A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medievalcountry, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between "sovereign dukes" and dukes who were ordinary noblemen throughout Europe. 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.
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 landholdings. 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.
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:
^Ltd, Not Panicking. "h2g2 - The Second War of the Roses - Edited Entry". h2g2.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
^Clara Nevéus in Ny svensk vapenbok 1992 Streiffert & Riksarkivet, Stockholm ISBN91-7886-092-X p. 17
^"Vad är heraldik?". Heraldik (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-11-28.
External links
Look up duchy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The Duchy of Cornwall official site
March 29, 2023
duchy, confused, with, grand, duchy, duchy, also, called, dukedom, medieval, country, territory, fief, domain, ruled, duke, duchess, ruler, hierarchically, second, king, queen, western, european, tradition, duke, duchess, scania, 1905, there, once, existed, im. Not to be confused with Grand duchy A duchy also called a dukedom is a medieval country territory fief or domain ruled by a duke or duchess a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition The Duke and Duchess of Scania in 1905 There once existed an important difference between sovereign dukes and dukes who were ordinary noblemen throughout Europe 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 Contents 1 Examples 2 List of duchies 2 1 Baltic provinces and governorates 2 2 Croatia 2 3 Denmark 2 4 England 2 5 France 2 6 Georgia 2 7 Holy Roman Empire 2 8 Naples 2 9 Papal States Holy See 2 10 Poland 2 11 Slovakia 2 12 Spain 2 13 Sweden 2 14 Crusader states 2 15 Other current or historical duchies 3 See also 3 1 Fictional duchies 4 References 5 External linksExamples EditIn France several 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 Romisches Reich Deutscher Nation These were Schwaben Swabia mainly the present day German state of Baden Wurttemberg 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 landholdings 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 EditBaltic provinces and governorates Edit Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Duchy of Estonia disambiguation Duchy of Livonia United Baltic DuchyCroatia Edit Lower Pannonia Duchy of Croatia Pagania Poljica duchyDenmark Edit Duchy of Schleswig Duchy of Holstein formally part of the Holy Roman Empire England Edit Main article Duchies in England Duchy of Cornwall Duchy of LancasterFrance Edit Duchy of Anjou Duchy of Aquitaine Duchy of Berry Duchy of Bourbon Duchy of Brittany Duchy of Burgundy Duchy of Gascony Duchy of Guyenne Duchy of Normandy Duchy of Orleans Duchy of LorraineGeorgia Edit Duchy of Aragvi Duchy of Kldekari Duchy of Ksani Duchy of Tskhumi Duchy of RachaHoly Roman Empire Edit Further information List of dukes in Europe and Stem duchy Duchy of Alsace in English also Alsatia Duchy of Austria later Archduchy of Austria in German Erzherzogtum Osterreich Duchy of Bavaria Duchy of Bohemia Duchy of Brabant Duchy of Bremen Duchy of Brunswick Duchy of Carinthia Duchy of Carniola Duchy of Franconia Duchy of Gelders Duchy of Holstein Duchy of Julich Duchy of Lauenburg Duchy of Limburg Duchy of Upper Lorraine Duchy of Lower Lorraine Duchy of Luxemburg a Grand Duchy since 1815 see above Duchy of Magdeburg Duchy of Mecklenburg Duchy of Oldenburg Duchy of Pomerania Duchy of Salzburg Duchy of Savoy Duchy of Saxe Altenburg Duchy of Saxe Coburg and Gotha Duchy of Saxe Meiningen Duchy of Saxony Duchy of Styria Duchy of Swabia Duchy of Thuringia Duchy of Westphalia Duchy of WurttembergThe following duchies were part of the medieval Kingdom of Italy which itself was part of the Holy Roman Empire Duchy of Milan Duchy of Mantua Duchy of Sabbioneta Duchy of Montferrat Duchy of Guastalla Duchy of Modena and Reggio Duchy of Mirandola Duchy of Massa and CarraraNaples Edit Duchy of Acerenza Duchy of Apulia Duchy of SoraPapal States Holy See Edit Duchy of Ferrara Duchy of Urbino Duchy of Camerino Duchy of Castro Duchy of ParmaPoland Edit Duchy of Poland Duchy of Prussia Duchy of WarsawSlovakia Edit Duchy of NitraSpain Edit Dukedoms of SpainSweden Edit 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 Vastergotland Varmland Gastrikland and Halsingland combined Ostergotland Gotland Angermanland Skane Sodermanland Dalarna Blekinge Halland UpplandCrusader states Edit Duchy of Athens Duchy of the Archipelago Duchy of Neopatras Duchy of PhilippopolisOther current or historical duchies Edit Duchy of the Franks Duchy of Lower Pannonia Duchy of Gascony Duchy of Limburg Duchy of Livonia Duchy of Vasconia Duchy of Pakualaman Duchy of MangkunegaranSee also EditConstitutional status of Cornwall Duchies in EnglandFictional duchies Edit 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 Duchy of Sto Helit in the kingdom of Sto Lat from the Discworld series The Six Duchies from The Farseer Trilogy and Tawny Man Trilogy 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 Yabon Krondor Olasko Rillanon Ran Rodez Salador The Sunset Isles 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 Duchy of Nuts from Adventure Time with Finn amp Jake Duchy of Harrington from the Honorverse Duchy of Toussaint from The Witcher series Duchy of Serkonos from Dishonored 2 Duchy of Urnst from the Dungeons amp Dragons Greyhawk Campaign Setting References Edit Ltd Not Panicking h2g2 The Second War of the Roses Edited Entry h2g2 com Archived from the original on 2012 07 20 Retrieved 2021 11 28 Clara Neveus in Ny svensk vapenbok 1992 Streiffert amp Riksarkivet Stockholm ISBN 91 7886 092 X p 17 Vad ar heraldik Heraldik in Swedish Retrieved 2021 11 28 External links Edit Look up duchy in Wiktionary the free dictionary The Duchy of Cornwall official site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Duchy amp oldid 1145631630, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
