The five main titles of nobility form a hierarchical ladder that obeys the following order, starting with the most powerful: duke, marquis, count, viscount and baron. In the Middle Ages, each of these nobles received a piece of land from the king where they commanded and ruled, helping in the administration of the kingdom. “The nobles had legal and military authority over the territory granted by the monarch. Among other things, they collected taxes, took care of the borders and recruited armies for the kingdom”, says historian Celso Silva Fonseca, from the University of Brasília. The higher the honor, the more land the noble gained, and the more power he was allowed to wield. Titles emerged in the 5th century, when Europe was broken up into many small kingdoms. Within these empires, the nobles formed an elite of relatives or subjects who helped the king in the conquest of new lands. From the 9th century, titles became hereditary, passing from father to son. In Brazil, these designations of nobility arrived in the 19th century. In total, 1,211 titles of nobility were distributed here. But with an important difference: they were not transmitted from father to son. If a nobleman’s heir wanted to be entitled to the same honor, he would have to pay the government. A title of duke, for example, cost three times as much as a title of baron. With the proclamation of the Republic, in 1889, all icons of the times of monarchy were banned by the military, including titles of nobility. Today, these decorations are worthless. But in England and other European monarchies, being a baron or earl still guarantees a certain social prestige.
In the Middle Ages, the monarch gave land and authority to the most powerful subjects.
MARQUIS
Below the duke in the nobility hierarchy, the marquis ruled the marquisates, areas the size of today’s states. Some took over the royal territories located on borders, fighting to prevent invasions. The origin of the name makes this function clear: in Latin, marchensis means “the one who supervises the marks”
VISCOUNT
He was the earl’s deputy—in Latin, vicecomes meant vice-count. This title of nobility, like that of baron, came much later, only during the 10th century. In administrative terms, the viscounts could direct small territories, the size of villages
DUKE
After the king, he was the most powerful noble, given large tracts of land to administer. The first dukes came from the Roman Empire, where military commanders were graced with the name of dux («one who leads» in Latin). Following tradition, countries like Spain and Portugal gave the title to their greatest generals.
COUNT
Advising the king on many matters, from tax collection to military combat, the count was so important in the day-to-day life of the kingdoms that he even had a substitute for his absences, the viscount. The count also administered the counties, an area smaller than the marquisates. The title comes from the Latin comes, «one who accompanies»
BARON
Yet another title created with feudalism already in decline. The honor was bestowed on faithful subjects of kings, usually wealthy men. The lands governed by the barons were even smaller, the size of farms or farms. In its Germanic origin, the word baron means «free man»