cujus

Cujus is a Latin word that functions as the genitive singular form of the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod. It carries the sense of possession and is used to mean “whose” or “of whom/which.” In Latin, cujus is used to introduce relative clauses or indirect questions that describe or inquire about something belonging to someone or something else. For example, cujus liber est? translates to “Whose book is it?”

Grammatically, cujus can modify masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns in the genitive, aligning with the noun it governs. It appears in a wide range of Latin texts, from classical to medieval and early modern writings, and remains a standard example of the relative pronoun’s genitive form in grammars and philological studies.

Cujus is also encountered in a famous political motto from the Holy Roman Empire era: cujus regio, ejus religio, Latin for “whose realm, his religion.” Associated with the Peace of Augsburg (1555), the phrase expresses the principle that the religion of a territory followed the ruler’s faith. The slogan became a shorthand for the confessional settlement that shaped religious policy in many German principalities for centuries and is frequently cited in discussions of sovereignty, confessionalism, and early modern church-state relations.

In summary, cujus is a key Latin pronoun form used to indicate possession within relative clauses and questions, and it is embedded in historically significant phrases that illustrate how language and politics intersect in Latin literature and early modern Europe. See also Peace of Augsburg and Latin grammar references for further context.