![Boeselager-Wappen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Boeselager-Wappen.png)
Boeselager (or ''Böselager'') is the name of a
German noble family from
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
.
History
The members of this noble house whose line begins with one
Squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...
''Boeselager'' of by Magdeburgon first appearing in the documents on April 12, 1363. The first fully documented member is ''Henning von Boeselager'' holding a knight's
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
in
Wolmirsleben from April 12, 1466. By decree of the
Royal Prussian
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German states, German Monarchy, kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the ...
throne, members of the ''Heesen'' Line entered the ranks of the
barons
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
on December 20, 1823; the members of the ''Eggermühlen'' branch were thereafter styled "barons" according to
customary law
A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law".
Customary law (also, consuetudina ...
.
Notable members are active in the
Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
, amongst them Grand Chancellor,
Albrecht von Boeselager
Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager (born 4 October 1949) is a German lawyer and forester and was formerly a member of the Sovereign Council of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. He served as Grand Hospitaller from 1989 to 2014, and from 2014 u ...
and
Csilla von Boeselager
Csilla von Boeselager (May 17, 1941 in Budapest – February 23, 1994, in Arnsberg-Voßwinkel) was a Baroness who founded the Hungarian Maltese Charity Organisation in Germany (german: Ungarischer Malteser Caritas Dienst), and initiated the found ...
.
Notable members
* (1608–1668), Diplomat
*
Georg Freiherr von Boeselager (1915–1944), German officer, member of the
20 July Plot
On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...
against
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
*
Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager
Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager (6 September 1917 – 1 May 2008) was the second-last surviving member of the 20 July Plot, a conspiracy of Wehrmacht officers to assassinate the German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944.
Early life
Born at Burg Hei ...
(1917–2008), German officer, member of the
20 July Plot
On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...
against
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
*
Csilla von Boeselager
Csilla von Boeselager (May 17, 1941 in Budapest – February 23, 1994, in Arnsberg-Voßwinkel) was a Baroness who founded the Hungarian Maltese Charity Organisation in Germany (german: Ungarischer Malteser Caritas Dienst), and initiated the found ...
(1941–1994), founder of Hungarian Maltese Charity Organisation
*
Albrecht von Boeselager
Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager (born 4 October 1949) is a German lawyer and forester and was formerly a member of the Sovereign Council of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. He served as Grand Hospitaller from 1989 to 2014, and from 2014 u ...
(born 4 October 1949 in Burg Kreuzberg), Grand Chancellor of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
.
*
Damian Freiherr von Boeselager (born 8 March 1988), an
MEP for Volt Deutschland, the
German chapter of Volt Europa, elected in 2019.
References
German noble families
Westphalian nobility
{{Germany-noble-stub