What is the difference between a count, a duke, a marquis and a viscount in the 17th century French aristocratic hierarchy?

The title, which first appeared in the Middle Ages, continues to be used in some modern countries. Generally, the amount of land in possession to determine the degree of feudal title, can be divided into five main dukes, marquises, counts, viscounts, baronets.Oq8s "g*uSf b

Duke: In the aristocracy, the duke is the first rank, the highest status. The origin of this title is three: one is the dissolution of European clan society, the Germanic tribes of the military chief; second is the ancient Roman tribes of the military chief; third is the Roman era of the border provinces, later referred to as the local military governor, the original meaning of its Latin "commander-in-chief". With the development of feudal relations, the increasing strengthening of the king's power, the duke became the upper level of the ruling class. In the United Kingdom, dukes were initially created by King Edward III in the fourteenth century, and all those who were created dukes were members of the royal family. It was only after the fifteenth century that the practice was broken and a few non-royals were made dukes.U.` l,j~+m ~

Marquess: The marquess was the second rank in the peerage. During the reign of Charles the Great it referred to a border governor with special full powers, equivalent to a vassal, and after the division of Charlemagne's empire, it became an independent great feudal lord. After the feudal kingship was strengthened, the marquis became a title between the dukes and counts, whose status was equal to that of the other counts, and it was only after the tenth to fourteenth centuries that the status of the marquis was recognized as being above that of the burgess.

1g:y3sP7Ely$Vp Earl: In the Roman Empire, the earl was the emperor's retainer, in charge of military, civil and financial power, and sometimes as a magistrate, after the strengthening of the feudal system, the earl can be a party, and become a hereditary feudal lord. Later, its status gradually declined, between the marquis and the viscount, for the third rank of the nobility. In the United Kingdom, the title of Earl has the longest history, and it was the highest title in the United Kingdom before Edward, the Black Prince, was made a duke in 1237, the name of which originated from Scandinavia. The title is derived from Denmark in Scandinavia.

%d%J.G)` X4a Viscount: Viscount was originally the name of a state official in the Kingdom of the Franks, first created by King Charlemagne in the eighth century, and later spread to other continental European countries. At first, the viscount was the deputy of the count, but later it existed independently and could also be hereditary. Viscountship did not come to England until the fifteenth century, when Beaumond John was the first to be created a Viscount of England in 1440, above the baronets.

Q.Y i0v6S-rW3Q;[ Baronet: The baronetcy is the lowest of the noble titles. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, it was a direct vassal of the king or great feudal lord of a European monarchy. In English, the word baron, introduced by the Normans during their conquest of the European continent, originally meant "nothing but a common man", but later evolved to mean "a powerful man". At that time, the great tenants of England who received their lands directly from the king could be called barons, but this was not done by the king. It was only after Richard II John Beecham was made a baronet in 1387 that the baronetcy became an official title of the English peerage. ~)H4p:q#v J

Of these five peerages mentioned above, they are further divided into hereditary peers and life peers, depending on whether they can be passed on to future generations. Hereditary nobility can be inherited by the eldest son after death, while life nobility can only be held while one is alive, and cannot be inherited by one's son after death. The British poet Byron's uncle was a hereditary peer, and after his death, his nephew Byron received a hereditary title.