(burg town, and graf or grave count), the hereditary governor of a castle or fortified town, chiefly in Germany. The burggraves were originally the same as Burgbotes castellans or comites castellani; but their dignity was considerably advanced under Rodolph of Hapsburg, when they began to rank with princes.

BURGHbote, in Old Laws, signifies contribution towards the building or repairing of castles or walls, for the defence of a borough or city. By a law of King Athelstan, the castles and walls of towns were to be repaired, and burgbote levied every year. No person was exempt from this service, and even the king could not exempt a man from burgbote; yet in after-times exemptions appear to have been frequently granted, insomuch that the word burgbote came to denote, not the service, but the exemption from it.