Fidalgo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Fidalgo'' (, ), from Galician and Portuguese —equivalent to a
nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, but sometimes literally translated into English as "nobleman" —is a traditional title of
Portuguese nobility Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
and
Brazilian nobility The Brazilian nobility () refers to the titled aristocrats and fidalgo people and families recognized by the Kingdom of Brazil and later, by the Empire of Brazil, dating back to the early 19th century, when Brazil ceased to be a colony of the King ...
that refers to a member of the titled or untitled
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
. A ''fidalgo'' is comparable in some ways to the French '' gentilhomme'' (the word also implies nobility by birth or by charge), and to the Italian '' nobile'' but having a higher rank to the British
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
as being a part of the aristocracy, not a commoner. The title was abolished after the overthrow of the monarchy in 1910 by the democratic federal republic and is also a family
surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
.


Origins and etymology

The word has the same
etymological Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
and historical roots as its Spanish
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
, '' hidalgo''. Although ''algo'' generally means "something", in this expression the word specifically denotes "riches" or "wealth" and thus was originally
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
ous with ''rico homem'' (literally, "a rich man"). Corominas, Joan and José A Pascual (1981). "Hijo" in ''Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico'', Vol. G-Ma (3). Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 359–360. As late as the reign of Afonso III (1248–1279), who completed the reconquest of the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
, the nobility was not differentiated as it would be later. All nobles, who were the large landowners, were referred to simply by two
synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
, ''fidalgo'' and ''ricos homens''. Originally, ''rico homem'' referred to the administrative duties entrusted to a noble and ''fidalgo'' referred to the inherited status of nobility (in an older parlance, "the nobility of blood"). Below the ''ricos homens'' was a descending category of their
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s: the ''infanções'', the
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
s (''cavaleiros''), and the
squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. Terminology ''Squire'' ...
s (''escudeiros''). ''Rico homem'' and ''fidalgo'' reached their current meanings during the reign of
John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...
(1385–1433). Large segments of the nobility did not side with John I in the crisis of 1383–1385 and the subsequent war with Castile; they lost their lands after the new king secured his claim to the throne and were replaced by a new nobility, elevated from previously non-noble families and modeled on the English system. ''Fidalgo'' came to be applied to a category analogous to the English "
gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...
." By the start of the fifteenth century, the term ''infanção'' fell out of use and "knight" came to mean all those below the ''ricos homens''. ''Fidalgo'' began to be emphasized because, in its sense of someone who had inherited nobility, it differentiated the older knights from the growing ''
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
'' that continued to gain access to knighthood through accomplishments in the service of the state. It was during the reign of King Manuel I that rules were established that define the use of the degrees of nobility (
hereditary title Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...
s), and the use of heraldic arms, preventing abuses in the adoption of both and establishing the rights of the nobility. The nobles were subject to the king and were arranged in an order with three degrees: *1st grade: Fidalgo Cavaleiro *2nd grade: Fidalgo Escudeiro *3rd grade: Moço Fidalgo *4th grade: Fidalgo Capelão (for ecclesiastics) All nobles were considered
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s of the
King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...
.


References

{{reflist Portuguese noble titles Brazilian noble titles Portuguese-language surnames Galician-language surnames