View source for Aristocracy (class)

{{Short description|Upper social class}}
{{about|the form of social class|the form of government|Aristocracy|other uses|Aristocrat (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Sir Joshua Reynolds - The Ladies Waldegrave - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[The Ladies Waldegrave]]'', a portrait of three English aristocrats from the [[Earl Waldegrave|Waldegrave family]] by [[Joshua Reynolds]]]]
The '''aristocracy''' (''from [[Greek language|Greek]]'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''[[Latin]]: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" [[social class]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of Aristocracy |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/aristocracy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326133103/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/aristocracy |archive-date=2019-03-26 |access-date=2019-09-18}}</ref> In many states, the aristocracy included the [[upper class]] with hereditary rank and titles. They are usually below only the [[monarch]] of a [[country]] or [[nation]] in its social hierarchy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aristocracy|title=Definition of ARISTOCRACY|date=November 29, 2024|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref> 
== History ==
[[File:0 Maincy - Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (2).JPG|thumb|A [[château]], the primary form of residence for the [[French nobility|French aristocracy]]]]

In some, such as [[ancient Greece]], [[ancient Rome]], or [[History of India|India]], aristocratic status came from belonging to a military class. It has also been common, notably in African and Oriental societies, for aristocrats to belong to priestly dynasties. Aristocratic status can involve [[feudal]] or legal privileges.<ref>''The Aristocrats: a portrait of Britain's nobility and their way of life today'', by Roy Perrott, (London 1968), pp. 5–10.</ref>

[[Plato|Plato’s]] ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'' offers a glimpse into the [[intellectual]] and [[Culture|cultural life]] of aristocracy in [[History of Athens|ancient Athens]]. The dialogue takes place at a [[banquet]] attended by prominent [[Aristoi|Athenian aristocrats]], illustrating how the elite not only wielded political and military power but also shaped [[Philosophy|philosophical]] and [[Art|artistic]] [[discourse]]. Their discussion on [[love]], centered around [[Eros]], reflects how aristocrats engaged in intellectual refinement and [[Rhetoric|rhetorical]] [[debate]], reinforcing their status as the cultural and [[moral]] leaders of society.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-22 |title=Lovers and Soldiers |url=https://www.neh.gov/article/lovers-and-soldiers |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=National Endowment for the Humanities |language=en}}</ref>

=== Early modern aristocracy ===
The [[Ancient history|ancient world]] had bequeathed to [[early modern Europe]] (notably via [[Aristotle|Aristotle's]] ''[[Politics (Aristotle)|Politics]]'') a [[Politics|political]] and personal definition of aristocracy as the ''rule of the best men''.<ref name=":1" /> According to his 1602 political [[treatise]] ''[[República Mista]]'', [[Tomás Fernández de Medrano]] describes an aristocrat as someone who is distinguished by [[virtue]], [[morality]], and [[wisdom]], holding [[authority]] over the rest—whether broadly or in specific matters—governing solely for the benefit and welfare of the public.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Medrano |first=Juan Fernandez de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJ7Uw6xczpEC&pg=PP5 |title=República Mista |date=1602 |publisher=Impr. Real |language=es}}</ref> 

While family background and wealth could enhance one’s suitability for public office, they were not definitive. Prominent families could produce unworthy heirs, while talented newcomers might possess the qualities necessary for political leadership. This notion of social status clashed with the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] system, which divided society into [[Estates of the realm|three estates]] and defined aristocrats primarily as [[Warrior|warriors]], gradually making aristocracy more rigidly tied to [[Nobility|noble]] birth.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Aristocracy and Gentry {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aristocracy-and-gentry |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

Across Europe, the aristocracy wielded immense economic, political, and social influence. In [[England]], a small high aristocracy—about two hundred families—controlled roughly a quarter of the kingdom’s land, while in seventeenth-century [[Bohemia]], an even smaller noble class owned two-thirds of the land. This dominance extended beyond landownership, as aristocrats and gentry often monopolized high-ranking positions in the church, military, and administration. Before the [[French Revolution]], aristocratic privilege was deeply embedded in Europe’s social order, shaping both [[governance]] and [[ideology]].<ref name=":1" /> 

The [[Centralisation|centralization]] of [[Royal court|royal courts]] in early modern Europe reshaped aristocratic power, shifting influence from regional noble domains to the monarchy’s court. This transition reflected a broader shift across European aristocracies, where status and influence became increasingly tied to proximity to the sovereign, court patronage, and administrative roles, rather than independent territorial rule.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Hernández |first=Santiago Martínez |date=2020 |title=Between Court and Village: The Evolution of Aristocratic Spaces in Early Modern Spain |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27028213 |journal=Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=19–54 |doi=10.33137/rr.v43i4.36379 |jstor=27028213 |issn=0034-429X}}</ref>

=== Modern aristocracy ===
Despite their decline in the 19th and 20th centuries, aristocrats and [[gentry]] remained influential, adapting to [[Modernization theory|modernization]] as [[Industrialisation|industrialization]] and [[democracy]] eroded traditional claims to privilege. Their response to these changes played a crucial role in shaping the broader transformation of European society.<ref name=":1" />

In modern European societies, the aristocracy has often coincided with the [[nobility]], a specific class that arose in the [[Middle Ages]], but the term "aristocracy" is sometimes also applied to other [[elite]]s, and is used as a more general term when describing earlier and non-European societies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/aristocracy,|title=Modern European societies and the nobility of aristocracy}}</ref> Aristocracy may be abolished within a country as the result of a revolution against them, such as the [[French Revolution]]. Revolutionary leaders, aiming to dismantle hierarchical structures, labeled even non-noble opponents as "aristocrats" in their push for a society without inherited privilege.<ref name=":1" />

==Etymology==
[[File:Reynolds - George, 2nd Earl Harcourt, his wife Elizabeth, and brother William.jpg|thumb|[[George Harcourt, 2nd Earl Harcourt|2nd Earl]] and [[Elizabeth Harcourt, Countess Harcourt|Countess Harcourt]], in their coronet and coronation robes by Joshua Reynolds. The countess was a confidant of [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Queen Charlotte]].]]
The term [[aristocracy]] derives from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἀριστοκρατία}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|aristokratia}} from {{lang|grc|ἄριστος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|aristos}}) 'excellent' and {{lang|grc|κράτος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|kratos}}) 'power').<ref>''The Oxford Companion to British History'', John Cannon (editor), [[Oxford University Press]], 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-19-866176-4}}</ref> In most cases, aristocratic titles were and are hereditary.

The term {{lang|grc-Latn|aristokratia}} was first used in [[Athens]] with reference to young [[citizen]]s (the men of the ruling class) who led armies at the front line. {{lang|grc-Latn|Aristokratia}} roughly translates to "rule of the best born".  Due to [[Wikt:martial|martial]] bravery being highly regarded as a [[virtue]] in [[ancient Greece]], it was assumed that the armies were being led by "the best". This virtue was called {{lang|grc-Latn|[[arete]]}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|ἀρετή}}). Etymologically, as the word developed, it also produced a more political term: {{lang|grc-Latn|[[aristoi]]}} ({{lang|grc|ἄριστοι}}). The term aristocracy is a compound word stemming from the singular of {{lang|grc-Latn|aristoi}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|aristos}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|ἄριστος}}), and the Greek word for power, {{lang|grc-Latn|kratos}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|κράτος}}).

From the ancient Greeks, the term passed to the European [[Middle Ages]] for a similar ''hereditary class'' of military leaders, often referred to as [[nobility#European nobility|the nobility]]. As in Greece, this was a class of privileged men and women whose familial connections to the regional armies allowed them to present themselves as the most "noble" or "best" of society.

==See also==

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Gentry]]
** [[Landed gentry]] (United Kingdom)
** [[Landed gentry in China]]
** [[Polish landed gentry|Landed gentry in Poland]]
* [[Honorifics]]
* [[Nobility]]
** [[List of fictional nobility]]
* [[Upper class]]
* [[Imtiaz]] (Egypt)
* [[Nigerian Chieftaincy|Chieftaincy]] (Nigeria)
* [[Old money]]
* [[Peerage]] (United Kingdom)
* [[Royal and noble ranks]]
* [[Style (manner of address)|Styles]] (manner of address)
** [[Royal and noble styles]]
** [[Forms of address in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Title]]s
** [[Hereditary title]]
** [[title of honor|Honorary titles]]
** [[False titles of nobility]]
* [[Social capital]]
* [[Symbolic capital]]
* [[Honour]]
* [[Aristocracy of Norway|Adel]] (Norway)
* [[Yangban]] (Korea)
* [[Kuge]] (Japan)
* [[Samanta]], [[Thakur (title)|Thakur]], [[Zamindar]] and [[Jenmi]] (India)
{{Div col end}}

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Wikiquote|Aristocracy}}
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm Heraldica: European Noble, Princely, Royal, and Imperial Titles]

{{Wiktionary|aristocracy}}
{{Social class}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aristocracy (Class)}}
[[Category:High society (social class)]]
[[Category:Social classes]]
[[Category:Nobility]]
[[Category:Aristocracy]]

[[pl:Arystokracja]]