Nobility, body of people within a state possessing various special hereditary privileges, rights, and honors, including titles; an aristocratic or patrician class. The nobilities of the various modern states of Europe came into existence when feudalism, a social system based on land tenure, succeeded the imperial government of Rome after the Germanic invasions. During the unsettled social and economic conditions that followed the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries, some men acquired land, usually by conquest. These men then granted parts of their holdings to others, over whom they thereafter exercised certain rights, including taxation and the administration of justice, and from whom they were entitled to various services. Those who granted the land were known as lords and those who accepted it were known as vassals. The lords of a nation formed its nobility, their rank depending on the extent of their possessions. The preposition de in the names of French nobles and von in the names of German nobles (both meaning “of” or “from”) express the idea of land ownership that is fundamental to the feudal concept of nobility.

Since the French Revolution (1789-1799), the tendency in European countries has been strongly toward the abolition of hereditary titles. In France the nobility was first deprived of its special rights and privileges, and then, in 1790, all hereditary titles were abolished by decree. Napoleon I, however, created a new nobility, granting titles and estates to those who had served him well, especially in military affairs. After Napoleon's downfall Louis XVIII, king of France, restored to the prerevolutionary nobility many of its former privileges, rights, and honors. The Second Republic (1848-1852) once more abolished nobility in France, but Napoleon III restored the aristocratic class. Under the Third Republic (1871-1945) the nobility was once more abolished. In contemporary France, persons who have inherited titles may use them as part of their family name, but they possess none of the special rights or honors of the former nobility.

In Germany, titles of nobility existed from early medieval times until they were abolished when the region became a republic in 1918. After 1918, members of the former nobility were permitted to use titles only as part of a name. In Russia, titles of nobility similar to those of the nations of Western Europe were instituted by Emperor Peter I. All such titles were abolished by the Revolution of 1917. In Spain, titles of nobility still exist. Members of the higher nobility bear the title of grandee; the lesser nobles are known as los titulados de Castilla. In Italy, Belgium, and Portugal, only courtesy titles exist.

In the United Kingdom the sovereign still grants titles of nobility. The British nobility is divided into an upper nobility and a lower nobility. The upper consists of all those who hold a hereditary rank above that of a baronet; it includes those with titles of duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. Among the lower nobility are those holding the rank of baronet, knight, and esquire. The upper nobility makes up the British peerage, and its members have the right to hereditary seats in the House of Lords. Life peers can also be created. They hold the rank for their own lives only; the title does not descend to their children. The Appellate Jurisdiction Act of 1876 gave the Crown the right to give judges the rank of lord of appeal and grant them life peerages. The Life Peerages Act of 1958 gave the Crown the right to create other life peers besides judges, and about ten are now created each year. All life peers are appointed to the House of Lords, where members review legislation passed by the House of Commons and serve as Britain's highest court of appeals.

No nobility exists in the United States. Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution of the United States specifies that no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States, and in addition it forbids any person holding government office from accepting any such title from a foreign ruler without the express consent of Congress.