Here the rank of Baronet (ranking above a Knight) is taken as the highest rank among the ranks of the minor nobility or landed gentry that are listed below.
The very top rank in the Order is a GBE - a Knight or Dame Grand Cross - but these are very rare! Since 2000, only 16 have been given out. People can still become a Sir or a Dame without first receiving a KBE or a GBE.
Sir is used to address a man who has the rank of baronet or knight; the higher nobles are referred to as Lord.
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count.
After the 9th century, cavalries or knights were regarded as special elite forces made up of wealthy knights and noblemen who could afford expensive armour, horses, and weapons.
Lord is used as a generic term to denote members of the peerage. Five ranks of peer exist in the United Kingdom: in descending order these are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. The appellation "Lord" is used most often by barons, who are rarely addressed by their formal and legal title of "Baron".
A Lord (Laird) is a member of the gentry in Scotland and ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity.
In completely open positions without pawns, the bishop is superior to the knight… Conversely, the knight is superior to the bishop in closed positions, on the one hand because the pawns are in the bishop's way, and on the other hand because the pawns form points of support for the knight.
The five possible titles, ranked from highest to lowest, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron for men; duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess, and baroness for women.
The five ranks, in descending order, are duke, marquess, earl (see count), viscount, and baron. Until 1999, peers were entitled to sit in the House of Lords and exempted from jury duty. Titles may be hereditary or granted for life. This article was most recently revised and updated by Maren Goldberg.
At the absolute top of the social order are the Imperial rulers. These are the Emperors and Empresses of the various empires and territories, and their equivalents around the world, such as the German Kaisers, and the Russian Tsars and Tsarinas.
Lord Title Origins
The term 'Lady or “Ladyship” is simply a term of reference used to address a lady who has a title and ladyship titles can be gained in exactly the same way as Lordship title. Many people associate being a Lord or Lady with land ownership.
Daughters and younger sons bear the title 'Lord' or 'Lady' with their Christian and family names. A daughter then, would be Lady Margaret Jones. In conversation, daughter and sons are addressed by 'Lord' or 'Lady' and their Christian name--never the family name.
lord, in the British Isles, a general title for a prince or sovereign or for a feudal superior (especially a feudal tenant who holds directly from the king, i.e., a baron). In the United Kingdom the title today denotes a peer of the realm, whether or not he sits in Parliament as a member of the House of Lords.
",s3o In 1627, five knights, Sir Thomas Darnel, Sir John Corbet, Sir Walter ErIe, Sir John Heveningham and Sir Edmund Hampden, were arrested because of their refusal to pay the forced loan.
Traditionally, as governed by law and custom, Sir is used for men titled as knights, often as members of orders of chivalry, as well as later applied to baronets and other offices. As the female equivalent for knighthood is damehood, the suo jure female equivalent term is typically Dame.
Etymology. From Old Norse riddari, from Middle Low German ridder (“rider, knight”).
The three members of the archetype are "Legendary Knight Critias", "Legendary Knight Hermos", and "Legendary Knight Timaeus".