Noble Lord

Noble Lords (German: Edlen Herren or Edelherren) were immediate territorial rulers in medieval Germany which held no title (e.g.: Count, Baron). By the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, all Noble Lords with immediate territories had either obtained comital rank or became extinct. Noble Lords obtained higher titles through grants, marriages and the acquisition of territories, by either inheritance or purchase, with a higher title.

In some cases the early histories of the Noble Lord families was dominated by attempts and failures to obtain higher title, regardless of the legitimacy to them. An extreme example of this is the House of Isenburg which did not obtain comital rank until 1442, despite descent from the gau counts of the Niederlahngau and several marriages into comital families.