Viscount

For other uses, seeViscount (disambiguation).

A portrait of French noblemanHenri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turennewearing a military uniform.

Aviscount(/ˈvaɪkaʊnt/VY-kownt,for male) orviscountess(/ˈvaɪkaʊntɪs/,for female) is atitleused in certainEuropeancountries for anobleof varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is aviscountcy.

In the case of French viscounts, the title is sometimes left untranslated asvicomte[vi.kɔ̃t].

Etymology

The wordviscountcomes fromOld Frenchvisconte(Modern French:vicomte), itself fromMedieval Latinvicecomitem,accusativeofvicecomes,fromLate Latinvice-"deputy" +Latincomes(originally "companion"; later Roman imperial courtier or trusted appointee, ultimately count).

History

During theCarolingian Empire,the kings appointedcountsto administerprovincesand other smaller regions, asgovernorsand military commanders. Viscounts were appointed to assist the counts in their running of the province, and often took onjudicialresponsibility.The kings strictly prevented the offices of their counts and viscounts from becoming hereditary, in order to consolidate their position and limit chance of rebellion.

The title was in use inNormandyby at least the early 11th century.Similar to the Carolingian use of the title, theNormanviscounts were local administrators, working on behalf of theDuke.Their role was to administer justice and to collecttaxesand revenues, often beingcastellanof the localcastle.Under the Normans, the position developed into a hereditary one, an example of such being the viscounts inBessin.The viscount was eventually replaced bybailiffs,andprovosts.

As a rank of theBritish peerage,it was first recorded in 1440, whenJohn Beaumontwas created Viscount Beaumont by KingHenry VI.The wordviscountcorresponds in the UK to theAnglo-Saxonshire reeve(root of the non-nobiliary, royal-appointed office ofsheriff). Thus, early viscounts originally received their titles from the monarch, and not hereditarily; they eventually tended to establish hereditary principalities in the wider sense. The rank is a relatively late introduction to the British system, and on the evening ofher coronationin 1838,Queen Victoriarecorded in her diary an explanation for this by then-Prime MinisterLord Melbourne(himself a viscount):

I spoke to Ld M. about the numbers of Peers present at the Coronation, & he said it was quite unprecedented. I observed that there were very few Viscounts, to which he replied "There are very few Viscounts," that they were an old sort of title & not really English; that they came from Vice-Comites; that Dukes & Barons were the only real English titles;—that Marquises were likewise not English, & that people were mere made Marquises, when it was not wished that they should be made Dukes.

Early modern and contemporary usage

Belgium

In Belgium a few familiesare recognised as Viscounts:

• Viscount of Audenaerde
• Viscount of Hombeke
• Viscount de Spoelberch
• Viscount Eyskens
• Viscount Savoir
• Viscount Poullet
• Viscount Frimout
• Viscount De Winne

United Kingdom

Viscounts are the fourth rank in theBritish peerage,standing directly below anearland above abaron(Lord of ParliamentinScotland). There are approximately 270 viscountcies extant in the peerages of theBritish Isles,though most aresecondary titles.

In British practice, the title of a viscount may be a place name, a surname, or a combination: examples include theViscount Falmouth,theViscount Hardingeand theViscount Colville of Culross.Some viscounts in the peerage of Scotland were traditionally styled "The Viscountof[X] ", such as theViscount of Arbuthnott.In practice, however, very few maintain this style, instead using the more common version "The Viscount [X]" in general parlance, for exampleViscount of Falklandwho is referred to as Viscount Falkland.

A British viscount is addressed in speech asLord [X],while his wife isLady [X],and he is formally styled "The Right HonourableThe Viscount [X] ". The children of a viscount are known asThe Honourable[Forename] [Surname],with the exception of a Scottish viscount, whose eldest child may be styled as "The HonourableMasterof [X] ".

Ireland

The title of viscount (Irish:bíocunta) was introduced to thePeerage of Irelandin 1478 with the creation of the title ofViscount Gormanston,the premier viscountcy of Britain and Ireland, held today byNicholas Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston.Other early Irish viscountcies wereViscount Baltinglass(1541),Viscount Clontarf(1541),Viscount Mountgarret(1550) andViscount Decies(1569).

Use as a courtesy title

A specifically British custom is the use of viscount as acourtesy titlefor the heir of an earl ormarquess.The peer'sheir apparentwill sometimes be referred to as a viscount, if the second most senior title held by the head of the family is a viscountcy. For example, the eldest son of theEarl HoweisViscount Curzon,because this is the second most senior title held by the Earl.

However, the son of a marquess or an earl can be referred to as a viscount when the title of viscount is not the second most senior if those above it share their name with thesubstantive title.For example, the second most senior title of theMarquess of Salisburyis theEarl of Salisbury,so his heir uses the lower title ofViscount Cranborne.

Sometimes, the son of a peer is referred to as a viscount even when he could use a more senior courtesy title which differs in name from the substantive title. Family tradition plays a role in this. For example, the eldest son of theMarquess of Londonderryis Viscount Castlereagh, even though the Marquess is also the Earl Vane.

On occasion, the title of viscount may be the courtesy title used for the grandson of a duke, provided that he is the eldest son of the duke's eldest son. This is because the eldest son of the duke will be given the second-highest title of his father (marquess or earl), and so the third-highest is left for his eldest son. It is possible for the great-grandson of a duke to hold the courtesy title of viscount if the duke's eldest son has the courtesy title marquess and his eldest son, in turn, uses the title of earl.

Coronet

Coronetof a British viscount.

Coronetof the 6thViscount Clifden.

A viscount'scoronetof rank bears 16 silver balls around the rim. Like all heraldic coronets, it is mostly worn at theCoronation of the British monarch,but a viscount has the right to bear his coronet of rank on hiscoat of arms,above the shield. In this guise, the coronet is shown face-on, featuring 9 silver balls.

Jersey

The island ofJersey(a BritishCrown Dependency) still retains an officer whose function is purely to administer orders of the island's judiciary, and whose position remains non-hereditary. The role of theViscount of Jersey(French:Vicomte de Jersey) involves managing fines, bail monies, seizures, confiscations, evictions, service of process, arrests for non-appearance in court and other enforcement procedures, as well acting ascoronerfor sudden or unexpected deaths and managingjury selection.

France

In France until the end of theSecond French Empire,the title ofvicomtewas belowcomteand abovebaronin precedence.

Portugal

In the former kingdom ofPortugalavisconderanks above abarão(baron) and below aconde(count). The first Portuguese viscountcy, that of D. Leonel de Lima, visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira, dates from the reign ofAfonso V.A flood of viscountcies, some 86 new titles, were awarded in Portugal between 1848 and 1880.

Spain

Main article:List of viscounts in the peerage of Spain

The Spanish title ofvizcondeis ranked between the titleconde(count/earl) and the relatively rare title ofbarón.

In Spain, nobles are classified as either Grandee of Spain (Grandes de España), as titled nobles, or as untitled nobles. A grandee of any rank outranks a non-grandee, even if that non-grandee's title is of a higher degree, thus, a viscount-grandee enjoys higher precedence than a marquis who is not a grandee.

In the kingdom of Spain the title was awarded from the reign ofFelipe IV(1621–65; Habsburg dynasty) until 1846.

Equivalent titles

Western counterparts

There are non-etymological equivalents to the title of viscount (i.e.,'vice-count') in several languages, including German.

However, in such case titles of the etymologicalBurgravefamily (not in countries with a viscount-form, such as Italianburgravioalongsidevisconte) bearers of the title could establish themselves at the same gap, thus at generally the same level. Consequently, aFreiherr(or Baron) ranks not immediately below aGraf,but below aBurggraf.

Thus inDutch,Burggraafis the rank above Baron, belowGraaf(i.e.,Count) in the kingdoms of the Netherlands and of Belgium (by Belgian law, its equivalents in the other official languages areBurggrafinGermanandvicomteinFrench).

Non-Western counterparts

Like other major Western noble titles, viscount is sometimes used to render certain titles in non-western languages with their own traditions. Even though they are considered 'equivalent' in relative rank, they are as a rule historically unrelated and thus hard to compare.

The Japanese cognateshishaku(shi) (Japanese:Tử tước) was the fourth of the five peerage ranks established in theMeiji period(1868–1911). The Japanese system of nobility,kazoku,which existed between 1884 and 1947, was based heavily on the British peerage. At the creation of the system, viscounts were the most numerous of all the ranks, with 324 being created compared to 11 non-imperial princes or dukes, 24 marquesses, 76 counts and 74 barons, for a total of 509 peers.

Other equivalent titles existed, such as:

• the Chinesetzu-chueh(tzu) orzijue(zi) (Chinese:Tử tước), hereditary title of nobility first established in theZhou dynasty
• the Korean cognatejajakorpansŏ
• the Vietnamese cognatetử
• the Manchujingkini hafan

In fiction

Main article:List of fictional viscounts and viscountesses

Viscounts and viscountesses appear in fiction, notably inJulia Quinn'sBridgertonserieswhere Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton is the eldest son and head of theeponymous family.He is also the focus of the second novel of the series, the #1The New York TimesBestsellerThe Viscount Who Loved Me,published in 2000.The viscount is portrayed byJonathan Baileyin the Netflix television adaptationBridgertonreleased in 2020.

Another prominent fictional viscount isRaoul, Vicomte de Chagny,one of the love interests inGaston Leroux's classic novelLe Fantôme de l'Opéra.He is a notable viscount in France and a patron of theOpera Populaire,the fictional opera house based on the realPalais Garnier.When Raoul marriesChristine Daaéshe becomes the Vicomtesse de Chagny.

See also

• Lists of viscountcies
  • List of viscountcies in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
  • List of viscountcies in Portugal
• Several Italian noble dynasties
  • Visconti of Milan,ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447
    • Visconti di Modrone,collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan
  • Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia,ruled Gallura in Sardinia from 1207 to 1250