Count (male) or countess (female) is a title in European countries for a noble of varying status, but historically deemed to convey an approximate rank intermediate between the highest and lowest titles of nobility.
Nobility ranking somewhere between an Earl and a baron. Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) actually ranked higher than that, for some reason Bram Stoker demoted him.
Actually, it's a count and earl that are equivalent; in fact, the wife of an earl is called a "countess", for lack of a specifically English word for this.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at December 3, 2017 10:06 AM MST
The point I was making is that "Count" Dracula wasn't a count, he was a prince (voivode) of the Principality of Wallachia in lower Transylvania (now eastern Romania). Vlad III, "the Impaler", was surnamed Dracula, meaning "son of Dracul". His father, Vlad II, had been a member of the Order of the Dragon.
Well, thank you for that interesting piece of history, but I think the Count did not care what other people called him. He knew he had more power than the entire world. You know? Think about it. I think he was beyond insult. LOL
But I get your point. That was weird. I wonder if Bram even realized this.
Nobility title in continental Europe. Basically they had privilege and handled a medium sized section of the king's land. Usually about the size of a small city.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at December 3, 2017 8:09 AM MST
You might like it if you had nothing to do one night and it came on. It's about that good. Nothing you would pay to go to the show and see, but then again, I can't think of anything that fits that bill of late.
"Count" comes from the Latin "comes" meaning "companion", because originally a count was a loyal companion of the emperor entrusted with governing in the emperor's name. Most of these terms originated in appointed military ranks before they became hereditary nobility. Likewise, "duke" comes from the Latin word "dux" meaning "leader", specifically the highest-ranking military leader. Later on, following the end of the Roman empire, these terms were adopted into various European nobility systems. A count ranked lower than a duke, but both could be in charge of the governance of certain parts of the realm (while ultimately serving the king or emperor). It was later still that the titles largely became symbolic without any actual governance power.
Slartibartfast 