Fürst

Otto Fürst von Bismarck, the forger of the German Empire (Schmied der deutschen Einheit), presents Germania with the Sword of Unification

Fürst is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "(sovereign) prince", but also the word for a ruler of a principality (Fürstentum). Fürst is not a first or middle name, but connected with the surname, for example Otto Fürst von Bismarck, not Fürst Otto von Bismarck. The female form is Fürstin. From Middle High German vürste, from Old High German furisto, from the substantivised weak inflection of Proto-West Germanic *furist, from Proto-Germanic *furistaz (“first”).

History

In the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, "Fürst" was initially a general term for high noble vassals from the 10th century onwards. In the Middle Ages, the class of Imperial Princes included Dukes as well as Land-, Mark- and Pfalzgrafen (see High Nobility). Since then at the latest, the East Frankish or German King was elected by the greats of the Empire, and since 1356 (Golden Bull) by the seven Electors (Kurfürsten).

“Fürsten” in the broader sense is a collective term for the most important rulers such as emperors, kings, dukes, as well as counts, margraves and palatines and so-called “princely” counts (the ruling imperial counts in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation). The collective term “Fürsten” is usually used in the plural and has been common in the Holy Roman Empire since the High Middle Ages (from the mid-13th century) for the rulers of territories of the empire that were fiefs directly from the head of the empire (imperial immediacy) and (unlike the imperial knights) had a certain size (with their own, “princely” state administration).

In the broader sense, the term “Fürst” is also used for independent rulers in non-European cultures, also to avoid the term king and the associated meaning of power. Similar to the term chief, European explorers and colonizers applied the terms prince and principality to real or supposed leaders and territories of other peoples or translated their own designation as "prince". In India, for example, "princely states" are the states ruled by a local prince (maharajah, actually "great king") under British sovereignty.

The term is also used in a similar way for tribal princes or regional rulers of earlier eras; they are alternatively also referred to as "petty kings". For example, large Celtic burial sites are referred to as "princely graves", even if there are no written sources on the ruling structure at the time. Colloquially or ironically, heads of government of German federal states are sometimes referred to as "state princes" (Landesfürsten).

In the narrower sense, the title of prince is a specific title of nobility (or rank title) that has been awarded since the late Middle Ages. In terms of rank, the princes are above the counts (Grafen) and margraves as well as the non-royal princes (younger members of princely houses), but below the duke (Herzog) and the royal prince. The rank title is not necessarily tied to a territory. It is usually awarded to the firstborn ("primogen" or "in primogeniture", i.e. as a title of first birth); the heir, insofar as he can no longer be displaced dynastically by the birth of another heir, bears the title of hereditary prince or hereditary count, the later-born bear the titles of prince/princess or count/countess (depending on the award). However, (rarely) awards ad personam (i.e. non-hereditary) also occurred.

A "Prinz" is a son of nobility, so a part of the (throne) succession. A "Prinz" can't be the ruler himself. "Fürst" is cognate with the English "first" and it can be used to describe a ruler/monarch/sovereign in general. However, it was also used as a specific noble title/rank. Some sovereigns of some states are called "Fürst", e.g. the sovereigns of Monaco and Liechtenstein. [...] It is possible that "Prinzen" in the Holy Roman Empire were also "Fürsten" at the same time, because "Fürst" was a noble rank below the emperor, similar how in England the children and grandchildren of Elizabeth have certain titles.

Many noble families of the Old German Empire divided their territories among their various lines, and sometimes some lines also acquired new territories through inheritance, so that it was not uncommon for one and the same family to produce several ruling lines, each with its own princely title (such as the Bentheim, Fugger, Hohenlohe, Löwenstein-Wertheim, Oettingen, Salm, Sayn-Wittgenstein, Solms, Stolberg or Waldburg).

Catholic Church

In the Holy Roman Empire, high dignitaries of the Catholic Church were referred to as spiritual princes (geistliche Fürsten), in particular the three spiritual electors, prince-bishops, prince-provosts and prince-abbots (geistliche Kurfürsten, Fürstbischöfe, Fürstpröpste and Fürstäbte) as well as the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and the Grand Master of the Order of St. John (Johanniterorden), who, in addition to their spiritual office in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church (the administration of an abbey, a bishopric or an archbishopric), also exercised the secular office of an imperial prince in the Holy Roman Empire and had a seat and a vote in the Imperial Council of Princes (Reichsfürstenrat).

In addition, cardinals are still considered princes (Kirchenfürsten) of the Church today, as they have the right to elect the Pope and also exercise government functions in an elective monarchy (the Papal States until 1870 and Vatican City since 1929) as well as in the Holy See, which is a subject of international law. The title of cardinal is therefore used like a princely title between the first and last name, e.g. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

Surname

Fürst can also be a common German surname as in Gabriel Fürst, the Germanized form for Gavrilo Princip, the communist assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Quotes

• „Ich bin der Kaiser Österreichs – ein deutscher Fürst!“ ("I am the Emperor of Austria – a German prince!") – Kaiser Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria

External links

• Fürst - Wiktionary, the free dictionary