- Feminine:
- duchess
duke
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What is a duke?
A duke is a European title of nobility, typically the highest rank below a prince or king, with exceptions for titles such as archduke or grand duke. In the British peerage, it is the highest of five ranks: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.
The title originates from the Roman dux, given to high military commanders. It was adopted by barbarian invaders and used for rulers of large areas in their kingdoms, as well as in France and Germany. The first English ducal title was created in 1337 when Edward III made his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, the duke of Cornwall. A prince in the royal line usually becomes a duke after coming of age or upon his marriage.
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Where does the title of duke come from?
The title of duke originated from the Latin term dux, meaning leader. The Romans gave the title of dux to high military commanders with territorial responsibilities.
The barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire then assumed the title. They used it in their kingdoms and also in France and Germany to refer to rulers of very large areas. Early Carolingian sovereigns in France and Germany continued to appoint dukes, but their weaker successors were increasingly constrained to free the dukes from royal control in the areas that they had to defend.
In Britain, duke is the highest rank of nobility and peerage. It was first created in 1337 when Edward III made his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, the duke of Cornwall.
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How is the title of duke different from other noble titles, like count or baron?
A duke holds the highest rank within the British nobility and peerage system, standing above marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. The title originates from the Latin term dux, meaning leader.
The title was first created in 1337 when Edward III made his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, the duke of Cornwall. In the feudal system, a baron pledged loyalty and service for land, while a count was a local commander and judge. Over time, counts were integrated into the feudal structure, sometimes becoming subordinate to dukes.
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What are the responsibilities or roles of a duke in history?
A duke is a European title of nobility, ranking just below a prince or king, but is the highest rank within the British peerage system. The title dux was given by the Romans to high-ranking military commanders with territorial responsibilities. This title was then adopted by barbarian invaders and used in their kingdoms and, also in France and Germany, for rulers of large areas.
In Germany, dukes held assemblies, led armies, and enforced peace in the 11th century. They summoned counts for justice but, for the most part, counts got their power from the king.
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How were dukes chosen or given their titles?
Dukes gain their titles through conferral by a sovereign or by inheritance. The title of duke originated from the Roman term dux, which was given to high-ranking military commanders.
Edward III created the first duke in England in 1337 when he bestowed the title to his son, Edward the Black Prince. In France, dukedoms such as Normandy, Aquitaine and Burgundy were largely independent of the crown. Later, these territories were granted as duchés-pairies to princes, illegitimate princes, foreign royalty, and other nobles.
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How is the title of duke used in different countries today?
The title of duke is a European title of nobility, usually the highest rank below a prince or king. It is one of the five ranks of British nobility and peerage, which, in descending order, are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.
Today, the title is used differently in various countries:
- Great Britain The title of duke is the highest rank of the peerage. A prince in the royal line usually becomes a duke either after coming of age or upon his marriage. As of the late 20th century, there were many dukedoms in the peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
- Europe In continental European countries, a duke is a sovereign male ruler of a duchy. The title of grand duke ranks between kings and dukes.
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duke, Click Here to see full-size table
a European title of nobility, having ordinarily the highest rank below a prince or king (except in countries having such titles as archduke or grand duke). It is one of the five ranks of British nobility and peerage, which, in descending order, are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.
The title of dux, given by the Romans to high military commanders with territorial responsibilities, was assumed by the barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire and was used in their kingdoms and also in France and Germany for rulers of very large areas. The early Carolingian sovereigns in France and in Germany continued to appoint dukes, but their weaker successors found themselves increasingly constrained to free the dukes from royal control in the areas that they had to defend.
Germany
Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria, and Saxony, originally the homes of distinct tribes, emerged as the great “stemduchies” of Germany when the dukes appointed by the Carolingians as military governors made themselves increasingly independent.
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In the 12th century the Hohenstaufen emperors, who created the new duchies of Austria (1156) and Styria (1180), seemed likely to succeed in reducing the dukes to genuinely obedient vassalage. At the same time, the lesser noble families began to consolidate their own holdings and jurisdiction at the expense of the ducal authority. The growth of these smaller territorial principalities (countships, etc.) naturally diminished the real prestige of the dukes. Despite the collapse of the Hohenstaufen design after 1250 and the success of the dukes in securing their independence in their own principalities, their title came no longer to denote greater power under the king but to signify only a higher rank than that of the princely counts. Furthermore, with the extensive privileges accorded the electors (only one of whom was a duke) by the Golden Bull of 1356, the duke had ceased even in theory to be the highest-ranking of the princes of the empire; the Austrian dukes indeed assumed the new title of archduke, claiming equal rights with electors.
From the 16th to the 19th century, lords of even comparatively small territories were granted or took the ducal title. Eleven duchies survived until 1918: Oldenburg, the two Mecklenburgs (east and west), Saxe-Weimar (as the grand duchy of Saxony), Baden, and Hesse-Darmstadt were grand duchies; and Anhalt, Brunswick, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha were sovereign duchies.
France
The dukes of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Burgundy were practically independent of the French crown in the early feudal period, as also was the duke of Brittany, though the French royal chancellery at first accorded him only the style of count. Gradually, however, these great fiefs were reunited to the French crown. Thereafter they were granted only in appanage, as duchés-pairies, or peerage duchies—initially to princes of the blood royal but, from the 16th century onward, also to illegitimate princes of the blood, to foreign princes, and to other noble subjects of the French king. Duchés-pairies were hereditary, but there were also hereditary duchies that were not peerage titles, as well as life duchies (à brevet, or par lettres). Apart from those in the royal house of France, there were more than 30 ducal titles dating from the ancien régime still being borne (unofficially) in the 1980s, the premier duchy of France being that of Uzès (1565; registered 1572).
Italy
The great territorial duchies of Italy that survived into modern times were those of Milan, Florence (as the grand duchy of Tuscany), Lucca, Mantua, Modena, and Parma-Piacenza. The popes, the emperors, and the kings of Naples, however, could all bestow the ducal title as they wished and often did so; consequently, the title is now fairly widespread. The kings of the house of Savoy gave the title of duca occasionally to their offspring.
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Spain
The Visigothic duchies of Spain disappeared after the Muslim conquest. During the Christian reconquest the title of duque was revived for honorific purposes. Apart from the Castilian duchy of Soria y Molina, created in 1370 for Bertrand du Guesclin, the title was at first usually reserved for royal princes, but, from the middle of the 15th century onward, it was accorded more and more frequently to other nobles. Of these latter creations, the premier surviving is that of Medina Sidonia (1445). The Spanish kings also created duchies very liberally in their Neapolitan and Sicilian dominions. By virtue of the right accorded to him by the Cortes, General Francisco Franco created three duchies in 1948: those of Calvo Sotelo, of Mola, and of Primo de Rivera.
Portugal
John I of Portugal created the duchies of Coimbra and Viseu for his sons Dom Pedro and Dom Henrique after their capture of Ceuta from the Moors in 1415, and in 1442 he created the duchy of Bragança for his illegitimate son Afonso. Six more duchies were created for branches of the royal house before the Spanish annexation of Portugal. Thereafter duchies were accorded outside the royal house, but the total number of creations was far smaller than in Spain.
The British Isles
There were no English ducal titles (the duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine held by the English kings being, of course, French fiefs) until 1337, when Edward III erected the county of Cornwall into a duchy for his son Edward, the Black Prince. There followed the duchies of Lancaster (1351), Clarence (1362), York (1385), Gloucester (1385), Bedford (1st creation; 1413), and Somerset (1st creation; 1443), all for descendants of the royal house in the male line. In 1444, however, Humphrey Stafford, of royal blood only through his mother, was made Duke of Buckingham (1st creation). After the creation of the dukedom of Norfolk in 1483, the title became increasingly recognized as not being reserved for the royal blood.
In Scotland the title was first bestowed in 1398 by Robert III on his eldest son, David, who was made Duke of Rothesay, and on his brother Robert, Duke of Albany.
In the late 20th century, apart from royal dukedoms, there were nine dukedoms in the peerage of England (Norfolk, 1483; Somerset, 1546; Richmond, 1675; Grafton, 1675; Beaufort, 1682; St. Albans, 1684; Bedford, 1694; Devonshire, 1694; and Rutland, 1703); eight in the peerage of Scotland (Hamilton, 1643; Buccleuch, 1663; Lennox, 1675; Queensberry, 1684; Argyll, 1701; Atholl, 1703; Montrose, 1707; and Roxburghe, 1707); six in the peerage of Great Britain (Marlborough, 1702; Brandon, 1711; Portland, 1716; Manchester, 1719; Newcastle, 1756; and Northumberland, 1766); two in the peerage of Ireland (Leinster, 1766; and Abercorn, 1868); and six in the peerage of the United Kingdom (Wellington, 1814; Sutherland, 1833; Westminster, 1874; Gordon, 1876; Argyll, 1892; and Fife, 1900). However, the Duke of Richmond was also Duke of Lennox and Duke of Gordon; the Duke of Buccleuch was also Duke of Queensberry; the Duke of Hamilton was also Duke of Brandon; and the dukedom of Argyll belonged both to the peerage of Scotland and to the peerage of the United Kingdom. As a result, the 31 ducal titles provided only 26 dukes.