BURGRAVE  , the Eng.

form, derived through the Fr., of the Ger . Burggraf and Flem. burg or burch-graeve (med . Lat. burcgravius or burgicomes), i.e. count of a castle or fortified town . The title is equivalent to that of castellan (Lat. castellanus) o; chdtelain (q.v.) . In Germany, owing to the peculiar conditions of the Empire, though the office of burgrave had become a sinecure by the end of the 13th century, the title, as borne by feudal nobles having the status of princes of. the Empire, obtained a quasi-royal significance . It is still included among the subsidiary titles of several sovereign princes; and the king of Prussia, whose ancestors were burgraves of Nuremberg for over 20o years, is still styled burgrave of Nuremberg .