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County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in the U.S. state of Vermont and in several other English-speaking jurisdictions.

Canada
In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below the provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat.

China
County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China. Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty. The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty, the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties.

In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate, who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases.

The current number of counties mostly resembled that of the later years of the Qing dynasty. Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions.

Taiwan
In Taiwan, the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning. The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With the increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien. When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule.

By September 1945, Taiwan was divided into 8 prefectures (州 and 廳), which remained after the Republic of China took over.

There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities, urban townships, or rural townships.

Function
In most of the United States, a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of the county, especially if it is geographically large.

A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality. The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia, where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City, the county seat of Howard County, Maryland, is the largest unincorporated county seat in the United States, followed by Towson, the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland. Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies, county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia.

U.S. counties with more than one county seat
Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of the county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi, which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi, which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson. The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for the towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities.

There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states:
 * Coffee County, Alabama
 * St. Clair County, Alabama
 * Arkansas County, Arkansas
 * Carroll County, Arkansas
 * Clay County, Arkansas
 * Craighead County, Arkansas
 * Franklin County, Arkansas
 * Logan County, Arkansas
 * Mississippi County, Arkansas
 * Prairie County, Arkansas
 * Sebastian County, Arkansas
 * Yell County, Arkansas
 * Columbia County, Georgia
 * Lee County, Iowa
 * Campbell County, Kentucky
 * Kenton County, Kentucky
 * Essex County, Massachusetts
 * Middlesex County, Massachusetts
 * Plymouth County, Massachusetts
 * Bolivar County, Mississippi
 * Carroll County, Mississippi
 * Chickasaw County, Mississippi
 * Harrison County, Mississippi
 * Hinds County, Mississippi
 * Jasper County, Mississippi
 * Jones County, Mississippi
 * Panola County, Mississippi
 * Tallahatchie County, Mississippi
 * Yalobusha County, Mississippi
 * Jackson County, Missouri
 * Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
 * Seneca County, New York
 * Bennington County, Vermont

Alaska
Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska, which covers 49% of the state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough, has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough.

Louisiana
In Louisiana, which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats".

New England
In New England, counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine county government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court), both located in a designated "shire town." Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester, and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington.

In 2024, Connecticut, which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending the use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents.

South Dakota
Two counties in South Dakota, Oglala Lakota and Todd, have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County, respectively.

Virginia
In Virginia, a county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in the independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle, or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax. Others, such as Prince William, have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county.
 * Albemarle County (Charlottesville)
 * Alleghany County (Covington)
 * Augusta County (Staunton)
 * Fairfax County (Fairfax)
 * Frederick County (Winchester)
 * Greensville County (Emporia)
 * Henry County (Martinsville)
 * James City County (Williamsburg)
 * Prince William County (Manassas)
 * Roanoke County (Salem)
 * Rockbridge County (Lexington)
 * Rockingham County (Harrisonburg)

Lists of U.S. county seats by state
The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3.

title: County seat


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Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity (sericulture). The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fibre, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different colors.

Silk is produced by several insects; but, generally, only the silk of moth caterpillars has been used for textile manufacturing. There has been some research into other types of silk, which differ at the molecular level. Silk is mainly produced by the larvae of insects undergoing complete metamorphosis, but some insects, such as webspinners and raspy crickets, produce silk throughout their lives. Silk production also occurs in hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), silverfish, caddisflies, mayflies, thrips, leafhoppers, beetles, lacewings, fleas, flies, and midges. Other types of arthropods produce silk, most notably various arachnids, such as spiders.

Etymology
The word silk comes from sioloc, from and σηρικός, "silken", ultimately from the Chinese word "sī" and other Asian sources—compare Mandarin sī "silk", Manchurian sirghe, Mongolian sirkek.

History
The production of silk originated in China in the Neolithic period, although it would eventually reach other places of the world (Yangshao culture, 4th millennium BC). Silk production remained confined to China until the Silk Road opened at some point during the latter part of the 1st millennium BC, though China maintained its virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years.

Wild silk
Several kinds of wild silk, produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm, have been known and spun in China, South Asia, and Europe since ancient times, e.g. the production of Eri silk in Assam, India. However, the scale of production was always far smaller than for cultivated silks. There are several reasons for this: first, they differ from the domesticated varieties in colour and texture and are therefore less uniform; second, cocoons gathered in the wild have usually had the pupa emerge from them before being discovered so the silk thread that makes up the cocoon has been torn into shorter lengths; and third, many wild cocoons are covered in a mineral layer that prevents attempts to reel from them long strands of silk. Thus, the only way to obtain silk suitable for spinning into textiles in areas where commercial silks are not cultivated was by tedious and labor-intensive carding.

Some natural silk structures have been used without being unwound or spun. Spider webs were used as a wound dressing in ancient Greece and Rome, and as a base for painting from the 16th century. Caterpillar nests were pasted together to make a fabric in the Aztec Empire.

Commercial silks originate from reared silkworm pupae, which are bred to produce a white-colored silk thread with no mineral on the surface. The pupae are killed by either dipping them in boiling water before the adult moths emerge or by piercing them with a needle. These factors all contribute to the ability of the whole cocoon to be unravelled as one continuous thread, permitting a much stronger cloth to be woven from the silk. Wild silks also tend to be more difficult to dye than silk from the cultivated silkworm. A technique known as demineralizing allows the mineral layer around the cocoon of wild silk moths to be removed, leaving only variability in color as a barrier to creating a commercial silk industry based on wild silks in the parts of the world where wild silk moths thrive, such as in Africa and South America.

China
Silk use in fabric was first developed in ancient China. The earliest evidence for silk is the presence of the silk protein fibroin in soil samples from two tombs at the neolithic site Jiahu in Henan, which date back about 8,500 years. The earliest surviving example of silk fabric dates from about 3630 BC, and was used as the wrapping for the body of a child at a Yangshao culture site in Qingtaicun near Xingyang, Henan.

Legend gives credit for developing silk to a Chinese empress, Leizu (Hsi-Ling-Shih, Lei-Tzu). Silks were originally reserved for the emperors of China for their own use and gifts to others, but spread gradually through Chinese culture and trade both geographically and socially, and then to many regions of Asia. Because of its texture and lustre, silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants. Silk was in great demand, and became a staple of pre-industrial international trade. Silk was also used as a surface for writing, especially during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). The fabric was light, it survived the damp climate of the Yangtze region, absorbed ink well, and provided a white background for the text. In July 2007, archaeologists discovered intricately woven and dyed silk textiles in a tomb in Jiangxi province, dated to the Eastern Zhou dynasty roughly 2,500 years ago. Although historians have suspected a long history of a formative textile industry in ancient China, this find of silk textiles employing "complicated techniques" of weaving and dyeing provides direct evidence for silks dating before the Mawangdui-discovery and other silks dating to the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD).

Silk is described in a chapter of the Fan Shengzhi shu from the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD). There is a surviving calendar for silk production in an Eastern Han (25–220 AD) document. The two other known works on silk from the Han period are lost. The first evidence of the long distance silk trade is the finding of silk in the hair of an Egyptian mummy of the 21st dynasty, c.1070 BC. The silk trade reached as far as the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. This trade was so extensive that the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia came to be known as the Silk Road.

The emperors of China strove to keep knowledge of sericulture secret to maintain the Chinese monopoly. Nonetheless, sericulture reached Korea with technological aid from China around 200 BC, the ancient Kingdom of Khotan by AD 50, and India by AD 140.

In the ancient era, silk from China was the most lucrative and sought-after luxury item traded across the Eurasian continent, and many civilizations, such as the ancient Persians, benefited economically from trade.

Japan
Archaeological evidence indicates that sericulture has been practiced since the Yayoi period. The silk industry was dominant from the 1930s to 1950s, but is less common now. Silk from East Asia had declined in importance after silkworms were smuggled from China to the Byzantine Empire. However, in 1845, an epidemic of flacherie among European silkworms devastated the silk industry there. This led to a demand for silk from China and Japan, where as late as the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Japanese exports competed directly with Chinese in the international market in such low value-added, labor-intensive products as raw silk.

Between 1850 and 1930, raw silk ranked as the leading export for both countries, accounting for 20%–40% of Japan's total exports and 20%–30% of China's.  Between the 1890s and the 1930s, Japanese silk exports quadrupled, making Japan the largest silk exporter in the world. This increase in exports was mostly due to the economic reforms during the Meiji period and the decline of the Qing dynasty in China, which led to rapid industrialization of Japan whilst the Chinese industries stagnated.

During World War II, embargoes against Japan had led to adoption of synthetic materials such as Nylon, which led to the decline of the Japanese silk industry and its position as the lead silk exporter of the world. Today, China exports the largest volume of raw silk in the world.

India
Silk has a long history in India. It is known as Resham in eastern and north India, and Pattu in southern parts of India. Recent archaeological discoveries in Harappa and Chanhu-daro suggest that sericulture, employing wild silk threads from native silkworm species, existed in South Asia during the time of the Indus Valley civilisation (now in Pakistan and India) dating between 2450 BC and 2000 BC. Shelagh Vainker, a silk expert at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, who sees evidence for silk production in China "significantly earlier" than 2500–2000 BC, suggests, "people of the Indus civilization either harvested silkworm cocoons or traded with people who did, and that they knew a considerable amount about silk."

India is the second largest producer of silk in the world after China. About 97% of the raw mulberry silk comes from six Indian states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and West Bengal. North Bangalore, the upcoming site of a $20 million "Silk City" Ramanagara and Mysore, contribute to a majority of silk production in Karnataka.

In Tamil Nadu, mulberry cultivation is concentrated in the Coimbatore, Erode, Bhagalpuri, Tiruppur, Salem, and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, and Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu, were the first locations to have automated silk reeling units in India.

In the northeastern state of Assam, three different types of indigenous variety of silk are produced, collectively called Assam silk: Muga silk, Eri silk and Pat silk. Muga, the golden silk, and Eri are produced by silkworms that are native only to Assam. They have been reared since ancient times similar to other East and South-East Asian countries.

Thailand
Silk is produced year-round in Thailand by two types of silkworms, the cultured Bombycidae and wild Saturniidae. Most production is after the rice harvest in the southern and northeastern parts of the country. Women traditionally weave silk on hand looms and pass the skill on to their daughters, as weaving is considered to be a sign of maturity and eligibility for marriage. Thai silk textiles often use complicated patterns in various colours and styles. Most regions of Thailand have their own typical silks. A single thread filament is too thin to use on its own so women combine many threads to produce a thicker, usable fiber. They do this by hand-reeling the threads onto a wooden spindle to produce a uniform strand of raw silk. The process takes around 40 hours to produce a half kilogram of silk. Many local operations use a reeling machine for this task, but some silk threads are still hand-reeled. The difference is that hand-reeled threads produce three grades of silk: two fine grades that are ideal for lightweight fabrics, and a thick grade for heavier material.

The silk fabric is soaked in extremely cold water and bleached before dyeing to remove the natural yellow coloring of Thai silk yarn. To do this, skeins of silk thread are immersed in large tubs of hydrogen peroxide. Once washed and dried, the silk is woven on a traditional hand-operated loom.

Bangladesh
The Rajshahi Division of northern Bangladesh is the hub of the country's silk industry. There are three types of silk produced in the region: mulberry, endi, and tassar. Bengali silk was a major item of international trade for centuries. It was known as Ganges silk in medieval Europe. Bengal was the leading exporter of silk between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Central Asia
The 7th century CE murals of Afrasiyab in Samarkand, Sogdiana, show a Chinese Embassy carrying silk and a string of silkworm cocoons to the local Sogdian ruler.

Middle East
In the Torah, a scarlet cloth item called in Hebrew "sheni tola'at" שני תולעת – literally "crimson of the worm" – is described as being used in purification ceremonies, such as those following a leprosy outbreak (Leviticus 14), alongside cedar wood and hyssop (za'atar). Eminent scholar and leading medieval translator of Jewish sources and books of the Bible into Arabic, Rabbi Saadia Gaon, translates this phrase explicitly as "crimson silk" – חריר קרמז حرير قرمز.

In Islamic teachings, Muslim men are forbidden to wear silk. Many religious jurists believe the reasoning behind the prohibition lies in avoiding clothing for men that can be considered feminine or extravagant. There are disputes regarding the amount of silk a fabric can consist of (e.g., whether a small decorative silk piece on a cotton caftan is permissible or not) for it to be lawful for men to wear, but the dominant opinion of most Muslim scholars is that the wearing of silk by men is forbidden. Modern attire has raised a number of issues, including, for instance, the permissibility of wearing silk neckties, which are masculine articles of clothing.

Ancient Mediterranean
In the Odyssey, 19.233, when Odysseus, while pretending to be someone else, is questioned by Penelope about her husband's clothing, he says that he wore a shirt "gleaming like the skin of a dried onion" (varies with translations, literal translation here) which could refer to the lustrous quality of silk fabric. Aristotle wrote of Coa vestis, a wild silk textile from Kos. Sea silk from certain large sea shells was also valued. The Roman Empire knew of and traded in silk, and Chinese silk was the most highly priced luxury good imported by them. During the reign of emperor Tiberius, sumptuary laws were passed that forbade men from wearing silk garments, but these proved ineffectual. The Historia Augusta mentions that the third-century emperor Elagabalus was the first Roman to wear garments of pure silk, whereas it had been customary to wear fabrics of silk/cotton or silk/linen blends. Despite the popularity of silk, the secret of silk-making only reached Europe around AD 550, via the Byzantine Empire. Contemporary accounts state that monks working for the emperor Justinian I smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople from China inside hollow canes. All top-quality looms and weavers were located inside the Great Palace complex in Constantinople, and the cloth produced was used in imperial robes or in diplomacy, as gifts to foreign dignitaries. The remainder was sold at very high prices.

Medieval and modern Europe

Italy was the most important producer of silk during the Medieval age. The first center to introduce silk production to Italy was the city of Catanzaro during the 11th century in the region of Calabria. The silk of Catanzaro supplied almost all of Europe and was sold in a large market fair in the port of Reggio Calabria, to Spanish, Venetian, Genovese, and Dutch merchants. Catanzaro became the lace capital of the world with a large silkworm breeding facility that produced all the laces and linens used in the Vatican. The city was world-famous for its fine fabrication of silks, velvets, damasks, and brocades.

Another notable center was the Italian city-state of Lucca which largely financed itself through silk-production and silk-trading, beginning in the 12th century. Other Italian cities involved in silk production were Genoa, Venice, and Florence. The Piedmont area of Northern Italy became a major silk producing area when water-powered silk throwing machines were developed.

The Silk Exchange in Valencia from the 15th century—where previously in 1348 also perxal (percale) was traded as some kind of silk—illustrates the power and wealth of one of the great Mediterranean mercantile cities.

Silk was produced in and exported from the province of Granada, Spain, especially the Alpujarras region, until the Moriscos, whose industry it was, were expelled from Granada in 1571.

Since the 15th century, silk production in France has been centered around the city of Lyon where many mechanic tools for mass production were first introduced in the 17th century. James I attempted to establish silk production in England, purchasing and planting 100,000 mulberry trees, some on land adjacent to Hampton Court Palace, but they were of a species unsuited to the silk worms, and the attempt failed. In 1732 John Guardivaglio set up a silk throwing enterprise at Logwood mill in Stockport; in 1744, Burton Mill was erected in Macclesfield; and in 1753 Old Mill was built in Congleton. These three towns remained the centre of the English silk throwing industry until silk throwing was replaced by silk waste spinning. British enterprise also established silk filature in Cyprus in 1928. In England in the mid-20th century, raw silk was produced at Lullingstone Castle in Kent. Silkworms were raised and reeled under the direction of Zoe Lady Hart Dyke, later moving to Ayot St Lawrence in Hertfordshire in 1956.

During World War II, supplies of silk for UK parachute manufacture were secured from the Middle East by Peter Gaddum.

North America
Wild silk taken from the nests of native caterpillars was used by the Aztecs to make containers and as paper. Silkworms were introduced to Oaxaca from Spain in the 1530s and the region profited from silk production until the early 17th century, when the king of Spain banned export to protect Spain's silk industry. Silk production for local consumption has continued until the present day, sometimes spinning wild silk.

King James I introduced silk-growing to the British colonies in America around 1619, ostensibly to discourage tobacco planting. The Shakers in Kentucky adopted the practice. The history of industrial silk in the United States is largely tied to several smaller urban centers in the Northeast region. Beginning in the 1830s, Manchester, Connecticut emerged as the early center of the silk industry in America, when the Cheney Brothers became the first in the United States to properly raise silkworms on an industrial scale; today the Cheney Brothers Historic District showcases their former mills. With the mulberry tree craze of that decade, other smaller producers began raising silkworms. This economy particularly gained traction in the vicinity of Northampton, Massachusetts and its neighboring Williamsburg, where a number of small firms and cooperatives emerged. Among the most prominent of these was the cooperative utopian Northampton Association for Education and Industry, of which Sojourner Truth was a member. Following the destructive Mill River Flood of 1874, one manufacturer, William Skinner, relocated his mill from Williamsburg to the then-new city of Holyoke. Over the next 50 years he and his sons would maintain relations between the American silk industry and its counterparts in Japan, and expanded their business to the point that by 1911, the Skinner Mill complex contained the largest silk mill under one roof in the world, and the brand Skinner Fabrics had become the largest manufacturer of silk satins internationally. Other efforts later in the 19th century would also bring the new silk industry to Paterson, New Jersey, with several firms hiring European-born textile workers and granting it the nickname "Silk City" as another major center of production in the United States.

World War II interrupted the silk trade from Asia, and silk prices increased dramatically. U.S. industry began to look for substitutes, which led to the use of synthetics such as nylon. Synthetic silks have also been made from lyocell, a type of cellulose fiber, and are often difficult to distinguish from real silk (see spider silk for more on synthetic silks).

Malaysia
In Terengganu, which is now part of Malaysia, a second generation of silkworm was being imported as early as 1764 for the country's silk textile industry, especially songket. However, since the 1980s, Malaysia is no longer engaged in sericulture but does plant mulberry trees.

Vietnam
In Vietnamese legend, silk appeared in the first millennium AD and is still being woven today.

Production process
The process of silk production is known as sericulture. The entire production process of silk can be divided into several steps which are typically handled by different entities. Extracting raw silk starts by cultivating the silkworms on mulberry leaves. Once the worms start pupating in their cocoons, these are dissolved in boiling water in order for individual long fibres to be extracted and fed into the spinning reel.

To produce 1 kg of silk, 104 kg of mulberry leaves must be eaten by 3000 silkworms. It takes about 5000 silkworms to make a pure silk kimono. The major silk producers are China (54%) and India (14%). Other statistics:

The environmental impact of silk production is potentially large when compared with other natural fibers. A life-cycle assessment of Indian silk production shows that the production process has a large carbon and water footprint, mainly due to the fact that it is an animal-derived fiber and more inputs such as fertilizer and water are needed per unit of fiber produced.

Physical properties
Silk fibers from the Bombyx mori silkworm have a triangular cross section with rounded corners, 5–10 μm wide. The fibroin-heavy chain is composed mostly of beta-sheets, due to a 59-mer amino acid repeat sequence with some variations. The flat surfaces of the fibrils reflect light at many angles, giving silk a natural sheen. The cross-section from other silkworms can vary in shape and diameter: crescent-like for Anaphe and elongated wedge for tussah. Silkworm fibers are naturally extruded from two silkworm glands as a pair of primary filaments (brin), which are stuck together, with sericin proteins that act like glue, to form a bave. Bave diameters for tussah silk can reach 65 μm. See cited reference for cross-sectional SEM photographs.

Silk has a smooth, soft texture that is not slippery, unlike many synthetic fibers.

Silk is one of the strongest natural fibers, but it loses up to 20% of its strength when wet. It has a good moisture regain of 11%. Its elasticity is moderate to poor: if elongated even a small amount, it remains stretched. It can be weakened if exposed to too much sunlight. It may also be attacked by insects, especially if left dirty.

One example of the durable nature of silk over other fabrics is demonstrated by the recovery in 1840 of silk garments from a wreck of 1782: 'The most durable article found has been silk; for besides pieces of cloaks and lace, a pair of black satin breeches, and a large satin waistcoat with flaps, were got up, of which the silk was perfect, but the lining entirely gone ... from the thread giving way ... No articles of dress of woollen cloth have yet been found.'

Silk is a poor conductor of electricity and thus susceptible to static cling. Silk has a high emissivity for infrared light, making it feel cool to the touch.

Unwashed silk chiffon may shrink up to 8% due to a relaxation of the fiber macrostructure, so silk should either be washed prior to garment construction, or dry cleaned. Dry cleaning may still shrink the chiffon up to 4%. Occasionally, this shrinkage can be reversed by a gentle steaming with a press cloth. There is almost no gradual shrinkage nor shrinkage due to molecular-level deformation.

Natural and synthetic silk is known to manifest piezoelectric properties in proteins, probably due to its molecular structure.

Silkworm silk was used as the standard for the denier, a measurement of linear density in fibers. Silkworm silk therefore has a linear density of approximately 1 den, or 1.1 dtex.

Chemical properties
Silk emitted by the silkworm consists of two main proteins, sericin and fibroin, fibroin being the structural center of the silk, and sericin being the sticky material surrounding it. Fibroin is made up of the amino acids Gly-Ser-Gly-Ala-Gly-Ala and forms beta pleated sheets. Hydrogen bonds form between chains, and side chains are oriented above and below the plane of the hydrogen bond network.

The high proportion (50%) of glycine allows tight packing. This is because glycine has no side chain and is therefore unencumbered by steric strain. The addition of alanine and serine makes the fibres strong and resistant to breaking. This tensile strength is due to the many interceded hydrogen bonds, and when stretched the force is applied to these numerous bonds and they do not break.

Silk resists most mineral acids, except for sulfuric acid, which dissolves it. It is yellowed by perspiration. Chlorine bleach will also destroy silk fabrics.

Regenerated silk fiber
RSF is produced by chemically dissolving silkworm cocoons, leaving their molecular structure intact. The silk fibers dissolve into tiny thread-like structures known as microfibrils. The resulting solution is extruded through a small opening, causing the microfibrils to reassemble into a single fiber. The resulting material is reportedly twice as stiff as silk.

Clothing
Silk's absorbency makes it comfortable to wear in warm weather and while active. Its low conductivity keeps warm air close to the skin during cold weather. It is often used for clothing such as shirts, ties, blouses, formal dresses, high-fashion clothes, lining, lingerie, pajamas, robes, dress suits, sun dresses, and traditional Asian clothing. Silk is also excellent for insect-proof clothing, protecting the wearer from mosquitoes and horseflies.

Fabrics that are often made from silk include satin, charmeuse, habutai, chiffon, taffeta, crêpe de chine, dupioni, noil, tussah, and shantung, among others.

Furniture
Silk's attractive lustre and drape makes it suitable for many furnishing applications. It is used for upholstery, wall coverings, window treatments (if blended with another fiber), rugs, bedding, and wall hangings.

Industry
Silk had many industrial and commercial uses, such as in parachutes, bicycle tires, comforter filling, and artillery gunpowder bags.

Medicine
A special manufacturing process removes the outer sericin coating of the silk, which makes it suitable as non-absorbable surgical sutures. This process has also recently led to the introduction of specialist silk underclothing, which has been used for skin conditions including eczema. New uses and manufacturing techniques have been found for silk for making everything from disposable cups to drug delivery systems and holograms.

Biomaterial
Silk began to serve as a biomedical material for sutures in surgeries as early as the second century CE. In the past 30 years, it has been widely studied and used as a biomaterial due to its mechanical strength, biocompatibility, tunable degradation rate, ease to load cellular growth factors (for example, BMP-2), and its ability to be processed into several other formats such as films, gels, particles, and scaffolds. Silks from Bombyx mori, a kind of cultivated silkworm, are the most widely investigated silks.

Silks derived from Bombyx mori are generally made of two parts: the silk fibroin fiber which contains a light chain of 25 kDa and a heavy chain of 350 kDa (or 390 kDa ) linked by a single disulfide bond and a glue-like protein, sericin, comprising 25 to 30 percentage by weight. Silk fibroin contains hydrophobic beta sheet blocks, interrupted by small hydrophilic groups. The beta-sheets contribute much to the high mechanical strength of silk fibers, which achieves 740 MPa, tens of times that of poly(lactic acid) and hundreds of times that of collagen. This impressive mechanical strength has made silk fibroin very competitive for applications in biomaterials. Indeed, silk fibers have found their way into tendon tissue engineering, where mechanical properties matter greatly. In addition, mechanical properties of silks from various kinds of silkworms vary widely, which provides more choices for their use in tissue engineering.

Most products fabricated from regenerated silk are weak and brittle, with only ≈1–2% of the mechanical strength of native silk fibers due to the absence of appropriate secondary and hierarchical structure,

Biocompatibility
Biocompatibility, i.e., to what level the silk will cause an immune response, is a critical issue for biomaterials. The issue arose during its increasing clinical use. Wax or silicone is usually used as a coating to avoid fraying and potential immune responses when silk fibers serve as suture materials. Although the lack of detailed characterization of silk fibers, such as the extent of the removal of sericin, the surface chemical properties of coating material, and the process used, make it difficult to determine the real immune response of silk fibers in literature, it is generally believed that sericin is the major cause of immune response. Thus, the removal of sericin is an essential step to assure biocompatibility in biomaterial applications of silk. However, further research fails to prove clearly the contribution of sericin to inflammatory responses based on isolated sericin and sericin based biomaterials. In addition, silk fibroin exhibits an inflammatory response similar to that of tissue culture plastic in vitro when assessed with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) or lower than collagen and PLA when implant rat MSCs with silk fibroin films in vivo. Thus, appropriate degumming and sterilization will assure the biocompatibility of silk fibroin, which is further validated by in vivo experiments on rats and pigs. There are still concerns about the long-term safety of silk-based biomaterials in the human body in contrast to these promising results. Even though silk sutures serve well, they exist and interact within a limited period depending on the recovery of wounds (several weeks), much shorter than that in tissue engineering. Another concern arises from biodegradation because the biocompatibility of silk fibroin does not necessarily assure the biocompatibility of the decomposed products. In fact, different levels of immune responses and diseases have been triggered by the degraded products of silk fibroin.

Biodegradability
Biodegradability (also known as biodegradation)—the ability to be disintegrated by biological approaches, including bacteria, fungi, and cells—is another significant property of biomaterials. Biodegradable materials can minimize the pain of patients from surgeries, especially in tissue engineering, since there is no need for surgery in order to remove the implanted scaffold. Wang et al. showed the in vivo degradation of silk via aqueous 3D scaffolds implanted into Lewis rats. Enzymes are the means used to achieve degradation of silk in vitro. Protease XIV from Streptomyces griseus and α-chymotrypsin from bovine pancreases are two popular enzymes for silk degradation. In addition, gamma radiation, as well as cell metabolism, can also regulate the degradation of silk.

Compared with synthetic biomaterials such as polyglycolides and polylactides, silk is advantageous in some aspects of biodegradation. The acidic degraded products of polyglycolides and polylactides will decrease the pH of the ambient environment and thus adversely influence the metabolism of cells, which is not an issue for silk. In addition, silk materials can retain strength over a desired period from weeks to months on an as-needed basis, by mediating the content of beta sheets.

Genetic modification
Genetic modification of domesticated silkworms has been used to alter the composition of the silk. As well as possibly facilitating the production of more useful types of silk, this may allow other industrially or therapeutically useful proteins to be made by silkworms.

Cultivation
Silk moths lay eggs on specially prepared paper. The eggs hatch and the caterpillars (silkworms) are fed fresh mulberry leaves. After about 35 days and 4 moltings, the caterpillars are 10,000 times heavier than when hatched and are ready to begin spinning a cocoon. A straw frame is placed over the tray of caterpillars, and each caterpillar begins spinning a cocoon by moving its head in a pattern. Two glands produce liquid silk and force it through openings in the head called spinnerets. Liquid silk is coated in sericin, a water-soluble protective gum, and solidifies on contact with the air. Within 2–3 days, the caterpillar spins about 1 mi of filament and is completely encased in a cocoon. The silk farmers then heat the cocoons to kill them, leaving some to metamorphose into moths to breed the next generation of caterpillars. Harvested cocoons are then soaked in boiling water to soften the sericin holding the silk fibers together in a cocoon shape. The fibers are then unwound to produce a continuous thread. Since a single thread is too fine and fragile for commercial use, anywhere from three to ten strands are spun together to form a single thread of silk.

Animal rights
As the process of harvesting the silk from the cocoon kills the larvae by boiling, sericulture has been criticized by animal welfare activists, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who urge people not to buy silk items.

Mahatma Gandhi was critical of silk production because of his Ahimsa (non-violent) philosophy, which led to the promotion of cotton and Ahimsa silk, a type of wild silk made from the cocoons of wild and semi-wild silk moths.

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title: Silk


text:
Prince

A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. Prince is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The female equivalent is a princess. The English word derives, via the French word prince, from the Latin noun prīnceps, from primus (first) and caput (head), meaning "the first, foremost, the chief, most distinguished, noble ruler, prince".

Historical background
The Latin word prīnceps (older Latin *prīsmo-kaps, lit. 'the one who takes the first [place/position]'), became the usual title of the informal leader of the Roman senate some centuries before the transition to empire, the princeps senatus.

Emperor Augustus established the formal position of monarch on the basis of principate, not dominion. He also tasked his grandsons as summer rulers of the city when most of the government were on holiday in the country or attending religious rituals, and, for that task, granted them the title of princeps.

The title has generic and substantive meanings:
 * Generically, prince refers to a member of a family that ruled by hereditary right (such as the House of Sverre in Norway) or to non-reigning descendants, the title referring to sovereigns, former sovereigns' descendants (Such as descendants of King Haakon V) or to cadets of a sovereign's family. The term may be broadly used of persons in various cultures, continents or eras. In Europe, it is the title legally borne by dynastic cadets in monarchies, and borne by courtesy by members of formerly reigning dynasties.
 * As a substantive title, a prince was a monarch of the lowest rank in post-Napoleonic Europe, e.g. Princes of Andorra, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Mingrelia, Monaco, Waldeck and Pyrmont, Wallachia, etc.
 * Also substantively, the title was granted by popes and secular monarchs to specific individuals and to the heads of some high-ranking European families who, however, never exercised dynastic sovereignty and whose cadets are not entitled to share the princely title, viz the Princes de Beauvau-Craon, von Bismarck, Colonna, von Dohna-Schlobitten, von Eulenburg, de Faucigny-Lucinge, von Lichnowsky, von Pless, Ruffo di Calabria, (de Talleyrand) von Sagan, van Ursel, etc.
 * Generically, cadets of some non-sovereign families whose head bears the non-dynastic title of prince (or, less commonly, duke) were sometimes also authorized to use the princely title, e.g. von Carolath-Beuthen, de Broglie, Demidoff di San Donato, Lieven, de Merode, Pignatelli, Radziwill, von Wrede, Yussopov, etc.
 * Substantively, the heirs apparent in some monarchies use a specific princely title associated with a territory within the monarch's realm, e.g. the Princes of Asturias (Spain), Grão Pará (Brazil, formerly), Orange (Netherlands), Viana (Navarre, formerly), Wales (U.K.), etc.
 * Substantively, it became the fashion from the 17th century for the heirs apparent of the leading ducal families to assume a princely title, associated with a seigneurie in the family's possession. These titles were borne by courtesy and preserved by tradition, not law, e.g. the princes de, respectively, Bidache (Gramont), Marcillac (La Rochefoucauld), Tonnay-Charente (Mortemart), Poix (Noailles), Léon (Rohan-Chabot), etc.

Prince as generic for ruler
The original but now less common use of the word was the application of the Latin word prīnceps, from late Roman law and the classical system of government that eventually gave way to the European feudal society. In this sense, a prince is a ruler of a territory that is sovereign or quasi-sovereign, i.e., exercising substantial (though not all) prerogatives associated with monarchs of independent nations, such as the immediate states within the historical boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. In medieval and early modern Europe, there were as many as two hundred such territories, especially in Italy, Germany, and Gaelic Ireland. In this sense, "prince" is used of any and all rulers, regardless of actual title or precise rank. This is the Renaissance use of the term found in Niccolò Machiavelli's famous work, Il Principe. It is also used in this sense in the United States Declaration of Independence.

As a title, by the end of the medieval era, prince was borne by rulers of territories that were either substantially smaller than those of or exercised fewer of the rights of sovereignty than did emperors and kings. A lord of even a quite small territory might come to be referred to as a prince before the 13th century, either from translations of a native title into the Latin prīnceps (as for the hereditary ruler of Wales) or when the lord's territory was allodial. The lord of an allodium owned his lands and exercised prerogatives over the subjects in his territory absolutely, owing no feudal homage or duty as a vassal to a liege lord, nor being subject to any higher jurisdiction. Most small territories designated as principalities during feudal eras were allodial, e.g. the Princedom of Dombes.

Lords who exercised lawful authority over territories and people within a feudal hierarchy were also sometimes regarded as princes in the general sense, especially if they held the rank of count or higher. This is attested in some surviving styles for e.g., British earls, marquesses, and dukes are still addressed by the Crown on ceremonial occasions as high and noble princes (cf. Royal and noble styles).

In parts of the Holy Roman Empire in which primogeniture did not prevail (e.g., Germany), all legitimate agnates had an equal right to the family's hereditary titles. While titles such as emperor, king, and elector could only be legally occupied by one dynast at a time, holders of such other titles as duke, margrave, landgrave, count palatine, and prince could only differentiate themselves by adding the name of their appanage to the family's original title. This tended to proliferate unwieldy titles (e.g. Princess Katherine of Anhalt-Zerbst; Karl, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Neukastell-Kleeburg; or Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg) and, as agnatic primogeniture gradually became the norm in the Holy Roman Empire by the end of the 18th century, another means of distinguishing the monarch from other members of his dynasty became necessary. Gradual substitution of the title of Prinz for the monarch's title of Fürst occurred, and became customary for cadets in all German dynasties except in the grand duchies of Mecklenburg and Oldenburg. Both Prinz and Fürst are translated into English as "prince", but they reflect not only different but mutually exclusive concepts.

This distinction had evolved before the 18th century (although Liechtenstein long remained an exception, with cadets and females using Fürst/Fürstin into the 19th century) for dynasties headed by a Fürst in Germany. The custom spread through the Continent to such an extent that a renowned imperial general who belonged to a cadet branch of a reigning ducal family, remains best known to history by the generic dynastic title, "Prince Eugene of Savoy". Note that the princely title was used as a prefix to his Christian name, which also became customary.

Cadets of France's other princes étrangers affected similar usage under the Bourbon kings. Always facing the scepticism of Saint-Simon and like-minded courtiers, these quasi-royal aristocrats' assumption of the princely title as a personal, rather than territorial, designation encountered some resistance. In writing Histoire Genealogique et Chonologique, Père Anselme accepts that, by the end of the 17th century, the heir apparent to the House of La Tour d'Auvergne's sovereign duchy bears the title Prince de Bouillon, but he would record in 1728 that the heir's La Tour cousin, the Count of Oliergues, is "known as the Prince Frederick" ("dit le prince Frédéric").

The post-medieval rank of gefürsteter Graf (princely count) embraced but elevated the German equivalent of the intermediate French, English and Spanish nobles. In the Holy Roman Empire, these nobles rose to dynastic status by preserving from the Imperial crown (de jure after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648) the exercise of such sovereign prerogatives as the minting of money; the muster of military troops and the right to wage war and contract treaties; local judicial authority and constabulary enforcement; and the habit of inter-marrying with sovereign dynasties. By the 19th century, cadets of a Fürst would become known as Prinzen.

Princes consort and princes of the blood

The husband of a queen regnant is usually titled "prince consort" or simply "prince", whereas the wives of male monarchs take the female equivalent (e.g., empress, queen) of their husband's title. In Brazil, Portugal and Spain, however, the husband of a female monarch is accorded the masculine equivalent of her title (e.g., emperor, king), at least after he fathered her heir. In previous epochs, husbands of queens regnant were often deemed entitled to the crown matrimonial, sharing their consorts' regnal title and rank jure uxoris.

However, in cultures which allow the ruler to have several wives (e.g., four in Islam) or official concubines (e.g., Imperial China, Ottoman Empire, Thailand, KwaZulu-Natal), these women, sometimes collectively referred to as a harem, often have specific rules determining their relative hierarchy and a variety of titles, which may distinguish between those whose offspring can be in line for the succession or not, or specifically who is mother to the heir to the throne.

To complicate matters, the style His/Her (Imperial/Royal) Highness, a prefix often accompanying the title of a dynastic prince, may be awarded/withheld separately (as a compromise or consolation prize, in some sense, e.g., Duke of Cádiz, Duchess of Windsor, Princesse de Réthy, Prince d'Orléans-Braganza).

Although the arrangement set out above is the one that is most commonly understood, there are also different systems. Depending on country, epoch, and translation, other usages of "prince" are possible.

Foreign-language titles such as principe, prince, Fürst, Prinz (non-reigning descendant of a reigning monarch), князь, etc., are usually translated as "prince" in English.

Some princely titles are derived from those of national rulers, such as tsarevich from tsar. Other examples are (e)mirza(da), khanzada, nawabzada, sahibzada, shahzada, sultanzada (all using the Persian patronymic suffix -zada, meaning "son, descendant"). However, some princely titles develop in unusual ways, such as adoption of a style for dynasts which is not pegged to the ruler's title, but rather continues an old tradition (e.g., "grand duke" in Romanov Russia or "archduke" in Habsburg Austria), claims dynastic succession to a lost monarchy (e.g. Prince de Tarente for the La Trémoïlle heirs to the Neapolitan throne), or descends from a ruler whose princely title or sovereign status was not de jure hereditary, but attributed to descendants as an international courtesy, (e.g., Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan, Poniatowski, Ypsilanti).

Specific titles
In some dynasties, a specific style other than prince has become customary for dynasts, such as fils de France in the House of Capet, and Infante. Infante was borne by children of the monarch other than the heir apparent in all of the Iberian monarchies. Some monarchies used a specific princely title for their heirs, such as Prince of Asturias in Spain and Prince of Brazil in Portugal.

Sometimes a specific title is commonly used by various dynasties in a region, e.g. Mian in various of the Punjabi princely Hill States (lower Himalayan region in British India).

European dynasties usually awarded appanages to princes of the blood, typically attached to a feudal noble title, such as Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, Britain's royal dukes, the Dauphin in France, the Count of Flanders in Belgium, and the Count of Syracuse in Sicily. Sometimes appanage titles were princely, e.g. Prince of Achaia (Courtenay), Prince de Condé (Bourbon), Prince of Carignan (Savoy), but it was the fact that their owners were of princely rank rather than that they held a princely title which was the source of their pre-eminence.

For the often specific terminology concerning an heir apparent, see Crown prince.

Prince as a substantive title
Other princes derive their title not from dynastic membership as such, but from inheritance of a title named for a specific and historical territory. The family's possession of prerogatives or properties in that territory might be long past. Such were most of the "princedoms" of France's ancien régime, so resented for their pretentiousness in the memoirs of Saint-Simon. These included the princedoms of Arches-Charleville, Boisbelle-Henrichemont, Chalais, Château-Regnault, Guéménée, Martigues, Mercœur, Sedan, Talmond, Tingrey, and the "kingship" of Yvetot, among others.

Prince as a reigning monarch
A prince or princess who is the head of state of a territory that has a monarchy as a form of government is a reigning prince.

Extant principalities
The current princely monarchies include:
 * The co-principality of Andorra (current reigning princes are the French President Emmanuel Macron and HE Joan Enric Vives Sicília)
 * The emirate of Kuwait (current reigning emir is Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah)
 * The principality of Liechtenstein (current reigning prince is Hans-Adam II)
 * The principality of Monaco (current reigning prince is Albert II)
 * The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (currently vacant following the death of Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, John T. Dunlap is Lieutenant of the Grand Master and acting head of the order. The election of a permanent successor has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
 * The emirate of Qatar (current reigning emir is Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani)
 * The member emirates of the federation in the United Arab Emirates (United Arab Principalities):
 * Abu Dhabi (Emir Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also President of the UAE)
 * Ajman (Emir Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi)
 * Dubai (Emir Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE)
 * Fujairah (Emir Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi)
 * Ras al-Khaimah (Emir Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi)
 * Sharjah (Emir Sultan III bin Muhammad al-Qasimi)
 * Umm al-Quwain (Emir Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla)

Micronations
In the same tradition, some self-proclaimed monarchs of so-called micronations style themselves as princes:
 * Roy Bates titled himself "Prince Roy" of the Principality of Sealand
 * Leonard George Casley titled himself "Prince Leonard I" of the Principality of Hutt River (enclave in Australia)

Prince exercising head of state's authority
Various monarchies provide for different modes in which princes of the dynasty can temporarily or permanently share in the style and/or office of the monarch, e.g. as regent or viceroy.

Though these offices may not be reserved legally for members of the ruling dynasty, in some traditions they are filled by dynasts, a fact which may be reflected in the style of the office, e.g. "prince-president" for Napoleon III as French head of state but not yet emperor, or "prince-lieutenant" in Luxembourg, repeatedly filled by the crown prince before the grand duke's abdication, or in form of consortium imperii.

Some monarchies even have a practice in which the monarch can formally abdicate in favour of his heir and yet retain a kingly title with executive power, e.g. Maha Upayuvaraja (Sanskrit for Great Joint King in Cambodia), though sometimes also conferred on powerful regents who exercised executive powers.

Non-dynastic princes
In several countries of the European continent, such as France, prince can be an aristocratic title of someone having a high rank of nobility or as lord of a significant fief, but not ruling any actual territory and without any necessary link to the royal family, which makes it difficult to compare with the British system of royal princes.

France and the Holy Roman Empire

The kings of France started to bestow the style of prince, as a title among the nobility, from the 16th century onwards. These titles were created by elevating a seigneurie to the nominal status of a principality—although prerogatives of sovereignty were never conceded in the letters patent. Princely titles self-assumed by the princes du sang and by the princes étrangers were generally tolerated by the king and used at the royal court, outside the Parlement of Paris. These titles held no official place in the hierarchy of the nobility, but were often treated as ranking just below ducal peerages, since they were often inherited (or assumed) by ducal heirs: This can even occur in a monarchy within which an identical but real and substantive feudal title exists, such as Fürst in German. An example of this is: Spain, France and Netherlands In other cases, such titular princedoms are created in chief of an event, such as a treaty or a victory. Examples include:
 * French titles of prince recognized by the king
 * Holy Roman Empire states annexed by France
 * Arches-Charleville: in the Ardennes region, near the border with the Empire
 * Château-Renaud: near Arches-Charleville
 * Dombes: on the east bank of the Rhône
 * Orange
 * Sedan: held by the Dukes of Bouillon
 * Ancient principalities seated in the Kingdom of France
 * Boisbelle, later Henrichemont: in the Berry region, a sovereign principality recognized in 1598
 * Luxe: in the Béarn region, also styled Sovereign Count (cf. Princely Count)
 * Yvetot: in the Normandy region, recognized, nominally, as King of Yvetot
 * Principalities created by the King
 * Château-Porcien: in the Ardennes region, created in 1561 for the House of Croÿ
 * Guéméné: in Brittany, created in 1667 for the House of Rohan (title borne by the Duke of Montbazon or his heir)
 * Joinville: in the Champagne region, created in 1552 for the House of Lorraine
 * Martigues: in the Provence region, created 16th century for cadets of the House of Lorraine
 * Mercœur: in the Auvergne region, created in 1563 for cadets of the House of Lorraine, later a duchy; recreated in 1719
 * Tingry: in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, created in 1587 for the House of Luxemburg
 * The princes of Condé and Conti, heads of cadet branches of the French royal House of Bourbon: used recognized princely titles, but the lordships of Condé and Conti were never formally created principalities by the King
 * Unrecognized titles of Prince
 * Aigremont
 * Anet: used by the Dukes of Vendôme, then the Dukes of Penthièvre
 * Antibes: claimed by the de Grasse family
 * Bédeille: in Béarn
 * Bidache: in Béarn used by the Dukes of Gramont, but the heir was usually styled Count of Guiche rather than Prince of Bidache
 * Carency: in Artois (originally a lordship of the House of Bourbon, it was inherited by the Counts of La Vauguyon, who used the style of Prince of Carency for the heir)
 * Chabanais: in Angoumois; reduced to a marquisate in 1702
 * Chalais: in Périgord (inherited by the elder branch of the Talleyrand family; Spanish Grandeeship attached to the title in 1714)
 * Commercy: lordship of Lorraine (cadets of the House of Lorraine used the style of Prince of Commercy)
 * Courtenay: the House of Courtenay legitimately descended from Louis VI of France but was not recognized as princes du sang by France's kings. The last branch of the house used the style of Prince of Courtenay from the 17th century. The style passed to the Dukes of Bauffremont.
 * Elbeuf: lordship of Normandy (younger sons of the House of Guise used the style of prince d'Elbeuf; later a duchy)
 * Lamballe: in Brittany, used by the heir of the Bourbon Duke of Penthièvre
 * Lambesc: in Provence, used by various cadets of the House of Guise, notably by the heirs of the Dukes of Elbeuf
 * Léon: viscountcy of Brittany (the heirs of the Dukes of Rohan used the style of Prince of Léon)
 * Listenois: in Franche-Comté, used by the Dukes of Bauffremont after the Courtenay inheritance
 * Marcillac: in Angoumois, used by the heir of the Duke de La Rochefoucauld
 * Maubuisson: in Île-de-France, used by the Dukes of Rohan-Rohan
 * Montauban: in Brittany, used by various cadets of the House of Rohan
 * Montbazon: a duchy of the House of Rohan, style of Prince of Montbazon used by various cadets of the House
 * Mortagne: in Aquitaine, used by the Dukes of Richelieu
 * Poix: in Picardy, used by various families, twice raised to a duchy
 * Pons: in Saintonge, used by cadets of the House of Guise
 * Rochefort: used by cadets of the House of Rohan
 * Soubise: used by head of the second branch of the House of Rohan, also Dukes of Rohan-Rohan
 * Soyons: in Dauphiné, used by cadets of the Dukes of Uzès
 * Talmond: in Vendée, used by the Dukes of La Trémoïlle
 * Tonnay-Charente: used by the heirs of the Dukes of Mortemart
 * Turenne: viscounty of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne, style of Prince de Turenne used by cadets of the house
 * Otto von Bismarck was created Prince von Bismarck in the empire of reunited Germany, under the Hohenzollern dynasty.
 * The Spanish minister Manuel Godoy was created Principe de la Paz ("Prince of Peace") by his king for negotiating the 1795 double peace treaty of Basilea, by which the revolutionary French republic made peace with Prussia and with Spain.
 * The triumphant generals who led their troops to victory often received a victory title from Napoleon, both princely and ducal.
 * King William I of the Netherlands bestowed the victory title of Prince of Waterloo upon Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington after his defeat of Napoleon I Bonaparte at Waterloo in 1815.
 * Joseph Bonaparte conferred the title "Prince of Spain" to be hereditary on his children and grandchildren in the male and female line.

Eastern Europe

In the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the titles of prince dated either to the times before the Union of Lublin or were granted to Polish nobles by foreign monarchs, as the law in Poland forbade the king from dividing nobility by granting them hereditary titles: see The Princely Houses of Poland.

In the Russian system, князь (knjazʹ), translated as "prince", is the highest degree of official nobility. Members of older dynasties, whose realms were eventually annexed to the Russian Empire, were also accorded the title of knyazʹ—sometimes after first being allowed to use the higher title of tsarevich (e.g. the Princes Gruzinsky and Sibirsky). The many surviving branches of the Rurik dynasty used the knyazʹ title before and after they yielded sovereignty to their kinsmen, the Grand Princes of Muscovy, who became Tsars and, under the House of Romanov, Emperors of Russia.

Title in various European traditions and languages
In each case, the title is followed (when available) by the female form and then (not always available, and obviously rarely applicable to a prince of the blood without a principality) the name of the territory associated with it, each separated by a slash. If a second title (or set) is also given, then that one is for a Prince of the blood, the first for a principality. Be aware that the absence of a separate title for a prince of the blood may not always mean no such title exists; alternatively, the existence of a word does not imply there is also a reality in the linguistic territory concerned; it may very well be used exclusively to render titles in other languages, regardless whether there is a historical link with any (which often means that linguistic tradition is adopted)

Etymologically, we can discern the following traditions (some languages followed a historical link, e.g. within the Holy Roman Empire, not their language family; some even fail to follow the same logic for certain other aristocratic titles):

Romance languages

 * Languages (mostly Romance) only using the Latin root prīnceps:
 * Catalan: Príncep/Princesa, Príncep/Princesa
 * French: Prince/Princesse, Prince/Princesse
 * Friulian: Princip/Principesse, Princip/Principesse
 * Italian: Principe/Principessa, Principe/Principessa
 * Latin (post-Roman): Princeps/*Princeps/*
 * Monegasque: Principu/Principessa, Principu/Principessa
 * Occitan: Prince/Princessa, Prince/Princessa
 * Portuguese: Príncipe/Princesa, Príncipe/Princesa
 * Rhaeto-Romansh: Prinzi/Prinzessa, Prinzi/Prinzessa
 * Romanian: Prinţ/Prinţesă, Principe/Principesă
 * Spanish: Príncipe/Princesa, Príncipe/Princesa
 * Venetian: Principe/Principessa, Principe/Principessa

Celtic languages

 * Celtic languages:
 * Breton: Priñs/Priñsez
 * Irish: Prionsa/Banphrionsa, Flaith/Banfhlaith
 * Scottish Gaelic: Prionnsa/Bana-phrionnsa, Flath/Ban-fhlath
 * Welsh: Tywysog/Tywysoges, Prins/Prinses

Germanic languages

 * Languages (mainly Germanic) that use (generally alongside a prīnceps-derivate for princes of the blood) an equivalent of the German Fürst:
 * English: Prince/Princess, Prince/Princess
 * Afrikaans: Prins
 * Danish: Fyrste/Fyrstinde, Prins/Prinsesse
 * Dutch: Vorst/Vorstin, Prins/Prinses
 * Faroese: Fúrsti/Fúrstafrúa/Fúrstinna, Prinsur/Prinsessa
 * West Frisian: Foarst/Foarstinne, Prins/Prinsesse
 * German: Fürst/Fürstin, Prinz/Prinzessin
 * Icelandic: Fursti/Furstynja, Prins/Prinsessa
 * Luxembourgish: Fürst/Fürstin, Prënz/Prinzessin
 * Norwegian: Fyrste/Fyrstinne, Prins/Prinsesse
 * Old English: Ǣðeling/Hlæfdiġe
 * Swedish: Furste/Furstinna, Prins/Prinsessa

Slavic languages

 * Slavic:
 * Belarusian: Karalevich/Karalewna, Prynts/Pryntsesa, Knyazhych/Knyazhnya
 * Bosnian: Кнез/Кнегиња (Knez/Kneginja), Краљевић/Краљевна (Kraljević/Kraljevna), Принц/Принцеза (Princ/Princeza)
 * Bulgarian (phonetically spelt): Knyaz/Knyaginya, Prints/Printsesa
 * Croatian: Knez/Kneginja, Kraljević/Kraljevna, Princ/Princeza
 * Czech: Kníže/Kněžna, Kralevic, Princ/Princezna
 * Macedonian: Knez/Knegina, Princ/Princeza
 * Polish: Książę/Księżna, Królewicz/Królewna
 * Russian: Князь/Княгиня (Knyaz/Knyagina/Knyazhna), Tsarevich/Tsarevna, Korolyevich/Korolyevna, Prints/Printsessa
 * Serbian: Кнез/Кнегиња (Knez/Kneginja), Краљевић/Краљевна (Kraljević/Kraljevna), Принц/Принцеза (Princ/Princeza)
 * Slovak: Knieža/Kňažná, Kráľovič, Princ/Princezná
 * Slovene: Knez/Kneginja, Princ/Princesa, Kraljevič/Kraljična
 * Ukrainian: Княжич/Кяжна (Kniazhych/Kniazhna), Королевич/Королівна (Korolevych/Korolivna), Принц/Принцеса (Prynts/Pryntsesa), Гетьманич/Гетьманівна (Hetmanych/Hetmanivna)

Other Western languages

 * Albanian: Princ/Princeshë, Princ/Princeshë
 * Estonian: Vürst/Vürstinna, Prints/Printsess
 * Finnish: Ruhtinas/Ruhtinatar, Prinssi/Prinsessa
 * Georgian: თავადი/Tavadi, უფლისწული/"Uplists'uli" ("Child of the Lord")
 * Greek (Medieval, formal): Πρίγκηψ/Πριγκήπισσα (Prinkips/Prinkipissa)
 * Greek (Modern, colloquial): Πρίγκηπας/Πριγκήπισσα (Prinkipas/Prinkipissa)
 * Hungarian (Magyar): Herceg/Hercegnő or Fejedelem/Fejedelemnő if head of state
 * Latvian: Firsts/Firstiene, Princis/Princese
 * Lithuanian: Kunigaikštis/Kunigaikštienė, Princas/Princese
 * Maltese: Prinċep/Prinċipessa, Prinċep/Prinċipessa

Title in various Islamic traditions and languages
In Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Hungary the title of prince has also been used as the highest title of nobility (without membership in a ruling dynasty), above the title of duke, while the same usage (then as Fürst) has occurred in Germany and Austria but then one rank below the title of duke and above count.

The above is essentially the story of European, Christian dynasties and other nobility, also 'exported' to their colonial and other overseas territories and otherwise adopted by rather westernized societies elsewhere (e.g. Haiti).

Applying these essentially western concepts, and terminology, to other cultures even when they don't do so, is common but in many respects rather dubious. Different (historical, religious...) backgrounds have also begot significantly different dynastic and nobiliary systems, which are poorly represented by the 'closest' western analogy.

It therefore makes sense to treat these per civilization.
 * Arabian tradition since the caliphate—in several monarchies it remains customary to use the title Sheikh (in itself below princely rank) for all members of the royal family. In families (often reigning dynasties) which claim descent from Muhammad, this is expressed in either of a number of titles (supposing different exact relations): sayid, sharif; these are retained even when too remote from any line of succession to be a member of any dynasty.
 * In Saudi Arabia the title of Emir is used in role of prince for all members of the House of Saud.
 * In Iraq, the direct descendants of previous Emirs from the largest tribes, who ruled the kingdoms before modern statehood, use the title of Sheikh or Prince as the progeny of royalty.
 * In the Ottoman Empire, the sovereign of imperial rank (incorrectly known in the west as (Great) sultan) was styled padishah with a host of additional titles, reflecting his claim as political successor to the various conquered states. Princes of the blood, male, were given the style Şehzade.
 * Persia (Iran)—Princes as members of a royal family, are referred to by the title Shahzadeh, meaning "descendant of the king". Since the word zadeh could refer to either a male or female descendant, Shahzadeh had the parallel meaning of "princess" as well. Princes can also be sons of provincial kings (Khan) and the title referring to them would be the title of Khanzadeh. Princes as people who got a title from the King are called "Mirza", diminutive of "Amir Zadeh" (King's Son).
 * In Indian Muslim dynasties, the most common titles were Mirza (from Amirzada) and Shahzada; while Nawabzada and Sahibzada were also given to younger blood princes.
 * In Kazakh Khanate the title Sultan was used for lords from a ruling dynasty (direct descendants of Genghis Khan), that gives them a right to be elected as khan, as an experienced ruler; and an honorific tore, another name for the clan, (ru:Торе (род)) for ordinary members of a ruling dynasty.

Brunei
It's crucial to use the proper title while speaking to members of the royal family because Brunei is an absolute monarchy, and inappropriate use might be uncomfortable. The heir apparent and crown prince, styled as Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri (His Royal Highness), is officially known as Pengiran Muda Mahkota (Crown Prince); A blood prince is officially known as Pengiran Muda (Prince); their names are styled differently: If they do not have additional titles, the Sultan's sons are addressed as Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri (His Royal Highness); The Pengiran Muda Mahkota's sons are addressed as Yang Teramat Mulia (His Royal Highness).

China
Before Qin dynasty, prince (in the sense of royal family member) had no special title. Since Han dynasty, royal family members were entitled Wang (王, lit. King), the former highest title which was then replaced by Huang Di (皇帝, lit. Emperor). Since Western Jin, the Wang rank was divided into two ranks, Qin Wang (親王, lit. King of the Blood) and Jun Wang (郡王, lit. King of the Commandery). Only family of the Emperor can be entitled Qin Wang, so prince is usually translated as Qin Wang, e.g. 菲利普親王 (Prince Philip). For the son of the ruler, prince is usually translated as Huang Zi (皇子, lit. Son of the Emperor) or Wang Zi (王子 lit., Son of the King), e.g. 查爾斯王子 (Prince Charles).

As a title of nobility, prince can be translated as Qin Wang according to tradition, Da Gong (大公, lit., Grand Duke) if one want to emphasize that it is a very high rank but below the King (Wang), or just Zhu Hou (诸侯, lit. princes) which refers to princes of all ranks in general. For example, 摩納哥親王 (Prince of Monaco).

Japan
In Japan, the title Kōshaku (公爵) was used as the highest title of Kazoku (華族 Japanese modern nobility) before the present constitution. Kōshaku, however, is more commonly translated as "Duke" to avoid confusion with the following royal ranks in the Imperial Household: Shinnō (親王 literally, Prince of the Blood); Naishinnō (内親王 lit., Princess of the Blood in her own right); and Shinnōhi 親王妃 lit., Princess Consort); or Ō (王 lit., Prince); Jyo-Ō (女王 lit., Princess (in her own right)); and Ōhi (王妃 lit., Princess Consort). The former is the higher title of a male member of the Imperial family while the latter is the lower.

Korea
In the Joseon Dynasty, the title "Prince" was used for the king's male-line descendants. The title was divided into two: the king's legitimate son used the title daegun (대군, 大君, literally "grand prince"), but any other male royals used the title gun (군, 君, lit. "prince"). These included the descendants of the king up to the grandsons of illegitimate sons of the king and the crown prince, and up to the great grandsons of daeguns, with other royals being able to be named gun if they reached the second rank. But the title of gun wasn't limited to the royal family. It was also granted as an honorary title to the king's father-in-law and to gongsin (공신, 功臣, lit. "servant of merit") and was only conditionally hereditary for gongsins.

As noble titles no longer exist in modern Korea, the English word "Prince" is now usually translated as wangja (왕자, 王子, lit. "king's son"), referring to princes from non-Korean royal families. Princes and principalities in continental Europe are almost always confused with dukes and duchies in Korean speech, both being translated as gong (공, 公, lit. "duke") and gongguk (공국, 公國, lit. "duchy").

Sri Lanka
The title 'Prince' was used for the King's son in Sinhalese generation in Sri Lanka.

India
In the former Empire of India, during the British Colonial Era, the title of a Prince was conferred upon by the Emperor to the hereditary Indian rulers of the numerous principalities of varying sizes in the empire called "princely states", who ruled their territories in the name of the Emperor of India, who was also simultaneously the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions. They acknowledged the Emperor as their imperial sovereign till the empire's dissolution in 1947 and subsequently acceded to the newly formed Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan between 1947 and 1949.

Indochina
See Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos

Philippines
See Principalia, the Sultanate of Maguindanao and the Sultanate of Sulu.

Thailand
In Thailand (formerly Siam), the title of Prince was divided into three classes depending on the rank of their mothers. Those who were born of a king and had a royal mother (a queen or princess consort) are titled Chaofa Chai (เจ้าฟ้าชาย: literally, "Male Celestial Lord"). Those born of a king and a commoner, or children of Chaofas, are tilted Phra Ong Chao (พระองค์เจ้า). The children of Phra Ong Chaos are titled Mom Chao (หม่อมเจ้า), abbreviated as M.C. (or ม.จ.).

African traditions
A Western model was sometimes copied by emancipated colonial regimes (e.g. Bokassa I's short-lived Central-African Empire in Napoleonic fashion). Otherwise, most of the styles for members of ruling families do not lend themselves well to English translation. Nonetheless, in general the princely style has gradually replaced the colonialist title of "chief", which does not particularly connote dynastic rank to Westerners, e.g. Swazi Royal Family and Zulu Royal Family. Nominally ministerial chiefly titles, such as the Yoruba Oloye and the Zulu InDuna, still exist as distinct titles in kingdoms all over Africa.

Title in religion

In states with an element of theocracy, this can affect princehood in several ways, such as the style of the ruler (e.g. with a secondary title meaning son or servant of a named divinity), but also the mode of succession (even reincarnation and recognition).

Christianity
Certain religious offices may be considered of princely rank, or imply comparable temporal rights. The Prince-Popes, Pope, Hereditary Prince-Cardinals, Cardinals, Prince-Lord Bishops, Prince Bishops, Lord Bishops, Prince-Provost, and Prince-abbots are referred to as Princes of the Church.

Also, in Christianity, Jesus Christ is sometimes referred to as the Prince of Peace. Other titles for Jesus Christ are Prince of Princes, Prince of the Covenant, Prince of Life, and Prince of the Kings of the Earth. Further, Satan is popularly titled the Prince of Darkness; and in the Christian faith he is also referred to as the Prince of this World  and the Prince of the Power of the Air. Another title for Satan, not as common today but apparently so in approximately 30 A.D. by the Pharisees of the day, was the title Prince of the Devils. Prince of Israel, Prince of the Angels, and Prince of Light are titles given to the Archangel Michael. Some Christian churches also believe that since all Christians, like Jesus Christ, are children of God, then they too are princes and princesses of Heaven. Saint Peter, a disciple of Jesus, is also known as the Prince of the Apostles.

Sunni Islam
The title Prince is used in Sunni Islam for Afghan Royal Sayyids, descending from the Hazrat Ishaan, who are the heirs and representative (Vali-Ahd) of the 12th Imam of Muhammad's family. They are the supreme leaders (Īshān) of the Naqshbandi School of Tasawuf as blood descendants of their grandpatriarch Bahauddin Naqshband, who descends from the 12th Imam´s little brother and heir Sultan Ali Akbar ibn Hasan al Askari. As such they blessed certain heads of states based on a theocratic basis and were admitted to royalty with titles including "Shahzada", "Amir", "Mir" and "Sardar" which are all translated as Prince. The titles are used to this day to address the Hazrat Ishaans in regards to their relations to the Uzbek Timurid-Mughal and Afghan Muhammadzai royal family, their influence in the foundation of the state of Pakistan and their responsibility of leading the Naqshbandi Sufi Community hereditarily since 700 years. The legal ground within international law is customary law (opinio juris sive necessitatis) due to standardized practice in state protocols that has risen to a ius cogens, surviving the abolishment of Muhammadzai rule in Afghanistan on the occasion of the Saur Revolution.

Shia Islam
In Shia Islam the title Prince is also used as an address for the Agha Khan, an Iranian Royal Sayyid acting as the 49th Imam of the Nizari ismaili Shiite community. The title Prince is prevailing also as a custom (opinio juris) on the occasion of its long use as members of the Qajar Iranian royal family and in regards to their responsibility of leading Ismaili Shiite Islam. The international legal ground is furthermore an accreditation made by Elizabeth II in the 1950s

title: Prince