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{{Short description|Nobility title in European countries}}
{{About|the title of nobility|the Roman title|Comes|other uses|Count (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Countess}}
{{Ranks of Nobility}}
[[File:Johan Erik Lindh - Portrait of Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1797-1854).jpg|thumb|upright|Count [[Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (naturalist)|Carl Gustaf Mannerheim]] (1797–1854), the [[governor]] of the [[Vyborg Province]], [[entomology|entomologist]] and the grandfather of [[Baron]] [[C. G. E. Mannerheim]].]]
'''Count''' (feminine: '''countess''') is a historical title of [[nobility]] in certain [[Europe]]an countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.<ref name="pine">[[L. G. Pine|Pine, L. G.]] ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1992. p. 73. <!-- ISBN 1-56619-085-5 INVALID ISBN --> {{OCLC|27827106}}.</ref> Especially in earlier medieval periods the term often implied not only a certain status, but also that the ''count'' had specific responsibilities or offices. The etymologically related English term "[[county]]" denoted the territories associated with some countships, but not all. 

The title of ''count'' is typically not used in England or English-speaking countries, and the term ''[[earl]]'' is used instead. A female holder of the title is still referred to as a ''countess'', however.

==Origin of the term==
{{Main|Comes}}
The word ''count'' came into English from the [[French language|French]] ''{{lang|fr|comte}}'', itself from [[Latin]] ''{{lang|la|[[comes]]}}''—in its [[Accusative case|accusative]] form ''comitem''. It meant "companion" or "attendant", and as a title it indicated that someone was delegated to represent the ruler. 

In the late [[Roman Empire]], the Latin title ''comes'' denoted the high rank of various courtiers and provincial officials, either military or administrative. Before [[Anthemius]] became emperor in the West in 467, he was a military ''comes'' charged with strengthening defenses on the [[Danube]] frontier.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors |publisher=University of South Carolina |url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/anthemiu.htm |access-date=2008-04-10}}</ref>

In the [[Western Roman Empire]], "count" came to indicate generically a military commander{{cn|date=January 2023}} but was not a specific rank. In the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], from about the seventh century, "count" was a specific rank indicating the commander of two ''[[centuria]]e'' (i.e., 200 men).

The medieval title of ''comes'' was originally not hereditary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Institut für Wissenschaftliche Zusammenarbeit mit Hochschulen der Entwicklungsländer (Tübingen, Germany) |title=Philosophy and History |date=1976 |publisher=Philosophy and History |page=105}}</ref> It was regarded as an administrative official dependent on the king, until the process of [[allodial]]isation during the 9th century in which such titles came to be private possessions of noble families.<ref>{{cite book |first=John M.|last=Jeep |title=Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia |date=2001 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=0824076443 |page=140}}</ref> By virtue of their large estates, many counts could pass the title to their heirs—but not always. For instance, in [[Piast Poland#the Early Kingdom of Poland, (1025–1146)|Piast Poland]], the position of ''komes'' was not hereditary, resembling the early [[Merovingian]] institution. The title had disappeared by the era of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], and the office had been replaced by others. Only after the [[Partitions of Poland]] did the title of "count" resurface in the title ''hrabia'', derived from the German ''Graf''.

In the [[Franks|Frankish]] kingdoms in the early [[Middle Ages]], a count might also be a [[count palatine]], whose authority derived directly over a royal household, a [[palace]] in its original sense of the seat of power and administration. This other kind of count had vague antecedents in [[Late antiquity|Late Antiquity]] too: the father of [[Cassiodorus]] held positions of trust with Theodoric, as ''comes rerum privatarum'', in charge of the imperial lands, then as ''comes sacrarum largitionum'' ("count of the sacred doles"), concerned with the finances of the realm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/cassbook/chap1.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2005-06-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050510135935/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/cassbook/chap1.html |archive-date=2005-05-10 }}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, the title of ''earl'' is used instead of ''count''. Although the exact reason is debated by historians and linguists, one of the more popular theories proposes that ''count'' fell into disuse because of its phonetic similarity to the vulgar slang word ''[[cunt]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why England has 200 countesses – and zero counts - CSMonitor.com |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2023/0522/Why-England-has-200-countesses-and-zero-counts |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=www.csmonitor.com}}</ref>

===Land attached to title===
{{Main|County}}
It is only after some time that the continental medieval title came to be strongly associated with the ownership of and jurisdiction over specific lands, which led to evolution of the term ''county'' to refer to specific regions. The English term county, used as an equivalent to the English term [[shire]], is derived from the [[Old French]] ''conté'' or ''cunté'' which denoted the [[jurisdiction (area)|jurisdiction]] of a French count or [[viscount]].<ref name=etymology>The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, C. W. Onions (Ed.), 1966, [[Oxford University Press]]</ref> The modern French is ''comté'', and its equivalents in other languages are ''contea'', ''contado'', ''comtat'', ''condado'', ''Grafschaft'', ''graafschap'', etc. (cf. ''[[Nobility of Italy|conte]]'', ''comte'', ''conde'', ''[[Graf]]''). The title of Count also continued to exist in cases which are not connected to any specific to a geographical "county". 

In the [[United Kingdom]], the equivalent "Earl" can also be used as a [[courtesy title]] for the eldest son of a duke or marquess. In the [[Italy|Italian states]], by contrast, all the sons of certain counts were little counts (''contini''). In [[Sweden]] there is a distinction between counts (Swedish: ''greve'') created before and after 1809. All children in comital families elevated before 1809 were called count/countess. In families elevated after 1809, only the head of the family was called count, the rest have a status similar to barons and were called by the equivalent of "Mr/Ms/Mrs", before the recognition of titles of nobility was abolished.

==Comital titles in different European languages==
The following lists are originally based on a Glossary on Heraldica.org by Alexander Krischnig. The male form is followed by the female, and when available, by the territorial circumscription.

=== Etymological derivations from the Latin {{lang|la|comes}} ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" | [[Language]]
! width=250pt | Male title
! scope="col" | Female title/Spouse
! scope="col" | Territory/Notes
|-
! scope="row" | [[Albanian language|Albanian]]
| {{lang|sq|Kont}}
| {{lang|sq|Konteshë}}
| {{lang|sq|Konte}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Armenian language|Armenian]]
| {{lang|hy|Կոմս}} ({{lang|hy-Latn|Koms}})
| {{lang|hy|Կոմսուհի}} ({{lang|hy-Latn|Komsuhi}})
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]
| {{lang|bg|Кмет}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Kmet}}), present meaning: mayor;<br>medieval (9th-century) {{lang|bg|Комит}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Komit}}): hereditary provincial ruler
| {{lang|bg|Кметица}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Kmetitsa}}), woman mayor<br>{{lang|bg|Кметша}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Kmetsha}}), mayor's wife
| {{lang|bg|Кметство}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Kmetstvo}}); medieval {{lang|bg|Комитат}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Komitat}})
|-
! scope="row" | [[Catalan language|Catalan]]
| {{lang|ca|Comte}}
| {{lang|ca|Comtessa}}
| {{lang|ca|Comtat}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[English language|English]]
| ''Count''
| Countess (even where Earl applies)
| ''Earldom'' for an Earl; ''Countship'' or ''county'' for a count. ([[County]] persists in English-speaking countries as a sub-national administrative division.)<br>"Count" applies to titles granted by monarchies other than the British, for which [[Earl]] applies.
|-

! scope="row" | [[French language|French]]
| {{lang|fr|Comte}}
| {{lang|fr|Comtesse}}
| {{lang|fr|Comté}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Greek language|Greek]]
| {{lang|grc|Κόμης}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Kómēs}})
| {{lang|grc|Κόμησσα}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Kómēssa}})
| {{lang|grc|Κομητεία}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Komēteía}}); in the [[Ionian Islands]] the corresponding [[Italian language|Italianate]] terms {{lang|grc|κόντες}} {{lang|grc-Latn|kóntes}}, {{lang|grc|κοντέσσα}} {{lang|grc-Latn|kontéssa}} were used instead.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
| {{lang|hu|Vikomt}}
| {{lang|hu|Vikomtessz}}
| Actually meaning viscount. These forms are now archaic or literary; {{lang|hu|Gróf}} is used instead.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Irish language|Irish]]
| {{lang|ga|Cunta}}
| {{lang|ga|Cuntaois}}
| Honorary title only.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Italian language|Italian]]
| {{lang|it|Conte}}
| {{lang|it|Contessa}}
| {{lang|it|Contea}}, {{lang|it|Contado}}
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | '''[[Latin]]'''<br> (medieval and later; not classical)
| {{lang|la|[[Comes]]}}
| {{lang|la|Comitissa}}
| {{lang|la|Comitatus}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Maltese language|Maltese]]
| {{lang|mt|Konti}}
| {{lang|mt|Kontessa}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Monegasque language|Monegasque]]
| {{lang|lij-MC|Conte}}
| {{lang|lij-MC|Contessa}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| {{lang|pt|[[#In Iberia|Conde]]}}
| {{lang|pt|Condessa}}
| {{lang|pt|Condado}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
| {{lang|ro|Conte}}
| {{lang|ro|Contesă}}
| {{lang|ro|Comitat}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Romansh language|Romansh]]
| {{lang|rm|Cont}}
| {{lang|rm|Contessa}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| {{lang|es|[[#In Iberia|Conde]]}}
| {{lang|es|Condesa}}
| {{lang|es|Condado}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Turkish language|Turkish]]
| {{lang|tr|Kont}}
| {{lang|tr|Kontes}}
| {{lang|tr|Kontluk}}
|}

=== Etymological derivations from German {{lang|de|Graf}} or Dutch {{lang|nl|Graaf}} ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" | [[Language]]
! scope="col" | Male title
! scope="col" | Female title / Spouse
! scope="col" | Territory
|-
! scope="row" | [[Afrikaans]]
| {{lang|af|Graaf}}
| {{lang|af|Gravin}}
| {{lang|af|Graafskap}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]
| {{lang|be|Граф}} ({{lang|be-Latn|Hraf}})
| {{lang|be|Графiня}} ({{lang|be-Latn|Hrafinia}})
| {{lang|be|Графствa}} ({{lang|be-Latn|Hrafstva}})
|-
! scope="row" | [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]
| {{lang|bg|Граф}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Graf}})
| {{lang|bg|Графиня}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Grafinya}})
| {{lang|bg|Графство}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Grafstvo}})
|-
! scope="row" | [[Croatian language|Croatian]]
| {{lang|hr|Grof}}
| {{lang|hr|Grofica}}
| {{lang|hr|Grofovija}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Czech language|Czech]]
| {{lang|cs|Hrabě}}
| {{lang|cs|Hraběnka}}
| {{lang|cs|Hrabství}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Danish language|Danish]]
| {{lang|da|Greve}}
| {{lang|da|Grevinde}} (Count's wife)<br/>{{lang|da|Komtesse}} (Unmarried daughter of a count)
| {{lang|da|Grevskab}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| {{lang|nl|Graaf}}
| {{lang|nl|Gravin}}
| {{lang|nl|Graafschap}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[English language|English]]
| Grave (for example ''Landgrave'', ''Margrave''), [[reeve (England)|reeve]], [[sheriff]]
| Gravin
| Graviate
|-
! scope="row" | [[Estonian language|Estonian]]
| {{lang|et|Krahv}}
| {{lang|et|Krahvinna}}
| {{lang|et|Krahvkond}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Finnish language|Finnish]]
| {{lang|fi|Kreivi}}
| {{lang|fi|Kreivitär}}
| {{lang|fi|Kreivikunta}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[German language|German]]
| {{lang|de|[[Graf]]}}
| {{lang|de|[[Gräfin]]}}
| {{lang|de|Grafschaft}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Greek language|Greek]]
| {{lang|el|Γράβος}} (Gravos)
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Georgian language|Georgian]]
| {{lang|ka|გრაფი/თავადი}} ({{lang|ka-Latn|Grapi/Tavadi}})
| {{lang|ka|გრაფინია/თავადი}} ({{lang|ka-Latn|Grapinia/Tavadi}})
| {{lang|ka|საგრაფო/სათავადო}} ({{lang|ka-Latn|Sagrapo /Satavado}})
|-
! scope="row" | [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
| {{lang|hu|Gróf}}
| {{lang|hu|Grófnő}} (born a countess), {{lang|hu|Grófné}} (married to a count)
| {{lang|hu|Grófság}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]
| {{lang|is|Greifi}}
| {{lang|is|Greifynja}}
| {{lang|is|Greifadæmi}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Latvian language|Latvian]]
| {{lang|lv|Grāfs}}
| {{lang|lv|Grāfiene}}
| {{lang|lv|Grāfiste}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]
| {{lang|lt|Grafas}}
| {{lang|lt|Grafienė}}
| {{lang|lt|Grafystė}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]
| {{lang|lb|Grof}}
| {{lang|lb|Gréifin}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]
| {{lang|mk|Гроф}} ({{lang|mk-Latn|Grof}})
| {{lang|mk|Грофица}} ({{lang|mk-Latn|Grofica}})
| {{lang|mk|Грофовија}} ({{lang|mk-Latn|Grofovija}})
|-
! scope="row" | [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]
| {{lang|no|Greve/Greive}}
| {{lang|no|Grevinne}}
| {{lang|no|Grevskap}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Polish language|Polish]]
| {{lang|pl|[[Hrabia]]}}, {{lang|pl|Margrabia}}<br/>(non-native titles)
| {{lang|pl|[[Hrabina]]}}, {{lang|pl|Margrabina}}<br/>(non-native titles)
| {{lang|pl|Hrabstwo}} (translation of foreign term "county")
|-
! scope="row" | [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
| {{lang|ro|Grof}} (also {{lang|ro|Conte}}, ''see above''), ''Greav''
|''Grofiță''
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Russian language|Russian]]
| {{lang|ru|Граф}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Graf}})
| {{lang|ru|Графиня}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Grafinya}})
| {{lang|ru|Графство}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Grafstvo}})
|-
! scope="row" | [[Serbian language|Serbian]]
| {{lang|sr|Гроф}} ({{lang|sr-Latn|Grof}})
| {{lang|sr|Грофица}} ({{lang|sr-Latn|Grofica}})
| {{lang|sr|Грофовија}} ({{lang|sr-Latn|Grofovija}})
|-
! scope="row" | [[Slovak language|Slovak]]
| {{lang|sk|Gróf}}
| {{lang|sk|Grófka}}
| {{lang|sk|Grófstvo}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Slovene language|Slovene]]
| {{lang|sl|Grof}}
| {{lang|sl|Grofica}}
| {{lang|sl|Grofija}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Swedish language|Swedish]]
| {{lang|sv|Greve}}
| {{lang|sv|Grevinna}}
| {{lang|sv|Grevskap}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
| {{lang|uk|Граф}} ({{lang|uk-Latn|Hraf}})
| {{lang|uk|Графиня}} ({{lang|uk-Latn|Hrafynya}})
| {{lang|uk|Графство}} ({{lang|uk-Latn|Hrafstvo}})
|}

===Compound and related titles===
Apart from all these, a few unusual titles have been of comital rank, not necessarily permanently.
* {{lang|fr|[[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]]}} (English: ''Dolphin''; {{langx|es|Delfín|links=no}}; {{langx|it|Delfino|links=no}}; {{langx|pt|Delfim|links=no}}; {{langx|la|Delphinus}}) was a multiple (though rare) comital title in southern France, used by the Dauphins of Vienne and Auvergne, before 1349 when it became the title of the heir to the French throne. The Dauphin was the lord of the province still known as the {{lang|fr|région [[Dauphiné]]}}.
* '''{{lang|es|Conde-Duque}}''' "Count-Duke" is a rare title used in [[Spain]], notably by [[Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares]]. He had inherited the title of count of Olivares, but when created Duke of Sanlucar la Mayor by King [[Philip IV of Spain]] he begged permission to preserve his inherited title in combination with the new honour—according to a practice almost unique in Spanish history; logically the incumbent ranks as Duke (higher than Count) just as he would when simply concatenating both titles.
* '''{{lang|pt|Conde-Barão}}''' 'Count-Baron' is a rare title used in [[Portugal]], notably by Dom {{lang|pt|Luís Lobo da Silveira|italic=no}}, 7th Baron of Alvito, who received the title of Count of Oriola in 1653 from King [[John IV of Portugal]]. His palace in Lisbon still exists, located in a square named after him ({{lang|pt|Largo do Conde-Barão|italic=no}}).
* '''Archcount''' is a very rare title, etymologically analogous to [[archduke]], apparently never recognized officially, used by or for:
** the [[count of Flanders]] (an original {{lang|fr|[[pairie]]}} of the French realm in present Belgium, very rich, once expected to be raised to the rank of kingdom); the informal, rather descriptive use on account of the countship's de facto importance is rather analogous to the unofficial epithet {{lang|fr|Grand Duc de l'Occident}} (before [[Grand duke]] became a formal title) for the even wealthier [[Duke of Burgundy]]
** at least one [[Count of Burgundy]] (i.e. {{lang|de|Freigraf}} of {{lang|fr|[[Franche-Comté]]|italic=no}})
* In German kingdoms, the title {{lang|de|[[Graf]]}} was combined with the word for the jurisdiction or domain the nobleman was holding as a fief or as a conferred or inherited jurisdiction, such as {{lang|de|[[Margrave|Markgraf]]}} (see also [[Marquess]]), {{lang|de|[[landgrave|Landgraf]]}}, {{lang|de|[[Freigraf]]}} ("free count"), {{lang|de|[[Burgrave|Burggraf]]}}, where {{lang|de|Burg}} signifies castle; see also [[Viscount]], {{lang|de|[[count palatine|Pfalzgraf]]}} (translated both as "Count Palatine" and, historically, as "Palsgrave"), {{lang|de|Raugraf}} ("Raugrave", see "[[Graf]]", and {{lang|de|[[Waldgrave|Waldgraf]]}} ({{lang|la|comes nemoris}}), where {{lang|de|Wald}} signifies a large forest) (from Latin ''nemus'' = grove).
* The German {{lang|de|Graf}} and Dutch {{lang|nl|graaf}} ({{langx|la|grafio}}) stem from the Byzantine-Greek {{lang|grc|γραφεύς}} {{lang|grc-Latn|grapheus}} meaning "he who calls a meeting [i.e. the court] together").<ref>Wahrig Deutsches Wörterbuch, 1972 edition, page 1564: < Ahd. ''gravo'', ''gravio'', wahrscheinl. < mlat. ''graphio'', ..., königl. Beamter mit administrativen u. richterl. Befugnissen < grch. ''grapheus'' ''Schreiber'', byzantin. Hoftitel; in English: OHG ''gravo'', ''gravio'', prob. from Middle Latin ''graphio'', ..., royal official with administrative and judicial authority, from Gk. ''grapheus'', "writer"/"clerk"/"scribe", Byzantine court title.</ref>
* The Ottoman military title of {{lang|ota-Latn|Serdar}} was used in Montenegro and Serbia as a lesser noble title with the equivalent rank of a Count.
* These titles are not to be confused with various minor administrative titles containing the word {{lang|de|-graf}} in various offices which are not linked to feudal nobility, such as the Dutch titles {{lang|nl|Pluimgraaf}} (a court [[sinecure]], so usually held by noble courtiers, may even be rendered hereditary) and {{lang|nl|Dijkgraaf}} (to the present, in the Low Countries, a manager in the local or regional administration of watercourses through dykes, ditches, controls etc.; also in German {{lang|de|Deichgraf}}, synonymous with {{lang|de|Deichhauptmann}}, "dike captain").

==Lists of countships <!--preferably weighted lists of major counts and interesting particularities-->==

===Territory of today's France===

====Kingdom of the Western Franks====
Since [[Louis VII of France|Louis VII]] (1137–80), the highest precedence amongst the vassals ([[Prince-bishop]]s and secular nobility) of the French crown was enjoyed by those whose benefice or temporal fief was a ''pairie'', i.e. carried the exclusive rank of ''[[Pairie|pair]]''; within the first (i.e. clerical) and second (noble) estates, the first three of the original twelve ''anciennes pairies'' were ducal, the next three comital ''[[comté-pairie]]s'':
* [[Bishop of Beauvais|Bishop-counts of Beauvais]] (in Picardy)
* [[Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne|Bishop-counts of Châlons]] (in Champagne)
* Bishop-counts of [[Noyon]] (in Picardy)
* [[Counts of Toulouse|Count of Toulouse]], until united to the crown in 1271 by marriage
* [[Count of Flanders]] (Flandres in French), which is in the Low countries and was confiscated in 1299, though returned in 1303
* [[Count of Champagne]], until united to the crown (in 1316 by marriage, conclusively in 1361)
Later other countships (and duchies, even baronies) have been raised to this French peerage, but mostly as [[apanage]]s (for members of the royal house) or for foreigners; after the 16th century all new peerages were always duchies and the medieval countship-peerages had died out, or were held by royal princes

Other French countships of note included those of:
* [[Counts and dukes of Angouleme|Count of Angoulême, later Duke]]
* [[List of Counts and Dukes of Anjou|Count of Anjou, later Duke]]
* [[Rulers of Auvergne|Count of Auvergne]]
* [[Counts and dukes of Bar|Count of Bar, later Duke]]
* [[Count of Blois]]
* [[Count of Boulogne]]
* [[Countship of Foix|Count of Foix]]
* [[Count of Montpensier]]
* [[Count of Poitiers]]

====Parts of today's France long within other kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire====
* [[County of Burgundy|Freigraf ("free count") of Burgundy]] (i.e. present Franche-Comté)
* The [[Dauphiné#The independent state (1040–1349)|Dauphiné]]

===The Holy Roman Empire===
''See also above for parts of present France''

====In Germany====
{{Main|Graf}}
A ''Graf'' ruled over a territory known as a ''Grafschaft'' ('county'). See also various comital and related titles; especially those actually reigning over a principality: [[Gefürsteter Graf]], [[Landgrave|Landgraf]], [[Reichsgraf]]; compare [[Markgraf]], [[Burggraf]], [[Pfalzgraf]] (''see [[Imperial Estate#Quaternions|Imperial quaternions]]'').

====Northern Italian states====<!-- This section is linked from [[Giulio Masetti]] -->
The title of ''Conte'' is very prolific on the peninsula. In the eleventh century, ''Conti'' like the Count of Savoy or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories. Even apparently "lower"-sounding titles, like [[Viscount]], could describe powerful dynasts, such as the [[Visconti of Milan|House of Visconti]] which ruled a major city such as [[Milan]]. The essential title of a feudatory, introduced by the Normans, was ''signore'', modeled on the French ''seigneur'', used with the name of the [[fief]]. By the fourteenth century, ''conte'' and the Imperial title ''barone'' were virtually synonymous.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Some titles of a count, according to the particulars of the patent, might be inherited by the eldest son of a Count. Younger brothers might be distinguished as "X dei conti di Y" ("X of the counts of Y"). However, if there is no male to inherit the title and the count has a daughter, in some regions she could inherit the title.

Many Italian counts left their mark on Italian history as individuals, yet only a few ''contadi'' (countships; the word ''contadini'' for inhabitants of a "county" remains the Italian word for "peasant") were politically significant principalities, notably:
* Norman Count of [[Apulia]]
* [[House of Savoy|Count of Savoy, later Duke]] (also partly in France and in Switzerland)
* [[Asti|Count of Asti]]
* [[Montferrat|Count of Montferrat (Monferrato)]]
* [[Montefeltro|Count of Montefeltro]]
* [[Tusculum|Count of Tusculum]]

====In Austria====
The principalities tended to start out as margraviate or (promoted to) duchy, and became nominal archduchies within the Habsburg dynasty; noteworthy are:
* Count of Tyrol
* [[County of Cilli|Count of Cilli]]
* Count of Schaumburg

==== In the Low Countries ====
Apart from various small ones, significant were:
* in present-day Belgium:
** [[Count of Flanders]] (Vlaanderen in Dutch), but only the small part east of the river Schelde remained within the empire; the far larger west, an original French [[comté-pairie]] became part of the French realm
** [[Count of Hainaut]]
** [[Count of Namur]], later a margraviate
** [[Count of Leuven]] (Louvain), later a dukedom
** [[Count of Loon]]
* in the presentday Netherlands:
** [[Count of Guelders]] later Dukes of Guelders
** [[Count of Holland]]
** [[Count of Zeeland]]
** [[Count of Zutphen]]

==== In Switzerland ====
[[File:DeSalisClothBellonna.jpg|thumb|100px|Comital ephemera: a Count's coronet and crest on a [[doily]].]]
* [[County of Geneva|Count of Geneva]]
* Count of [[Neuchâtel]]
* [[Count of Toggenburg]]
* Count of [[Kyburg, Zurich|Kyburg]]
* [[Count de Salis-Soglio]] (also in the UK, Canada and Australia)
* [[Count de Salis-Seewis]]
* [[Count Panzutti|Count of Panzutti]]

===In other continental European countries===
==== Holy See ====
{{Further|Papal count}}
Count/Countess was one of the noble titles granted by the Pope as a temporal sovereign, and the title's holder was sometimes informally known as a papal count/papal countess or less so as a Roman count/Roman countess, but mostly as count/countess. The comital title, which could be for life or hereditary, was awarded in various forms by popes and Holy Roman Emperors since the Middle Ages, infrequently before the 14th century, and the pope continued to grant the comital and other noble titles even after 1870, it was largely discontinued in the mid 20th-century, on the accession of [[John XXIII]]. The Papacy and the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] might appoint counts palatine with no particular territorial fief. Until 1812 in some regions, the purchaser of land designated "feudal" was ennobled by the noble seat that he held and became a ''conte''. This practice ceased with the formal abolition of feudalism in the various principalities of early-19th century Italy, last of all in the [[Papal States]].

==== In Poland ====
{{Main|Noble titles in Poland}}
{{See also|Szlachta}}
Poland was notable throughout its history for not granting titles of nobility. This was on the premise that one could only be born into nobility, outside rare exceptions. Instead, it conferred [[Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|non-hereditary courtly or civic roles]]. The noble titles that were in use on its territory were mostly of foreign provenance and usually subject to the process of [[indygenat]], naturalisation.

==== In Hungary ====
{{Main|Hungarian nobility}}
Somewhat similar to the native privileged class of nobles found in Poland, Hungary also had a class of [[Conditional noble]]s.

====On the Iberian peninsula====

As opposed to the plethora of hollow "gentry" counts, only a few countships ever were important in medieval [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]]; most territory was firmly within the [[Reconquista]] kingdoms before counts could become important. However, during the 19th century, the title, having lost its high rank (equivalent to that of [[Duke]]), proliferated.

=====Portugal=====
{{see also|List of countships in Portugal}}
[[Portugal]] itself started as a countship in 868, but became a [[History of Portugal (1112-1279)|kingdom]] in 1139 (see:''[[County of Portugal]]''). Throughout the [[history of Portugal]], especially during the [[History of Portugal (1834-1910)|constitutional monarchy]] many other countships were created.

=====Spain=====
[[File:Heraldic Crown of Spanish Count.svg|right|thumb|[[Coronet]] of a count (Spanish heraldry)]]
In Spain, no countships of wider importance exist, except in the former Spanish march.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}
*[[County of Barcelona]], the initial core of the [[Principality of Catalonia]], later one of the states of the [[Crown of Aragon]], which became one of the two main components of the Spanish crown.
*[[Count of Aragon]]
*[[Count of Castile]]
*[[Kingdom of Galicia|Count of Galicia]]
*[[Count of Lara]]
*[[Count Cassius]], progenitor of the [[Banu Qasi]]
*[[County of Urgell]], later integrated into the [[Principality of Catalonia]].
*The other [[Catalan counties]] were much smaller and were absorbed early into the [[County of Barcelona]] (between parentheses the annexation year): [[County of Girona]] (897), [[County of Besalú]], [[County of Osona]], which included the nominal [[County of Manresa]] (1111), [[County of Berga]] and [[County of Conflent]] (1117) and [[County of Cerdanya]] (1118). From 1162 these counties, together with that of Barcelona, were merged into the [[Principality of Catalonia]], a sovereign state that absorbed some other counties: [[County of Roussillon]] (1172), [[County of Pallars Jussà]] (1192), [[County of Empúries]] (1402), [[County of Urgell]] (1413) and [[County of Pallars Sobirà]] (1487), giving the Principality its definitive shape.

===South Eastern Europe===
====Bulgaria====
In the [[First Bulgarian Empire]], a ''komit'' was a hereditary provincial ruler under the [[tsar]] documented since the reign of [[Presian I of Bulgaria|Presian]] (836-852)<ref>Лъв Граматик, [http://kroraina.com/NI/izvori/GIBI_V/156.gif Гръцки извори за българската история, т. V, стр. 156]; Жеков, Ж. България и Византия VII-IX в. - военна администрация, Университетско издателство "Св. Климент Охридски", София, 2007, {{ISBN|978-954-07-2465-2}}, стр. 254</ref> The [[Cometopuli dynasty|Cometopouli]] dynasty was named after its founder, the ''komit'' of [[Sofia|Sredets]].

====Montenegro and Serbia====
The title of [[Serdar (Ottoman rank)|Serdar]] was used in the [[Principality of Montenegro]] and the [[Principality of Serbia]] as a noble title below that of [[Voivode]] equivalent to that of Count.

=== Crusader states ===
* [[Count of Edessa]]
* [[Count of Tripoli]] (1102–1288)

=== Scandinavia ===

In [[Denmark]] and historically in [[Denmark-Norway]] the title of count (''greve'') is the highest rank of nobility used in the modern period. Some Danish/Dano-Norwegian countships were associated with [[fief]]s, and these counts were known as "feudal counts" ([[Lensgreve (Danish title)|''lensgreve'']]). They rank above ordinary (titular) counts, and their position in the Danish aristocracy as the highest-ranking noblemen is broadly comparable to that of dukes in other European countries.<ref>Ferdinand Christian Herman von Krogh: ''Den høiere danske Adel. En genealogisk Haandbog'', C. Steen & søn, 1866</ref> With the first free [[Constitution of Denmark]] of 1849 came a complete abolition of the privileges of the nobility. Since then the title of count has been granted only to members of the [[Danish royal family]], either as a replacement for a princely title when marrying a commoner, or in recent times, instead of that title in connection with divorce. Thus the first wife of [[Prince Joachim of Denmark]], the younger son of [[Margrethe II of Denmark]], became [[Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg]] on their divorce—initially retaining her title of princess, but losing it on her remarriage.

In the Middle Ages the title of [[earl|jarl]] (earl) was the highest title of nobility. The title was eventually replaced by the title of duke, but that title was abolished in Denmark and Norway as early as the Middle Ages. Titles were only reintroduced with the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660, with count as the highest title.

In Sweden the rank of count is the highest rank conferred upon nobles in the modern era and are, like their Danish and Norwegian counterparts, broadly comparable to that of dukes in other European countries. Unlike the rest of Scandinavia, the title of duke is still used in Sweden, but only by members of the royal family not considered part of the nobility.

==Equivalents==
Like other major Western [[noble title]]s, Count is sometimes used to render certain titles in non-western languages with their own traditions, even though they are as a rule historically unrelated and thus hard to compare, but which are considered "equivalent" in rank.

This is the case with:

*the [[China|Chinese]] ''Bó'' (伯), or "Bojue" (伯爵), hereditary title of nobility ranking below ''Hóu'' (侯) and above ''Zĭ'' (子)
*earl of Britain
*the [[Japan]]ese equivalent ''[[Hakushaku]]'' ({{lang|ja|伯爵}}), adapted during the [[Meiji restoration]]
*the [[Korea]]n equivalent ''Baekjak'' (백작) or ''Poguk''
* in [[Vietnam]], it is rendered ''Bá'', one of the lower titles reserved for male members of the Imperial clan, above ''Tử'' (Viscount), ''Nam'' (Baron) and ''Vinh phong'' (lowest noble title), but lower than—in ascending order—''Hầu'' (Marquis), ''Công'' (Prince), ''Quận-Công'' (Duke/Duke of a commandery) and ''Quốc-Công'' (Grand Duke/Duke of the Nation), all under ''Vương'' (King) and ''Hoàng Đế'' (Emperor).
*the [[India]]n ''[[Sardar]]'', adopted by the [[Maratha Empire]], additionally, [[Jagir]]dar and [[Deshmukh]] are close equivalents
*the [[Arabic]] equivalent ''[[Sheikh]]''
*In traditional [[Sulu]] equivalent to [[Datu Sadja]]

==In fiction==
{{See also|List of fictional nobility#Counts and countesses}}
The title "Count" in fiction is commonly, though not always, given to evil characters, used as another word for prince or vampires (the latter due to the title's association with [[Dracula]]):
{{Div col|small=yes}}
*[[Count Nefaria]]
*[[Count Vertigo]]
*[[Count von Count]]
*[[Count Duckula]]
*[[Count Olaf]]
*[[Count Chocula]]
*[[Count Paris]]
*[[Count of Monte Cristo]]
*[[Count Dooku]]
*[[Count Dracula]]
*[[Count Orlok]]
*[[Count Arthur Strong]]
{{Div col end}}

==See also==
* [[Czech nobility]]
* [[Icelandic nobility]]
* [[Romanian nobility]]
* [[Russian nobility]]
* [[Viscount]]
* [[Earl]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Labarre de Raillicourt: ''Les Comtes Romains''
* Westermann, ''Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte'' (in German)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Counts}}
{{EB1911 poster|Count}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/peerage.htm Heraldica.org - here the French peerage]
* [http://www.regalis.com/nobletitles.htm Italian Titles of Nobility] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527112610/http://www.regalis.com/nobletitles.htm |date=2012-05-27 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060214093646/http://65.66.134.201/cgi-bin/webster/webster.exe?firstp=10661 Webster's 1828 Dictionary]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Counts| ]]
[[Category:Feudalism]]
[[Category:Roman Empire in late antiquity]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Titles]]
[[Category:Men's social titles]]

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