Nobility is a class of people who are considered to stand at the top of their society. They have special political and social status. Nobility is inherited, and it carries titles such as duke or earl. Some nobles are the descendants of lords of the Middle Ages and have inherited their property as well as their titles. Others trace their ancestry to a person who was awarded a title for service to a modern monarch.
In the United Kingdom
The British nobility is called the peerage, and noblemen are known as peers. There are five grades of peers. From the highest to the lowest, they are: (1) duke; (2) marquess, or marquis; (3) earl; (4) viscount; and (5) baron. The wives of noblemen, and women who hold titles in their own right, are called peeresses. The five grades of peeresses are: (1) duchess, (2) marchioness, (3) countess, (4) viscountess, and (5) baroness.
The title of earl is the oldest grade of peer. It dates back to the Danish nobles who ruled much of England from the 800’s to the 1000’s. The rank of baron was introduced by the Normans when they conquered England in 1066. King Edward III of England created the rank of duke in 1337, when he named his oldest son as Duke of Cornwall. The title of marquess was added to the peerage in 1385, and the first viscount was created in 1440.
The creation of peerages.
The British monarch now grants peerages on the recommendation of the prime minister. The monarch issues documents called letters patent, which create the peerage and specify how it will be inherited. In most cases, a peer’s title passes to his oldest son. If he has no son, it usually goes to his closest male relative. The other children are commoners. The title becomes extinct if there is no male heir.
Some medieval peerages were created by royal orders called writs of summons. Such peerages may pass to a daughter if the holder leaves no male descendant. If the daughter then has a son, the son usually inherits the title.
Today, the British monarch rarely grants hereditary peerages. Each year, however, the monarch may grant titles called life peerages to distinguished persons. A life peerage involves the same privileges as a hereditary peerage, but it does not descend to the holder’s children. Life peerages may be awarded to both men and women, and the title given is baron or baroness. Today, there are about 1,300 peers, including about 750 hereditary peers and about 600 life peers.
Privileges of the peerage.
Until 1999, all peers who were at least 21 years old—except peers of Ireland and individuals who had been declared bankrupt or insane—were summoned to the House of Lords. The House of Lords is the upper house of the British Parliament. In 1999, reforms began that limited the number of hereditary peers sitting in the House of Lords to 92. Life peers continued to serve as members of the Lords.
Peers are summoned because of a feudal agreement that lords and vassals should consult on important business. Women who are peeresses in their own right may also serve in the House of Lords. Peers who are serving in the House of Lords may not also serve in the lower house of Parliament—the House of Commons—and they cannot vote in parliamentary elections. Until 1948, peers accused of a felony or of treason had the right to be tried in the House of Lords by their fellow peers.
Dukes, marquesses, and earls have lesser titles besides the one by which they are known. Traditionally, the oldest son of one of these peers uses the highest of his father’s lesser titles as a courtesy title. For example, the oldest son of the Duke of St. Albans uses the courtesy title Earl of Burford, but he is not a peer. A younger son of a duke adds Lord to his name, as in Lord Peter Grey. His sister would be Lady Helen Grey.
In other countries
In most other countries, titles of nobility have been officially abolished. A person who inherits a title may use it as part of his or her name. But the individual has none of the privileges of the former nobility. Titles of nobility were abolished in France in 1871, in Russia in 1917, in Germany in 1918, and in Japan–except those of the imperial family–in 1946. The titles were often abolished as part of a revolution or a major social and political effort to modernize the country.
The Constitution of the United States forbids the government to give anyone a title of nobility. The Constitution also prohibits federal officials from accepting any title from a foreign country without the special consent of Congress.
