Back Aristokrasie Afrikaans Aristokratie ALS Aristocracia AN أرستقراطية Arabic اريستقراطيه ARZ Aristocracia AST Aristokratiya Azerbaijani آریستوکراسی AZB Арыстакратыя Byelorussian Арыстакратыя BE-X-OLD

Aristocracy

This article is about the form of government. For the social class, see Aristocracy (class). For other uses, see Aristocrat (disambiguation).
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Aristocracy (from Ancient Greek ἀριστοκρατίᾱ (aristokratíā) 'rule of the best'; from ἄριστος (áristos) 'best' and κράτος (krátos) 'power, strength') is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats.[1]

The 6th Duke of Norfolk, a 17th-century English aristocrat and politician who held the hereditary office of Earl Marshal of England.

Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence.[2] In Western Christian countries, the aristocracy was mostly equal with magnates, also known as the titled or higher nobility, however the members of the more numerous social class, the untitled lower nobility (petty nobility or gentry) were not part of the aristocracy.

  1. ^ "Aristocracy". Oxford English Dictionary. December 1989. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  2. ^ "The Aristocracy and Gentry | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
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