![T10 Landgraf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/T10_Landgraf.svg)
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a
noble title
Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke), ...
used in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("
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 Emp ...
"), and ' ("
count palatine
A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...
") are in the same class of ranks as ' ("duke") and above the rank of a ' ("count").
Etymology
The
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
word landgrave is the equivalent of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
''Landgraf'', a
compound of the words ''Land'' and ''
Graf
(feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...
'' (German: Count).
Description
The title referred originally to a
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: ...
who had
imperial immediacy
Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...
, or feudal duty owed directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. His jurisdiction stretched over a sometimes quite considerable territory, which was not subservient to an intermediate power, such as a
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 ran ...
, a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
or
count palatine
A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...
. The title survived from the times of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
(first recorded in
Lower Lotharingia
The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as ''Lothier'' or ''Lottier'' from 1086:
Henry III, Count of Louvain
Henry III of Louvain (German: ''Heinrich'', Dutch:''Hendrik'', French: ''Henri''; died 1095), was Count of Louvain (Leuven) and Landgrave of Brabant, son of Henry II (c. 1020–1078), Count of Louvain and Brussels, and Adela of Orthen (or Betuwe ...
, as landgrave of
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to:
Place names in Europe
* London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany
Belgium
* Province of Bra ...
). By definition, a landgrave exercised sovereign rights. His decision-making power was comparable to that of a Duke.
''Landgrave'' occasionally continued in use as the subsidiary title of such noblemen as the Grand Duke of
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant bra ...
, who functioned as the ''Landgrave of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
'' in the first decade of the 20th century, but the title fell into disuse after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The jurisdiction of a landgrave was a ''landgraviate'' (german: Landgrafschaft, links=no), and the wife of a landgrave or a female landgrave was known as a ''landgravine'' (from the German , being the feminine form of )
The term was also used in
the Carolinas
The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east.
Combining Nort ...
(what is now North and South Carolina in the United States) during British rule. A "landgrave" was "a county nobleman in the British, privately held North American colony Carolina, ranking just below the proprietary (chartered equivalent of a royal vassal)."
Examples
Examples include:
*
Landgrave of Thuringia
**
Landgraves of Hesse and its subsequent divisions (
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...
,
-Darmstadt,
-Rotenburg,
-Philippsthal(-
Barchfeld
Barchfeld is a village and a former municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 31 December 2012, it is part of the municipality Barchfeld-Immelborn
Barchfeld-Immelborn is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district ...
),
-Rheinfels,
-Homburg(
-Bingenheim),
-Marburg).
*
Landgraves of Leuchtenberg, situated around a Bavarian castle (later raised into a duchy)
*
*
*
Fürstenberg-Weitra
Fürstenberg-Weitra was a cadet branch of the princely House of Fürstenberg, originally from Donaueschingen in Swabia, in present-day southwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. From 1744 onwards the landgravial line resided at Weitra Castle in ...
*
Fürstenberg-Taikowitz
Fürstenberg-Taikowitz was a cadet branch of the princely House of Fürstenberg, originally from Swabia in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It emerged in 1759 as a partition of the Austrian Fürstenberg-Weitra line. The landgraves resided ...
*
Landgraviate of Alsace
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...
**
Upper Alsace
Upper Alsace (southern Alsace) was a landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire centred on Ensisheim and Landser, north of the County of Ferrette (Pfirt). The counts of Habsburg ruled the territory from the 1130s down to its cession to France in the ...
**
Lower Alsace
Lower Alsace (northern Alsace) was a landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire held ''ex officio'' by the Bishop of Strasbourg. Prior to is acquisition by the bishopric, it was held by the counts of Hüneburg.
In 1174 Count Gottfried of Hüneburg w ...
Related terms
* Landgraviate – the rank, office, or territory held by a landgrave
* Landgravine (german: Landgräfin, links=no) – the wife of a landgrave or one who exercises the office or holds the rank in her own right.
References
Further reading
* Mayer, Theodor, "Über Entstehung und Bedeutung der älteren deutschen Landgrafschaften", in ''Mitteralterliche Studien – Gesammelte Aufsätze'', ed. F. Knapp (Sigmaringen 1958) 187–201. Also published in ''Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte'', Germanische Abteilung 58 (1938) 210–288.
* Mayer, Theodor, Herzogtum und Landeshoheit', Fürsten und Staat. Studien zur Verfassungsgeschichte des deutschen Mittelalters'' (Weimar 1950) 276–301.
* Eichenberger, T., Patria: ''Studien zur Bedeutung des Wortes im Mittelalter'' (6.-12. Jahrhundert), Nationes – Historische und philologische Untersuchungen zur Entstehung der europäischen Nationen im Mittelalter 9 (Sigmaringen 1991).
* Van Droogenbroeck, Frans J.
'De betekenis van paltsgraaf Herman II (1064-1085) voor het graafschap Brabant' ''Eigen Schoon en De Brabander'', 87 (2004), 1-166.
* Van Droogenbroeck, Frans J.
Het landgraafschap Brabant (1085-1183) en zijn paltsgrafelijke voorgeschiedenis. De territoriale en institutionele aanloop tot het ontstaan van het hertogdom Brabant(2004)
External links
*
{{Authority control
German noble titles
Heads of state
Noble titles