The highest social class in pre-modern societies and even in a few contemporary societies, and the status and title of a noble are usually inherited; basically another term for aristocrats, a tiny group of elite people who are omnipotent over the common people.
Nobles are born into wealth and power and often into politics, regardless of their merit to these privileges; peerage is the legal system to constitute the various hereditary titles.
From highest to lowest rank, the most common peerage titles are:
-duke and duchess
-marquis and marquise
-earl/count and
countess
-viscount and viscountess
-baron and
baroness
Under a
feudal system, the nobility earned property from the monarch through military service.
Example:
The peasants resented the
nobility for their
frivolity, but at least these farmers had little to lose; the courts of the elite were
swarming with ruthless intrigue, often with plots of overthrowing the royal family. Noblewomen were married off young, had little real power, and just served to manage households and produce many children (who were raised by
nannies) to continue the family dynasty, never free to live or choose as they wanted.
Nobility had/have everything to lose: wealth, reputation, position, allies, public support, political influence, and life. A very public life with numerous people breathing down one's neck and threats on one's person did not help matters, either.