Burgrave also rendered as Burggrave, was since the medieval period in Europe the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a Burgraviate or Burgravate. The burgrave was a "count" in rank 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, may also have possessed the regality of coinage, and could mint his own regional coins.
History
Etymologically, the word burgrave is the English and French form of the German noble title Burggraf from Middle High Germanburcgrâve. The feminine form is burgravine, in GermanBurggräfin. From the early High Middle Ages, the German Burggraf was the military governor or commander of a castle, similar to that of the Anglo-Norman French "castellain" and Middle English "castellan". In the mid-12th century, King Conrad III of Germany created a new quality for the title of burgrave during the German eastward colonization. They became protectors and administrators of extensive royal territories near major imperial castles, such as Meissen, Altenburg and Leisnig, and received "judicial lordship". They also acted as colonizers and created their own dominions. Under the reign of King Rudolf I of Germany, their dignity was considerably advanced. Before his time, burgraves were ranked only as counts, below the princes, but during his reign, they began to receive the same esteem as princes.
In the Kingdom of Germany, owing to the distinct conditions of the Holy Roman Empire, the title, borne by feudal nobles having the status of Reichsfürst, obtained a quasi-royal significance. Like other officials of the feudal state, some burgraves became hereditary rulers. There were four hereditary burgraviates ranking as principalities within the Holy Roman Empire, plus the burgraviate of Meissen:
The Burgraviate of Nuremberg: established by King Conrad III of Germany, the first burgraves were from the Austrian Count's Raabs an der Thaya, and then passed to the count's surviving son-in-law from the House of Hohenzollern, which, since Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, continued to hold it until 1801. It was still included among the subsidiary titles of several German semi-sovereign princes; the king of Prussia, whose ancestors were burgraves of Nuremberg for over 200 years, maintaining the additional style of Burggraf von Nürnberg.
Bohemia
In the Crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia, the title of burgrave was given by the King of Bohemia to the chief officer, or the regal official whose command is equivalent to a viceroy's. From the 14th century, the burgrave of Prague—the highest-ranking of all burgraves, seated at Prague castle, gradually became the state's highest-ranking official, who also acted as the king's deputy; the office became known as the high or supreme burgrave of the Kingdom of Bohemia ; the appointment was usually for life. After the reforms of Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II, the title of highest burgrave gradually lost its de facto power. The title of highest burgrave was still granted, however, and its holder remained the first officer of the kingdom. It was abolished in 1848.
In Sweden, the burgrave was the highest official in the cities of Gothenburg and Malmö during periods in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The title was first introduced by the king Gustavus Adolphus in the 1621 charter for Gothenburg, though it was not actually used until 1625. The burgrave of Gothenburg was to protect the "highness, reputation and regalia" of the monarch and was appointed by him or her from a group of six candidates proposed by the city board. In Gothenburg, the title ceased to be used in 1683 but was briefly reintroduced by Charles XII between 1716 and 1719. Now appointed among three candidates, the burgrave was the executive of the city, keeping the city keys and supervising the board. Following the Gothenburg model, the title was introduced in Malmö by Charles X Gustav after the city was ceded to Sweden in 1658, but was abolished 19 years later in 1677.
England and France
In Anglo-French parlance, a burgrave was considered analogous to a viscount.
