earldoms
Aristocratic English ranks
Earldoms is the plural of earldom—the rank, title, or territory of an earl in the British nobility.
An earl ranks below a marquess and above a viscount.
The word appears in historical and legal contexts: The Norman Conquest created new earldoms across England.
An earldom may be inherited, created by royal decree, or become extinct when a line dies out.
Rule by hereditary elite
- peerageSystem of noble ranks
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- patricianHighborn Roman elite
- bluebloodPerson of noble birth
highborn · courtier · noblesse · landed · nobility · regent · sovereign · court
Feminine noble rank
- peerageSystem of noble ranks
- dukeHighest-ranking nobleman
- marquessNobleman below duke
- viscountMid-ranking British noble
baron · lordship · knighthood · baronetcy · honorifics · royalty · monarchy · coronet
Local administrative division
- shireEnglish administrative district
- domainArea of control
- provinceRegional administrative district
- realmGoverned territory or sphere
jurisdiction · demesne · manor · borderland · holdings · lands · estates · seat
Family line of descent
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- legacyWhat's passed down
- birthrightEntitlement from origin
heirlooms · traditions · genealogy · patrimony · forebears · bequest · endowment · succession
aristocracy
Rule by hereditary elite
blueblood · highborn · courtier · noblesse · landed · nobility · regent · sovereign · court · privilege
countess
Feminine noble rank
viscount · baron · lordship · knighthood · baronetcy · honorifics · royalty · monarchy · coronet · regalia
county
Local administrative division
realm · jurisdiction · demesne · manor · borderland · holdings · lands · estates · seat · fiefdom
ancestry
Family line of descent
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- legacyWhat's passed down
birthright · heirlooms · traditions · genealogy · patrimony · forebears · bequest · endowment · succession · dynasty
manorialism
Medieval estate labor system
liege · homage · fealty · demesne · overlord · peasant · steward · bannerman · castle · keep
- nobilityking, queen, prince, princess, duke
- Medieval Termsfeudalism, manorialism, serfdom, guilds, fiefdoms
- British Classupper class, middle class, lower class, working class, aristocrats
- English historyNorman Conquest, Domesday Book, Magna Carta, King Alfred, Henry VIII
- Medieval Institutionsabbeys, abbey, convents, convent, priories
earldomsduchies
Duke-governed territories
dukedoms · baronies · kingdoms · empires · principalities
earldomscommonalty
Non-noble general population
peasantry · serfdom · yeomanry · villeinage · landlessness
earldomspeasantry
Rural working class
serfdom · the common people · yeomanry · citizenship · working class