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.)
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