Briefadel
Appearance
(Redirected from Brevadel)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Adelsbrev_von_Munthe_af_Morgenstierne.png/220px-Adelsbrev_von_Munthe_af_Morgenstierne.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Reichsgrafenstands-Diplom_Schenk_von_Stauffenberg_1785.jpg/220px-Reichsgrafenstands-Diplom_Schenk_von_Stauffenberg_1785.jpg)
Briefadel (in German; pronounced [ˈbʁiːfʔaːdl̩]) or brevadel (in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish) are persons and families who have been ennobled by letters patent. The oldest known such letters patent were issued in the middle of the 14th century, during the Late Middle Ages.
Briefadel can be contrasted with Uradel, whose nobility predates issuance of letters patent. The term dates to the early nineteenth century.[1]
See also
- Austrian nobility
- Danish nobility
- Finnish nobility
- German nobility
- Icelandic nobility
- Norwegian nobility
- Swedish nobility
References
- ^ "Bref-adel". Svenska Akademiens Ordbok. 1922. spalt B 4195 band 5.
adel som uppstått genom utfärdande af adelsbref, pappersadel; motsatt: urgammal adel, bördsadel.