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(; feminine: ) is a historical
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
of the
German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...
and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "
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: ...
". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "
earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...
" (whose female version is "countess"). The German nobility was gradually divided into high and low nobility. The high nobility included those counts who ruled immediate imperial territories of "
prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
ly size and importance" for which they had a seat and vote in the Imperial Diet.


Etymology and origin

The word derives from , which is usually derived from . is in turn thought to come from the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
title , which ultimately derives from the Greek verb () 'to write'. Other explanations have been put forward, however;
Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
and Wilhelm Grimm, while still noting the potential of a Greek derivation, suggested a connection to , meaning 'decision, decree'. However, the Grimms preferred a solution that allows a connection to ' reeve', in which the ''ge-'' is a prefix, and which the Grimms derive from
Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...
'number'.


History

The comital title of is common to various European territories where German was or is the official or vernacular tongue, including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Alsace, the Baltic states and other former Habsburg crown lands. In Germany, all legal privileges of the nobility have been officially abolished since August 1919, and , like any other hereditary title, is treated as part of the legal surname. In Austria, its use is banned by law, as with all hereditary titles and nobiliary particles. In
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, the title is not acknowledged in law. In the monarchies of Belgium, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, where German is one of the
official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...
s, the title continues to be recognised, used and, occasionally, granted by the national , the reigning monarch. From the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, a usually ruled a territory known as a ('county'). In the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, many Imperial counts () retained near-sovereign authority in their lands until the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
subordinated them to larger, neighboring monarchs through the German mediatisation process of 1815, preserving their precedence, allocating familial representation in local legislatures, some jurisdictional immunities and the prestigious privilege of . In regions of Europe where nobles did not actually exercise over the populace, the long retained specific
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
privileges over the land and in the villages in his county, such as rights to
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
service, to periodic fees for use of common infrastructure such as timber, mills, wells and pastures. These rights gradually eroded and were largely eliminated before or during the 19th century, leaving the with few legal privileges beyond land ownership, although comital estates in German-speaking lands were often substantial. Nonetheless, various rulers in German-speaking lands granted the hereditary title of to their subjects, particularly after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Although lacking the prestige and powers of the former Imperial counts, they remained legal members of the local nobility, entitled to whatever minor privileges were recognised at the ruler's court. The title, translated as "count", was generally accepted and used in other countries by custom. Many Continental counts in Germany and Austria were titled without any additional qualification. Except in the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
from the 19th century, the title of was not restricted by
primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...
: it was inherited by all legitimate descendants in the male line of the original titleholder, the males also inheriting an approximately equal share of the family's wealth and estates. Usually a hyphenated suffix indicated which of the familial lands a particular line of counts held, e.g. . In the medieval Holy Roman Empire, some counts took or were granted unique variations of the title, often relating to a specific domain or jurisdiction of responsibility, e.g. , , (
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 or ...
), , , , , , etc. Although as a title ranked, officially, below those of (duke) and (prince), the
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
could and did recognise unique concessions of authority or rank to some of these nobles, raising them to the status of or "princely count". But a title with such a prefix did not always signify a higher than comital rank or membership in the . Only the more important of these titles, historically associated with degrees of sovereignty, remained in use by the 19th century, specifically and . In Russia, the title of ''Graf'' (; feminine: Графиня,
romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
''Grafinya'') was introduced by
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
. The first Russian ''graf'' (or count) was Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, elevated to this dignity in 1706 for the pacification of the . Then Peter granted six more ''graf'' dignities. Initially, when someone was elevated to the ''graf's'' dignity of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, the elevated person's recognition by the German Emperor in the same dignity of the Holy Roman Empire was required. Subsequently, the latter ceased to be obligatory.


Nobiliary titles containing the term

Some are approximately of comital rank, some higher, some lower. The more important ones are treated in separate articles (follow the links); a few minor, rarer ones only in sections below.


A was a nobleman whose title of ''count'' was conferred or confirmed by the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
, and meant "Imperial Count", i.e., a count of the Holy Roman Empire. Since the
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
era, any count whose territory lay within the Empire and was under the immediate jurisdiction of the Emperor with a shared vote in the came to be considered a member of the "upper nobility" () in Germany, along with princes (), dukes (), electors (), and the emperor himself. A count who was not a was likely to possess only a mesne
fief A fief (; ) 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 overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
() — he was subject to an immediate prince of the empire, such as a duke or prince elector. However, the Holy Roman Emperors also occasionally granted the title of to subjects and foreigners who did not possess and were not granted immediate territories — or, sometimes, any territory at all. Such titles were purely
honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
. In English, is usually translated simply as ''count'' and is combined with a territorial suffix (e.g., Count of Holland, Count Reuss) or a surname ( Count Fugger, Count von Browne). Even after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the retained precedence above other counts in Germany. Those who had been quasi-sovereign until German mediatisation retained, until 1918, status and privileges pertaining to members of reigning dynasties. Notable have included: * * * , a title merged into the imperial dignity * * since 26 September 1366 (previously, simply ) * * * Tyrol as a dominion of the Austrian crown A complete list of with immediate territories as of 1792 can be found in the List of Reichstag participants (1792).


Margrave

A or ''
Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...
'' was originally a military governor of a Carolingian "mark" (
march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
), a border province. In medieval times the borders of the Holy Roman Empire were especially vulnerable to foreign attack, so the hereditary count of these "marches" of the realm was sometimes granted greater authority than other
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s to ensure security. They bore the title "margrave" until the few who survived as sovereigns assumed higher titles when the Empire was abolished in 1806. Examples: Margrave of Baden, Margrave of . Since the abolition of the German Empire at the end of World War I, the heirs of some of its former monarchies have resumed use of ''margrave'' as a title of pretence, e.g. , Margrave of and Maximilian, Margrave of Baden.


Landgrave

A or '' Landgrave'' was a nobleman of comital rank in feudal Germany whose jurisdiction stretched over a territory larger than usually held by a count within the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. The status of a landgrave was elevated, usually being associated with suzerains who were subject to the Holy Roman Emperor but exercised sovereign authority within their lands and independence greater than the prerogatives to which a simple was entitled, but the title itself implied no specific, legal privileges. occasionally continued in use as the subsidiary title of such minor royalty as the Elector of Hesse or the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who functioned as the ''Landgrave'' of
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
in the first decade of the 20th century. The jurisdiction of a landgrave was a or landgraviate, and the wife of a landgrave was a or landgravine. Examples: Landgrave of
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
, Landgrave of
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
, Landgrave of , Landgrave of . The title is now borne by the hereditary heirs to the deposed monarchs of Hesse ( Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse and Wilhelm, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld), who lost their throne in 1918.


A () is a who was recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor as bearing the higher rank or exercising the more extensive authority of an Imperial prince (). While nominally retaining only a comital title, he was accorded princely rank and, usually,

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...
by the emperor. An example of this would be the Princely County of Habsburg, the namesake of the Habsburg Dynasty, which at various points in time controlled vast amounts of lands throughout Europe.


Burgrave/Viscount

A , or '' Burgrave'', was a 12th- and 13th-century military and civil judicial
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of a castle (compare castellan, , keeper) of the town it dominated and of its immediate surrounding countryside. His jurisdiction was a , burgraviate. Over time the office and domain to which it was attached tended to become hereditary by Imperial grant or retention over generations by members of the same family. Examples: Burgrave of
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, Burgrave of () , Burg grafschaft Colditz. Initially ''burgrave'' suggested a similar function and history as other titles rendered in German by , in Dutch as or in English as ''
Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
'' (); the deputy of a count charged with exercising the count's prerogatives in overseeing one or more of the count's strongholds or fiefs, as the burgrave dwelt usually in a castle or fortified town. Some became hereditary and by the modern era obtained rank just below a count, though above a ' (baron) who might hold a fief as vassal of the original count.


Rhinegrave, Wildgrave, Raugrave, Altgrave

Unlike the other comital titles, Rhinegrave, Wildgrave ( Waldgrave), Raugrave, and Altgrave are not generic titles. Rather, each is linked to a specific countship, whose unique title emerged during the course of its history. These unusually named countships were equivalent in rank to other Counts of the Empire who were of status, being entitled to a shared seat and vote in the Imperial Diet and possessing Imperial immediacy, most of which would be mediatised upon dissolution of the Empire in 1806. Almanach de Gotha, ''Salm''. Justus Perthes, 1944, pp. 169, 276, 280. French. * Rhinegrave () was the title of the count of the , a county located between and on the right bank of the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
. Their castle was known as the Castle. After the Rhinegraves inherited the Wildgraviate (see below) and parts of the Countship of Salm, they called themselves ''Wild-and-Rhinegraves of Salm''. * When the (a countship named after the river Nahe) split into two parts in 1113, the counts of the two parts, belonging to the House of Salm, called themselves Wildgraves and Raugraves, respectively. They were named after the geographic properties of their territories: Wildgrave (; ) after ("forest"), and Raugrave (; ) after the rough (i.e. mountainous) terrain. ** The first Raugrave was Count I (died 1172). The dynasty died out in the 18th century. Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine purchased the estates, and after 1667 accorded the wife and children of his arguably bigamous ( morganatic) second marriage to Baroness , the title of "Raugravine/Raugrave". * Altgrave (, "old count") was a title used by the counts of Lower Salm to distinguish themselves from the Wild- and Rhinegraves of Upper Salm, since Lower Salm was the senior branch of the family.


In Scandinavia

The corresponding titles in Scandinavia are (m.) and (f.) and would commonly be used in the third-person in direct address as a mark of courtesy, as in .


Modern usage in German surnames

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...
, although not abolished (unlike the Austrian nobility by the new First Austrian Republic in 1919), lost recognition as a legal class in Germany under the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
in 1919 under the Weimar Constitution, article 109. Former hereditary noble titles legally simply transformed into dependent parts of the legal surname (with the former title thus now following the given name, e.g. ).Article 109 of the Weimar Constitution constitutes: ("Noble names are only recognised as part of the surname and may no longer be granted"). As dependent parts of the surnames (), they are ignored in alphabetical sorting of names, as is any nobiliary particle, such as or ,Compare DIN standard # 5007, part 2. and might or might not be used by those bearing them. The distinguishing main surname is the name following the , or , and the nobiliary particle if any. Today, having lost their legal status, these terms are often not translated, unlike before 1919. The titles do, however, retain prestige in some circles of society.


Other uses

The suffix occurs in various office titles which did not attain nobiliary status but were either held as a
sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...
by nobleman or courtiers, or functional officials such as the (in a polder management organization).


See also

*
German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...
*
History of Germany The concept of Germany as a distinct region in Central Europe can be traced to Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as ''Germania'', thus distinguishing it from Gaul. The victory of the Cherusci, Germanic tribes ...
*
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
*
List of German monarchs This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...
* (Holy Roman Empire) *


Sources and references

(incomplete)
WorldStatesmen: see every modern state; here Germany/Holy Roman Empire
*


External links



{{Authority control Austrian noble titles German feudalism German words and phrases German noble titles Noble titles