Definition. According to the society of orders model, nobility was a status acquired by service in the defense of society. The battle chiefs and knights of the Middle Ages were, according to this idea, the true exemplars of nobility. By the late fifteenth century, this notion ran into the inescapable fact that most people who called themselves nobles were no longer primarily soldiers. Two other, partly contradictory, definitions of nobility merged with the model from the society of orders. The first harked back to the ancient philosopher Aristotle, who argued that the aristocracy consisted of the most talented people, who should use their talent to rule society. Nobles defended society not just by fighting wars, but by taking the lead in local administration of all kinds. The second argued that nobility was in the blood. The surest sign of nobility...