Duke

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Duke (disambiguation), Dukes (disambiguation), Duchess (disambiguation), Ducal (cigarette) and Partitioned-off duke.

A duke is a special title used for men. It can mean a ruler of a place called a duchy, or it can be a title for someone in a royal family or noble family. When dukes rule, they are important leaders but not as high as emperors, kings, or grand dukes. The word "duke" comes from French and Latin, meaning "leader." It was used in ancient Rome for military commanders.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, dukes were powerful rulers of provinces and were above counts in cities. In some countries, all dukes were also part of a special group called the peerage. Today, dukes don't rule as monarchs in most places anymore, but the title is still used in some countries like Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In Sweden, members of the royal family are given a dukedom when they are born. A woman with the title of duke is called a duchess. For example, Queen Elizabeth II was known as the Duke of Normandy in the Channel Islands and the Duke of Lancaster in Lancashire.

Duchy and dukedom

Main article: Duchy

A duchy is a piece of land ruled by a duke, and the area or title connected to it is called a dukedom. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is its own country, ruled by a Grand Duke who is its own leader.

The Duke of Cornwall has both a title and land that gives him money. People living there are subjects of the British king or queen, not directly of the duke. In Scotland, the person who will become the next British king is also called the Duke of Rothesay, but this title does not include land. The British king or queen also holds the title Duke of Lancaster over the Duchy of Lancaster, which is separate from the country's money and gives the king or queen income.

The Channel Islands are small islands that are still connected to old lands from the Duchy of Normandy. People there say in a special toast, "The King, Our Duke." Even though a treaty in 1259 said the title was given up, the British king is still called the Duke of Normandy for these islands.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, after Roman power in Western Europe collapsed, the title of duke was still used in the Germanic kingdoms. It usually referred to the rulers of old Roman provinces.

Albania

The Venetians installed a "Duke of Durazzo" (today Durrës) during their brief rule over the city and its areas in 1205–1213.

In 1332, Robert of Taranto succeeded his father, Philip. Robert's uncle, John, did not wish to do him homage for the Principality of Achaea, so Robert received Achaea from John in exchange for 5,000 ounces of gold and the rights to the diminished Kingdom of Albania. John took the style of Duke of Durazzo.

In 1368, Durazzo fell to Karl Thopia, who was recognized by Venice as Prince of Albania.

Visigoths

The Visigoths kept the Roman divisions of their kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, and it seems that dukes ruled over these areas. They were the most powerful landowners and, along with the bishops, elected the king, usually from their own group. They were the military leaders and often acted independently from the king, especially before the Muslim invasions.

The army was organized in groups, with the highest unit, the thiufa, probably corresponding to about 1,000 people from each civitas (city district). The cities were led by counts, who reported to the dukes, who called up the thiufae when needed.

Lombards

When the Lombards entered Italy, the Latin writers called their war leaders duces in the old style. These leaders eventually became the rulers of areas, each with a recognized seat of government. Though they were supposed to be loyal to the king, the idea of kingship was new to the Lombards, and the dukes were very independent, especially in central and southern Italy, where the Duke of Spoleto and the Duke of Benevento were effectively rulers in their own right. In 575, when Cleph died, a time known as the Rule of the Dukes began, during which the dukes ruled without a king. It lasted only ten years before the leaders, to protect the kingdom from outside attacks, chose a new king and even reduced their own duchies to give him a strong royal area.

The Lombard kings were often chosen from among the dukes when the title was not passed down in a family. The dukes tried to make their positions permanent in their families. Below them in the structure were the counts and gastalds, a special Lombard title that originally referred to judicial duties, similar to a count's, in areas of the country.

Franks

In the Frankish kingdom, the title of duke was given to an official who was in charge of a group of counts for a time, rather than a fixed area. Their main job was military, and they led armed forces during war. Although their main duties were military, dukes sometimes watched over counts, acted in legal matters, and served as messengers. Unlike in Roman times, dukes were considered higher in rank than counts. Dukes were usually Frankish, whereas counts were often Gallo-Roman.^{[citation needed]} Dukes met with the king every May to talk about plans for the coming year, in what was called the Mayfield.^{[citation needed]}

In Burgundy and Provence, the titles of patrician and prefect were commonly used instead of duke, probably because of the stronger influence of Roman ways in those areas. But these titles were basically the same.

In late Merovingian Gaul, the mayors of the palace of the Arnulfing family began to use the title dux et princeps Francorum: 'duke and prince of the Franks'. In this title, duke meant the highest military leader of the whole nation (Francorum, the Franks) and it was used until the end of the Carolingian dynasty in France in 987.

Holy Roman Empire

Stem duchies

The stem duchies were the main duchies of the kingdom of Germany after the Carolingian dynasty ended (with the death of Louis the Child in 911) and during the time leading up to the formation of the Holy Roman Empire later in the 10th century.

Further information: Stem duchy

England

Anglo-Saxon times

In Anglo-Saxon England, where the old Roman political divisions were mostly dropped, the highest rank below the king was ealdorman, and the first ealdormen were called duces (the plural of the original Latin dux) in the records. The title ealdorman was later replaced by the Danish eorl (later earl) over time. After the Norman conquest, their power and areas of control were limited to that of the Norman counts.

Late medieval times

See also: Duke of Lancaster

Edward III of England created the first English dukedom by naming his oldest son Edward, the Black Prince, as Duke of Cornwall in 1337. After the Black Prince died, the duchy of Cornwall passed to his nine-year-old son, who would later become Richard II.

The title of Duke of Lancaster was created by Edward III in 1351 for Henry of Grosmont, but it ended when the duke died in 1361. The next year, Edward III gave the title again to his fourth son, John of Gaunt, who was also married to the first duke's daughter. On the same day Edward III also created his second son, Lionel of Antwerp, as Duke of Clarence.

All five of Edward III's surviving sons eventually became dukes. In 1385, ten years after their father died, his heir Richard II created dukedoms for his last two uncles on the same day. Thomas of Woodstock was named Duke of Gloucester and Edmund of Langley became Duke of York, starting the House of York, which later fought for the throne with John of Gaunt's Lancastrian family during the Wars of the Roses.

By 1483, a total of 16 ducal titles had been created: Cornwall, Lancaster, Clarence, Gloucester, York, Ireland, Hereford, Aumale, Exeter, Surrey, Norfolk, Bedford, Somerset, Buckingham, Warwick and Suffolk. Some ended, others were created more than once, and some became part of the crown when the holder became king. When the Plantagenet dynasty ended at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485, only four ducal titles were still in use, two of which were now always connected to the crown. John de la Pole was Duke of Suffolk and John Howard was Duke of Norfolk (second creation), while the duchy of Cornwall was kept as a title and source of money for the oldest son of the ruler, and the duchy of Lancaster was now held by the monarch.

Norfolk died with Richard III at Bosworth field, and the title was taken away. It was given back to his son Thomas thirty years later by Henry VIII, as one of many dukes created or brought back by the Tudor dynasty over the next hundred years. England's main ducal title, Norfolk, stays in the Howard family today.

Modern age

In the 19th century, some dukes in places like Parma, Modena, Anhalt, Brunswick-Lüneburg, Nassau, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Altenburg survived big changes made by Napoleon.

After Italy unified in 1870 and Germany and Austria ended their monarchies in 1918, there have not been any rulers with the title of duke in Europe. Luxembourg is ruled by a grand duke, a title just below a king.

In the United Kingdom, a duke is a noble title that comes with special rights and privileges. However, this title has never meant ruling independently in the British Isles. Dukes in the UK are called "Your Grace" and "His Grace." Today, there are thirty-five dukedoms in the Peerage of England, Peerage of Scotland, Peerage of Great Britain, Peerage of Ireland, and Peerage of the United Kingdom, held by thirty different people. Some people hold more than one dukedom.

Most dukedoms in the UK pass only to males, but some have been passed to females for one generation when there were no male heirs. The title of duchess is usually for the wife of a duke, but in some cases, women have held the title of duke themselves. The ruler of the UK is traditionally called the Duke of Normandy in the Channel Islands, no matter if they are male or female.

Royal dukes

Many royal families have given special titles called dukedoms to their children. These titles show that the person is part of the royal family. Today, countries like Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom still give these titles to royal children.

In the United Kingdom, royal dukes are members of the British royal family. They use the title "His Royal Highness." Some of these titles include Duke of Cornwall, Duke of York, and Duke of Cambridge. After he stopped being king in 1936, King Edward VIII became the Duke of Windsor.

In Belgium, the heir to the throne is given the title Duke of Brabant. Other royal family members receive different titles.

In Portugal, the first dukes were given their titles in 1415 to two sons of King John I after they helped capture a city. Later kings gave the title of Duke of Beja to the second son of the monarch.

In Spain, royal children usually receive a dukedom when they marry. The heir to the throne is called the Prince of Asturias. All Spanish dukes are also grandees, which means they have a very high rank.

In the Nordic countries, some areas were once duchies. For example, in Denmark, kings gave dukedoms to their younger sons. In Sweden, kings once gave their sons control over large areas, but this stopped in 1622. Later, Swedish princes and princesses were given dukedoms as titles.

France

See also: Appanage § Original appanage: in France

In France, the highest rank was held by twelve important people called peers. These peers had special roles during the king's ceremony.

Some of these peers were dukes. There were three church leaders who were also dukes and three regular dukes. The church leaders included the Archbishop of Reims, who helps crown the king, and two other important bishops.

The regular dukes included the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Normandy, and the Duke of Aquitaine. Each had their own special job during the ceremony.

Later, kings turned some areas into duchies, and many of these became important peerages too.

Italy, Germany and Austria

In Northern Italy, Germany, and Austria, the title of "duke" was very common. In the Holy Roman Empire, most dukes ruled their own lands. After the empire ended, some dukes became fully independent rulers in these areas. In Germany, many family members also used the ducal title as a special honor.

Important ducal families in Northern Italy included the Visconti and Sforza in Milan, the Savoy in Piedmont, the Medici in Florence, and others like the Farnese in Parma and Piacenza. In Germany, notable families were the Wittelsbachs in Bavaria, the Welfs in Hannover, and the Wettins in Saxony. In Austria, the rulers of the Archduchy of Austria used the title "Archduke" starting in 1358.

Elsewhere in Europe

Hungary

Main article: Duchy (Kingdom of Hungary)

In the Kingdom of Hungary, there were no dukes who ruled large areas, but sometimes members of the royal family were given smaller lands to govern. During the time of the Árpád dynasty, these dukes had real power and could even make their own coins. Later, the title became more of an honor than a real job. These smaller lands included the Duchy of Nitra, the Duchy of Bihar, and the Duchy of Transylvania.

Greece

The Byzantine Empire kept the old Roman title of dux, called δούξ (doux) in Greek. It was used for military leaders and was not a permanent royal title. In the 10th century, it was given to commanders who led several military areas called themata. Later, it was used for the leader of a single thema.

When Crusaders from Western Europe took over parts of the Byzantine Empire, they set up new states, some of which were ruled by dukes. These included the Duchy of Athens, the Duchy of Naxos, and the Venetian colony of Crete. In modern Greece, a special title of Duke of Sparta was created in 1868 for the future king.

Slavic and nearby countries

In many Slavic lands, the titles for rulers like "knyaz" or "książe" are sometimes translated as "prince" and sometimes as "duke." In places like Poland, small areas ruled by branches of the royal family are often called duchies. Examples include Kujavia, Masovia, and Sandomir. In Russia, the word gertsog was used for the German title of duke, especially in the full title of the Russian Emperor.

In Bohemia and Silesia, there were many small duchies like the Duchy of Brzeg and the Duchy of Legnica. In Lithuania, leaders were called kunigaikštis, and the top leader was the grand duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Netherlands

After Belgium and the Netherlands separated in 1830, the title of duke mostly disappeared in the Netherlands. However, the title Hertog van Limburg (Duke of Limburg) still exists today. This title belongs only to the current monarch of the Netherlands.

Georgia

In Georgia, the title eristavi means "head of the nation" or "head of the army" and is similar to a duke. A person with this title ruled a duchy called a saeristavo. In the past, Georgia had leaders called Erismtavari, similar to a grand duke. Later, after Georgia was taken over by Russia, the title eristavi was removed, and former dukes used the word as part of their family names.

Post-colonial non-European states

Empire of Brazil

In the Empire of Brazil, the title of duke was the highest honor for people not born into the royal family. Only three such titles were ever given. Two went to relatives of Emperor Pedro I, including an illegitimate daughter and a brother-in-law. The third title was awarded to Luís Alves de Lima e Silva during the time of Pedro II. None of these titles could be passed down to later generations, just like other titles in Brazil’s noble system.

Haiti

The royal Christophe family in Haiti created eight dukedoms that could be inherited. These titles were positioned just below the level of princes but did not last long and were only recognized within Haiti.

Analogues

Main articles: Equivalents of Duke outside Europe and Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles

Like other important noble titles in Europe, the word "Duke" is sometimes used to describe similar titles from other parts of the world. Even though these titles may have different histories and meanings, they are often seen as similar in rank.

In places like India, titles such as Rao and Nawab are close to the idea of a Duke. In Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iran, leaders were called Khan after wars with Mongols.

In Ancient China, the title gōng was given to important people, like descendants of royal families. In Indonesia, leaders of areas were called Bhre or Adipati. In parts of Nigeria, leaders known as Enogie or Baale are sometimes called dukes. In Myanmar, royal family members were given titles like Myosa, meaning chief of a town.