Freiherr (German: [ˈfʁaɪˌhɛɐ̯]; male, abbreviated as Frhr.), Freifrau ([ˈfʁaɪˌfʁaʊ]; his wife, abbreviated as Frfr., lit. 'free lord' or 'free lady')[1] and Freiin ([ˈfʁaɪ.ɪn], his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire and in its various successor states, including Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, etc. Traditionally, it denotes the titled rank within the nobility above Ritter (knight) and Edler (nobility without a specific title) and below Graf (count or earl). The title superseded the earlier medieval form, Edelherr.
It corresponds approximately to the English baron in rank.[2] The Duden orthography of the German language references the French nobility title of Baron, deriving from the Latin-Germanic combination liber baro (which also means "free lord"), as corresponding to the German "Freiherr"; and that Baron is a corresponding salutation for a Freiherr.[3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
EBritwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ A number of English-language historians specializing in Germany do not translate Freiherr. Agatha Ramm in Germany 1798–1919 (1967) states that she is preserving Freiherr because Baron carries a different association in English.
- ^ Duden; Definition of Baron, der (in German). [1]