(Redirected from Countess)
A 'count' is a
nobleman in most
European countries, equivalent in rank to a
British earl (whose wife is also a "countess", for lack of an Anglo-Saxon term). The word ''count'' comes from
French ''comte'', itself from
Latin ''
comes''—in its
accusative ''comitem''—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". Alternative "Count" (Hakushaku) status are used in other countries with different names such as during the
Empire of Japan.
Definition
Main articles: Comes
In the late
Roman Empire, 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
[1].
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 military 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)
[2],
The position of ''comes'' was originally not hereditary, but by developing a local power base, 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'').
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 circonscription
Etymological derivations from the Latin ''comes''
| Language | Male title | Female title / Spouse | Territory |
|---|
| Albanian | Kont | Konthesë | |
|---|
| Catalan | Comte | Comtessa | Comtat |
|---|
| English | ''Count'' (applies to title granted by monarchies other than UK) | Countess (even where Earl applies) | ''Earldom'' for an Earl; ''Countship'' or ''county'' for a count, but the last is also, and indeed rather, in Anglo-Saxon countries an administrative district |
|---|
| French | Comte — cfr. the variation ?Comtor | Comtesse | Comté |
|---|
| Irish | Cunta; Iarla | Cuntaois, Baniarla | Honorary title only; ''iarla'' does not derive from Latin ''comes''. |
|---|
| Italian | Conte | Contessa | Contea, Contado, Comitato |
|---|
| Greek | Κόμης (Komes) | Κόμισσα (Komissa) | Κομητεία (Kometeia) |
|---|
| Hebrew | Rozen (רוזן) | Rozenet (רוזנת) | Roznoot (רוזנות); these do not derive from Latin ''comes''. |
|---|
| 'Latin' (feudal jargon, not classical) | Comes | Comitissa | Comitatus |
|---|
| Maltese | Konti | Kontessa | |
|---|
| Monegasque | Conte | Contessa | |
|---|
| Old English | Hlaford | Hlǣfdiġe | These do not derive from Latin ''comes''. |
|---|
| Portuguese | Conde | Condessa | Condado |
|---|
| Polish | Komes | Komesa | Comitates |
|---|
| Romanian | Conte | Contesă | Comitat |
|---|
| Romansh | Cont | Contessa | |
|---|
| Scottish Gaelic | Iarla | Ban-iarla | Honorary title only; ''iarla'' does not derive from Latin ''comes''. |
|---|
| Spanish | Conde | Condesa | Condado |
|---|
| Welsh | Iarll | Iarlles | Iarllaeth; ''iarll'' does not derive from Latin ''comes''. |
|---|
Etymological parallels of the German ''Graf'' (some unclear)
Compound and related titles
Apart from all these, a few unusual titles have been of comital rank, not necessarily to remain there.
★
Dauphin (anglicized ''Dolphin'', possibly an etymological match; ) was a multiple (though rare) comital title in southern France before it became (informally) the courtesy title of the heir to the French royal crown, in chief of the province still known as the ''région
Dauphiné''
★ '
Conde-Duque' 'Count-Duke' is a rare title used in
Spain, notably by
Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares who had inherited the title of count of Olivares, but being created Duke of Sanlucar la Mayor Kvas ti zaen 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 a he would when simply juxtapositioning both titles.
★ 'Archcount' is a very rare title, etymologically analogous to
archduke, apparently never recognized officially, used by or for:
★
★ the
count of Flanders (an original
pairie 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 duke became a formal title) for the even wealthier
Duke of Burgundy
★
★ at least one
Count of Burgundy (i.e. ''Freigraf'' of
Franche-Comté)
★ In German kingdoms, the title
Graf 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" (
Margrave - see also
Marquess), "
Landgraf" ('landgrave'), "
Freigraf" ('free count'), "Burggraf" ('Burgrave', where ''burg'' signifies castle; see also
Viscount),
Pfalzgraf (see (Count) Palatine), "Raugraf" (Raugrave, see '
graf'. Originally a unique title) and "Waldgraf" (
waldgrave (''comes nemoris''), where ''wald'' signifies a large forest).
★ The German ''Graf'' and Dutch ''graaf'' () stems from the Byzantine-Greek ''grapheus'' or ''suggrapheus'' "he who calles 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').
Lists of countships
Territory of today's France
West-Francia proper
Since
Louis VII (
1137–
80), the highest precedence amongst the vassals (
Prince-bishops 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'':
★
Bishop-counts of Beauvais (in Picardy)
★
Bishop-counts of Châlons (in Champagne)
★ Bishop-counts of
Noyon (in Picardy)
★
Count of Toulouse, until united to the crown in 1271 by marriage
★
Count of Flanders (Flandres in French), which is in the Low countries and was confiscated in 1299, though returned in 1303
★
Count of Champagne, 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 Dukes
★
Count of Anjou, later Dukes
★
Count of Auvergne
★
Count of Bar, later Dukes
★
Count of Blois
★
Count of Boulogne
★
Count of Foix
★
Count of Montpensier
★
Count of Poitiers
Parts of today's France long within other kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire
★
Freigraf ('free count') of Burgundy (i.e present Franche-Comté)
★
Count of Provence
The Holy Roman Empire
''See also above for parts of present France''
In Germany
:See also
Graf 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
gentry. 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 :
★ Norman Count of
Apulia
★
Count of Savoy, later Duke (also partly in France and in Switzerland)
★
Count of Asti
★
Count of Montferrat (Monferrato)
★
Count of Montefeltro
★
Count of Tusculum
Roman count
Count is one of the nobiliary titles granted by the
Pope of Rome as temporal
sovereign (of the
Papal State), and is thus often known as ''Roman count'', its holder signified as ''Cavaliere'' (''Cav.'', literally
Knight). The title, which can be for life or hereditary, has been awarded since the Middle Ages, mostly to foreigners, and the pope continued to grant titles even after 1870 and the loss of most of the Papal territory. By the Lateran Accord of 1929, the Italian government recognized and confirmed the pope's power to grant titles, and the titles granted by the Pope were considered equivalent to Italian titles, contrary to which it had never been abolished. However, the title has not been granted since
Pope Pius XII.
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:
★
Count Karpinski
★
Count of Mystki-Rzym
★
Count Markuszewski
★
Count Tracewski
★
Counts of Galicia and Poland
In Galicia (Central Europe)
particularly see:
★
Counts of Galicia
In the Low Countries
Apart from various small ones, significant were :
★ in present Belgium :
★
★
Count of Flanders (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
★ in the present Dutch kingdom of the Netherlands:
★
★
Count of Holland
★
★
Count of Zeeland
★
★
Count of Zutphen
In Switzerland
★ Count of
Neuenburg
★
Count of Toggenburg
★ Count of
Kyburg
★
Count de Salis-Soglio
In other continental European countries
In Iberia
As opposed to the plethora of hollow 'gentry' counts, only a few countships ever were important in medieval
Iberia; 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
Portugal itself started as a countship in
868, but
became a kingdom in
1139 (see:''
County of Portugal''). Throughout the
History of Portugal, specially during the
Constitucional Monarchy 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 Aragon, which became one of the two main components of the Spanish realm
★
Count of Aragon
★
Count of Castile
★
Count of Galicia
★
Count of Lara
★
Count Cassius, progenitor of the
Banu Qasi
★
Count of Urgel
★ The other counts in
Catalonia were much smaller and got absorbed into
Barcelona/Aragon:
Cerdanya,
Ampurias,
Conflans,
Pallars,
Rousillon (in present France)
Crusader states
★
Count of Edessa
★
Count of Tripoli (1102-1288)
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
Chinese ''Bo'' (伯), hereditary title of nobility of the third rank
★ the
Japanese equivalent ''Hakushaku'' (伯爵)
★ the
Korean ''Baekjak'' or ''Poguk''
★ in
Vietnam, it rendered 'Ba', one of the lower nobialiary title reserved for male members of the Imperial clan, above Tu (Viscount), Nam (Baron) and Vinh phong (lowest noble title), but lower then — in ascending order — Hau (Marquis), Cong (Prince), Quan-Cong (Duke) and Quoc-Cong (Grand Duke), all under Vuong (King).
See also
★
County
★
Comte d'Alton
★
Count Baltar
★
Count Basie
★
Count Chocula
★
Count Dracula
★
Count Dooku
★
Count Olaf
★
Count of Monte Cristo
★
Count von Count
Sources, references and external links
(incomplete)
★
Heraldica.org - here the French peerage
★
Italian Titles of Nobility
★
Pauly-Wissowa (in German)
★
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
★ Labarre de Raillicourt: ''Les Comtes Romains''
★ Westermann, ''Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte'' (in German)
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