Count
Encyclopedia
A count or countess (female) is an aristocratic
nobleman in Europe
an countries. The word count came into English from the French
comte, itself from Latin
comes
—in its accusative
comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is "comital". The British equivalent is an earl
(whose wife is also a "countess", for lack of an Anglo-Saxon term). Alternative names for the "Count" rank in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as Hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial era
.
, the Latin title comes
meaning (imperial) "companion" denoted the high rank of various courtiers and provincial officials, either military or administrative: before Anthemius
was made emperor in the West in 467, he was military comes charged with strengthening defenses on the Danube
frontier.
In the Western Roman Empire Count came to generically indicate a military commander, but was not a specific rank. In the Eastern Roman Empire, from about the seventh century, a count was a specific rank indicating the commander of two centuries
(i.e. 200 men).
Military counts in the Late Empire and the Germanic successor kingdoms were often appointed by a dux
and later by a king. From the start the count was in charge, not of a roving warband, but settled in a locality, a countship, his main rival for power being the bishop
, whose diocese
was often coterminous.
In many Germanic
and Frankish
kingdoms in the early Middle Ages
, the count might also be a count palatine
, whose authority derived directly from the royal household, the "palace
" in its original sense of the seat of power and administration. This other kind of count had vague antecedents in Late Antiquity
too: the father of Cassiodorus
held positions of trust with Theodoric, as comes rerum privatarum, in charge of the imperial lands, then of comes sacrarum largitionum (concerned with the strictly monetary fiscal matters of the realm).
The position of comes was originally not hereditary. By holding large estates, many counts were able to make it a hereditary title—though not always. For instance, in Piast Poland, the position of komes was not hereditary, resembling the early Merovingian institution. The title had disappeared by the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, and the office replaced with other institutions. Only after the Partitions of Poland
did the title of "count" re-surface in the German-derived title hrabia.
The title of Count was also often conferred by the monarch as an honorific title for special services rendered, without an actual feudal estate (countship, county), just a title, with or without a domain name attached to it. In the UK, the equivalent Earl is often a courtesy title
for the eldest son of a duke. In the United Kingdom
stringent rules apply, often a future heir has a lower ranking courtesy title
; in Italy
, by contrast, all the sons of certain counts are counts (contini). In Sweden
there is a distinction between counts (Swedish: greve) introduced before 1809 and after. All children in countship families introduced before 1809 are called count/countess. In families introduced after 1809 only the head of the family is called count, the rest had a status similar to barons and were called Mr. and Ms./Mrs. (before the use of titles was abolished).
(1137–80), the highest precedence amongst the vassals (Prince-bishop
s and secular nobility) of the French crown was enjoyed by those whose benefice or temporal fief was a pairie, i.e. carried the exclusive rank of pair
; within the first (i.e. clerical) and second (noble) estates, the first three of the original twelve anciennes pairies were ducal, the next three comital comté-pairies:
Later other countships (and duchies, even baronies) have been raised to this French peerage, but mostly as apanages (for members of the royal house) or for foreigners; after the 16th century all new peerages were always duchies and the medieval countship-peerages had died out, or were held by royal princes
Other French countships of note included those of:
. In the eleventh century however, conti like the Count of Savoia or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories. Even apparently "lower"-sounding titles, like Viscount
, could describe powerful dynasts, such as the Visconti family who ruled a major city such as Milan
. The essential title of a feudatory, introduced by the Normans, was signore, modelled on the French seigneur, used with the name of the fief. By the fourteenth century, conte and the Imperial title barone were virtually synonymous, but some titles of count, according to the particulars of the patent, might be inherited by the eldest son of a Count. Other younger brothers might be distinguished as "X dei conti di Y" ("X of the counts of Y"). However if there is no male to inherit the title and the count has a daughter, she can inherit the title: for example the Countess Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano, mother of Queen Paola of Belgium
. The Papacy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies might appoint counts palatine with no particular territorial fief. Until 1812 in some regions, the purchaser of land designated "feudal" was ennobled by the noble seat that he held and became a conte. This practice ceased with the formal abolition of feudalism in the various principalities of early-19th century Italy, last of all in the Papal States
.
Many Italian counts left their mark on Italian history as individuals, yet only a few contadi (countships; the word contadini for its inhabitants remains the Italian word for "peasant") were politically significant principalities, notably :
Count is one of the noble titles granted by the Pope
as a temporal sovereign
and the title's holder is often known as a papal count or less so as a Roman count, often confused with the hereditary Roman nobility since the restoration of the Papal States
in 1815. The title of Count Palatine of the Lateran Palace, which can be for life or hereditary, has been awarded by popes and Holy Roman Emperor
s since the Middle Ages, infrequently before the 14th century, and the pope continued to grant the purely honorary title even after 1870, when the ranks of the Roman nobility were otherwise frozen. This title is no longer conferred. By the Lateran Accord of 1929, the Italian government recognized and confirmed the pope's power to grant nobilary titles, and the titles granted by the Pope were considered equivalent to Italian titles. American Francis A. MacNutt, a papal chamberlain at the Vatican and a papal knight was also a papal marquis, having his noble title conferred by Pius X. American financier George MacDonald of New York was created a papal marquis in the 1930s and Long Island philanthropist Genevieve Brady was created a papal duchess by Pope Pius XI in the 1930s. However, noble titles have not been generously granted since Pope Pius XII
. Papal Count John McCormack and Papal Countess Rose Kennedy being among the last few to receive this honor. With Paul VI
, who responded to the formal Christmas message of the patriciate by declaring that the papal nobility would no longer be a constituent body in the papal court, the custom essentially disappeared. Pope John Paul II
did grant several noble titles to Polish compatriots at the beginning of his pontificate, but quietly and without their being published in the Acts of The Apostolic See. The popes continue to award knighthoods and medals of merit on a regular basis which do not confer noble status.
; most territory was firmly within the Reconquista
kingdoms before counts could become important. However, during the 19th century, the title, having lost its high rank (equivalent to that of Duke
), proliferated.
Portugal
itself started as a countship in 868, but became a kingdom
in 1139 (see:County of Portugal
). Throughout the History of Portugal
, especially during the Constitutional Monarchy
many other countships were created (see: List of Countships in Portugal).
In Spain, no countships of wider importance exist, except in the former Spanish march.
, a komit was a hereditary provincial ruler under the tsar
documented since the reign of Presian
(836-852) The Cometopouli dynasty was named after its founder, the komit of Sredets
.
This is the case with:
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
nobleman in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries. The word count came into English from the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
comte, itself from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
comes
Comes
Comes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +...
—in its accusative
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is "comital". The British equivalent is an earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
(whose wife is also a "countess", for lack of an Anglo-Saxon term). Alternative names for the "Count" rank in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as Hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial era
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
.
Definition
In the late Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the Latin title comes
Comes
Comes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +...
meaning (imperial) "companion" denoted the high rank of various courtiers and provincial officials, either military or administrative: before Anthemius
Anthemius
Procopius Anthemius was Western Roman Emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: the resurgent Visigoths, under Euric, whose domain straddled the Pyrenees;...
was made emperor in the West in 467, he was military comes charged with strengthening defenses on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
frontier.
In the Western Roman Empire Count came to generically indicate a military commander, but was not a specific rank. In the Eastern Roman Empire, from about the seventh century, a count was a specific rank indicating the commander of two centuries
Centuria
Centuria is a Latin substantive from the stem centum , denoting units consisting of 100 men. It also denotes a Roman unit of land area: 1 centuria = 100 heredia...
(i.e. 200 men).
Military counts in the Late Empire and the Germanic successor kingdoms were often appointed by a dux
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
and later by a king. From the start the count was in charge, not of a roving warband, but settled in a locality, a countship, his main rival for power being the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, whose diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
was often coterminous.
In many Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
and Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
kingdoms in the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the count might also be a count palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
, whose authority derived directly from the royal household, the "palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
" in its original sense of the seat of power and administration. This other kind of count had vague antecedents in Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
too: the father of Cassiodorus
Cassiodorus
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...
held positions of trust with Theodoric, as comes rerum privatarum, in charge of the imperial lands, then of comes sacrarum largitionum (concerned with the strictly monetary fiscal matters of the realm).
The position of comes was originally not hereditary. By holding large estates, many counts were able to make it a hereditary title—though not always. For instance, in Piast Poland, the position of komes was not hereditary, resembling the early Merovingian institution. The title had disappeared by the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, and the office replaced with other institutions. Only after the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
did the title of "count" re-surface in the German-derived title hrabia.
The title of Count was also often conferred by the monarch as an honorific title for special services rendered, without an actual feudal estate (countship, county), just a title, with or without a domain name attached to it. In the UK, the equivalent Earl is often a courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
for the eldest son of a duke. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
stringent rules apply, often a future heir has a lower ranking courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
; in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, by contrast, all the sons of certain counts are counts (contini). In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
there is a distinction between counts (Swedish: greve) introduced before 1809 and after. All children in countship families introduced before 1809 are called count/countess. In families introduced after 1809 only the head of the family is called count, the rest had a status similar to barons and were called Mr. and Ms./Mrs. (before the use of titles was abolished).
Comital titles in different European languages
The following lists are originally based on a Glossary on Heraldica.org by Alexander Krischnig. The male form is followed by the female, and when available, by the territorial circonscriptionEtymological derivations from the Latin comes
| Language Language Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication... |
Male title | Female title / Spouse | Territory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albanian Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece... |
Kont | Konteshë | |
| Armenian Armenian language The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora... |
Կոմս (Koms) | Կոմսուհի (Komsuhi) | |
| Bulgarian Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the... |
Кмет (Kmet), present meaning: mayor; medieval (9th-century) Комит (Komit): hereditary provincial ruler | Кметица (Kmetitsa), woman mayor / Кметша (Kmetsha), mayor's wife | Кметство (Kmetstvo); medieval Комитат (Komitat) |
| Catalan Catalan language Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island... |
Comte | Comtessa | Comtat |
| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Count (applies to title granted by monarchies other than the British where Earl Earl An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke... applies) |
Countess (even where Earl applies) | Earldom for an Earl; Countship or county for a count, but the last is also, and indeed rather, in English-Speaking countries an administrative district |
| French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... |
Comte Comte Comte is a title of Catalan, Occitan and French nobility. In the English language, the title is equivalent to count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl... |
Comtesse | Comté |
| Hungarian Hungarian language Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe.... |
Vikomt | Vikomtessz | These forms are now archaic and/or literary; Gróf is used instead. |
| Irish Irish language Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of... |
Cunta; Iarla | Cuntaois, Baniarla | Honorary title only; iarla does not derive from Latin comes but rather from English "earl". |
| Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... |
Conte Conte Conte is a title of Italian nobility used in Italy and other Catholic European countries. The female form is contessa... |
Contessa | Contea, Contado, Comitato |
| Greek Greek language Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;... |
Κόμης (Kómēs) | Κόμησσα (Kómēssa) | Κομητεία (Komēteía); in the Ionian Islands Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e... the respective Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... ate terms Kóntes, Kontéssa were used instead |
| Japanese Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an... |
Hakushaku 伯爵 | Hakushaku fujin 伯爵婦人 | |
| Latin Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and... (feudal jargon, not classical) |
Comes Comes Comes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +... |
Comitissa | Comitatus |
| Maltese Maltese language Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic... |
Konti | Kontessa | |
| Monegasque Monégasque language Monégasque is a dialect of the modern Ligurian language, spoken in Monaco.- Language family :Forming a part of the Western Romance dialect continuum, Monégasque shares many features with the variety of Ligurian spoken in Genoa, but differs from its neighboring dialects Intemelio and Mentonasc. It... |
Conte | Contessa | |
| Norwegian Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language... |
Komtesse, komtessa (Count's wife or unmarried daughter. Wife usually greivinna/grevinne, see below) |
||
| Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... |
Conde Conde Conde is a title of nobility in Spanish, Galician and Portuguese. In English, the title is Count or Earl. The female form is Condesa in Spanish and Galician and Condessa in Portuguese. The territory of a Conde is called a Condado, equivalent to Countship or County... |
Condessa | Condado |
| Romanian Romanian language Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova... |
Conte Conte Conte is a title of Italian nobility used in Italy and other Catholic European countries. The female form is contessa... |
Contesă | Comitat |
| Romansh | Cont | Contessa | |
| Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... |
Conde Conde Conde is a title of nobility in Spanish, Galician and Portuguese. In English, the title is Count or Earl. The female form is Condesa in Spanish and Galician and Condessa in Portuguese. The territory of a Conde is called a Condado, equivalent to Countship or County... |
Condesa | Condado |
| Turkish Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,... |
Kont | Kontes | Kontluk |
Etymological parallels of the German Graf (some unclear)
| Language Language Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication... |
Male title | Female title / Spouse | Territory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape... |
Graaf | Gravin | Graafskap |
| Belarusian Belarusian language The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people... |
Граф (Hraf) | Графiня (Hrafinia) | Графствa (Hrafstva) |
| Bulgarian Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the... |
Граф (Graf) | Графиня (Grafinya) | Графство (Grafstvo) |
| Croatian Croatian language Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries... |
Grof | Grofica | Grofovija |
| Czech Czech language Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century... |
Hrabě | Hraběnka | Hrabství |
| Danish Danish language Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language... |
Greve | Grevinde | Grevskab |
| Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second... |
Graaf | Gravin | Graafschap |
| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Grave | Gravine | Graviate |
| Estonian Estonian language Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities... |
Krahv | Krahvinna | Krahvkond |
| Finnish Finnish language Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a... |
Kreivi | Kreivitär | Kreivikunta |
| German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... |
Graf Graf Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl... |
Gräfin | Grafschaft |
| Greek Greek language Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;... |
Γράβος | ||
| Hungarian Hungarian language Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe.... |
Gróf | Grófnő, Grófné | Grófság |
| Icelandic Icelandic language Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the... |
Greifi | Greifynja | |
| Latvian Latvian language Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language... |
Grāfs | Grāfiene | Grāfiste |
| Lithuanian Lithuanian language Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they... |
Grafas | Grafienė | Grafystė |
| Luxembourgish Luxembourgish language Luxembourgish is a High German language spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 320,000 people worldwide speak Luxembourgish.-Language family:... |
Graf | Gräfin | |
| Macedonian Macedonian language Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora... |
Гроф (Grof) | Грофица (Grofica) | |
| Norwegian Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language... |
Greve/greive | Grevinne/greivinne | Grevskap/greivskap |
| Polish Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries... |
Hrabia Hrabia Hrabia is the title used for a rank of Polish nobility roughly corresponding to that of a Count. An earlier counterpart, komes, was used for a non-hereditary office in Piast Poland and faded from use before the establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.The wife of a hrabia is a hrabina,... |
Hrabina | Hrabstwo |
| Romanian Romanian language Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova... |
Grof (also Conte Conte Conte is a title of Italian nobility used in Italy and other Catholic European countries. The female form is contessa... , see above) |
||
| Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... |
Граф (Graf) | Графиня (Grafinya) | Графство (Grafstvo) |
| Serbian Serbian language Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries.... |
Гроф | Грофица | Грофовија |
| Slovak Slovak language Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people... |
Gróf | Grófka | Grófstvo |
| Slovene | Grof | Grofica | Grofija |
| Swedish Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish... |
Greve | Grevinna | Grevskap |
| Ukrainian Ukrainian language Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet.... |
Граф (Hraf) | Графиня (Hrafynya) | Графство (Hrafstvo) |
Compound and related titles
Apart from all these, a few unusual titles have been of comital rank, not necessarily to remain there.- Dauphin (english: Dolphin; spanish: Delfín; italian: Delfino ) was a multiple (though rare) comital title in southern France, used by the Dauphins of Vienne and Auvergne, before 1349 when it became the title of the heir to the French throne. The Dauphin was the lord of the province still known as the région DauphinéDauphinéThe Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
- Conde-Duque "Count-Duke" is a rare title used in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, notably by Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of OlivaresGaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of OlivaresDon Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel Ribera y Velasco de Tovar, Count-Duke of Olivares and Duke of San Lúcar la Mayor , was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip IV and minister. As prime minister from 1621 to 1643, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform...
who had inherited the title of count of Olivares, but being created Duke of Sanlucar la Mayor by King Philip IV of Spain begged permission to preserve his inherited title in combination with the new honour—according to a practice almost unique in Spanish history; logically the incumbent ranks as Duke (higher than Count) just as he would when simply juxtapositioning both titles.
- Conde-Barão 'Count-Baron' is a rare title used in PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, notably by D. Luís Lobo da Silveira, 7th Baron of Alvito, who received the title of Count of Oriola in 1653 from King John IV of Portugal. His palace in Lisbon still exists, located in a square named after him (Largo do Conde-Barão).
- Archcount is a very rare title, etymologically analogous to archdukeArchdukeThe title of Archduke denotes a noble rank above Duke and below King, used only by princes of the Houses of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine....
, apparently never recognized officially, used by or for:- the count of FlandersCount of FlandersThe Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
(an original pairiePairieThe French word pairie is the equivalent of the English word peerage, in the sense of an individual title carrying the rank of Pair , which derives from the Latin par 'equal', and signifies the members of an exclusive body of noblemen and prelates, considered to be the highest social order -not...
of the French realm in present Belgium, very rich, once expected to be raised to the rank of kingdom); the informal, rather descriptive use on account of the countship's de facto importance is rather analogous to the unofficial epithet Grand Duc de l'Occident (before Grand dukeGrand DukeThe title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
became a formal title) for the even wealthier Duke of BurgundyDuke of BurgundyDuke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks... - at least one Count of Burgundy (i.e. Freigraf of Franche-ComtéFranche-ComtéFranche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
)
- the count of Flanders
- In German kingdoms, the title GrafGrafGraf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
was combined with the word for the jurisdiction or domain the nobleman was holding as a fief and/or as a conferred or inherited jurisdiction, such as "Markgraf" (MargraveMargraveA margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
—see also MarquessMarquessA marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
), "Landgraf" ("landgrave"), "FreigrafFreigrafFreigraf is a title of Germany nobility. It is derived from the German words frei and the feudal title graf . It can be used in two different contexts:...
" ("free count"), "Burggraf" ("Burgrave", where burg signifies castle; see also ViscountViscountA viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
), Pfalzgraf (see (Count) Palatine), "Raugraf" (Raugrave, see "grafGrafGraf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
". Originally a unique title) and "Waldgraf" (waldgraveWaldgraveThe noble family of the Waldgraves or Wildgraves descended of a division of the House of the Counts of Nahegau in the year 1113....
(comes nemoris), where wald signifies a large forest). - The German Graf and Dutch graaf stems from the Byzantine-Greek grapheus meaning "he who calls a meeting [i.e. the court] together").
- These titles are not to be confused with various minor administrative titles containing the word -graf in various offices which are not linked to nobility of feudality, such as the Dutch titles Pluimgraaf (a court sinecure, so usually held by noble courtiers, may even be rendered hereditary) and Dijkgraaf (to the present, in the Low Countries, a managing official in the local or regional administration of water household trough dykes, ditches, controls etcetera; also in German Deichgraf, synonymous with Deichhauptmann, "dike captain").
West-Francia proper
Since Louis VIILouis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
(1137–80), the highest precedence amongst the vassals (Prince-bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
s and secular nobility) of the French crown was enjoyed by those whose benefice or temporal fief was a pairie, i.e. carried the exclusive rank of pair
Pair
The word pair, derived via the French words pair/paire from the Latin par 'equal', can refer to:* 2 , two of something* Topological pair, an inclusion of topological spaces.* Tuple* Product type* Au pair, a work agreement...
; within the first (i.e. clerical) and second (noble) estates, the first three of the original twelve anciennes pairies were ducal, the next three comital comté-pairies:
- Bishop-counts of Beauvais (in Picardy)
- Bishop-counts of Châlons (in Champagne)
- Bishop-counts of NoyonNoyonNoyon is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.It lies on the Oise Canal, 100 km north of Paris.-History:...
(in Picardy) - Count of ToulouseCounts of ToulouseThe first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...
, until united to the crown in 1271 by marriage - Count of FlandersCount of FlandersThe Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
(Flandres in French), which is in the Low countries and was confiscated in 1299, though returned in 1303 - Count of ChampagneCount of ChampagneThe Counts of Champagne ruled the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title "Count of Champagne". When Louis became King of France in 1314, upon the death of his father Philip...
, until united to the crown (in 1316 by marriage, conclusively in 1361)
Later other countships (and duchies, even baronies) have been raised to this French peerage, but mostly as apanages (for members of the royal house) or for foreigners; after the 16th century all new peerages were always duchies and the medieval countship-peerages had died out, or were held by royal princes
Other French countships of note included those of:
- Count of Angoulême, later DukesCounts and dukes of AngoulêmeAngoulême in western France was part of the Carolingian Empire as the kingdom of Aquitaine. Under Charlemagne's successors, the local Count of Angoulême was independent and was not united with the French crown until 1307. By the terms of the Treaty of Brétigny the Angoumois, then ruled by the...
- Count of Anjou, later Dukes
- Count of AuvergneRulers of Auvergne-History:In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine...
- Count of Bar, later DukesCounts and dukes of BarBar was a historic duchy of both the Holy Roman Empire and the crown of France, though later totally incorporated with Lorraine into France in 1766. The duchy of Bar includes the "pays" of Barrois.- History :...
- Count of BloisCount of BloisThe County of Blois was originally centred on Blois, south of Paris, France. One of the chief cities, along with Blois itself, was Chartres. Blois was associated with Champagne, Châtillon , and later with the French royal family, to whom the county passed in 1391...
- Count of BoulogneCount of BoulogneThe county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
- Count of Foix
- Count of Montpensier
- Count of PoitiersCount of PoitiersAmong the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers are:*Guerin **Hatton **Renaud...
- Count of Saint Germain
Parts of today's France long within other kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire
- Freigraf ("free count") of BurgundyCounty of BurgundyThe Free County of Burgundy , was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf...
(i.e. present Franche-Comté) - The Dauphiné
In Germany
- See also GrafGrafGraf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
for various comital and related titles; especially those actually reigning over a principality that can be rendered as countship: Gefürsteter Graf, Landgraf, Reichsgraf; compare Markgraf, Pfalzgraf
In Italy
The title of Conte is very prolific on the peninsula, and modern counts occupy the position in rural society comparable to an English squire, members of rural gentryGentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
. In the eleventh century however, conti like the Count of Savoia or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories. Even apparently "lower"-sounding titles, like Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
, could describe powerful dynasts, such as the Visconti family who ruled a major city such as Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. The essential title of a feudatory, introduced by the Normans, was signore, modelled on the French seigneur, used with the name of the fief. By the fourteenth century, conte and the Imperial title barone were virtually synonymous, but some titles of count, according to the particulars of the patent, might be inherited by the eldest son of a Count. Other younger brothers might be distinguished as "X dei conti di Y" ("X of the counts of Y"). However if there is no male to inherit the title and the count has a daughter, she can inherit the title: for example the Countess Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano, mother of Queen Paola of Belgium
Queen Paola of Belgium
Paola, Queen of the Belgians , is the queen consort of Albert II of Belgium....
. The Papacy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies might appoint counts palatine with no particular territorial fief. Until 1812 in some regions, the purchaser of land designated "feudal" was ennobled by the noble seat that he held and became a conte. This practice ceased with the formal abolition of feudalism in the various principalities of early-19th century Italy, last of all in the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
.
Many Italian counts left their mark on Italian history as individuals, yet only a few contadi (countships; the word contadini for its inhabitants remains the Italian word for "peasant") were politically significant principalities, notably :
- Norman Count of ApuliaApuliaApulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
- Count of Savoy, later DukeHouse of SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
(also partly in France and in Switzerland) - Count of AstiAstiAsti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
- Count of Montferrat (Monferrato)MontferratMontferrat is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy...
- Count of MontefeltroMontefeltrothumb|Coat of Arms of the Montefeltro family.Montefeltro is the name of an historical Italian family who ruled Urbino and Rimini.The family's reign began in 1267 when Buonconte I da Montefeltro was elected podestà of Urbino...
- Count of TusculumTusculumTusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy.-Location:Tusculum is one of the largest Roman cities in Alban Hills. The ruins of Tusculum are located on Tuscolo hill—more specifically on the northern edge of the outer crater ring of the Alban volcano...
Roman (Papal) count
Count is one of the noble titles granted by the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
as a temporal sovereign
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
and the title's holder is often known as a papal count or less so as a Roman count, often confused with the hereditary Roman nobility since the restoration of the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
in 1815. The title of Count Palatine of the Lateran Palace, which can be for life or hereditary, has been awarded by popes and Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
s since the Middle Ages, infrequently before the 14th century, and the pope continued to grant the purely honorary title even after 1870, when the ranks of the Roman nobility were otherwise frozen. This title is no longer conferred. By the Lateran Accord of 1929, the Italian government recognized and confirmed the pope's power to grant nobilary titles, and the titles granted by the Pope were considered equivalent to Italian titles. American Francis A. MacNutt, a papal chamberlain at the Vatican and a papal knight was also a papal marquis, having his noble title conferred by Pius X. American financier George MacDonald of New York was created a papal marquis in the 1930s and Long Island philanthropist Genevieve Brady was created a papal duchess by Pope Pius XI in the 1930s. However, noble titles have not been generously granted since Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. Papal Count John McCormack and Papal Countess Rose Kennedy being among the last few to receive this honor. With Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
, who responded to the formal Christmas message of the patriciate by declaring that the papal nobility would no longer be a constituent body in the papal court, the custom essentially disappeared. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
did grant several noble titles to Polish compatriots at the beginning of his pontificate, but quietly and without their being published in the Acts of The Apostolic See. The popes continue to award knighthoods and medals of merit on a regular basis which do not confer noble status.
In Austria
The principalities tended to start out as margraviate and/or (promoted to) duchy, and became nominal archduchies within the Habsburg dynasty; noteworthy are:- Count of Tyrol
- Count of Cilli
- Count of Schaumburg
In Poland
Numerous small ones, particularly:- Counts of Galicia and Poland
- Count Zaleski
In the Low Countries
Apart from various small ones, significant were :- in present Belgium :
- Count of FlandersCount of FlandersThe Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
(Vlaanderen in local Dutch), but only the small part east of the river Schelde remained within the empire; the far larger west, an original French comté-pairie became part of the French realm - Count of Hainaut
- Count of Namur, later a margraviate
- Count of Leuven (Louvain) soon became the Duke of Brabant
- Count of Mechelen, though the "Heerlijkheid Mechelen" was given the title of "Graafschap" in 1490, the city was rarely referred to as a county and the title of Count has not been in practical use by or for anyone of the series of persons that became rightfully entitled to it; the flag and weapon of the municipality still has the corresponding heraldic crowned single-headed eagle of sabre on gold.
- Count of Flanders
- in the present Dutch kingdom of the Netherlands:
- Count of HollandCount of HollandThe Counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century.-House of Holland:The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia...
- Count of Zeeland
- Count of ZutphenCount of ZutphenThe title of Count of Zutphen historically belonged to the ruler of the Dutch province of Gelderland ....
- Count of Holland
In Switzerland
- Count of Neuenburg
- Count of Toggenburg
- Count of KyburgKyburg, ZurichKyburg is a municipality in the district of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Kyburg has an area of . Of this area, 31.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 61% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.4% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...
- Count de Salis-SoglioJerome, 2nd Count de SalisJérôme de Salis, 2nd Count de Salis-Soglio was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and sometime British Resident in the Grisons...
- Count of PanzuttiCount PanzuttiCount Panzutti is an 18th century Italian hereditary title, famously held by Fortunato and Guillaume de Félice.The title was passed by decree by the Contessa di Panzutti who held it "suo jure" as instructed in the 1st Count's will to Fortunato Felice in 1756, and has continued being inherited in...
In Iberia
As opposed to the plethora of hollow "gentry" counts, only a few countships ever were important in medieval IberiaIberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
; most territory was firmly within the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
kingdoms before counts could become important. However, during the 19th century, the title, having lost its high rank (equivalent to that of Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
), proliferated.
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
itself started as a countship in 868, but became a kingdom
History of Portugal (1112-1279)
The history of Portugal, in most of the 12th and 13th centuries, is chiefly that of its origin as a separate state, in the process of the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula.-Background:...
in 1139 (see:County of Portugal
County of Portugal
The County of Portugal was the region around Braga and Porto, today corresponding to littoral northern Portugal, from the late ninth to the early twelfth century, during which it was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León.-History:...
). Throughout the History of Portugal
History of Portugal
The history of Portugal, a European and an Atlantic nation, dates back to the Early Middle Ages. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it ascended to the status of a world power during Europe's "Age of Discovery" as it built up a vast empire including possessions in South America, Africa, Asia and...
, especially during the Constitutional Monarchy
History of Portugal (1834-1910)
The history of Portugal from the end of the Liberal Civil War in 1834 to the republican revolution of 1910 was marked by several events that made way for the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in the 5 October 1910 revolution....
many other countships were created (see: List of Countships in Portugal).
Spain
In Spain, no countships of wider importance exist, except in the former Spanish march.
- Count of Barcelona – it became integrated in the kingdom of AragonKingdom of AragonThe Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
, which became one of the two main components of the Spanish realm - Count of Aragon
- Count of Castile
- Count of GaliciaKingdom of GaliciaThe Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
- Count of Lara
- Count CassiusCount CassiusCount Cassius , also Count Casius, kumis Kasi or kumis Qasi, was a Hispano-Roman or Visigothic nobleman that originated the Banu Qasi dynasty....
, progenitor of the Banu QasiBanu QasiThe Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi or Banu Musa were a Basque Muladi dynasty that ruled the upper Ebro valley in the 9th century, before being displaced in the first quarter of the 10th century.-Dynastic beginnings:... - Count of Urgel
- Count of Pontevedra
- The other counts in CataloniaCataloniaCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
were much smaller and got absorbed into Barcelona/AragonKingdom of AragonThe Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
: CerdanyaCounty of CerdagneThe County of Cerdanya was one of the Catalan counties formed in the last decades of the 8th century by the Franks in the Marca Hispanica. The original Cerdanya consisted of the valley of the upper Segre. Today Cerdanya is a Catalan comarca.-Origins:...
, Ampurias, ConflansCounty of ConflentThe County of Conflent or Confluent was one of the Catalan counties of the Marca Hispanica in the ninth century. Usually associated with the County of Cerdanya and the county of Razès, and was located to the west of Roussillon...
, Pallars, RoussillonCounty of RoussillonThe County of Roussillon was one of the Catalan counties in the Marca Hispanica during the Middle Ages. The rulers of the county were the Counts of Roussillon, whose interests lay both north and south of the Pyrenees.-Visigothic county:...
(in present France).
In Bulgaria
In the First Bulgarian EmpireFirst Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
, a komit was a hereditary provincial ruler under the tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
documented since the reign of Presian
Presian I of Bulgaria
Presian was the Khan of Bulgaria from 836–852. He ruled during an extensive expansion in Macedonia.-Origin:The composite picture of the Byzantine sources indicates that Presian I was the son of Zvinica , who was a son of Omurtag...
(836-852) The Cometopouli dynasty was named after its founder, the komit of Sredets
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
.
Equivalents
Like other major Western noble titles, Count is sometimes used to render certain titles in non-western languages with their own traditions, even though they are as a rule historically unrelated and thus hard to compare, which are considered "equivalent" in relative rank.This is the case with:
- the ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Bó (伯), hereditary title of nobility ranking below Hóu (侯) and above Zĭ (子) - the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese equivalent Hakushaku , adapted during the Meiji restorationMeiji RestorationThe , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868... - the KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n equivalent Baekjak or Poguk - In India the equivalent is ChhatrapatiChhatrapatiChhatrapati is the Indian honorific title equivalent to the European Emperor. It is more formally written as Kshetrapati, from the Sanskrit kshetra- and -pati...
(it should be either peshwa or sardar, chatrapati means king or king of king) - in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, it is rendered Bá, one of the lower titles reserved for male members of the Imperial clan, above Tử (Viscount), Nam (Baron) and Vinh phong (lowest noble title), but lower than—in ascending order—Hầu (Marquis), Công (Prince), Quan-Cong (Duke) and Quốc-Công (Grand Duke), all under Vương (King).
Sources
- Labarre de Raillicourt: Les Comtes Romains
- Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German)