Duke

Duke is a title of nobility. In France it is equated with the duc, in Great Britain with the duke, in Spain with the duque.

Originally, dukes were Germanic military leaders. The duke (lat. Dux) was the one who led the army at the head of the ancient Germanic tribes.

After the Germanic tribes settled down after the migration of peoples, the victorious dukes of their people remained the chiefs. However, royal officials with the title of duke were also used in Lombardy and France. They had the same rights and powers as the counts, but over a larger area, which served the purpose of national defense or the maintenance of public peace.

When the Merovingian kingship was weak, these dukes soon gained great autonomy. So it happened that in the last days of the Merovingians the dukes in Bavaria, Alemannia, Thuringia and Freisland hereditarily ruled their duchies and even tried to gain independence. However, this has already changed under Pippin and also under Charlemagne, who eliminated the dukes and replaced the dukedom with the office of count.

In the case of the Saxons, the dukedom was even only temporary for the duration of the war. This state of affairs only lasted until Charles` death. The Sendgraves knew about the weakness of his successors and often knew how to make their dignity permanent and take the position of the former dukes.

Around 900, the East Franconian region broke up into the five hereditary duchies of Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria, Saxony and Lorraine, which were only loosely connected by the kingdom. After the Carolingians succumbed in 911, only Saxony and Franconia maintained the imperial association, the others tried to break away from it. Even Henry I had to concede to the Duke of Bavaria the right to appoint bishops and content himself with confirming his suzerainty.

It was only his successors who took energetic measures to secure the royal dignity against the overpowering dukes. Heinrich III from the Frankish house either tried to abolish the duchies completely or at least had their owners changed more often. However, under the reign of his successor Henry IV, ducal power increased again. At that time there were seven duchies in Germany: Saxony, Franconia, Bavaria, Carinthia, Swabia, Upper and Lower Lorraine. Because now, during the grueling battle between the emperor and the papacy, the other princes also obtained the same rights and in some cases also the name of the dukes, the privileged position of the dukes disappeared.

Of the original duchies, only the Kingdom of Bavaria was able to survive under the Wittelsbach dynasty. However, the division of inheritances from ducal houses and the elevation of princes to dukes gave rise to new duchies, which gained total sovereignty over time after the dissolution of the German Empire. In the non-Germanic lands of Europe, meanwhile, the conflict with the kingdom produced a contrasting result. The transformation of the dukedom faded and only the personal titles with the privileges of the high nobility (in France duc, in Italy duca, in Spain duque) survived.

The brothers, sons and grandsons, etc., of the sovereigns of Bavaria and Württemberg also held the title of duke without land ownership in Germany. The House of Austria retained the title of archduke and archduchess for its princes and princesses.

With the Restoration of 1814, several older duchies in Germany were given the name Grand Duchy with royal honors for their princes, which had already been bestowed by Napoleon I, in part confirmed and in part newly granted. The sovereign dukes in Germany have been titled sovereign since 1844 (formerly Serene Highness).The dukes` coat of arms used to be surmounted by a princely hat to denote their dignity, but later the sovereign dukes adopted royal crowns over their coats of arms.