Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a class of patrician families whose members were the only people allowed to exercise many political functions. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The term " patrician " originally referred to a group of elite families in Ancient Rome, including both their natural and In the rise of European towns in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the patriciate, a limited group of families with a special constitutional position, in Henri Pirenne's view,^[1] was the motive force. Henri Pirenne ( December 23 1862, Verviers - October 25 1935, Uccle) was a leading Belgian historian

With the establishment of the medieval Italian republics, the patriciate was a formally defined class of governing elite burgher families of many medieval republics, such as Venice, Florence and Genoa, and also in many of the Free imperial cities of Germany and Switzerland. The Italian city states were a remarkable political phenomenon of small independent states in the northern Italian peninsula between the tenth and fifteenth centuries The Most Serene Republic of Venice ((Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta or Repùblica de Venesia Serenissima Repubblica Roman origins Florence was founded in 59 BCE as a settlement for former soldiers and was named Florentia, allotted by Julius Caesar to his veterans in The Most Serene Republic of Genoa (Repubblica di Genova was an independent state in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from the 11th century In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city (in German: freie Reichsstadt) was a City formally ruled by the Emperor only &mdash Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation

As in Ancient Rome, the status was inherited (sometimes through the female line as well as the male), and only male patricians could hold, or participate in elections for, most political offices. Often, as in Venice, non-patricians had next to no political rights. Lists were maintained of who had the status, of which the most famous is the Libro d'Oro (Golden Book) of the Venetian Republic. The Libro d'Oro (Golden Book once the formal directory of nobles in the Republic of Venice, is now a privately published Catalogue of members of Italian nobility From the late Middle Ages city-republics were increasing swallowed up by monarchical states, like Genoa, or sometimes other republics, like Siena by Florence, and any special role for the local patricians was restricted to municipal affairs. The few remaining patrician constitutions, notably that of Venice, were swept away by the conquering French armies of the period after the French Revolution, though many patrician families remained socially and politically important, as some do to this day. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an

Contents 1 The patricius in Late Antiquity 2 Formation of the European patriciates 3 Transformations within patriciates 4 Recruitment to patriciates 5 Patricianship in The Netherlands 6 Notes 7 References 8 See also

The patricius in Late Antiquity

Main article: Magister militum

There was an intermediate period under the Late Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire when the title was given to governors in the Western parts of the Empire, such as Sicily— Stilicho, Aetius and other fifth-century magistri militari usefully exemplify the role and scope of the patricius at this point. Magister militum ( Latin for "Master of the Soldiers" was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Flavius Stilicho (occasionally written as Stilico) (ca 359 &ndash August 22, 408) was a high-ranking general ( Magister militum Aetius or Aëtius may refer to Aetius (philosopher of Antioch a 1st-century B Later the role, like that of the Giudicati of Sardinia, acquired a judicial overtone, and was used by rulers who were often de facto independent of Imperial control, like Alberic II of Spoleto, "Patrician of Rome" from 932 to 954. The giudicati (singular giudicato) were the indigenous kingdoms of Sardinia from about 900 until 1410 when the last fell to the Aragonese Sardinia (sɑrˈdɪnɪə Sardegna Sardigna or Sardinnya is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily) Alberic II (912-954 was ruler of Rome from 932 to 954 after deposing his mother Marozia and his stepfather the Roman patrician, princeps and senator In the 10th century Amalfi was also ruled by a series of Patricians, the last of whom was elected Duke. Amalfi is also a town in the Antioquia Departament in Colombia. Mastalus II (Mastalo died 957 was the first Duke of Amalfi from 957 until his death The medieval Republic of Amalfi was ruled in the tenth and eleventh centuries by a series of dukes (duces sometimes called dogi (singular doge At this time there was usually only one "Patrician" for a particular city or territory at a time; in several cities in Sicily, like Catania and Messina, a one-man office of patrician was part of municipal government for much longer. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Catania ( Greek: &ndash Katánē; Latin: Catăna and Catĭna; Arabic:

Formation of the European patriciates

Though often mistakenly so described, patrician families of Italian cities were not in their origins members of the territorial nobility, but members of the minor landowners, the bailiffs and stewards of the lords and bishops, against whose residual powers they led the struggles in establishing the urban communes. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Communes in Europe in the Middle Ages were sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms among community members of a town or city At Genoa the earliest records of trading partnerships are in documents of the early eleventh century; there the typical sleeping partner is a member of the local petty nobility with some capital to invest, and in the expansion of trade leading roles were taken by men who already held profitable positions in the feudal order, who received revenues from rents or customs tolls or market dues. The Most Serene Republic of Genoa (Repubblica di Genova was an independent state in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from the 11th century Then in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, to this first patrician class were added the families who had risen through trade, the Doria, Cigala and Lercari^[2] In History of Milan, the earliest consuls were chosen from among the valvasores, capitanei and cives. Doria, originally de Auria (from de filiis Auriae) meaning "the sons of Auria" and then de Oria or d'Oria, is the name of an old A vavasour, (also vavasor, Old French vavassor vavassour French vavasseur LL H. Sapori found the first patriaciates of Italian towns to usurp the public and financial functions of the overlord to have been drawn from such petty vassals, holders of heritable tenancies and rentiers who farmed out the agricultural labours of their holdings. A vassal (also called feodary or fedary) in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of Medieval Europe, ^[3]

At a certain point it was necessary to obtain recognition of the independence of the city, and often its constitution, from either the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor - "free" cities in the Empire continued to owe alliegance to the Emperor, but without any intermediate rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor (Römischer Kaiser or Römisch-Deutscher Kaiser Romanorum Imperator was the elected monarch ruling over the many varying numbers of states

In the late Middle Ages and early modern period patricians also acquired noble titles, sometimes simply by acquiring domains in the surrounding contada that carried a heritable fief. Under the system of Feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing However in practice the status and wealth of the patrician families of the great republics was higher than that of most nobles, as money economy spread and the profitability and prerogatives of land-holding eroded, and they were accepted as of similar status. The Republic of Genoa had a separate class, much smaller, of nobility, originating with rural magnates who joined their interests with the fledgling city-state. Some cities, such as Naples and Rome, which had never been republics, also had patrician classes, though most holders also had noble titles. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2

Subsequently "patrician" became a vaguer term used for aristocrats and elite bourgeoisie in many countries. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations

Transformations within patriciates

In some Italian cities an early patriciate drawn from the minor nobles and feudal officials took a direct interest in trade, notably the textile trade and the long-distance trade in spices and luxuries as it expanded, and were transformed in the process. In others, the inflexibility of the patriciate would build up powerful forces excluded from its ranks, and in an urban coup the great mercantile interests would overthrow the grandi, without overthrowing the urban order, but simply filling its formal bodies with members drawn from the new ranks, or rewriting the constitution to allow more power to the "populo". Florence, in 1244, came rather late in the peak period of these transformations, which was between 1197, when Lucca followed this route, and 1257, when Genoa adopted similar changes. Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near (but not on the Ligurian Sea ^[4] However Florence was to have other upheavals, reducing the power of the patrician class, in the movement leading to the Ordinances of Justice in 1293, and the Revolt of the Ciompi in 1378. The Ordinances of Justice were a series of statutory laws enacted in Florence, Italy between the years A The Revolt of the Ciompi was a popular revolt in late medieval Florence by wool Carders known as ciompi Of the major republics, only Venice managed to retain an exclusively patrician government, which survived until Napoleon.

Recruitment to patriciates

Active recruitment of rich new blood was also a character of some more flexible patriciates. , which drew in members of the mercantile elite, through ad hoc partnerships in ventures, which became more permanently cemented by marriage alliances. "In such cases an upper group, part feudal-aristocratic, part mercantile would arise, a group of mixed nature like the 'magnates' of Bologna,formed of nobles made bourgeois by business, and bourgeois ennobled by city decree, both fused together in law. "^[5] Others, like Venice, tightly restricted membership, which was closed in 1297, though some families, the "case nuove" or "new houses" were allowed to join in the 14th century, after which membership was frozen.

Patricianship in The Netherlands

The Netherlands also knows a patriciate. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands It consists of extremely old and or well known Dutch families. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands These are registered in 'Het Nederlands' Patriciaat' colloquially called 'The Blue Book'. To be eligible for entry families must have played an active and important role in Dutch society, fulfilling high positions in the government, in prestigious commissions and in other prominent public posts for over six generations or 150 years. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government.

The longer a family has been listed in the Blue Book the higher its esteem. The earliest entries are often families seen as coequal to the high nobility (barons and counts), because they are the younger branches of the same family or have continuously married members of the Dutch nobility over a long period of time. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Baron is a specific Title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin (liber A count is a Nobleman in European countries The word count comes from French comte, itself from Latin Princes Van Oranje-Nassau De Bourbon de Parme De Riquet de Caraman Wellesley Prince of Waterloo

These are 'regentenfamilies' whose forefathers were active in the administration of town councils, counties or the country itself during the Dutch Republic. "United Netherlands" redirects here For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" see United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Some of these families declined enoblement because they did not keep a title in such high regard. A title is a prefix or suffix added to a person's name to signify either veneration an official position or a professional or academic qualification At the end of the 19th century they still proudly called themselves "patriciers". Other families belong to the patriciate because they are held in the same regard and respect as the nobility but for certain reasons never where ennobled. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Even within the same important families there can be branches with and without noble titles.

The noble position of the lowest rank of the Dutch nobility; jonkheer, untitled nobility, could be seen as coequal to the average non-noble patrician family because the lower nobility in the Netherlands is becoming more common and less noble and is taking the form of the bourgeois, upper middleclass instead of the upper-class. Princes Van Oranje-Nassau De Bourbon de Parme De Riquet de Caraman Wellesley Prince of Waterloo Jonkheer (female equivalent Jonkvrouw is a Dutch Honorific of nobility Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime

Patrician families in the Netherlands include

• Quarles van Ufford (one branch, of which is related to the actress Audrey Hepburn), and
• d'Abo (family producing two actresses and one musician
  • Maryam D'Abo, actress
  • Olivia D'Abo, actress, (daughter of Mike D'Abo below), and
  • Mike D'Abo, musician

Notes

References

• J. Dronkers and H. Schijf (2004): "Huwelijken tussen adel en patriciaat: een middeel om hun eliteposities in een moderne samenleving in stand te houden?. "
• CBG. "Het Nederlands Patriciaat"

See also

• Nobile
• Upper class

Is a concept in Sociology that refers to the group of people at the top of a Social hierarchy.

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