AnoblissementL’anoblissement est un acte formel de promotion d'une personne par la volonté d'un souverain, provoquant un changement d'état social en lui conférant la noblesse. C'est l'une des formes de reconnaissance qu'un État peut utiliser pour honorer l'un de ses citoyens. Au cours de l'histoire, et selon les pays, la pratique de l'anoblissement a varié et n'existe plus que dans quelques pays où la noblesse existe comme institution, comme la Belgique, l'Espagne, le Royaume-Uni et le Vatican.
MulticameralismIn contrast to unicameralism, and bicameralism, multicameralism is the condition in which a legislature is divided into more than two deliberative assemblies, which are commonly called "chambers" or "houses". This usually includes tricameralism with three chambers, but can also describe a system with any amount more. The word "multicameral" can also relate in other ways to its literal meaning of "many chambered" with use in science or biology.
The EstatesThe Estates, also known as the States (États, Landstände, Staten), was the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, the divisions of society in feudal times, called together for purposes of deliberation, legislation or taxation. A meeting of the estates that covered an entire kingdom was called an estates general. The first estate was the clergy, the second the nobility and the third the commoners, although actual membership in the third estate varied from country to country.
Noblesse d'apparenceL'expression noblesse d'apparence désigne dans la société française contemporaine des personnes non issues de la noblesse française mais qui, sans nécessairement prétendre être d'ascendance noble, présentent des éléments pouvant faire penser à d'éventuelles origines nobles : essentiellement le port régulier (inscrit à l'état-civil) d'un nom à particule, mais aussi le port éventuel d'une chevalière armoriée, voire timbrée, la possession d'un manoir ou d'un château, etc.
VilleinA villein is a class of serf tied to the land under the feudal system. As part of the contract with the lord of the manor, they were expected to spend some of their time working on the lord's fields in return for land. Villeins existed under a number of legal restrictions that differentiated them from freemen, and could not leave without his lord's permission. Generally, villeins held their status not by birth but by the land they held, and it was also possible for them to gain manumission from their lords.
Debate chamberA debate chamber is a room for people to discuss and debate. Debate chambers are used in governmental and educational bodies, such as a parliament, congress, city council, or a university, either for formal proceedings or for informal discourse, such as a deliberative assembly. When used for legislative purposes, a debate chamber may also be known as a council chamber, legislative chamber, or similar term. Some countries, such as New Zealand, use the term debating chamber as a formal name for the room that houses the national legislature.
Roturiervignette|Enluminure d'un manuscrit français médiéval représentant les trois états de la société : de gauche à droite, le clergé (oratores), la noblesse (bellatores) et les roturiers (laboratores). Un roturier est une personne qui n'est pas noble. « Roture » est un terme générique pour désigner soit la qualité d'une personne qui n'est pas née noble ou n'a pas été anoblie, soit une activité ou un état incompatible avec la noblesse, soit l'ensemble des personnes appartenant au tiers état sous l'Ancien Régime.
