Nobility
The nobility represents, or has represented, the higher stratum of a society in which social classes can be distinguished. Typically, nobility descends from chivalry (or warrior class) in the feudal stage of the development of a society. Originally, knights or nobles were mounted warriors who swore alliegance to their sovereign and promised to fight for him in exchange for allocation of land (usually together with serfs living there).
The nobility of a person might be either inherited or earned. Nobility in its most general and strict sense is an acknowledged preeminence that is hereditary, i.e., legitimate descendants (or all male descendants, in some societies) of nobles are nobles, unless explicitely stripped of the privilege. In this respect, nobility is distinguished from British peerage: the latter can be passed to only a single member of the family. Another confusion of the term nobility is with aristocracy. The latter term is often used (abused) in an informal way, but in the strict sence it is a political term related to a form of government.
Nobles typically commanded resources, such as food, money, or labor, from common members or nobles of lower rank of their societies, and could exercise religious or political power over them. Also, nobles typically, but not necessarily were entitled to land property, which was reflected in the title. For example, the title Earl of Chesterfield tells about property, while the title Earl Cairns was created for a surname. However all the above is not obligatory; quite often nobility was associated only with social respect and certain social privileges. A typical example of the latter would be Polish szlachta.
A list of noble titles for different European countries can be found at Royal and noble ranks. To learn how to properly adress holders of these titles, see Royal and noble styles.
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