The title ofDuke was the highesthereditary title in theFrench nobility during the time of the monarchy inFrance.^[1]

Duke
Heraldic depiction of a duke's coronet
Peerage	France

The highest precedence in the realm, attached to a feudal territory, was given to the twelve originalpairies, which had originated in theMiddle Ages and also had a traditional function in the royal coronation, comparable to the German imperial archoffices.

Half of them were Dukes and half of them Counts. Of these, three were ecclesiastical and three were secular. Of these twelve, the prelates all ranked above the secularpeers of the realm and three temporal, and the dukes all ranked above the counts.

ThePrince-Bishops with ducal territories included:

• TheArchbishop of Reims, styledarchevêque-ducpair de France (in Champagne; who crown and anoint the king, traditionally in his cathedral)
• Twosuffragan bishops, styledevêque-duc pair de France :
  • the bishop-duc deLaon (in Picardy; bears the 'Sainte Ampoule' containing the sacred ointment)
  • the bishop-duc deLangres (in Burgundy; bears the scepter)

Later, theArchbishop of Paris was given the title ofduc de Saint-Cloud with the dignity of peerage, but it was debated if he was an ecclesiastical peer or merely a bishop holding a lay peerage.

Under theHouse of Capet there were five laic duchies:

• Duke of Normandy,peer of France: mightiest vassal of the French crown, later also kings of England. By privilege, they cannot be summoned by the King of France beyond the borders of the duchy of Normandy; KingJohn of England had attempted to invoke this privilege to avoid the summons of Philip Augustus to his court in Paris. Merged into the French crown, circa 1204.
• Duke of Aquitaine,peer of France: largest landholder of southwestern France, also rulers of Gascony and Poitou. Merged into the French crown, circa 1204. Reconstituted as the duchy of Guyenne in 1259 for the King of England by Saint Louis.
• Duke of Burgundy,peer of France: held by a cadet line of the Kings of France. At some point the duke of Burgundy gained precedence over those of Normandy (then merged with the Crown) and Aquitaine (held by a disobedient vassal) in the French coronation ceremony.
• Duke of Brittany: a vassal of the Duke of Normandy. Promoted to the peerage of France in 1297 byPhilip the Fair.
• Duke of Bourbon: originally a lordship, raised to the status of a duchy-peerage by Charles IV in 1327.

At the end of the 13th century, the King elevated somecounties intoduchies, a practice that increased through theearly modern period until theFrench Revolution. Many of these duchies were also peerages, so-callednew peerages.

Ducal titles traditionally held by princes of the royal blood:

• Duke of Orléans
• Duke of Anjou
• Duke of Berry
• Duke of Angoulême
• Duke of Alençon
• Duke of Touraine

Other notable ducal titles:

• Duke of Guise
• Duke of Lorraine
• Duke of Montpensier
• Duke of Morny
• Duke of Savoy (althoughHaute Savoie is now part of France, the Dukes of Savoy were Princes of theHoly Roman Empire, not peers of France)

The title ofDuke of France refers to the rulers of theÎle de France, informallyFrancia. Thedynasts ofRobert the Strong's family are usually termed "Dukes of France" and their title evolved into the name for theFrench nation after one of their members,Hugh Capet, ascended the throne. Since the end of the monarchy, it has been used bypretenders to the French throne such asJean, Count of Paris

After theFrench Revolution, further dukedoms were created by successive French rulers.Napoleon I created a substantial number of dukes in theNobility of the First French Empire, largely forMarshals of the Empire and certain ministers, and many of them carriedvictory titles. The practice of creating dukedoms was continued by theHouse of Bourbon after theRestoration, and later byNapoleon III.

The title of "duke and peer"(Fr: duc et pair) is one of the highest honors in the French nobility, ranking just after the princes of the blood, which are themselves the direct descendants of the royal blood and are consideredpeers by birth.

The wordpeer comes from the Latinparis, meaning "equal in dignity".

The peers of the Middle Ages and of the modern period were not descended from the peers, orpaladins, Carolingian heroes ofsong. They were descended from the great possessors of fiefs, members of the curia regis, since the duty to advise was vassalic obligation.

The ancient peerages of France were twelve: six were ecclesiastical and six were lay; six were counts and six were dukes. The ecclesiastical peers, joined in 1690 by the Archbishop of Paris, Duke of Saint-Cloud,François Harlay, survived intact until theRevolution of 1789. In contrast the original lay peerages disappeared with the gradual annexation of their territories to theroyal domain. The peerage was then at the disposal of royalty who granted the dignity to his faithful servants. The creations (erections) were particularly numerous in the 17th and 18th centuries (19 from 1590–1660 and 15 from 1661–1723). Some families accumulated peerages, and in 1723, 38 families had 52 peerages. From the 17th century the peerage was conferred only to dukes. In 1789, there were 43 peers of which 6 wereprinces of the blood.

Peerage was normally hereditary in the male line, though the king could extend it to the female line and even to the collateral lines. It was extinguished with aristocratic lineage that had benefited from the creation. Ecclesiastical peerages were transmitted to the next holder of the episcopal see.

Since 1667, the political power of the peers was much reduced; they no longer attended the King's Council. In contrast, they could, when they wished, attend the sessions of theParlement of Paris, where they could carry a sword to the chagrin of judges. They sat on the right of the First President in the order of their dignity and the date of the creation of their peerage. Except forlit de justice, they were first to give their opinion after the presidents and councilors of parliament.

The dignity was largely ceremonial. Peers occupied a spot directly below the members of the royal family (children and grandchildren of France and princes of the blood). The king addressed them "my cousin", and were calledMonseigneur orVotre grandeur. They could dance with members of theroyal family, enter the royal castles in their carriages, and duchesses were entitled totabouret when with the queen. They participated in the king's coronation, if there were no princes of the blood or legitimated princes. TheDuke of Saint-Simon is the greatest representative of peer attachment to their dignity; he fiercely defended their rights against encroachment.

The revenues of peers consisted of feudal dues, property income, salaries for functions exercised at Court and pensions granted by the king. In the 18th century the peerage became a caste, with over half of matrimonial alliances taking place between similarly-ranked families.

• Peerage of France
• List of French dukedoms
• List of French peerages
• List of French peers
• List of coats of arms of French peers