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LANDGRAVE (Ger. Landgraf, from Land, " a country" and Graf, "count" )
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LANDGRAVE (Ger. Landgraf, from Land, " a country" and Graf, "count" ), a German title of nobility surviving from the times of the Holy Roman Empire. It originally signified a count of more than usual power or dignity, and in some cases implied sovereignty. The title is now rare; it is borne by the former sovereign of Hesse-Homburg, now incorporated in Prussia, the heads of the various branches of the house of Hesse, and by a branch of the family of Furstenberg. In other cases the title of landgrave is borne by German sovereigns as a subsidiary title; e.g. the grand-duke of Saxe-Weimar is landgrave of Thuringia.