a woman who is noble by descent, by creation, or by marriage. As we have noblemen of several ranks, so we may also have noblewomen. Thus Henry VIII. made Anne Boleyn, Marchioness of Pembroke; James I. created the Lady Compton, wife of Sir Thomas Compton, Countess of Buckingham, in the lifetime of her husband, without any addition of honour to him; the same king also made the Lady Finch Viscountess of Maidstone, and afterwards Countess of Winchilsea, to her and the heirs of her body; and George I. made Lady Schuleberg Duchess of Kendal. If a peeress, by descent or creation, marry a person under the degree of nobility, she still continues noble; but if she obtain that dignity only by marriage, she loses it on her afterwards marrying a commoner; yet, by the courtesy of England, she generally retains the title of her nobility.