Nobility

• 1. Origins And Etymology

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  The Latin word nobilis first appeared in ancient Roman society as an informal designation for the political governing class. This term described families who had allied interests, including both patricians and plebeian families with an ancestor who had risen to the consulship through his own merit. The concept of nobility originated from this specific group of people known as novi homines or new men. In the Roman Republic, these were families descended from persons who had achieved the consulship. Those who belonged to the hereditary patrician families were considered nobles, but plebeians whose ancestors were consuls were also considered nobles. In the Roman Empire, the nobility were descendants of this Republican aristocracy. While ancestry of contemporary noble families from ancient Roman nobility might technically be possible, no well-researched, historically documented generation-by-generation genealogical descents from ancient Roman times are known to exist in Europe.

• 2. Feudal Systems And Privileges

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  In medieval Europe, nobles held land or office under vassalage in exchange for allegiance and various military services to a suzerain. A fief often included fields, pasture, orchards, timberland, hunting grounds, streams, and infrastructure such as castles, wells, and mills. Local peasants were allowed some access to these properties, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live nobly, meaning they lived from the proceeds of these possessions rather than manual labor. Before the French Revolution, European nobles typically commanded tribute in the form of entitlement to cash rents or usage taxes, labor, or a portion of the annual crop yield from commoners. In France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille, the major direct tax. Peasants were bound to the nobility by dues and services, and their rights were subject to the jurisdiction of courts and police from whose authority the actions of nobles were entirely or partially exempt. The right of private war long remained the privilege of every noble in some parts of Europe. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman and was an accepted manner of resolving disputes.

• 3. Global Regional Variations

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  Africa has numerous ancient lineages including the Keita dynasty of Mali and the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia. The Kingdom of Ndongo ruled by a Ngola existed between 1518 and 1682 with political territories independently ruled by sobas who paid tribute to the king. In Ethiopia, the nobility resembled its European counterparts until 1855 when Tewodros II ended the Zemene Mesafint period. Ethiopian nobility divided into two categories: Mesafint as hereditary nobility forming the upper echelon, and Mekwanin as appointed nobles often of humble birth. Madagascar's Andriana stratum exercised both spiritual and political leadership before French colonization in the 1890s. The word Andriana traces back to an ancient Javanese title of nobility. In Nigeria, traditional notables include figures like the Ogboni of the Yoruba, the Nze na Ozo of the Igbo, and the Ekpe of the Efik. These societies maintained hierarchical structures where membership in initiatory societies had inalienable functions within kingdoms. Asian systems varied significantly from Chinese imperial descendants whose status depended on maternal rank to Japanese daimyō class holding great socio-political power through private armies made up of samurai.

• 4. Ennoblement Processes

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  In France, a seigneurie might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a noble's prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold, or mortgaged. If erected by the crown into a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled since commoners often purchased lordships without gaining the right to use a title of nobility. Only members of the nobility who owned a countship were allowed to style themselves as its owner. In other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated exclusive prerogative to act as ennoblers within their realms. For example, in the United Kingdom royal letters patent are necessary to obtain a title of the peerage. This carried nobility and formerly a seat in the House of Lords but never came with automatic entail of land nor rights to local peasants' output. In Hungary, once nobility was granted if a nobleman served the monarch well he might obtain the title of baron and later be elevated to count. Hereditary titles were not attached to particular land or estate but to the noble family itself so all patrilineal descendants shared a title.

• 5. Modern Status And Abolition

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  Since the end of World War I hereditary nobility entitled to special rights has largely been abolished in the Western World as intrinsically discriminatory. By the 21st century even deference had become increasingly minimized. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India passed in 1971 abolished all noble privileges within the Republic of India. China's bestowal of titles was abolished upon establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Brazil discontinued its nobility with proclamation of the First Brazilian Republic in 1889. The Political Constitution of Mexico prohibited state recognition of any titles of nobility since 1917. While some countries like Spain and the United Kingdom retain residual legal privileges, most European monarchies now have no more privileges than citizens decorated in republics. In 1999 all hereditary peers lost entitlement to sit and vote in the House of Lords leaving only 92 representatives elected by the peerage. Countries such as Greece, Turkey, Austria, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway, and the European Union forbid attachment of privilege to noble titles though France protects lawful titles against usurpation.