Grand prince - Citizendia

The title Grand Prince or Great Prince (Latin: Magnus Princeps; Russian and Ukrainian: Великий князь, Velikiy knyaz; Belarusian: Вялíкий князь, 'Vyaliky knyaz'; German: Großfürst, Finnish: Suuriruhtinas, Danish: Storfyrste, Swedish: Storfurste, Serbo-Croatian: veliki župan/велики жупан, Lithuanian: Didysis kunigaikštis, Hungarian: Nagyfejedelem; Czech: Velkokníže, Polish: Wielki książę) ranks in honour below Emperor and Tsar but higher than a sovereign prince (Fürst) or royal prince. A title is a prefix or suffix added to a person's name to signify either veneration an official position or a professional or academic qualification Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. The Belarusian language, or Belorussian,(беларуская мова BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova, Scientific: belaruskaja mova The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the The Serbo-Croatian language or Croato-Serbian language (cрпскохрватски језик srpskohrvatski jezik) is a South Slavic Diasystem Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. Czech (ˈʧɛk čeština ˈʧɛʃcɪna in Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers it is the majority language in the Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. Prince, from the Latin root Princeps, is a general term for a Monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family and is a (plural Fürsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince. Prince, from the Latin root Princeps, is a general term for a Monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family and is a

It has been a title for the sovereign of a grand principality, but it is not in such use any longer. The last titular grand principalities vanished in 1917 and 1918, the territories being united into other monarchies or introducing republican government. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Already at that stage, all those grand principalities (such as Lithuania, Transylvania and Finland) had been for centuries under rulers (who used their titles too) of other, bigger monarchies, usually as direct parts of those. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Transylvania (Ardeal or ro ''Transilvania'' Erdély, see also other denominations) is a Central European region located in the eastern half of the Carpathian Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Apparently the last sovereign monarch to reign as Grand Prince as his highest title was Grand Duke Ivan IV of Moscow in 16th century, until he assumed the style Tsar of Russia. Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation.

Velikiy knjaz is also a Russian courtesy title for members of the family of the Russian tsar (from the 17th century), although those Grand Princes were not sovereigns. A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of Nobility used by children former wives and other close relatives of a peer. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar

The usual and established translation, in languages which do not have separate words meaning prince for (1) children of a monarch, and (2) monarch (sovereign or like) princes, is Grand Duke. Prince, from the Latin root Princeps, is a general term for a Monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family and is a The Title grand duke (in Latin, magnus dux; in Spanish, gran duque; in Russian, Великий Герцог English and French use Grand Duke also in this meaning. The title of sovereign Grand Duke and it as translation of Grand Prince thus have clearly different meanings.

1 Medieval use
2 Modern use
3 Styles and forms of address
4 See also

Medieval use

Grand Prince, used in the Slavic and Baltic languages, was the title of a mediæval monarch who headed a more-or-less loose confederation whose constituent parts were ruled by lesser princes. The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Prince, from the Latin root Princeps, is a general term for a Monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family and is a Those grand princes' title and position was at the time usually translated as king. In fact, the Slavic knjaz and the Baltic kunigaikštis (nowadays usually translated as Prince) are cognates of king. However, a grand prince was usually only primus inter pares within a dynasty, other princes of the dynasty were approximately as much entitled to succession as the current ruler (for example, succession was through agnatic seniority or rotation), and often other members of the dynasty ruled some constituent parts of the monarchy/ country. Primus inter pares ( Latin) or First among equals is a phrase which indicates that a person is the most senior of a group of people Agnatic (or patrilineal descent is established by tracing descent exclusively through males from a founding male ancestor A rotation is a movement of an object in a circular motion A two- Dimensional object rotates around a center (or point) of rotation An established use of the title was in the Kievan Rus' and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (from the 14th century). Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Русь romanised: Kievskaya Rus', rusʲ also written as Kyivan Rus′ (Ки́ївська Русь or Kievan The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje Thus, Veliki Knjaz has been more like high king than "grand duke", at least, originally. A high king is a king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings without the title of Emperor; compare King of Kings. As these countries expanded territorially and moved towards primogeniture and centralization, their rulers acquired more elevated titles. Primogeniture is the Common law right of the Firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings Centralization (or centralisation) is the process by which the activities of an organization particularly those regarding decision-making become concentrated within

Some of the first rulers of Hungary in the 10th century were grand princes: Geza and, until his royal coronation, his son and heir Stephen of Hungary. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Géza (c 945 &ndash 997 Grand Prince of the Magyars (before 972 - 997 Saint Stephen I ( Hungarian: I (Szent István) (967/969/975 Esztergom, Hungary – August 15, 1038, Esztergom-Szentkirály

Великий князь (Velikiy Kniaz; literally, great prince) was, starting in the 10th century, the title of the leading Prince of the Kievan Rus', head of the Rurikid House: first the prince of Kiev, and then that of Vladimir starting in the 13th century. Kniaz’ or knyaz is a word found in some Slavic languages, denoting a Nobility rank Prince, from the Latin root Princeps, is a general term for a Monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family and is a Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Русь romanised: Kievskaya Rus', rusʲ also written as Kyivan Rus′ (Ки́ївська Русь or Kievan The Rurik Dynasty was the ruling Dynasty of Kievan Rus', the successor Russian principalities and early united Russia, from 862 to 1598 Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the Vladimir (Влади́мир) is a city in Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway Later, several princes of nationally important cities, which comprised vassal appanage principalities, held this title (Grand Princes of Moscow, Tver', Yaroslavl', Ryazan', Smolensk, etc. A vassal (also called feodary or fedary) in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of Medieval Europe, An apanage or appanage is the grant of an estate titles offices or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign who under the system of Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Tver (Тверь is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Tver Oblast. Yaroslavl (Яросла́вль is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, located north-east of Moscow. Ryazan Principality existed from 1078 when it was separated from the Chernigov Principality Smolensk (Смоленск is a city in western Russia, located on the Dnieper River, the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast. ). From 1328 the Grand Prince of Moscow appeared as the titular head of all of Russia and slowly centralized power until Ivan IV was crowned Tsar in 1547. The Grand Duchy of Moscow (Великое княжество Московское was a medieval Russian polity centered on Moscow between 1340 and A coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a Monarch with regal power specifically involving the placement of a crown upon his or her head and the Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. Since then, the title Grand Prince ceased to have a governmental post and merely a monarchic title until the Russian Revolution of 1917. See also Russian Revolution (1905 The Russian Revolution of 1916 refers to a series of popular revolutions in Russia, and the events surrounding them

The Lithuanian title Didysis kunigaikštis was used by the rulers of Lithuania, and after 1569, it was one of two main titles used by the monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Kings of Poland from the Swedish Vasa dynasty also used this title for their non-Polish territories. The House of Vasa ( Swedish: Vasaätten, Polish: Waza) was the Royal House of Sweden This Lithuanian title was sometimes latinized as Magnus Dux or Grand Duke. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Title grand duke (in Latin, magnus dux; in Spanish, gran duque; in Russian, Великий Герцог

In 1582 king John III of Sweden added Grand Prince of Finland to the subsidiary titles of the Swedish kings, however without any factual consequences, Finland already being a part of the Swedish realm. John III (Johan III Juhana III (20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592 was King of Sweden from 1568 until his death Grand Duke of Finland, or more correctly translated Grand Prince of Finland ( Storfurste av Finland Suomen suuriruhtinas was from around 1580 Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe.

The Holy Roman Empire ruling house of Habsburg instituted a similar Grand Principality in Transylvania (Siebenburgen) in 1765. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Transylvania (Ardeal or ro ''Transilvania'' Erdély, see also other denominations) is a Central European region located in the eastern half of the Carpathian Year 1765 ( MDCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

After the Russian conquests, the title continued to be used by the Russian Emperor in his role as ruler of Lithuania (1793–1918) and of autonomous Finland (1809–1917) as well. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Grand Duchy of Finland (Magnus Ducatus Finlandiæ Великое княжество Финляндское ' Velikoe knjažestvo finljandskoe) was the Predecessor Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year His titulary included also, among other titles, the following: "Grand Duke of Smolensk, Volynia, Podolia", "Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhni Novgorod, Chernigov". Smolensk (Смоленск is a city in western Russia, located on the Dnieper River, the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast. The region of Podolia (also spelled Podilia or Podillya) is a historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, Nizhny Novgorod (Ни́жний Но́вгород Nižnij Novgorod) colloquially shortened as Nizhny, is the fourth largest city in Russia Chernihiv, also referred to as Chernigov (Чернігів Чернигов Чарнігаў is a historic city in northern Ukraine.

Modern use

The title Grand Prince (which in many of those lands already was in later grand princely epochs awarded simultaneously to several rulers in the more expanded dynasty) continued as a courtesy title for all or several members of the dynasty, such as the Grand Duke of Russia in Russia's imperial era. A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of Nobility used by children former wives and other close relatives of a peer. This is a list of those members of the Russian Imperial Family who bore the title Velikiy Knjaz (usually translated into English as Grand Duke, but more accurately The title Velikiy Kniaz, its use finally formalized by Alexander III, then belonged to sons and grandsons (through male lines) of the Tsars and Emperors of Russia. Kniaz’ or knyaz is a word found in some Slavic languages, denoting a Nobility rank Alexander III Alexandrovich ( 10 March 1845 – 1 November 1894) (Александр III Александрович reigned as Emperor The daughters and paternal granddaughters of Russian Emperors, as well as the consorts of Russian Grand Dukes, were also accorded the title, in female form: Великие Княгини, Velikie knjagini.

A more accurate translation of the Russian title than Grand Duke would be Great Prince — especially in the pre-Petrine era — but the term is neither standard nor widely used in English. In German, however, a Russian Grand Duke was known as a Großfürst, and in Latin as Magnus Princeps. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.

In the 19th century, that courtesy title usage in Russia expanded, due to the birth of several male dynasts, instead of the earlier precarious situations when Russia barely had one or two to succeed. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar

The German language (which has separate words for royal prince, Prinz, and for sovereign prince, Fürst), calls the Grand Princes of Lithuania, Russian states and other Eastern European higher princes, as well as the later Russian dynasts, with the term Großfürst, not with Großherzog. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent.

The title Grand Prince is also used for Archduke Amadeo of Austria, the son and heir of the pretender to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Archduke Sigismund of Austria Grand Duke of Tuscany (Sigismund Otto Maria Josef Gottfried Henrich Erik Leopold Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lothringen Prince Imperial of Austria Prince Royal His Tuscan style is HI&RH The Grand Prince of Tuscany.

Styles and forms of address

In modern times a Russian Grand Duke or Grand Duchess is styled Imperial Highness.

Contents

Medieval use

Modern use

Styles and forms of address

See also