Titles and Precedence
Below is a list of the most common noble titles in use during the 14th century, in order of precedence. The numerical rank is just that, starting with the pope, who was considered the highest ranking feudal lord, down through the lowest ranking one.
Language Rank Male Female Latin Root
Latin 01 Pope Pope
German 02 Kaiser Kaisarin [wife, Caesar
never as a
ruler]
Basque 03 Erege Eregedabe Rex
Dutch 03 Kooning Kooningin None
English 03 King Queen None
French 03 Roi Reine Rex
Spanish 03 Rei Reina Rex
Spanish 03 Rey Reina Rex
Spanish 03 Rey Reina Rex
Italian 03 Re Reina Rex
Dutch 06 Prince Eveque - Princeps,
Espisopus
English 06 Prince Bishop - Princeps,
Episcopus
French 06 Prince Eveque - Princeps,
Episcopus
German 06 Furst Bischof - None, Episcopus
Basque 07 Duke Dukesa Dux
Dutch 07 Hertog Hertogin
English 07 Duke Duchess Dux
French 07 Duc Duchesse Dux
German 07 Herzog Herzogin
Spanish 07 Duc Duquessa Dux
Spanish 07 Duque Duquesa Dux
Spanish 07 Duque Duquesa Dux
Italian 07 Console - Consul
Italian 07 Doge Dogessa [wife, Dux
never regnant]
Italian 07 Duca Ducessa Dux
Italian 07 Gonfaloniere -
French 08 Dauphin Dauphine
Basque 09 Erregeseme Erregedabe [note Rex
spelling of king
& queen]
Dutch 09 Prins Prinses Princeps
English 09 Prince Princess Princeps
French 09 Prince Princesse Princeps
German 09 Furst Furstin Princeps
Spanish 09 Principe Princesa Principes
Italian 09 Principe Principessa Princeps
Basque 10 Markes Markesa
Dutch 10 Markies Markiezin
French 10 Marquis Marquise
German 10 Margraf Margrafin
Spanish 10 Marques Marquessina
Italian 10 Marchese Marchesa
French 11 Comte Comtesse Comes
Basque 11 Konde Kondesa Comes
Celtic 11 Earl Countess
Dutch 11 Graaf Gravin
English 11 Earl Countess
German 11 Graf Grafin
Spanish 11 Comte Comtessa Comes
Spanish 11 Conde Condessa Comes
Spanish 11 Conde Condessa Comes
Italian 11 Conte Contessa Comes
French 12 Captal ? Capitalis
Basque 13 Kondeorde Kondeseorde Comes
Celtic 13 Vicomte Vicomtesse Comes
Dutch 13 Burggraaf Burggravin
English 13 Viscount Viscountess Comes
French 13 Vicomte Vicomtesse Comes
German 13 Burggraf Burggrafin
Spanish 13 Vizcomte Vizcomtessa Comes
Spanish 13 Vizconde Vizcondessa Comes
Spanish 13 Vizconde Vizcondessa Comes
Italian 13 Visconte Viscontessa Comes
French 14 Prince Princesse Princeps
Italian 14 Principe Principessa Princeps
Basque 15 Baroi Baronesa
Celtic 15 Baron Baroness
English 15 Baron Baroness
French 15 Baron Baronne
German 15 Baron Baronin
Spanish 15 Baron Baronessa
Italian 15 Barone Baronessa
Dutch 16 Seigneur Dame Senior
Celtic 16 Seigneur Dame Senior
English 16 Lord Lady
French 16 Seigneur Dame Senior
German 16 Freiherr Freiherrin/Dame
Spanish 16 Senyor Senyora Senior
Spanish 16 Senor Senora Senior
Spanish 16 Senor Senora Senior
Italian 16 Signore Signora Senior
Basque 17 Jaun Eamakera
Celtic 17 Lord Lady
Dutch 17 Herr Dame
English 17 Lord Lady
French 17 Sire Dame Senior
German 17 Herr Herrin
French 18 Vidame Vidamesse ?
Dutch 19 Bewaarden Burchtuvrouw
English 19 Castellan Chatelaine
French 19 Chatelain Chatelaine
Spanish 19 Castellano Castellana
Italian 19 Castellano Castellana
Notes:
1. A "-" indicates there is no female equivalent. A "?" means we could use a little help here.
2. There is some overlap in titles, such as among the several varieties of Prince, and the repeated appearance of "Lady" and "Dame," which are essentially interchangeable, as is "Lord" for all of the titles from 16 down. The whole rank structure is very confusing: Edward III's title in the Emerald Isle was actually "Lord of Ireland," but it ranked as a Kingdom, which is what we've made it for purposes of the game. There were actual Erse titles, but no one would have used them.
3. When in doubt, use French. It was the common speech of the nobility in the Rhine Land and Dutch-speaking areas, as well as England, though Italian was classier.
4. Missing numbers in Rank are for religious types not in play (4=Cardinal, 5=Primate), but we thought we'd reserve the lines now, rather than later.
5. In several cases, titles have been indicated in languages where no one presently holds such rank, in order to allow for later creation.
Most of the titles were derived from ancient Roman titles, the barbarians having taken a liking tov them when the Roman empire fell in the fifth century.
Nobles could hold more than one title of nobility. Some held dozens. For the kings it was typical to have several dozen titles. But there were lesser aristocrats who were also abundantly titled. Such nobles were keen to show off their abundance of titles. This was most often done at tournaments, where each knight would have a servant carry his coat of arms (in the form of a banner) before him. Thus a noble with many titles would have several dozen servants, each carrying a separate coat of arms, entering the tournament grounds before him. At court, it was also customary, on formal occasions, for a court official to verbally announce each noble and all his titles. For a king, this recitation could go on for several minutes. But even minor nobles would rate as much time as it took to rattle off all their titles.