Fidalgo

''Fidalgo'' (, ), from Galician and Portuguese —equivalent to nobleman, but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a member of the titled or untitled nobility. A ''fidalgo'' is comparable in some ways to the French '' gentilhomme'' (the word also implies nobility by birth or by charge) and to the Italian '' nobile''. The title was abolished after the overthrow of the monarchy in 1910 and is also a family surname.

Origins and etymology

The word has the same etymological and historical roots as its Spanish cognate, ''hidalgo''. Although ''algo'' generally means "something", in this expression the word specifically denotes "riches" or "wealth" and thus was originally synonymous with ''rico homem'' (literally, "a rich man"). Corominas, Joan and José A Pascual (1981). "Hijo" in ''Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico'', Vol. G-Ma (3). Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 359-360.

As late as the reign of Afonso III (1248–1279), who completed the reconquest of the Algarve, the nobility was not differentiated as it would be later. All nobles, who were the large landowners, were referred to simply by two synonyms, ''fidalgo'' and ''ricos homens''. Originally, ''rico homem'' referred to the administrative duties entrusted to a noble and ''fidalgo'' referred to the inherited status of nobility (in an older parlance, "the nobility of blood"). Below the ''ricos homens'' was a descending category of their vassals: the ''infanções'', the knights (''cavaleiros''), and the squires (''escudeiros'').

''Rico homem'' and ''fidalgo'' reached their current meanings during the reign of John I (1385–1433). Large segments of the nobility did not side with John I in the crisis of 1383–1385 and the subsequent war with Castile; they lost their lands after the new king secured his claim to the throne and were replaced by a new nobility, elevated from previously non-noble families and modeled on the English system. ''Fidalgo'' came to be applied to a category analogous to the English "gentleman."

By the start of the fifteenth century, the term ''infanção'' fell out of use and "knight" came to mean all those below the ''ricos homens''. ''Fidalgo'' began to be emphasized because, in its sense of someone who had inherited nobility, it differentiated the older knights from the growing ''bourgeoisie'' that continued to gain access to knighthood through accomplishments in the service of the state.

It was during the reign of King Manuel I that rules were established that define the use of the degrees of nobility (hereditary titles), and the use of heraldic arms, preventing abuses in the adoption of both and establishing the rights of the nobility. The nobles were subject to the king and were arranged in an order with three degrees:

*1st grade: Fidalgo Cavaleiro
*2nd grade: Fidalgo Escudeiro
*3rd grade: Moço Fidalgo
*4th grade: Fidalgo Capelão (for ecclesiastics)

All nobles were considered vassals of the King of Portugal.

References

{{reflist

Portuguese noble titles
Brazilian noble titles
Portuguese-language surnames
Galician-language surnames