Pairie

The French word pairie is the equivalent of the English word peerage, in the sense of an individual title carrying the rank of pair ("peer" in English). (French pair derives from the Latin par "equal". The pairie designates the members of an exclusive body of noblemen and prelates, considered to be the highest social order -not taking into account the reigning dynasty- and even in a sense the 'equals' (though subjects and vassals) of the Monarch as he is seen as their primus inter '''pares'''. Peerages attached to fiefs were transmissible or inheritable with the fief. Such fiefs are often designated as pairie-duché for a duchy (the fief of a duke) or as pairie-comté for a county (the fiefs of a count).