How did nobles become nobles... in medieval times?? Was it choice of king or what??

Question

Thanks.

Answer 1

The center of the Feudal System was a simple trade : "When there's a war, you, the Vassal, will produce X men on horseback and/or Y men on foot with their weapons, and as an award I, your Liege, give you a part of my territory, your Fief, to rule, and I will give you the title of Z."

In an age where's there is not much money circulating and not much of a centralized tax system, this is one of the few ways to rule a territory.

And that was the origin of the "Noblesse d'épée" (nobility of the sword), the traditional or old nobility.

Quite a different story for :

- "Noblesse de chancellerie" (chancellor nobility) - person made noble by holding certain high offices for the king.
- "Noblesse de lettres" - person made noble by "Letters patent" from the king, granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status.
- "Noblesse de robe" (nobility of the gown) - person or family made noble by holding certain official charges, like tax farmer, treasurer or president of a provincial parlement.
- "Noblesse de cloche" (nobility of the "bell") - person or family made noble by being a mayor or municipal leader in certain towns.
- "Noblesse militaire" (military nobility) - person or family made noble by holding military offices, generally after two or three generations.

The moment a landowning economy is replaced by merchant capitalism and industrial capitalism, the feudal system disintegrated, and nobility became mainly symbolical.

Answer 2

Alex pretty much has it right. The nobles were originally the wealthy & powerful families that either held onto power from the Roman times (in Europe) or gained power & control during the chaos of the Dark Ages. Thereafter, you usually had to born into nobility OR do something so fabulous that the monarch would promote you OR possibly marry into it. The 1st was more likely for a man & the 3rd for a woman if the 1st didn't apply. The king could also change your rank--ie, make a Baron into an Earl. Commoners were usually just knighted, which is not a hereditary rank, so my 2nd option is very rare.

Answer 3

Feudalism really spawned within the Germanic cultures outside the Roman Empire. There, successful Germanic warriors frequetly gained a sort of cult following which included numerous other men. This soon allowed certain germanic chieftains and warriors to become powerful war lords. Fighting prowess was key during this time.

As Rome's western half descended into chaos people began grasping at anything which offered protection. The Germanic warlords in the area had troops, and could protect you if you were willing to do what they wanted. The Roman Church, and even many wealthy Roman landowners, soon found themselves in similar situations. As western Rome crumbled beneath successive invasions people swore loyalty and subjegated themselves to powerful men who could offer protection.

Nature abhors a vacume, the same is true in the world of politics and warfare. Once western Rome was gone it became a free for all to see who could gain and keep power in the region. Germanic nobles typically enlisted the aid of loyal hearth troops, basically body gurads and precursers to knights, and rewarded these men with land and plunder. As kingdoms grew, the intimate relationship between hearth troops and lord became more distant, and hearth troops began giving land to followers of their own, who in turn did the same thing; giving rise to feudalism.

If you were a good fighter, or if you could supply a lot of men as soldiers you would likely either be independent or find enlisted as someone's noble.

It does sort of boil down to "kings" making people nobility. IN the end what are the two most important factors in the human world; force and land. As the money economy faded, it never completely disappeared, land became all the more important. If you owned enough land you pick your own soliders as retainers, in short make lesser nobility. Often you got this land from a king, but not always. This varied considerably by area, and is difficult to really answer.

Answer 4

The Nobility essentially evolved in the early Middle Ages. They were the wealthy families that seized power upon the collapse of the Roman Empire. Later, kings could grant titles of nobility as rewards for loyalty.

Answer 5

I think Nobles were born into a Noble class.

Answer 6

first of each of the Bible would not say they were kings. It says "Magi" or "smart men". 2d, the Bible also does no longer specify what number there have been. human beings have a tendency to anticipate there have been 3 because there have been 3 presents-gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:12 And having been warned in a dream no longer to bypass decrease back to Herod, they again to their united states via yet another direction.

Answer 7

A lot was hereditary. How high up (whether Baron or just a Knight) was based on your success in battle/collecting Fifes(taxes).

Answer 8

Your family was appointed by God to rule on his behalf, so you had to be born into it.