The rank of European knighthood

1, Duke

Duke rank is the highest, in the United Kingdom, the Duke is generally awarded to the feudal officials, under the King and Prince of England, the Duke of the title appeared later, to obtain the Duke of the title of the majority of the commander-in-chief of the outstanding war achievements.

2, marquis

Marquis is second to the duke, but also a feudal official, most of the areas under their jurisdiction is the border, the conditions are not very good. Marquis titles are fewer and less highly regarded than the other four.

3, earl

Earl is the management of more than one area of control, after William, Archduke of Norman, worried about its division of a party, weakening its rights, management of a county. Earls were separate groups with distinct personalities.

4, Viscount

Viscount was originally the name of the state officials of the Frankish Kingdom, the earliest was sealed by King Charlemagne in the eighth century, and later spread to other continental European countries. At first, a viscount was the deputy of a count, but later existed independently and could also be hereditary.

5, baron

Baron in which the status of the lowest, the title can not be hereditary, is generally not considered to be a nobleman.

Expanded:

p>So knighthood was originally closely related to the feudal system. However, some countries, after the fall of the feudal system, still retained the old system of titles and bestowed them on their subjects or nationals of prominent status.

In this case, the holders of titles were not equivalent to feudal lords. Even if they possessed a fief-like cognizance, it was only formal and they did not possess the right to govern the cognizance.

Of course, there were some titles in history that were somewhere between the title of feudal lord and a nominal title, or were in a transitional stage of evolution from one status to another.

European antiquity, there has been a viscount state, but in general the viscount has no country, in general, is the heir of the count in the earl alive, that is, in the earl did not abdicate and his own successor, known as the "Viscount"; marquis is the meaning of vice-duke, in general, is the heir of the duke in the duke alive, that is, in the duke did not abdicate and his own succession, called "Viscount"; Marquis is the meaning of vice-duke, in general, is the heir of the duke in the duke alive, that is, in the duke did not abdicate and his own succession. In general, the heir of a duke is called a "marquis" when the duke is alive, that is, when he succeeds to the throne without abdicating.

The city can also have a title, the city directly under the territory is generally less, but in the city must have at least a castle, plus a piece of the city of the territory and the city of a company, is called "Burkina Faso", the lord is called "Earl".

Baidu Encyclopedia - European Titles