Count: Encyclopedia II - Count - Lists of counts

Count - Lists of counts

Count - Territory of today's France - A - West- Francia proper

• Count of Angouleme
• Count of Auvergne
• Count of Bar
• Count of Blois
• Count of Boulogne
• Count of Champagne
• Count of Foix
• Count of Montpensier
• Count of Toulouse
• Count of Poitiers

Count - Territory of today's France - B - long within the German kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire

• Freigraf ('free count') of Burgundy - See County of Burgundy / Franche-Comté
• Count of Provence
• Count of Savoy

Count - In Germany

Count - In Italy

The title of Conte is very prolific on the peninsula, and modern counts occupy the position in rural society comparable to an English squire, members of rural gentry. In the 11th century however, conti like the Count of Savoia or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories. The essential title of a feudatory, introduced by the Normans, was signore, modelled on the French seigneur, with the name of the fief. By the 14th century, conte and the Imperial title barone were virtually synonymous, but some titles of count, according to the particulars of the patent, might be inherited, unlike other Italian titles, by all the male heirs. Other younger brothers might be distinguished as "X dei conti de Y" ("X of the counts of Y"). The Papacy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies might appoint counts palatine with no particular territorial fief. Until 1812 in some regions, the purchaser of land designated "feudal" was ennobled by the noble seat that he held and became a conte. This practice ceased with the formal abolition of feudalism in the various principalities of early-19th century Italy, last of all in the Papal States.

Many Italian counts left their mark on Italian history as individuals, yet only a few countships were politically significant domains, notably :

• Norman Count of Apulia
• Count of Savoy
• Count of Asti
• Count of Montferrat (Monferrato)
• Count of Montefeltro
• Count of Tusculum

• Italian Titles of Nobility

Count - In Austria

The principalities tended to start out as margraviate and/or (promoted to) duchy, and became nominal archduchies within the Habsburg dynasty; noteworthy are :

• Count of Tirol
• Count of Cilli
• Count of Schaumburg

Count - In the Low Countries

Apart from various small ones, significant were :

• in present Belgium :
  • Count of Flanders
  • Count of Hainaut
  • Count of Namur
  • Count of Leuven (Louvain) soon became the Duke of Brabant
• in the present Dutch kingdom:
  • Count of Holland
  • Count of Zeeland
  • Count of Zutphen

Count - In Switzerland

• Count of Neuenburg
• Count of Toggenburg
• Count of Kyburg
• Count de Salis

Count - In Iberia

As opposed to the plethora of hollow 'gentry' counts, only a few countships ever were important; most territory was firmly within the reconquista kingdoms before counts could become important:

• Portugal itself started as a counsthip, but was promoted to kingdom
• in Spain none of importance, except in the former Spanish march
  • Count of Barcelona - it became integrated in the kingdom of Aragon
  • the other counts in Catalonia were much smaller and got absorbed : Cerdagne, Conflans, Pallars, Rousillon (in present France)

Count - In other continental European countries

Count - Crusader states

• Count of Edessa
• Count of Tripoli (1102-1288)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Lists of counts", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki