Margraves

Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defense of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire, and the title came to be borne by rulers of some Imperial principalities until the abolition of the Empire in 1806 (e.g., Margrave of Brandenburg, Margrave of Baden). Thereafter, those domains were absorbed in larger realms or the titleholders adopted titles indicative of full sovereignty.

Etymologically, the word margrave (Latin: marchio ca. 1551) is the English and French form of the German noble title Markgraf (Mark "march" + Graf "Count"), which also is semantically related to the English title Marcher Lord. As a noun and hereditary title, margrave was common to the languages of Europe, such as Spanish and Polish.

A Markgraf (Margrave) originally functioned as the military governor of a Carolingian mark, a medieval border province. Because the territorial integrity of the borders of the realm of a king or emperor was most important to the nation's security, the vassal, whether count or lord, whose lands were on the "march" of the kingdom or empire was apt to be appointed margrave, given greater responsibility for securing the border.

The greater exposure of a border province to military invasion mandated that the margrave be provided with military forces and autonomy of action (political, strategic, tactical) greater than was accorded other lords of the realm. As a military governor, the margrave's authority often extended over a territory larger than the province proper, because of border expansion subsequent to royal wars.

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