Editing Viscount

{{Short description|Aristocratic title in various European countries}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Royal and noble ranks}}
[[File:Pierre Mignard (attr) Vicomte de Turenne.jpg|thumb|right|The French general [[Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne]]]]

A '''viscount''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-viscount.ogg|ˈ|v|aɪ|k|aʊ|n|t}} {{respell|VY|kownt}}, for male<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/viscount?showCookiePolicy=true|title=Viscount|date=n.d.|publisher=[[Collins Dictionary]]|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref>) or '''viscountess''' ({{IPAc-en|'|v|aɪ|k|aʊ|n|t|ɪ|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-viscountess.wav}}, for female<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/viscountess?showCookiePolicy=true|title=Viscountess|date=n.d.|publisher=[[Collins Dictionary]]|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref>) is a [[Title#Aristocratic titles|title]] used in certain [[Europe]]an countries for a [[nobility|noble]] of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a '''viscounty'''. 

In the case of French viscounts, the title is sometimes left untranslated as '''''vicomte''''' {{IPA|fr|vi.kɔ̃t|}}.

==Etymology==
The word ''viscount'' comes from [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|visconte}} ([[French language|Modern French]]: {{lang|fr|vicomte}}), itself from [[Medieval Latin]] {{lang|la|vicecomitem}}, [[accusative case|accusative]] of {{lang|la|vicecomes}}, from [[Vulgar Latin|Late Latin]] {{lang|la|vice-}} "deputy" + [[Latin]] {{lang|la|[[comes]]}} (originally "companion"; later Roman imperial courtier or trusted appointee, ultimately count).<ref name="Online Etymology">{{cite dictionary |title=Viscount (n.) |dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=18 June 2014 |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=viscount }}</ref>

==History==
During the [[Carolingian Empire]], the kings appointed [[count]]s to administer [[Government of the Carolingian Empire#subdivision|provinces]] and other smaller regions, as [[governors]] and military commanders. Viscounts were appointed to assist the counts in their running of the province, and often took on [[judiciary|judicial]] responsibility.<ref name="Upshur, Terry, Holoka, Goff & Cassar">{{cite book|title=Cengage Advantage Books: World History|last1=Upshur|first1=Jiu-Hwa|last2=Terry|first2=Janice|last3=Holoka|first3=Jim|last4=Goff|first4=Richard|last5=Cassar|first5=George H.|volume=I|year=2011|pages=329|isbn=9781111345167|publisher=Wadsworth Publishing Co Inc|location=California}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Upshur, Terry, Holoka, Goff & Cassar"/>

The title was in use in [[Normandy]] by at least the early 11th century.<ref name="Loud">{{cite book|title=Conquerors and churchmen in Norman Italy|last=Loud|first=G. A.|year=1999|page=4|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Co.|location=Surrey, UK|isbn=9780860788034}}</ref> Similar to the Carolingian use of the title, the [[Normans|Norman]] viscounts were local administrators, working on behalf of the [[Duke of Normandy|Duke]].<ref name="Petit=Dutaillis" /> Their role was to administer justice and to collect [[tax]]es and revenues, often being [[castellan]] of the local [[castle]]. Under the Normans, the position developed into a hereditary one, an example of such being the viscounts in [[Bessin]].<ref name="Petit=Dutaillis">{{cite book|title=The Feudal Monarchy in France and England|last=Petit-Dutaillis|first=C.|page=162|publisher=Routledge|year=1936|location=Oxford, UK|isbn=9781136203503}}</ref> The viscount was eventually replaced by [[bailiff]]s, and [[provost (civil)|provost]]s.<ref name="Petit=Dutaillis"/>

As a rank of the [[Peerages in the United Kingdom|British peerage]], it was first recorded in 1440, when [[John Beaumont, 1st Viscount Beaumont|John Beaumont]] was created Viscount Beaumont by King [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]].<ref name="Journals of the House of Lords">{{cite journal|title=Journals of the House of Lords|pages=512|volume=cii|year=1870|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S8I4AQAAIAAJ&q=onto+whom&pg=PA512|access-date=16 June 2014}}</ref> The word ''viscount'' corresponds in the UK to the [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] [[sheriff|''shire reeve'']] (root of the non-nobiliary, royal-appointed office of [[sheriff]]). 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 of [[Coronation of Queen Victoria|her coronation]] in 1838, [[Queen Victoria]] recorded in her diary an explanation for this by then-[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Lord Melbourne]] (himself a viscount):

<blockquote>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.<ref>{{cite book | title=Queen Victoria's Journals | chapter=28 June 1838 | location=Buckingham Palace, Princess Beatrice's copies | volume=4 | date=1 June – 1 October 1838 | page=84 | chapter-url=http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/search/displayItemFromId.do?FormatType=fulltextimgsrc&QueryType=articles&ItemID=qvj02134&volumeType=PSBEA#zoomHolder  | access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref></blockquote>

==Early modern and contemporary usage==
=== Belgium ===
In Belgium a few families{{cn|reason=families or people?|date=July 2024}} are recognised as Viscounts:
* [[Viscount of Audenaerde]]
* [[Jean-Antoine Locquet, 1st Viscount of Hombeke|Viscount of Hombeke]]
* [[Spoelberch|Viscount de Spoelberch]]
* [[Gaston Eyskens|Viscount Eyskens]]
* Viscount Savoir
* [[Prosper Poullet|Viscount Poullet]]
* [[Dirk Frimout|Viscount Frimout]]
* [[Frank De Winne|Viscount De Winne]]

===United Kingdom===
{{Peerage |Ranks=expanded}}
Viscounts are the fourth rank in the [[Peerages in the United Kingdom|British peerage]], standing directly below an [[earl]] and above a [[baron]] ([[Lord of Parliament]] in [[Scotland]]). There are approximately 270 viscountcies extant in the peerages of the [[British Isles]], though most are [[Subsidiary title|secondary titles]].<ref name="The Roll of the Peerage">{{cite web|title=The Roll of the Peerage|last1=Denyer|first1=Ian|last2=Bavister|first2=Grant|publisher=[[College of Arms]]|url=http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/images/downloads/Roll%20of%20the%20Peerage.pdf|access-date=18 June 2014|orig-year=2004|year=2014|archive-date=17 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717034647/http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/images/downloads/Roll%20of%20the%20Peerage.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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

A British viscount is addressed in speech as ''Lord [X]'', while his wife is ''Lady [X]'', and he is formally styled "[[The Right Honourable]] The Viscount [X]". The children of a viscount are known as ''[[The Honourable]] [Forename] [Surname]'', with the exception of a Scottish viscount, whose eldest child may be styled as "[[The Honourable]] [[Master (Peerage of Scotland)|Master]] of [X]".<ref name="Debrett's: Viscount and Viscountess">{{cite web|title=Viscount and Viscountess|url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/viscount-and-viscountess|date=n.d.|access-date=18 June 2014|publisher=[[Debrett's]]}}</ref>

====Ireland====
The title of viscount ({{Langx|ga|bíocunta}}) was introduced to the [[Peerage of Ireland]] in 1478 with the creation of the title of [[Viscount Gormanston]], the premier viscountcy of Britain and Ireland, held today by [[Nicholas Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston]]. Other early Irish viscountcies were [[Viscount Baltinglass]] (1541), [[John Rawson, 1st Viscount Clontarf|Viscount Clontarf]] (1541), [[Viscount Mountgarret]] (1550) and [[Viscount Decies]] (1569).

====Use as a courtesy title====
A specifically British custom is the use of viscount as a [[courtesy title]] for the heir of an earl or [[marquess]]. The peer's [[heir apparent]] will 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 the [[Earl Howe]] is [[Viscount Curzon]], because this is the second most senior title held by the Earl.<ref name="Debrett's: Courtesy Titles">{{cite web|title=Courtesy Titles|url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/courtesy-titles|date=n.d.|publisher=[[Debrett's]]|access-date=18 June 2014}}</ref>

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 the [[substantive title]]. For example, the second most senior title of the [[Marquess of Salisbury]] is the [[Earl of Salisbury]], so his heir uses the lower title of [[Viscount 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 the [[Marquess of Londonderry]] is 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====
[[File:Coronet of a British Viscount.svg|right|thumb|150px|[[Coronet]] of a British viscount.]]
[[File:Coronet of a British Viscount.jpg|right|thumb|150px|[[Coronet]] of the 6th [[Viscount Clifden]].]]
A viscount's [[coronet]] of rank bears 16 silver balls around the rim. Like all heraldic coronets, it is mostly worn at the [[Coronation of the British monarch]], but a viscount has the right to bear his coronet of rank on his [[coat of arms]], above the shield. In this guise, the coronet is shown face-on, featuring 9 silver balls.<ref name="Debrett's:Ceremonial Robes">{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.com/people/essential-guide-peerage/ceremonial-robes|publisher=[[Debrett's]]|date=n.d.|access-date=18 June 2014|title=Ceremonial Robes}}</ref>

===Jersey===
The island of [[Jersey]] (a British [[Crown Dependencies|Crown 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 the [[Viscount of Jersey]] ([[French language|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 as [[coroner]] for sudden or unexpected deaths and managing [[jury selection]].<ref name="Function of the Viscount's department">{{cite web|title=Functions of the Viscount's Department|publisher=States of Jersey|url=http://www.gov.je/Government/NonexecLegal/Viscount/Pages/Functions.aspx|date=n.d.|access-date=17 June 2014}}</ref>

===France===
In France until the end of the [[Second French Empire]], the title of ''vicomte'' was below ''comte'' and above ''baron'' in precedence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Saillens |first1=Émile |title=Facts about France: Brief Answers to Recurring Questions |date=1918 |publisher=[[Hachette (publisher)|Librairie Hachette]] |location=Paris |page=166 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zbRBAAAAYAAJ&dq=duc+marquis+comte+vicomte+baron&pg=PA166 |access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref>

===Portugal===
In the former kingdom of [[Portugal]] a ''visconde'' ranks above a ''barão'' (baron) and below a ''conde'' (count). The first Portuguese viscountcy, that of D. Leonel de Lima, visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira, dates from the reign of [[Alfonso V of Portugal|Afonso V]]. A flood of viscountcies, some 86 new titles, were awarded in Portugal between 1848 and 1880.

===Spain===
{{main|List of viscounts in the peerage of Spain}}
The Spanish title of ''vizconde'' is ranked between the title ''conde'' (count/earl) and the relatively rare title of ''barón''.

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 of [[Philip IV of Spain|Felipe 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 etymological [[Burgrave]] family (not in countries with a viscount-form, such as Italian {{lang|it|burgravio}} alongside {{lang|it|visconte}}) bearers of the title could establish themselves at the same gap, thus at generally the same level. Consequently, a {{lang|de|Freiherr}} (or Baron) ranks not immediately below a {{lang|de|Graf}}, but below a {{lang|de|Burggraf}}.

Thus in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], {{lang|nl|Burggraaf}} is the rank above Baron, below {{lang|nl|Graaf}} (''i.e.'', Count) in the kingdoms of the Netherlands and of Belgium (by Belgian law, its equivalents in the other official languages are {{lang|de|Burggraf}} in [[German language|German]] and {{lang|fr|vicomte}} in [[French language|French]]).

===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 cognate {{transliteration|ja|shishaku}} ({{transliteration|ja|shi}}) ({{langx|ja|子爵}}) was the fourth of the five peerage ranks established in the [[Meiji period]] (1868–1911). The Japanese system of nobility, {{transliteration|ja|[[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.<ref>Jansen, ''The Making of Modern Japan'', p. 391.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Other equivalent titles existed, such as:
* the Chinese {{transliteration|zh|tzu-chueh}} ({{transliteration|zh|tzu}}) or {{transliteration|zh|zijue}} ({{transliteration|zh|zi}}) ({{zh|c=子爵}}), hereditary title of nobility first established in the [[Zhou dynasty]]
* the Korean cognate {{transliteration|ko|jajak}} or {{transliteration|ko|pansŏ}}
* the Vietnamese cognate {{lang|vi|tử}}
* the Manchu {{transliteration|mnc|jingkini hafan}}

==In fiction==
{{Main|List of fictional viscounts and viscountesses}}
Viscounts and viscountesses appear in fiction, notably in [[Julia Quinn]]'s [[Bridgerton (novel series)|''Bridgerton'' series]] where Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton is the eldest son and head of the [[Bridgerton (novel series)#Bridgerton family tree|eponymous family]]. He is also the focus of the second novel of the series, the #1 ''The New York Times'' Bestseller ''[[The Viscount Who Loved Me]]'', published in 2000''.''<ref>{{Cite web |last1=March 27 |first1=Maureen Lee Lenker Updated |last2=EDT |first2=2022 at 01:26 AM |title=How 'Bridgerton' season 2 differs from the novel 'The Viscount Who Loved Me' |url=https://ew.com/tv/bridgerton-season-2-differences-novel-the-viscount-who-loved-me/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref> The viscount is portrayed by [[Jonathan Bailey]] in the Netflix television adaptation ''[[Bridgerton]]'' released in 2020.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Season 2 has officially cemented its place as the #1 English TV series on Netflix. One month after its premiere on Netflix, the secrets of Lady Whistledown have amassed a whopping 656.16M hours viewed. |url=https://about.netflix.com/,%20https://about.netflix.com/en/news/top-10-week-of-april-18-anatomy-of-a-scandal-is-the-weeks-most-viewed-title |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=About Netflix}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=2022-04-19 |title=''Bridgerton'' Season 2 Overtakes Season 1 in Netflix's All-Time TV Rankings |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/bridgerton-season-2-beats-season-1-netflix-viewership-ratings-1235235479/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |magazine=Variety}}</ref>

Another prominent fictional viscount is [[Viscount Raoul de Chagny|Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny]], one of the love interests in [[Gaston Leroux]]'s classic novel ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|Le Fantôme de l'Opéra]]''. He is a notable viscount in France and a patron of the [[Opera Populaire]], the fictional opera house based on the real [[Palais Garnier]]. When Raoul marries [[Christine Daaé]] she becomes the Vicomtesse de Chagny.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leroux |first=Gaston |title=le Fantôme de l'Opera |publisher=Pierre Laie |year=1909 |language=fr}}</ref>

==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

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{Lexikon des Mittelalters|8|1619||Vicecomes II. Katalonien |||| last = Engels | first = O.}}
* {{Lexikon des Mittelalters|8|1619||Vicecomes IV. Italien |||| last = Houben | first = H.}}
* {{Lexikon des Mittelalters|8|1618|1619|Vicecomes I. Karolingerzeit|||| last = Huschner | first = W.}}
* {{Lexikon des Mittelalters|8|1619|1620|Vicecomes II. Süd- und Südwestfrankreich |||| last = Mattejiet | first = U.}}
* {{Lexikon des Mittelalters|8|1620|1621|Vicecomes III. Normandie |||| last = Renoux | first = A.}}

{{Terms for types of country subdivisions}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Viscounts| ]]
[[Category:Viscountcies| ]]
[[Category:Men's social titles]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Peerage]]