The term noble has different meanings, one of them refers to the qualifier that is given to a person who has good moral values. For example: "Carlos is a man of noble feelings." Another definition of this word is that related to a person who holds a title of nobility; title that constituted since the middle ages, one of the three social levels of the time.
During the Middle Ages there were different types of nobles: they were made up of families whose origin dates back to the Roman Empire, being a kind of royal nobility and where the title of noble could not be assigned, since in order to hold it, it had to belong to one of these families.
At that time, to be noble was to belong to the highest stratum of feudal society, where the figure of the king was the one who occupied the highest rank and was also the only one with the power to create laws. Medieval nobles were the heirs of the Germanic aristocracy and the great Roman landowners. They exerted control over economic life and once the Germanic empire disappeared, they took absolute control.
On the other hand were the nobles by privilege, this type of nobility was granted by the king as compensation for the services rendered to the State. This title granted by the king could be personal, that is, it ended when the person credited with the benefit died. Or it could be transmissible, in this case the nobleman gave his condition to his descendants.
The nobles enjoyed certain privileges, such as: they had large portions of land, had servants at their disposal, lived in sumptuous castles and were exempt from paying taxes.
Most of the time they were engaged in the practice of some sport such as fishing or hunting, they were in charge of organizing jousting tournaments and within the armies, they occupied the highest position within the organization.
It is important to note that the nobles could only go to jail for a criminal offense and, if the case arose, he could not share the cell with the other inmates; another cell was arranged for him, away from the others. They could not be tortured and they could not be hanged. In other words, the nobles had a wide group of laws that showed their supremacy in medieval society.
