On Noble Titles and How They Stack Up

Every country does the noble ranks a little differently, but here's a good, generic list of titles for various ranks of nobility in a fantasy medieval setting like we generally presume.

Noble titles are important when it comes to war and politics. And sometimes they are important in romance as well. A Princess would be hard-pressed to marry someone who wasn't on one of these lists, for instance. (Maybe a Duke or King would in some rare circumstance.)

Noble Ranks

A Country Bastard is a noble without portfolio. Perhaps he is the drinking buddy of a knight. The only benefit that comes with being a country bastard is that you are not subject to the normal legal indignities of a peasant when coming in contact with higher nobles. 

A Gentleman is a rank that a hairy at the heels merchant or former Outlaw might purchase for themselves. They bribe the local lord and have a phony coat-of-arms made up, and then they would be able to pass themselves off in polite society. Rarely, the title would be given to someone of means who does a favor for a Baron or something. Likewise, a Squire is a knight's attendant or another skilled craftsman such as a goldsmith. Even today "Esquire" is a title lawyers will use.

Knights are what they sound like - the career soldiers for the Lord. This title is not hereditary, but a lot of knights will raise their sons to be knights because they have the advantage of being in the business. Although in real history there were very very few female knights, we should assume that there will be some in D&D. In my game, I call lady knights "Dame" or "Lady Knight" interchangeably.

A Life Lord (or Dame) is an honorific given by the Sovereign or ruling body to someone of celebrity or great service. It comes with a pension and equals the rank of Knight. 

The lowliest noble rank of anyone who would have a hereditary claim is Baronet. Titles below that would not be hereditary. A Baronet is a landowner with tenants. He would not keep any military men in his service because they cost too much.

Marquis is a special case which falls outside this strict hierarchy. They are special lords appointed by the king to oversee specific trouble areas, usually on the Marches (borderlands) of a kingdom. March = Marquis, see?

In later Renaissance settings, Marquis might be a title granted to an illegitimate son of a prince, duke, or king who the sire recognizes as his own.

A Baron or Baroness is a lord who has a castle and knights. In my setting, you need to clear at least one six-mile hex and build a little castle, and then peasants come live with you. Then you're a Baron. A Baron rules over anywhere from 150 families to perhaps 20,000 depending on the scope and productivity of his lands.

A Count has several Barons swearing fealty to him. Counts administer to Counties of tens of thousands of families. They have their own soldiers and can call upon their Barons to send them more in times of necessity.

In England, a Count is called an Earl, a word that comes from Ealdor or Elder.

A Duke or Duchess rules over a Duchy or Dukedom. This might be as expansive as a whole country with hundreds of thousands of families! Normandy, which conquered England in 1066, was one such Duchy.

At this upper end of the noble ladder, people will choose their names carefully, so as not to offend people who are perceived to be more powerful than they are. The ruler of a new land might call himself a Duke or Archduke or Prince even though he's really the sovereign because a neighboring kingdom might have a powerful and haughty king, whose favor the new ruler may wish to court.

Dukes and Duchesses may also be the royal consort. If a King takes a wife, he may give her the title of Duchess of such-and-such to show she rules a certain chunk of the kingdom. 

Or, in lands where the church is more powerful than the state, the ruler may take the title of Prince to show deference to the supreme religious leader or leaders.

A King is the sovereign of a sovereign land. He is not part of any hierarchy, but rather sits above and outside of all other branches of the country. In some countries, the King is also the head of the church (such as in England or Vatican City.) 

An Emperor is someone who rules several Kingdoms. In practice it is almost impossible to build an Empire without tremendous infrastructure and bureaucracy (and heck, a little magic) but an Emperor is the head of state for such a confederation. 

Ultimately the highest ranks are decided by who has the biggest army and navy, and the lower ranks are decided by the upper ranks. Although all of it has the trappings of history and tradition and continuity, it's really just window dressing for power politics.

Anyway, above the rank of Count it's all politics.

Ecclesiastical Ranks

Theoretically no religious title is hereditary (but sometimes a powerful family may capture the means of election or selection of the head of a church for some period of time.)

A Bishop is the head of a church in a city or group of towns. Most Bishops are political or ecclesiastic appointments. They are often drawn from the ranks of nobility.

An Archbishop is the head of a church in a geographic area, and as such will have at least one or two Bishops beneath him (and sometimes a lot of them.) Most Archbishops are able politicians drawn from the ranks of Bishop.

A Cardinal or Metropolitan is a church leader who is adept at politics as well as religion. They are always drawn from the ranks of the Archbishopric and most will spend at least some time dwelling in the religion's main city or region and guiding the dogma and earthly direction of the church in question.

A Patriarch or Pope is somehow chosen from the ranks of at least the Bishopric and with the guidance of the god of the religion in question. He must be both holy (or unholy) and an excellent politician, for he is both the head of church and the head of the "nation of the church" or political arm of that church. He is considered that god's representative in the Mortal Realm.