Noble Family facts for kids
A noble family is a family that has a special, high social rank. They are usually related to a royal family, like kings and queens, but they are a step below them. Nobles often had important roles in society, like owning land or advising the ruler.
Sometimes, families were very rich and powerful, like the Medici family or the Borgias. These families were known as banking families or aristocrats. Even though they were wealthy, they weren't always officially recognized as nobles by a king or emperor.
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History of Noble Families
Noble families have always been seen as having a lower rank than the King or Queen. However, they held a very important place in society. Nobles often ruled over large areas of land. These areas were called duchies, counties, or principalities.
Each noble family was part of a "noble house," which was their official family line. Many nobles worked as advisors to the King or Queen. They were also often major land owners. Some noble families were incredibly rich and did not need to work at all.
However, not all nobles were wealthy. Some noble families were quite poor. The Medici family was one of the richest families who claimed to be noble. They ruled important regions like Tuscany and Milan. The Medicis started as common people, but they became richer than most monarchs of their time. Their power lasted until the 1700s.
On the other hand, the Bonaparte family was very poor for a time. This changed when Napoleon became the Emperor of the French.
Power of Noble Families
The amount of power a noble family had depended on the land they ruled. For example, the Duchy of Burgundy was a very powerful area. This was because the duchy was very large and wealthy. Other powerful noble areas included the Duchy of Milan and the Duchy of Luxembourg.
However, some nobles had very little power. This was often the case for nobles who were given a title like "Lady" that was not passed down to their children. Their influence was more about their social standing than actual political control.
Famous Noble Families
- House of Boleyn
- House of Grey
- House of Bourbon
- House of Normandy
- House of Foix
- House of Hesse
- House of Nassu
Images for kids
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The House of Lords is the upper legislature of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is filled with members that are selected from the nobility (both hereditary titleholders and those ennobled only for their individual lives).
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Nobility offered protection in exchange for service
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French aristocrats, c. 1774
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A French political cartoon of the three orders of feudal society (1789). The rural third estate carries the clergy and the nobility.
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Opening of the Hungarian Diet (Országgyűlés) with the members of hungarian nobility in the Royal Palace, 1865
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Polish magnates 1576–1586
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Polish magnates 1697–1795
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Hungarian prince Ferenc József in the typical dress of the Hungarian nobility, 18th century
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Count Carl Robert Mannerheim (1835–1914), a Finnish aristocrat, businessman, and the father of Baron C. G. E. Mannerheim, the Marshal of Finland
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Russian boyars
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The Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. Large numbers of English nobility perished in the Wars of the Roses
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In Korea, royalty and yangban aristocrats were carried in litters called gama. A Korean gama, circa 1890.
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An aristocratic family in Lhasa, Tibet in 1936.
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Emperor Farrukhsiyar Bestows a Jewel on a Nobleman
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Maratha Peshwa Madhavrao II, surrounded by nobles in his court in 18th-century India.
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Japanese samurai, 1798
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Typical costume of a family belonging to the Principalía of the late 19th century Philippines. Exhibit in the Villa Escudero Museum, San Pablo, Laguna.
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A pre-colonial Tagalog couple belonging to the Datu class or nobility as depicted in the Boxer Codex of the 16th century.
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Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (center) and members of the imperial court
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King Radama I of Madagascar was from the Andriana stratum of the Merina people.
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The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on his throne in 2016.
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Angélica Larrea, Queen Consort of the Afro-Bolivians, in 2012. The queen is the wife of King Julio Pinedo.
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Portrait of Marquis of Paraná, Prime Minister of Brazil.
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Regent of Bandung, Java, Dutch East Indies, with his pajung bearer – 1863–1865
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A Siamese noble in a hammock, 1900
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Burmese nobles and servants
See also
In Spanish: Nobleza para niños
