Edler

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Edler (German:

Order
had been conferred. The noun Edler comes from the adjective edel ("noble"), and translated literally means "noble [person]". In accordance with the rules of German grammar, the word can also appear as Edle, Edlem, or Edlen depending on case, gender, and number.

Heraldic crown
of Edler, with five visible pearls

Originally, from the

noblesse de robe), the old practice of denoting a noble with a territorial designation
was continued out of a sense of tradition.

Thus landless nobles were created under the formula Edler von XYZ: either the surname or a place-name followed the German preposition von, which, in this context, was taken to denote nobility. The English translation of this is normally Noble of XYZ. Frequently, the nobiliary particle von (English 'of', or, more commonly, the French particule de noblesse 'de', meaning the same thing), was represented simply by the abbreviation v. to specify that it was being used to denote a member of the nobility, and not simply as the ordinary German-language preposition von.[citation needed]

An example of such a person's name and title is Josef Draginda, Edler v. Draginda. His wife would have been, for example, Johanna Draginda, Edle v. Draginda. Another example is the Austro-Hungarian general Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau, who signed the Armistice of Villa Giusti between Austria-Hungary and the Entente at the end of World War I.

The wife and the daughters of an Edler were titled Edle.

In Czech this title is translated and used as šlechtic z.[1]

Modern usage in German surnames and alphabetical sorting

The title Edler was banned in Austria with the abolition of Austrian nobility in 1919. In Germany, when the German nobility was stripped of its privileges under the Article 109 of Weimar Constitution in 1919, the title was transformed into a dependent part of the legal surname.[2]

Since that time, the terms Edle, Edler von etc. are not to be translated, as they have lost their title status. These terms now appear following the given name, e.g. Wolfgang Gans Edler Herr zu Putlitz.[3] As dependent parts of the surnames (nichtselbständige Namensbestandteile), the terms Edle, Edler von etc. are ignored in alphabetical sorting of names, as is the eventual nobility particle, and might or might not be used by those bearing them. The unofficial titles do, however, retain prestige in some circles of society.[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ Jan ŽUPANIČ: Nová šlechta Rakouského císařství, Praha Agentura Pankrác, 2006
  2. ^ Article 109 of the Weimar Constitution constitutes: "Adelsbezeichnungen gelten nur als Teil des Namens und dürfen nicht mehr verliehen werden." (Noble namings are recognised only as part of the surname and must not be granted any further.)
  3. SIS
    , later East German author and political consultant)

References

  • Meyers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon; Bibliographisches Institut, Lexikonverlag, Mannheim/Wien/Zürich 1975, Band 7, S. 420.
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