Landgrave

The Landgrave (Latin: comes provincialis, comes patriae, comes terrae, comes magnus, comes provinciae, comes principalis, lantgravius ​​) is a title of prince and stands above the simple title of count. In the Holy Roman Empire at the latest from the late Middle Ages land, Mark and some of the Count Palatine of imperial princes were belonging and thus the Dukes assimilated effectively.

Development of the country earldom

Initially, the Landgrave was a high royal or imperial official who, originally located in a territory within the borders of the Reich, the high court had directly from the German king as a fief. The Landgrave practiced it in areas where the old Count rights were heavily fragmented, the successor to the earlier Gaugrafen than capable judge of all outdoor and nobleman. This was no mediation of a duke, bishop or count palatine. Country counties were primarily political creations to mitigate the power of the hitherto all-powerful tribal dukes and to prevent the attempts of the count, without extending imperial legitimacy of the high court in their county to persons who were previously subject only to the royal jurisdiction. They served so that the preservation of old royal rights. The owners of the land earldom usually had different rights Graf, who stood in the personal importance to the rights as Landgraf, which is why the country earldom was usually not performed until after the other dignitaries. An exception Thuringia and Hesse dar. In these countries, the country earldom was given to the Ludowinger, who possessed there also significant Counts and manorial rights, and other regalia. This enabled them to use the judicial rights of a Landgrave about other free and nobles to strengthen their territorial rights beyond their actual possessions, until they finally land at their county exercised quasi ducal rights and were appointed as imperial princes. The Landgrave title served while the summary and elevation of all other individual rights count. All other land counties were far less significant and also had not due to land county, but at most, due to their remaining count's rights, an Imperial Prince.

The most significant were in the High Middle Ages, the Landgrave of Thuringia, whose land title of Count by the descendants of Saint Elizabeth in the house Hesse of Thuringia the neighboring Hesse " immigrated " while the land title of Count in Thuringia itself, after the accession to power of by the Wettin Duke House, the title of Duke was covered by Saxony. In Thuringia, the Landgrave's title seems to go back to the presidency of the Count in the peace court.

In 1292 the newly founded country county of Hesse was confirmed by the Emperor as an imperial principality. The Brabant lines in Hesse - the house of Hesse - led to the 19th century, the Landgraf title before the Landgrave of Hesse -Kassel in 1803, was considered by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire with the dignity of an elector by decision of the Imperial Diet was concluded. (Although Elector had no title but only one position, it remains the Landgrave succeeded after a tough fight to be allowed to designate as primary elector. ) The Landgrave of Hesse- Darmstadt was elevated by Napoleon I to the Grand Duke. The princes called themselves Elector, respectively Grand Duke and sovereign Landgraf. The temporarily fallen back to Darmstadt Hesse- Homburg in 1817 restored as a sovereign principality in the German Confederation. In 1866, the local reigning Landgrave died childless, the Hesse- Homburg ( Darmstadt) finally fell back to the Grand Duchy of Hesse. In the same year, as a result of the Austro-Prussian War, the Hessian annexed by Prussia and the territory of Hesse- Homburg also fell to the Kingdom of Prussia.

In the House of Hesse, the name Prince and Landgraf is finally in 1920, after losing the electors or Grand Duke title, again today worn by Hesse. However, only the respective head of the house occurs in public as Landgrave of Hesse, all other family members refer to themselves publicly as Prince or Princess of Hesse.

Overview of the Country counties

  • Oldest Country counties in Lorraine are: Landgraviate Brabant: documentary attested in the founding of the Abbey of Affligem 1086, Count Henry III. of lions, comes patriae Bracbatensis
  • Country county funds ( ndl: Gelre ) ( likely to identify with the Teisterbant ) in an imperial document, MGH DD Henrici IV nr. 459: Gerardus lantgrave ( = Gerhard I. of funds, the Flaminius ) 1096
  • Landgraviate Hochstaden (12th century)
  • Country counties in Swabia: Baar
  • Breisgau
  • Hegau and Madach
  • Heiligenberg ( Linzgau )
  • Unterklettgau
  • Nellenburg
  • Sausenberg
  • Landgraviate Stühlingen ( Alpgau )
  • Country counties in today's Switzerland Aarburgund or Aargau
  • Burgundy
  • Buchsgau
  • Frickgau
  • Sissgau
  • Thurgau
  • Zürichgau
  • More Country counties: sundgau
  • Lower Alsace
  • Hafferberg
  • Hesse
  • Leuchtenberg
  • Steflingen
  • Thuringia: Foundation of Landgraviate 1111 / 1112. First Landgrave Hermann I was the commander of Winzenburg († 1122), to 1130 followed by his son Hermann II of Winzenburg († 1152 ).
  • Leiningen in Wormsgau
Albrechtsburg William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Landgraviate of Hesse Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt Hesse-Homburg Lorraine (region) Herman I, Count of Winzenburg Herman II, Count of Winzenburg
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