Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles that are available online from Wikipedia or other free sources. The nobility letter (nobility diploma) is the document presented to a newly ennobled individual as proof of their elevation in status (nobility). These diplomas were written in Fraktur on parchment, personally signed by the sovereign, and were traditionally accompanied by a seal kept in a metal capsule. The form of nobility letters commonly used in the various princely chanceries of Germany and Austria was essentially the same as that which was in use four centuries ago under Emperors Sigismund and Frederick III.