Declining homogamy of Austrian-German nobility in the 20th century? A comparison with the Dutch nobility

Abstract

'Has the Austrian-German nobility had the same high degree of noble homogamy during the 20th century as the Dutch nobility? Noble homogamy among the Dutch nobility was one of the two main reasons for their 'constant noble advantage' in obtaining elite positions during the 20th century. The Dutch on the one hand and the Austrian-German nobility on the other can be seen as two extreme cases within the European nobility. The Dutch nobility seems to have had a lower degree of noble homogamy during the 20th century than the Austrian-German nobility. However, the analysis shows that this is a consequence of the different composition of the Austrian-German nobility (higher noble titles, more nobility with feudal origins), a more modern concept of nobility among the Dutch nobility (paternal family instead of noble stock of paternal and maternal ancestors) and a successful merger of the feudal and post-feudal Dutch nobility. If one takes these compositional differences between the Austrian, German and Dutch nobility into account, then the Dutch nobility had a higher degree of noble homogamy in the early 20th century, yet their homogamy declined faster during this century than that of the Austrian-German nobility.' (author's abstract)|