Search

Although the first patents of nobility (Adelsbriefe) in the Holy Roman Empire were granted as early as the 14th and 15th centuries, they are essentially an early modern genre of charter that has been insufficiently studied until now. The aim of this paper is to analyse both the patents of nobility themselves as well as the process of creation and authentication. This process was one of cooperation between the person seeking to have a title of nobility conferred on themselves, the emperor and the territorial lord (Landesherr). In many cases, it is not possible to clearly distinguish between the acts of ennoblement (Nobilitierung) and of elevation to a higher rank (Standeserhöhung). Both were initially requested from and approved by the emperor, but subsequently had to be confirmed by the respective territorial lord. During the 17th century, a structured procedure of recognition emerged, which is examined in this study using the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel as an example. The approval of both the emperor and the territorial lord were usually granted, but did not guarantee that the newly ennobled person's would be accepted by their peers. Of course, the initiative almost invariably came from those wishing to be ennobled. Over the course of the early modern period, the forms used for patents of nobility underwent marked changes. The narratio, in particular, was progressively tailored to fit each individual applicant, although it must be noted that these phrases which, however, only reflected the image the applicant wished to convey. After 1806, the German princes were able to issue patents of nobility independently and the forms used in these documents became increasingly abbreviated and less specific to the applicant in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]