In what European countries did non-hereditary nobility exist? (XVII-XIX centuries)
Upvote:4
If I'm not mistaken, most post-Roman states of Europe were built upon non-hereditary nobility, and it wasn't until later on as those nations developed that a hereditary nobility developed.
On elected rulers, France had an electoral kingship from at least Carolinian times until well into the Capetian age, and only became hereditary because of the tradition of appointing the king's heir as sub-king. The HRE example of electors choosing a monarch has already been mentioned.
In England, earls were appointed by the kings in the Anglo-Saxon age, and this tradition continued under the Norman kings. It was typical but not at all necessary that the heir of an earl would be the next appointed. As for barons (the king's tenants-in-chief), their tenure was inheritable, but a summons to the king's council (and later parliament) wasn't guaranteed. It wasn't until near the end of the Plantagenet era that inheritable peerages (or peerage as we know it) took hold and someone could sit in parliament by the right of their father having done so.
Upvote:6
The President of France and the Bishop of Urgell are, ex officio, the co-princes of Andorra. These are non-hereditary and, as far as I can see, considered to be a part of the nobility.
Upvote:9
In the United Kingdom, you could become a life peer. This title could not be inherited, it was limited to the life of the holder.
In Germany, this concept was called Persönlicher Adel (personal nobility).
Upvote:11
It was in Italy that (initially) non hereditary titles of nobility were granted for military prowess. That's because these titles were not grounded in ownership of land.According to Wikipedia:
"Though they had been used rarely, titles of nobility had certainly existed before circa 1300, but these were usually military ranks and not hereditary."
This practice did not last long. Wikipedia continues:
"During the fourteenth century, nobiliary [sic!] titles became hereditary in most of Italy, usually transmitted by male primogeniture and almost invariably linked to land."
That is to say, this imbalance was redressed by giving land to the newly ennobled.
Germany had a similar concept going back as early as the turn of the first and second millennia, and it's possible that both that country and Italy inherited the idea from the Holy Roman Empire.
It is noteworthy that in Britain, one way to noble titles was through military success (Duke of Marlborough, Duke of Wellington), although these titles were hereditary.But as another poster pointed out, it was possible to become a "life peer" (by late in the second millenium.)
More post
- 📝 Who is the Amyrtaios of Herodotus?
- 📝 In WW2, did Germany ever mine Uranium from Czechoslovakia?
- 📝 What did Murder, Inc call itself?
- 📝 How many firearms were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA?
- 📝 What is the benefit of historical studies for the process of creating tactics and strategies in foreign policy?
- 📝 Can anyone identify the regiment and rank from this WWI photograph?
- 📝 Has a CIWS system ever shot down a missile in combat?
- 📝 Is the term "chainmail" historically accurate, or a modern invention?
- 📝 Why did Mongolia split in two when they declared independence?
- 📝 Did "el Empecinado" fight in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)?
- 📝 How was iron obtained in ancient times?
- 📝 What effect did the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir have on Great Britain's international relations during WW2?
- 📝 Names and Genealogy of Hephtalite rulers?
- 📝 What is the oldest excavated/discovered piece of silk textile made for clothing or writing?
- 📝 How is progress in history made?
- 📝 What was special in interwar Austria-Hungary?
- 📝 Microsocial behaviour 500 years ago in western societies
- 📝 What religion did Mustafa Kemal Atatürk self-identify as following?
- 📝 Did gun control in Turkey in 1911 lead to the Armenian Genocide?
- 📝 Were Serbs and Croats one people / tribe in the past? If not, why do they speak the same language?
- 📝 Did Sultan Mehmet IV defeat a Persian champion in single combat?
- 📝 How is the photography printing on newpaper is possible in the WW2 era?
- 📝 How common were horses at the beginning of the 20th century?
- 📝 Why were so many female members of Hapsburg family named Maria something?
- 📝 Why does Western Europe tend to have small 'in between' countries?
- 📝 Why did Stalin pressure Allies to open second front even though his purpose was to grab as much land as possible for his future satellite states?
- 📝 What share of refugees crossed borders during WW2 and its aftermath?
- 📝 When did polygamy start becoming illegal?
- 📝 Can anyone help identify this painting? (Western, representative, c19-c21)
- 📝 What is the origin of the rampant lion herald?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 In what European countries did non-hereditary nobility exist? (XVII-XIX centuries)
- 📝 Why did European countries become more economically advanced than non European countries?
- 📝 What did other European powers say when Portugal and Spain signed the Treaty of Tordesillas?
- 📝 At what point, and why, did snuff tobacco fall out of favor with European nobility?
- 📝 Which European countries did not have a revolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution and why?
- 📝 What did education look like in occupied countries during WW2?
- 📝 What did European people of the 5th century AD eat during spring and what was the availability?
- 📝 What did contemporary countries in Europe call the Ottoman Empire?
- 📝 What was the attitude of the other European countries in the 1970s Cod War?
- 📝 Why didn't Zheng He colonize the countries he explored like what the Europeans did to the New World?
- 📝 What access did people in the Warsaw pact countries have to Western television and radio?
- 📝 Did the USSR have a more positive relationship with France than other west european countries after 1945?
- 📝 What authority did the Catholic Church have over European monarchs from 900–1450?
- 📝 To what extent did the medieval European peasantry know their extended family?
- 📝 When did most European countries limit citizens’ rights to possess weaponry?
- 📝 What did medieval European knights do if they were defeated in battle?
- 📝 Did any other countries try to breed a race out like what happened in Australia?
- 📝 What did ancient countries call themselves?
- 📝 Why did Native Americans die from European diseases while Europeans didn't catch serious diseases from the New World?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 What damage did anti-tank rifles hope to inflict on tanks in WW2?
- 📝 What did babies eat before the advent of modern blenders?
- 📝 What did the Emancipation Proclamation exactly do?
- 📝 What did Germany do in World War II about the different rail gauge in the Soviet Union?
- 📝 What did people in 13th century England know about Greek mythology?
- 📝 What language did Gaius Julius Caesar speak with Cleopatra?
- 📝 Did Rothschild say this famous quote? If yes, what did he mean by it?
- 📝 To what extent did Native American cultures develop metalworking for tools and weapons?
- 📝 What pretext did Hitler use to justify Operation Barbarossa?
- 📝 What is the most number of times someone has become leader of a European country?