Landgrave


Landgrave was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of Landgraf, Markgraf, and Pfalzgraf are in the same class of ranks as Herzog and above the rank of a Graf.

Etymology

The English word landgrave is the equivalent of the German Landgraf, a compound of the words Land and Graf.

Description

The title referred originally to a count who had imperial immediacy, or feudal duty owed directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. His jurisdiction stretched over a sometimes quite considerable territory, which was not subservient to an intermediate power, such as a Duke, a Bishop or Count Palatine. The title survived from the times of the Holy Roman Empire. By definition, a landgrave exercised sovereign rights. His decision-making power was comparable to that of a Duke.
Landgrave occasionally continued in use as the subsidiary title of such noblemen as the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who functioned as the Landgrave of Thuringia in the first decade of the 20th century, but the title fell into disuse after World War II.
The jurisdiction of a landgrave was a landgraviate, and the wife of a landgrave or a female landgrave was known as a landgravine
The term was also used in the Carolinas during British rule. A "landgrave" was "a county nobleman in the British, privately held North American colony Carolina, ranking just below the proprietary."

Examples

Examples include: