# Landgrave

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**Landgrave** (German: *Landgraf*, Dutch: *landgraaf*, Swedish: *lantgreve*, French: *landgrave*; Latin: *comes magnus*, **comes patriae**, **comes provinciae**, **comes terrae**, **comes principalis**, **lantgravius**) was a [rank of nobility](/source/Noble_title) used in the [Holy Roman Empire](/source/Holy_Roman_Empire), and its former territories. The German titles of **Landgraf**, **Markgraf** ("[margrave](/source/Margrave)"), and **Pfalzgraf** ("[count palatine](/source/Count_palatine)") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to **[Herzog](/source/Herzog)** ("duke"), and superior to **[Graf](/source/Graf)** ("count").

## Etymology

The [English](/source/English_language) word **landgrave** is the equivalent of the [German](/source/German_language) ***Landgraf***, from *Land* 'land' and *[Graf](/source/Graf)* 'count'.

## Description

A landgrave was originally a [count](/source/Count) who possessed [imperial immediacy](/source/Imperial_immediacy), that is, a feudal duty owed directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. His jurisdiction stretched over a sometimes quite considerable territory, which was not subservient to an intermediate power, such as a [duke](/source/Duke), a [bishop](/source/Bishop) or [count palatine](/source/Count_palatine). The title originated within the [Holy Roman Empire](/source/Holy_Roman_Empire), and was first recorded in [Lower Lotharingia](/source/Lower_Lotharingia) in 1086: [Henry III, Count of Louvain](/source/Henry_III,_Count_of_Louvain), landgrave of [Brabant](/source/Landgraviate_of_Brabant). By definition, a landgrave exercised sovereign rights. His decision-making power was comparable to that of a Duke.

*Landgrave* occasionally continued in use as the subsidiary title of such noblemen as the Grand Duke of [Saxe-Weimar](/source/Saxe-Weimar), who functioned as the *Landgrave of [Thuringia](/source/Thuringia)* in the first decade of the 20th century, but the title fell into disuse after [World War II](/source/World_War_II).

The jurisdiction of a landgrave was a *landgraviate* (German: *Landgrafschaft*), and the wife of a landgrave or a female landgrave was known as a *landgravine* (from the German *Landgräfin*, *Gräfin* being the feminine form of *Graf*).

The term was also used in [the Carolinas](/source/The_Carolinas) (what is now North and South Carolina in the United States) during British rule. A "landgrave" was "a county nobleman in the British, privately held North American colony Carolina, ranking just below the proprietary (chartered equivalent of a royal vassal)."[1][2]

## Examples

Examples include:

- [Landgraves of Thuringia](/source/List_of_rulers_of_Thuringia) - [Landgraves of Hesse](/source/Rulers_of_Hesse)[3] and its subsequent divisions ([Hesse-Kassel](/source/Landgraviate_of_Hesse-Kassel), [-Darmstadt](/source/Hesse-Darmstadt), [-Rotenburg](/source/Hesse-Rotenburg), [-Philippsthal](/source/Landgraviate_of_Hesse-Philippsthal)(-[Barchfeld](/source/Landgraviate_of_Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld)), [-Rheinfels](/source/Hesse-Rheinfels), [-Homburg](/source/Hesse-Homburg)([-Bingenheim](/source/Hesse-Homburg-Bingenheim)), [-Marburg](/source/Hesse-Marburg)).
- [Landgraves of Leuchtenberg](/source/Landgraves_of_Leuchtenberg), situated around a Bavarian castle (later raised into a duchy)
- [Landgraves of Stühlingen](/source/St%C3%BChlingen#History)
- [Landgraves of Klettgau](/source/Klettgau#History)
- [Fürstenberg-Weitra](/source/F%C3%BCrstenberg-Weitra)
- [Fürstenberg-Taikowitz](/source/F%C3%BCrstenberg-Taikowitz)
- [Landgraviate of Alsace](/source/History_of_Alsace#Alsace_within_the_Holy_Roman_Empire) - [Upper Alsace](/source/Upper_Alsace) - [Lower Alsace](/source/Lower_Alsace)

## References

1. "Wiktionary definition"

1. ["Primary Source: The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669)"](https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/primary-source-fundamental). *NCpedia*. Retrieved May 7, 2024.

1. Wise, L., Hansen, M., Egan, E. (2005), "Kings, Rules and Satesmen, revised edition", p. 122

## Further reading

- Mayer, Theodor, "Über Entstehung und Bedeutung der älteren deutschen Landgrafschaften", in *Mitteralterliche Studien – Gesammelte Aufsätze*, ed. F. Knapp (Sigmaringen 1958) 187–201. Also published in *Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte*, Germanische Abteilung 58 (1938) 210–288.
- Mayer, Theodor, '*Herzogtum und Landeshoheit', Fürsten und Staat. Studien zur Verfassungsgeschichte des deutschen Mittelalters* (Weimar 1950) 276–301.
- Eichenberger, T., Patria: *Studien zur Bedeutung des Wortes im Mittelalter* (6.-12. Jahrhundert), Nationes – Historische und philologische Untersuchungen zur Entstehung der europäischen Nationen im Mittelalter 9 (Sigmaringen 1991).
- Van Droogenbroeck, Frans J., ['De betekenis van paltsgraaf Herman II (1064-1085) voor het graafschap Brabant'](https://www.academia.edu/4578469/), *Eigen Schoon en De Brabander*, 87 (2004), 1-166.
- Van Droogenbroeck, Frans J., [Het landgraafschap Brabant (1085-1183) en zijn paltsgrafelijke voorgeschiedenis. De territoriale en institutionele aanloop tot het ontstaan van het hertogdom Brabant](https://www.academia.edu/12366096/) (2004)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Landgrave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landgrave) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landgrave?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.