Serene Highness

His Highness (SD ) ( MHG participle of durchliuhten ( " screen" ), see erlaucht ) and Her Highness (ID) for female title holder, is a title of nobility in the original form of an adjective ( durchläuchtig ) that uses the same time to address was; it was determined unable to noble families of the high nobility by the Holy Roman Emperor, to be awarded in 1806 by the Emperor of Austria, and finally since 1871 by the German Emperor after the end of the Old Kingdom. The title is modeled on the Latin Serenitas or Serene Highness, who was already the Roman emperors Honorius and Arcadius and settled the Frankish and Gothic kings after them and once taken for higher than sovereignty ( Celsitudo ), which, however, was reversed later.

The predicate, initially by kings, then of electors, then used by dukes, was last to virtually all princes. Eligible for leadership were all formerly until 1806 reigning prince, but it finally got to the pure Titularfürsten of the 19th century. In some families, the title was awarded to all members (usually when the agnates led the Prince title ), in others only the head of the family (usually where the descendants of the younger princes only the title of Count led ).

History

Since the Middle Ages sovereign princes, especially monarchs were called in epistolary letters and documents as erlaucht ( adjectival calqued from Latin illustris ). In the Holy Roman Empire of the predicate the electors were first Durchlauchtig 1375 by Emperor Charles IV, Emperor Leopold I. Since this was granted to other persons altfürstlichen reports, the first in 1664 to Württemberg, while the other Durchlauchtig Highborne remained. As the Durchlauchtig then found more general dissemination among the princes who received secular electors as well as the spiritual, if they were of princely origin, and also the ore dukes of Austria, the predicate Durchlauchtigst.

Highborne was initially the nobility of - against kings and electors lower rank - Been Dukes, which then gradually changed in the 17th century Highness, with among them the superlative form (" durchlauchtigst " ) came into fashion, while Grace from the official rhetoric against monarchs, dukes and princes gradually disappeared and now the ruling rich immediate Count fell to. ( Highborne then remained the salutation for not reigning Count, and for Barons barons or from the nobility, high and Honor for members of other gentry, good was born in the 19th century 's form of bourgeois notables ).

Among themselves to all the old princes gave accordance with a decision of 14 May 1712 also the predicate Durchlauchtigst. On December 14, 1746 they arranged that the new rich princely houses should also have the predicate Durchlauchtig or Durchlauchtig Highborne, this however should use the old prince over Durchlauchtigst and the signature " service Willig Ster " itself.

In the German lands, some were especially emphasized reigning ( 1815-1918 ) German princes with the title High Princely Highness after the mediatization of civil magnificent princes and counts. This is true for the period after 1871 within the German Empire for the Prince of Lippe, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg -Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg- Sondershausen. Reigning Dukes were revalued by Serene Highnesses to jurisdictions since 1844.

Since 1918 is the only reigning Prince, who still leads the title of Highness, the Prince of Liechtenstein, whose country until 1806 the Holy Roman Empire and until 1866 was part of the German Confederation.

Outside the German-speaking world the predicate Highness usually with " Serene Highness " (English ) or " Altesse Serenissima " ( double ) is translated. So also the reigning Prince of Monaco is addressed with the predicate Altesse Sérénissime. In Italian, is the title " Altezza serenissima ". He was also awarded by the rulers of France, Russia, Italy and the Pope.

With the removal of public anchoring of the nobility in the Republican German Reich and in German Austria in 1919 the title of Highness has also lost its official claim. As a courtesy obsolete form, it has fallen into disuse in the present as form of address. Only in the non- official, social correspondence is the predicate, usually in the form of abbreviations SD ( His / r Highness, for a prince or princes ) or ID ( Your / r Highness, for a princess or princess ) is set as a courtesy name on a written invitation or when addressing letters before or on the name, for example: "SD Prince of Oettingen - Oettingen and Oettingen -Wallerstein, Wallerstein 86757 Castle ".

Resulted in selection of noble families who lead or the title of " Highness "

Sovereign Prince

  • Prince of Hohenzollern ( the boss of the house, honorary known as Prince, and his wife run the nobility " sovereignty " )
  • Prince of Liechtenstein
  • Prince of Lippe
  • Prince Reuss
  • Prince of Schwarzburg
  • Prince of Waldeck

Formerly usually reichsständische, unable magnificent since 1806/1815, princely families

  • Dukes of Arenberg
  • Prince of Auersperg
  • Prince of Bentheim- Bentheim and Steinfurt Bentheim-
  • Prince of Bentheim -Tecklenburg - Rheda
  • Prince of Colloredo -Man ( n ) sarray
  • Dukes of Croy Croy or Dülmen
  • Prince of Dietrichsteinplatz
  • Princes of Esterházy de Galantha
  • Prince Fugger - Babenhausen to
  • Prince of Fürstenberg
  • Prince of Hohenlohe -Langenburg
  • Prince of Hohenlohe- Oehringen
  • Prince of Hohenlohe -Kirchberg
  • Prince of Hohenlohe- Waldenburg - Bartenstein
  • Prince of Hohenlohe- Waldenburg - Jagstberg
  • Prince of Hohenlohe- Waldenburg - Schillingsfuerst
  • Princes of Isenburg - Birstein
  • Prince Kaunitz - Rietberg
  • Prince Khevenhüller -Metsch
  • Prince of Leiningen
  • Prince von der Leyen ( Hohengeroldseck )
  • Prince of Lobkowicz
  • Haus Löwenstein -Wertheim, lines joy and Rosenberg
  • Duke of Looz - Corswarem
  • Prince Metternich
  • Prince of Oettingen, lines Spielberg and Wallerstein
  • Prince of ( Orsini and ) Rosenberg
  • Princes of Salm, Salm lines, Kyrburg and Horstmar
  • Princes of Salm - Reifferscheidt, lines Krautheim and Raitz
  • Prince of Sayn - Wittgenstein Berleburg lines and Hohenstein
  • Prince of Schoenburg, lines Waldenburg and Hartenstein
  • Princes of Schwarzenberg
  • Prince Solms, lines and Lich Braunfels
  • Prince of Starhemberg
  • Princes of Thurn and Taxis
  • Prince of Trauttmansdorff
  • Princes of Waldburg- Wolfegg - Waldsee
  • Princes of Waldburg- Zeil, lines Trauchburg and Wurzach
  • Prince of Wied
  • Prince of Windisch -Graetz

Other princely houses, which the predicate " Highness " state

  • Prince of Battenberg ( Mountbatten )
  • Prince Batthyány Strattmann
  • Prince Koháry
  • Prince Biron of Courland
  • Prince of Corvey
  • Princes Czartoryski
  • Prince of Hohenberg
  • Prince Radziwill
  • Prince of Stolberg

In the literature

In his satire on the Grand Duchy of Weimar in the 1830s " Grand Duchy Pumpernickel " in the world-famous socially critical novel, which had become a proverb called " Vanity Fair " ( Vanity Fair ) of 1847, the British author W. M. Thackeray ironically ( 1811-1863 ) the title of " Highness " with the pseudo - translation "His Transparency the Duke and his Transparent family" ( his Transparency the Duke and his family transparent ) (Chapter LXII with the original title " Am Rhein ").

The Low German poet Fritz Reuter titled a Humoresque " Dörchläuchting " (1866 ). Behind the title character, Herzog Adolf Friedrich hides IV of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

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