In 14th and 15th century continental Europe, what were the actual practical differences between the "ranks" of landed Nobility, such as Baron, Count, and Duke, etc?

by LateNightPhilosopher

I'm vaguely aware that there was a hierarchy in which barons were near the lower ranks and Dukes were generally second only to royalty, and that generally Dukes were among the wealthiest and most powerful Nobility. But what were the actual differences? Was a hierarchy strictly enforced or would any lord consider themselves social equals of the others? Were there legal distinctions regarding size or types of properties, or rights that they had within the realm?

I'm mostly interested specifically in France, Iberia, and the HRE in the aforementioned centuries, but info from any countries and other centuries is always appreciated.

Reichsherold

This is a rather large question, even when limited to one of the countries you mentioned. I'll try to give a brief overview of the ranking of the nobility in the HRE, as that's my area of expertise.

In theory, from 13th century a simple hierarchical system of the various titles existed within the Empire. In practice, things were more complicated, as they often are when dealing with the HRE.

A simplified form of the hierarchy of titles went: Duke (Herzog), Marquis (Markgraf), Count Palatine (Pfalzgraf), Landgrave (Landgraf), Burgrave (Burggraf), Count (Graf), Baron (Freiherr), Lord (Herr) and finally Knight (Ritter). Seven princes within the Empire held the special title of Elector, which designated their function, but were never an independent noble title. The electorates were connected with specific territories. Until 1648 there were seven Electors: The archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Trier, the King of Bohemia, the Duke of Saxony, the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Count-Palatinate of the Rhine.

Various dukes and counts also claimed highly specific titles for themselves, to gain prestige and prominence. The most famous are of course the Archdukes of Austria, who reinvented the title in the 14th century through the forgery of the Privilegius Maius, which claimed that the title of Archduke dated back to ancient times. The Austrians claimed the title put them on equal footing with the Electors. In Italy, the Medici Dukes of Florance were granted the title of Grand Dukes by the Pope in 1569. Along the Rhine, both the Wildgrafen and the Rheingraven claimed specific comital titles, but those were deemed to be on the same level as normal counts.

The case of the four secular Electors is a good illustration of how the hierarchy of titles differed from both ceremonial reality and actual power differences. Based on the hierarchy, you would rank the Electors as follows: Bohemia (King), Saxony (Duke), Brandenburg (Margrave) and Palatinate (Pfalzgraf). Ceremonially they were ranked: Palatinate, Saxony, Brandenburg, Bohemia (!). The Count-Palatine held the highest ranking office of Arch-Steward and was the designated administrator of the southern and central (Franconian, Bavarian, Swabian and Rhenish) areas of the Empire in case of the absence of an Emperor. The Duke of Saxony held the same rights in the northern Saxon regions. Even though he was by far they wealthiest and most powerful of the electors, the king of Bohemia was seen as somewhat of a special case: as the ruler of a Slavic country, he was seen as not completely belonging to the German Empire. Following the Hussite Wars (early 15th century), Bohemia was even excluded from voting in Imperial Elections!

While the territories belong to the counts Palatine may seem small, they were quite rich from levying tolls on the trade along the Rhine and the Neckar rivers. The truly odd one within the college of Electors was the Duke of Saxony (until 1423). The actual duchy of Saxony that was tied to the Electorate compromised only a small area around Wittenberg in today's federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. It was not only small, but rather poor as well. The only reason the Dukes held one of the highest offices in the Empire was the prestige associated with the enormous Duchy of Saxony that had existed before 1180, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa broke up the Duchy that was held by his rival, Duke Henry the Lion. In 1423, Emperor Sigismund granted the small duchy of Saxony(-Wittenberg) to the Margraves of Meissen, who owned extensive lands to the the north of Bohemia, that held huge silver deposits. Only after 1423 would the actual power of the Saxon Dukes match their prestige.

Leaving the details concerning the Electors aside, the main difference that existed between the nobles houses of the HRE was their status, or lack thereof, as Princes (Fürsten). Princes were the highest class of nobility and derived their status from holding fiefs directly from the emperor. Their status was demonstrated by their right to receive investiture directly from the emperor. All Dukes and Margraves were designated as princes, and those holding lesser titles like Landgrave or Burgrave could be recognized as princes as well. The counts of Anhalt were the only counts with the rank of princes. Other counts could rise to become princes, when they were raised up to become Dukes by the emperor, like Württemberg, Guelders or Luxembourg. Sometimes, like in the case of Henneberg, counts were raised without receiving a ducal title, thus becoming princely counts (Gefürstete grafen).

When the rule of the Empire was formalized during the reign of Maximilian I, princes received the right to vote in person, while counts only had collective votes during Imperial assemblies. Other than that, princes saw themselves as clearly superior and tried to marry only within their group. Elector Philip I of the Palatinate refused to marry the heiress of the County of Katzenelbogen on account of her inferior status, even though he would have expanded his holdings considerably. The second Wife of William of Orange, Anna of Saxony, saw herself as superior to her husband, a mere count of Nassau, even though he was one of the richest nobles (in theory, since king Philip of Spain has confiscated most of his land due to his open revolt against the crown) in the Netherlands.

All in all the hierarchy of titles mattered with dealing with matters of precedence during dinners and ceremonies, but status as an Imperial Prince (or not) was what mattered most. Actual power and wealth was not dependent upon titles, although the Emperor could correct matters by elevating counts to dukes.

Peter H Wilson, The Holy Roman Empire (2016)