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Nobility of the First French Empire

October 15, 2023

"Count of the Empire" redirects here. For the title in the Holy Roman Empire, see Imperial Count.
"Baron of the empire" redirects here. For the title in the Holy Roman Empire, see Freiherr.

As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution.[citation needed]

Imperial coat of arms
Arms granted to Joseph Christophe Couin, made a baron de Granchamp et de l'Empire in 1808
Patent of nobility granted to artillery colonel François Cabau, who became baron de l'Empire in 1810.

Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that the ability to confer titles was also a useful tool of patronage which cost the state little. In all, about 2,200 titles were created by Napoleon:

  • Princes and Dukes:
    • Princes of the Imperial family
      • The Imperial Prince (Napoleon's son, Napoleon II)
      • Princes of France (8 close family members)
    • sovereign princes (3)
    • duchies grand fiefs (20)
    • victory princes (4)
    • victory dukedoms (10)
    • other dukedoms (3)
  • Counts (251)
  • Barons (1,516)
  • Knights (385)

Napoleon also established a new knightly order in 1802, the Légion d'honneur, which is still in existence today. The Grand Dignitaries of the French Empire ranked, regardless of noble title, immediately behind the Princes of France.

Creation Edit

Ennoblement started in 1804 with the creation of princely titles for members of Napoleon's family, the House of Bonaparte. Other titles followed: titles were created and, in 1808, those of count, baron and knight.

Napoleon founded the concept of "nobility of Empire" by an imperial decree on 1 March 1808. The purpose of this creation was to amalgamate the old nobility and the revolutionary middle-class in one peerage system. This step, which aimed at the introduction of a stable elite, was fully in line with the creation of the Legion of Honour and of life senatorial peerages.

A council of the seals and the titles was also created and charged with establishing armorial bearings, and had a monopoly of this new nobility.

These creations are to be distinguished from an order such as the Order of the Bath. These titles of nobility did not have any true privileges, with two exceptions:

  • the right to have armorial bearings;
  • the lands granted with the title were held in a majorat, transmitted jointly with the title.

Hierarchy Edit

In Napoleon's nobility, there existed a strict and precise hierarchy of the titles, which granted office to some according to their membership of the imperial family, their rank in the army, or their administrative career in the civil or clerical administrations:

  • Prince: for members of the imperial family, certain principal leaders of the Empire (Talleyrand was a prince of Bénévent) and some marshals of the Empire
  • Duke: for the principal dignitaries and marshals of the Empire
  • Count: for the ministers, senators, archbishops, councilors of State, the president of the corps législatif, some of the generals
  • Baron: chairmen of the Court of Auditors, bishops, mayors of 37 good cities, bankers, some of the generals
  • Knight: other functions

One could receive a title without exercising one of its enumerated functions. The title of marquis was not used during the First French Empire, and it therefore became very fashionable after the Bourbon Restoration, since it was not perceived to be tainted by the Napoleonic creations.

This nobility is essentially a "nobility of service", to a large extent made up of soldiers (67.9%), some civil servants (22%) and some collaborating members of the Ancien Régime. Napoleon's nobility was not abolished after the Bourbon Restoration, but it largely disappeared gradually for natural reasons, due in part to the great number of soldiers who had been promoted and subsequently died during the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1975, there were 239 remaining families belonging to the First Empire's nobility. Of those, perhaps about 135 were titled. Only one princely title (Essling, since Sievers is no longer used and Pontecorvo is merged with Prince Murat) and seven ducal titles remain today.

Heraldry Edit

Main article: Armorial of the First French Empire
 
Arms of Joseph Fouché (1759-1820) as a Count. The quarter azure in chief dexter charged with a lion's head indicates his positions as a count and a minister

Along with a new system of titles of nobility, the First French Empire also introduced a new system of heraldry.

Napoleonic heraldry was based on traditional heraldry but was characterised by a stronger sense of hierarchy. It employed a rigid system of additional marks in the shield to indicate official functions and positions. Another notable difference from traditional heraldry was the toques, which replaced coronets. The toques were surmounted by ostrich feathers: dukes had 7, counts had 5, barons had 3, and knights had 1. The number of lambrequins was also regulated: 3, 2, 1 and none respectively. As many grantees were self-made men, and the arms often alluded to their life or specific actions, many new or unusual charges were also introduced.[1]

The most characteristic mark of Napoleonic heraldry was the additional marks in the shield to indicate official functions and positions. These came in the form of quarters in various colours, and would be differenced further by marks of the specific rank or function. In this system, the arms of knights had an ordinary gules, charged with the emblem of the Legion of Honour; Barons a quarter gules in chief sinister, charged with marks of the specific rank or function; counts a quarter azure in chief dexter, charged with marks of the specific rank or function; and dukes had a chief gules semé of stars argent.[1]

The said 'marks of the specific rank or function' as used by Barons and Counts depended on the rank or function held by the individual. Military barons and counts had a sword on their quarter, members of the Conseil d'Etat had a chequy, ministers had a lion's head, prefects had a wall beneath an oak branch, mayors had a wall, landowners had a wheat stalk, judges had a balance, members of Academies had a palm, etc.[1]

A decree of 3 March 1810 states: "The name, arms and livery shall pass from the father to all sons" although the distinctive marks of title could only pass to the son who inherited it. This provision applied only to the bearers of Napoleonic titles.[1]

The Napoleonic system of heraldry did not outlast the First French Empire. The Second French Empire (1852–1870) made no effort to revive it, although the official arms of France were again those of Napoleon I.[1]

Titles Edit

Princes Edit

There were three types of princely titles:

Dukes Edit

There were three types of ducal titles:

For a ducal title to be hereditary, it was necessary for the holder to have at least a 200,000 francs annual income and that the land which generated the income be held in a majorat for the inheritor of the dukedom.

These titles were allotted only to Marshals of the Empire and to certain ministers.

Counts Edit

The ordinary title of count (comte) always went in front of the name. It was subject to the same rules as the title of duke but with an income threshold of only 30,000 francs.

Senators, Ministers, and Archbishops were all counts. From 1808 until 1814, 388 titles were created.

Barons Edit

The title of baron was comparable with that of count, except that the income threshold fell to 15,000 francs.

The mayors of the large cities and the bishops were all barons. Between 1808 and 1814, 1,090 titles of baron were created.

Today, the title of baron of the First French Empire is still claimed by families including d'Allemagne, Ameil, d'Andlau, d'Astorg, Auvray, Caffarelli, Christophe, Daru, Dein, Dubois, Eblé, Evain, Fabvier, de Croy, Fain, Géloes, Gourgaud, Guerrier de Dumast, Hamelin, Hottinguer, Laffitte, Lefebvre, Lepic, Méquet, Mallet, Marbot family, Martin de Lagarde, Massias, Nérin, Nicolas, Parmentier, Petiet, Pinoteau, Pontalba, Portalis, Rey, Rippert, Roederer, de Saint-Didier, de Saint-Geniès, de Saizieu, Salmon, de Saluce, Seillère, Ambroży Mikołaj Skarżyński, Strolz, Testot-Ferry, Thiry, de Villeneuve, Werlein.

Knights Edit

The title of knight (chevalier) also went in front of the name. There was an obligation to have an income of at least 3,000 francs, and a majorat on the land generating the income was not obligatory.

All the knights of the Légion d’honneur received the title of chevalier d'Empire ("knight of the Empire"), but there had to be three generations of successive knights for the title to become hereditary. Between 1808 and 1814, 1,600 titles of knight were created.

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ a b c d e François R. Velde. Napoleonic Heraldry
  2. ^ François R. Velde. Napoleonic Titles and Heraldry: Sovereign Princes
  3. ^ a b François R. Velde. Napoleonic Titles and Heraldry: Victory Titles

October 15, 2023
nobility, first, french, empire, count, empire, redirects, here, title, holy, roman, empire, imperial, count, baron, empire, redirects, here, title, holy, roman, empire, freiherr, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve. Count of the Empire redirects here For the title in the Holy Roman Empire see Imperial Count Baron of the empire redirects here For the title in the Holy Roman Empire see Freiherr This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Nobility of the First French Empire news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message As Emperor of the French Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire after the instability resulting from the French Revolution citation needed Imperial coat of armsArms granted to Joseph Christophe Couin made a baron de Granchamp et de l Empire in 1808Patent of nobility granted to artillery colonel Francois Cabau who became baron de l Empire in 1810 Like many others both before and since Napoleon found that the ability to confer titles was also a useful tool of patronage which cost the state little In all about 2 200 titles were created by Napoleon Princes and Dukes Princes of the Imperial family The Imperial Prince Napoleon s son Napoleon II Princes of France 8 close family members sovereign princes 3 duchies grand fiefs 20 victory princes 4 victory dukedoms 10 other dukedoms 3 Counts 251 Barons 1 516 Knights 385 Napoleon also established a new knightly order in 1802 the Legion d honneur which is still in existence today The Grand Dignitaries of the French Empire ranked regardless of noble title immediately behind the Princes of France Contents 1 Creation 2 Hierarchy 3 Heraldry 4 Titles 4 1 Princes 4 2 Dukes 4 3 Counts 4 4 Barons 4 5 Knights 5 See also 6 ReferencesCreation EditEnnoblement started in 1804 with the creation of princely titles for members of Napoleon s family the House of Bonaparte Other titles followed titles were created and in 1808 those of count baron and knight Napoleon founded the concept of nobility of Empire by an imperial decree on 1 March 1808 The purpose of this creation was to amalgamate the old nobility and the revolutionary middle class in one peerage system This step which aimed at the introduction of a stable elite was fully in line with the creation of the Legion of Honour and of life senatorial peerages A council of the seals and the titles was also created and charged with establishing armorial bearings and had a monopoly of this new nobility These creations are to be distinguished from an order such as the Order of the Bath These titles of nobility did not have any true privileges with two exceptions the right to have armorial bearings the lands granted with the title were held in a majorat transmitted jointly with the title Hierarchy EditIn Napoleon s nobility there existed a strict and precise hierarchy of the titles which granted office to some according to their membership of the imperial family their rank in the army or their administrative career in the civil or clerical administrations Prince for members of the imperial family certain principal leaders of the Empire Talleyrand was a prince of Benevent and some marshals of the Empire Duke for the principal dignitaries and marshals of the Empire Count for the ministers senators archbishops councilors of State the president of the corps legislatif some of the generals Baron chairmen of the Court of Auditors bishops mayors of 37 good cities bankers some of the generals Knight other functionsOne could receive a title without exercising one of its enumerated functions The title of marquis was not used during the First French Empire and it therefore became very fashionable after the Bourbon Restoration since it was not perceived to be tainted by the Napoleonic creations This nobility is essentially a nobility of service to a large extent made up of soldiers 67 9 some civil servants 22 and some collaborating members of the Ancien Regime Napoleon s nobility was not abolished after the Bourbon Restoration but it largely disappeared gradually for natural reasons due in part to the great number of soldiers who had been promoted and subsequently died during the Napoleonic Wars In 1975 there were 239 remaining families belonging to the First Empire s nobility Of those perhaps about 135 were titled Only one princely title Essling since Sievers is no longer used and Pontecorvo is merged with Prince Murat and seven ducal titles remain today Heraldry EditMain article Armorial of the First French Empire nbsp Arms of Joseph Fouche 1759 1820 as a Count The quarter azure in chief dexter charged with a lion s head indicates his positions as a count and a ministerAlong with a new system of titles of nobility the First French Empire also introduced a new system of heraldry Napoleonic heraldry was based on traditional heraldry but was characterised by a stronger sense of hierarchy It employed a rigid system of additional marks in the shield to indicate official functions and positions Another notable difference from traditional heraldry was the toques which replaced coronets The toques were surmounted by ostrich feathers dukes had 7 counts had 5 barons had 3 and knights had 1 The number of lambrequins was also regulated 3 2 1 and none respectively As many grantees were self made men and the arms often alluded to their life or specific actions many new or unusual charges were also introduced 1 The most characteristic mark of Napoleonic heraldry was the additional marks in the shield to indicate official functions and positions These came in the form of quarters in various colours and would be differenced further by marks of the specific rank or function In this system the arms of knights had an ordinary gules charged with the emblem of the Legion of Honour Barons a quarter gules in chief sinister charged with marks of the specific rank or function counts a quarter azure in chief dexter charged with marks of the specific rank or function and dukes had a chief gules seme of stars argent 1 The said marks of the specific rank or function as used by Barons and Counts depended on the rank or function held by the individual Military barons and counts had a sword on their quarter members of the Conseil d Etat had a chequy ministers had a lion s head prefects had a wall beneath an oak branch mayors had a wall landowners had a wheat stalk judges had a balance members of Academies had a palm etc 1 A decree of 3 March 1810 states The name arms and livery shall pass from the father to all sons although the distinctive marks of title could only pass to the son who inherited it This provision applied only to the bearers of Napoleonic titles 1 The Napoleonic system of heraldry did not outlast the First French Empire The Second French Empire 1852 1870 made no effort to revive it although the official arms of France were again those of Napoleon I 1 Titles EditPrinces Edit There were three types of princely titles the princes imperiaux or Imperial Princes members of the imperial family the prince imperial or the Imperial Prince Napoleon II Napoleon s son the princes francais or French Princes Joseph Bonaparte from 1804 Napoleon s brother hereditary in the male and female grandchildren line Louis Bonaparte from 1804 Napoleon s brother Joachim Murat from 1804 Napoleon s brother in law Eugene de Beauharnais from 1805 Napoleon s adopted son Elisa Bonaparte Napoleon s sister Jerome Bonaparte from 1806 Napoleon s younger brother Stephanie de Beauharnais from 1806 Napoleon s adopted daughter cousin of his wife Joseph Fesch from 1807 Napoleon s uncle Lucien Bonaparte from 1815 Napoleon s brother the princes souverains or Sovereign Princes who had received a vassal principality of the Empire 2 Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Perigord Prince de Benevent Louis Alexandre Berthier Prince de Neuchatel 1806 see below also a victory title of Prince de Wagram Jean Baptiste Bernadotte Prince de Pontecorvo 1806 1810 Lucien Murat Prince de Pontecorvo 1812 1815 Jean Lannes Prince de Sievers see below also a victory title of Duc de Montebello Two other titles fall into this category but are not as clear cut as the others Pauline Bonaparte was granted the principality of Guastalla with title of princess and duchess of Guastalla but held it for less than five months from 30 March to 14 August 1806 before its cession back to the kingdom of Italy Eugene de Beauharnais received the honorary title of prince of Venice the titres de victoire or titles of victory granted after exploits and having only an honorary role in most cases awarded as a promotion to holders of ducal victory titles 3 Marshal Davout Prince d Eckmuhl 1809 extinct 1853 also duc d Auerstaedt see below Marshal Berthier Prince de Wagram 1809 extinct 1918 for the battle of Wagram see above also a sovereign title of Prince de Neuchatel also duc de Valengin which was not a victory title Marshal Massena Prince d Essling 1810 also duc de Rivoli Marshal Ney Prince de la Moskowa 1813 extinct 1969 also duc d Elchingen Bataille de la Moskowa is the French name for the Battle of Borodino Dukes Edit There were three types of ducal titles the duches grands fiefs or dukes of large fiefs outside the territory of the First French Empire but with no rights of sovereignty General Arrighi de Casanova Duc de Padoue 1808 extinct 1888 Marshal Bessieres Duc d Istrie 1809 extinct 1856 Jean Jacques Regis de Cambaceres Duc de Parme 1808 extinct 1824 General Caulaincourt Duc de Vicenze 1808 extinct 1896 General Clarke Duc de Feltre 1809 also Comte d Hunebourg General Duroc Duc de Frioul 1808 extinct 1829 Joseph Fouche Duc d Otrante 1808 extant Martin Michel Charles Gaudin Duc de Gaete 1809 extinct 1841 Charles Francois Lebrun Duc de Plaisance 1808 extinct 1927 Marshal MacDonald Duc de Tarente 1809 extinct 1912 Hugues Bernard Maret Duc de Bassano 1809 extinct 1906 Marshal Moncey Duc de Conegliano 1808 extinct 1842 Marshal Mortier Duc de Trevise 1808 extinct 1912 Jean Baptiste Nompere de Champagny Duc de Cadore extinct 1893 Marshal Oudinot Duc de Reggio 1810 extinct 1956 Claude Ambroise Regnier Duc de Massa 1809 General Savary Duc de Rovigo extinct 1872 Marshal Soult Duc de Dalmatie 1808 extinct 1857 Marshal Victor Duc de Belluno 1808 extinct 1853 the titres de victoires or victory titles comparable to the princely titles of the same category 3 Marshal Lefebvre Duc de Dantzig 28 May 1807 extinct 1820 Dantzig was then still a city republic which became part of Prussia after Napoleon s defeat and is now Gdansk in Poland Marshal Ney Duc d Elchingen 1808 extinct 1969 also Prince de la Moskowa General Junot Duc d Abrantes 1808 extinct 1859 but extended in female line in 1869 extinct again 1982 Marshal Davout Duc d Auerstaedt 1808 extinct 1853 extended to collaterals also Prince d Eckmuhl Marshal Augereau Duc de Castiglione 1808 extinct 1816 Marshal Lannes Duc de Montebello 1808 Marshal Marmont Duc de Raguse 1808 extinct 1852 present day Dubrovnik on the Croatian coast was conquered as part of Napoleon s own Italian kingdom soon part of France s imperial enclave the Illyrian province Marshal Massena Duc de Rivoli 1808 also Prince d Essling Marshal Kellermann Duc de Valmy 1808 extinct 1868 Marshal Suchet Duc d Albufera 1813 General Girard Duc de Ligny 1815 not recognized by the Bourbon Restoration the ordinary titles which went before the name Empress Josephine Duchesse de Navarre 1810 ducal title inherited by her grandsons extinct 1852 Emmerich Joseph de Dalberg Duc de Dalberg 1810 extinct 1833 Denis Decres Duc Decres 1813 extinct 1820 For a ducal title to be hereditary it was necessary for the holder to have at least a 200 000 francs annual income and that the land which generated the income be held in a majorat for the inheritor of the dukedom These titles were allotted only to Marshals of the Empire and to certain ministers Counts Edit The ordinary title of count comte always went in front of the name It was subject to the same rules as the title of duke but with an income threshold of only 30 000 francs Senators Ministers and Archbishops were all counts From 1808 until 1814 388 titles were created Barons Edit The title of baron was comparable with that of count except that the income threshold fell to 15 000 francs The mayors of the large cities and the bishops were all barons Between 1808 and 1814 1 090 titles of baron were created Today the title of baron of the First French Empire is still claimed by families including d Allemagne Ameil d Andlau d Astorg Auvray Caffarelli Christophe Daru Dein Dubois Eble Evain Fabvier de Croy Fain Geloes Gourgaud Guerrier de Dumast Hamelin Hottinguer Laffitte Lefebvre Lepic Mequet Mallet Marbot family Martin de Lagarde Massias Nerin Nicolas Parmentier Petiet Pinoteau Pontalba Portalis Rey Rippert Roederer de Saint Didier de Saint Genies de Saizieu Salmon de Saluce Seillere Ambrozy Mikolaj Skarzynski Strolz Testot Ferry Thiry de Villeneuve Werlein Knights Edit The title of knight chevalier also went in front of the name There was an obligation to have an income of at least 3 000 francs and a majorat on the land generating the income was not obligatory All the knights of the Legion d honneur received the title of chevalier d Empire knight of the Empire but there had to be three generations of successive knights for the title to become hereditary Between 1808 and 1814 1 600 titles of knight were created See also EditFrench nobilityReferences Edit a b c d e Francois R Velde Napoleonic Heraldry Francois R Velde Napoleonic Titles and Heraldry Sovereign Princes a b Francois R Velde Napoleonic Titles and Heraldry Victory Titles Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nobility of the First French Empire amp oldid 1179788004, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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