Duchy of Merania
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The Duchy of Merania[lower-alpha 1] was a fiefdom of the Holy Roman Empire from 1152 until 1248. The dukes of Merania were recognised as princes of the Empire enjoying imperial immediacy at a time when these concepts were just coming into use to distinguish the highest ranks of imperial nobility.[1]
The name "Merania" ("sea-land") comes from either the High German word for sea, meer[2] or the Slavic word for the same, morje (both cognate with Latin mare).[3] The name literally means "land by the sea" (am Meer), referring to its location on the Adriatic.[4]