burgrave

American  

[bur-grayv] / ˈbɜr greɪv /

noun

German History.

1. the appointed head of a fortress.

2. the hereditary governor of a castle or town.

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burgrave British  

/ ˈbɜːɡreɪv /

noun

1. the military governor of a German town or castle, esp in the 12th and 13th centuries

2. a nobleman ruling a German town or castle by hereditary right

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Etymology

Origin of burgrave

1540–50; < German Burggraf, equivalent to Burg castle, town + Graf count

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

burgrave

The origin of the word is obscure, but it is probably connected with the German graf, count, and thus appears as the second part of many Teutonic titles, such as landgrave, burgrave and margrave.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various

And in this fort, on piles of lava built, A burgrave dwells, among all burgraves famed?

From Poems by Victor Hugo

They then requested that the prince of Orange, who held the office of burgrave of Antwerp, and whose influence with the people was unbounded, might be sent to them.

From History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, Vols. 1 and 2 by William Hickling Prescott

This count married Sophia, daughter and heiress of Conrad, burgrave of Nuremberg, and about 1192 he succeeded his father-in-law as burgrave, obtaining also some lands in Austria and Franconia.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various

When once I seize from the Soplicas the castle of my ancestors, I will establish you within its walls as my burgrave: your tale, Gerwazy, has mightily affected me.

From Pan Tadeusz Or, the Last Foray in Lithuania; a Story of Life Among Polish Gentlefolk in the Years 1811 and 1812 by George Rapall Noyes

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