Burgrave

Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from German: Burggraf, Latin: burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a Burgraviate or Burgravate (German Burggrafschaft also Burggrafthum, Latin praefectura).

Part of a series on
Imperial, royal, noble,
gentry and chivalric ranks in Europe
  • Marquess, Marchioness
  • Margrave, Margravine
  • Marcher lord
  • Count palatine
  • Voivode

The burgrave was a "count" in rank (German Graf, Latin comes) equipped with judicial powers, under the direct authority of the emperor or king, or of a territorial imperial state—a prince-bishop or territorial lord. The responsibilities were administrative, military and jurisdictional.

A burgrave, who ruled over a substantially large territory, might also have possessed the regality of coinage, and could mint his own regional coins (see silver bracteates).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.