uradel
Sign in to savethumb|Facsimile of a German periodical of 1900 titled Mittheilungen an die Mitglieder des Geschlechtsverbandes des zum fränkischen Uradel gehörigen Geschlechtes Derer von Eberstein stammend vom "Eberstein" auf der Rhön. '''' (, German: "ancient nobility"; adjective or ) is a genealogical term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier. The word stands opposed to Briefadel'', a term used for titles of nobility created in the early modern period or modern history by letters patent. Since the earliest known s
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Introduction and usage
- Contemporary use
- Germany
- Austria
- Scandinavia
- Hochadel (High Nobility)
- See also
- References
thumb|Facsimile of a German periodical of 1900 titled Mittheilungen an die Mitglieder des Geschlechtsverbandes des zum fränkischen Uradel gehörigen Geschlechtes Derer von Eberstein stammend vom "Eberstein" auf der Rhön. '''' (, German: "ancient nobility"; adjective or ) is a genealogical term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier. The word stands opposed to Briefadel, a term used for titles of nobility created in the early modern period or modern history by letters patent. Since the earliest known such letters were issued in the 14th century, those knightly families in northern European nobility whose noble rank predates these are designated .
and families are generally further divided into categories with their ranks of titles: adlig (untitled nobility), freiherrlich (baronial), gräflich (comital), fürstlich (princely) and herzoglich (ducal) houses. The latter two are also referred to as Hochadel (High Nobility).