Title of nobility
A nobility predicate (“predicate” from the Latin praedicatum , denotation of rank ') is an addition to a name or the salutation for a nobleman .
name suffix
The addition to the name of a nobleman is in the form of a preposition or that of a suffix (suffix).
As a preposition
It came before the surname, for example: "Gerlinde von Mustermann". If the surname is listed first in lists or books, the person can usually be found under the first letters of the surname. So z. B. August von Mustermann can be found under "M" (Mustermann, August von) and not under "V" (von Mustermann, August) .
Germany
from (abbreviated v. ); to ; from and to ; from ; to ; from and to ; from the ; of the
Originally the word "von" was used to indicate residence, rule or jurisdiction, as for example with the Duke of Württemberg. Around 1630 it became customary to designate noble houses with the nobility predicate. But these nobility predicates, especially the “von”, did not always indicate a noble origin. In northern Germany in particular , people have a “from” in their name, which only indicates their place of origin. With them there was no nobility origin that was legitimate at the time . This was later replaced by the suffix "-mann". However, it was customary in the Middle Ages that sons from unequal connections of nobles, but also their illegitimate children, were allowed to use the name of their father as a family name. In modern nobility surveys ( ennobling ), as a rule, only the “von” was placed before the civil surname, for example with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . The name could also be changed when it was ennobled , as was the case with Karoline Friederike von Waldenburg (previously Wichmann) and Otto von Guericke (previously Otto Gericke).
The term “gen. from ”for“ named from ”indicated an adoption in Germany or Prussia; An example of this is Fritz Erich von Lewinski gen. Von Manstein . Often the names were joined by a hyphen.
Many names survived over time, but the family seat changed. The aristocratic particle “zu” as opposed to “von” indicates that the family was still in possession of the eponymous site (mostly the medieval castle) at the time the name was solidified (i.e. at the latest by Weimar legislation), such as the princes of and Liechtenstein. In addition, “to” was used as a predicate primarily by noble princes (e.g. Salm ) and counts (such as Stolberg ) who, with the mediatization in 1803/1806, not the princely dignity, but the one herewith had lost associated sovereign territorial power; in this way they could be distinguished from those princes who continued to rule after 1815 and carried the predicate “from”.
On August 11, 1919, the Weimar Constitution abolished the privileges of the nobility. The former nobility predicates have thus become part of the name under civil law .
To and from
In the Middle Ages, the nobility strictly adhered to the use of “from” and “to”. The "von" shows the gender name , additional names of the residence are led according to the scheme from Weißstein to Schwarzfels .
Thus, the early noble families (later called Uradel , the old knight families ) differ in the construction of the name from the letter nobility , whose name is not related to a place (from Goethe).
This from and to shows a nobleman who has lived at his ancestral home since the Middle Ages.
Denmark
The addition “von” spread from around 1770 on among officers in the Danish army. The model was the Prussian army, in which practically all officers were noble and were called “von”, as well as the German nobles in the Danish army service. In Denmark until 1860 every officer could put the word “von” in his name, so it did not denote a rank of nobility. Although this practice was abolished in 1860, it is still used in some Danish family names.
France
de , d ' (dt. of)
Most of the time the “de” is worn by people belonging to the nobility, such as the Marquise de Pompadour and Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord . In France in particular , however, the number of "false aristocrats" is very large. The French “de” corresponds almost exactly to the Dutch “van” in terms of the frequency of the noble quality. A name that sounds noble therefore often does not indicate nobility. To give himself a noble appearance, Claude Debussy had business cards printed with the inscription A. de Bussy at the age of 20 . Voltaire , too , had acquired his name, including de, as nom de plume .
Italy
di , de , del , da , degli , dalla ... (from, from, from, from ...)
The exact nobility predicate depends on the grammatical gender and the initial syllable of the name.
Today the respective preposition is usually capitalized (e.g. Massimo D'Alema ); Occasionally it is mentioned that the lower case indicates a noble origin (e.g. Antonio Starabba di Rudinì ). In addition, the surname of some well-known noble families - such as the Borromeos - does not contain such a preposition, but an explicit nobility designation ("Marchese di", etc.).
Netherlands
Dutch components of the name such as van (“von”), de (“der”), ter (“zur”) etc. do not indicate nobility. The predicate for the untitled nobility is the Jonkheer that precedes the first name , e.g. B. year Marinus van der Goes van Naters .
Austria
from (abbreviated v. ); to ; to and from
Originally, the word “from” indicated a person's local origin, noble or not. In later ennobizations, the noble “von” was added to the name as a so-called word of honor. A person was thus raised "to the nobility with the word of honor of" ; from "N. N. Müller "became" N. N. von Müller ".
In the case of an ennoblement, a so-called predicate (predicate in the narrower sense) of the family name could be requested instead of the name spelling such as “von Schiller” or “von Müller”. If this was allowed, the person concerned attached his desired predicate - a (fictitious) place name or an imaginative honorary designation - to the family name; for example: "Fischer von Erlach", "Comini von Sonnenberg" or "Amon von Treuenfest". In some cases, the designation of the place where an officer had distinguished himself in a battle was allowed as a predicate, as in " Goglia of Zlota Lipa ". Some of the people in question simply left out the family name later and called themselves only after the predicate (" Hugo von Hofmannsthal ", actually "Hugo Hofmann Edler von Hofmannsthal"). This was tolerated by the Austrian authorities and in some cases also officially approved. Such persons who were raised to the knighthood or a higher rank, bore the status or the title officially, i.e. H. usually before the family name and not before the predicate, such as " Josef Graf Radetzky von Radetz ". An exception applies to the honorary designation "Edler von". This was always carried after the family name; Example: "Hugo Hofmann Edler von Hofmannsthal". From a social point of view, however, such cases are described in a less cumbersome way: " Josef Freiherr Roth von Limanowa-Lapanów " is simply "Josef Baron Roth" or "Josef Baron von Limanowa-Lapanów". Double names preceded by “from” or “to” and a title came through adoption or transfer, such as in “ Karl Freiherr von Pflanzer-Baltin ” and “ Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten ” (adoption with predicate) or the special case “ Habsburg- Lorraine ”on the basis of the utmost approval.
The names of nobility, which originate from nobility legitimations in the areas that fell to Austria as a result of the collapse of the Res Publica (aristocratic republic) 1772–1795, represent a special case. In the areas of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (Polish-Galicja i Bukowina) formed as the Austro-Hungarian crown land with the Grand Duchy of Krakow, there was a different aristocratic tradition with nobility law differing from the rest of Europe. The Szlachta of the aristocratic republic came mainly from primeval noble houses, whose legitimation consisted in the assignment to existing coat of arms cooperatives (also known as coat of arms communities). In this way, different families with the same name are distinguished by naming the associated coat of arms. So were z. B. Count Komorowski coat of arms Ciołek (legitimized 1823) as well as Count Komorowski coat of arms Korczak (legitimized 1782). After 1919, the practice emerged that the coat of arms is placed in front of the name with or without a hyphen, so that the distinction between the Ciołek-Komorowski and the Korczak-Komorowski is ensured. This practice was also used in other countries after anti-nobility legislation such as the CSSR or Poland came into force and was officially accepted even during the communist regime.
Since 1919 it has been forbidden in Austria by the Nobility Repeal Act to use the “von” and the titles in names. They were struck from the passports without replacement. “ Robert Edler von Musil ” became “Robert Musil”. Sometimes the family name was deleted and the predicate without "von" was declared the family name, or the family name and the predicate were entered as double names. That probably depended on the respective clerk and his attitude. The “Wolff v. Plottegg “; Today there are three state variants: "Wolff", "Plottegg" and "Wolff-Plottegg". The double names are confusing today because one can no longer tell whether it is an old double name (through interfamily adoption or transfer), a double name consisting of a family name and predicate or a new double name through marriage.
The abolition of aristocratic names is still seen by conservative groups as a violation of human rights, because in 1918 all aristocratic names were only individual personal rights of the name designation and these were no longer linked to professional rights or other legal advantages. These privileges were abolished in the December Constitution.
Switzerland
Titles of nobility in Switzerland were only carried by foreign rulers or the urban patriciate because of the class tradition. The old patrician families retained their addition “from” after 1848. It is not always easy to differentiate between genuine patriciate such as von Graffenried and names of origin such as von Gunten . As a synonym for “von”, “de” is used in French-speaking Switzerland, like de Reyff . In 1782 and 1783 in the Bernese patriciate and in Friborg, the differences between the patrician families of aristocratic and bourgeois origin were balanced out by allowing everyone to enjoy the title of nobility. In the Lucerne patriciate , the Fundamental Law of 1773 replaced the title “Junker” with the predicate “von”, which had been used until then. However, with the exception of the old ministerial families, little use was made of it. People liked to call themselves after the property, like Pfyffer von Altishofen . The Lucerne government protected the title of nobility in 1895, 1896 and 1899. This was also done by a federal court ruling from 1941. The criteria of the Swiss Order of Malta provide information on who is considered noble in Switzerland and what the requirements are.
United Kingdom
of (dt. of)
In contrast to other nobility predicates, "of" is not built into the name, but added to the title if at all. Sir Edward Elgar, Baronet of Broadheath . In the case of genuinely noble people (baron or higher, i.e. a man who can be dubbed baron), the family name is only used if this became part of the nobility title, e.g. B. Nathan Rothschild, Baron Rothschild. The titles of nobility are often only given primogenously . Members of aristocratic families who do not have a title are counted as gentry, the so-called landed gentry. The nobility particle “of” only leads the high nobility from the Earl upwards. A viscount title (vice count) is always followed by the name.
In the British nobility system there is only ever one holder of the noble title. So the son of the Duke of Buckingham was not called Buckingham - and neither was Duke. However, so that the son can also bear a title during the father's lifetime, he has one of the father's subordinate titles. This is only common practice from Earl onwards. In this way, further subordinate titles can be given in advance even to the oldest son of the oldest son. These titles are called courtesy titles - and the son also does not take a seat in the House of Lords. Children born after a peer do not have hereditary titles, but are called "The Honorable" Mr, Miss or Mrs (even if a daughter is married and has the surname of her non-aristocratic husband). All daughters of an earl are named Lady X, and all sons of a duke are named Lord X (where X is the family name of the noble family). Family name and title (of the only nobleman) differ. For example, if you meet a person in Great Britain who introduces himself as Spencer-Churchill (family name), you have to know that he is probably a member of the House of the Dukes of Marlborough (title of nobility). It is similar with the famous physicist William Cavendish, who belonged to the Dukes of Devonshire family.
As a suffix
Poland
Ending -ski or -cki or -wicz
In the 15th century, around ten percent of the Polish population wore this title, which was not in all cases a title of nobility, but rather has a meaning similar to the Low German "van", i.e. a designation of origin. However, there were also aristocratic families who had the abbreviation -ski or -cki, -wicz at the end of their name and those who were admitted to the Polish-Lithuanian nobility by marriage and whose families also became aristocratic as a result. The Polish kingdoms and Poland-Lithuania are to be considered here in particular, as they were also untitled .
Russia , Belarus and Ukraine
Until 1917, only the aristocrats had the right to be addressed by the patronymic "-owitsch" (e.g. Ivanovich = Ivan's son, etc.). For example, non-noble person - Alexander Ivanov Petrov, noblewoman - Alexander Ivanovich Petrov. Although Ivanov ("-ow, -owa, -owo" is actually a possessive adjective, roughly comparable to the German phrase "der / die / das x-sche") actually meant the same thing - Ivan's son. "-Owitsch" (in other cases "-ewitsch") is a male form. The female form is "-owna" or "-ewna". However, this rule has been disregarded in informal dealings since the 19th century. The family names of some very old aristocratic houses also had the same ending: Ryurikovich (the descendants of Ryurik), Gediminovich, etc.
Hungary
Name ending -y also seldom -i ; but also a -h .
For example, knight Miklós Horthy of Nagybánya , increased rank to knighthood in the Austrian Empire (but incorrectly abbreviated as Nikolaus von Horthy in German translation) or Ödön von Horváth . For predicates after the family name, what is said about Austria applies; In place of the “von”, however, there was a Latin “de” in ancient noble houses without an imperial-Austrian elevation, as in Count Julius Andrássy de Csik-Szent-Király et Kraszna-Horka . The spelling of the name is unusual, as can be seen in the example “Andrássy Gyula gróf” (Andrássy Julius Graf), which reverses the German order (Graf Julius Andrássy).
Slovakia
Ending -ský
Salutation
The term nobility predicate also referred to the form of address for the bearers of certain nobility titles . In German-speaking countries they were as follows until 1918:
For men
| title | Salutation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| from the ruling house | from a noble house | from a non-governing house | |
| Emperor | majesty | ||
| king | majesty | ||
| Archduke | Imperial Highness | ||
| Grand duke | Royal Highness | ||
| duke | Royal Highness | Your Highness or Your Highness | Highness |
| Grand Duke | Imperial Highness | ||
| Prince | Highness | Highness | Princely graces |
| Graf ( Land- , Alt- or Mark- ) (*) | Highly born , in a few cases exalted | Highly born, in a few cases exalted | Count (without from or to) |
| Freiherr , Baron | Baron (without from or to) | ||
| untitled | Herr (von) / Junker (Jkr.) (Von) | ||
(*) Only if directly to the empire and awarded by the emperor as a predicate to head of house, head of house and hereditary count, or to all agnates, if recognized by the head of the house , up to the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss
For women
| title | Salutation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| from the ruling house | from a noble house | from a non-governing house | |
| empress | majesty | ||
| queen | majesty | ||
| Archduchess | Imperial Highness | ||
| Grand duchess | Royal Highness | ||
| duchess | Royal Highness | Your Highness or Your Highness | Highness |
| Grand Duchess | Imperial Highness | ||
| Princess | Highness | Highness | Princely graces |
| countess | Highly born , in a few cases exalted | Highly born, in a few cases exalted | Countess (without from or to) |
| Baroness , Baroness , Baroness | Baroness (without from or to) | ||
| untitled | Woman (from) / junk woman (Jkfr.) (From) | ||
Web links
- Predicates of the high nobility : titles and salutations of ruling and equal royal houses in English and German
- Lexicon article Titulatures (Brockhaus 1911) : List of all German nobility, official and honorary titles in use around 1910 (title and salutations)
Individual evidence
- ↑ “Om anvendelsen af 'from' i danske navne” , Danmarks Adels Aarbog .