Untertanen

Untertanen are individuals who owe allegiance and obedience to a ruler or sovereign within a particular political order. The term denotes a relation of subordination within hierarchical societies, typically associated with feudal or absolutist regimes. Etymologically, Untertan literally means those who are "under" a ruler's power, and the word historically marked legal status rather than a modern idea of citizenship.

In feudal Europe and the Holy Roman Empire, Untertanen could include peasants, townsfolk under lordly jurisdiction, and vassals. They usually paid taxes, performed corvée labor or military service, and were subject to the ruler's judiciary. Rights were limited and dependent on local law; in many regions, forms of personal servitude or serfdom (Leibeigenschaft) existed. The degree of autonomy varied, and rulers gradually centralized administration, extending sovereignty while diminishing local or customary privileges.

In contemporary usage, Untertanen is primarily found in historical scholarship or literary criticism rather than as a current social category. It is often contrasted with Bürger or Staatsangehörige, terminology that emphasizes equal civic rights. The phrase is also known through literary works such as Heinrich Mann's Der Untertan, a critical portrayal of obedience and conformity in Wilhelminian Germany, which has helped shape the term's modern connotation of subservience to power.