|
The High-born
Hochgeboren (, "high-born"; la, illustrissimus) is a form of address for the titled members of the German and Austrian nobility, ranking just below the sovereign and mediatised dynasties. The actual address is ''"Euer" Hochgeboren''. It is the proper form of address for counts (''Grafen'') that are neither heirs to mediatised families of the Holy Roman Empire (counts of the Holy Roman Empire or ''Reichsgrafen'') nor families who have been bequeathed higher predicate by the Emperor. By courtesy, barons (''Freiherr'') belonging to old houses of the ''Uradel'' are also addressed in the same way. The correct term for immediate counts (''Reichsgrafen'') is ''Erlaucht'' ("Illustrious Highness"),"Scarcely inferior in dignity to the Austro-Hungarian princes or Fürst are the members of those Comital Houses or Grafen the chiefs of which, by a decision of the Austrian Emperor, have right to the title of "Most Illustrious Count" (Erlaucht)." Constantin von Wurzbach, ''Biographisches Lexik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Nobility
The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, German entities that recognized or conferred nobility included the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the German Confederation (1814–1866) and the German Empire (1871–1918). Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the German Empire had a policy of expanding his political base by ennobling rich businessmen who had no noble ancestors. The nobility flourished during the dramatic industrialization and urbanization of Germany after 1850. Landowners modernized their estates, and oriented their business to an international market. Many younger sons were positioned in the rapidly growing national and regional bureaucracies, as well as in the military. They acquired not only the technical skills but the necessary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fürst
' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of the Holy Roman Empire and later its former territories, below the ruling ' (emperor) or ' (king). A Prince of the Holy Roman Empire was the reigning sovereign ruler of an Imperial State that held imperial immediacy in the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. The territory ruled is referred to in German as a ' ( principality), the family dynasty referred to as a ' (princely house), and the (non-reigning) descendants of a ' are titled and referred to in German as ' (prince) or ' (princess). The English language uses the term "prince" for both concepts. Latin-based languages (French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese) also employ a single term, whereas Dutch as well as the Scandinavian and some Slavic languages use separate terms si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wohlgeboren
Wohlgeboren (, "well-born") was a form of address for the lowest ranks of German nobility. The Latin version of this term is "''spectabilis''". German usage The actual address was ''(Euer) Wohlgeboren'', it is the proper form of address for a ''Vogt'' or ''Büttel'' Swedish usage "Välborne" for untitled Swedish nobility and "högvälborne" for counts and barons. Higher form of address The title should not be confused with the following, in order of increasing rank: :- ''(Euer) Hochwohlgeboren'' (lit. ''highly well-born''), the form of address for German barons (''Freiherren''), nobles (''Edle'') and knights (''Ritter'') ; :- ''(Euer) Hochgeboren'' (lit. ''high-born), the proper form of address for members of the titled German nobility, ranking just below the sovereign and mediatised dynasties; :- ''Erlaucht'' (''Illustrious Highness''), the correct address for those German immediate counts ('' Reichsgrafen'') who are heirs of mediatised families of the Holy Roman Empire; :- ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ritter
Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles and designations within the nobility in German-speaking areas, the rank was hereditary and generally was used with the nobiliary particle of von or zu before a family name. For its historical association with warfare and the landed gentry in the Middle Ages, the title of Ritter can be considered roughly equal to the titles of "Knight", but it is hereditary like the British title of "Baronet". The wife of a Ritter was called a "Frau" (in this sense "Lady") and not Ritterin. In heraldry, from the late 18th century a Ritter was often indicated by the use of a coronet with five points, although not everyone who was a Ritter and displayed arms made use of such a coronet. In the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary the title of "Ritter von" was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freiherr
(; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire and in its various successor states, including Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, etc. Traditionally, it denotes the titled royal and noble ranks, rank within the nobility above ' (knight) and ' (nobility without a specific title) and below ' (count, count, earl). The title superseded the earlier medieval form, '. It corresponds approximately to the English ''baron'' in rank. The Duden orthography of the German language references the French nobility title of ''Baron'', deriving from the latin-germanic combination ''liber baro'' (which also means "free lord"), as corresponding to the German "Freiherr"; and that ''Baron'' is a corresponding salutation for a ''Freiherr''.Duden; Definition of ''Baron, der'' (in German)/ref> ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hochwohlgeboren
Hochwohlgeboren (, "High Well-born"; la, magnificus) is an honorific and manner of address for members of the nobility in some parts of Europe. German This form of address originally had connections with the ability of a ''Freiherr'' (Baron) to bequeath a family coat of arms and to hold landed property as allodial instead of a fief. The actual address is ''Euer Hochwohlgeboren'' ("Your High Well-born") and is the correct form of address not only German ''Freiherren'' but also ''Ritter'' and ''Edle''. The title should not be confused with ''(Euer) Hochgeboren''. This title ranks higher than ''Hochwohlgeboren'' and is the style of mediate ''Grafen'' (''mediate Counts''; immediate counts or ''Reichsgrafen'' are entitled to the address ''Erlaucht'') and those ''Freiherren'' descending from the mediæval ''Uradel''. Another honorific title was ''(Euer) Wohlgeboren'' which ranked lower than Hochwohlgeboren and was claimed by Bourgeois notables. In the 19th century it became custo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial position, and did not develop into a hereditary title until much later. In the case of French viscounts, it is customary to leave the title untranslated as vicomte . Etymology The word ''viscount'' comes from Old French (Modern French: ), itself from Medieval Latin , accusative of , from Late Latin "deputy" + Latin (originally "companion"; later Roman imperial courtier or trusted appointee, ultimately count). History During the Carolingian Empire, the kings appointed counts to administer provinces and other smaller regions, as governors and military commanders. Viscounts were appointed to assist the counts in their running of the province, and often took on judicial responsibility. The kings strictly prevented the offices of their coun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1992. p. 73. . The etymologically related English term "county" denoted the territories associated with the countship. Definition The word ''count'' came into English from the French ''comte'', itself from Latin ''comes''—in its accusative ''comitem''—meaning “companion”, and later “companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor”. The adjective form of the word is "comital". The British and Irish equivalent is an earl (whose wife is a "countess", for lack of an English term). In the late Roman Empire, the Latin title ''comes'' denoted the high rank of various courtiers and provincial officials, either military or administrative: before Anthemius became emperor in the West in 467, he was a military ''comes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire and the title came to be borne by rulers of some Imperial principalities until the abolition of the Empire in 1806 (e.g., Margrave of Brandenburg, Margrave of Baden). Thereafter, those domains (originally known as ''marks'' or ''marches'', later as ''margraviates'' or ''margravates'') were absorbed in larger realms or the titleholders adopted titles indicative of full sovereignty. History Etymologically, the word "margrave" ( la, marchio, links=no, ) is the English and French form of the German noble title (, meaning "march" or "mark", that is, border land, added to , meaning "Count"); it is related semantically to the English title "Marcher Lord". As a noun and hereditary title, "margrave" was common among the languages of Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked below princess nobility and grand dukes. The title comes from French ''duc'', itself from the Latin ''dux'', 'leader', a term used in republican Rome to refer to a military commander without an official rank (particularly one of Germanic or Celtic origin), and later coming to mean the leading military commander of a province. In most countries, the word ''duchess'' is the female equivalent. Following the reforms of the emperor Diocletian (which separated the civilian and military administrations of the Roman provinces), a ''dux'' became the military commander in each province. The title ''dux'', Hellenised to ''doux'', survived in the Eastern Roman Empire where it continued in several contexts, signifying a rank equivalent to a captai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durchlaucht
His/Her Serene Highness ( abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members of the family of Hazrat Ishaan, who lead Naqshbandi Sunni Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Order today. Until 1918, it was also associated with the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties and with a few princely but non-ruling families. It was also the form of address used for cadet members of the dynasties of France, Italy, Russia and Ernestine Saxony, under their monarchies. Additionally, the treatment was granted for some, but not all, princely yet non-reigning families of Bohemia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Russia by emperors or popes. In a handful of rare cases, it was employed by non-royal rulers in viceregal or even republican contexts. In a number of older English dictionaries, ''sere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herzog
''Herzog'' (female ''Herzogin'') is a German hereditary title held by one who rules a territorial duchy, exercises feudal authority over an estate called a duchy, or possesses a right by law or tradition to be referred to by the ducal title. The word is usually translated by the English ''duke'' and the Latin ''dux''. Generally, a ''Herzog'' ranks below a king and above a count. Pine, L.G. Titles: How the King became His Majesty. ''Titles in Western Europe.''Barnes & Noble, Inc. 1992, pp. 70-73. . Whether the title is deemed higher or lower than titles translated into English as "prince" (''Fürst'') has depended upon the language, country and era in which the titles coexisted. History ''Herzog'' is not related to '' Herz'' ('heart'), but is derived from German(ic) He(e)r (English: 'army') and zog (ziehen) (English: 'to move' or 'to pull', also: ''in die Schlacht ziehen'' – "to go into battle", related to the modern English verb '' to tug''), a military leader (compare to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
