margrave
Sign in to saveIn the German nobility, margrave was a rank equivalent to marquess. It originated as the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire and the title came to be borne by rulers of some Imperial principalities until the abolition of the Empire in 1806 (e.g., Margrave of Brandenburg, Margrave of Baden). Thereafter, those domains (originally known as marks or marches, later as margraviates or margravates) were absorbed into larg
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A margrave was a German nobleman with a rank equivalent to a marquess, originally serving as a military commander defending border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire. Over time, the position became hereditary, and margraves ruled certain Imperial territories until the Empire's abolition in 1806, after which their domains were absorbed into larger states.
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In the German nobility, margrave was a rank equivalent to marquess. It originated as the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire and the title came to be borne by rulers of some Imperial principalities until the abolition of the Empire in 1806 (e.g., Margrave of Brandenburg, Margrave of Baden). Thereafter, those domains (originally known as marks or marches, later as margraviates or margravates) were absorbed into larger realms or the titleholders adopted titles indicative of full sovereignty.
== History == thumb|Seal (document)|Seal of [[Leopold III, Margrave of Austria (), with legend LEVPOLDVS MARCHIO.]] Etymologically, the word "margrave" (, ) is the English and French form of the German noble title (;, meaning "march" or "mark", that is, borderland, added to , meaning "Count"); it is related semantically to the English title "Marcher Lord". As a noun and hereditary title, "margrave" was common among the languages of Europe, such as Spanish and Polish.