Count

Count(feminine:countess) is a historical title ofnobilityin certainEuropeancountries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.Especially in earlier medieval periods the term often implied not only a certain status, but also that thecounthad specific responsibilities or offices. The etymologically related English term "county" denoted the territories associated with some countships, but not all.
The title ofcountis typically not used in England or English-speaking countries, and the termearlis used instead. A female holder of the title is still referred to as acountess, however.
The wordcountcame into English from theFrenchcomte, itself fromLatincomes—in itsaccusativeformcomitem. It meant "companion" or "attendant", and as a title it indicated that someone was delegated to represent the ruler.
In the lateRoman Empire, the Latin titlecomesdenoted the high rank of various courtiers and provincial officials, either military or administrative. BeforeAnthemiusbecame emperor in the West in 467, he was a militarycomescharged with strengthening defenses on theDanubefrontier.
In theWestern Roman Empire, "count" came to indicate generically a military commanderbut was not a specific rank. In theEastern Roman Empire, from about the seventh century, "count" was a specific rank indicating the commander of twocenturiae(i.e., 200 men).
The medieval title ofcomeswas originally not hereditary.It was regarded as an administrative official dependent on the king, until the process ofallodialisationduring the 9th century in which such titles came to be private possessions of noble families.By virtue of their large estates, many counts could pass the title to their heirs—but not always. For instance, inPiast Poland, the position ofkomeswas not hereditary, resembling the earlyMerovingianinstitution. The title had disappeared by the era of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the office had been replaced by others. Only after thePartitions of Polanddid the title of "count" resurface in the titlehrabia, derived from the GermanGraf.
In theFrankishkingdoms in the earlyMiddle Ages, a count might also be acount palatine, whose authority derived directly over a royal household, apalacein its original sense of the seat of power and administration. This other kind of count had vague antecedents inLate Antiquitytoo: the father ofCassiodorusheld positions of trust with Theodoric, ascomes rerum privatarum, in charge of the imperial lands, then ascomes sacrarum largitionum("count of the sacred doles"), concerned with the finances of the realm.
In the United Kingdom, the title ofearlis used instead ofcount. Although the exact reason is debated by historians and linguists, one of the more popular theories proposes thatcountfell into disuse because of its phonetic similarity to the vulgar slang wordcunt.
It is only after some time that the continental medieval title came came to be strongly associated with the ownership of and jurisdiction over specific lands, which led to evolution of the termcountyto refer to specific regions. The English term county, used as an equivalent to the English termshire, is derived from theOld Frenchcontéorcuntéwhich denoted thejurisdictionof a French count orviscount.The modern French iscomté, and its equivalents in other languages arecontea,contado,comtat,condado,Grafschaft,graafschap, etc. (cf.conte,comte,conde,Graf). The title of Count also continued to exist in cases which are not connected to any specific to a geographical "county".
In theUnited Kingdom, the equivalent "Earl" can also be used as acourtesy titlefor the eldest son of a duke or marquess. In theItalian states, by contrast, all the sons of certain counts were little counts (contini). InSwedenthere is a distinction between counts (Swedish:greve) created before and after 1809. All children in comital families elevated before 1809 were called count/countess. In families elevated after 1809, only the head of the family was called count, the rest have a status similar to barons and were called by the equivalent of "Mr/Ms/Mrs", before the recognition of titles of nobility was abolished.
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 circumscription.
Apart from all these, a few unusual titles have been of comital rank, not necessarily permanently.
SinceLouis VII(1137–80), the highest precedence amongst the vassals (Prince-bishopsand secular nobility) of the French crown was enjoyed by those whose benefice or temporal fief was apairie, i.e. carried the exclusive rank ofpair; within the first (i.e. clerical) and second (noble) estates, the first three of the original twelveanciennes pairieswere ducal, the next three comitalcomté-pairies:
Later other countships (and duchies, even baronies) have been raised to this French peerage, but mostly asapanages(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:
See also above for parts of present France
AGrafruled over a territory known as aGrafschaft('county'). See also various comital and related titles; especially those actually reigning over a principality:Gefürsteter Graf,Landgraf,Reichsgraf; compareMarkgraf,Burggraf,Pfalzgraf(seeImperial quaternions).
The title ofConteis very prolific on the peninsula. In the eleventh century,Contilike the Count of Savoy or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories. Even apparently "lower"-sounding titles, likeViscount, could describe powerful dynasts, such as theHouse of Viscontiwhich ruled a major city such asMilan. The essential title of a feudatory, introduced by the Normans, wassignore, modeled on the Frenchseigneur, used with the name of thefief. By the fourteenth century,conteand the Imperial titlebaronewere virtually synonymous.
Some titles of a count, according to the particulars of the patent, might be inherited by the eldest son of a Count. 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, in some regions she could inherit the title.
Many Italian counts left their mark on Italian history as individuals, yet only a fewcontadi(countships; the wordcontadinifor inhabitants of a "county" remains the Italian word for "peasant") were politically significant principalities, notably:
The principalities tended to start out as margraviate or (promoted to) duchy, and became nominal archduchies within the Habsburg dynasty; noteworthy are:
Apart from various small ones, significant were :
Count/Countess was one of the noble titles granted by the Pope as a temporal sovereign, and the title's holder was sometimes informally known as a papal count/papal countess or less so as a Roman count/Roman countess, but mostly as count/countess. The comital title, which could be for life or hereditary, was awarded in various forms by popes and Holy Roman Emperors since the Middle Ages, infrequently before the 14th century, and the pope continued to grant the comital and other noble titles even after 1870, it was largely discontinued in the mid 20th-century, on the accession ofJohn XXIII. The Papacy and theKingdom of the Two Siciliesmight 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 aconte. This practice ceased with the formal abolition of feudalism in the various principalities of early-19th century Italy, last of all in thePapal States.
Poland was notable throughout its history for not granting titles of nobility. This was on the premise that one could only be born into nobility, outside rare exceptions. Instead, it conferrednon-hereditary courtly or civic roles. The noble titles that were in use on its territory were mostly of foreign provenance and usually subject to the process ofindygenat, naturalisation.
Somewhat similar to the native privileged class of nobles found in Poland, Hungary also had a class ofConditional nobles.
As opposed to the plethora of hollow "gentry" counts, only a few countships ever were important in medievalIberia; most territory was firmly within theReconquistakingdoms before counts could become important. However, during the 19th century, the title, having lost its high rank (equivalent to that ofDuke), proliferated.
Portugalitself started as a countship in 868, but became akingdomin 1139 (see:County of Portugal). Throughout thehistory of Portugal, especially during theconstitutional monarchymany other countships were created.
In Spain, no countships of wider importance exist, except in the former Spanish march.
In theFirst Bulgarian Empire, akomitwas a hereditary provincial ruler under thetsardocumented since the reign ofPresian(836-852)TheCometopoulidynasty was named after its founder, thekomitofSredets.
The title ofSerdarwas used in thePrincipality of Montenegroand thePrincipality of Serbiaas a noble title below that ofVoivodeequivalent to that of Count.
InDenmarkand historically inDenmark-Norwaythe title of count (greve) is the highest rank of nobility used in the modern period. Some Danish/Dano-Norwegian countships were associated withfiefs, and these counts were known as "feudal counts" (lensgreve). They rank above ordinary (titular) counts, and their position in the Danish aristocracy as the highest-ranking noblemen is broadly comparable to that of dukes in other European countries.With the first freeConstitution of Denmarkof 1849 came a complete abolition of the privileges of the nobility. Since then the title of count has been granted only to members of theDanish royal family, either as a replacement for a princely title when marrying a commoner, or in recent times, instead of that title in connection with divorce. Thus the first wife ofPrince Joachim of Denmark, the younger son ofMargrethe II of Denmark, becameAlexandra, Countess of Frederiksborgon their divorce—initially retaining her title of princess, but losing it on her remarriage.
In the Middle Ages the title ofjarl(earl) was the highest title of nobility. The title was eventually replaced by the title of duke, but that title was abolished in Denmark and Norway as early as the Middle Ages. Titles were only reintroduced with the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660, with count as the highest title.
In Sweden the rank of count is the highest rank conferred upon nobles in the modern era and are, like their Danish and Norwegian counterparts, broadly comparable to that of dukes in other European countries. Unlike the rest of Scandinavia, the title of duke is still used in Sweden, but only by members of the royal family not considered part of the nobility.
Like other major Westernnoble 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, but which are considered "equivalent" in rank.
This is the case with:
The title "Count" in fiction is commonly, though not always, given to evil characters, used as another word for prince or vampires: