Rich Noble, Poor Noble

by M.L. Bush

234 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1988

Reviews

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sequel to Noble Privilege follows the same methods and has the same limitation to mostly secondary sources, and it continues Bush’s very detailed study of the nuts and bolts of the noble order on the Continent. This time he’s concerned with questions of diversity and mutability: Under what circumstances did the noble class grow or diminish, how did one enter the ranks of the aristocracy, how might one (or one’s descendants) be de-nobled, what were the actual difference in station between those nobles who were wealthy and those who were not, and how did the latter dissimilarity affect personal conduct, choice of residence, and the necessity of trade? Again, the style is scholarly but quite accessible and the bibliography is very thorough.