The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, German entities that recognized or conferred nobility included the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the German Confederation (1814–1866) and the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

(1871–1918). Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the German Empire had a policy of expanding his political base by ennobling rich businessmen who had no noble ancestors. 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 bureaucracies, as well as in the military. They acquired not only the technical skills but 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. Catholic nobility played a major role in the new Centre party, while Protestant nobles were especially active in the Conservative party. In August 1919, at the beginning of the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), Germany's first democratic 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 the Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present), and constitutionally the descendants of German noble families do not enjoy legal privileges. Former

hereditary title Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...

s are permitted as part of the surname (e.g., the aristocratic particles '' von'' and '' zu''), and these surnames can then be inherited by a person's children. Later developments distinguished the

Austrian nobility The Austrian nobility (german: österreichischer Adel) is a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. The nobles are still part of Austrian society today, but they no longer retain any specific privil ...

, which came to be associated with the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The nobility system of the German Empire was similar to nobility in the Austrian Empire; both developed during the Holy 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 the

First Austrian Republic The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I w ...

(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 of Austria (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.

Principles

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 Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

descendants of the ennobled person. Families that had been considered noble as early as pre-1400s Germany (i.e., the '' Uradel'' 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 by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

(see '' Briefadel''), whereas women were members of nobility by descent or by marriage to a nobleman. Nobility was inherited equally by all legitimate descendants in the male line. German titles of nobility were usually inherited by all male-line descendants, although some descended by male

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, especially in 19th and 20th century Prussia (e.g.,

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

, born a baronial '' Junker'' (not a title), was granted the title of count ('' Graf'') extending to all his male-line descendants, and later that of prince (''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of ...

'') in primogeniture). Upon promulgation of the

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...

on 11 August 1919, all Germans were declared equal before the law.Article 109 of the Weimar Constitution constitutes: ''Adelsbezeichnungen gelten nur als Teil des Namens und dürfen015 an exceptional practice regarding surnames borne by former members of the nobility: whereas the gender 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. 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 of Prussia and Bavaria were allowed use of ''Prinz/Prinzessin''; or ''Herzog/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, or ''Herzog/Herzogin'' for the six deposed grand dukes (i.e., the former rulers of Baden, Hesse,

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...

, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, and Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) and their consorts were retained. Any dynast 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. With the demise of all persons styled "crown prince" before 1918, the term ''Kronprinz'' no longer exists as a legal surname element. Traditional titles exclusively used for unmarried noblewomen, such as ''

Baronesse 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 ...

'', '' Freiin'' and ''Freifräulein'', were also transformed into parts of the legal surname, subject to change at marriage or upon request. All other former titles and

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 ...

s 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 of the nobility abolished, but their titles and nobiliary particles as well. German nobility was not simply distinguished by noble ranks and titles, but was also seen as a distinctive ethos. Title 9, §1 of the ''General 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"''. Most German states had strict laws concerning proper conduct, employment, or marriage of nobles. Violating these laws could result in temporary or permanent ''Adelsverlust'' ("loss of the status of nobility"). Until the late 19th century, for example, it was usually forbidden for nobles, theoretically on pain of ''Adelsverlust'', 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 of

capital crime Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

s. ''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 an ''Adelsverlust'' were commoners and did not inherit the father's former nobility. Various organisations 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.

Marriage strategies

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, the '' General 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.

Nobiliary particles

Most, but not all, surnames of the German nobility were preceded by or contained the preposition '' von'' (meaning "of") or ''zu'' (meaning "at") as a

.For example: Johannes Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marco d'Aviano Pius von und zu Liechtenstein. The two were occasionally combined into ''von und zu'' (meaning "of and at"). In general, the ''von'' form indicates the family's place of origin, while the ''zu'' form indicates the family's continued possession of the estate from which the surname is drawn. Therefore, ''von und zu'' indicates a family which is both named for and continues to own their original feudal holding or residence. However, the ''zu'' 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 called ''of A-Town

A-Town Places known as A-Town include: Australia *Adelaide, South Australia *Armadale, Western Australia *Ashtonfield, New South Wales Austria * Anthering Belgium *Antwerp *Assebroek *Avelgem Canada *Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia * Aurora, Ontario De ...

' furthermore, while a new, junior branch could then have adopted the style of, say, ''of A-town ndat B-ville'', sometimes even dropping '' ndat'', simply hyphenating the names of the two places. Other forms also exist as combinations with the definite article: e.g. "''von der''" or ''von dem'' → "''vom''" ("of the"), ''zu der'' → "''zur''" or ''zu dem'' → "''zum''" ("of the", "in the", "at the"). Particularly between the late 18th and early 20th century when an increasing number of unlanded

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

s 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. Name elements which have developed from honorary functions, such as ''Schenk'' (short for ''Mundschenk'', i.e., " cup-bearer"), are also overlooked. Nobiliary particles are not capitalised unless they begin a sentence, and then they are usually skipped, unless this creates confusion. In this, the German language practice differs from Dutch in the Netherlands, where the particle ''

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

'' is usually capitalised when mentioned without preceding given names or initials, or from Dutch in Belgium, where the name particle ''Van'' is always capitalised.

Nobiliary law today

Germany follows

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...

, as most Continental European countries. This means that nobility is inherited only in the legitimate male line, and wives of noblemen partake in their husbands' nobility for the duration of marriage and widowhood. Noblewomen who marry commoners lose their nobility and become commoners themselves, and nobility is only recovered if they remarry a nobleman. 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 under ''Sonderprivatrecht'' or ''special private law''. The ''Deutscher Adelsrechtsausschuss'' or ''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 by CILANE. 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 adops 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 to Salic law are classified as ''Nichtadelige Namensträger'', or "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. 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 dispensal 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: * Danger of extinction of the relevant noble family * Transfer or inheritance of estates to the recipient of the name, for example to the son of the daughter * Biological relation with the family giving the name * Noble ancestors (for example mother or grandmother) * Proximity to the historical nobility * Marriage to a noblewoman * Virtuous personality and sufficient social standing * Membership in organizations traditionally considered noble, such as certain chivalric orders. 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 "Non-Objection" (Nichtbeanstandung) 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, dispensals are granted only in the most exceptional cases, as they infringe onto the rights of a theoretical future monarch. When a person is granted a dispensal 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.

Uradel

A family whose nobility dates back to at least the 14th century may be called '' Uradel'', or ''Alter Adel'' ("ancient nobility", or "old nobility"). This contrasts with '' Briefadel'' ("patent nobility"): nobility granted by

. The first known such document is from September 30, 1360, for Wyker Frosch in Mainz.DFG Regesta Imperii, 1360, Moguntie: Karl IV. (HRR) erhebt den Wiker Frosch ... in Mainz ... in den adelsstand.
/ref> The term ''Uradel'' was not without controversy, and the concept was seen by some as an arbitrary distinction invented by the Kingdom of Prussia.

Hochadel

''Hochadel'' ("upper nobility", or "high nobility") were those noble houses which ruled sovereign states within the Holy Roman Empire and later, in the German Confederation and the

. They were royalty; 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, and Württemberg), 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). The ''Hochadel'' also included the Empire's formerly quasi-sovereign families whose domains had been mediatised within the German Confederation by 1815, yet preserved the legal right to continue

royal intermarriage Royal intermarriage is the practice of members of ruling dynasties marrying into other reigning families. It was more commonly done in the past as part of strategic diplomacy for national interest. Although sometimes enforced by legal requiremen ...

with still-reigning dynasties (''Ebenbürtigkeit''). These quasi-sovereign families comprised mostly princely and comital families, but included a few dukes also of Belgian and Dutch origin ( Arenberg, Croÿ, Looz-Corswarem). Information on these families constituted the second section of Justus Perthes’ entries on reigning, princely, and ducal families in the '' Almanach 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 considered ''Hochadel'' under laws adopted by the German Empire. In addition, the ruling families of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen were accorded the dynastic rights of a cadet 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).

Niederer Adel

Nobility that held legal privileges until 1918 greater than those enjoyed by commoners, but less than those enjoyed by the ''Hochadel,'' were considered part of the lower nobility or ''Niederer Adel''. Most were untitled, only making use of the particle '' von'' in their surnames. Higher-ranking noble families of the ''Niederer Adel'' bore such hereditary titles as '' Ritter'' (knight), '' Freiherr'' (or baron) and '' Graf''. Although most German counts belonged officially to the lower nobility, those who were mediatised belonged to the ''Hochadel'', the heads of their families being entitled to be addressed as ''Erlaucht'' ("Illustrious Highness"), rather than simply as '' Hochgeboren'' ("High-born"). There were also some German noble families, especially in Austria, Prussia and Bavaria, whose heads bore the titles of ''

'' (prince) or '' Herzog'' (duke); however, never having exercised a degree of sovereignty, they were accounted members of the lower nobility (e.g., Bismarck, Blücher,

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

, Henckel von Donnersmarck,

Pless Pleß or Pless may refer to: Places *Pleß, a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany * Pszczyna (German: Pleß), a town in southern Poland ** Duchy of Pless, a historic territory in Silesia * Pleß (mountain), a mounta ...

, Wrede).

Titles and ranks

The titles of

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

grand duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

, duke, landgrave, margrave, count palatine, prince and ''

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

'' were borne by rulers who belonged to Germany's ''Hochadel''. Other counts, as well as barons ('' Freiherren)'', lords (''Herren''), knights (''Ritter'') 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 particle ''von'' in their surnames.

Notes

References

External links

Archive for Feudalism in Saxony

Institut Deutsche Adelsforschung
(Institute for German Aristocratic Research)
Burgen und Schlösser
(Castles and Palaces of Germany) {{DEFAULTSORT:German Nobility Social class in Germany