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Old 04-01-2009, 12:42 AM
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claypoint2 claypoint2 is offline
Aristocracy
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Cambridge, United States
Posts: 164
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kelly9480 View Post
The older two didn't marry nobles, they married aristocrats. In the UK, only the holder of the peerage is a noble -- his family are aristocratic commoners (the constitution recognises only sovereigns, peers and commoners, so there's no special legal significance to being the close relative of a peer).

The UK doesn't formally recognise foreign titles of residents, and Austria doesn't recognize titles either, so MC's "title" was meaningless.

Ok, I hope I'm not getting on my high horse here, but given that virtually all aristocracies (as forms of government) evolved through the rule of hereditary nobility, the terms "aristocrat" and "nobleman" have become virtually interchangeable. The phrase "aristocratic commoner" is an oxymoron.
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