 | This articlepossibly containsoriginal research. Pleaseimprove it byverifying the claims made and addinginline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(May 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Duke of Aquitaine" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Theduke of Aquitaine (Occitan:Duc d'Aquitània,French:Duc d'Aquitaine,IPA:[dykdakitɛn]) was the ruler of themedieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-dayAquitaine) under the supremacy ofFrankish,English, and laterFrench kings.
As successor states of theVisigothic Kingdom (418–721),Aquitania (Aquitaine) andLanguedoc (Toulouse) inherited both Visigothic law andRoman Law, which together allowed women more rights than their contemporaries would enjoy until the 20th century. Particularly under theLiber Judiciorum as codified in 642/643 and expanded by the Code ofRecceswinth in 653, women could inherit land and titles and manage their holdings independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, represent themselves and bear witness in court from the age of 14, and arrange for their own marriages after the age of 20.[1] As a consequence, male-preferenceprimogeniture was the practiced succession law for the nobility.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "Duke of Aquitaine" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Merovingian kings and dukes of Aquitaine usedToulouse as their capital.[citation needed] The Carolingian kings used different capitals situated farther north. In 765,Pepin the Short bestowed the captured golden banner of the Aquitainian duke,Waiffre, on theAbbey of Saint Martial in Limoges.[citation needed]Pepin I of Aquitaine was buried inPoitiers.Charles the Child was crowned atLimoges and buried atBourges.[citation needed] When Aquitaine briefly asserted its independence after the death ofCharles the Fat, it wasRanulf II of Poitou who took the royal title.[citation needed] In the late tenth century,Louis the Indolent was crowned atBrioude.[citation needed]
The Aquitainian ducal coronation procedure is preserved in a late twelfth-centuryordo (formula) fromSaint-Étienne inLimoges, based on an earlierRomano-Germanordo. In the early thirteenth century a commentary was added to thisordo, which emphasised Limoges as the capital of Aquitaine. Theordo indicated that the duke received a silk mantle, coronet, banner, sword, spurs, and the ring ofSaint Valerie.[citation needed]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "Duke of Aquitaine" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Merovingian kings are inboldface.
TheCarolingian kings again appointed Dukes of Aquitaine, first in 852, and again since 866.[citation needed] Later, this duchy was also calledGuyenne.[citation needed]
| Name | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | King of the Franks (reign) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranulph I 852[a] – 866 | 820 | Adeltrude of Maine 3 children | 866 | Charles the Bald 843–877) |
| Ranulph II[b] 887 – 890 | 850 | N/A | 5 August 890 | Charles the Fat (881–888) Odo (888–898) |
The following were alsoCount of Auvergne.
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Death | King of the Franks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William I the Pious (893–918) |  | 22 March 875 | 6 July 918(918-07-06) (aged 43) | Odo (888–898) Charles the Simple (898–922) Charles the Simple (898–922) Robert I (922–923) Rudolph (923–936) |
| William II the Younger[c] (918–926) | 12 December 926 | |||
| Acfred[d] (926–927) | 927 |
From 1152, the Duchy of Aquitaine was held by thePlantagenets, who also ruled England as independent monarchs and held other territories in France by separate inheritance (seePlantagenet Empire). The Plantagenets were often more powerful than the kings of France, and their reluctance to do homage to the kings of France for their lands in France was one of the major sources of conflict in medieval Western Europe.
| Name | Portrait | Arms | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | King of France |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry I[e] Henry Curtmantle 18 May 1152[f] – June 1172 (20 years) |  | .svg) | 5 March 1133 Le Mans Son ofGeoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou andMatilda | Eleanor of Aquitaine Bordeaux Cathedral 18 May 1152 8 children | 6 July 1189 Chinon Aged 56[g] | Louis VII (1137–1180) |
| Philip II (1180–1223) | ||||||
| Richard I[h] Richard the Lionheart June 1172[i] – 6 April 1199 (26 years, 10 months) |  |  1198–1340 | 8 September 1157 Beaumont Palace Son ofHenry II andEleanor of Aquitaine | Berengaria of Navarre Limassol 12 May 1191 No children | 6 April 1199 Châlus Shot by aquarrel aged 41[j] | |
| John[k] John Lackland 27 May 1199[l] – 19 October 1216 (17 years, 146 days) | .jpg) | 24 December 1166 Beaumont Palace Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine | (1)Isabel of Gloucester Marlborough Castle 29 August 1189 No children (2)Isabella of Angoulême Bordeaux Cathedral 24 August 1200 5 children | 19 October 1216 Newark-on-Trent Aged 49[m] | ||
| Henry II[5] Henry III of England 28 October 1216[n] – 16 November 1272 (56 years, 20 days) |  | 1 October 1207 Winchester Castle Son ofJohn andIsabella of Angoulême | Eleanor of Provence Canterbury Cathedral 14 January 1236 5 children | 16 November 1272 Westminster Palace Aged 65 | ||
| Louis VIII (1223–1226) | ||||||
| Louis IX (1226–1270) | ||||||
| Philip III "the Bold" (1270–1285) | ||||||
| Edward I[6] Edward Longshanks 20 November 1272[o] – 7 July 1307 (34 years, 230 days) |  | 17 June 1239 Palace of Westminster Son ofHenry III andEleanor of Provence | (1)Eleanor of Castile Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas 18 October 1254 16 children (2)Margaret of France Canterbury Cathedral 10 September 1299 3 children | 7 July 1307 Burgh by Sands Aged 68 | ||
| Philip IV the Fair (1285–1314) | ||||||
| Edward II[7] Edward of Caernarfon 8 July 1307[p] – 1325[q] (18 years, 1 day) | .jpg) | 25 April 1284 Caernarfon Castle Son ofEdward I andEleanor of Castile | Isabella of France Boulogne Cathedral 24 January 1308 4 children | 21 September 1327 Berkeley Castle Murdered aged 43[r] | ||
| Louis X "the Quarreller" (1314–1316) | ||||||
| John I "the Posthumous" (4 days in 1316) | ||||||
| Philip V "the Tall" (1316–1322) | ||||||
| Charles IV "the Fair" (1322–1328) | ||||||
| Edward III[9] Edward of Windsor 1325[s] – 24 October 1360[t] (35 years, 274 days) | .jpg) | 13 November 1312 Windsor Castle Son ofEdward II andIsabella of France | Philippa of Hainault York Minster 25 January 1328 14 children | 21 June 1377 Sheen Palace Aged 64 | ||
.svg) 1340–1360, from 1369 | Philip VI "the Fortunate" (1328–1350)[u] | |||||
1360–1369 | John II "the Good" (1350–1364)[u] |
In 1337, KingPhilip VI of France reclaimed the fief ofAquitaine fromEdward III, King of England.[11] Edward in turn claimed the title ofKing of France, by right of his descent from his maternal grandfather KingPhilip IV of France. This triggered theHundred Years' War, in which both thePlantagenets and theHouse of Valois claimed supremacy over Aquitaine.
| Name | Portrait | Arms | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward III Edward of Windsor 1337–1360 | | Until 1340, 1360–1369 1340–1360, from 1369 | 13 November 1312 Windsor Castle Son ofEdward II andIsabella of France | Philippa of Hainault York Minster 25 January 1328 14 children | 21 June 1377 Sheen Palace Aged 64 |
In 1360, both sides signed theTreaty of Brétigny, in which Edward renounced the French crown but remained sovereign Lord of Aquitaine (rather than merely duke).[12] However, when the treaty wasbroken in 1369, both these English claims and the war resumed.
| Name | Portrait | Arms | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward III Edward of Windsor 1337–1360 | | 1360–1369 | 13 November 1312 Windsor Castle Son ofEdward II andIsabella of France | Philippa of Hainault York Minster 25 January 1328 14 children | 21 June 1377 Sheen Palace Aged 64 |
In 1362, King Edward III, as Lord of Aquitaine, made his eldest sonEdward, Prince of Wales,Prince of Aquitaine and Gascony.[13]
| Name | Portrait | Arms | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward, Prince of Wales 19 July 1362 – 6 October 1372 10 years, 79 days |  | .svg) | 15 June 1330 Woodstock Palace Son ofEdward III andPhilippa of Hainault 2 children | Joan of Kent 1361 | 8 June 1376 Westminster Palace Aged 45 |
On 6 October 1372, Prince Edward (who had returned to England the previous year) resigned the Principality of Aquitaine and Gascony, stating that the revenues he earned from Aquitaine were no longer sufficient to cover his expenses.[14] Thus, King Edward III, his father, resumed his title as Duke of Aquitaine.
| Name | Portrait | Arms | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward III[15] Edward of Windsor 1372 – 21 June 1377 (5 years) | | From 1369 | 13 November 1312 Windsor Castle Son ofEdward II andIsabella of France | Philippa of Hainault York Minster 25 January 1328 14 children | 21 June 1377 Sheen Palace Aged 64 |
| Richard II[16] Richard of Bordeaux 22 June 1377[v] – 1390 (13 years) | .jpg) | 6 January 1367 Archbishop's Palace of Bordeaux Son ofEdward the Black Prince andJoan of Kent | (1)Anne of Bohemia 14 January 1382 Westminster Abbey No children (2)Isabella of Valois Church of St. Nicholas, Calais 4 November 1396 No children | 14 February 1400 Pontefract Castle Aged 33 | |
| John II John of Gaunt[w][x] 1390 – 1399 9 years |  |  | 6 March 1340 Ghent son ofEdward III andPhilippa of Hainault | Blanche of Lancaster 19 May 1359 – 12 September 1368 8 children Constance of Castile 21 September 1371 – 24 March 1394 2 children Katherine Swynford 13 January 1396 4 children | 3 February 1399 Leicester Castle aged 58 |
| Richard II[y] Richard of Bordeaux 3 February – 30 September 1399 (239 days) | | .svg) 1395–1399 | 6 January 1367 Archbishop's Palace of Bordeaux Son ofEdward the Black Prince andJoan of Kent | (1)Anne of Bohemia 14 January 1382 Westminster Abbey No children (2)Isabella of Valois Church of St. Nicholas, Calais 4 November 1396 No children | 14 February 1400 Pontefract Castle Aged 33 |
| Henry III of Aquitaine Henry IV of England 30 September 1399[z] – c. 1400 | .jpg) | until 1406 | c. April 1367 Bolingbroke Castle Son ofJohn of Gaunt andBlanche of Lancaster | (1)Mary de Bohun Arundel Castle 27 July 1380 6 children (2)Joanna of Navarre Winchester Cathedral 7 February 1403 No children | 20 March 1413 Westminster Abbey Aged 45 |
| Henry IV of Aquitaine Henry of Monmouth[aa] c. 1400 – 31 August 1422 (22 years) |  | until 1406 .svg) 1406–1413 .svg) from 1413 | 16 September 1386 Monmouth Castle Son ofHenry IV andMary de Bohun | Catherine of Valois Troyes Cathedral 2 June 1420 1 son | 31 August 1422 Château de Vincennes Aged 35 |
| Henry VI 1 September 1422[ab] – 1453[ac] (31 years) |  | .svg) | 6 December 1421 Windsor Castle Son ofHenry V andCatherine of Valois | Margaret of Anjou Titchfield Abbey 22 April 1445 1 son | 21 May 1471 Tower of London Allegedly murdered aged 49 |
| Duchy of Aquitaineannexed into theKingdom of France, title abolished | |||||
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "Duke of Aquitaine" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheValois kings of France, claiming supremacy over Aquitaine, granted the title of duke to their heirs, theDauphins.
With the end of the Hundred Years' War, Aquitaine returned under direct rule of the king of France and remained in the possession of the king. Only occasionally was the duchy or the title of duke granted to another member of the dynasty.
TheInfante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, son ofAlfonso XIII of Spain, was one of theLegitimist pretenders to the French throne. In 1972, he conferred the hereditary title of Duke of Aquitaine on his son,Gonzalo, who died in 2000 without legitimate progeny.[18]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Hunt, William (1889), "Edward the Black Prince", inStephen, Leslie (ed.),Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 17, London: Smith, Elder & Co, pp. 90–101