(Normans) introduced chess to Scandinavia and the British Isles. By the 13th and 14th centuries chess had become a popular amusement of the feudal nobility and was mentioned in a number of literary works, includingThe Song of RolandandTristan and Iseult. It was also part of the education of...
Sith th'antique glory of thine auncestry Vnder a shady vele is therein writ, And eke thine owne long liuing memory, Succeeding them in true nobility: And also for the loue, which thou doest beare To th'Heliconian ymps, and they to thee, They vnto thee, and thou to them most de...
In protocol, untitled military officers had precedence of rank, and were above plain "gentlemen entitled to bear arms," but were below even the humblest titled nobility, even Knights and Esquires. That distinction was collapsed in ancien régime France or Imperial Germany, where only those of ...
Duke, Duke and Duchess equivalentsa European title of nobility, having ordinarily the highest rank below a prince or king (except in countries having such titles as archduke or grand duke). It is one of the five ranks of British nobility and peerage, whi
In the late 14th century the authority of the heralds was expanded. By the early 15th century the principal herald (king of arms) had become a commissioner fornobilitas minor(“minor nobility”), a term now embracing all the nobility ranking below the peerage and including baronets, Scottish...