Today, the concept of "noble people" has already become historicism. And once it was a determining factor in the fate of a person. This helped to achieve high posts in the state, get a rich dowry, achieve success, wealth and respect of others.
Consider in this short article who were the noble people. What benefits did they have? What duties did the noble people have? And also turn to the history of Russia of the 19th century.
The meaning of the word "noble"
People always belonged to some category of society. Who was called the noble? Modern explanatory dictionaries describe the meaning of this word in different ways. There is a historical and modern interpretation. From the point of view of history, this is an aristocratic family. Modernity says that these are people who are famous for their merits (according to the dictionaries of S.I. Ozhegov and D.N. Ushakov).
Of course, we are interested in the first meaning of the word "noble." People to whom this concept can be applied is a peculiar elite of society. Their distinguishing feature is the right to inherit their achievements. Thus, children inherit not only the property of their parents, but also their titles, in other words, social merits and the right to use them.
How did you know?
A layer of noble people was formed in ancient communities, exerting its influence on the management of the state. She retained her importance in the Middle Ages, lost it only at the end of the 19th century. Modern society no longer values the aristocracy as it was before (although in the west the aristocrats retained their titles and ranks). This circumstance is connected with the fact that today it’s important not the merit of the ancestors of a person, but his own initiative and ability to occupy a high social position.
A man of noble birth in the era of monarchism
Aristocracy reached its highest peak in the era when monarchism was a ubiquitous state system. When republics appeared in the world, it was then that the power of the aristocracy began to fade significantly. This is due to the fact that the monarch himself is the highest person in the state, he is the first aristocrat in the country.
The idea of monarchism and the primacy of the nobility is based on the idea that elected people, the anointed of God, to whom God has entrusted government, can rule the state. Noble people, carrying out this function of management and supervision of the common people, pass it on to their children, as well as their chosen ones. After all, the Lord also chose them, allowing them to be born in a noble and noble family.
By the way, to know in different countries of Europe and Russia was determined by different signs. It was military valor, the ability to faithfully serve his monarch, material wealth and so on. The monetary aristocracy gradually supplanted the rest and, by the beginning of the era of capitalist relations, began to be valued more than all kinds of noble titles.
Nobleman in 19th century Russia
Who are they, noble people of the 19th century? The Russian nobility was divided into two main classes: personal and hereditary. It was the second that was the nobility of the time. This included all the well-known aristocratic clans of Russia, some of which led their history from Rurik (the old boyars), and some from the chicks of Peter the Great (the nobility proper).
As early as the beginning of the 18th century, these two elite groups were opposed to each other. Peter the Great relied on the nobility as a service system, and he opposed it to the old Russian nobility, lazy and mired in squabbles and sharing property. However, everything has changed since the reign of Catherine the Great, who, having ascended the throne, granted liberty to the entire noble estate of Russia, freeing him from compulsory service to the state. From that time, a new stage began in the history of the Russian nobility, which ended in the tragic events of February and October 1917.
Noble families of Russia of the 19th century
In the 19th century, noble people of Russia entered, representing only 1.2% of the total population of the empire. These were representatives of various genera, which can be divided into several groups.
- Pillar ancient nobility - the oldest layer of noble people. It included the descendants of Rurik and the great princes, as well as the heirs of the Golden Horde military leaders who switched to Russian service. The names and surnames of these people were recorded in special books - columns, hence the origin of the name.
- Noble people with titles. This part of the aristocracy could boast of princely, count, baronial titles granted to their ancestors for special services to the country and the sovereign.
- Hereditary noblemen who gained nobility thanks to the receipt by their ancestors of a special patent, military merit or success in the civil service.
- Foreign nobility, which included representatives of the aristocracy of states and regions attached to Russia (Georgia, Ossetia, Armenia, etc.).
- Personal nobles who received status for special merits, but were not able to pass it on to their heirs.
Benefits enjoyed by a noble person
What property did noble people own? What could they afford? Another A.S. Pushkin wrote that among the main advantages of noble people in Russia was the right of ownership and special freedom. In addition, noble people could afford to own numerous property of the following nature:
- estates and villages inhabited by serf souls (it was forbidden to kill serfs by the will of the owner, as well as selling them separately from their village);
- houses in cities and other real estate.
In addition, the order of commercial activities was greatly facilitated for privileged people, they could get higher education, were exempted from military service (until 1874), and if they wanted to serve, they were already serving as officers (unlike ordinary people who had a 25-year strap) soldiers), etc.
Thus, as we see, the nobility of origin until a certain time in our country, and throughout the world, meant a lot. A man of noble origin excelled his peers from simpler classes and received in life those benefits that ordinary people could only dream of.