Royal and Noble Titles Flashcards
A king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of emperor. (They usually ruled over lands of cultural unity, as in Ireland, as opposed to emperors who control culturally different lands.)
High king/High queen
A hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title was originally introduced in England in the 14th century and was often awarded by James I of England in 1611 as a means of raising funds; holders are address as “Sir.”
Baronet/Baronetess
A steward of an Islamic state who is considered a political-religious successor to Muhammad
Caliph
The title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic
Tsesarevich (not to be confused with tsarevich, used for any son, including those of tsars of Crimea, Georgia, etc.)
A Turkish title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders or rulers of various sized areas in the Ottoman Empire (roughly equivalent to a duchy); the word is still used formally as a social title for men.
Bey/Begum
An Indian title for a crown prince, usually applied to the eldest son of a Raja or Maharaja
Yuvraj (or Jubraj)
the spouse of a reigning monarch
consort
A monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm; generally recognized to be of a higher honour and rank than kings
Emperor/Empress
A member of the highest rank of the feudal Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Wallachian, Moldavian, and later Romanian and Livonian (Modern day Latvia and Estonia ) aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes (in Bulgaria, tsars) from the 10th century to the 17th century.
Boyar
A title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory.
Castellan
The title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within the former Holy Roman Empire, just below that of Emperor and King.
Archduke/Archduchess
A historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince, duke or count.
Knyaz
A rank of nobility, often hereditary, often the lowest rank of the peerage; from the Late Latin for a soldier or mercenary; William I introduced the rank in England to distinguish those men who had pledged their loyalty to him under the feudal system.
Baron/Baroness
A noble honorific derived from the German for “young lord,” originally one of the Edelfrei but later roughly the equivalent of a county squire. The term was traditionally used throughout the Baltic region.
Junker (or Jonkheer in Belgium and the Netherlands)
An honorific title in the Arabic language, it commonly designates the ruler of a tribe or a royal family member, who inherited the title from his father; today the term is used by almost every male and female member of all the Gulf royal houses
Sheik/Sheika
A free noble of the Holy Roman Empire whose direct overlord was the Emperor; not represented in the Imperial Diet.
Imperial Knight (formerly Edelfrei)
A German hereditary title held by one who rules over a duchy or possesses a right by law or tradition to be referred to by the ducal title; generally ranked below a king and above a count.
Herzog
From the Persian for “chief,” an honorific title for a civilian or military officer
Agha
An official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ordinary count. The title originated in the late Roman Empire and in the Middle Ages was associated with the Holy Roman Empire
Count palatine or Palsgrave (from Pfalzgraf)
The title given to a local royal official in medieval eastern Scotland, below an earl, who was at the head of an administrative and socio-economic unit.
Thane
A title in medieval Norway, ranked below only kings and earls
Lenderman
A title granted to the eldest daughter of a laird, not often used today.
Maid
A historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility, settled in a locality.
Count (or Earl in England)/Countess or in France, Comte/Comtesse
(the land owned by a Count was a county)
A title used to designate East and South Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers of Eastern Europe, originally Bulgarian monarchs from 10th century onwards but associated especially with the Russian Empire; derived from the Latin word Caesar
Tsar
The lowest rank of nobility in Austria-Hungary and Germany, just beneath a Ritter (hereditary knight), but above untitled nobles, who used only the nobiliary particle von before their surname. It was mostly given to civil servants and military officers.
Edler
The title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the sons and daughters of the king (sometimes with the exception of the [male] heir apparent to the throne, who usually bears a unique princely or ducal title)
Infante/Infanta
Title used in Muslim countries for rulers who claimed full sovereignty of a province within the caliphate; the title carries more religious significance than the secular “king.”
Sultan/Sultana
Historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman and below the rank of knight; usually used today as a general courtesy title for lawyers.
Esquire
In Muslim countries, a noble title of high office; it means commander or general; when translated as prince, it means the ruler of a sovereign principality.
Emir/Emira
Title used for either a monarch ranked below the emperor, king, and grand duke or a member of royalty or nobility, historically of highest rank, below princes of nobility and grand dukes. The title comes from from the Latin for ‘leader’, used in republican Rome to refer to a military commander without an official rank (particularly one of Germanic or Celtic origin), and later coming to mean the leading military commander of a province.
Duke/Duchess
A noble appointed by the King of England to guard the border between England and Wales (e.g. the Earl of Chester).
Marcher Lord
a widow with a title (or property) derived from her late husband
dowager
A nobleman in feudal Germany whose jurisdiction stretched over a territory larger than usually held by a count.
Landgraf or Landgrave/Landgräfin or Landgravine
In Scotland, the holder of the lowest form of peerage (pre-Union, entitled to take part in sessions of Parliament).
Lord of Parliament
The title given to the sons and daughters of the king of Poland (and Grand Duke of Lithuania at the same time).
Królewicz / Królewna
An honorific title that is the female equivalent for knighthood; also a style used by a baronetess in her own right.
Dame
In the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, and in its various successor states, including Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, it denotes the titled rank within the nobility above Ritter (knight) and Edler (nobility without a specific title) and below Graf (count, earl) and Herzog (duke)
Freiherr/Freifrau
A title given to the kings of Iran/Persia.
Shah (the Shahanshah was the King of Kings of the Persian Empire)
A princely title used for members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of the Holy Roman Empire and later its former territories, below the ruling Kaiser (emperor) or König (king).
Fürst/Fürstin
A member of the electoral college that elected the Holy Roman Emperor. ( In practice, every emperor from 1440 onwards – except for Charles VII and Francis I – came from the Austrian House of Habsburg, and the election merely ratified the Habsburg succession.)
Prince-elector or simply Elector
A French title: originally a secular official chosen by the bishop of the diocese—with the consent of the count—to perform functions on behalf of the church’s earthly interest that were religiously inappropriate; this especially included violence; with the advent of the feudal system, the title became hereditary
Vidame
A noble title of high hereditary rank, above earl or count and second only to a duke. (Originally used for a nobleman who ruled over a border province.)
Marquess (UK) or Marquis (France)/Marchioness (UK) or Marquise (France)
(a border province was a “march”)
The name formerly given in France to someone who had been granted a fief by the crown; still used for the hereditary ruler of the English Channel Island of Sark
Seigneur (The word shares the same provenance as the Italian Signore, Portuguese Senhor and Spanish Señor, which in addition to meaning “Mister” were used to signify a feudal lord.)
A title of nobility in German-speaking areas roughly equal to Knight or Baronet; traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above “Edler” and below “Freiherr” (Baron).
Ritter (the wife of a Ritter was called a “Frau”); in Belgium, Ridder
A title of lower nobility, historically conferred upon mounted warriors; usually they served as vassals, bodyguards, or mercenaries
Knight (in France, Chevalier)
A title used in certain European countries for a noble of middling status, usually below an earl or count and above a baron; often a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial position that did not develop into an hereditary title until much later.
Viscount/Viscountess (in France, Vicomte/Vicomtess)
The title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791 and 1824 to 1830. The word is French for dolphin. At first the heirs were granted the County of Viennois to rule, but eventually only the title was granted.
Dauphin/Dauphine
The German word for “emperor,” derived from the Roman emperors’ title of Caesar; only used for rulers over the rank of kings (König)
Kaiser
Originally meaning “cheiftain” and applied generally to Norse and Danish noblemen, this title was held by members of medieval Swedish royals before their accession to the throne. Since the early 12th century, there usually was only one holder of the title at a time, second only to the King of Sweden.
Jarl
Originally a military governor of a Carolingian border province. In medieval times the borders of the Holy Roman Empire were especially vulnerable to foreign attack, so the hereditary count of these provinces was sometimes granted greater authority than other vassals.
Markgraf or Margrave (a “mark” was a border province)/Markgräfin or Margravine
A title for a monarch equivalent to king or princely ruler in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
Raja (a High King was a Maharaja)
The heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. (In certain monarchies, a more specific substantive title may be accorded and become associated with the position of heir apparent – e.g. Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom.)
Crown prince/Crown princess
A European hereditary title for either certain monarchs or members of certain monarchs’ families; traditionally ranked in order of precedence below the title of emperor, king or archduke and above that of sovereign prince or sovereign duke; e.g. used for the monarch of Luxembourg
Grand duke/Grand duchess
A Scottish style of address for the heir apparent to a Laird, clan chief, or other person of rank.
Younger
A generic name for the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate, roughly equivalent to an esquire in England; ranked below a baron and above a gentleman.
Laird
A widow with a title or property derived from her late husband.
dowager
A historical title of the German nobility, intermediate among noble ranks, usually translated as “count;” equivalent to the British title of “earl”
Graf/Gräfin
Originally the French title for the keeper of a castle, with the development of feudalism the office became a fief and so hereditary; equivalent of a viscount or vicomte
Chatelain
In the medieval period in Europe, especially Germany, the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle; a count in rank equipped with judicial powers
Burgrave
A person legitimately descended in dynastic line (historically, the male line) from any of a realm’s hereditary monarchs. In some European kingdoms, especially France, this appellation was a specific rank in its own right, of a more restricted use than other titles.
Prince du sang (Prince of the Blood)