burgrave

American  

[bur-greyv] / 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

Example Sentences

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 Prescott, William Hickling

In 1443 he formed a league directed mainly against Nuremberg, over which town members of his family had formerly exercised the rights of burgrave.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

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

From Poems by Hugo, Victor

Down to the 15th century an episcopal prefect, or burgrave, had his seat in the city, his authority extending over the neighbouring districts known as the Gorecht.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various

Orange himself, as burgrave of Antwerp, at the request of the duchess visited the town and with the aid of Brederode and Meghem succeeded in effecting a compromise between the Catholic and Protestant parties.

From History of Holland by Edmundson, George