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Graf is a German noble title equal in rank to a count or an earl. The comital titles awarded in Holy Roman Empire were often related to the jurisdiction or domain of responsibility and represented special concessions of authority or rank. Only the more important titles came to remain in use until modern times. Many counts were titled Graf without any additional qualification.
| German | English | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Markgraf | Margrave | Mark: border province + Graf |
| Pfalzgraf | Count Palatine | Palatinate + Graf |
| Landgraf | Landgrave | Land + Graf |
| Burggraf | Burgrave | Burg: castle + Graf |
| Rheingraf | Rhinegrave | Rhein: Rhine + Graf |
| Altgraf | Altgrave | Alt: old or ancient + Graf |
| Wildgraf | Wildgrave | Wild: wild or uncultivated + Graf |
| Raugraf | Raugrave |
A Markgraf, or Margrave, was originally the military governor of a Carolingian "Mark" (or March), a medieval border province. As outlying areas tended to be of great importance to the central realms of kings and princes, and they often were larger than those nearer the interior, margraves assumed quite inordinate powers over those of other counts of a realm. The jurisdiction of a margrave was a margraviate. The wife of a margrave is called a margravine.
Most Marks and, consequently, Margraves were to be found on the Eastern border of the Carolingian and later, Holy Roman Empire. One notable exception is the Spanish Mark on the Muslim frontier including what is now Catalonia. In Central Europe the most important provinces so called were the "Mark Brandenburg" and Austria, which in its medieval Latin version was called Marchia Austriaca, the "eastern borderland". Here one has to bear in mind that Austria was the eastern outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, on the border to, first, Eastern Christianity and, later, to Islam. Similarly in the north-west there was the "Higher March" (Hohe Mark).
Marggrabova was an example of a town in the eastern Marches of the German Empire, formerly in East Prussia, (renamed Olecko in the Mazury province of Poland), that had been named after margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
Later, the title became hereditary and is now considered the equivalent of a marquess, or marquis in France.
A Pfalzgraf or Count Palatine functioned, especially in medieval times, and particularly during the Holy Roman Empire, as a viceroy and often becoming a more independent ruler of a palatinate. Borne by the Count Palatine of the Rhine and junior branches of his family.
A Landgraf, or Landgrave, was a nobleman of rank or count in Medieval Germany whose jurisdiction stretched over a sometimes quite considerable territory. The title survived from the times of the Holy Roman Empire. The power of a landgrave was often associated with sovereign rights and decision making much greater than that of a count.
It was still occasionally the subsidiary title of such nobility as the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who was the Landgrave of Thuringia, in the first decade of the 20th century but the title was no longer used after World War One. The jurisdiction of a landgrave was a landgraviate and the wife of a landgrave was a landgravine. Examples: Landgrave of Thuringia, Landgrave of Hesse, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg
A Burggraf, or Burgrave, was a 12th and 13th century military and civil judicial governor of a castle, the town it dominated and its immediate surrounding countryside. His jurisdiction was a burgraviate. Later the title became ennobled and hereditary with its own domain. Examples: Burgrave of Nuremberg.
A Rheingraf, or Rhinegrave, was a nobleman with the status of a count in the 12th and 13th centuries, the governor of one of the many castles or fortresses along the Rhine River in Western Germany, who had the entitlement of levying tolls for passage along the river.
An Altgraf, or altgrave, was a nobleman of the status of a count who had his dominion in mountainous areas of Germany and the Alpine regions, particularly around mountain passes where he had rights and entitlements of establishing garrisons at such points, and of levying tolls for passage. Originally it was a title of veneration rather than the holding of power.
A Wiltgraf, Wildgrave, or Waldgrave was originally a nobleman of the status of count who had jurisdiction over uncultivated areas, forests and uninhabited districts. His legal privileges eventually vested in him the power of a chief forester and gamekeeper of a district.
A Raugraf, or Raugrave only held jurisdiction over waste ground and uninhabited districts. The title - since 1667 - was used exclusively by the children of Elector Palatine Karl I's bigamous second marriage and Karl's wife, Marie Louise von Degenfeld.
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