viscountship
Aristocratic hereditary title
The rank, status, or office of a viscount.
The term appears in formal or historical contexts discussing British nobility: He inherited the viscountship upon his father's death.
Like other -ship titles (lordship, earlship), it denotes both the position itself and the period during which someone holds it.
Titled ruling class
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- peerageSystem of noble ranks
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
ranking · precedence · gradation · social ladder · echelons · superiority · subordination · upper class
Aristocratic territorial holding
- earldomNobleman's rank and realm
- baronetcyHeritable British noble rank
- duchyNoble-ruled territory
- marquessateDomain of a marquess
countship · lordship · coronet · hereditary · ennoblement · succession · patent · creation
Landed aristocratic residence
- demesneLord's private estate
- fiefGranted feudal estate
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- fealtyPledged devotion to authority
liege · overlord · seigneurial · stewardship · suzerainty · homage · tenure · landholding
nobility
Titled ruling class
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- peerageSystem of noble ranks
stratification · ranking · precedence · gradation · social ladder · echelons · superiority · subordination · upper class · titled
barony
Aristocratic territorial holding
marquessate · countship · lordship · coronet · hereditary · ennoblement · succession · patent · creation · elevation
manor
Landed aristocratic residence
fealty · liege · overlord · seigneurial · stewardship · suzerainty · homage · tenure · landholding · estate
viscountshipdukedom
Noble's territorial domain
duchy · kingship · emperorship · sovereignty · princedom
count, viscount, viscountess, viscounts, viscountcy, viscounty, viscountesses