Titles of Nobility

So Scott Anderson recently put up a post on the different titles of nobility used for his setting, and I wanted to look at how that corresponds to the rules in the Companion set. I will be taking most of this info from pg 11 of the Dungeon Masters Companion: Book Two.

First off here is Scott's list:

Country Bastard
Gentleman/Squire
Knight
Life Lord
Baronet
Marquis
Baron
Count/Earl
Duke
Prince/Grand Prince/Grand Duke/Archduke
King
Emperor

The List in the companion book is as follows:

Baron/Baroness
Viscount/Viscountess
Count/Countess
Marquis/Marquesa
Duke/Duchess
Archduke
Prince/Princess
King/Queen
Emperor/Emperess

There is also mention of Jarls and Earls equivalent to independent Counts, and Emirs equivalent to Kings.

This list is further broken down into Nobility and Royalty. Royalty beginning at Archduke as a relative of the King, but not in his immediate family.

Comparing the descriptions of the titles between the two lists, they essentially describe the same thing, with the exception of the Marquis and the Viscount. The Viscount is completely missing from Scott's List and the Marquis is different in both the hierarchical order and description.

Essential to the titles in the Companion Set are the number of other Dominions ruled. A Baron rules his dominion directly. A Viscount rules over his own Dominion and the dominion of another baron who is his vassal. A viscount must conquer another barony to become a Count. A count must conquer at least one dominion to become a marquis. A marquis must add more dominions(not necessarily by conquest) to become a duke. So there is established some rules for PCs to advance from one title to another like so:
Baron = 1 Barony
Viscount = 2 Baronies
Count = 3+ Baronies
Marquis = 4+ Baronies
Duke = 5+ Baronies

It is also noted that each title must be granted by a higher ranking noble, and these are just the minimum requirements to qualify for a title.

Let's talk about the Marquis a little bit. I think the ranking in hierarchy in the companion set is a little more accurate. Scott's description is more historically accurate, but as I understand it the marquis was directly answerable to the King. Charlemagne established a few marches. I know there was the Italian march on the east side of the Apennines who grew to be quite powerful among the Italian Lords. there was also the Spanish March around the Pyrenees and I think there may have been a few on the eastern borders of the empire. I also think there was a Welsh March and maybe an Irish March under the Normans. I'm not sure about those last ones, i'd have to look it up. However, I am fairly certain that both the Frankish and Norman Marquis or March Lords were granted this territory in addition to whatever they already had, so Charlemagne would have appointed one his Dukes(or Doux) as a Marquis to guard the Spanish border, and William would have appointed a Baron as Marquis in the Welsh March. And even if that lord was subordinate to another(a count to a duke) they reported directly to the King concerning the March which they ruled directly. So in that sense the title of Marquis is equivalent to Duke.  But then again, the King could have Dukes, and counts, and Baron all as direct vassals. I think these titles differentiate less of a hierarchy and act more as gauge of individual power.

So how to put all this together for a campaign? I like Scott's descriptions, yet I also think the gamification of the Companion set is useful. If a PC gains a dominion it's important to define what title accompanies that dominion and how he can rise in status. It is also important to keep these titles historically grounded and have them defined for each region/nation in your campaign setting. The standards in the Companion set also can help the players when they meet an NPC noble to know exactly what kind of power they are dealing with. I do like the extension of Scott's list below the Baron, though this will have to be tailored to the individual setting. For any setting I design in the Future I think will use modified descriptions based on Scott's and keep the minimum qualifications from the Companion rules, with the exception of the Marquis. Maybe change the marquis qualification to having another title already and a close relationship with the King.