Nobiliary law - what is it? by Jan-Olov von WowernI have elsewhere defined nobiliary law as "national legislation, or international or national customs, regulating nobiliary issues. In many cases this is not codified, but rather a set of rules and traditions having gained acceptance" (see my book at http://www.findyournobleancestors.com).
Examples of some of
more important issues regulated by nobiliary law are:
- claims to nobility (surname, coat of arms, title) by non-noble persons. This could, but must not, include: children with one or two noble parents but born out of wedlock; stepchildren to noble parents; children to a noble lady in an agnatic family, etc.
- claims to nobility by noble persons, where
claims cannot be automatically verified. This could be e.g.
inheritance of a noble title in a junior line of
family when
senior line becomes extinct.
- borderline cases, such as which among
ancient patrician families were, and were not, to be numbered among
nobility. Or
reactivation of a family's nobility after some time of voluntary or involuntary loss of nobility (usually because one or all of
nobiliary qualities has not been used for two or more generations).
-
naturalisation of foreign nobility, that is
assimilation of immigrant nobility into
domestic nobility, usually with
purpose of ensuring
foreign nobility
same privileges as
domestic.
- heraldry, and more specifically
use of certain symbols usually reserved for
nobility, such as coronets of nobiliary rank,
use of supporters, etc. Also marshalling of arms, that is
proper combination of two or more coats of arms due to marriage between two noble families, and similar issues may be regulated.