History Main / BlueBlood

The nobility. The military elite in the MiddleAges and the perceived elite afterwards.

Whether or not they have a [[RoyalBlood sovereign]] whom they are subordinate to, these characters definitely have commoners who are subordinate to them. Their position is hereditary, often legally enforced, although occasionally simply socially accepted to the same effect. Usually, the longer the family and its heritage have been known the better. In some periods and countries, it can carry the taint of being not quite noble yet if only one's parents were ennobled. Thus, nobles are often quite proud of the length of their lineage, which makes them the natural {{foil}} of the SelfMadeMan. For the same reason young aristocrats are often quite powerless in the hands of ThePatriarch who rules the family, making the threat of PassedOverInheritance quite powerful.

Their effectiveness is frequently inversely related to their civilization. Dark Ages nobility often features AuthorityGrantsAsskicking, and the MiddleAges nobility ''will'' feature the KnightInShiningArmor and TheTourney, but a highly refined and civilized culture will feature an inordinate number of {{Upper Class Twit}}s (though an OfficerAndAGentleman is also possible) if not indeed decadent courtiers.

** [[SpiritWorld Soul Society]] is split into commoners and nobility. Commoners are humans who died in the living world then entered Soul Society and live in an assigned district of the [[WretchedHive Rukongai]]. Nobles, on the other hand are those souls actually born in Soul Society. They tend to live in Seireitei and are significantly more likely to display [[AuthorityGrantsAsskicking officer-level shinigami]] power than [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership commoners]]. There's also a major/minor nobility distinction, with older, more gifted families commanding greater authority. In the past, it used to be unheard of for the shinigami ranks to be made up of anything but nobility. Since Yamamoto reorganised the shinigami academy, however, more Shinigami have Rukongai origins and commoners have even occasionally made [[TheCaptain captain]]. There's still a stigma to common origins, however, and for at least one shinigami ([[HotBlooded Renji]]) the noble-versus-commoner issue was something he took personally.

* The folktale of “Literature/TheLambtonWorm” is a myth about the history of a real-world aristocratic family.

Their effectiveness is frequently inversely related to their civilization. Dark Ages nobility often features AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, and the MiddleAges nobility ''will'' feature the KnightInShiningArmor and TheTourney, but a highly refined and civilized culture will feature an inordinate number of {{Upper Class Twit}}s (though an OfficerAndAGentleman is also possible) if not indeed decadent courtiers.

** [[SpiritWorld Soul Society]] is split into commoners and nobility. Commoners are humans who died in the living world then entered Soul Society and live in an assigned district of the [[WretchedHive Rukongai]]. Nobles, on the other hand are those souls actually born in Soul Society. They tend to live in Seireitei and are significantly more likely to display [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking officer-level shinigami]] power than [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority commoners]]. There's also a major/minor nobility distinction, with older, more gifted families commanding greater authority. In the past, it used to be unheard of for the shinigami ranks to be made up of anything but nobility. Since Yamamoto reorganised the shinigami academy, however, more Shinigami have Rukongai origins and commoners have even occasionally made [[TheCaptain captain]]. There's still a stigma to common origins, however, and for at least one shinigami ([[HotBlooded Renji]]) the noble-versus-commoner issue was something he took personally.

* The Celestial Dragon World Nobles of ''Manga/OnePiece'' are the AristocratsAreEvil version of this quite heavily, having been given absolute freedom to do whatever they please to everyone beneath them (who is EVERYONE, even in this world where AsskickingEqualsAuthority is the norm), so they abuse this freedom to the hilt. One decides on a whim to take a random guy's fiancee to be his own concubine, then shoots the guy when he protests.

** Dalinar's visions imply that the original lighteyes were [[spoiler:just random soldiers who stole the Shardblades abandoned by the Knights Radiant when they disbanded]], meaning the whole system is little more than AsskickingEqualsAuthority from centuries ago.

** Pointedly averted with ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine's'' General Martok. He was actually born a commoner and clawed his way UpThroughTheRanks by [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority methods]] [[KlingonPromotion dear]] to the [[ProudWarriorRace Klingon heart]] (and this was despite being blacklisted by Kor for his low birth). Presumably his noble rank is by marriage (or merit) rather then birth.

** Despite the reamarkable simplicity of ork social structures ([[AsskickingEqualsAuthority the stronger you are]], [[LargeAndInCharge the bigger you get]], the more orks you lead), they have nobility of a sort: nobs, the biggest, baddest orks short of the warboss himself (the name is a loanword from nobility, but they pronounce it as "knob").

* Mystics in ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier'' both in the aristocratic sense and the literal sense.

* Anime/LittlePrinceCedie has its titular character for being the grandson of the Earl of Dorincourt.

* The Celestial Dragon World Nobles of ''Manga/OnePiece'' are the AristocratsAreEvil version of this quite heavily, having been given absolute freedom to do whatever they please to everyone beneath them (who is EVERYONE, even in this world where AsskickingEqualsAuthority is the norm), they abuse this freedom to the hilt. One decides on a whim to take a random guy's fiancee to be his own concubine, then shoots the guy when he protests.

** There is only one exception to their nigh-unlimited freedom: no World Noble can ever permanently leave Mariejois and completely abandon their life as a Celestial Dragon, lest they be dubbed as "traitors". [[spoiler:Which is why Donquixote Doflamingo was unable to rejoin the World Nobles after his father took his family out of Mariejois to live a normal life -- much to his ire.]]

* In Creator/KevinJAnderson's ''Literature/{{Blindfold}}'', the colony of Atlas is ruled by a number of [[FeudalismFuture feudal]] rulers (with no central authority), who are descended from the officers of the original colony ship. Several additional ships have arrived since then, but that did nothing to affect the feudal social structure, as the arrivals simply assimilated into the commoners.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Harry as a prime example, much to his discomfort. Aside from the Potter bloodline, there's also the fact that his dad was a mortally incarnated Thor, meaning that he doesn't just have RoyalBlood, but DivineParentage, descending from the House of Odin. There's even a faint suspicion that there's some fragmentary relationship to the House of El. While he likes the family, Harry mostly finds the rest of it excruciatingly embarrassing.

* The Nobles from ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD'' are a truly different breed from commoners, and have followed entirely different cultural conventions for thousands of years. Despite of their decline they command technology and magic far beyond what is available for ordinary people, and some have managed to cling to their lands and status despite of being universally reviled and feared thanks to this. Oh, and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent they are all vampires, of course.]]

* Frank Herbert's ''Literature/{{Dune}}''
** The novel appears to indicate that nobles are somehow better than regular folk. The Bene Gesserit are only shown caring about noble bloodlines in their quest to create a perfect being.
*** Most likely the noble bloodlines are "noble" because they've been subjected to the generations of manipulation by the Bene Gesserit, while the commoners don't have as well kept records of their genetic history, making them less useful for their plans.
** The prequel novels also reveal that the Atreides were not originally nobility (Vorian Atreides being created in a lab by his [[HumongousMecha cy]][[BrainInAJar mek]] father and marrying a barmaid) and do not show when they were first granted the title.

* If the lord in ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' doesn't have RoyalBlood, they'll be nobility. Examples include Sigurd, Roy, Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, and eventually Ike. Though this doesn't apply to every lord, there's a helpful rule of thumb for most of them: [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]] = [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience blue blood]].

* ''Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForums'': Many, many, ''many'' player characters and non-player characters are royalty or nobility. Justified, considering the usual HighFantasy setting of these roleplays; the number of games that aren't set in HighFantasy settings can be counted on one hand and even those have BlueBlood characters most of hte time.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Despite the reamarkable simplicity of ork social structures ([[AsskickingEqualsAuthority the stronger you are]], [[LargeAndInCharge the bigger you get]], the more orks you lead), they have nobility of a sort: nobs, the biggest, baddest orks short of the warboss himself (the name is a loanword from nobility, but they pronounce it as "knob").

* The Nobles in ''Anime/WolfsRain''. They may not have a monarch, but they do have ridiculously overpowered technology to compensate.

* Class struggles (of the StarCrossedLovers variety) are fairly important in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', in which the nobility is largely (but not entirely) defined by being able to use magic.
* The Armstrong Family from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' have estates all over the nation, a legacy running back centuries and have entire families that have been in their service for generations. They're also a pack of {{Boisterous Bruiser}}s and are, with [[TheSocialDarwinist one exception]], all amazingly friendly. NOW WITNESS THE ARISTOCRATIC REFINEMENT THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!!!
* Austria from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. Liechtenstein also has shades of this in part due to being a Principality, not to mention being ''named'' after her ruling royals.
* Randoll from ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'', as he’s from a noble Austrian family and is himself a Marquis. He's also a very skilled racer, but he can be a RoyalBrat when at his worst.
* ''Manga/BlackButler'' has this all over the place, both [[AristocratsAreEvil bad]] (Such as Alois Trancy in the anime and Baron Kelvin in the manga) and good (well, [[BlackAndGrayMorality to a point]]) examples, such as Elizabeth Middleford and, of course, Ciel Phantomhive himself. Lampshaded by Sieglinde while trying to convince Ciel [[spoiler:to make Sebastian let up on her 'proper lady' training]] and he refuses.

* All over the place in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' and are, with exceptions [[CoughSnarkCough *coughRelenacough*]], the antagonists.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91'' also had an aristocratic family (the Ronahs) as the antagonists. This is at the heart of the Ronahs' belief system: that certain people are simply better than others, and it is the rightful place of the aristocracy to rule over the commoners. Though one does wonder what this says about them that their patriarch ''purchased'' their noble title, rather than inheriting it.
* The central protagonists and antagonists of ''Manga/MaidenRose'' are all aristocrats from varying countries. Taki is the shinka of the Emperor and from the first of the Eight Branch Families, Katsuragi is from the second of the Eight Branch Families, Theodora is a Eurotean princess, and Klaus' family is nobility before the Western Alliance conquers their country.
* In the infamous {{Hentai}} ''La Blue Girl'', we have an example that is both literal and figurative. The protagonist, Miko, is [[spoiler: the daughter of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent King Seikima]] and [[TheHighQueen Queen Maria]], and next in line for the throne]]. Because she is half-demon, when she uses her [[DeusSexMachina powers]], her blood is literally blue. (However, [[FridgeLogic she blushes red, like anyone with normal-colored blood would.]])
* Both played straight and referenced in ''Manga/KazeToKiNoUta''. At one point Serge, in his InnerMonologue, remarks that he imagined Gilbert's blood would be blue. Interestingly, although many of the characters in ''[=KazeKi=]'' are blue bloods, Gilbert is not really one of them, so [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic it's not entirely clear]] what exactly Serge (who is himself a Viscount) was alluding to here.
* The Celestial Dragon World Nobles of ''Manga/OnePiece'' are the AristocratsAreEvil version of this quite heavily, having been given absolute freedom to do whatever they please to everyone beneath them (who is EVERYONE, even in this world where AsskickingEqualsAuthority is the norm), they abuse this freedom to the hilt. One decides on a whim to take a random guy's fiancee to be his own concubine, then shoots the guy when he protests.
** The Dressrosa arc explains the Celestial Dragons a bit. The World Government was originally founded by twenty kingdoms, whose royal families were then invited to live in Mariejois, the capital of the WG. 19 of the royal houses were soon replaced by other, lesser nobles, such as the Riku family replacing the [[spoiler:Donquixote]] family in Dressrosa. The only family who refused was the Nefertari family of Alabasta, who actually count more as TheBeautifulElite than AristocratsAreEvil. Yes, this means that Vivi and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Cobra]] are technically World Nobles.
** There is only one exception to their nigh-unlimited freedom: no World Noble can ever permanently leave Mariejois and completely abandon their life as a Celestial Dragon, lest they be dubbed as "traitors". [[spoiler:Which is why Donquixote Doflamingo was unable to rejoin the World Nobles after his father took his family out of Mariejois to live a normal life -- much to his ire.]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' possesses a good number of nobles. Most of them are Britannian, but we get to see a few former Japanese families and the Chinese elites at times.
* In the ''Manga/WildFang'' series, Mikhail is both rich and very well connected.
* The Nobles from ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD'' are a truly different breed from commoners, and have followed entirely different cultural conventions for thousands of years. Despite of their decline they command technology and magic far beyond what is available for ordinary people, and some have managed to cling to their lands and status despite of being universally reviled and feared thanks to this. Oh, and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent they are all vampires, of course.]]
* Used literally in ''Seiketsu no Hagurama''. The GadgeteerGenius prince is one of a group of people with blue blood at war with the red-blooded people. Part of the manga involves him discovering his machines being used to eradicate the remaining red-blooded refugees by his father.

* Anime/LittlePrinceCedie has its titular character for being the grandson of the Earl of Dorincourt.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' has the Royal Government of Humanity, who live behind Wall Sina far removed from the threat of the Titans. [[spoiler:Later revelations imply that the members are the most direct descendants of Ymir Fritz, the Progenitor Titan power wielder, and thus are the only ones capable of using the Coordinate Titan power to its full extent. Zeke Yeager, the Shifter behind the Beast Titan, is also the son of a Royal Family member and because of it he is shown to possess exclusive abilities, like turning other Eldians into Titans and controlling them]].

* ''Manga/BlackClover'': In the Clover Kingdom there are nobles, just below royals in the social hierarchy, who tend to have large amounts of magical power and often look down on commoners. They make up most of the Magic Knights, especially the more prestigious squads.

* In the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''Literature/YoungBeichan'', some variants note his high birth before recounting his imprisonment.
* In the Child Ballad "Literature/TheLordOfLornAndTheFalseSteward", the young lord of Lorn, reduced to working in stables, laments the fall to a horse.

* In ''Literature/{{Tattercoats}}'', she is the granddaughter of a great nobleman.

* A major plot point of the movie ''Film/Penelope2006'' is that the title character's curse can only be broken when a blue-blood declares he loves her. [[spoiler:She ends up breaking the curse by stating that she loves herself the way she is, curse and all. Both heartwarming and amusing, as you find out that the man she loves and who presented himself as a blue-blood was actually lying, and when she begs him to just say he loves her and that he doesn't have to talk to her after that, he sadly responds that he can't, but not for the reasons she thinks (i.e. he finds her ugly due to the curse giving her a pig's nose, which actually isn't that bad)).]]
* Rather daringly, ''Film/LettersFromIwoJima'' portrayed the aristocratic Japanese commanders Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Baron Takeichi Nishi as deeply sympathetic characters.
* Appears to be literally true in ''Film/{{Stardust}}'', when Lamia slits [[spoiler:Primus's]] throat, his blood is clearly dark blue.

* In ''Film/RobinHood1991'', Sir Robert/Robin is a Saxon noble, the Earl of Huntingdon, while Baron Daguerre and Sir Miles are Norman nobles.

* The Vor in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', though they themselves claim they are a military caste, and not an aristocracy (which is exactly what aristocracy ''was'' in the Middle Ages). Most other people treat them like aristocrats.
* Lord Boscastle in the ''Literature/StrangersAndBrothers'' series is a REAL aristocrat, who can dismiss a mere Tudor parvenu with "I simply don't KNOW him." But he is all the more ready to befriend the likes of Roy Calvert; the gap between people he Knows and those he doesn't is so cavernous that it renders all other distinctions insignificant.

* Creator/JaneAusten's works. Unlike the Regency Romance, while all of her characters are blue-bloods, only a handful have titles. Baronets, mostly, although Darcy is related to an earl who does not appear in the work.
** A notable example as Darcy's name is clearly ripped off from the D'Arcy family, a genuine family of earls who, in the real world, had run out of male heirs about a century earlier; and his first name, Fitzwilliam, suggests strongly that his uncle is the Earl Fitzwilliam, a hugely famous and powerful man at the time. So much for NoCelebritiesWereHarmed...
** Also interesting, particularly in ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' and ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', is the tension (TruthInTelevision at the time) between the blue-blooded gentry who had somehow had their traditional incomes diverted away from them by being unable to inherit, or by their becoming worthless, and the rising commoner merchants (like Mrs. Bennet's family) who were often richer than them, but traditionally unacceptable as members of the blue-blooded clique.
** In ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'', the narrator, explaining why Catherine had not fallen in love before seventeen, lists several reasons. One is that there was no lord in the neighborhood, or even a baronet.
** In ''Literature/LoveAndFreindship'', the narrator's mother's father was a Scotch Peer and her husband was the son of a baronet. Parodied with her cousins Gustavus and Philander, whose fathers were [[WhosYourDaddy probably]] a corset-maker and a bricklayer, but insist that as their mothers never married them, it ''doesn't count''.
* Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's heroes and heroines are {{Blue Blood}}s when not actually of RoyalBlood -- though this does cover upper-class Americans as well as titled characters, and the characters (and readers) may not be aware of it. Villains and other characters may also have it.
** In ''Literature/TheMonsterMen'', von Horn cites it.
-->''Nor do I understand, sir, what objections you may have to me—I am of a very old and noble family.''
* Creator/CharlesDickens's ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities''.
-->''It took four men, all four ablaze with gorgeous decoration, and the Chief of them unable to exist with fewer than two gold watches in his pocket, emulative of the noble and chaste fashion set by Monseigneur, to conduct the happy chocolate to Monseigneur's lips. One lacquey carried the chocolate-pot into the sacred presence; a second, milled and frothed the chocolate with the little instrument he bore for that function; a third, presented the favoured napkin; a fourth (he of the two gold watches), poured the chocolate out. It was impossible for Monseigneur to dispense with one of these attendants on the chocolate and hold his high place under the admiring Heavens. Deep would have been the blot upon his escutcheon if his chocolate had been ignobly waited on by only three men; he must have died of two.''
* Baroness Orczy's ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel''
-->''It was to be seen every day, for those aristos were such fools! They were traitors to the people of course, all of them, men, women, and children, who happened to be descendants of the great men who since the Crusades had made the glory of France: her old NOBLESSE. Their ancestors had oppressed the people, had crushed them under the scarlet heels of their dainty buckled shoes, and now the people had become the rulers of France and crushed their former masters--not beneath their heel, for they went shoeless mostly in these days--but a more effectual weight, the knife of the guillotine.''
* In Creator/GKChesterton's ''The Return of Don Quixote'', various noblemen are signficant characters; the hero Michael Herne falls in love with the Honourable Rosamund Severne. [[spoiler:At the climax, he reveals that her family really are Smiths, with no claim to the title, though it breaks his heart. Later, he learns that she has changed her name to "Miss Smith" -- and promptly goes in search of her.]]
** His play ''Magic'' takes place at a Duke's house.
** In the ''Literature/FatherBrown'' story "The Mistake of the Machine", the story turns on an assumption that Lord Falconroy must come from an old family; in fact, he holds a newly created title and has -- a rather interesting past.
* Creator/CarolineStevermer and Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/SorceryAndCecelia'', set in an alternate RegencyEngland where there is a Royal Society of Wizards.
* Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/MairelonTheMagician'' and ''The Magician's Ward'' -- also set in an alternate RegencyEngland, although the main character comes from a much lower social stratum.
* Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. Particularly in ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', where the Dragon King of Arms meticulously traces noble lines and deplores how he must produce coats-of-arms for the low-born, and in the [[Literature/TheWeeFreeMen Tiffany Aching]] books, where the baron's son Roland, after a stint as a RoyalBrat, is the only boy that Tiffany can talk to because all the rest are afraid to talk to a witch.
* Ellen Kusher's ''Literature/{{Swordspoint}}'' and ''The Privilege of the Sword''.
* Literature/{{Sharpe}} meets a few. Among the more notable, obviously, is the Duke of Wellington, Sharpe's commander.
** Others range from Peter D'Alembord -- a classic CulturedWarrior and first-class infantry officer -- to the Prince of Orange, whose incompetence as a commander is such that Sharpe personally shoots him half-way through a battle in order to reduce the slaughter.
* In the ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' novels, the powerful Taysan Empire is ruled by an absolute monarch with the backup of Imperial and Noble Castes. And one of the series' main characters, Jez, is a rare surviving member of the nobility of her homeworld, who governed the planet before her whole species was overthrown in a genocidal civil war.
* Various families in Creator/PatriciaAMcKillip's ''Literature/TheBellAtSealeyHead''. Because Raven Sproule is courting Gwyneth Blair, a merchant's daughter, Gwyneth rather suspects the Sproules are {{Impoverished Patrician}}s.
* In Creator/KerryGreenwood's ''The Castlemaine Murders'', the Honourable Miss Literature/PhryneFisher's sister Eliza plays the disdainful UpperClassTwit trope straight in the early part of the book--only to subvert the trope after Eliza finally tells Phryne why she was sent to Australia (she was acting out because of how unhappy she was).
* Most of the main characters in George R.R. Martin's ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' are members of the nobility. The details vary: we have members of very old and powerful houses such as Starks and Lannisters, petty knights and barely-even nobles like the Cleganes, personally ennobled commoners like Davos Seaworth and everything in between.
* M. K. Wren's ''The Phoenix Legacy'', set in a FeudalFuture.
* Lady Muriel Orme in Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Literature/SylvieAndBruno''.
* In ''Literature/TheEdge'', the hereditary aristocracy are actually called bluebloods to distinguish them from the nobility, the bluebloods who have already earned their titles.
* Purebloods fulfill this role in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series. Although the wizarding world lacks royalty or titles, most pureblood families enjoy a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence. Most also have an aristocratic disdain for not-so-pure-blooded wizards and especially for {{muggles}}.
* Virtually all of the major and minor characters in the Literature/{{Deryni}} works are in this class. The better ones treat members of the lowers orders (such as Revan in the ''Legends of Camber'' and ''Heirs of Camber'' and Morgan's pagan swordsmith Ferris from the story "Trial") quite well. The rest, well, see AristocratsAreEvil.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian story "Literature/TheDevilInIron", Octavia's BackStory.
-->''Octavia sprang up, her white fists clenched, her eyes blazing and her figure quivering with outraged anger.\\
"You would force me to play [[TheVamp the trollop]] with this barbarian?" she exclaimed. "I will not! I am no market-block slut to smirk and ogle at a steppes robber. I am the daughter of a Nemedian lord--"\\
"You were of the Nemedian nobility before my riders carried you off," returned Jehungir cynically. "[[MadeASlave Now you are merely a slave who will do as she is bid.]]"''
** Livia in "Literature/TheValeOfLostWomen"
* In ''Literature/DarknessVisible'' the narrator is Lord Henry Lewis, the 6th Earl of Gloucester.
* In Creator/LordDunsany's ''Literature/TheKingOfElflandsDaughter'', the lord and his son.
* In Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Court of the Air'' and ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', Quartershift nobility were massacred by the authorities in the BackStory.
* In ''Literature/{{Scaramouche}}'', there are several nobles, most notably Marquis de La Tour d'Azyr and the Comtesse de Plougastel.
* Pops up a lot in ''Literature/JeevesAndWooster'', since Bertie and most of his friends are [[UpperClassTwit Upper Class Twits]]. Notably, [[GrandeDame Aunt Agatha's]] dread of any blight on the family name forces Bertie to go to New York to prevent his cousin's marrying into vaudeville, besides putting him through any number of attempts to settle him down with a nice girl from a noble family and turn him into a useful member of society. [[LazyBum Both of which things he avoids like the plague]].
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'', Angel is a blue-blooded American with "ancestors reaching back to Plymouth Rock, and across the sea for generations before that." Freckles himself turns out to be the grandson of a nobleman. Though it gets less play, [=McLean=] was the son of a prosperous Scottish shipbuilder, though he made himself in the lumber trade.
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/MichaelOHalloran'', Minturn, having gotten control of his sons after his wife made them into {{Royal Brat}}s, knows it will be a long slog, but has hopes because they are "handsome little chaps with fine bodies and good ancestry".
* Hugh, Viscount Trimingham, in ''Literature/TheGoBetween''. He is intelligent and likeable, though disfigured by a war wound, and takes his responsibilities to his tenants seriously. Much good it does him.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TimePatrol'' story "Delenda Est", Deidre -- she has an estate she can bring Everard and Van Sarawak to when making their imprisonment less onerous.
* In one of the oldest surviving Myth/RobinHood tales, Robin carefully inquires of the sorrowful knight whether he was a newly created one, finding out he is of BlueBlood before he helps him. Robin himself is a yeoman then and for centuries after, but in the Elizabethan to Victorian times, he became, often, a disinherited earl. Maid Marian, likewise for centuries a shepherdess, also became a frequent noblewoman then. In the 20th century, Robin went back to yeoman, for a RagsToRiches rise, but Marian still is often noble.
* Pretty much all the protagonists in ''Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm'' -- the ones that aren't are either royalty or end up raised to the nobility.
* Several characters in ''Literature/TheSeaHawk''.
* Like so much else in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', just about every shade of this trope is present in one nation or another. Amongst the main characters, Moiraine, Elayne, Faile, Talmanes, [[spoiler: Rand of house ''Mantear'' by virtue of his mother, Tigraine, the former daughter-heir]], and eventually even [[spoiler: Mat, Prince of Ravens]] and [[spoiler: Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers as Steward for the Dragon Reborn]].
** There are examples of true badasses such as the Queens of Andor, many of whom lead troops both historically and contemporaneously. In the Last Battle, [[spoiler: Elayne]] even gets an assist with a sword, despite having the One Power.
** There are also examples of worthless, scheming layabouts, such as Tairens and Cairhenians.
* In Creator/DorothyGilman's ''Literature/TheClairvoyantCountess'' Madame Karitska is technically a countess. Given that she was a small child when her family escaped the Russian Revolution, it doesn't mean much to her.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's "Literature/TimeLag", Elva's husband is the Freeholder, which position has both the authority and duty to pass judgment. Elva can represent him partly because her own family holds a similar position. At the end, she learns her son holds the position , having survived the attack.
* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/{{Catseye|1961}}'', Tikil is a luxury port, catering to the wealthy high-born who vacation there. Kyger's animal shop is one such store.
* In Creator/VictoriaForester's ''Literature/TheGirlWhoCouldFly'', Conrad's parents gave him "good breeding" and regarded it as more than enough -- he could not expect any attention from them after getting that.
* In ''Literature/HonorHarrington'', the Star Kingdom of Manticore has a noble class that was mostly descended from the first wave of colonists. However, they also create new peerages for exceptionally distinguished commoners, such as the protagonist herself.
** [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Most Manticoran nobles]] (including the royal family) are driven by a strong sense of ''noblesse oblige'', and recognize that an inherited title doesn't make them automatically better that commoners; those that don't[[note]]''cough'' Conservative Association ''cough''[[/note]] tend to dive headlong into AristocratsAreEvil territory.
** An interesting case with the titular character, who holds noble titles in ''two'' star nations. She is first granted the title of Steadholder Harrington on the planet Grayson for helping to protect it from Masadan {{Church Militant}}s. Since she's a Manticoran citizen, the Queen chooses to grant her the "equivalent" title of Countess Harrington (although without any holdings). After Honor is captured and presumed dead for several years, the Manticoran title passes to her first cousin Devon, while her Grayson title is given to her baby sister Faith. When Honor returns alive, her Grayson title is returned, but the Queen chooses not to deprive Devon of his Earldom (despite the fact that he never wanted the title in the first place) and instead grants Honor the higher title of Duchess, with holdings this time. Also, for reference, the Grayson title of Steadholder can actually be considered higher than even a Manticoran Duke, since the Grayson society is much more [[FeudalFuture feudal]] than Manticoran.
** The Legislaturalists in the (pre-Committee) People's Republic of Haven are also, effectively, this. The PRH government is so corrupt and entrenched that high-ranking military titles are only given to members of Legislaturalist families. Of course, they are the first to go when the Committee of Public Safety takes over.
* In Creator/StephanieBurgis's ''Literature/KatIncorrigible'' series, the Guardians. And all of Society of course. Kat and her family are on the lower margins of acceptable.
* In Bess Streeter Aldrich's ''A Lantern in her Hand'', the (dead) father had been an aristocrat who married beneath himself in Ireland.
* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': Corran is the youngest son of the noble Dunesdale family. This causes problems in his relationship with Tilda because his dad doesn't want him marrying a commoner.
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'':
** As the heir to the Noble Heleti family, one of the Four Pillars of Ataidar, Nolien's blood is ''very'' blue indeed. He turns up his nose at the bad table manners in the guild mess hall and is the only one following a chivalric code instead of one more grungy and mercenary.
** Siron is the scion of Esrah, another Pillar, and strives to be a KnightInShiningArmor because that is his duty as a noble. At his best he is dashingly and at worst he is frigidly polite.
** Norej Darwoss is the son of a minor baron and thus considers himself better than his fellow humans and ''especially'' beastfolk. His older brother and his father are likewise.
* In Creator/KevinJAnderson's ''Literature/{{Blindfold}}'', the colony of Atlas is ruled by a number of [[FeudalismFuture feudal]] rulers (with no central authority), who are descended from the officers of the original colony ship. Several additional ships have arrived since then, but that did nothing to affect the feudal social structure, as the arrivals simply assimilated into the commoners.
* In the ''Literature/EddieLaCrosse'' series, Eddie is officially Baron Edward [=LaCrosse=] of Arentia, and an old friend of the king, but he lives in self-imposed exile after a [[MyGreatestFailure monumental mistake]]. He's certainly not living a noble lifestyle, but he doesn't quite fit the normal pattern of an ImpoverishedPatrician, because it's deliberate and he doesn't really regret it--but at the same time, he's not a DefectorFromDecadence, since it wasn't decadence that led him to leave. (And King Phil is a nice guy anyway.) Most of the time, his background is irrelevant enough that it never comes up.
* In ''Literature/TheShatteredKingdoms'', bloodline is highly important to Norlander culture. Being told that her family does not in fact have the (patrilineal) ancestry they thought, and that their posting to the Shadar was actually just the Emperor's way of exiling them while letting them save face, has a significant impact on Frea, the main villain of the first book. She was hoping her results would be sufficiently impressive that she would be summoned to the heart of the empire and given power, but due to her "impure" blood, that won't happen no matter how well she does. This motivates her to switch plans from a triumphant return to an invasion/coup.
* ''Literature/TheKharkanasTrilogy'': In contrast to the main series, ''Literature/TheMalazanBookOfTheFallen'', where there was much focus on the lower ranks of society and barely any nobility, the prequel deals mostly with the noble families of the Tiste, with most point of view characters being from one or another noble house.
* In Creator/RyuunosukeAkiyama's ''A Terribly Dangerous Coat'', Kapori i Luran, and his father, Kapori i Imaro, appear to belong to the most important family in Rukimara City.
* Maria Mercedes de Dio de Alva in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' is descended from one of the oldest, most respected noble bloodlines of Spain. After being rescued from pirates, she becomes protagonist John Rumford's live-in maid.
* The ''Literature/VillageTales'' novels feature the Duke of Taunton and his family and extended family, most of them titled; and his HeterosexualLifePartner HH the Nawab of Hubli; and a fair few others. Dukes, marquesses, viscounts, earls, Scots Lords of Parliament, barons, Scots lairds, Senators of the College of Justice, baronets, knights, courtesy titles--including a Scots "Master"; post-nominals everywhere; even a Nawab. And Professor Lacy may have been given a mere Life Peerage, but she's a ''Lacy'' all the same. And with all that, the real [[WorkingClassHero heroes are all working-class, all the same]].
* ''Literature/DeusExIcarusEffect'': [[spoiler: Lucius]] describes himself as a "scion of blue bloods from the old country" in the book's prologue.
* ''Literature/TheWickedYears'':
** Elphaba and Nessarose's mother was a blue blood, but she ended up living in poverty after marrying a preacher (admittedly, she had thought Frex would end up wealthier than he did).
** Glinda is this but, as Madame Morrible points out, not to the degree that Glinda likes to flaunt. Glinda only has "good blood" on one side of her family, and it's not considered particularly high-ranking at that. Glinda's middle-range but pretends she's more blue blood than she actually is. In the end, however, it doesn't matter as Glinda ends up queen of Oz in-all-but name by the end of the first book.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/TheEncyclopedists": The first interaction Terminus has with Anacreon after the latter has declared themselves independent from the Empire is from Anselm haut Rodric. He's an envoy of the nobility, and the narrative emphasizes that "haut" indicates his rank.
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'':
** Countries that follow the Vorin religion (which nearly all the main characters belong to) divide people into two distinct classes: Darkeyes have black, brown, dark green, and other normal eye colors, while lighteyes have bright blue, green, grey, and other eye colors, so bright that they almost seem to glow in the right light. Supposedly, these light eyes mark them as closer to the Almighty and destined to rule over the lesser classes. Their religion explicitly grants lighteyes more Glory, an inherent property meaning that they don't have to work as hard to gain the Almighty's favor. Legend has it that a darkeyes can become a lighteyes by capturing one of the incredibly rare Shardblades, but that hasn't happened in living memory.
** Dalinar's visions imply that the original lighteyes were [[spoiler:just random soldiers who stole the Shardblades abandoned by the Knights Radiant when they disbanded]], meaning the whole system is little more than AsskickingEqualsAuthority from centuries ago.
** Several darkeyed characters are repeatedly surprised to discover that most lighteyes aren't really rich nobles. Most of them are rather middle-class, having to work for a living just like darkeyes. Of course, the Vorin ranking system means that higher ranks get paid more than lower ranks, so even the poorest lighteyes is going to get more than a high-ranking darkeyes for the same work.

* ''TabletopGame/AnimaBeyondFantasy'' allows to choose as one advantage to be BlueBlood (and this in turn gives stuff such as money, gear, and the possibility of purchasing rare equipment.)
* The noble Houses of ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming''. There's a streak of heritage involved, but ultimately the Houses rule changeling society because they've established themselves as rulers, by fair means and foul (which is not to say they haven't been seriously challenged at various times). [=PCs=] can be nobles by buying dots in the Title background; however, it only grants social status, and actually holding land requires a separate background.

'''Woody''': We've been descendin' a long time too.\\

* There are two prominent examples in the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' -- Lady Isabella "Ivy" Valentine is the daughter of the Earl and Countess Valentine, and her stages nearly always feature her enormous family house. The other example is Frenchman Raphael Sorel, whose title is not specified, but he is noted to be a noble.
* Mystics in ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier'' both in the aristocratic sense and the literal sense.
* If the lord in ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' doesn't have RoyalBlood, they'll be nobility. Examples include Sigurd, Roy, Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, and eventually Ike. Though this doesn't apply to every lord, there's a helpful rule of thumb for most of them: [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]] = [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience blue blood]].
* [[TheEmpire Archadia]] of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is very based around hierarchy. Besides the noble houses, which can mix this with RoyalBlood, there's also the Gentry, who tend to look down on commoners. There's also an intermediate class, which tend to behave fairly close to trope too.

* In ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', Alderaan is in a terrible mess due to the untimely death of the Queen and her heir, plunging the planet into a free-for-all civil war among about a half-dozen houses of these. The main issue is that the rather crazy head of House Ulgo has usurped the crown, declared the planet's independence, and started destroying the other noble houses. Seeing as about half the surviving houses support the Republic (including House Organa), whereas the Empire is backing their rivals House Thul (who started as merchants and ''earned'' their lands and titles), the planet becomes a miniature version of the whole galactic war.
** The Sith Warrior is stated to be the scion of a prestigious family of Sith. The fact that they come from a high class background is why Vemrin, their rival on Korriban and a former slave who had to climb his way to the top, hates them.
** [[{{Foil}} In contrast]], the Sith Inquisitor is a former slave and ''their'' rival, Ffon, is from a prestigious family and receives preferential treatment. [[spoiler: However, the Inquisitor is also the last descendant of Lord Kallig, once a powerful Sith lord with his own well-known lineage.]]
* Referred to by name in ''VideoGame/NosferatuTheWrathOfMalachi''. Apparently the ritual sacrifices have to be aristocrats.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'': The Preppy social circle all come from old money. They're the last social circle the main character can take over.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'' has Romana Briscoletti. Unlike her husband, she is actually from noble birth and so Rodrigo did the Engagement Challenge to win her hand, though she was already in love with him.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Particularly those of Azure City, where giving a title to two war heroes garners objections.
** Later, Vaarsuvius elects to simply murder a villain with this background, instead of bothering to denounce him publicly. It's a pretty effective solution.
* The Jahad Family and the Ten Great Families in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''. They are indeed special, since only they are by birth able to wield [[FunctionalMagic Shinsu]] immediately, as their families have special ties to the power-granting Guardians.
* ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked''

* In ''Webcomic/DocRat'', [[http://www.docrat.com.au/default.asp?thisItem=1039 Flopsy Jagermond is make rabbit nobility.]]
* In ''Webcomic/DragonMango'', [[http://dragon-mango.com/comic/chapter03/dm03-33.htm Bleu Berry is descended from noble families of both humans and Dragon-Slayers.]]

* The Marroks of ''Webcomic/BadMoonRising'' claim to be descended from the same-named Arthurian Knight. Most of them actually CAN trace their lineage back to European royalty, though just as many of them are the descendants of petty tyrants and minor warlords who styled themselves as king as of anyone that might be recognized as a king by modern historical records.
* ''Webcomic/{{Sarilho}}'': Strongly suggested to be the case of the ''Vera Italica'' Houses.

** The show features a Prince called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Prince Blueblood]]. Rarity is smitten with him, but in the season finale for season 1 she actually meets him and finds he is a RoyalBrat.
** By contrast, Twilight Sparkle and her brother, Shining Armor, earned their way into the top tier of Equestrian nobility with Twilight being the personal protege of Princess Celestia and Shining being Captain of the Royal Guard, the Prince Consort of Princess Cadence and Co-Governor of the Crystal Empire. By the end of season 3, [[spoiler:Twilight becomes an Alicorn Princess.]]

** Kal-El, aka Clark Kent aka Franchise/{{Superman}} is a scion of the House of El, a noble family of scientists who in most continuities had much wealth, power, and influence over all of Krypton. Of course, it didn't stop all of Krypton from disbelieving [[CassandraTruth Jor-El]]'s prediction that Krypton would nuke itself. By extension, Clark's cousin [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] and son ComicBook/{{Jon|athanSamuelKent}} are also a part of this family, and Superman's clone [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Conner Kent]] was made an honorary member of the family by Superman. All three of them wear the Superman S, which is generally explained as being the House of El's family crest. Of course, given Krypton's destruction, all members of Superman's family live like normal everyday people on Earth. Pre-Crisis story ''ComicBook/TheKryptonChronicles'' reveals Erok-El, the first member of the lineage, ruled over the continent of Urrika ten millennia ago.
** ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':

** The Empire's many territories and city states are ruled by either entrenched nobles or wealthy burgomeisters. The most important of these, however, are the "elector counts" who rule entire provinces and elect from among themselves new Emperors. The position descends from the tribal chieftains who joined with Sigmar Heldenhammer in the Empire's founding, and is hereditary from father to son -- in practice, dividing the Empire between a collection of extremely powerful dynasties.
** The Kingdom of Bretonnia is divided into numerous dukedoms ruled by entrenched noble bloodlines, and the importance of blue-bloods is a major aspect of the nation's culture: All of their knights are born members of the nobility, and only true-blooded Bretonnian men of noble descent can win the favor of the Lady of the Lake and become the superhuman Grail Knights.

* Bretonnian Knights in TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}.

** The prequel novels also reveal that the Atreides were not originally nobility (Vorian Atreides being a created in a lab by his [[HumongousMecha cy]][[BrainInAJar mek]] father and marrying a barmaid) and do not show when they were first granted the title.

** Elphaba and Nessarose's mother was a blue blood, but she ended up living in poverty after marrying a preacher (admittedly, she had thought Frex would end up wealthy than he did).

* ''Franchise/TheDCU''
** Kal-El, aka Clark Kent aka Franchise/{{Superman}} is a scion of the House of El, a noble family of scientists who in most continuities had much wealth, power, and influence over all of Krypton. Of course, it didn't stop all of Krypton from disbelieving [[CassandraTruth Jor-El]]'s prediction that Krypton would nuke itself. By extension, Clark's cousin [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] and son ComicBook/{{Jon|athanSamuelKent}} are also a part of this family, and Superman's clone [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Conner Kent]] was made an honorary member of the family by Superman. All three of them wear the Superman S, which is generally explained as being the House of El's family crest. Of course, given Krypton's destruction, all members of Superman's family live like normal everyday people on Earth.

SuperTrope of ImpoverishedPatrician, KnightInShiningArmor, RemittanceMan, NobleFugitive, AristocratsAreEvil and OfficerAndAGentleman. Compare IdleRich, OldMoney, GentlemanSnarker, and the upper echelons of the FantasticCasteSystem (as well as real ones, like [[TypeCaste the traditional castes]] of UsefulNotes/{{India}}).

* WesternAnimation/TheCritic's sister was once set up to attend a debutante ball with a young gentleman who, due to generations of inbreeding, was mildly retarded and possessed of ''literal'' blue blood. ''[[RealLife This has actually happened]],'' as in the case of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methemoglobinemia "Blue Fugates"]].

* ''Manga/BlackButler'' has this all over the place, both [[AristocratsAreEvil bad]] (Such as Alois Trancy in the anime and Baron Kelvin in the manga) and good (well, [[BlackAndGrayMorality to a point]]) examples, such as Elizabeth Middleford and, of course, Ciel Phantomhive himself.
** Lampshaded by Sieglinde while trying to convince Ciel [[spoiler:to make Sebastian let up on her 'proper lady' training]] and he refuses.
--> Sieglinde: "What colour is your blood?!"
--> Ciel: "It's red."

* No less than ''five'' Masters in ''Roleplay/FateNuovoGuerra'' are of BlueBlood.

* If the lord in ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' doesn't have RoyalBlood, they'll be nobility. Examples include Sigurd, Roy, Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, and eventually even Ike.
** Though this doesn't apply to every lord, there's a helpful rule of thumb for most of them: [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]] = [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience blue blood]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has a Prince called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Prince Blueblood]]. Rarity is smitten with him, but in the season finale for season 1 she actually meets him and finds he is a RoyalBrat.

Not to be confused with [[RoyalBlood royals]], people who just hold [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever knighthoods]], BlackBlood, AlienBlood, "Literature/{{Bluebeard}}", the freeform vulgar joke "TheAristocrats", nor the [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney]] film ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats''. Or Angels from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' and Mulians from ''Anime/RahXephon'', both of which have "blue" as a blood type. ''Further'' not to be confused with the television series ''Series/BlueBloods'', although the title is an amusing play on words.
'''[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking EVEN FURTHER]]''' [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking not to be confused with octopus blood, or the blood of horseshoe crabs!]]