Nobile

Nobile (Untitled Nobleman). In the Dark Ages, local leaders known to their people were nobiliti, from the Latin nobilitas, meaning, appropriately, "known." The rank denotes some, but not all, aristocratic Italian families which lack titles. This class may be compared to the landed gentry of Great Britain. There are, strictly speaking, two kinds of nobili-the younger sons of peers and male members of the aforementioned noble families in which there have never been titles. The crest coronet of a nobile is a jewelled circlet of gold surmounted by five pearls, supported by stems or set directly upon the rim.