Nobles of the Sword

Nobles of the Sword

The Nobles of the Sword (French: noblesse d'épée) refers to the class of traditional or old nobility in France during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods. This class was heir to a militaristic ideology of professional chivalry. It is largely synonymous with the expressions noblesse de race and noblesse ancienne, and is used in opposition to other classes of French nobility, namely:

  • noblesse de chancellerie - chancellor nobility made noble by holding certain high offices for the king
  • noblesse de lettres - person made noble by "lettres patentes" from the king
  • noblesse de robe (nobility of the gown) - person or family made noble by holding certain official charges, like maître des requêtes, treasurer or president of a provincial parlement
  • noblesse de cloche (nobility of the "bell") or noblesse échevinale - person or family made noble by being a mayor or "échevin" or "prévôt des marchands" (municipal leader) in certain towns (such as Angers, Angoulême, Bourges, Lyon, Toulouse, Paris, Perpignan, Poitiers)
  • noblesse militaire - person made noble through military position

As with officer of the sword, the expression derives from the right of nobles to wear a sword.


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