Inheritance of Titles
Their title differed from the higher noblemen's titles in that it was inherited by all the zeman's children equally in each generation. Their ratio in society therefore did not decline as the population grew. A male zeman's children, sons as well as daughters, were all born zemans regardless of the status of their mother (when a female commoner married a zeman, her status was effectively raised). A female zemianka who married a commoner retained her noble status for the rest of her life, but it did not transfer to her husband and her children were born commoners.
Read more about this topic: Zeman (nobleman)
Famous quotes containing the words inheritance of, inheritance and/or titles:
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Fool. All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with.”
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