The term edelfrei or hochfrei ("free noble" or "free knight") was originally used to designate and distinguish those Germanic noblemen from the Second Estate (see Estates of the realm social hierarchy), who were legally entitled to atonement reparation of three times their "Weregild" (Wergeld) value from a guilty person or party.
[1] In the Middle Ages edelfrei or hochfrei meant, in simple terms, that someone was a member of an ancient, dynastic aristocratic line.
Especially at the time of territorial expansion and the emergence of a monetary economy, many Edelfreie were dependent on the protection and support of a powerful secular or ecclesiastical lord.
And vice versa: a dependent relationship existed, in that larger territories could only be secured and managed with the aid of loyal vassals.
These officials, who were mostly unfree in their origins, managed within a century to elevate themselves to the lesser nobility.