Bethe
| Betha Bethe | |
|---|---|
| Noble family | |
 | |
| Parent family | House of Anjou (agnatic) House of Brienne (enatic) |
| Country |  Germany United StatesFormer countries |
| Etymology | from the Lordship of Bethsan-Bethanie |
| Place of origin | Pomerania, and the Crusader States |
| Founded | 1332 |
| Founder | Louis de Béthanie of Naples |
| Titles |
|
| Connected families | House of Nostitz Zaccaria dynasty House of Croÿ-Havré House of Dyhrn
St. John de Crevecœur family Kingsley family House of McInnis-Stuart |
| Heirlooms | Anjou Bible (lost) |
| Estate(s) | Château de Krobnitz Markendorf Conitz |
The House of Betha or Bethe is a cadet branch of the Anjou, and thus descendants of the House of France. In order to avoid persecution by other successors, the Bethas resettled in Pomerelia near Anjou-ruled Poland during the late 14th century, and later were classified as Uradel.
History[edit]
Louis de Bétha (German: Ludwig von Bethe) was believed to be the son of Robert the Wise and Marguerite of Brienne. Her family claimed rulership of the crusader fiefs of Bessan and Bethany. These lordships were inherited from the House of Béthune, leading the Bétha arms to be differenced by 3 fleur de lis to signify their French royal lineage.
The House of Anjou at this time had vast possessions, stretching from Naples to the borders of Poland. After the death of King Robert, the family dealt with many internal quarrels due to opposing claimants and extramarital offspring.
During adolescence, the Prince Louis followed his father's advisor and possible relative Nicholas of Alife and fled Naples ruled by Queen Joanna for the court of his elder cousin, Louis I of Hungary. After Louis arrived at the kingdom's border in Prussia, the family solidified ties by marrying established noble families such as the Nostitz.
The next notable person to hold the name was Caspar von Bethe, a knight of the Teutonic Order who led the Polish-Teutonic wars.[1] After the conquest, he was granted lordship of Conitz for his service. In later centuries, his descendants in Austria and Brandenburg-Prussia went on to establish a noble lineage, entitled as Freiherr and Ritter von Bethe in the Prussian and Austrian nobility.[2]
The elder branch additionally later bore the style Erlaucht ("Illustrious Highness") with the title of Prince de Bétha. This is signified in the full achievement due to the Neapolitan crown along with the chief of Principato Ultra being included in the original arms.[3] Another cadet branch of the family remained in Austria-Hungary,[4] losing their title and legal status after the First World War. Most remaining members in Central Europe descend from the Prussian and Hungarian cadet branches respectively, along with the senior branch residing in the United States.
-
Markendorf, estate of the Prussian branch after the Renaissance. -
Arms of the Prince of Irpinia, or the Principato Ultra.
Notable people with the surname Betha or Bethe[edit]
- Albrecht Bethe (1872–1954), German physiologist and father of Hans Bethe
- Erich Bethe (1863–1940), German philologist
- Hans Bethe (1906–2005), German-American nuclear physicist
- Kitty Cooper (born 1960), American bridge player also known as Kitty Bethe
- Mason Betha (born 1975), American rapper known as Mase
See also[edit]
- All pages with titles containing Bethe
- All pages with titles beginning with Bethe
- House of Béthune
- Prussian nobility
References[edit]
- ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels Adelige Häuser B (in German) (57th Volume ed.). Limburg: Starke Verlag. 1974.
- ^ Kneschke, Ernst Heinrich (1859). Neues allgemeines Deutsches Adels-Lexicon (New general German Aristocracy Lexicon) (in German). Leipzig: Friedrich Voigt.
- ^ Weller (c. 1910). Wappen-Sammlung (German Arms Collection). Kahla in Thuringen, Germany: Vaterländischer Verlag C. A. Weller.
- ^ Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven (2010). "List of Historical Surnames of the Hungarian Nobility". Hungarian Nobility - Purdue. Purdue University Press.
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