Uradel
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Uradel (German:
Uradel and Briefadel families are generally further divided into categories with their ranks of titles: adlig (untitled
Introduction and usage
The first use of the word Uradel to designate the oldest nobility dates from 1788, and it had assumed its present-day meaning by no later than 1800.
Contemporary use
Germany
According to the German genealogical reference work of the nobility (Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, 1951) the noble houses which count as Uradel are those families whose ancestral lineage can be demonstrated to date at least as far back as the year 1400 (in the Late Middle Ages), belonging at that time to the knightly (German ritterbürtigen) nobility.
The latter includes
Uradel is also closely connected with the system of medieval
In contrast, the younger
Austria
A similar term used more often than Uradel in Austria is alter Adel ("old nobility").[5]
The term Uradel can be found in Scandinavian genealogy from the early 20th century. The contrasting term Briefadel was calqued as brevadel.[8]
The 1926 edition of the Swedish
Hochadel (High Nobility)
Hochadel is not a synonym for Uradel. Whereas Uradel (medieval or feudal nobility before AD 1400) is opposed to Briefadel (nobility by letters – or patent – of nobility, mostly from the post-medieval period after AD 1400), Hochadel (high nobility) is opposed to Niederer Adel (lower nobility). The differentiation of Uradel from Briefadel is age-based, whereas the distinction between Hochadel and Niederer Adel is based on the rank of titles, with Hochadel including all royal, princely and ducal houses of Europe, as well as the former German Imperial Counts, as far as they ruled an Imperial State with a seat on one of the four "benches of counts" in the Imperial Diet until 1806.
The
Very few German Hochadel families belong to the Briefadel instead of Uradel, such as the Fugger, Eggenberg, Biron and Wrede families that rose to the rank of Fürst (prince). On a European level, there are some more examples of royal or princely families that rose to the high nobility after the middle ages, such as the House of Bonaparte (and other Napoleonic families like the House of Bernadotte, Ney, Murat, Fouché d'Otrante, Berthier of Wagram, etc.), the Italian princes Torlonia and the Russian princes Demidov.
See also
- Nobles of the Sword, approximate French equivalent
- Extended family
- Clan
References
- Notes
- ^ Godsey 2004, p. 58.
- ^ Grimm, Deutsches Wörterbuch, citing Eichhorn, Einleitung in d. d. Privatrecht (1827) for an early attestation of the term, and Brockhaus 1 (1928) for the definition alle urkundlich vor 1350 als adlig nachweisbaren geschlechter. See also Duden; Meaning of Uradel, in German. [1]
- ^ ISBN 978-1-139-45609-8.
- ^ Jacob Grimm, Deutsches Wörterbuch erst im 19. jh. gebraucht zur bezeichnung ältesten adels.("in use only from the 19th c. for the designation of older nobility"), citing Eichhorn (1821, 1827).
- ^ a b Granichstätten-Czerva, Rudolf von (1947). "Altösterreichisches Adels- und Wappenrecht". Adler. Zeitschrift für Genealogie und Heraldik (in German). 1 (4): 49–58.
- ISBN 3-525-33389-7, p. 56.
- ^ Ursula Siems; Kurt Kluxen (1979). "Politik, Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft von 800 bis 1776". In Tenbrock; Kluxen; Grütter (eds.). Von Zeiten und Menschen. Vol. 2. Paderborn. pp. 39–41.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon (1915: 169)
- ^ Nordisk familjebok (1926:1120)
- ^ "Ur-adel". Svenska Akademiens ordbok. Swedish Academy.
i sht hist. om adel(ssläkt) som erhållit adelskap före ca 1420 (o. därmed hör till de äldsta i landet); motsatt: sköldebrevsadel.
- Bibliography
- Godsey, William D. (2004). Nobles and Nation in Central Europe: Free Imperial Knights in the Age of Revolution, 1750–1850. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139456098.