# Titles of Nobleman **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476 "2002-03-22T02:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polski\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@Polski\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polski_King)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/1 "2002-03-22T02:53:57Z")
There are so many titles in history that I really don’t know what they mean now, other then stating noblemanship. What is the differecnce between; Baron Viscount Earl Count Marquis Duke Reagent -P.K. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/2 "2002-03-22T03:18:52Z")
That last one is “Regent”- someone NOT the sovereign but executing sovereign power; eg., a Regent ruling for a minor King, or a Prince Regent for a “retired” but still living king. Don’t know what they mean, but here are some more: Lord Baronet Dauphin ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/3 "2002-03-22T03:29:04Z")
**Baronet** - a member of a British hereditary order of honor, ranking below the barons and made up of commoners. **Baron** - A member of the lowest grade of nobility. **Viscount** - A nobleman next above a baron but below an earl or count. **Earl** - A British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquis. **Count** - (In some European countries) a nobleman equivalent in rank to a British earl. **Marquis** - A nobleman ranking above an earl or count but below a duke. **Duke** - A British nobleman holding the highest hereditary title outside the royal family, ranking immediately below a prince and above a marquis. In continental Europe, this title is given to the male ruler of a duchy, or the sovereign of a small state. **Regent** - A person who exercises ruling power in a kingdom during the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereign. A **dauphin** is the eldest son of a French king. **Lord** is an informal title, used in substitution of earl, marquis, etc., and also used as the title of certain high officials (e.g., Lord Mayor of London) All these definitions come from my dictionary. But I notice the OP has the lowest-to-highest rankings already in the correct order, so is there a question beyond how they are positioned relative to each other? ---
**Author:** ![Polski\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@Polski\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polski_King)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/4 "2002-03-22T16:54:14Z")
Yes earthling, in fact we must have the exact dictionary because I got the identical definition. But what I was really wondering is how they picked who “…is higher then a baron but lower then a count” What makes them higher or lower if they are not nobility? -PK ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/5 "2002-03-22T17:09:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polski King \* > \*\*Yes earthling, in fact we must have the exact dictionary because I got the identical definition. But what I was really wondering is how they picked who “…is higher then a baron but lower then a count” > > What makes them higher or lower if they are not nobility? > > -PK \*\* In the UK, the Queen decides precedence. Dukes rank above marquises, and marquises above earls, and so on, because that’s what various kings and queens have decided. In fact the rules about precedence do not just deal with nobility; they cover all kinds of ranks and offices. Which of these three goes in to dinner first; the younger son of a Duke, the Bishop of Winchester or a Commander in the Royal Navy? I have no idea, but in the UK there is in fact a clear rule which would provide a definite answer. Bizarre, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/6 "2002-03-22T18:56:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UDS \* > \*\* > > Which of these three goes in to dinner first; the younger son of a Duke, the Bishop of Winchester or a Commander in the Royal Navy? I have no idea, but in the UK there is in fact a clear rule which would provide a definite answer. Bizarre, isn’t it? \*\* Well, [obviously](http://www.burkes-peerage.net/Sites/Peerage/SitePages/page62-4.asp). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/7 "2002-03-22T19:31:23Z")
> [@](#): > > what I was really wondering is how they picked It simply evolved over time. Earl is derived from an ancient term _jarl_ that indicated the hunting and fighting buddies (or, technically, the direct supporters) of the ruler in pre-Norman Britain. Count is derived from an early Romance word indicating the “company” of the ruler or his court (which similarity of use explains its correspondence to earl). (Viscount is simply analogous to vice-count.) Duke derives from the various Romance language words for leader. (_E.g._, Mussolini was styled _Il Duce_ just as Hitler used the German _fuerher_, meaning leader.) This would indicate the valued war leader under whom the king would assemble a portion of the army. Marquis (although I think the Brits actually use Marquess, marquis being the French), comes from a Germanic word indicating the holder/ruler of a region or “Mark”. German still has a similar word, _Markhoff_. So, he has the power inherent in the administration of lands, but has not enough power to be a “leader” in the nation. Baron derives from an ancient Germanic word meaning free man (a man not bonded to another), so would have been the lowest guy on the ladder, having nothing to recommend him except that he was not a serf. (Later, when _baron_ made it into the ranks of the priviledged, the “simple free man” word was filled by yeoman). There is no reason why Earl/Count needed to be higher or lower in rank than Duke. It was the way that the word happened to develop as the various rulers apportioned land and power (sometimes bestowing a title that accorded a certain amount of autonomous authority to prevent his subordinate from declaring himself a minor king). There may be a specific point at which one person set out the orders to be accepted by most of the rulers of Europe, but I suspect that most of it just evolved with one ruler copying the style of a more powerful ruler in an attempt to display his (hoped for) equality of status with the more powerful ruler. Duchies were very powerful at the end of the Middle Ages, often being more powerful than other countries styled “kingdom.” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/8 "2002-03-22T20:00:47Z")
Barons (who are normally styled “Lord”), Viscounts, Counts and Earls, Marquises/-esses, and Dukes are considered “nobility” (peers) and have titles that are inheritable (unless made a lord for one’s life only, as has been an option for the last 50 years). In Britain, at present, they are entitled to voice and vote in the House of Lords, although the elimination of hereditary peers from that house is in the works. The feminines for those ranks are Baroness, Viscountess, Countess (Mrs. Earl X is Countess X), Marchioness, and Duchess. European titles include Grand Duke, which outranks Duke, and Furst (see an umlaut over the U) or Knyaz which roughly translates as Prince but is nobility not second-rank royalty). There may be other ranks in some countries. Knights, whether “bachelor” or members of an order, and Baronets, constitute members of the aristocracy but are not themselves noble, unless they are also peers. (Some orders of knighthood, such as the Garter, are considered greater honors than the lower levels of the peerage.) A baronet, however, may pass his baronetcy to his eldest son, which a knight may not. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobleman/99476/9 "2002-03-22T20:27:14Z")
From [Heraldica.org](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/nobility/), we have [French Nobility](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/index.html#nobility), [English Nobility](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/england.htm) (including both [Middle Ages](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/england1.htm) and [Modern](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/england2.htm) rules), a lengthy discussion on [Royal Styles](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/royalstyle.htm), and an [FAQ](http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/titlefaq.htm) that answer most questions. It’ll keep you reading for a bit. Here’s a quick-n-dirty [Order of Precedence](http://www.frii.com/~phouka/misc/nobility.html). Here’s [another list](http://www.hyw.com/books/history/Titles_a.htm), cutting accross Europe, with numerical ranking. Take these last two with a grain of salt, as I’m unsure of their sources. Here’s a link that ought to get all the old Peers in a twist: [Noble Titles](http://www.nobletitles.com).