titles

Introduction

CE5

titles, terms used to designate degrees of sovereignty, nobility, and honor.

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Non-Western Titles

In the Muslim world the temporal successors of Muhammad received the title caliph (literally, “successor”). Later titles for Muslim rulers were emir and sultan. Other Muslim titles include sherif, a hereditary title; pasha and bey, originally military titles but later given as a civilian nonhereditary honor; and sheikh, a title of respect variously given to tribal chiefs, heads of religious orders and colleges, and town mayors.

Titles in India derive from three sources—Hindu, Muslim, and European—and illustrate the rather tumultuous history of the subcontinent. Raja (ruler or king; maharaja means “great king”), rani (queen), and rajput (king's son, or prince) are of Hindu origin. Nawab is a Muslim title of Hindustani derivation for a nobleman, while nizam is of Arabic origin.

Imperial China made use of over 600 titles beginning with Huang Ti (emperor), Huang How (empress), Huang T'ai How (dowager empress), and so on. Titles of the hereditary imperial nobility conferred on members of the imperial house were of 12 degrees, or lines of descent. These titles were also conferred on the princes and rulers of the Mongol tribes. They were hereditary for a period up to 26 generations. Lesser hereditary ranks of nobility and honorary titles were derived from the feudal order that existed in the 6th cent. b.c. Although they loosely resembled the European scheme—Kung, How, Peh, Tsze, and Nan, corresponding to duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron, they were not aristocratic titles in the European sense, as they were granted purely for military services. Titles of honor known as Feng Tseng were conferred as rewards for service or great merit.

The Japanese emperor is sometimes called the Mikado, but this is a term used exclusively by Europeans, except for its use in Japanese poetry. The Japanese have called him the Tenshi (Son of Heaven), Tenno (Heavenly King), Arehito Tenno (God Walking Among Men), Kamigoichinin (Upper Exalted Foremost Being), Aramikami (Incarnate God), and other titles that reflect the traditional belief in his divinity. Through much of Japanese history, the real power rested in the shogun, the commander of the imperial armies. The great feudal vassals were the daimyos, who led retinues of samurai, members of the knightly class. The shogunate came to an end in 1868, giving the real power to the emperor. In 1884, with the feudal order disbanded and all loyalty pledged to the emperor, the holders of ancient titles were given new designations based upon the European system of baron, count, marquess, and so on.

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English Titles

Titles in England are, in descending order, prince, duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron, baronet, and knight. All have evolved since the Norman Conquest except earl, which is a title of the same descent as the continental titles translated as count. The title of earl was long the highest-ranking hereditary title under that of king, and English earls under the Norman kings enjoyed great power. The title of duke was in use on the Continent long before its introduction into England by Edward III, who created his son, the Black Prince, duke of Cornwall, a title now belonging automatically to the sovereign's eldest son from his birth. The Norman kings were themselves dukes of Normandy, a very high-ranking title, and may have been reluctant to confer similar titles upon their subjects. Originally, in fact, the only English dukes were dukes of the blood royal, and the sons of the sovereign are generally created dukes soon after coming of age. The title of marquess came into English use in 1385 as a title between those of earl and duke. The title of viscount, formerly that of a county sheriff, became a degree of honor and was made hereditary in the reign of Henry VI. Baron, originally a title denoting the chief tenants of the land, who were subject to summons to the king's court, is the most general title of nobility; since 1387 the title has usually been created by a legal notice (generally by letters patent, but occasionally by writ of summons), and it has nothing to do with land tenure. The existing baronetage (below the peerage) dates from 1611, when James I revived the title. The title of baronet is not in the peerage but is heritable; that of knight is a title of honor rather than nobility. The title of prince of Wales, at first the only prince in England, is reserved for the eldest son of the sovereign, although not invariably conferred upon him. In the reign of James I, all the sons of the sovereign came to be called prince. Queen Victoria extended the title, along with that of princess, to the royal grandchildren who are children of sons.

During the later Middle Ages life peerages (i.e., nonhereditary titles) were sometimes given as a further honor to one already holding a title. Legislation in 1887 conferred life peerages on all present and former lords of appeal. The Life Peerages Act of 1958 allowed for the creation of life peerages, with the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords, for both men and women. Since 1964 life peerages have been the only kind conferred.

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Continental Titles

Continental titles of nobility have evolved since the time of feudalism, when knights came to be regarded as noble and titles became hereditary. Under the Holy Roman Empire a complex nobility, not confined to the territories of the empire, developed; titles were conferred upon many persons outside the imperial boundaries. Most modern titles of nobility in the Western world descended from these (see the accompanying tabletable entitled Hereditary Western European Titles of Nobility for masculine and feminine forms of equivalent titles in Western Europe).

The title count [Fr. comte, Ger. Graf, Ital. conte] comes from the Latin comes, a noble attached to a kingly court and serving as an adviser to the king. The title Graf was taken over by the Holy Roman Empire from Carolingian and Merovingian terms for a noble appointed by the king and having military and legal authority over a certain territory. The creation of border territories (marches) gave rise to the title of Markgraf (in English, margrave); the corresponding French title is marquis, from which the English title marquess is derived. A Landgraf (in English, landgrave) was a count whose territory included a number of fiefs. There was also the title of Pfalzgraf (count palatine; see Palatinate). Herzog (duke) was a title denoting sovereignty over a large territory such as Bavaria or Saxony. After 1806 the title Grossherzog (grand duke) was also used. The title Fürst (prince) was below that of duke; there existed also the title Prinz, which was a courtesy title extended to various persons, notably the sons of a duke or king. Titles in descending order below emperor and king were Herzog; Pfalzgraf, Markgraf, and Landgraf, all of about equal rank; Graf; Baron, Freiherr or Freier (all baron in English); and Ritter (knight). The prefix Reichs- before any of these titles meant that the holder held the title directly from the emperor, i.e., he was not the vassal of any other lord.

At the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the German and Austrian nobility retained the titles they had held under the empire. In addition, the male members of the Austrian imperial family were called archdukes, i.e., dukes of the blood royal. This corresponded to the title in the Russian imperial family usually translated as grand duke and in Spain to infante. French titles of nobility in descending order are duc; prince (only a prince of the blood royal was above a duke; an ordinary prince was often the son of a duke and was below a duke), marquis, comte, vicomte, baron, seigneur or sire, and chevalier (knight). The heir to the throne was called the dauphin. Members of the French nobility have no privileges at all, but they retain their titles under the law. In Italy, titles of nobility, in descending order, are duca, principe, marchese, conte, visconte, and barone. In Spain they are duque, principe, marqués, conde, visconde, and barón.

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Emperor

The highest-ranking title, that of emperor, derived from the Latin imperator, was originally a military title; the leader of a victorious army was saluted imperator by his soldiers. It was assumed by Augustus Caesar and the sovereigns of the Roman and Byzantine empires who followed him. The title received its modern meaning when it was conferred on Charlemagne in 800, and it was revived when Otto I was crowned (962) Holy Roman emperor. In Russia it was used from the time of Peter I until the dissolution of imperial Russia. It has also been the equivalent of the titles of the sovereigns of China, Japan, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, Ethiopia, and India. Napoleon assumed the title of emperor of the French in 1804, and Queen Victoria was proclaimed empress of India in 1877. Caesar, the cognomen of Julius Caesar, was adopted by Augustus (44 b.c.), and his successors as emperor took the name until Hadrian, who designated Caesar as the title of the heir apparent; the imperial use of Caesar was continued with the German Kaiser and the Russian czar.

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Bibliography

See W. F. Mayers, The Chinese Government (3d ed. 1897, repr. 1966); J. McMillan, The Honours Game (1969); L. G. Pine, The Story of Titles (1969).

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See more Encyclopedia articles on: Heraldry, Knighthood, and Chivalry