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
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 knig ...
) 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
Edler () was until 1919 the lowest rank of nobility in Austria-Hungary and Germany, just beneath a ''Ritter'' (hereditary knight), but above untitled nobles, who used only the nobiliary particle ''von'' before their surname. It was mostly given t ...
''.
The title should not be confused with ''(Euer)
Hochgeboren 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 p ...
''. 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 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 ''Vo ...
'' which ranked lower than Hochwohlgeboren and was claimed by
Bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
notables.
In the 19th century it became customary to address academic and other civil honoraries by this title, e.g., a number of letters to
Sigmund Freud are addressed to "''Hochwohlgeboren'' Prof. Dr. Sigmund Freud".
It is commonly abbreviated in correspondence as:
“I.I.H.H.” for married couples
“I.H.” (= ''Ihre Hochwohlgeboren'') for women.
“S.H.” (= ''Seine Hochwohlgeboren'') for men.
Swedish
In Sweden ''Högvälboren'' (High Well-born) is used to address
barons and
counts,
''Välboren'' (Well-born) is used to address untitled nobles.
Dutch
In The Netherlands ''Hoogwelgeboren'' (High Well-born) is used to address a
Baron
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 knig ...
, a
Knight or a
Jonkheer. ''Hooggeboren'' (High-born) is used to address
Dukes,
Margraves,
Counts or
Viscounts.
Russian
In
Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
, civil, military and court officials in the 6th to 8th grades according to the
Table of Ranks
The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...
were addressed with a style similar in meaning (''Ваше высокоблагородие''). Similarly the style ''(Euer) Wohlgeboren'' (''Ваше благородие'') was applied to officials in the 9th to 14th grades, while ''(Euer) Hochgeboren'' (''Ваше высокородие'') was enjoyed by officials in the 5th grade. As such the honorific address was also implied by membership in some grades of the Russian
dynastic orders of chivalry.
Hungarian
In Hungarian the equivalent word was "nagyságos" and literally comes from this term in Latin "''magnificus''".
References
{{Imperial, royal, and noble styles
Styles (forms of address)