Edler (Edler von), was until 1919 the lowest title of nobility in Austria-Hungary and Germany, just beneath a Ritter, but above nobles without title which used only the preposition "von" before their surname. It was mostly given to civil servants and military officers, as well as those upon whom the second rank of an Order had been conferred. Women were styled Edle (Edle von). Originally, from the Middle Ages, under the feudal system (in Europe and elsewhere), the nobility were generally those w… (More on Edler)