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''Uradel'' (pronounced "ooer...ardel", German: "ancient nobility"; adjective ''uradelig'' or ''uradlig'') is a term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier.〔Grimm, ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'', citing Eichhorn, ''Einleitung in d. d. Privatrecht'' (1827) for an early attestation of the term, and ''Brockhaus'' 1 (1928) for the definition ''alle urkundlich vor 1350 als adlig nachweisbaren geschlechter''.See also Duden; Meaning of Uradel, in German. ()〕 It is applied to designate those knightly families in northern European nobility whose noble rank predates about AD 1400. The term stands opposed to ''Briefadel'', used for titles of nobility created in the early modern or modern period by letters patent. ''Uradel'' and ''Briefadel'' families are generally further divided into the categories ''adlig'' (untitled and titled nobility), ''freiherrlich'' (baronial), ''gräflich'' (comital), and ''fürstlich'' (princely and ducal) houses. ==Introduction and 19th-century usage== The first use of the word ''Uradel'' to designate the oldest nobility dates from 1788 and it had assumed its present-day meaning by no later than 1800.〔〔Jacob Grimm, ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'' ''erst im 19. jh. gebraucht zur bezeichnung ältesten adels.'' ("in use only from the 19th c. for the designation of older nobility"), citing Eichhorn (1821, 1827).〕 The term is found in the ''Almanach de Gotha'' from 1907, in which it is applied to all persons and families known to have carried specific titles of nobility before the year 1400. According to a third more strict definition, described in ''Der Große Brockhaus'' in 1928 (vol. 1, s.v. "Adel"), an attestation prior to the year 1350 is required to establish ''Uradel'' status. It was used officially from the 19th century by the Royal Prussian Herald Office (''königlich-preußische Heroldsamt''). In contrast, the younger ''Briefadel'' are families of the post-medieval nobility, probably originally of bourgeois (''Bürger'', ''burgher'') or peasant origin, ennobled in the modern era by letters patent issued by a monarch, usually with the award of a coat of arms if they did not already have one. Said to have been modelled on the earlier French practice of raising officials (especially lawyers) to the aristocracy, the earliest ''letters patent'' conferring nobility in Germany were issued under Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, in the late 14th century. ''Hochadel'' is not a synonym for ''Uradel''. Whereas ''Uradel'' (medieval or feudal nobility before AD 1400) is opposed to ''Briefadel'' (nobility by letters - or patent - of nobility, mostly from a post-medieval period after AD 1400), ''Hochadel'' (high nobility) is opposed to ''Niederer Adel'' (lower nobility). The differentiation of Uradel/Briefadel is such age-based whereas the distinction between Hochadel and Niederer Adel is based on the rank of titles, with Hochadel including all royal, princely and ducal houses of Europe.. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Uradel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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