Duchy

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Not to be confused with Grand duchy.
The Duke and Duchess of Scania in 1905

A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a high-ranking nobleman hierarchically second to the king or queen in European tradition. The term is used almost exclusively in Europe.

Throughout Europe there once existed an important difference between "sovereign dukes" and dukes subordinate to a king or emperor. Some historic duchies were sovereign in areas that would become part of nation-states only during the modern era, such as happened in Germany (once a federal empire) and Italy (previously a unified kingdom). In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that had unified either partially or completely during the medieval era, such as France, Spain, Sicily, Naples, and the Papal States.

Examples[]

In France, a number of duchies existed in the medieval period including Normandy, Burgundy, Brittany, and Aquitaine.

The medieval German stem duchies (German: Stammesherzogtum, literally "tribal duchy", the official title of its ruler being Herzog or "duke") were associated with the Frankish Kingdom and corresponded with the areas of settlement of the major Germanic tribes. They formed the nuclei of the major feudal states that comprised the early era of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation (961-1806; in German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation). These were Schwaben (Swabia, mainly the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg), Bayern (Bavaria), and Sachsen (Saxony) in pre-Carolingian times, to which Franken (Franconia, at present the northern part of the German state of Bavaria) and Lothringen (Lorraine, nowadays mostly part of France) were added in post-Carolingian times. As mentioned above, such a duke was styled Herzog (literally "the one who is leading [the troops]").

In medieval England, duchies associated with the territories of Lancashire and Cornwall were created, with certain powers and estates of land accruing to their dukes. The Duchy of Lancaster was created in 1351 but became merged with the Crown when, in 1399, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, ascended the throne of England as Henry IV. Nowadays the Duchy of Lancaster always belongs to the sovereign and its revenue is the Privy Purse. The Duchy of Cornwall was created in 1337 and held successively by the Dukes of Cornwall, who were also heirs to the throne. Nowadays, the Duchy of Cornwall belongs to the sovereign's heir apparent, if there is one: it reverts to the Crown in the absence of an heir apparent, and is automatically conferred to the heir apparent upon birth. These duchies today have mostly lost any non-ceremonial political role, but generate their holders' private income. During the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York made a successful entry into the City of York, by merely claiming no harm and that it was his right to possess "his duchy of York".[1] Any and all feudal duchies that made up the patchwork of England have since been absorbed within the Royal Family. Other than Cornwall and Lancaster, British royal dukedoms are titular and do not include land holdings. Non-royal dukedoms are associated with ducal property, but this is meant as the duke's private property, with no other feudal privileges attached. At present all independent (i.e., sovereign) duchies have disappeared.

List of duchies[]

Baltic provinces and governorates[]

Croatia[]

Denmark[]

England[]

Main article: Duchies in England
  • Duchy of Cornwall
  • Duchy of Lancaster

France[]

Georgia[]

Holy Roman Empire[]

Further information: List of dukes in Europe and Stem duchy

The following duchies were part of the medieval Kingdom of Italy (not to be confused with the modern Kingdom of Italy (1860-1945)), which itself was part of the Holy Roman Empire:

Naples[]

Papal States (Holy See)[]

Poland[]

Slovakia[]

  • Duchy of Nitra

Spain[]

  • Dukedoms of Spain

Sweden[]

All provinces of Sweden have the right to have a ducal coronet in their arms.[2][3] The king gives princes and princesses ducal titles of them. The current such royal duchies are:

Other current or historical duchies[]

See also[]

Fictional duchies[]

  • Underland, ruled by Underbeit, on The Venture Brothers
  • Duchy of Atreides from the Dune series by Frank Herbert
  • Soleanna from Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Duchy of Dollet (from Final Fantasy VIII)
  • Grand Duchy of Jeuno (from Final Fantasy XI)
  • Duchy of Grand Fenwick
  • Borogravia, Quirm (from the Discworld series)
  • (from The Farseer Trilogy and by Robin Hobb)
  • Zeon (from the Mobile Suit Gundam series, also sometimes translated as a Principality, as the Japanese language does not distinguish between the two)
  • Erat, Asturia, Mimbre, Wacune (from the Belgariad series)
  • Crydee, , Krondor, , , Ran, Rodez, Salador, (from the Riftwar saga)
  • Kolvir, ruled by main character Prince Corwin in The Chronicles of Amber
  • Freid (from The Vision of Escaflowne series)
  • Cagliostro from Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
  • from Adventure Time with Finn & Jake
  • from the Honorverse
  • Duchy of Toussaint, from The Witcher series.
  • Duchy of Serkonos, from Dishonored 2
  • Duchy of Urnst, from the Dungeons & Dragons Greyhawk Campaign Setting.
  • Duchy of Bewcastle [Duke of Bewcastle] from Slightly Series (esp. Slightly Dangerous) by Mary Balough


References[]

  1. ^ The Second War of the Roses
  2. ^ Clara Nevéus in Ny svensk vapenbok 1992 Streiffert & Riksarkivet, Stockholm ISBN 91-7886-092-X p. 17
  3. ^ [1] Heraldiska föreningen "Heraldik är läran om vapensköldar" by Martin Trägen

External links[]

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