Can anyone make a breakdown of European Aristocratic titles?

by ALLFATHER2233

Something like Emperor, King, Arch Duke, Duke, but also titles like Chancellor, Senator, ect. I've looked online and have a decent idea on it, but I haven't been able to find a simple break down of the hierarchy, roles, and reasoning for the differences. Any help would be much appreciated

Edit: Specifically in the Renaissance/Elizabethan time period

awhiten

It differed from country to country and from time to time. For example in the Czech lands there were 2 states, which each divided into several titles, but the system changed after 1620 (Bohemian Revolt).

Dzukian

I don't know off-hand of a good source that describes what the functions were of the various offices of state that you ask about, so I can't speak to that aspect of your question, but I might be able to offer a partial answer to your question about the relative ranks of the nobility.

A good source for how a given country perceived the various ranks would be the order of precedence in that country. The order of precedence is the order in which people would be placed in a procession, or in which they would sign their name to a document; basically any time they would have be placed by rank. I will use the example of England and Wales, because Debrett's, which publishes an index of British nobility, among other guides to form, offers a summary of the order of precedence in England and Wales. A summary of that order is as follows, though I encourage you to look at the list as a whole, as it's very interesting:

  • The Sovereign (the Queen)
  • The Sovereign's spouse (Prince Philip)
  • The Sovereign's heir
  • The Sovereign's family
  • Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Lord High Chancellor
  • Archbishop of York
  • A whole bunch of high officers of state
  • Dukes (In order from oldest to newest of date of creation of the title)
  • Marquesses
  • Earls
  • Viscounts
  • Bishops
  • Barons (Led by Secretaries of State if they are themselves Barons)
  • Some other officers of state
  • Some lower-level officials and younger sons of lower-level peers
  • Baronets
  • Knights

The order of precedence in Scotland is similar.

The Almanach de Gotha, another index of European noble families, appears to have a portal online, which you could use to look up the specifics of other countries' nobility. Did you have a specific country in mind?