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
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 ...
). 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
A nobiliary particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular p ...
of
von or zu before a family name.
For its historical association with warfare and the
landed gentry
The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, th ...
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 bestowed upon citizens who deserved more than the plain ''"von"'' but were not considered deserving enough as to be given 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 ...
y and designated as "
Freiherr".
Even today, members of the
Central European Order of St. George, which goes back to
Emperor Maximilian and was later reactivated by
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
after its dissolution by Nazi Germany, are "Ritter" (knights).
In addition to the described system,
Württemberg introduced orders of merit beginning in the late 18th century which also conferred nobility as "Ritter von" but kept the title limited to the recipient's lifetime (see
Military Order of Max Joseph).
[Jakob Knab: "Unangreifbare Traditionspflege. Der Bayerische Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden und das Königlich-Bayerische Infanterie-Leib-Regiment." In: Geschichte quer. 12/2004.]
See also
*
Ridder
References
Titles
Austrian noble titles
German noble titles
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