Graf in the context of "German nobility"

A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the first and last name (for example, Graf in German or clerical titles such as Cardinal in Catholic usage – Richard Cardinal Cushing). Some titles are hereditary.

Freiherr (German: [ˈfʁaɪˌhɛɐ̯]; male, abbreviated as Frhr.), Freifrau ([ˈfʁaɪˌfʁaʊ]; his wife, abbreviated as Frfr., lit. 'free lord' or 'free lady') 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, the Austro-Hungarian 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 The title superseded the earlier medieval form, Edelherr.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. 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.

In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (German: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (Freie Reichsstadt, Latin: urbs imperialis libera), was used from the 15th century to denote a self-ruling city that had a certain amount of autonomy and was represented in the Imperial Diet.

An imperial city held the status of imperial immediacy, and was subordinate only to the Holy Roman Emperor, as opposed to a territorial city or town (Landstadt), which was subordinate to a territorial prince – be it an ecclesiastical lord (prince-bishop, prince-abbot), or a secular prince (duke (Herzog), margrave, count (Graf), etc.).

Radbot, Count of Klettgau (c. 985 – 1045) was Graf (Count) of the county of Klettgau on the High Rhine in Swabia. Radbot was one of the progenitors of the Habsburg dynasty, and he chose to name his fortress Habsburg.

Radbot was probably the second son of Lanzelin of Klettgau (son of Guntram, Count in Breisgau) and the younger brother of Bishop Werner I of Strasbourg. In 1010, he married Ida (before 979–1035), daughter of Duke Frederick I of Upper Lorraine and Beatrice of France. Their son was named Werner I, Count of Habsburg.

Otto II (died 8 November 1111) was a Graf (Count) of Habsburg and one of the founding members of the Habsburg family. He was the son of Werner I, Count of Habsburg. Otto II was likely born in the late 1050s or early 1060s. Otto inherited the county of Klettgau & Altembourg from his father; Werner I, Count of Habsburg.

In 1108, Otto accompanied King Henry V on a campaign against Hungary. On his return, in 1111, he was murdered. Otto is presumed to be the first person to adopt the title Graf von Habsburg.

Graf Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke (German: [ˈhɛlmuːt fɔn ˈmɔltkə]; 25 May 1848 – 18 June 1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a German general and Chief of the Great German General Staff, a member of the House of Moltke. He was also the nephew of Generalfeldmarschall Graf Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, who is commonly called "Moltke the Elder" to differentiate the two.

Upon becoming the head of the General Staff, Moltke led the German Army from 1 January 1906 to 14 September 1914 during the opening months of World War I. His legacy remains a matter of controversy, due to his involvement in Germany's decision to go to war and in the execution of the invasion of France and Belgium that culminated in the First Battle of the Marne.