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Fürst (German pronunciation:[ˈfʏʁst]ⓘ, female formFürstin, pluralFürsten; fromOld High Germanfuristo, "the first", a translation of theLatinprinceps) is aGerman word for a ruler as well as a princely title.Fürsten were, starting in theMiddle Ages, members of the highestnobility who ruled over states of theHoly Roman Empire and later its former territories, below the rulingKaiser (emperor) orKönig (king).[1]
Aprince of the Holy Roman Empire was the sovereign ruler of animperial estate that heldimperial immediacy in the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire.[1] The territory ruled is referred to in German as aFürstentum (principality),[2] the family dynasty referred to as aFürstenhaus (princely house), and the (non-reigning) descendants of aFürst are titled and referred to in German asPrinz (prince) orPrinzessin (princess).[3]
The English language uses the term "prince" for both concepts.Latin-based languages (French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese) also employ a single term, whereasDutch as well as theScandinavian and someSlavic languages use separate terms similar to those used in German (seeKnyaz for the latter).
An East-Asian parallel to the concept of "ruling prince" would be the term王 (pronouncedwáng inMandarin,wong4 inCantonese,ō inJapanese,wang inKorean, andvương inVietnamese), which commonly refers toKorean and non-East-Asian "kings", but usually means non-imperial monarchs (who would go by皇帝 ("emperor") instead) in ancientChina, and therefore is frequently translated to "prince", especially for those who became rulers well after to the first adoption of the title 皇帝 byQin Shi Huang. On the other hand, the son of a monarch would go by different titles, such as皇子 ("imperial son") or王子 ("royal son").
From theMiddle Ages on, the German designation and title ofFürst referred to:
The titleFürst (female formFürstin, female pluralFürstinnen) is used for the heads of princely houses of German origin (in German aFürstenhaus). From theLate Middle Ages, it referred to any vassal of theHoly Roman Emperor ruling over animmediateestate. Unless he also holds a higher title, such asgrand duke orking, he will be known either by the formula "Fürstvon + [geographic origin of the dynasty]", or by the formula "Fürstzu + [name of the ruled territory]". These forms can be combined, as in "...von und zu Liechtenstein".
The rank of the title-holder is not determined by the title itself, but by his degree ofsovereignty, the rank of hissuzerain, or the age of the princely family (note the termsUradel, Briefadel, altfürstliche, neufürstliche; and seeGerman nobility). TheFürst (Prince) ranked below theHerzog (Duke) in the Holy Roman Empire's hierarchy, but princes did not necessarily rank below dukes in non-German parts of Europe. However, some German dukes who did not rule over an immediate duchy did not outrank reigning princes (e.g. Dukes of Gottschee, a title held by thePrinces of Auersperg. Gottschee was not an Imperial state but a territory under theDukes of Carniola. However, Princes of Auersperg held imperial immediacy for their state ofTengen). Likewise, thestyle usually associated with the title ofFürst in post-medieval Europe,Durchlaucht (translated as "Serene Highness"), was considered inferior toHoheit ("Highness") in Germany, thoughnot in France.
The present-day rulers of the sovereign principality ofLiechtenstein bear the title ofFürst, and the title is also used in German when referring to princes ofMonaco andco-princes of Andorra. The hereditary rulers of the one-time principalities ofBulgaria,Serbia,Montenegro, andAlbania were also all referred to in German asFürsten before they eventually assumed the title of "king" (König).
![Fürsten crown used in heraldry, borne above the coat of arms to indicate a principality ruled.[4] The Fürsten crown, sometimes placed together with a mantle, is not always found on a Fürstenhaus (princely house) coat of arms; these adornments were not part of formal armorial protocols, but simply heraldic grace.[4]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aT12_F%25C3%25BCrst.svg)
Fürst is used more generally in German to refer to any ruler, such as aking, a reigningduke, or a prince in the broad sense (compareNiccolò Machiavelli'sIl Principe). Before the 12th century,counts were also included in this group, in accordance with its usage in theHoly Roman Empire, and in some historical or ceremonial contexts, the termFürst can extend to anylord.
The descendants of aFürst, when that title has not been restricted bypatent or custom to maleprimogeniture, are distinguished from the head of the family by use of the titlePrinz (prince, fromLatin:princeps; female:Prinzessin).
A nobleman whose family is non-dynastic, i.e. has never reigned or beenmediatised, may also be made aFürst by a sovereign, in which case the grantee and his heirs are deemed titular or nominal princes, enjoying only honorary princely title without commensurate rank. In families thus elevated to princely title (usually as a reward for military or political services) in or after the 18th century, thecadets often hold only the title ofGraf (Count), such as in the families of the princes ofBismarck,Eulenberg,Hardenberg andLa Rochefoucauld-Montbel. However, in a few cases, the title ofFürst is available to all male-line descendants of the original grantee (mostly descendants of dukes, for example, the families ofHohenberg,Urach, but also descendants of a simple Fürst, likeWrede).
Several titles were derived from the termFürst:
The wordFürst designates the head (the “first”) of a ruling house, or the head of a branch of such a house. The term “first” originates from ancient Germanic times, when the “first"” was the leader in battle.
Various cognates of the wordFürst exist in other European languages (see extensive list underPrince), sometimes only used for a princely ruler. A derivative of theLatinprinceps (aRepublican title in Roman law, which never formally recognized amonarchic style for the executive head of state but nominally maintained the Consuls as collegial Chief magistrates) is used for a genealogical prince in some languages (e.g., inDutch andWest Frisian, where a ruler is usually calledvorst andfoarst, respectively), but aprince of the blood is always styledprins. InIcelandic,fursti is a ruler, and aprince of the blood isprins (in these languages, no capital letters are used for writing titles, unless they occur as the first word of a sentence), while in other languages, only aprinceps-derived word is used for both (e.g.,English usesprince for both). In all cases, the original (German or otherwise) term may also be used.
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