# Bethe

The House of Betha or Bethe is an Austro-German noble family constituting a part of the Uradel. Noted in Prussian history since the early 14th century, the lineage has constituted various ecclesiastical and political roles, such as Crusader knights, clergy, and later minor political figures in the Herrenhaus.

## Origins

There is debate among historians on the exact founding of this family, but all historians record the history dating back to at least the twelfth century.
The Crusader branch of the House of Saint-Omer, also known as Saint-Omér-Bethsan-Béthanie, often used the Latin family name Bethanius or de Bethsan to refer to their feudal holdings in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This branch of the family actively participated in the Sixth and Seventh Crusade under the leadership of the Capetian kings Louis IX and Charles of Anjou respectively. This likely explains the presence of three fleurs-de-lys on the family arms—an honor typically granted by royal warrant or reserved for those of royal birth.
After the Crusades, a nobleman called Jacques or James Bethe appears in France, whose daughter married into the House of Stuart during the Scottish Interregnum.
Other historians cite Iberian origins, tracing the family to the lineage of Pelagius Bethanius, which had connections to the Asturian nobility and claimed Roman origin, arriving in Tyrol around 1080.

## History

An early notable person to hold the name was Caspar von Bethe, a knight of the Teutonic Order who led the Polish-Teutonic wars. 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.
A second military captain named Antonius de Betta (in German Anton von Betha) led the army of Louis I of Brandenburg in 1350. This branch also served in the Teutonic Order as Lords of Lana. This Catholic branch of the family was confirmed as ancient nobility in 1556 by Emperor Ferdinand I, and later elevated to the title of Reichsfreiherr, or imperial barons in 1790.
In the Cambrésis, the Catholic French-speaking branch of the family lived as clergymen and local gentry, preferring to use the gallicised spelling de Bétha.
The cadet branch of the family remained in Austria-Hungary, losing their title and legal status after the First World War. Most remaining members in Central Europe descend from the Prussian and Austro-Hungarian cadet branches respectively, along with the senior branch residing in the United States.
During the Scramble for Africa, Lord Heinrich von Bethe was a German explorer initially known for searching the southernmost source of the Nile River during an expedition with Richard Kandt. After the conquest of interlacustrine Africa, he controlled the Kingdom of Burundi from 1897 to 1899, then successfully established treaties with Yuhi V of Rwanda, incorporating the holdings into the German Empire and leaving descendants behind of both Prussian and Rwandan noble ancestry.
* Maienberg castle, held by the family in the Renaissance era.
* Markendorf, estate of the Prussian branch after the Renaissance.
* Flag of the Lordship of Samter, held by the House of Bethe and then by Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in the 19th century.

## Notable people with the surname Betha or Bethe

* Joseph Betha de Betta (ca. 1764), Tyrolean captain for the Imperial-Royal Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* Lord-Governor Heinrich von Bethe, German explorer, entrepreneur, and colonial official in Africa, inaugural governor of Ruanda-Burundi (1896-1902).
* 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
* Mason Durell Betha (born 1975), better known as Mase, American rapper