Gottfried III was a member of the von Raabs family, an edelfrei family named after their first castle, Burg Raabs an der Thaya in Lower Austria. His father, Gottfried II, and his uncle, Conrad I were de facto joint Burgraves of Nuremberg from 1105, however, they used the title of Castellan. Gottfried III was the first member of the family to be specifically referred to as "Burgrave"; in a document written in 1154, he is called burggravius de Norinberg.
Gottfried III died around 1160 and was succeeded by his cousin Conrad II of Raabs. When Conrad II died around 1192, the von Raabs family died out in the male line, and the Burgraviate of Nuremberg fell to the Hohenzollern dynasty.
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