{{Short description|German noble family}} {{about|the German noble family|the English family|Waldegrave family|the Northamptonshire village|Walgrave}} {{refimprove|date=July 2021}} [[File:Armoiries de Tavigny.svg|thumb|Arms of the Wildgraves at Kyrburg]] [[File:Wildgraf Dhaun COA.png|thumb|Arms of the Wildgraves at Dhaun]]
The first '''Waldgraves''' or '''Wildgraves''' (Latin: ''comites silvestres'') descended from a division of the House of the Counts of Nahegau in the year 1113.
When the {{lang|de|Nahegau|italic=no}} (a countship named after the river Nahe) split into two parts in 1113, the counts of the two parts, belonging to the House of Salm, called themselves Wildgraves and Raugraves, respectively. They were named after the geographic properties of their territories: Wildgrave ({{langx|de|Wildgraf}}; {{langx|la|comes sylvanus}}) after {{lang|de|Wald}} ("forest"), and Raugrave ({{langx|de|Raugraf}}; {{langx|la|comes hirsutus}}) after the rough (i.e. mountainous) terrain.<ref>{{Meyers Online|13|0605|spezialkapitel=Raugraf}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:German noble families Category:Noble families of the Holy Roman Empire
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