Viscount
Viscount (from Latin Vicecomes , English Viscount , Dutch Burggraaf , Italian Visconte , Spanish Vizconde , Portuguese Visconde ) was originally a vice count , i.e. the deputy of a count ( French Comte , Italian Conte , Spanish Conde , English Count etc.)
In Great Britain , France , the Netherlands and Belgium it is the independent title of a nobleman standing between baron and count ( Earl or Comte ).
The name appeared for the first time in the Franconian Empire in 819 and referred to the office of a representative of the count ("Vice-Count"), which was connected with the tasks of jurisdiction, administration and economic use of the count's domain. From the 10th century onwards, the office became partly hereditary there, was gradually linked to direct power through a fiefdom and eventually developed into an independent nobility.
In France, the eldest son of a count or marquis often carried the title viscount. The administrative district or the land was called Vice County ( French Vicomté , Spanish Vizcondado ) etc.