“Nobility of virtue” (German Tugendadel) has a double meaning: the age-old nobility of blood, distinguished by inherited virtue seen in the valor of noble ancestors, in which virtue is a qualitative characteristic, and the meritocratic nobility ennobled on the basis of one’s personal accomplishments. Zedler’s Universallexicon of 1732 argued as follows: “It is therefore beyond dispute that the origins of the nobility lie in virtue, reason, and ability” (“Es ist als…