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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 1995-07 > 0804926704


From: W. Fred Rump< >
Subject: Re: Counts/Earls
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 1995 06:45:04 GMT


William Lemay <> writes:

>"Count" is from the Latin "comes," meaning "companion," and was
>originally an official (a buddy of the emperor) sent out by the
>emperor Charlemagne (and perhaps also by the mayors of the
>palace and kings that preceded him) to supervise a particular
>region, as a central-government counterweight to the local and
>self-proclaimed dukes. As a territorial offices, it eventually
>became hereditary. Due to its imperial origins, it was not used
>outside the (widest) extent of the so-called Holy Roman Empire.

This is an excellent description of the origin of Graf and the German roots of
the Frankish empire. Count is Latin and may have migrated with the Normans
into Britain.

Strangely enough the German root also has a Latin heritage as per graphio
which was used in the Byzantine courts as a scribe or righter of law and
later adopted by the early merowingians into old German grafio. This shows up
in old English as gerefa from which sheriff is born. As stated above the
administrative function to keep records eventually became a percentage deal
wherein the king or emperor was the true owner but the Graf paid a 'royalty'.

>A third title very old on the Continent is "marquis" (Latin
>"marchisus," French "margrave" or "marquis," Dutch "markgraaf").
>This is very specific, however, and designates the person
>appointed to organize the defense of a "march" or border
>region. It, too, became hereditary. I do not recall *any*
>instance of someone adopting this title, possibly because of
>the specific obligation it carried.

The French term is Marquis apparently from the German Markgraf called margrave
in English. Middle High German was Markgrave. The French marche comes from the
German root Mark and means border. The Markgraf was simply and originally a
royal judge and administrator of the lands at the very edge or beyond that
which was kingdom. Markung and Gemarkung are still used in some areas of
Germany to designate a specificly marked piece of land.

Then of course we have another specifically German title of Fu"rst to contend
with. The English word 'first' should give us a clue as to what this means. By
the 12th century this had become synonymous with the highest rank next to the
king or emperor himself. It became sort of a collective term for all monarchs.
Later this developed into a specific rank given by the king which was
somewhere above a Graf but still below a Herzog or duke.

Confusing stuff this is as we get into Freiherrn and Ritter and all those
other titles which the medieval world used to stuff its ranks with.

Fred
--
Fred Rump 'Those of us who do not study the past are condemned to repeat it'
26 Warren St.CI$:....: Santanya
Beverly, NJ 08010 Internet:
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