List of forms of government
37-673: Prince Ding of the First Rank , or simply Prince Ding , was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu -led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince Ding peerage was not awarded "iron-cap" status , this meant that each successive bearer of the title would normally start off with a title downgraded by one rank vis-à-vis that held by his predecessor. However, the title would generally not be downgraded to any lower than
74-424: A seigneur or "lord", 12th century), which gives rise to the expression "seigneurial system" to describe feudalism. Originally, vassalage did not imply the giving or receiving of landholdings (which were granted only as a reward for loyalty), but by the 8th century the giving of a landholding was becoming standard. The granting of a landholding to a vassal did not relinquish the lord's property rights, but only
111-665: A feng'en fuguo gong except under special circumstances. The first bearer of the title was Yonghuang (1728–1750), the Qianlong Emperor 's eldest son, who received the title posthumously in 1750. The title was passed down over seven generations and held by eight persons. Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) of China developed a complicated peerage system for royal and noble ranks . In principle, titles were downgraded one grade for each generation of inheritance. Occasionally,
148-623: A Seigneur or Dame that owns the fief. The Guernsey fiefs and seigneurs existed long before baronies, and are historically part of Normandy . While nobility has been outlawed in France and Germany, noble fiefs still exist by law in Guernsey. The owners of the fiefs actually convene each year at the Court of Chief Pleas under the supervision of His Majesty's Government. There are approximately 24 private fiefs in Guernsey that are registered directly with
185-458: A pin , they were considered equivalents of convenience rather than actual official ranks. Historically, Chinese noble titles were usually created with a shiyi ( 食邑 ; shíyì ; fief ) each, although the fief could be only nominal. The Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty enfeoffed cadet branch princes and other nobles in different regions of China. The Qing dynasty ended this tradition; with only
222-527: A vassal , who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue-producing real property like a watermill , held in feudal land tenure : these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms . However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms . There never existed
259-442: A yunjiwei who received another grant of yunjiwei became a jiduwei . A first-class duke plus yunjiwei was the equivalent of 23 grants of yunjiwei . The Qing dynasty, much like previous dynasties, used an "official rank" system ( 品 ; pǐn ). This system had nine numbered ranks, each subdivided into upper and lower levels, in addition to the lowest "unranked" rank: from upper first pin ( 正一品 ), to lower ninth pin ( 從九品 ), to
296-838: A few exceptions, no fief was ever named. No Qing prince was enfeoffed with territory. Instead, noble titles were created without a name, or were bestowed a meihao ( 美號 ; meǐhào ; titular name). These names were usually descriptive of the peer's merit, virtue, or the circumstances leading to his ennoblement. The Dukes Yansheng kept their traditional fief in Shandong under Qing rule. Titular names were unique for imperial princes, while non-imperial peers' titular names may overlap. Following Ming dynasty tradition, single-character names were reserved for qinwang s, while junwang s used two-character names. All other peers normally had two-character names, but could receive up to four characters. Since noble titles were primarily awarded for military service,
333-485: A land grant in exchange for service continued to be called a beneficium (Latin). Later, the term feudum , or feodum , began to replace beneficium in the documents. The first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one hundred years earlier. The origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not been well established, but there are multiple theories, described below. The most widely held theory
370-821: A lower title. Whether imperial or not, the inheritance or bestowal was never automatic, and had to be approved by the Emperor, the Ministry of Personnel , or the Imperial Clan Court . Imperial princes, upon reaching adulthood at the age of 20, had to pass tests in horse-riding, archery and the Manchu language before they were eligible for titles. Imperial princesses, other than the Emperor's daughters, were usually granted titles upon marriage, regardless of age. Princesses' titles were also usually fixed after they were granted, and were not affected by changes in their fathers' nobility ranks. Yunjiwei ("sub-commander of
407-409: A peer could be granted the privilege of shixi wangti ( 世襲罔替 ; shìxí wǎngtì ; "perpetual heritability"), which allowed the title to be passed down without downgrading. Throughout the Qing dynasty, there were 12 imperial princely families that had this privilege. They were known as the " iron-cap princes ". The noble titles were inherited through a system of loose primogeniture : The eldest son from
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#1732780609095444-599: A prince, ex. Wang Yuying , Yongxuan 's servant was promoted to secondary consort. Remaining spouses could be promoted to higher positions in special circumstances, ex. lady Wanyan , Yongcheng 's unranked spouse was given a title of secondary consort. If imperial prince ascended the throne, his primary consort was named as empress, secondary consorts were named as noble consorts, consorts or concubines and mistresses were granted titles from first class female attendant to concubine or consort and given honorific names. Princess consorts held titles according to their husbands. If
481-549: A standard feudal system, nor did there exist only one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations. In ancient Rome, a " benefice " (from the Latin noun beneficium , meaning "benefit") was a gift of land ( precaria ) for life as a reward for services rendered, originally, to the state. In medieval Latin European documents,
518-437: Is first attested around 1250–1300 (Middle English); the word "fief" from around 1605–1615. In French, the term fief is found from the middle of the 13th century (Old French), derived from the 11th-century terms feu , fie . The odd appearance of the second f in the form fief may be due to influence from the verb fiever 'to grant in fee'. In French, one also finds seigneurie (land and rights possessed by
555-559: Is put forth by Marc Bloch that it is related to the Frankish term *fehu-ôd , in which *fehu means "cattle" and -ôd means "goods", implying "a moveable object of value". When land replaced currency as the primary store of value , the Germanic word *fehu-ôd replaced the Latin word beneficium . This Germanic origin theory was also shared by William Stubbs in the 19th century. A theory put forward by Archibald R. Lewis
592-518: Is that the origin of 'fief' is not feudum (or feodum ), but rather foderum , the earliest attested use being in Astronomus 's Vita Hludovici (840). In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious which says "annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant" , which can be translated as "(Louis forbade that) military provender which they popularly call 'fodder' (be furnished)." In
629-405: The 10th and 11th centuries the Latin terms for 'fee' could be used either to describe dependent tenure held by a man from his lord, as the term is used now by historians, or it could mean simply "property" (the manor was, in effect, a small fief). It lacked a precise meaning until the middle of the 12th century, when it received formal definition from land lawyers. In English usage, the word "fee"
666-524: The cloud cavalry") was originally a military rank created in the Sui dynasty , but it was later turned into a military honour in the Tang dynasty as part of the xun guan ( 勳官 ; xūn guān ) system. The Qing dynasty abolished the separate military honour system and merged it into the nobility rank system, using yunjiwei as the lowest grantable rank of nobility, and the basic unit of rank progression. For example,
703-417: The documents) for the life of the vassal, or, sometimes extending to the second or third generation. By the middle of the 10th century, fee had largely become hereditary. The eldest son of a deceased vassal would inherit, but first he had to do homage and fealty to the lord and pay a " relief " for the land (a monetary recognition of the lord's continuing proprietary rights over the property). Historically,
740-544: The emperor could be posthumously honoured as empress, ex. Lady Niohuru, primary consort of Minning, Prince Zhi of the First Rank was honoured as Empress Xiaomucheng , Lady Sakda, primary consort of Yizhu was honoured as Empress Xiaodexian . The same rule was for primary consort of the imperial prince who died before the marriage, e.g. Lady Nara, primary consort of Yongkui, Prince Li of the First Rank. Palace maids from prince's residence could be promoted in case of princess consort's death or in case when they had children with
777-600: The fees of the 11th and the 12th century derived from two separate sources. The first was land carved out of the estates of the upper nobility. The second source was allodial land transformed into dependent tenures. During the 10th century in northern France and the 11th century in France south of the Loire , local magnates either recruited or forced the owners of allodial holdings into dependent relationships and they were turned into fiefs. The process occurred later in Germany, and
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#1732780609095814-460: The peer's first wife was usually the heir apparent, but inheritance by a younger son, a son of a concubine, or brother of the peer was not uncommon. According to their birth (by the chief consort, secondary consort or concubines) and their father's rank, non-heir sons of imperial princes were also entitled to petition for a lower title than the one they would have received had they been the heir. Non-heir sons of other peers were also occasionally granted
851-489: The prince was demoted, princess consort could be treated appropriately. After the demotion of prince, princess consort returned her regalias to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If the prince was born in a non-iron cap cadet line, his future title depended on the position of his consort. Nevertheless, they addressed themselves as "qie". On the other hand, princess consort was mainly addressed as "fujin" or "furen" according to
888-750: The prince. The supervisor of princely manor held lower 4 rank in 9-pin system. The four ranks above were granted solely to direct male-line descendants of the Emperor. These titles below were granted to cadet lines of the imperial clan. The above six ranks are titles that enjoy the "Eight Privileges". The titles below do not enjoy the "Eight Privileges" and have no imperial duties. All of the above titles are chaopin ( 超品 ; chāopǐn ), outranking official ranks. The ranks below are ranked first to fourth pin respectively. The first three jiangjun ranks are each further subdivided into four classes: first class plus yunjiwei , first class , second class , and third class . Regardless of title and rank, an imperial prince
925-537: The princess remained his primary spouse – even after her death. However, if an efu remarried or promoted a consort to be his primary spouse, he lost all rights obtained from his marriage to the princess. The following titles were granted to consorts of imperial princes: If the princess consort divorced a prince or died, the second princess consort held the title of "step consort" (继福晋, pinyin: jì fújìn). Divorced princess consorts were stripped of their privileges and returned to their maiden manors. Dead primary consorts of
962-491: The rank of beizi and direct imperial clansmen. The "Eight Privileges" entitled the prince to participate in state councils and share the spoils of war. However, the prince was also bound to reside in the capital and render service to the imperial court. In 1816, the princes were forbidden from reporting matters via eunuchs. Thus, most of the princes employed officials as managers of domestic affairs. The range of tasks of those officials included conveyance of memorials on behalf of
999-478: The right of high justice, etc.) in their lands, and some passed these rights to their own vassals. The privilege of minting official coins developed into the concept of seigniorage . In 13th-century Germany, Italy, England, France, and Spain the term "feodum" was used to describe a dependent tenure held from a lord by a vassal in return for a specified amount of knight service and occasional financial payments ( feudal incidents ). However, knight service in war
1036-554: The service of mercenaries . A list of several hundred such fees held in chief between 1198 and 1292, along with their holders' names and form of tenure, was published in three volumes between 1920 and 1931 and is known as The Book of Fees ; it was developed from the 1302 Testa de Nevill . The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a group of several of the Channel Islands that is a Crown Dependency . Guernsey still has feudal law and legal fiefs in existence today. Each fief has
1073-411: The surcoat of her husband and tiara with phoenixes. Imperial duchesses wore jifu with medallions of flowers like imperial consorts below the rank of noble lady. (亲王福晋) (世子福晋) (奉恩国公夫人) Fief A fief ( / f iː f / ; Latin : feudum ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to
1110-426: The title of her husband. All princess consorts regardless of rank were listed in imperial genealogy (Jade Tables). Princess consorts could wear chaofu befitting imperial consorts on solemn ceremonies, but were prohibited from wearing yellow-grounded robes. The crown of princess consort had peacocks instead of phoenixes and no tiers on the finial. Princess consort wore jifu with roundels of dragons matching patterns on
1147-581: The titular names predominantly described martial virtues, e.g., zhongyong gong ( 忠勇公 ; zhōngyǒng gōng ; "loyal and brave duke"). However, a particularly common titular name was cheng'en gong ( 承恩公 ; chéng'ēn gōng ; "duke who receives grace"), which was frequently granted to the Empress's family members. At the top of the imperial hierarchy, the highest six ranks enjoyed the "Eight Privileges" ( 八分 ; bafen ; jakūn ubu ). These privileges were: Peacock feathers, however, were prohibited for princes above
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1184-430: The unranked ( 未入流 ), for a total of 19 ranks. All government personnel, from the highest chancellors to the lowest clerk, held an official rank ex officio , which determined their salary, uniform, privileges and order of precedence. This pin system existed in parallel to the noble ranks detailed in this article. Many higher noble titles ranked above this system ( 超品 ; chāopǐn ). And while some titles corresponded to
1221-413: The use of the lands and their income; the granting lord retained ultimate ownership of the fee and could, technically, recover the lands in case of disloyalty or death. In Francia , Charles Martel was the first to make large-scale and systematic use (the practice had remained sporadic until then) of the remuneration of vassals by the concession of the usufruct of lands (a beneficatium or " benefice " in
1258-469: Was "emperor's charioteer". It was usually granted to the spouse of a princess above the rank of zongnü . The efu s were separated into seven ranks corresponding to the rank of the princesses the efu married. Efu s who married gulun gongzhu s and heshuo gongzhu s held ranks equivalent to the beizi s and dukes respectively. The remaining efu s had equivalent official rank from the first to fifth pin . An efu retained his title and privileges as long as
1295-840: Was addressed as " A-ge " ( ᠠᡤᡝ ; age ; 阿哥 ; À-gē ), which means "lord" or "commander" in Manchu. of the First Rank the Second Rank the Third Rank the Fourth Rank Rank's Consort Second Rank's Consort Rank's Consort The following titles were granted to female members of the imperial clan: Comparison of titles for imperial princesses Rank Second Rank Third Rank Fourth Rank Shizi First Rank Zhangzi Second Rank Third Rank Efu ( ᡝᡶᡠ 额驸 ; 額駙 ; éfù ), also known Fuma ( 驸马 ; 駙馬 ; fùmǎ ), translated as "Prince Consort". Its original meaning
1332-400: Was far less common than: A lord in late 12th-century England and France could also claim the right of: In northern France in the 12th and 13th centuries, military service for fiefs was limited for offensive campaigns to 40 days for a knight. By the 12th century, English and French kings and barons began to commute military service for cash payments ( scutages ), with which they could purchase
1369-479: Was still going on in the 13th century. In England, Henry II transformed them into important sources of royal income and patronage. The discontent of barons with royal claims to arbitrarily assessed "reliefs" and other feudal payments under Henry's son King John resulted in Magna Carta of 1215. Eventually, great feudal lords sought also to seize governmental and legal authority (the collection of taxes,
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