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Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary, or for a lifetime.

Titles of nobility exist today in many countries although it is usually associated with present or former monarchies.

The term originally referred to those who were "known" or "notable" and was 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 a fief, often land and/or office, under vassalage, i.e. in exchange for allegiance and various, mainly military, services to the Monarch and at lower levels to another nobleman.

It rapidly came to be seen as 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.

Today, in most countries, "noble status" is a purely honorary dignity that confers no legal privileges; an important exception is the United Kingdom, where certain titles (titles of the peerage, until recently guaranteeing a seat in the Upper House of the UK Parliament, hence its name House of Lords), still confer some residual privileges.

Nobility is a historical, social and often legal notion, which should not be confused with socio-economic status which is mainly statistical based on income and possessions. Being wealthy or influential does not automatically make one a noble, nor are all nobles wealthy and influential (aristocratic families have lost their fortunes in various ways, and the concept of the 'poor nobleman' is almost as old as nobility itself).

Countries without a feudal tradition do not have a nobility as such; various republics, including the United States and Italy have expressly abolished titles of nobility.

Although many such societies have a privileged 'upper class' with great wealth and power, this does not entail a separate legal status, or different forms of address

Blue blood is an English expression recorded since 1834 for noble birth or descent; it is a translation of the Spanish phrase sangre azul, which described the Spanish royal familiy and other high nobility who claimed to be 'pure', free of Moorish or Jewish blood, being of Visigothic descent. There is no connection between the phrase and the actual blood color of nobility; however, in the ancient agricultural societies of Europe the whole upper class had superficial veins that might be more visible and appear bluish by comparison to the rest of the pale-pinkish skin, as the skin itself was not tanned. In contrast with the working class of the time (mainly peasants), nobility and in general upper class people did not have to work outdoors, and mostly lived sheltered from the sun by dwellings and attire. The same contrast could be observed between untanned upper-class Europeans—especially of Northern-European stock, whose skin tends to be less pigmented—and all social strata of Mediterranean populations with higher levels of genetically determined skin pigmentation. An alternative traditional explanation, argyria (a disease causing a blue-grey skin tone after digestion of silver), is considered less valid, as table silverware was not regularly used by much of the nobility. (Becket (film) dramatizes the introduction of the fork at the court of King Henry II od England).

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 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 the dark-skinned enemy. (Robert Lacey, Aristocrats. Little, Brown and Company, 1983, p. 67).Ranks and titles :

    Sovereign:
    Pope , Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church and Vicar of God; the Pope is also the absolute ruler of the sovereign state The Vatican City
    Emperor, rules an empire
    Kaiser , rules an empire in the Astro-hungaro and Prussia Empire.
    Makoko , rules an empire in Central Africa
    Tsar (or Czar) in Serbian, Bulgarian, Russian, and Croatian, derives from Caesar, i.e. Emperor; although in its origins the title was meant to claim the imperial dignity, in its Russian and Bulgarian usages, at least, it has in more recent times been seen as only equivalent to King.
    Baba ti Kôdrô (Father of the nation), rules a Kingdom in Central Africa.
    Maharajah , In India, Nepal, (et cetera) "Maha" a prefix meaning highest, and in Maharajah a title meaning king of kings or emperor.
    Khan (Mongol, or Turkic) rules a khanate (mainly Asian, but also existed in Mongol/Turkic territory in Russia, Ukraine, and the Crimea).
    Caliph is an Islamic title indicating the successor to Muhammad, who is both a religious and a secular leader. A caliph rules a caliphate.
    Sultan, a Turkish title, rules a sultanate.
    Emir, another Islamic title, rules an emirate.
    King, rules a kingdom (sovereign kings are ranked above vassal kings).
    Rajah , In India, Nepal,(et cetera), title used for denoting the ruler of a kingdom.
    Grand Duke , ruling a grand duchy.
    Grand Prince , a title primarily used in the medieval Russian principalities as the title for the highest level.
    Prince, Fürst in German, ruling a principality.
    Kota Makundji (The Big Chief) in Central Africa, rules a principality
    Noble :
    Prince , Prinz in German; junior members of a sovereign or formerly sovereign family.
    Prince-elector , Kurfürst in German, electing the Holy Roman Emperor.
    Makundji (The Chief in Central Africa), ruling a duchy.
    Archduke , ruling an archduchy; was generally only a sovereign rank when used by the rulers of Austria; was also used by the Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire for members of the imperial family.
    Infante , title of the non-heir members of the royal families of Portugal and Spain.
    Duke , who rules a duchy.
    Marquess , Margrave , or Marquis was the ruler of a marquessate, margraviate, or march.
    Landgrave , a German title, ruler of a landgraviate.
    Count , theoretically the ruler of a county; known as an Earl in Britain.
    Viscount (vice-count), theoretically the ruler of a viscounty or viscountcy.
    Freiherr , holder of an allodial barony - these are "higher" level of barons.
    Baron , theoretically the ruler of a barony - some barons in some countries may have been "free barons" (liber baro) and as such, regarded (themselves) as higher barons.
    Aristocratic :
    Baronet is generally an inheritable knighthood; often or usually not noble but ranking below Baron and above Knight. Vidame , a minor French aristocrat. Fidalgo, a minor Portuguese aristocrat. Seigneur or Knight of the Manor rules a smaller local fief. Knight is the basic rank of the aristocratic system. Esquire is a rank of gentry originally derived from Squire and indicating the status of an attendant to a knight or an apprentice knight; it ranked below Knight but above Gentleman.


Imperial, royal, and princely styles :

    Emperors and Empresses enjoyed the style of His/Her Imperial Majesty (HIM).
    Members of imperial families were generally styled His/Her Imperial Highness (HIH).
    * In Austria, the members of the Imperial family, due to their status as also members of the royal family of the Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary, held the style of Imperial and Royal Highness (HI&RH), but actually traditionally the other way around: "königliche und kaiserliche Hoheit".
    * Also in the German Empire, the other 'heir' to the Holy Roman empire, the Emperor and Empress would be addressed as Imperial and Royal Majesty because of their ruling over the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire.
    * In Russia, children and male-line grandchildren of the Emperor had the style of Imperial Highness (HIH). Male-line great-grandchildren held the style of Highness (HH). Also, the eldest son of any person who held the style of Highness also held the style of Highness. All other male-line descendants held the style Serenity, often translated as Serene Highness (HSH ) . Some Russian noble princes also hold the style of Serenity; all others and Russian Counts hold the style of Illustriousness, often translated as Illustrious Highness (HIllH).
    Kings and Queens have the style of Majesty (HM). Some, throughout history have also used Royal Majesty (HRM)
    Members of royal families (Princes and Princesses) generally have the style of Royal Highness (HRH), although in some royal families (for instance, Denmark), more junior princes and princesses only bear the style of His or Her Highness (HH).
    Reigning Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses hold the style of Royal Highness (HRH).
    The styles of members of Grand Ducal families have been inconsistent. In Luxembourg, more senior members of the family have also been Royal Highnesses, but only due to their status as Bourbon princes of Parma. In Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt, junior members held the style of Grand Ducal Highness (HGDH). Members of other grand ducal families generally held the style of Highness (HH).
    Reigning Dukes and Duchesses bore the style of Highness (HH), as did other members of ducal families.
    Junior members of some ducal families bore the style of Ducal Serene Highness (HDSH), although it fell out of fashion.
    The Elector of Hesse-Kassel also bore the style of Highness, as did other members of the Hesse-Kassel family.
    Mediatized Dukes and reigning and mediatized Fürsten and Fürstinnen ("Princes" and "Princesses") bear the style of Serene Highness (HSH, German Durchlaucht), as do other members of princely families. Members of reigning princely families are also styled Serene Highness (HSH).
    Mediatized Counts and Countesses bear the style of Illustrious Highness ( HIllH , German Erlaucht).

Source: Re-written and completed from Wikipedia


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A Brief History of Heraldry

Heraldry has been defined as the art of blazoning, assigning, and marshalling a coat of arms. Its origins are uncertain, but Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, has drawn his own conclusion: “[T]he registry of its birth may be found among the archives of the Holy Wars, ...its cradle was rocked by the soldiers of the Cross, and... its maturity was attained in the chivalrous age of Feudalism.”

Between 1135 and 1155 A.D., seals show the general adoption of heraldic devices in Europe. Historians once theorized that a coat of arms enabled a knight to be recognized by his followers during battle. The coat of arms became hereditary just as a knight inherited the right to lead or the duty to follow another leader in battle.

Later historians dispute this theory based on the small numbers of knights who had any followers. "The service due from a military tenant in the feudal system was well-defined. He held his land by service of two knights, one knight, or half a knight,.... A single knight, let alone a fraction of a knight, had no band of followers, so he had no need to identify himself to them." [Source: The Oxford Guide to Heraldry by Thomas Woodcock and John Martin Robinson (Oxford University Press, 1988)] Woodcock and Robinson suggest that it was much more likely that the depiction of arms on a shield was a form of "individual vanity" rather than a practical military device.

One historian (Beryl Platts, author of Origins of Heraldry) notes that "family identification" was practiced in northern Europe even before the Norman Conquest, and she believes that all heraldry in England is the derivation of the heraldic devices brought by the families who accompanied William the Conqueror.

The oldest documented example of a coat of arms borne on a shield is where King Henry I of England is said to have bestowed on his son-in-law, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, in 1127 A.D.: the azure shield bore four gold lions rampant. [Source: The Oxford Guide to Heraldry by Thomas Woodcock and John Martin Robinson.]

Regardless of their origins, coats of arms became military status symbols, and their popularity increased along with the popularity of the tournament, which was developed in the mid-eleventh century in France (reportedly by Godfrey de Preuilly). The tournament became a training ground for knights, and its pageantry became more elaborate as time passed. Some knights made their living (and their reputations) roaming from tournament to tournament. William the Marshal and Roger de Gaugi were two such enterprising men, not only excelling at tournaments but extorting ransoms from the families of knights they captured.

By 1400 A.D., bearing a coat of arms had become a prerequisite to participation in a tournament, and due to the importance of social standing in such pageants, a coat of arms also became a mark of noble status. In the early days, most coats of arms were assumed by the bearers and not "granted" by any authority. King Richard I changed his coat of arms from two lions combatant (or a lion rampant) to three gold leopards (or lions passant guardant).

The earliest coats of arms were fairly simple -- bars or wavy lines, a lion rampant or an eagle displayed, or an arrangement of fleurs-de-lis. The designs became more complex as the years passed, and the practice of quartering (incorporating the arms of other families acquired through marriages) developed.

The word “Heraldry” is derived from the German “heer” -- a host, an army -- and “held” -- a champion. The term “blason,” by which the science of heraldry is denoted in French, English, Italian, and German, is probably derived from the German word “blazen” -- to blow the horn. Whenever a new Knight appeared at a Tournament, the herald sounded the trumpet, and as the competitors attended with closed visors, it was his duty to explain the bearing of the shield or coat-armour belonging to each. This knowledge of the various devices and symbols was called Heraldry, and as the announcement was accompanied with the sound of a trumpet, it was termed “blazoning the arms.” Source: Burke, Bernard, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (Heritage Books, Inc., 1996).

A Brief Explanation of the Blazon of Arms

As depicted below, a "coat of arms" consists of several parts: the shield, the mantling, the helm, the wreath, charges, and the crest (note that not all arms have crests). The official, written description of the coat of arms is called the "blazon of arms." The designs in our database are made precisely in accordance with the registered description ("the blazon of arms"). The blazon may seem like a foreign language, but it is simply a system of code words to denote colors, placement, and styling by using an economy of words.

Much of the printed design for a given coat of arms is more the artist's preference or the style of a particular herald, and not a part of any particular blazon. The mantling and the banners for names and mottoes, for example, are not an official element of the blazon of arms. The helm, likewise, is not a part of the official blazon. Some historians attach a significance to the design of the helm or helmet as representative of a certain century or social status, but there are differences of opinion on this matter.


The blazon of arms for this coat of arms would be as follows:

Arms: "Argent, a saltire azure, cantoned with four markings of ermine sable." (Silver or white shield with a blue saltire or 'X' and in four-equidistant places the marking of the ermine 'fur' in black.)

Crest: "A lion's head erased azure langued gules." (A lion's head cut off at the neck with a flourish, in blue with a red tongue.)

Elements of a Coat of Arms


Shield: The colors and charges (lions, designs, etc. that appear on the shield) are a part of the official blazon, but the shape of the shield is not. Shield shapes vary according to the geographical origin as well as the time period.


Crest: Also a part of the official blazon, the crest is whatever appears above the helm. (Note that there is not always a crest for every coat of arms.)


Helm: Not a part of the official blazon, the helmet varies with the bearer's rank, the century represented, or the herald's or artist's preference.


Wreath: Not a part of the official blazon, the wreath usually consists of the primary color and metal.


Mantle/Mantling: Not a part of the official blazon (except that sometimes the colors are specified), the design varies with the herald's or artist's preference. This is said to represent the cloth that hung from the wreath and protected the back of the head and neck, even though it may often be depicted more like the leaves of a plant.

Source: www.oshel.com

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