duke earl baron lord etc

Stabshauptmann

Whats the difference between all those titles,
Lord
Duke
Marquis
Earl
Viscount
Baron
Baronet
Sir
etc

They're all titles in England. Is one subordinate to the other? In what order?
Anyone got any info on this at all?

katarin

These are only educated guesses based on what I've read:
Lord << Title awarded by the Queen, not to do with land. Qualification of House of Lords.
Duke << ie. Duke of York, not to do with land but ruling location awarded by Queen. Signifies highest aristocratic rank.
Marquis } are these to do with historical association with French Titles when
Viscount } Britain ruled parts of France?
Baron << Owner of large tracts of land.
Baronet << Female Baron
Sir << Signifies Knighthood.

I'm probably wrong, but that's what I gather for those anyway.

Fratton Fred

katarin wrote:

These are only educated guesses based on what I've read:
Lord << Title awarded by the Queen, not to do with land. Qualification of House of Lords.
Duke << ie. Duke of York, not to do with land but ruling location awarded by Queen. Signifies highest aristocratic rank.
Marquis } are these to do with historical association with French Titles when
Viscount } Britain ruled parts of France?
Baron << Owner of large tracts of land.
Baronet << Female Baron
Sir << Signifies Knighthood.

I'm probably wrong, but that's what I gather for those anyway.

I'm sure wikipedia can tell you more info, but I know that a Baronet is a minor Baron, but senior to a Knight. A Baroness is a female Baron and a Baronetess is a female Baronet.

Also, I am guessing, but I think the French sounding titles, such as Marquis (Or Marquess) are probably Norman in origin, so although they came from France, they came over with William the conqueror and his mates.

Remember, most of the european nobility are somehow related, so there are a lot of common sounding titles accross europe.

europerson

This is what you're looking for. A fascinating aspect of society, really.

hivizman

Fratton Fred wrote:

I am guessing, but I think the French sounding titles, such as Marquis (Or Marquess) are probably Norman in origin, so although they came from France, they came over with William the conqueror and his mates.

The oldest title is probably Earl, which precedes the Norman conquest. After the Norman conquest, Barons were feudal landowners who held their manors directly from the King, and below them were Knights (who were probably not at that time known as Sir somebody). Dukes started to appear, first in the royal family around the 1300s and then in non-royal noble families in the late 1400s (Duke of Norfolk was, I think, the first non-royal Duke).

Although Marquesses and Viscounts were around on the continent a long time before (Markgraf, Marquis, Marchese, Vicomte), I think that the earliest use of these titles was around the middle of the 1500s.

Baronets were invented by James I to raise money. You could become a Baronet of Ulster or Nova Scotia by paying enough money to finance 30 soldiers for three years (around £1,100) - sales of honours are by no means a recent thing.

Before the Union of 1801, all the titles existed in the Peerage of Ireland. There are currently two Dukes in the Peerage of Ireland (Leinster and Abercorn) and 11 Marquessates.

For titles of Marquess, Earl and Viscount, it is considered acceptable to address or refer to the title-holder as "Lord X", so the Marquess of Londonderry could be referred to as Lord Londonderry.

An Fear Aniar

You've also got continental titles like:

Graf, landgrave, margrave, elector, etc.

Good page here:

http://worldroots.com/brigitte/europenobletitle.htm

There are corresponding ecclesiastical ranks:

Pope - Emperor
Cardinal - Prince
Bishop - Lord
Various orders of deacons/priests equivalent to barons/knights/esquires.



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