Betha
Bethe
Noble family
Parent familyHouse of Anjou (agnatic)
House of Brienne (enatic)
Current regionUnited States, Austria, Germany, France
Etymologyfrom the Lords of Bethany
Place of originPomerania, and the Crusader States
Founded1332
FounderLouis de Béthanie of Naples
Historic seatConitz
Titles
  • Prince de Bétha
  • Baron of Bethe
  • Lord of Konitz
  • Knight of the Austrian Empire
  • Knight of the Teutonic Order
Connected familiesHouse of Nostitz
Zaccaria dynasty
House of Croÿ-Havré
House of Dyhrn
House of McInnis-Stuart


American Relations:

Livingston family
St. John de Crevecœur family
Kingsley family

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 since were classified as Uradel.

History

Louis de Béthanie (German: Ludwig von Bethe) was believed to be the son of Robert the Wise and Marguerite of Brienne. Her family claimed rulership of Jerusalem and Bethany, hence the name. The House of Anjou at this time had vast possessions, stretching from Naples to the borders of Poland.

After Louis arrived 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. There is evidence to suggest legitimacy to this title due to the Neapolitan crown 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 WWI. Most remaining members in Central Europe descend from the Prussian and Hungarian cadet branches respectively.


Family Members

  • 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
  • Hellmuth von Bethe (1842-1914), conservative politician in the Prussian parliament
  • (Baron) Mason Betha (born 1975), American minister and rapper
  • Baron Ernst Ludwig von Betha, Austrian nobleman and grandson of Angelo Soliman

See also

References

  1. ↑ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels Adelige Häuser B (in German) (57th Volume ed.). Limburg: Starke Verlag. 1974.
  2. ↑ Kneschke, Ernst Heinrich (1859). Neues allgemeines Deutsches Adels-Lexicon (New general German Aristocracy Lexicon) (in German). Leipzig: Friedrich Voigt.
  3. ↑ Weller (c. 1910). Wappen-Sammlung (German Arms Collection). Kahla in Thuringen, Germany: Vaterländischer Verlag C. A. Weller.
  4. ↑ Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven (2010). "List of Historical Surnames of the Hungarian Nobility". Hungarian Nobility - Purdue. Purdue University Press.
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