Swiss nobility


, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a collection of semi-autonomous cantons. As membership of the confederation has fluctuated throughout history, each of these cantons has its own unique history and nobility. Typically, each canton had its own constitution, currency, jurisdiction, habits, customs, history, and nobility.
In the Middle Ages, various cantons had families with only local and, in the broad scheme of things, insignificant lands, whereas other cantons had ennobled families abroad. In Switzerland there were many families of dynasties who were members of the Holy Roman Empire. Other cantons had rulers from the House of Savoy, or from the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Burgundy. This diversity prevented the birth of a state with monarchical central authority.
As a general rule, Swiss nobility since the 14th century can be divided into three categories:
  1. nobility acquired by inheritance, under the terms of family right;
  2. nobility resulting from the ennoblement of a commoner, or from the creation of a new title for an existing noble;
  3. nobility acquired by integration, as was the case in Reyff or Pontherose. This integration was frequently due to a social event, or to alliances with noble families. Sometimes this was accompanied by the acquisition of a noble domain, for example when the seigniory of Mézières was bought by Jost Freitag in 1547, whereby Jost became a noble.
In Switzerland, where the social classes were historically closer than they were in other countries, there was neither a misalliance nor a loss of nobility due to a noble engaging in manual work or taking up a trade. This is why, for example, the noble Jean Gambach was able to be a manufacturer of scythes in 1442, and the noble Louis de Daguet was able to be a carter at the end of the 18th century. Individuals only lost their nobility due to illegitimacy or voluntary renunciation.

Bern, Fribourg, Solothurn, Lucerne

From the 15th c. onwards, rising economic and political pressure from the city-states enticed more and more families of the traditional feudal nobility to seek membership in the higher echelons of the citizenry. These late-mediaeval urban upper classes were already composed of wealthy commoners but also of aristocrats from nearby fiefdoms or the descendants of ministeriales. While a de jure distinction between noble and common patrician families was still upheld for some time, with quotas for certain government positions reserved for each group, these distinctions became de facto less and less rigid in the early modern era. Non-noble families could still be ennobled by letters patent, be it through the favour of foreign monarchs or by the cities themselves. For instance, in 1547 Bern set up the seigneurie of Batie-Beauregard as a barony for one Jacques Champion; in 1665 Solothurn granted letters of nobility to the brothers Marcacci of Locarno; in 1712 Bern created the seigneurie of Bercher for a member of the de Saussure family.

Bern

In Bern a constitutional law created in 1643 the privileged class of families eligible to Great Council membership. Since 1731 the Sovereign prohibits the use of titles of nobility conferred by foreign sovereigns; since 1761 patricians were authorised to be called wohledelgeboren; then on 9 April 1783 patricians were authorised to use the nobiliary particle "von".

Fribourg

The city-state of Fribourg defined its patrician ruling class through the so-called Lettre des Deux-Cents in 1627, and closed their ranks to non-privileged families in 1684. Towards the end of the Ancien Régime, this aristocracy comprised four categories:
  • titled noble families
  • untitled noble families
  • patrician families of noble origin whose nobility is not taken into consideration by the state
  • patrician families of common origin
As defined in the constitution of 1404, members of the first two categories were barred from certain higher offices unless they renounced their noble privileges.
In 1782 the Sovereign of Fribourg decided to standardise the situation of these families. He removed all the titles except "noble", authorised all the patricians to use the nobiliary particle "de", and specified that henceforth the loads of "bannerets", "secrets" and "grand-sautier" would be opened to all the patricians. By confirming that all patrician families were noble either by origin or by being members of the privileged class, this "Règlement relativement à l'introduction de l'égalité des familles patriciennes et de leurs titulatures" is official confirmation of an existing status rather than a collective ennoblement.

Lucerne

In Lucerne at the end of the 17th century the patricians were named with the title "Junker" and regularly made use of their nobility when they were abroad, particularly when they served in the foreigner armies. Some families also received foreigner letters of nobility.

Solothurn

In Solothurn the patriciate in fact was formed gradually. Some families set up corporations to be able to control co-optation. So the capacity passed to a number of privileged families which then formed a noble patrician class whose members were qualified Herren und Bürger. Several of these families accepted letters of nobility abroad, particularly in France.
  • Noble families of Bern:
  • *von Erlach
  • *von Graffenried
  • *von Gunten
  • Noble families of Fribourg
  • Noble families of Solothurn
  • * Arregger '
  • *Byss '
  • *Besenval '
  • *Glutz
  • *Greder
  • * Grimm
  • *Kiefer '
  • * Roll
  • *vom Staal '
  • *Surbeck
  • * Sury
  • * Tugginer
  • *von Vigier
  • * Wallier '
  • Noble families of Lucerne

    Uri, Schwyz, Unterwald

In the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwald, the political evolution from the Middle Ages to the 19th century was realised in a relatively similar way, but did not lead to the constitution of a "patriciate" but rather to the formation of a relatively closed class of new families sharing political power with the ancient noble families. Some of the new families were ennobled abroad while others were incorporated to the nobility by "integration".
  • Noble families of Uri:
  • *von Attinghausen-Schweinsberg.
  • *A number of local families were appointed meier by the abbess of Fraumünster, the ruler of Uri, around the middle of the 13th century. These abbatial ministerialis grew more influential after the end of Attinghausen hegemony and are generally considered members of the lower nobility. They include the following families:
  • **Niemirschin
  • **Schüpfer
  • **Meier von Erstfeld
  • **Meier von Silenen
  • **von Moos
  • Noble families of Schwyz:
  • *Reding von Bibberegg
  • Noble families of Unterwald:
  • *Rudenz

    Zürich

In 1400 the city of Zürich formally became autonomous within the Holy Roman Empire. Before this date the only noble families were families of ministériaux. The corporations soon gained political power, while giving a dominant position to the noble corporation of the "Constaffel" in which was constituted a "noble chamber" called "adelige Stube zum Rüden Stübli". Membership of families in the Corporations was mainly hereditary.
The members of Stübli used the title "Junker". In 1798 the Stübli had eleven families. The Bonstetten family came to Bern in 1463 and ended in 1606. Some still extant families of the nobility of Zürich also received foreign titles, such as Hirzel, count, in France in 1788.
  • Noble families of Zurich:
  • *von Kyburg
  • *Bonstetten
  • *Brun
  • *Bürkli
  • *Daeschner
  • *Escher vom Glas
  • *Escher vom Luchs
  • *Hirzel
  • *von Jori
  • *Kilchsperger
  • *Landenberg
  • *Manesse
  • *Meiss
  • *Meyer von Knonau
  • *Mülner
  • *von Orelli
  • *Winterthur

    Schaffhausen, Zug

In the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zug, political power belonged to the corporations, so there was no real hereditary prerogative for government positions.
In the canton of Zug letters of nobility abroad awarded to a few families were extinguished. The very democratic system of this canton hindered expansion of the nobility.
In the canton of Schaffhausen noble families formed since the 13th century were members of the "Herrenstube", which became during the 15th century one of the twelve corporations. Some ancient families were extinguished and replaced in the "Herrenstube" by new families of the "integration nobility". In 1864 these families' last privilege was their right to be buried in the "Junkernfriedhof".
In the cantons of Valais, Thurgau and Ticino, the former noble families were maintained and only some families were ennobled abroad.
The "patriciat valaisan" which provides in particular the prince-bishops, was formed with families of old nobility but also with some families incorporated into the nobility either by possession of a right of jurisdiction or by membership via integration. Some of these families also accepted letters of nobility abroad. This patriciate was not a patriciate of right but in fact.
Ticino, before becoming a Swiss canton in 1803, did not form a political and administrative unit and there is thus no "nobility of Tessin" in a strict sense, however some noble families originate from this area. In Locarno, at the Reformation, two of the three great feudal families of capitanei: Muralto and Orelli emigrated to Zürich. A branch of Muralt was established in Bern. The third great family, Magoria, remained in Locarno. The majority of the families of Ticino ennobled abroad were it by the dukes of Milan.
  • Noble families of Valais
  • Noble families of Thurgau
  • Noble families of Ticino

    Graubünden

In Graubünden there were a great number of families of dynasts and "ministériaux". From the 11th or 12th century, the dynasts owned seigniories on which they held power more in fact than by resulting of a constitutional law. These families maintained their privileges until the 15th century and some families preserved an important situation, in particular Salis and Planta, while some others were ennobles abroad.
In 1794 the Leagues enacted the radical cancelling of the nobility, titles and particles. This prohibition was confirmed in 1803 and 1848.
  • Noble families of Graübunden:
  • *Counts de Salis-Soglio
  • *Comtes de Salis-Seewis