link in many countries between heraldry and nobility; in those countries where heraldry is used, nobles have almost always been armigerous , and have used heraldry to demonstrate their ancestry and family history . However, heraldry has never been restricted to the noble classes in most countries, and being armigerous does not necessarily demonstrate nobility. Scotland , however,

10414-514: The first century already reports a word barones which he took to be of Gaulish origin. He glosses it as meaning servos militum and explains it as meaning "stupid", by reference to classical Latin bārō "simpleton, dunce"; because of this early reference, the word has also been suggested to derive from an otherwise unknown Celtic * bar , but the Oxford English Dictionary takes this to be "a figment". In

10541-519: The grand duchy's prime ministers inherited baronial titles that were used during their tenures in office, Victor de Tornaco and Félix de Blochausen . In Norway, king Magnus VI of Norway (1238–1280) replaced the title Lendmann with Baron, but in 1308 Haakon V abolished the title. The present corresponding title is baron in the Danish nobility and the Norwegian nobility , friherre in

10668-586: The great tilting-helm garnished with gold is shown, or a helmet befitting a higher rank, if held. Scottish barons style their surnames similarly to Clan Chiefs if they own the caput, with the name of their barony following their name, as in John Smith of Edinburgh, Baron of Edinburgh otherwise John Smith, Baron of Edinburgh . Most formally, and in writing, they are styled as The Much Honoured Baron of Edinburgh . Their wives are styled Lady Edinburgh , or The Baroness of Edinburgh . The phrase Lady of Edinburgh

10795-472: The holder of any large (non-feudal) landed estate calling himself a baron. Nevertheless, both were common practices. In most of peninsular Italy the widespread medieval introduction of the title was Longobardic , while in Sicily and Sardinia it was coeval with Norman rule some centuries later, and one referred to the baronage when speaking of landed nobles generally. The heraldic coronet of an Italian baron

10922-518: The kings of Italy or (before 1860) the pre-unitary Italian states such as the Two Sicilies , Tuscany , Parma or Modena , or by the Holy See (Vatican) or the Republic of San Marino . Beginning around 1800, a number of signori ( lords of the manor ) began to style themselves barone but in many cases this was not sanctioned legally by decree, while there was even less justification in

11049-928: The members of the various parlements , were ennobled by the king, constituting the noblesse de robe . The old nobility of landed or knightly origin, the noblesse d'épée , increasingly resented the influence and pretensions of this parvenu nobility. In the last years of the ancien régime the old nobility pushed for restrictions of certain offices and orders of chivalry to noblemen who could demonstrate that their lineage had extended " quarterings ", i.e. several generations of noble ancestry, to be eligible for offices and favours at court along with nobles of medieval descent, although historians such as William Doyle have disputed this so-called "Aristocratic Reaction". Various court and military positions were reserved by tradition for nobles who could "prove" an ancestry of at least seize quartiers (16 quarterings), indicating exclusively noble descent (as displayed, ideally, in

11176-488: The monarchs of those countries as members of the nobility, although untitled. In Scandinavia, the Benelux nations and Spain there are still untitled as well as titled families recognised in law as noble. In Hungary members of the nobility always theoretically enjoyed the same rights. In practice, however, a noble family's financial assets largely defined its significance. Medieval Hungary's concept of nobility originated in

11303-409: The ninth century in classic military fashion, occupying land as warriors on horseback. They were to continue the process for more than five hundred years, clawing back sections of the peninsula from its Moorish occupiers, and a nobleman demonstrated his pedigree by holding up his sword arm to display the filigree of blue-blooded veins beneath his pale skin—proof that his birth had not been contaminated by

11430-406: The nobility by dues and services, but the exercise of their rights was often also subject to the jurisdiction of courts and police from whose authority the actions of nobles were entirely or partially exempt. In some parts of Europe the right of private war long remained the privilege of every noble. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman and

11557-519: The nobility have been untitled, and some hereditary titles do not indicate nobility (e.g., vidame ). Some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil or life peers in the United Kingdom. The term derives from Latin nobilitas , the abstract noun of the adjective nobilis ("noble but also secondarily well-known, famous, notable"). In ancient Roman society , nobiles originated as an informal designation for

11684-648: The noble hierarchy, was abolished in December 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution ; however, certain leaders of the White movement like Baron Pyotr Wrangel and Roman von Ungern-Sternberg continued to use the title until the end of the Russian Civil War . In Spain, the title follows Vizconde in the noble hierarchy, and ranks above Señor . Baronesa is the feminine form, for

11811-623: The nobles, especially those in the Marches , such as the Earls of Chester and the Bishops of Durham , whose territories were often deemed palatine , that is to say "worthy of a prince", might refer to their own tenants as "barons", where lesser magnates spoke simply of their "men" ( homines ) and lords of the manor might reference "bondmen". Initially those who held land directly from the king by military service , from earls downwards, all bore alike

11938-564: The normal method in medieval times, displacing the method of feudal barony, but creation of baronies by letters patent is the sole method adopted in modern times. Since the adoption of summons by writ, baronies thus no longer relate directly to land-holding, and thus no more feudal baronies needed to be created from then on. Following the Modus Tenendi Parliamenta of 1419, the Tenures Abolition Act 1660 ,

12065-417: The notion that nobles were "free men", eligible to own land. This basic standard explains why the noble population was relatively large, although the economic status of its members varied widely. Untitled nobles were not infrequently wealthier than titled families, while considerable differences in wealth were also to be found within the titled nobility. The custom of granting titles was introduced to Hungary in

12192-444: The original titleholder, including females. In Spain, noble titles are now equally heritable by females and males alike. Noble estates, on the other hand, gradually came to descend by primogeniture in much of western Europe aside from Germany. In Eastern Europe, by contrast, with the exception of a few Hungarian estates, they usually descended to all sons or even all children. In France , some wealthy bourgeois , most particularly

12319-472: The other hand, membership in the nobility was usually a prerequisite for holding offices of trust in the realm and for career promotion, especially in the military, at court and often the higher functions in the government, judiciary and church. Prior to the French Revolution , European nobles typically commanded tribute in the form of entitlement to cash rents or usage taxes, labor or a portion of

12446-729: The people being slaughtered by the Mongolian army, killing those who rebelled, and writing poetry ignoring their situation. Norman dynasty The House of Normandy ( Norman : Maison de Nouormandie [mɛ.zɔ̃ d̪e nɔʁ.mɛnde] ) was a noble family originating from the Duchy of Normandy . The House of Normandy's lineage began with the Scandinavian Rollo who founded the Duchy of Normandy in 911. The House of Normandy includes members who were dukes of Normandy , counts of Rouen , as well as kings of England following

12573-426: The political governing class who had allied interests, including both patricians and plebeian families ( gentes ) with an ancestor who had risen to the consulship through his own merit (see novus homo , "new man"). In modern usage, "nobility" is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies . In the feudal system (in Europe and elsewhere), the nobility were generally those who held

12700-442: The rank of the empress or concubine from which they descend maternally (as emperors were polygamous). Numerous titles such as Taizi (crown prince), and equivalents of "prince" were accorded, and due to complexities in dynastic rules, rules were introduced for Imperial descendants. The titles of the junior princes were gradually lowered in rank by each generation while the senior heir continued to inherit their father's titles. It

12827-476: The revival of a Christian Andriana monarchy that would blend modernity and tradition. Contemporary Nigeria has a class of traditional notables which is led by its reigning monarchs, the Nigerian traditional rulers . Though their functions are largely ceremonial, the titles of the country's royals and nobles are often centuries old and are usually vested in the membership of historically prominent families in

12954-498: The right to collect taxes and rule over people. They also thought of the king as Buddha and justified their rule through the idea that status was determined by birth. However, this strict sense of social status gradually weakened due to the introduction of Confucianism and opposition from the lower class, and even in Silla, opportunities were given to people of low social status through Confucian tests such as '독서삼품과(讀書三品 科 )'. However,

13081-502: The right to have their tombs constructed within town limits, etc. The Andriana rarely married outside their caste: a high-ranking woman who married a lower-ranking man took on her husband's lower rank, but a high-ranking man marrying a woman of lower rank did not forfeit his status, although his children could not inherit his rank or property ( cf. morganatic marriage ). In 2011, the Council of Kings and Princes of Madagascar endorsed

13208-633: The royal family; for example, Maurice Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy is William's first cousin once removed, through William's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales , who was the 4th Baron Fermoy 's granddaughter. The title of baron ( Irish : barún ) was created in the Peerage of Ireland shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland (1169). Ireland's first baronies included Baron Athenry (1172), Baron Offaly (c. 1193), Baron Kerry (1223), Baron Dunboyne (1324), Baron Gormanston (1365–70), Baron Slane (1370), Baron of Dunsany (1439), Baron Louth (c. 1458) and Baron Trimlestown (1461). A person holding

13335-625: The said re-enactments, roughly akin to a knighthood ), grants an individual the right to use the word "chief" as a pre-nominal honorific while in Nigeria. Historically Rajputs formed a class of aristocracy associated with warriorhood , developing after the 10th century in the Indian subcontinent . During the Mughal era , a class of administrators known as Nawabs emerged who initially served as governors of provinces , later becoming independent. In

13462-562: The shield. In heraldry, the baron's coronet is shown with four of the balls visible. Formally, barons are styled The Right Honourable The Lord [Barony] and barons’ wives are styled The Right Honourable The Lady [Barony] . Baronesses in their own right, whether hereditary or for life, are either styled The Right Honourable The Baroness [Barony] or The Right Honourable The Lady [Barony] , mainly based on personal preference (e.g. Lady Thatcher and Baroness Warsi , both life baronesses in their own right). Less formally, one refers to or addresses

13589-490: The son and heir of an Earl or higher-ranked peer. The Scottish baronial title tends to be used when a landed family is not in possession of any United Kingdom peerage title of higher rank, subsequently granted, or has been created a knight of the realm. Several members of the royal family with the style of Royal Highness are also titled Barons. For example, William, Prince of Wales is also The Baron of Renfrew and The Baron Carrickfergus . Some non-royal Barons are related to

13716-405: The sovereign continues to exercise the prerogative to confer baronial and other titles of nobility. Baron is the third lowest title within the nobility system above knight ( French : chevalier , Dutch : ridder ) and below viscount . There are still a number of families in Belgium that bear the title of baron. Luxembourg's monarch retains the right to confer the baronial title. Two of

13843-537: The stile of their Court Barons, which is Curia Baronis, &c . And I have read hors de son Barony in a barr to an Avowry for hors de son fee ) But also the Judges of the Exchequer have it from antient time fixed on them." Within a century of the Norman Conquest of 1066, as in the case of Thomas Becket in 1164, there arose the practice of sending to each greater baron a personal summons demanding his attendance at

13970-523: The still strict status order of Silla caused opposition from many people and collapsed when the country moved to Goryeo. In Goryeo, powerful families along with existing nobles became nobles, claiming a new lineage nobility. And in Goryeo, dissatisfied lower class people confronted the nobles and took power for a short period of time. Goryeo also had many hereditary families, and they were more aristocratic than Confucian bureaucrats, forcibly collecting taxes from

14097-404: The surname field and a standard observation is recorded giving the holder's full name and title. A Baron would therefore record his surname as Lord [Barony] , and the observation would note that The holder is The Right Honourable [given names] [surname] Lord [Barony] . However, if the title of an applicant's peerage is different from his surname, he can choose whether to use his surname or title in

14224-521: The surname field of their passport, and an official observation would then note that The holder is [given names] [surname] Baron of [territorial designation] ; applicants must provide evidence that the Lord Lyon has recognised their feudal barony, or else be included in Burke's Peerage. During the Ancien Régime , French baronies were very much like Scottish ones . Feudal landholders who possessed

14351-522: The surname field. A baroness in her own right would substitute "Baroness" for "Lord", and the wife of a Baron would similarly substitute "Lady". Titles of nobility are checked against Debrett's Peerage, Who's Who, or the London Gazette by the passport office on application. In Scotland , the rank of baron is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland and refers to the holder of

14478-408: The term being here used in a restricted seventeenth-century English sense), Barons (i.e. Lairds of baronial fiefs and their 'heirs', who, even if fiefless, are equivalent to heads of Continental baronial houses) and Gentlemen (apparently all other armigers)." Baronets and knights are evidently classed as 'Gentlemen' here and are of a lower degree than Barons. The Scottish equivalent of an English baron

14605-472: The title of Freiin or Baroness . As a result, German barons have been more numerous than those of such countries where primogeniture with respect to title inheritance prevails (or prevailed), such as France and the United Kingdom. In Italy, barone was the lowest rank of feudal nobility except for that of signore or vassallo (lord of the manor). The title of baron was most generally introduced into southern Italy (including Sicily ) by

14732-761: The title of baron, which was thus the factor uniting all members of the ancient baronage as peers one of another. Under King Henry II , the Dialogus de Scaccario already distinguished between greater barons, who held per baroniam by knight's service, and lesser barons, who held manors. Thus in this historical sense, Lords of Manors are barons, or freemen ; however they are not entitled to be styled as such. John Selden writes in Titles of Honour , "The word Baro (Latin for Baron) hath been also so much communicated, that not only all Lords of Mannors have been from ancient time, and are at this day called sometimes Barons (as in

14859-419: The title, although in a few noble families baron is the title of cadet family members, while in a few others it is heritable according to primogeniture. After its secession in 1830, Belgium incorporated into its nobility all titles of baron borne by Belgian citizens which had been recognized by the Netherlands since 1815. In addition, its monarchs have since created or recognized other titles of baron, and

14986-756: The various subnational kingdoms of the country . Membership of initiatory societies that have inalienable functions within the kingdoms is also a common feature of Nigerian nobility, particularly among the southern tribes, where such figures as the Ogboni of the Yoruba , the Nze na Ozo of the Igbo and the Ekpe of the Efik are some of the most famous examples. Although many of their traditional functions have become dormant due to

15113-496: The wife of a baron or for a woman who has been granted the title in her own right. In general, titles of baron created before the 19th century originate from the Crown of Aragon . Barons lost territorial jurisdiction around the middle of the 19th century, and from then on the title became purely honorific. Although most barons have not held the rank of grandeza as well, the title has been conferred in conjunction with

15240-594: Was a custom in China for the new dynasty to ennoble and enfeoff a member of the dynasty which they overthrew with a title of nobility and a fief of land so that they could offer sacrifices to their ancestors, in addition to members of other preceding dynasties. China had a feudal system in the Shang and Zhou dynasties , which gradually gave way to a more bureaucratic one beginning in the Qin dynasty (221 BC). This continued through

15367-530: Was accorded to the heads of various noble families and cadet branches of the Solomonic dynasty , such as the princes of Gojjam, Tigray, and Selalle. The heirs of the Le'ul Rases were titled Le'ul Dejazmach , indicative of the higher status they enjoyed relative to Dejazmaches who were not of the blood imperial. There were various hereditary titles in Ethiopia: including that of Jantirar , reserved for males of

15494-409: Was allowed, ipso facto , to style himself as its comte , although this restriction came to be increasingly ignored as the ancien régime drew to its close. In other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as fons honorum within their realms. For example, in the United Kingdom royal letters patent are necessary to obtain a title of

15621-473: Was an accepted manner of resolving disputes. Since the end of World War I the hereditary nobility entitled to special rights has largely been abolished in the Western World as intrinsically discriminatory , and discredited as inferior in efficiency to individual meritocracy in the allocation of societal resources. Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in

15748-584: Was possible via garnering the top three positions in imperial examinations. The Qing appointed the Ming imperial descendants to the title of Marquis of Extended Grace . The oldest held continuous noble title in Chinese history was that held by the descendants of Confucius , as Duke Yansheng , which was renamed as the Sacrificial Official to Confucius in 1935 by the Republic of China . The title

15875-466: Was the daughter of an earl, marquess, or duke, or Lady of the Garter or Thistle not holding a peerage rather than a baroness. Likewise, in the case of men, "Lord Digby Jones " (as opposed to "Lord Jones of Birmingham") would imply that he was the younger son of a marquess or duke rather than a baron. The United Kingdom has a policy of including titles of nobility on passports: the title is entered into

16002-616: Was the first person to become a baron, which, for him, entailed being "granted a barony and a seat in the House of Lords by the crown," because of the popularity and acclaim of his poetry . In the 20th century, Britain introduced the concept of non-hereditary life peers . All appointees to this distinction have (thus far) been at the rank of baron. In accordance with the tradition applied to hereditary peers, they too are formally addressed in parliament by their peers as "The Noble Lord". In addition, baronies are often used by their holders as subsidiary titles, for example as courtesy titles for

16129-538: Was the founder of the House of Plantagenet , and Stephen of the House of Blois (or Blesevin dynasty). The Norman counts of Rouen were: The Norman dukes of Normandy were: The Norman monarchs of England and Normandy were: Norman Count of Flanders: Richard I had a daughter, Emma of Normandy , who was Queen consort through her two marriages to Æthelred the Unready and Cnut the Great . Agnatic descendants of Rollo: This Normandy -related article

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