#nobility

• Highness — A title of honor granted to members of a ruling or princely family (princes, princesses, grand duchesses), ranked hierarchically immediately below the title of majesty; by extension, the person who officially holds this title.
• Altieri — A famous surname of Italian origin, borne throughout history by an important Roman patrician family that produced numerous cardinals and Pope Clement X (Emilio Altieri).
• Apafi — The name of an illustrious Hungarian noble family from Transylvania, among whom Mihai Apafi I (1632–1690) and his son Mihai Apafi II stood out as the last independent princes of the Principality of Transylvania before the territory's complete integration into the Habsburg Empire through the Leopoldine Diploma. The reign of this dynasty was marked by a fragile diplomatic balance between the Sublime Porte and the court in Vienna.
• Apanagist — A person (usually a high-ranking member of a royal or princely family, such as a younger son of the monarch) who holds, benefits from, or administers an apanage (a landed estate or a financial allowance provided as a means of autonomous subsistence). In an extended sense, the term describes a system or property governed according to the rules of dynastic apanage allocation.
• Apor — The name of an ancient and illustrious noble family of Hungarian (Székely) origin in Transylvania, historically documented since the Middle Ages, with prominent branches established in the Trei Scaune region (modern-day Covasna County), such as the barons and counts Apor of Altorja. The name is historically linked to prominent statesmen, cultural figures, or patrons of the arts, as well as architectural landmarks like manors and castles that served as their residences.
• Apponyi — The name of an ancient and influential Hungarian noble family of ancestral origin, originally from the Oponice region (now in Slovakia), which produced prominent statesmen, diplomats, and cultural figures over the centuries. In Central European and Romanian history, the name is tightly linked to Count Albert Apponyi, Minister of Public Instruction, author of the restrictive school laws of 1907 (Apponyi Laws) that mandated the Magyarization of education in dualist Transylvania.
• Araniti — A major historical noble dynasty of Albanian origin (Arianiti / Araniti) that ruled vast territories in central and southern Albania during the Middle Ages, playing a crucial geopolitical role in the anti-Ottoman resistance within the Balkans during the 15th century. The most famous member of this family was Gjergj Arianiti, a brilliant military commander and close ally of Skanderbeg, whose daughter, Donika, married the Albanian national hero, sealing a historic dynastic alliance.
• Arete — A fundamental concept in ancient Greek philosophy denoting supreme virtue, structural excellence, and the fulfillment of the ultimate potential of an entity or human being. In an extended sense, it represents the moral strength, dignity, and inner harmony acquired through knowledge and discipline, directly linked to fulfilling the ideal existential purpose within the polis.
• Peerage book — A historical work, official catalog, genealogical register, or record book in which the names, titles, ranks, family trees, and coats of arms of boyar or noble families from a country or region (such as Byzantium, Moldavia, or Wallachia) were systematically recorded. This structural document served as legal proof of ancient lineage privileges and the lawful succession of dignities.
• Archondological — Belonging or relating to archondology, to the study of boyar titles, administrative ranks, and the family trees of noble families; pertaining to the official lists of boyars from a specific historical era.
• Archondology — An auxiliary discipline of history dealing with the systematic study of noble titles, boyar ranks, and administrative dignities in a state; an official work, catalog, or register containing chronological lists of boyars and the offices they held.
• Peerage book — A graphic and phonetic variant of the term 'arhondologhie'; a historical work, official genealogical register, catalog, or record book in which the names, titles, family trees, administrative ranks, and heraldic coats of arms of boyar or noble families from a country or region (such as Byzantium or the Romanian Principalities) were systematically recorded. This structural document constituted essential legal proof of ancient lineage privileges and the legitimacy of the succession of dignities.
• Nobility ledger — A neuter form, derived or used regionally, to denote the physical record book, tome, manuscript volume, or official ledger containing the nobility register (the genealogical and heraldic records of the aristocracy). It represents the structural archival object itself, the boyar catalog where court scribes entered the names of great dignitaries and the feudal privileges granted by the ruling prince.
• Archontology — A graphic variant of 'arhondologie'; an auxiliary discipline of history that studies the chronological lists, genealogies, noble titles, and ranks held by high boyars or magistrates in a medieval or ancient state.
• Boyar ledger — An archaic term for an official register, ledger, or catalog in which the names of boyars, their granted titles, and the administrative offices they held at court were recorded in chronological order.
• Aristocracy — A form of government in which power is held by a privileged minority, considered superior by birth, rank, merit, or wealth; the totality of persons constituting the noble class in a state. In a figurative sense, the term designates an elite in a specific field (intellectual, artistic, scientific) distinguished by excellence, exceptional value, distinction, and elegance of manners.
• Nobility — A collective noun designating the totality of aristocrats or people belonging to the noble class; the high nobility. The term is often used in literature or historical analysis to describe the privileged social stratum, defined by hereditary titles, large landed estates, and a dominant political influence within a state.
• Armiger — A person legally entitled to bear a coat of arms or a heraldic crest; historically, a noble servant or squire who carried the armor and weapons of a knight during the Middle Ages. In feudal social structures, the title marked an intermediate tier of prestige, situated just below the rank of knight, involving precise military responsibilities and a lineage officially recognized by the royal court.
• Armorial — A collection, repertory, dictionary, or official catalog containing detailed descriptions, graphic representations, and coats of arms of princely dynasties, noble families, cities, or states. As an adjective, it refers to everything pertaining to heraldry or blazons.