Grandees of Spain ( es, Grandes de España) are the highest-ranking members of the
Spanish nobility
Spanish nobles are persons who possess the legal status of hereditary nobility according to the laws and traditions of the Spanish monarchy and historically also those who held personal nobility as bestowed by one of the three highest orders of ...
. They comprise nobles who hold the most important historical landed titles in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
or its
former colonies. Many such
hereditary titles are held by
heads of families, having been acquired via strategic marriages between landed families.
All
Grandees, of which there were originally three ranks, are now deemed to be of equal status (''i.e. "of the first class"''); this
designation is nowadays
titular
Titular may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title
Religion
* Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome
** Titular bisho ...
, conveying neither power nor legal privileges.
A grandeza (
Grandeeship) can be held regardless of possession of a
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
of nobility, however each ''grandeza'' was normally (although not always) granted in conjunction with a noble title. With the exception of
Fernandina, grandezas have been granted with all
Spanish ducal titles.
Grandees, their consorts and first-born heirs are entitled to the
honorific prefix of "
The Most Excellent
The Most Excellent (Spanish: ''Excelentísimo Señor'' (male) or ''Excelentísima Señora'' (female), literally "Most Excellent Sir/Madam") is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in Spain and certain Spanish-speakin ...
" ( (male), abbreviated ''Excmo. Sr.'', or (female), abbreviated ''Excma. Sra.''). In written form, their names are followed by the post-nominals GE.
Soler Salcedo, Juan Miguel: Nobleza española, p. 150
/ref>
The following is an incomplete list of extant Spanish noble titles that are held in conjunction with a Grandeeship:
Dukedoms
Marquessates
Countships
Viscountcies
Baronies
Lordships
Individual
There are 7 non-title attached Grandeeships that are individual. These are still hereditary and transmissible just like regular titles.
Royal Grandees
There are also 25 non-title attached Grandeeships that correspond to the offspring of Infantes of Spain. These are not hereditary or transmissible.
See also
* Grandee
* Spanish nobility
Spanish nobles are persons who possess the legal status of hereditary nobility according to the laws and traditions of the Spanish monarchy and historically also those who held personal nobility as bestowed by one of the three highest orders of ...
* Hidalgo (Spanish nobility)
An ''hidalgo'' (, ) or a ''fidalgo'' (, ) is a member of the Spanish or Portuguese nobility; the feminine forms of the terms are ''hidalga'', in Spanish, and ''fidalga'', in Portuguese and Galician. In popular usage, the term ''hidalgo'' ide ...
* Boletín Oficial del Estado
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Diputación de la Grandeza de España
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grandes de Espana (Current)
Lists of Spanish nobility