Five Degrees · Hereditary Nobility · House of Lords

The Peerage

Five degrees of hereditary nobility arranged in precise order of precedence — from the Duke who rules a territory as vast as a small country to the Baron who holds a single manor. The spine of the British aristocratic order since the Norman Conquest, and the model that every subsequent hierarchy — including Goetia's spirit ranks — has followed.

Degrees

5 ranks

Highest

Duke

Lowest

Baron

Created by

Crown Letters Patent

House of Lords

Hereditary & Life

Reformed

1999 · Mostly removed

The Five Degrees

First Degree · Highest Peer

Duke

Lat. Dux · Leader · Military Commander

Addressed as

Your Grace

The highest rank in the peerage below the royal family — a Duke rules or has ruled a territory called a Duchy. In its origins the title was military: the Latin dux meant leader or commander, and the first English dukes were royal princes given command over large territories. Edward III created the first English dukedom — the Duchy of Cornwall — for his son the Black Prince in 1337. Unlike continental dukes, British dukes did not exercise sovereign power over their territories; they were great nobles within a kingdom, not semi-independent rulers. The Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster remain as royal duchies. The few non-royal dukes in Britain today — Norfolk, Wellington, Marlborough among them — represent the most rarefied stratum of the aristocracy, their titles often commemorating great military victories or royal favour centuries old.

Wife's title

Duchess

Heir's title

Marquess or Earl (courtesy)

Coronet

8 strawberry leaves

First created

1337 · Edward III

Goetia equivalent

Duke (30 of 72 spirits)

Second Degree · Border Lord

Marquess

Fr. Marquis · Border · March Lord

Addressed as

My Lord Marquess

A Marquess (or Marquis in the French form) was originally the lord of a march — a border territory requiring special military and administrative authority. The word derives from the Old French marche, meaning border or frontier. The March of Wales, the Scottish Marches — these borderlands required lords with greater-than-normal autonomy to defend them, and the title of Marquess reflected that enhanced status. In Britain, the first Marquessate was created in 1385 when Richard II created Robert de Vere as Marquess of Dublin. It is a relatively uncommon title — there are fewer than 40 marquessates in the British peerage — and the spelling "Marquess" (rather than "Marquis") is the specifically British form.

Wife's title

Marchioness

Heir's title

Earl (courtesy)

Coronet

4 strawberry leaves alternating 4 silver balls

First created

1385 · Richard II

Goetia equivalent

Marquis (8 of 72 spirits)

Third Degree · County Lord

Earl

Old Norse: Jarl · Chieftain · County Governor

Addressed as

My Lord

The Earl is the oldest English noble title — predating the Norman Conquest, derived from the Old Norse jarl (chieftain) of the Viking settlers. Before 1066, England was divided into great earldoms — Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, East Anglia — each governed by a powerful earl who was effectively the king's viceroy in his region. Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king, was Earl of Wessex before he seized the throne. After the Conquest, William the Conqueror kept the earl title but reduced its autonomous power substantially, binding earls more tightly to the royal administration. The Latin equivalent is comes (count), which is why the wife of an earl is a Countess — reflecting the Norman-French tradition that ran alongside the native English title.

Wife's title

Countess

Heir's title

Viscount (courtesy)

Coronet

8 silver balls on points

Origin

Pre-Conquest · Old Norse jarl

Goetia equivalent

Earl (3 of 72 spirits)

Fourth Degree · Deputy Earl

Viscount

Lat. Vicecomes · Deputy Count · Sheriff

Addressed as

My Lord

The Viscount — from the Latin vicecomes, deputy count — was originally the sheriff, the royal administrator who deputised for the count (earl) in managing the county's legal and fiscal affairs. The title's administrative origins distinguish it from the more military or territorial origins of the higher ranks. In Britain, the Viscountcy was the last of the five peerage ranks to be created — the first English viscount was John Beaumont, created by Henry VI in 1440. It is also the least common of the five ranks and carries perhaps the least distinctive historical weight, sitting between the more storied earl and the ancient baron. Its form of address is the same as an earl, which has occasionally led to confusion in precedence disputes.

Wife's title

Viscountess

Heir's title

Honourable (courtesy)

Coronet

16 silver balls

First created

1440 · Henry VI

Goetia equivalent

No direct equivalent

Fifth Degree · Lowest Peer

Baron

Old High German: Baro · Free Man · Warrior

Addressed as

My Lord

The Baron is the oldest and most numerous title in the peerage — the foundational noble rank that William the Conqueror distributed to his followers after 1066, in exchange for military service and fealty. The word derives from the Old High German baro, meaning free man or warrior. Originally a baron held his land directly from the king (a tenant-in-chief) and owed the king a specified number of knights and military service in return. Magna Carta was sealed by King John in the presence of his barons in 1215 — the great barons who forced the concessions were the direct ancestors of today's baronial class. Today there are several hundred life baronies created under the Life Peerages Act 1958, given to politicians, judges and others who sit in the House of Lords without passing the title to their children.

Wife's title

Baroness

Heir's title

Honourable (courtesy)

Coronet

6 silver balls

Origin

1066 · Norman Conquest

Goetia equivalent

No direct equivalent

Continental Equivalents

The British peerage developed in parallel with — and in constant dialogue with — the noble hierarchies of continental Europe. The titles are often cognate (derived from the same Latin or Germanic roots) but the specific powers, duties and precedence varied significantly between countries. What was a Duke in France was not the same political reality as a Duke in England.

Duke

France Duc — often semi-sovereign in medieval period

HRE Herzog — sovereign duke could rule independent territory

Spain Duque — grandee of Spain, highest nobility

Italy Duca — many Italian duchies were sovereign states

Marquess

France Marquis — border lord, below duke

HRE Markgraf — imperial frontier governor

Spain Marqués — second noble rank

Italy Marchese — from the march territories

Earl

France Comte — Count, county governor

HRE Graf — imperial count, vast variation in power

Spain Conde — third noble rank

Scandinavia Jarl — the direct ancestor of "Earl"

Viscount

France Vicomte — deputy count, sheriff origins

HRE Vizgraf — less common, similar origin

Spain Vizconde — uncommon fourth rank

Note Least pan-European of the five ranks

Baron

France Baron — free warrior, direct equivalent

HRE Freiherr — free lord, very common rank

Spain Barón — less used than in Britain

Russia Baron — introduced by Peter the Great

The House of Lords — Reform & Survival

The House of Lords was, for centuries, the assembly of the peerage — the chamber where the great hereditary nobles of England sat as a matter of right, debating and passing legislation alongside (and often against) the elected House of Commons. The Lords' power rested on their land, their wealth and the principle that those with most to lose in a well-ordered society had the greatest stake in its governance.

1215

Magna Carta — The Barons Impose Limits

King John's barons force him to acknowledge that even the king is subject to law. The great barons establish themselves as a constitutional check on royal power — the embryo of the House of Lords.

1649

The Lords Abolished — Briefly

After the execution of Charles I, the House of Lords is abolished by the victorious Parliament as "useless and dangerous." It is restored in 1660 with Charles II. The episode demonstrates that hereditary power can be removed — and that removal is not permanent.

1911

Parliament Act — Lords Lose Veto

After the Lords reject Lloyd George's People's Budget, the Parliament Act removes the Lords' power to veto legislation — they can only delay it. The constitutional balance shifts decisively toward the elected Commons. The Lords never recover their former power.

1958

Life Peerages Act — Opening the Chamber

Life peerages are created for the first time — peers who sit in the Lords but cannot pass their title to their children. Women are admitted to the Lords for the first time. The hereditary principle is supplemented by merit appointment.

1999

Lords Reform — Most Hereditary Peers Removed

The Blair government removes most hereditary peers from the House of Lords as a first stage of reform. Only 92 hereditary peers are retained pending further reform that has never fully arrived. The chamber now consists overwhelmingly of life peers appointed by the Prime Minister — a different form of patronage, but patronage nonetheless.

The Goetia Connection

The 72 spirits of the Ars Goetia — the great medieval grimoire of demonic hierarchy — are ranked using exactly the titles of the noble peerage: Kings, Dukes, Marquises (Marquesses), Earls, Presidents, Knights and Barons. This is not coincidence. The grimoires were composed in the same medieval world that created and used the peerage system; their authors naturally mapped supernatural hierarchy onto the most elaborate earthly hierarchy they knew.

Of the 72 spirits: 4 are Kings (ruling 36 legions each), 30 are Dukes (ruling between 3 and 40 legions), 8 are Marquises, 3 are Earls, 11 are Presidents, 3 are Knights and 11 are Counts/Earls. The distribution is interesting — Dukes are the most numerous class, suggesting that the grimoire authors associated the management of supernatural forces with the middling aristocracy rather than the highest ranks. The King spirits command the most legions but the Dukes do most of the actual work — which, perhaps, is a remarkably accurate description of how medieval feudalism actually functioned.

"The first principal spirit is a King ruling in the East, called Bael. He maketh thee to go Invisible. He ruleth over 66 Legions of Infernal Spirits."

— Ars Goetia, Lesser Key of Solomon, 17th century

← Previous

The Royal Family

Knighthood & Chivalry