Edelfrei

The term edelfrei or hochfrei ("free noble" or "free knight") was originally used to designate and distinguish those

In the Middle Ages edelfrei or hochfrei meant, in simple terms, that someone was a member of an ancient, dynastic aristocratic line. Free noble families were independent of legal obligations of a secondary nature, and they were not subordinated to any other families or dynasties, apart from the king or emperor.^[1] The modern concept of aristocracy (Uradel) must not be confused with the term edelfrei, since the former term's scope is much broader: all families that can prove they belonged to the knightly aristocracy by no later than around 1400 (whether originally edelfrei or ministeriales) are counted today as Uradel, i.e., the aristocracy.

Many edelfrei families submitted themselves during the course of the

, many Edelfreie were dependent on the protection and support of a powerful secular or ecclesiastical lord. And vice versa: a dependent relationship existed, in that larger territories could only be secured and managed with the aid of loyal vassals.

The number of edelfreie families was limited. A new social order, the

now arose rapidly. These officials, who were mostly unfree in their origins, managed within a century to elevate themselves to the lesser nobility. The differences between ministeriales and the old aristocratic families began increasingly to blur. For many aristocratic families that were originally edelfrei there is therefore no reliable evidence of their dynastic origins.

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