What does the title lord mean. On the titles of the English nobility. Privileges of titled persons

Whenever we watch historical English films or read books about the life of the English, we constantly come across all sorts of sirs, lords, princes, dukes and other titles. It is quite difficult to understand the purpose of all these appeals to certain segments of the population from books or films. We will try to consider what titles there are in England, what is their hierarchy, how they are obtained and whether it is possible to transfer the title by inheritance, etc.

Peerage in England

The Peerage is the system of nobility in England. All Englishmen who hold a title are called peers. All other people who do not have any titles are considered commoners. The main difference between peers and other people is that a title of nobility in England gives certain privileges, and these privileges differ among peers of different ranks.

There are also differences in privileges between different parts of the peerage system:

The Peerage of England is all titled Englishmen whose title was created by the Queens and Kings of England prior to 1707 (signing of the Act of Union).

The Peerage of Scotland is a title of nobility created by the monarchs of Scotland before 1707.

Peerage of Ireland - titles of the Kingdom of Ireland created before 1800 (signing of the Act of Union) and some of them created later.

The Peerage of Great Britain is all titles created in the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800.

Peerage of the United Kingdom - almost all titles created after 1800.

Older ranks are considered higher in the hierarchy. In addition, determining in the hierarchy is the ownership of the title:

English,

Scottish,

Irish.

For example, an Irish earl with a title created before 1707 is lower in the hierarchy than an English earl with a title obtained at the same time. But the same Irish earl would be higher in the hierarchy than a Great Britain earl with a post-1707 title.

Emergence of the Peerage

The history of the creation of the peerage system among the British began with the conquest of England by the illegitimate son of the ruler of Normandy, William the Conqueror. He created a single Kingdom of England and divided the entire territory into manors. Those Englishmen who owned manors were called barons; depending on the amount of land, there were "big barons" and "lesser barons".

The king collected the big barons for royal councils, and the smaller ones were collected by the sheriffs. Then the lesser barons ceased to convene. It was the meetings of the great barons that were then transformed into the House of Lords, which still exists today. Most titles of nobility, like the Crown of England, are hereditary.

Times changed and various ranks began to form among the nobles, the privileges of which differed significantly.

Title hierarchy

At the top of the hierarchy is naturally the royal family, which has its own hierarchy. The British royal family includes the monarch himself and a group of his close relatives. Members of the royal family are: the monarch, the monarch's spouse or the monarch's widowed spouse, the monarch's children, his male grandchildren, the spouses or widowed spouses of the monarch's male heirs.

The next most important among the English are:

Duke and Duchess (began to confer this title in 1337). Duke (derived from the Latin for "chief") is the highest ranking English title after King and Queen. Usually dukes govern the Duchy. Dukes constitute the second rank of princes after the princes of the royal family.

Marquis and marquise (first awarded in 1385). Marquis is an English title of nobility between a duke and an earl. It comes from the designation of the boundaries of certain territories (from the French "mark" or border territory). In addition to the marquises themselves, this title is awarded to the eldest son of the duke and the daughter of the duke.

Count (earl) and countess (used from 800-1000). Earls - members of the English nobility, who previously owned and managed their own lands - counties, tried court cases in provincial courts on behalf of the King, collected fines and taxes from the local population. Also counties were honored: the eldest son of the marquis, the daughter of the marquis and the youngest son of the duke.

Viscount and viscountess (the first such title was awarded in 1440). The word comes from the Latin "vice count", "deputy count". During the lifetime of the father, the eldest son of an earl or the younger sons of a marquis became viscounts as a courtesy title.

Baron and Baroness (first appeared in 1066). The word comes from the Old German "free master". Baron is the lowest noble rank in England. If the title is historically related to feudal baronies, then the baron holds that barony. In addition to the barons themselves, the following persons were endowed with this title in the form of a courtesy title: the eldest son of a viscount, the youngest son of a count, the eldest son of a baron, then the younger sons of viscounts and the younger sons of barons followed the hierarchy.

Another rank, although inherited, but not belonging to the English titled aristocratic persons, is the baronet (there is no female equivalent). Baronets do not sit in the House of Lords and do not enjoy the privileges of the nobility. The eldest children of the younger sons of peers of various ranks, the eldest and youngest sons of baronets became baronets.

All other Englishmen are non-titled persons.

Appeal to titled persons

The treatment of titled Englishmen is a rather complex issue. Everyone knows that addressing the King and Queen involves the combination "Your Majesty."

For dukes, "Your Grace" is used, as for duchesses, or duke-duchess is used along with the use of the title (for example, Duke of Wellington). The surnames of dukes are rarely used in circulation, those of duchesses are never used.

Marquesses, viscounts, earls, barons and their wives are addressed as Milord (My Lord) or Milady (My Lady), or simply Lord and Lady. You can also use the address directly in the form of rank and title (for example, Marquess of Queensbury).

Ex-wives of peers of any rank are addressed as follows: the woman's first name, then rank and title, without using the definite article "the" before rank (eg Diana, Princess of Wales).

Baronets and untitled persons are addressed with the words "sir" and "lady".

Getting the title

The real title of Lord in England can be awarded by the Queen for special services to the country. But you can also get it by workarounds, for example, by purchasing a medieval estate for a huge price along with the title, for example, of a baron. At the same time, they receive a certificate of belonging to a certain noble rank.

Title Features

Most often, the holder of any title is a man. Sometimes the title could also belong to a woman, if it was supposed to be inherited. In other cases, the woman was awarded the title of courtesy as the wife of her husband. At the same time, the woman did not have the privileges that the husband had.

The title of a woman was inherited in two cases:

If the woman was only the custodian of the title, in order to transfer it to the male heir in the future;

When a woman rightfully received a title, but could not sit in the House of Lords and hold certain positions.

Moreover, if a titled woman got married, her husband did not receive her title.

If a woman who received a title thanks to her husband turned out to be a widow, she kept it, while the word “widowed” could be added before addressing her. If a woman remarried, she acquired a new title corresponding to the title of her new husband, or even turned out to be an untitled person if the new husband did not belong to the nobility of England.

Another feature is that illegitimate sons did not receive titles under any circumstances. Therefore, often titled persons sought to marry pregnant women in order to ensure their son the right to inherit his title. Otherwise, only the youngest son had the right to receive nobility, if he was already born in marriage, and in the absence of other sons, a distant relative.

Privileges of titled persons

Previously, the privileges of peers were very wide, but now there are very few rights left for titled Englishmen:

The right to sit in parliament

Access to the Queen and King, although this right has not been used for a long time,

The right not to be subject to civil arrest (it has been used only twice since 1945).

In addition, all peers have special crowns for use at coronations and distinctive robes for sitting in the House of Lords (if they are members) and coronations.

Feudalism

Initially, this title was used to refer to all landowners belonging to the estate of feudal lords. In this sense, the term "lord" (French seigneur ("Senior")) is opposed to the term "peasantry", Denoting those living on his lands and indebted to him with loyalty and feudal duties. Later, a narrower meaning appeared - “lord of the manor”, a feudal lord holding lands directly from the king, in contrast to the knights (gentry in England, lairds in Scotland), who owned lands belonging to other feudal lords. Lexically, the term "lord" is similar to the term "master".

peerage

If initially the title of a peer was assigned only to knighted nobles, then from the 18th-19th centuries, the peerage began to complain to representatives of other strata of society, primarily the bourgeois. Also, the title of lord is used by "lords spiritual" - 26 bishops of the Church England, sitting in the House of Lords. In the 20th century, the practice of granting a peerage title for life without the right to inherit has become common - such titles are created exclusively with the rank of baron and are usually assigned to professional politicians (for calling to the House of Lords), lawyers (for the performance of judicial functions of the House of Lords), as well as major scientists and art as recognition of their merit. Currently, hereditary titles are awarded only in exceptional cases to members of the royal family.

The title "lord" is most commonly used to refer to the lower four ranks of the peerage. For example, barons are almost always referred to as "Lord<титул>", and very rarely "Baron<титул>" - except for female peers in the rank of barones, who are usually referred to as "baroness<титул>". In Scotland, the lowest in the peerage system is Lord of Parliament, since the granting of the title of lord to the nobles gave them the opportunity to take a direct part in the parliament of Scotland, and often was not associated with the appearance of land holdings by such persons on the right of holding on behalf of the king.

For marquesses, viscounts, and earls, the naming "lord<титул>" is also generally accepted along with the design "<ранг> <титул>". For dukes, only the title "Duke<титул>". For naming peers, the first and last names are not used together with the title "lord" - this construction is reserved for the sons of peers of higher ranks who do not have subordinate titles. However, a peerage title usually consists of his civil family name and the official name of the administered area, and for brevity, only the first part of the title is usually mentioned.

When addressing male peers personally, English is used. My Lord ("my master") or "lord<титул>". For dukes, “your grace” (eng. Your grace) or “duke<титул>". In the most formal cases (for example, at the Opening session of Parliament), the archaic “Your Grace” (eng. Your Lordship) is used. Often used in Russian, the appeal "my lord" came from French, - such an appeal was used in France of the 19th century in relation to any traveling Englishman, regardless of belonging to the peerage.

title of courtesy

Only the sovereign as "" has the right to confer peerage; titles are hereditary (usually through the male line) and according to the principle of primogeniture. At the same time, the ranks of peers are assigned sequentially - to the titles of senior ranks there is a set of titles of junior ranks, the so-called. "Subordinate titles" (eng. subsidiary title). Such junior titles and the title of lord can also be used by the children of nobles of the three highest ranks (dukes, marquis and earls) as an honorary "title of courtesy" (eng. courtesy title); this however does not mean that the children of peers are also peers. A person who is not a peer (and is not a sovereign) is considered a commoner; members of a family of peers may also be considered commoners, although they are of the gentry class (junior nobility, like baronets, knights, esquires, and gentlemen).

The eldest children of a peer who are heirs of the peerage, their eldest children and grandchildren (that is, the eldest grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the peer), as well as their wives, may use the subordinate titles of this peer, distinguished in order of seniority of rank, as a “customary title”. (When referring to such titles in English, the definite article is not mentioned, which serves as a clear indication that this is a "traditional title.") - the title of viscount. Holders of such honorary titles are treated exactly the same as real lords.

The younger sons of the peers of the two senior ranks - dukes and marquesses - also use the title of lord, but without the use of subordinate titles; for naming the title, the civil name and surname are used - "Lord<имя> <фамилия>". For personal address, it is used “Sir Lord High Admiral there was a Committee Admiralty headed by the First Lord. The committee members in this case are collectively referred to as Lords, but the personal title of Lord is not used in this case.

An integral part of British culture is the title system. Here you constantly come across these prefixes to names - Sir, Lord, Peer. And how, in fact, is the Lord different from the Peer? And why, say, the Duke, - not the Lord? Let's figure it out.

In the House of Lords. Picture: AP/Telegraph

Let's start with the Lord, as the most obsessive in the teeth. The very word lord, according to the Oxford Dictionary, comes from Old English hlaeford, which goes back to an older form hlaefweard, which means "keeper of bread", as they would say now, loaf-ward. Here we hear an echo of the ancient Germanic custom of the Germanic tribes, in which the leaders distributed food among their fellow tribesmen.

By the way, Lady Lady, derived from hlaefdige, where hlaef- it's all the same bread, but digital- it's modern knead- knead the dough.

Thus, a completely homely cozy picture arises. Lady kneads dough and bakes bread. The Lord, her husband, distributes bread to the members of the tribe. Those with bright quiet gratitude accept gifts and go home to get enough in the family circle under the crackle of firewood in the hearth. Idyll.

Peer, he peer, in turn is a representative of the so-called Peerage, Peerage, i.e. privileged class. peer means "equal", people of the same circle, equal to each other.

So the Lord is, in theory, the common name of all representatives of the Peerage, all of its five ranks: Duke (duke), Marquise (Marquess), Count (Earl), Viscount (Viscount) and Baron (Baron).

But as an address, the word "Lord" is usually used in relation to Barons, Viscounts, Earls and Marquesses. Barons are almost never called "Baron" at all. "Practically" because one such case does exist. This is when the Baron is introduced into the House of Lords, he takes the oath, beginning with the words "I, the Baron such and such ..."

For example, William Cecil, head of the government of Good Queen Bess, was given the title of 1st Baron Burghley. But he is mostly known simply as Lord Burley.

But this is the only case when the Baron admits that he is the Baron. In all other cases, he is "Lord". Marquises, Earls and Viscounts do the same. Only the Dukes are not shy about openly recognizing their title. They are not called Lords. They won't appreciate it.

Turning to the Dukes - your grace, i.e. Your Grace, or, as it is sometimes translated, Your Grace. The rest can be contacted my lord or Your Lordship.

Previously, this whole system of addresses and titles was much more complicated and formalized, now everything has become a little simpler, I would say, more democratic.

By the way, popular milord, "my lord" - actually was not born in England, although it comes from my lord. It appeared in France, where in hotels and post stations they turned to all English travelers in a row, apparently out of a desire to flatter them in the hope of a more generous tip. Over time, "my lord" migrated to the English language, where it became an ironic name for the English, who are abroad, tourists.

What is "Sir"? It turns out that "Sir", Sir, this is a word borrowed from the French, which previously served as an appeal to the Knights and the so-called. Baronets. And now "Sir" has become just a respectful appeal to anyone, including a high-ranking interlocutor.

Title Knight, Knight differs from the five ranks of the Peerage in that it is not hereditary, but only personal. Children of a Knight do not become Knights. Although his wife is called "Lady".

Yes, and almost forgot about the Baronets, Baronets. I remember that the impressionable old man Baskerville was a Baronet. So this is an honorary hereditary title, which, however, is not included in the Peerage system. And if the Monarch elevates the Knight by touching his shoulder with a sword, then the Baronet is deprived of the pleasure of participating in this attraction.

And finally, Esquire, Esquire. Now this word means almost nothing. Something like "respected" or "venerable". Word comes Esquire from Squire, i.e. "Squire". And if you dig deeper, you will find the Latin scutarius- "shield bearer". In the Middle Ages, a Squire was a squire who, roughly speaking, was trained under a Knight before becoming a Knight himself.

From the 17th century, in the English village, Esquire began to be called the head of the most influential local gentry family, i.e. untitled petty nobility, who owned the largest amount of land and lived in their own estate. The Gentry is an intermediate class between the Yeomanry and the Peer.

But over time, the term "Esquire" came to mean simply a person of noble birth, a gentleman who has no title. And since now, in the age of total tolerance and the fight against class prejudice, everyone is considered gentlemen by default, then add "Esquire" to your name, Esq. absolutely anyone can do it.

And what is more curious, under the laws of the United Kingdom, the children of living Peers are not Peers. If children are born to the Duke, Marquis or Count, then only the eldest son, the direct heir, has the right to the so-called. "Courtesy Title" courtesy title. In this case, since the holders of the three highest ranks of the Peerage usually have several titles, the eldest son, "out of courtesy", is allowed to use the senior of the father's additional titles. If a son is born to the eldest son, i.e. grandson of a living Peer, he is entitled to a junior subsidiary title, and so on.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If initially the title of a peer was assigned only to nobles knighted, then from the 18th-19th centuries the peerage began to complain to representatives of other strata of society, primarily the bourgeois. Also, the title of lord is used by "lords spiritual" - 26 bishops of the Church of England, sitting in the House of Lords. In the 20th century, the practice of granting a peerage title for life without the right to inherit has become common - such titles are created exclusively with the rank of baron and are usually assigned to professional politicians (to be called to the House of Lords), lawyers (to perform the judicial functions of the House of Lords), as well as major scientists and art as recognition of their merit. Currently, hereditary titles are awarded only in exceptional cases to members of the royal family.

The title "lord" is most commonly used to refer to the lower four ranks of the peerage. For example, barons are almost always referred to as "Lord<титул>", and very rarely "Baron<титул>" - except for female peers in the rank of barones, who are usually referred to as "baroness<титул>". In Scotland, the lowest in the peerage system is Lord of Parliament, since the granting of the title of lord to the nobles gave them the opportunity to take a direct part in the Parliament of Scotland, and often was not associated with the appearance of land holdings by such persons on the right of holding on behalf of the king.

When addressing male peers personally, English is used. my lord("my lord") or "lord<титул>". For dukes, "your grace" is used (eng. your grace) or "Duke<титул>". In the most formal cases (for example, at the Opening of the session of Parliament), the archaic "your Lordship" (eng. Your Lordship). The appeal often used in Russian " my lord" came from French, - such an appeal was used in France of the 19th century in relation to any traveling Englishman, regardless of belonging to the peerage.

title of courtesy

Only the sovereign as "" has the right to confer peerage; titles are hereditary (usually through the male line) and according to the principle of primogeniture. At the same time, the ranks of peers are assigned sequentially - to the titles of senior ranks there is a set of titles of junior ranks, the so-called. "subordinate titles" (eng. subsidiary title). Such junior titles and the rank of lordship can also be used by the children of nobles of the three highest ranks (dukes, marquesses and earls) as an honorary "title of courtesy" (eng. courtesy title); this however does not mean that the children of peers are also peers. A person who is not a peer (and is not a sovereign) is considered a commoner; members of a family of peers may also be considered commoners, although they are of the gentry class (junior nobility, like baronets, knights, esquires, and gentlemen).

Judicial positions

Judges of the Supreme Court of Great Britain and some of the highest courts in England, Scotland and Canada use the title of Lord, but are not peers. This title goes to them by position.

Lords Assessors

A committee of Lords Assessors is appointed to carry out the duties of some of the highest royal dignitaries. For example, to fulfill the duties of the Lord High Admiral, there was an Admiralty Committee headed by the First Lord. The committee members in this case are collectively referred to as Lords, but the personal title of Lord is not used in this case.

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An excerpt characterizing the Lord

- What? Began? Is it time? Pierre spoke, waking up.
“If you please, hear the firing,” said the bereytor, a retired soldier, “already all the gentlemen have risen, the brightest ones themselves have long passed.
Pierre hastily dressed and ran out onto the porch. Outside it was clear, fresh, dewy and cheerful. The sun, having just escaped from behind the cloud that obscured it, splashed up to half of its rays, broken by a cloud, through the roofs of the opposite street, onto the dew-covered dust of the road, onto the walls of houses, on the windows of the fence and on Pierre's horses standing by the hut. The rumble of cannons was heard more clearly in the yard. An adjutant with a Cossack roared down the street.
- It's time, Count, it's time! shouted the adjutant.
Ordering to lead the horse behind him, Pierre went down the street to the mound, from which he had looked at the battlefield yesterday. There was a crowd of military men on this mound, and the French dialect of the staff was heard, and Kutuzov's gray-haired head was visible with his white cap with a red band and a gray-haired nape sunk into his shoulders. Kutuzov looked through the pipe ahead along the high road.
Entering the steps of the entrance to the mound, Pierre looked ahead of him and froze in admiration before the beauty of the spectacle. It was the same panorama that he had admired yesterday from this mound; but now the whole area was covered with troops and the smoke of shots, and the slanting rays of the bright sun, rising behind, to the left of Pierre, threw on her in the clear morning air a piercing light with a golden and pink hue and dark, long shadows. The distant forests that complete the panorama, as if carved from some kind of precious yellow-green stone, could be seen with their curved line of peaks on the horizon, and between them, behind Valuev, the big Smolensk road cut through, all covered with troops. Closer, golden fields and copses gleamed. Everywhere - in front, on the right and on the left - troops were visible. All this was lively, majestic and unexpected; but what struck Pierre most of all was the view of the battlefield itself, Borodino and the hollow above Kolochaya on both sides of it.
Above Kolochaya, in Borodino and on both sides of it, especially to the left, where the Voyna flows into Kolocha in the swampy banks, there was that fog that melts, blurs and shines through when the bright sun comes out and magically colors and outlines everything seen through it. This fog was joined by the smoke of shots, and through this fog and smoke lightnings of morning light shone everywhere - now on the water, now on the dew, now on the bayonets of the troops crowding along the banks and in Borodino. Through this fog one could see the white church, in some places the roofs of Borodin's huts, in some places solid masses of soldiers, in some places green boxes, cannons. And it all moved, or seemed to move, because the mist and smoke stretched all over this space. Both in this locality of the lower parts near Borodino, covered with fog, and outside it, higher and especially to the left along the entire line, through the forests, through the fields, in the lower parts, on the tops of the elevations, were constantly born of themselves, out of nothing, cannon, then lonely, now lumpy, now rare, now frequent clouds of smoke, which, swelling, growing, swirling, merging, were visible throughout this space.
These gunshot smokes and, strange to say, their sounds produced the main beauty of the spectacle.
Puff! - suddenly one could see round, dense smoke playing with purple, gray and milky white colors, and boom! - the sound of this smoke was heard in a second.
"Poof poof" - two smokes rose, pushing and merging; and "boom boom" - confirmed the sounds that the eye saw.
Pierre looked back at the first smoke that he had left in a rounded dense ball, and already in its place were balls of smoke stretching to the side, and poof ... (with a stop) poof poof - three more, four more, and for each, with the same constellations, boom ... boom boom boom - answered beautiful, solid, true sounds. It seemed that these smokes were running, that they were standing, and forests, fields and shiny bayonets were running past them. On the left side, over the fields and bushes, these large smokes with their solemn echoes were constantly born, and closer still, along the lower levels and forests, small smokes of guns, which did not have time to round off, flared up and gave their small echoes in the same way. Fuck ta ta tah - the guns crackled, although often, but incorrectly and poorly in comparison with gun shots.
Pierre wanted to be where these smokes were, these shiny bayonets and cannons, this movement, these sounds. He looked back at Kutuzov and at his retinue in order to check his impression with others. Everyone was exactly the same as he was, and, as it seemed to him, they looked forward to the battlefield with the same feeling. All faces now shone with that hidden warmth (chaleur latente) of feeling that Pierre noticed yesterday and which he fully understood after his conversation with Prince Andrei.
“Go, my dear, go, Christ is with you,” said Kutuzov, without taking his eyes off the battlefield, to the general standing next to him.
Having listened to the order, this general walked past Pierre, to the exit from the mound.
- To the crossing! - the general said coldly and sternly in response to the question of one of the staff, where he was going. “And I, and I,” thought Pierre and went in the direction of the general.
The general mounted a horse, which was given to him by a Cossack. Pierre went up to his bereytor, who was holding the horses. Asking which one was quieter, Pierre mounted the horse, grabbed the mane, pressed the heels of his twisted legs against the horse’s stomach, and, feeling that his glasses were falling off and that he was unable to take his hands off the mane and reins, he galloped after the general, arousing the smiles of the staff, from the barrow looking at him.

The general, behind whom Pierre rode, went downhill, turned sharply to the left, and Pierre, losing sight of him, jumped into the ranks of the infantry soldiers walking ahead of him. He tried to get out of them first to the right, then to the left; but everywhere there were soldiers, with equally preoccupied faces, busy with some invisible, but obviously important business. Everyone was looking with the same dissatisfied questioning look at this fat man in a white hat, for some unknown reason, trampling them with his horse.
- Why does he ride in the middle of the battalion! one shouted at him. Another pushed his horse with the butt, and Pierre, clinging to the pommel and barely holding the shy horse, jumped forward the soldier, where it was more spacious.
There was a bridge ahead of him, and other soldiers were standing by the bridge, firing. Pierre rode up to them. Without knowing it himself, Pierre drove to the bridge over the Kolocha, which was between Gorki and Borodino and which, in the first action of the battle (taking Borodino), was attacked by the French. Pierre saw that there was a bridge ahead of him, and that on both sides of the bridge and in the meadow, in those rows of hay that he noticed yesterday, soldiers were doing something in the smoke; but, in spite of the incessant shooting that took place in this place, he did not think that this was the battlefield. He did not hear the sounds of bullets squealing from all sides, and the shells flying over him, did not see the enemy who was on the other side of the river, and for a long time did not see the dead and wounded, although many fell not far from him. With a smile that never left his face, he looked around him.
- What does this one drive in front of the line? Someone shouted at him again.
“Take the left, take the right,” they shouted to him. Pierre took to the right and unexpectedly moved in with the adjutant of General Raevsky, whom he knew. This adjutant looked angrily at Pierre, obviously intending to shout at him too, but, recognizing him, nodded his head to him.
– How are you here? he said and rode on.
Pierre, feeling out of place and idle, afraid to interfere with someone again, galloped after the adjutant.
- It's here, right? May I come with you? he asked.
“Now, now,” the adjutant answered and, jumping up to the fat colonel who was standing in the meadow, handed something to him and then turned to Pierre.
“Why did you come here, Count?” he told him with a smile. Are you all curious?
“Yes, yes,” said Pierre. But the adjutant, turning his horse, rode on.
“Here, thank God,” said the adjutant, “but on Bagration’s left flank there is a terrible frying going on.
– Really? Pierre asked. – Where is it?
- Yes, let's go with me to the mound, you can see from us. And it’s still tolerable with us on the battery, ”said the adjutant. - Well, are you going?
“Yes, I am with you,” said Pierre, looking around him and looking for his bereator with his eyes. Here, only for the first time, Pierre saw the wounded, wandering on foot and carried on a stretcher. On the same meadow with fragrant rows of hay, through which he had passed yesterday, across the rows, awkwardly turning his head, lay motionless one soldier with a fallen shako. Why didn't they bring it up? - Pierre began; but, seeing the stern face of the adjutant, who looked back in the same direction, he fell silent.

Names of titles are chosen from France. Why from there? Because among the peoples it is the French names that are used most often. Except for some used in Russia. And on this page we will tell you who is into what.

As a rule, they are presented in order: from the highest to the simplest. Titles going from Emperors to Chevaliers (Knights) are usually called nobility. For reference: The nobleman is one of the upper classes of the feudal society (along with the clergy), which was in the service of the monarch and carried out state activities. In other words, a nobleman is a person in the service of a court, usually a prince or tsar.

Emperor- the title of a monarch or several monarchs at once, the head of an empire. The emperor is usually the owner of several countries or peoples at once. As a rule, he takes lands of his own free will. The highest title in existence. Feminine - Empress.

Caesar (Russian – Tsar) - an autocratic sovereign, the owner of a kingdom or a large state. A king is a person chosen by God, the people, etc. Usually associated with the highest dignity of the emperor. In Russia, by the way, the current "king" is currently called the president, but in fact it is not. The king, as a rule, takes over the whole country, and the president leads the country through others. Feminine - Queen.

King- the title of a monarch, usually hereditary, but sometimes elected, the head of a kingdom or a small state. Feminine - Queen.

Prince- who it? It seems that everyone knows, but I’ll tell you anyway: this is the son of a monarch (king, king or emperor). And when the king dies, the prince takes his place, being the new king. Feminine - Princess.

duke (Russian – Prince) - the leader of the army and the ruler of the region. The head of a feudal monarchical state or a separate political entity, a representative of the feudal aristocracy. The highest title of nobility. Feminine - Duchess or Princess.

marquis (Russian – Zemsky Boyar) - a title of nobility above the count, but below the duke. The marquis usually became the counts who had served the king and had received permission to rule the boundary mark (administrative unit). Hence, by the way, the name of the title. Feminine - Marquise or Boyarynya.

Graph (Russian – Prince Boyar) is a title of nobility in Western Europe and pre-revolutionary Russia. Initially, it denoted the highest official, but since the time of the Norman kings, it has turned into an honorary title. As a rule, above the baron and viscount, but below the marquis and duke. Feminine - Countess.

Viscount- a member of the European nobility, middle between a baron and a count. As a rule, the eldest son of a count (during his father's lifetime) bears the title of viscount. In the Russian nobility, the title of viscount is absent. Feminine - Viscountess.

Baron (Russian – Barin or boyar) - a title of nobility, standing below the count and viscount. A noble person, in the narrow sense, the highest stratum of feudal society. In medieval feudal Western Europe - a large sovereign nobleman and feudal seigneur, later - an honorary title of nobility. Feminine - Baroness or Boyar.

Chevalier (Russian – Knight) - he is also a Knight as well. The most junior title of nobility that had land. Formally, they were not considered nobles and were not included in high society, but at the same time they were blue-blooded persons and still were nobles.

Gentleman- originally the word "gentleman" meant a man of noble birth, this was the basic definition of an aristocrat, the next title was Esquire. But then they began to call an educated and well-mannered man, respectable and balanced. Gentleman, as a rule, does not apply to the title of nobility. And there is no female counterpart to the word "Gentleman". They are called Lady.

Lord- this is not a title, but a common name for representatives of the upper class. Lord off English means "ruler". They can be called any ruler, regardless of rank. Although, if we talk about Great Britain, then Lord is still a title, but in other nations, dukes, marquises, earls, etc. are also called lords.