TheGerman nobility (deutscher Adel) androyalty werestatus groups of themedieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certainprivileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in theGerman-speaking area, until the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, German entities that recognized or conferrednobility included theHoly Roman Empire (962–1806), theGerman Confederation (1814–1866), and theGerman Empire (1871–1918). ChancellorOtto von Bismarck in the German Empire had a policy of expanding his political base by ennoblingnouveau riche industrialists and businessmen who had no noble ancestors.[1] The nobility flourished during the dramatic industrialization and urbanization of Germany after 1850. Landowners modernized their estates, and oriented their business to an international market. Many younger sons were positioned in the rapidly growing national and regional civil service bureaucracies, as well as in the officer corps of the military. They acquired not only the technical skills but also the necessary education in high prestige German universities that facilitated their success. Many became political leaders of new reform organizations such as agrarian leagues, and pressure groups. The Roman Catholic nobility played a major role in forming the newCentre Party in resistance to Bismarck'santi-CatholicKulturkampf, while Protestant nobles were similarly active in theConservative Party.[2]
In August 1919, at the beginning of theWeimar Republic (1918–1933), Germany's new constitution officially abolished royalty and nobility, and the respective legal privileges and immunities appertaining to an individual, a family or any heirs.
Today, German nobility is no longer conferred by theFederal Republic of Germany (1949–present), and constitutionally the descendants of German noble families do not enjoy legal privileges.Hereditary titles are permitted as part of the surname (e.g., the aristocratic particlesvon andzu), and these surnames can then be inherited by a person's children.
Later developments distinguished theAustrian nobility, which came to be associated with theAustrian Empire andAustria-Hungary. Thenobility system of the German Empire was similar tonobility in the Austrian Empire; both developed during theHoly Roman Empire and both ended in 1919 when they were abolished, and legal status and privileges were revoked.
In April 1919, Austrian nobility was abolished under theFirst Austrian Republic (1919–1934) and, contrary to Germany, the subsequent use and legal recognition of hereditary titles and aristocratic particles and use as part of surnames was banned. Today, Austrian nobility is no longer conferred by the Republic ofAustria (1945–present), and the public or official use of noble titles as title or part of the surname, is a minor offence under Austrian law for Austrian citizens.
In Germany, nobility and titles pertaining to it were recognised or bestowed upon individuals by emperors, kings and lesser ruling royalty, and were then inherited by the legitimate,male-line descendants of the ennobled person. Families that had been considered noble as early as pre-1400s Germany (i.e., theUradel or "ancient nobility") were usually eventually recognised by a sovereign, confirming their entitlement to whatever legal privileges nobles enjoyed in that sovereign's realm. Noble rank was usually granted to men byletters patent (seeBriefadel), whereas women were members of nobility by descent or by marriage to a nobleman. Nobility was inherited equally by all legitimate descendants in themale line.
German titles of nobility were usually inherited by all male-line descendants, although some descended by maleprimogeniture, especially in 19th and 20th centuryPrussia (e.g.,Otto von Bismarck, born a baronialJunker (not a title), was granted the title of count (Graf) extending to all his male-line descendants, and later that of prince (Fürst) in primogeniture). Upon promulgation of theWeimar Constitution on 11 August 1919, all Germans were declared equal before the law.[3] an exceptional practice regarding surnames borne by former members of the nobility: whereas thegender differentiation in German surnames, widespread until the 18th century and colloquially retained in some dialects, was abolished in Germany with the introduction of officially registered invariable surnames by the late 19th century, former noble titles transformed into parts of the surname in 1919 continue to appear in female and male forms.[4]
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Altogether abolished were titles of sovereigns, such as emperor/empress, king/queen, grand duke/grand duchess, etc. However, former titles shared and inherited by all members of the family were retained but incorporated into the surname. For instance, members of the former royal families ofPrussia and Bavaria were allowed use ofPrinz/Prinzessin;[5] orHerzog/Herzogin. In the cases of the former kings/queens of Saxony and Württemberg, the ducal title borne by non-ruling cadets of their dynasties before 1919, orHerzog/Herzogin for the six deposed grand dukes (i.e., the former rulers ofBaden,Hesse,Mecklenburg-Schwerin,Mecklenburg-Strelitz,Oldenburg, andSaxe-Weimar-Eisenach) and their consorts were retained.
Any dynasty who did not reign prior to 1918 but had held a specific title as heir to one of Germany's former thrones (e.g.,Erbprinz ("hereditary prince"))—along with any heir to a title of nobility inherited via primogeniture, and their wives—were permitted to incorporate those titles into elements of the personal surname. However, these titles became extinct upon their deaths, not being heritable.[a] With the demise of all persons styled "crown prince" before 1918, the termKronprinz no longer exists as a legal surname element. Traditional titles exclusively used for unmarried noblewomen, such asBaronesse,Freiin andFreifräulein, were also transformed into parts of the legal surname, subject to change at marriage or upon request.[6]
All other former titles andnobiliary particles are now inherited as part of the surname, and remain protected as private names under the laws. Whereas the title previously prefixed the given and surname (e.g.,Graf Kasimir von der Recke), the legal usage moves the former title to the surname (i.e.,Kasimir Graf von der Recke). However, the pre-1919 style sometimes continues in colloquial usage. In Austria, by contrast, not only were the privileges ofthe nobility abolished, but their titles and nobiliary particles as well.[b]
German nobility was not simply distinguished by noble ranks and titles, but was also seen as a distinctive ethos. Title 9, §1 of theGeneral State Laws for the Prussian States declared that the nobility's responsibility"as the first social class in the state" was"the defence of the country, as well as the supporting of the exterior dignity and the interior constitution thereof". MostGerman states had strict laws concerning proper conduct, employment, or marriage of nobles. Violating these laws could result in temporary or permanentAdelsverlust ("loss of the status of nobility"). Until the late 19th century, for example, it was usually forbidden for nobles, theoretically on pain ofAdelsverlust, to marry persons "of low birth". Moreover, nobles employed in menial labour and lowly trades or wage labour could lose their nobility, as could nobles convicted ofcapital crimes.Adelsverlust only concerned the individual who had violated nobility codes of conduct. Their kin, spouse, and living children were not affected, but children born to a man after anAdelsverlust were commoners and did not inherit the father's former nobility.
Various organisations[citation needed] perpetuate the historical legacy of the former nobility, documenting genealogy, chronicling the history of noble families and sometimes declining to acknowledge persons who acquired noble surnames in ways impossible before 1919.
Many German states, however, required a marriage to a woman of elevated social status in order for a nobleman to pass on his titles and privileges to his children. In this respect, theGeneral State Laws for the Prussian States of 1794 spoke of marriage (and children) "to the right hand". This excluded marriages with women of the lower social classes, but did not mean a woman had to come from nobility herself. Especially towards the end of the 19th century and beyond, when a new upper class of wealthy common people had emerged following industrialization, marriages with commoners were becoming more widespread. However, with few exceptions, this did not apply to higher nobility, who largely continued to marry among themselves. Upwardly mobile German families typically followed marriage strategies involving men of lower rank marrying women of higher status who brought a major dowry.[7][8]
Most, but not all, surnames of the German nobility were preceded by or contained the prepositionvon (meaning "of") orzu (meaning "at") as anobiliary particle.[9] The two were occasionally combined intovon und zu (meaning "of and at").[9] In general, thevon form indicates the family's place of origin, while thezu form indicates the family's continued possession of the estate from which the surname is drawn. Therefore,vonund zu indicates a family which is both named for and continues to own their original feudal holding or residence. However, thezu particle can also hint to the split of a dynasty, as providing information on the adopted new home of one split-off branch: For instance, a senior branch owning and maybe even still residing at the place of the dynasty's origin might have been calledof A-Town [{and at} A-Town] furthermore, while a new, junior branch could then have adopted the style of, say,of A-town [and] at B-ville, sometimes even dropping[and] at, simply hyphenating the names of the two places. Other forms also exist as combinations with the definite article: e.g. "von der" orvon dem → "vom" ("of the"),zu der → "zur" orzu dem → "zum" ("of the", "in the", "at the").[10] Particularly between the late 18th and early 20th century when an increasing number of unlandedcommoners were ennobled, the "von" was typically simply put in front of a person's surname. When a person by the common occupational surname of "Meyer" received nobility, they would thus simply become "von Meyer".
When sorting noble—as well as non-noble—names in alphabetic sequence, any prepositions or (former) title are ignored.[11] Name elements which have developed from honorary functions, such asSchenk (short forMundschenk, i.e., "cup-bearer"), are also overlooked.[12] Nobiliary particles are not capitalised unless they begin a sentence, and then they are usually skipped,[13] unless this creates confusion. In this, the German language practice differs from Dutch in the Netherlands, where the particlevan is usually capitalised when mentioned without preceding given names or initials, or from Dutch in Belgium, where the name particleVan is always capitalised.
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Although nobility as a class is no longer recognised in Germany and enjoys no legal privileges, institutions exist that carry on the legal tradition of pre-1919 nobiliary law, which in Germany today is subsumed underSonderprivatrecht,'special private law'. TheDeutscher Adelsrechtsausschuss,'German Commission on Nobiliary Law' can decide matters such as lineage, legitimacy, and a person's right to bear a name of nobility, in accordance with codified nobiliary law as it existed prior to 1919. The Commission's rulings are generally non-binding for individuals and establish no rights or privileges that German authorities or courts would have to consider or observe. However, they are binding for all German nobility associations recognized byCILANE (Commission d'information et de liaison des associations nobles d'Europe).
In 1919, nobiliary particles and titles became part of the surname. Therefore, they can be transmitted according to civil law, for example from wife to husband, to illegitimate children and by way of adoption. The only difference to normal surnames is that noble surnames are deflected according to gender.
Some impoverished nobles offered adoptions for money in the 20th century, and the adoptees adopts extensively themselves, creating a "flood" of fake nobility. A noble or noble-sounding surname does not convey nobility to those not born legitimately of a noble father, and these persons are not allowed to join a nobility association. Persons who bear a noble or noble-sounding surname without belonging to the historical nobility according toSalic law are classified asNichtadelige Namensträger,'non-noble name-carriers'. The inflation of fake nobility is one of the major concerns of the Adelsrechtsausschuss, and it is up to the commission to determine whether a person should be considered noble or non-noble. For instance, the German-American businessmanFrédéric Prinz von Anhalt was born asHans Robert Lichtenberg in Germany. He was married withZsa Zsa Gabor and was adopted byPrincess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt in 1980, allegedly arranged by the title dealerHans Hermann Weyer, hence he is one of the 'non-noble name-carriers'.
In special cases, for example when a family is about to die out or when a daughter inherits the family estate and marries a commoner, the Adelsrechtsausschuss can grant a dispensation from Salic law, allowing for a one-time transfer of a noble surname contrary to nobiliary law, to a person considered non-noble.
The following criteria are most important in such cases:
The Adelsrechtsausschuss does not recognize ennoblements made by heads of formerly ruling houses, but the associations of the formerly ruling and mediatized houses of Germany send representatives to the commission.
This so-called(Nichtbeanstandung),'Non-Objection' results in the factual ennoblement of the recipient (even though the term is not applied), making Germany one of the few republics where it is still possible for non-nobles to join the ranks of the nobility even though there is no monarch who can ennoble anymore. However, dispensations are granted only in the most exceptional cases, as they infringe on the rights of a theoretical future monarch.
When a person is granted a dispensation by the Adelsrechtsausschuss, he becomes the progenitor of a new noble family, which consists of all of his legitimate male-line descendants in accordance with nobiliary law. They are considered equal to nobles in all regards, and allowed to join nobility associations.[14]
A family whose nobility dates back to at least the 14th century may be calledUradel, orAlter Adel ("ancient nobility",[15] or "old nobility"). This contrasts withBriefadel ("patent nobility"): nobility granted byletters patent. The first known such document is from 30 September 1360, for Wyker Frosch in Mainz.[16] The termUradel was not without controversy, and the concept was seen by some[who?] as an arbitrary distinction invented by the Kingdom of Prussia.
Hochadel (German pronunciation:[ˈhoːxˌʔaːdl̩]ⓘ; "upper nobility", or "high nobility") were those noble houses which ruled sovereign states within the Holy Roman Empire and, later, in theGerman Confederation and theGerman Empire. They wereroyalty; the heads of these families were entitled to be addressed by some form of "Majesty" or "Highness". These were the families of kings (Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, Saxony, andWürttemberg), grand dukes (Baden, Hesse and by Rhine, Luxembourg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg and Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), reigning dukes (Anhalt, Brunswick, Schleswig-Holstein, Nassau, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen), and reigning princes (Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Liechtenstein, Lippe, Reuss, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg, and Waldeck-Pyrmont).
TheHochadel also included the Empire's formerly quasi-sovereign families whose domains had beenmediatised within the German Confederation by 1815, yet preserved the legal right to continueroyal intermarriage with still-reigning dynasties (Ebenbürtigkeit[ˈeːbn̩ˌbʏʁtɪçkaɪ̯t]ⓘ). These quasi-sovereign families comprised mostly princely andcomital families, but included a few dukes also of Belgian and Dutch origin (Arenberg,Croÿ,Looz-Corswarem). Information on these families constituted the second section ofJustus Perthes’ entries on reigning, princely, and ducal families in theAlmanach de Gotha.
During the unification of Germany, mainly from 1866 to 1871, the states of Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (in 1850), Schleswig-Holstein and Nassau were absorbed into Prussia. The former ruling houses of these states were still consideredHochadel under laws adopted by the German Empire.
In addition, the ruling families of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen were accorded the dynastic rights of acadet branch of the Royal House of Prussia after yielding sovereignty to their royal kinsmen. The exiled heirs to Hanover and Nassau eventually regained sovereignty by being allowed to inherit, respectively, the crowns of Brunswick (1914) and Luxembourg (1890).
Nobility that held legal privileges until 1918 greater than those enjoyed by commoners, but less than those enjoyed by theHochadel, were considered part of the lower nobility orNiederer Adel. Most were untitled, only making use of the particlevon in their surnames. Higher-ranking noble families of theNiederer Adel bore such hereditary titles asEdler (lord),Ritter (knight),Freiherr (or baron) andGraf. Although most German counts belonged officially to the lower nobility, those who were mediatised belonged to theHochadel, the heads of their families being entitled to be addressed asErlaucht ("Illustrious Highness"), rather than simply asHochgeboren ("High-born"). There were also some German noble families, especially in Austria, Prussia and Bavaria, whose heads bore the titles ofFürst (prince) orHerzog (duke); however, never having exercised a degree of sovereignty, they were accounted members of the lower nobility (e.g.,Bismarck,Blücher,Putbus,Hanau,Henckel von Donnersmarck,Pless,Wrede).
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The titles ofelector,grand duke,archduke,duke,landgrave,margrave,count palatine,prince andReichsgraf were borne by rulers who belonged to Germany'sHochadel. Other counts, as well as barons (Freiherren/Barons), lords (Herren), Landed knights (Ritter)[c] were borne by noble, non-reigning families. The vast majority of the German nobility, however, inherited no titles, and were usually distinguishable only by the nobiliary particlevon in their surnames.
| Title (English) | Title (German) | Territory (English) | Territory (German) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince-elector | Kurfürst(in) | Electorate | Kurfürstentum |
| Prince of the Empire | Reichsfürst(in)1 | Principality with Imperial Immediacy | Reichsfürstentum |
| Duke/Duchess | Herzog(in) | Duchy,Dukedom | Herzogtum |
| Sovereign Prince | Fürst(in) | Principality | Fürstentum |
| Margrave/Margravine | Markgraf/Markgräfin | Margraviate,March | Markgrafschaft |
| Count(ess) Palatine | Pfalzgraf/Pfalzgräfin | County Palatine, Palatinate | Pfalzgrafschaft |
| Landgrave/Landgravine | Landgraf/Landgräfin | Landgraviate | Landgrafschaft |
| Count(ess) of the Empire | Reichsgraf1/Reichsgräfin | County | Grafschaft |
| Burgrave/Burgravine | Burggraf/Burggräfin | Burgraviate | Burggrafschaft |
| Baron(ess) of the Empire | Reichsfreiherr[d]/Reichsfreifrau/Reichsfreiin[e] | (Allodial)Barony | Freiherrschaft |
| Title (English) | Title (German) |
|---|---|
| Holy Roman Emperor / Emperor of the Romans | Kaiser der Römer |
| Prince-elector | Kurfürst(in) |
| King | König(in) |
| Archduke/Archduchess | Erzherzog(in) |
| Prince-Archbishop | Fürsterzbischof |
| Grand Duke/Grand Duchess | Großherzog(in) |
| Prince-Bishop | Fürstbischof |
| Prince-Abbot/Princess-Abess | Fürstabt/Fürstäbtissin |
| Prince-provost | Fürstpropst |
| Mediatised Prince (Also calledPrinces of the Empire, or Imperial Princes) | Reichsfürst(in) |
| SovereignGrandmaster | Großmeister |
| Duke/Duchess | Herzog(in) |
| Prince/Princess (Sovereign Prince) | Fürst(in) |
| Margrave/Margravine | Markgraf/Markgräfin |
| Landgrave/Landgravine | Landgraf/Landgräfin |
| Count(ess) Palatine | Pfalzgraf/Pfalzgräfin |
| Princely Count | Gefürsteter Graf |
| Imperial Count(ess) | Reichsgraf/Reichsgräfin |
| Imperial Abbot / Imperial Abbess | Reichsabt/Reichsäbtissin |
| Imperial Provost | Reichspropst |
| Burgrave/Burgravine | Burggraf/Burggräfin |
| Altgrave/Altgravine | Altgraf/Altgräfin |
| Waldgrave | Waldgraf/gräfin |
| Raugrave | Raugraf/gräfin |
| Rhinegrave | Rheingraf/gräfin |
| Count(ess) | Graf/Gräfin |
| Imperial Baron(ess) | Reichsfreiherr/Reichsfreifrau/Reichsfreiin |
| Castellan | Burgmann |
| Imperial Knight | Reichsritter |
| Baron(ess) | Freiherr/Freifrau/Freiin/Baron |
| Lord / Noble Lord | Herr/Edler Herr |
| Landed Hereditary Knight | Ritter |
| Noble | Edler/Edle |
| Young Lord (Often grouped with Untitled Noble) | Junker |
| Unlanded Hereditary Knight / Free knight | Edelfrei |
| Untitled Noble |
Adelsbezeichnungen gelten nur als Teil des Namens und dürfen nicht mehr verliehen werden.
