Would a military officer be considered nobility or on their way to becoming nobility?

Question

I am asking as though we were living in an older time period.

Answer 1

Even today, being a military officer,

Can give you access to the elites.

Someone who would never be invited to a social function based on their family background,

Would be perfectly acceptable, if they were an officer.

America trys and acts like, they are a classless society, but we are not.

Look at any town, no matter what the size, and there are the social elites.

Historically, being a commissioned officer, while not putting you in that elite class, has given them access to it.

Answer 2

Odd question... at least in the US.

It depends upon where you are... and the time period about which you speak.

Pretty much throughout history, soldiers have just been working stiffs. The better ones... the ones who survived... were considered of higher standing. In feudal systems, every noble had his own contingent of soldiers. The noble a soldier served would give him status with respect to other soldiers, i.e. those of lesser nobles.

But soldiers have never been considered nobility. A noble may "knight" a soldier. But this is only a kind of quasi-nobility. He was granted special privileges, but his "title" would not pass to his heirs... a privilege granted only to true nobility.

Today, soldiers are still just working stiffs. Their rank is more determined by ability than by longevity. And, to my knowledge, the only officers who take the status of nobility are those who take over control of the government by force of arms. Though not truly noble... in any sense of the word... they run the country as if they were. But, in fact, they're self-proclaimed "nobility."

Answer 3

Depending on the time period. Officers came from the nobility, occasionally one could get granted the title of baronet for some brave deed on the field of battle but very rarely.

Answer 4

Some would and some wouldn't depending n how they performed, the lineage (an ancestor was a noble you would be and nobles did not serve as common troops). Knights were a separate class and many/most were or became nobleman though most of the minor variety. They would hold small areas for the next level noble (Baron, Count,and so on) as payment for their services and be referred to as "Sir Soandso" which indicated the nobility.

Answer 5

In general, they were upper class, but often did not have titles. In the scheme of things, they had a better chance of becoming a noble then others did.

A lot of nobles were officers because it gave them prestige. For example, in the British Empire, a noble would pay to be the commander of regiment because it was an additional title. They would even fund a lot of the unit out of their own wealth.

Answer 6

Well, they were in a class by themselves below nobility, however, if they were knighted, because of their military ability, they could become nobility.

Answer 7

It depends on the circumstances. There have been quite a few military dudes that were enobled. There was a russian general, Barclay de Tolley, who gaind the rank of Prince and the Swedish royal family are decended from Field Marshal Bernadotte.