Fürst

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This article is about the princely title. For persons named Fürst, see Fürst (surname).
The crowns of a fürst vary widely, though the more common form is presented here.

Fürst (German pronunciation: [ˈfʏʁst] ( listen); from Old High German furisto, "first", a translation of the Latin princeps; plural: Fürsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as prince.

The term refers to the head of a principality or the head of a high-ranking noble family. It is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz. English uses the term prince for both concepts. Latin-based (French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese) and Slavic-based (Russian[citation needed], Polish, Serbian, etc.) languages also employ a single term, whereas Scandinavian languages use separate terms similar to those used in German.

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Use of the title in German [edit]

The title Fürst (female form Fürstin, female plural Fürstinnen) is used for the heads of princely houses of German origin. From the Late Middle Ages it referred to any vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor ruling over an immediate estate. Unless he also holds a higher title, such as grand duke or king, he will be known either by the formula "Fürst von + [geographic origin of the dynasty]", or by the formula "Fürst zu + [name of the ruled territory]". These forms can be combined, as in "...von und zu Liechtenstein".

The rank of the title-holder is not determined by the title itself, but by his degree of sovereignty, the rank of his suzerain, or the age of the princely family (note the terms Uradel, Briefadel, altfürstliche, neufürstliche; and see German nobility). The Fürst (Prince) ranked below the Herzog (Duke) in the Holy Roman Empire's hierarchy, but princes did not necessarily rank below dukes in non-German parts of Europe. Likewise, the style usually associated with the title of Fürst in post-medieval Europe, Durchlaucht (translated as "Serene Highness"), was considered inferior to Hoheit ("Highness") in Germany, though not in France.

The present-day rulers of the principality of Liechtenstein bear the title of Fürst, and the title is also used in German when referring to the ruling princes of Monaco. The hereditary rulers of the one-time principalities of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania were also all referred to in German as Fürsten before they eventually assumed the title of "King" (König).

Other uses in German [edit]

Fürst is used more generally in German to refer to any ruler, such as a king, a duke, or a fürst in the narrow sense (cf. Machiavelli's Il Principe). Before the 12th century, counts were also included in this group, in accordance with its usage in the Holy Roman Empire, and in some historical or ceremonial contexts, the term fürst can extend to any lord.

The child of a Fürst, when that title has not been restricted by patent or custom to male primogeniture, is distinguished in title from the head of the family by use of the prefix Prinz ("prince", from Latin: princeps; female Prinzessin).

A nobleman whose family is non-dynastic, i.e., has never reigned or been mediatised, may also be made a Fürst by a sovereign, in which case the grantee and his heirs are deemed titular or nominal princes, enjoying only honorary princely title without commensurate rank. In families thus elevated to princely title (usually as reward for military or political services) in or after the 18th century, the cadets often hold only the title of count (Graf), e.g. Bismarck, Hardenberg, Eulenberg), but in a few cases the title of Fürst was shared equally by all male-line descendants of the original grantee (e.g., the families of Wrede, Hohenberg, Urach).

Derived titles [edit]

Several titles were derived from the term Fürst:

  • Kurfürst (Prince-Elector) is a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the election of a Holy Roman Emperor, designated by the Golden Bull of 1356 or elevated to that status subsequently. This made them next in rank only to the Emperor, regardless of the specific title attached to their principality. Kur (earlier spelled Chur) is derived from kur/küren, "to choose".

Origins and cognates [edit]

The word Fürst designates the head (the "first") of a ruling house, or the head of a branch of such a house. The "first" originates from ancient Germanic times, when the "first" was the leader in battle.

Various cognates of the word Fürst exist in other European languages (see extensive list under Prince), sometimes only used for a princely ruler. A derivative of the Latin Princeps (ironically, a Republican title in Roman law, which never formally recognized a monarchic style for the executive head of state but nominally maintained the Consuls as collegial Chief magistrates) is used for a genealogical prince in some languages (e.g., Dutch and Frisian, where a ruler is usually called vorst (Frisian: foarst), but a prince of the blood is always styled prins (Frisian: prins); and Icelandic where fursti is a ruler, and a blood prince is prins (in these languages no capital letters are used in writing titles, unless, of course, they occur as the first word of a sentence)), while in other languages only a Princeps-derived word is used for both irrespectively (e.g., English uses prince for both). In any case the original (German or other) term may also be used.

References [edit]

Look up Fürst in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Further reading [edit]

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