Misplaced Pages

#28971

35-597: The family, whose members given the title of Imperial Count by Leopold I in 1699 later became Hospodars of Wallachia and Moldavia , was founded by the merchant Nikolaos Mavrokordatos (1522–1570) from the island of Chios . In 1875 the Mavrocordatoi were also recognized as Princes of the Russian Empire by the Emperor Alexander II of Russia . This Greek biographical article is

70-576: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Romanian biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Count of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Count ( German : Reichsgraf ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire . During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county , that is, a fief held directly ( immediately ) from

105-552: A Holy Roman Emperor, from among their own number or other rulers, whenever a vacancy occurred. Those just below them in status were recognised as Imperial princes ( Reichsfürsten ) who, through the hereditary vote each wielded in the Diet's College of Princes , served as members of a loose legislature (cf. peerage ) of the Empire. As the Empire emerged from the medieval era, immediate counts were definitively excluded from possessing

140-401: A class, whose land management on behalf of the ruling princes favoured their evolution to a status above not only peasants and burghers, but above landless knights and the landed gentry. Their roles within the feudal system tended to become hereditary and were gradually integrated with those of the ruling nobility by the close of the medieval era. The possessor of a county within or subject to

175-470: A constitutionally unique form of territorial authority known as "territorial superiority" ( Landeshoheit ) which had nearly all the attributes of sovereignty, but fell short of true sovereignty since the rulers of the Empire remained answerable to the Empire's institutions and basic laws. In the early modern period , the Empire consisted of over 1,800 immediate territories, ranging in size from quite large such as Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, and Brandenburg, down to

210-512: A prerogative most reichsunmittelbar families had enjoyed prior to mediatisation . A few counties had been elevated to principalities by Napoleon. Most of these were also mediatised by the Congress of Vienna. A few of their dynasties held on to their sovereignty until 1918: Lippe , Reuß , Schwarzburg and Waldeck-Pyrmont . Those counts who received their title by letters patent from the emperor or an Imperial vicar were recognized within

245-573: A shared vote on a Count's bench an imperial count obtained, the "seat and vote" within the Imperial Diet which, combined with Imperial immediacy , made of his chief land holding an Imperial estate ( Reichsstand ) and conferred upon him and his family the status of Landeshoheit , i.e. the semi-sovereignty which distinguished Germany and Austria's high nobility (the Hochadel ) from the lower nobility ( Niederadel ), who had no representation in

280-693: A single collective vote ( votum curiatum ). Further immediate estates not represented in the Reichstag were the Imperial Knights as well as several abbeys and minor localities , the remains of those territories which in the High Middle Ages had been under the direct authority of the Emperor and since then had mostly been given in pledge to the princes. At the same time, there were classes of "princes" with titular immediacy to

315-672: A stronger negotiating position, for example giving the province the ability to appeal to the Imperial Diet in any debate with Charles. For that reason, the Emperor strongly rejected and blocked Overijssel's attempt. Disadvantages might include direct intervention by imperial commissions, as happened in several of the southwestern cities after the Schmalkaldic War , and the potential restriction or outright loss of previously held legal patents. Immediate rights might be lost if

350-428: The Holy Roman Empire , imperial immediacy ( German : Reichsunmittelbarkeit or Reichsfreiheit ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' ( unmittelbar ) to Emperor and Empire ( Kaiser und Reich ) and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that status was defined as 'mediate' ( mittelbar ). The possession of this imperial immediacy granted

385-503: The Diet and usually answered to an over-lord. Thus the reichsständische imperial counts pegged their interests and status to those of the imperial princes. In 1521 there were 144 imperial counts; by 1792 only 99 were left. The decrease reflected elevations to higher title, extinction of the male line, and purchase or annexation (outright or by the subordination known as mediatisation ) by more powerful imperial princes. In 1792 there were four associations (benches) of counties contributing

SECTION 10

#1732772902029

420-453: The Diet. Each "bench" was entitled to exercise one collective vote ( Kuriatstimme ) in the Diet and each comital family was allowed to cast one fractional vote toward a bench's vote: A majority of fractional votes determined how that bench's vote would be cast on any issue before the Diet. Four benches were recognised (membership in each being determined by which quadrant of the Empire a count's fief lay within). By being seated and allowed to cast

455-666: The Emperor and/or the Imperial Diet could not defend them against external aggression, as occurred in the French Revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic Wars . The Treaty of Lunéville in 1801 required the emperor to renounce all claims to the portions of the Holy Roman Empire west of the Rhine . At the last meeting of the Imperial Diet ( German : Reichsdeputationshauptschluss ) in 1802–03, also called

490-482: The Emperor which they exercised rarely, if at all. For example, the Bishops of Chiemsee , Gurk , and Seckau (Sacken) were practically subordinate to the prince-bishop of Salzburg, but were formally princes of the Empire. Additional advantages might include the rights to collect taxes and tolls , to hold a market , to mint coins , to bear arms , and to conduct legal proceedings . The last of these might include

525-548: The French. By 1806, Napoleon 's re-organisation of the continental map squeezed not only all imperial counts but most princes out of existence as quasi-independent entities by the time of the Holy Roman Empire. Each was annexed by its largest German neighbor, although many were swapped by one sovereign to another as they sought to shape more cohesive borders or lucrative markets. In 1815 the Congress of Vienna sought to turn back

560-614: The Holy Roman Empire might owe feudal allegiance to another noble , theoretically of any rank, who might himself be a vassal of another lord or of the Holy Roman Emperor ; or the count might have no other suzerain than the Holy Roman Emperor himself, in which case he was deemed to hold directly or "immediately" ( reichsunmittelbar ) of the emperor. Nobles who inherited, purchased, were granted or successfully seized such counties, or were able to eliminate any obligation of vassalage to an intermediate suzerain (for instance, by

595-485: The clock on the French Revolution 's politics, but not on the winnowing of Germany's ruling dynasties and myriad maps. The imperial counts and princes were compensated for the loss of their rights as rulers with largely symbolic privileges, gradually eroded but not extinguished until 1918, including Ebenbürtigkeit ; the right to inter-marry with Germany's (and, by extension, Europe's) still reigning dynasties,

630-438: The crown. During the High Middle Ages , and for those bishops, abbots, and cities then the main beneficiaries of that status, immediacy could be exacting and often meant subjection to the fiscal, military, and hospitality demands of their overlord, the Emperor. However, from the mid-13th century onwards, with the gradually diminishing importance of the Emperor, whose authority to exercise power became increasingly limited to

665-616: The emperor in his specific capacity as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire (rather than, e.g. as ruler of Austria , Bohemia , Hungary , the Spanish Netherlands , etc.) became, ipso facto , an "Imperial Count" ( Reichsgraf ), whether he reigned over an immediate county or not. In the Merovingian and Franconian Empire , a Graf ("Count") was an official who exercised the royal prerogatives in an administrative district ( Gau or "county"). A lord designated to represent

700-415: The emperor, rather than from a prince who was a vassal of the emperor or of another sovereign, such as a duke or prince-elector . These imperial counts sat on one of the four "benches" of Counts , whereat each exercised a fractional vote in the Imperial Diet until 1806. Imperial counts rank above counts elevated by lesser sovereigns. In the post–Middle Ages era, anyone granted the title of Count by

735-623: The enforcement of legislative acts promulgated by the Imperial Diet , entities privileged by imperial immediacy eventually found themselves vested with considerable rights and powers previously exercised by the emperor. Several immediate estates held the privilege of attending meetings of the Reichstag in person, including an individual vote ( votum virile ): They formed the Imperial Estates , together with 99 immediate counts, 40 Imperial prelates (abbots and abbesses), and 50 Imperial Cities, each of whose "banks" only enjoyed

SECTION 20

#1732772902029

770-602: The imperial counts were grouped into "imperial comital associations" known as Grafenbänke . Early in the 16th century, such associations were formed in Wetterau and Swabia . The Franconian association was created in 1640, the Westphalian association in 1653. They participated with the emperor, electors and princes in ruling the Empire by virtue of being entitled to a seat on one of the Counts' benches ( Grafenbank ) in

805-575: The imperial tax register of 1241. In the case of the nobility, the enfeoffment with an imperial fief and high aristocratic lineage was regarded as decisive criteria for immediacy. However, towards the end of the Middle Ages, the counts were generally considered to be immediate to the Empire, although they often had obtained their fiefs from neighboring princes. The imperial immediacy of bishops was acquired automatically when they were enfeoffed with their hochstift and granted immunities. The situation for

840-474: The individual seat and vote ( Virilstimme ) in the Diet that belonged to electors and princes. In order, however, to further their political interests more effectively and to preserve their independence, the imperial counts organized regional associations and held Grafentage ("countly councils"). In the Imperial Diet, starting in the 16th century, and consistently from the Perpetual Diet (1663–1806),

875-498: The king or emperor in a county requiring higher authority than delegated to the typical count acquired a title which indicated that distinction: a border land was held by a margrave , a fortress by a burgrave , an imperial palace or royal estate by a count palatine , a large territory by a landgrave . Originally the counts were ministeriales , appointed administrators, but under the Ottonian emperors, they came to constitute

910-442: The prelates (abbots) was not always clear since there were some who, although recognized as immediate, had not been enfeoffed directly by the king. In the end, for the Middle Ages, the formal grant of immediacy was of relative importance; the decisive factor was the capacity to assert and enforce one's claim to immediacy against competing claims. The position of the princes with regard to the crown had strengthened progressively since

945-557: The purchase of his feudal rights from a liege lord ), were those on whom the emperor came to rely directly to raise and supply the revenues and soldiers, from their own vassals and manors, which enabled him to govern and protect the empire. Thus their Imperial immediacy tended to secure for them substantial independence within their own territories from the emperor's authority. Gradually they came also to be recognised as counselors entitled to be summoned to his Imperial Diets . A parallel process occurred among other authorities and strata in

980-421: The realm, both secular and ecclesiastical. While commoners and the lowest levels of nobles remained subject to the authority of a lord, baron or count, some knights and lords ( Reichsfreiherren ) avoided owing fealty to any but the emperor yet lacked sufficient importance to obtain consistent admission to the Diet. The most powerful nobles and bishops ( Electors ) secured the exclusive privilege of voting to choose

1015-456: The reign of Frederick Barbarossa (1152–1190) who restricted the immediate crown vassalage to the archbishops, bishops and imperial abbots, roughly ninety of them, and to distinguish most dukes and a selection of reliable margraves, landgraves and counts as maiores imperii principes . They were intended to be the only direct vassals, apart from the Imperial ministeriales who did homage within

1050-418: The royal household, and the royal towns which offered collective fealty. From the thirteenth century onward, the growing exclusiveness of the princes derived from their determination to enforce their preeminence and make the other lords feudally dependent on themselves, and to incorporate them into their own territorial lordships, thus making them 'mediate' by cutting them off from direct legal relationship with

1085-459: The ruling of the Empire, although there were exceptions. Sometimes, when a prince wished to marry a lady of lower rank and have her share his title, the Emperor might elevate her to Imperial countess or even princess (often over the objections of his other family members), but this conferred upon her neither the same title nor rank borne by dynasts , nor did it, ipso facto , prevent the marriage from being morganatic . Imperial immediacy In

Mavrocordatos family - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-476: The several hundred tiny immediate estates of the Imperial knights of only a few square kilometers or less, which were by far the most numerous. The criteria of immediacy varied and classification is difficult especially for the Middle Ages. The situation was relatively clear in the case of the cities: imperial cities were directly subject to the king's jurisdiction and taxation, and a first list can be found in

1155-536: The so-called Blutgericht ("blood justice") through which capital punishment could be administered. These rights varied according to the legal patents granted by the emperor. As pointed out by Jonathan Israel , the Dutch province of Overijssel in 1528 tried to arrange its submission to Emperor Charles V in his capacity as Holy Roman Emperor rather than as Duke of Burgundy . If successful, that would have evoked Imperial immediacy and would have put Overijssel in

1190-610: The subsequent German Empire as retaining their titles and rank above counts elevated by lesser sovereigns, even if their family had never held imperial immediacy within the Empire. A comital or other title granted by a German sovereign conferred, in principle, rank only in that sovereign's realm, although usually recognised as a courtesy title elsewhere. Titles granted by Habsburg rulers in their capacity as Kings of Hungary, Archdukes or Emperors of Austria were not thereby Reichsgrafen , nor ranked with comparable precedence even post-1806. Titular imperial counts usually had no role in

1225-755: The votes of 99 families to the Diet's Reichsfürstenrat : By the Treaty of Lunéville of 1800, princely domains west of the Rhine River were annexed to France , including imperial counts. In the Final Recess of the Imperial Delegation of 1803 , those deemed to have resisted the French were compensated with secularized Church lands and free cities . Some of the counts, such as Aspremont-Lynden , were generously compensated. Others, such as Leyen , were denied compensation due to failure to resist

#28971